Beginning of a New Spring (MHA/PJO crossover)

Chapter 35

"Hero names! Today is the day you get to choose your name when you go to intern. Well, if you have any offers. Remember, this name can follow you around for the rest of your career."

Ophelia glanced around the classroom to see if there were any dejected faces, almost missing Midoriya’s anxious face. She felt a bit of sympathy for him as he tried his hardest with a quirk he still didn't seem to know how to handle, but she also saw how the heroes saw it— a kid who didn't know his limits and used a quirk that would put him out of commission on the first assignment if he used it. 

She never got her head wrapped around a hero's name. A fancy name to prance around areas and fight villains. It seemed like a blow to the heroes she knew. After their worrisome conversation two nights ago, she had changed the topic to the name he would choose. She didn’t take part in that, already telling him she wouldn’t pick anything but her name. She smiled, remembering how he had been thinking of her reasonings.

It was an interesting night when she had to listen to the names he spewed out. She had laughed every time he tried to add 'king' or ‘murder’ to a name. He would grumble in response when she vetoed them, saying just because she was half-god didn't mean he couldn't be a king—which she rolled her eyes at. He knew the weight and burden of everything the higher you climbed up the ladder to becoming a hero, so she knew he was trying to get her mind off everything for a while. It was the short reprieve she needed from the memories or nightmares that clawed their way back up. 

One by one, everyone went up to announce the name they had chosen. She had to hold back the grimace as Aoyama went first, naming himself 'can't stop twinkling.' She wondered if the adults left them to choose weird names and live with the dumb choice at times because, for the life of her, she didn't understand Aoyama and his overly bubbly, eccentric personality. He ignored her when she not-so-subtly coughed something more suiting, so she left him be. 

Others had creative names, while some seemed to lack in what they could excel at. Yaoyozuru had taken her advice and chosen Genesis as her hero name. 

Mina stood up there, beaming as her card showed the name Acido. Mineta, much to her distaste for helping him, Grape Vine, because Grape Juice? She might as well have strangled him herself. Sato went with Sugar Rush.

Midoriya hesitated as he was called up, taking shaky steps up to the podium. He was the type who would be less nervous in a fight than in a public speech. 

When he turned his placard around, she glanced at Katsuki when she read the name Deku. Her reckless boyfriend's only reaction was a click his tongue and glance away from his childhood friend. It was one way to turn around an insult. Midoriya was one to follow some rules, but he wouldn't be a puppet for those higher than him if lives were at stake. 

She decided she would get hers over with as she stood up as Midoriya stepped away from the podium. She smiled and nodded as she passed him. The white placard made her name stick out like a neon sign as she stared at it before holding it up to show the room. 

"Why your name?" Midnight asked. 

"Because Ophelia means 'help' or 'aid' in Greek. Being a hero isn't just when you dress up and stroll the city to ensure everything is okay. I would rather be myself when someone requires my help at any given point," she explained, staring at the blank side of the card as a ghost of a smile reached her lips. 

She loved everyone's names, and Ida and Kirishima's had a sentimental value that she respected. Whether Todoroki did it for the meaning or to spite his father was the question. Maybe both. His name had meaning to his quirk, which she found a laughable coincidence.

Katsuki, being the center of attention, had to go last. And as much as she loved the name he came up with, she wouldn't put it past him to try the other names she vetoed. It shouldn't have surprised her when he held the placard up.