Pulling on the Strings of Destiny: Chapter 21
Summary: Four days pass for Japan, and everyone is on edge. They wonder, and wait. What will happen next for them? Will Midoriya keep rising? What sort of things would she face. They all turned towards the screens, wondering. None more so then the future class 1-A, more so as they get a glimpse into their first sports festival, first internship and their final exams. Watch as Midoriya’s future continues to unfold, as she learns more about her family, society and herself.
Warnings: References to underage pregnancy and the assualt of a minor. References to child harm. Toga Himiko to, she is her own warning.
ON AO3
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Izumi stood with her friends outside, Tomoe asleep, and Eri peering at the two other teens. She didn’t quite know how to react to the news that Bakugou could continue to refuse to believe he was receiving consequences.
Honestly, it was a bit sad that he still refused to listen. But when the entire world tells you that no consequences are coming, it would be hard to accept them when they come. Years of being told his thought process was suitable, and then only now being told it wasn't?
No, Izumi wasn't surprised now that she thought of it.
“Hi,” Eri suddenly said. “I’m Eri.”
“Hi, Eri!” Uraraka beamed. “I’m Uraraka!”
“I’m Iida,” Iida introduced himself, still slightly shaken. Whatever had happened, he wasn't sure how to deal with it.
Eri looked at them with big eyes, obviously looking up to them like she did Izumi, though not to the same extent.
It did not fill Izumi with glee, knowing she was the favourite. It did not.
(Okay, it did, and Hizashi could stop his cooing.)
They sat together, waiting for the screen to start as Eri played with her hands, at least until Uraraka decided to offer to braid the girl’s hair, much to her delight.
She never had braids. That was not acceptable to Izumi or Uraraka, and they kept their hair short.
“It's nice,” Eri said while Uraraka finger combed her hair. Iida had been roped in so Izumi could do small braids in his hair, and Hizashi was busy doing Shouta’s hair with a grin.
It was nice, Izumi smiling to herself as the screen turned on.
It also was a nicer distraction from… everything so far.
The screen turns on to show Midoriya and Tomoe on a train.
"In the days after the sports festival ended, we recovered from our injuries, and then, our normal classes started right back up again," Midoriya narrates. “I ended up taking the train when Shouta and Hizashi needed to go in early so that the bandages were fully removed. That's when I got my first brush of having fans.”
"Hey, you. Excuse me. You're Midoriya from class 1-A! Great job in the sports festival. I rooted for you!" one of the other people on the train says. Midoriya looks up in surprise from where she’d been on her phone.
“Ooo!” Ochako grinned at Midoriya as the brunette braided Eri’s hair. “Getting recognized already?”
Midoriya just blushed, hands pausing in their administration of braiding Iida’s hair. It caused a small spike of jealousy, seeing Midoriya braid the boy’s hair, even as short as it was.
Ochako tried not to let it play on her mind. So she had a crush. It was a cute girl who was kind, strong and intelligent. The odds were she’d crush anyway.
She just didn't want to mess it up. Midoriya was going through a lot right then, and she didn't need Ochako trying to force something.
She could wait. And see, really. Maybe she and Midoriya will get together in the future! That would be… very nice to see.
"You won it all!" another of the passengers says. “That’s so cool, kid!”
"Uh... Uh..." Midoriya tries, looking around nervously. “Thanks.”
“You have so much potential! Oh, this is your daughter? She’s so cute!” A woman says, cooing at Tomoe, who is just yawning. “Shouldn’t she be in daycare?”
The woman speaking winced. She knew that answer now, of course.
“Uh, there were issues at her last daycare. Both because of her mutation and her Quirk,” Midoriya says.
“Damn, kid, that sucks,” a man says. He has a pair of wolf ears coming from his head and a tail. “I got my fair share of comments when I was a kid, including being banned due to other kids’ allergies from some places.”
“It's all bullshit,” the man grumbled with a dirty look at the screen. It was bullshit.
In another part of Japan, in a post office, a woman hummed. “Well… I know I'm allergic to cats, and there was a Quirked kid who set it off since she was a cat heteromorph, so it’s not always discrimination.”
“Not wrong,” a coworker said, his extra three arms sorting the mail they were going through. Fan mail was picking up with everything going on, and unsurprisingly, a lot was going to Midoriya, All Might and Aizawa. “But at the same time, what if, despite the ears and tail, it was more human hair than animal?”
“Also not wrong,” the first woman said. Her hair changed colours as she thought. “You know that girl also had a pet cat. The girl who set off my allergies.”
“… I'm just gonna say that's like Mickey having a pet dog while his friend is one. Also a bit funny,” the man said. “So it could have been that. I know I was denied a few places due to a lack of uniform to fit me; never mind that we could have fixed it ourselves.”
“So unless testing is done, which is expensive…” the woman paused before shaking her head. “No, no, that's just being a dick. It gets tested when they get registered, doesn’t it?”
“It does.” The man agreed.
“Well then,” the woman looked thoughtful as they kept working. She had a fair amount to think about. She'd never been discriminatory, or at least she hoped she'd never been to anyone. But she had thought the cat girl caused her allergies. But if she had a pet cat to…
Ugh, she should look this stuff up.
“Really? Oh, that's awful,” says the woman.
“It happens,” Midoriya tells her. “Tomoe has a sort of puppetry Quirk and already they were calling her a villain.”
“Only villains are those who discriminate against a cute kid.” The woman says darkly as the train pulls to a stop. Midoriya gets off and heads through the soft rain to UA.
"I feel like I'm barely awake," Midoriya says with a yawn.
"Good morning, Midoriya! Tomoe!" Iida says as he jogs past the two. He is fully dressed in a rain jacket.
"Ah... Whoa, Iida? You really went all out with the rain gear," Midoriya tells him as Tomoe makes some grabby hands at the boy who stops to take her stiffly.
“Getting rain in my engines is unpleasant,” Tenya told the girls as he felt Midoriya tug his hair a little to show Eri his braids.
“… okay how do you shower or bathe then?” Uraraka asked.
“Leg guards,” he said with a shrug.
“Huh.”
"Why on earth are you walking so slowly? You'll be late," Iida asks.
"Late? There’s still fifteen minutes until the first bell," Midoriya says with a laugh, though she does pick up speed.
"UA students should always arrive twenty minutes early, don't you think?" Iida states. The two friends jog into UA and begin to remove their rain gear. Tomoe is placed on a bench, where she curls up with a yawn.
“Tomoe is so cute!” Toru cooed inside, smiling widely. The toddler was just so adorable; she wanted to squish her cheeks!
Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it. It was probably her parents trying to harass her about making Midoriya give up Tomoe or something again.
She didn't have time to deal with that when there was a cute baby to coo over.
"So, Iida. How are you?” Midoriya asks. Iida shakes his head.
"If it's about my brother, don't be concerned. I'm sorry if I made you worry. Everything'll be fine," Iida says calmly. Midoriya frowns.
“Iida, don’t shut me out. You’re one of my best friends.” She says to him. He pauses, and his shoulders rise to his ears.
“I am fine-“
“Iida,” Midoriya hesitates but reaches out to place a hand on her friend’s arm. You don’t have to be fine.” He doesn’t look at her. Tomoe whines from the bench, and Iida glances at the toddler, his face tired. “I am here if you need me,” Midoriya says before she removes her hand to pick up her daughter.
“We both are in the future,” Uraraka pointed at Iida with a scowl as Izumi finished a braid.
“Don’t hide yourself away,” Hizashi said from his spot, braiding Shouta’s hair, too. “You need to lean on friends.”
“Easier said than done,” Iida sighed. “I don't know what's going through future me’s head other than revenge.”
“Which isn't a good idea since we’re kids, and going up against Stain is suicide,” Izumi pointed out.
“I know.”
Iida doesn’t say anything, but he manages to smile at Tomoe. It’s a very tired one, but there as the group walks to the classroom.
"It's so weird that people recognize us from TV. Everyone wanted to talk to me on my way here," Ashido says, lifting her arms up in amazement.
"Yeah, me, too!" Kirishima agrees with a big smile.
"People on the street were staring at me! It was kind of embarrassing," Hagakure says.
"Sure, but isn't that pretty normal for you?" Ojiro asks.
"You won't believe what a bunch of elementary school brats yelled at me," Sero groans, leaning on his desk and nodding. Tsu smirks, leaning toward.
"Nice try?" She asks, causing Sero to make a rude gesture at her.
“Oh, come on,” Hanta said as the class laughed.
“No one is ever going to let you live it down,” Tsu told him, and he sighed.
“Well, in this timeline-”
“People will still know.”
“Dammit.”
"All it took was one sports festival, and suddenly we're like celebrities," Kaminari says in amazement.
Midoriya sets up the playpen to put Tomoe in. The toddler is obviously tired. The teenager frowns. She’s so tired still. Could she be going through more of a Quirk awakening? What else is there for her to get?
“Well, that doctor said it was possible,” Izumi mused out loud. “Maybe a low-level empathy Quirk? If she can control a body, it makes sense she can feel emotions too.”
“Oh, most likely,” agreed Uraraka.
“Or something else related to the body,” Iida offered.
“...Overhaul said my curse was bad,” Eri said softly. “But you love Tomoe’s… Quirk.” she looked at Izumi with big eyes. Uraraka’s hands froze from where she was braiding the child’s hair, looking pained.
“Because there are no bad Quirks. Just bad people and you, Eri, aren’t bad,” Izumi told the little girl.
“It made daddy vanish,” Eri said.
“And my Quirk nearly made my daddy float into space,” Uraraka said. “I had to learn to control it, and it took a long time.”
“Training is what every child needs for their Quirk. It doesn’t matter what it is; you need to know your own Quirk,” Izumi told Eri. The little girl looked lost, so the teens and adults didn’t press, letting her sit quietly.
"Morning," Aizawa says, walking into the classroom without bandages.
"Good morning, Aizawa-sensei!" the students reply as Izumi sits down.
"Ribbit? Aizawa-sensei, you don't have bandages anymore. That's good news," Asui says.
"The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment. Anyway. We have a big class today on Hero Informatics," Aizawa says as he rubs under his eye where a scar lays. The class mostly trades nervous looks as Bakugou glares at nothing, his shoulders tight.
“Don’t be a pop quiz, don’t be a pop quiz,” Kaminari mutters, Kirishima crossing his fingers, hoping for the same.
