"..." Shinso-Sensei stared at his class, an unenthusiastic look in his eyes. The class was silent as they awkwardly watched him slip on his Snuggie. "...Good work at the Sports Festival." He sighed as he sank into his chair. "You've gotten internship offers. Look at the board..." he pointed to the screen, and the class oohed and awed. There were so many offers!
"Wow! Look at how many I got!" Candy cried out with a laugh. "Oh weird- Mr. Coconut, you're like, sixth from the top. That's strange, since you got fourth place and all."
"Psh! Probably because Bak-Otaku was more nerves than potential." Meiwaku spat bitterly. Eiji melted onto his desk in shame. It was true. The entire time he felt anxious and petrified of the crowd.
"That doesn't mean you are left without any offers." Shinso sighed as he handed each student a packet. "Each of you have gotten at least two offers, so consider wisely your options."
Eiji sighed and opened his packet, scanning through the options. Nothing really caught his eye. Until he read a name that he recognized.
"Oh? Her agency?" He pondered aloud. Yeah. That one felt right. He didn't even have to look at the other ones! He knew exactly where he was going!
"Pinky Agencies?"
Tasen shrugged as he and Maru followed Eiji into the dorm common room.
"Yeah! I know her, actually! She's not the highest in the ranks, but I think I could learn a lot from her, and it'd be fun!" He smiled as he looked over the brochure again. Maru grinned as she looked at her pamphlet.
"That's chill. I'm going with Steel-Fist Agencies." She giggled evilly.
"Woah! Steel-Fist? You mean the power couple Real Steel and Battle Fist?!" Tasen gawked. "They're going to kick your butt! They're known for training interns so hard they beg to go home!"
"Hehehehe..." Maru grinned and tapped her fingers in delight. "I can't wait to learn some hand-to-hand combat that'll take down guys twice my size!"
"So you're still salty about Meiwaku beating you without a quirk?" Eiji stupidly said without consideration for his own well-being. She immediately berated her best friend with a thousand tiny punches.
"HEY! I COULD FIGHT EACH ONE OF YA RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW! GIMME SOMETHING TO THROW! I'LL PROVE IT!"
"Th-That's alright, we believe you..."
"No you don't!" Maru growled. "That's it! Watch me win!" She dashed off like a galloping gremlin towards her room, the others not sure what to expect when she came back. Eiji and Tasen plopped onto the couches with a heavy thud by Candy and a very annoyed Meiwaku, who was trying his hardest to ignore them.
"Hey Meiwaku! You working? Wanna study together-"
Eiji was interrupted by the grinding of Meiwaku's teeth and the noise being blared up loudly in his headphones. Obviously, he wanted nothing to do with Eiji. Man... were things ever going to get back to normal?
"Ooh! Listening to rap music?! I love rap! Who did you choose to intern with? I'm still choosing-" As Candy blabbered on, the visible line of anger rose in the bully. Didn't the kid see he didn't want to talk to nobody?!
"So Tasen, where are you going for the internships?" Eiji asked with a smile.
"Oh... well, I was actually thinking of going to my uncle's agency?" Tasen winced at his own words.
"Wait, really? That, uhh... I'm confused."
"Yeah, well... I think I need to talk to him. Figure out some things."
Tasen pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and nervously pulled at his collar. He gingerly handed it to Eiji's exhausted frame.
"So, uhh... I tried writing down the person I want to be, but..." Tasen defeatedly sighed, "I could only think of one thing. It's way harder than I expected."
Eiji, without any judgement, picked up the little paper and read the one thing.
"Respected?"
"Yeah. I guess. I know I want it, but honestly I'm not even sure what the word means." Tasen sighed. Candy popped upright and let off,
"Respect is understanding that each individual is an autonomous being with their own unique experiences and beliefs."
"..." Everyone, even Meiwaku, stared at him with their jaws on the floor.
"What? I know things!"
"Wow. Uhh. Yeah." Tasen rubbed the back of his neck. "That's exactly what I want to have. How... how do I get that?"
"How do you get others to respect you?" Eiji piqued, not entirely sure how to answer such a complicated question. Luckily, Meiwaku was there to roll his eyes at Tasen. Yeah, maybe he was listening in, but not on purpose! They were just damn loud.
