Izuku Midoriya. He had a heavy burden on his shoulders. The inheritor of a quirk that had been passed down for generations. A power cultivated over decades until it fell into the hands of All Might. The world's one and only Symbol of Peace. This legacy became many times greater merely on the back of that one great hero. A hero Izuku Midoriya had to live up to as his successor. The pressure was enormous. Some might say too much to put on the shoulders of one so young. But the hero student was determined to bear it. To carry it and become worthy of it.

It was a heavy burden for certain. But he would bear it with dignity. Pride. And a solemn sense of duty.

"Hm-hm, ba-da-da-da, da-da-da-da!" Izuku sang quietly to himself, walking with a strut even under a downpour caused by the rainy season. Twirling his umbrella as he hopped and clicked his heels together. Many other students giving him strange looks as they passed by on their way into the school. "Da-da-da, dum, da-da-da!"

"Midoriya, are you alright?" Iida asked as he watched Izuku come through the doors into the entrance hall. "You're soaked through!"

"Ah?" Looking himself over, the smaller boy realised that yes, he was absolutely drenched. But it didn't get him down at all. He laughed awkwardly. "Yeah I guess so!"

"I keep a spare shirt here if you'd like to borrow it," the taller boy offered. Pulling out a pristinely folded white button-down shirt from his locker.

"Really? Wow, thank you, Iida." As he took hold of the shirt, his mind began to wake up and realise just what was happening, who he was speaking to. "Oh man, I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking." So lost in his delirium, he had forgotten about just what Iida had gone through on the day of the sports festival. Everything that came afterward. Ingenium's forced retirement due to injury at the hands of the hero killer. "How's your brother? Is he doing better since the surgery?"

"Oh, yes," there was a halting uncertainty to the words. Like he was trying to decide how he should respond rather than how he wanted to. Even so, there was a weak smile on his face not at all concealing the sadness in his eyes. "He'll be coming home from the hospital soon. His recovery will be difficult, but he's strong. I believe in him wholeheartedly."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed, doing his best to raise his friend's spirits. "I know Ingenium will get through this!"

The smile fractured. For just an instant. A flaw in the hastily constructed mask for his true feelings. "Yes, I agree," Iida said as he repaired the mask, repaired his brave face. "You should be quick about changing. It wouldn't do to have the deputy rep arrive late to class."

"Right, thank you again."

The shirt it turned out was very much too big for him, but it would do for the day. Izuku managed to make it into class a half minute before the bell. He passed both Ochako and Kyoka on his way to his seat, offering both of them a smile. Ochako blushed brighter than normal, Kyoka smiled back in her laid back way.

"Hm?" Mina Ashido hummed in confusion. Looking at him, then at Ochako. "Hmmmm?" Again, like she was trying to piece something together.

"Something on your mind, Ashido?" Aizawa asked as he entered the room with the bell.

"No sir!" the aggressively pink hero student answered instantly, facing forward and sitting at attention.

"Good." Taking his place at the front of the class, he quickly ran through roll call, taking full attendance. "Alright, now that that's out of the way. We have some serious business to get to before anything else. You all did well at the sports festival. I know all of you considered your performance and how you could improve. If you didn't, try harder. We might be here to teach you but if you aren't willing to learn from your own mistakes you won't get far as a hero. Mineta."

The small boy swallowed loudly, nervously. "Yes sir?"

"Well done," the perpetually unsatisfied teacher gave rare words of praise. "You've worked hard. Your performance was a big improvement compared to what we saw in April."

"What? But the first round he stuck to me for half the race!" Yaoyorozu complained.

"Intelligent quirk use is intelligent quirk use," Eraserhead answered her complaint. "Working hard, working smart, improving with effort. That's what I want from all of you. Mineta might not have gotten through to the finals but he gave it his all. That's what we demand of you all. Plus Ultra. Got that?"

Overcome with emotion, the boy who for over a month had feared he was on the proverbial chopping block wiped at his watery eyes. "Thank you, sir."

