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Chapter Text

After all the commotion had died down, Midnight spoke up again. "I'd say this class has been my best class ever for hero names! I applaud you all for your selections and I look forward to watching you grow into strong and capable heroes." She winked and headed for the door. "Now sit tight, I'm sure Aizawa will be ba-"

The door slid open, revealing their teacher standing there with a large stack of folders and papers. 

"Were you waiting…?" Midnight asked.

Aizawa barely acknowledged her. "I don't know what you're talking about. Have they finished picking their names?"

"They have," Midnight answered, raising an eyebrow incredulously, "and I must say, they've done very well. Here." She handed him a sheet with their names on it.

"Excellent." Aizawa took the paper and walked past her into the room. Midnight rolled her eyes and walked out, closing the door behind her, leaving the students alone with Aizawa and Nejire. 

Aizawa took a moment to look over the hero names. If he had any thoughts about any of them, his face didn't give anything away. The man had mastered the poker face; or maybe it was simply that he was just that tired all the time.

"Good work," he said approvingly as he pulled out a small device and scanned the paper, before pressing a button and projecting everyone's names on the board with their chosen hero names. 

Yuuga Aoyama - Shining Hero: Soleil

Mina Ashido - Acid Hero: Queen

Tsuyu Asui - Rainy Season Hero: Froppy

Tenya Iida - Turbo Hero: Ingenium

Ochako Uraraka - Gravity Hero: Uravity

Pony Tsunotori - Horned Hero: Stampede

Denki Kaminari - Lightning Hero: Chargebolt

Eiko Kirishima - Sturdy Hero: Red Riot

Kouji Kouda - Petting Hero: Anima

Rikidou Satou - Sweets Hero: Sugarman

Mezou Shouji - Tentacle Hero: Tentacole

Kyouka Jirou - Hearing Hero: Heartjack

Hanta Sero - Taping Hero: Cellophane

Fumikage Tokoyami - Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi

Shouto Todoroki - Elemental Hero: Flashpoint

Tooru Hagakure - Stealth Hero: Spectrum

Katsuki Bakugou - Explosive Hero: Ground Zero

Izuku Midoriya - Green Dragon Hero: Defiant

Minoru Mineta - Fresh-Picked Hero: Grape Juice

Momo Yaoyorozu - Everything Hero: Creati

Aizawa paused for a moment to examine the names once more before he turned back around. "Now we'll hand out your offers. As you all read the syllabus, I don't need to go over the specifics. You'll be heading off a week from today for a five-day internship with the hero you have selected. Each of these forms have three spots on them, ordered by preference. They'll be used if a hero changes their mind about taking you or takes someone else in your stead. In addition, even if you received no offers, we have heroes who are willing to take you. You'll all be getting real experience next week, don't worry about that. Hadou, please hand these out to the first two rows." 

He handed one stack of folders and papers to Nejire and then began to hand out his own stack to the rows on his right. Izuku took the folder, but he didn't have any real intention of reading it. His internship had been decided long ago. Even if his father wasn't the smartest choice—which it was—there was no way that Izuku would miss the opportunity of finally living out his oldest childhood dream of being a hero alongside his father.

However, he had a job to do. Izuku had to make sure that everyone else made good decisions on who they were going to intern with; he wished he could have known who most of his class were going to get offers from, but it couldn't be helped. He would just have to be quick.

"Look over your offers carefully," Aizawa concluded. "They're due by end-of-day Wednesday. Good luck." The man stuffed his hands in his pockets as he left the classroom.

Izuku quickly filled out the first line of his form with 'Stormclaw' and set it aside. That was all he needed to do before he began to scan the classroom and observe his hoard. The rest of the students were all shuffling through their pages and folders, eagerly looking to see who had taken notice of them. It was with particular interest he watched Mina on the far side of the room, who was frantically shuffling through her papers.

She clearly didn't find what she was looking for, as she slumped down with a disappointed huff. Izuku could only smile, because he knew what was coming next. 

Nejire walked over to Mina's desk slowly, holding her hands behind her back and sauntering with an exaggerated sway. "Heeeey Ashido," she began coyly.

