After partying for a solid two days, Asakusa finally regained a shred of normalcy. I'm tell you they just use anything as an excuse to party hard.
The trip to school was a pain in the ass, I ended up getting swarmed by people. Seriously, I couldn't even ride the train in peace without everyone in the carriage surrounding me, worst thing was that it was rainy so even more people than usual were taking public transport. After a bit of 'light' persuasion I managed to get them off my case for the rest of the journey.
At least the closer I got to UA the less people there was, the public's been warned about treading on UA grounds ever since the villain attack so there's hardly been anyone not related to the school near it.
Upon entering the gates, I seen Kirishima and Ashido with their umbrella's walking up the hill, it wasn't long before they noticed me and waited for me to catch up.
"Hey Shinmon, how was your break?" He asked.
"Wild" I replied, I had to be carried into the house more the once over the break. The party was that big any non-local probably thought there was a festival going on.
"I bet it was, that was some crowd waiting for you. Seems like your more popular than you let on" he said
"Talking about popularity. Did you guys get swarmed by everyone on the way here?" Ashido piped in.
I nodded, where as Kirishima stated "Yea it was crazy, feels weird having all these people wanting to speak to you"
The two of them talked about their experience over the break before unlike her normal personality, Ashido said in a sombre tone, "Did you hear about what happened to Ida's brother"
Kirishima quickly became quieter as he replied "I seen it on the news, Hero Killer Stain got him good. No one's sure if Ingenium will make a full recovery. I hope Ida's holding up alright"
That happened as well, one of the only times I watched TV over the break and I caught the news headlines. Ida's brother Ingenium was critically injured fighting a Villain and no one knows if he'll make a full recovery.
Apparently he's been stabilised though, so he'll pull through at least. I wonder if Ida will be in today, I'd be surprised if he was.
When we arrived at the class everyone was chatting about their trips to school. Everyone, even the students that never made the finals were being noticed on the streets. That just goes to show how many people pay attention to the games.
The period be goes off and everyone takes their seats, Ida made it in just before class started which was unlike him.
Aizawa walks in bang on time as usual and begins to speak to the class.
"Alright everyone, we've got a big last today on hero informatics" he informed.
The class stiffened up at the teachers words, especially those on the lower end of the IQ scale. Great what an exciting way to star the day off, I just hope it's not a test.
"You need codenames... it's time to pick your hero identities" he said which made the class jump in joy before everyone was shut up by a terrifying quirk enhanced stare from Aizawa.
With the students attention back on him he continued "This is related to the Pro hero draft picks I mentioned last time we were in class together. Usually students don't have to worry about the draft yet, not until their second or third year actually, but your class if different. In fact by extending offers to first years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in your dies down before graduation"
So basically the internships are just a way for the hero agencies to test out some of the upcoming talent. They can even try and rope the students in with offers for when they graduate, or they could do the opposite and tell the interns that they're just not cut for the job.
"Anyway here's the total for those of you who got offers"
On the holographic screen that appeared at the front of the class, was list of student names next to a number which showed the amount of internship offers they got. The top three were the same as the sports festival, Me, Bakugo and Todoroki, but not in that order. I was still the one with the most offers but Todoroki came in at second with a total close to mine. Bakugo's was a decent bit lower but still miles ahead the rest of the class.
The results became a talking point for the class, many students brooding over how the never got any offers, while others were happy with what they got.
One of those students was Midoriya who was sat just in front of me, even though he made it to the finals and even passed the first round he still ended up with zero offers. Although you can't really blame agencies for not wanting someone with such an uncontrolled destructive quirk in their ranks. In their eyes it'd probably cause more harm than good.
The boy in question practically withering away in his seat at the news but the teachers next words brought him back from the brink.
"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with Pros. Even those of you who didn't get any offers. These internships are the reason you'll be needing hero names, these names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-" Aizawa was interrupted by the classroom door sliding open.
"You'll have hell to pay later. What you pick today could be your name for life, you better be careful or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent" added Midnight in her usual coquettish voice.
While the boys of the class took in the view, Aizawa said "She's got a point, anyway Midnight's going to have final approval of your names"
With that the brainstorming begun, whiteboards were passed around the class as the aspiring young heroes struggled to come up with names. I thought back to the name unanimously decided by the people of Asakusa to be my hero name. All this was done while I was... recovering from the excess amounts of fluids I drank during festivities, and as per usual it was all arranged by Konro, which wasn't that hard to figure out. After setting feisty the twins on Konro, I got to hear the name they came up with.
To be honest it was actually alright, and considering there was no way in hell I'd be able to come up with something better I just rolled with it.
After penning my name down, I was left waiting until Midnight began speaking to the class once more.
"Now students, who among you is ready to share?" making most of the pupils freeze up at the thought of vocalising their names.
Before anyone had the time speak, Aoyama was already in front of the class holding showing of his name.
His name was so horribly back, I think my ears have been permanently scarred from hearing it. Even after Midnight's modifications, it was still bad, even if 'Can't Stop Twinkling' summarises the boy, its still sounds crap.
Ashido name 'Alien Queen' sounded fine to me but Midnight never shared that sentiment, turning slightly pale and mentioning some monster from a popular movie.
