My Heroic Beast King

Chapter 15

Right so, I don't know if most will even see this with he site issues we are having. But it will be here when it comes back. Enjoy!

XXXX

The general atmosphere of the class after coming back from the Sports Festival was two-sided in many ways. Naturally, people were tired, but satisfied and happy that everything went well. It had been an exciting ride after all, but now that class was back in session after the weekend, some were restless. For those that read the news though, things were tense as they went along with the joyful atmosphere.

For Tenya Iida, he was beyond pissed that he had to be here at all. His brother had been crippled by the Hero Killer and he was here in class. He felt he had to do…something. He was glad that his friend group was looking out for him with their concern, but Naruto saw right through the façade. It was only a matter of time before the blond otherworlder confronted him about it. He was sure of it. Tenya just could not get Stain out of his head and grew more pissed as the morning persisted.

How dare the Hero Killer go after a brother he looked up to more than anyone in the world! The man who took on a multitude of sidekicks just so they could get their foot in the door for heroics. The man who tried to teach him so many things and helped all those in need. How dare he take his hero away from him. Tenya knew his brother wasn't dead, but his hero was.

Tenya also did not have the luxury of being the Class Representative so all those thoughts and more bounced around in his head until it was a loud roar of utter bullshit and hate that he could not hear anything else and his vision grew dark.

He was suddenly shaken out of it and brought back to the real world by a kind hand. Looking up, he saw Naruto looking at him intently. Negative Emotion Sensing. That was what Naruto mentioned he could do at one point and it made sense that his friend reached out to him then. However, Tenya dared not look back to the rest of the class in fear that the loud thoughts rang out to them as well. "Let's talk at lunch." Naruto stated. It was not a request.

"Alright class, sit down." Aizawa's voice rang out as he entered the classroom, but gave Tenya a nod. What it was, was hard to determine. Aizawa was hard to read.

Tenya was surprised though that Mr. Aizawa was no longer covered in bandages from the USJ incident. That could only mean that Recovery Girl kept the man from doing anything else during the weekend while he rested. Well, he looked as rested as you could get anyway. Mr. Aizawa always looked dead tired and homeless…according to Tensei.

"Recovery Girl went a bit overboard with her healing." Mr. Aizawa responded to a few students pointing out how well he looked now. "My health is not the concern here today. It is on you all as we have a big class today. On Hero Informatics." Naturally, that set the class on edge…just as he wanted. He let them stew in their heads for a few moments before elaborating. "You need code names. It is time to pick your hero identities."

That naturally got everyone excited as the classroom chatter rose. Aizawa did notice that Shoto had no look of excitement and Tenya…he looked angry with himself. Normally he would be annoyed by Shoto, but he had Endeavor to deal with and Tenya was dealing with a family emergency. Tensei had been taken down by the hero killer, but not killed. So he understood. As for the other person that caught his attention, Naruto actually looked like he did not care. Weird, but whatever, he had a class to wrangle back in.

A quick flash of his red eyes got the deed done and they were paying attention again. "This is related to the Pro Hero draft picks I mentioned last class. Normally you would not have to worry about that yet until the second year. However, with the recent attention your class has gotten and how well you all did in the Sports Festival. That has changed how we do things and it has garnered Pro Heroes to extend offers to you to invest in your potential. These offers can be rescinded if you do not keep proving yourselves and they lose interest. Now, here are the totals for those of you who got offers."

Shoto Todoroki 4123

Naruto Uzumaki-Tsutsumi 4100

Izuku Midoriya 3556

Momo Yaoyorozu 2000

Eijiro Kirishima 500

Ochaco Uraraka 450

Itsuka Kendo 450

Mei Hatsume 100

Hitoshi Shinso 45

Denki Kaminari 40

Inasa Yoarashi 35

Tenya Iida 25

Tsuyo Asui 10

Mina Ashido 5

Hitoshi Shinso 4

Fumikage Tokoyami 3

Tenya Iida 1

"In past years it has been more spread out, but there is a pretty big gap this time." Aizawa replied with a shrug.

"Odd, Todoroki got more than the winner." Kyoka pointed out a bit miffed while others agreed.

"That is most likely Pro Heroes trying to get an in with my father." Shoto replied in a tone that said he was utterly done with the situation while Inasa patted him on the back in sympathy, which got a small nod from the dual-quirked boy.

"Despite these results," Aizawa interrupted them before more conversations could break out. "You all will be interning with Pros. Got it? Even those of you who did not get any offers."

"Oh wow, so we are all interning? Neat!" Setsuna replied with a sharp-toothed grin.

"Yes," Aizawa stated. "You may have already gotten forced experience against villains during the attack at the USJ facility, but it will still be helpful to see Pros at work. Up close, in personal, and in the field first hand." Aizawa saw understanding amongst his students on why they needed to pick their hero names now instead of later. It made him slightly uncomfortable that his class was being accelerated in the curriculum but he knew this was what they needed after all they had been through. He had a bad feeling more was to come. "Now, these hero names you choose will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-"

"You will have hell to pay later!" Midnight shouted in glee as she entered the classroom. Seeing she had the classroom's attention on her made her smirk. "What you pick today might be your code name for life. You better be careful or you will be stuck with something utterly indecent."

"Yeah…she had a point and will have final approval. I am no good with picking code names, so she is my stand-in for this. The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you want to be in the future. A code name shows everyone what you represent." Aizawa explained further as he took out his sleeping bag, slummed over into a corner, and closed his eyes. "Just get it done soon." With that, he was fast asleep.

The students were given marker boards to work out their ideas.

XXX

A little while later, Midnight smiled at the class and said, "Alright, who would like to share?" She openly smirked at how that made a lot of the class uncomfortable.

"Okie dokie, I will go first." Mina said as she bounced up to the front. "The Ripley Hero: Alien Queen."

"You mean that old movie monster with the acidic blood?! That will not go over well! Plus, we don't want to get sued." Midnight denied while shivering.

