MHA: Thorny Path of a Pro-Hero

The aftermath of our fight wasn't the most destructive – no one can outdo the protagonist of an anime and his main rival in that regard! – but it was still serious. As it turned out, my punch broke Todoroki's arm. Plus, both he and Kirishima ended up with concussions – fortunately, minor ones – and I think Toga caught a cold and went off to take a hot shower. And of course, we all got some bruises, naturally.

The frozen building, with all its various damages, remained standing, slowly thawing – All Might said that the robots would fix everything.

Then he quickly ran off somewhere, and I even suspected I knew why.

No, it wasn't to check on poor Midoriya – he had just run out of time he could spend in his combat form.

And that's terrifying.

And a very questionable decision.

Think about it: the world's strongest combat unit, the best rescuer in the world, gives up his combat hours to teach kids who won't replace him for a long time, if ever. How long can he operate each day after his injury? Two hours? Three? And all that time is spent maintaining the illusion that keeps the world in order. But the moment a catastrophe happens…

I tried to push those thoughts out of my head. Doing more than I already am is simply impossible. Unless I march into Nezu's office and declare that I'm a reincarnator and know what's going to happen in a couple of weeks.

But – I still don't know who the traitor is. Damn it. Walking in circles again.

And besides, there's always a chance they'd lock me up in a psych ward for such a stunt. Or dissect me for experiments. I don't trust the governments that maintain order in countries filled with superhumans and monsters.

"The world's spinning, I can't walk straight," complained Kirishima, whom Iida and I were supporting by the arms as we headed to the infirmary, following the cart carrying poor Frosty, who got it worse. Shoto was avoiding looking in my direction, clearly processing the fact that my punch had prevented him from finishing that phrase about the difference in our abilities.

Oh, right. Symbol of Peace had assigned me to help the guys.

There were four of us heading to the infirmary today – Iida's armor turned out to be more for show than functional, and as a result, he got tangled in some wire and ended up with several painful scratches.

"That happens with concussions. Sorry if I went overboard," I tried to smooth things over with Eijiro. He's a nice and friendly guy, a true example of what a hero should be, judging by character, so I wanted to have a good relationship with him. However, we hadn't talked much this past week, as Kirishima had immediately teamed up with Sero and Kaminari, while I had gotten caught up with the girls and Midoriya. "I didn't find another way to knock you out."

"It's fine," he tried to smile, but stumbled again and winced. "It hurts to admit it, but I think it was pretty cool."

"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised by his open-mindedness and level-headedness. "I thought you'd say something like… 'What kind of man uses such a cheap trick?'"

The red-haired guy chuckled and clenched his fist:

"No, on the contrary. It was a smart move, and now I know my… weakness. Ugh, my head…"

Iida was silently walking beside us, holding his helmet under his arm and listening to our conversation. His behavior didn't quite fit the image I had of him, so I wasn't sure what to think, and in the end, I let it go. It would be interesting to ask about the dyed hair, but maybe it's not the time with others around. I decided to be tactful and compliment the redhead instead:

"Look at it this way – it's a recognition of your strength. I knew I couldn't beat you without using some tricks."

"Heh-heh, thanks… And how did you beat Todoroki? I missed that part."

"Oh, right, let me tell you…"

And I did. And it seemed to me that Shoto himself was the most attentive listener.

It's truly wonderful to deal with people who care! Who strive to grow and become stronger, who try hard, who learn! How sick I was of the kids at school, many of whom had quirks that were simpler and more versatile than mine or Yui's, but were too lazy to even think about it!

In the infirmary, we created quite the crowd, and with Midoriya already unconscious there, I decided to come back for a new batch of syringes (Toga is just Toga) tomorrow.

Before the grumpy Recovery Girl – who, strangely enough, turned out to be quite the tsundere, considering her wise-grandma image – started scolding me as the cause of half the injuries, I tactfully slipped away.

And I was planning to head home to grab my stuff, as it was the last class of the day.

I was really hungry.

But then I thought about having to cook something in the dorm… sharing the kitchen on the first floor… and I didn't have any groceries, so I'd have to go shopping first… and I was dirty and sweaty like a devil, so I'd need to shower… and I had to pack my armor, which was in the classroom, but the case was in the locker room at the Center… and then there'd be Himeko bothering me in the dorm again… and Setsuna probably flying in to show me some meme or funny video… ugh.

In short, the introvert in me won, and I had an overwhelming desire to be alone.

I'd socialized enough with people today to maintain and develop useful social connections, so I think I can allow myself this weakness.

Yawning, I said to hell with it, dashed into the empty locker room of our class in the main building, stuffed my armor into my locker, and headed to the cafeteria.

***

The regulations for hero costumes were somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, we were strictly forbidden from taking them outside the Academy grounds, bringing them to the dorms, or wearing them in cafeterias, and so on. It made sense – even Bakugo's gauntlets were literally deadly to those around him.

On the other hand, Nezu and company understood better than anyone that training heroes inherently involved danger and risk. Therefore, within the school, they turned a blind eye to certain things: as long as you didn't activate anything when you shouldn't, didn't cause problems, and packed your gear into your personalized case at night, everything was fine.

So, I decided to have a proper meal… maybe even splurge a little, considering I'd just taken down the son of Endeavor, and there weren't a dozen do-gooders around that I had to share with.

Yes, I'll take that, and that too, and I'll have two of these, no, three!

After piling up a whole mountain of tasty treats like octopus and tempura, I heaved a sigh, grabbed the tray, and started looking around for a good spot. Preferably by the window and in the corner.

I love my classmates. I enjoy Yui's company, I like discussing things with Izuku, it's fun to banter with Tsuna, and even Himeko looks quite cute sometimes. Mashirao, by the way, I should probably go visit him sometime.

But occasionally, I just want to be alone, and...

"Excuse me, you're… Niren, right? Is this seat free? Would you mind if I joined you… if that's okay, of course?" A quiet voice called out. Soft, high-pitched – the kind they describe here as "kawaii." A female voice.

Sighing, I turned my head and saw a vaguely familiar girl with pink hair calling to me. Oh yeah, it's her, the one who tried to stop Toga and me when Toga mistook me for a bento. She'd created some sort of cloud between us.

"Hi?"

"Hi…"

I nodded and sat down at the table with her – in the corner and by the window, just as I'd wanted – and gave the girl a questioning look. Technically, she was my senior, a second- or third-year student.

"I wanted to ask if everything is alright with that girl… the one you had a conflict with?" she asked, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.

"Ah… yeah, Toga's doing fine. We're now neighbors on the same floor," I shrugged, feeling the need to add, "She's a normal girl… well, as normal as you can be in this crazy world, if you know what I mean."

I gestured vaguely with my chopsticks, simultaneously sizing up a fried shrimp.

"Oh," the girl's eyes slowly widened, apparently surprised, and I noticed that her gray eyes had unusual pupils – white and shaped like snowflakes. "I'm glad she's alright. Sorry if I intervened unnecessarily, I just wanted to help…"

"It's fine," I nodded, contemplating how best to dip the sashimi into the soy sauce, wasabi, and that delicious cream they gave with the tempura, without leaving all the rice in the wooden dishes. Honestly, whoever invented chopsticks was a true genius – such a refined form of torment… "Thanks for your help."

The pink-haired girl blushed slightly and nodded.

Then she yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. She pushed aside her tiny bowl that had held a small biscuit – seriously, it was so tiny that if there wasn't half a piece left, I would've assumed it was an espresso cup.

Then, with a slight gesture, she "conjured" a small cloud of pale pink fluffy cotton candy, which I had already seen before, right on the table in front of her.

And with another yawn, she blissfully laid her head on the cloud as if it were a pillow.

I couldn't help but smile – it looked so sincere and natural…

"My name's Fuma," she added sleepily. "Or Mawata, if we become friends, yaaaawn… I usually eat alone at this table, so if you ever need a place, feel free to sit with me…"

"Thanks, I'm Niren Shoda."

"Nice to meet you, Niren…"

"Likewise. Goodnight!"

She smiled a little, closed her eyes, and peacefully drifted off.

That probably would've been the end of our conversation. Possibly forever…

If I hadn't laughed out loud.

The girl's wide gray eyes shot open in surprise, and I had to explain why I was laughing, so I wouldn't come off as completely socially inept. And I had a lot of explaining to do…

Here's the thing: in this world, surnames and even first names are often "talking" names – kind of like the Kuznetsovs or Blacksmiths from my home reality. Except that while in my world there was a chance that someone's ancestor really was a blacksmith, here surnames often reflect quirks.

It's no secret that quirks can be inherited, though they often undergo unexpected changes. And since there were large geopolitical upheavals about a century ago, many people lost their documents, passports, and even citizenship in several countries. Some nations I knew of ceased to exist entirely – for example, Spain no longer existed, replaced by Catalonia.

As a result, many people got new names and surnames, often following the principle of "what I see is what I name." If they saw horns – "Horned," if they saw fire – "Flaming," and so on. This especially affected Japan and China with their ideographic scripts, which allow for a dozen meanings to be packed into the same squiggles.

For instance, the surname "Bakugo," when written in kanji – the adapted Chinese symbols used in Japanese writing – consists of "Baku," meaning "bomb," and "Go," meaning "strong." Surely one of his parents had an inherited quirk involving explosions.

Or take Todoroki – his surname literally means "roaring fire." And more than that! His given name was also descriptive – "Sho" means "burning," "To" means "freezing." A very obvious hint that his birth was planned through eugenic selection for the best lineage – so-called quirk marriages, which are now outlawed, but still happen, even though everyone understands the implications.

Okay, all of that is interesting, or maybe not, but what actually made me laugh?

And here's the thing: from my neighbor Mawata Fuma's name, you could also deduce something about her quirk. In this case, it's her first name that's the clue. "Ma Wata" in Japanese means "pure cotton."

And her quirk indeed creates some kind of clouds, resembling cotton or fluff.

In Russian, which I also happen to know (nearly a polyglot, huh), there's the word "вата" (wata), meaning cotton.

And the number of coincidences was what I found funny. A girl named Wata conjures cotton as her pillow.

What? Not funny? Well, sit there with sour faces, but it was amusing to me!

After listening and slowly blinking, Fuma agreed that the coincidence was amusing, marveled at the fact that I knew Russian ("just a little," I humbly replied, deciding not to mention the English, German, Spanish, and Chinese I'd picked up, just in case, as a kid), and confirmed that the word 'wata' suited her just fine – since cotton fibers are indeed made from cotton.".

Mawata explained that her quirk allowed her to create fluffy clouds of varying volume and density at any point within her line of sight. And then, it all depended on her imagination and the task: her cotton cloud could disappear on command, exist for a long time, was difficult to set on fire, and, when denser, could absorb blows quite well. She could also somehow weave ropes out of them and even trap people in them, though I found it hard to imagine.

"My quirk?... It enhances my punches, yeah, but there are a couple of nuances."

In the end, we ended up talking quite a bit. Even aside from the fact that she was a pretty and smart girl (who, importantly, wasn't trying to fall apart or bite a chunk out of me!), I had a ton of topics I could and wanted to discuss with a second-year U.A. student. And she was easy-going.

For example, I learned how to get to the Hero Support Department. And that every student there designs the costumes for a student from the hero course, and, just like us, they do internships – only not with pro-heroes, but with service companies.

I also found out that at every sports festival, it's the first-place student from the entrance exam who delivers a speech to the first-year students.

Ugh…

After talking to Fuma, I also learned that Aizawa, when setting up his test, had actually lied… about lying regarding the expulsions. In the years of his teaching career, he had expelled around one hundred and fifty students, making it his trademark. And a year before we entered, he expelled an entire class – the previous Class 1-A, now Class 2-A.

Only to re-enroll them.

It was Mawata's class that had been the unlucky group given this extra "motivation," simultaneously driving their nerves to the brink. Were they grateful for it? According to Fuma, her classmates still considered the whole thing insane and treated Aizawa, who was the homeroom teacher for all Class A students in the Hero Department, with cool detachment.

Anyway, Fuma herself viewed Aizawa's prank differently: she saw the bigger picture and believed that the experience had pushed them to grow in both abilities and mental discipline. She was even grateful to the sensei – as much as one can be for being expelled from school. But her perspective wasn't a popular one.

Oh, and a small aside: it wasn't necessary for us to talk; it was very comfortable just sitting in silence with her. Some people are like that.

You know what else? A lot of other people can't stand silence, they hate pauses in conversation, and as a result, they try to fill these "gaps" with awkward, cringe-worthy remarks. "Lovely weather today, isn't it?" Setsuna is one of those people, for example.

But with Mawata, there were no such issues. Her personality had a kind of dignity and calm composure, which helped her avoid fuss and unnecessary problems.

I wasn't surprised when I learned she'd been chosen as the vice-representative, the class vice-president.

The last and unexpectedly interesting topic we discussed was how students are sorted into classes in the Hero Department:

"Did they also split you guys up so that students with similar abilities ended up in either 'A' or 'B'?" I asked curiously.

Mawata tilted her head to the side:

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, it's even mentioned on the Academy's website that students with similar quirks are assigned to different classes to encourage rivalry and to maximize interaction with a variety of quirks. So, isn't that how it works for you?"

She thought for a moment:

"It seems to me that there are no two quirks that are exactly the same; they might look similar in some ways, but in other aspects, they'll be very different. That's why there isn't a universally accepted classification of quirks."

"Well, I'd argue with that," I drawled. "Look, in our Class A and Class B, there are almost identical quirks that were specifically separated into different groups. For example, we have Kirishima, who can harden his body like a rock, and in Class B, there's a guy who can turn into steel. Pretty much the same power, just looks different. The abilities of my classmate Tokoyami can be compared to those of the recommended student in Class B, Jurota Shishida. Or take my friend Setsuna from Class A and the exchange student Pony Tsunotori from Class B – their powers are very similar."

"Though, to be fair, in the original timeline, both of them ended up in the same class, and no one seemed to mind," I thought to myself, but I didn't say it aloud.

"What are their powers?" Fuma asked, intrigued, as she dispelled her cloud-pillow and eagerly returned to her biscuit. Apparently, someone has a sweet tooth.

"Well, Pony can control her horns. They can fly around. And they grow back."

"Whoa…"

"Yeah, I read about her in an article on international relations – she's from the USA, but of Japanese-Italian descent. And as for Setsuna…"

By the way, who is Jurota Shishida? He's known as Gevaudan (or Jevodan, in the French manner). He's the fourth recommended student in our year, who got in through the competition instead of Setsuna.

I knew about him from an internet article because, for a certain category of enthusiasts (otaku, or nerds, basically), each new batch of students at U.A. is a big deal – after all, one of them might become the next star. Fanboying in this world was alive and well.

So, Jurota, in addition to his excellent academic scores, had a very powerful quirk that turned him into a huge humanoid beast, a furry Chewbacca-type creature standing about four meters tall. Massive strength, massive endurance, massive speed, and enhanced senses like smell and hearing… Given that this form, as far as I understood, didn't significantly impair his cognitive abilities, having a classmate like him made me a little nervous, but also a little excited. I kind of wanted to spar with him, honestly.

Why the name Gevaudan? Because someone had clearly read too many history books, though I have to admit, it's an interesting reference. A bit too grim for your typical heroics involving pink unicorns and butterflies, though.

In the eighteenth century, there was a mountainous province in France called Gevaudan, where a man-eating wolf appeared. For a long time, no one could catch it, which led to rumors growing increasingly terrifying – that the wolf was a werewolf, or not a wolf at all but a lion, that it was intelligent, or that dark forces were involved, and that the creature was no beast but a demon…

In the end, this monster became one of the most famous legends in the country's history, right up there with the story of the Man in the Iron Mask.

So, props for the reference.

But personally, I wouldn't name myself after a bloodthirsty monster said to have devoured more than a hundred people.

Author's Note 1:

Hey folks!

Guess what? The first chapter of my new "Naruto" fic just dropped, and it's up on Patreon—open for everyone. 

Earlier, there was a vote with three fandoms for you to pick from, and "Naruto" came out on top, beating "W.I.T.C.H". and "Oshi no Ko". A pretty expected outcome, but hey, it was a fair fight!

So go check it out, read it, enjoy it, or rip it apart (nicely, please). Either way, I'd love to hear what you think.

What are you waiting for? Dive in. Drive in! Drive through! Bang through! You're more than welcome!

Catch you in the comments!

Author's Note 2:

Why were these characters "banned" – meaning (mostly) sent to Class B?

1. Minoru Mineta is just unpleasant to me. He has disgusting habits and a repulsive appearance. His quirk, admittedly, is quite useful and multifunctional, and it will be missed in some places… however, to my relief, there's Momo in Class A, who is more than capable of compensating for his abilities.

Although, interestingly, writing about his quirk in the entrance exam would have been fun – it's really versatile, and maybe some other fanfic author will dare to write something cool about him, in the style of the powers in One Piece.

What's also interesting is that the manga author Kohei Horikoshi, in an interview, compared himself to Mineta. So when the anime once again focuses on Mt. Lady's butt, you're not imagining things – it's supposed to be that way.

2. Koji Koda, as many have correctly noted in the comments, is quite physically strong and resilient thanks to secondary traits inherited from one of his parents' quirks.

However, his character is even more timid and indecisive than Izuku was in the early episodes. It's not about a useless quirk – it's about what we clearly saw in Midoriya's case: timid and unsure students can't score a single point on the exam.

In short, the only way Koda could pass is if a dozen robots killed themselves by running into him. But in the original, he made it into Class A, so just kicking him out of the plot would be wrong. Besides, he's supposed to have an Awakening at some point.

And yes, I have a small-scale mini-plan for him (lol).

3. Rikido Sato – purely by the process of elimination. If you recall, I previously pushed the concept that students with similar quirks are divided into different classes. The most obvious example is Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. Well, Sato, in fact, is a typical user of an enhancing quirk… supposedly like Midoriya, Niren, and to some extent Iida, who "only knows taijutsu." Not to mention that physical strength is significantly boosted in Todoroki and Bakugo too.

Also, he's boring.

4. Mezo Shoji – because Class B also needs someone OP to maintain balance and intrigue at the sports festival. In my opinion, this character is extremely underrated by the manga's author since he's a sensor, a limited metamorph, fast, with absurd physical strength, and inhuman defense as well. As a result, he's a great opponent for Midoriya and Niren.

Moreover, he has a genuinely heroic motivation to become a professional hero. For My Hero Academia, a well-developed motivation is rare, in my opinion, so this character is truly valuable.

Therefore, I decided that in Class B, without having to compete with monsters like Todoroki, he would thrive much better and, at some point, shine brightly enough to attract attention and move closer to his goal.

What do you think – when will this happen? :)

5. Our old friend Mashirao Ojiro. To be honest, I didn't initially plan for this. However… he's just so… average! Absolutely unremarkable, with whom I couldn't establish any chemistry or even have a decent dialogue throughout the whole book. He has no interests, no flaws, no standout traits...

This was even played out in the anime – remember, for example, his room and his classmates' reaction to its decor. Like, "normality" is his thing, but it's so dull!

On top of that, his quirk is extremely limited, meaning the only way to make him useful is to give him an Awakening that… what? Turns him into one giant tail?

In short, Class B is the perfect fit for him.

At least his dad (OMC) is cool :)