No one else was standing up after the first two, so i decided to get the ball rolling again and tell them mine.
Standing in front of everyone I turned my whiteboard around showing my name to the class.
"My names Kagutsuchi" I dully utter, stubbornly holding back the blush that threatened to come out when I said the name aloud. Wanting to get this over with as fast as possible I looked at Midnight for approval.
"Great name, it really encapsulates the essence of your quirk. How'd you manage to come up with something so riveting" She asked while everyone else listened in.
"My neighbours came up with it" my response made Midnight and my classmates facepalm.
Midnight muttered "I should've known you couldn't come up with this yourself, not after the pledge at the sports festival"
Ignoring Midnights annoyed mumbles I sat back down in my seat and waited for everyone else to finish coming up with names.
After Bakugo's two failed attempts at coming up with names and Deku choosing Deku, Mr Aizawa woke up to give us sheets with all the offers we got. Unlike the rest of the class, me, Todoroki and Bakugo ended up with massive stacks that would take ages to go through, so after skimming through a few pages I stuck the paper in my back to ready later.
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Once the lunch bell rang, there was the usual scramble for the cafeteria. Sadly I never made it there in time to skip the que so I was stuck waiting with Todoroki.
Surprisingly he tried to start a conversation "So... do you like the cafeteria food?"
Even though it felt strange to see him force a conversation that he was clearly not comfortable having, I replied "It's great, but what's up with you. You've never been the type for small talk like this"
"Your right" the hetero-chromatic boy said as the conversation abruptly ended.
Well it's not like I'm the most chatty either but Todoroki definitely needs to work on holding a conversation, especially if he started it in the first place.
After a good few second of awkward standing around, Todoroki said "The problem I've had with using my left half, I'm finally starting fix it"
"Oh, so going to start practicing with your fire now then" I asked
"Yes, I'm going to strive to use my quirk to it's full potential from now on. So I hope I can have a rematch with you once I've improved." he pledged with a neutral face.
"Knock yourself out, might want to hold that fire of yours back in where the time comes though" I replied making him think back to how he lost during the sports festival.
After getting our food, Todoroki followed me to a mixed table filled with pupils from class 1-A and B. Taking my usual seat next to Yui, the folk from the other class ended up congratulating both me and Todoroki for our places in the festival.
"You guy's really don't hold back any punches do you. I thought I was going to get hit with some of those attacks, and I was in the stands!" Kendo said enthusiastically.
"I'll admit class 1-A has us beat this time, but don't get too comfortable we'll all be training to catch up" Kirishima's long lost brother Tetsutetsu proclaimed while bashing his now metal knuckles together. Man even their body language is the same.
"Has anyone already decided on a agency to internship with" asked Sen Kaibara, he's a black haired boy with a quirk that allows him to rotate any part of his body at high speeds. I never got to see much of in during the sports festival but his classmates say it makes him a tough opponent in hand to hand combat.
While everyone began discussing their options, Yui tugged on me sleeve and said "Congratulations on winning first place"
"You never done so bad yourself, so get any offers or is the school setting you up with one?"
"I got a few" Yui uttered as she pulled her phone out to show me which one's she has narrowed it down to. Most of her offers were from hero agencies that specialised in rescue but she was leaning towards interning with Mt Lady to get some combat experience.
There's still another two days till we have to submit the forms, so there's no need to rush into a decision.
Before lunch ended Yui looked at me with her big wide eyes and asked softly "Can I have your number?" while holding her phone out.
"Alright" I replies while borrowing her phone to key my number in. As this was happening Yui's classmates looked at her with wide eyes, seemingly astonished at what they were witnessing. In their eyes Yui was extremely reserved, yet here she was initiating a conversation and even asking for a boys number, some of them even had to do a double take to make sure they weren't seeing things.
Like that lunch finished and we all made our ways back to class, ready to tackle the afternoon.
{A few days later}
Standing outside of the station nearest UA, everyone in class were getting a final lecture from Aizawa on how to behave during the Internships.
"Make sure you mind your manners with the other heroes during your internship. Now get to it" He said shooing us away.
"Yes sir!" the class replied.
Everyone split up and went their separate ways to find their respective agencies. We had to make our own way there, but UA covered the cost for the transport fees so it wasn't that bad. They also gave us our hero costumes to wear if the agency allows us to use them.
Leaving the main group I followed the signs that led me to the train I needed to take. Getting on I proceeded to make myself comfortable for the hour long ride
--------------------
Walking through Yokohama near the Chinatown area, I stopped in front of a large office building with a brown facade and dark glass windows. What stood out the most was the massive billboard advertising the Dragnoir brand.
After double checking to make sure this was the right place I entered the agency. The inside had a red dominant colour scheme that worked well with the overall Chinese style architecture, there was two golden coiling dragon statues on each side of the receptionist desk which really made it stand out to people who came in.
Standing at the desk I said to the lady "I'm here for my internship".
"Oh, your the first year from UA. Please take a seat in the waiting area, I'll notify the boss of your arrival" She said with a smile.
