Chapter 14: The New Target, Midnight
"Hey big brother check it out, your agency is on the news" stated Kyoka in an excited tone as she turned up the volume of the living room television. Axl smiled as he looked away from his breakfast and glanced at the screen showing his hero agency as the on screen news anchor continued to speak.
"Moving on to the top Hero stories of the hour. The Reverb Agency signed Mt. Lady a few days ago. This new addition to the Reverb Hero agency is sure to bring a huge boost to its numbers and lead to even more rescues. We asked the man in charge of the Reverb Hero Agency, the number nine hero himself for a few words on the subject. This is what he had to say" stated the news anchor in a professional tone before the screen transitioned over to Axl speaking to the camera from his office.
"So, can you tell us why you signed Mt. Lady? Do you think she will be a good addition to the agency" asked the reporter. Axl smiled back at the reporter as he started to speak.
"I signed Mt. Lady because she is rocking! With her on the team we can save more people and take our hero work to a whole new level" responded Axl in an excited tone. The reporter laughed slightly at Axl's enthusiasm before he started to respond.
"Haha yes, the citizens we polled all agree with your thoughts Reverb. The strange thing about this is Mt. Lady was an upcoming hero, many speculated she might open her own hero agency in the near future" responded the news reporter.
"I know this might seem surprising to some, but this is the best thing for myself and Mt. Lady moving forward. Our strengths will complement each other and allow us to go plus ultra" responded Axl with a smile as he stated his alma mater motto.
"What makes you think that? That you and Mt. Lady would make a good team" asked the reporter in a professional tone.
"That's an easy one. You might not know this but I'm sure my diehard fans do. Mt. Lady and I graduated from the same UA class. We trained and learned how to be heroes together so it only makes sense that we would make a great team" responded Axl in with a wide smile. The reporter nodded his head before he started to speak.
"I see well I speak for everyone when I say Japan is eagerly waiting to see the fruits of this team up. Now back to you for the local traffic report" responded the reporter before the television transitioned to someone talking about traffic. Turning down the volume, Kyoka turned her attention towards her big brother and started to speak.
"That's exciting. I knew Yu joined your agency, but I forgot you two went to UA together" responded Kyoka with a smile. Axl nodded his head as he started to speak.
"Yah back then Yu ran with the popular girl crowd while I ran with the music junkies, but we still trained together in the same hero course. We know each other's ins and outs well, so this team up is going to be rocking" responded Axl in an eager and excited tone. Kyoka groaned as her big brother used his cheesy catchphrase despite it just being the two of them.
"Do you really have to use that catchphrase when it's just us" asked Kyoka with a sigh. Axl laughed to himself before he started to speak.
"Haha your just jealous I have such a cool catchphrase. You need to finish up eating soon, hero work waits for no one" responded Axl with a smile. Nodding her head Kyoka finished the rest of her breakfast. Soon the two of them were riding towards Axl's hero agency in the back of his limo. Smiling at his little sister, Axl started to speak to her.
"Today I want you to shadow Yu until I get back from my meeting" stated Axl with a smile. Kyoka gave her big brother a curious look as she responded.
"Okay but what sort of meeting are you going to? Is it for one of your sponsorships" asked Kyoka, referring to the many music brands that sponsored Axl.
"No, it's nothing like that and before you ask more questions, it's a secret" responded Axl in a teasing tone with a smile on his face. Kyoka let out a huff of annoyance. Ever since she was little Kyoka hated it when Axl kept secrets from her. Seeing Kyoka's pouting look, Axl laughed to himself before he continued to speak.
"Haha aww come on sis don't be like that. I promise I'll make it up to you later. Just do your best today and I'll join you after lunch time" stated Axl with a smile. Kyoka sighed with annoyance before she started to speak.
"Okay fine, keep your secrets then" responded Kyoka, unable to hold back her smile. While she was slightly annoyed Axl wouldn't tell her the purpose of his secret meeting, she was determined to work her hardest while shadowing Yu for the day. Soon after this Kyoka was waving goodbye to Axl before the limo drove off. Leaning back into his seat, Axl spoke to the driver.
"Make sure to pull inside the parking garage, I can't have anyone spot me and letting the news slip" stated Axl with a smile. The driver nodded his head as he continued to drive through the streets. Axl smiled as he watched the passing scenery from the window, soon he would be back at his alma mater.
