Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Hero Names
"Eri...Eri..."
Shido spoke gently and shook her body which was clinging onto a blanket.
"It's time to wake up."
Eri only groaned in response. After a few seconds, she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Shido?"
She realised that it was Shido who woke her up. The Shido who almost always overslept?!
Within a second, she went from being half-asleep to fully awake. "Are you really Shido? How did you manage to wake up earlier than me?"
When Shido heard her words, his lips twitched a little. "Hey. I'm not that lazy, alright? Even I have days that I would wake up early."
"Hmm..." Eri didn't seem convinced but didn't dwell on it. Deciding to finally get out of her comfortable bed, she went to the bathroom to wash up before heading downstairs.
""Good morning, Uncle Toshinori.""
Shido and Eri greeted together when they saw All Might eating breakfast with his suit on.
Lifting his head up from the morning newspaper, he saw the two children present and greeted them back,"Morning, you two. Come and sit. We have some cereals, milk, bread and, of course, apples for our little friend there."
"Yay! You know me best, Uncle Toshinori!" Yoshinon cheered as he took an apple from the table and began munching on it.
Shido just smiled and said nothing as he took a slice of bread and ate it.
It was a breakfast like any other day.
"Alright, let's go. Since we all woke up early today, let's take a stroll."
Both Eri and Toshinori dropped their knife on the table and stared at him in shock. Only Yoshinon reacted normally and continued eating his apple.
"Are you really okay? Do you have a fever or something?" Eri asked worriedly as she pressed her forehead against his, trying to feel his temperature.
Toshinori even went to take out the thermometer and asked him to open his mouth.
Shido's lips twitched in annoyance as he continued drinking his milk. He was still a child and needed to drink milk to develop his body.
"Can you not treat me like I'm sick? I'm perfectly fine."
"No way! You have never said that you wanted to take a stroll. Not even once." Toshinori said.
"Actually, I did."
"Huh? When?" Toshinori was shocked.
"When I go out with Eri." Shido continued sipping his milk calmly.
"Then why did I not know about it?"
"You just weren't invited."
All Might froze before he continued drinking his coffee, though if one looked closely, he would be able to see Toshinori shaking a little.
"I-I wasn't invited...they didn't want to invite the symbol of peace to a walk..." He kept muttering under his breath as he walked out of the house, leaving Eri and Shido behind.
"Etto...do you think he's broken?" Eri asked unsurely as she watched Toshinori walk away.
Shido didn't hesitate to reply,"Nah...he'll probably recover by tomorrow. For now, we need to leave. It's 7.15 am already. Let's go."
"Alright."
*****************
"Morning class!"
"Morning."
The moment the bell rang and both teachers walked into Class 1-A together, the class immediately quieted down.
"Good morning!!"
"Today we've got Hero Informatics class. And a special one at that."
Without delay or hesitation, Shota spoke straight to the main point.
"You'll be coming up with your hero aliases."
"""YEAHHH!"""
"How awesome! Time to shine!!"
The class instantly burst into excitement the moment they heard what Shota said.
"But first...concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day...It's based on who the pros think will be ready to join the hero workforce after another two or three years of experience...so you could say it's a way for them to show interest in your future." With his usual monotonous voice, Shota droned on.
However, due to the amount of chatter the class was producing, Shota's glare subconsciously hardened, causing the class to quieten down considerably.
"But there's ample time for their interest to wane before you graduate. And any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."
"Stupid adults and their whims!" Mineta slammed his fist on the table and complained.
"So if we're picked now, that just means there'll be higher hurdles in the years to come!" Tenya confirmed with Shota.
"Yes. Now, here's the complete draft pick numbers."
On the blackboard, the draft pick total suddenly appeared, showcasing each student's number.
"There's typically more of a spread. But our top two stole most of the spotlight. In this year however, there was an exception. Todoroki, you were also one the few that got more than three thousand draft picks. Maybe the pro heroes saw more of your potential as Endeavor's son, but it is what it is."
Throughout his speech, his tone didn't waver in the slightest. It was as though he didn't care anything about draft picks.
After another minute passed and all the students had finished discussing, or shouting and complaining in Katsuki's case since Izuku got more picks than him, Shota continued,"With that settled...whether you were picked or not...you will all have a chance to work alongside the pros. Although it's true that you all have already experienced more than most, even if you just observed, but seeing the pros in action and taking part yourselves will still be worthwhile training."
"That's where our hero names come in!" Rikido said.
"This is really getting fun!" Ochaco joined in as well.
"They're only tentative, but you still want to pick something appropriate..."
However, before Shota could continue what he was saying, someone else interrupted.
"Or else you'll know true hell!!"
A tall, curvaceous woman with sky blue eyes walked in.
"The name you pick now...may be what the world ends up calling you. That's happened to plenty of pros out there!!"
"Midnight!!" The class cheered seeing her in her sexy, breast-less, black leather leotard.
"Yes. True enough. And Midnight here will be assessing the sensibility of the names you pick since I'm no good with that." Shota seemed unfazed with the appearance of Midnight. It was clear that it wasn't the first time Midnight had just walked into his class.
As he adjusted his sleeping bag, Shota continued speaking,"What future do you see for yourself? The name you choose will bring you ever closer to cementing a certain image...because names are capable of reflecting one's true character. Like with 'All Might'...and 'Phantom' here." He continued as he pointed at Shido.
