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Beginning of Chapter
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A whip cracked.
"Attention, my little darlings!" Midnight's voice filled the room, rich with amusement. She sauntered to the front as if she were stepping onto a stage instead of into a classroom.
Her tight outfit, the mischievous smirk, she wore as she carried herself like she knew she had everyone's eyes. She let out a sigh as her expression turned serious.
"Please understand that today you will choose the names by which the world will know you. Names that could outlive you. Names that villains will curse and citizens will cry for.
I have said this before, but I cannot stress this enough: choose the right names you want to be known by. It may not seem like it, but we have to be serious about all this naming business. That being said, because you aren't official heroes, the names we choose today will identify you until you get your licenses.
You can change them or keep them, but until then, let's see what you've all been keeping got this moment. You'll come up to the front, write your Hero Title with your Hero Name. For example–" she picked up a piece of chalk and turned to the board and wrote her name.
"I am the 'R-rated Hero: Midnight'." She struck a pose. Those who weren't paying attention to her questionable pose were nodding their heads in understanding.
"Choose wisely. A name is heavier than it looks." Aizawa added before Midnight told him to be quiet, that this was her spotlight.
Meanwhile, the class shifted in their seats. A few glanced at each other nervously. Someone swallowed. Even Bakugo stayed quiet, though his foot tapped impatiently under his desk.
Gojo tilted his head lazily. 'Damn. She's got the entire act rehearsed. Posing in such... questionable ways. Bet she practices in the mirror,' he thought to himself.
Midnight scanned the room like a queen choosing her first victim. Her whip pointed, snapping through the air.
"You, Kaminari."
Kaminari stiffened like a deer in headlights. "M-Me?!"
"Yes, you." Midnight smirked. "Come on, electrify us."
Kaminari stumbled up front, scratching the back of his head before taking a deep breath. Sparks fizzed nervously across his fingers. He took the chalk and began writing on the board under Midnight's name and turned to show it to the class.
"Okay… my name is…" He swallowed, then straightened, forcing all the confidence he had into his voice. "The Lightning Hero: Raijin!"
Gasps went through the room.
"Raijin?" Midnight arched a brow. "The god of lightning itself?" She tilted her head, voice dripping with challenge. "That's an awfully heavy mantle to take on."
The silence hung heavy until everyone cheered and gave compliments to the boy. Kaminari's eyes flicked to Gojo. The blindfolded teen hadn't moved, but a lazy smile tugged at his lips. A tiny nod.
Kaminari's shoulders squared and lifted a fist to Midnight as the class calmed down. "I can carry it." Sparks popped around his clenched fist, bright.
Midnight smirked. "Alright then, Raijin. We'll see if you live up to it. I approve it." Midnight nodded, and Kaminari went back to his seat. Kirishima slapped Kaminari's back when he returned to his seat. "Manly! Totally manly!"
Mina squealed about how cool it sounded. Jiro muttered, it was like naming yourself after a video game boss and the rest giving compliments to the name he chose.
Soon the students would remember that name as one of the most powerful heroes of the entire Hero Course.
Midnight looked around the class and picked her next victim. Tenya Iida.
He stood with stiff precision, adjusting his glasses as the class went quiet. You could see his stiffness as he walked to the board.
"I… Am going to take my brother's name," he said firmly, pointing to the Hero name he wrote. "I will be Ingenium!"
Encouraging murmurs ran through the class. It sounded noble, right? But Gojo frowned beneath his blindfold.
'Surprisingly stiff... oh wait, that's his brother?' he realised in his mind. 'That speedster hero guy died, I think, or was he critically injured?
Explains why they were giving their condolences earlier while I was trying to sleep... should probably see if he's okay.'
Gojo decided he'd have a talk with the boy, just to see if he was alright with truly carrying his brother's name. It was his job as class president to ensure all his classmates' mental health to a certain degree.
Midnight nodded gently and patted him on the back before he went to sit down. Next, her eyes landed on the next candidate and pointed a finger. "Bakugo Katsuki."
Bakugo marched forward with the arrogance of a storm. He didn't take the chalk she offered but threw it on the ground and faced the class. "My name is… King Explosion Murder!"
The classroom erupted half groans, half laughter as he stood there with his eyes closed, basking in the imaginary praise he was hearing.
Midnight pinched the bridge of her nose. "Absolutely not."
Bakugo's head snapped up. "What the hell do you mean, not?!"
"It's childish," she said flatly.
"It's badass!" he roared, slamming his palms on the podium hard enough to rattle it. Sparks hissed between his fingers.
Their argument escalated in seconds, Midnight waving her whip like a warning, Bakugo's temper boiling. Desks shook as classmates leaned back, wary of catching a stray blast. Iida yelled at Bakugo to stop when suddenly...
A small red beam shot at Bakugo's head like a bullet, slamming his head into the metallic chalkboard. He grabbed the sides of his head and looked around, about to kill someone, until he saw Gojo standing in front of him, a few centimeters taller now.
"What the hell was that for! Want to go again, huh!?" Bakugo was just about to throw a punch until Gojo opened his mouth and spoke.
"Dynamite. As in the explosive. Dumbass." He said in a clear and calm tone. Bakugo froze mid punch opening his mouth before closing it, eyes slowly widening.
He turned around as he put a hand on his chin, and almost hesitantly, picked up the chalk on the ground and wrote on the board.
He hesitated when he put the chalk to the board. His hand, while unnoticeable, was shivering as he fought his inner turmoil of pride and embarrassment.
'Strongest Hero: Dynamight'
Now, everyone in the class expressed surprise and nodded at the name.
"Dynamight, with the word 'might' to show I'll one day become a hero like All Might. Stronger than you then take my gold back.." He spat out to Gojo.
Gojo shrugged and went back to his seat. "Said the one who needed me to help with his identity." He said as he sat down in his seat, the class feeling the tension between the two.
Yet after that comment everyone winced at the comeback, seeing Bakugo gritting his teeth hard enough, it would be a surprise if he didn't break them.
The silence that followed Bakugo's grudging acceptance of "Dynamight" was heavy with something unspoken pride, rivalry, and the lingering shock of seeing Gojo manhandle Bakugo in front of everyone.
Kirishima was the first to break it, grinning wide. "Bro, that's manly as hell! Dynamight!"
Bakugo snarled but didn't deny it as he went back to his seat.
Midnight smirked, cracking her whip lightly against her palm. "Well, it seems you owe our resident class president for salvaging your identity, Bakugo. Next!"
The tension bled out slowly as Kirishima eagerly leapt up and picked up the chalk and wrote his hero identity on the board.
"Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!"
The class erupted in approving cheers. "Red Riot" carried weight, and his grin stretched proudly when Mina clapped the loudest. Gojo, from the back, tilted his head.
'Not bad. Sounds like a rock band. Suits him.'
Then came Midoriya. His steps were soft, hesitant, like he was still working up the courage. Hie smiled faintly as she wrote.
"Deku."
The class tilted their heads in confusion. Bakugo scoffed immediately. "The hell kind of dumb name is that?"
But Midoriya held his ground, his voice stronger than expected. "It was an insult before. Now it's mine. If I'm going to prove myself, I'll turn it into something else entirely."
Gojo actually cracked an amused grin beneath his blindfold. 'Taking poison and making it medicine. Clever boy'
Momo followed soon after, the chalk resting in her hand longer than it should have. Her gaze flicked subtly, but clearly toward Gojo.
He didn't move, but she could almost feel his quiet approval hanging in the air like a shadow. She pressed the chalk down, elegant strokes forming the words.
"Tactical Hero: Arsenal."
The reaction was immediate. Gasps, whispers. It sounded sharp, dangerous, commanding.
Midnight arched her brow, licking her lips. "An intimidating choice, Yaoyorozu. But tell me… will you be able to hold it up?"
A pause, then she nodded quickly. Midnight smirked but didn't press further. "Then you'd better live up to it."
After that scene, Mina practically bounced to the front. "Alien Queen!" she declared proudly, writing it big.
Midnight deadpanned. "Absolutely not."
"Aw, come on!" Mina whined, puffing her cheeks.
She glanced toward Gojo almost instinctively and, sure enough, the blindfolded teen was leaning on the back of his chair, facing her lazily.
"As class president, what do you think, Gojo? You had a firm opinion on Bakugo's name. That about your fellow Pinky here?" Midnight teased Mina, sticking her tongue out at her.
Gojo tapped his chin like it was the most effort he'd done all day. "Acid's corrosive, so... Corrosia. Feminine, sleek. Has a bite to it."
The class blinked at the thoughtfulness. Mina's eyes widened, then sparkled. "Corrosia… oh my god, that sounds hot! I'll take it!" Midnight pushed her off the podium after she struck a pose similar to Midnight, and the class laughed at the scene.
Midnight nodded as she got back, finally having the front of the class to herself. "Approved."
Gojo gave her a lazy salute as Mina shot him two thumbs up, grinning ear to ear.
Now, all eyes were on him. The class realized. He saw things about them, sharpened them, and turned them into names that carried weight.
And when Jiro's turn came, she didn't even pretend. She crossed her arms as she stood at the front; her gaze sharp. "... Gojo, since you seem to be good at this… what would you suggest for me?"
The class collectively leaned in.
Gojo sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Well... what's your idea? What if you have a good enough name already?"
"Earphone Jack."
He snorted. "That's not bad, but it's literal. Zero creativity." His fingers snapped as if a thought had clicked. "Decibel. Power in sound. Clean, sharp, and way more stylish. Need to think about how cool it can be and the effectiveness."
Jiro's lips tugged into a smirk she couldn't hide. "Decibel…" She nodded, turning to Midnight. "I'll be the Sound Hero: Decibel."
Midnight's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Gojo, but there was a hint of respect in her smirk. He wasn't just disrupting; he was influencing.
And then it was the second place winner of sport festivals turn. Todoroki finally stood at the front of the class, his tone calm as he spoke. "I was just going to go by Shoto."
The class blinked. That's it?
He looked at Gojo for a second as he spoke. "... After a conversation with someone, I instead changed my mind…I'd take the word Equinox."
The class was shocked and let out gasps. "Balance of extremes. Fire and ice. To make villains think twice... And it sounds cool."
Midnight's lips curved, her tongue briefly wetting them as she stood there. "Alright, Equinox, that's a name I can imagine on the headlines. Approved."
Next it was Uraraka's turn, who now stood at the front with her hero name written on the board, her cheeks pink but her voice firm.
"I'll go with Astera!" she announced, her smile bright as the class applauded. For a brief second, she turned her head toward the side, catching Gojo's blindfolded gaze and giving him a quick, playful wink before stepping back.
And so it went until the last person to volunteer was none other than Gojo himself.
"I'm expecting something sexy from you, young man; don't let me down." Midnight said with a sultry tongue as Gojo stood in front of everyone.
The boy intrigued Midnight. 'Powerful, smart and influential enough that he's helped them with their hero names... not bad looking either.' She thought to herself.
Gojo picked up the chalk and wrote slowly, almost lazily, across the last space on the board.
Then he turned, sliding his blindfold up just enough for the galaxy-blue glow of his eyes to catch the light. The class leaned forward, curiosity thick in the air. Even Midnight tilted her head, whip curling in her fingers.
On the board, written in bold strokes.
'The Honoured One: Gojo Satoru'
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End of Chapter
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