Happy belated Samhain, Halloween, and Halloween Eve everybody! Hope you had fun!...before the election that is. Not to get into politics but I think we can all agree this is a cluster fuck. Hope y'all non-American readers are having fun watching the chaos.
Anyway! Time to get out of the school and into the world!
Enjoy~
"Shit shit shit!"
Akami was running late.
Of all the days for her alarm clock to die! She had a train to catch and a hero costume to pick up...and not in that order. She darted onto the UA campus, skidding around corners and praying she didn't run into the business course teacher who had caught her running before; she couldn't handle another reprimand right now…
Nearly out of breath, she threw open the door to the support class. They handled all processing of hero costumes, if not their making and interacting with the support companies was always good experience, just like the hero internships for her class.
Which was exactly the reason Akami was running: she couldn't be late to the train cause that meant she would be late to her internship and then her life would be ruin! ...or at least fairly inconvenienced. Somehow she got out of the support classroom quickly and without any new gadgets–though she did get a few more business cards for her collection–and sprinted down the hallway.
Turning a corner, she ran into a familiar scrawny man.
"Oh Akami!"
Akami had to crane her head back as far as it would go to look up at the teacher she ran into, "Toshinori-sensei! I–I swear I was running for a good reason!"
"Slow down…" Toshinori put his hands on Akami's shoulders to calm her down, "you have internships today, right?"
"I–" Akami blinked, wondering how a general studies teacher–because that's the only place he could possibly work since that was the side of the school she didn't interact with–knew about the internships, "yeah and I woke up late and I had to get my costume and–"
"Then what are you standing around here talking to me for? Run along," Toshinori gaunt face stretched into a boney grin, "I won't tell anyone."
"Oh thank you, Toshinori-sensei!" Akami circled around him to run off but paused, turning back, "and thank you for your help with my costume; I wouldn't have it today without your help. And I would have to have gone with my...other one."
Akami shivered and Toshinori looked understanding.
"Think nothing of it." Waving to her as she left, Toshinori's voice followed her out, "Go save the day."
Running out of the building, Akami noticed a car just outside the gate; she nearly cried when she saw who was driving.
"I noticed you run out of the house earlier," Shota drawled out, brow quirked, "going the wrong way."
"I slept in, okay?" She said as she ran around the car, "And I don't want to hear a word out of you, Mister Brings-a-sleepingbag-to-class."
"You're going to need to take the backseat."
"Why?" Before he could answer, Akami came face to face with a purple haired thorn in her side. Her eyes widened before falling into a wary glare, "what are you doing here?"
Shinsou turned hooded eyes to her and merely said, "shotgun."
With a groan, Akami climbed into the back, grumbling that he was lucky she was too tired for this shit…
The ride was quiet, with none of the car's occupants being morning people, and before long, they were there.
Akami jumped out of the car with a quick, "see ya, Papa!" before rushing to the stairs to the station. She turned when she heard footsteps coming up behind her and saw Shinsou. Raising a brow, she turned to continue, "The fuck you want?"
"Aizawa-sensei wanted me to get him a coffee from the kiosk," Shinsou said, falling in beside her, hands in his pockets.
"What are you his secretary now?"
"More like intern, I suppose..."
She rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
At the top of the stairs, Akamu saw Mina across the platform, waving. She left Shinsou with a "goodbye or whatever"–to which he replied, "don't die, I guess"–and sprinted to her friend. As she got close enough to see how peppy Mina was, Akami immediately regretted not getting a coffee as well.
"Morning, Aoi-chan!"
"Mina…" Akami sighed as she fell into her friend's arms, exhausted, "I'm right next to you. You don't need to yell."
"Sorry to drag you away from your boyfriend~"
"He's not my boyfriend! Why does everyone–"
Mina giggled, throwing an arm over her friend's shoulders and cutting her off, "Come on! We're taking the same train right?!"
"Yeah," Akami let herself be pulled through the station, "though your stop is a bit before mine."
"...so I won't be able to see you off…" Mina said with a frown.
Akami sighed, "But I'll be able to see you off."
