Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey yooooooooou guuuuuuuuys! What's going on? It's that time of week again, so let's get into the Author's Note. This should be a fairly exciting chapter as we meet several new Characters and see into Melody's school life a bit more when the classes don't include gladiatorial combat.
First off, I just want to sincerely thank every single person that has ever clicked on this story, even by accident. We've reached over 3,000 views, which is something I never thought was going to happen this quickly. My last story on here (That has since been deleted as I didn't like it too much) was up for six months, had just three thousand fewer words, but only a fourth of the views, a fifth of the follows and favorites, and a TENTH of the reviews. You have no idea how much this means to me, so again thank you.
Second, in response to this, I've gotten a bit more confident as a writer. As such, I kinda want to start a side story (Probably not an MHA one as I want to branch out) that would take a heavy backseat to this, but would help to improve my writing skills even more. So, I've got a few ideas and I want to have you guys pick. I'll probably post a poll not too long after this chapter goes up, but the choices I have in mind right now are:
-A Soul Eater SYOC Fic which takes place seven years after the fall of the Kishin (This will take place in the Anime universe as it works better with my plan)
-Another MHA story following a boy in Japan who wants to go to Yuuei, but ends up going to Shiketsu. This would take place in the MHA Cannon.
-A Marvel story (under the Avengers Movie Tag here on Fanfic) that follows an altered version of the hero known as Nova that I will adapt to fit into the MCU (it would take place after the events of Infinity War)
-Finally, a Pokemon story following an OC as he journeys through the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald game (Thought I will change quite a bit)
Honestly, I probably shouldn't start up another story while I'm having trouble finding time to write this one, but my thinking is that it helps me not get burnt out from writing this main story. If I ever feel as if I'm starting to get irritated or don't have enough ideas, I can write for this other story to get my mind of this one and help inspire me.
EDIT AS OF...AN HOUR AFTER THIS WAS FIRST POSTED. THERE IS NOW A POLL FOR THIS LOCATED ON MY PROFILE. VOTE!
Third, I've seen other authors do this, but do you guys want me to start answering reviews in the Author's notes? I would definitely put it in the bottom one, but I feel as if this would help me connect with you guys a lot more and, tbh, I haven't been answering enough reviews and I feel bad.
Finally, as promised, Here is the current Arc List going forward. Note that a few are marked EMPTY SLOT as I currently have no ideas of what to do in between specific arcs (Feel free to give me ideas on that it's greatly appreciated) and some are HIDDEN because….I'm mean and don't wanna give away future plot points. Now this list is subject to change, which I will alert you guys too and update this list (I may put it on my profile, but I'm soooo lazy).
PART ONE: THE SPARK
1. Prologue Arc
2. Rocky Beginnings Arc
3. Darkness Rises Arc
4. Class FH1 Beginnings
5. EMPTY SLOT
6. Halloween Festival Arc
7. EMPTY SLOT
8. HIDDEN
9. Mid Term Exams Arc
10. Call of the Order Arc
11. HIDDEN
12. HIDDEN
13. Ashes Arc
14. Year One Final Exams Arc
Phew, that was a lot. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please feel free to review, PM, or email me. Thanks again for 3000 views!
Purpose of a Hero
"MELLY! HOW COULD YOU LOSE SO EMBARRASSINGLY!?" Carlyle roared, his voice reverberating throughout the empty hallways of the U.S.A.E.I main academic building. The redheaded girl scowled and kicked him hard in the shin, making him yelp in pain and hop on one foot as he held the other. "What was that for?"
"You can't yell in a school moron! Jeez, sometimes I feel like I'm the parent," Melody murmured. Her father pouted for a moment before grabbing the girl and slinging her over his shoulder. "H-Hey put me down!"
"No yelling in school, Melly dear," he said with a cheeky smile. "Anyway, while I have the chance I wanted to talk to you about maintaining your training."