Sitting down in a peaceful looking room that had a medium sized Chinese coffee table. On the table was all the stuff needed to make yourself a refreshment, so putting my costume briefcase to the side I started to make myself a coffee.
A few minutes later, while I was sipping my refreshment a voice called out to me, "Is the coffee to your liking?"
Finishing my drink I turn to see the Dragon Hero Ryukyu watching over me. She was wearing her usual hero outfit consisting of a traditional dark red qipao with slits down both sides that reached up to the top of her milky white thighs and decorated with yellow claw mark on both the front and neck area.
Her qipao was worn with knee high black boots and a strap that was tied around her exposed thigh, as well as sleeve-like white gloves that nearly went up to her shoulders. A green scaled headband was connected to a set of miniature black dragon wings that contrasted with her short blonde hair, as well as the metallic claws that covered the right side of her face.
"It's good stuff" I tell her while picking up my brief case.
"I see you've got good taste." Her pleasant voice replied, "Why don't you come with me and I'll give you a tour of my agency?" Ryukyu said.
Following behind her we left the reception area, going past several doors we ended up in a room filled with computers, phones and people. Compared to the quiet reception this room was filled with noise, people we rushing around trying to do their jobs but every time they saw Ryukyu they made sure to give her a respectful bow.
Turning to me she says "This is the main office space, everyone here takes calls and reports on any Villainous activity in the area and sorts them into sub groups. Then that information gets relayed to my side kicks, which ever one's are the most suited to the mission get to go."
"Let go check on them just now" she said as we moved to another room nearby
The large doors gave way to a wide, open space with training equipment and sparring areas. The ceiling was abnormally high but overall it just looked like a high quality training room.
A bunch of heroes with their costumes on were using the rooms equipment, while others sat around the tables in the lounge. There was vending machines that dispensed all types of food and drink, so there was a group of heroes idling away while munching on some snacks.
Another think I noticed was that their was hardly any males around. Not that there wasn't any at all but it was around a 7:1 ratio of males to females.
"This is the training room, most of the time my sidekick wait in here for call outs or get training in once their shift is over. Either way this place is always lively, and you're bound to spend a lot of time here during the internship so trying getting along with everyone"
As Ryukyu was telling me about the training room, a girl with light blue hair done up in spiral fashion hovered over to us using what I'm guessing is her quirk.
"Aren't you the guy who won the first year sports festival? Are you interning here? Ryukyu how could you not tell me someone from UA was coming? How do your eyes work? Can you see properly out them?" The girl asked rapidly.
Saving me from the near endless flurry of of questions was Ryukyu, "Nejire calm down a bit will you. I never told you since I thought you liked surprises" she explained.
"Oh yea I do love surprises, thanks Ryukyu!" Nejire blinked before diving and wrapping her arms around her boss.
What a weird dynamic they've got going on here, if you seen them you'd think they're sisters not boss and employee.
Letting go of Ryukyu, Nejire began introducing me "Hi! I'm Nejire Hado. I'm interning here, same as you. Oh, and I'm in the 3rd year hero course at UA so that makes me your senior!" She greeted me in a bubbly fashion.
"Not to be rude, but I'm also curious about your eyes. Is your vision altered in any way because of them." Ryukyu questioned in a far more polite manner than Nejire.
"I had 20/20 vision last time I checked" I replied.
Placing her hand on her chin Ryukyu said "Interesting, they must work on completely different mechanisms to see compared to a normal set of eyes. As you can see I don't have a run of the mill pair either, they actually let me see in the cat similar to how a cat would" she explained.
There's something you don't see everyday, a person with a quirk that liberally allows them to transform into a dragon comparing themselves to a cat. I guess she didn't get any dragon-like personality traits, in all the stories Hibachi told me Dragons were already arrogant in one form or another. His stories were always terrible.
"What?! You never told me that" Nejire gasped as her eyes widened.
Lightly laughing Ryukyu replies "You never asked about them"
"But Shinmon never asked either" she moaned while pointing at me.
"Well were we already on the subject..." While the both went off on a tangent a hand clapped down on my shoulder.
"You'll get used to it, they two are always like this" a woman with a mask and light grey hair told me.
Hearing what her sidekick said, a light blush marred the dragon hero's cheeks. Coughing to end the conversation with Nejire she tells me "Why don't you go and get changed into your Costume, I can tell your not a fan of the UA uniform anyway"
She right about that, and the state my clothes are in just now makes the point clear, although the hour long train ride did make it look worse than usual.
After getting directions for the changing rooms, I went for a quick change of attire to start my term as an intern at Ryukyu's agency.
After getting changed into my hero costume and revelling in the comfort difference between it and the UA uniform I made my way back to the training room.
Waiting for me was a Ryukyu who was trying to get Nejire to understand the definition of personal space. With my new change of clothes, I got the attention of everyone in the room with Nejire saying "It really suits you, though I thought your costume would've been more flashy" while do circles around me.
"She's right you know, most heroes with fire type quirk tend to make their costumes stand out" Ryukyu pointed out while nodding her head at Nejire's opinion.
Thinking about the likes of endeavour, I could only agree with her. The man literally lights his costume on fire and walks around in it all day, even though his weakness is the risk of overheating. I'm sure such a small fire wouldn't make that big a difference, though would it not be better wearing a costume that cools you down?