“Aizawa doesn’t give pop quizzes,” Midnight says as she struts back into the common room. Shouta and Hizashi had the kids outside well in hand. “Oh sure, he’ll spring things on you, and he doesn’t believe in letting you kids do long-term planning until the second semester, but he never does pop quizzes. Those are my domain,” she smirks and winks at the class. A few boys flush, and a couple of the girls. Aww, cute.
It always amazed her, sexual attraction. Being aromantic and asexual, Midnight struggled with understanding why teens were like that. Or why people were in general. She’s done it, but ugh. Gross. Give her cats, ice cream and a documentary, and she is happy.
But the entire thing was shiny to look into. Why did some people find her breasts more attractive than her ass? Why was it the other way around for others? What was the obsession with wanting a woman to step on them? Why did some guys claim to want a submissive woman but hunt down independent ones? Why did people like BDSM?
Midnight enjoyed researching it, even writing papers under another name.
Still, she never let any student entertain being with her. She had confessions from nervous kids convinced she paid them close attention, but all she could say was, "Ew." She was upfront and honest. Sometimes, the kids were embarrassed to hell and back that they made such a huge mistake; other times, they got angry.
Only once did someone try to make a claim she tried something. That was shot down hard. The media didn’t even get wind of it, with the parents trying to go to Nezu only for him to reveal everything. The parents had been pissed at their son.
People like that brat made situations like Midoriya’s so worse, more so when no one believed them. Fake allegations were rare, luckily, but they happened enough that Midnight personally attributed anyone turned away because someone thought they were lying about being assaulted to these false accusations. Add in the whole ‘woman's bodies don’t belong to them’ bullshit, too, and you have why society still sucked in regards to the victims of sexual assault.
“He seems like the guy to love pop quizzes,” Hagakure piped up.
“He does, but he actually hates them. He’s fine throwing you into a fight with little preparedness as long as it’s safe enough, but he thinks tests like that need to be studied for,” Midnight told the class. It was true. Shouta was a softy like that.
"You need codenames. It's time to pick your hero identities," Aizawa says. The class falls silent before they cheer and jump up. Tomoe blinks at everyone from her playpen, looking grumpy and tired, but she cheers along with them.
“HOLY SHIT!” the future class 1A cheered as outside Uraraka let out a squeal of excitement, startling Eri.
“Huh?” the girl jumped.
“Sorry, Eri! It's just—we get our hero names!” Uraraka cheered. Eri blinked at the teenager, frowning.
“Like… Limitless?”
“Yeah,” Limitless said, smiling at her as Aizawa seemed to be hiding an eye roll. Did he not like hero names?
“It’s a codename,” Aizawa said. Eri looked at him curiously as the teens glanced at him, too. “In the first day of Quirks they were used to keep identities secret, given how people reacted to Quirks then. Now they're used to market themselves.”
“Or in the case of undergrounds like Sho here, to also protect their identity. Few people… well before connected him to Eraserhead.” Yamada said.
“I am known for my distaste of limelight heroics, which yes, I know I need to work on, Hizashi,” Aizawa said to his husband, who beamed at the black-haired man. But hero codename classes are… difficult to get people to take seriously.”
“They pick really stupid names?” Limitless asked. “Like Pinhead?”
“Or a sidekick at my brother’s agency who goes by... Well, a curse word.” Iida glanced at Eri, who frowned.
“Like fuck or shit?” she had to know. Uraraka began giggling while Limitless snickered.
“… he goes by Fuckface. I believe it was a bet,” Iida snorted, and that caused the group to laugh, with Yamada mentioning he knew the guy.
Eri smiled, surrounded by laughter. It was nice.
Much better than Overhaul.
Aizawa rolls his eyes before activating his quirk. The students all sit back down, quiet. "This is related to the pro hero draft picks that I mentioned the last time we were in class together. Normally, students in the first year don’t get many offers. Not until their second or third year, actually, but your class is different. In fact, by extending offers to first-years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though," Aizawa tells them.
Bakugou growls, clenching his fists and causing some of the class to side-eye him.
"So, what you're saying is, we'll still have to prove ourselves after we've gotten recruited?" Hagakure asks.
“Correct. Along with this, though, we have a new student.” Aizawa nods to the door, which opens to reveal Shinsou. “He will be on a strict training program to get him to where you lot are and will be tested at the end of the semester if his transfer is worthy.”
Hitoshi grinned at the screen, his dad patting his shoulder as they drove to UA, where Nezu was waiting. He’d have to work hard to keep up with the others, especially when it came to physical training, but he’d managed to bulk up quickly in the future. Not that he knew how it had been possible.
Was it something from his mother’s family? He’d never met them, but the idea that there was some leftover mutation from an ancestor wasn’t an impossible thought. His dad often talked about how random mutations might continue through the generations. Any of his future classmates (in the hero course, how cool was that?) with a mutation not connected to their Quirk could have had their parents pass it on. Like that Koda guy. Or maybe Ashido?
Hitoshi decided not to focus on that, though, as they approached UA. It was almost time.
“Hello,” Shinsou says as Midoriya pumps a fist.
“Yes!” She says.
“Hito!” Tomoe cheers, too, and Shinsou grins a little, looking very happy. Bakugou snarls and causes Ashido to give him a nasty look.
“Oh shut up, Blasty,” she says.
“Ashido,” Aizawa says.
“Name calling, no matter what isn’t allowed,” both Aizawa and Midnight said. Mina only heard the latter.
“He doesn’t-”
“Don’t stoop to his level,” Jirou interjected. Mina winced, having to admit that was right. Sure, he was a complete jerk, but calling him names as he called them wasn’t cool.
She could probably think of them, though!
The pink girl quiets down. The teacher looks over the students before moving Shouji to sit where Mineta had been. Shinsou takes that spot, so there is some distance between Bakugou. "Now, here are the totals for those of you who got offers. In past years, it's been more spread out. In past years, it's been more spread out. But there's a pretty big gap this time," Aizawa informs them, pressing a button on a remote to cause the screen to extend from the ceiling and the numbers to appear.
Todoroki: 4,123.
Midoriya: 4,100.
Shinsou: 500
Tokoyami: 360
Iida: 301
Yaoyorozu: 108.
Uraraka: 100.
Asui: 90
Sero: 14.
Ashido: 12
Kirishima: 10.
Kaminari: 8
"Gah! That's not fair," Kaminari says.
“Yeah!” Denki pouted at the screen. “Why am I last?” he didn’t look at Ashido, who was also thrown out in the first round, or Kirishima. But he did think about it.
“Any reason,” Midnight informed him. “Heroes often look for certain things in their students. Admittedly, your showing…”
“Wasn’t great,” Denki shook his head. He got it; he did. It didn't feel good, though.
Around Japan, similar conversations were starting up. Heroes discussed what would have impressed them over others.
“I mean,” Pause began, the sidekick tilting back in her chair. “I’d love to get a hold of Shinsou for his Quirk. I think we’d do well training him.”
“He’s not that impressive,” Blind Spot said.
“Oh?” Pause asked.
“I’d rather go with someone who was already in the hero course. Such as Koda,” Blind Spot shrugged. “I know then he’s worked his ass off already and isn’t rushing to play catch up. Perhaps it’s cruel but I would rather work with someone who put in the effort before with a non-physical Quirk compared to afterwards.”
“You don’t have a physical Quirk. Hell, neither do I,” Pause pointed out.
“And we both worked our fingers to the bone to get where we are now, both of us got into our hero courses,” Blind Spot shook her head. “Might just be bias though.”
“Better be dude, Shinsou’s done really well for himself,” Pause frowned at her boss, unhappy with the other woman’s words. On one hand, she got it. She did. Shinsou dropped the ball and only began working towards his goal fully afterwards.
On the other hand, he was an angry teenager. Even if all he got were snide comments or remarks about not using his Quirk on them from other kids, it could still wear you down. The assumption that since you have such a Quirk you’ll automatically use it on people is painful. Pause, with her own Quirk, knew that feeling.
Other heroes debated over who they would prefer as an intern. Hawks, on patrol, even got asked by a reporter.
“Oh, Tokoyami,” Hawks said instantly.
“Why?” asked the reporter.
“Birds,” Hawks said, playing into his persona. It was the truth though. There were very few avian Quirked people out there. It would be nice to impart some wisdom to one.
“Asui and Shouji,” Selkie told Sirius as they drove the boat to Dagobah beach. “Those are the two I’d like to have under my wing.”
“Makes sense,” Sirius nodded. “Asui for her suitability in water, Shouji for his mutation.”
“Us extreme heteromorphs stick together,” Selkie said.
"What about the real star? Moi?" Aoyama asks, crossing his arms as the others all begin complaining.
"Todoroki got the most, ahead of Midoriya?" Jirou asks.
"Yeah, it's the opposite of how they placed in the festival," Kirishima remarks.
“Nepotism,” Todoroki announces dryly. “My father makes me an attractive option.”
That got a fair amount of cursing and complaints from everyone watching. Enji, sitting in his office still, frowned. He did not like the sound of Shouto only getting ahead because of him. Enji honed his masterpiece’s strength, but it was Shouto’s power.
The hero did not acknowledge his hypocrisy at that moment. He was too busy angry over Creepy and his actions, mixed in with the assurance that he had not been harming his family. It was training and focusing on his masterpiece.
Elsewhere, Dabi snorted to himself. Poor Shouto, the little brat, having to deal with the fame of a hero father. Little fucker.
“Well, that's dumb,” Kaminari says.
"People want us!" Uraraka says as she goes to shake Iida’s shoulders, grinning. She looks at the boy when he barely reacts before turning to Midoriya. “You got so many!”
“I did,” Midoriya says in surprise.
“I really did, wow,” Izumi laughed, unable to stop her admiration of it. She had impressed that many people? That seemed unbelievable to think about.
"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with pros. Got it? Even those of you who didn't get any offers," Aizawa says.
“How is that?” Hagakure asks.
"We provide packets of heroes who all have open slots for you to choose from, agencies we have worked with before,” Aizawa says. “You already got to experience combat with real villains during the attack on the USJ facility. But it'll still be helpful to see pros at work. Up close and personal, in the field,” he smirks as he clicks his remote to reveal what they will do today.
Hero Names, is written on the board, causing the class to cheer, even Bakugou looking excited despite his anger.
