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"Codename, huh..."
With one hand propping her head up on the desk, Konata Izumi fell into deep thought.
She knew she didn't have much talent for naming things. And since a hero name was supposed to carry weight into the future, she couldn't just slap on something random.
Fantasy Hero: Thousand Forms… Star Lord of Infinite Transformation…
Gradually, her thoughts began drifting off into a rather bizarre direction.
"Alright, time's about up. Let's start with those who already have something in mind—come up and announce it."
Seeing the clock, Midnight clapped her hands and addressed the class. The moment Konata heard her words, her expression froze.
A public execution.
Her lips twitched. She decisively erased all the names she had drafted. There was no way she was going to stand in front of everyone and say something like "Half-Phantom Maiden" or "Beyond the Miraculous Boundary." Just... no.
"I'll go first!"
While Konata was still mulling things over, Yuga Aoyama strutted up to the podium, his notepad raised high.
"Shining Hero—I cannot stop twinkling!"
Everyone: "..."
The room collectively fell into silence at the sight of that line in English. Aoyama, of course, remained blissfully oblivious and continued on.
"It means... I cannot stop sparkling!"
Konata suddenly felt she had underestimated Aoyama. She could never say something that embarrassing with a straight face, let alone use it as an official hero name. And yet Midnight actually accepted it, simply polishing the grammar from I cannot stop twinkling to Can't Stop Twinkling.
Seriously, was something like that really okay as a hero name?
After all, unless something unexpected happened, the codenames decided here in class would be the same ones they'd carry as professional heroes. For instance, All Might's real name was Yagi Toshinori, but barely anyone knew that.
Still, if even a name like that could pass...
After thinking it over, Konata picked up her pen and began writing on her notepad.
"Lucky☆Star."
When she finally went up and revealed it, not only the class but even Midnight herself was surprised.
Normally, hero names reflected a person's Quirk, personality, or ideals. Midnight had assumed Konata would pick something related to her Quirk. She hadn't expected her to go with that.
"Lucky Star... so, you want to be a hero who brings people good fortune?" Midnight guessed, curious.
"If that was the case, I'd be naming myself Bare White Rabbit of Good Fortune, not Lucky Star."
Rolling her eyes up toward the ceiling, Konata muttered with a hint of resentment.
"Lucky Star just means... I hope I can be lucky for once. Lately, everything's been super unlucky, Midnight-sensei. Is this name okay?"
She turned and asked seriously.
"It's fine. But I think you really will become a hero who brings luck to others."
"Mm... maybe."
Konata gave a noncommittal nod, then stepped down with her notepad.
Lucky Star. Just think of it as a small tribute to the past. Kagami, Tsukasa, Miyuki… and Konata. Lucky☆Star forever. And Konata Izumi is my waifu—no one can take her from me.
One by one, the others came forward to reveal their own names. There were the usual little surprises: for example, Uraraka Ochako didn't go with the "Newton's Tear" Konata had expected, but instead chose the graceful Uravity. Bakugo Katsuki, meanwhile, proudly declared "King Explosion Murder"—which was, of course, shot down to the delight of the entire class.
"Alright. Now that everyone has decided on their hero names, let's move on to the topic of workplace training."
Once the naming session wrapped up, Shota Aizawa wriggled out of his caterpillar-like sleeping bag, looking as groggy as ever.
"It'll last one week. As for locations: those of you who received offers will be given a list and may choose from among them. Those who didn't—don't worry. The school has already coordinated with forty hero agencies across the country. You'll be selecting from those."
He lifted a thick stack of papers onto the podium.
"Keep in mind: different pro heroes have different specialties and regions. Choose wisely, based on your Quirk, your strengths, and the direction you want to grow."
"Yes, sir!" —by the fired-up students.
"Mm, sure." —by the half-distracted Konata.
"Konata, where are you planning to do your internship?"
The moment class ended, a few classmates crowded around her.
"I've already decided! I'm going to Gunhead's hero agency!" Uraraka declared, visibly excited.
"Gunhead..."
Konata immediately pictured a wild west cowboy gunslinger in her mind. Honestly, if Ochako went there and trained her Zero Gravity alongside him, she might end up mastering something like Gun Kata.
As she mused, Midoriya piped up in shock:
"Wait, Gunhead's not a gunslinger at all—he's a martial arts hero, all about hand-to-hand combat! Uraraka, you're really going there?"
Hand-to-hand... a melee-style gunslinger... So wait, does this world have Gunners and Artillery Masters too? ...Not impossible, actually.
Completely unaware of the bizarre mental image Konata was spinning, the others continued the conversation.
"Yup!" Uraraka nodded enthusiastically. "Since he sent me an offer, it's a rare chance. Oh, speaking of which..."
She turned toward Konata, who'd been spacing out again.
"Konata, have you decided yet?"
"Hmm..."
Glancing down at the sheets of paper in front of her, Konata thought for a moment before asking seriously:
"More importantly... for this week-long internship, will the school be reimbursing travel and food expenses?"
