Colors in the Dark

[15] Names and Interns

Ayami froze as she saw the dark-violet-haired R-Rated heroine, the memories of her capture once again replaying in her mind. She adverted her gaze from Midnight as the woman continued speaking.

"What you pick today could be your code name for life. You'd better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent."

So yeah, her two captors were standing at the front of the room, talking to the class as if nothing had ever happened to the ginger practically cowering behind the brave front she had put up. For Kana's sake, she kept repeating to herself. Be strong for Kana.

Aizawa spoke again. "Yeah, she's got a point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte." The 1-A homeroom teacher pulled his yellow sleeping bag out from under his desk as easily as if he was picking up a pencil. "The name that you give yourself is important. It helps you reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you want to be in the future. A code name tells people exactly what you represent. Take All Might as an example."

As much as she secretly feared him, he had a good point. As everyone was given whiteboards and markers, Ayami thought. "What kind of a hero do I want to be?" The words she said, the promise she made to Kana came to mind. "A good hero... One day I'll be a hero that can appear, and people immediately know 'it's all gonna be okay.'"

"What I represent... what I want to be... I summon spirits to life and carry them in my mind. I conjure them and together, we save people with our power. That's what I am, a hero that brings together and fights for good."

As Aizawa began to drift off in his seat, surrounded by his sleeping bag like a caterpillar getting ready for metamorphosis, Midnight gave them a moment before asking, "Alright students, who's ready to share?"

Aoyama was the first to go up, brimming with his usual confidence. "Hold your breath. The Shining Hero: my name is 'I Cannot Stop Twinkling!'" The French blond wasn't lying, though everyone was quite shocked that his hero name was an entire sentence.

However, Midnight took the whiteboard and scribbled something, turning it back around. "Here, it'll be better this way. Take out the 'I' and change 'can not' to 'can't.'"

Now with the hero name 'Can't Stop Twinkling,' Aoyama approved with a bright grin. "It's stunning, mademoiselle!" He walked back to his seat, though everyone was still appalled that his name was pretty much accepted.

Next was Mina, who was denied 'Alien Queen' as a name because it reminded her too much of a 'horrific monster with acidic blood,' and the pink-skinned girl was sent back to her seat to come up with something else.

After those two strange naming situations, everyone seemed too nervous to go up. That is, until Tsu mustered the courage and walked up. "I've had this name in mind since grade school. Rainy Season Hero: Froppy," which both Midnight and the class loved.

"That's delightful! It makes you sound approachable. What a great example of a name everyone will love!" People got up to cheer for the frog girl, who smiled at the Pro Hero's praise. Tsu sat down, satisfied, before Kirishima went up.

He was 'the Sturdy Hero: Red Riot,' which was explained to stem from the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot, a historic Pro that the redhead looked up to. Midnight seemed apprehensive, reminding him that using part of a hero's name that he admired meant having great footsteps to fill, but Kirishima just laughed and promised he was up for the challenge, so his name was also accepted.

Ayami could hear Kaminari fretting about what to name himself, while Jirou suggested, "Jamming-yay," which the ginger immediately realized was a play on the electric boy's short-circuit mode. However, he misinterpreted it, forcing the pixie-cut girl to have to explain it for him.