"And for us to go into the field, we need hero names!" Sato says
"Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!" Uraraka says excitedly.
"These hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or..." Aizawa starts.
"... 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," Midnight finishes as she opens the classroom door to strut inside. She is wearing tight jeans and a sweater that hugs her figure, smirking at the class.
"It's Midnight!" the class cheers.
“Who isn't in the weird bodysock thing,” Midoriya thinks. “I think Shouta says she lost a bet, but she isn't going to wear it other than for PR purposes now.”
“Good, that thing is ugly,” a fair amount of people agreed. Some disagreed, liking how it hugged the woman’s body.
Squirt leaned back in his chair, thinking. He and Midnight weren’t close. His sibling had been her friend over him, and before… everything, Squirt had barely paid attention to the woman. He was gay, very gay, and her sexiness did nothing but make his nose wrinkle. The few times Info Dropper brought the woman around, Squirt hadn’t even talked to her. It was before he stopped talking at all, and he knew he’d been a chatterbox then, though careful about saying names.
His Quirk was a name-based one like ID’s, after all.
Tapping his fingers together, he grabbed some paper and began to draw. Midnight needed a better outfit; he’d probably get to know her better now. A little brother not paying attention to his sibling’s older friends was one thing, but he’d get to know her as an adult.
Maybe he should make some actual friends instead of just people who pretended to like him for the fame his name gave them or the connections to heroes he brought around.
"Yeah. She's got a good point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte," Aizawa says, grabbing his sleeping bag.
The screen goes black, and the words "In Shota Aizawa's case" appear before changing to show a high school-aged Aizawa and Present Mic in their classroom.
"Hm? So you haven't decided on a codename yet?" Mic asks.
"It doesn't matter what I choose. I don't wanna be in the spotlight anyway," Aizawa replies.
"Bro. I got it! How about Eraserhead?!" Mic asks.
"Sure, whatever," Aizawa shrugs with a roll of his eyes.
“Awww,” a few people cooed at the idea of Aizawa choosing the name his husband gave him. Miss Joke, though, sulked a little.
Another reminder of the countless red flags she ignored. Sure, Aizawa hadn’t said anything, but she really should have seen that he wasn’t interested sooner. She knew this story, and it never stood out to her! Ugh.
"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," Aizawa says as the screen returns to the current class.
Midnight goes around passing out whiteboards as she lectures the class. “Now hero names first started as a way to hide your identity…”
“All Might... Ah. My hero name... I need something that embodies the kind of hero I wanna be one day,” Midoriya thinks as she grabs a whiteboard.
“Hero names tend to be short and punchy with a title in front. Such as my ‘R-Rated Hero: Midnight,’” the older woman says to the class. “While you certainly can try to use a sentence, I suggest against it. The media and others will find a way to shorten it to make it easier for them. Stick to two or three words.”
The screen shows her lecturing, writing on the board, shaking her head, or nodding when the kids ask questions, though no voice is spoken. Eventually, the teenagers are shown writing things down while on the board are notes; avoid Quirk names for safety reasons, underground heroes need them vague, and swearing isn't good.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Wait, do people actually use swear words?”
“Cool!”
“We can’t use our Quirk names?” Kyoka asked Midnight.
“It’s not a good idea. Oftentimes, Quirk names can give away what your powers do, and that can lead to deaths or worse,” she told the girl, who nodded in understanding.
After a few minutes, Midnight asks, "Now, students, who among you is ready to share?" Aizawa is asleep in his sleeping bag next to her.
“We're presenting these?” Kirishima thinks, gripping his whiteboard wide-eyed.
“Oh, great! Who's got the balls to go first?” Sero thinks. He’s answered by Aoyama, who walks to the front.
“Hold your breath,” he says to the class. “The Shining Hero: Can’t Stop Twinkling!”
If this had been an anime, most of Japan would have sweat drops staring at the name. Chloe slapped her face as she groaned at her little brother. Seriously?
The class all collapse, rolling their eyes as Midnight shakes her head.
“That sort of title is a bit too much. They will shorten it,” she says.
“Yeah, to Twink,” Ashido jokes. Aoyama makes a face.
“And I'm not one, so I should change it…”
“There is no way you’re not one,” Ashido shoots back—Aoyama winks, making Ashido’s mouth drop. “There is no way!” she says as he goes back to think about it more.
“You are so a twink!” Minda pointed at Aoyama, who smirked.
“I assure you I am not,” he teased.
“Wait, how would you know that?” Kaminari asked. Aoyama just winked, confusing the boy a bit more, as did others. A few, though, understood and covered their faces with their hands, trying not to laugh.
An ex-boyfriend of Aoyama, who watched the thing on a live stream, snorted. Yeah, he wasn’t a twink. The guy was pretty built under his fancy clothing, and his other temperaments weren’t that twinkish either.
“Do you wish to present?” Midnight asks the girl, smirking.
“Yeah!” Ashido beams. She stands up and heads to the front of the room. "My code name: Alien Queen!" Ashido shows the hero's name.
"Hold on. Like that horrible monster with the acidic blood? I don't think so," Midnight tells her.
“Just because you're scared of the movies,” Aizawa pipes up. Midnight sighs, looking out at the class.
“Am I the only one with that reaction?”
“Uhh yeah,” says Sero. “I didn't even know of a villain with that name.”
“Hearing Alien Queen doesn't make me think of Predator,” Kaminari chimes in.
“Alright,” Midnight says. Ashido pumps a fist and goes to sit down.
“YES!” Mina jumped up to dance around. “Alien Queen is here to kick ass and take names!”
“You don’t like the movies?” Kaminari asked Midnight, who sighed.
“No, I don’t, but it is a bias, I see. I’ll work on it,” she allowed. Honestly, the movies were old enough that even with the remake twenty years back, it should be fine.
“That’s a good name,” civilians were saying. “Nice punch.”
“Yeah! I like it!”
The class is getting more excited now as Tsu holds a hand up.
“Is it okay if I go next, ribbit?”
"Come on up!" Midnight replies, letting the frog girl stand and move to the front.
"I've had this name in mind since grade school. Rainy Season Hero: Froppy!" Asui says, showing off her whiteboard.
"That's delightful! It makes you sound approachable. What a great example of a name everyone will love!" Midnight tells her. Ashido makes a face but joins in with chanting alongside the rest of the class.
"Froppy! Froppy! Froppy! Froppy!" the class cheers.
The chant is repeated with a fair amount of Japan, including the future class 1A. Tsu’s siblings also got involved, cheering their sister’s future name.
“That’s adorable,” Selkie laughed. “I want her as an intern even more now!” He made his trademark cute pose, making Sirius groan.
“Boss…”
Kirishima stands up and goes to the front of the room, beaming. "I've got mine, too. The Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!" Kirishima reveals his board with a grin.
"Red Riot? Interesting. You're paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero, Crimson Riot, yes?" Midnight asks.
"That's right. He may be kind of old school, but someday, I wanna be just like he was. Crimson is my idol," Kirishima replies.
"Hm. If you're bearing the name of someone you admire, you have that much more to live up to," Midnight warns him. “Old Crimson doesn't mind when people use part of his name or draw inspiration like some do, but you have to be ready for the challenge.
"I accept the challenge," Kirishima says firmly.
Eijiro beamed on the screen, grinning at the approval of his name.
“That’s so cool, dude!” Sero said, pumping a fist.
“Yeah!” Ashido agreed. “That’s epic!”
“Nice name Kirishima!” was the general reaction of the class. It was a similar reaction among the population, people all admiring his wish.
One of them smiled. “I wonder if I can get his mailing address,” a retired hero murmured to himself, wincing as he carefully moved his arm. Damn injuries. “Bet he’d be happy to get an autograph,” the former hero Crimson Riot smiled.
“Thats so cool,” Midoriya thinks. She giggles for a second. “Man I'm not going to take inspiration from All Might though, no matter how I used to think Lady Might was cool.” the scene changes to show a younger Midoriya in an All Might onesie with her mother. It’s before her diagnosis and she looks so happy.
“Mama!” the little girl waves a piece of paper.
“Oh no,” Izumi groaned, covering her face. Iida and Uraraka laughed, smiling at her.
“I called myself Ingenium Jr.” Iida told her.
“I called myself Fourteen,” Uraraka said. Izumi felt better at that, but why show this?
"Ah. You want me to help you pick out your hero name?" Mrs. Midoriya asks as she takes the paper to go and sit on the couch.
"Yeah! I can't decide which one I like most!" Midoriya tells her.
"Let's see here. There's Lady Might and Might Girl. Oh, All Might Junior?" Mrs. Midoriya asks.
"That's me!" Midoriya says, striking a pose.
"Lady Might or Captain All Might. Ooh, I like Super All Might!" Mrs. Midoriya laughs.
"Super!" Midoriya yells.
"Super!" Mrs. Midoriya cheers as she picks up her daughter to spin her around.
“Awww,” was the general consensus. Toshinori felt his face warm as he laughed, happy his successor had looked up to him so much even back then. A few felt sad though. Civilians saw how Mrs. Midoriya was once, how she had supported her daughter before her diagnosis.
“Where did it go wrong?” Mitsuki wondered out loud. Masaru looked at his wife in confusion. “When did Inko start… hurting Izumi?” Mitsuki clarified.
“I don’t know,” Masaru said, looking at the screen. “Even if it wasn’t physical…”
“I remember us being so happy to have our kids the same age. Oh sure, we joked about them falling in love, but that is a fucking joke right now in itself,” Mitsuki glared at nothing, the spike of anger at her son aching in her heart. “But she wanted to give Izumi the world. Instead, she hurt Izumi in fear. I knew about her being a populationist, sure, and I figured she’d be going on about compatibility and shit later, but…”
“You never expected how it turned out?” Masaru asked.
“Never,” Mitsuki said. “I mean… I don’t know. I knew Inko wasn’t okay. But I just…” she sighed. “I don’t know. And now she’s dead.”
Inko was dead. It hit her then. Her best friend was dead. Her husband murdered her. The anger and sadness flared up, but he was struck down by the horrifying thought that he did it because Inko hurt their daughter.
That was the chilling thought. He did it out of love. But also was a big-time villain. Mistuki hated him but also understood it. Inko’s abuse of Izumi wasn’t physical, and perhaps, given time, they could have had a reconciliation. A remaking of their family. Inko showed she had realized she was wrong.
