Chapter 35 - Hero Name and Internship

Hiro stepped out of the train. He blended in with the other passengers as they walked towards the exit, none of them giving him so much as a second glance which made him inwardly nod in satisfaction.

With black hair and an unassuming face, if anybody who knew him saw him at this moment, they wouldn’t give him a second glance.

After the Sports Festival, his reputation surged. People online dubbed him as a mini All Might. Some even managed to uncover the location of the orphanage where he resided and turned his weekend particularly harrowing.

HIs former middle school classmates, particularly the girls, suddenly sent messages acting familiar. The schoolmates and friends of the children in the orphanage popped in to see the ‘cool big brother’ of their classmate. Some adults even came with the intention to adopt him.

Hiro had no problems entertaining the first two, but the last one made him speechless. Not to mention his age, but as a hero-in-training, didn’t they know that he was already an adult in terms of the law?

He wanted to use the opportunity to instead lobby the other children. Unfortunately, either the ones who came didn’t look like someone he could trust, or they came really just for him and expressed no interest with the others.

Hiro felt it was a pity. While reluctant to part with them himself, he wouldn’t bar the kids the opportunity to have a mother and father that would dote on just them, instead of having to share the attention with more than double digit numbers of other kids.

These events made him delay his Quirk development, though fortunately, he succeeded before school resumed.

Anyways, his newfound fame means he’d get mobbed by people wherever he goes- at least until the news cooled down. It was why he assumed the appearance of the most average person he could think of. Only when he was at the UA gate did he return to his real appearance.

When he entered the classroom, there were only a scant few of them. And Iida, who was almost always the first to arrive, still wasn’t here.

It was understandable though. News of his brother Ingenium being attacked and hospitalized was already in the group chat. He had probably returned to his hometown during the break to take care of him.

Hiro greeted Tokoyami and Koda and sat beside Momo, whose lips curved into a pleasant smile when she saw him. The two chatted about the things they did during the four day break as they waited for class to start.

As they talked, Hiro’s gaze subtly roamed all over her body. With their current relationship, would she agree for him to touch her all over?

Now don’t get him wrong. While Momo’s body is the most developed among the current class 1A, groping it is not his main purpose. Instead, he wanted to study the inner workings of her Quirk.

Now that his body cells had their Quirk Factors activated, he could already detect the genes of other people if he had physical contact with them- something he already tested on Shara and the other kids at the orphanage.

In fact, he could even take a genetic sample like the hair or blood and absorb it inside his body. Then, once inside, he could assimilate the genes he needed into one of his cells and repeat the process of replacing his body cells with that new cell.

The only problem he faced then was identifying which genes were the Quirk Factor. To solve that, he needed to examine their body while they were using their Quirk. 

All of this is still speculation though. He was so busy during the break that he still hadn’t tested that aspect yet. 

However, he wasn’t in a hurry. With an unlimited lifespan, he had plenty of time to try his ideas.

Their classmates arrived one by one. Just like him, most of them were recognized by other people on the way here. But without the capability to disguise themselves, they were mobbed and delayed.

It was especially the case for Mina, who panted as she arrived in class in the nick of time.

Aizawa entered the classroom just a few seconds after her. He dragged his body to the podium and answered the class greeting with a lazy tone before beginning the class.

“Today, you have something special to do.”

“Somthing special? Just right after the Sports Festival, sensei?”

Tsuyu asked, her head tilted to the side. The other in class already tensed up as they waited for their teacher’s answer. Could it be…is there some sort of pop quiz!?

“You’ll be coming up with your hero names.”

““Yeaaahhh!!!””

““Awesomeeee!!!””

The whole class erupted into cheers. It was just like when they first heard that they could wear their hero costume.

Hiro smiled in amusement. Hero name, huh? He had honestly never considered that. Should he just use his own name like what Midoriya and Todoroki did in canon? 

“But before that…let me tell you about the result of your performance in the Sports Festival?”

Aizawa’s statement made the class quiet down. Result? Wasn’t it already shown with Hiro, Todoroki, and Mina winning the top three? Their eyes seemed to ask as they looked at Aizawa with confusion.

Aizawa ignored their gazes. He turned on the screen behind him which displayed a bar graph. On top, the graph was labeled “Class A Draft Pick Totals”. Their name was listed on the left side, and a bar with a number next to it.

“There’s typically more of a spread. Anyways, just like I said, the Sports Festival is your first opportunity to show yourself to the world. And this graph shows how successful you’ve done that.”

Seeing them still looking puzzled, Aizawa continued.

“This indicates the amount of pro heroes that have paid attention to you. The higher the number, the more they believe you have what it takes to be a hero after two or three years of training. In addition, it also means they are interested in working alongside you.”

“Interested in working alongside…?”

“That’s right. For the next part of your training, you will choose to work alongside a hero who's chosen you. Of course, even if you’re not chosen, you can still work under a pro that is in partnership with the school.”

The students' eyes widened as they finally understood Aizawa’s meaning. They turned to the graph, and felt mixed emotions.

First on the list, as expected, was Hiro with more than 5,000 heroes who chose him. Next was Todoroki with more than 2,000. After that was Midoriya with more than 1,000, while Mina and the others had 400 or less.

“Gah! They’re in a whole other league!”

Kaminari groaned when he saw that only 37 chose him. 

“These pros have no eyes for talent!”

“Yeesh, even though I got third, I’m still far behind. Hiro~ as an apology for rejecting my invitation last Thursday, give me some of your applications!”

Mina whined as she took Hiro’s arms and shook it like a baby. Hiro chuckled, and flicked her forehead to make her stop.

“If Aizawa-sensei allows it, then sure. And I already made an extra special treat just for you as an apology.”

“Special treat?”

Mina muttered, anticipation and horror mixed in her voice. Her mouth subconsciously salivated while her hands went to her stomach as she thought about her recent discovery.

Two weeks ago, when she checked her weight, she was shocked to discover that she had gained 1 kilo! And that was when she hadn’t eaten anything yet!

She vowed to reduce her diet and exercise more to return to her original weight. 

However, the lunch at school was balanced to contain all the nutrients a hero student would need. And Hiro’s treats were so delicious that she couldn’t stop herself from eating them. She also doesn’t want to worry her family by eating less at home.

Thus, left with no choice, she could only increase her exercise to burn off what she ate. And now, hearing about the extra special treat, she already resolved herself to run an extra kilometer when she gets back.

Just as Mina was lost in thought, Aizawa coughed and drew everyone’s attention.

“Anyways, since you’ll be working with the pros, you’ll need a hero name. They’re only tentative. But you still want to pick something inappropriate-“

“Or else you’ll know true hell!”

The sudden shout startled the class. The door opened with a bang, and Midnight, in her hero costume and a sultry smile on her face, entered the classroom.

“The name you pick now may be what the world ends up calling you. That already happened to plenty of pros out there. To prevent you from choosing improper nicknames, I’ll be here to assess them.”