Hey Everyone! Soooooooo, the final rosters have been decided and will be announced in this chapter, but there's a small thing I want to address first...maybe two...three or four…
Anyway, firstly, while the final rosters have been decided I hate to say that not every character is introduced in this chapter (don't be angry I have my reasons!) The main reason for this (see?) is that I want the introductions to be more...organic? I don't think that's the right word for what I'm trying to say, but meh. I feel like too many SYOC stories rush the character introductions and just have the reader meet twenty people in a single chapter. I don't want that, so I will be introducing them over time. This also means that while we may see their Quirk and hear their name we may not see their true personality until later on. Don't forget we didn't really get to truly 'know' Kirishima until the sports festival (got a bit of him at USJ but that was only a snippet).
Second, to those who are interested, I've posted a link to Melody's character sheet on my profile.
Speaking of profile, I'm going to be putting up a poll that will be more explained at the end of the chapter.
Alright, I think that's everything. To those of you who wanted to have a character in the main class, but didn't make the cut...I am really sorry. I know that might not mean much, but I chose the people I did for this class because I feel they will have good chemistry. This does mean that this class has multiple OCs from multiple people. Feel free to be angry, but in the end, I picked based on who would work with the story as a major role the best. Sorry again and don't worry. Class FH1 (or Class B if you wanna see it like that) is going to have entire Arcs dedicated to them.
Okay, enjoy the chapter dudes and dudettes!
Purpose of a Hero
August 20, 2317
Melody awoke with a start as her alarm clock began to blare through the early morning silence. In her sleepy haze, she leaped off of her bed and slammed headfirst into a very solid object. 'The heck? I don't remember the wall being that close...oh. Dorms, that's right. How long until I don't wake up and hit my head?' She thought, remembering a very similar instance from the day before when she slammed her forehead into the small mahogany nightstand on the opposite side of her twin bed from the wall. The red-haired girl, whose scarlet hair was twisted into knots from her tossing and turning during the night, stretched her arms into the air and yawned widely. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and, very slowly, pushed herself into a standing position. With one hand she rubbed the newly forming bruise just above her right temple, and with the other grabbed her basket of toiletries, before opening her door and stepping into the air-conditioned hallway.
"Hey~ Melody," a very tired looking Kira murmured as the two arrived at the shared bathroom at roughly the same time. The multi-haired girl was wearing a wrinkled set of black pajamas and carried a basket nearly twice the size of Melody's.
"Mornin'," the redhead greeted simply, still a bit groggy. When the two entered the room, a surprisingly large one at that they were greeted by the scowling face of Clara. The magenta-haired girl quickly shoved past them, muttering something along the lines of 'annoying crybaby brat' as she went. The two remaining girls looked at one another, shrugged, and separated to go about their normal routines. After they had both showered and brushed their teeth, the two stood in front of the wide mirror that spanned one whole wall of the room, attempting to tame their unruly hair, though as her hair was shorter Melody was having an easier time of it.
"So, Mel? What version of the uniform did you choose?" Kira asked excitedly.
"I just went with the yellow and black," she answered.
"Yeah, that makes sense. The blue is a bit too bold and the white is pretty blah. Yellow really works with your hair. I chose that one as well," Kira commented, wincing as she undid a knot in her waist-length hair. Just then, the pair heard footsteps echoing off the linoleum tile floor and watched as Rylee entered the room. Seeing the girl in her sleep shorts revealed two holes, similar albeit a bit smaller than the ones that lined the top part of her chest, on each of her calves. "Heya Rylee!"
"Kira, Melody. How's it going?" The blonde asked, nodding to each in turn, before stepping into one of the shower stalls lining the opposite wall of the mirror.
"Great!" The multi-haired girl replied.
"Better than I expected so far," Melody sighed. Having finally finished brushing her hair, she put it up into her usual messy ponytail and grabbed her basket. As she left the bathroom she bid farewell to the other girls and made her way back to her room. Once she arrived she quickly changed out of her black pajamas, covered with the insignia of the Hero Oddball. After rooting through the room's small closet, she pulled out a school-issued button-up blouse, in a pale yellow color, matching black and yellow striped tie, and a pair of brown dress pants. She slipped them on and grabbed the red messenger bag sitting beside her bed. 'Okay. It's 7:53. I still have just about an hour to eat breakfast and get to class. Better get moving,' she reasoned, yanking open the wooden door and stepping into the hallway, only to be met with Kira and Andi. The former was dressed in a similar style to Melody, but with a black skirt instead of the tan pants, while the latter had the same skirt, but a blue blouse and matching tie. "Good morning Andi."