"Damn this place sure brings back memories" stated Axl with a wide smile as he walked through the hallways of UA High alongside Principal Nezu. The short and eccentric animal turned his attention towards Axl and started to speak.
"Yes I image being back here would spark some memories for you Reverb" responded Nezu as they continued to walk towards the meeting room. As the two of them continued to walk down the long hallway, their attention was turned behind them as they heard a loud shout call out to them.
"No way! Is that really my favorite student I see" yelled Present Mic in his usual loud tone. Axl smiled from ear to ear as he high fived his favorite teacher while he attended UA.
"Yamada sensei! What's going on? I haven't seen you in ages" responded Axl in a happy tone. Back during his UA years, he got along great with Present Mic. Present Mic was Axl's favorite teacher and often they would chill with after class jam sessions.
"I've been good. I have been following your career and I have to say I'm impressed. It fills me with pride that I taught someone that topped the hero and music charts" responded Present Mic in his usual eager and loud tone. Axl smiled back at Present Mic as he started to respond.
"I haven't topped the hero or the music charts yet. I may have cracked the top ten on both but I won't stop till I get number one in both" responded Axl in an eager tone. When he began his schooling at UA that had always been his goal. To become the number one hero and the number one music artist in Japan. After Axl said these words, another familiar face walked up to him and started to speak.
"I see you are still as loud as ever Reverb" stated Eraser Head in his usual deadpan tone. Axl smiled back at Eraser Head as he remembered all the detentions he got from him during his UA years because of his habit of being the loud student.
"Haha yup, I figured I should lean into that side of my personality and make it a part of my hero brand. It works out for me pretty well" responded Axl with a wide smile. Thanks to his loud personality as a hero, Axl was consistently one of the most favorited hero's when it came to popularity polls. With his loud and rocking personality the only hero that consistently beat him in the popularity polls was All Might himself.
"While it's nice to catch up with old friends, we cannot forget about the staff meeting" stated Principal Nezu with a smile. Nodding his head in agreement, Axl started to speak.
"Right sorry about that Principal Nezu" responded Axl with a smile. Present Mic had a surprised look on his face as he started to speak.
"Wait a minute, does this mean you are a teacher here Reverb" asked Present Mic in a curious tone. Axl smiled at Present Mic and Easer Head, the latter having a more subdued look of interest on his face when compared to Present Mic's.
"That's right, I agreed to work part time as a hero course teacher. Since we're working together you should just call me by my name when the students aren't around" responded Axl in a friendly tone. Present Mic seemed happy at these words while Eraser Head seemed to visibly tire at the prospect of having to work with one of his loudest former students.
"That's great! Welcome aboard" responded Present Mic in an excited tone at the idea of working with his favorite former student. Shortly after this Principal Nezu led the small group towards the meeting room. Steeping inside the meeting room, Axl smiled as many heads turned towards his direction. Taking a seat next to Present Mic, Axl looked around and saw the familiar faces of the teachers that taught him not too long ago.
"I'm sure all of you have noticed we have a new member of the staff sitting with us" stated Principal Nezu with a smile. Seeing the surprised looks from the teachers, Nezu continued to speak.
"Please join me in officially welcoming Axl, the pro hero Reverb" stated Nezu in a welcoming tone. Axl smiled as the UA staff clapped for him and offered their welcomes.
"It's nice to see you again Axl" stated Cementoss in his usual polite tone.
"We've all been proud of your hero career" stated Ectoplasm in a proud tone.
"Yes, it certainly is rewarding seeing one of my former students growing up to become such a strong and capable man" stated Midnight in her usual flirty tone. Axl smiled at Midnight thinking that she would make an excellent target for his brainwashing quirk when he had a moment alone with her.
"Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to teaching the next generation of heroes alongside all of you" responded Axl in an eager tone.
"So, what exactly is Axl teaching sir? I assume he will be focused on the hero course students" asked Cementoss as he turned his attention back towards Principal Nezu. The room fell silent as Nezu started to respond.
"Axl here will be teaching part time since he still has a hero agency to run. He will be teaching hero subjects to the students and will focus on things he personally excels at as a pro hero such as communication and recon" responded Nezu while Axl nodded his head in understanding. In all of Japan, no pro hero came even close to Axl or his agency when it came to doing recon or communicating effectively in the field.
"Sounds rocking" responded Axl in an eager tone. Nodding his head, Principal Nezu started to speak.
