Chapter 19: Hero Names and Internships

"Hey, you! Excuse me! You're Uraraka from Class 1-A!" Ochako looked to see a businessman giving her a thumbs-up. "Great job in the Sports Festival! I rooted for you!"

The weirdest thing about going to school two days later, in Ochako Uraraka's opinion, was the fact that everyone now knew who she was, thanks to the Sports Festival.

Especially those on her subway commute to school.

"You were in first place, right?"

"That's so impressive!"

"She's shorter than I imagined…"

"Yeah, I can tell you really wanna be a Pro one day!"

"KEEP TRYING FOR IT, HERO!"

"I will!" she said, blushing nervously. "Thanks!"

"Ugh… I barely feel like I'm awake…"

As Ochako walked up the rainy street to reach UA, she thought back over what happened during the last two days. After her parents threw her a massive party, she just wanted to relax. Sleep in, stuff her face, maybe text her Yui-chan and Shinso, stuff like that.

Instead, her dreams decided to take a wild turn.

She remembered waking up in some sort of black void, with the only things there besides herself were eight other figures. She recognized them as the ones from back during the Quirk Assessment Test when Shinso was controlling her, but now, they were more clear.

She couldn't exactly make out the details on all of them, but the two that were the easiest to see were the black-haired woman in the white cape, and the white-haired guy with green eyes.

They were saying something, but… she couldn't remember what.

Then, when she woke up, everything in her room was floating.

And aside from the fact that sleeping was now possibly causing these oddly stressful scenarios, she had people all around her chatting her up about the Sports Festival victory.

So, yeah, feeling barely awake was probably an appropriate feeling.

Maybe I should tell All Might about this…?

"Good morning, Uraraka!"

Turning around, Ochako saw that Iida was running up the hill in a green poncho and knee-high boots. "Whoa, Iida! You really went all-out with the rain gear!"

"Why on Earth are you walking so slowly?!" he asked. "You'll be late!"

"Late? But there's still five minutes until the first bell!"

"UA students should always arrive ten minutes early, don't you think?!"

Getting inside the building, Ochako shaked the rain off of her umbrella, as she watched her bespectacled classmate put away his boots in his locker. "So, Iida –"

"If it's about my brother, don't be concerned. Everything will be fine."

It was no secret that Ingenium was attacked by the Hero Killer during the Sports Festival. Hell, it was no secret that there was some sort of Villain attack on the HSPC building at the same time, an attack that the organization itself was causing a media blackout about.

Ochako wanted to believe Iida, but she couldn't.

His smile, it was too fake… like All Might's.

As the last of the students walked in, they could hear their classmates talking about the one thing that had been on everyone's mind for the entire weekend: The Sports Festival.

"It's different when they broadcast the matches on TV after all, huh?" Class 1-A's resident pink girl, Mina Ashido, said. "So many people talked to me on my way here!"

"Yeah, me, too!" Kirishima agreed.

"People were staring at me, too. It was kind of embarrassing!"

"Isn't that normal for you, Hagakure?" Ojiro asked.

"After just one day, we've suddenly been thrust into the spotlight, huh?"

Kodai had to agree with Kaminiari. "Mm. UA is pretty amazing."

"Morning." Opening the door, Eraserhead could see everyone scrambling to their desks. Huh, less than three seconds. They were actually improving. "We have a big class today on Hero Informatics. You need code names. Time to pick your Hero identities."

The entire class cheered at the mention of Hero names. Gone was the creeping horror that it might have been a quiz, now replaced with something totally awesome.

Their teacher gave them a glare to silence the cheers, before continuing, "This is related to the Pro Hero draft picks that I mentioned the last time we were in class together. Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft yet, not until their second or third year, actually, but your class is different. In fact, by extending offers to you, Pros are investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though."

"So, what you're saying is we'll still have to prove ourselves after we've gotten recruited?" Hagakure asked, her visible form still throwing the others for a loop.

Aizawa-sensei, however, didn't seem fazed.

"Correct. Now, here are the totals for those of you who got offers," Aizawa-sensei said, as he showed a list on the board. "Despite these results, you'll all be interning with Pros, got it? Even the ones who didn't get any offers."