"I see what you are going for in this, Mina." Naruto pointed out with a smirk. "You like to think of yourself as out of this world, so Alien Queen would make for a great name to have as your hero title. I'd pick a planet for your hero name though."

"Oh! I know, Venus!" Ochaco offered. "It is already the acid planet with all the acid rain that goes on there but it has another meaning. In Green and Roman times, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, was also known as Venus!"

"Oooh!" Mina replied with stars in her eyes, especially with a thumbs up from her fellow shipping buddies in Setsuna and Toru that it was a good idea. Well, she hoped it was a thumbs up from Toru, it was hard to figure that out from someone invisible. "That is perfect! Then I will be the Alien Queen: Venus!"

"Perfect, when we are done here, will give you those new babies to your suit I have been making. They will go well with your image!" Mei announced with a big smile as she then got up to present her own hero name next, not even giving Midnight the option to approve of Mina's new name. So, she just approved it anyway. "Call me…the Inventing Hero: Mother of Invention!"

"A bit of a mouthful but it could work," Midnight replied thoughtfully. "You do often name inventions your babies, so it does work. Approved!"

"I think I have one, do you mind if I go next? Ribbit." Tsuyu volunteered, which Midnight loved. Once upfront, Tsuyu showcased her marker board. "I have had this name in mind since grade school. The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy!"

"That's so cute and delightful!" Midnight gushed. "It makes you sound approachable! What a great example of a name everyone will love."

"The Splitting Hero: Lizardy!" Setuna said when she went up. "I am not as big as Godzillo or anything, but this is fun and shows off my interest in lizards and dinosaurs!"

"Oh nice, the population with lizard-type quirks will have a great future hero to identify with!"

"I got mine too, my name is the Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!" Eijiro stated next with gusto.

"Red Riot? Interesting. You are paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot, yes?" Midnight asked with interest.

"That's right. He may be kind of old school, but someday I want to be just like he was. Crimson is my idol." Eijiro replied sheepishly.

"Hmm, if you are bearing the name of someone you admire, then you have that much more to live up to." Midnight pointed out but approved nonetheless.

"I accept the challenge!"

"Oh, I got it!" Himiko cheerfully shouted as she too made her way up to the front. "Since we have royalty in this class, let's go with the Blood Queen Hero: Matatabi!"

"Oh! Play a bit off of Vlad King's theme a bit as well and your showmanship will shed a better light on Blood Quirks. Approved."

"That's the plan!" Himiko replied cheerfully, getting smiles from her brother and boyfriend.

"The Command Hero: Sound-Byte." Hitoshi stated in a bid to change how his quirk was viewed, just like Himiko."

"I like it. I will admit, I feel that your quirk's name doesn't make sense. You just command them to do things, but cannot fundamentally change how they see the world or change themselves as people. Approved!" Midnight replied kindly, making Hitoshi's eyes widen in thought about the name of his quirk. He could get it changed later.

Soon after, others got their own code names in quick succession.

"The Stun Gun and Shield Hero: Chargebolt." For Denki, who was playing off Ejirio a bit and his own electrical application of electric shields.

"The Gravity Hero: Uravity." For Ochaco.

"The Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi." For Fumikage, though it did capture Naruto's attention since it was the name of a powerful Illusion technique back in his old world. He was sure Fumikage would use the name better.

"The Light Bending Hero: Prism." For Toru.

"The Animal Hero: Anima." For Koji.

"The Arm Hero: Tentacole." For Mezo

"The Flying Horn Hero: Rocketti" For Pony; and man, ever since Mei helped her with the automatic translator, her Japanese was impeccable. Not that she stopped learning the language on her own, it just made it easier for her.

"The Martial Arts Hero: Battle Fist." For Kendo

"The Wind Hero: Gale Force!" For Inasa.

Then came the last few and it shook the momentum a bit. "I will be called Shoto." Shoto stated blandly.

"NOPE!"

"Nuh uh."

"What do you mean, nuh uh? What does that even mean?" Shoto deadpanned to the two who outright rejected his hero name, Naruto and Inasa. Shoto honestly thought it was fine. He wanted to be a hero, so he was going to use his name. What was the problem?

"Come on dude, I get you want to stand out from your dad, but using the name he gave you as a hero name? Kinda lame." Inasa supplied, much to Midnight and the class' amusement.

"You could derive your name from your quirk. It is straightforward, just like you." Naruto suggested with a smirk.

"I see. I was reading a book called The Song of Ice and Fire…but that series is still unfinished, so I do not want to bother with White Walker." Shoto replied.

"IcyHot?" Inasa asked.

"Oh! The Hot and Cold Hero: Freezerburn." Naruto joked, getting a few to laugh with him.

"Actually…I like that last one." Shoto stated with wide eyes.

"Wait what, that one was a joke about leaving food in the freezer too long!" Naruto shot back in shock.

"Still, I do like to use my ice over fire and technically I need to get a better handle over my fire. So, it works."

"Very well, The Cold and Hot Hero: Freezer Burn it is." Midnight replied, trying desperately not to laugh at the exchange that caused this name.

Tenya came up next and sighed. "If Todoroki was any indication that I will be outvoted for using my own name, I guess I have no choice but to use a code name. My brother wanted me to be the next Ingenium…but I cannot do that. He will always be Ingenium to me." He stated somberly and he hated the look of pity some were giving him. "To that end, I also cannot be Overclock since O'clock was already taken."

"Says who?" Naruto asked out of the blue, startling Tenya again. "I happen to know the old O'Clock. He retired that name when he lost the use of his quirk. He would be honored if you made use of his old name."

A snort in the corner of the classroom got everyone's attention as Mr. Aizawa said, "He's right." Knuckleduster was a tough old bastard and often worked at his daughter and son-in-law's concerts. They were all doing well now.

"Very well," Tenya replied after a moment of uneasiness. "Then I will be the Maximum Overdrive Hero: Overclock." He has not revealed his Recipro Burst move yet, so this was going to be interesting when he did.

