Arthur POV
"Sorry, but could you guys please move forward a bit? You're blocking the door," I said towards the people who were standing right in front of the door. The moment the words left my mouth, I felt it, everyone's gazes on me, like spotlights suddenly focusing on a single point.
I looked around the classroom, mentally counting. Nineteen other students, all staring at me some much more excited than others, there were even some who couldn't hear. Still I could hear all of their conversational mutterings.
It was a bit awkward.
I looked back at the people standing by the door, the green-haired kid I recognized from the sludge villain incident, a girl with short brown hair who I recognized as the one who had caught him in the U.A. practice exam, and a tall boy with glasses who I didn't recognize from anywhere.
"Please could you move," I reiterated, trying to keep my voice gentle. I didn't want to come across as demanding or rude on my first day.
"O-oh, yeah sorry," both the green-haired kid and the girl stammered, practically jumping out of the way.
Why were they stammering? Did I say something wrong? Did I make a scary first impression somehow? The last thing I wanted was for my classmates to be afraid of me. I'd spent years trying to be approachable as Arthur the vigilante, always making sure people felt safe around me.
Maybe it was just the shock of meeting someone they'd seen on the news? I tried to give them a reassuring smile, but before I could say anything else to put them at ease, I heard a loud yell from across the classroom.
"You!"
I turned to see the blonde-haired kid from the sludge incident, the one I'd saved along with the green-haired boy. He was practically jumping from his chair, his movements aggressive as he stalked towards me. His red eyes were intense, almost feral.
Wait red feral eyes? Wasn't that just like... Mirko? Could they be related?
"Hey, I remember you," I said, trying to defuse whatever tension was building. "Nice to meet you properly. The name's Arthur." I stretched out my hand in what I hoped was a friendly gesture. "You?"
The boy looked down at my outstretched hand, and I watched as an equally feral grin spread across his face.
My hypothesis about him actually being related to Mirko only grew in my mind.
However I stopped thinking about that as, he clasped his hand in mine, and that's when I felt it, a sharp crackling sensation against my palm.
I tilted my head to the side, genuinely puzzled.
It was... ticklish?
His quirk seemed to be some kind of explosion-based ability, but the sensation wasn't painful at all. Maybe this was some sort of greeting he enjoyed doing?
"I'm Katsuki Bakugo," he said, his grin widening as the crackling intensified. "Nice to meet you, Arthur."
Now it was very ticklish. I had to resist the urge to laugh. Instead, I maintained my friendly smile and gave his hand a firm shake, noting how his eyes widened slightly for some absurd reason.
Around us, I could sense the other students watching this interaction with a mixture of fascination and concern. The green-haired boy in particular was staring at us with intense focus, his hand moving slightly as if he was writing something down in his head.
I was about to say something else to Bakugo, maybe ask about his quirk or try to establish some common ground, when we heard a voice from outside the classroom.
"If you're gonna be hunting for buddies, do it somewhere else."
We all turned toward the door, where we could see through the opening a yellow sleeping bag containing what appeared to be a man. He looked really familiar, though I couldn't exactly place him from this angle. His voice was tired, almost monotone, and as someone who had slept twice in seven years, I could say that sleep was one of life's true delights.
"This is the department of heroics!" he said as his hands emerged from the sleeping bag, along with what looked like a juice box, which he immediately began drinking from.
The effect on the classroom was immediate. Every student began moving toward their seats, the casual chatter and introductions cutting off as if someone had flipped a switch. I glanced around, realizing I needed to find my assigned seat. If I remembered correctly from the brief orientation materials Nezu had given me, I should be in seat number three.
I made my way over, settling into the chair and taking a moment to observe my immediate neighbors. To my left sat a girl with pink skin and small horns protruding from her forehead, I remembered her from the practical exam.
To my right was a girl with large, dark eyes and dark green hair that looked kind of… froggish. Behind me sat a boy with short blonde hair parted to the right, distinguished by a distinctive black lightning-shaped streak on the left side.
Once we were all seated, I got my first clear look at our homeroom teacher as he emerged fully from his sleeping bag. He was a tall, lean man with long black hair and what appeared to be a gray scarf wrapped around his neck. The moment I saw him properly, recognition hit me.
He was one of the heroes who had been down below when I talked Miss Takamura down from the building rooftop. I remembered his distinctive appearance, the tired eyes, the scarf, the weird gaze I felt from last time wasn't there weirdly enough, it just felt like a normal, if anything tired look.
Still, this guy was going to be our homeroom teacher?