Uraraka: "..."
Midoriya:
"..."
Everyone else: "..."
Of course this little gremlin would ask about money. Why did I not see that coming?
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Because of her outstanding performance at the Sports Festival, Konata Izumi received the highest number of internship offers—more than five thousand in total. Even just glancing through them one by one would take quite a while.
And perhaps it was coincidence, but the very first name her eyes caught in that sea of densely written words was Endeavor's Hero Agency.
Even though she had already spoken with him on the phone, bluntly declaring that she would never get involved in anything like a "quirk marriage," Endeavor's attitude had been surprisingly easygoing. No denial, no affirmation—just a short "Oh, I see. Okay then, I'll hang up. We'll talk some other time."
With that vague first impression, Konata couldn't shake the feeling that Endeavor was the kind of man who smiled with a knife behind his back. Especially when he emphasized that all his previous promises still stood.
If you ignored the personal baggage, though, Endeavor's agency was still an excellent choice. After all, regardless of his flaws as a husband or father, he was still the No. 2 Pro Hero. At the very least, he had to be a competent hero.
What surprised her most was that Endeavor had only sent out two offers in total—one to his son, Todoroki Shoto, and the other to her—along with a special message:
"All expenses paid. Lodging included."
That was all it took for Konata's wavering heart to settle.
Days flew by.
"Well then, see you in a week."
With her suitcase containing her hero costume in hand, she waved goodbye to the others and walked off.
"One week later huh."
Midoriya waved back, inhaling deeply before turning away. The more he chased after her back, the more he realized how strong she really was. Some faint instinct gnawed at him—a premonition that if he didn't become stronger, stronger than anyone else, she would one day vanish from his life without leaving a trace.
He'd already dreamed that nightmare once.
This time, for his own internship, he took All Might's advice. Instead of choosing from the thousands of flashy offers, he accepted one that was tucked away in a corner—an offer from Gran Torino, All Might's former mentor.
Since Endeavor's agency was located in another city, Konata had to endure several hours of train travel. By the time she finally arrived, she felt half-dead.
Oddly enough, Endeavor himself seemed fairly approachable. While he instructed others to prepare a room for her, he generously granted her half a day off.
Collapsing on the leather sofa, she stayed sprawled there for half an hour before Todoroki—who she thought would never agree to intern with his father—walked in from outside.
His eyes glanced over her once, then dismissed her entirely as he walked straight to Endeavor.
"Affinity score thirty. Nope, too high. This area's still too dangerous—better bring it down below ten. I swear I've been doing my best to tank it, yet it's still this high?"
Konata muttered, rubbing her forehead as she sat up. Watching the father and son begin their stiff exchange, she slipped out of the room. Half a day off was precious—shame to waste it on a sofa, no matter how comfy.
Back in her room, the first thing she did was open her system interface to check her Miku transformation progress.
"Looks like after this internship, Hatsune Miku will finally unlock."
Her eyes lit up. Miku's passive, Songstress's Heart, granted immunity to all negative status effects. Once unlocked, the passive would be permanently bound to her—meaning she'd never get motion sickness again.
"One week… wonder what'll happen during that time. Hopefully no big events, like… say, a certain Hero Killer showing up."
Yawning, she pulled a blanket over herself and drifted off, exhaustion from the train ride dragging her into sleep.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, two currents of malice began to converge.
Without Konata realizing it, a massive web had been laid just for her, unseen and silent. Oftentimes, what you thought was "the truth" was only the tip of the iceberg—one percent of the whole. Beneath pure malice, everything else seemed trivial.
"Combat training."
The next morning, still half-asleep and yawning, Konata arrived at the agency only to be greeted by unexpected news.
"That's right. The two of you are already stronger than most active heroes. Normal internship routines would be pointless. Besides, this is my agency—I'll arrange things however I see fit."
Endeavor's cold voice left no room for argument.
His relationship with Shoto had only just begun to show cracks of progress—still far from his expectations—but he wasn't in a hurry. He had time.
"Uh…"
Turning to glance at Todoroki beside her, Konata saw him completely unfazed, eyes forward as if already accustomed to this treatment.
Since she had chosen this herself, there was nothing to complain about. With a grimace, she nodded.
And instantly regretted it.
Ten-kilometer nonstop run—that was just the warm-up. The rest was a hellish routine of strength, endurance, and finally combat drills. Aside from mealtimes, she had no breaks at all.
She considered protesting, but after watching Todoroki finish everything in silence without breaking a sweat, she swallowed her words. After all, this training was good for her too… probably.
By the end of the day, she was practically dragging herself along the walls back to her room.
Collapsing onto the bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling. For the first time in a while, she really wanted to go home.
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She had thought choosing Endeavor's hero agency would be the smarter option.
But now, Konata Izumi knew she was wrong.
Utterly, painfully wrong.
Well, it was Endeavor—number two hero for a reason.