"What is with you kids and referencing old horror movies for your names." Midnight grumbled to herself before smiling. "That could work and gives you ground to walk on."

"I guess I will go next." Kyoka sighed at being one of the few left. Showing of her marker board, it showed a couple of names crossed out, like Earphone Jack and Sound Beat. "I will go with the Punk Rock Hero: Heart Beat. You know, because I beat my opponents with the sound of my heartbeat through my support gear."

"Better than Present Mic…" Came Aizawa's muffled response after a moment, getting Midnight to giggle. The Dumbigos names were all horrible.

"Next, let's see what Yaoyorozu has cooked up." Midnight said, calling the girl up to the front.

Momo was nervous but her confidence had not been shattered at the Sports Festival. In fact, she got so far, she proved to herself that she could be a hero. Sure, she lost to Naruto in the final round, but she has not figured out a quick way to beat him yet. Only to prolong the fight. Ah well. "I will go with the Everything Hero: Creation Knight."

"Oh! Creative and fits the armor you use for your costume! Approved!" Midnight replied joyfully. "Midoriya, why don't you go next and then finally Uzumaki?"

"Alright," Izuku replied as he went up to the front. Despite gaining his own confidence throughout the years, he did not like attention. But he knew he would have to get over that if he wanted to be a hero because they got all the attention. "Ok…a little explanation. I originally wanted to give new meaning to an old nickname I had back in elementary school. Deku." The moment he said that he noticed the frowns and looks of anger on Naruto and Hitoshi's faces. He then noticed a dawning realization on a few of his other classmates' faces when they remembered what Bakugo had called Izuku at the start of the school year. "Not many would understand the reference or know why I wanted to give it a new meaning…the original being 'Useless' or 'Nothing.' Especially since the one who gave it is not even part of this class. So, I chose something else that actually goes along with my fighting style and quirk. The Heavenly Hero: Shandian Wukong!"

"Oh! Mythological! I love it!" Midnight cheered before she gave a look of understanding. "I understand the need for reinventing yourself and the things that revolve around you. I was a meek middle schooler myself and had to do something drastic to be the hero I wanted to be. If I may, what was the origin of that old nickname?"

"It is kind of embarrassing," Izuku replied nervously but he realized that he needed to get this off his chest. "A person who I thought was the friend at the time, misread my name and pointed out that part of my written name meant nothing, so he thought it was useless. He equated that to me since he coupled that with the fact I was a late bloomer and didn't have my quirk at the time. Turns out we were only friends because our moms were."

"Geez, I can already guess who that is," Eijiro replied before smiling. "Even as a kid he had an inflated ego. Glad you got away while you could dude."

"Thanks." Izuku replied as he made his way back to his seat as Naruto walked to the front. He knew that old information, but hearing it still pissed him off. His friend…could have gone down a dark path if he had not moved and met Hitoshi and him.

"Alright, like for many of you, your hero names have special meaning to you and so does mine. It belongs to a very special friend and brother to me as he has been in my life…since the day I was born. I figured, why not make his name heroic." Naruto explained, catching the attention of the class and making all his friends in the know smile. "Call me the Beast King Hero: Kurama."

No one else heard the uncomfortable groan turn wail of agony in his head but despite that, Kurama himself felt honored by his long-time friend. Too bad everyone else in Naruto's mindscape all made for teasing him. It was good but still weird to the ancient Tailed Beast. Still, the humans of this world knowing Kurama as a Hero…that sure was a nice change of pace.

"Oh? Sounds powerful and commanding. You can certainly back up that power. I approve as well." Midnight replied after a moment's thought.

XXX

At the same time, Present Mic was helping class 1-B with their own hero names and were just about done. There were still a few that had trouble with choosing a name and one of them was Katsuki Bakugo himself. While he was desperately brainstorming and trying not to think about who it could have been that send him his only intern offer, he was approached by Ibara and Neji.

"What the he-…what do you want." Katsuki asked, biting back his usual angry retort. He knew the holy girl hated his, Kamakiri, and Awase's constant cursing. Katsuki started doing it around the vine haired girl just to piss her off. She was not some overly religious person that pushed her views on others, she was smarter than that, just someone who leaned into it a lot and used the natural light as God's Grace for her quirk. After his beat down, Katsuki was starting to respect her. Then there was Neji, the high and mighty attitude was not something out of his twisted imagination, so he was not sure why Neji wanted to talk to him.

"Bakugo, Neji and I have been talking and we agree with the rest of the class that we are the 'big three' of this class. 1-A has their energy theme and to that end, I was hoping we could have a theme. I sent in a revision of my hero suit for more protection and to add the flaming sword Yaoyorozu has given me. I modeled myself after the ancient Templar since I am a follower of God. Neji has agreed to call himself Archangel since he is unwilling to change his costume. See the theme we have going?"

Katsuki scoffed. "Yeah, I see that stupid theme you have going." He paused though as he really thought about it, instead of brushing it off. If his battle with Naruto had taught him anything is that he had been acting more like a villain than a hero. He hated to admit it, but that dipshit had been right. "Fine, I'll do it, but I can't promise it will be good."

"We do not expect much from you…but thank you." Neji replied as he went to sit back down.

Oh man…the day he would have his rematch with Neji will be the day that feathered asshole went down.

"If I may, look up the demon lords of hell. You might get inspiration from that as bad as that may seem." Ibara offered before she too walked back to her seat. Present Mic just watched on in amusement.

Taking advice from those weaker than him grated on his nerves, but Bakugo did it anyway. So, he looked up those demon lords and thought every one of their names were fucking stupid. He tried combining them with some word for explosion and embarrassingly…only one sounded good. Fuck it, he would change it later. The Big Walking Bloodstain mentioned these weren't going to be permanent anyway. In the end, he presented one name to the class, and Present Mic not only laughed but thought it was a good idea. The Loud Mouth really pissed him off.

The name Beelzeboom was chosen for Bakugo.