"There's not much else for me to show you so we'll just be waiting around here for a call out. Anything you specific you want to ask me?"
"Not really"
I can get a god look at how an agency works over the week, so there's no need to ask about that. In fact there is something I need.
"Can I borrow something to fly on?" I asked
"Oh right, like you done during the obstacle course. Sure, you can take one of the spare barbells over there if you want, and maybe after work we can all go a fly together." Ryukyu offered while pointing at a corner filled with weight lifting equipment.
"Yea definitely, flying around the cities so much fun" Closing the distance once again Nejire continued "You once, Ryukyu even let me ride on her back once, it was so much fun".
Just before Ryukyu was about to say something, one of the office employees came running into the training room.
"There's been a robbery in the city! A group of 4 villains are currently making a get away" shouted the man.
"Looks like you'll be seeing us in action already Shinmon" Ryukyu informed me before turning to the others, "Nejire, Kūki your with me, we'll take this one. Shinmon keep up"
The four of us ran out the training door exit onto the side streets, once there was enough space Ryukyu used her quirk and transformed into a Dragon. As she took off Nejire and Kūki followed in her trail each using their quirks to fly though the air.
Nejire used some sort of spiralling yellow energy that came from her feet to propel herself up, while Kūki the masked sidekick jumped on what looked to be a solid piece of air. It would've been difficult to see if it weren't for a visible gusts of air that whisped their way around it, once on top Kūki used the platform to case after the two of them.
Now wanting to be left behind I turned the barbell I took before leaving and turned it into a flaming piece of transportation, quickly using a strong amount of thrust I caught up to them in no time as we flew across the city to catch the robbers.
After a brief period of flying we caught sight of our targets, they were in a grey jeep with a truck bed loaded with bags of cash. Three of then were in the back with money, each one using their quirks to try and get the police off their tails.
Ryukyu informed her team "That's them down there making their get away. I'll land in front of the jeep and block their escape, Nejire you hit them with your quirk, Kūki keep the police safe, make sure none of them get used as a hostage"
"Sure thing" Nejire chirped while Kūki just nodded.
"Shinmon, you're not supposed to get involved and use your quirk against the villains, but if you see someone about to get injured you're free to help them." She explained to me.
That's the only crap thing about these Internships, since none of us have a hero license we're technically not allowed to use our quirk against others. That's the reason vigilantes always end up neck deep in shit if they get caught. Some heroes don't mind vigilantes but the Hero Safety Commission definitely do, some nonsense about how it would be chaos if everyone started to use their quirks on others while being untrained. But these same people can't even give certain areas enough heroes to keep the inhabitants safe, and then expect them to roll over every time a villain attacks.
*sigh*
This means for the rest of the week I'll probably be reduced to nothing more than damage control, but I already knew what I was in for so these no point in complaining.
The team of three swooped down on top of the escaping robbers with well practised movements.
Ryukyu landed the grace in front of the escaping jeep, making sure not to destroy any of the surroundings with her massive body. The sight of the number 9 hero caused the driver to slam his foot on the breaks, nearly throwing his team off the back of the vehicle along with the money.
Just when he was about to turn and go a different direction Nejire hit them with one of her energy attacks. The spiralling wave of energy clashed against the car, flipping it and throwing the three in the back onto the road.
At this point the man in the truck was unconscious behind the jeeps wheel, the other three decided to ditch the money so they could escape quicker. Sprinting for a nearby alleyway another one of them were knocked out from Nejire's attack.
With the blue haired girl right behind them, the two robbers turned to attack. Using their quirks, the smaller off the two spat some kind of gunky ball from his mouth, the disgusting looking projectile headed straight for Nejire who adeptly avoided the shot.
The other well built man with a sharp, almost point like nose had a completely different quirk compared to his accomplice. As Nejire was occupied with avoiding goon 1's attack goon 2's nose started to rapidly extend from his skull, the mans sharp nose cut through the air and headed straight for the third years torso.
Sadly the two low level villains were no match for Nejire, as soon as the man nose-knife began to extend she lifted herself higher into the air, avoiding the gunk shots on her ascent. Once she was above the two villains she unleashed a named attack.
With both hands aimed at the villains Nejire shouted "Mini-Nejire Wave!" and blasted both of them with a high powered attack. The golden waves she produced slammed the robbers against the ground and cracking the road that surrounded them.
Nice take down, a bit on the heavy side though. The roads pretty roughed up, that means they'll have to call someone in to fix it, all though I doubt Ryukyu's agency will have to pay for the damages directly the money needs to come from somewhere. Although if it's coming from the Safety Commission's pocket it's all good.
With all the Villains neutralised, the police came in to tie up the robbers and after thanking the girls for their stuffed the villains in an armoured van before wheeling them away.
That just left us four to head back to the agency and wait for another call out. While we were walking Ryukyu ran through everything Nejire done right and wrong.
