Amour Propre (OMORI)

Equinox

It was almost the Autumn Equinox Festival. Just two more days. The Autumn Equinox Festival was one of two of the main yearly festivals celebrated at KIH.

The Autumn Equinox Festival was something inherited from the east. They celebrated the autumnal and vernal equinoxes far before Canada had begun that tradition. Each year, the festivals for each equinox would be locally broadcast and would have audiences of parents, hero fans, and, of course, agency representatives.

The only two agencies who wouldn't have their lead hero representing them would be Captain Canuck's... for obvious reasons, and Antimatter... for reasons obvious only to those in whatever class he was heading. Most other positions of faculty were taken by ex-heroes or minor heroes who didn't own their own agency.

All that wasn't what was on Sunny's mind at this point, though. What was on his mind was finding a subtle way to ask his best friend if he liked guys. Most people may have come to understand sexuality as fluid and whatnot, but like, there was still some social pressure going on.

You especially couldn't ask someone what their type was without seeming suspicious. Sunny sighed as Captain Canuck entered the room. For once, Sunny wasn't sighing because of him entering the room, either. It was just a coincidence this time.

"Hello, class! It's me, your fantastic and amazing teacher." He exclaimed. For once, Captain Canuck was on time. "I have to admit something to you guys."

Everyone was a bit concerned and looked at their teacher. "I... haven't been the best teacher. We're a bit behind on this year's lessons so far... but that's only because I wanted to help train you and make you great heroes!"

Unsurprising to the class, everyone looked at Captain Canuck with a disappointed expression. He recoiled, "Hey, woah, don't look at me like that, I'm gonna catch us up. We only missed two important things, and we got two days! Plus, I got you to upgrade your suits more effectively than any other class, so you guys are ahead of the game there!"

Nobody was convinced. "Come on... ok, look, let's just get this started. Everyone grab a notecard from the paper rack behind me, and then write what you want your hero name to be. I'm sure I don't have to explain the importance of a hero name to you guys, so I won't bother with that boring spiel, and I'll let you get started on writing your names down."

As requested, the class went to the front of the room and collected one notecard each in an orderly fashion. Everyone soon after returned to their desks and began to write.

Sunny had the most trouble here. What kind of hero name would someone use in the case of his quirk? Maybe something that wouldn't give anything away would be better... but what could possibly work as a name for someone as bland as himself?

He thought about the requests he had filed for changes to his hero suit. Shock absorbers, as everyone had requested. Built in tasers, just in case. Sun visor... there was nothing he could use in his name.

The classroom wasn't exactly the best place to use his quirk, either, so he couldn't as Omori for ideas. Not like he'd come up with any. He'd probably just make fun of Sunny for being so unoriginal.

Sunny put his head down on his desk and placed his hands on his head. He tilted his head up so he could look around the room, hands still on the top of his head. Pencils. Paper. Basil. Captain Canuck... Captain Canuck... should he just name himself after a symbol of Canada? Or maybe just Ontario...

Finally, he had it. Sunny wrote down on his notepad hastily, "Trillium," and then ran to the front of the room to hand it to Captain Canuck. "I figured out my hero name!"

"That's great, kid, but you gotta stay at your seat for a little bit longer. You get to read them to everyone soon."

Sunny realized it wasn't first-come-first-serve. He frowned and moved back to his desk, now nervous that someone else would be called upon first and take his name idea.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. As the alarm rang out from Captain Canuck's phone, he sat up straight, turned off his alarm, and called out to Sunny, "You! You were going to show me your hero name, tell the class!"

Sunny, caught a bit off-guard, stuttered out a response, "Oh– ah– me? Right, um... m-my hero name is Trillium. Like the flower." He repeatedly glanced at Basil for his reaction to the name.

The class was silent for a moment, making Sunny feel like an idiot for choosing such a stupid name. "I thought a trillion was a number– ow!" Kel broke the silence before being slapped upside the head by Aubrey.

"What a lovely hero name! How about you, Basil?" Captain Canuck finally said, switching focus to Basil.

"Oh, er... it's kinda stupid. Grassroots," Basil sheepishly explained.

"No, that's great!" Sunny insisted, speaking up out of nowhere. The awkward silence that followed again made Sunny shrink down into his seat.

Finally, Captain Canuck spoke again. It felt like he was purposely making Sunny feel awkward. "That is a fine name, Basil, now you're next, Rai!"

The whole class went through their hero names, The Maverick obviously choosing The Maverick, along with some other unsurprising picks from the other students.

"Fossil Fuel" for Kel, "Sugarcoat" for Aubrey, "Blocked" for Mincy, so on and so forth.

"Alright, now that that's done with, I think we better head outside and get back to training for the festival!" Captain Canuck enthusiastically declared.

Rai raised his hand and spoke, "Didn't you just say we're behind on this year's lessons? Shouldn't we continue to do some catch-up?" Captain Canuck's face fell.

"Do you guys really wanna learn, or do you wanna do more cool training stuff?" Captain Canuck asked. Everyone was pretty comfortable with using their quirks at this point, so what more basic training would do for them at this point was unclear.

"I kinda wanna learn more about how being a hero works," Peter stated. Everyone murmured in agreement.

Upset, Captain Canuck walked back to the front of the class. It was clear he just wanted to see everyone's battle prowess again. "Alright. Well, here's how you apply for a job at a hero agency, I guess..."