David Shield watched as Taylor stepped off the helipad and approached him.
He shook her hand and shouted over the noise as the helicopter prepared to take off again, "Welcome back to I-Island, Taylor."
She smiled, "It is good to see you doing well, David."
He escorted her into the compound. As they walked she asked, "How is Melissa doing?"
David smiled at the thought of his daughter, "Quite well! She is currently fascinated by the spiders we created for the Quirk Reactive Silk. She has had so many ideas for new ones, though I doubt the Japanese government would allow any of those to be imported."
Taylor laughed, "A girl after my own heart!"
David glanced down at her sleeve, "So is your arm acting up?"
Taylor followed his gaze with her own. She pulled back her sleeve revealing the prosthetic. It had a couple new dents, but seemed fine from at least a quick visual inspection. "I have no complaints. Defiant would have killed to know how to make cybernetic limbs that required this little maintenance."
"I'd still like to run some diagnostics while you are here."
"Of course. I figured you would ask."
They sat down after reaching his private lab. "So why did you come all the way out to I-Island? You wouldn't say over the phone."
Taylor looked him in the eye, her gaze as intense as it always was, "I'm here to deliver a request from Toshinori."
She handed him two vials, inside one was blood and the other contained some blonde hairs. He looked up at her, "Is this what I think it is?"
She nodded, "Toshinori has started looking for an heir, but the physical side effects of One For All are severe. He wants to see if we can find a way to mitigate them without losing the power it holds." She handed him a hard drive, "This contains everything he knows about it, and a video of him making the formal request. Sadly it is not much, but hopefully it will give you a starting point."
David took the drive and met Taylor's gaze again, "He is aware that researching this will likely push up against the boundaries of the law, right?"
Taylor smiled, "He trusts you David. Just don't do anything you consider unethical."
The door loomed over Izuku. It was an enormous door at 2.81 meters high and a mass of 90.63 kilograms, but none of that was why it loomed so large over him.
He had done the work with Sensei, he had earned his place during the exam, he had celebrated his success with Boss' ramen. The only remaining barrier between him and the dream that had once seemed so far away was the door standing in front of him.
As Izuku stared at the door he found himself feeling so very small. Who was he to join the ranks of heroes? How could he ever measure up to larger than life titans like All Might who made the entire country feel safer just by his presence, or Sensei who had once stopped an armed robbery without pausing from a lecture she had been giving him?
'It does not matter whether or not you feel like a hero, it is your actions that make you one.' Izuku smiled as Sensei's words echoed through his mind. She had seemed different as she had said that, as if the words were entirely her own. But regardless of whoever had come up with it, it gave him confidence.
Izuku turned off his power, allowing time to return to normal. Silently he thanked Mom, Sensei, and his Passenger for helping him achieve this opportunity. Then he opened the door.
Inside was a normal looking classroom with just a couple students milling about. At the front sat a blue haired boy with tired looking eyes, behind him a boy with spiky blonde hair that he recognized from the exam was chatting with a girl with long earlobes.
He did not see any floating clothing. He knew Hagakure-san was also in 1A, she had chased him down as they left the entrance exam and insisted that they swap numbers so they had been texting back and forth during the break. He almost went back into Paralysis Mode to settle his stomach at the thought. He still couldn't believe that he had a girl's number on his phone!
As Izuku started to go to the front of the class to see the seating chart, the blonde boy walked up to him looking somewhat embarrassed then bowed shallowly, "Um, thanks for your help at the entrance exam. In the acceptance hologram they sent, they showed me that you protected me while I was overloaded. Oh, I'm Denki Kaminari by the way."
Izuku tried to smile despite feeling somewhat embarrassed, "I'm glad to meet you Kaminari-san, I'm Izuku Midoriya. And no problem, it was the right thing to do. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?"
Kaminari-san put his hand on the back of his head with an embarrassed expression on his face. "My quirk lets me channel electricity, but if I use it too much it overloads my brain and renders me senseless."
