Chapter 2
AIZAWA SHOTA—Eraser Head
It had been quite a few years since Aizawa had begun his career as an educator at UA High School. Aizawa was not a household name like All Might or Endeavor, nor did he desire to become one, for he believed that a true Hero had little need for fame and validation.
Not that All Might or Endeavor desired so, yet still the world had changed much from the time of his own youth, and the peace brought upon by the efforts of the Greatest Hero of All Time, All Might, had brought a dangerous shift in society.
As the world came to terms with the powers called 'Quirks', Heroism had begun to evolve, and many now aspired to be heroes more for fame and wealth rather than a genuine desire to help people.
It was a dangerous trend, and Aizawa had taken it upon himself to nip it in the bud, or at least do his own part in making sure that the next generation of Heroes understood what it meant to be a Hero.
And right now, he stared at the profile of a student who stood at the pinnacle of the applicants this year.
Hyakuya Yuichiro had broken the UA entrance exam record, matching the one set by none other than Endeavor himself in the exam. Not only had he been able to figure out the existence of the rescue points, but he had also taken down the zero-pointer all by himself.
It was as dominant a performance from a student as he had ever seen, and for good reason. For though his file painted him as a simple orphan student who had worked his way through the public-school system, the reality was not so simple.
"So he really is from the HPSC?' Aizawa asked the little mouse sitting infront of him, and though he was small in size, those who knew Nezu feared him, for he had the power to bring down any society if he so desired.
The Principal had a rather tragic past, and it was a blessing that he had not chosen to let it define him and had only ever tried to steer society in a better direction.
"I am certain," the Principal answered as Aizawa put down the file and rubbed his head.
"Earlier, I had my suspicions, but the recommendation from Hawks simply confirmed it. Hyakuya Yuichiro is most likely a member of that program," and that explained so much more.
The Hero Public Safety Commission was an innocent enough organization at first glance, but those with a bit keener eye knew that the organization was neither simple nor innocent.
On paper, their job was to regulate and police Heroes, but in a world filled with superpowers, that was easier said than done. People with superpowers were not easy to police.
So, there were rumors that the HPSC had begun a special program where they had begun recruiting young children to later train them into a kind of special force for this purpose.
The HPSC did not acknowledge the existence of such a group, but Aizawa acknowledged that there was evidence that it existed, and that Hyakuya Yuichiro was among one such recruits.
"Then why is he here?" he questioned, and much to his surprise, even the Principal did not have an answer.
"I do now know," and that was quite strange for him, as he sipped his tea like a cultured Englishman.
"You don't know," he asked, and the little Mouse nodded as he put down his cup.
"I have some suspicions but nothing concrete," and Aizawa could think of a dozen reasons. The HPSC could be trying to recruit more young, talented individuals, or they could have sent him here to keep an eye on the next generation.
"Then we should deny him admission," he suggested, and the Principal was quick to shake his head.
"No," he said, denying his request.
"We may not know the reason behind his coming here, but we have no reason to deny admission to such a young aspiring candidate. His history aside, even you cannot deny that we might just be looking at a future top-three Hero right now," and that was not an exaggeration at all, for if he could do all this at his age, Aizawa wondered just how much more he could accomplish if he were to polish his skills a bit more.
"But what about the HPSC?" he argued, for he would not let anything or anyone put his students into jeopardy, even if it was the HPSC.
"We will deal with them when the time comes," and at that, his face shifted as the principal turned to his table, as he continued.
"I may not agree with much of the Safety Commission's Policies, but I can understand the reasoning behind them. We may not yet know the purpose of his presence here at UA, but it would be foolish of us to let fear cloud our judgment and turn away such a hopeful young student," and so it seemed like the Principal had already made his decision.
"So, you are going to admit him?" And the little mouse Hero nodded.
"Indeed, I am. But I thought I thought it wise to discuss it with you before I sent out the letters," and that was good of him.
"Have you decided on the rest?" and the Principal nodded as he slid forward a list.
"These are all the students who will be admitted to the Hero Course this year. You and Sekijiro should have a look," and that was good enough, and he saw Yuichiro's name on the top of the list, followed by a girl named Hado Nejire.
The two of them, along with a boy by the name of Amajiki, seemed to be the outliers who had taken up a decent amount of both Villain and Rescue points, showing that either they had a truly heroic spirit or they had been able to see through the secret of the exam.
In most cases, most students only focused on taking down the robots, and few ever thought of saving their competition, but the trio had been different, and as he turned the page around, he found himself rather surprised by another student in the list whose marks skewed greatly towards the Rescue Points as well.
"Mirio Togata," he read out the name, and the boy had barely managed to make the cut, yet still, he was in UA now.
"We have quite an interesting class on our hands this year...."
0000
MADAM PRESIDENT—The Head of the HPSC
She sat in the Headquarters of the Hero Public Safety Commission's Office, waiting for a rather singular individual, while the country's rising star lazily stood behind her. Though one would have to be a fool to think that just because he seemed so lazy, he was not observing every detail with those golden eyes of his.
"Is my presence here really necessary?" the winged Hero asked from behind as she sat on her chair, with her arms folded up in front of her.
"You very well know the answer to that question," she said without staring back, and he then subtly eyed the letter placed in front of her, bearing the seal of the famous UA High School.
"So, he got in, huh. Well, we shouldn't really have expected anything less out of her protege," and she still stiffened at the mention of her, for this 'her' was the reason why both of them were in the place they were.
For a few months ago, she had been the Vice President of the Commission, completely unaware of the darker realities of the responsibilities of this office. Yet all of it had changed that one night.
Years ago, as the world began to adapt itself to the reality of the superpowers called 'Quirks, ' the HPSC was formed as a way of regulating the Heroes. The Police still had its role, but in a world where quirks allowed one to challenge reality itself, an additional organization was deemed necessary to deal with these superpowered individuals.
Initially, they were designed to register official heroes, but their responsibility grew as society grew more and more complex. The crimes evolved, and so did the Hero culture, and their previous President decided that the HPSC had to evolve with that as well.
As Heroism grew into a legitimate profession, it drew thousands to it. Many of them bore not so innocent and pure intentions, and initially, the HPSC dealt with them using external contractors, but the President had chosen to form a force of their own.
A simple and elite force to maintain the sanctity and purity of the word hero. And for that person, he had recruited her, Kaina Tsutsumi, otherwise known as Lady Nagant. She was a Hero by day, and yet she was an HPSC enforcer by night, yet as time passed, the darkness grew, and the President grew more aggressive and more bold, blurring the boundaries between what was right and what was wrong.
They recruited others as well, and Hawks was one of them, and so was the boy whose name was printed on the letter resting infront of her.
Hyakuya Yuichiro. And rather than recruiting him, the boy had come to them himself and was perhaps the best amongst his fellows, including the Winged Hero himself.
In the end, Kaina Tsutsumi snapped and chose to defy the president, and when he refused to back down, she turned her fabled right arm against him. She would have killed him if not for the timely intervention from Hyakuya-kun, though the boy held little sympathy for the president and his modus operandi as well.
In the end, a deal was worked out between HPSC and that boy, who refused to let them prosecute Kaina for their mistakes, and so she took over as the Head of the HPSC, while he replaced Kaina as the sword in the shadows of the HPSC.
They tensed up as the door clicked open, and the boy walked into the room. Those green eyes of his narrowed slightly as he saw Hawks standing in the corner, and she saw them gleam with that iconic greenish hue as he simply walked forward.
He wore his usual suit, and his blade was tied to his belt as he walked forward innocently. He was but a young teen, and yet he was perhaps their most promising and troublesome recruit to date.
"I didn't know you were going to be here, Hawks-san," the green-eyed boy turned towards Hawks, who shrugged.
"That makes two of us," Keigo Takami answered with a smile, though she noticed the shift in his feathers as the boy came to a halt in front of her.
"I believe you have a letter for me," and the relationship between the HPSC and Hyakuya Yuichiro was already strained, and she had little desire to make it any worse.
"I still believe that this is a waste of your time," she told him, as she had previously when he had told her about his plans.
"It is my choice," he said as he took the letter and pocketed it.
"Aren't you going to check whether you got in or not?" Hawks asked from behind, and the boy shrugged.
"I already know that I did," and that confidence was not misplaced, for if one were to speak strictly in terms of power and capability, Hyakuya Yuichiro was already a top twenty Hero.
"And don't worry," he said, looking her in the eye.
"It won't interfere with my work," and as part of the deal, Lady Nagant had retired from service, and he had taken over from her. But changes had been enacted as well, and she had also promised to disavow the methods of her predecessor.
She still believed in the HPSC's work, but she would also admit that her predecessor had gone rogue and had pushed boundaries he never should have touched.
"Well, in that regard, I have your first assignment for you," and this time the table shifted, and a screen emerged behind her, showing the profile of a hero.
"Danzo Shimura. Hero Name: Shadow Crawler," she began, and he was the perfect example of why this work was necessary.
"He is a top twenty Hero in Kyushu, but he secretly runs a human trafficking ring. He hides victims and then later sells them on the Black Market," and those green eyes scanned the screen, and took in all the details.
"I will handle it, but you remember my rule, don't you, Madam President?" the boy asked, and she nodded.
"I do. You will not kill," and it was a rule she agreed with, as long as he got the job done, that was.
"The Commission will not interfere in how you work, as long as the matter is resolved silently," she told him, and the green-eyed boy nodded.
"I know," and with that, she turned towards Hawks.
"As this is your first mission. Hawks will be shadowing as a precaution. And if he deems you ready enough, this will be the first and only time he does so," and Hawks was quick to react to that.
"Hey. Hey, he is ready enough, I have enough on my plate as it is," he said, but she shook her head.
"I insist," she said, and his shoulders slumped.
"Sure, but I can assure you I am ready," and she knew that as well.
"I am leaving," and with that, he walked out, and as the door closed, she let out a sigh she did not know she had been holding in.
"Well, that went better than expected," Hawks added, and it did.
"Still, he has changed," and she still remembered the bright-eyed boy who had walked into the HPSC years ago, but now little remained of that child.
"Anyone would, with what happened," Hawks added as he began to fly out through the window.
"I will be leaving now...." and with that, he flew away, leaving her alone to contemplate the future of the HPSC, and its strongest weapon to date.
.
.
.
Back in the air, Hyakuya and Hawks cut through the air, as the pro-hero teased his young underling.
"Damn, you truly have them all quite scared," Hawks added, and the boy shrugged, smiling slightly as he answered.
"It is the only way this works," he said, and while Hawks may work for the HPSC, he held little sympathy for them, and what they had done to his Kaina-san was indeed a tragedy, and if it was not for Hyakuya and his aggressive behavior, the HPSC would have put her in Tartarus to make an example out of her.
Not that they had succeeded, for in the end, Hyakuya had chosen to put himself between her and the HPSC at a great cost to himself.
"Have you gone to meet her?" Hawks asked, and the smile stiffened, and he shook his head after a few seconds, and the two of them were like brother and sister, yet things had gotten much complicated after their last interaction, where Kaina had tried to kill him in her rage.
Hawks was certain that she regretted it, but what was done was done. And their relationship had been fractured in an irreparable way.
Still, before he could say anything, they reached the base of operations for Danzo Shimura, and with his eyes, Hawks could see him sleeping there on his bed as they both stood on a building opposite to his apartment.
"Do you want my help?" Hawks asked, and Hyakuya landed on the ground as he slid down from his little Green Barrier.
"I will handle it on my own," and then he saw him raise his hand, and he watched as a little cube appeared in his hand as he looked straight at the sleeping form of the Hero.
"One or both?" he asked, and Hawks frowned at the question.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I am wondering if I should take one leg from him or both, just to make sure that he retires?" and he smiled stiffly at the question, and he was reminded once more that the boy besides him was no simple teenager.
He was, in many ways, the amalgamation of his and Kaina's personalities with powers that outclassed them both.
"Hey, listen to me. There are fewer viole...." but before he could continue, Hyakuya had already reached his decision.
"I think I will take them both just to be safe," and with that, the little green cube broke out into quarters, each of which then did the same as Hyakua whispered the name of his technique.
"Asteroid!" and the little cubical bullets rushed forward, and in the blink of an eye, screams filled the residence of Shadow Lurker, as blood littered the windows of his room.
"Tell the President that she should handle the rest," and Hawks rolled his eyes, as he took to the air and began to rush towards the screaming Hero.
"I will do just that..."
0000
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