Or could it have? Mitsuki remembered her mother. She’d been a bystander in the abuse Mitsuki faced from her father. The woman was just there.
She’d contacted Mitsuki three years back, just by email. Mitsuki had been unable to respond. The pain in her heart was too much. Even years later, even after the therapy Mitsuki went through (and maybe she should go back to it now, not slap on the label of things being fine), she still felt too angry at her mother.
They would never know now, though, because Inko was dead.
The screen moves back to show Midoriya looking sad. “Mom…” she shakes her head.
"I loved coming up with all those names. They never failed to put a smile on my face back then. But... I’m not him. I am me, and I can never be him. I can’t be the hero he is, not without sacrificing myself," Midoriya thinks as she stares at her whiteboard. “But I also want a name that describes me. How I am. I want a name to mean something…” She frowns and stares at her whiteboard as other students speak.
"Man. I still haven't been able to think of anything that's cool enough," Kaminari says. Jirou grins, opening her mouth but closing it.
“I’m not going to be a bully,” she thinks. “But it could be a good name…” she reaches out to tap him on his shoulder.
"Hey, I've got one. How does Jammingway sound to you?" Jirou asks.
“Oh, I like that!” Kaminari said though he frowned. “Is this a reference to my whey mode, though?”
“A bit, sorry,” Kyoka winced. “Or I assume so. But it is a good name,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, like-” Kaminari was cut off by the screen, which said what he was going to say.
"Ha! It's like Hemmingway, who wrote 'A Farewell to Arms,' right? Real clever. I like it," Kaminari says thoughtfully. “And includes my electricity, but I don’t just jam things…”
“... I feel like I should get Cementoss to come and talk to you if you like that stuff,” Midnight said. Elsewhere in the school, said hero had perked up. A student liking Hemmingway?
He needed to meet that kid.
“It’s just a thought,” Jirou says. “Though I wonder what to use for mine. I was going to go with my Quirk name, but Midnight-sensei is right that it can be a security risk.”
“Well, what about something the opposite? Like.. Silent or something?” Kaminari says. Jirou nods slowly, writing something down on her board. She stands up to present it.
“The Recon Hero: Silence,” she announces.
“That’s a good one!” Midnight says. “While most would be able to guess part of your Quirk from one look at you, adding Silence can throw them off, so they are unaware of your ability to use your heartbeat!”
“Wooo!” the class cheered. Kaminari grinned at Jirou, who laughed and nodded at the boy.
“Nice name,” Sato told her. She smiled at him.
“Thanks, Sato.”
Elsewhere, others were talking about how cool it was. It sounded like a perfect name for her.
Shoji is shown to have replaced Jirou. “The Tentacle Hero: Tentacole.”
"Oh, I like what you're doing with that. A nice portmanteau," Midnight tells him before the screen changes to Sero showing his hero name.
"The Taping Hero: Cellophane!" Sero announces.
"That's on the nose. But it’s catchy and fun! Good work!" Midnight says.
The class cheered for the names, with the kids outside coming in. Then, Eri nervously hid behind Izumi. None of the students reacted too much, all catching onto the defensive posture and how the girl was clutching Izumi’s pants.
“Nice names, guys!” Izumi told the class, everyone grinning.
“Ooo! We should make Twitter accounts with them!” Ashido suddenly squealed. That prompted a dash for their phones, and Midnight quickly talked about PR concerns. Izumi led Eri to the couch, and the two sat beside one another.
“Don’t worry, they’re nice,” the teen whispered, adjusting Tomoe in her arms. Eri nodded slowly.
She knew they were friendly; she saw them on the screen. But it was still scary.
"Martial Arts Hero: Tailman," Ojiro says, standing before the class.
“Try again,” Midnight says. “Tailman isn't bad, but it’s not great either. Actually, most ‘man�� names have even been taken by other heroes if I remember right.”
“There is a Taleman in Europe, but his Quirk is different,” Midoriya offers. Midnight nods at the girl in remembrance. Ojiro nods and moves to sit down. Sato quickly erases his board with a sigh.
“I was thinking Sugarman,” the student admitted.
“Not bad, but it has been used,” Midnight said. “Adding ‘man’ to a hero name has been done since before Quirks. The list goes on: Spider-Man, Superman, Iron Man, Batman, Plastic Man.”
“Taleman in Europe has a Quirk that when he reads out a book, he can force people into ‘roles,’” Izumi mused. “Like if he read a fairy tale like Kintaro, he could put people in those roles. His wife writes short stories he uses.”
“That sounds devious,” Tokoyami said. “To be able to control people like that with the written word.”
“Yeah, he found out by reading some fairy tale as a kid,” Izumi said. “Apparently, he had to finish it, and they were lucky it wasn’t one where the bad guy died in the end.” The whole class shuddered at that thought.
They were lucky he was on their side.
"Stun Gun Hero. I am Chargebolt. Electric, don't ya think?" Kaminari asks, standing at the front of the room with a giant grin.
"Ooo! Very!" Midnight says.
"The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl!" Hagakure announces.
"That is a little too close to an old comic book hero. Maybe try again?" Midnight asks. Hagakure nods.
“Damn,” the invisible girl snapped her fingers.
“You also don’t want to add girl anyway,” Midoriya told her. “I mean, what happens when you’re an adult? Imagine the patronizing.” All the females in the room, including Midnight, winced in horror.
“I can imagine it,” Toru grumbled, just seeing some old male hero going, ‘There’s a good girl’ or something. Or someone saying, stand aside, girlie. Ugh. “Thanks for preventing that mistake, Midnight-sensei.”
“Of course, that’s what the class is for!” Their teacher beamed.
Yaoyarozu walks up next with her board.
"I hope that I can live up to this name. The Everything Hero. I'm Pandora!" Yaoyorozu looks at Uraraka and Midoriya, who beam at her, obviously understanding where she’d taken inspiration.
Both girls beamed at the taller one, who smiled back amidst the cheers.
"Great classic reference!” Midnight says as Todoroki get us. He barely has a second to present his name before Midnight shakes her head. “You are not just using your name. Try again.”
“Fine,” Todoroki moves back to his seat. Shinsou gets up then to present his.
“Blink,” the purple teen says.
“Oo! I like it!” Midnight beams. “Like Jirou’s, it's a misdirection from your Quirk!”
“I like it, Hitoshi.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
"Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi," Tokoyami announces next, the screen changing to show him dramatically posing as Dark Shadow looms.
"Ah, God of the night!" Midnight says. Kouda stands next, and he signs his name.
"Petting Hero: Anima." Midnight translates out loud, clapping. “I love it!”
"King Explosion Murder," Bakugo announces from the front of the class. Everyone groans as Midnight sighs.
"I'm gonna say that one's a little too violent," Midnight tells him.
"Huh, whaddaya mean?" Bakugo demands.
“You’re trying to be a hero while yelling about murder,” Jirou says dryly. Bakugou glares at her but stomps off as Uraraka stands up.
Katsuki crossed his arms, glaring. The pun was perfect! What the hell were they on about?
“That kid,” a few civilians muttered, making faces. Wanting murder in his name? Seriously? What kind of hero wanted that?
Stain scoffed, glaring at the screen. That child was indeed a false hero. Only wanting the fame of it. He would not kill him; killing children wasn’t worth it. But a maiming could help…
"Okay. My turn," Uraraka whispers to herself, walking to the front of the room. "This is the name I thought of, Uravity!" she declares, showing off her whiteboard.
"I just love that!" Midnight tells her.
"Whew!" Uraraka sighs in relief as she walks back to her seat. Midoriya flashes a thumbs up that’s returned.
“You’re all doing well, not nearly as many refusals as I’ve had before,” Midnight says. “Of the originals who need to present, we have Iida Sato and Midoriya,” she nods at the three. “Then we have Todoroki, Ojiro, Aoyama and Hagakure.”
Iida clutches the board, not looking up as the screen moves to show him sitting by his brother’s bedside. All around the older man are beeping hospital machines.
"Tenya. I wasn't sure if I wanted to say anything yesterday. But, I... I can't feel my legs. They're useless," Ingenium croaks out.
“NO!” Tenya blurted out, staring at the screen in horror. He couldn’t believe it. Tensei… Tensei was paralyzed? “There has to be something; it can’t-” he shook his head, hands shaking. Shouta came to place a hand on his shoulder, but the teenager barely noticed, too busy feeling himself break.
Tensei couldn’t be like that. It couldn’t happen; none of it could.
In Hosu, Tensei himself stopped, staring at the screen. He felt his face pale as Native reached to clasp his shoulder, much like his brother was being supported.
“Easy Ingenium,” Native muttered. “Easy.”
“I…” Tensei swallowed. “I always thought I’d die or retire at age forty when I slowed down.”
“You will now; we won’t let this happen, I promise,” Native said.
Many people were covering their mouths, horrified. Stain only felt a slight pang. He’d been wrong in the future and cost the world a hero. But… no, no, he had to be right. There was something else.
His views were perfect. He couldn’t be wrong. The only true hero was All Might and maybe Limitless. Everyone else was trash; they were just fakes in it for merch and the like. Stain stomped past a sign promoting All Might bags, barely noticing it as he glared at one with Ingenium on it. More had been popping up the last few hours. All thanks to the hero capitalizing on Limitless’ story. How pathetic was it?
He was led astray perhaps, but he still did the right thing. He knew it.
"What? No!” Iida says, standing up. “There are other doctors- we-”
“Asked ID. They ran through each doctor and the only one possibly able to help… they live to far away. They have a time window and they won’t be able to make it in time.” Ingenium sighs. “My hero time is over.”
"No! You still have so many people to help and inspire, brother. This can't be true," Iida says, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid it is. That's why I want you to take the name Ingenium," the hero tells his brother.
Tenya choked, eyes watering. No, he couldn’t. He blindly moved to sit on the couch next to Eri and Midoriya, the two looking at him worriedly. Tomoe was still asleep, and Tenya stared at her. A horrible thought occurred.
Midoriya, in the same position as Tensei with Tomoe carrying her name. Maybe even One for All to.
How… how was this just? How could Stain do that? How could he decide Tensei was trash? That he was worthy of death?
This man was nothing, just another villain like Shigaraki or Midoriya’s father. Wanting to do what they wanted without care.