Now he just had to deal with the one Pro Hero that would give him a chance after his wake-up call.

XXX

"Tenya, stay behind. We need to talk." Naruto said as the class got up to leave for lunch. Many shot the duo questioning looks, but Naruto did not say a word to them. He just stared at the ever-increasingly sweating Tenya.

Once the classroom was empty of just the two of them, Tenya got up robotically and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Cut the shit, Tenya. I have been feeling your negative emotions all morning." Naruto growled and finally a look of anger appeared on Tenya's face, yet he chose to stay quiet. "Since you won't come out and say, I know you are pissed-"

"OF COURSE I AM PISSED!" Tenya roared. "The Hero Killer killed my hero! I have a right to be angry!"

"You are right, you have every right to be angry, but you act like Tensei is dead."

"No…he is not dead, just paralyzed from the waist down." Tenya ground out. "His hero career is done for and he wanted me to pick up his name. I have not earned my hero's name. I looked up to him all my life as a beacon of righteousness and now he has been cut down ruthlessly! I love my brother! How dare that man destroy him so thoroughly! How dare he take my hero away from me! He took the light from Tensei's eyes!"

"So what? Were you going to use these internships to track Stain down?" Naruto asked, but when he did not receive an answer, Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh my shit, you were. If Tensei could not hold a candle to the man, what do you think you, a hero student, were going to be able to do?"

"I have to do something! I have to avenge Tensei!"

"Like Sasuke?"

…

…

…

A stillness hung in the air before Tenya fell back into a seat, tears streaming down his face as it dawned on him finally. "I have to do something." He replied weakly.

Naruto sat down in a seat next to Tenya and put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "Something can be done and I know how stubborn you are. You are not going to let this go. Look, I already know who I am interning with…if she sent one. We will be in Hosu too. Just…do not pick someone because they are in Hosu, pick one that you can actually learn from." Naruto then looked at the sun and moon symbols on his hands as they pulsed and he smiled. "Besides, all is not lost for Tensei."

"I do not follow."

Naruto showed off his hands. "Well, I cannot promise much, but I did give a couple of people an eye back and prevented a man from dying, maybe I can fix Tensei."

After a moment, Tenya's eyes widened before he gave off a teary smile. "Thank you…but your power is so broken."

"And quirks are bullshit," Naruto smirked at his friend. "These things we know. But let's do that after internships. We have a stain to clean."

XXX

After lunch, class 1-A had a bit of a free period to go over their Pro Hero pics for their internships. However, there were more than a few that were having trouble even figuring out where they should go.

"Are you sure you don't want to join me at Endeavor's agency?" Shoto asked his tall friend, he could use the support.

"That is a tough one," Inasa replied through grit teeth. "I am all for supporting and being friends with you, but spending time with that asshole? I cannot imagine that. Not to mention I did not even get an invitation from him."

That made Shoto blink. "Oh, I thought you did. I know he sent out a lot this year." Inasa just burst out laughing at the absurdity.

"Naruto, did you already choose?" Himiko asked.

"Yes, actually. Apparently, she was one of the first to send me an offer." Naruto replied as he held up his sheet of paper, showing he had picked Mirko.

"What? You did not get thrashed around enough by Mirko growing up?" Himiko snarked.

"Well, you know as much as I do that she hates teaming up, but she also knows that since she helped train me, I am not a liability." Naruto explained.

"Naruto, ribbit," Tsuyu replied as she came up to them. "I got an invite from her as well, I am just on the fence about her or Selkie."

"You primarily want to be a rescue hero, right Tsu?" Naruto probed.

"That's right, ribbit."

"Well, so is All Might, yet so many want a piece of him. What I am getting at is that you need to be ready for villains that prey upon the weak during disasters. Having Mirko's fighting style in your corner could help prepare you for that eventuality." Naruto explained and it looked like Tsuyu understood. Well, looked was not the right word since her frog mutation made it hard for her to emote. It was his senses that told him she had come to a decision.

"What about you Himiko, what have you decided?" Naruto asked as he turned back to his sister.

"This one was hard," Himiko explained with a somewhat serious face. "I got offers from Midnight and Vlad King. However, I think I have a handle on my quirk and Midnight has already taught me a lot…so I went with someone who could teach me to navigate the media and TV industry. I went with Uwabami, so her skills translate to me trying to get the public to accept my type of quirk more."

"Yeah, that sounds about right for you," Hitoshi replied in his seat next to hers. "I am going with Aizawa to learn the nature of underground work."

"What, you don't get enough of Mr. Aizawa during school?" Kyoka snarked with a smirk. "I get you, but I am going to go with a sort of hero in Pop-Step. She can help me navigate the music scene to help me integrate it more into hero work as she does."

"Oh right, the Feather Hats are in Hosu this week. They are probably there to lighten everyone's mood there." Naruto commented. "But they are primarily Rescue Heroes as well."

"So? I have enough combat training from you and this class. Branching out will not hurt much." Kyoka shot back and Naruto just smirked at her. There was also the fact that her parents could only provide their one-sided experience to her while branching out gave more. The Feather Hats were a mix of talents, so it made sense. Also, he was pretty sure Kazuho sent him an invite as well. He might show up later.

"What about you three?" Naruto asked Mei, Momo, and Izuku.

Mei shrugged a bit as she was fiddling with a grappling hook device she was planning on giving to Toru that fit her new costume design. "I originally wanted to stay here and intern with Power Loader, but he did not send me an invite. Something about me spending too much time in the lab already. I went with Airjet after that. I have a new repulsor design I planned on adding to my costume and want to test that out with him."

"Not on him I hope." Naruto chuckled.

"Nah, I just want his opinion and flight know-how since he does create his own support gear." With that, Mei took out what looked to be a multi-tool to create sparks on the grappling hook device.

