Chapter 8: Hero Costume and Class Prep
Why are we in a state that Heroism and Villainy have been so loosely defined? That's a great question and one deeply rooted in quirk history. It can even be traced to the rise of Civil Rights throughout the world. Much of the attempts to control quirks and the people that possessed them can be narrowed down to a single line from the Meta-Liberation Army written by Destro:
"We are not like the African Americans of the 18 and 1900s in America. Nor are we like the civil wars that led to the splits between Communists, Socialists, and capitalists. Instead, we are born with weapons. People have forgotten that our quirk is equivalent to our skin color or national origin while remaining a weapon. The circumstances of our birth were irrelevant to those in power. It is for this reason that I believe in the free usage of quirks. Not to proclaim the ability to harm another because of my biology, but because my quirk defines who I am.
-Chapter 2: Meta-Liberation Army, Destro
In one sense every law that we possess is an attempt to control people to behave according to our societal standards but realistically, this is not a bad thing. The reason we remember the MLA is because they were terrorists. They chose to chase their ideals through domestic warfare. It is the same reason that America decided that quirks were more akin to the right to own a firearm than to the racial identity of a person. It was only 50 years ago that America first recognized quirks as more than just weapons.
The root of Villainy and Heroism has been so closely tied to this history that it is now completely normal for us to define the quirk of an individual as Heroic or Villainous rather than the person themselves.
-Chapter 3: On Good and Evil: What we have Lost with the Dawn of Quirks
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It was excruciating not doing hero work. I wanted my hero license to be a surprise for everyone. I Didn't tell my parents, I didn't tell Ochaco. Nobody. Obviously, UA knew but that was only for hiring reasons. Nezu agreed to keep it a secret until day one. Hiring the youngest hero in the history of heroing would make headlines on its own.
Preparing coursework made things easier since I could focus on something else. The three weeks flew by with the coursework prep. I prepared debates and essays that would always seemingly line up with important plot moments which I hoped would help motivate change in the students. I do not know how publishing my book has changed things for the characters beyond what I have experienced but I am sure to soon.
Ochaco had her test and passed, which was wonderful. She even mentioned the little green-haired boy that punched a skyscraper for her. He certainly knows how to make an impression, that's for sure.
Ochaco placed first in the standings instead of where she placed in the original. She earned tons of Villain points because of her experience with martial arts and the fact that she could just throw robots into space and then drop them at the end for points. Midoriya was the only one that beat her in rescue points. His bone-shattering punch was just too impressive.
I could just imagine Bakugo's face. My best friend being a badass is just an upside to the wonderful look he will be wearing when she beats him again in battle training.
Move-in day for teachers came quickly and my parents helped me decorate my apartment. I pulled out a Todoroki and put down tatami mats in my room. The classic Japanese feeling was just too important to me. Family traditions and training meant that the classic feel just helped make the place feel like home.
Students would be arriving tomorrow, and it was finally time to suit up and meet my coworkers.
The click of the briefcase broke the nervous tension that I felt. Inside was my hero costume. It was a perfect choice. I thought a lot about what I wanted to wear. I could have chosen any of the Ahri skins to copy but then it wouldn't have been 'my' hero costume. So instead of just copying an Ahri skin from the game one-for-one, I took a little artistic liberty.
Inside was a bodysuit that matched the details of the Challenger Ahri skin. I had changed the colors to blue and white to match my quirk, hair, and tails. I also removed the horrendous shoulder spikes in favor of small shoulder pauldrons for some protective armor. The suit was also made of my hair letting it meld into my coat when I transformed. It was a masterpiece. It felt like a second skin. I won't complain that it made me look good as well.
Lastly was the headgear. The usual red tiara/helm was replaced with a heads-up display to help catalog information and record interactions. Always good to wear a body cam when doing any kind of hero work and it would let me record our lectures. It even had the feature to fold into a simple hairband for casual wear.
Overall, it was just right. It made me feel like a hero.
Finding the teacher's lounge wasn't hard when there was the loudest person in the world on campus. Just follow the attempts to wake up Aizawa to do paperwork and you'll find Present Mic and Midnight.
Cementoss was such a sweety and Hound Dog and I just clicked and were instant friends. The fields of ethics and psychology have such an interesting intersection that we may have talked an hour after the teacher meeting.
Aizawa looked like he needed another cup of coffee as always. He quickly gave his piece at the meeting and wore his worm-like sleeping bag falling asleep while we finished the meeting.
Midnight was super happy to have another Lady on staff. We traded numbers and talked for a while that night. I may have given her ammunition about Eraserhead and Ms. Joke that she could use to harass Aizawa. He might be a little upset, but it was worth it. He really needed to suck it up and just take her out on a date.
Present Mic was honestly the best teacher. His whole vibe just fit the idea of an eccentric English teacher and we talked a lot about ways we could merge the ethics course with English writing to expand the potential library of the students.
Lastly was All Might who looked incredibly lost the entire time. I ended up teaching him how to write lesson plans and frankly, he already isn't going to repeat the disaster that was the first battle training. He knew how to set clear guidelines and rules. We went over the expected questions that students would inevitably ask and the learning targets that the class needed to learn from him in the two hours they had.
A good workplace. New friends. A happy family. I almost didn't feel the looming dread of the attacks that would come to plague UA.
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A/N: This is my chapter for Saturday. I stayed up to make sure this got made for you. I'll have a chance to get a stockpile going when I get back from work Saturday but I wanted to make sure this came out on time. Thanks for reading