Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
"Your training camps will last a week; now I will give a personalized list for each one of you. In addition, some options have been added that are linked to UA. Your areas of operations and expertise are widely varied. so as I said, take your time to make a sensible decision; you have the whole weekend to make a decision."
Once Aizawa handed over the lists the bustle began once again. Aizawa didn't really care and just crawled into his sleeping bag. I looked at my list of papers and wanted to snort, even with almost 30 names listed per page I had over 300 sheets to go through.
"Izumi! Have you decided yet? " Ruby asked with a smile as she leaned on my back. I snorted.
"I was given the list less than 5 minutes ago Ruby," I said playfully. "Shouldn't you be looking at your own list?" I asked, Ruby just groaned.
"Too many names! And I don't know any of them! Plus, I was thinking of going with Mom for the internship," Ruby said, and I looked at her over my shoulder.
"Can Summer nominate someone?" I asked confusedly, Summer was a foreign hunter; she was only in the country on a long-term mission.
"Oh yeah, she already called UA during the break, Principal Nezu allowed it. But they still gave me the list so I would have all the options available." Ruby shrugged.
" Wouldn't it be better to go with someone else?" Taylor approached us with A stack of papers in her arms. "I mean, getting out of your comfort zone and all that." She said as she shrugged and dropped her list next to mine. Ruby groaned loudly.
"That would do if Ruby was able to get out of her comfort zone, but Ruby's comfort zone doesn't want to leave her." Azula said amusedly as she also approached with her papers. I looked around quickly and saw that everyone had formed their own groups, talking animatedly. Ruby pouted.
"It's not that bad, I'm capable of going out of my comfort zone!" Ruby exclaimed, embarrassed. The three of us looked at her and raised an eyebrow in her direction. Ruby blushed slightly. "Shut up and look at your list!" she exclaimed as she turned my head towards the desk. I snorted in amusement as the other two laughed as well.
"I have Endeavor and Draw Sword Guild as my highest nominations for Hero and Hunter respectively," Taylor said softly, but it seemed everyone in the classroom had heard her because all the hustle and bustle stopped momentarily to stare at her. Taylor looked like she wanted to squirm on the spot. I chuckled.
"Me too," I announced with a shrug. That made more than one person groan loudly.
"How unfair! I understand why! But how unfair! "
"This is the difference between the top two and the rest of us."
"How envious!"
"Go back to your own lists," Aizawa growled from his bag, not even opening his eyes. But that made everyone go silent once more and look at their own papers once more. I chuckled again.
"Which one should I choose?" Taylor asked. I hummed in consideration.
"Do you have Gang Orca?" I asked and Taylor looked at me confused, she narrowed her eyes and looked at the list quickly.
"Yeah, here it is. Why?" Taylor asked confused.
"Let's be honest." She said, looking at Taylor directly, "Most of that list want you because of Shusui." I told her brutally honest. Taylor made a face but nodded; she had already guessed it. "Look, you aim to be a public hero and not like Aizawa sensei, who is an underground hero that hates the press. But at this point, the public is completely terrified of your quirk, and, besides, the name you chose is focused on your insects which draws more attention to them, so yes, they fear you even if you have Shusui as a buffer, as we already saw that on the internet yesterday."
"Do you have to remind me?" Taylor moaned in a long-suffering voice, "And Skitter is a good name! It took me a long time to think about it!" It's not a really intimidating name; it sounds kind of cute and understated so it's good for all ages. It's also slightly creepy, it's the best of both worlds!
"Eh… touche" I conceded victory to Taylor with a shrug "but I'm making a point, hush." I said nonchalantly "Now, what you really need isn't experience in heroism or hunters or training, but something much, much worse." I looked her seriously in the eyes, Taylor looked at me and gulped nervously, "You need PR." Isaid solemnly, Taylor paused momentarily before looking at me in disbelief.
"Public relations?" she asked stupidly.
"Exactly, PR, and Gang Orca would be able to help you, She's ranked third in 'heroes with villain appearance'. And I say this with all the love in the world Taylor, but your quirk is very unfriendly to the public perception. Gang Orca has been handling that kind of attention for years, her experience would be good for you." I said seriously, Taylor made a face.
"I mean, yeah, she's scary, but... I dunno, couldn't she just reduce her swarming in public and use friendlier insects? I'm sure a bunch of butterflies and moths wouldn't be that scary," Ruby tried to say. Supporting Taylor, I shrugged as Taylor grimaced.
