"This is my hero name."
Izuku held up his board for everyone to see.
"'Useless Hero: Puppet'? Are you serious?" The class reacted immediately, several students staring at him in disbelief.
"That name doesn't fit at all," Kyoka Jiro said, tugging lightly at her earphone jack. "You'd expect something more… like All Might."
"Why call yourself 'useless'?" someone asked.
Izuku scratched his head. "Because I was, at one point."
With that, he stepped down from the front.
"That name really isn't suitable," Midnight said, shaking her head. "You should choose something else."
"Then I'll drop the 'useless' part," Izuku replied easily. "Just 'Puppet.'"
"…'Useless,' huh…"
The rest of the class continued presenting their names, and the lesson ended amid chatter and reactions. Afterward, Shota Aizawa explained their next step.
"Most of you will be assigned to pro hero agencies for your first work-study placements," he said. "A few exceptions will be handled separately. That's all. Class dismissed."
During the break, Izuku looked down at the name he had chosen.
"Puppet… a puppet that moves on its own. One that cuts its own strings."
"Midoriya, have you decided which agency you want to go to?" someone asked.
"Not really. I haven't received any offers yet, so I was thinking—"
"Midoriya, could you come with me for a moment?"
"…Sure."
A few minutes later, Izuku found himself sitting in an office across from All Might.
"So… that's the situation," All Might said, his legs trembling slightly. "My teacher would like to take you on for training."
"Your teacher?" Izuku leaned forward, curious. "I've never met them. What kind of person are they?"
All Might hesitated.
"His name is Gran Torino… and he's… quite intense."
Holding the slip of paper with the address, Izuku returned to the classroom.
"What's going on?"
At his desk, Hanta Sero, Tenya Iida, and Eijiro Kirishima were holding someone back.
That someone was Katsuki Bakugo.
Even Shoto Todoroki stood nearby, watching cautiously.
"Midoriya, you're finally back," Kirishima said. "A delivery came for you. Bakugo saw the sender's name and lost it. He wouldn't stop trying to open it."
"Shut it, idiot! Like I care what's inside!" Bakugo snapped at Denki Kaminari.
"Still, I'm curious," Ochaco Uraraka said, clasping her hands together. "Midoriya, can you open it?"
"I want to see too," Tsuyu Asui added.
"I caught a glimpse of the sender's name earlier," Toru Hagakure said excitedly. "It's a girl's name, and it came all the way from China!"
"No way it's something inappropriate, right?" Minoru Mineta grinned. "If it is, you've gotta share!"
"You wish!" Jiro snapped, hitting him with her earphone jacks.
"I'm curious as well," Yuga Aoyama added. "Perhaps it's something… elegant."
"Well," Izuku said, smiling slightly, "if everyone's that interested, I'll open it."
He stepped up to the package.
"Oh… it's from her after all," he said, glancing at the sender's name.
"'Her'?" Bakugo scoffed. "What kind of idiot would call you her little brother?"
"Someone just as useless as me," Izuku replied casually.
For a moment, something flickered in the air.
Then he reached forward.
"All right, I'm opening it."
He peeled back the tape sealing the box and lifted the lid.
Around him, his classmates leaned in, trying to get a better look at what was inside.