"I honestly was going to join Himiko in meeting Uwabami, but I doubt that I would learn much from her. I chose Fat Gum instead, I am pretty sure he could help me regulate my quirk more so I don't have to rely on your Food Pills all the time." Momo explained which got a knowing smile from Naruto. Relying too much on one thing could get her in trouble. It was…also kind of funny that Naruto and Momo were going with a relatively new couple themselves. Mirko and Fat Gum recently came out they were dating, but they knew it was a little bit longer. Rumi did train Taishiro a lot more in the interim. Guy was more of a menace now than ever to villains. Plus, once he used his one-shot attack that drained his quirk, he could still continue fighting instead of being dead tired.

"As for me…I do not think you will believe me. In her invite, she said the only reason she wanted me to intern with her was because my Shatterpoint Smash was like her Fist Bump to the Earth attack." Izuku explained, making others turn to them in recognition.

"NO WAY! You got Star and Stripe! That is so manly!" Eijirio shouted.

"Yeah, I am sure she can teach me a lot more stuff with her type of quirk." Izuku explained, excited at the prospect of learning from the American Hero.

"Sure, Izuku and it is not just because the two of you…next to Sir Nighteye anyway…are the biggest All Might fans on the planet." Naruto deadpanned, which got the class to roar with laughter. "What about you Tenya, who did you end up picking?"

"I only got one, actually." Tenya replied after a moment of contemplation. "If he had sent me one, Manuel: The Normal Hero would have been a good choice. I admit I am kind of bland and by the book, and so is he. However, I noticed he is well-liked and has a great street presence. As for the one to pick me, I am going with an old rival of my grandfather, Jetstream. I am sure there is a lot he could teach me in place of my grandfather who is no longer with us."

"Oh, no way!" Inasa cheered. "Looks like we get to be Intern Buddies. His wind quirk was something I wanted to study under. That man is a strong wind user!"

"Indeed and he has used it for his speed throughout the years. Despite this and the rivalry between him and my family, I heard he is retiring soon. Might as well learn from him while I can." Tenya reasoned.

Naruto just smiled. He sadly could not talk Tenya out of revenge, but he could make the teen learn while on the hunt.

XXX

Hero Killer Stain, formally a vigilante named Stendahl, was standing still in an alleyway in Hosu…unnerved. The reason was not entirely on the three people that had become his tagalongs. No, the reason was that a shadowy figure had started a horror-sounding whistle that froze his tagalongs in their tracks, similar to his own quirk revolving around blood. Called Bloodcurdle.

Stain did not dare move. The yellow eyes closed and then the man stepped into the moonlight with them, continuing his haunting whistle as he observed the three following him, rigid with fear. No, that was not quite right. They might have been paralyzed. He was about to ask who this man even was when the tune stopped and those yellow eyes locked onto him.

"Do you like it? I call the tune the Lullaby of Woe. Mental conditioning to fear this tune was needed a long time ago in my more…violent experiments. It is always so fascinating to see them lock up like this." The man stated with a dark chuckle. "You must be the Hero Killer. Big fan of your work. You may call me Orochimaru."

"What do you want with me, Orochimaru?" Stain asked, already highly on guard and high alert because of this name; it was infamous in the underground as the reason people go missing. It did not matter who either.

"That entirely depends on what my own boss would like with you. Our interests do align more often than not, but let it be known that my experiments have taken a liking to you. I am exceedingly interested on my own. Now, walk into the portal, my boss would like to have a word." Orochimaru stated and Stain felt compelled to walk forward into a green portal the snake man drew on a nearby wall. The killer knew that there was a quirk at work but he could not figure out what. Then the same happened to his tagalongs as the man ordered them into the portal as well.

Stain continued to feel unnerved.

XXX

"Everyone has their costumes, right?" Mr. Aizawa announced the crossing at the train station the next week. He was happy that his students had good picks, even if some of them were odd. Like Fumikage and Pony, along with Neji from class 1-B going to Hawks of all people but then again, Pony did mention she was trying to learn how to fly with her horns. She probably talked Fumikage into it as well. Then there was Izuku, he actually went with the American Hero Star and Stripe and he was at the airport and left earlier than everyone else. Aizawa envied the brat for the long flight time…time that could be used sleeping! The rest were decent and not all in the top ten. However, Toru went with Edgeshot. Shoto went with Endeavor. Naruto and Tsuyu were going with Mirko, who never sent in anything ever before. Denki and Eijiro went with Crust. Oh god that was all a mess waiting to happen. It was fine, his students would be fine. "Remember, you don't have permission to wear them out in public yet and don't lose them or anything."

"Gotcha!" Mina shouted in glee, holding hers above her head.

"Speak properly. It's, yes sir, Ashido."

"Yes, sir…" Mina replied in a deflated tone.

"Ashido…you chose Yoroi Musha. He is very old school, so you need to remember that." Mr. Aizawa explained that he hated that the fun-loving Mina was going to the grave Moroi Musha of all people. She would learn the hard way. "Make sure you mind your manners with the other heroes during your internships. Now get to it."

"Yes sir." The class sounded off as they left.

They would be alright, they had to be.

XXX

"This…cannot be her agency, ribbit." Tsuyu deadpanned as they entered a gym with a four-corner boxing ring in it.

"Oh, it is. I missed this. Aunt Rumi used to kick my ass all over the ring when we were creating my different fighting styles." Naruto reminisced as they watched a guy get thrown out of the ring rather ruthlessly. "Looks like she is in a good mood today."

"Hell yeah, I am!" Rumi bounced over to the corner of the ring to greet them. "Before you ask, froggy, I do not actually have an agency because I travel all over the country. I do not need one! In the gym, just call me Rumi-sensei but out in the streets call me Mirko. Understand?!"

"I got it. Ribbit." Tsuyu replied, only slightly annoyed at the froggy comment. "I am blunt and usually speak my mind. You are not known to take interns or sidekicks. Why now and us?"