"Oh, so we're all interning?"

"Yes. You've already experienced combat with real Villains during the attack on the USJ facility, but it'll still be helpful to see Pros at work. Up close, on the field, first-hand.

"And for that, we need Hero names!" Sato cheered.

"These Hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously, or –"

SLAM!

"YOU'LL HAVE HELL TO PAY LATER! What you pick today could be your codename for life! You better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent!"

Huh, I guess Midnight is helping us with these names.

"Yeah, she's got a good point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte," Aizawa-sensei said, grabbing his sleeping bag. "The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image, and shows what kind of Hero you wanna be in the future. A codename tells people exactly what you represent. Take "All Might" for example."

All Might, huh? Ochako wondered as she grabbed the board that was passed to her. I guess that's true. His name does embody everything he is… but as for me…?

Five minutes later, Eraserhead was already asleep. Leaving Midnight with complete control of the classroom. "Now, students, who among you is ready to share?"

Kirishima's jaw dropped. WE'RE PRESENTING THESE?!

Oh, great, who's got the balls to go first?! Sero wondered.

Evidently enough, it was Aoyama.

"Hold your breath…" the blond said, as he raised his board into the air. "The Shining Hero: My name is "I Can Not Stop Twinkling"! Mon ami, you can't deny my sparke."

If looks could kill, all of Class 1-A would have been charged with Aoyama's murder.

"It'll be better this way," Midnight said, grabbing the board and scribbling on it. "Take out the I and and shorten the "can not" to "can't." There, "Can't Stop Twinkling"! Much better!"

"It's stunning, mademoiselle."

"Okie-dokie, let me go next!" Ashido said. "My code name: Alien Queen!"

"Hold on! Like that horrible monster with acidic blood?! I don't think so!"

The pink-skinned girl pouted. "Dang it…"

Jiro, along with a few others, felt the sweat dripping from their skin. Since the first two were so weird, now I feel like I have to come up with something really clever now…

"Ribbit, I think I've got one," Asui said, raising her hand. "Okay if I got next?"

"Come on up!" Midnight pointed at her.

On the podium, Asui presented her name, her face as neutral as ever. "I've had this name in mind since grade school. The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."

"That's delightful!" the R-Rated Hero cheered, clapping her hands. "It makes you sound approachable! What a great example of a name everyone will love!"

That made the rest of the class smile.

"""FROPPY! FROPPY! FROPPY! FROPPY! FROPPY! FROPPY! FROPPY!"""

Finally, a normal one… Thanks, Froppy.

"I've got mine, too!" Kirishima said, as he slammed his card down onto the podium, wearing a semi-confident smile. "The Sturdy Hero: My name is Red Riot!"

"Red Riot? Interesting, you're paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot, yes?"

"That's right," the spiky red-haired student said, scratching his head. "He may be kind of old-school, but someday I wanna be just like he was, Crimson Riot is my idol."

"If you're bearing the name of someone you admire, you have that much more to live up to."

"I accept the challenge."

Kaminari sighed. "Man, I still haven't thought of anything that's cool enough."

"Hey, I've got one," Jiro said. "How does "Jamming-Yay" sound to you?"

"Oh! It's like Hemmingway who wrote A Farewell to Arms, right? You're clever! I like it!"

"No," the purple-haired girl corrected him, holding her mouth from letting out a laugh. "It's because, even though you're powerful… you always… jam your brain!"

"OH, COME ON, JIRO!" Kaminari barked. "QUIT MESSING WITH ME!"

She just ignored him with a smile, as Jiro walked up to the podium and presented her name. "The Hearing Hero: I'm Earphone Jack."

"Now that's a good one!" Midnight said.

The rest of them went by pretty quickly.

"The Tentacle Hero: Tentacole," Shoji said.

"Oh, I like what you're doing with that, a nice portmanteau!" Midnight said.

"The Taping Hero: Cellophane!" Sero smiled.

"That's on the nose! Good work!"

Ojiro was next with, "Martial Arts Hero: Tailman!"

"There's no surprise with that one, I guess!"

Then came Sato. "I'm the Sweets Hero: Sugarman!"

