My Hero Academia: The Children of Hope

Summary: In a time of deeply sanctioned heroics, there's nobody better to take up the mantle of 'HEROES' than the next generation. But whilst rejuvenation efforts struggle to preserve the public's trust in a new and improved public safety force, so-called, "Police-Heroes", a new threat looms over Tokyo's underbelly. From seemingly abandoned buildings, a multitude of voices speak out against the impure, echoing out into the streets and alleyways. With malicious methods to their madness, their reach may just extend farther than what anybody thought possible.


The Prologue
Act I
[Arc 1.1 - Path of Passion]

"The Beginning of Something"

Bakugou Residence
6:02 A.M.

Oftentimes, painfully sleepless nights blended seamlessly into equally exhausting mornings. The ethereal illumination of the rising sun, which usually bled out into the city's numerous suburban neighborhoods and gigantic infrastructures had been absent that morning too as the vast expanse of monotonous gray skies remained to block out any trace of sunlight. Such an unpleasant weather phenomenon led to many rainy days and stormy nights to the extent that most educational facilities had to cancel their classes for the remainder of the week due to fear of any accidents occurring just for the sake of keeping class attendance.

Prompted by a constant and increasingly obnoxious ringtone that somehow grew louder with each second passing, a slender hand slipped out from within two to three layers of comforter blankets, reaching towards a device placed on a small bedside desk. Long blush pink nails tapped against the edge of the table, missing the pink kawaii decorated iPhone completely a few times until a messy head of ash-blonde hair finally popped out of the cocoon of blankets and manually terminated the alarm with a deadly glare set on her face. What greeted her that morning was a memorable photo she had taken a year ago, having unplugged the device as she fell back onto the pillowy bed and sheets. She couldn't help but stare at it, her fingers landing on her lips, almost biting her nail and stopping before any damage was done. She pulled her hand away to examine the cute bunnies and sakura flowers she could see popping out of her nail art with a shaky sigh, "Time to get up…"

Out of nowhere, a familiar agitated voice could be heard from outside her room but far enough that the girl knew it was coming from somewhere down below - in the main floor - as her room was located on the second floor of her family home. She could barely hear the actual words being said, but given the tone it was delivered in meant that her father wasn't pleased with something. That, or he grew tired of her annoying alarm clock waking up the house that early in the morning. When her blood-red eyes flickered back to the phone screen, which displayed seven minutes past six, she could understand that she might be setting it up a little too early when classes were still canceled as far as she knew.

She simply pulled herself up from her bed, placing the phone on the back-pocket of her joggers as she slowly opened her door and quietly descended down the flight of stairs. What immediately surprised her was her twin brother's presence, speaking in hushed tones with both of their parents but refraining immediately when he saw her coming down the steps.

Strange…

She greeted all of them the best she could, making sure not to comment on the oddity of the situation before her. While she instinctively went straight to preparing breakfast that morning, she could hear a certain sound - wheels turning a corner - to see her mother aligning her wheelchair near the stove where she was standing. One earphone jack pulled on the cabinets as her mother opened it to pull out a non-stick pan. She maneuvered around the wheelchair to grab some breakfast items from the fridge while eyeing her older brother and father moving away from the kitchen to have a moment to themselves outside and catching sight of the rain drizzling peacefully outside. She was a bit distracted, quickly feeling her mother's earphone jack on her shoulder to catch her attention.

"Honey, the eggs, carrots, spinach, and green onion, please. Miso paste, soft tofu, natto, and mackerel too."

The girl promptly placed her long ash-blonde hair into a high ponytail before quietly gathering all the ingredients for that day's hearty breakfast meal. From what she could tell, breakfast would consist of gohan, miso soup, pan-fried mackerel, tamagoyaki, spinach salad with sesame dressing, tsukemono, and lastly, natto, which she often had trouble eating even as a child.

Making breakfast was something her brother was amazing at, helping their wheelchair-bound mother with most house chores, as opposed to her decided duty, which was attending school regularly and doing excellently in her academic pursuits. Although, for some reason, her brother had trouble maintaining his school life and eventually dropped out. From what she could remember, their father wasn't too keen on it, but as time went by, her brother being the caretaker often gave their father some peace of mind when he became too busy with police work.

