Mizuha clearly wrote her choice on the sheet of paper she was given, she wrote it very clearly with almost a noble's handwriting, not wanting the teachers to misread anything and make a mistake by sending her choice to the wrong agency. Looking at any other agencies was totally out of the question once her mind was made up. Sure, she had offers from more renowned offices but she just didn't want to go there. Therefore, she left her two other choices blank. It shouldn't be a problem considering how the agency she chose offered to let her do her internship there, it was practically guaranteed that she would receive some sort of confirmation from them.
Mizuha tapped her pen on her lips, ... or maybe I could choose another? That place isn't the only agency I could go to... It just happens to be the one I know...
She shrugged. As long as she could exploit and nurture some skills then she thought it was fine. The mere idea of being able to nurture these skills was making her very eager for her internship.
She pulled out a light blue plastic folder, in which she kept most of her school papers (and maybe a few a drawings) and neatly tucked in the paper inside the right pocket.
I guess I'll swing by the teachers' office after school to give it to Aizawa-sensei.
The first lessons of the day went smoothly. When the sound of the bell sounded in the school, indicating the start of lunch period, Mizuha quickly packed up her things and put them away in their appropriate places. As she got up from her seat, she snatched her backpack from its resting place and dashed off to the girls' comfort room as part of her daily routine. It didn't take her too long to do her business as there wasn't anyone there when she reached the bathroom.
With her bag on her back, she casually walked into the cafeteria that was gradually starting to fill with students. As per usual, the table she usually sat at with Byakuren and Kirishima was available for use. Mizuha wasted no time in rushing to the table and taking her seat in her usual spot.
Seeing as she was the only person sitting there, she figured Kirishima and her old friend were in line ordering food or on their way to the line. The girl pulled out her phone from her pocket and set it on the table before zipping her bag open and digging for the plastic bag containing her lunch.
This time, instead of waffles, she asked her mom to prepare two pancakes dressed with maple syrup that were both divided into four pieces. She placed her phone on her bag, placed her headphones on her head, and then started munching on her first piece. Her eyes stayed glued on her screen as she mechanically ate her lunch. She was no longer conscious about the time around her.
"And, what did I tell you? Miss Ice Queen is right here." she heard a voice, despite having both her ears covered.
With a piece of pancake trapped between her lips, she tapped her screen and paused the video she was watching, and proceeded to remove the headphones off her head and rested them around her neck. Then, she looked around her to see the person talking about her.
She spotted Byakuren walking past her with a smile and then she saw Kirishima pulling out the chair next to her with a boyish grin.
Suddenly conscious about the fact that her bag was obstructing the space on the table, she quickly gathered her bag and set it down, but kept her plastic bag that contained her small container and juice box.
"Shuuhri." She apologized, voice muffled because of the pancake.
Then she noticed that the chair next to Byakuren get pulled out. Curiously, she looked at the newcomer while taking in the pancake in her mouth completely and chewing on it.
"I hope you don't mind, I asked Bakugo to join us!" Kirishima said cheerfully.
Said boy then realized who Kirishima was talking to, and he instantly froze, glaring at her.
Mizuha's right eye twitched. Already got beef with me?! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!
"You didn't tell me that Mole Face was going to be here!" Bakugo snapped at the redhead next to her even after he took his seat.
Byakuren covered his mouth, "Pfft~ Mole Face?"
Mizuha shot the white haired boy an exasperated look, debating whether or not she should kick his leg.
"Come on, Bakugo. Don't be like that!" Kirishima complained.
"Shut up! I'll be whatever the hell I want!"
... I'll probably get a migraine if he continues yelling.
Mizuha sighed with a small frown, "I don't own this table, so it's fine." she responded to the boy next to her.
Seated, Kirishima smiled and then peeked at her lunch. It seemed like she was eating pancakes today, that was new. He was always curious about why she ate packed lunches… that didn't look like lunch. Lunch Rush's food wasn't bad, so why?
"What's with that shitty lunch?"
That wasn't Kirishima.
Mizuha looked at Bakugo, as if she was asking him if he was really talking to her. She quirked up an eyebrow and then took a bite out of her pancake.
"Pancakes out of a box." She answered while chewing.
"No shit. It looks like it came out of a box." He responded without missing a beat.
Mizuha instantly frowned, "Then. Don't. Fucking. Ask."