"Perfect!"

"PINKY!" Ashido shouted, her fist in the air.

"Make those looks work for you, girl!"

After that, it was Kaminari. "Stun Gun Hero: I am Chargebolt! Electric, don't ya think?"

"Makes me all tingly!"

Then Hagakure. "The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl!"

"That really suits you! Now come on, who's gonna step up next?!"

"I hope that I can live up to this name," Yaoyorozu said. "The Everything Hero: I'm Creati!"

"Creative!"

"Shoto."

"Just your name?" Midnight gave Todoroki a questioning look. "Is that it?"

"Uh-huh," Todoroki said. "Trust me, it's an inside joke with one of my family members."

After that was Tokoyami. "Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi!"

"Ah, god of the night!"

"I'm the Size Hero: Rule," Kodai said, her face as expressionless as ever.

"Very catchy!"

Koda didn't say anything, but his name, Petting Hero: Anima, said it all.

"Yep!" Midnight smiled, giving her thumbs-up. "All about it!"

"The Hypnosis Hero: Mindblank," Shinso said.

Midnight gave it a questioning look. "I'm gonna say that one is –"

"Perfect," Eraserhead cut her off. "It's absolutely perfect."

The purple-haired boy smirked at that. "Thanks, sensei."

"Okay, my turn," Bakugou said, standing up. "This is the name I chose…"

Ochako did a double-take as she read Bakugou's Hero name.

Kacchan.

"It's a lovely name," Midnight said. "But… what's its origin?"

The explosive blond was quiet for a second, before saying, "It's a name someone gave me when I was younger. I'm gonna be an Underground Hero, so it makes sense to use it."

"Dissappaeared off the face of the fucking earth," Katsuki said. "No one knows what happened to him. I've spent the last decade looking around for him on the streets, training to get into UA, to become a Hero, just to find him and tell him how sorry I am for everything, and –"

Ochako remembered what Bakugou told her back during the Sports Festival. He was still looking for his friend, for this… Deku. And he would use that nickname to find him.

And that made her smile.

To be honest, choosing names is going faster than I thought it would," Midnight said. "All we have left are Iida and… oh, yes! Uraraka, too!"

Tenya didn't hear his teacher, as he kept staring at his paper.

His mind was elsewhere. In the recent past.

"Tenya… I wasn't sure if I wanted to say anything yesterday…" Tensei said, as he laid there on the bed, machines beeping around him. "But I… I can't feel my legs… they're useless…"

"What?! No way!"

"Yeah… I think the Hero Ingenium is finished, at least for me."

"No! You still have so many people you need to help and inspire, brother! This can't be true!"

"I'm sorry… I'm afraid it is…" Tensai said, opening his eyes, and looking right at his younger brother. "That's why… I want you to take the name… Will you do that… for me, Tenya?"

Tenya shook his head out of his thoughts, as he started writing his brother's Hero name on the whiteboard. But as he was finishing the first syllable, he… stopped.

No… I'm still…

Shaking, he closed his eyes and erased the letters in shame.

He couldn't do this. Not yet. He couldn't live up to his brother's expectations, not until he did something to make this right. Walking up to the podium, he placed his board down.

"You're using your real name, too?" Midnight asked.

Tenya didn't have the heart to reply.

Ochako silently watched as Iida walked back towards his desk.

"Well, Uraraka, are you ready?" Midnight asked.

"Oh, yes!"

She knew couldn't think about Iida now. Right now, it was her turn.

Walking up to the podium, she wondered if she was doing the right thing with her name choice. Looking towards her classmates, she said, "When I was a little girl, I had a bunch of Hero names based on my Quirk, "Gravity Girl," and stuff like that. I wanted to keep that part in my name, but… there's more to me now that just the Quirk I was born with."

Flipping her board, she revealed her name to the others.

"Whoa, are you sure about that?" Kaminari asked nervously.

"Yeah," Kirishima agreed. "I mean, trying to be just like All Might –"

"I'm not trying to be just like All Might," Ochako corrected them. "Yes, I have his Quirk, and I am his successor, but… I'm going to be better than him. Surpass him. All Might was a symbol for the times when we couldn't rely on Heroes. I want to be a symbol for now, to show the world that the likes of All For One won't fill our world with despair. Not as long as I'm around."