The rest of the class just looked at him and started pondering about their own name. Shido handed out small whiteboards to each person and went to the back along with Shota who was, expectedly, already in his sleeping bag.
Like this, fifteen minutes passed by.
"Let's finish up. We can start with whoever's ready!"
Midnight announced and waited at the side for someone to go on the podium and start presenting their hero names.
Yuga went first and decided to use a whole sentence as his name. Shido didn't interfere with the process as it wasn't his job, but he did laugh at each of their names.
It was really funny seeing names like 'Alien Queen' from Mina or cute names like 'Froppy' from Tsuyu. Then there were names who were homage to other pro heroes like 'Red Riot' from Kirishima who idolised Crimson Riot.
There were also names that literally told others their own quirk, like 'Earphone Jack' from Jiro, 'Tailman' from Ojiro and 'Sugarman' from Sato.
Chuunibyou name, fruit juice as name, violent explosive names, there was everything.
Honestly, it was pretty fun to hear all their creative ideas. He was teaching the third year last year and they already made their hero names in their first year, so he didn't have a chance to hear about their first choice before Midnight corrected it to what they were today.
Both Shoto and Tenya just used their own names as their hero names. Shido had heard about Tenya's older brother's incident, so he had an idea for the reason behind his choice. But for Shoto, Shido could never know what he was thinking.
Or maybe Shoto just wasn't thinking and decided to just use his own name. However, it was Shoto's business and his future. Shido decided not to interfere since Midnight didn't say anything against it.
After everyone had finalised their hero names (Izuku still decided on 'Deku') with the help of Midnight, Shoto went back to the front of the classroom and continued where he left off.
"Your internships start in a week. For this all-important decision...I'll be handing out personalised lists to those who were drafted. You may choose from among those who scouted you."
As he talked, Shido helped to pass around pieces of paper while Shota continued,"For those who were not drafted, the list Itsuka-sensei just passed out contains forty agencies from all over the country willing to accept interns. You will choose one from that list. Each has a different specialty and region. Give your choice some real thought."
"And by the way," Shido continued while Shota went back to his sleeping bag,"Submit your choices by this coming weekend. This means that you've only got two days to pick. So be sure to plan wisely. If that is all, the Hero Informatics class is dismissed."
As soon as Shido finished saying, he carried Shota out of the classroom.
The class wasn't fazed anymore. This scene had become a daily occurrence.
*****************
After school, Deku had already planned to go to someone for his internship.
Gran Torino.
The same person who helped him develop his current abilities to where he was today.
Full Cowl was a technique that he had thought of after various hints and advice from Gran Torino.
Although he might be old, short, bad-tempered, has backache, loves taiyaki and eats them for all three of his meals, his abilities and knowledge as a pro hero were the real deal.
He was someone who could even frighten All Might to the point of shaking his legs.
He couldn't find Gran Torino's name on the draft pick and was about to go to All Might and ask for permission when suddenly, All Might appeared in front of him in a very particular way.
"A-All Might, I was about to go and find you to ask you a question."
Izuku was shocked at his sudden entrance and stuttered a little before collecting himself and started asking his question.
"Can I have the permission to go under Gran Torino again?"
All Might looked surprised at his decision and smiled.
"Just in time. I was just about to inform you that Gran Torino had drafted you for your internship. Since you have already decided on it, I'll go fill in the form for you."
"Thank you, All Might."
"No problem." All Might was about to walk away when he suddenly turned back and spoke,"Oh, and don't forget, continue working hard. I have never regretted making you my successor"
Giving his signature huge smile, his teeth sparkled for a moment before he continued walking back to the staff room.
However, his legs were still trembling from the name. It seems that even after meeting him a few months ago, the trauma still existed.
*****************
In the staffroom, Shota and Shido were sorting out the internship forms.
"I wonder how many made rash decisions..." Shota wondered as he went through each form carefully, ensuring that they don't get assigned to places that won't be beneficial to them.
"I already spotted one." Shido spoke casually and tossed him a piece of paper.
"Hm? Tenya Iida...first choice...Hosu City, Tokyo: Normal Hero Manial Agency?"
"Yeah. He definitely had better choices available." Shido didn't look up as he continued looking through the other forms.
"Then why?" Shota paused for a while before continuing,"Could it be..."
"Yes. His brother. Reckless."
Shido stopped looking through the other forms and looked at Shota,"You could try to talk to him about this, but I doubt that he would change his mind. He only inserted one choice, so we have no other choice but to assign him to what he wants because we have no 'evidence' about his recklessness."
Shota looked at him for a while before sighing,"This class has too many troubles..."
Shido thought for a while before turning to Shota,"How about I..."
*****************
Everyone in class 1-A gathered at the bullet train station early in the morning
Standing in front of everyone in his usual full black attire and wrap scarf, Shota, noting that everyone had arrived, spoke,"You've got your costumes, right? Wearing them in public is strictly prohibited, but don't drop them."
"YEAHHH!!" Mina cheered happily as she held on to the box containing her hero costume.
"And don't slur your "yeah', Ashido. All of you, be on your best behaviour! Now go."
And so, their internships begin today.
*****************
A/N: Oops, I almost forgot to post today...sorry for late update!
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