"Look, dork. You can't force other people to view you a certain way if they really are 'autonomous individuals.' That ruins the point." He snootily tisked as he shoved his earbud back into it's hole. Eiji finally understood.
"Oh! So the best way to receive respect is by showing it to others!" He epiphanied with a finger pointed in the air.
"Well, I show respect to others, so I don't know why I'm not getting any..." Tasen mumbled. Candy picked his ear and said bravely,
"You don't really respect women all that much."
"Huh?!" Tasen was shocked. "I respect women! I- I don't expect them to think the way I think, or- or to have the same experience as me! That's respect, right?" He stuttered out, only to receive odd glances. Annoyedly pulling his earbud out once more, Meiwaku scoffed,
"Four-eyes, if I heard someone talk about my mom like you talk about women, I'd be grossed out." Meiwaku shuttered. "Even Bak-Otaku thinks you're disgusting." Eiji didn't want to be dragged into this.
"W-Wait I-I don't-"
"When you spoke about Maru's rack and all that, it grossed Bak-Otaku out. Because you ain't respecting women."
Eiji didn't counter this this time. Tasen didn't like the accusations coming at him, but... they were right. And he wasn't sure what to do.
"I... want to learn how to respect others." He sighed. "But... can I change the way I think?"
Oh. Could someone change how they thought? Eiji wasn't sure-
"Of course you can!" Candy bounced. "Did you know that the dendrites in our brains create pathways of thinking that get stronger the more times we use it? If your mind decides that you don't want your brain to think that way, you can create new pathways, thus creating and breaking habits!"
Woah. Absolutely nobody understood what was going on. Was Candy secretly a prodigy? Why was he suddenly so... smart?
"What the hell?! How do you know this stuff?!"
"Ey ey ey! Don't smack me! I'm only placed third in the class!"
"You?! Third-smartest?! How in the hell?! Annoying kids like you ain't s'posed to be smart!"
It took Tasen a moment to register what was said. He could... change the way he thought?
"Okay... so then... how do I learn to think differently?" He asked the group. They weren't sure exactly what was the best course of action. I mean, they were fourteen and fifteen-year-olds. They weren't exactly professional therapists or something. Eventually, Eiji shrugged,
"I dunno- what my dad and I did to stop us from swearing was get a swear jar! Didn't help him much, but it did the charm for me!"
"Hey! Why not snap yourself?" Candy said with an informative hand gesture.
"..." Tasen thought about it a moment. Looking to the coffee table, he saw one of the girl's hair bands and he slid it on his wrist. "You guys aren't going to judge me when you hear me snapping this, will you?" He blushed bashfully.
"No way!" Eiji smiled. "That's how we'll know you're maturing! I think that wanting to grow is incredibly worthy of respect." He said with a hand on Tasen's shoulder.
With a small smile, Iida stood and stretched his back.
"Alright. I'm going to go pack for the internship." Before he set out, he turned to the guys. "And, umm... thanks-"
"RrrrrRRRAAAAHHH!" Maru came bursting into the room, throwing pillows at every single person in the room. Each one was a direct hit! Eiji and Tasen were flung off the ground! Candy was tossed to the opposite side of the room! Chaos fluttered with every flying feather!
"The cuss?! I'm studying here- OOF! THATS IT!" Meiwaku tossed a couch pillow right back at Maru, which abruptly smacked Tasen in the face instead. Pillows went soaring! It was a war zone!
Shinso-Sensei drearily entered the room with his clipboard as the cannons flew past his unaware head.
"Has everyone finished packing-"
"Look out!" Maru screamed before a pillow smacked him dead on. He hit the floor with a solid thud. "Shinso-Sensei? Sensei?" They all nervously gathered around the motionless teacher.
"You killed him!" Candy gasped. But their worries were stilled when a long snore tumbled out from under the pillow.
"Zzzzz..."
"Oh... we'll just... let you sleep..." Eiji whispered as they all left him to get some (apparently) much needed rest.
## Todoroki household
"Ugh... I can't believe I'm actually askin for help..." Bakugo growled as Kirishima pulled a rope to ring the bell. "And freakin Half-n-Half of all people!"
"Hey, he's got ton of resources, and somehow he knows a more than he should. We're lucky enough to have him as a friend who's willing to give us a solid." Kirishima said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting.
