Kyandi: And as Ida-ed it right back.
Halyn: That's a bad joke.
Kyandi: I know. My sister told me so.
Halyn: I don't think that was exactly what she said.
Kyandi: I know it's not.
Halyn: And what did she say to you when you told her that joke?
Kyandi:..."Fuck you".
Halyn: Wow...that wasn't nice.
Kyandi: I know...I'm so proud of her.
Halyn: You're household is strange.
Kyandi: Yeah, well, to us it's normal. Anyway, everyone enjoy and review.
Halyn: Kyandi-sama does not own My Hero Academia.
Chapter 11 Adapting Hero: Fallout
"In light of the festival you'll have tomorrow and the next day off."
After returning to the class, Aizawa informed them of their time off. Some of the students were glad for that, but others were still bummed or fuming over the outcome of the festival.
"Scouting reports and such from the pros will be waiting for you here after the break. So look forward to that as you enjoy your time off." Aizawa said, before dismissing them.
Halyn, with only one working hand to her name, begun to gather her things. She was preforming a balancing act with her bag, trying to get books inside, when one slipped out of her hand. She reacted to catch it, but someone else did before she could.
"Let me help."
Halyn raised her head, her eyes meeting Todoroki's as he reached out to take her bag from her, sliding the book inside. He instantly picked up the rest of her books and tucked them neatly into the bag.
"You don't have to do that." Halyn told him.
"Yeah, I do."
When the books were all in the bag, he closed it and picked it up, turning to head for the classroom door.
"What are you doing?" Halyn asked.
"Walking you home." was all he said before he started for the classroom door, leaving her to follow.
Halyn blinked in surprise, her tail flicking once in confusion before she hurried after him. So many questions ran through her head as she followed him into the hall.
"You're kind of pushy, you know that?" she asked, catching up with him. Todoroki didn't respond to that, making her frown for a second. "Is this because of what your father said to me?"
Now he stopped. He turned to face her so abruptly that she almost walked right into him. She barely managed to escape the collision. When she looked up at his face, his expression was guarded and she knew, in that instant, that she had said something wrong.
"What did he say to you?" he demanded.
Halyn took that to mean that Endeavor had mentioned nothing of his conversation with her, to his son.
Whoops.
"It's nothing. Just forget about it. It'll only make you mad." she told him, hurrying past him.
"Halyn." Halyn stopped, turning to look at Todoroki when he called her name, her eyes wide. His brow furrowed when he saw the shocked look on her face. "What?"
"You took to calling me by my given name, awfully quick. I actually expected it to take you a while. Kind of like Midoriya." she told him.
"You're changing the subject." he told her.
"I know. Because I really don't think you want to hear this. Your relationship is bad enough with him." Halyn told him.
As she talked, he approached her until she had backed up to the wall. He stood in front of her, face stern. He wanted to know what his father had said to her and he wasn't taking a no for an answer. That much Halyn could tell.
"What did he say?"
Halyn heaved a sigh, her tail hanging. She really hated to upset him when he seemed to be in a good mood, especially if it was about this father, but he was going to find out sooner or later. She didn't put it past Endeavor to eventually throw it in his son's face.
"Basically? Um...He wants me to enter a quirk marriage with you..."
Halyn tensed expecting some kind of angry reaction out of him, but Todoroki just stared at her for a moment. Halyn wondered if he was frozen from shock and leaned forward to wave a hand in his face. He simply blinked before focusing on her once more.
"What did you tell him?" he asked.
"That it's your life, your choice and then I left. Simple as that." she told him. "I don't think he was too happy."
Knowing his father, he probably wasn't. Endeavor wasn't use to not getting his way. He would probably look to go over Halyn's head and repeat what he had done to force his wife into marriage with him. Which meant that Endeavor would seek to pressure Halyn's brothers into handing over their sister.
"You should warn your brothers." he told her.
"You don't have to worry about that. We don't work that way in Italy. Whoever I eventually marry, is my choice and my choice alone. My brother would never sell me out anyway." Halyn assured him.
Whatever she said, Todoroki still seemed concerned, or, at least, was dwelling on it. The whole trip back to her apartment he was quiet. When her apartment building came into view, Halyn suddenly changed directions, heading for the building next door.
"This way." she called to him.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"This is a club that my brothers also own. I have a few people here who are waiting for me to get home. They wanted to see me after the Sports Festival and I promised." Halyn told him, as she pulled open the door.
A low, faintly rock beat, reached his ears instantly. Since it was still early evening, the club was next to empty, the lights on full glow instead of dimmed, and the dance floor empty. A stage was set up on the far end of the large room, the dance floor stretched out before it. A space filled with tables were pretty empty, with only a few people setting tables for that's night crowd. A bar opened up to the right, where two bartenders, both somewhere in their late twenties or early thirties, were cleaning glasses.
One of those bartenders looked up when they stepped in and his face lit up.
"Miss Neko!" he called.
Instantly, all workers stopped what they were doing turned to Halyn. A few even came through a door behind the bar that probably lead to the kitchen. Todoroki had to take a step back when they all swarmed Halyn, congratulating her for her place in the Sport Festival, and chattering away about their favorite parts. They all cheerfully called her Miss Neko as they chatted.
"Hey," one waitress turned when she caught sight of Todoroki. "You're the boy she fought in her final round."
Todoroki was sure he was about to get an ear full for roughing Halyn up, but he suddenly found his hand being shook by one of the cooks.
"That was an incredible display, son! We knew our little Miss Neko had fight in her, but we've never seen anyone challenge her like you did!" the man told him, some of the others crowding around him to congratulate him too.
"Miss Neko?"
It was the only thing Todoroki could think to say.
"Apparently, it's their pet name for me. They can't just call me, Halyn, like everyone else." Halyn told him.
"You know you love it." the male bartender said, patting her head.
"It's just a shame that you don't have the ears like your brothers." the female bartender added, looking at Halyn with a sad expression.
"I'm happy enough with the tail." Halyn told her. "Anyway, I just wanted to stop by like I promised."
"Stay, Miss Neko! We're about to open up." one cook called.
"I better not. With these injuries, it would be best to just get up to my room." Halyn told them.
Though they complained, showing just how much they liked Halyn, Halyn refused. She finally was able to bid them all farewell and led Todoroki back to the door, waving to her friends. When they stepped back outside, there was a large smile on her face.
"They like you." Todoroki remarked.
"And I like them. My brothers thought that a good, stable source of income here in Japan would be a good idea. Just in case they get too caught up to remember to wire money to me." Halyn explained. "So they bought the club and set it up where what money would of gone to them, goes into my account. The club does well, so..."
Halyn shrugged one shoulder as they entered the apartment building. She would never be as rich as Todoroki's family, but she got along fine enough. Todoroki glanced at her as she greeted the old guard behind the desk before she turned to him.
"I can take my bag now...unless you want to stay for dinner? I can still cook, even like this." Halyn offered, smiling brightly.
"Sorry, but I can't. My sister's waiting." he told her.
"Well, another time then." Halyn said, taking her bag from him. "Be careful on your way home, Shoto."
It was still new to him, hearing her call him like that, but he was starting to realize...it wasn't so bad.
"Yeah."
Halyn stood at the door of her building, waving to him as he headed off down the street, a bright smile on her face. Todoroki turned back when he was a good way down the street, but she was still there, watching him leave. She waved one last time before he lost sight of the building.
Leander Halyn...so that was who his father had chosen for him. While angry at his father in general, he couldn't really begin to think of any real reasons why he should protest against Halyn as a choice. He liked her, so it wasn't like he could claim he hated her. In the end, all he could do was agree with her on the fact that it should be his choice. For now though, it was best to just not say anything.
After all, it wasn't like Halyn's brothers would agree.
-0-0-0-0-
Over the next two days, Halyn rested up, reporting to Recovery Girl twice over those days for more healing sessions. By the time she got up for school after those two days off, she had only a few faint bruises on her body and stiff muscles.
It was raining that morning, giving off a gloomy feeling, but Halyn smiled anyway, giving her usual morning greetings to the staff of her apartment building on her way out. Umbrella in hand, she headed for school. It was when she was heading for the school gate that she ran into Midoriya.
"Deku!"
Midoriya turned when she called him. After the talk between them and All Might when Halyn had insisted that he call her by her given name, she had decided to take a page from Uraraka's book and started calling him, Deku.
"Oh, Morning, Ha-chan." Midoriya greeted her. "You look better."
"Yeah, Recovery Girl really fixed me up." Halyn said, flexing her left hand. "And you?"
"Feeling better." he told her, getting a smile in return.