"Since UA hero teachers are also responsible for teaching a common core subject, I thought it'd best for Axl to be the in charge of the school band given his other talents" stated Nezu with a smile. The UA staff nodded their heads at these words.
"That makes sense, I still remember how Axl here always was playing some sort of instrument during his free time" responded Cementoss as serval other UA teachers voiced their agreement. Smiling from ear to ear Axl started to speak.
"Oh, yah now we are really rocking! Outside of the hero course the best times I had in school was in the band" responded Axl fondly remembering playing in the school band alongside other students. At UA band class was an elective which meant he would only be teaching students interested in learning and playing music. It also meant that Axl would teach students not just from the hero course.
"Yes we are all excited to have two top ranked pro heroes starting to teach here this year" stated Nezu in a happy tone. Hearing these words Axl looked confused, he was under the impression he was going to be the only top ranked hero teaching at UA.
"Wait someone else from the top ten is teaching here? Who is it" asked Axl in a curious tone. As if he was waiting for a dramatic entrance, a loud and booming voice echoed across the meeting room as the door slammed open.
"I AM HERE" yelled All Might as he stepped into the meeting room with his usual wide smile. Understanding dawned onto Axl as he realized that All Might would be teaching at UA. This must be the primary reason All for One arranged it so Axl would teach at UA, so he could be close to the current holder of One of All.
"Welcome All Might, we were just talking about you" stated Nezu in a happy tone. The UA staff all seemed to be in complete surprise that the number one hero in Japan if not the entire world was now teaching alongside them. As All Might took his seat, he noticed Axl from across the table and started to speak to him.
"Reverb! It's good to see you again" responded All Might in his usual over dramatic tone. Axl could not help but smile back at All Might. Some might say that All Might was over the top, but Axl always thought it was good branding, just like his own hero persona.
"Likewise, All Might. I thought I was going to be the highest ranked hero teaching here but I guess I was wrong" responded Axl with a smile. This wasn't the first time that Axl and All Might had seen each other. Since they were both top ranked heroes, they would occasionally team up if something big came along. That and Axl and All Might would run into each other whenever the new hero ranking were announced and the top ten were televised. All Might gave Axl a thumbs up as he started to speak.
"Haha well regardless I am looking forward to teaching with another top ranked hero and an alum no less. Let's go plus ultra together" responded All Might in the same tone that all of Japan knew him for.
As Axl smiled back at All Might, the rest of the UA staff had similar expressions. Each UA staff member seemed to be elated to work with the number one hero, that is everyone expect Eraser Head. It seemed that Eraser Head was tired at the thought of not only teaching alongside Axl, but All Might as well. This made some sense to Axl when he thought about it. Eraser Head was famous for his dislike of the press and pro heroes that would ham it up for the camera and the fact of the matter was Axl and All Might could overdo it with the showmanship at times.
"Yes, we are all excited to welcome All Might to our UA family. Now that the welcomes are out of the way, let's start looking at the new first year hero students" stated Nezu as he directed everyone's attention to the list of names in front of them.
Looking down at the list of names, Axl groaned as he saw Kyoka's name listed under Eraser's Head's homeroom. Nezu started to run down the list, explaining each student and an overview of their quirks and strengths. For the most part, Axl didn't really have anyone jump out at him since they were mostly strangers at this point. Really only two names jumped out at him that he paid close attention towards.
"Now let's discuss Kyoka Jiro" stated Nezu in a happy tone. Hearing Kyoka's last name, Present Mic turned his attention towards Axl and started to speak.
"Wow wait a minute, Jiro? You mean to tell me this is your little sister Axl" asked Present Mic in an excited tone. Axl felt the rest of the staff looking at him as he started to respond.
"She sure is! I couldn't be prouder of my little sis. Following in my footsteps and all" responded Axl with a wide smile. Present Mic smiled back at Axl, thinking that Kyoka would be a delight to teach if she was anything like his favorite former student. Axl glanced over at Eraser Head and could see the tired look on his face at the idea of teaching someone like him again. Smiling at Eraser Head, Axl continued to speak.
"Don't worry too much Aizawa sensei. Kyoka and I might be siblings, but our personalities are different. I might have been a loud student back in the day, but Kyoka is more reserved then I am" responded Axl, Eraser Head seemed to relax at these words.
"Well one could hope. Thinking about teaching another you is exhausting" responded Eraser Head in a tired tone. Some of the UA staff chuckled at these words as Axl started to respond.