"Pfft. He ain't my friend."
"..." Kirishima raises his eyebrows skeptically.
"He's more of an... old co-intern acquaintance and former classmate." Bakugo hunched with a scowl.
Just then the door opened wide. And it was... Ponytail?
"Ah! My friends! Todoroki just finished gathering things for your investigation! Come come!" She bubbly bounced as she drew them inside. "Any tea? Snacks?"
"No thanks, Yaoyorozu!" Kirishima smiled. Bakugo was confused- why was Ponytail here? They came up the the large kitchen table in Todoroki's frickin mansion of a house and sure enough, there was the two-toned devil himself.
"Ah. Bakugo. Kirishima." He gave a little bow as they sat at the table.
"Thank you for doing this, Todoroki! With your help I'm sure we'll find-"
"Oi. What's with Ponytail? Why she here?" Bakugo scoffed as he rudely man-spreaded in his chair. Kirishima and Todoroki blinked in dismay. "Like- you two married? Dating? She's still going by Yao-Sumthin. You roommates? Like, what?"
Kirishima was actually embarrassed by his friend. How could Bakugo not know?!
"What? I'm a straightforward guy!"
Todoroki just stared at him with that stupidly plain expression he always wore.
"...I can't tell if you're unamused or seriously disappointed with me."
"Heh heh... umm Bakubro? Todoroki and Yaoyorozu eloped twelve years ago." Kirishima sweat.
"Well was anybody gonna tell me?! Or was I supposed to pay attention to other people's lives myself?!"
"Let's get started, shall we?" Todoroki didn't miss a beat as he threw open his laptop and spread the papers across his table. "So I've taken a look at the security camera footage from that September sixteen years ago and..." Todoroki pulled up about thirty different recordings, each one grainy and green with night-vision. "And I didn't find anything."
"Fucking figures..." Bakugo deflated into his seat. "Waste of time."
"No, I mean, I didn't find anything." Todoroki emphasized. "You said that around midnight you started walking from this bar to your old apartment?"
"Hai." Bakugo squinted.
"You are not in a single one of these recordings."
"...Ha?" Bakugo leaned in confusingly, looking over each of the sped-up videos.
"I even took the liberty of broadening the search to other streets you might've taken, scanning each video for anything suspicious. But, according to these videos, you never walked home that night."
"That's fucking impossible!" Katsuki spat, holding the laptop up to his face. As far as he could see, Todoroki was right.
None of the videos had him in it.
"But I remember I picked you up the next morning from that alleyway!" Kirishima pointed to a space between two buildings. With a hum, Todoroki took the computer back and typed something into the command box. The videos sped forward until it was morning.
"What time did you pick Bakugo up?" Todoroki asked Kirishima as he intensely watched the screen.
"Oh, umm... it was before I went off to work, so-"
"Ah. Here." Todoroki paused all the videos. Pointing to one in the corner, he showed his friends. "That's you two, isn't it?"
Kirishima's and Bakugo's jaws dropped. There was a barf-covered Bakugo sliding himself into the car as Kirishima thanked some helpful stranger.
"Yes- That's us!"
"So if that's the day then..." Todoroki made it full-screen and played through the whole night again.
"That's strange..." Kirishima pondered. "It... doesn't show how you got there."
"What on earth? How the fuck did I get there? She had to have-"
"She?" Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me you were looking for someone." That immediately shut Bakugo up. "You told me you lost something important that night."
Bakugo started ahead. Nothing. The video didn't show anything about how he got there.
"...I did."
"..." Todoroki looked at Kirishima. All of this was very strange.
"Bakugo. Who are you looking for?" Todoroki asked slowly. Rubbing his face rid of the headache he was getting, Katsuki sighed,
"Some sick bitch."
"..." Todoroki replayed the video once more and watched intensely. With a nod, he concluded. "Then I think the ma'am you are looking for corrupted the video."
"Corrupted the-? Come on! She ain't... I mean- she'd have to be more than some crazy broad if she went back and corrupted the video!"
"Maybe she is?" Kirishima suggested. "I mean, if this lady is who we think she is, and she corrupted the video and somehow found out where you lived, then maybe there is something more to this?"
"More to this? Geez- it's not that complicated!" Bakugo scoffed. "She's a batshit crazy lady who shouldn't be that hard to track down!"
