I'm late. I'm so late.

My alarm didn't go off this morning. Apparently my phone slipped from the charger.

In my fit of rage I broke my phone. Again. It's such a pain to keep on buying new ones. But who makes chargers that flimsy?!

I walked down the hall and made it to the classroom. Opening the door, I'm immediately faced with Aizawa's glare of disapproval. "You're late Nozomi."

I didn't say anything and went to my seat.

But not before a something smacked my head. "Ow! What the?!" I turned to the perpetrator and saw Midnight.

"Oh great. You're here." Her temple throbbed and she immediately put me in a headlock. "You! You come to school late and you have an attitude?!"

I choked a bit but she let me go soon. I rubbed my neck, shooting her a glare.

She pointed her flogger at me. "Why are you late?" She demanded.

With a roll of my eyes I fished out my broken phone and held it up. She gripped her hair. "Again?! How many does that make?!" She cried.

"This year it's eight." I simply told her, shoving it back in my pocket.

She sighed in defeat, handing me a small whiteboard and marker. "We're doing Hero names, make up one."

I sighed and trudged back to my seat, not missing the curious gazes of my classmates.

I sat in my seat and stared at the empty white space.

A Hero name? I don't even want to be a Hero. How the hell am I supposed to come up with a name?

The sounds of markers on the boards didn't make me feel uneasy, but it made me want to prolong Midnight's fist for when I don't come up with one.

Why do Heroes need names? Why can't they just be Heroes?

That's what I always used to think. Then I realized they do it because of selfish reasons. Because a Hero does not exist. And I still believe that.

I glanced over my classmates. They're not selfish. At least not yet. But I should at least write something down.

A Hero name huh? What sounds heroic to me?

Uncapping the pen, the marker moved across the pad smoothly. Once I finished, I froze upon seeing the name I had written.

Well, it's not like I intend to ever become a Hero, so I won't really be using it. I can't tarnish something if I don't do anything to do so.

Well, I'll try to think of something else. Maybe I should have Izu or Kacchan make it up.

"Okay, let's start presenting names starting with those who are ready." Midnight called.

Ghek. But I don't have a name . . . ah screw it. It's not like I'll need one anyway.

Aoyama walked up first, looking pretty confident. "Here I go." He flipped the board so we could read it. "Shining Hero: I can not stop twinkling! Which means, you can't stop my sparkles!"

That's a sentence, not a name.

This kid.

Midnight took his board and scribbled on it a bit. "It'll be easier to use if you take out the 'I' and shorten the 'can not' to 'can't'."

She showed him the revised name. He snapped, seeming pleased. "You're right, mademoiselle."

Huh? That's okay?!

Well, I guess she can't really reject all names.

Ashido quickly rushed up and showed us her board. "Then I'll go next! Hero name, Alien Queen!" She cheered.

Alien Queen? My mind immediately went to the movie of those strange aliens that kill everything.

I made Midnight watch it with me and she has a slight phobia of it now.

It does kinds match her. They have acid blood, she secretes acid.

"Are you trying for the thing with acidic blood?! I wouldn't if I were you!" Midnight's voice shook a bit as she imagined it.

I snickered, making her shoot me her dagger glare. Ashido shuffled back to her desk, clicking her tongue and pouted.

Well I thought it was pretty fitting. I kinda liked it. And I liked the fact that it freaked Midnight out.

Total bonus.

Since the first two were . . . different everyone was even more nervous about going up. Probably thinking they need to match their craziness.

"Ribbit! Then may I go next?" Asui asked, raising her hand. "Go, Tsu!" Midnight smiled.

She did so and showed us her board. "I've had this in mind ever since I was in elementary school. Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."

Midnight adored the name and complemented Asui on it. "That's so cute! It seems friendly. I like it. It's a great example of a name that everyone will love!" She praised.

I don't know. I mean, it is cute, but if I'm robbing a bank, I don't think I could take a Hero named Froppy seriously.

The class cheered in thanks of the mood change and next is Kirishima.

"Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!" Red Riot? Why does that sound so familiar? "Red Riot? You're paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot, right?" Midnight asked.

Ah, that's right. Crimson Riot. I know a lot of Heroes thanks to Izu's repetitive babbling.

"Yes. It's pretty old-fashioned, but the hero image I'm going for is Crimson himself." He told her.