"Great work back their Nejire, me and Kūki never even had to help you. Even so you could've put less power into that last attack, those villains never had a physical augmenting quirk and would've went down with a lesser blast. Plus the road wouldn't have been destroyed"
Making a pouty face, Nejire replied "I know, I know it won't happen next time"
While the Ryukyu gave Nejire pointers, the masked lady known as Kūki asked "So how'd you like your first taste of seeing the pro's in action?"
Turning my eyes to her I say honestly "It was alright, but it was quite boring just watching"
Not taking any offence to my cursory answer she explained "Better get used to it, it's actually surprising that those villains even tried to fight back. Normally the ones we get around here give up as soon as they see Ryukyu"
"That's not really surprising, I doubt many people would want to try fighting her" I responded.
"Still even if you can't fight, it's good to watch a pro doing their job. Internships give you an idea of what it's really like being a hero and let's you decide if it's something you want to pursue as a career" She commented.
Not long after we arrived back at the agency where we proceeded to idle around while waiting for something to happen.
When we arrived back at the Agency, Ryukyu asked "I forgot to ask earlier but what's your hero alias?"
Nejire curious to what my name would be, appeared right next to me and repeatedly asked "Tell us! Tell us!" while hopping up and down.
"It's Kagutsuchi" I told them which got an excited shriek from Nejire and approving nods from the other two.
"A fitting name if I've ever heard one" Ryukyu said while also wondering "With that name and your costume I can't help but ask, are you a believer of the Shinto Gods?"
Sighing at the question that seems to follow me everywhere I reply with "No, I don't believe in them. I just live in an area where lots of people do"
Nodding her head at my answer. Nejire then questions "Woah that's so cool, where do you live? is it nearby?"
How's this girl not got in trouble yet. I don't really mind but most people prefer a bit of privacy, especially with people they've just met.
Before I could speak Ryukyu bonked Nejire, making the girl cry out as she rubbed her head with pitiful look on her face.
"Nejire it's rude to ask such invasive questions to some you just met" she chastised.
"I don't really mind" I said making the curious girl brighten up while Ryukyu just shook her head at the girls antics.
"Come on then, tell me" Nejire urged.
"I live in Asakusa, it's about 45 minutes away from here" I told them
"Really!? That's such a cool place to live. I've always wanted to go there" Turning her attention to Ryukyu she pleads "Can we go see Asakusa, pretty please"
Kūki giggled at their interaction while Ryukyu just looked tired.
Explaining to the girl "Nejire you can't just leave to go and see places while your working" making Nejire deflate, seemingly extremely disappointed that she wouldn't be able to visit the town. It was then Ryukyu's face softened up as she said "If you work hard and behave we can go and see Asakusa after our shift is finished" which made Nejire jump in jubilation.
As we made our way back into the training room, Kūki left to go and speak with some of the other sidekicks. Ryukyu told me that I had free reign of the facilities here and I could use them to kill time until another call out happens. She on the other hand had an administrative meeting in half an hour, so she left to get prepared for that.
While waiting in the training room I decided to get a work out in, but unsurprisingly as I moved over to the exercise area I was stopped by none other than Nejire.
"Shinmon are you going to do some exercise? Well are you?" she said, pointed at all the different types of equipment lying around.
"Might as well, there's not much else to do here" I responded while walking over to the pull up bar.
"Mind if I join in?" she asked, blocking my path forwards.
Walking around the obstacle called Nejire I reply "Knock yourself out" to which she cheered.
While we both stretched ourselves out in preparation for some exercise, I asked Nejire "Mind telling me about your quirk"
Standing in a position that stretched out her groin, the excitable girl says "You want to know about my quirk, sure I'll tell you! It's been ages since I've told anyone about it, everyone I meet nowadays already knows how it works so I hardly get to talk about it.
"Oh right, my quirks called Wave Motion. It lets me convert my stamina into that spiralling golden energy you seen me use. It's super powerful, but it doesn't move very quickly" Nejire explained as she moved onto a different stretch.
"That's why I need to exercise so much, if I wasn't fit my quirk would take too much out of me" She giggled while posing and flexing her arms in a joking manner.
Although she was only kidding around her body's no joke, even through her costume I could see her toned muscles twitching with every movement. From her build you could tell she was more focused on endurance training rather than strength, and those years of training she must've put in has given her an extremely balanced body.
Noticing me checking her out, Nejire strikes a different, more enticing pose and says "Like what you see?"
In all honesty she came off more cute than sexy, even though she has a mature figure her whole personality makes it difficult to see her in such a way.
"You must've trained hard for a body like that" I said as my stretching came to an end.
Nejire who was already standing upright replied "I know, I'll do what I can to make sure I'm a hero that gives people confidence in themselves. So what we doing first huh?"
For the next hour or so the two of us worked with Ryukyu's training gear, I just done what I'd normally do at home, only dialled back a bit. Nejire on the other hand done a lot of stamina building exercises but still sometimes joined me in what ever I was doing.
Turns out once she's gets all of her questions out the way, she becomes a lot easier to get along with. Although I still got the occasional strange question, courtesy of her seemingly endless curiosity.
All in all it was nice to work out with some one other than myself for once, especially since Nejire could keep up and wouldn't complain.
Once Ryukyu finished her meeting, the three of us went to the upstairs café for something to eat. The café was bustling with people around this time, so we took our food back down to the training room and ate with the sidekicks.