"Mel! You look great! You wanna go to breakfast with us?" The redhead nodded and the trio set off, leaving the dorms and making their way towards the imposing figure that was U.S.A.E.I.'s main academic building. "So, any idea what we're doing today?"
"I'm not sure. The acceptance letter said something about orientation but other than that, I haven't heard a thing. I don't even know who our homeroom teacher is," Kira, who was swiveling her head to try and take in as many sights as possible, said. Melody just shrugged her shoulders as she too took in her surroundings. 'I really should have explored more. We had two days and all I did was worry about today. I can go for my run after school get out today and look around a bit more.'
"Hey, Kira?" Andi suddenly spoke. Melody took one glance at the girl, saw the look in her eyes, and sighed. Over the past two days, she'd gotten to know the girl enough to know when her curious side came out. The multi-haired girl hummed and turned her attention away from a pack of third-year students sitting under a willow tree. "What's your Quirk? I know Melody can turn into a spooky ghost, Diana is a Komodo Dragon, and Clara has some sort of voice amplification, but I haven't been able to figure out yours or any of the other girls'."
"Huh? You're really that interested?" Kira asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. The antennae-eared girl nodded vigorously, holding her clasped hands up as if she was praying. "Okay, okay! It's called Pyroclasm. As for what it does...you'll just have to wait and see." With that, the multi-haired girl stuck out her tongue and began jogging away, with an irate Andi close on her heels. Meanwhile, Melody just smiled, letting her two companions leave her to her own devices. '8:15...you know what? Screw breakfast. I don't think I could eat much anyway so I might as well explore a bit.' With her mind made up, the redhead diverged from her path to the main building and started walking towards the marina. As she walked she saw a great number of students milling about the school grounds.
A small distance away from the wooden boardwalk that followed the entirety of the school grounds' boundary with the harbor, Melody sat down on a bench and began to observe. She'd always loved people watching, but something about seeing her fellow students conversing, relaxing or training their Quirks brought a sense of belonging to the girl. Not too far from her, she watched a small sparring match between two upperclassmen. One of the boys had a high collared jacket, even though it was a fairly hot and humid morning, and a large container of some sorts strapped to his back. He seemed to be surrounded by a fog of black particles. Facing off against him was a cocky looking boy who had springs where his calves should've been. Melody followed their actions with a vivid interest as the spring-legged boy kept a wide berth from the other boy, whose dark cloud whirled around him ominously.
Then the cloud started to move and a wave of nausea washed over the redhead as she came to a disturbing realization. 'B-B-Bees? Crap, crap, crap, why the heck does someone have a Quirk like that? I'm just...gonna go to class. Yep, gotta be early on the first day!' Hastily, she shot up from the bench and turned to walk away as fast as she could without running, and it took all of her willpower to avoid that embarrassing scenario. Unfortunately, as soon as she turned around she slammed into a very sturdy object and fell onto her rear. 'I gotta stop running into things,' she mused before glancing up at the object, which turned out to be a boy with vivid orange hair. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before extending a hand. "S-Sorry about that," she said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly and smiling awkwardly.
"Hm...Afraid of insects?" The boy replied casually, his amber colored eyes still locked onto her, a spark of recognition in them.
"Af-afraid of–? No! Nope! Definitely not!" She exclaimed, shaking her head rapidly. The boy frowned at this and glanced over to the spar, where the bee wielding student was helping the spring-legged one up from the ground, with the latter swaying woozily.
"That's odd. When you were observing the fight between those two, your face paled and you tensed up when his insects began to move. I suppose maybe you could be afraid of people with springs for legs, but that's oddly specific of a phobia. Oh! Could it be that one of those men is a former lover? Someone you haven't quite gotten over yet and was planning to confess your feelings for, but backed out at the last moment?" All Melody could do was stare at the boy in shock, her jaw dropped as wide as it could go and her arms hanging limply at her side. Seeing her reaction, the boy smiled and snapped his fingers. "That's it then!"