"I like you already, asking the real questions," Rumi replied, dabbing her forehead with a towel to wipe the sweat off. "Naruto because as he mentioned, I trained him how to fight better as a favor to his mother, we are best friends after all. Now, I want to see how good he is and show him some of the hero side. As for you, I noticed you had some pretty powerful legs at the Sports Festival. I see potential I want to help that along. As a fellow animal mutant, I figured I would be the best to help you in that department. Sure, Gang Orca could as well, but he is about that upper body strength and I am the lower body, I am the best teacher for you to survive a fight. Let me guess, based on your hero title, you want to be a rescue hero and that is fine. You just need to be ready for a fight and a lot are not and die. It is why Rescue Heroes often rely too much on partnering with a Combat Hero. You need to rely on your own strength to defend the injured. That is how I see it anyway. A lot of people seem to misinterpret my views."

"That all makes sense, ribbit." Tsuyu replied graciously.

"Seeing as I do not have the luxury of beating you into the ground and then throwing you into either a vigilante scenario or underground fighting around this time, we are going to train all morning, and after lunches, we will patrol. I am here for Hero Killer Stain after all. But you will leave him to me." Rumi stated the game plan and had to hold back laughter at the slight look of fear Tsuyu had and then stared at Naruto in muted horror, who pointedly ignored her. Speaking of, "Hey, want to teach her your Frog Kata alongside my own fighting style?"

Now that piqued Tsuyu's interest. What was Frog Kata?

"Sure and whatever we don't cover here, I can teach her on our off time at school." Naruto replied helpfully.

Rumi gained a dangerously feral smile and said, "Then let's get started!"

XXX

"Dang kid, your English is pretty good!" Cathleen Bates aka Star and Stripe praised Izuku at her military base as she had him do physical training along with her and the rest of her crew. He was not half bad in that area either.

"Thank you!" Izuku shouted, doing push-ups. "I originally learned so I could understand the various interviews done with All Might here!"

"Ha ha! Good answer kid! I learned Japanese because that was where All Might was from, so I get it!" Cathy replied with a cheesy grin. "The reason I called you here is because of that awesome super move, Shatterpoint Smash! I did not know you kids were already making super moves, that is awesome. However, I want to help you improve it. When we are done, we are going to pack a lot of extra power in that move. Villains will truly fear the name, Shandian Wukong!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Izuku cheered. Meanwhile, Cathy's unit was giving them appraising and fearful looks. Fearful for the All Might obsession that they have to hear more about now and appraising Izuku's potential.

XXX

"I am highly underwhelmed." Neji ground out in the gym provided by the Hawks Agency. He had his hero suit on and it consisted of aviation gear. Archangel might be a hero's name, but he did not dress like one. A black bomber jacket over a silver jumpsuit was pretty simple but it worked for Neji. Not to mention aviation goggles.

"I concur. I thought we would be learning something from the number three hero, but he is overcome by the sin of sloth!" Fumikage complained.

"He will not even take us on patrol! What is this?!" Pony raged before pointing back toward Neji. "He is also really weird around you!"

"I noticed. He is a flier, a rival to my father's own agency, so maybe that is it." Neji deduced. "No matter, we came to get stronger and if he will not provide, then we must train each other. I will help you two fly like you have been trying and you both fight me. I need to be able to take on multiple opponents at once!"

"GOT IT!"

Hawks heard all of this from the hallway and smiled to himself. He was ordered to send them invites by the Commission to learn about the U.A. but Neji figured that out quickly, shutting down a lot of his advances. He was very perceptive and that made sense. Hawks was also surprised he got Pony to intern with him. He guessed that the need for flight was what drove her. He…was not a great teacher, he could admit that. He did not intend to after what the Commission put him through in fear, he would lay way too hard into these kids. Fumikage and Pony were good kids and may learn flight at the end of this. It was Neji that Hawks really wanted. He had burning questions for the young flier.

XXX

"What is this? A couple of little heroes wanna be? How cute…yet utterly ridiculous." A literal bleach-white woman stated. Her eyes were jet black, as was her dress, but on closer inspection, appeared to be made out of ever-shifting ink. On her back were two small white angel wings and a white halo above her head. Oddly enough, she also had two small white devil horns as well.

"Oh, do not mind her, Heart Beat, Shemage." Another voice came up from behind Kyoka and Kinoko. The person turned out to be Kazuho aka Pop Step with a slightly less skimpy outfit than she wore in her teens. It was still imp based though. Kyoka tried really hard not to stare as she had Naruto and Momo. "Mistress Inque is just bitter she is not doing this entire show herself."

"Damn right, I do not need former commercial store jinglers and hero interns mucking up the place!" Inque growled before stomping off.

Kazuho waited until the bitter woman was gone before saying, "It really has been a while, Kyoka. How are you, Naruto, and the others doing?"

"Doing great, Momo and I might actually have a chance with Naruto, so there is that." Kyoka admitted with a blush.

"Oh? Three way polycule? Neat. I will stick with just my Koichi." Kazuho giggled.

"Fair enough, you two were cool together and played off each other well. I am surprised he isn't here."

"Oh, trust me, both he and Captain Celebrity would have loved to be here but there was an emergency that needed them both," Kazuho explained. "They both wanted to train Tensei's brother and reconnect with Naruto."

"I can see that. But hearing you are also a hero now was new."

"Yeah, I had to keep up with Koichi somehow, and what better way than to continue being his support in the field in America? We make a great team still and the band sure makes great extra money," Kazuho replied before looking over the punk rock girl and shy idol wannabe. "Now, in addition to learning the music side, I want to teach you two a few of my moves to stay mobile in the field. They will translate well with your sound wave quirk and given what I researched of mushrooms, that will translate as well. Are you two ready?"

"Yes!"

"You know it!"

XXX

"It would seem I have my hands full with you two." Jetstream, a man in his late fifties stated at the two interns he got. The old man had a stylish twisty beard, a long nose, and a bald head. His hero costume looked like a mix between the Iida family's metal armor and a hawk. In his younger years, he had less bulky armor, but past injuries and old age had caught up with him, requiring him to have better protection. He was retiring at the end of the year, figuring his son, Native, could handle things in his stead.

