warnings: none-ish
"Now that everyone's decided on their hero names," Aizawa says, "we'll go back to talking about internships. They will last one week. As for where you'll have them, those who received offers from pros will receive their own lists so you can choose from those yourself. Those who didn't have offers will choose from among forty agencies from around the country that will be accepting our interns. They all work in different places and have different specialties."
"For example," Kayama speaks, taking the metaphorical baton in a seamless handoff, "Thirteen would focus on rescues from accidents and disasters more than fighting villains."
"Think carefully before you choose."
With that, he passes out sheets of paper to the students, who begin talking quietly to each other about what they hope for.
"Turn in your choices before the weekend."
"We've only got two days!?"
"Make your decision efficiently. Dismissed."
Izuku walks with Mashirao, Shouji, Jirou, and Tokoyami to lunch. Their little multi-class group seems to be sticking together, so far, although it's not so little anymore, not with Kita, Mori, and Yamazaki sitting with them now, too.
"So, big shot hero guy," Shinsou says, lifting a hand towards Izuku from where he's already sitting. "How was your first morning of the hero course?"
"Oh, it was good!" Izuku replies, smiling as he slides into the spot next to Shinsou. "We had a special Informatics class, about internships and choosing out hero names."
Shinsou raises one eyebrow. "So? What did you pick out, then?"
"Yeah!" Aomi demands. "Inquiring minds want to know."
"Well, for now, I'm going with Eclipse," Izuku replies, blushing as some of the 1-B and 1-C students burst into a flurry of excitement.
"For now?" Tokage asks. "That's a totally sick hero name! You have the badass name to back up your beat downs!"
"Funny thing," Jirou drawls, "I'm the one who named myself Beatdown."
"Oh, shit? That's cool!" Tokage turns her attention to Jirou. "We had the same class! I'm going with Lizardy, after my quirk!"
"Eclipse, huh?" Shinsou asks, his voice soft as he looks at Izuku. Izuku's blush returns.
"Yeah," he replies, twisting his hair in his fingers. "It's… kind of based on my quirk, like, I can eclipse other people's powers, right? And it's also kind of reminiscent of Longnight, in a roundabout way."
"I can see it," Shinsou says, nodding. "Did you know your mentor approached me this morning?"
"Oh, uh, I had some suspicions!" Izuku replies, shrugging. "He asked me about you after the Sports Festival. He wanted to know what I thought of you."
"Well, while you hero classes are doing internships, it looks like I'll be doing some intense training with him." Shinsou takes a bite of his food, looking thoughtful as he chewed.
"I'm sure you'll get a lot out of it," Izuku says, and Shinsou nods.
"Of course I will. With him for a mentor, how can I not?"
Izuku's list of offers is made up of, for the most part, underground heroes. He sits down with Yonaga and Aizawa, and they go through every hero on the list, describing them and talking about them. There's quite a few Yonaga worked with, even more Aizawa's worked with, and a few that neither have met.
They immediately cross those names out.
There's also a few daylight and limelight heroes on the list. Edgeshot is one of the most notable names of that kind, and Izuku almost slaps down his yes the moment he reads his name, but he stops and thinks. Is Edgeshot an amazing hero? Yes. Is he someone Izuku could learn a lot from? Also yes.
Is he going to be Izuku's first choice?
No, probably not.
Izuku… used to want to be a notable hero. He used to want to be Number 1, the next Symbol of Peace, stepping up to be the next generation's All Might.
Those dreams? Are somewhat impossible, with his quirk. He can do great things, yes, but there's no way he can be the Symbol of Peace. Ever.
(There's a quiet, steady, sure voice, similar in many ways to Aizawa, that tells him no one, not even All Might, can truly be the only Symbol of Peace.)
So, he shuffles Edgeshot's name onto the maybe list.
The next notable name on the list… is Sir Nighteye's.
Yes, Izuku's just got done thinking about his long-gone All Might obsession (well, maybe not truly long-gone, but it's definitely been banked to well-manageable embers, thanks), and here he is staring at the name of his former sidekick.