"You didn't know why you wanted to be a Hero, but you tried to save that kid, anyway. You acted like a Hero willing to save everyone and anyone! A true Hero!"

"And while it is true that there will be times where you can't save everyone, with my power, you will at least get a bigger chance at it! You could be a Hero who would be able to achieve any goal you put your mind to, and make things better! If you could inspire me to act, you can inspire so many other Heroes! Where I can only save people physically, I believe that you save people in more ways! I believe that you can be the good change the Hero world so desperately needs!"

As she remembered All Might's words the day they met each other, she gave her class a determined smile and said, "I'm the Symbol of Hope: Uravity. That's my Hero name."

"Now that everyone has decided on their Hero names, we can go back to talking about your upcoming internships," Aizawa-sensei said, getting out of his sleeping bag. "They'll last for one week, and as for who you'll be working with, those of you who were on the board will choose from among your offers, everyone else will have a different list."

Grabbing the papers, he continued, "You have a lot to think about, there are around forty agencies from around the country who have agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different specialty that the Heroes focus on. Keep that in mind."

"Imagine if you were Thirteen," Midnight said, cutting in with an example. "You'd want to pick a place that focuses on rescuing people, not fighting Villains. Understand?"

"Think carefully before you decide," Eraserhead told his class.

"""YES, SIR!"""

As the papers were passed to each of the students, they were already talking among one another. "I wanna fight crime and bad guys in a big city," Kirishima said.

"I just hope I can intern somewhere where there's a lot of flooding. Or maybe a lake."

"Turn in your choices before the weekend," Aizawa-sensei added.

"We've only got two days?!" Sero asked.

"Yeah. So you should start now. You're dismissed."

Two days later, it was the day of the internships.

At the major train station within the district, Class A's mentor was making sure that everything was in order before he sent off his brats to their Hero Agencies for the week.

"Everyone has their costumes, right? Remember, you don't have permission to wear them out in public yet," Eraserhead reminded his students. "And don't lose them or anything."

"Gotcha!"

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

"Yes, sir…"

"Make sure you mind your manners with the other Heroes during your internships," the Underground Hero said, as he walked away. "Now get to it."

"""YES, SIR!"""

As everyone split up, Ochako looked back at Iida, before running up to him.

"Iida, wait!" she called out to him. As the bespectacled boy stopped, Ochako said, "Hey, if you ever wanna talk or anything, just let me know. We're friends, right?"

"Yes," was all he said, before walking off.

As soon as Aizawa made sure that the others were gone, he sighed, before asking, "Bakugou, is there any reason in particular that you chose to do your internship with me?"

"Because you're the best Underground Hero there is."

"Logical enough, I suppose," he grunted. "Any other reasons?"

Bakugou merely turned his head, and said, "It's personal."

"Ugh, fine. I won't pry. But remember this, my internship is going to be far worse than anything we've ever done in class. If you wanna back out, now's your chance."

"Hell naw. Give me everything ya got, old man."

This was definitely going to be an interesting week for Shouta.

"So, Ms. Joke…" Hitoshi said. "What are we going to be doing?"

"Mostly? Babysitting my daughter," Ms. Joke answered.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Recovery Girl has a few more errands to run before she can take Eri with her, so for the first few hours of your internship, you're gonna learn how to paint your nails."

Hitoshi sighed. This was not what he signed up for.

Making her way to the south part of Tokyo, Ochako double-checked the address of the building she would be spending her week in. I'm almost there…

Walking a few more blocks, she looked up to find the building she was looking for. It was tall, with a mix of brown and gray materials for its construction, and lots of windows. Like so many windows that Ochako was somewhat worried about the building's load bearing.

But the biggest thing smacked right on top of the front of the building itself was a billboard of Ryuko Tatsuma, wearing all-black, with the Dragoir logo in front of her.

Ochako had arrived at the Ryukyu Hero Agency.

Walking in, Ochako was amazed at the interior design of the lobby. Large, spacious walls with red all over them, Chinese decorations ranging from golden dragons on the poles to guardian lions sitting in the corner, and a massive TV was on the other end of the lobby.