"WHAT!" Melody bellowed, her face going crimson red as not only the two upperclassmen turned towards her, but everyone else in hearing range as well. The redhead sputtered an apology before turning her bemused look onto the orange-haired boy. "Where the actual heck did you get that from?"
"So that isn't it either then? I can't think of any other explanation as to why you would suddenly be so startled. Could it be a traumatic memory resurfaced? Just a general dread about the first day of classes? Are you sure one of those boys isn't some sort of jilted lover?"
"Fairly certain, yes. It, um, I was nervous thinking about the first day of classes, yeah!" Melody proclaimed, still slightly off-put by the boy's behavior and strange speaking pattern. It was as if he'd never held a conversation with someone before, despite the fact he seemed perfectly capable of talking her ear off. Seemingly satisfied with her answer the boy bowed low. 'He's literally insane. It's my first day and I already met a psychopath. Dad always said Pro Heroes weren't all there, to begin with, but this is ridiculous.'
"I am Lyon MacAllister. It is an immense pleasure to meet you."
"Um...I'm Melody. Nice to meet you?" Although the redhead's response was incredibly confused, the boy brightened and stood up from his bow, studying her with his amber eyes.
"You seem familiar. Perhaps it's the eyes, or maybe the confused expression. I have gotten that look a lot recently," Lyon said and unceremoniously began walking away, leaving a somewhat dazed Melody behind.
"The heck?" She murmured to herself. Sighing, she began walking away from the harbor, paying significantly more attention to her surroundings. 'I don't wanna run into any more weirdos.'
Purpose of a Hero
In the end, Melody had made it to class with just five minutes to spare before the late bell. It hadn't taken much effort to find the classroom, as its door was marked with a large 'FH2' and a plaque beside it with the words 'Freshman Hero Class Two' inscribed in the metal surface. Entering the room was nearly as terrifying for the teen as the villain fight she'd experienced. With a deep breath, she'd pushed open the large door and stepped inside, only to be greeted by someone running into her, sending both of them tumbling into a pile on the tile floor. 'I guess this is...better.' "Oww."
"Oh, sorry about that," the boy who landed on her said sheepishly, brushing his indigo hair out of his eyes. At first, Melody wasn't entirely sure the boy belonged in the class. He more closely resembled a young middle-schooler than someone entering high school, mostly due to his short stature and boyish face. He offered her his hand and yanked her to her feet, visibly struggling as she was a few inches taller than him and, most likely, slightly heavier.
"No worries. I've made a bad habit of running into people, so it's fitting I'm on the other side every once and awhile," Melody said nonchalantly. She turned her glance up from the boy and was surprised to see much of the class' sixteen students still missing. Only ten or eleven of the seats were filled. "Where is everyone?" She muttered.
"Jeez, Andi! You almost made us late!" Even though they were still a ways away from the classroom, Melody recognized both Kira and Andi's voices as they argued. When they finally reached the classroom their disagreement continued as they found their seats, which were several spaces away from one another. As she sat down at her own seat, which was flanked by Rylee and a black-haired boy who seemed to be asleep, the weight of her situation hit her and she smiled. 'This is my next first step. I can't believe I made it, out of the thousands of kids who applied I got accepted. All of my classmates and Nathan's class did as well. Thirty-two out of four thousand. This is incredible!' Her thoughts only made her smile grow and, soon enough, the bell signaling the beginning of class reverberated through the classroom.
"This is so~ exciting!" Kira cheered from her desk on the other side of Rylee.
"I wonder who our homeroom teacher is going to be?" A familiar looking boy with brown hair commented and it took Melody a moment to recognize him as the boy who'd saved her from Clara on the day of the entrance exam. A few others nodded in agreement and, slowly in the case of Kira and Andi, settled into an anxious silence as they awaited the arrival of their teacher. 'Most of the teachers at this school are current or retired Pros. The principle was even ranked fourth I think when my Mom and Dad went to school here.' The minutes turned into ten, then fifteen, and twenty. Class was already about halfway over when the door creaked open and a man with dark blue hair stumbled in holding his head. He stopped suddenly and turned his head to stare back at the sixteen pairs of eyes glaring in his direction.