They were currently at Jetstream's personal gym in his agency...which was mostly just a track and obstacle course. Here he observed the two interns he requested. Indeed, Tenya was rigid like his grandfather was and Inasa had so much destructive energy that he sadly hurt himself in his excitement.

"Forgive us sir, we just want to learn from the best speedster in Hosu!" Tenya replied.

"What a crock of shit!" Jetstream laughed, shocking both boys. "The best speedster in Hosu is your brother, Ingenium. Sorry about what happened to him, it is part of the reason I am retiring! The boy is something else. I suppose he is going be in a wheelchair from on, I can see him turning that into a car so he could use his arms as a turbo function."

"I…we never thought of that," Tenya replied after a moment, a look of contemplation on his face. He would have to pitch the idea to Tensei once Naruto healed him. Tensei could probably take it a step further somehow but he was currently drawing a blank.

"And you, Yoarashi…I actually learned from your grandfather when he was still around. I would be happy to impart the knowledge he gave me onto you since he could not." Jetstream stated as he fell into memory lane.

"I…" Inasa responded in a rare moment of quiet for him as tears fell down his face. "I would like nothing more, sir!"

"Then let's get started." Jet stated before he stopped at looked at the two seriously. "I want you to know that the Hero Killer of off limits to you. Let us Pro Heros deal with the mess we have created by letting something like that fester into existence."

XXX

Katsuki Bakugo found the place he was interning at and he could not be more annoyed and dumbfounded. The reason for this was that it was not a hero agency at all that he even knew of. It was a freaking museum! And it was in Hiroshima of all places! What the shit was that about?!

But…this was his lot after his loss to Naruto. He had to figure something out and he did not know what yet. Maybe who ever ran this hole full of fossils and artsy shit that his parents would love would help him figure out where to go next in life. He really hurt everyone with his mentality…even himself and he finally recognized that...after a trip to Hound Dog.

Walking inside, he expected to see a bunch of boring paintings and maybe a statue or two. Nope, it was mostly ALL white statues of various animals and only a few paintings here and there. Hell, only a few of the statues were even painted.

"You have got to be shitting me." Katsuki deadpanned and he reached out to touch one.

"I would not touch that with your nitroglycerin-covered hands if I were you, boy. It will set it off and start a chain reaction bringing down the whole building." A man stated with a knowing smirk while dressed in a well-tailored black suit and red tie that had a strange darker red pin on it in the shape of a cloud. The man had slanted blue eyes but one was always covered by his long blond hair which was drawn into a half ponytail with the rest hanging freely over said eye. "Do not get me wrong, it would be a brilliant explosion. After all, true art is an explosion! YEAH!"

OH GOD DAMNIT! Another fruity tutee artsy type that reminded Bakugo too much of his parents' work friends. Wait…true art being an explosion? HUH?! "How are you going to help me grow as a hero?" Katsuki asked gruffly.

"First off, what do you call yourself, hero? And it better not be something stupid like Lord Explosion. There can only be one of those and all of us with Explosion Quirks would kill each other for the right!" The man stated, a bit of an unhinged look in his eyes.

Is that how I look to everyone? The fuck?! Bakugo cleared his throat to get his emotions back in order and said, "I am Katsuki Bakugo and I go by Beelzeboom."

"What? No flashy title to sell yourself, we will have to fix that later. I am known as the Mad Bomber Hero: Earthshatter, but you can call me Deidara. I am the curator of this fine establishment and before you ask, yes I have other people's work here too, but prefer to excite the masses with my own work first. Give them all a sense of impending doom for their lives and the art. Makes your blood pump with excitement!" Deidara's own blood was pumping and his friendly nature as a museum curator was replaced with manic glee.

"Why have I never heard of you?" Katsuki asked with genuine confusion.

And suddenly that manic glee was gone. Deidara calmed down and smiled sadly at Katsuki. "Walk with me," Deidara stated as he gave Bakugo a small tour of his work and even the teen could see it was depicting a story of some sort. "You see Beelzeboom, we are alike in that we share the plait of all explosion quirk users. Our explosive personalities set the public on edge and we tend to scare the masses with explosions…you know, the thing people run away from. Most cannot take the pressure and become villains. Some will go so far as to say all explosion quirks are villainous quirks and that is wrong. I personally went into heroics, just like you, and like you, I had the same personality that drove people away and for that, I have never been that high in the hero rankings. There was a time when I felt like giving in, but I had a mentor who understood me. Sasori-sensei had some weird puppet quirk that turned him into a transforming puppet, but he still understood me. He helped me understand my quirk and how to not let the world dictate me. We both knew I was never getting to be that popular and he helped me find my passion! Like most heroes, they have a side gig to help pay bills. Mine was art. So was Sasori-sensei's though he believed true art was supposed to last forever. I believe true art is a fleeting moment, a brilliant flash of light. It's there one moment and gone the next!"

"And what happened to this Sasori or whatever?"

"Oh, he's dead," Deidara replied quickly, causing Katsuki to trip. "The only thing real about him had been his heart and he was old. It gave out on him. That means my ideologies WIN! TAKE THAT YOU OLD ART FRAUD!" Katsuki was unnerved by this guy and was questioning if he should stay or not. That is until he saw Deidara wipe away tears from his eyes. Ok, so he was passionate. "As for what you will be doing here, I will have you help out in the museum from time to time and I hope it will help you see that you need a passion of your own while dealing with the slower side of life. Then, we will go out on patrol and I will show you how the world really views those of us with explosion quirks. I heard you want to be the number one hero…well, I will show you how high of a climb you will have."

"I…see." Bakugo stated, unnerved for another reason. The hollow look in Deidara's eyes. He barely noticed that they had made it back to the front desk where another man was working as a secretary. This man was as tall as Deidara with long black hair, black eyes, and strangely deep eye lines. He too wore a well-tailored suit with the same red cloud pin.

