BNHA || white lie

19

NOTE: sorry for the long absence, a mix of irresponsibility and personal issues have kept me from writing. but i am back, though i won't be updating nearly as regularly as i used to.

kind of a filler chapter, so feel free to skip this one, you won't be missing out on much. trying to get back in the groove. i just go a bit more in-depth into reader's personality and thoughts and add a bit of explanation on the system of heroics i thought up in this chapter. :)

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"You were what?"

Midoriya chuckles and rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah, yeah. Sorry, I really am. But I'm here now, so we still have time to work the ethics presentation, right?"

"Wait, wait, wait! You can't just brush it off, Deku!" Uraraka waves her hands frantically. "You said you were out of school all day because you were with [L/Name]?"

Todoroki pitches in with a rare comment. "They're not that bad," he says, his head tilting slightly to the side. The short-haired girl lets out a gasp.

"Todoroki's in on this too?"

"Maybe we were a bit quick to judge," Iida admits. He pushes his glasses up his nose. "They are a hero, after all. They can't be that bad."

"So being a hero insinuates benevolence?" you join in suddenly, voice tired. The group of four, sitting on one of the hanging platforms, turn in surprise. On the top rung of the ladder is you, an off-white canvas bag hung lazily on your shoulder. In contrast to the students that fill the building, you don't wear your uniform--instead, you don a light gray sweatshirt and military green pants.

Midoriya smiles sweetly at you. "[L/Name]! You came earlier than I thought you would." You shrug and walk around the table to sit next to him. The library is rather full today, hushed voices piling atop one another to create a level murmur--the UA students must have come early if they managed to get an entire platform to themselves.

"Oh, [L/Name], are you a part of our group now?" Uraraka asks you with a friendly smile. You shake your head.

"Not quite," is your response as you place your book bag down beside you. "Midoriya asked me to help you with the presentation."

"I thought, since they're a hero themselves, they could provide better insight. It's a hero ethics presentation, after all," said boy explains further.

Iida frowns, thinking. "What about your presentation, [L/Name]? Won't ours overlap with the same information?"

"I'm not presenting. My leave ends Friday, so I'll be returning to my hero duties then." You twirl a lock of hair between your fingers listlessly. "Even if I was, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. The professor wouldn't make foreign students present a project in an unfamiliar language. He may be strict, but he's reasonable."

"I see. That is definitely a relief. Your input will be very much appreciated, then!"

"Thanks a bunch, [L/Name]!"

"I-it's an honor to work with such a well-renowned hero!"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Your lips lift up at the array of responses.

"No problem. So, ethics. Of course, we all have a basic unspoken moral code, and for heroes it is a lot stricter. . ."

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"So you're saying the government introduces children with powerful Quirks to heroics early on?"

You give a brief nod. "That's how I got my training done early and earned my hero's license in high school. In order to be documented, you have to register your Quirk, and the government looks over those yearly to decide which ones could be dangerous without proper training. If you're chosen, you're put in a special program, and if you give consent your information is available to schools, who could offer scholarships to students they want. Most people intern or act as sidekicks during or after attending hero school; I've been doing it since junior high. It's a way the government ensures that those with powerful individualities don't get influenced by villainy. Most of them become pro heroes in the end so it's a plus for them."

Uraraka nods along. "It makes sense! But, forcing people into heroics. . ." she frowns. "They basically decide your future for you, huh?"

"Exactly."

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You twirl your pencil in your hands, listening to Iida as he asks you questions.

"What do you think of heroes, [L/Name]?"

The pencil stops moving, and you blink at the stiff-postured boy in slight surprise.

"Hm, me? Well. . ." You shrug. "Heroes have to exist. Before, there were only petty criminals, so the police were all we needed, but when Quirks came about and villains began to use them for harm--it's only natural that we need something to offset that. Heroes and villains. . .they're supposed to be the standards of good and evil, right?"

"Yes! That is one of the many duties of a hero--to set an example for the citizens they protect!"

With a sad smile, you continue. "But heroics has become a corrupt industry that focuses more on rankings and powerful Quirks rather than responsibility for the people. If those kind of people are our standards for good. . ."

You make a face.

". . .it's only reasonable that the rest of society follows in its footsteps. Nowadays, everything is about Quirks. I don't know how it works in Japan, but here, on applications to school, for a job--anything, really--the first thing they ask for is your name, and the line right underneath that almost always asks for your Quirk."

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"Is that the book we have to read for English class?" You look up from the browning papers of the worn paperback. Almost all the pages are dog-eared, the spine is covered in clear, glossy tape, and the yellow highlighter that covers most of the lines is fading away.

Todoroki is peering curiously at the cover of your book, squinting slightly to read the title of it. He is hunched over the table, his chin almost touching the white top. You snort at his strange position. "No, that's different. This is just something I'm reading on my own." In front of you, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida are hard at work, putting their presentation together on you laptop you let them borrow. The dual-quirked boy was helping them before too, but when he accidentally shut down the device without saving he was immediately banned from touching it.

"What is it called?" he asks curiously.

"I didn't take you as an avid reader."

"I'm not. Only once in a while."

With an understanding hum, you finally answer. "Night, by Elie Wiesel. Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah. It's been translated to Japanese. It's about the Holocaust, right?"

You smile.

"'One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate'," you recite easily. "'One less reason to live.' It's a popular quote from the book." Your partner in conversation says nothing, but it is Todoroki, after all. He keeps his eyes on you, and that is how you know he is listening. "Personally. . .I've always felt it sounded incomplete."

"You do?" he asks, urging you to continue. So you do.

"One more reason to hate, one less reason to live. . .and another one gained, for hate is just as good a reason to live as any."