Mina looked up, a little deflated. "Yes, Hadou?"

"Sorry about this, but she wanted me to see your reaction so I could tell her," Nejire explained, holding something out to Mina.

"She…?" Mina asked, before looking down at the letter and spotting the seal of Ryuko's hero agency standing proudly on the letter in Nejire's hand. 

Mina shrieked in excitement, causing every head in the classroom to whip over to her as she snatched the letter from Nejire like a kid on Christmas morning. "Thank you thank you thank you! Ahhh, I'm so excited!" 

"Mina, what is it?" Tsuyu asked curiously from behind her.

The woman whipped around as she stood up and held up the letter proudly. "I just got an offer from Ryukyu!"

Murmurs of amazement and some of jealousy shot out from around the room. "Oh, congratulations," Tsuyu said calmly.

"Yeah, good for you!" Eiko agreed. "I bet you'll learn a lot from the number nine!" 

Mina couldn't contain her excitement any longer and grabbed Nejire around the waist and back, lifting her up into a great hug. "Thank you!" she squealed again. 

Nejire just giggled. "Don't think it's gonna be easy! Ryukyu and I are gonna make Hell Week feel like a vacation!" 

Mina's eyes opened and she suddenly seemed to notice she was shoving Nejire's impressive bust into her face. She quickly dropped the blue-haired woman and Izuku could make out the traces of lilac blush on her face. "O-oh, that's right, you work for Ryukyu, don't you?"

"Yep! " Nejire exclaimed excitedly, giggling as she always did. Yet this time it felt… sinister. "It's been a while since Ryukyu had a new intern! It's gonna be soooo fuuuun!"

Mina paled as the rest of the class laughed. "You know, I was a little jealous," Kyouka remarked with a smirk, "but I think I just kinda feel sorry for you now."

Izuku smiled sympathetically as Mina looked over to him for help. Sure, Ryuko and especially Nejire were going to push her hard, but she would come out stronger and better on the other side. Izuku had no doubts that Mina could handle it. He nodded, which seemed to reassure her. Mina turned back to Nejire and nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

His quirk pulsed in approval as he looked at her determined glare. 

Mine.

Izuku stood up and turned around, walking down his aisle while glancing at sheets. Mineta had already written down Mt. Lady as his first choice, which made Izuku smirk. He doubted he would get a whole lot of practical experience with the relatively-new hero, but he had a feeling the experience would be good for him in other ways. 

He stopped at Mo's desk, looking down at her selections. They were far from the sparsest in the class, but they were also far from the large stack that Izuku and Katsuki had on their desks. "Having trouble?" he asked kindly.

"I haven't even heard of most of these agencies," Momo said despondently as she flipped through the pages. Izuku's eyes widened as he noticed a familiar name.

"Stop," he ordered suddenly. "Go back, what was that one?"

"Uh…" Momo stalled as she turned the pages back. "This one?" 

Izuku smiled wide as he looked down at the page. "Sir Nighteye…" He thought for a moment, his quirk flowing smoothly through his mind. "That would be an excellent choice for you."

"You think so?" she asked. "Wasn't he All Might's sidekick? I hadn't really considered him…"

"Before you go into any challenge, what are the most important thing you can have?" he asked. "As in, you specifically . What do you want more than anything before you approach something?"

Mo thought for only a moment. "Knowledge. I want to know as much as I can so I can be as prepared as possible. My quirk relies on it."

"Exactly!" Izuku agreed. "Do you know what Sir's quirk is?"

"I… can't say that I do," Momo admitted, rubbing her chin. "He was always overshadowed by All Might when I read about him."

"It's called Foresight," Izuku explained. "And it lets him see the future." 

Mo gasped.

Izuku smiled. "Now you're getting it. He is just an ordinary man outside of his knowledge and preparations, but because of his mind and his quirk, he is a reliable and respected pro." 

Mo's eyes grew that sparkle that he lov— liked —so much. "Thank you, Zu! I'll be sure to put him as my first choice!"

Izuku smiled wide as he turned to continue his prowl. Next was Shouto, who was staring stoically at the paper in his hand. Izuku glanced down and saw the last name he wanted to see. "You're thinking about going with your father?" 