Izuku winced, "I know how you feel. If I use my quirk too much it gives me a migraine so bad that I can barely even think."
Kaminari-san laughed, sounding somewhat relieved, "Well at least I know I am not alone! We will just have to become such badass heroes that our quirks stop having drawbacks!"
Izuku chuckled, he wished that was the way his power worked. Before he could respond the door opened again revealing a girl with horns and pink skin. Kaminari-san went over to greet her and Izuku used the opportunity to find his seat, one row from the back on the far side of the classroom. He winced seeing that Kacchan was also in 1A and was, of course, in the seat in front of him.
As he sat down he thought about Kacchan, he had mellowed down somewhat towards the end of last year. Izuku hoped that it was a permanent change and not just that Kacchan had been distracted as he prepared for the entrance exam. But it didn't matter, he had earned his spot at UA, nothing Kacchan could say or do would change that fact.
More students wandered in as Izuku waited for class to begin. He watched them as they entered, idly wondering what their quirks might be. Some of them had physical traits that could give him a clue, like the boy that seemed to have extra arms of some kind, while others provided no hints, such as the raven haired girl who had sat behind him.
"I apologize for my tardiness!" Izuku was pulled from his idle thoughts by the loud exclamation. He looked to the classroom door where a dark haired boy with square glasses and what looked like engines on his legs bowed deeply. "With it being such an important day I know I should have arrived at least half an hour early! As penance, I will arrive an hour early tomorrow!"
The boy looked to the front of the classroom as if he expected the homeroom teacher to be there. When the teacher did not manifest he marched in and headed to the seating chart at the front of the room, but before he reached the front he pivoted and walked to the desk of the blue haired boy Izuku had seen when he arrived.
The dark-haired boy bowed deeply once again, "I am Tenya Iida. I would like to thank you for your actions at the entrance exam. You showed a much deeper understanding of what was being tested than I had realized."
The blue haired boy coughed before speaking, surprise and embarrassment obvious in his voice, "No one has ever thanked me for using my power on them before…"
Iida-san righted himself once again, "I will not say that the thought of it does not make me somewhat uncomfortable, but you did it in the name of heroism! So I have no reason to complain."
"Thank you. I am Hitoshi Shinso, I hope we can be friends." Shinso-san's voice was quiet, especially compared to who he was talking to, but Izuku could hear the sincere gratitude it carried.
A girl with light brown hair went up to the pair, but Izuku's attention was pulled away as the door opened revealing a school uniform and bag that appeared to be floating. Izuku stood to greet his invisible friend.
As he did he entered Paralysis Mode, curious how visible she would be in this environment. As he expected his power provided much less detail about her without the smoke in the air for her to interact with. But there were still a couple of clues from how the tiny amount of dust in the air reacted to her presence, most obviously the particles being moved by the air she was inhaling.
He tried to remember exactly what she looked like, attempting to figure out where her eyes would be using the air she was inhaling through her nostrils as reference. As he did an outline of her appeared, just like the one he had seen at the exam.
Izuku was so surprised that he almost dropped out of Paralysis Mode. He tried to figure out what had changed in the environment to provide him enough data to create her outline again. But he still was only getting the same data from the dust in the air that he had when he first entered Paralysis mode.
How was this happening? He tried to figure out what had changed with his power before a guess finally came to mind. Was his Passenger using the information it collected about her during the entrance exam in combination with the data it was collecting now to estimate her position? If it was then this was amazing!
Izuku switched to Analysis mode and the outline remained. He watched as Hakagure-san approached him. Her outline moved like it was at a different frame rate than the rest of the world. Freezing for tiny fractions of a second then snapping into a new position as his power picked up enough clues to estimate her current position.
Her outline settled into place as she stopped in front of him, "Midoriya-kun! I'm so happy to see you again!"
Izuku smiled, "Hagakure-san! Can I ask you a question real quick?"
Hagakure-san's outline seemed to jerk slightly. "Um, sure. W-what do you need?"