"She might, unless they're completely useless in a fight, unless she decides not to use her swarm in public, which would be stupid. Sooner or later, she'll end up using more insects than the public is comfortable with. So until the general public gets used to Taylor, she'll have to learn to handle that kind of attention." I said simply. Taylor wrinkled her nose as she sighed.
"Okay, I'll put Gang Orca as an option, but you said it was third in… that ranking. Who are the top two? " Taylor asked as she gave up and circled Gang Orca's name.
"I don't remember the second one, but the first one is Endeavor." I said simply. Taylor looked up, confused.
"Wouldn't it be better to go with Endeavor?" Taylor asked confused. I snorted loudly.
"Gang Orca is the safest option. Despite her appearance and all that ranking, she really is a big softie on the inside. She will help you personally and guide you in whatever way you need. Endeavor, on the other hand, does not; Endeavor barely cares about collateral damage. All she cares about is strength. It would do you absolutely no good to go to her agency."
"Isn't she like the number 2 heroine in the country?" Ruby asked, still on top of me. I nodded.
"She is, and she's strong. She has one of the strongest fire quirks in existence, and she rose to her number 2 position through sheer force. Some of her publicity is negative, so she's not really liked by the public, at least not in the same way as All Might. But, Endeavor makes more arrests and stops more villains than All Might. But the collateral damage and her treatment of the public is abysmal, it pushes her down."
"She's proud, ambitious, constantly angry, cold, and ignores everyone as well as how her actions could negatively affect those around her. She's obsessed with surpassing All Might, both in strength and ranking, but since that's definitely not going to happen, her frustration keeps building up, and she takes it out on everyone around her."
"The worst thing is that she'd be a good hero if she could just put all of that aside. Even with everything against her, she's still firmly a hero and not a villain, so she has that going for her. But it's not going to change, or it's definitely not going to happen anytime soon, and not unless there's some unknown variable that interferes first."
I grimaced as I finished ranting about Endeavor before looking up. Most of the students were staring at me once again, Todoroki and Midoriya's being the most intense. My grimace deepened.
"I guess I'll take Endeavor off my list then?" Azula said, unfazed as she tapped her finger against the papers, right on Endeavor's name. I snorted.
"No, in your case, it would be better for you to go to the Endeavor agency," I said simply.
"What?! Didn't you just say the complete opposite? " Ruby asked incredulously above me. I rolled my eyes.
"I said it would be a bad idea for Taylor and what she needs. For Azula it's different, she wants to get stronger, and Endeavor's agency is one of the agencies with the most heroes possesing fire quirks in Japan. She'll be able to learn something there, it would be beneficial for her." I said while shrugging.
Azula hummed as she scanned her sheets. I watched as she grabbed the nomination selection paper and wrote Endeavor as the first choice.
"Which one will you join?" Azula asked, looking up. I hummed as I looked at my stack of papers.
"Draw Sword Guild," I said. Honestly.
"Oh? You wanna go into the doors?! " Ruby asked excitedly as she bounced on my back. I nodded.
"Since we got our hunter license, we didn't have time to enter one of the gates. I was thinking of doing it now, and what better way to do it than under the supervision of the strongest guild in Japan?" I asked with a smile.
"What?! Since when do you have a hunting license?! " Ruby squealed in surprise as she flopped down to the side and stared at me. I tilted my head.
"Since we started UA? I mean, we all have that license." I said as if it were obvious. The three girls in front of me blinked several times.
""WE HAVE ONE TO?!"" To my surprise, the scream came not only from the trio in front of me but from several other people in the classroom. Jinx lunged towards us, slammed both hands on the table, and glared at me.
"Say that again! We have licenses, and nobody told us?! " Jinx exclaimed, completely indignant. I blinked several times and opened my mouth to close it.
"You didn't know?" I asked incredulously. "I mean, it's in the syllabus we were given on the first day!" I exclaimed quickly, looking around at everyone staring blankly. I turned to Yaoyorozu who also looked shocked. No one read the stupid syllabus?! Although, to be fair, I was going to ignore it, but a quick glance caught my eye about the license and after that I read it completely.
"Nobody reads that stuff, Miyamura," Jiro said dryly. I groaned loudly.
"It was two pages!" I exclaimed in annoyance, seeing more than half the class shrug their shoulders.
"Aizawa! Is it true that we have a hunter's license?! " Jinx recovered from her surprise and turned to Aizawa.
"Yeah," Aizawa said simply before being put on leave again. It seemed he wasn't going to say anything else.
"And why didn't they tell us?!" Jinx exclaimed once again, this time more indignant.
"It was in the curriculum." He said simply "Besides… I forgot." Aizawa said simply before turning around and facing the wall as cries of outrage arose from the others. "Miyamura, explain to them." He said simply.
"And why me?!" I exclaimed indignantly.
"Because I said so. You read about it, so you tell them." Aizawa said simply. I groaned in annoyance but everyone was looking at me expectantly. I massaged my temple from the headache before sighing.
"Well, well, for the love of-" I groaned in frustration before looking at the others. "as you may know, or may not because you didn't read the syllabus, we have many internships, study programs, and field trips during the school year, all referencing heroic or hunter acts."
"For both activities, their unique licenses are required, whether provisional or not."
"Sometime in the middle of the school year, we'll have some sort of test to get provisional hero licenses so we can use our quirks in public for law-enforcement and heroic activities. But since those tests are external to UA and only happen twice a year, we'll have to wait."
"While for the hunter side, the hunter license is stupidly easy to get. You just have to be of legal age and sign waivers that any injury that happens within the gates is entirely your own fault. So, since they are so easy to issue, UA is allowed to issue them to their students."
"And they're issued once we take the quirk apprehension test, which we did on our FIRST day." I stressed the words before wrinkling my nose. "I mean, we have a virtual version of the license on our scrolls that works perfectly fine anywhere. How did you not see it? " I asked again incredulously.
No one answered me, in fact, the other 19 people all took out their scrolls in unison and began to manipulate them. I sighed as I massaged my temple. Not one? Really? Not a single person had noticed?
"Aha!" Jinx was the first to scream upon finding her license, she had a huge smile on her face.
"Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about, baby! "
"This is great! We are licensed hunters! "
"We can enter the gates to fight the monsters whenever we want!"
"No, they can't," Aizawa interrupted curtly from his spot, stopping the rest of the excitement. "It's... Miyamura, explain it to them." I growled annoyed once again, Damn Aizawa, this is your job! I sighed tiredly.
"Well, you know how rankings work, right? That an S rank can clear only an A rank gate, an A rank hunter can clear only a B rank gate and so on. Well, as UA students, you can only freely enter gates 2 ranks below your ranks. If you're A rank, you can only enter C rank gates etc. And only with UA's permission." I said simply.
"What, why?!" Jinx exclaimed indignantly. I sighed.
"Because UA is still responsible for us. And because we are students, rank doesn't always represent the student's strength to the letter, not everyone knows how to fight at the level they are designated in quirk apprehension. Take Midoriya for example. No offense, but he barely has the strength of an A-rank, even though he is classified as an S-rank." I said, simply looking at Midoriya, who blushed slightly.
"Hey! How dare you -"
"I'm not being mean." I interrupted Bakugo, whose hands were generating small explosions as she gritted her teeth. "I'm being honest. Midoriya has to hold back to avoid breaking his bones so he can't unleash his full strength. That limits him to an A rank, it's a fact, and it's as simple as that. I don't mean it as an insult. Hence, the limitation between ranks."
"But that doesn't mean you can't enter doors of a lower rank or the same rank. For the former, you have to have UA's permission, If they think you're capable of entering said doors, you're granted permission. For the latter, doors of the same rank, you have to form a group of at least 4 other students of the same rank, and again, UA has to allow it."
"There are a few more things, but you can read them in your syllabi. I'm tired of talking." I groaned annoyedly as I sighed. The hubbub continued for a few seconds. Taylor, Ruby, and Azula were also talking animatedly amongst themselves. I zoned out from the chatter for a few minutes as I looked at the papers still on my desk.
My eyes widened, and every hair on my body stood up when I saw something on Taylor's list. That bastard. I grabbed the paper quickly, drawing the attention of the three girls in front of me.
"Taylor, ignore everything I told you. Sign up for this one." I told Taylor insistently while pointing at one in particular. Taylor frowned.
"Dragon Head Shop?" Taylor asked, completely confused. I nodded vigorously.
"What is it? I don't recognize it. It doesn't say anything else; is it a hero agency or a guild?" Taylor said simply. I grimaced.
" And you wouldn't, in fact, no one would, but he's an acquaintance, just… please do it, you won't regret it." I told her quickly with a pleading look. Taylor looked conflicted. Before sighing.
"I hope you're right." Taylor groaned as she wrote the name on her paper. I ignored the confused looks from Azula and Ruby, in fact, from everyone else in the class. They were looking at me like I was crazy for forcing Taylor to pass up an internship with someone so famous, but it had to be done. I sighed in relief. I hoped it was a good thing too.
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