Tenya’s hands balled into fists. He wouldn’t let it happen. He would make sure of it. He would not let Stain claim Tensei’s career. He would not let it happen.
Even if he had to kill the man first.
The screen goes back to the classroom, showing Iida refusing to look up.
"Will you do that? For me, Tenya," Ingenium asks, his voice echoing.
‘I… I can’t…’ Iida thinks, shaking his head. “Midnight-sensei, can I have some time?”
The teacher purses her lips, nodding slowly. The class all trade looks, even Bakugou not saying a thing before Aoyama stands up again.
“I am the Dazzling Hero: Starlight!” he says.
“Magnifique!” Yuuga beamed. He really liked the name; it felt perfect. He looked at his fellow students, who were congratulating him, and a sense of horror struck him.
He was going to be a spy. He would be reporting to All for One. He would be betraying them. Yet here they were, cheering him on. Only years of acting camps and drama lessons (and he suddenly realized why he was signed up for them with the sickening twist his classmates would one-day feel) kept it off his face.
What would he do? What about Chloe? Hayato? His niece and nephew?
What could he do?
“It's beautiful!” Midnight cheers as Sato also gets up.
“I’m the hero: Sugar Time!” he grins. “And it's a built-in catchphrase,” he jokes.
“I will pay you to shout that and go into battle,” Jirou says.
“Bet!” Sato points at her as the other students laugh.
“Oh yes, please.”
“I love that idea.” civilians laughed, imagining it. Some heroes were even chuckling, imagining the teenager bursting on the scene shouting that.
“It works!” Midnight cheers.
Ojiro gets up and then declares himself K.O. for knockout. It is permitted with a cheer as Hagakure goes next.
“Prism!” she cheers. The class applauds, and then Midoriya stands up. She walks to the front of the class and reveals it. Limitless.
No one stopped cheering, smiling widely at the screen. There it was. The name, the name she would choose for herself.
Izumi felt her face nearly burst; her smile was so broad that everyone cheered. Tomoe didn’t twitch oddly, but maybe she was just tired. Eri was bouncing, as even Iida managed a cheer, as ragged as it was.
Her name was there. This was one of her milestones, her hero name. Limitless because that’s what she was.
What she always had been.
The tears started and didn’t stop, but no one seemed to mind.
“That’s…” Midnight blinks. “A very heavy title.”
“I was born Quirkless,” Midoriya says. “I was out down constantly my whole life for it, and everyone has treated me like trash. They said I wouldn't be a hero. That I wasn't like them. Getting a quirk… coming here… someone told me I was limitless,” she glances at Aizawa, who looks a little stunned. “I want to remind myself and others of that.”
“Well then… I love it!” Midnight gives a thumbs up, grinning. Midoriya beams and turns to smile at Aizawa, who hides his face in his scarf.
“Problem child,” he grumbles. It gets a laugh as she goes to sit back down.
The screen changes to show the small form of All Might frowning at something in his hand. “This just came in for Midoriya?” he asks.
“It did,” Cementoss says. “I never heard of a Gran Torino, and she has a lot of offers, so I wondered if I should give it to her.”
“Hold it back,” All Might says. ‘Gran Torino is too rough for her now… but I got to talk to him, don’t I?’ the hero shudders.
Toshinori sighed, his cheer gone. Gran Torino. Meanwhile, Sorahiko flinched, his gaze dropping down.
Fuck. It looked like he would need to do this, wouldn’t he?
He walks away to grab his cell phone and duck into an empty meeting room attached to the staff room, dialling a number.
“Hello?” an older man says over the phone.
“Sensei?” All Might asks as the screen changes back to the classroom, where everyone groans at Bakugou’s new name.
“Lord Explosion Murder!” he glares at the groans.
“Are you joking me?!” Kyoka threw her hands up, mimicked by a lot of Japan. How bad was this kid?
Katsuki glared harder at the screen, not happy. He didn’t see anything wrong with it! It was powerful and cool! It was great!
“Dude, the entire issue is the murder!” Jirou throws her arms out. He gives her a nasty look but moves to sit down as Midnight shakes her head.
“Would you like some time to Todoroki? You, Iida and Bakugou run the risk of being named by the papers,” she warns.
“I’m not sure what I want,” Todoroki says. Midnight nods, moving on with the lesson.
“Now, as said, these aren't hard yes or no names. I changed my name three times as a teenager, and I’ve known people who changed their hero codename as an adult. You may also gain a second name, such as if you work with a hero team with a theme such as the Fae Court,” Midnight lectures. “Some names won’t stick, and some will, but they are beacons for how you want to be as a hero.”
The screen goes back to All Might.
“-you would hurt her too much.”
“I wouldn't hurt that kid-”
“You hurt me.” All Might says. He clenches a hand. “I was hurting when Nana died, and you just did not care. You let your own hurt and grief get in the way.”
Everyone watching froze. Melissa dropped the wrench she held, staring in horror at her uncle-father-whatever. Did he…
“All Might was abused?” snarled Stain.
It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true.
He… no.
“… I did, yeah. I did that.” the voice sighs. “I fucked up badly. I… you needed a teacher who…”
“I won't deny I am who I am because of you, sensei, but I also know me being terrified of you for years is wrong,” All Might says.
“I know Nana would try to murder me for some of my shit,” the voice laughs. “I stand by the sharks.”
“Of course,” All Might rolls his eyes, though he is half smiling.
“I’m sorry, Toshinori. I messed up and it's on me what I did,” the other man on the phone says.
“… that’s what I needed to hear.” All Might says. “For now. I think we need this face-to-face.”
“Agreed. I gotta apologize a lot more, and we need to talk about how we’re going forward, you zygote,” the other man teases cautiously. All Might laughs, half smiling.
“Aye,” Toshinori said. His shoulders dropped when the old man apologized, and his heart lightened.
He couldn’t describe it. It wasn’t like young Midoriya and her mother, and to be fair, he would never say ‘if they had a reason you understand it’s okay’ to anyone to make them forgive their abuser, but…
Gran Torino had apologized, and he had a reason. Grief wasn’t pretty, and All Might could hardly blame the man for hurting. He never apologized either, so… hearing it made All Might understand. He promised to talk about it, acknowledging he would do it. That was what made it real. Not a ‘sorry for everything’ but never a promise to change. An acceptance of the blame and knowing it was on you. That was an apology.
If Gran Torino didn’t change and act better, All Might would walk away again. He would know the older man didn’t mean it.
But if he tried, he would have.
Sorahiko covered his eyes, trying not to cry. His son forgave him, and he accepted it. His heart felt light.
He would make sure he was worthy of this. He’d change everything; he’d work himself to the bone. He would make sure he was worthy.
A few tears escaped, and Sorahiko gave up the fight. He was going to cry.
‘We aren’t okay yet. It’s going to take more than just a sorry. But it's a start. We’ll see if he changes or stays the same. That's how we know people change: when they try their best to keep it up.’
The screen flips back to the classroom, where people are finishing their notes. Aizawa is now standing by Midnight.
"Now that everyone's decided on their hero names, we can discuss your upcoming internships. They'll last for one week. 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. You have a lot to think about. Around 40 agencies across the country have agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different specialty that its heroes focus on. Keep that in mind," he tells them.
"Imagine you were Thirteen. You'd want to choose a place that focuses on rescuing people, not fighting villains. Understand?" Midnight looks around the room to make sure they do. “But then again, this is also your first internship. You don't have to stay with them forever, and I highly suggest checking out other styles of hero work.” Midnight advises.
“It is a good idea to check out a branch you haven't been exposed to if you want. It is your first year, and another internship week like this occurs in the next two semesters. Then, after you get your provisional licenses for the second year, there will be two each semester or more, depending on if you end up signing on for an extended period of time,” Aizawa says.
“I had six different places I interned at during my high school career. Half of them…” Midnight makes a face. “Not good.”
“Ugh, yeah,” Midnight made a face. “Sexism and harassment galore,” the heroine tried to change the subject from the realization brought before. No one likes to hear anyone was abused, but somehow, the idea All Might was abused felt worse. Like it being true meant there was nothing good in the world.
Midnight could tell you almost a third of the people she knew were abused. Shouta, one of them, gave his parents. Hizashi’s mom hurt him, too. Even Midnight would say she’d had some shit tossed her way from family. Never her parents but others? Yeah. Ms. Joke was too, and so was Snipe (and his hell story sent shivers down her spine); Cementoss had been buried alive by a pair of cousins- the list went on.
But All Might? It just felt wrong.
Which was the issue. They deified him, made him bigger than a man. And when the shine wasn't there, the happy story missing, the world went sideways.
It wasn't right. But she wouldn't help the feeling.
No one could.
“Our normal teacher for helping out with internships has retired, and his replacement is currently in the middle of an investigation, so they are not here, but ask your teachers for advice,” Aizawa says.
“Some heroes offer internships for prestige, as Todoroki pointed out, while some have alternative motives. I already went through the offers to remove heroes I know from my own experience are not a good environment for girls or boys,” Midnight says darkly. The class shudders, Midoriya’s shoulders going up.
“And I went through to remove ones I know are Quirkist towards mutations or ‘villain’ Quirks,” Aizawa says. “Other than that, you have two days. Your internship week will begin Saturday to next, and after that, you’ll have a week before midterms.”
“We only have two days?!” Sero asks as Kaminari blurts out,
“Wait, midterms are in two weeks?!?”
“Oh god,” Denki said. “That and internship?! That close?!?”
“It’s supposed to stimulate paperwork,” Aizawa replied. His tone indicated that he wasn't sure he agreed with that. Denki got it. On the one hand, it was probably good for learning to balance work. On the other hand, it meant the students who needed extra help didn't get it.
Denki needed a bit of extra help, but he thought the week between then would help—maybe.
Aizawa ignores the chaos as he goes back to laying in his sleeping bag. “You have the next while before English to start. I am here and willing to offer advice as is Midnight.”
“He's just dozing after a night of worrying over Midoriya,” Midnight teases. “With her big interview tonight.”
Midoriya groans as she covers her face as the class bursts into noise asking questions. Tomoe makes a grumpy noise which quiets them, but a few people keep poking at Midoriya as others open the briefings on the agencies.
“Selkie offered!” Tsu says, smiling.
“Sel!” Tomoe says, beaming. Midoriya latches onto the change of subject quickly.
“She loves Selkie.”