"Eh you win some you lose some." She tugged Akami forward once more, "Come on!"
"Ahh!" was her reply as Akami stumbled forward.
An arm looped its way through Akami's left arm, pulling her up. She started to pull away before seeing Kirishima there, smiling down at her; instead, she let him take her arm. With Mina on her other side, she felt squished a happiness sandwich. She sighed, letting her friends pull her along, far too tired to resist.
Boarding the train, the three of them saw more than half their class crammed into the car.
"Wow!" Kirishima's jaw dropped, "Party on the A train huh?"
Mina giggled as Akami nodded, once more being pulled along into the train.
It didn't take long for the car to empty. First it was Kirishima at the first stop then Kaminari. Two stops later, Jiro and Momo got off together, then Ojiro. This continued and their party dwindled quickly; the buzz of chatter quieted until Mina's stop came and went and it stopped all together.
After waving to Mina and assuring her that she would text her when she arrived, Akami sighed, closing her eyes, exhausted already.
And it's only 10am…
"Why the fuck do you look like you're being sent off to your death?"
Apparently the cart wasn't as empty as she imagined; Bakugo sat a few seats away, the only other person in the car. In all the hubbub of the day, she hadn't noticed they were headed the same way.
Though Kirishima peeled off from our group pretty quick. Guess he went to sit with him….
Akami rolled her eyes, "Because this will be actual experience in the field, with real villains who might try to kill me, and I feel emotions like a normal person?"
"Yeah right...like anyone would try to kill you."
"Haven't they already?" At his silence she continued, "Honestly, if I can survive day one, I'll call that a win."
"You have weak ass standards."
That was the last thing he said to her before his stop came a few seconds later. And just like that, Akami was alone; it would be several minutes before she would arrive but her anxiety made time stretch to feel like hours.
Eventually, the train slowed to a halt and Akami stumbled out and sent a text to Mina. She looked around, trying to spot her newest teacher amongst the crowd. Being as short as she was, she couldn't see anything beyond the first row of heads.
"You must be Akami!"
The voice was far too close and too loud for Akami's nerves. She spun, leaping backwards, holding her hero costume case out like a shield...and running into a poor man in a suit who was just minding his own business.
After apologizing to the man, Akami looked at the woman in front of her. Standing at about 5'5", she wasn't tall but still towered over Akami as she placed her hands on her hips with a loud laugh, saying, "You've got some good reflexes on ya! Even if you are a bit jumpy."
Dark green eyes sat under light green hair, accompanied by a wide grin. The woman seemed to exude excitement and enthusiasm. Her outfit was casual and stylish if a bit plain–a pair of overalls over a mint green shirt–but Akami was always interested to see pro heroes not in uniform. It was a good way to get a feel for who they are as a person; one can lie about many things with hero costumes–confidence, poise, strength–but when you were just yourself, what you choose to wear says something.
What it was telling her was that she could relax.
Akami stepped out of her still tense stance, "Ms. Joke?"
"That's me!" was her reply, loud and spirited.
"Um…" this has gotten off to a great start…, "thank you for the internship offer."
"You're welcome!" Ms. Joke smacked Akami on the back with a laugh, sending the off balance girl stumbling a few steps, "I saw you at the sports festival and knew I had to. Come on! My car is outside."
Had to?
Getting into Ms. Joke's rather modest car, Akami felt oddly shy, out of place. This was the first time she was somewhere where she didn't know how to act. At home she knew who she was, at school she at least had her "rivalry" with Bakugo to build off of until she had other friends, and even at the USJ she knew who to fight and who to ally with; here she was unsure how casual to be, how enthusiastic, or how strict this woman was as a teacher or person and it was stressing her out.
Why am I not good at people?
"Any questions for me?"
Ms. Joke's voice shook Akami out of her vaguely panicked thoughts, bringing her back to the car. With a breath, she quietly replied, "Um...one."
"Hit me!"
"Aren't you a teacher at Ketsubutsu Academy?" Akami asked, "Why would you offer to intern with another school?"
"Yeah I am," Ms. Joke said offhandedly, "but they're all doing their own internships and I can't take someone from my own school as an intern. Something about favoritism."
"Ooh...that makes sense," Akami said but her mind was already elsewhere, thinking of her guardian and her nuisance back home doing their own training, whatever that entailed.
Rules are meant to be broken, I guess…
After a quick car ride with an ever talking Pro Hero, they arrived as a small but cute house. As soon as they walked in, Akami was given a quick tour, shown her room–which was nice and cozy–and told to get changed into something she could run in. Excited for a chance to learn something, she got changed in record time and was out in Ms. Joke's backyard within minutes.
The yard was a nice garden–rocky paths wound their way through quaintly overgrown thickets of flowers and trees–and on the small lawn just outside the door, stood Ms. Joke in a workout outfit, stretching for their training session.
"Come on down!" Ms. Joke waved to Akami, "let's get started!"
I thought I would get more time to settle down, Akami thought as she walked down the deck stairs, but...I guess it wouldn't hurt to jump right–
As soon as her foot touched grass, Akami was brought to her hands and knees by a wave of laughter that bubbled nearly painfully from her lungs. She felt like she couldn't breathe as she gasped for air, only to lose what air she got loudly and immediately.
"First lesson! Expect the unexpected!" Ms. Joke laughed along with her for a few seconds before deactivating her Quirk, "well that's one lesson; I was trying to see if you could figure out how to counter act it right off the bat."
"Counter act?" Akami sat on her knees, trying to catch her breath, "with what?"
"That's what were here to figure out!" Her teacher stood above her, hands on her hips, "what is it you feel when you use your Quirk?"
"Um…" Akami blinked, "anger? Rage?"
"Good good!"
Akami struggled to her feet, unsure, "Is...it?"
"Yes!" Ms. Joke gestured to her, "That we can work with!"
"How?"
Ms. Joke's grin took on a sinister glint, "it's probably best to experience it."
They stood there, facing each other silently, for a few moments before Ms. Joke launched herself at Akami. Akami–for her part–was not ready for the attack and just barely stumbled out of the way of a kick aimed at her head.
"Come on, Akami! Expect the unexpected!"
The girl couldn't reply as her attention turned to fending off her teacher's advances. It was easy to see who was the better technical fighter–years of hero work gave Ms. Joke the edge–but somehow Akami kept up...for the most part. What she wasn't ready for was the introduction of quirks into their spar.
As Akami raised her arm to block another kick, laughter once again sputtered from her lips and her block faltered. A foot to the shoulder sent her reeling backwards onto the ground.
"Now why didn't you activate your Quirk just then?" Ms. Joke said from above her.
"Because I want to learn to control it better," Akami struggled to her feet again, rubbing her shoulder, "and when my teacher is attacking me doesn't seem like a great time to start."
Ms. Joke looked at her, eyes wide, before starting to laugh again, "are you kidding?! That's the best time!"
Akami wasn't sure what to say as she just stared at her teacher.
"Activate your quirk."
"No."
Her teacher looked disappointed at her answer, "Then how will you learn to stand on your own?"
Brought to her knees once more by Ms. Joke's Quirk, Akami tried to think around the euphoria that clouded her mind. There was something she wasn't seeing here, something Ms. Joke was trying to show her. After a minute, the laughter faded again and Akami pushed herself back to sit on the grass.
"Are…" Akami cocked an eyebrow, head light and breathless from laughing so much, "are you trying to teach me how to be immune to your Quirk?"
"Nope!" Ms. Joke laughed, "I'm trying to teach you how to control yours!"
"...but–"
"That's just a side effect!" Ms. Joke waved her off, "Should work on any Quirk that effects your mind, so its not just mine! Let's try again!"
"But..."
"Activate your Quirk," Ms. Joke's grin fell, "I'm going to teach you that anger doesn't have to be your weakness. There's more to your Quirk, I can sense it, but you are stuck in a rut and won't let yourself move forward."
"That's not how my Quirk works!" Akami pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly.
"I heard about USJ."
Eyes wide, Akami felt like her breath had been knocked from her lungs with those few words, "w-what?"