"Hmm, it took you lot ten seconds to quiet down. Life is short, kids. You're all lacking in common sense," he said, his tired voice carrying clearly across the room. I definitely felt his eyes focus on me during the last part of that statement. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleasure meeting you."
Aizawa. The name didn't immediately ring any bells, but then again, I'd never been particularly good at keeping track of hero names and real names, I was much better with faces.
His hand disappeared back into the sleeping bag and emerged with what I recognized as U.A.'s physical education uniform, the blue and white tracksuit that I'd seen in the school materials.
"Wear this immediately and then shove off to the P.E. grounds," he instructed, his tone brooking no argument.
The classroom immediately erupted into motion as students began gathering their things and heading toward what I assumed were the locker rooms. I followed the flow of male students, still processing the fact that my first day at U.A. was starting with some kind of physical activity. It made sense, I supposed, hero work was inherently physical, and they'd want to assess our capabilities right away.
The boys' locker room was a spacious facility with rows of lockers and benches, clearly designed to accommodate students with a wide variety of quirks and physical needs. I found an empty locker and began changing into the provided uniform, trying to blend in with the casual conversation happening around me.
That plan lasted about three seconds.
"So you were a vigilante, huh?"
I looked to my left to see the blonde boy with the lightning streak, the one who'd been sitting behind me in class. His tone was curious and rather social, which was a relief. I'd been bracing myself for more confrontational reactions.
"Yeah," I replied simply, pulling the U.A. tracksuit top over my head.
"Yeah, I saw a video of you beating a guy with an ice quirk," chimed in another voice. This one belonged to a boy with spiky red hair and what looked like unusually sharp teeth.
"So vigilante," the lightning-haired boy continued, "how did it feel to go around using your quirk? I'm sure it was liberating."
I paused in adjusting my uniform, considering how to answer that. The truth was complicated, it had been many things.
Exhausting, fulfilling, terrifying, necessary.
But liberating wasn't really the word I'd use.
"It was... rewarding," I said finally, settling on something that felt honest without being too revealing.
"I'm sure you met a lot of ladies while being a vigilante, huh," the blonde boy said with a grin, his elbow nudging my side in what I assumed was meant to be a conspiratorial gesture.
I cocked my head to the side, genuinely confused. "Yeah, I met a lot of ladies, and men and children and elderly people," I replied. "What's your question exactly?"
The boy's grin widened, and he gave me what looked like a knowing look. "Oh, you're one of those ones. Don't worry, I catch your drift," he said with a wink, leaving me even more baffled than before. "Name's Kaminari, by the way."
"Arthur," I said, stretching out my hand for what felt like the dozenth time today.
"I know," Kaminari laughed. "I think we all know your vigilante name. What's your real name?"
The question hit me like a cold splash of water. This was exactly what Nezu had warned me about, the inevitable curiosity about my past, my real identity. He'd stressed the importance of keeping that information private.
I remembered his words clearly.
"If you want your past to remain in the past, you cannot reveal your name. In fact, you shouldn't have told me your actual name in our first meeting."
He'd reiterated it to me a hundred times during our preparation sessions. He had also said I'd have to get an actual surname, I couldn't just keep going by Arthur, so we took it straight from the source.
At least this lesson was easy to learn, even if it felt strange to lie to someone who seemed genuinely friendly.
"No, my name is actually Arthur, Arthur Pendragon," I said, stretching my hand out even more insistently.
Kaminari looked surprised for a moment, then shrugged and clasped his hand in mine. "Well then, it's nice to meet you, Arthur Pendragon."
A/N: The normal chapter for today and yes I know, it's been five hours but I did say not to quote me on that three to four hour benchmark. Also I've seen it, you blew past top 15, which I thank you all for the support, but also fuck me since I have to write another bonus chapter.
As I usually do, I've decided to up the ante to something a reader said... top 3. Ha, let's see you do that! You supportive readers! Also as you can see from the groundwork Kaminari is going to be one of the characters I focus on. You may be wondering what I mean by focus on. Simple.
MHA suffers from something I like to call underdeveloped characters, something pretty common in manga actually and also something I don't blame Horikoshi for since developing at least 20 characters (number of people in class 1a) is a tall order very few people can pull off, well.
So I will be focusing on around five to six who hang around Arthur, and no, none of the original trio (Iida, Midoriya, Ochaco), will be part of that focus, since they are so much more developed in the original manga they will have a part to play, but don't expect chapters focusing on them.
i've also come to a decision on the hero name thing, which I think you can guess from this chapter, it's gonna be a mixture of all three, you'll see. If I cook correctly it's gonna end up being awesome
This is all for now. I'll get to writing the bonus chapter as soon as possible. Thx for reading. Author out.