His daily routine was harsh to the point of insanity. On her second day, Konata was only a few minutes late, and her training load was instantly doubled.
If Endeavor had just stood by, barking orders while watching her and Todoroki sweat it out, maybe she would've grumbled under her breath.
But no. Every single time, he was right there training alongside them—at triple the intensity. What was she even supposed to say to that?
Todoroki had grown up under this insane pressure, so of course he could handle it. Konata, on the other hand... not so much.
After barely one day of training, she felt like her body was already falling apart. The next morning, just putting her feet on the ground felt like walking on cotton. Her legs had no strength left at all.
And yet—she still had to do the morning five-kilometer run.
By the time she stumbled across the finish line, throat burning, lungs begging for mercy, the next round of training had already started. Endeavor and Todoroki were going at it as if five kilometers were just a casual stroll.
Mentally, Konata knew she could endure. But physically? There was no cheat code here. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation weren't "abnormal status conditions" she could cure with a quick inventory item.
After collapsing for the third time in one day, Endeavor finally showed a hint of mercy. He frowned, waved her off, and told her to rest.
She was just about to thank him when—surprise! Both lunch and dinner were swapped out for bowls of disgusting herbal slop.
Konata stared down at the green mush in her bowl, then glanced over at Todoroki's perfectly normal, delicious-looking food. For the first time, she really, really wanted to swear out loud.
"Your physical condition is far too poor," Endeavor explained blandly, chewing his own meal. "This herbal medicine used to be for Shoto. But it no longer affects him. For someone as weak as you, however, it should still be effective."
"Uh... can I not eat this?" Konata asked weakly, spoon hovering like she was about to poke a slime monster.
Endeavor didn't even look at her.
"From now on, I'll reduce your training load to one-third. If you can't even handle this, you should abandon the idea of becoming a hero altogether."
Konata: "..."
And so, time crawled on. In just three days—three out of the seven scheduled—Konata had basically lived in hell. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep properly, and every inch of her body ached.
But her stamina did improve. Noticeably.
Most obvious proof: her transformation time had increased from barely five minutes to a full seven. That was a huge leap forward.
Sometimes there were breaks. If Endeavor got a mission, he'd either drag them along to "see the real world" or leave them behind if things were too urgent. On those rare occasions, Konata caught a glimpse of how Todoroki and his father interacted.
In a single day, the two of them exchanged—what? Ten words at most? If you didn't know better, you'd never believe they were father and son.
Endeavor was undeniably a great hero. But a good father or husband? Not even close.
That was Konata's most honest conclusion.
She figured the internship would pass just like that: painfully, but uneventfully.
She was wrong again.
Darkness had already bared its fangs.
"It's this late and we're heading out? It's basically night already," Konata muttered, blinking at the evening sky.
"You can choose not to come," Endeavor said flatly, glancing at her before turning to Todoroki.
"Put on your costume. You're coming with me."
Konata: "..."
So I'm just the extra here, huh? Figures.
Still, she tagged along. Endeavor mentioned they'd be passing through Hosu City.
And if Konata remembered correctly, that's where Iida's chosen hero agency was located. Hosu City was also where the Hero Killer Stain had been sighted.
With Iida's current state of mind, if he ran into Stain, disaster was almost guaranteed.
And from Stain's reputation... he wasn't the type to "go easy on kids."
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As dusk fell, elsewhere...
On a ship, Tsuyu Asui was chasing smugglers under the captain's command.
Bakugo Katsuki was undergoing "reformation" under the No. 4 Hero, Best Jeanist.
Midoriya Izuku was on a bullet train with Gran Torino, heading toward Shibuya for practical training.
Everyone had their own story.
Konata and Todoroki were no different.
The world never revolved around a single "special" person.
But tonight, Konata Izumi's own story was about to begin.
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Hosu City.
On top of a tall building, a black mist swirled. From it stepped two figures.
"Hosu, huh. Surprisingly lively," said a pale young man with messy white hair and a severed hand covering his face. He scratched at his neck, eyes shifting to the armored man crouched at the edge of the roof.
"What are you planning to do here?"
"Correct this city," answered the Hero Killer, Stain, his masked face turned downward at the bustling streets.
"Only those who achieve true greatness deserve the title of hero. But in today's society, it's filled with money-grubbing frauds who tarnish the name."
His hand gripped the hilt of his blade. Slowly, he rose to his feet.
"The title of hero is sacred. It's not for pretenders to sully. I will not stop—
Not until I achieve my goal."
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Uwaa… do you know how hard it is to update lately?! The Webnovel app writing button is completely bugged! It won't even let me in properly! So now I have to drag myself onto Webnovel Inkstone through Chrome just to update. Can you imagine?! Me, forced to work like a serious author instead of lazing around like the pitiful NEET I am… life is truly suffering… TvT. And to make things worse—we've fallen through the ranks!! I need more powerstones, please feed meee xD. As for the bonus chapter? NEXT TIME I SWEAR!
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