I looked at him a bit. He does kinda look like him. Even with the hair. I see, so he's making the effort. Makes me wonder if that's his real hair color.

"If you're bearing a name you admire, it'll come with that much more pressure." She warned, although she doesn't seem against it at all.

Kirishima brought his fist up and smiled. "I'm prepared for that!"

Bearing a name you admire . . . huh?

I glanced back down at my whiteboard. Well, it's only for school. There's no need to fret about it.

Jiro, who was muffling her laughter, quickly ran up and presented hers. "Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack." Midnight approved and we continued.

"Tentacle Hero: Tentacole."

"Taping Hero: Cellophane."

"Martial Arts Hero: Tailman."

"Sweets Hero: Sugarman!"

"PINKY!" Ashido shouted, this time determined for her name to stick, which it did as Midnight approved of it.

"Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt! Combining 'charge' with 'lightning bolt'!"

"Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl!"

"Everything Hero: Creati."

"Shoto." I nearly fell out of my seat at Todoroki's choice.

Well, nobody calls him Shoto anyway . . . but I don't think I could take him seriously. Then again the kid can freeze or burn me, whatever he feels like really.

"Your name? Is that okay?" Midnight asked him. He simply nodded.

She let it pass and we continued. "Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi." Well that's a cool name. One that I'd take seriously. Also it's dark and that's kind of my thing.

"Fresh-Picked Hero: Grape Juice!" Mineta left and Koda walked up. Koda's read Petting Hero: Anima. But he didn't talk.

He never does. I think he might be mute. But his Quirk allows him to talk to animals. He just doesn't unless he has to.

Kacchan walked up, air of intimidation around him like always.

He faced his whiteboard to us an I sweat dropped. "King Explosion Murder." He told us, voice threatening us to not object.

"You probably shouldn't use something like that." Midnight had no problem rejecting it.

"Why not?!" He shouted, dropping his board.

It should be pretty obvious. "You should be 'Explosion Boy'!" Kirishima voiced.

I smacked my hand to my mouth to muffle my laugh. "Shut up weird hair! Kiri, knock it off!" He roared. I placed my head on the desk to hide my face.

That would be hilarious!

After shouting some more, he went back to his seat and Uraraka went up. "This is what I thought of: Uravity." She told us, obviously nervous about our reactions to it.

It's not bad at all. Midnight approved and she went back to her seat.

"Choosing Hero names is going more smoothly than I thought it would. All that's left is Bakugo, who needs to rethink his, Iida, Kiri, and Midoriya, right? Oh. Kiri! Bring yours up! I see ink!" Ghek. My eye twitched in annoyance.

Damn that hag.

Sighing, I stood up and went to the front on the podium. "Not that this whole thing matters." I grumbled lowly to myself.

Midnight heard and smacked me again. I rubbed my head, shooting her a look and turned to my classmates, an indifferent look on my face.

It's not like I'm going to use it. So I showed them my whiteboard. "Kazuya." I read the name I knew was on it.

Midnight seemed genuinely shocked by my choice, knowing who I was referring to.

"Isn't Kazuya a boys name? Kiri, you may not act like a girl but at least give yourself a girl name." Ashido spoke.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I think yours is girly enough for the both of us." I stated. She just puffed her cheek out in a pout.

Midnight looked at me a bit and smiled. "Kazuya is a good name." She meant it. And she made sure to put her feelings into it so I knew.

I nodded and walked back to my chair, slumping in it.

I stared at the name written across it.

When thinking about Heroes, he has always been my favorite. So when I had to think of a Hero like name, his name popped into my head without me knowing.

Geez, this is a stupid activity. Shouldn't we actually be learning stuff? Oh god I literally want school right now. That's sad.

Iida walked up and the fact that he wasn't the first should have clued me in on his state.

Iida seems . . . sad. But there's something else in his eyes. Sadness, remorse, hate, and vengeance.

This is unsettling.

He showed us his board, not looking at anyone. On it is not 'Ingenium', the name he declared he would take.

No, only 'Tenya'.

Iida, what happened? "You're using your first name too?" Midnight seemed as surprised as everyone else.

Iida walked back without saying anything, which made me a bit anxious.

I'm familiar with those eyes. Because I often have them.

"Midoriya, are you ready?" She asked. Izu jumped a bit and stood. "Y-Yes!" He quickly made his way up to the podium.