He focused on where his power was estimating her eyes were located. "Am I looking you in the eye right now?"
"Wai- Uh. Um- W-wha… uh…" Suddenly the outline of her head snapped into a different position with her eyes looking towards the ground. "Y-you w-were." She coughed, "W-why do y-you ask?"
Izuku answered excitedly, "I think I just figured out something new I could do with my power! It's letting me kind of see you even with the clean air in here!"
"T-that's so c-cool. B-but didn't you s-say over using your power c-could give you a migraine? You might want to save it for c-class."
Izuku wanted to slap his forehead, she was obviously correct. Having to quit class on his first day because of a migraine would be the worst! He dropped out of Analysis Mode. "Good point! Thanks for looking out for me, Hagakure-san."
"N-no problem." He heard her swallow, then she spoke again, her voice more steady, "Anyway Khepri-sensei gave me something this morning that I've got to show you!" He saw the floating bag start to rustle as she searched through it.
He heard a noise behind him and turned his head to look. The raven haired girl who had been seated behind him was standing from her desk, "Would you mind if I see as well?"
Izuku felt something touch him and looked at it. There was now a white glove draped over his arm. He examined it for a moment as Haragakure-san answered the other girl, "Sure, no problem."
Izuku looked up and stepped to the side slightly so the new girl could enter the circle of their conversation. "Thank you! I'm Momo Yaoyorozu by the way. You are Hagakure-san and Midoriya-san, correct?"
"Yep!" Hagakure-san's clothes moved, indicating she turned back towards him. "Now Midoriya-kun, put that glove on!"
Izuku did as Hagakure-san bid. The glove was tight but he was able to put it on with a little effort.
"Oh good, I was worried it might not fit. I'm glad you have delicate hands Midoriya-kun" Izuku looked up ready to protest but was stopped cold when he felt fingers lightly grab his freshly gloved hand. A shiver ran down his spine at the feeling and he looked down at the source. His mouth fell open, his hand had disappeared entirely.
"That is amazing!" Yaoyorozu-san reached out to where his hand was supposed to be and made contact for an instant before retreating. The sensation caused Izuku's hand to jerk down, breaking out Hagakure-san's light grip and reappearing.
"Isn't it! The glove is made of Quirk Reactive Silk!"
Izuku started to extract his hand from the glove, "That is so cool! Do you know how it works?"
He heard Hagakure-san sigh, "Something about protein I think. Khepri-sensei explained it but it went over my head. What matters is that it is cloth that turns invisible whenever I touch it! Khepri-sensei will be making my suit from it!"
Izuku handed the glove back, watching it disappear as Hagakure-san grabbed it, "Is there any other way to turn it invisible?"
Yaoyoruzu-san answered, "No." Izuku turned his attention to her, surprised that she was the one who answered, "I did a bit of research into Quirk Reactive Silk when Khepri-san contacted me about using it as part of my suit! Currently there is no known way to recreate the effect without it being in contact with the quirk that was used to create it. Still though, it is really cool! I'm scheduled to meet with Khepri-sensei tomorrow to start the process of making some that will work with my quirk!"
"Oh, she didn't start while you were on break?" Hagakure-san's voice sounded slightly anxious.
"I was on holiday in France with my family, so we had to schedule it for after the school year started." Momo seemed to sparkle with excitement, "I can't wait to find out how it is made though! I'm assuming it is some kind of trade secret since everyone my family reached out to ask about it wouldn't share. So I'm certain I will have to sign an NDA, but I'm still so excited to learn!"
"W-well I've got to go find my desk before class starts. We'll have to talk later." Izuku saw the shoulder of Yaoyoruzu-san's uniform press down for a moment. "Good luck, Yaoyorozu-san."