After some years, her brother cemented himself as an authority figure within the family in his own right, which often left her feeling as though she was immature and unable to handle the difficult situations she found herself in. As a result, it left her feeling like she was the odd one out at some points. Their family situation was a unique one, but it wasn't something she was ashamed of. She could understand that her being allowed to do whatever she wanted came with major restrictions and the like. Still, it felt like she wouldn't be able to make important decisions on her own because no one would think she was capable of it, especially after what happened last year…

Despite her lingering insecurities, she had done her part to right her wrongs as best she could. Yet, it felt as if her future decisions would suffer immensely as a result of her past mistakes. Even now, as she assisted her mother in creating these delicious dishes, she felt stuck. She wondered how they'd react to-

"Konoha?"

"Sorry, Mom…" Konoha muttered quietly. She almost spilled the small bowls of miso soup, so she carefully placed them on the table before walking back to where her mother was. After receiving the rest of the side dishes, she placed a pair of utensils near each bowl of steaming rice. It was good that her mother's voice brought her out of her own mind, effectively stopping her mind from spiraling all on its own.

It wasn't long after that her brother and father re-entered the house, and they all ate together in silence.

After the family breakfast had finished, Konoha watched as her father expeditiously left for the first case he'd received that morning, leaving her alone with her brother while their mother went back to rest in her room as per the doctor's orders. Now that Konoha could peacefully return to her thoughts, her twin brother tapped her on her shoulder with one of his earphone jacks while the other was jacked into his phone, "Konoha."

This gesture made the girl turn around to face her brother as she immediately put a wall up in case he ended up starting the conversation on a sour note. While it took forever for him to start, he wasn't the type to beat around the bush. Although, he looked like he was struggling to bring it up anyway.

"Dad was wondering if you were thinking about which high school to apply for."

"Yeah." The wall Konoha perfectly put up made her reactions muted and unsuspicious, nodding as she avoided his gaze and picked up the last of the used utensils to wash in the sink. That was until he managed to dance around her defenses, mentioning a name that she had done her best to hide until the moment came to tell her parents. She planned to only mention it when she was already accepted, but she was definitely kidding herself when she thought she could hide anything from that twin telepathy of theirs.

"You're considering only one high school in particular, right? And that highschool is Shi-"

"SO WHAT, HUH?!"

There it was…

"JUST KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF MY BUSINESS, KEIGO!" She couldn't help it. This was exactly the kind of immature and no-filter response Konoha didn't like defaulting to, yet here she was, proving herself right in the most egregious way possible.

She didn't want to meet his gaze, roughly throwing the utensils on the sink. When she felt his hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her down, she wriggled out of his attempt, pushing him back and walking away with her teeth set in a hard grit, "Leave me alone! That's what YOU were telling our parents about this morning, WEREN'T YOU?!"

Keigo's silence was enough confirmation, which only gave her one choice, and it was somewhat of a drastic measure - one she'd already done quite a few times before. She walked up the stairs, disappearing into her room. In a matter of a few minutes, she had on a large tote bag with some of her clothes almost spilling out. The way she glared at her twin brother was reminiscent of their father's signature death stare. Finally, she quickly beelined for the entrance, slamming the door loudly behind her…

Funny enough, her brother remained stuck to where she left him. That's right, her brother would be the last person to stop her when it comes to arguments like these…


"NAGASE! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

After letting out most of her restrained anger in that obnoxious screaming fit, Konoha couldn't help but lean against the doorframe, ignoring that it soaked her clothes a bit.

She had already arrived at her intended destination at around thirty minutes past ten, adjusting her beanie as she pulled the sleeves of her zip-up hoodie and adjusted the umbrella set against her shoulder. She hadn't had time to change her shirt or joggers when she was stuffing her clothes in the bag currently falling off her shoulder.

Now that she thought about it, the rain wasn't that bad today. She looked around, preparing to knock the door off its hinges as she pulled the bag up her arm when it finally opened to reveal a pink-skinned boy who was around her age, with freckles on his cheeks, signature blank sclera, and small crooked horns sticking up against that mess of light pastel pink hair. He took one good look at her with those golden eyes and let her in without much convincing.