Byakuren's eyes widened, then he looked at Kirishima who was looking shocked and a little alarmed. Bakugo was about to retort until Byakuren cleared his throat loudly. The white haired boy quickly clapped his hands together, "Alright! Kids, enough!"
Bakugo snapped at him while Mizuha reached across and harshly flicked his forehead. Byakuren yelped and then pouted as he started rubbing the abused spot on his skin.
"Bakugo's right though… you gotta start eating better. Why don't you try Lunch Rush's food?" he asked," It's pretty damn good compared to our middle school." He assured her.
Mizuha shrugged and swallowed her last piece, "Meh, we'll see. I have my reasons… and you know I have trust issues with school food." she explained, "It always looked so nasty." she added, remembering how she swore she saw the food twitch once.
Kirishima lifted up his bowl for her to see, "Oh come on! Doesn't this look good?!"
Mizuha looked at Kirishima's bowl. There was the main asian food (rice) and some seasoned beef on the side. It did look pretty tasty. There more seconds she spent looking at it the more she felt enticed about the idea of eating school food for once. She glanced at Bakugo's tray, noticing how his food looked just as good. Then she looked at Byakuren's tray. She could feel herself salivating.
Mizuha jutted out her lip and looked at her empty container, "... yeah it does." she admitted.
But I have my reasons...
As if he was the voice of her thoughts, her started to explain, "She'd rather starve than not have time to study, to work or… well she also just doesn't like eating in front of people."
The girl reddened, "Hey! Let's change the subject!" she said quickly, wanting to erase Byakuren's previous statement about her lunch habits.
The boy next to her titled his head to the side, "Why don't you like eating in front of—" then he understood after remembering a previous conversation with Byakuren.
"Oh."
She was shy and that shyness was creating these bad habits. That's very bad.
Byakuren scoffed, before shoving a piece of meat in his mouth and kept the ends of his chopsticks in his mouth, "Yeah, but you should see her when we're at the restaurant. She can finish a medium size bowl of Pho. Sometimes a large one, too."
Mizuha rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes, now please stop talking about my eating habits and start eating your own lunch. I'm already done." she said before pulling out her juice box.
Byakuren stared at her with lazy light purple hues before shutting them and shrugging, resuming in worshiping his food through the act of eating. Kirishima followed in suit but not before asking Bakugo which agency he was planning on going to for next week's internship.
"Best Jeanist." He answered, gruffly before shoving the piece of meat caught between his chopsticks into his mouth.
Mizuha's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Best Jeanist was currently the No.4 Hero in Japan. Needless to say, she was impressed that a big shot like him asked for mister I-don't-want-first-place-so-I'll-act-crazy-on-the-podium. Perhaps there was Pro Heroes who didn't care about public image? Maybe they wanted to see his strength in person or something. She didn't know. All she knew is that Bakugo caught the attention of a well-known Hero.
Impressed, Byakuren whistled, "Damn, color me impress. I guess you're definitely worth the attention."
Bakugo turned his head towards the boy next to him, and scoffed, "Damn straight, I'm going to be number one so I'll be getting all the attention!"
Kirishima immediately perked up, "I'm aiming to fight in urban cities so I chose Fourth Kind's agency!"
The white haired boy gave him a close eyed smile, "Good choice, Kirishima. As for me, I'm heading to Nagano for my internship." He said, "What about you, Mizuha?"
"Ehh~ an agency somewhere in the Kansai region." she replied without exactly revealing the exact location.
Byakuren raised an eyebrow at Mizuha. He had expected her to give her a precise answer… but she didn't. He couldn't help but wonder if she was still acting shy or if she was doing this on purpose to mess with him. She knew how curious he could get about certain things…
Byakuren lowered his hands on the table, "Mie."
"Nope."
"Shiga."
"Nah."
"Osaka."
"Pfft, no."
"Hyōgo?!"
"Geez, stop asking already. I'm not going to tell you."
"OSAKA?"
"You're annoying."
"Kyo- hmmpff?!"
Before he could complete the name of the prefecture, a napkin found its way into his mouth. There was a three second pause. The boy jerked away from Mizuha's hand, taking the napkin with him and he started spiting out the pieces that were stuck to his tongue due to being soaked with his saliva.
Mizuha laughed at the entertaining sight, pointing out the highlights of his reaction. The sound of Mizuha's laughter immediately caught Kirishima's attention. He too was laughing at Byakuren, enjoying the usual exchange between the two friends but was quick to realize he wasn't the only one laughing. Now, in no way did he think Mizuha's was a girl with a heart of stone but it was just surprising to see her laugh for the first time, especially now that she was becoming sincere. Seeing her enjoying herself like this compared to how silent and straight faced she used to be just a few days ago was definitely a good sign.