"Well, I plan on doing my usual routine after school and on Saturdays Nathan and I are going to have a joint training and sparring session," Melody explained. Carlyle nodded and hummed thoughtfully. 'Even with that, she won't be able to master her complete form for a while. At that rate, it'll be two years until she can use it without consequence. That's not soon enough.'
"You're SLACKING!" The man bellowed, pointing his finger accusingly at his daughter.
"What!?"
"The only way to improve is to increase your training by threefold!," He said matter of factly. "The fact that this Narruk boy defeated you in a single move seemingly without using his Quirk is laughable. It shows just how much room you have to grow."
"Dad, you do know I have homework as well, right? I can't spend every waking hour just training, my grades would suffer."
"Then you must find the balance. Now then, I should get going. I left Anthony in charge of the store and if he hasn't screwed up a single time I've said I'll give him a raise!" The man proclaimed loudly as they reached the main entrance hall.
"You aren't really gonna give him a raise, are you?" Melody deadpanned, looking at her father with an expression of annoyance. 'You look so much like your mother when you do that it's honestly terrifying."
"Nope!" He guffawed, sprinted away towards the front glass doors, leaving a bemused and slightly irritated Melody behind.
"You dunce," she mumbled. With her father gone, her wounds healed, and a rumbling in her stomach, the redhead decided to go back to the prep room and change back into her uniform. A few wrong turns later she arrived at the room and grabbed her bag and school uniform from one of the lockers situated along the far wall. 'Well, today certainly was an eventful first day,' she thought as stepped into one of the changing rooms and stripped off her Hero costume. 'It was fun to see everyone's Quirks in action, especially that Lyon guy. For a creepy dude, he really has a strong Quirk from the looks of it. Much more powerful than mine, and he took down Andi and the others so easily. Then that Alexander guy, he just looks like he would make a super powerful Hero, and his sister seems nice, I wonder why I didn't see her in the dorms yesterday or the day before.' Finally dressed back in her school uniform, she pulled out her cell phone, which was covered by a case that looked like a fluffy cat, and seeing that it was nearly time for dinner, sighed and resolved to go back to the dorm. However, as she made to leave her changing room, a buzzing sound near her left ear sent a shiver down her spine.
The moment the redheaded girl saw the small, yellow and black bee that was resting on her shoulder, she shrieked and leaped out of the stall, falling face first onto the floor. "Woah! You alright there, kid?" A familiar voice asked. When Melody raised her head she was surprised to see a boy with bleached blond hair and brown eyes. "Oh hey! I know you. You're one of them kids I proctored during the entrance exam."
"Uh, yeah. Dominick, right? Sorry for that, I just saw...something and got a little freaked out," she explained, still trying to calm her breathing as she got up from her prone state. The boy nodded in understanding and looked over his shoulder at another boy, one who Melody hadn't even noticed was standing there watching them.
"Damnit, Hector! I told ya to keep those little vermin under wraps!" Dominick shouted, though the other boy hardly flinched. It took Melody a second, but the high-collared jacket and wavy brown hair jogged something in her memory. 'He's...the guy from this morning. The one who was sparring near the marina.' The boy simply stared back at the two of them with dull gray eyes. "Sorry 'bout him. He likes givin' them bees of his a bit of freedom when its just him and his friends. Guess he didn't notice ya."
"I-It's okay. I, uh...I should get going. Some of the other girls are waiting on me and-" The redhead trailed off as the sound of a steady buzzing reached her ears. She looked back over at Hector with an expression of confusion. Noticing this, Dominick grinned and walked over to the other boy, slapping him on the shoulder.
"That's just Hector's Quirk. He calls it 'Beekeeper' or somethin' like that. Gives him control over the bees that make their hive in his body. Somethin' to do with pheromones and electronic waves, or whatever. Doesn't make him the most popular guy out there though, so I took pity and hang around with him!"
"I have asked him to leave four hundred and sixty-three times since our freshman year," Hector said, his voice monotone. His statement seemed to give Dominick pause, but then he laughed and slung an arm around the brunet's shoulder.