Aizawa nodded. "Like I said, all of you did well, and so we're looking at what that hard work produced. These," he pushed a button and the board displayed a bar graph, "Are the numbers of pro agencies who offered each of you internships."

A long, impressed whistle came from the direction of Tsuyu. "That sure is a lot for Midoriya."

"I mean that makes sense, right?" Kaminari asked in response. "He won the whole thing and he barely looked like he was trying for half of it."

Izuku heard an ominous growl coming from in front of him. A telltale sound that Bakugo was about to explode if not disarmed. "I was though! Like in the cavalry battle, and against Ochako! I had to give it my all!"

"First name basis, huh?" Ashido asked, catching him off guard with such an unexpected personal question for a slip he hadn't even realised he made.

"Yeah, you can say that, man," Kirishima continued the real thread of conversation. "But after Uraraka you clobbered that guy from Class B in no time flat! You don't need to be so humble!"

The growling grew louder. Followed by a small explosion as Bakugo slammed his palm on his desk. "Would you all stop talking up the worthless Deku! He got lucky!"

"Big talk for someone who didn't get to the finals," Tokoyami mused.

"It's okay, Bakugo," commiseration came from the most unlikely source. Mineta offering the explosive boy an encouraging thumbs up. "You and I can work hard together and make it to the top next year!"

"FUCK YOU, GRAPE DIAPER!"

"Enough." Stillness and silence followed the one word command, every student straightening up again. "These numbers gauge the interest the different agencies have in your future prospects as pro heroes. It's only current, so don't expect you'll keep that interest if you don't continue to perform." The list went on. Izuku, Ochako, Tokoyami, Kyoka, Todoroki and so on. "We'll be giving you each a list of those who showed interest so you can choose who you'd like to intern with. As for those who didn't get scouted, you'll also be given a list of those agencies who have arrangements with the school and are willing to take on anyone as an intern."

"So we're all doing internships?"

"Yes. And as a result of that, there's one more thing you all need to do. Choose your codenames."

"HELL YEAH–!"

"Quiet." Another understated command that cut off the celebration before it could begin. "You all keep interrupting me, we won't get this done before your classes start. Midnight, come on in."

"Huh," the R-rated hero grunted as she entered the classroom, arms raised above her head as she swayed her body to and from with her steps. Her breasts wrapped tightly in her figure-hugging costume holding the attention of most male students and a couple of female students. "Your introductions could use a little more pizazz, Eraserhead."

"I'll let you handle pizazz," he responded with complete disinterest. "You've got more of a mind for this showy stuff. Just make sure they're all done before classes start."

"You got it," she answered with a wink, before slapping the lectern with her flogger to demand the attention of the class that she already had. Her stance shifted, one hand on her cocked hip as she licked her lips. And once again she felt a sudden, insistent tug. Slowly, her eyes scanned the students until she found the one she knew was responsible. "Good morning to you too, Midoriya."

"Uh, good morning, ma'am! Sorry ma'am!"

"Hmmm..." Her lip quirked upward, noticing the two girls frowning at him. "Codenames," she continued, putting the adorable teenage romance out of her mind. "The identities you'll be known by professionally. By other heroes and by the public. The name that should define who you are as a hero. I'm sure you've all thought of what you might want it to be, but here's something to keep in mind. It should be something that means something to you. Not just the hero you could be, but the hero youwantto be... So it should probably be something cool," she added with a wink. "Now, take one of these erase boards and pass the rest back."

Hero names. Izuku remembered trying to think up hero names when he was very little. Before he even got his quirk. When he was too small to even understand what heroes were beyond really flashy, cool and strong people. And being so little, all he could come up with were names based on the coolest, greatest hero.

By the time he got his quirk, those names were a lot sillier. Less fitting. But by that point, when he learned just how minor and situational his quirk was, choosing a hero name became a lot less fun a daydream.

Really, when Backdraft appeared on the scene it was disappointing. That was the best he came up with too.

"I have mine."

While Izuku was struggling with his own choice, someone else had already moved to the front of the room. His eyes widened when he looked up to see Kyoka standing there.