"Hyoumei, you're laughing!" he exclaimed happily before throwing an arm around her shoulders.
An irritated vein became noticeable on Bakugo's temple as he finished the remnants of his lunch.
Byakuren left school without waiting for Mizuha. Apparently, his little sister had no school today so he had to go pick her up from school and… like babysit her at home. She was nine years younger than him so she was in elementary school. Mizuha has never met her in person but she knew of her existence… and the trouble she caused Byakuren while growing up. Let's just say he was constantly blamed for things he didn't do.
Mizuha noticed how the teachers' office door was slightly open, she could have just opened it right there but she figured that would have been rude…
She suddenly broke out in sweat when she remembered how she didn't knock on the first day when Aizawa-sensei wanted to see her after school. Her mind started overthinking, causing her to feel little stressed and making her skin feel a little hot.
What if Yamada-sensei and Aizawa-sensei thought I was rude that day?! Oh god… what if-
Her attention was then brought to the sound and the movement of the office door opening in front of her. She nearly jumped away out of surprise. Her head tilted slightly to the side when she saw a familiar face in front of her.
"Iida?"
She saw his own surprise in his eyes at the sight of her unexpected appearance.
"Oh, Hyoumei-kun. I suppose you're here to hand in your form?" he inquired.
"Ah... yeah." she answered slowly.
The boy nodded, "That's good. It is best not to wait until the last minute to decide. I hope you made the right choice."
Despite sounding like a good class representative, commending her on being organized and stuff. She couldn't help but feel… concerned for him. Five years of spending her time being an observer and watching people from a distance, she became acute in noticing particular patterns that were linked to certain behaviors and emotions. And right now, she was seeing something that didn't belong to the class rep's normal behavior. The news about Iida's older brother, Ingenium, reached everyone's ears during the two-day break thanks to the news. Hero Killer Stain got to him and it was stated that his brother was, unfortunately, beyond recovery. That was the reason why Iida had left before she and Tokoyami couldn't have their decisive battle with him.
As Ingenium's little brother, there is no doubt that the boy was affected by this.
She didn't want to pry too much into his business, out of fear of triggering something unpleasant… but she had to ask…
"Um, Iida... you alright?"
The boy smiled reassuringly, "If it's about my brother, don't worry. However, I do appreciate your concern, Hyoumei-kun."
With that, Mizuha nodded slowly before stepping out of his way and letting him get past her. Maybe it was just her imagination…?
Mizuha stared at Iida's back as he began walking away from the teachers' office.
"Hyoumei, come in." that was her homeroom teacher.
Upon hearing her name, the girl entered the office and started walking to his desk. As she did so, she brought her bag in front of her and fished for her folder where her form was safely kept. When she got to his desk, she pulled out the sheet of paper and held it out for her teacher.
"That was fast."
He glanced at her paper, "I suppose that you are following your uncle's footsteps."
"... is that bad?"
"No, I wouldn't say bad. A hero should have more tricks up their sleeve. Just try not to follow him to become an exact replica."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I know that."
Disobeying the rules of the hallways, she ran all the way down to the entrance floor. She needed to hurry and catch a bus that wouldn't be too crowded. They were always crowded around this time because students loved leaving together in groups.
When she reached the lockers, she nearly stumbled forward from loosing her footing just as she turned around the corner. Thankfully, she caught herself before she could. Her hand slammed against the metal, resonating a loud sound everywhere around the floor from the impact. Cringing in embarrassment, she peeked from behind the lockers and checked if anyone was around.
Heterochromia eyes stared back at her.
Onyx eyes blinked.
"Hyoumei?"
"... Todoroki."
He was holding the strap of his side bag, looking surprised from both the noise and her.
"Are you in a hurry?"
"Kinda?"
They both walked out the school together, followed by other students from the school who were also leaving. She was supposed to be running to the bus stop to avoid a crowded bus… yet here she was taking her sweet time while walking with her fellow aloof classmate. The idea of walking with someone else other than Byakuren for a change was kind of interesting, she found herself immediately drawn to it.
"Why are you here? I thought you leave school like… right away?" she asked curiously.
"I was submitting my form to Aizawa-sensei."