Except, the thing is, it makes sense. Sir Nighteye, while not the exact kind of hero Izuku wants to be (Izuku doesn't know exactly what kind of hero he wants to be, yet), is a solid middle ground between the underground and limelight options. A well-respected daylight hero, but not one at the top of the charts. With his quirk, he's not drawn to flashy battles or huge disaster zones. He tends to work in the background, on the smaller cases that may not gain as much attention but mean just as much, if not more.
"What do you think of Nighteye?" Izuku asks, showing Yonaga and Aizawa the name on his list.
"I thought you were over your All Might phase," Yonaga remarks. Izuku rolls his eyes.
"He's still too hung up over All Might for my tastes," Aizawa adds. "I've worked with him a few times, and other than that, he's a good hero, a responsible mentor, and most of all, he's steady."
Steady. How many heroes in the current top ten could Izuku apply that descriptor to, in the way Aizawa meant it? Ryukyu, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot. Maybe Hawks.
He can't apply it to All Might. After the encounter at the Sports Festival, he definitely can't apply it to Endeavor. Miruko is another one who's out, given her violent record and ideas.
So… To have Aizawa call Nighteye steady.
Izuku barely hesitates to write that name at the top of his list.
(He does put Edgeshot's agency as his second option. Just in case.)
heroes or bust!
Roka Aomi
are any other schools doing internships now?
Koizumi Hiraku
Ours are in a couple weeks, actually. You guys are doing yours now?
Roka Aomi
they start next week! we're supposed to be selecting where to go now… certain students who did really good at the sports festival cough Izuku cough cough got OFFERS from hero agencies seeking them out, while the rest of us just get to choose from the same list of 40.
Koizumi Hiraku
Hey, that's still good, though! Izuku, you got offers? Have you picked yet?
me
Yeah! I've got Sir Nighteye's agency down as my first choice, and Edgeshot's as my second
Roka Aomi
EDGESHOT?!
Koizumi Hiraku
Nighteye, huh? Still not over your All Might days then? :P
me
noooooo why does everyone keep saying that
I didn't pick him because of All Might!
…I picked him because Aizawa, kind of
Koizumi Hiraku
Huh
Okay
Roka Aomi
you got an offer from EDGESHOT! WHY wasn't he your first choice!
me
I… just don't think he's exactly the kind of teacher I want, at the moment.
Koizumi Hiraku
Alright! Fair enough!
general tomfoolery
me
I'm leaving for my internship today! I know it's fairly close still but we probably won't get much chance to see each other since I'll be super busy!
Mori Kazuko
:o good luck!
Yamazaki Kyou
Impress the shit out of whichever pro lucked out to get you
Nakano Wakana
You're going to do great! I hope you have a good time and learn lots!
Shinsou Hitoshi
don't die
me
lol thanks Shinsou
Thanks everyone! I'll text you when I can! 3
Izuku corners Iida at the station, the day they're leaving for their internships. Iida's been… not avoiding him, but he definitely hasn't talked to him, either. And that's okay! They're not exactly close friends.
But Izuku corners him anyways.
"Hey, Iida," he says. "I just wanted to check in before we left for our internships. I know how close to your brother you are. Are you doing okay?"
"Yes, Midoriya, thank you. I'm doing fine," Iida replies, and Izuku wants to believe him but can't. However, he can't really push the subject, not without kind of making an ass of himself, so he takes it.
"Alright," he says. "You still have my phone number, right? Text or call if you need to talk. About anything. I can't promise I'll respond right away, but I'm there for you, okay?"
"Okay," Iida says, and the sound of it feels hollow in Izuku's chest.
With that, they separate, each heading to different internships at different locations in different cities.
Bubble Girl meets Izuku at the train station, wearing civilian clothes, but that blue skin is striking, even in a crowd full of quirked people. There's a flash of recognition in her eyes as he approaches.
"So you're Midoriya," she says. "I'm Awata Kaoruko, though you're probably more familiar with my hero name, Bubble Girl."
"Yes, ma'am," he replies, bowing to her. "Thank you for fetching me!"