Shouto kept staring as Izuku kneeled down to his eye level. "He's a scumbag, but he's the number two hero. He would also be an excellent choice to teach me how to use my fire." 

"I see…" Izuku muttered. He understood, but he didn't approve.

"But he wouldn't be the only one," Shouto continued. "And I must say, the other option is far more intriguing." He flipped over another piece of paper and Izuku's stomach plummeted.

"Purifier."

Shouto nodded. "He's your uncle, is he not?" 

"He… is," Izuku admitted slowly. 

"It would be a valuable lesson to see a different fire quirk in use up close." Shouto turned to look at him for the first time. "And your family has intrigued me, Izuku. I think the experience would be invaluable. And it would piss off my old man."

Izuku didn't like the idea of Shouto going with Uncle Hatsuo much more than him going with Endeavor, but he couldn't deny the logic of his argument. "Well, I wish you luck, then," Izuku finished as he stood up and walked up the aisle slowly.

Satou and Kouda didn't have many options, as they didn't perform very well at the festival. A quick glance at their papers showed Izuku that they had made acceptable choices and he didn't need to give them any input. When he glanced over at Tokoyami's page, he found himself taken aback.

"Hawks?" Izuku asked, unable to contain his surprise.

"Yes," Tokoyami muttered flatly. "I'm as surprised as you that I got an offer from the number three hero. Do you think it's because of the…" He trailed off, pointing at his bird-shaped head.

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "I certainly hope not. Either way, Hawks is rapidly rising through the ranks. That would be an excellent place for you to go."

"Hmm, I surmised the same thing," Tokoyami agreed. "Thank you for your input."

Izuku nodded awkwardly and continued up the aisle. Eiko had picked Fourth Kind, of which Izuku approved; the strict hero would be a perfect teacher for the woman. Sero and Kaminari had also chosen fine heroes, but Jirou's choice caused him to hesitate. "Death Arms?" he asked.

"What's with the helicopter parenting?" she retorted.

"I'm just doing my duty as class rep," Izuku explained, covering up his true intentions. 

"Whatever." Jirou bought it. "But yeah, Death Arms. I want some real hands-on experience and a brawler like him seems like a good choice."

Izuku rubbed his chin and nodded. "Smart."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Kyouka said softly, looking down at her desk.

He passed by Shouji, glancing approvingly at his choice before stopping at Pony's desk. As he suspected, she was having trouble. 

"Oh, Izzy!" she squeaked. "You help me?"

"We can speak English," Izuku began.

She sighed in relief. "Thanks. I wish I was learning faster, but it's hard."

Izuku nodded. "Japanese is not easy. You are doing well and learning quickly."

"Thanks, that means a lot," she smiled at him, blushing slightly. "Do you have any advice for me? I can't read half of these hero names."

"Sure," Izuku responded, shifting through her papers slightly. His quirk began to flow again as he rapidly considered her options.

Suddenly, inspiration struck as he looked at a name that he hadn't considered yet. 

"This would actually be a good choice for you," Izuku explained. 

"U.. Uwa…" Pony began to try and sound the name out.

"Uwabami," Izuku finished.

"I was getting it!" Pony shot back with a small pout.

"Sorry," he said with a laugh. "She is what is known as an 'idol hero'. She is almost more celebrity than hero some days." 

Pony furrowed her brow. "I don't want to be like that."

"I know you do not," he continued. "But something like this would be a very good way to get you more into Japanese culture and our language. It would be a bit of a crash-course—I think that is the term—but it could prove very useful."

"Immersion…" Pony's eyes widened in understanding. "Tossed into the deep end and told to swim… Yeah, that could be invaluable!"

"And those snakes on her head are her quirk," Izuku explained. "She can send them out and control them, like you. Also, she is not all celebrity. When people need help, she does not hesitate. She just has a…"

"Persona?" Pony finished, smiling up at Izuku. 

"Yes, thank you. Are you still offering English lessons?" he asked.

"If you're offering Japanese lessons," she replied. "Thanks for everything, Izzy. I really appreciate it."

