"Faster, Rookie!" A tall, dark-skinned woman marked, moving like a beast of the night." I know your quirk is all turtley but speed the hell up! You're not an actual turtle! Don't make me regret my decision, girl! Move!"
Tatami Nakagame, age 16, was running as fast as she could. Her school, Ketsubutsu, wasn't the top hero school, even with UA's diminished reputation, yet they had been rival schools in the past. As such, the training was rather challenging, in comparison to some other rival schools, though far less military in its proclivities than Shiketsu.
Even so, the girl was having trouble keep up with her mentor, one of the hottest pros out there right now. Some of the more obnoxious boys in her class had made jokes about that, though she couldn't deny there was truth there. However, right now, the Rabbit hero Miruko was causing far more grief for the hero student known as Tortugal, the hiding hero.
"Jeez, this is why I tend to work alone. I should have drafted that blonde kid from UA. Heard from one of the other pros he failed his license test though. Hurry up, Shell Shock!"
Tatami blushed and sighed. Miruko was amazing, one of the hardest hitting female pros out there, climbing up the ranks in a field where most of the well-known heroes at the top were males. There was something admirable about her amazon physique and devil-may-care attitude. However, that was mostly when she wasn't running the Ketsubutsu student ragged like a sort of pointy eared drill instructor.
The teenage girl supposed this is what she got for choosing Miruko. Still, as the internship went on, it had proven to be beneficial. She didn't get to meet the number 9 Hero, Ryukyu yet. Rumors had abounded that her and Miruko were dating. Based on some video chats the collapsing girl had walked in on accidentally, she had gathered it to be true. The high school hero-in-training was still blushing just remembering what she had walked in on a couple times. It was embarrassing for all involved.
Autographs would have to wait, though. This was a learning experience, and under the moonlight, the tortoise and the hair patrolled the city, corralling as many villains as they could that night.
It was part of Miruko's on-the-job training: "Punishment gauntlet". It was an endurance test, pummeling as many criminals as they could and leaving them for the police. It was meant to test Tatami as much as it was meant to apprehend their targets. The girl thought back to her first night of patrol, and how deep she was thrown into things.
"Welp? Whattya think? Pretty Badass name, eh kid?"
"I…um…well…" Tatami stammered, tying to find the exact words to put her thoughts into. It seemed "badass" and despite her tough "teams are for the weak" image, Miruko seemed to be fishing for approval here. However, …
"Out with it, pop up."
"It just…sounds like an innuendo is all…" The turtle girl responded meekly.
Tatami was blushing as she spat it out, but not as much as Miruko, whose foot had started tapping slightly.
"Guess who just scored herself another hour of patrol, Tortoise?!"
"Is…. It's me, isn't it?"
"No, it's the other intern. Now let's roll! Slow and steady won't win this race and I got other applicants. Get yer ass in gear!"
Tatami ran as fast as she could. She wasn't as athletic or swift as other students her age. Her stand wasn't endurance or speed based like some of the kids from UA that she had watched during the Sports festival the year she got her provisional license. She might have been one of the most noteworthy in her class, and yet wasn't exactly the most special person among all those vying to be among the next generation's great heroes.
Still, the Ketsubutsu student, despite her timid and awkward nature, had come this far and if she wanted to keep up with the rabbit hero, would have to run this race. She might not have had a hard shell like an actual tortoise, but she would endure. She eventually caught up to her mentor, possibly due to a mix between training, adrenaline, and the rabbit hero taking pity.
"Took your sweet time, Tortoise. Come on. The Gauntlet continues. Don't disappoint, fan girl."
Miruko jumped off the building with the form of a female wrestler, with her protégé watching in aw and terror. She was not ready for this but would do it anyway.
"Coming."
The two landed in the middle of an illegal smuggling operation, with various support items being stolen from a top company by an insider and sold to various villains and organized crime syndicates on the black market. The rabbit hero cracked her knuckles, ready to get down to business.
"Hey there, punks. Nice selection, you got there. Mind if we do some bruising and browsing!"
Miruko landed with a somersault, posing triumphantly as she cracked her knuckles. She was ready to send some villains to the moon with some vicious attacks.
"Yeah! Prepare to get shell shocked!" Tatami posed less triumphantly, flashing a sharp-toothed grin, then lessening the effect as she looked to the pro for approval.
"Needs work. Now let's kick some ass." The rabbit hero sighed, turning back to her opponents with devastating kicks and a suplex here and there.
"R-right."
Tatami, dodged a few punches with her quirk, popping out with a few quick punches she learned at school, as well as some things she had picked up from her current mentor. She struck like a snapping turtle, trying to keep just as patient as one. Still, the girl was getting rather excited, the thrill of the action pumping through her veins. There was anxiety and vigor and determination coursing through her being, and when a few goons realized that she was merely tucking into her own body and decided to punt her, all that came leaking out of her mouth.
"Tortoise! Watch your ass!" Miruko belted out, turning to her opponents with a vicious smile, especially after one managed to get a hit in.
"Alright! Now it's a party! HYAAAAAAA!"
Dazed by her injuries and startled by her mentor's battle cry, Tatami was tempted to hide. However, she was a hero student, aiming to become better and stronger. She wanted to be like Miruko, like the 1A students, and like Ryukyu. She would lift herself up and come out of her shell, with a vengeance. With a shot of adrenaline and a look of reinvigorated determination, the teenage girl shot back up, legs shaky, but spirit flaring up.
"Y-yeah…what…WHAT SHE SAID! HYAAAAA!"
X
Tatami was panting heavily, exhausted between the running, some rescue work they had done along the way, and the punishment they had doled out to their own bodies and those of the villains they faced. She felt like she might throw up, especially thinking of how badass she came off and how much that hurt.
"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all. Nice to see you have it in ya after all. Your big sis is proud." Miruko bento over, stretching her legs and spitting a combination of blood and spit off to the side, just as the authorities came to pick up the villains. A tinge of red passed through her cheeks as she tried to pass off the "big sis" comment. It seemed rather sentimental and she regretted saying it the moment it came out. Nevertheless, the pride was there.
"Keep up this performance and I might even reconsider my no sidekicks rule." The woman smirked, then hopped off towards the police, wasting no time in tying up the bad guys as Tatami did the same. The girl brushed a hand through her sea green hair and looked on in confusion, mildly flattered but not quite sure to make of all of this for the most part.
"Um…thanks? I think?"
After Miruko spoke briefly to the police, she was off, calling her protégé in her typical rash way.
"Let's hustle, Tortoise! Training resumes early in the morning, starting with a rigorous workout regimen and waking me up afterwards for mine. Follow your senpai and put some fire in your feet!
Tatami's confusion and awkwardness continues, but the rash rabbit hero wouldn't wait long, so the intern nodded her head and followed behind.
The moon beat down upon the two, as full as it could be. They stopped at a park for a moment, with Miruko allowing Tatami to stop a mugging that took place. The girl did so easily, which put a smile on her face, as well as that of the rising pro hero. After that, they returned to Miruko's agency, where Tatami took care of Miruko's pet bunny, Baracus. She then retired to her temporary quarters, along with the plush shark and turtle she brought along for company. Miruko stopped by to tease her for sleeping with stuffed animals, but then thumbed her nose with a grin and pulled out a beat up plush bunny she had since childhood.
"it's fine kind. Just messing. Don't get used to it though. Tomorrow won't be a picnic. Rest up, Tortoise."
And with that, she left, blushing in embarrassment as she realized that Tatami had fallen asleep on impact with her bed.
X
The lights were dimmed in Miruko's quarters, a small lamp and the glow of her laptop screen illuminating the buff bunny woman as she wore her pajamas, a salacious night top and pajama pants with rabbit and carrot pattern all over. Her hair was tied into a ponytail as she talked to her girlfriend in a video chat.
"...So, I'm assuming that your intern is still embarrassed?" The number 9 hero spoke calmly as she wore a dark blue nightgown and sipped some oolong tea, various shiny trinkets visible nearby.
Miruko scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I would drop kick you in the tits until you couldn't walk if I didn't know your kinky ass was into that."
"Miruko, please! I mean, not as in I am asking you to do that right now. I am currently at my…" Ryukyu blushed and stammered, breaking her normally calm demeanor. Miruko had that effect on her and would never let the dragoon hero live that down. The dragon woman sighed and placed her cup down. "you know what I mean."
"Yeah. It never gets old seeing you blush though. For the record though, I like to think I put her through enough hell that she forgot. It'll help her in the long run."
The rabbit hero's partner rubbed her forehead, feeling as though her girlfriend was rather harsh on the teenage girl. "You really are rather hard on her, aren't you? She seems like a nice girl. Not really someone I see working well with you, outside the obvious "tortoise and hare" joke. I assume you are trying to toughen her up?"
The rabbit hero shrugged. "She's... Eh, she's not a total weakling, I suppose. I'll give her that. She's not totally worthless."
"I see. Is she growing on you, dear? I didn't think you even did teams. Glad to hear you are taking well to the idea of having a sidekick."
"Who the hell said I was growing on the idea of teams?!
Train her up, kick her out - That's the plan. Besides, you still haven't hired that blue-haired girly yet. The one with the uncreative name? She would fit right in alongside you."
The dragoon hero rolled her eyes and pouted slightly. "I can hang up you know. Besides, I plan on extending the offer when she graduates. As a gift."
Miruko held up her hands in faux defeat, sass dripping off every word.
"Hey, I'm just sayin'. If you can't hire your girls on as sidekicks, why should I? She's got a longer way to go until graduation anyway." The rabbit hero chuckled before exhaling. She paused for a moment, then relented, her expression becoming more serious yet relaxed for a moment. "…. I'll think about it."
"You're not as tough as you think you are, Miri. I know you have a soft spot. I've checked." Realizing how flirty that came off, intentional or otherwise, Ryukyu could see the smirk on her lover's face.
"Oh, it's one of those calls now? You know I prefer that stuff when you're in the room with me, right Ryu~?" Miruko smiled, her demeanor getting softer as she leaned into the camera, showing off slightly for the older woman.
"I…You…We…" Once again, Ryukyu was a mess and needed a moment to compose herself. "We'll talk about that later. We should both get rest."
Not letting up, Miruko teased a bit more. She was having to much fun and, truth be told, she missed her lover.
"It would be easier if you were here, Ryuko~"
Ryukyu blushed, tempted to protest and put on the airs of professionalism and courtesy she wore throughout her life. However, with nobody else around, just her and her girlfriend, miles apart and connected via the internet, the woman sighed.
"I miss you too. We'll see each other soon…. Miruko?" Ryukyu considered her next words carefully, knowing how sentimental they would sound, and whether or not they came too soon.
"Yeah we will…What's up?" Miruko perked up slightly, stretching her sore muscles from the night's gauntlet.
Her girlfriend stopped for a moment, mentally poring over every word before she finally sounded them out, siphoning them from her heart, to her lips, to the microphone. "I love you…"
"Don't be sappy, Ryu." Miruko rolled her eyes and puffed out her chest, trying to be tough. It was a flimsy disguise though. The blush took over and the brutal bunny soon grew softer smiling back at her lover on the computer screen.
"I love you too. Night."
They both hung up, closed their computers, and retired for the evening. The moonlight shined through both their windows, uniting the two as miles separated them. Meanwhile, Tatami crept back to her room silently, having woken up from sneezing in her sleep. The young hero-student smiled, holding her hand to her chest after processing all she heard. She would keep it to herself though. It was between the two pros. Still, it helped to know that despite her faults, she had still made such an impression on these pros. Tatami slept well that night, knowing what the morning would hold and ready to embrace it, no matter how scary or potentially painful.
She would make her mentor proud.