"You too?" she tilted her head, "I didn't see you at all, you probably went before me. So, which agency are you going to?"
He didn't answer right away.
"Endeavor's Hero Agency."
The memories of hearing the awful things that the No.2 Hero did during the childhood of the boy standing right next to her made her fall silent.
"... Your dad."
He didn't answer.
She was literally biting her tongue to prevent herself from saying something that might cause any type of hint that she knew of Todoroki's childhood. After all, that sure as hell wasn't public knowledge. She was making a new friend in Todoroki, she didn't want to ruin it by mentioning how she overhead him talking with Midoriya thanks to a certain classmate. It was definitely not something she was supposed to hear! She was a little scared of being tossed aside just as things were staring to get good. Maybe feeling tossed aside like she did during the Sports Festival made her feel scared of experiencing it for real this time.
Yet the guilt of hearing such a thing was kind of clouding her mind... she was scared of accidentally revealing her little secret.
Noticing how she suddenly became quiet, Todoroki glanced at her and shifted the subject onto her, "Where are you going for your internship?"
"Oh uh... somewhere in the Kansai region."
She mentally slapped herself. Why couldn't she just tell him instead of playing games like she did with Byakuren?
Todoroki looked back in front of him, "We might be going the same way then." he revealed to her.
Hearing this, Mizuha ceased any on going thoughts in her head. For some reason, it just somehow came to her. She didn't know why she didn't think of this before. It was probably because she was too busy laughing at him. The Chūbu region and Kansai region we're not in the same direction. Byakuren and Mizuha were not going in the same direction. She wasn't stupid though. She couldn't just ask him to drop her off at her internship and then let him head to his and arrive late. She wasn't about to sabotage the agency's first impression on him... even though she knew that he would refuse her.
And when Todoroki revealed that they were probably heading the same way, she actually liked the idea of having someone keeping her company on the way. But she immediately stomped on that idea, thinking about the possibility of him wanting to be alone. What if she was a bother?
Maybe she could ask him if he didn't mind keeping her company on the way...
Mizuha's eyes slowly fixed Todoroki who was walking next to her. Her hands, that were hidden in her pants' pockets, were flexing as if to shake off her shyness.
"Todoroki?"
He looked at her, "Yes?"
"We might be going the same way, right?" she asked slowly.
"I think so."
"Then maybe we'll see each other on the train, too."
Dear lord, she was beating around the bush.
"Most likely but I'll be disembarking before you. Why?"
...
...
...
"Eh, just curious. Anyway, let's do a good job on our internships."
Great. Way to be so freaking humble! WHY CAN'T I JUST SAY IT?! OH RIGHT BECAUSE THESE PAST FIVE YEARS DID NOT ONLY TURN ME INTO A COWARD BUT ALSO A SHY COWARD.
It was one of those days.
Her body wasn't keeping up with her mind.
She was tired.
Mizuha lazily kept her head propped up on the desk with her non-dominant hand. Her uncle was in front of the class, scratching the chalk against the board as he wrote the equation. They were doing in class work together but Mizuha was barely following. Her attention on the lesson kept wandering away after a few minutes of focus. As advanced as she was in the subject, she would either multi-task in drawing and in paying attention to the lesson while keeping her notes open. When needed, she would make the necessary corrections or notes on the side of the problem. Or she would pull out third year math material that she acquired and study it while completely ignoring the teacher.
But today she wasn't doing any of it. She was prepared though. Her notes were open on her desk and she had a blank sheet of paper in case she wanted to draw.
It was rare, but there were times where she figured her body wasn't okay with being nocturnal the previous night. Her current state was proof of it.
Gah... I'll close my eyes for a bit... lunch is next period anyway. I'll be awake by then...
Mizuha straightened up in her seat, held her pencil in her right hand, tilted her head forward as if she was staring at her notes and then finally used her left hand to shadow her eyes by making it seem she was supporting her head.
This trick always fooled every teacher before high school into thinking she was focusing on her work.
She closed her eyes and blocked out everything. Thankfully, the class was quiet when he wrote on the board.
Eijin finished writing the final piece of the problem. He turned and tapped the board, "Solve this problem."
Some students groaned as they saw the problem.
Immediately, he noticed Midoriya and Yaoyorozu writing furiously against their paper. He glanced around the classroom to check if everyone else was doing the same. He could see Kaminari and Ashido struggling to answer what was practically the easiest problem in the whole exercise.