Izuku smiled kindly. "No problem. Good luck." He turned to make his way down the final aisle.

Aoyama had chosen… well enough. The man wasn't exactly prone to taking his advice anyway. Mina had already made up her mind, clearly, and mewled happily when he ruffled her hair as he passed.

Tsuyu was next; he intentionally took the path that put her near the end of his patrol. The woman looked up at him with her big, beau—eyes. Her big eyes.

"Hi, Izuchan," Tsuyu said calmly, like she always did.

His quirk couldn't decide if he should be irritated that she had given him such a 'cutesy' name, or if it was endearing that a woman like her would do so. "Hi, Tsu. How are your choices?"

"They're fine," she responded. "I want to do something with water, of course, so I think I might go with Selkie."

Izuku tapped his chin. "That wouldn't be a bad choice, but I might have a better one."

She looked back up at him and tilted her head. God, she was cute. "What do you mean?"

Izuku's smile was almost mischievous as he opened up his uniform jacket and pulled out a letter. "Here," he said simply, handing it to her.

Tsuyu took the letter with a curious expression that quickly turned to disbelief as she recognized the seal on it. "This is…"

"How would you like to intern with my father with me?" Izuku asked with a smirk. 

"Stormclaw…" she muttered. "That would be a dream come true. Thank you!"

Izuku smiled widely. "I'm looking forward to it. It didn't take me much convincing to get him to extend you the offer, so don't think this is just because you're my friend. He's already impressed by you."

Tsuyu smiled up at him so hard her eyes closed tight. "I'll do my best. Your father didn't make a mistake." 

Izuku nodded and left her behind to look at the last two students on this side of the room. He knew that Iida wasn't going to be receptive to any sort of advice from him, but he still looked down at his sheet.

He only saw one name down. Manual.

Why? Izuku was certain that Iida had received better offers. In fact, Izuku could see a better offer sticking out of the folder on his desk. Manual was relatively small time and his quirk and hero style weren't compatible with Iida's at all.

Izuku's quirk went into overdrive has he began to think hard. The Ingenium Hero Agency didn't dissolve overnight. Iida's brother had a veritable fleet of sidekicks, some of which were more powerful and more prominent than Manual was. There was no apparent logical explanation for Iida's choice, but Iida obviously had a reason.

Wait. Manual's agency was in Hosu, which was where Ingenium—the previous Ingenium—was attacked. 

Izuku's eyes pulsed with light.

Stain.

Izuku had studied Stain's MO like many others; he always stuck around in a place and took down several heroes before moving on… and Iida's brother was the first. It was almost a certainty that Stain was still there.

Iida wanted to go after Stain.

Izuku would absolutely not allow this.

He had to decide how to go about it, because Iida wouldn't listen to him. Izuku figured his best bet would be to talk to his teachers; maybe Iida would listen to them.

Last on this side was Ochako, who was looking a little down. "How're you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, Deku!" She apparently hadn't noticed him. "Oh, I'm alright. I didn't get that many offers, not nearly as many as you or Todoroki. I guess most pros could tell that I didn't deserve to win the festival."

Izuku kneeled down. "Hey, I've already told you that's ridiculous. You didn't cheat, so as far as I'm concerned, that golden medal hanging in your room is rightfully yours." He had to admit, his quirk had been eyeing the medal greedily, but he managed to convince himself that because Ochako was a part of his hoard, her treasure was his treasure too. Besides, her keeping it made her happier and reminded her to keep pushing herself, both of which were things he wanted.

"I guess… but I had hoped that I would have gotten a few offers from the top ten. Maybe that was just wishful thinking," she huffed.

"None from the top ten?" Izuku repeated, surprised. "None at all?"

"Well, none so far," Ochako clarified. "I haven't finished going through them all." 

She turned over one of the last pieces of paper and her eyes went wide. "M-Miruko?!"

Izuku's eyes went wide as well. "That's amazing! She's number seven!"

"B-but why?" she asked, her hands shaking. "Why me?"

Izuku rubbed his chest softly. "Those kicks of yours weren't anything to laugh at. She might have taken notice of that."