"When you accepted my offer, I did some digging to know who I'm letting into my house." Ms. Joke shrugged, "impressive work. Protected your classmates and held off, what, 15 villains? You've got potential...and flaws. I do know how your Quirk works."
"If you know about USJ," Akami said carefully, "then you must know why I have to be careful."
Instead of answering, Ms. Joke's brow furrowed, "are you going to continue to be a liability in the field or are you going to let your anger go?"
Her words sounded too much like what Shota said to Midoriya on the first day of class and stuck a nerve in Akami. Her fist clenched at her side and rage flooded her mind.
"My anger is my quirk," Akami jumped at her teacher again, "I can't just let it go!"
The rage was gone as soon as it came as a wave of hysteria caught her briefly, interrupting her attack.
"Is it your quirk?" Ms. Joke asked, tone serious, ducking below her punch and kicking her in the stomach, sending her flying, "Or is it just a crutch? The easy way out. Because when I watched you in the sports festival, it wasn't anger I saw in you as you clawed you're way nearly to the top,"
Akami sat in the dust, stomach and back aching, as she listened to the woman, unsure of where she was going with this.
"It was pride." Ms. Joke took her arm and hauled her to her feet as if she weighed nothing, "I chose to offer you this internship because I saw you let go of that pride–the chance to win at a cost–for the sake of others. Now, I will see you let go of that anger," she turned, walking back towards the house, "or we are done here."
Watching Ms. Joke leave, Akami struggled to think; she knew she couldn't let it end here, that she needed to stand up and face the music. The thought that she might have had her entire Quirk wrong sent her reeling but she knew she had only one possible answer.
"Wait!"
Ms. Joke stopped, her normally jovial expression serious as she looked back at Akami over her shoulder as she got to her feet. She waited quietly.
"I–" Akami swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, "I want to let it go. Please..." Akami's eye flit to the ground, "teach me how."
"Good!" Ms. Joke spun on her heel with a laugh, her enthusiasm back so quickly it gave Akami emotional whiplash, "we can continue after dinner! Come on!"
After dinner, Akami got her ass kick a few more times before Ms. Joke decided that was enough for the first day. Sore, tired, and covered in dirt and grass stains, Akami took a shower before dragging herself into bed. Pulling out her phone, she was bombarded by a wall of notification from the group chat.
It seemed like everyone was having a great first day; selfies and other pictures littered the chat, with everyone showing off their internship experience so far. With a sigh, Akami sent off a selfie Ms. Joke had dragged her into when they got to the house; she felt like her smile was a bit strained but it looked nice enough.
Pinki: Looking cute, Aoi-chan~
Bubbles: :0 is that Ms. Joke?! Shes so pretty!
Kiri: bet you're having fun with the smile hero!
Akami thought back to the beat down she had experienced an hour earlier and snorted.
Me: its been an experience
Pinki: ill call you in a bit!
Waiting for Mina to call her, Amaki noticed there were a few names missing from those checking in, but only one she wanted to annoy. With a slightly evil grin, she pulled up a private text thread.
To Baku-chan: Day one: survived. Much more challenging than I thought.
Akami was in bed after her chat with her friend when her answer came.
From Baku-chan: Idiot.
and so the internship begins! Hope y'all like my take on Ms. Joke, she's a lot of fun to write!
also I'm writing a few aus for this fic. Basically whenever I have writers block and can't bring myself to work on other things, I'm working on those. I already have one up! its called Phoenix Brute and it's already on it's 2nd chapter!
Akagami hime chan: the group chat is so much fun! I'm glad you liked it! And bitchy akami is a lot of fun too. She doesn't show up toooo often with people who aren't Bakugo and Shinsou but she's there; what can I say? The girls got anger issues! Speaking of anger issues, Mineta will always get a beat down, don't you worry. Anyway, there were a lot of evolving friendships in the last few chapters: Mina and Akami become best friends, Akami realising that "shit….are Bakugo and I friends?!", and her brand new sibling relationship with Shinsou which I love so very much~ I love two sleep deprived boys and imma make a family out of them.
Apachetearsx: Thank you! I anguished over a hero name for a while but then that came to me and it was perfect.