She was frowning, slowly entering the boy's home as she closed her umbrella and took off her slippers. She scoffed, muttering angrily, "Tsk. Keigo found out… Bitchin' to OUR PARENTS about it when it's NONE of his business! I should be the one saying anything at all!"

"Did you mention it at any point? Like at all?" The boy asked her as he rubbed a slightly damp towel he had on his shoulder on his still wet hair, following her into the living room as she placed her tote on the table and plopped onto the couch.

"I don't fucking know! No one else was supposed to know!"

Konoha exploded, grabbing at her messy ash-blonde locks.

"Hey, it'll be alright." In Nagase's perspective, he didn't quite know if she was crying or fuming in anger, but he had to do something.

He sat down beside her quietly, rubbing her back as he gave her bag a glance over with an increasingly worried look, "My dad should be able to talk to your dad… Maybe that would help?"

The girl stayed rather silent, hiding her face with her arms around her knees. Still, he could feel her shaking, getting up and returning with a few towels and a letter he had received just a few days ago.

"Here, my acceptance letter. I'm sure you got in… so where's yours?"

That alone made Konoha look up, teary eyed although it seemed to Nagase that she was doing her best to keep them from rolling down her face. She immediately fished out a small package, pushing it towards the boy as she carefully grabbed his letter of acceptance. When she read the contents of the note, her eyes slightly shone with excitement and some little instance of hope. She sniffed, "You really got in, huh? That's amazing."

Konoha held onto the towels he offered, bringing her tote bag with her and excusing herself for a quick bath. When she returned, she sat back on the couch and withdrew a brush she haphazardly shoved inside her bag moments earlier. As she brushed her wet hair, one of her earphone jacks placed a few stray locks of hair behind her ear.

On the other hand, Nagase was busy preparing afternoon tea and snacks. While she waited for him to return, she finally got to reading the boy's acceptance letter out loud after making herself comfortable on the couch.

"Congratulations, Midoriya Nagase… We are delighted to welcome you as a member of the incoming freshman class at Shiketsu High. Your excellent records helped in qualifying you in this extremely competitive selection process, and you can be justifiably proud to be included as a student of the Heroics Course, an exciting cohort of very talented, disciplined young students like yourself…"

Konoha beamed at Nagase as he laid the tea and snack tray on the table in front of her, happy at the prospect that he had gotten in. Even though he had told her about the reduced percentage of students actually applying for the Heroics Course, which initially gave both of them some peace of mind, there were still a considerable number of participants present when they took the written and practical examinations on one of three of Shiketsu's Examination Days. He sat down beside her, lost in thought, but just as happy as he smiled.

Nagase reached for her PAR packet, called the Performance Assessment Review, according to Shiketsu's PR, carefully opening the package. He was a bit confused as to why she hadn't bothered to read it yet despite receiving it the same day he got his. He figured that it had a lot to do with her family situation, so he didn't question her on it even though he knew how much the letter meant to her.

When he pulled the envelope out, a few trinkets also spilled out: a keychain with Shiketsu's insignia, a sticker with Shiketsu's school slogan - 'Take Ultimate Pride in Your Success', and a small recording in the shape of a small box with Shiketsu's insignia printed on the side.

The girl grabbed a few locks of her hair nervously, shaking her head, "Please read it for me!"

Nagase nervously cleared his throat, pulling the letter off its now slightly wrinkled envelope. He looked at the girl with pursed lips, scratching his damp locks, "… Bakugou Konoha… we are…" He paused, narrowing his black and gold eyes.

"We are… Are you sure you want ME to read YOUR letter out loud?"

The girl nodded, clearly anxious as her red gaze locked in on his lips, waiting for the next few syllables to come out of his mouth. The stare itself made Nagase choke on his own saliva just a bit before clearing his throat one more time, "S-Sorry…"

"Okay. You're…" Nagase had his thumb pretty much covering the next few words. He figured that it didn't do anyone good by prolonging the anxiety regarding what the final decision was, so he pulled his thumb away to view the results and abruptly stood up.

The pink-skinned boy looked at Konoha with wide eyes as he walked backwards and a few feet away from her. The girl was utterly confused, facing him and watching him intently with an increasingly distraught frown. Why wasn't he saying anything?