She smiles. "You're welcome. I look forward to working with you for the next week."
Izuku follows her out to the street. They walk together through the city, to the agency, just a couple minutes' walk away from the train station.
"I'm sure you're already aware of this, but I feel like it bears saying anyways," she says as they walk. "Despite our relative closeness to U.A., you will be staying with me for the duration of your internship. I've received your signed permission form, so I'm assuming that you're already aware of that and your mother didn't sign it without you."
"No, I know!" Izuku says.
"Good. I keep a strict schedule, when it comes to work, although often hero work requires being flexible, in the hours you work and the ways you operate."
Izuku nods. He should be taking notes.
"You'll probably end up spending more hours at the office than me, considering the kind of hours Sir Nighteye himself keeps, but you'll be escorted to and from the office, whether that's by me, Centipeder, Sir, or Sir's work studies student, Lemillion. We understand you're a teenager and can take care of yourself, but we really don't want to be responsible for losing you."
Understandable! Izuku nods.
"So, well, with all that said, here we are! Normally, I'd tell you that you need to go upstairs and make sure you make Sir laugh, but since he reached out to you specifically, that's not exactly necessary. However: Sir highly values a good sense of humor. If you want to stick around, and maybe return for work studies, I'd figure out how to make him laugh."
"My friends consider me an endless source of terrible jokes and slap-stick humor, so I'm sure I'm fine, although most of it is situational!" Izuku replies. Awata snorts, and he considers that his first victory.
Awata leads him to the secretaries as they enter.
"This is our new intern," she says, introducing him. She introduces him to everyone they come across, including Centipeder. She explains that Lemillion won't be there until the next day, and then stops in front of the door to Sir's office.
"Well," she says, "here it is. Go show him he made the right choice!"
Izuku nods to her and knocks on the door.
A smooth voice speaks from within. "Enter."
Izuku opens the door and steps inside. He's still carrying his bags, but that's fine. They're not super heavy, and he doesn't exactly have a costume yet.
"Good morning, Sir," he says, bowing.
"So you're Midoriya." When Izuku straightens up, he sees Nighteye resting his elbows on the desk, his long fingers laced together. Behind the glasses, golden eyes seemed to cut through him, sweeping up and down his form. "Congratulations on your win in the Sports Festival."
"Thank you," Izuku replies, making his own scrutiny of the man before him. Was there going to be some sort of trick? Catch? He had requested Izuku, yes, but according to Yonaga, the man was well-known for putting prospective interns through the wringer.
"You're welcome. Now, Aizawa emailed me about your situation. I understand you're currently lacking a proper hero costume, given your recent transfer into the Hero Course?"
"Yes," Izuku nods. "That's right."
"That works fine for what I have planned for you this week. While you won't be able to learn the ins and outs of fieldwork yet, it's just as important, if not more so, to learn the work that happens behind the scenes. However, first—please put your bags down and come over here. I'd like to go over your performance in the Sports Festival. Have you already reviewed it yourself?"
"Yeah," Izuku replies, nodding as he sets his bags down and walks over to the chair Nighteye pulls over for him. "I don't know if Mr. Aizawa mentioned it, but I've received training from him and Yonaga Noeru. I've been learning from Mx. Yonaga for four years, and Mr. Aizawa for three."
Nighteye nods as he pulls up footage from the Sports Festival on his computer. "He did mention something to that end in his email. So you reviewed it with them?"
"Yes."
"Hm." Nighteye navigates to the obstacle race footage. "I requested access to the footage from Nedzu, and, of course, he gave me footage from all the cameras, so we'll have multiple angles." He turns away from his computer to look at Izuku, who straightens up a bit, having started to lean in towards the screen.
"I hope to use this review to get an idea of how you think, how you strategize, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. So, with that, let's start."
Awata walks home with Izuku that night. He's tired, not physically, but the review of the Sports Festival with Nighteye took several hours, and then he was turned over to Awata and Centipeder for a crash course in what sort of paperwork he could expect to face.
There is so much paperwork.