Out of curiosity, he glanced at his niece to check out what she was doing. He wasn't expecting her to participate and share her answers since she was never one to ever raise her hand in class.
Midoriya shot his hand up, "x equals 35.23!"
Eijin smirked, "OUWANNG! Wrong!"
The green haired student gasped and looked down at his calculations, trying to figure out where he went wrong. However, Yaoyorozu took that chance to share her answer.
"The answer is 34.37."
"Correct! Next problem!"
The next problem was up on the board.
He noticed his niece didn't even move from her previous position. Not one bit.
Odd.
He grew suspicious after two more math problems.
She still didn't move.
Irritated, he purposely wrote a difficult problem that required a rather long calculation. A problem that even Yaoyorozu would struggle with.
"Hyoumei Mizuha!" he bellowed, knowing full well that she had fallen asleep during his lesson. It didn't matter if she was family, she was a student in his class and she was going to go through the same treatment as her peers under his rules. He was so close from throwing a piece of chalk at her head.
Everyone looked at her at the same time, wondering why the teacher called out the silent girl. Hearing her name being called out, her eyes slowly revealed themselves underneath her hand and they slowly narrowed as they were revealed for everyone to see once she lowered her left hand.
"What?" she hissed, annoyed.
Eijin smiled at her and tapped the board behind him, "Is my class making you fall asleep? Maybe doing a problem up here will keep you awake. Come up here."
The girl dropped her left hand against her wooden desk with a rather loud 'thud'. Indicating that she wasn't pleased for being woken up and for being called to the front of the class. Her irritation completely overpowered her shyness at this point. She lazily pushed her chair back, creating an unpleasant screech against the floor. She walked in between her row and the other, walking straight towards the board. Once she got there, she stood in front of her uncle with tired eyes.
Eijin stepped away from the board, "Go on." he gestured.
You dare freakin' try me... with math? Man, you must be getting old. Meh, I guess uncle Eijin doesn't know how far I am in math. Poor guy.
Mizuha turned her back to the class and held out her hand to receive the chalk from her uncle.
For a moment, everyone was confused and whispering among themselves because Mizuha was just staring at the bored with a chalk in hand.
Eijin chuckled, "Maybe if you slept like a normal person then you wouldn't be up here right now having trouble." he whispered with a shit eating grin.
"Aw, man... I'd hate to be called out like that." Kaminari whispered to no one in particular.
"Poor Hyoumei..." Jiro said, feeling embarrassed for her.
"Well, she was sleeping in class." Kaminari pointed out.
Kirishima leaned forward, "Nah, I think she knows what she's doing- ah look!"
After a good minute, she moved the end of the chalk near the equals sign and began writing.
Then she stopped and stepped away.
"The answer is five."
She only wrote the number five. Nothing else. No calculation. Just a single digit.
Shocked, Eijin stared at the board with his mouth dropped open. He snapped out of it and turned towards the desk, flipping through his notes to find the page where he had written the steps for the problem along with the final answer.
"Uhhh... c-correct."
Byakuren laughed in the back, causing a few more students to laugh with him.
Eijin gritted his teeth from the feeling of being bested by his own niece at his own game. The girl turned around while covering her mouth with her sleeve in an attempt to poorly cover her yawn.
Mizuha dropped the chalk on the table (breaking it in half upon impact) and gave her uncle a side glance, "Being nocturnal is normal for me, I just happen to be tired today. Also, don't call me to the front again... unless you want your plan to backfire again."
Mizuha smirked at her uncle and walked back to her seat.
Mental calculation wasn't her best skill but when she practiced the same kind of problem over and over again, it just becomes too easy.
It was too bad that her uncle didn't know just how advanced she was in the subject... and was going to continue being advanced with her third year material.
The day before the internships began, Shiran was released from the hospital. Instead of just looking around his area to see if anything changed and simply hibernating in his room, he decided to help Mizuha pack her things and give her advice on first impressions. Shiran wanted to do something big brother-y. He explained to her that having a good impression on the Hero she was learning from would indefinitely help her create connections with other Heroes would might want her for her next internship.
She did reveal the location of her internship to her family. It was her family. Why would she need to hide it?
... she did mess around with Shiran by refusing to tell him, resulting in him complaining and sulking about how it was unfair, but she did tell him in the end. And... he wasn't exactly thrilled about it at first until Mizuha repeatedly told him to let go of his childish grudge.
When Monday came around, Shiran actually bothered to walk with her to the station where her class was supposed to meet up for their depart.
