BNHA: Undying (Ch 72) (Patreon)

“I have an announcement. But let it be said that I think this is a terrible idea that can only end in disaster.” Eraserhead, formally introduced as Aizawa outside ‘official’ settings, sounds absolutely done with the day despite it only having just started.

A fair assessment. I think to myself before letting out a huff of effort and rolling forward. The vent grate clatters to the floor, falling still once I land on it with a crouch. I straighten my legs, throwing my arms up above me in a cheering pose. “It’s a’me! An impulsive murderer with over fifty confirmed hero kills!”

I lean forward and put a finger to my lips and my other hand on my waist, shooting the class of stunned hero students a wink. I stage whisper, “They don’t know about all the civilians!”

“Civilians?” Aizawa questions sharply and I whirl around, clasping my hands behind my back.

“Well, duh!” I scoff. “You don’t go from no kills to hero kills right away. You gotta work your way up to it!” He glares at me, his eyes glowing red and his hair floating around him. I smirk back. “Ooorrr~...” I trail off leadingly. “I could just be teasing you! Who could say? Certainly not you!”

He maintains the glare for a moment longer, and I can see him absolutely itching to wrap me up in his capture scarf. The only thing stopping him? The fact that we all have to keep to the terms of our agreement~. I haven’t actually done anything, so he can’t start anything!

It’s going to be fun poking at that line to figure out just how far it stretches~.

He lets out an irritated sigh before turning to his students. “Unfortunately, the principal wants to use Midosagi as a test case for a villain rehabilitation program. So he’s been stuck with this class.”

“Um, why though!?” A voice echoes from an empty spot in space above a floating uniform. Passive invisibility? Or is it active? It will be interesting to study!

“Probably because the heroics class will give me an outlet for my aggressive tendencies, reducing the chance of an incident outside of a controlled environment. Not to mention that there’s the possibility for rescue training to embed a desire to save people rather than kill them within me. Plus, during combat exercises you’ll all get to experience what it’s like to go against an actually successful villain. Not like the F-rank thugs from the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.”

I shrug. “And of course there’s the fact that, unlike any of the other courses, you all have combat experience and supposedly will be able to stop me if I decide to ignore the deal and attack.” I grin at them and close my eyes, clapping my hands with a tilt of my head. “So, any more questions? I promise I’ll be honest!”

There’s silence at my sudden word vomit, and I hold back a frown. Right… most of them aren’t used to me explaining things fully like the LoV is. After a moment a blonde with a black lightning bolt in his hair speaks. “Like, can you help me study?”

I blink at him, the other students turning to give him disbelieving looks. He holds up his hands while he defends himself. “What!? You all just heard that! He seems smart!”

I snort out a laugh, pointing at him. “Pft. You, you I like.” I give him a thumbs up. “Sure thing! Just let me know when!”

“LIKE HELL DEKU IS SMART ENOUGH TO TUTOR ANYONE! THE SHITTY EXCUSE FOR A VILLAIN GOT HIS ASS CAUGHT! THE ONLY REASON HE’S EVEN HERE IS FUCKING PITY!”

“Whoa Bakubro, calm down!” A red head with spiky hair and shark teeth says, shock in his eyes. Along with the rest of the class. A physical reinforcement quirk from what I recall. Rock-based. “I get that having a villain in class isn’t really manly, but trying to convince him to not be one is super manly!”

“No chance of that happening!” I say with a bright smile directed at him. “But I do intend to honor my part of the deal with being here, so look forward to becoming heroes who are less likely to die in an alley like the ones I usually hunt!”

The sudden dead silence is broken by Aizawa’s sigh. “While I do agree with the sentiment, take a seat so class can start.”

I stick my tongue out at him before jumping up and grabbing the vent. I swing myself out of the way of his capture scarf as I climb up, swinging my upper half upside down to see him about to jump in after me. We stare at each other for a moment, his eyes showing confusion and mine amusement.

“Well? Get on with the class! I’m in my seat~”

He glares at me with an unamused expression before pointing at the empty desk directly in front of his desk. “That’s your seat. Get down.”

I pout at him, swaying as I cross my arms. “Don’t wanna!”

His eyebrow twitches. “Get. Down.”

I sigh, letting myself drop straight down and catching myself in a handstand. “Fiiine. But if I get bored I’m taking a nap!”

“Don’t care,” he grunts, staring at the class as I take my actual seat. “That took longer than it was supposed to so I’ll just get to the point.” He pulls out a device and presses a button on it, causing a chart to appear on the board. “These are offers from pros for the hero internships that start next week.” He looks at Shoko and a spot in the classroom that I’ve resolved to completely ignore. Who is it? Don’t know, don't care.

“If the final match hadn’t been interrupted, the two of you would likely have obtained more offers.” Even if he says that they still have the highest numbers, followed by Yaoyorozu in third. Probably because she shot me on live national television. Speaking of; I wonder if she’s going to get in trouble for that? Or does she have a gun license?

I mentally block out the first person’s reply and listen to Shoko’s. “It’s fine. I would have gotten most of them because of my father anyways.”

He just grunts in reply, moving on. “Those who didn’t get any offers will have a list of UA approved heroes you can intern for, so don’t be discouraged.” There’s a palpable sense of relief from those in question, as well as wariness? Weird.

“Since you’ll be representing UA on these internships you’ll need hero names. I’m told I’m terrible at them, so-”

“I’ll be making sure you don’t regret them!” The door slides open and the hero Midnight walks in, swaying her hips while looking at me appraisingly. I return the look, nodding in appreciation while Aizawa gets in a sleeping bag and goes to sleep.

…Why’s he a teacher?

“What you choose now can very well become your codename for life, so if you aren’t careful you could end up with something utterly indecent~.”

“Says the literal R18 hero,” I snark, which gets ignored.

Markers and whiteboards get passed out to everyone, even me for some reason. At my raised eyebrow, she explains. “You’ll be shadowing a few of the staff on patrols, and there actually is a hero who expressed interest in attempting to mentor you. For some reason…” She mutters that last part under her breath, but not so quiet I can’t hear.

Curious, but I simply shrug, tapping my chin with the uncapped marker. I can’t really use my villain name for my temporary position as a hero, so what should it be…?

The first to go up is the guy with the stomach laser who needs support equipment to use his quirk. Weird since a person’s body naturally adapts to their quirk as they grow up. “I Cannot Stop Twinkling~!”

Bruh. No. I know sometimes pros have ridiculous names, but there’s still a limit! “Change it to Can’t Stop Twinkling so it’s less of a mouthful.”

…

I never thought I would feel bad for the future of heroics.

The second to go up is a pink girl with racoon-like eyes. Literally pink, skin and hair, with small yellow horns coming out of her forehead. “Alien Queen!” Oh, I see what she’s going for with that. It’s actually pretty good.

“That horrible monster with the acidic blood!? I don’t think so!”

I can’t help but snort in disbelief at the immediate rejection. “That’s awfully close-minded of you, Midnight.”

“Huh?” She blinks at me in confusion, the student proposing the name following suit. “How so? A name like that won’t reassure civilians and is more likely to make them scared!”

I click my tongue, shaking my head in disappointment. “You’re aware of the discrimination against those who’s quirks cause physical mutations?” She nods, not losing her confused expression. “Well, by taking the name Alien Queen, she’s blatantly showing that her skin isn’t some sort of gimmick, like Native’s indigenous american based costume.”

I shrug. “While it would result in her being a bit less popular with those bigoted enough to judge on such things, it would also inspire those with similar mutations, possibly preventing them from believing they have to resort to a life of crime in order to make something of themselves in a society that pushes them down.”

I nod though, acknowledging that she did make a valid point in her brief justification. “And yes, while it’s not exactly a name to inspire hope in civilians, it would work to inspire fear in villains, which would perhaps work even better to increase her capture rate. So long as her reputation is high enough, she could simply show up and have the villain in question surrender. Admittedly, she’d have to adopt a certain persona for it to be truly effective.”

There’s silence for a few moments as the hero and student look at me, and I can feel the gazes of the rest of the class staring into my back too, causing me to roll my eyes. “Helpful analysis is part of my deal with Nezu. So expect sudden expositions like that semi-frequently.”

“Uh, thanks?” The girl says, looking at Midnight uncertainly. The pro grabs her chin, a thoughtful look on her face before she nods.

“It’s acceptable, but try and think of something else in case you change your mind by the end of the week. Once the internships start you’ll be stuck with your choice until you can go through the effort of changing it.”

The girl nods, looking a bit dazed while she heads to her seat. What follows is a series of more reasonable names which gets interrupted by Kachan’s actual villainous names, unlike the pink girl’s. When they get rejected one after the other the board explodes in his hands, his glare saying that he somehow blames me for the fact. I roll my eyes, flipping him off as a little thrill goes through me at the act.

Oh, I’m definitely going to have fun with being able to curse at them~.

Apparently the guy with engines on his legs just chooses his own name, Tenya Iida. Except that he’s glaring at me the whole time he’s up there for some reason. I don’t remember targeting Ingenium or anyone from his agency, so I wonder why? Maybe it’s just because I’m a villain? But it looked like it was personal…

I decide to go next, having decided to keep it simple. “Ijiwasagi: The Spiteful Bunny.” Midnight doesn’t know how to react to that, but it gets ok’d so I call it a win.

After sitting back down I perk right up seeing Shoko go up. She looks right at me, her eyes sparkling. “The Temperature Queen: Frozen Torch.”

My mind stutters, going back to my suicide note, then back to the notebooks I made for her. She took half of her name from both sources, and it means the world to me. I have to hold back tears as I give her a small smile, and she blushes as she goes back to her seat. We both ignore the way Midnight coos over the name.

There’s one last person to choose their name, and I reluctantly pay attention. Izumi takes a deep breath, carefully avoiding looking at me as she puts her whiteboard down. “Midokugyo. Penance of the Green.”