"I'm sure not every day will be this bad!" Awata says, grinning at him. He's still seeing forms in front of him, even as he's walking down the street. "I'm sure by the end of the week you'll be starting to get a handle on things."
"Mm." Izuku nods. Secretly, he's not convinced. "So… did Sir talk to you about why he sent me an offer?"
"He didn't say anything specifically, and you probably talked about it some in the review, but just watching your footage from the Sports Festival, there are a lot of qualities you have that would draw him to you," she replies. "You were a good sport." She raises a finger, beginning to count off. "You were smart, and consistently came up with and adapted plans as necessary." Second finger. "You were friendly, and worked well with your teammates and even got along nicely with people who you had just, essentially, beat up." Third finger. "And that's what I saw!"
Izuku nods, taking note of those things in his mind. "Thanks."
"Yeah, of course."
They don't speak much as they walk the rest of the way to Awata's apartment. She has a one-bedroom on the third floor of her building, but she's set up the futon in the living room already for him.
"I hope you don't mind that I don't have a spare room," she says as he sets his bags down on the futon. "I volunteered to host you, and then realized that, hey, I only have one bedroom! You could probably transfer to Moashi's place with little trouble, though."
"Oh, no, it's fine!" Izuku replies, waving his hands in front of him. "We need to head to the agency pretty early, right? What time are we leaving?"
"I normally leave at 07:30, to get there with enough time to change into my hero costume."
"Alright!" Izuku nods. He can do that.
Awata heats up a couple of TV dinners in the oven for them, and they settle down with the news on in the background. It's running coverage of a political debate regarding public quirk usage. It's important stuff to keep an eye on, yeah, but Izuku just doesn't have the brainspace to focus on it, instead pulling his phone out.
1-EYYYYY
me
How's everyone's internships going?
Kirishima Eijirou
Tetsutetsu from Class B and I are at the same agency :O
We are! The same person!
Alien Queen~~
nooooo Ei don't abandon me!
Kirishima Eijirou
I could never!
Unless YOU were the traitor!
Alien Queen~~
*offended noises*
Jirou Kyouka
Please, we all know Hagakure is the traitor. She's the only one who could get to those records without getting noticed.
Alien Queen~~
then explain why they didn't know our quirks!
Jirou Kyouka
Easy: she didn't want to make it too obvious that it was her
me
?
Tokoyami Fumikage
A fair number of the class appears to participate in a joke where they accuse each other of being the traitor that leaked the USJ plans to the League of Villains
me
Well! Okay then!
Chargebolt
HEY WAIT what if MIDORIYA is the traitor and he's just moving up closer to us to get better intel!
me
I've known most of your quirks since the first week, though.
Jirou Kyouka
Okay, I KNOW we didn't tell you EVERYONE'S quirks
me
I will never tell you my secrets.
Tail-man
I'm sure he hears all about us from Mr. Aizawa
me
I do not! He's very careful about maintaining a proper professional relationship, which includes Not Complaining About Specific Students to me
Except for Grape Boy
But Kayama complained about him too
Urarara
…okay, what IS the connection here
how do you know Mr. Aizawa?
how does he know your mom and why was "I'm telling mom" such an effective threat?
me
We,,,, mayhaps,,, be related
Jirou Kyouka
how related
is he like. your brother or something
me
Close But No Potato! He IS my mother's brother
Class Prez 3
That must explain why your quirks are so similar, and how you knew Iida! I know that Iida's brother and Mr. Aizawa are quite close.
me
Yeah
Anyways, gotta get to bed! [thumbs up emoji] Early morning tomorrow!
Kirishima Eijirou
Yeah, same dude! Night!
general tomfoolery
me
Did you know hero-work involves literal hours of paperwork every day? I do now!
Yamazaki Kyou
Rest in pieces. You will be missed.
Yamazaki, future detective, knowing that she's gonna have just as more paperwork in her future job: lmao rip Midoriya
anyways! i love Awata Kaoruko! she's a massively underrated character and also i'm maybe just a little gay for her
thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, faved, and followed. i appreciate all of you!
(x-posted on ao3, username: orkestrations)
(prospective update day: Saturday, 4th April)