"In case you were wondering about the name of this place, it is called the Advent of the Red Dawn and this is my secretary, Itachi," Deidara explained and Katsuki noticed a sudden look of utter rage pass across Itachi's face when he saw Deidara but that went away quickly to a look of pure exhaustion. "Bakugo, another aspect of life for us is that we can ruin lives with our quirks. I did so for Itachi and I am trying to make up for that. In time, you will know our story as well. Now head upstairs, there is a room for your lodgings up there."

That bit hit hard as well. He felt he already ruined Midoriya's early life, but what could Deidara have done? As he was thinking that, another thought crossed his mind as he set his stuff up in his temporary lodgings. Something he had said to his old classmates at Aldera.

"Oh god…I am working for a busted D-Lister. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"

XXX

Whatever had been holding Stain lifted as he exited the portal alongside his tagalongs and Orochimaru. He dared not attack the white snake-looking man because he felt fear for the first time in a long time. Standing before them were two men. Some fat scientist looked delighted that Orochimaru was back and a well-dressed man in a black suit connected to a breathing machine…and no face. What the fuck was this and why did he feel fear for this man? It was not natural fear, Stain was the one to create it enough to know this. The man must have a fear-related quirk that kept him from acting out.

The portly doctor shifted and then was when Stain noticed the vats full of horrifying creatures and one with a white-haired man floating inside. Eerie. And were they in a freaking warehouse? How did he stumble upon some criminal masterminds? Oh…right. He killed heroes for a living. That was bound to catch attention.

"Ah, Stain the Hero Killer. I must say, I am a big fan of your work." The faceless man stated jubilantly "I see you have already met my associate, Orochimaru. Next to me is his brother, Kyudai. As for me, I am known as All for One."

Oh. Oh fuck. So, the rumors of him still existing were true.

"There is that spike in heart rate I love so much. The touch of genuine fear claws its way into your psyche. I love it…but that is not why you are here." All for One stated before gesturing to the man in the vat. "Normally, I would have him do it, but I am preparing him for his future. My successor, Tomura Shigaraki, will need allies once he awakes, I want you to be by his side."

Stain wanted to groan in annoyance. That was the reason he was taken from his mission. "What are his convictions? What are his passions? What is the end goal he wishes to accomplish?"

All for One continued to smile that strange creepy toothed smile. "Why, destruction of course. He wants to tear down society and make it in his image. Or rather…mine. All Might will die and so will his successor. Let fear run the streets once more as the common folk lose what hope they have left."

"So, he is just a puppet then to your whims."

"To a certain point of view." All for One chuckled, liking how the Hero Killer figured it out. Tomura was indeed a puppet, a meat puppet as his future body! "My Tomura will not be ready just yet, so you have time to decide. In the meantime, I would like for you to continue your work and if you come across this boy, Naruto Uzumaki. I want you to kill him. I know for a fact All Might chose him as a successor." Behind him, a TV screen came to life and it showed Naruto fighting Izuku in the Sports Festival.

Stain grew irritated upon seeing the blond. A showboating hero brat…one he knew needed to be culled before he grew too powerful. What did All Might see in someone like that to succeed him? All Might was a GOD. This brat just wanted attention. He was NOT worthy of the title hero! "It was my plan to slaughter this fake hero the first chance I saw him. It will be done."

"I knew we were on the same page." All for One purred. "And do take Orochimaru's experiments with you. They need to learn from the best, after all. Orochimaru…remind me who these people were again."

"Of course." Orochimaru chuckled. "This first one is the girl, Karin. She was already pretty smart, but I upped her intelligence and made her quirk more powerful. Golden Chains that pierce into the world to restrain her victims. She also has a liking for firearms. Karin is the perfect person to help you restrain those you wish to cull. The next is Suigetsu. Originally his quirk let him merge with water, so I expanded on that and let him turn into water. The more water he absorbs, the more powerful he becomes. However, he is a bit of an otaku and has taken a liking to buster swords. You would do well to teach him better."

Stain observed two of his frozen tagalongs with more scrutiny now. Maybe they were not so useless after all. The red-haired girl, Karin, maybe a bit loud, but that was easily remedied despite her seemingly split personality. That much he chose to know about her. The mentally sick can recognize each other after all. The boy, a white hair prick named Suigetsu was an interesting case. He had observed the boy's use of his powers by enlarging an arm to even hold a thick buster blade. He would have to experiment later and find out if he was a useful powerhouse.

"As for the last one, he is one of my successful high-end Nomu that I did not have to expose his brain for," Orochimaru explained as he revealed in his own genius. "Jugo is a powerful young man in his own right but his quirk turns him into a monster. It absorbs the natural energy of the world itself and transforms his body. I chose not to fix the issue of it turning him into a berserker though. It was so fun watching him slaughter his cellmates. Even his best friend who was already dying from his own quirk. So, I let them be together…by giving him the quirk known as Dead Bone Pulse. He can use his own skeleton as a weapon!"

Ok, scratch that earlier mental thought. They were all mentally ill here. The tall orange-haired boy probably being the most messed up. They were worthy followers.

"I accept and will put their skills to good use." Stain replied after a moment of thinking it over. In for a penny.

"Excellent." All for One replied next to Stain, making the man jump in place as he had no idea the injured Demon Lord had even moved. "I have one more gift for you to make sure the job gets done." All for One put a hand to Stain's face and gave him the gift of another quirk. "Given the bloodlust I have seen from your hunts, Bloodrage will surely help you. Now, my associate will guide you back to Hosu."

Kyudai watched as his brother took their guests away. "Bloodrage plus Bloodcurdle is a terrifying combination, master. Was that all you gave him?"

"Of course not. There was a reason I had you give me a copy of Eldritch Horrors. I wish to test how he will use it if I ever feel like using it myself. Better to have a scapegoat for the League of Villains." All for One replied with a devilish smile.

XXXX

Hope you all enjoyed that.

Review please when you see this.