"He's a kidder! So Melody, what're you doin' here so late? Your first day, right?"
"I was injured in our test today," she grumbled, suddenly finding the bottom left corner of the room very interesting as her cheeks glowed red.
"Lemme guess, Mr. Holl? Yeah, Hector and I had him in our first year. Had to fight each other in the Labyrinth. Come to think of it, I kicked your scrawny butt in that fight," Dominick said cockily. The other boy glared at him, which caused the blond to laugh. "He never stood a chance against me. I just made his bugs...disappear."
"Disappear? How'd you do that?" Melody inquired.
"My Quirk. It's called Spatial Distortion."
"What does that entail?" Melody asked, thoroughly enthralled.
"It means I can manipulate space. So like, I can send stuff to different places, or teleport and stuff like that. Apparently, once my Quirk reaches its peak, I could create a portal here that leads directly to Dubai, Tokyo, or Hong Kong. Places all the way across the world," he explained, a massive grin plastered to his face.
"That...that's incredible! So if someone fired an attack at you, you could send it right back at them? That would be incredibly useful in dealing with multiple villains at once, not to mention if one of them had a Quirk that could hit multiple targets you could use it against them."
"Holy shit. I never even thought of it like that! Usually, I just send their attacks into the ocean or whatever. I never thought of using it like that. You're a genius!" Dominick exclaimed. It was at this moment that Hector intervened.
"Dom. I believe that if we wanted to get in our spar before supper, we would have to leave now. Please excuse us," the Beekeeper said, dragging away the blond, who was having a fit trying to get away. Now alone, Melody pulled out her phone to check the time. 'Nearly five o'clock. I should get going now...Oh? What does Nathan want?' She wondered as she opened up her messaging app.
She grinned, as she usually did, upon seeing the picture she had assigned Nathan in her contacts, a very sad looking kitten with a hat, before actually reading his message. Hey Mel, we still on for training this weekend?
The redhead smiled and messaged back. Yeah. Meet up around eleven?
It took a few moments, but soon the words 'Furball is typing' appeared at the top of her screen and, a second later, a new message arrived. Oof, can't we shoot for...like three?
Rolling her eyes, the redhead tapped away at her screen as she walked. And you say I'm lazy. We train at eleven. Anyway, how did your first day go?
His reply took a while to appear, but when it did it seemed like he'd written an entire paragraph. Melody shook her head and put away her phone without bothering to read any of it. She exited the academic building and was assaulted with the humid, late summer air. 'I can't wait for fall.' As she walked across the campus towards the girl's dorm, she began scrolling through various news articles on her phone. 'Violent crimes are still on the rise. Even Overgrown has come out of hiding to help out. Mr. Holl was right about what he said, without All-Might people seem more confident in doing evil acts. The entire world revered All-Might as a nearly omnipotent being, I guess it's no surprise they don't know what to do when he's gone. It's only a matter of time until something big happens.' The sudden shout of a female voice brought the redhead out of her thoughts. "MELODY!"
"Oh, hey Kira. What's up?"
"MELODY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. SPEAK UP!" The multi-haired girl yelled, despite the fact that the two girls were now just an arm's length apart from one another. Confused, Melody looked towards Andi, who was standing silently by the girl's side.
"She got caught in Clara's Quirk. It nearly busted her eardrums, so she won't be able to hear until at least tomorrow morning. Luckily Clara isn't as strong as her old man, he isn't allowed to use his Quirk in the city limits anymore because of how many windows he breaks."
"Probably a good thing. How's everyone else doing?" Melody asked, causing Andi to sigh.
"For the most part, everyone is excited about their first day here, but some people just can't seem to get over the fact that they lost. Clara is by far the worst though. She won't stop complaining about how she lost."
"I suppose that's to be expected," Melody said as the trio entered the girl's dorms. There was a strong, mouth-watering smell emanating from the dining area that made the redhead's stomach rumble loudly. "Let's go grab some grub."
