The Color-Coded Heart

The Everyday Hero Initiative

Tenya Iida is a lot of things. A leader. A rule-follower. Class 3A's representative. He is in his final year at UA High School–a semester from graduation and currently sitting across from Principal Nezu, who has a deceptively calm smile on his face for the information he just shared.

Tenya Iida is not good at managing his volume.

"SIR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT...I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE UNWISE TO ADJUST THE FINAL TERM SCHEDULE FOR HERO COURSE STUDENTS–" His arm is chopping emphatically. One of his many little habits that his friends have teased him about over the years. "–WE ARE MEANT TO BEGIN OUR FINAL INTERNSHIPS..."

Principal Nezu chuckles and holds up a paw. "Now, now. There's no need to worry, young Iida. You and your classmates will still have your respective hero internships this term. Those will take place in the afternoon segment; we are simply modifying the morning block for this opportunity to give back to the community. Surely you understand that service is a large part of being a hero?"

Iida couldn't argue with the man. Their job was service–through and through. Still, introducing a new element in their final year felt unfair to all of the work put in by him and his fellow classmates. They should be focusing on bettering themselves as heroes in preparation of graduation—for joining the real world in the very near future as licensed professionals to help those in need. Community service is a cornerstone of heroism...but the schedule. Tenya Iida always had a schedule. A color-coded, month-by-month schedule that accounted for every variable so that he could be prepared. His duty as Class Representative depended on his ability to carve out the clock, down to the minute.

"BUT SIR, WHAT ABOUT OUR ESSENTIAL COURSES?" Navy eyes catch the tilt of the sun's reflection as he touches the edge of his glasses. Another one of his little habits he hadn't broken over the years. Anxiety riddled the young man. What if this supplemental training came at the cost of their other coursework? What if his peers fell behind? What if this initiative proved to be a false start?

"Your coursework will be fulfilled through your respective assignments. Young Iida, yours is..." Nezu pauses, flipping through a dossier of files on his desk. "Ah yes, you will be spending your mornings at the public school tutoring a rather...uncooperative student. They have been struggling with their academics for quite some time and appear to have a spotty attendance record at best. Your academic coursework requirement will be fulfilled through this tutorship opportunity, provided you are able to help them improve."

A delinquent. The fate of his final year rested in the hands of how well he could assist a student he had never met before, and without any idea of how to convince them to be open to receiving help. Iida did not appreciate how unfavorable a position this put him in. It wasn't that he was unreceptive to the proposition of tutoring someone else for credit—providing they were willing. Providing they were willing to stick to a schedule. His schedule.

"My grade—khmm. Excuse me Principal Nezu, but is it not...perhaps illogical to base our performance off the willingness and scores of another student? I believe the Everyday Hero Initiative could be extremely valuable, but this seems—"

"Unfair?" Nezu supplies the ending with a small smile, and Iida nods. "Let's not worry about the precise manner in which you and your classmates will be scored."

No. This is not fine. This is not fine at all. What are the rules? The guidelines? The SCORING RUBRIC—

"Ease yourself, Iida. Everything will work out as it is meant to. Here is your dossier." He extends the file he had been flipping through earlier with his right paw, waiting for Tenya to accept it. "Please take care to explain the situation to your classmates during tomorrow morning's briefing. Aizawa will be given the other's files then prior to official start time. The UA charter buses will be awaiting you and the other students who have been given assignments off our campus," The principal hops out of his chair and moves toward his kettle to prepare himself a cup of tea. "Good day to you, Class Representative." The tone is polite, but Tenya can read it for what it is. A dismissal. Case closed. Whatever was in the file in his hand would be his fate for the next few months.

He steps out into the hallway, his strides lengthening as he heads toward the 3A dormitories. Once he reaches his floor, he is not shocked to find his classmates relaxing in the common area. Eijiro Kirishima is the first to flash the rep with a shark-tooth grin, video-game controller in hand. "Hey man, you up for a game with the rest of us?" Kirishima asks, gesturing to the small gathering of 3A students in the living room space. Tenya Iida raises his file in a chopping motion with his arm, still moving toward his bedroom at the end of the hall.

"Video games are inconsequential to the process of becoming a hero. I have work to do, as all of you do! I seem to remember Sensei Aizawa mentioning a quiz on Quirk Ethics tomorrow..."

Several mumbles and groans work their way around the living room space. Kirishima laughs it off, "We know man, don't worry about us. We're gonna crush a study sesh. Right guys?! Just after we finish this match."

Tenya finally reaches his bedroom door. He opens it to find the same crisp blue sheets folded into straight-edge perfection across his bed. His books are all perfectly alphabetized, and his desk even shows his pens in order of color designation within a small blue mug his mother had gotten him several holidays ago when he was a child. It was a near identical match to the one his older brother had, with a little car in the center. Everything in Tenya's room had its place. After all, a messy bedroom means a messy life. And a messy life means trouble. There was no time for trouble. Not if Tenya wanted to become a hero capable of saving everyone.

He sits at his desk and lowers the dossier. The smooth, dark wood underneath his fingers was cool to the touch. He skims the outside writing of the folder tracing over it with his hand.

EVERYDAY HERO INITIATIVE

TENYA IIDA

With a deep sigh, he opens it.