He set it down, and everyone seemed surprised by his choice as well.

Heh? "Are you really okay with that?" Kaminari asked him.

"You might be called that forever, you know." Kirishima warned, nervous for him.

It's natural. After all, Kacchan calls him that. And it's always meant as an insult.

Izu nodded. "Yeah. I didn't like this name until now. But someone changed the meaning of it, and that had a huge impact on me. It made me really happy."

He smiled, remembering something. "This is my Hero name!"

A smile made its way onto my face and I leaned my face on my hand. You sure have grown Izu.

I'm proud.

"You've come a long way from Junior." I whispered.

That's right. Deku doesn't have to be something bad. Uraraka taught you that, didn't she?

Izu came back and took his seat, satisfied with his name.

Kacchan walked back up, looking a bit annoyed. "Lord Explosion Murder!" He shouted.

I sweat dropped. You never quite change, do you?

~

"Now that everyone's decided on their Hero name, we'll go back to talking about the internships. They will last for a week. As for where you'll have them, those who had offers from pros will be given your own lists so you can choose from those yourself. Those who didn't have offers wll choose from among forty agencies around the country that will be accepting interns. They all work in different places and have different specialties. Think carefully before you choose." Aizawa explained.

Huh? Interns?

Interns?!

Ah man, this is going to suck.

A list was passed over to me, followed by another.

One had the agencies that will be accepting interns. The other had two Hero names on it. Wait what? Who would request me?

I read the names. I expected Midnight, but Best Jeanist? That is totally unexpected.

The bell chimed signaling the end of this class and Aizawa and Midnight headed out.

"Turn in your choices before the weekend. Make your decision efficiently." That's two days.

Well, I'll probably just go with Midnight. I know her well enough and she is already aware of my personality, or more specifically, my lack of.

Classes went by pretty quickly and before I knew it, schools over. "Deku, Kiri, let's go home together!" Uraraka called out.

She rushed over to us with a smile. I nodded in agreement and Izu smiled. "Okay." He agreed.

We always go home together, the four of us. "Iida, you too- huh?" Uraraka stopped upon seeing Iida wasn't in the room.

Yeah. There's that. "He probably decided on where he wants to do his internship and went to turn it into the staff room." Izu tried being the optimist.

He opened the door and all Might slid into view so suddenly. "I am here! In a bizarre position!" He called, surprising us.

"Wh-what's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?" Izu asked him. All Might moved his hand a bit.

"Come with me for a bit." Izu nodding, green eyes holding curiosity. As he left I turned to Uraraka. "I'm actually going to go on ahead. I have to check on some things."

She seemed surprised by this. "Okay. See you later." I nodded and headed out, straight to the staff room.

There weren't many teacher there, so I spotted Aizawa-Sensei easily and walked over. He's looking at papers, the internships are my guess.

I walked over. "Nozomi. Did you decide on your agency?" Aizawa asked, not bothering to look up from the papers.

Which is perfect for me. I stood behind him and pulled out the form.

I leaned over and placed it on his desk, scanning the paper he held. It's Iida's.

I quickly pulled back so he wouldn't catch me looking at it.

"I'm going with Midnight. She's going to be visiting Best Jeanist during the week so I can learn from both. I think she's punishing me for coming to school late." I told him in a monotone voice.

He nodded, not looking away from Iida's paper. "Then come to school on time." He scolded weakly. I turned, walking away. "Yes~." I called with little emotion as I walked on out.

As I left school, I thought about what I had read on Iida's paper.

According to Izu and Uraraka, he got a lot of offers from Heroes. But on his paper I looked over he chose a small agency in Hosu. Not long ago I saw on the news about his brother, Ingenium.

He was attacked by the Hero Killer, Villain name: Stain. He's alive, but that's not necessarily a good thing.

I've heard about Stain on the streets. He's killed 17 Heroes in the past and hurt 23 Heroes beyond recovery. If Iida's brother survived, I doubt he can recover fully.

My guess is he might be paralyzed from the waist down. That's kind of Stain's memo.

Iida. I know what you have in mind.

I won't let you do it.

The darkness doesn't suit you, Iida. So don't go near it. Stay away. If I have to knock some sense into you I will. You don't want to go down this path.

Revenge is a stony path. It never frees you. Only keeps you imprisoned for the rest of your life.