"I hear ya."
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS SAYING!?" Dinner for the three girls was spent talking and laughing with the others. After their plates had been cleared and two junior girls had volunteered to do the dishes, Melody excused herself to do her evening training, which involved a lap around the entire campus, various aerobic and anaerobic exercises, and sitting on the grass keeping her Quirk active for as long as possible. It was during this meditation of sorts that she heard heavy footsteps approaching her.
"I would've thought you had adopted the crybaby's Quirk. Imagine my surprise when you start turning into...this," Clara growled, motioning to the redhead's current ghost-like form. "You nearly had me tricked when you beat that shrimp and his ghost. Then you got schooled by that Narruk guy. You're weak."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Melody said, still concentrating on her meditation and trying to drown out the angry girl before her.
"I expected more. I know my father hates your mom, but she was the third-ranked Hero for a reason. Get stronger, or else you're just sullying her name, got it?" The magenta-haired girl took one last look at the redhead before scowling and walking away. 'That was...odd.'
Purpose of a Hero
The next day went by surprisingly quick in Melody's mind. By the time she sat down in the cafeteria next to Kira, her tray ladened with various food items, she barely felt any of the wear and tear she had felt back in middle school. "So Melody, what'd you think of our classes so far?"
"Very interesting for our first real day," the redhead commented.
"I knew we were going to have former Heroes as our teachers, but I had no idea they'd be this normal," Andi added.
"I thought Mr. Holl was scatterbrained, but Ms. Whittaker has him beat by a country mile," Diana said as she took her seat on the other side of Melody. 'Elvira Whittaker, also known as The Southern Hero: Roundup. She has quite a reputation for capturing villains. I was so excited when I found out she was a teacher here, she's one of my favorites. Thank god I didn't fangirl when she introduced herself.' The redhead reflected as the group of FH1 girls, surprisingly including Clara who sat down next to Eris, continued to talk about their classes and teachers.
"That Mr. Tanaka seems pretty chill, yeah?" Kira said, picturing the man with green and black hair who had surprised the class in his introduction by performing a sleight of hand magic trick.
"We have Hero Etiquette after lunch right? Any idea what we'll be doing?" Melody inquired. Her question received a number of shrugs and confused looks. "So no one has any idea?"
"Something to do with the etiquette we've gotta show as Heroes?" Kira guessed, receiving a snort from Clara.
"No shit idiot."
"Language," Melody responded, not turning her attention away from her chicken sandwich. 'This is such a welcomed break from dad's greasy food.'
"I assume we are going to learn proper conduct for our lives as Professional Heroes," Hazel said.
"Is everyone just going to ignore the fact that Melody just said 'language'?" Clara asked with a snicker.
"Shut it, it just slipped out," the redhead grumbled. As Clara opened her mouth to further make fun of Melody, the Wraith user was saved, quite literally, by the bell. The girls all dropped off their trays and began walking to class as a group, with Clara staying a few steps behind them, far enough to where she could make a snarky comment, but no so close as to invite anyone to talk directly to her. Room two-seven-five, the classroom designated for freshman Hero Etiquette, was located just down the hall from the cafeteria, so the trip was fairly quick. Once they entered the room, Melody was surprised to see yet another familiar face. 'She proctored the written exam.'
"Welcome class, my name is Rosapast Barthory and I will be in charge of teaching you how to act as Professional Heroes," the rather strict looking woman greeted as soon as the class was filled and everyone was in their seats. "Before we begin, I feel I should make my position clear. In our modern world, the Hero industry is over saturated. What I mean by this, is that there are far too many Heroes, many of whom have abandoned the ideals set forth by the word Hero. In this class, you will learn how a Hero should speak, act, and portray themselves in the public eye. Today is perhaps the most important class you will have all year."
"Is she serious? It's the first day!" Kira groaned from her seat next to Melody. For her own part, the redhead stayed silent, contemplating what Mrs. Barthory meant.
