Flames of the Phoenix

Chapter 10: Interning With A Trashcan Leads To Almost Dying In An Alley

"Midoriya! Hearth!" Our classmates began chattering as soon as we walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Let us know if you need anything!"

We nodded and hurried to our seats. Aizawa entered the room. "You have a special hero class today. You are going to be coming up with code names. When you work as a hero, you will use a hero name. Now, look at the screen." He clicked a button on a remote, and all of our names appeared on the screen. "This is the number of requests that you got from pro heros based on your performance at the Sports Festival. Normally the requests are more spread out, but these two, " He gestured at Todoroki and Bakugo's names, "got the spotlight this year."

I scanned the list for my name. I was fourth on the list. Of course, Tokoyami got more requests than I did. He got to stand on the podium. Aizawa continued talking, "But, because I am bad at names, Midnight will join us." At that moment, the door flew open, and Midnight stood in the doorway grinning.

"Let's do this!" She passed out whiteboards and markers, "Brainstorm and write the hero name that you would like on your board! I will call you up to share it with the class in a bit!"

I stared at the board for a while. All I could think about were the pet names that Dad would call me when I was a little girl. Midnight came over, "So, what are you thinking? Do you want to share your name?"

I thought for a minute, "Is it a good idea to take a childhood nickname and twist it a little bit?"

Her face softened, "You want to commemorate your dad, don't you? That's a real sweet thing to do. Just don't let it get in the way of the kind of hero that you would like to be."

I quickly wrote down my name on the board, "I'm ready." She nodded, and I stood at the podium in the front of the room. I turned the board so that everyone could see, "I'm going by Phlair: The Flame of Hope."

Everyone else took turns sharing their names. I held back a giggle as Midnight kept shooting down Bakugo's ideas. I bit my lip as Izuku chose "Deku" as his hero name. Why would he choose an insult? I'll talk with him later. 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I looked over the list of requests that I had gotten. I didn't know many of them, so I looked them up on my phone. Surprisingly, I got a lot of high-ranked heroes asking for me. Looking at their quirks, I was tempted to go with the highest-ranked hero on my list. As much as I hated the idea of having to interact with an abusive asshole, it would be very beneficial for me to train with someone who has a similar quirk. "Todoroki! Wait up a second!"

He stopped and looked at me with a blank expression, "What?"

"I was just wondering where you were planning on going for your internship. I got a request from your dad, and I was thinking about taking it, but I wanted your opinion. Is it going to be worth it? He should be able to help me with my quirk, but he is also an ass, so..."

Todoroki just blinked before the edge of his lips turned upwards, "Did you just call my dad, the number two hero, an ass?"

"Yeah, he deserves it after what he did you and your family."

He gave me a small smile, "I'm going to intern with him, so I would love to see your interactions with him."

I waved as we parted ways, "Alright then, I'll see you soon!" 

"Be careful, you two! I don't think that my heart would be able to deal with any more grief right now if something happened. Listen to the pros and stay safe!" Mom clung to Izuku like a lifeline.