Nagase slowly held his arms up with both arms curved over his head with his hands joined to form a circular shape.

"…"

Konoha slowly stood up, walking towards Nagase and covering her mouth as she cried tears of joy. She grabbed the letter from him and read it quietly, smiling as she wiped the last of her tears, chanting proudly.

"I did it! I DID IT, Nagase! WE MADE IT!"

Soon enough, the duo celebrated this triumph by taking a chance to go out and eat at a fancy-ish restaurant in spite of the heavy rain.

Nagase soon called his mother, Midoriya Mina, to let her know that Konoha crashed over at their place and that both of them were going out to eat at WCDonald's or WOS Burger or something similar. The woman agreed but gave them a firm warning to be careful, which the two teens heeded seriously just as they left the Midoriya residence.

The rain didn't pick up, thankfully.

Not being the type to waste their time, the duo quickly decided on a fast food establishment, entering a WCDonald's and picking a place to sit near the windows. They got an order of the Samurai Wac with extra sauce and onion slivers, Wild Beef Burger Onion Rings and Cheese, and a large basket of WCFries, which they both agreed to share with each other - with the exception of their respective soft drinks.

Konoha cheered as the order was placed on their table, watching Nagase open extra condiments and split the burgers equally between the two of them. She picked up a fry and shoved it into her mouth, giddy at the thought of stuffing her face with the food in front of her. She laughed as she watched the pink-skinned freckled boy struggle with the task at hand. When the burgers were finished being cut up, they began to eat their share and talk about their opinions on how the written and practical exams were set up for Shiketsu High that year.

The girl placed her chin on her palm, staring at Nagase as he nibbled on a fry, "Well, the written exam wasn't that bad. I was more focused on making sure I was prepped for the practicals… I didn't mind the way they structur-"

"Hey, Konoha… Isn't that your dad?"

Nagase's finger pointed at the television overhead, making Konoha turn towards the direction he was pointing to. Like a switch turned on, she was completely glued to the report, eyes intently focused on the news bulletin scrolling past the screen. She could hear it clearly, something about serial killings in central to northern Tokyo… that there wasn't much progress regarding the motive nor the identity of the perpetrator(s) involved in the killings. Her father's gruff, intense voice sounded strained somehow.

"Regardless of the lack of information we've been able to gather, we will not stop until this murderer is found and detained. And if they are watching this report, it won't be long till we find them. Watch out. We're COMING for you."

"Thank you, Detective Bakugou. Back to you, Minamoto."

She turned back around silently to eat what remained of her burger. Suddenly, she could hear the rest of the world again, even Nagase asking if she was doing alright. She answered quickly enough - hopefully not too quick to raise any suspicion on her actual state of mind, smiling at the boy across from her. He smiled back, sipping his Kola pop before leaning back and scratching the bridge of his nose with his finger.

"… Let's get back home as soon as possible. You good with that, Konoha?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm good with that."

Nagase stood up, letting her know that he'd be going to the restroom.

After he'd disappeared from her sight, Konoha simply ate the rest of her burger and most of the fries, staring at the near empty condiment containers with wide glassy eyes.

"Could it be… the same person?"


There was a heavy cloud of smoke lingering in the expanse of the police station's monotonous ceramic-colored corridors, making a certain ash-blonde, spiky-haired man grumble and fan away the aggravating scent towards the windows he had just slammed open.

"Fucking cancer stick addicts! Even if Quirks don't end up killing them in their line of duty, they'd still croak 'cause of damn habits like these!"

He turned around just as a few new recruits sped past him and down the stairs with unlit cigarettes on hand.

Bakugou Katsuki looked at the slightly crumpled folder he had in his hand. Maybe he shouldn't have used it to fan away the smoke when the smell of it was probably caked into the walls with how much police officers smoked on the daily. In the corner of his vision, a tall, sturdy built man with imposing horns and a long spindly tail wearing a navy blue suit handed the former another folder - only slightly thicker. "The Chief's asking for you, Bakugou."

"Tsk! Sure, Konou. On my way!"