Ochako looked down. "Oh…" 

"You'll do great, believe me," Izuku said reassuringly, rubbing her shoulder. "I don't have a doubt in my mind."

She smiled softly as she wrote Miruko's name on her form. "Thanks, Deku. I'll do my best."

Izuku patted her shoulder one last time before he stood up and turned to walk back to his seat. "Hey Kacchan," Izuku called as he walked, "did you hear? Ochako got an invite from Miruko! Try not to be too jealous."

Izuku had expected Katsuki to scoff at him, but instead he was met with a smug smirk. "Why would I be jealous that my second -favorite hero gave someone else an offer?"

Izuku's eyes went wide as he nearly ran across the classroom. " No ."

Katsuki held up the paper to him with a low chuckle as Izuku snatched it and read it over.

There was no doubt. That was his seal. That was his handwriting. That was his signature.

Katsuki leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. "That's right. You're looking at All Might's first-ever intern."

It was later in the afternoon that Izuku finally caught up to his teacher outside the faculty lounge. "Professor Aizawa!" he called, jogging up to him.

"Midoriya," he responded flatly. "What is it?"

Izuku got straight to the point. "It's about Iida."

Aizawa's eyebrow raised; one of the few reactions Izuku had been able to get out of the man. "What about him?"

Izuku looked around, making sure they were alone. "I am afraid that Iida intends to do something incredibly dangerous. It might not be my place, but he chose Manual to intern at, despite him being a rather poor matchup for him. However, Manual works in Hosu, which is where the Hero Killer is. I think Iida intends to confront Stain, or to at least find him."

Aizawa looked at him flatly. "Impressive reasoning. Keep honing that skill; it will serve you well."

"Oh, uh thank you," Izuku responded quickly," but about Iida…"

"We have it under control," Aizawa said simply.

"...You do?"

Aizawa nodded. "Your concern is appreciated. Your classmates chose well by making you their rep."

"Thank you again, sir, but if I may inquire…"

"Midoriya, I assume you are familiar with the President of UA, correct?" Aizawa began.

"President Nezu?" Midoriya responded. "Of course." His eyes went wide. "Oh, I see. Nezu already foresaw this."

"Not exactly," Aizawa continued. "I did. UA has been teaching students for a long while and this isn't the first time something tragic has happened to one of my students. I brought up my concerns that Iida was in a vulnerable state at our faculty meeting earlier and Nezu agreed with me. We came up with a plan to guide Iida in a better direction. All Might offered to take care of it and Nezu approved, so we'll see what comes of that. The information that he picked Manual is just confirmation of what we already suspected." 

Aizawa turned to walk away. "Besides, I have final approval of your choices. Did you really think I would let one of my students make such a foolish and downright dangerous decision? I almost feel like I should be insulted, Midoriya." There was a hint of levity in his voice. 

Izuku shot down into a shallow bow. "I apologize, Professor. I didn't mean anything of the sort."

"I know," Aizawa responded with finality as he walked down the hall. "You're a good kid, Midoriya."

Izuku turned as well, hurrying off to make it to his next class with a lighter heart than before. He was glad that the faculty at UA were looking out for his hoard, too.

Tenya's hand shook as he gripped his pen so tightly it might break—an apparently common theme today. His frustration was boiling over and all he really wanted to do was cry. 

How could this happen to him? All Tenya wanted was to see justice done, but it seemed there was a conspiracy against him. 

He slowly crossed out Manual's name from his top choice as his rage burned. 

There was no way he could turn down an offer given to him in person from All Might himself. Maybe if he hadn't taken the name Ingenium, he could convince himself otherwise, but he already had committed that crime. It would be an inexcusable blemish on Tensei's reputation if the first thing Tenya did with it was to scorn not only the number one hero, but his teacher.

His respect for All Might battled with his burning desire to see that monster taken down, but with his respect for Tensei and his desire to do the name Ingenium proud joining the fight, there was no way he could win.

Stain would have to wait for another day.

A single tear fell from his eyes as he wrote a new name on his form so firmly that he nearly tore the paper.

'Gran Torino'.

Notes: