Chapter 57: The Winged Hero

With choices made, and hero names decided, the students are split up and head for their internships. Before they leave, Todoroki is given a talk he does not want to have, while Midoriya and Tokoyami find themselves sharing something.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 57: The Winged Hero

The selection of hero names didn't take too long. Some seemed purposely uncreative, such as Todoroki, but then there was Bakugo, who, by the end of the day, hadn't managed to settle on a name as his choices were vetoed by Midnight and Present Mic.

Midoriya had no real way to process Bakugo going from his first choice of 'King Explosion Murder' to 'Lord Explosion Murder'. Midoriya thought maybe Bakugo was just using his gamer tag. Still, as someone who rarely played online games, he couldn't be sure about that. Aoyama didn't think it was that, but even after 20 minutes of discussion, which managed to bring their other friends, they were no closer to figuring out why Bakugo wanted 'Murder' in his hero name.

They could ask, but they all knew Bakugo would sooner punch them than explain his reasoning, so despite how much it hurt to just leave it be, they moved on with their lives.

Midoriya and Aoyama, being excluded from the privilege of choosing an agency to spend their internship with, were able to help their friends with their choices. Midoriya's extensive knowledge of pros helped them a lot in picking people. When Kirishima and Tetsutetsu both wanted Fourth Kind, while good, he helped them see the pros and cons. While Tetsutetsu remained solid, Kirishima was open to change and went with Fatgum.

Hagakure went with Edgeshot, as while they had different quirks, the man didn't just pretend to be a shinobi but was one of Japan's best, if not the best, stealth heroes who didn't belong to the underground scene. So he would be a great teacher for her. Kamakiri, by contrast, was taking Yoroi Musha as the man was the oldest serving pro, and despite using a sword, had never taken a life with it. Kamakiri, for all his talk and brash attitude, wished to learn from the old man what he could teach him on that front.

One odd one was Uraraka, who got an offer from All Might, the only one who seemed to have gotten one. Still, she quickly chose another agency, a smaller pro, Gunhead, reasoning that All Might may be stronger. Still, she wanted the martial arts training, and Gunhead seemed a good pick.

He suggested Mirko, as she was among her options, but she didn't think she'd jell well with the Rabbit Heroine, which…made sense. Iida picked his brother, unsurprisingly, but not without merit, as who better to help him than someone intimately familiar with their similar quirks and years of experience?

But as fun as it was to talk about their choices and figure out who would go where, they couldn't do so forever, and the day soon came for them to depart, one that managed to drain most of their excitement out of them, not out of fear or worry, but just a reminder of things as they stood.

Many would need to take the train, so they had been asked to meet at Musutafu’s station. The typically boring and well-maintained building lay in one of the reconstruction zones from the mass attack. It was one of the first to get back up and running to help with logistics and evacuations of people who wished to live somewhere else, either short—or long-term.

But while the station and the lines it connected to were operational, that didn't mean the surrounding area wasn't. Walking from their apartment, Midoriya's group couldn't help but still see the carnage, hear people in pain as they cried out for help, smell the smoke, ash, and blood in the air. None of that existed now, the streets had long been cleaned, victims rescued, debris cleared…

Bodies recovered, or what was left of them.

It wasn't as if they were the only ones who remembered, as they regularly saw small memorials, some placed at street corners, against lamps and street lights, or messengers left on walls and buildings. Many were left by friends and family of people lost, often where they had fallen. In time, it'll vanish, and the city will clean it up, but for now, not a single person dared mention 'moving on', not when the wounds were still fresh.

But a further tragedy they now suffered was the fact that they could see what others couldn't. Every now and then, they would spot one. Either walking through the streets, as if trying to rejoin the world they'd been cut from, or they remained in place, their gaze fixated on the markers left behind by those who loved them.

Ojiro let out a whimper as he spied what had to be the quirk spirit of a child, no older than 10, sitting on a park bench next to the memorial to his death. He had to remind himself he wasn't seeing the dead, no, truly, but it still felt like dust on his tongue.

Aoyama didn't smile and made a point of not looking at the spirits as they walked up. He and Midoriya walked as if they didn't see them, something that seemed callous, against the very ideals of heroism. But when Hagakure tried to demand an explanation from them, her words died on her tongue as she saw just how exhausted and haunted both seemed to be. She wanted to smack herself for forgetting they had only been exposed to this world a few weeks back.

But Aoyama and Midoriya? They’ve been drenched in it since they were 10.

Once they arrived, they met some of the rest and had some small talk as more filled in. Eraser, along with Snipe, was the last to arrive; with them were four of U.A.'s service bots. The first two pulled a cart that housed their costume cases. But they didn't know much about the second as the cases looked different, coloured green, blue, and black, and neither teacher said anything about it.

Line Break

“Okay, you all have your costumes?” Eraser asked, getting nods from the students before he continued. "You're all legal adults, but as far as I'm concerned, you'll just be more capable teens, so I'll remind you of what should be common sense. Those costumes aren't for play or casual use. If I hear you wearing them in public, it's better to be emergency- or internship-related, understood?"

“Yessir!” Ashido chirped.

"Ashido, you're 18, not 8. It's 'yes, sir.'" Eraser shot her down with brutal efficiency, leaving her a bit deflated.

"Yes, sir." She corrected, with Snipe taking things from there.

He tapped one of the carts, which still held cases. Now that we have that out of the way, you're probably wondering about the second series of cases we brought along. Those are some new sensory equipment, the same type used in our new staff members' facilities." He explained, but kept things vague.

To most, it would seem like U.A. was gifting hero agencies with some equipment, nothing to report, as it was a top school with some of the best talent and financing. A student or a group could produce something like that.

"U.A. will be taking this chance to implement it and others into our security system, but the agencies you picked will get smaller versions of them for a test run so the professor can collect data on how to better design the full versions." Snipe continued as they came up, one at a time, and collected one of the cases, adding it to their luggage for their week away from campus.

"Are we expecting any issues that would necessitate this?" Kendo asked, as this seemed…rushed. Why send them through students? Why not use official channels?

Eraser shook his head. "No, but no one, not even our tea addict genius of a dean, could have foreseen the 'Musutafu incident’. So, we're not taking chances. We'll be better equipped to handle things if something comes up." Kendo nodded, stepping back in line as some shivered at the reminder of that ruined day.

"The pros you've chosen have been read in on this, but many haven't seen one for themselves. You all have, and because of that, in that one situation, you'll be on point to direct things before someone more qualified can arrive." Snipe added, which seemed like a bigger shock than the equipment they'll be taking with them.

“Wait, we’ll be in charge of an entire hero agency?” Sero asked, but Eraser quickly shut down any assumptions on undeserved power.

"In very specific circumstances. Even then, it's less in charge and more in an advisory role." The underground hero said, which for some pouts, mainly from Tokage and Kaminari, who seemed like they had ideas to abuse their believed power.

"Make sure to watch yourselves, as even if nothing happens, only an idiot disrespects their betters and superiors." Snipe tipped his hat, looking at all of them, though his gaze lingered on some more than others and passed over others as if he didn't see them. He knew who would be dangerous cases and who wouldn't need to be reminded.

"Still, you shouldn't burn yourselves out while out. So try and have some fun,"  Eraser said. Before his students could collect their jaws, which had fallen to the floor, he added, "Yes, I know what fun means; I'm not a machine."

"Yes, sir!" With the debrief finished, the students started to dissipate. Some already knew where to go and made their way to their platforms, while others lingered to have one last in-person talk with friends.

“Should I tell ‘em?” Snipe whispered to Eraser, as they both knew he was not a man who believed work should be fun. He had been bullied into saying that by Pic, who wished to be present but had something come up.

"Do what you like," Eraser grumbled, but it wasn't like they were finished, as he saw one student he wished to discuss. “Todoroki, a word.”

The duel-coloured student blinked, but he had no reason to disobey. He turned and walked back to his teachers, curious what they wanted and why it was from him.

“You selected Frostbyte, up in Iwate, right?” Eraser asked, student and teacher frowning as Todoroki could pick up where this conversation was going. After all, everyone expected he would take his bastard of a dad, right? Why reject the 'honour' of training under the number 2 and instead go with someone who couldn't break the top 100 leaderboards

?

"I did," Todoroki replied.

"You understand she can't teach you about using your flames." Eraser didn't so much ask as he told. Frostbyte, if the name wasn't enough of a hint, was a heroine whose quirk revolved around manipulating ice and snow.

Neither Snipe nor Eraser needed their years of experience or prior training to tell that this wasn't a topic that Todoroki was happy to have. Unlike his classmates, he couldn't just blow them off. “I know.” But that still meant he could be stubborn, which only frustrated Eraser. He had feared when he first saw the boy's name that he would be a spoiled brat with no talent, coaxed by his father's name and influence.

It was worse. He was every bit as talented as a recommendation's student should be, scoring the second highest on their entrance exam. The issue stemmed from the fact that he was…socially skilled as his father, only he swapped out a hot temper for a cold indifference. It would be amusing if it weren't so dangerous.

Eraser didn't mince his words, and he laid them out as clearly as day for Todoroki.

“Okay, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I don’t know why you refuse to use your flames, and I don’t care." A flash of red-hot rage flashed in Todoroki's eyes, his body stiffening. Still, it faded before the kid could make the mistake of trying to speak over him or swing at the teacher.

Others, like Mic or Midnight, might have been more tactful. Nezu, perhaps, would have been smarter in his approach, packaging it in a way that Todoroki would need to unpack. Vlad could even be the approachable teacher who got people to open up to him.

Eraser was none of those things. He was the disciplinarian. He was the harsh smack in the face, and right now, Todoroki needed a lot more than that to get his head out of his ass. So Eraser really didn't care if he got pissed, if he didn't like him-he, he cared that he listened. "You're training to be a hero, and you picked U.A., a school that firmly believes in doing all you can and then some to save lives. We've tolerated your half-ass efforts till now, but don't think we'll continue to do so. When you return, you will start using your flames, or you’ll find your placement at U.A. on thin ice, understand?”

If he couldn't listen, he had no place in his class, or even his school. Todoroki's eyes went cold, but that anger remained, alive and well. However, whatever retort he had, whatever excuse or rebuke of Eraser's warning faded when the underground pro flashed his own quirk, and the slowly building frost off Todoroki was killed. Eraser's glowing red eyes left no room for misinterpretation on what he was saying:

Use his father's stupid quirk, or else he would be expelled.

“Crystal.” Todoroki ground out, not waiting to be dismissed, as he turned and marched up, his mood horrible. Though no one noticed, Honenuki noticed him walk off but didn't approach or yell a goodbye; no one did.

Line Break

Off on another level of the station, Midoriya stood by himself. Having said goodbye, he needed to leave to find his train. Looking at the schedule board, he grimaced when he saw the good and bad news. The good thing was that his train wouldn't be leaving for another 10 minutes, which meant he could have spent more time talking with the rest.

“Of course, it’s pretty far…” He sighed. The bad news was that the journal would take almost five straight hours. He wouldn't even make it past lunch. That might not have sounded like much, but when they only had a week at their respective agencies, they had to make every minute count.

“Midoriya?” Someone spoke up behind him, causing him to yelp and jump in fright. He turned around to see who it was, but calmed a little when he saw a surprised Tokoyami.

Tokoyami lowered his hand, his gaze returning to its typically calm. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Midoriya shook his head. "No, no, it's on me. I should have been paying closer attention. Is there something you need, Tokoyami? I wouldn't want you to miss your train."

"That is why I'm here. I'm waiting to board a train to Kyushu." Tokoyami gestured to the board behind him, which came as a surprise to Midoriya.

“Oh, really? I’m heading that way as well. Seems like we’re the only ones.” Midoriya noted.

"Well, Kyushu is quite a distance. Perhaps the others wished to spend their internships closer to home, so to speak." Tokoyami suggested.

“But not you?” Midoriya asked, to which Tokoyami shook his head.

“No, I believe that my choice of hero would be an exceptional pick to help train my skills.” He answered, but frowned as he seemed to recall something. Bowing his head, he apologised.  “Forgive me, it slipped my mind that you and Aoyama didn’t have such choices. I would hate to come off as bragging.”

Midoriya's brow raised slightly at that, but he waved it off. “It’s fine, it’s not as if we were barred from internships. It was just…altered for us, and the situation.” He was upset about it, but he could accept it. Besides, they could always get the chance in their second year, right?

As the schedule called, their train came in and the two walked towards it, keeping an eye on their luggage. Midoriya looked towards his classmate and fellow hero student as they got in line to board.

“Well, would you mind if we sit close to each other?” He asked, getting a curt nod from the raven-headed man.

"Not at all, it would be pleasant to have familiar company on such a lengthy journey," Tokoyami replied with a slight smile. However, it didn't reach his eyes. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, though Midoriya didn't know where and didn't ask.

After boarding the train, they soon found their seats near the middle of it. The car was largely empty, with just a few other people scattered around it.

"Pardon, but I am curious: Who were you assigned to?" Tokoyami tried to converse, knowing the rest told their friends about their choices. Still, he wasn't close to Midoriya's group.

Midoriya reached into his jacket and pulled out a small form—a copy of the one he had been given, summarised to fit onto a single-sided sheet of paper with his marching orders printed. “Hawks.”

Tokoyami made an intrigued sound at that. "Well, that is a stroke of fortune then, as he was my pick for an internship." Hearing that made Midoriya smile, though he was surprised.

"I didn't know he was talking to more than one student intern." He knew some might end up at the same place, but they, as far as he knew, had histories of taking on students like them. Hawks had no such; he might not have been active for as long as some other pros, but he seemed consistent in that refusal to train interns like them.

Tokoyami crossed his arms, his eyes going to the city as they rode through it, his gaze lingering on the parts still under construction. “I believe he intended to, but as your placement came down from the commission,”

Midoriya could see where he was coming from there. “Yeah, I got it. Still, it’s a rare chance to learn from him. He’s the fast-rising pro ever, even beating out All Might and Endeavour’s rise to the top.”

Tokoyami let out a soft grunt. "I would say he's too fast. How a man can remain so calm and relaxed and yet be as productive as he is is a contradiction. Still, I'll be much better as a hero if I can learn even a fraction of that efficiency." He wasn't the fastest student, but Dark Shadow ensured his name would regularly be brought up in discussions of the strongest. He could put himself into another tier if he could improve his speed.

Midoriya flashed a smile and thumbs-up towards him. "Well, you have an A+ ally in Dark Shadow. I haven't had the chance to say it, but you got one of the coolest quirks I've ever seen. It's incredibly rare to find someone with a sentient quirk."

Tokoyami grew a little flushed. While he had heard people call his quirk strong, Midoriya's praise reminded him of the ones he would have heard as a child from other children. “Is yours not the same?” he tried to reflect.

"She doesn't count." Midoriya’s quirk response got him a yell from within his mind as a certain someone took great offense. “She was made in a lab, but Dark Shadow is as natural as sunlight.”

“As sunlight…” Tokoyami mused, as that was an ironic comparison that couldn't take his mind off things. "Well, it does have its advantages, though Dark Shadow can sometimes be somewhat difficult to manage. The walk to the station was a prime time for such."

“What do you mean?” Midoriya asked.

"You saw them too, didn't you?"

At that question, the pleasant, friendly mode between them vanished. The two fell silent as Tokoyami looked at his feet, his hands wrung together in his lap, while Midoriya looked out the window, the one that faced the countryside and not the city. He didn't respond, but he didn't need to. Tokoyami knew the answer, and that only dumbfounded him more.

"How…how can you and everyone just be so bubbly? Ashido seemed as eager as a child on a trip to the amusement park. When I left to find my platform, I saw some still discussing things with smiles on their faces. Do they not know, did they just forget to wear them?" Tokoyami asked, feeling Dark Shadow growing restless in him.

"I don't think they did, as in my group, they've been wearing them every day since," Midoriya replied, as he would have been against it, but they had made it clear that while they couldn’t fight against this threat, not like he could. They wouldn’t shy away from it either. It was…impressive if he was honest, how fast they could adapt, how relatively bump-free things seemed.

Emphasis on relative, as he couldn't act like he hadn't heard them crying at night, even through their thick walls. Hadn't seen them look into nothing, or leave their apartments exhausted from a night of nightmares.

"I learned early on that being a hero was…difficult; there was so much more to it than saving lives and smiling. You had to face the bad stuff, the tragic parts, and for us in particular, regularly interact with those who had failed when they needed a hero most." Midoriya stated, looking towards the ceiling as he recalled his innocence…when was that again? Oh yes, before he got his quirk, an irony which wasn’t lost on him.

Back in those days, things seemed so simple. All Might made them simple, but for all his power-he was but a man. He couldn't be everywhere, he couldn't save everyone, and since Midoriya was a kid, he had seen the results so many times. He could still recall the rut he and Aoyama fell into because of it, and how long it took them to get out.

“Some days will be harder than others, when you can’t stand to smile or look people in the eye, but what I think is the most important thing,” Midoriya looked towards Tokoyami, who met his gaze, looking lost and desperate for answers. "Is trying. Trying to smile, make others smile, and forget the pain, even for a little bit. Reminding them there's more to it than just the bad. Even if only taking the first step, that's more than one step before."

Midoriya sighed, giving an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it sounds a bit cheesy, doesn’t it?”

Tokoyami didn’t see it like that. If anything, he was grateful to hear someone put it into words. "No, it…it seemed about right. It'll surely help to frame things better, next time I see something unpleasant and can't help but mourn and simmer in anger."

"I think that just means you're going to be a real good hero, Tokoyami," Midoriya said, leaving him puzzled as his classmate elaborated. You're angry for others. You wish to mourn others. I'm the same. Each person I have in my corner, each ability I gain, is a reminder for me and a gift from them to achieve my dream of being a hero who saves lives and hearts."

Line Break

“Here’s the place?” Tokoyami spoke up. It was now past noon, and they had only arrived in town around 20 minutes earlier. At present, they looked up at a pretty but generic-looking building, maybe 30 floors tall, maybe taller.

"The Hawks Hero Agency, though I was expecting they would meet up at the station," Midoriya noted. When they got up, they had thought that they would find someone there to collect them. But after searching and finding no one, they had just decided to take a taxi to the destination. They could apologize for missing them later if they were to meet someone who would have escorted them.

Tokoyami remained skeptical about it, particularly when they entered and found that again, the lobby was nice and well-maintained, but also common in design and set-up. More than that, it had no marks or signs to imply it was even a hero agency. Most people they saw looked like regular office workers, and some looked like management discussing things in corners and out of the way.

“Midoriya, is this the place? It seems like the typical office building.” Tokoyami asked, as he wouldn’t be pleased if they managed to get lost.

"It has to be. He's done interviews here, and the instructions were clear. This is the address. Does yours say something different?" Midoriya replied, pulling out his internship acceptance forms. The forms came with an address he had put into his phone, which matched up to this building.

“No,”  Tokoyami answered, looking at what Midoriya's papers said. However, there was still an element they were missing, which they would need to solve. "Perhaps we should inquire from the receptionist, or we will waste more time being dumbfounded."

“Good idea,” Midoriya nodded as they walked up to the front desk, where a middle-aged woman, dressed business casual, was typing away at her computer. "Pardon me.”

She looked up from whatever she was handling, her gaze widening as she caught their uniforms and no doubt recognised them. However, she still slapped on the customer-friendly smile as she addressed them. “Yes, what can I help you two with?”

"We're from U.A.'s first-year hero course. We're looking for the Hawks Hero Agency," Tokoyami explained, to which the receptionist hummed.

“Oh! Then you’re in the right place,” she replied, gesturing towards one of the elevators to the side. His agency is on the last 10 floors. Please enjoy your stay in Kyushu." With that, she went back to her work, leaving the two to follow her instructions.

Heading to the elevator, they saw the listed floors, going from the underground to the 34th floor. Recalling the math, they input the 24th and waited for it to come down so they could enter and ride up.

“Did he not purchase the entire building?” Tokoyami asked, as this seemed quite strange.

"Cost-cutting, perhaps? Then again, he is the winged hero. He probably prefers to come and go from the air." Midoriya replied, as Hawks even in interviews, hardly seemed to touch the ground, making a game of floating instead of sitting like anyone else would.

"Not ideal for sidekicks like us who can't fly," Tokoyami replied, knowing he couldn't fly. And while Midoriya's abilities were incredibly versatile, he was reasonable to assume flight wasn't part of them, if for no other reason than how he conducted himself during the interrupted Sports Festival.