Katsuki gruffly responded as he started heading towards the Chief of Police's office, two folders in hand and a rather livid expression on his face. Behind the spiky haired man was the aforementioned Konou Daiichi, chastising his juniors for smoking in the corridors again since Bakugou couldn't give it to them straight. Those silver slitted eyes remained trained on the irate man, only looking away as soon as Detective Bakugou disappeared inside the office's double doors, "No IFS or BUTS, it's a bad habit. If you can't help yourselves, smoke on the roof. That's it. Maybe Bakugou should be telling you this…"

"N-NO, Kouno! We swear to everything that is holy, PLEASE DON'T BRING IT UP WITH BAKUGOU!"

Upon entering the bright room, Katsuki was met with a freckled man, sporting a short mop of fluffy dark-green hair, bright green eyes, and a multitude of scars etched on his hands and face. With a calm smile and a forward lean on his well organized desk, Midoriya Izuku called out to his close friend.

"Hey, Kacchan."

Izuku hadn't changed much, although he might have become much more no-nonsense and subdued after losing One For All as a result of his last stand against his infamous battle with Tomura Shigaraki and All For One. Returning to being Quirkless had an irreversible impact on his future as a Pro-Hero, but Izuku had never once regretted his decision to give up the very Quirk that made him one of the best Heroes of his time. Due to the many sacrifices he'd made for the sake of public safety in his short career as the Pro-Hero, DEKU, the Japanese Government's Ministry of Defense was quick to offer him an astute position on any government branch he showed interest in.

Come a few years later when subtle changes were being implemented on many hero-centric organizations, such as the Hero Public Safety Commission, World Heroes Association, and National Quirk Safety Administration, Izuku had been made aware of significant movements regarding the political and social acceptance of certain rights and privileges privy to the Hero Industry. Unfortunately, in spite of his lack of support on most of its questionable alterations, he was by no means able to push back against an ongoing reconstruction meant to force what remained of the industry through some very tight legal hoops in order to regain the public's trust on the concept of 'Appropriate Quirk Use' and 'Quirk Safety' alone.

A personalized wooden name plate displayed, 'Midoriya Izuku, Chief of Police; West District, Tokyo,' in golden characters. A scarred hand soon gestured Detective Bakugou to a seat, which the latter accepted promptly.

Katsuki opened the second folder as the freckled man pushed his chair back gently, standing up and walking over to the wall where a photograph of him and his peers raised their fists in victory during the aftermath of Shigaraki's defeat. He mouthed 'Plus Ultra' quietly as he caressed its frame, an endearing smile on his face. He blinked a few times, shaking his head and turning to face a bewildered Katsuki.

"I was wondering if you were interested…"

The ash-blonde spiky-haired man narrowed his eyes, soon meeting eyes with Izuku's, noting the severe look in his eyes. There wasn't much said after this revelation, prompting the former to stand up with the attempt to leave the office. Not long after, he paused, eerily silent - a shaky hand over the door knob.

"Give me some time to think about it."

Izuku glanced to the side, approaching his desk and tapping his fingers on the contents of that second folder.

"It doesn't take time to think right. It only takes the willingness to do so."

End of Prologue


Note to Readers:

Thanks for reading the story! Had quite a lot of fun writing this mess, but hopefully, I get to write more of it.

While I may have stated that this is a sort of next-gen story, the kids DON'T have to be canon characters' children. That could be very limiting, so I did away with that! I just like BakugouXJirou, so I made the ship happen!

Also, there are only 8 spots available!

The deadline for the forms will be due in a month, so good luck to you, folks!


My Hero Academia: The Children of Hope

Applicant Form

Basic Information -

Name: (last name, first name)

Gender: (female or male)

Sexuality: (whatever you prefer, really)

Age: (15-16)

Birthday: (month, day)

Nationality/Ethnicity: (your preference, but just remember that most of the students will be Japanese)

Appearance: (just be descriptive enough; start from the face and then include any Quirk-based appearance too)

Clothes: (try to give me at least two sets of casual clothing or describe a fashion style they'd have for easy reference)

Speech Pattern: (how your character talks and if they have any voice tics/accents)


Psychological Profile -

Personality: (second MOST important part of this form, so please make this as descriptive as possible; WILL NOT accept anything that is under 4 paragraphs, and DON'T MAKE A MARY/GARY SUE, PLEASE!)