Said hero, who’d been happy the frog girl wanted him, punched a hand into the air.
“I got to get that kid some merch!”
“Of all of us Captain?” Sirius asked. Selkie laughed, nodding.
“I’ll get her an autograph,” Tsu says as Shouji speaks up from where his new spot is.
“Selkie is on the list of people taking interns who don't get offers. Can two of us go?”
“Two are allowed,” Midnight confirms. “Some agencies do offer specific internships but also have others.”
"I want to fight crime and bad guys in a big city," Kirishima says. “What about you, Bakugou?”
“I have to work with fucking Present Mic cause of bullshit,” Bakugou grumbles. Kirishima hesitates, eyes flickering.
“Well- he's awesome! You'll have a good time!”
Bakugou scowls, not answering.
It was BULLSHIT. He shouldn't be punished like that. It was limiting him from learning proper heroics! Who gave a fuck about looking good for the camera?!?
Katsuki glared at the screen, anger bubbling inside. He was pissed right off that his choice got yanked from him. He should be going with a combat hero! He should be out beating villains!
He slumped further in his seat. Stupid Eyebags. Stupid Deku. It was their fault. Eyebags cheated and-
Deku did nothing, the voice inside whispered. But you blame her anyway. How is that heroic?
Katsuki glared. It was Deku’s fault. She was always at fault because-because she looked down on him!
She doesn’t.
She was a liar! She did! Everyone was against him for no reason! He was the best!
He was!
The screen moves to show the class at lunchtime, with little Tomoe eating a cookie that Sato seems to be thanked for, as the teenager blushes with a smile.
“Any ideas for your internship?” he asks Midoriya as Jirou steals a cookie from his bag for himself, grinning at the mock glare he shoots.
“Not sure. I need a place where I can take Tomoe for part of it,” Midoriya says. “She's never been away from me for longer than a day, and I'm cautious about trying a full week right now. Not… so soon.” Midoriya shakes her head. It’s been a few weeks, but I can't risk her freaking out.
“Oof, that’s gonna cut down the potential list,” a sidekick for Wash remarked to her boss. “Not a lot of heroes have daycares attached or are near.”
“I would argue that most heroes are married, and one parent stays home, but even then…” Wash frowned. “A lot of heroes marry each other. Easier to do that when people know your job.”
“Yeah,” the sidekick nodded.
Unknown to them, quite a few heroes would be adding daycares to their facilities because they also realized that daycares were a lacking resource for their workers' kids. Others debated reaching out to daycares and asking if they were willing to make a deal to accept the heroes' kids along with a security presence.
“Makes sense,” Uraraka says, bulldozing over any comments. Ojiro looks disapproving when he walks out, shaking his head. Uraraka glares at him. “I already know where I'm going!”
“Oh?” Midoriya asks. “Which one?”
"The one that the Battle Hero: Gunhead runs," Uraraka replies.
“Taking Aizawa-sensei’s advice?” asked Jirou.
“Yeah. I need more hand-to-hand moves, and Gunhead is known to be good at martial arts.” Uraraka says. “I’ll also look into the extra lessons offered by that one teacher- Gas Attack?”
“Oh yeah! Shouta- I mean, Aizawa-sensei told me she's going to offer more lessons, too. Apparently, her ‘problem children’ in her class have settled down,” Midoriya says.
“Because I got in after I got my head on straight,” Shinsou says. “Gas Attack told me that she had worried about me until I ‘wisened up.’ She is now shoving it into all the kid's faces who complained too much about the entrance exam without trying. So, thanks, Midoriya. I think she'd have blocked my transfer if I had been like I was before.”
“Blocking a transfer? She can do that?” was the common question amongst the public. One reporter, though, noticed that Gas Attack, a hero not well known, admittedly, began posting on Twitter.
Gas ‘Em @officalGasAtttack
Yes, I have the power to block people from transferring. A little-known fact about 1C is that we are where the waitlisted kids go. Often, these kids nearly got in, or admittedly, we think they have great potential, so they are placed into my class (1/?).
Gas ‘Em @officalGasAtttack
As a pro-hero, particularly one who is a military officer with a highly dangerous Quirk, I keep an eye on potential students we deem ‘almost ready’. These students tend to be kids with a lot of potential, but often, they need a firm kick in the pants (2/?).
Gas ‘Em @officalGasAtttack
If we think they aren’t ready, I will block them. I’ve done so multiple times. If you hear how rare it is for a Gen Ed kid to get into the Hero course, this is true—and it’s because half the time, they aren’t ready. The other half, they try and wash out (3/?)..
Gas ‘Em @officalGasAtttack
Heroics aren’t for everyone. I don't mean to say no one can become a hero, but I am saying that unless you’re willing to put in the work, you WILL fail. I don’t see the point in letting certain students into the hero course if they’re going to crash and burn (4/?).
Gas ‘Em @officalGasAtttack
Because they didn’t give their all, I would refuse a transfer if Shinsou had never bothered TRYING to exercise and work hard. A useful Quirk is not the most important thing about heroics. It’s drive, power and the determination to see things through (5/6)
Gas ‘Em @officalGasAtttack
I’d rather have a bunch of kids pissed off at me than have some kid run into danger, getting KILLED because they were allowed into the hero course half-assing it (6/6)
The reporter smiled. She had a story, it seemed. And it should be a good one.
“Welcome, Shinsou,” Midorita says. “Who are you going with?”
“I got assigned one to help me get on track with you guys. Midnight-sensei,” Shinsou explains. “Aizawa-sensei will be teaching me to use a capture scarf since he's one of the few in Japan who has one, but he says it's the second semester he runs his underground lessons for first years.”
“Underground classes?” Ashido asks.
“You didn't know?” Shinsou asks. “It's in the syllabus.”
“No.” Ashido frowns. “Who reads that?”
“Underground heroes,” Shinsou says dryly. The pink girl has to give a nod.
“Wait, you don’t tell us on purpose?” Mina asked.
“Underground heroes often have to search for information. A good underground hero will hunt down any bit of info they can,” Aizawa said. “It’s just for the first round of extra lessons, not the next. I want to see who is willing to look.”
“Yeah, but…” Mina trailed off. She didn’t have an answer to that. It wasn’t like he was focusing on only one student; he just let them find the information themselves and then would tell them if they hadn’t. For an underground hero, she supposed it made sense.
It didn’t seem fair, though, still.
“What are extra lessons?” Kaminari asked.
“Extra lessons are sort of clubs,” Midnight said. “UA has clubs, but with how intense heroics are, we also offer extra lessons after school. They’re graded and everything. Aizawa teaches underground heroics; Mic teaches how to manage an agency. I teach PR lessons, Gas Attack, and a few others teach martial arts- the list goes on. You are also encouraged to do a club or two for stress management, but extra lessons are highly encouraged.”
“We don’t see any clubs,” Mina said.
“Clubs for hero students start in the second semester. We just don’t see any extra lessons due to the nature of the… show,” Midnight winced, and Mina got it.
Sure, it looked like an anime, but it wasn’t. It was a Quirk showing them the future.
God, it still felt weird to think that.
“Come on, let's get lunch,” Midoriya says. Todoroki, who'd been hovering, walks forward.
“May I eat with you?” he asks. Midoriya blinks but nods with a smile.
Fuyumi had to crack a smile. Her little brother is making friends. It felt good to see, even through all the other shit going on.
Sadly, only one of her other brothers agreed.
“Of course!” she pauses as she gets up. “I have to walk to my interview by myself today since Aizawa-sensei is running extra lessons for second-year underground hopefuls, and Mic-sensei is going to his radio show. Do you want to join me and Uraraka walking to the station?”
“Ah, yes,” Todoroki nods. Ashido smirks, wagging her eyebrows at Jiro who shakes her head as Sato checks his phone.
“Ah man, thinking about this afternoon reminds me I gotta help out in the bakery.” he says.
“Do you have tomorrow off?” Jiro asks. He nods, agreeing he does. “Want to hang out? You were texting about video game music last night, I want to see what you mean by I've never heard a sound track like Baldur’s Gate or Mass Effect.”
“Oh yeah!” the two walk out, leaving behind the others.
“Iida?” Midoriya says, turning to the blue-haired teen. He startles and stands.
“Ah, yes. Lunch.”
“Unc!” Tomoe makes grabby hands at the boy, and he hesitates before going to grab her. She laughs, smiling as she leans her head against his.
He looks about to cry for a second before his face glazes over. Midoriya and Uraraka trade worried looks.
The screen morphs again to show the end of the day. Iida is already gone when the girls grab their things from the locker room. Todoroki is with them, awkwardly holding Tomoe, who is now calling him Sho-Sho.
“AWWW!” a lot of the female population cooed. “Sho-sho!”
“That is adorable!” Fuyumi giggled. She beamed at the screen, her eyes shining. She should call Shouto that…
“Sho-sho,” Ashido teased Shouto, who tried not to let on how much he didn’t mind it. Hearing Tomoe call him that was adorable. He would prefer not to let anyone else call him that, though.
“I hope he’s okay,” Midoriya says to Uraraka. “Iida, I mean.”
“Same, what happened is…” Uraraka sighs. “Bad.
“Yeah.” Midoriya agrees. “Let’s go.” the three students walk out of UA, Tomoe poking at Todoroki’s face.
“Split!” she says, reaching up to touch his hair.
“Yeah, he has two colours,” Midoriya says to her daughter, who beams. Todoroki gives a shaky smile before the screen changes, showing him and Midoriya, though it’s a bit of a split screen. In one, Midoriya enters a building with the words ‘Japanese Equality News’ on the entrance sign, while Todoroki enters a hospital. The screen shows them both stopping to get directions from a secretary and then heading further in. The screen zooms in to focus on Todoroki as he reaches a hallway of doors.
Todoroki stops at one, hesitantly lifting his hand to lay on the doorknob before he opens it to reveal a patient's room where a white-haired woman is sitting. Her hands are clutched together, and as the door opens, she turns to reveal herself. Todoroki Rei looks back at her son.
The humorous mood fell, and everyone stared. No one spoke. Shouto took in a shaky breath, Rei mimicking her son.
Neither knew what to think. After years of pain, they were finally face-to-face in the future. Rei was not in the same place her future self was, nor was Shouto.
Neither wanted to see what would happen. They wanted it private; they wanted to know themselves. They didn’t want it splashed everywhere.