“Still, perhaps it’s my inexperience speaking, but this feels off. Did the receptionist seem like the type who works for Hawks, or is she the employee of the building's management?" He asked of Midoriya, who shook his head.

“We’ll get our answers when we get to the top.”

Line Break

“What?”

Both stood, astonished and slightly insulted by what awaited or didn't wait for them.

Having arrived at the floor, they found space more aligned with a pro-hero agency. Sidekicks and staff moved to and fro through their daily tasks, and others headed to the elevator to hit the streets for their patrols.

But now Hawks…again.

So, they had done the obvious thing and walked up to one of the heroes and asked about it. He seemed to have been expecting them, happy that they managed to arrive with no issues, but when asked where Hawks was, they were told he was out on patrol, as he often was at this time of day.

The sidekick had the decency to feel embarrassed for his boss, rubbing at his head as he tried to cheer them up. "Sorry about that, but the boss is a real busy guy. But hey, you found your way here. That counts for something!"

“And he couldn’t take time out to even greet us?” Tokoyami was far from amused with this. If this was meant to be a joke, it was a poor one.

"He's the city's best protector, but that means he's often out on patrols. You can join us in the field if you like." The sidekick offered, which Tokoyami was about to dig into, when Midoriya stopped him.

“Just like that?” Midoriya asked, as this…it was fishy, incredibly so. Maybe Hawks was just terrible at teaching. He wasn't much older than them, but that didn't seem to fit either. Besides, just throwing them into patrols when they, between the two of them, Midoriya and Tokoyami, had a combined single semester of official hero training seemed off.

Hawks wanted something, but what?

Ignorant of the thoughts going through Midoriya's head, the sidekick confirmed his prior statement. "Just like that. Why don't you get changed, and we'll meet you downstairs in around 15 minutes."

Pulling on Tokoyami, Midoriya directed him to follow his lead and let the issue lie. It wasn't as if the sidekick could be held at fault for the actions of his boss, but that didn't mean Midoriya wasn't impressed with things. “I know he probably didn't want to take on 2 students, but it seems he wasn't prepared to take on even the one."

"Agreed, but he could subscribe to a mindset similar to Eraserhead's. He won't hold our hands, so we need to catch up." Tokoyami noted, giving Hawks the benefit of the doubt, though even as he spoke, he found he didn't fully buy it.

Line break

I searched up an old Miraculous video animatic series I watched a while back, like years back, and it led me to the Steven Universe movie again and Spinel's two songs. And yup, years after I heard them and years more since I dropped Steven Universe, those songs just get to me. One is spiteful and petty, and the other is just the raw betrayal that spawned that pettiness.

It kind of threw me off for a while, as I needed to write this, but my mind was back on that and other animatics I've seen or googled to feed the urge. However, I was able to get this done. Also, New Mouth!

Line Break

I wanted more for this chapter, but decided it would be within Hawk's character to somehow miss the chapter named for him. Besides, from what we saw during Tokoyami's flashback, he was…well, a terrible teacher. Yes, Tokoyami improved when he returned for his work study and could better keep pace. Still, Tokoyami had to further train at U.A. and receive his provisional license before he could, despite the fact that internships were meant to be part of his training, which Hawks neglected to aid him with, using him as just a messenger pigeon and then not knowing what to do with him.

Hawks, however, isn't stupid and probably realized he might have made several missteps. I like to imagine that, like with All Might, Hawks had to look up proper teaching methods in the interim, as his 'methods' were probably closer to what he went through and clearly not effective for his intern, who, if his words are accurate, didn't learn a thing.

Even Bakugo worked with someone who tried to get him to calm down and accept that there was more to being a hero than strength. Case in point, Jeanists' views on what a hero's name was were not his fault. Bakugo didn't listen and seemed to just double down with his hero's name.

I did spend more time than I first thought on the aftermath of Dabi’s attack, and how the students are coping, but it only hit me as I wrote it that yes, it would be this major thing for them. They saw a mass attack, their city burning, people dying in mass in ways most couldn’t even describe, much less see coming. To the public, it was just a senseless, horrific incident.