"So quickly!" Midnight praised, or it might not have been praise. "I like decisive women!"

Kyoka ignored the innuendo, her eyes focused on Izuku. "I was just gonna go with the name of my quirk. But... A while ago someone told me it doesn't have to be just what lets me be a hero that defines me as a hero. And if it's the hero I want to be, then there's only one name I can use."

She flipped her board over.

'SIREN'

Izuku's cheeks flushed, remembering their first date. He had said something like that, hadn't he.

"Siren?" Ashido asked. "Like, police sirens? I guess that makes sense. Your quirk being about sound and all."

"No. Siren like the creatures that lured people to their doom with their beautiful songs."

"Ooh," Midnight squealed. "How evocative! Beautiful and dangerous! And with multiple potential meanings! I love it! What an excellent hero name!"

The floodgates seemed to open. Student after student going up and giving their own ideas for their codenames. Froppy. Uravity. Alien Queen. Red Riot. Some less successful than others. King Explosion Murder the second to be rejected, Bakugo stomping back to his desk, furiously scrubbing the name off to try again.

Meanwhile, Izuku's board remained as blank as ever.

"Midoriya, are you having trouble too?" Yaoyorozu asked from behind him.

"Too?" he asked, turning around to see the buxom class rep blushing ever so slightly at the admission. "You're having trouble? You're always so put together I thought you'd have five names picked out before we even started classes, Yaoyorozu."

"I suppose," she agreed, admitting as much without quite saying so. "But anything I came up with suddenly feels so... Insufficient. After Jiro's name, I mean. Difficult to beat that. Not that it's a competition. I just," she sighed, "I'd like to have more meaning to it than simply what I can do."

"What do you have?"

"Promise not to laugh?" she asked and he nodded. She turned her board so only he could see it clearly. As promised, he didn't laugh. But she could read his complete lack of a poker face. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"No! It's perfectly fine!" he assured her. "I'm sure you'd make it a great hero name! That's, I think that's the other half of it. No matter what name we choose, we have to make it a name worth knowing."

"Then we know what your hero name should be, don't we?" Bakugo said snidely. "Hot Flush. Go ahead and write it down."

"Umm–!" Hagakure muttered, holding back laughter.

"Are you calling him a woman like it's an insult?" Kyoka asked in a low, dangerous tone.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ears?" the explosive boy demanded. "He's got a quirk that belongs in the toilet. Hot Flush!"

There was a moment, a brief few seconds of confused, stunned silence. Before every girl in the room began to laugh, a few of the boys cringing in second-hand embarrassment, Midnight trying desperately to hide her own laughter behind her hands.

"What?!" Bakugo demanded. "What the hell's so god damned funny?!"

"Bakugo," Midnight managed to say, her voice hitching slightly. "Where did you learn that term?"

"I dunno, somewhere? What's it matter? Hey!" he protested as the pro hero teacher hauled him out of his seat and dragged him into the hallway. The two were gone for a good thirty seconds before she brought him back in. Uncharacteristically, Bakugo wore a vibrant blush and a look of mortification, having been informed of just what the term he had picked up had really meant. The term he had used to insult Izuku's quirk for an actual decade. Memories of weird looks and muffled laughter all throughout his life whenever someone older, or mostly women, would hear him say it. And in front of all of his classmates. In front of pro heroes. He slid back into his seat. "Shut the fuck up, Deku."

"I... Didn't say anything?"

"What's the matter, Bakugo?" Kaminari asked, attempting to sound casual. "Feeling a little flushed?"

Titters of laughter.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, SPARKY!"

In the end, he was too embarrassed to make another attempt at a hero name.

But without further interruptions, Izuku and Yaoyorozu continued collaborating, trying to come up with something worthwhile for both of them.

"Can you make anything?"

"More or less," the wealthy girl answered. "I need to know the structure of an object before I can make it, and it depends on the reserves of my lipids. But I've trained hard and study often so I can make anything I might need."

"Maybe less about just making things, more about wanting to make anything?" he suggested.