"Who can tell me what the most treasured possession every Hero has? You there, the one who was whispering."
"Uh, a Quirk?" Kira replied though she sounded unsure.
"No. A Quirk is important, but I am speaking of a Hero's most important treasure. How about you?"
"A simple answer," Lyon said, his face still fixed with that odd smile of his. "Their identity."
"Very good. The identity of a Professional Hero is a closely guarded secret that shouldn't be revealed to anyone the Hero does not trust. In today's class, you will each choose a codename to be used whenever you are in your Hero costume. This includes during class activities to help you become used to them. Now, I am going to give you ten minutes to deliberate with yourself. At which time, I will begin calling on each of you to tell your codename to the class. Talk quietly amongst yourselves, the ten minutes begins now."
"Codenames!? Yes, this is gonna be epic!" Andi proclaimed excitedly, getting an impatient look from the teacher at the volume of her voice.
"I know right! I've been thinking of this since I was a kid," Kira said, her cheek resting on one of her hands. Melody grinned at the eccentricities of her friends before frowning slightly. 'Dad told me about this. A Hero's name is so important because knowing their true identities could be dangerous. Vengeful villains could easily track down your family if they knew who you were. It's the main reason mom had me take dad's last name. Even if they knew her identity, they wouldn't be able to track it back to me and dad, which...I guess is lucky considering…' Melody cut herself off of that train of thought before she became too depressed and instead turned her attention back to the task at hand. 'This should be easy. I've had my name picked out for a while now. I guess it'll be fun to hear everyone else's though. This could help me identify some of the Quirks in this class I don't know yet, like Narruk or that Lyle kid.'
"That's it. Time is up. Andrew Abrams, yes there you are, you will go first. Stand and tell the class your Hero name. We will continue down the line in alphabetical order until everyone has gone." His name having been called, the brunet boy stood and spoke loudly, a fair amount of pride in his voice.
"My name is born from the desire to be a shining light for mankind. As a Hero my codename will be Beacon," Andrew stated. 'Huh, not what I was expecting, but he has a pretty solid reason.'
"Very well. Hazel Aria-"
"Hazel Camellia Aria," the girl corrected, only to receive a scathing look from the teacher.
"Fine. Hazel Camellia Aria, stand and tell us your name." In her seat, Melody leaned forward a bit, interested to see if the girl's codename would reveal her Quirk.
"For now I would like to go as Hazel. I have not yet decided on a Hero name quite yet." As Rosapast nodded and allowed the girl to sit back down, Melody grumbled slightly. 'Crap. I'll find out in our next training session.'
"You still have time to decide on your codename, so don't feel as if you must pick one immediately. Alexander Blackwood, if you please," she said, prompting the tired looking boy to stand.
"I'll be Metal Hydra," he stated simply before sitting back down. 'That's an interesting name. I understand it though when he uses his Quirk, his arms transform into cannons, which I suppose kinda look like some sort of dragon-like creature.'
"Eris Blackwood, a sister I suppose, you're next."
"Alright! Listen up, I'm gonna be the Hero: Dark Spear! Get it? Because my bones are black?" The brunette proclaimed happily, making a large black, sharpened spear split through her skin to prove her point. 'I wonder how many people noticed her pained look when she did that. I think her Quirk hurts her as well.' Melody observed, a sad look coming over her face as the bone sunk back into her body.
"Very well, Andi Ena."
"Hey everyone! I'm gonna be Megahertz. Spelled M-H-z!"
"Oliver Ferdinand, you're up," Mrs. Barthory called. The greasy looking boy stood up with a scowl on his face.
"The Stretch-a-Hero: Rubberband." Melody smiled at this as well. 'Short, simple, and to the point, eh? At least it works with his Quirk, and it seems like he put some thought into it. Oh...wait I'm next. Uh-oh, don't screw this up, Melody.'
"Melody Halloway."
"Uh, hey everyone. I've had this name in mind for a long time. I'll be the Ghost Hero: Scarlette Phantom."
"Good choice!" Andi called, winking at the redhead, who rolled her eyes playfully at her friend's interruption as she sat back down in her desk. One by one the rest of the class took their turns standing up and announcing their names.
"I'll be Steampunk," Rylee said, completely straight-faced.
"I'm gonna be the Volcano Hero: Vulcana!" Kira announced gleefully. 'Volcano Hero? I suppose that works for her.' Melody thought. Then...It was Lyon's turn.
"The Aquatic Hero: Poseidon."
"Uh...what?" Was the general consensus of the class. Melody giggled slightly and shook her head. 'Well...I'm not gonna say I'm surprised. He is a bit...odd.'
"That is what's called a joke, yes? I figured that would 'break the ice' as it were. In any case, my actual Hero name will be the Fiery Hero: Inferno."
"I will be the Conversion Hero: Pivot Pointer," Marcus said as soon as the class had calmed down from the oddity that was Lyon MacAllister.
"I will be the Lunar Hero: Alpha," Narruk announced, his voice seeming to draw the attention of everyone in class. 'Well...I guess he has some sort of moon-related Quirk? That still doesn't help much. The Alpha part does seem to have some merit to it, he certainly appears to be able to draw attention to himself. Oh...oh-no. Clara.'
"Listen up, weaklings! Remember this name, it'll be at the top of the Hero charts one day very soon! I'm the Verbose Hero: Elisnore! Got that!? Anyone got a problem with it?"
"Sit down, Ms. Ramirez. You've had your turn, now it's time for Diana Suharto if you please."
"Hey guys and gals, I'm gonna be Komo."
"Sirius Wilsk."
"Oh, um…I guess that I'm gonna-"
"Shut up ya whiner! Listen up, our name is a group effort! We're the Two-Bit Heroes, I'm Bonnie!" Epiphany, who simply poofed into existence next to her host, who sighed.
"I'm Clyde," he practically mumbled, somewhat annoyed that the scarlet-haired girl had stolen his thunder.
"Hm? Who are you, miss?" Rosapast asked the spirit girl. In response to the question, she slung one arm over Sirius' shoulders and grinned widely.
"I'm Epiphany! I'm dead!" Those who hadn't been listening to Melody's fight against the pair gasped.
"Uh, my Quirk allows me to act as a host to spirits. She's nothing more than a parasite in every sense of the word," the boy said, sending a glare at the girl, who stuck out her tongue and faded into nothing.
"Yes...well, Lyle Wolfbane? You're our last student." The white-haired boy frowned and stood up.
"I'm Hemlok, and I'm gonna show all of you that you don't need to act heroicly or have a heroic Quirk to be a Hero," he proclaimed and sat back down. 'He certainly has a strong personality. I can understand not having a Heroic power, I guess. I'm certainly not the friendliest looking ghost. You know what? Right on, Lyle! You don't need a 'Heroic' Quirk to be a Hero.' Melody smirked slightly and gave the boy a nod over her shoulder, which he seemed quite surprised by. It was at this moment that Rosapast attempted to regain control of her class after many of them had reacted poorly to the boy's declaration.
"Settle down. Now that you've all chosen your Hero names I feel as if I should better explain what is expected of you here. I'm sure that irresponsible fool Holl didn't fully go into detail about our expectations."
"This is gonna be a long class," Kira whined quietly as she laid her head down on her desk. For the life of her, Melody just couldn't seem to disagree. 'At least I get to see Nathan on Saturday, that'll make everything better.'
Purpose of a Hero
And there we have it, everyone has codenames now. The reason this happens so early is because in America (in my universe at least) identities are more important to Heroes than they seem to be in Japan. That's why most Heroes wear a mask (If your OC doesn't and you'd like to change that just let me know). Anyway next week we have an exciting chapter!
NEXT TIME ON
THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!
Combat Training and A Shocking Reveal!