"Oh yeah, homeroom. Alright...uh sorry, I'm late. I had stuff to do last night and stayed out way later than I thought I would. Then I forgot to set my alarm and slept in and...you all don't care," He finished lamely. It took her a moment but Melody's eyes widened in surprise as she remembered him as the man who'd tested her in the entrance exam. As soon as she came to this conclusion, he turned his attention towards her and nodded. "Okay, let's get started. My name is Derrick Holl and I am will be your homeroom teacher. Hm, I suppose we'd better start with your schedules, then some general stuff, and that should take the rest of our time. Running a bit late today, eh?" 'Wonder why that is?' Melody thought dryly, rolling her eyes. Before the girl could even blink, Derrick turned and whipped his dry erase marker at the girl, clocking her directly in the forehead.
"OW! What the-"
"No lip from you Halloway. Now, let's get started. For the most part, your class will be staying together in both general and Hero courses," the teacher began as Melody stared at him in shock. 'Can he read my thoughts?' She could've sworn she saw him grin at this and her eyes widened. Derrick stepped away from the board and written on it was their schedule.
8:55-9:15 Homeroom
9:20-10:05 U.S. History
10:10-10:55 Mathematics
11:00-11:45 Literature
11:50-12:35 Chemistry
12:40-1:25 Lunch
1:40-3:45 Other
"Alright. Pretty self-explanatory except for the last part. This two-hour block at the end of every day is reserved for Hero Studies. However, the subject matter will change every day. Monday you will be with me for Hero Training Simulations, Tuesday and Thursday you'll go with Mrs. Barthory for Hero Etiquette, Wednesday you'll go with Mrs. Honoka for Combat Training, and finally, Friday is the day reserved for you fledgling Heroes to work on the specialty you applied to this school to earn a license for," He explained, causing Melody to tense up slightly as he continued.
"There are three possible categories for this. First is General Hero, this refers to the everyday crime fighters you see patrolling the streets. They deal with everything from petty theft to hostage situations, so on and so forth. This usually holds the largest number of our Hero students. Mostly because these are the Heroes that get all the glory."
"Next up is the Support Hero course. This is by far the smallest and is really only applicable to those with Quirks that allow them to heal or buff up fellow Heroes. These guys are usually the most overlooked, but also the most important on a battlefield. Anyone tell me why? Oh...uh sure, knock yourself out." The moment he'd asked Andi, almost as if she'd been waiting on it, shot her hand into the air.
"Because they could mean the difference between life and death. For example, Heroes tend to get injured quite a bit, so healers are always in demand, or perhaps someone with a strength or speed boosting Quirk could help his fellow Heroes win an unwinnable battle. Although, these types of Heroes rarely crack the top fifty. I think Hermes is the only Hero currently within the top twenty-five with a 'support style Quirk'," Andi finished, a satisfied look on her face as she sat back down, leaving the rest of the class in shock and their teacher smirking slightly.
"Yeah...thanks for keeping most of that to yourself. We're strapped enough for time as is. Anyway, onto the final category; Search and Rescue." 'This is me. I wonder who else I'm going to be with. Nathan is for sure going to pick General, he's too hot-headed not to want to fight. Maybe Andi will join me there. Her Quirk could be used to detect people and could make communication among rescuers easier.' Melody's thoughts were abruptly cut short when the sound of a throat clearing caught her attention. She looked up to see the blue-haired man again staring at her with a half-amused, half-exasperated look on his face. "S&R Heroes are usually first responders to a disaster site. Of course, this doesn't just mean natural disasters. As an S&R Hero, you will help with cleanup as well as your usual duties. When there is an incident involving Villains, S&R Heroes are always working behind the scenes to clear out as many civilians as they can while the General and Support Heroes cover their retreat."
Derrick observed his class for a moment before nodding to himself and walking to the back of the room. There he flipped one of the switches on a control panel embedded into the far wall, before leaning against it. The room immediately went dark, which prompted him to flip the second switch, turning on a projector hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. The front whiteboard lit up with a list of some kind, and it took Melody a few seconds to realize it was a list of her classmates. "This is the current class rankings. Your scores on the entrance exam were what made up the order for this list, even though they aren't listed. Those of you near the bottom don't fret, there'll be plenty of opportunities to dethrone those at the top. Consequently, those at the top...don't get too comfortable and never forget that if all you do is look to the top, you'll fall to those right underneath you."
1- Lyon MacAllister
2- Andrew Abrams
3-Clara Ramirez
4-Narruk Mondronen
5-Marcus McPherson
6-Hazel Aria
7-Alexander Blackwood
8-Lyle Wolfbane
9-Melody Halloway
10- Andi Ena
11-Sirius Wilsk
12-Diana Suharto
13-Rylee Ingram
14-Eris Blackwood
15-Kira Kazani
16-Oliver Ferdinand
All around the room, there were whispers, some excited, some irritated, but on her end, Melody remained silent. 'I'm in the lower half. I knew that stupid writing test would get me. This is fine though. I have my starting point, so I know who I have to pass to move up.'
"Congrats, Melody," Kira said, her head currently resting on her desk, where she had let it slam down after seeing her own placement. "Stupid physical exam, stupid two left feet, stupid, stupid, stupid."
"Don't worry Kira. The only place you can move now it up, right?" Melody asked, trying to cheer her friend up. It didn't seem to work as the girl just whined and raised her head up to slam it into the desk again, only for Rylee to slide her pencil case into the small gap, muffling the sound. The redhead smiled appreciatively at her, which was met with a nod as Kira picked her head up and rested it on her folded arms.
"Anyway, There's another little matter I'd like to address before we head to orientation. All-Might's retirement." Their teacher's words caused the whole room to tense up and look over their shoulders at him. Seeing that he had their undivided attention, he started speaking in a grim tone. "Despite the fact he is a Japan-based Hero, he still has had an impact here and around the world through his actions. Many current and upcoming Heroes only decided to pursue this career thanks to the image painted by All-Might. Now that he's gone, now that people know that the world's number one Hero could be bested, not only is the moral of our side going to drop but the arrogance of villains will rise alongside it."
"You're saying that more villains will start popping up here? For something that happened overseas?" A lanky boy with wild white hair asked incredulously.
"Think about it from the villain's perspective. Why do you think there would be a rise in crime with All-Might gone?" Derrick questioned, settling his gaze on the white-haired boy, who looked somewhat uneasy with the question. Then, to everyone's surprise, it was Lyon who spoke.
"The Symbol of Peace is no more. His mere existence made those thinking about doing villainous acts hesitate and rethink. Even here in the United States, All-Might was a respected and feared Hero, who had even helped with some of the country's worst situations when he didn't have to."
"Right-o, uh, Lyon MacAllister, yeah? That's essentially it, without All-Might, the worst of the worst are starting to crawl out of their caves. Things will only get worse from here," He stated. In no time at all, though, his foreboding expression turned to one of barely suppressed glee. "All right! Now it's time to get down to business. Everyone head down to Prep Room Four and suit up. You're all going into the Labyrinth!"
Purpose of a Hero
Meanwhile, in the secret basement of a very prominent New York jewelry store, the villain known as Spitfire yawned before gazing at the crowd before him. 'Jesus, Plague. Just how many people are you gonna recruit?' A myriad of different evildoers, from purse thieves to murderers, were gathered in the surprisingly spacious room. Beside him was a large chalkboard with drawings, writing, and burn marks from when the young man got frustrated. "Okay, we finally got Prophet's original plan fine-tuned. Instead of using our whole force as he suggested, I'm gonna lead a small strike team. We'll be able to move quicker and more stealthily and if we're caught it won't cripple the organization. Got it? Good. Let's see...Kaboom, Switcheroo, Barty, and Leech. Congratulations, you're with me."
As a small group of villains separated from the large contingent, Spitfire took one last look at the board and grinned wickedly, dark flames leaking from the spaces in his teeth. 'They won't know what hit them.' He opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of flames that torched the chalkboard, leaving on a few words remaining through the burns.
Miller-Braun Support Industries
Purpose of a Hero
Oooo Spooky. What could Spitfire be planning, hm? (Not obvious at all really)
POLL INFO
Hey dudes and dudettes, I mentioned a poll in the AN above so here are the details for it. Basically, do you guys want a bunch of "filler" chapters that aren't really filler chapters? Not the best way to explain it...well fudge it.
SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW ABOUT NEXT CHAPTER
The next chapter will include some battles. The detail of the battles is up to you guys. Either I can write it the way MHA did with their first battle training, or I can write out every battle as a way to introduce you guys to the OCs and their Quirks. The only issue with the latter is that with my current 4,000-5,000 word limit this would take anywhere from 4-8 chapters depending on how I write each fight. So if you want to influence this story head over to my profile and place your vote.
Now that that's out of the way...
NEXT TIME OF THE PURPOSE OF A HERO
A ROARING START!