As his friend hurried away Izuku felt the pieces fall together in his mind, and a memory of his tour of UA came to the forefront. His blood ran from his face, he turned towards Yaoyorozu-san, planning to tell her what he knew of the process to create Quirk Reactive Silk. The words died on his lips. How do you tell a girl who was practically sparkling with excitement that she was about to have her blood sucked by genetically engineered vampire spiders?
"Well we should sit down as well, Midoriya-san. Our homeroom teacher should be arriving soon." Izuku nodded, feeling like a coward and did as she suggested. She wasn't meeting with Sensei until tomorrow, he would just need to figure out the correct words before then.
The thought was driven from Izuku's mind as the door opened again and Kacchan walked in. His old friend glared at him as he went to his seat but he did not say anything. He lounged in his chair and slammed his feet on the desk.
Iida-san stood up glaring at Kacchan, but before any confrontation could begin the door opened one last time and an exhausted looking man walked in, "I am Shota Aizawa, your home room teacher. There are locker rooms near the gym. Find your locker and change into your hero training uniform, then meet me on the field."
Every student in the classroom stared at the man in stunned silence. Finally he spoke again, "You have been given your instructions but instead you all sit here, wasting time. If you want to have a fun and relaxing high school experience then quit and join the Gen Ed students, but if you want to be heroes then you will follow instructions promptly."
Having finished the statement Aizawa-sensei walked away letting the door swing shut, the loud click that echoed broke the spell of shock and every student in the classroom rushed to their feet.
Katsuki fumed as he watched Deku throw the ball. It was a good throw, significantly better than what the runt had been able to achieve during middle school athletic tests, but nothing about it was superhuman. Nothing about it indicated the boy had a quirk, and it was that fact which made Katsuki absolutely furious.
Katuski strived for perfection in every avenue of his life, from academics to athletics, he never settled for anything less than the best from himself. In addition to all that work he had a powerful and versatile quirk. He was born to be a hero, and not just any hero, but the hero who would succeed All Might. He would be the next hero who everyone would depend on because the very idea that he might lose a fight was preposterous.
So why had he only scored a single point more than Deku on the entrance exam? Ever since the results of the exam had been posted the question had been smoldering inside him, like a slowly burning fuse.
He did not know what he was expecting when Aizawa-sensei had announced the Quirk Apprehension Test. If Deku had shown off some powerful quirk he had been hiding it would have infuriated Katsuki, the very thought that Deku might have had so little respect for him that he would not even deign to use his quirk to defend himself was infuriating. But watching test after test go by without Deku showing the barest hint of a superhuman ability was even worse.
He looked up and watched the blue haired boy who had come in last place during the entrance exam's pathetic attempt at a throw. While Deku annoyed him personally, that boy was probably even worse. He had gotten last place in every event today. Silently he updated his name for the boy to Last Place.
With the final event having been completed, Aizawa-sensei called Last Place over to talk quietly, likely about his pathetic performance on the test today. But the sensei did not dismiss the rest of the class. With nothing else to do Katsuki decided that he would just go over and confront Deku about this bullshit.
He walked over to where Deku was drinking a bottle of water and growled, "Deku. What are you doing here?"
Deku looked up and met Katsuki's gaze, "Training to become a hero, Kacchan. The same as you." Katsuki was taken aback. While he could hear anxiety in Deku's voice, his eyes were pure steel.
When did this happen? He thought back over the last year, but he had largely ignored Deku during that time. Telling him to jump off a roof could have backfired and killed his chances at becoming a hero and he did not want to risk going too far again. And it wasn't like Deku mattered, he was supposed to fail to get into a hero course and then Katsuki would never see him again, not show up in his class at UA.
"Do you really think a quirkless nobody like you can become a hero?"
The smaller boy didn't flinch like he used to in middle school. "I have a quirk, Kacchan. It just isn't easy to see."
Deku had a quirk? Bullshit, he had to be lying. "I don't know how you cheated your way to getting second place on the exam, but just stay out of my way until you get kicked out."