Motivation: (everyone has their own personalized reason for wanting to be a hero, but understand that the world stopped holding heroes in such high regards as much as it used to in the past)

Likes: (things your character likes? LIST a few)

Dislikes: (things your character dislikes? LIST a few)

Fears: (do they have a fear that relates to their backstory? or is it just something common like arachnophobia or the like?)

Backstory: (first MOST important part of this form; this needs to include reasons as to how the OC acts the way they do around others - a tip is to think about the situation that builds a specific facet of the OC's personality; this is also a sort of next-gen story, so don't work up too wild of a plot as a backstory, MAKE IT MAKE SENSE, and really, sometimes, a normal but interesting backstory is better than an edgy, super contrived backstory where the plots don't have a way of mashing into the actual story I've got planned…)

Relationships: (name and short description on what their relationship to your character is; e.g. parental figures, siblings, friends, acquaintances, and maybe even a crush!)


Police-Hero License Information -

Police-Hero Name: (self explanatory)

Police-Hero Costume: (know that your costume would have some Shiketsu influence in it)

Additional Support Device(s): (not necessary, but if your OC needs it; complexity of the device would require a much-needed explanation.)

Quirk ID: (the name of your OC's Quirk)

Q-Class: (emitter, transformation or mutant type Quirk?)

Q-Description: (PLEASE describe how the Quirk works, and what it does to the user/targets)

Q-Strengths: (at least 3)

Q-Weaknesses: (at least 3)

Fighting Style: (provide a basic outline of how they fight)

Special Moves: (give at least 3-5 big super/special moves and a description of which Act they might come to create it or when they master it; some of this information could be changed for the sake of common sense/semi-realism

ex.

Chernobyl Cherry Bomb -

+Discovered/Created in Act 1, near the end maybe?
+Mastered in Act 2, maybe in a 1-1 villain fight?
+Description of the Special Move…


Overall Attributes Statistics -

Stats: (PLEASE allocate the following statistics on a scale from 1 to 7, with 1 being the worst and 7 being the best; be honest though, no one should get a 6-7 in almost every attribute… to combat this problem, focus on 1-5 scaling and only use 6-7 if you can justify it… NO ONE STARTS OFF THAT GOOD… because if you're already good, then why the hell are you here to learn?)

Strength: (A straightforward measure of your character's physical stopping power. How hard can they punch? How much weight can they lift? Assume no Quirk usage is involved in this measurement unless it is a Mutant Quirk.)

Endurance: (A straightforward measure of your character's physical endurance. How much punishment can they take before giving in? How long can they keep up a physical activity like running or fighting?)

Quirk: (How powerful is your character's Quirk in an objective sense? Or how good are they at using it? A weak Quirk used exceptionally well is just as worthy of an A as a powerful Quirk used moderately well.)

Intelligence: (A measure of how smart your character is. How good are they at academics or formulating battle strategies? Can they make deductions about their opponents in just the nick of time? Are they a top scorer in class?)

Technique: (What is your character's level of technical proficiency with their abilities? Are they a martial arts master? Have they spent years of their life studying and applying their Quirk to the limit? Or are they a flailing drunken idiot?)

Teamwork: (How well can your character operate in a unit with other people? Do they take orders well? Can they lead a team to victory? Do they know how best to synergize their abilities with others? Are they a gruff, antisocial lone wolf?)


Extra Information -

Quotes: (provide examples of how your character speaks, some things that they might say, and common turns of phrase that they would use)

Music Themes: (give me a feel of the character's theme song… like what do you imagine playing when they first get introduced in the story or go through their biggest moment)

Additional: (information you want me to know about your OC that wasn't covered in the above criteria?)

(Optional) Romance: (if you leave this blank, no romantic relationships/moments will occur per your discretion; if you're interested, describe what kind of person they'd be attracted to)

Plot Points: (setting backstory and personality aside, as long as this isn't too overbearing or out-there, you can add ideas as minor as them cooking their favorite food because they feel homesick, to them sneaking around and about somewhere they're not supposed to be)

Death Clause: (your choice whether your OC would die or not, but I usually don't plan on taking drastic measures)