As usual, Mizuha arrived early.
Shiran, dressed in his black ripped jeans and a blue sweater, looked around curiously.
"Hm? Where are your classmates, Mizuha?"
"They're on their way." she answered while looking around the station for her homeroom teacher among the people walking around the area.
The older Hyoumei looked at his phone, looking slightly concerned, "But... it's past the meeting time?"
Finally spotting the familiar tired looking man, she started in his direction with a shrug, "I gave you the time I wanted to be here. I didn't tell you WHEN I should be here." she said, leaving him alone to register what she just said. He had no way to see the playful smirk on her lips.
With his phone still out, he stared at his little sister for a few seconds before dropping his shoulders.
"Why are we here so early?!" he ran after her with what little stamina he had.
Ignoring her brother's question, she arrived in front Aizawa and greeted him. Aizawa returned her greeting with a tired one. The Hero was no stranger to his student's tendencies on arriving early thanks to his observations for the past few months. However, he was surprised to see the awakened Hyoumei running up behind her. He didn't know if he should be glad or tired to see him.
He decided on the latter.
When Shiran stopped behind his sister, it didn't take him too long to realize who she stopped in front of.
And he immediately reacted.
"Ah! Aizawa-senpai!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
...
...
...
"Aizawa-senpai!" his tone suddenly did a one eighty. He marched over to the older adult and stood in front of him.
Mizuha backed away from both adults while darting her eyes at both of them. Aizawa kept his hands shoved in his pockets and stared tiredly at the younger male in front of him. Shiran crossed his arms and pouted, "No wonder Mizuha got threatened to get expelled! I was wondering who her teacher was when uncle Eijin explained her situation... Of course it was you! I told you about my little sister so many times and you used that knowledge against her! For shame!"
In unison, Aizawa and Mizuha sighed.
"Why did you bring him along?"
"He wanted to drop me off."
"Don't ignore meee!"
The reason why Aizawa knew so much about her Quirk was because of Shiran. Aizawa was five years his senior. He and Present Mic were well acquainted with Shiran Hyoumei due to working together with him several times on heroic duties in the past. No doubt, being the proud big brother he was, he opened his mouth to talk about her more than once whenever he had the chance. While there were times where Aizawa was successful in avoiding to listen to repeated Quirk stories, there were times where he couldn't escape because Present Mic dragged him down with him.
"Sister or not, I'm not going to let a student of mine take the Hero Course like that." he explained stern expression, "Or would you rather the consequences happen in a later future?"
The platinum blonde haired boy dropped his arms and frowned, "No. That would be even worse."
"Then don't complain about me using that knowledge to good use."
Empty on words against his senior, Shiran whipped around and wrapped his sister in a tight hug. She nearly dropped her suitcase from the sudden hug. She gently set it down on the ground next to her and she hugged him back with a small laugh.
"Good luck with Aizawa-senpai as your teacher."
"Ah, Shiran. It's too late to say that. It's already been a few months since he's been my homeroom teacher."
"Aizawa-sensei, good morning!" voices chorused.
Mizuha instantly let go of her brother out of surprise. When did they all gather together so quickly?!
Shiran released his sister and looked at the class behind him. Some of them were actually staring at him curiously. No questions were asked but he knew that they wanted to ask. But, answering their questions was not his problem he was going to leave that task to someone else. The sight of Mizuha's classmates appearance was Shiran's cue to take his leave, which he did but not before patting Mizuha's head and greeting her farewell. He even waved at Todoroki as he left.
Ashido bounced towards Mizuha, "That was your big brother, wasn't it?!" she asked, clearly happy for Mizuha from seeing him independently on his feet compared to when she first saw him.
The taller girl grinned a little and nodded.
...
...
...
"You all have your costumes, right? Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public. Don't drop them or anything."
Ashido cheerfully held the suitcase above her head, "Yessir!"
"Don't slur. It's "yes, sir," Ashido."
The pink haired girl toned down her excitement and repeated after him.
"Make sure you mind your manners with the Heroes at your internships! Now, go."
"Yes, sir!"
Mizuha turned to look for Byakuren and noticed that he was already on his way. The absence of any type of exchange made her feel SLIGHTLY irritated, but she didn't hold it against him. Phones existed for a reason. Just as she was about to turn around, Kirishima passed by her and gave her a smile as walked off in his own direction.
"Do your best on your internship, Hyoumei!"
"Yeah, you too!" she waved, sending him a small smile of her own.
The girl watched Kirishima turn around completely, showing his back to her as he walked. Everyone was now scattered across the station, heading to their own platforms. Aizawa was already heading towards the exit. With a deep breath, she picked up her suitcase off the floor and held it firmly in her hand.
She walked fast towards the her designated platform, seeing how it the time for departure was drawing near. She wanted everything to be settled at least five or ten minutes before the time. When she made it in front of the train, she stopped and out of habit she looked around her.
Just as she turned around to check behind her, she came face to face with Todoroki.
No sound left her mouth but her body expressed her sudden fright by jolting.
"So, we are taking the same train." he remarked.
"Haha... I guess we are." she rubbed her finger against her cheek while looking away, feeling somewhat nervous but yet pleased.
They both boarded the train together and Mizuha watched her classmate carefully. She wanted to ask. She really did. But she was just so used to holding back that the habit was too difficult to break out of. It was pathetic, she thought. Not being able to ask what you want without restraint.
After passing by a few seats, he stopped in his tracks causing her to stop. She looked at the seats he had picked, they were the ones with a window view. Those kind of seats were always the best choice.
"Do you want to sit here?"
She blinked, "... me?"
A small smile appeared on his lips, "That is what you wanted, isn't it?"
Mizuha didn't know how to respond. She was confused and at a loss for words. Without bothering to hear her answer, the boy picked one of the seats next to the window and set his suitcase on the same side of the window.
Mizuha frowned, "Was I that obvious?"
He shook his head, "It took me a while after we parted ways to try and understand what you trying to say... or ask. I remembered what you told me in the hospital, being shy that is. Like I said, you didn't seem like the type so I had to read in between the lines." he explained.
Mizuha cautiously stepped closer to the seat she wanted to claim, smiling a little, "And... you don't mind?"
"I wouldn't be asking you if I wasn't."
That was all she needed to hear. It took all her willpower to not show her excitement through a stupid smile. She took the seat in front of Todoroki that was also next to the same window. She set down her suitcase on the empty seat next to her.
"Hyoumei."
"Hm?"
"Next time, just say it."
The girl pouted, "Easier said than done. You haven't been holding back your tongue for... for like forever." she said, "Plus it's even harder if I overthink about if whatever I'm asking will just bother the other person." she rested her head against the wall of the train.
"Then don't overthink?" he suggested.
She didn't reply.
"Is it really that difficult?" he asked.
She nodded, rubbing the side of forehead against the wall.
The train started moving a few seconds later.
"Don't hesitate to ask or say anything. It wouldn't bother me in the slightest."
Slowly, Mizuha looked away from him and moved away from the side. She sat up straight in her sit and contemplated whether or not she should say it. She was still kind of scared. But she didn't want to hide anything from him.
...
...
...
"... Then I want to admit something but I'm scared that you'll get angry." she muttered but Todoroki was able to hear her thanks to the closeness.
He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head, "Angry?"
Before she could change her mind, she started talking. She confessed about knowing what happened to him during his childhood and that it was never her intention to eavesdrop on his conversation with Midoriya. She also called Bakugo an idiot for dragging her down in the first place, ratting him out at the same time. She was sure she stuttered several times as she explained how she felt about knowing something personal. It wasn't hard to see that she was feeling guilty about it. However, as bad as Mizuha thought it was, Todoroki's thoughts on it weren't as negative as hers. He allowed her to let it out, figuring it was better than letting her keep anything else bottled up and letting her burst again. He already knew about Bakugo knowing about his past so it wasn't a big surprise when she told on him.
There wasn't really anything to forgive.
Mizuha didn't mean to eavesdrop.
She just happen to get caught in the web but she was still had the mindset to respect his privacy unlike the other one who listened in on them.
"It's fine." he reassured, "Don't worry about it."
Mizuha furrowed her eyebrows, "You sure?"
He nodded, "I'm not mad about it so don't beat yourself up over it." he assured.
Then she let out a sigh of relief, slumping in her seat. Todoroki smiled a little, finding at the sight of her looking tired quite comical. She looked more at ease now.
"Feel better?"
"Yes!" Mizuha answered quickly.
With the feeling of starting fresh, she found it easier to talk to Todoroki just like with Kirishima.
"Yeah, I get it. You want to use your left side as your power, not his."
Todoroki lifted his left hand and stared at it, "I believe it's necessary for me to follow my own path."
"Are you trying to gain some experience by learning from your dad?" she asked while quietly munching on a pocky stick.
"Yeah."
Just then, her phone made a sound that indicated a notification. She quirked up her eyebrow and wondered who was messaging her at this time. It was Byakuren. He sent her a photo. She placed her thumb on the home button and unlocked her phone through her fingerprint to view the photo.
She was surprised. It was a picture of him standing in front of the agency. He was smiling and doing a peace sign.
Mizuha puffed out a laugh and closed her phone, "Byakuren already made it to his agency."
"Kyouran, right?" he inquired, "Your friend." he remarked.
She nodded with a grin, "Yup."
Then, the train announced that they would be reaching Todoroki's stop in two minutes. Mizuha frowned childishly, a little sad that her conversation partner was finally getting off the train soon. Todoroki picked up his suitcase and set on his lap for his last two minutes.
"By the way, which office are you going to?" he asked curiously, "You never really told me the name you only told me the region."
"Oh, I chose Fatgum's Hero Office."
"The BMI Hero?"
"Yep." she said while popping the last letter.
Then, Mizuha thought of something. She pulled out her phone again and held it out between them with a hopeful look, "Hey, can we exchange numbers?" she asked, desperately hoping he would be fine with it.
He smiled at her and pulled out his own phone, "I don't see why not."
She practically jumped out of her seat and went to sit next to Todoroki. She leaned a little closer to him so that they could both exchange their numbers while making sure that the other didn't make any mistakes. He glanced at her from the side as he said his number out loud, watching her type his digits with a silly grin. It was amusing. She was kind of acting like a little kid who was excited to get a toy. Then when he saw what she added next to his name, he looked at her fully, "Really?"
"I like putting kaomojis with my contacts." she justified.
"But that one?"
Todoroki ( ・_・)ノ
Mizuha chuckled.
He shook his head in amusement before registering her number as one of his contacts.
...
...
...
Mizuha waved at Todoroki from her window. He did the same as he watched the train leave the platform. Once he was no longer in sight, she moved away from the window and leaned back in her seat. The train picked up speed and went off towards the next station. Her phone was held firmly in both her hands as she watched the scenery outside her window pass by.
This time, she didn't restrain her lips from stretching into a happy smile. No doubt she was looking forward to her internship, but she also looking forward to the chance of catching the train and maybe sitting with Todoroki again.
... Maybe I should ask for Kirishima's number too. I want to be the one to ask and get it. I don't want Byakuren to do things for me now. Todoroki is right, I shouldn't hesitate to ask or say something.
Mizuha followed her phone that was giving her directions to the office. Her current location was continuously blinking as she kept walking in the direction where the arrow was pointing. She had no idea where it was and she definitely wasn't about to get lost.
When she finally made it, she stared up at the front in awe. Then she giggled. Compared to those big shot agencies, this one didn't really feel intimidating. The front kinda looked like the Hero running that office with their hero name written on top.
She breathed in deeply before slowly releasing her breath. Her hands patted her head and her shoulder, making her headphones weren't on her person. Then she stepped inside, "H-Hello?" she walked to the desk while making sure she sort of dragged her shoes against the floor to indicate that someone was inside.
A woman looked up and greeted her with a smile, "Hello, what can I do for you?" she asked but then she recognized Mizuha's uniform, "Oh, you must be here for an internship."
Mizuha nodded, placing her fingertips on the edge of the desk.
She turned to her computer, "What's your name?"
"Hyoumei. Hyoumei Mizuha."
The girl was completely silent as she waited for the lady to do whatever she need in the system, listening the the keys of the keyboard echo in the room. She turned her head a couple of times to look around the room of the front desk curiously.
"Right, Hyoumei," she pointed to her side, "Just go into that hallway, you should be able to find his office after you turn at the end of it."
"Okay, thanks." she walked off in the appointed direction while unintentionally shuffling her feet.
I just hope he doesn't bring that up...
It didn't take her too long to find herself in front of his doors.
She knocked three times.
They answered almost immediately, "Come in."
Just like when she first arrived, she breathed in and out before slowly opening the door, peeking her head inside. She spotted the Hero in the center of the office after her eyes scanned the room, starting from the left side. There he was. The big round hero was sitting behind his desk, munching on some takoyaki.
He swallowed.
He waved at her and smiled, "Heya wifey!"
She closed the door.
He totally did the moment he saw me.
That Hero (Fatgum) is currently a manga-only character in BNHA.