The rest of the family, bearing one, agreed. Fuyumi winced, praying the scene changed. Natsuo cursed under his breath, and Enji stared only in horror.
Dabi scoffed. Oh, look, confronting the insane bitch, how utterly awful for poor baby Shouto who got everything. Where was Rei snapping about Dabi’s treatment? Why was it Shouto who got everything? Why was it HIM?
Dabi dug a cigarette out of his pocket to smoke, stomping down the street. Fucking Shouto.
He would enjoy burning him.
The screen moves again to show Midoriya and Tomoe in front of the reporter who gave her the business card. “Ready,” she says.
The screen moves to show Present Mic laughing at Aizawa, the two men cooking. “Awww, she chose to use the name you gave her,” he teases.
“Stop it, Hizashi,” Aizawa grumbles.
“Nope! It’s so cute! Look at you all blushing and embarrassed since she decided to honour you,” the voice hero laughs again. Aizawa is blushing, and he gently knocks into his husband.
“It was nice, that’s all,” Aizawa grumbles.
“Yeah.” Yamada laughs. He hums as he stirs something in his frying pan. “Do you think this will be permanent?”
“What?” Izumi and Shouta asked, their question mimicked twice with Hisashi in his lair and from the screen
“What?” Aizawa asks.
“Izumi here with us. She’s sixteen, sure, but… do you think…” Yamada hesitates. “Do you think she’ll stay?”
“Are you saying you’re already attached?” Aizawa asks.
“Like you aren’t?” Mic snorts as he stirs the pan more. “She’s… a good kid. Tomoe is adorable, too, and… it feels more like home here than before.”
“...It does,” Aizawa says under his breath. “We can’t… we can’t push her.”
“I’m not saying that!” Mic shakes his head quickly. “I am saying that if she wants to be… our kid as it is, we should let her make the choice. But we should also… let her know we want her to?”
The screen shows Midoriya right at the entrance to the apartment, her eyes wide, and obviously, she’s overheard. A heavy blush colours her face before she shuts the door firmly. “I’m back!” she calls out.
“Welcome home!” Mic calls out. Midoriya smiles, adjusting Tomoe to her grasp before fully entering the apartment.
Izumi’s face was warm as she looked at her teachers. Hisashi was smiling, but Shouta looked red.
It was too early now. It was, even with how nice they were. She wasn't a child clutching to them after a death. She was a single teen mom struggling with trust.
But… knowing they cared that fast in the future, hearing them talk about it… it filled her with warmth. She had to look away, cheeks red, from the two men.
She hadn't had anyone like that before, who cared instantly. Well, except for Iida and Uraraka, but this was different. These men were acting like her parents and wanted her to be their kid.
Inko had been a good mom once, and Izumi wouldn't deny it. But then the diagnosis came, and suddenly, things changed. Inko’s love for Izumi changed. Hisashi cared, but… he wasn't there. He left and said it wasn't because of her status but because a part of Izumi still felt worried.
Yet these men… God, it twisted her inside, and she almost felt like she couldn’t breathe. They cared. They cared so much.
It felt amazing.
Hizashi and Shouta felt something similar. They'd talked about kids, fantasized about them, debated adoption or surrogacy, and talked about it one way and back, but… they'd never really felt the way about kids until they met Izumi. And Eri, actually. Something about the two girls caught their attention: Izumi, with her drive and mind, and Eri, with her determination to save herself.
Those girls made them want to be parents. Yes, maybe it was too early, but they couldn't say they didn't feel that way about them.
(In his lair, Hisashi snarled. That was HIS daughter. Not those fools. They better watch themselves. Making them into Nomu or not, they walked a fragile line!)
The screen goes back to the scene with the reporter, and Midoriya is talking,
“I grew up Quirkless. People hated me. It’s not as bad as some of the Wild Islands and their views on the Quirkless, but it wasn’t good,” she says. “I was bullied daily, and my own mother thought I was a weak thing, thinking she had to marry me off to protect me.”
The screen moves to show the students in class taking notes as Midoriya keeps speaking.
“And you still wanted to be a hero,” the reporter says rhetorically.
“Yes,” Midoriya’s voice speaks. “More than anything, I wanted to save people. I wanted to make them smile in relief, to know they aren’t alone and they don’t need to be afraid. I’m, well, here.”
“Ah, All Might’s creed,” the reporter laughs as the screen flips to show the lair of Sensei, the interview playing on a screen. “There were plenty of issues, though.”
“Oh hell,” muttered a woman on the streets. She'd been on her lunch, enjoying the show. But now her shoulders felt stiff. Seeing that a villain was observing the interview made her nervous.
It also made her ponder the sports festival. Others thought about it, but the fact that villains could be seeing the future generation of heroes' Quirks was alarming. Sure, some Quirks were pretty straightforward, but not all were. And they just broadcasted them to villains.
The three responsible for this were the ones at fault the most, but she needed to be honest—so was EVERYONE involved in allowing the sports festival to be broadcast like it was all the time? How many kids died or were hurt? How many heroes didn't make it past their first year?
All for what? Entertainment?
The woman turned around and headed back to work. Screw lunch; she was going to ask the lawyers at the law firm she worked at what she could do.
“Yes. Because of my dream, I was targeted more. I won’t give names; I truly believe the students can change. I don’t want to be friends with them or be around them, not really, but we’re all kids,” Midoriya says with a shake of her head. “But I was targeted verbally and physically, some even using their Quirks on me.”
“You think they can change, but don’t give Bakugou-” Eijiro began, but Midoriya interrupted him.
“I do think they can change. I just don't think I have any responsibility to them,” she told him. “I… I've given up hoping Bakugou will go back to Kacchan. I don't owe him forgiveness or friendship. I don't know about my future self, but I do hope the kids I know from Aldera will become better people. We’re kids.”
Eijiro frowned, not sure how to react. He got it, yeah, but… it felt like a double standard how she said it. She could be more or less forgiving of the kids from Aldera, but Bakugou? How was that fair?
But… no, that wasn't it. She wasn't forgiving; she just thought they could change. She wanted nothing to do with any of them. And could he blame her?
“Is it hypocritical?” mused Chang, the woman propping her feet on her desk. After the fifth email from someone in the Commission trying to find fault, they'd decided to break open the secret alcohol stash. She sipped her glass.
“Nah,” Fujioka shook her head. “Kid wants nothing to do with Bakugou, and she isn't saying he can’t change- she just doesn't say he is now.”
“Because he isn't. He’s like any other kid allowed to run around without care. Just doesn't want to change,” one of the male members of the staff tossed in. “Because he never had to and because if he does, it means he's wrong.”
“Or because he thinks it's everyone but his own damn fault,” Chang sighed. She drained the rest of her drink before sitting up. “Whatever. Hypocrite or not, kid had the right of it. She doesn't owe anyone anything. Forgiveness or friendship.”
The screen morphs to show the horrified faces of Aldera teachers, watching their phones.
“The teachers encouraged it, and often I’d be pointed as like a freak for my differences. Mutation Quirk kids also got the same stuff happening, but well… I was the bottom of the totem pole. I don’t blame them for not wanting to face worse.” the screen flashes at these words to show a wincing girl with bright green skin before morphing to show a man in an office, the man having a long nose.
The girl shown looked down in shame. She'd never done anything. But she admittedly hadn't been pleasant either.
Meanwhile, Rikiya raised an eyebrow. What was he doing?
“And it hurt,” the reporter says softly.
“It did. But I think the worst is how… how Yamanaka-sensei had to have been known to touch me. It’s one thing I can’t shake, this knowledge that they had to know. I was twelve, a baby, really.” the girl says. The long-nosed man is nodding, wrinkling his nose as he writes on some paper. The note ‘offer a sponsorship’ is seen.
“Ah,” Rikiya leaned back with a hum. From what the future played, he would be interested in someone like her. A girl with a powerful meta ability downtrodden by society. Sure, her views about anyone being heroes were wrong. But that could be trained.
Sadly, this new version of her wouldn't be the type to bend, would she? No, she was too comfortable with her thoughts of equality, as if all Quirks were the same. Pity.
The screen changes again to show Mrs. Bakugou looking at her phone sadly.
“And he hurt me. I will never regret Tomoe and the fact that I fought to keep her so hard. But I… I can’t help but feel angry at society for what they let happen. No child should go through what I did.” Midoriya is shown again, kissing Tomoe’s hair in the interview.
“Your daughter has quite the Quirk,” the reporter says.
“She has a mutation Quirk and an emitter. Or, well, she has a full-body mutation with an additional Quirk. It happens, and for Quirkless or False Negative kids like me, our children are much more prone to it happening in a non-heteromorph family,” Midoriya says. “I have to put her in vests saying she’s a child. I’ve had hard arguments on the trains with people who refuse to listen until my daughter is sobbing since their kids decided she was a… toy and grabbed her. She can’t hear the… D-O-L-L word without panicking. She’s two. She’s a two-year-old baby girl, and she has panic attacks over a word.”
“That’s awful,” the reporter says.
“It is. And worse is when she developed her Quirk. A worker at the daycare nearly hit her. A daycare that I struggled to keep her in because of how they treated her just for her mutation. Her having a puppetry Quirk…” Midoriya shakes her head as it changes to show the man with green lizard-like skin. He is watching the interview. “It’s awful, and it should change. I want to have it change.”
“There she goes again,” Spinner laughed, unable to help it. He could see why his future self would latch so hard onto her. She was trying to speak out. She cared.
It had been a while since someone had cared about him like that. Sure, it wasn't personal. She didn't know him. But she wanted to make a difference in the world. She wanted to speak out against those who harmed others and support the people left behind by society because they didn't fit the idea of normal.
This was a true hero—someone they needed in society.
With that, Spinner fully stepped away from a path he was unaware he'd been near. The daycare helped, but watching this now, he made his choice.
He would support Midoriya. He would support Limitless.
“And you believe being a hero is the way to do that?”
“It’s one way. I’m not going to sit here and say that being a hero is the end of all jobs and that you're worthless if you’re not. There are so many jobs you can make a difference in and, in fact, be a hero in. Doctors are heroes in their own way.” Midoriya says as the screen shows a few doctors watching the interview. “Firefighters, the guy who hands out extra food to people in need, a random person on a street who can spare some cash for the homeless, they’re heroes too.”
“Do you think heroics is the best way for you to make change?” the reporter asks as the screen shows a woman looking over papers. A smirk overtakes her as she reads a paper and writes something on it.
“It’s one way. For me, I think it is my only way,” Midoriya insists. “I’m a hero who grew up Quirkless, and I remember how it is. My daughter is hated by people for what she is. I’m going to be a hero who saves everyone because that’s what we’re supposed to do. It doesn’t matter what Quirk status or class status is. It matters who we are.”
“Do you think anyone can be a hero?” the reporter asks as the screen shows a blonde girl listening to the interview. Her hair is in space buns, and she has blood splattered on her as she smiles widely.
“Izu-chan is so sweet,” the girl coos as Midoriya continues.
“Okay, I do not want to be called sweet by her,” Izumi said. The blood splatter did not look like a bystander, more like the aggressor. Also, why wouldn't she wash it off?
Himiko giggled from where she'd hid after spotting herself. There she was! She was on screen, and Izu-chan would be watching! Ooo, she hoped the other girl thought she was cute! Himiko smiled dreamily at the thought.
“I recognize her,” Native suddenly said.
“The kid or the woman 'cause the woman is the one I cheated on ID with,” Tensei said, grateful for the distraction. He wondered why the woman had been shown, though maybe she’d be poking her nose into Tensei’s situation. She had a habit of trying to involve herself even now.
“The kid. Toga Himiko- I was in Tokyo when she made her first kill. Near her area, so we all got the alerts.” Native hummed. “Blood Quirk, her parents purposely starved her.”
“She needs to drink blood?” Tensei asked.
“Yeah. Not much mind, and from the reports of the Quirk Counselor she went to before her parents changed them, she displayed some sociopathic tendencies before she started killing.” Native said. “So it's not a need for blood-driving her- not like the serial killer a few years ago. But I won't say she is completely at fault. The counsellor that her parents sent her to practiced Quirk suppression.”
“Tell me he and the parents are in jail.” Tensei almost begged.
“The counsellor is. The parents took off, saying they didn't want to be connected to a monster.” Native sighed. “They got away with it because one of those anti-groups helped. The Confederation of Quirks.”
“The nut jobs who think only certain Quirks are good ones?” Tensei asked. While society did have a view of Quirk's, with some being ‘heroic’ and others ‘villainous,’ the hate groups took it way too far at times with their actions. The Confederation preached Quirk suppression of all undesirable Quirks, meaning they believed that pretending you didn't have a Quirk of some type was better.
Sometimes, it didn't cause any issues. Tensei knew of a girl who could make people deaf by humming and who'd been raised by parents who were part of the Confederation. She hadn't been allowed to hum.
ID themself had been banned from speaking names by a teacher who had also believed in it, though given they tended to use nicknames anyway unless trying to get info, it wasn't a huge deal.
But they didn't have needs attached to their Quirks. If Toga needed blood and they denied it to her, it was abuse. It would be abuse no matter what, but Quirk suppression made it also discrimination, like how people would be hurt for being gay or the such by their parents.
Assholes, Tensei would make a note to try and find them himself to deal with them.
“I do. Everyone can be a hero if they are willing to put in the effort to do so. It’s not easy; not even halfway through my first semester would I say it’s easy. It’s hard, and I mess up a lot of things.” Midoriya says. “But we have to try.”
The screen shows the students at the train station with Aizawa. Midoriya has a bag, her costume case, and Tomoe with her, and another bag of things for the toddler is on her back. Tomoe is wearing a Selkie brand backpack with a leash attachment that Midoriya holds. Aizawa and Present Mic are checking things off a list as further away, Vlad King is with Snipe doing the same.
"Everyone has their costumes, right? Remember, you don't have permission to wear them out in public yet unless your supervisor says so and don't lose them or anything," Aizawa tells his students.
"Gotcha," Ashido cheers.
“Remember Ashido, some heroes may be more particular about respect,” Aizawa warns the girl, who nods in understanding. "Make sure you mind your manners with the other heroes during your internships. Now get to it," Aizawa tells the group.
"Yes, sir!" the students reply.
Iida tries to walk off, but Midoriya calls out, “Hey, wait, Iida! We’re both going to Hosu! " He pauses, eyes wide. “See you guys,” she tells Todoroki, Aoyama, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Shinsou, who are with her, before she walks up to Iida.
“Wait, Hosu!?!” Momo asked. “Isn't that where your brother was attacked?!” she asked Iida. He looked pale.
“Yes… I think… I believe I may be going after him,” he admitted, swallowing nervously.
“Why the hell would we be allowed to go?!” Midoriya asked, the girl looking shocked. I don't… how? I should know, too. Why am I going to Hosu?”
Momo looked at the two, baffled. It shouldn't be allowed, them going, but here they were.
“Ah, I did not know…” he hesitates.
“Yeah, you missed our internship discussions,” Midoriya says. “I’m going with Native. He’s one of the few heroes who have a daycare attached to his agency, and he’s close enough that Shouta can swing by halfway through the week to pick Tomoe up.”
“Unc!” Tomoe hugs Iida’s leg with a big smile. He looks at the little girl, his face flickering.
“Todoroki is going with Wash since they both have Quirks requiring careful precision,” Midoriya says. “He was going to go with his dad because of the fire, but Wash has a fire-based sidekick for advice. Uraraka is with Gunhead, Aoyama is going with Pause- she’s a hero whose specialization is about attracting attention before striking.”
“I know her,” Iida says, walking with Tomoe happily attached to his leg. The girl cheers when he moves, making both teens smile.
“Yaoyorozu was going to go with Uwambi, but since the woman is currently running her ad campaign to promote herself in readiness of the mutant rights campaign going on, Yaoyorozu didn’t want to get dragged in. She’s going with her cousin Fatgum, and so is Sato after Yaoyorozu apparently called her uncle up about it.” Midoriya lists.
“That’s smart,” Iida says. Midoriya hesitates.
“Iida, we’re friends,” she says. “If you want to talk… I’m here.”
“...Thank you, Midoriya, I’ll remember that,” Iida says. The screen shows his face, though, with his narrowed eyes and firm mouth.
It goes black.
When the timer showed up, the reactions were varied: shock, confusion, and fear. The kids were walking into a war zone without anyone stopping them, and no one could understand why.
Izumi did propose that maybe Stain had already finished his pattern of three kills before moving on, but they didn't know if it was true. She did not understand why she may risk her daughter if it hadn't been that. Serial killers like Stain followed patterns, and she could see how she'd do that.
It was the only thing to make sense.
Tensei felt his heart stop hearing that Tenya would be in Hosu, and his mind screamed at him as he tried to breathe. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
God, what would happen?
All they could do was wait for the next episode.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Notes:
GUESS WHO IS BACK? First off, sorry for the long wait. I was in my last semester of school, and honestly, I was not okay mentally. I needed to take some time to get my head on straight. I’m better now, and happily, I got a promotion that is having me move back home to my parents. This might seem like a downgrade, but for me, it isn’t because I need a change of space. I’m so tired, guys.
Now, here are a few notes: No, I don’t have a Discord, and I won’t be making one. I don’t like Discord much, and creating a channel fills me with ‘ugh’ energy. My tumblr, though, is open for people to bug me.
Second, I know how the manga ends and am not happy with it. Now that my knee-jerk reaction is over, I will say I didn’t like 70% of it. But this is also because I don’t like how certain arcs ended and the underlying hints of ‘everyone didn’t talk to Izuku, ’ which could be us reading too much into it. That being said- it isn’t canon here.
Now, off to the actual notes/commentary I make
Eri, being cute, is always fun to write. I will say I kind of am sad I can’t make her the foul-mouth kid I have in POP.
-The discussion about allergies and stuff was more about me going: wait, wouldn’t it be a reasonable complaint? And then it spiralled into this. It would be a sensible issue if the person has the same fur as a cat, and it’s not just hair that looks like fur. But there’s also the: well, what if- thing. So yeah.
-Midnight musing over sex and her moment was inspired by me reading some Reddit stories of false accusations and how awful they are. I think anyone making a false accusation should be jailed. That’s just messed up, and it makes things worse for actual victims.
-I am seriously surprised no one guessed what this chapter was about. Like seriously.
-I changed the names for funsies, but I also think most canon names are dumb.
-Mitsuki’s moment was me also spiralling in my writing. Plus the fact that I don’t think abusers (and Inko was emotionally/mentally abusive) deserve forgiveness even if they have changed. Mitsuki also knows this, given her history. Reconciliation is possible even in these cases, but it’s also something I firmly think is a ‘you don’t have to’ thing. I think kids should get to choose if they want to reconcile with their abusive families. I’ve heard of people who are made to go back to their parents who have changed but are miserable because they can’t forgive them or forget. Would Izumi be able to? Actually, yeah, I think so. Much later.
-Will I always point out the hypocrisy of Stain? Yes. Do I like it? Oh yeah.
-Full disclosure: I wouldn’t say I like Toga and never will. She's a character I wish was a full-on villain with no shame. She’d be much more likeable to me. It's why I love Dabi so much: he is 100% just an asshole. Though if Toga did need blood to live in canon, I'd be much more understanding. She doesn't, though, and just decided to start murdering people on her own wishes. That's not someone who ‘just had a hard life’ that's a sociopath. And she isn't a fun one.
-Izumi isn't a hypocrite, and I wasn't trying to write to her as such. If the kids from Aldera actually changed, she would be the one person who would accept it. She just doesn't wish to be friends or interact with them. Bakugou, as he is, is not changing, so she has little patience. And if he did change- he's gone too far now. She'd be happy but never want to be his friend again.
-I added a lot of my headcanons here: 1C being a waitlist class where students who almost make heroics are placed and the idea that the teacher can deny their entrance into the hero course for reasons. I wrote a Shinsou critical piece on that before. With the newly added headcanon that Shinsou was probably going to be denied a transfer if he hadn’t shaped up.
-Extra Lessons are also a headcanon knowing how big clubs are in high schools. Being hero students, they have to focus a lot on their studies, so they have these extra lessons (also as a fuck you to the school system since HPSC pushes forward the idea of a very simplistic hero curriculum to force more graduations). They can do clubs to, but it’s required that someone take extra lessons.
The whole bit with Aizawa hiding it in the syllabus is more a headcanon for myself. Mostly as an answer to the idea ‘why wouldn’t he also train his students.’
6 notes
·
View notes