A while after we finished our meal, another callout happened. This one was considerably less serious than the last, a small group were running around stealing people wallets using their quirks but as soon as Ryukyu appeared they never even tried to run away.
The rest of the day passed in a similar manner where most of it was spent either speaking with Nejire and the other sidekicks, or getting pointers from Ryukyu about how she runs her agency.
She's very patient and explains things in ways easy to understand, which made it easy for me to follow along. When we weren't talking about business related things, she was still easy to get along with, which was probably why everyone in her agency liked her so much.
Before I knew it the shift ended, and my first day at the Ryukyu internship was over.
As I was about to leave for the train home, Ryukyu called out to me "Shinmon where are you going?"
"The train station?" I responded slightly confused.
"What you going there for? Me and Nejire's going to Asakusa anyway, just fly with us" Ryukyu said while pointing at Nejire who could barely control her excitement.
Damn I want a provisional license already, it would make getting to school so much easier. Plus I wouldn't need to pay train fairs, think of all the money I could save.
"Can I take the barbell with me?" I asked.
Pulling Nejire next to her before she could run away she points out "It's only a barbell, you can even keep it if you want. There's plenty in the gym anyway"
"Come on Ryukyu let me go already" Nejire complained while trying to get out of her captors grip.
Shaking her head Ryukyu tells the hyperactive girl "How are you supposed to go when you don't even know which direction to fly in?" which made Nejire blank out for a moment.
"Oh yea, never really thought about that" She said while giggling at her own actions. Snapping her head in my direction she states "Shinmon show us the way, I really want to see all the cool houses they have there"
"You heard Nejire, mind if we follow your lead?" Ryukyu questioned.
"Sure, it wont be that long since we're flying" I said while igniting my ride.
As I took a seat on the flaming barbell, smoke burst out from Ryukyu as she transformed into her dragon form surprising some of the nearby citizens that were passing by the agency. Nejire was already floating since she realised I knew way there, so without further ado we took to the skies.
It was quite the experience flying above the brightly lit city during the night. The contrast between the lights below and the darkness above made for a stunning view that would normally be reserved for those in flying vehicles.
Most of all it felt great just flying around unobstructed, it really gives you a sense of freedom that's difficult to replicate. I've hardly ever been able to fly around like this, even in Asakusa. This is due to the nature of how I fly.
Lets just say it's not difficult for people to notice an object blazing around in the sky, and when that objects unfamiliar to them, you can bet they notify the heroes. So to avoid having the heroes called on me, I limit myself to fly low to the ground and only in Asakusa where I know no one with bother.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself" The large dragon said as she flew next to me. The clothes that she was wearing previously magically stretched out to fit her bigger frame which gave the dragon quite a funny look, but I guess it's better than the clothes ripping and going around in the buff transformed. Especially since her assets still exist as a dragon, and going around flashing everyone in sight isn't the best publicity for a pro hero. Never mind the problems she'd have when cancelling the transformation.
"It difficult not to enjoy this Ryukyu, it's not like I get the chance fly around this freely every day" I responded while hanging upside-down from the barbell.
"It is a nice feeling flying above everything, thought you don't need to call me Ryukyu when I'm not working. Just call me Tatsuma, or Ryuko if your feeling bold" She said.
"Alright Ryuko" I replied using her first name.
Nejire then flew in front of us both and said "I still prefer Ryukyu, her names just so cool" while wiggling around mid air.
I've never really been one for hero names, I suppose it's something I'll have to get used to. Still I refuse to even whisper Aoyama's name, that monstrosity should be kept far away as possible from people lips.
"Honestly I'm quite surprised that you decided to take you internship at my agency, after your display in the sports festival you must've had offer for some of the Heroes ranked above me." Ryuko humbly stated.
Narrowly dodging Nejire who flew right in front of me I replied "I never actual got many offers from the top ten heroes. Out of the ten it was only You and Mirko who put in offers"
"That's surprising I thought they'd be interested in you, especially Endeavour. He's even got his own team of sidekicks with fire type quirks" She said slightly shocked that I never got an offer from the flame hero.
"Endeavour seems like an ass though. He's probably not happy I beat his kid in the tournament" I sighed
I hope Todoroki's alright, he went to work at his dad agency for the week, and I wouldn't be surprised if Endeavours kicking him into shape. I doubt that he was happy about his son not getting 1st place.
"Your not wrong there, Endeavour doesn't have the most likeable temperament. Every time I've met him he's always been angry for some reason or another. You know, when that Todoroki kid started using his fire, it was the first time I've ever seen him smile and that's including all his tv appearances" Ryuko lamented about the constant scowl that appears to be stuck on her colleagues countenance.
"Why am I not surprised" I said thinking about the number 2 hero.
"What about Mirko, she's usually not one to give out offers. With the combat skills she has, you might've missed an opportunity not interning under her" Ryuko commented
"Sounds like you wanted me to pick her instead of you" I said making Ryukyu shake her scaled head.
"Of course not, I'm glad to have you here. It's just that I can't teach you much in the way of skills since we have vastly different quirks." she pointed out.
"I never expected you to teach me anything combat wise while I was here. I only wanted to get a better look at one of Japans top agency's, something that Mirko doesn't have since she works solo" I explained.
Now understanding why I choose her, Ryuko comprehended the underlying reason for my decision she asks "I take it that you want to open an agency in the future then"
Nejire pipes in saying "A hero agency! You seem too laid back to boss other people around"
Ignoring the remark from Nejire I reply "One in Asakusa, there's no agencies near it anyway so it shouldn't cause any problems"
Before we could go further with the conversation I pointed out "We're here, I'm going to stop for a meal. Do you two want to come as well?"
The two of them look at eat other before mutually agreeing to come. With that settled we descended to the ground outside Konro's soba shop. Before landing Ryuko had to transform back from her Dragon form, I went in first while Nejire waited for her boss.
As soon as I walked in Konro called out to me "Someone's back early, give me a minute and I'll whip you up a bowl"
Passing by the tables and getting greetings from everyone inside I made it to the bar stool seats right in front of the kitchen where Hinata and Hikage where also sitting. While making the noodles Konro asked "What'd you fly in for, it unlike you to-" but was cut short when he seen the figures that entered into his establishment.
The sight of the number 9 hero entering was enough to shut everyone up, it was so quiet you could you could hear peoples gulps of nervousness. All the eyes on her made Ryuko blush, whereas Nejire just acted like her usual curious self, already fascinated at the interesting physical attributes of the people inside.
Grabbing my collar and pulling me over the counter Konro whispers in a serious voice "What have I told you about using your quirk in front of others? Look who you've brought in now, if she goes full on dragon mode my place is done for!" as the sweat came running down his face.
Seeing Konro freak out at the presence of a hero, the twins began poking jabs at him.
"Hinata, Konro's acting weird again" pointing at that nervous shop owner.
"Just ignore it Hikage, It's probably because he's getting old" patting her sisters shoulder and shaking her head.
This snapped Konro out of his panicked state as he incredulously said "I've not even got grey hair yet and you two are calling me old"
"You'll end up with some soon if you don't calm it." using my thumb to point at the two approaching ladies I explained "I'm interning under Ryukyu for the week, they wanted to see Asakusa so we flew over. So you can relax I'm not getting arrested or anything."
Deadpanning for a moment Konro then heavily pats my back while saying "Why didn't you just say so from the start" making a tick mark appear on my forehead.
With a smile on his face he gestures at the open seats next to me "Welcome to this fine establishment, please have a seat and I'll get to cooking your meal"
Nejire caught sight of the twins and immediately rushed over and squeezed their heads within her bosom, "You two are just so cute!" she chirped.
"Can't. Breathe" Hinata choked.
"Need. Air" Hikage added.
Seeing the twins finally meet their match, I toyed with the idea of using Nejire's hugs to threaten them into behaving, when Ryuko sat next to me.
"So many options, I don't know what to pick" She said while looking at the menu Konro laid out for them.
"What about getting this" I said while eating the freshly made bowl of soba.
"Oh it smells great, I'll have a bowl of that please" She told Konro.
"Nejire what about you?" Ryuko asked Nejire who was still tormenting the twins.
"Get me the same" she answered as the twins managed to break free for the hug.
"Make that two then" She ordered as Konro got to making their food.
It wasn't long before both Ryuko and Nejire were smitten by the meal, even going as far to order seconds... and thirds just to savour the flavour for longer. By the time they were finished Nejire could barely move and hand to resort to using her quirk to float around, Ryuko was alright though, turns out she's got a dragon like appetite in her human form.
Pulling out his camera, Konro asks the pro hero, "Why don't I take a photo of you five to commemorate your first sitting?"
With a raised eyebrow I reply "You just want something that'll bring in extra customers don't you?".
"How could I even think of that, all I'll doing is trying to attend to my customers wants" He said with enthusiasm.
"I don't mind, what about you Nejire?" she asked the blur haired girl.
"A photo, sure! along as I get to stand next to these two cuties" She said looking at the twins which sent shivers down the identical couples spines.
With everyone in agreement, bar the twin who were forced into place by Nejire, Konro asked a middle aged lady with green leaf-like hair to take the picture while he jumped in next to me. After his failed attempts at making me smile, the lady called Toma snapped the photo signifying the first of many visits from both Ryuko and Nejire.
After that night in Asakusa, the remaining week at Ryuko's agency passed in a blink of an eye. Hero work isn't the most enjoyable thing in my opinion, but the company more than made up for the relatively dull missions. Everyone at the Ryukyu Agency were good people that weren't pretentious in any way, shape or form, just like their boss. That made them easy to get along with, essentially alleviating my boredom while waiting for something to happen.
During the week there was times where the sidekicks who knew martial arts would as me for a spar, and although none of them were exceptionally skilled at their respective technique, they still made for a workout. The sidekicks took the losses in their stride and weren't above asking for pointers in their fighting style, I just told them that I'd point out mistakes they made if they'd continue sparring with me. With the deal made, I'd get some non-quirk combat practice in along with some exercise, while they'd get help improving their skills.