"It's not about making anything," she corrected him. "It's about making the right thing for the right situation. I want to be someone who can look at a situation and figure out a plan to solve the... Crisis." Suddenly, her marker scribbled on her board before she rose and marched to the front of the room. Flipped her board. "Answer!" she announced proudly.

"Hmmm, I was listening to your talk with Midoriya," Midnight revealed, tapping her chin. "It's a good concept but maybe a little flat. We could add a Miss on there to give it a little flair, whaddya say?"

"I defer to your expertise!" the young woman declared, adding the title to her new codename before going to sit back down. "Thank you, you were very helpful!" she told Izuku with a beaming smile. "Have you come up with anything you feel satisfied by?"

"Not really," he admitted, a list of names on his own board. Of the ones there, 'Heat Riser' was maybe the one he liked best but even that wasn't very good.

"... I neglected to ask, what is the name of your quirk?"

"Heat-Sink."

"That isn't a bad hero name either," she considered.

"I know," he acknowledged. "But same as some of yours, they're just names. Names of what I can do instead of what I want to be."

"What do you want to be?"

It was a question he had to stop and think about. Because the obvious answer was right there, but entirely unhelpful. He wanted to be All Might. That was the ideal he was reaching for. But that wasn't enough. He had to put it into other words. To explain what it really meant. "I want to be the kind of hero anyone can look to, to see a fearless smile and feel safe. I want to inspire people to hope, so even in their darkest moments they can look forward to a better tomorrow. A hero who does all he can, and inspires others to do the same to make that better tomorrow a reality."

"... Wow."

"Ah, sorry!" he laughed a little awkwardly. "That probably came off as a little arrogant, huh?"

"Damn nerd," Bakugo grumbled. "Just say you wanna be All Might and save everyone your shitty speech."

"Midoriya," Yaoyorozu said, regaining his attention. "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, of course." They were classmates, after all. He was her deputy as class rep. And they had fought villains together, even if he was closer to Kyoka for that whole debacle.

"Can I borrow your board for a moment?"

He handed it over, and the young maiden of the prestigious Yaoyorozu family wrote something down using her own marker. She handed the board back to him, face down. "Don't look. Just, go present it."

He held the board as he looked at her, her earnest expression. Glanced down at the board. In the end, he did as she asked. After all, there was no harm if he didn't like it. He could just say no, and pick something else. One of his backup choices. Or just go with his given name like Iida and Todoroki did.

"Ooh, I love mysteries!" Midnight cooed. "Okay, let's see what you have!"

He turned the board toward himself first to read it, before letting Yaoyorozu's penmanship show to everyone else. "Tinder?"

"Ohhh, interesting!" Midnight said as she mulled over the name. "That's a clever choice, Yaoyorozu!"

"Only if Midoriya likes it," Yaoyorozu answered.

"Tinder, that's, uh, something that starts a fire, right?" His English was pretty good but that wasn't a word he was that familiar with and had to guess based on a similar word. "That fits my quirk with the heat aspect."

"You want to be a hero? An icon? An inspiration?" Midnight asked, having once again heard the quiet conversation in the small classroom. "Then you'll fuel the fire in the hearts of everyone you save! Igniting a burning passion in their breasts that will become a roaring inferno!"

"Tone it down, Midnight," Aizawa murmured.

"Sorry, got a little carried away," she admitted with a light laugh.

Izuku likewise felt his mind carried away for an instant at her talk of passionate breasts while wearing that outfit. But, "Fuel for the flame... I like it." He looked at Yaoyorozu in gratitude. "I love it. It's perfect! Thank you, Yaoyorozu!"

"Just happy to help!" she responded, glowing with that happiness.

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen very very early on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!

And for people who didn't get the joke at Bakugo's expense (I learned terminology for it is different depending on where you're from). A hot flush is a sudden sensation of heat, feeling flushed, experienced by women going through menopause. You may also know it as a hot flash. Not many people got it the first time I published this chapter but I'm not rewriting it because I don't care enough to do so. Joke bombs, life moves on.