"I can tell you how he got second place!" Katsuki barely stopped himself from jerking in surprise and turned around to see a floating training uniform. The invisible bitch had snuck up on him! She continued to speak, her voice filled with false cheer, "He got second place because he let me have the last three point robot we came across as I was two points down from him at the time! If he hadn't he would have gotten first place!"
Katsuki's anger exploded. He whirled around towards Deku, igniting the sweat on his hands as he grabbed for his collar. He was going to pull Deku up to eye level and tell him that he would never lose to someone as worthless as him. Instead he found nothing but air where he grabbed.
Tendrils of cloth rapidly wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his chest. He tried to use his explosions to escape, but his quirk wouldn't activate. The tendrils picked him up and turned him around to face Aizawa-sensei, letting him see that they were extensions of his scarf. As Katsuki continued to struggle to escape his binds a fly started to circle his head.
From somewhere off to his right he heard Deku's voice, "Thank you, Eraserhead-sensei."
The name rang a bell, but Katsuki couldn't place it, "Why can't I use my quirk?"
Aizawa-sensei responded, the tone of his voice carrying a quiet threat about what might happen if he continued to try and escape the scarf, "Because I am not allowing you to." The name finally clicked, he knew what the sensei's quirk was.
Aizawa-sensei continued to look straight at him but started to speak loudly, "Change back into your uniforms and return to class. I need to speak privately with Bakugo-san, but there is one more lesson before you can return home today."
A few seconds later he was alone in the field with Aizawa-sensei. "Are you done?"
Katsuki nodded, his anger having faded, the scarf unwrapped him and he swatted at the annoying fly which finally left him alone.
Aizawa-sensei spoke again, "Why did you attack your classmate?"
Katuski scowled, "I wasn't attacking him! I was just going to tell him that he would never beat me!"
Aizawa-sensei spoke under his breath, "I see I already have another problem child this year." He sighed and looked Katsuki straight in the eyes. "Bakugo-san you are going to need to learn to keep your temper if you want to become a hero."
"Why? As long as I can beat all the villains, what does it matter?"
The teacher stared at him for a second, "You are going to insist on digging your own grave aren't you. I am going to schedule you to meet with Hound Dog later this week. He will decide how we proceed from there."
Hound Dog!? UA's school counselor!? Katuski spat on the ground, "I don't need any counseling! I'm not some weakling!"
"It does not matter if you think that. If you want to remain in the hero course you will be going." Katsuki wanted to protest, but Aizawa-sensei's expression brooked no interruption, "You tried to attack a fellow hero today, unprovoked. If you did that as a Pro you would have lost your license. If you want to be a hero, and not just some bully with delusions of grandeur, you will follow instructions. Otherwise you will be expelled from the hero course, and possibly the school as a whole. Do I make myself clear?"
Katsuki ground his teeth, but nodded. He would just have to put up with the pointless meeting.
"Good. I'll let you know when you will be meeting with him tomorrow. Now go change back into your uniform and head to the classroom. You still need to learn the most important lesson."
Ochaco sat excitedly in her seat. Her first day of hero school had been so much fun!
She got to meet Iida-san again after he had saved her during the entrance exam! Not to mention Shinso-san, who was apparently the reason Iida-san had done so! Iida-san seemed a bit uptight, and Shinso-san a bit dour, but they both were good people. She could tell they would be fast friends.
It was a bit of a shame to skip the opening ceremony, but the Quirk Apprehension Test was awesome! She knew that her quirk was basically made for the ball throw, but it had still been thrilling to have her ball escape Earth's orbit. The looks on the other student's faces made her feel like a superstar! She did feel sorry for Shinso-san though. He hadn't told her what his quirk is yet, but apparently it was useless for the tests, and the two other students who were in a similar situation were in better shape than him. So he ended up coming in last in every category.
She didn't know what Aizawa-sensei had said to him at the end, but he had been even more dour when he returned. She resolved to ask him about it after school today and see if she could help!