"This is no time for an idle stroll!" The two turned to find Ida, in full rain grab, running towards them. "We'll be late! Good morning, Midoriya, Leander!"
Halyn and Midoriya shared a look before falling into step behind Ida.
"Late? But we've got five minutes before the first bell." Midoriya said.
"The students of UA make it a point to arrive ten minutes early!" Ida replied.
The three made it into the school, Midoriya and Halyn shaking out their umbrellas. Halyn gave hers one last good shake before turning to Ida.
"Ida...I heard about your brother. How is he?" she asked.
"You needn't worry about my brother." Ida said, shedding his raincoat. "I apologize if he or I caused you undue concern."
Despite the smile on his face, Halyn had a sneaky feeling that things were worse than he was willing to let on. But it wasn't like she could call him on it. She knew she wouldn't want someone else bugging her if she was already concerned enough about her brother. So they headed to class without her say anything.
In class, their classmates were talking about people recognizing them on the streets. Halyn headed for her desk, stopping to greet Todoroki with a bright smile.
"Hey, Ha-chan," Halyn looked up when Uraraka called out to her. "Did you get to talk to your brothers?"
"Uh, yeah, I did." Halyn answered, setting her bag on her desk.
"And?" Uraraka asked.
Sheepishly, Halyn rubbed back the back of her head.
"Just as I thought, they ripped me a new one." Halyn replied, smiling.
"What? What for?" Mina asked.
"Well, on top of how far I pushed myself in the festival, they had also just found out about the incident at the USJ. They weren't happy with me. The twins, Cyprian and Felix, actually came to visit me over our break. I thought they would never stop scolding me. They were still scolding me when they left for the airport this morning. I'm sure I'll get a call from the other two any day now." Halyn admitted.
"You didn't tell them about what happened at the USJ!?"
Several of her classmates said this at once. Halyn shrugged her shoulders.
"What's the use in making them worry unnecessarily when they can't do anything about it. They're in a completely different country. It would take half a day just to get here. Why worry them like that, you know?" Halyn replied, taking her seat.
The bell rung after that, the students rushing to their seats before Aizawa walked into the room, greeting them.
"Good to see your bandages off, Aizawa-sensei." Asui called out.
"The old lady's treatment was excessive. But never mind that. Today we've got Hero Informatics class. And a special one at that." Aizawa told them.
Some of the students tensed up, wondering what on earth it could be.
"You'll be coming up with your hero aliases." Aizawa informed them, a cheer going up in the classroom. "But first...concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day. It's based on who the pros think will be ready to join the hero workforce after another two or three years of experience. So you could say that it's a way for them to show interest in your futures. But there's ample time for their interest to wane before you graduate. And any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."
"So if we're picked now, that just means there'll be higher hurdles in the years to come!" Toru said.
"Yes. Now, here're the complete draft pick numbers." Aizawa displayed the numbers on the board behind him. "There's typically more of a spread. But three of our top four stole most of the spotlight."
Halyn blinked in surprise. At the top of the list was Todoroki with four thousand, one hundred and twenty-three. That wasn't surprising and neither was Bakugo being in second with three thousand, four hundred and fifty-six. What was surprising was that Halyn occupied the third spot with three thousand and seventy-two offers. She had expected for there to be some people who wanted to recruit her, but nowhere near that many.
"Well done as always, Todoroki. You too, Halyn." Yaoyorozu told them.
"It's mostly just my father's influence." Todoroki replied.
"I have no idea what's up with my numbers." Halyn replied.
"What are you talking about? You're badass, Leander." Kaminari assured her.
"I'll admit to some skill and experience, but not enough to warrant this kind of response." Halyn replied.
The number was ridiculous. While she pondered this massive number, others in the class were just happy to get a few. Midoriya, sadly, was among those that didn't get any offers.
"With that settled...whether you were picked or not, you will all have a chance to work alongside the pros." Aizawa announced. "It's true that you all have already experienced more than most, but seeing the pros in action and taking part yourselves will still be worthwhile training."
"That's where our hero names come in!" Sato exclaimed.
"This is really getting fun!" Uraraka cheered.
"They're only tentative, but you still want to pick something appropriate..."
"Or else you'll know true hell!"
A second voice joined the conversation as the door to their classroom was thrown open. Standing in the doorway, was Midnight.