"Shouldn't be." Todoroki called out. Yeah. There was that. "I'm going to continue to research this. I'll let you two know what I find."
"Alright. We're heading out." Bakugo rolled his shoulders as he stood. "And umm, what do I owe ya, Half-n-Half? For helping out or whatever."
"Nothing. I am glad to help a friend."
"We aren't friends!"
"Mhmm. Sure. Take care, Bakugo. You as well, Kirishima." Shouto bowed as they headed out. As they dipped out of sight and closed the front door, he watched as they got in Kirishima's car and drove away.
Something... felt off to Shouta. Of course it would. This random lady should not have been able to corrupt the videos. And it wasn't just this alley, but the whole block. Like she wanted to erase herself from the equation...
Typing away, Todoroki felt like something about this was all too familiar. Like he had seen this type of careful planning in the past. The same way the videos were altered. Almost like nothing happened, except that it did.
Nothing fit.
Every piece he held...
Felt crooked.
## Pinky Agencies
"Seems like you've got patrols down easy peasy lemon squeezy!" Ashido laughed as she nudged her newest intern. Eiji smiled and rubbed his neck.
"You think?"
"Yeah! I'm really glad you chose my agency of all places! I'm sure you got offers from people higher up than I!" She said as they walked upstairs to the offices.
"Well... you're definitely the most fun!"
"Aww!" Mina's heart nearly exploded.
"Excuse me, Pinky? You've been requested upstairs." A young and fashionable lady said with a bow.
"Upstairs?" Eiji asked while he followed her into the elevator.
"Oh yeah! So on this floor I have my hero agency, and on this floor..." She waited for the elevator bing as the doors slid open. Eiji's eyes nearly popped from their sockets. "Is my fashion design studio!" She laughed with a spin.
This was the most extravagant thing Eiji had ever laid his eyes on.
"Woah... you own a whole 'nother agency?!"
"Yeah! I was always torn between hero work and fashion as a kid. Maybe dance, too. Hero work won out in the end because helping others and, duh, awesome. But, I always wanted to show off my designs, and so I saved up and tada!"
"Wow, Auntie Mina. This is so cool!" He started to drool over the different shirts and jeans and hats and- oh man it was so baller...
"Oh? Do you have an eye for fashion? Hmm?" She held her fingers under her chin and leaned in.
"W-Well, I dunno. I think so, but I don't wanna brag."
"Hmm... Say Eiji..." Mina look at him with a tiny, mischievous smirk.
"Wanna take a spin at modeling?"
"M-M-M-Me?!" He gasped.
"Yeah! Hold on a sec- Hey you!" Mina pointed you her cameraman who was eating a snack. "Wanna do a shoot with my intern here? Just for fun?"
"Wow! A hero-shoot!? Yes ma'am!" It seemed like he didn't get this opportunity very often. Practically dragging Eiji away, the cameraman got to work. Mina laughed a little before turning back to her assistant.
"So what did you need my help with?"
"Well..." her assistant was sweating a lot. "Our male model just quit on us."
"WHAT?!" Mina gasped. "But I just finished designing this whole line of men's clothing! See?!" She gestured wildly to the rack of coats and shirts... where Eiji was trying things on. He wore a vanilla-orange corduroy coat and tinted glasses.
"Hold up." She watched the cameraman and Eiji laugh at each pose he did. Some flowers and palm leaves freckled his hair. "He's a natural!" She gasped. Running over, the cameraman showed her the photos. "Wow! Good job, guys! Like, seriously, you could be paid for this, Eiji!"
"Hehe. That's nice of you." He blushed.
"Would you be interested in a side-job?"
"..." He didn't quite understand what Ashido was saying. "Me? As in, like, a model?"
"Yeah! You're already famous- this'll be good publicity for you, not to mention ka-ching ka-ching..." she rubbed her fingers together. Eiji liked the idea of having a job. And it was publicity that didn't involve being in front of huge crowds! But him? A model?
"Quit joking, Auntie Mina. I'm not model stuff, and I'm not all that famous either."
"I'm serious! People love you! Look, I bet you already have a fan page- oh yup! Look at these comments!"
Eiji took the phone from Mina and cautiously read the first few with a bit of confusion.