The door opened pulling her from her musings. Aizawa-sensei walked in, the scowling blonde boy with explosion powers on his heels. As the boy went to his seat, Aizawa-sensei went to the lectern and addressed the class. "This next lecture contains the single most important lesson to learn as a hero. If you cannot comprehend it you will quickly find yourself expelled from the program. Do I make myself clear?"
A shiver ran down Ochaco's spine as she sat up straight in her chair. She joined in the chorus of answering students, "Yes, sensei!"
"Good." Aizawa-sensei turned towards the door.
Ochaco followed his gaze watching as the door opened. Then…
"I AM HERE!" Oh, my gosh. All Might was right there, standing in the same room as her. He wasn't her all time favorite hero, but having a chance to meet the Symbol of Peace was still one of the coolest things she could imagine!
"UA is the best!" "Can I get your autograph?" "PLUS ULTRA!" The room was aroar with the shouts of the students.
"Quiet!" Aizawa-sensei's shout caused the noise to start to die down, "All Might, why are you here?"
All Might smiled his signature smile, "Well Nezu said that you normally have your class skip the entrance ceremony. So I thought I would come in person to inform the students that I have taken up a part time teaching position at UA this year!"
The earlier noise seemed quiet in comparison to what came out of the students mouths at this announcement. Ochaco was completely unable to make out words over the roar. She honestly wasn't even sure what words she was adding to it! She was going to be taught by All Might! This was the coolest thing that had ever happened to her! She was going to have to call her parents the instant she got back to her apartment!
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aizawa-sensei shout something then turn to glare at All Might who had an awkward smile. She realized that they must want them to settle down so she stopped shouting, but there was no stemming the tide of noise.
The door opened and an inky black swarm of insects flooded through. The swarm fanned out across the walls and ceiling dimming the lights with its bulk. As this happened the excited shouting died down, replaced by a couple screams and curses. She saw some of the students tense, ready for a fight, and the large boy who had animals helping him during the Quirk Apprehension Test was trembling. A few quiet voices whispered "Khepri."
Once the room was entirely silent a tall bespectacled woman wearing a long checkered coat walked in. As she did so Ochaco noticed the light start to get brighter. She glanced up and saw that the swarm was slowly disappearing into the vents.
The woman looked at All Might and spoke in a controlled voice, "I told you this wasn't the right time."
Ochaco had to stop herself from giggling as the giant man looked bashful in response to the woman's light scolding. "The students at the opening ceremony were so excited at me announcing it. I didn't want to deprive this class of the experience."
The woman sighed and turned to Aizawa-sensei, "It is your room."
The man nodded, "Thank you, Hebert-sensei." He turned to All Might, "You go stand in the corner. You can deal with the fallout of this little stunt after the lesson is over."
She did giggle this time as the Symbol of Peace did as he was told looking crestfallen, but regretted it immediately as Aizawa-sensei glared at her. "As I said earlier this next lesson is the most important one you will learn during your time here. If you are not paying attention then you will most likely never become a hero."
He stepped away from the lectern and nodded at the woman. After a moment she took his place, "I am Taylor Hebert, my hero name is Khepri. During your time here I will be giving you occasional lectures and exercises as part of your hero training. As for today, Aizawa-sensei is correct, this is the single most important lesson you need to learn as a hero. Knowing it will help you discover whether or not you even want to be a hero." As she talked, Hebert-sensei was unfastening her coat. As she reached the end she shrugged herself out of it and Ochaco gasped.
She was wearing a tank top underneath revealing arms that were covered in a network of scars. Most obviously her right arm where she saw that the hand was a robotic prosthetic rather than her flesh and blood.
Hebert-sensei continued her lecture, "You all know the glory of being a hero. The good it does for the world and the accolades you can receive from doing it. You see the money and fame it offers you. You think of the catharsis of stopping a villain, and the gratitude of the people you save."
With her left arm she was doing something to prosthetic, then after a moment she gripped onto it tightly and pulled detaching it from her arm. She set it down and held her right arm up letting the class see how it ended in a stump right beneath the elbow, and see the burn scars around the metal connector that attached to it.