"The name you pick now may be what the world ends up calling you. That's happened to plenty of pros out there." Midnight told them.
"Yes. True enough and Midnight here will be assessing the sensibility of the names you pick. I'm no good at that. What future do you see for yourself? The name you choose will bring you ever closer to cementing a certain image because names are capable of reflecting one's true character. Like with "All Might"." Aizawa told them, before letting Midnight take over while he took a nap.
Boards and markers were passed out for them to write their hero name ideas on. Halyn took hers and stared at it for a moment. A name that true reflected her, her hopes, dreams, and ambitions, huh.
Fifteen minutes later, Midnight called for them to start finishing up.
"We can start with whoever's ready!" she called, telling them that they would be presenting their names to the class.
Aoyama was the first one up to the front of the room, his board reading "I Cannot Stop Twinkling". The only changes that Midnight made to it was to take out the "I" and contract the "Cannot" to "Can't", making Aoyama's hero name Can't Stop Twinkling.
Strange, but fitting for him.
Mina went next with the name Alien Queen, which Midnight shot down completely. Asui was up next with the name Froppy. Midnight approved and the class, with a bit of confidence, really got into the swing.
Kirishima was next with his name being Red Riot in homage to his favorite hero, Crimson Riot. After that, it was a string of well thought names that got Midnight's approval right away. Jiro with Earphone Jack, Mezo with Tentacole, Sero with Cellophane, Ojiro with Tailman, Sato with Sugarman, Mina with Pinky, Kaminari with Chargebolt, and Toru with Invisible Girl.
"You're all doing great. Let's keep 'em going!" Midnight told them.
Halyn scooted her chair back, getting to her feet to approach the front of the class. She gave her class a smile before looking down at her board.
"I think this will say everything about me that it needs to." she said before displaying the board. "I'll be the Adapting Hero: Fallout."
"Oh, I see. This is suppose to relate back to what you said during the festival." Midnight said, staring at the board.
"Right. I want to act as a buffer between people and the effects of the fallout zone between heroes and villains. And, of course, assimilation is about adapting to whatever is in my way and what I have to use." Halyn said.
"I love it! It fits you perfectly." Midnight said, giving her approval.
Halyn's tail curled as she smiled back at the woman. She returned to her seat, Yaoyorozu going next with the name, Creati. Todoroki followed with just using his given name as his hero name. It was strange, but Midnight gave him a go. Tokoyami followed with Tsukuyomi, Mineta with Grape Juice, Koji with Anima and then Bakugo with King Explosion Murder.
The last of which was shot down right away.
Uraraka followed with a name that combined her name with the word "gravity" making Uravity. Halyn really liked that one. That left only Midoriya, Ida, and Bakugo. In the end, Ida went with his given name and Midoriya chose Deku as his hero name.
Bakugo tried once more before class was over, but Midnight shot it down too.
After they had picked their names, those who had been drafted by pros, were given a list of the pros so that they could then pick which one they wanted. Everyone else was given a list of forty pros willing to take on interns for the week. Halyn took her list and started looking through them. One agency, on the very first page, stood out to her. She blinked in surprise, shocked that this hero had put in an offer for her. Siting forward in her seat, she opened her mouth to ask Todoroki his opinion on it, when she saw that he, too, had stopped on the first page of his list, his eyes captured by one agency's name: Endeavor Hero Agency.
She could tell what he was thinking without seeing his face. Despite all the issues he had with his father, Endeavor still was the number two hero and Todoroki could learn a lot from interning with him. She was pretty sure that's who he would pick for it was the first pick he listed on his form. Sitting back in her seat, Halyn thought for a moment, her eyes going back to her list. A few names stood out, and she listed them, but she was pretty sure she would get her first pick.
Now it was just waiting the week until the internships started.
-0-0-0-0-
A week later, with their hero costumes in tow, the whole class met up at the train station where they would all part ways for the week.
"You've got your costumes, right?" Aizawa asked the class. "Wearing them in public is strictly prohibited, but don't drop them."
"Yeahhh!" Mina cheered.
"And don't slur your "yeah" Ashido. All of you, be on your best behavior! Now go." Aizawa told them.
Everyone begun to split up to catch their different trains. Halyn, herself, was going to an agency that was closer to home. Others would be a little further from home since the offers had come from all over the country. Halyn was just picking up her costume case when she heard Midoriya call out to Ida and looked up.