"Hey, come on I wasn't that bad was I? Aren't you proud that you taught the number nine ranked hero" asked Axl with a wide smile.
"Sure, I'm proud but all I remember about teaching you is constantly telling you to be quiet" responded Eraser Head. The UA staff all laughed at these words, remembering how loud and energetic Axl was during his UA years. After the laughter died down, Nezu started to speak.
"As you all might have suspected, Kyoka has the same quirk as Axl. All of you expect All Might are familiar with this quirk, either because you taught Axl or in Axl's case because he had honed this quirk to a fine point. Since most of us are quite familiar with this quirk and the things it can do along with its weakness to overcome, I am hopeful that Kyoka will benefit greatly from our lessons" explained Nezu to the UA staff. Axl nodded his head as he started to speak.
"I've even started her training early since she got accepted. For about a week now Kyoka has been shadowing me during hero work. She should be a few steps ahead of the rest of the class because of this" responded Axl as serval UA staff members smiled at this. Nezu smiled back at Axl as he started to respond.
"That's wonderful to hear Axl, but she still has a long way to go. Let me now explain her current strengths and shortcomings based on her results in the entrance exam" responded Nezu as he stared to run down his observations of Kyoka. Axl made sure to listen carefully so he could apply these notes to his own personal training of Kyoka. While Axl was determined to teach all of his future students, Axl was also determined to have Kyoka be the top of her class just like he was during his UA years.
"Moving on to another student, I am delighted to say that Kyoka isn't the only student who is related to a top ranked hero" stated Nezu in happy tone. Hearing these words Axl started to listen more closely. Looking at the sheet in front of him, Axl nodded his head in understanding as he recognized a familiar last name as Nezu continued to speak.
"Shoto Todoroki is the son of the number two pro hero, Endeavor. Like his father he has a fire quirk, but he also inherited an ice quirk from his mother" stated Nezu as serval UA staff members nodded their heads in acknowledgement. Axl thought that this quirk combination would make Shoto a strong hero. He knew enough about Endeavor to know that one of his weaknesses was the fact he would overheat if he used his quirk too much. If Shoto had an ice quirk, he could cool himself down which could mean he could surpass Endeavor with enough training.
"Shoto is one of the students who made it into UA on recommendation, but we still have a list of his skills and areas that he could improve. An interesting thing we have observed is up until now Shoto seems to only use his ice quirk during battle" stated Nezu as he went on explain some things about Shoto. Axl thought this was strange. Knowing how skilled Endeavor was, Axl didn't find it likely that his son lacked the ability to use his fire quirk so there must be some other reason. The meeting went on for some time, Axl not really paying much more attention to any of the other names discussed. Soon the meeting ended, and Axl walked out of the meeting room.
"Man sitting down for so long made me all stiff" stated Axl to himself as he stretched his arms. As Axl stretched his stiff body, he waved goodbye to the UA staff members as they walked away. Seeing Midnight walk away, Axl smiled as he ran up to her.
"Hold on a minute Midnight" stated Axl with a friendly smile. Midnight smiled back at Axl as she stopped and turned around to him. Stopping in front of Midnight, Axl continued to speak.
"I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink. I've got some time before I have to head back to my agency" asked Axl hoping that Midnight would accept his invitation. Midnight smiled back at Axl as she started to speak.
"Axl if I didn't know any better, I would think you just asked me out on a date" responded Midnight in a teasing tone.
"No no it's nothing like that. I just thought we could catch up since it's been a while since I graduated" responded Axl. Midnight chuckled to herself at Axl's words, thinking he was cute. Now that Axl wasn't her student anymore, Midnight allowed herself to notice how cute and handsome he was.
"Haha I was only joking, no need to get so flustered Axl. The number nine hero should be more confident when talking with a woman" responded Midnight in a teasing tone.
"Hey, I'm plenty confidant around woman, it's still just a bit jarring to have my former teacher talk to me like that" responded Axl putting on a good act. Hopefully Midnight would accept his invitation, if he could get her alone with him then Axl could use his brainwash quirk on her. After a short moment of silence, Midnight started to speak.
"Well, you're not my student anymore big guy so I suppose we can get that drink" responded Midnight with a flirty wink loving how flustered she can make Axl. Little did Midnight know that Axl wasn't flustered at all. Axl was merely putting on a show for Midnight, inwardly he was smiling perversely as Midnight walked straight into his trap.
End of Chapter 14