This place seemed like a palace.

"Ochako Uraraka?"

Turning around, the One For All wielder came face-to-face with a woman with short blonde hair, part of it covering her right eye. She wore a red dress with golden patterns, with a black headband that resembled dragon-like wings, with a silver part covering her eye again.

Ochako was staring at the Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu herself.

"Oh! Yes, that's me! I mean, I'm Ochako Uraraka, yes, uhh… hi."

"Heh," Ryukyu let out a small chuckle, as Ochako's face turned red. "Don't worry, no need to feel embarrassed. You're still green, you'll get the hang of this soon enough."

"Thanks for extending me the offer," Ochako said, bowing.

"You're welcome," the Pro Hero said, as the two of them walked up the stairs. "However, you should know that, while I was impressed by your power at the Sports Festival, it wasn't the reason why I extended an invitation. In fact, I doubt I would have if it wasn't for…"

As the two of them made it to the top of the first floor, the brown-haired girl looked up towards Ryukyu. She trailed off from her explanation. "If it wasn't for what?"

"Not what," she said, opening the door. "Who."

WHAM!

In an instant, Ochako felt something rocket straight for her as soon as the door opened, sending both her and her unknown assailant flying through the air and onto the floor.

"Oh my gosh, she's even cuter in person! Hey, hey! How did you perform that all-encompassing gravity attack during your final move? I thought you could only alter the gravity of things that you touched, or your own body! Wait, did your Quirk evolve? Can that even happen twice? Oh, I –"

Ochako had no idea who this was. Some blue-haired girl wearing a skin-tight bright costume just showed up, tackled her, and was now rambling about… Ochako's Quirk?

"Nejire, that's enough," Ryukyu said. "Uraraka, this is the girl who recommended me to you; Nejire Hado. She's actually a third year at UA, and a member of the Big Three."

"That's right!" the blue-haired girl said. "I saw you at the Sports Festival, and begged Ryukyu to invite you! And now, you're here! We're gonna have so much fun together!"

Well, Ochako certainly didn't see that coming.

Author's Note: And so, the hell that is internships has begun!

Not much happened here that strays too far from canon, aside from a couple of Hero names and internship picks, the real derailment will happen in a few chapters from now, so stay tuned for that. Now, it's time for all of the comments!

Dezverix: I'm glad you like the portrayals of pretty much everyone in the story, I wanted to be faithful to the source material. Don't worry about Monoma, he's gonna wise up by the time summer rolls around. Can't wait for you to comment next time!

Knightmare Lord: You might see what happened to Deika City in a future chapter, but trust me, Overhaul is gonna appear sooner than you'd imagine…

Emil_Mobile: Yeah, I'm gonna try and speedrun Endeavor's redemption, starting with him trying to bribe answers about Touya's status from Shoto, before realizing what exactly happened to have multiple of his children become Villains. Also, I'm gonna try and make Shoto more, well, more, whether via jokes, appearances, or actually being helpful, I want him to stick around, but it's a hassle. And yeah, Ochako won, and has now brought the attention of all of Japan to her. Things are gonna be pretty interesting from now on.

Terraman60: Finally, someone figured it out! Unfortunately, not the way I wanted it discovered, but it's long past overdue, I'll take whatever win I can get.

MrMateusz: I see that you've commented on both my previous series and this one. Let;s start with "When They See, They'll Understand." It was directly inspired by "Age of Ultron," so, yeah, it pretty much follows it word-for-word. Okay, so the USB thing was kind of a Deus ex Machina, because I didn't know how to have Deku lose his internet connection, but I'm glad you found it funny. Moving on to "Megethos," Izuku is playing the super long game, but not with the Aizawas, that was just a coincidence he decided to capitalize on. Kodai is indeed angry at Bakugou for bullying Izuku, because it did happen, just not to the degree that it happened in canon. Despite that, she still holds quite the grudge. However, you won't know that until reading chapter eighteen, which if you have, would explain why you are reading this now, despite the fact it's not kinda useless.

And now, for the last bit of shilling…

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!

Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore