A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 16: A New Home

Izuku blinked, not really expecting a surprise party, what with Nezu saying something along the lines of an indoctrination. At best, he thought of this being some sort of ritual where he was asked a bunch of question non-stop until the rest of the staff were satisfied. At worst, well, they are professional heroes. Are there even any worse possibilities?

"Well? Don't just stand there, special guest! Come on in!" Present Mic - he remembered due to the costume he wore. That, and how he ruptured a lot of villains' eardrums during the USJ - greeted with a massive grin on his face. A stark contrast to the judgmental gaze coming from one red-clad hero with tubes of blood on his back.

The rest of the staff stood there patiently, waiting for him to enter the room. He spotted a cowboy, a block of cement, a guy with big teeth, man with a dog's snout, and a mature woman, along with both Present Mic and the blood hero. A colorful and unique cast of characters, if he was being honest.

Stepping foot inside the room, Izuku didn't really make any kind of facial expression, treating this like it was another encounter not unlike in the Lands Between. The number of times he was caught off guard while exploring the damn continent was too many to count, resulting in either horrifying deaths or amusing scenarios.

Take that giant warrior jar for instance. Alexander was his name, if Izuku recalled correctly. He wasn't winning any strongest jar in the world title as he was now, but his optimism was too contagious. He couldn't help but smile every time he remembered the lovable giant oaf.

"Well then, since none of my colleagues are introducing themselves first, allow me go on ahead. Ladies first and all." The mature woman winked at Izuku, causing the teen who looked more like a young adult tilt his head. "Kayama Nemuri, professional hero name Midnight. Pleasure to meet you."

"Yooo! Yamada Hizashi in the house! Present Mic on broadcast during the weekends!" Present Mic pulled down his shades as he let Izuku glimpse the colors of his eyes for a single moment. "Nice to meet ya!"

"Couldn't you be any less of a loudmouth?" The block of cement palmed his face before giving Izuku was kind wave. "Greetings. My name is Ishiyama Ken, hero name Cementoss. A wonderful day to meet you, Midoriya Izuku."

"Howdy pardner, just call me Snipe." Cowboy tipped his hat to him and Izuku nodded his head along. He knew a gesture of respect when he saw one. As for how? His various experiences with random invasions were enough of a reminder. He never really did figure out why most of them liked squatting on his dead corpse and standing up, only to repeat them until they fade into motes of light. It was a confusing gesture, one that he still had no idea how and why it existed.

"Kan Sekijiro. Vlad King." The hero with blood tubes on his back grunted. Not really much for conversation, Izuku mused.

"Ectoplasm." Teeth hero nodded, to which Izuku nodded in return. "I teach math."

Izuku had no idea how to respond to that.

"Inui Ryo. Hero name Hound Dog." The hound-looking hero nearly made Izuku revert back to base instincts whenever a canine came near him. Damn those dogs, giving him PTSD every second of the day. "Guidance counselor of the school."

And wasn't that a surprise. A man with a dog-related quirk - judging by his snout- with a dog-related name, and a dog-related costume as seen by the hanging muzzle on his waist, was the guidance counselor of the school. Maybe fate had a sense of humor after all, seeing that a literal therapy dog was counseling the entirety of the student body.

Now that it was his turn to introduce himself, Izuku bowed regally, like that one invader in the Roundtable Hold. He didn't know why he defaulted to the gesture, but at this point, it was just a habit whenever an invader comes along.