"Oh my god, Baachu's just so freaking baby and ahhhh, must protect? ...Baby? That's a good thing, right?" He pondered and kept scrolling. "Baachu is good bean? Baachu's got teh gun show?! People are saying this about me?!" He gasped. "Wait... these comments were posted at 3:30 in the morning! I mean, I really do appreciate your comments guys, but sleep and mental health is important."
"Meh. Sleep is overrated!"
"I want these people to take care of themselves! Self-care people!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. The important thing is that people seem to really like you! I'd say you have quite a few fans..."
"F-fans? Oh wow. That's... kinda cool!"
"Yeah- and I have an idea why..." Mina smirked devilishly and tapped away at her phone once again. She turned it back around. "The photos saved on your fan page."
Eiji's eyes nearly popped from his sockets. It was pictures of him! The first one was him with a halo of flowers popping from his hair and a smile on his shiny face.
"Oh. This is a good angle on me, actually."
"Yeah! And there's more!"
"Oh. Oh! Woah!" Eiji couldn't believe his eyes. There were hundreds of pictures of him- and he looked good! Of him fighting, covered in fauna... shirtless.
"See? You're basically a model already!" She laughed. Eiji blushed and gave her her phone back. "So whattya say?"
Nodding a bit and laughing to himself, Eiji shrugged,
"Sure! Why not?"
"Great! Just have your dad sign these papers and you're hired!" She laughed as she threw the stack of documents in his arms.
"...my dad? Sign these?" He whimpered.
"Yeah! I mean, you are a minor, so if your dad doesn't sign then EEERRR! No can do. If he does sign these then, tada! You got yourself a weekend job!"
"..." Eiji knew his dad. He probably wouldn't like the idea of him being a model. Too pansy or something. "Do I really have to ask him? I'm the one working, and I don't need him to drive me or anything-"
"Eiji, look." Mina took in a deep breath and sighed, "Bakugo and I are friends. I've known him for a long time and I know how overprotective he is. I'm not going to betray the trust we've built by going under the counter with you. Sorry."
With an understanding (but disappointed) nod, Eiji flipped through the little stack of papers.
"Alright, I'll ask him tonight."
"I like the sound of that! Now let's get back to training!"
"Hai!"
## Bakugo Household, four hours later
Eiji nervously shuffled the papers in his backpack. It should be easy, right? Just tell his dad he wanted a job. ...As a male model.
Damn that sounded so stupid. Maybe if he just quickly shoved the papers to his dad then he'd sign them without looking through them? Ugh... that wouldn't work either.
"So bub, how's Raccoon-Eye's intern thing going? You regretting it yet?" Bakugo asked with a chuckle as he kept stirring the food. Eiji nervously tapped the kitchen counter.
"It's fun. I actually really like working with her." He unzipped his bag and pulled the papers onto his lap. "Uh, hey, umm... just out of curiosity, what do you think of the, umm, modeling industry?"
Bakugo immediately let out a long growl.
"Fucking worst industry under the sun."
"R-R-Really?" Eiji deflated.
"They drag you in, their slimey mitts doll you up like a fucking Barbie..." Bakugo grumbled as he aggressively jabbed at the caked rice at the bottom. "They sell souls into the system, luring sad-haps in with the smell of money. Worst yet, they have no regard for personal life!"
"Oh~" Eiji deflated even more, slowly hiding the papers.
"Seriously- I cant stand those fuckers! Their the bane of existence! The designers, the directors, all of 'em!" He snarled and snapped at the sky before turning back to normal, as if he never spoke about the industry. "So why'd ya ask?"
"Oh, um. No- No reason. Just curious..." Eiji will never ever in a million years tell his dad about the job.
"Welp. Eat up. I got some researching to do tonight..." Bakugo said as they both sat silently eating at the table. He nervously tapped the wood.
Should he tell Eiji he was looking for his mom?
"..." Bakugo swallowed roughly and clicked his knuckles on the tabletop. "So, erm, Eiji... I..."
Eiji looked up at his dad with a curious look. Man. That kid had enough on his plate with school and the internships. He shouldn't have to worry about this investigation that will likely lead to nothing. Besides... Bakugo still wasn't sure he wanted to find this lady at all.
"You... patrolling the park tomorrow? Might run into ya."