Nejire tried to learn for martial arts after taking an interest in spars me and the sidekicks would have. Although she was a extremely fit, her curious nature made it difficult to stay full focused when practicing, giving the sidekicks who offered to train her a massive headache.
Even though I never got much genuine practical experience, my knowledge on how to run an agency improved leaps and bounds, Ryuko held nothing back, opting to share as much knowledge as I could possibly jam in my head.
At this point I realised I just wasn't cut for doing stuff like running an agency, so taking a mental note I made sure to let someone else do all the administrative crap when I open my own agency in the future.
Although the week was pretty monotone from my perspective, you couldn't say the same for three of my classmates. Apparently Todoroki, Ida and Midoriya were attacked by the hero killer Stain during the attack on Hosu City.
The reason I know with was because it was all over the news, apparently similar creatures to the Nomu that attacked the USJ were running rampant all over the city, not just one but three of them. The Nomu's were attacking building and civilian's indiscriminately which caused quite a few casualties, and from the testimonies given by the heroes that were stationed there, things could've been a lot worse if it weren't for Endeavour being nearby.
As well as saving Hosu city, Endeavour managed to catch and detain the Hero Killer Stain as well. Both these things gave him a meteoric rise in popularity, which I'm sure he's happy about.
While Endeavour's achievements spread all across Japan, something a lot less heroic was making it's rounds at the same time.
Texts about Stains Ideology were circulating through the public, giving everyone who read them a peak into what was goes on inside the Hero Killers mind. The Villain thinks that todays society is oversaturated with what he calls 'False Heroes', he believes that those who become Heroes for fame or money are unworthy of being called the name, and only All Might is a true Hero.
Due to his strong ideology, he took it upon himself to become the Hero Killer: Stain, to stain his own hands with blood to purge fake heroes and change the current society. This left him to become the villain who claimed the lives of the most people since All Might arrived at Japan.
If you ask me, I don't agree with whatever his ideology crap is going on about. So what if heroes aren't perfect paragons of justice, Heroes are still people that need money to put food on the table. The whole 'Hero' title comes with a dangerous job where it's easy to lose your life from a small slip up, doing such a risky job, it's only fair that they get compensation for their troubles.
If heroes shouldn't work for money, why should anyone else?
Anyway it's time for my internship to finish, I'm currently at the reception getting farewells from all the sidekicks and Nejire.
"I'll come see in school Benimaru, so don't miss me too much!" She said while waving like mad.
Great just what I'm needing, hope I don't meet her around the rest of my classmates or they might end up dying from excessive questioning. Better them than me though.
Just as I was about to leave when Ryuko walked up to me and said "Come on and I'll fly you back. It'll save you paying for the train."
"Aren't you supposed to we working?" I questioned as it was only around 11 o'clock.
"It's fine I can take a break for an hour to take you to UA. These guys can hold down the fort till I'm back" She affirmed while pointing at the sidekicks who were doing funny poses behind her.
With the agency being left in the capable hands of her subordinates, we take off into the sky in the direction of UA.
As we soared through the air Ryuko asked "How did you find your internship? Was it helpful?"
"Yes, although I never actually got to experience working as a hero fully. It gave me an idea of what I'm in for if I want to start up my own agency." I replied
"Still want to start one after know how much hard work it is" She smirked with her large maw.
"Definitely, I'll just have to hire someone to do all the complicated business. I'll just stick to the practical side of things" making Ryuko laugh at the misfortune of whoever my secretary might be in the future.
For the rest of the flight we talking about seemingly random things that we had interest in. At the speed we were flying at it only took half an hour before we could see the hill UA was perched upon.
Landing just outside of the gate, Ryuko resumed her human appearance to send me off. Before I could say anything Ryuko held her hand out and requested "Can I borrow you phone for a moment?"
Not thinking much of it I hand Ryuko my phone, once she finished typing something in she passed me it back and notice she put her personal number into my contacts.
"If you have any questions, or just want to talk you can call this number" She said with a smile.
With much of a change in expression I nod my head and slip the phone back into my pocket, making Ryuko's eyebrow shoot up.
"That's it, your not even bothered I gave you my number. Whatever, I'll get a reaction out of you one day Benimaru" She sighed.
As we was about to leave I said "Thank you for helping me this past week" and gave her a small bow to express my gratitude.
"Oh, turns out you can be grateful for some things, I thought you'd let me leave without a thanks" stepping towards me she says "Come here you" and gave me a gentle hug.
"Remember and smile more, frowning so much is bad for your skin" Ryuko said with a laugh while breaking the hug and flying away.
When she left I hear two voices behind me say "Tetsutetsu, you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Kirishima punch me so I know I'm not dreaming" the grey haired boy asked.
Not even a second later Kirishima thumped his arm with a jap making his friend yelp in pain.
"What the hell man! It was a figure of speech" he yelled
"How was I supposed to know" Kirishima said defensively before rushing over to me prompting Tetsutetsu to follow behind.
Stopping next to me he blurted "What was that all about man? Your at your internship for a week and your already getting goodbye hugs! Fourth Kind didn't even give us a ride bad to school."
"Who knows?, maybe I'm just more likeable than you two" I replied prompted both boys eyes to become watery thinking about the difference in treatment.
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