"If it ever gets to be too much and you need to talk, just say something." Midoriya told his friend, Uraraka nodding in agreement. "We're your friends."
Halyn caught the look on Ida's face before he gave the two a smile and said "Sure.". She knew something was up and that it had to be related to his brother. He was far more upset than he was willing to let on, which she could completely understand given the situation. She would have been too if a villain had managed to get the best of one of her brothers, landing them in the hospital.
But there was no hiding that look on his face from her. She had seen looks like that way too many times to not know, but Ida simply turned and walked away. Halyn heaved an inward sigh before turning to Todoroki with a smile on her face.
"You're heading for your father's agency, right?" she asked.
"Yeah. And you?" he asked.
Halyn's smile grew into to grin, her tail curling in a mischievous way that betrayed her playfulness. Dancing back a few steps, her costume case held behind her back, she raised a single finger to her lips, giving him another grin.
"It's a secret. I'll see you later, Shoto." she told him, giving him a wink before she spun on her heels and took off, her tail swaying behind her.
Todoroki didn't get it. Why all the secrecy on where she was going? It was probably so she could show him how much stronger she had gotten by the time she got back. Whatever it was, he had to get a move on. His father wouldn't appreciate him being late. When he arrived at his father's office, he was instantly shown in.
"I've been waiting for you, Shoto." Endeavor said when his son stood before him in the wide, luxurious office. "You're finally ready to walk down the path of the mighty."
"I have no intention of following any path you've created. Only I can decide my future." Todoroki replied.
"Heh, is that so?" Endeavor asked.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Endeavor called for the person to enter. One of his sidekicks stuck his head into the office.
"Sir, the other intern is here." he asked.
"Other intern?" Todoroki asked, turning to look at the door as Endeavor told the man to show the intern in.
"You weren't the only student I put an offer in for." Endeavor told his son.
Seeing the grin on his father's face was all it took for realization to hit him. Endeavor didn't. Todoroki whipped around when the door opened and the other intern that would be sharing his father for the week, stepped into the room.
Oh, gods, he did.
"Leander Halyn reporting. It's a pleasure to work with you this week, Endeavor, sir."
Standing before him, her costume case in one hand and a smile on her face as she bowed in greeting, was Halyn. When she stood up straight, she shot him a smile.
"Finally, you're here. Good. Both of you go get ready. We're going out." Endeavor told them.
Todoroki turned to look at his father in surprise.
"Where to?" he asked, though there were several other questions in his head.
"It's time I show you what it means to be a hero."
With that, Endeavor dismissed them. A sidekick came to collect Todoroki and Halyn, to escort them to the locker rooms. Once the office door was closed behind them, where his father couldn't hear him, Todoroki turned to Halyn, giving her a look.
"What? I told you I'd see you later, didn't I?" she said playfully.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Interning, just like you, Shoto." she replied.
"You know what I mean."
Halyn heaved a sigh, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. Idly, she reached up to run a hand through her bangs, pushing them back from her face.
"You really want to know? Fine. I saw that you got an offer from your father and that you decided to go with him. I also got an offer from him. I knew you have a hard time getting along with him and I figured the week would be a little difficult for you, so, since I'm your friend and I support my friends, I decided to accept his offer. At least now you'll have some support of your own." she told him, smiling brightly up at him.
Todoroki was stunned into silence. Just to be there for him, to support him against his father, she had chosen to spend her week at the mercy of his father. And after Endeavor had already made it clear what his intentions for Halyn were. Still, she had come and she had done it for him.
At this point, they had reached the women's locker room. Halyn walked up to the door, stopping long enough to turn and offer Todoroki a soft smile.
"Don't worry about it, Shoto. It'll be fine." she assured him before she vanished into the locker room.
Would it, though?
Todoroki had a feeling that this week was about to become a very trying one.
END
Kyandi: Hehe!
Halyn: I get the feeling that there's about to be a lot of Todoroki/Me moments.
Kyandi: Yep! If anyone wants to come up with a ship name for them, feel free!
Halyn: Wait, is this where-
Kyandi: Shush! They'll see.
Halyn: Oh, right. Sorry.
Kyandi: Anyway, I have a moment coming up that I've been dying to get to, so we'll wrap up here.
Halyn: Oh, gods...
Kyandi: Everyone, enjoy and review.
Halyn: We'll return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!