"Yeah, actually. Sounds fun- I'll get to see you tomorrow, then."
"Yeah." And the rest of the dinner was eaten in silence, both of them nervously hiding things from the other.
## The next morning
Eiji slammed the papers in front of Ashido with a big, toothy smile.
"Woah! You convinced your dad to sign these?" Mina gasped with a happy smile.
"Yup. His signature is on every line..." Eiji smiled with droplets of sweat forming on his brow. He wasn't lying, per se... Just, his dad didn't actually sign them. But that was his signature, so it worked, right?
"Wow! Great! Then this Saturday, you start your first photo shoot! Man this is so exciting! Eek! I can't wait!" She bubbly bounced with joy.
"Yup. Heh heh. Me neither." He was really sweaty. But that was alright! As long as he never told his dad about this modeling gig then he'd be fine! And it's not like he's going to be reading those fashion magazines anyways, so yeah! Everything was going to be just fine!
## Hosu Prison
Chigawa itched at his collar, growling to himself. He hated this thing so much. But he was used to it by now. Or he should be. He's been in here for ten years now. Ten fucking years. He wasn't going out anytime soon, so why was he still counting the days he's been there?
He was stuck there, and the only thing he looked forward to was reading his book. But he wasn't even getting that today, apparently! Where the hell was that guard?!
Suddenly, footsteps echoed up to his cell, and he rolled his neck in annoyance.
"Finally. Gimme the fucking book, Sha-" Wait. That wasn't Shama. It was... a lady? "What the hell is a chick guard doing here? Didn't know they were hiring bitches as guards in this God-forsaken-"
She smiled. And opened his cage.
"..." Was this woman new or something?
"Mr. Chigawa, right?" She crooked her head at an odd and insane manner.
"..." He didn't like the looks of her.
"Come. The others are waiting." She giggled. He didn't like her, but if she was just letting him out then he wasn't wasting this opportunity. She walked past the others cells full of begging men, wishing for an escape. But she looked past them all with this... smile. It was unnatural.
"Who the hell are you? You ain't a guard that's for sure." He growled.
"...I'll explain outside."
Woah. Chigawa was a little weirded out. All of the guards were on the floor, vomiting and defecating everywhere.
"Food poisoning." The lady giggled. He knew that wasn't food poisoning. But he wasn't gonna say nothing.
He exited the building and furrowed his brows in suspicion. There were five others. He knew these guys. Every one of them looked like they were on the brink of insanity. What was this chick planning?
With a tiny remote in her hands, she clicked a button, and all of their collars fell off.
He rubbed his neck. His beautifully bare neck. And he could feel his quick flow through his fingers once more. Oh, he thought this day would never come.
"You five..." the lady began. "Are free."
"..." Despite their collective mental insecurity, they all knew there had to be a catch.
"Us five? There are six of us. And really? Free? Like, you want something from us, right?" Chigawa scoffed.
"This one..." She went up to the dumbest of the men and dragged him gently by the arm. Chigawa remembered that guy. Doesn't speak a single word. Has these crazy, unblinking eyes. No point in talking to him, he just did what he was told. "Is a Nomu. So I'll be keeping him."
"What?! Jo is a Nomu?! I thought those didn't exist anymore!" The nerdy freak with stupid goggle glasses gasped.
"The last Nomu. What a beautiful thing. Just one code-word and he's yours." She cooed. "As for the rest of you. You all have agendas. I know what they are, and I won't stop you." She had a terrible smile on her lips. "But if you get stopped by heroes, then I will not save you. In fact, I'll enjoy watching." As she walked away, she turned back once more to the five men.
"Oh, and if you kill the blonde ones, I'll kill you. Hehe!" And just like that, she hopped into a car waiting for her, pulling the Nomu into the backseat. She drove off, and the five looked at each other with a combined grin of insanity. They were free, and they each knew exactly what they wanted to do.
Little Boss turned to the backseat, staring the Nomu in his blank eyes.
"Shigaraki says..." His eyes looked forward as he awaited instructions. Little Boss liked the look of that. "...that today at 3:38 PM, go to the park, and find this boy." She held out a picture. A little black-haired, shark-toothed boy was smiling in the photo. With a grin dripping with ill-intent, she spoke,
"Kill."