"But that is a limited view. By being a hero you are choosing to risk yourself so that others might live in safety. Even as a successful pro hero you can end up scarred, disfigured," Hebert-sensei wiped at her forehead with a cloth, after a moment she brought it back down and the whole room gasped. There were two circular scars right in the middle of her forehead. "or even dead."
A girl's voice rang out, "How are you alive?"
Hebert-sensei glanced at All Might before turning back to the room with a small smile on her face. "All Might was able to get me to a healer right after it happened."
Ochaco let out a breath she had been holding, of course. All Might was the hero after all.
"What you need to take away from what I am showing you is the weight of being a hero, and the risk involved. You must take your training seriously, the hero course is not a game for you to play. You might have had fun flexing your quirks earlier today and seeing what you can do with them, but you must remember everything you are doing is in preparation for one of the most dangerous jobs in Japan."
That was a scary thought. She wanted to become a hero because her quirk was powerful and the money was good, she was going to use it to take care of her parents in their old age. But should she reconsider? She would not be able to take care of them if she was dead.
She raised her hand and after a moment Hebert-sensei acknowledged her, "Is rescue heroics safer?"
"It can be, but that isn't a guarantee." She raised her right arm again, "I didn't lose this to a villain. An ally had her quirk go out of control. I was trying to help but my arm ended up being pierced through many times by her razor hair. It was an emergency at the time so I chose to have it amputated rather than trying to get to a healer, so I could continue trying to help."
"How would that help?" Ochaco glanced at Iida-san, "The loss of blood alone should have rendered you unconscious in minutes. If it was at all possible to get to a healer wouldn't that have been the better choice."
"As you said, if possible. One of my allies at the time was a pyrokinetic, we used his fire to cauterize the wound shut so I could keep helping." Ochaco shuddered at the thought, "As I said earlier, being a hero is dangerous, it does not matter the kind of hero you wish to be. You should carefully consider the reason you want to become a hero. If you are not willing to risk your life for that goal, then you might want to transfer out of this program.
The angry blonde boy slammed the desk in front of him as he rose to his feet. "Like I would ever do something as cowardly as quit! I am going to be a hero who never loses, like All Might! It doesn't matter how dangerous it is, I just won't lose!"
"It is not that simple, young man." Ochaco looked towards All Might, his voice lacked the gravitas it normally carried and instead was quiet and somber. "Khepri got the scars on her forehead in exchange for saving the lives of… of so very many people, myself included. Being a hero who never loses does not mean there won't be consequences. There are situations where you might have to choose between losing and sacrificing yourself."
That was a scary thought.
A few more students raised their hands to ask questions but Ochaco was only paying them the faintest attention. Instead she considered the woman standing before her. What would she be like in Hebert-sensei's place?
Ochaco wanted to be a hero to care for her family. If she ended up doing so, and saving the lives of others in the process, would it be worth the cost of an arm? Would she regret it?
Ochaco wasn't sure. But she could imagine it. She raised her hand again.
"Do you regret becoming a hero?"
Hebert-sensei paused a moment before answering, "No."
The single word filled her with confidence.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw All Might sitting in the corner, wearing the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.
A/N: This chapter fought me more than any of the previous ones. But I am happy with the way it turned out. The flashback is set during Training Montage. The scene would have interrupted the flow of that chapter too much if I included it back then.
The next chapter will be another vignette chapter similar to Training Montage, just from the perspective of a bunch of characters rather than only Izuku. I will be showing off some of the changes to UA that are a result of the difference in genre between this fic and MHA rather than stemming from Taylor's influence. Essentially I need UA to be more of a functional school rather than a framing device for a series of challenges the main character needs to go through. The chapter after that we will get to see 1A's first practical exercise with Taylor.
I'm still looking for more Beta readers so PM if you are interested. I generally coordinate through Spacebattles, but if you would like to use a different site just let me know.
