Mashirao hit the wall of the dojo and groaned. Holy crap. I thought I was good at martial arts. Shaking his head, he stood up. His sensei for the week, the Lion Hero: Shishido, was standing in the middle of the dojo. Mashirao felt unreasonably envious of the other student here. Kendo-san was drinking some water after their warm-up exercises, and had gotten lucky to go second against their sensei.

"Kendo-san! What mistake does Ojiro-san keep making?" The growling voice of Shishido-sensei cut through the haze of the bruises. I think my mistake was stepping into the ring. Mashirao shook his head, as he stood, before turning to face Kendo-san. She was a smart woman, and skilled in combat – her insight would prove valuable.

"Every time he swings his tail at you, you end the spar, sensei." She replied promptly. Mashirao thought for a moment, then sighed. She was right.

"Correct, Kendo-san." Shishido-sensei turned to Mashirao. "Your tail affords you a unique axis of attack, one that you've learned to rely on. I'd heard about your actions during the attack on UA, how you handled a large group of the thugs on your own." The Pro gestured to both students, indicting they should sit seiza. They obeyed. "However, for all the power your quirk gives you, both of you, it also can lead to a major problem." The man paused his pacing to look at them. "Most thugs, like the ones at the USJ, won't be able to cope with a tail, or giant hands. However!" Shishido-sensei glared at them, making sure they were listening. Mashirao felt his spine straighten involuntarily. "If you're content to beat up on thugs, then I would strongly suggest that you look into the police force. True villains, those that heroes exist to fight, will not be bested by fancy quirks. They will be bested by out-thinking them – though your quirks will play a part in that." Their sensei sat in front of them as he continued to speak.

"Early on, when I fought lieutenants in the Yakuza or other street gangs, they would often believe me to be nothing more that a berserker. I encouraged that thought by the way I handled their subordinates. They failed to realize that my most dangerous weapon – the most dangerous weapon any hero can have – is my mind. The way I presented myself altered how they acted towards me – some threw down their arms rather than face me. Others acted as though I would be unable to respond to feints appropriately They soon learned that they were wrong." Shishido-sensei was a very good storyteller, Mashirao absently noted.

"While you may be Tailman and Battle Fist, that doesn't mean that all you must be is your tail or your fists. Use terrain, use your opponents against themselves..and for the love of heroism, don't forget you have legs!" The Lion Hero laughed heartily, and Mashirao laughed along with him. "Alright, that's enough talking. Ojiro-san, do you think you've internalized this lesson?" The blonde boy considered his sensei's words.

"I don't know if it's fully internalized, sensei, but I'm working on it." Mashirao was unsurprised that his words caused his sensei to nod.

"Well, putting it into practice can't hurt. Kendo-san, you're up after this bout." The red-head nodded and stepped to the edge of the ring. Mashirao bowed to his sensei, who returned it. The bout was on.

The two mutation quirk users circled each other – not that Shishido-sensei was likely to go on the offensive. He said he made people think he would act one way...let's see if he can see that coming himself. Mashirao moved in, throwing a few punches, before winding up for a strike with his tail. He saw his sensei move to grab the extra appendage – likely to throw his student into the wall again – but Mashirao didn't intend for that to happen. Using the tremendous muscles in his tail, he throw it the other direction at the same time he jumped up. The cumulative effect meant that he was in position to throw a solid kick right at his sensei's head. In an even more impressive display of reflexes, Shishido-sensei's other hand came up and caught the kick, which rapidly led to Mashirao on the ground. At least it wasn't the wall this time. His sensei nodded approvingly.

"Well done on the feint, Ojiro-san. Now, let's see if Kendo-san has profited from your example. Swap out." As Mashirao limped towards his water bottle, he hoped that he wasn't the only person to get thrown into the wall today.

He wasn't disappointed.


I think I messed up. This was definitely not what Denki had in mind for his first internship. Mt Lady was cool, she was young, she was smoking hot. She was supposed to be teaching him and Kurorio-san about how to shoot up the charts – she was up to Number Thirty-Seven after eighteen months as a pro. Instead, both boys were doing manual labor. Mopping, sweeping, taking out piles of take-out boxes, even sorting mail.

"This is not what I was expecting." Kurorio-san said, leaning against his mop. Denki nodded as he finished up his section of the floor. "We haven't been on a patrol or anything. Kendo-san said they've been on like, 3 patrols so far this week, in addition to training." The ink-black boy continued – Mt. Lady was out on a patrol and wouldn't be back for a bit. "What are we supposed to learn from this?"

"That we should do more research before we sign up to work with an agency, apparently." Denki said as he finished with his work. With a sigh, he pulled his phone out. He'd felt it buzz a few minutes ago, but if he stopped mopping it was going to be impossible to get going again.

Huh? Why did Himiko-san send me a picture? He knew what kind of picture he would like to get from the petite blond, but she was way too into Midoriya-san and Uraraka-san to be sending him that kind of shot.

Himiko (Sanguine): Hey, Boltbrain. Thought you might like this.

Denki could feel his eyes widen as he saw what she'd sent him. Apparently, she and Shiozaki-san had gotten some free time to explore the city. The vine-haired girl was smiling at something out of frame, but...she looked really pretty. The breeze was blowing her hair, and Denki felt something twist pleasantly in his chest.

Me: Thanks, Himiko-san. You were right. I do like it.

Himiko (Sanguine): Thought so. How's your internship going?

Me: Not great. I've done a lot of mopping.

Himiko (Sanguine): That's messed up.

"Hey, Kaminari-san. What do you want to order for dinner?" The one benefit to this stupid internship had been that Mt Lady let them order food on the agency card. "There's a noodle joint nearby I wanted to try." Of course, as soon as Kurorio-san said something, Denki couldn't think of a single thing he wanted to eat.

"Uh, whatever you get, I'm not picky." Denki hoped he wasn't going to regret that choice as the other boy picked up the phone.

Later

Denki regretted it. As it turns out, he didn't much like squid ink pasta. Kurorio-san loved the stuff, though, so Denki had been able to push it off on the other boy. He'd gone for a walk, looking for a vendor that was serving something that sounded good – a nice hamburger would shake the inky taste from his mouth. After finding a place that had a double-decker burger, Denki chose to eat while he walked. His path lead him around the district near Tantoo Station, when the chiming of a bell distracted him. Oh hey, its a church.

Denki didn't know much about religion. His Aunt kept a shrine in the house to his parents and grandparents, but beyond that and some random festivals, she just hadn't had much interest in spiritual matters. Well, maybe I can understand what Shiozaki-san is always talking about. Or at least try.

Climbing the steps, Denki walked in the small stone building. The door closed behind him, as a young man in a sailor suit – one that seemed a bit too small for him, and a bit frayed at that – walked past. He was speaking on his phone.

"Hey, Giran. I won't be able to make the meeting in Hosu." A pause, and the boy stopped to look at the church. "Yeah. No, I don't care who signs up. I'll meet up with them back in Kamino." Making a face, the boy kept walking. "Sorry, a job came up." Another pause as the person on the other hand spoke, and the young man snorted. "I'm sure he's pissed. What's he gonna do about it, shake my hand?" The boy disappeared into the city, just one more body amongst many.


Oh god, I'm so sore. Ochako whined in the privacy of her own head. The last few days of working with Gunhead-sensei had seen her use muscles she'd forgotten she'd had. From running patrols to work outs to martial arts practice, she'd barely had a moment to herself. But right now, the sidekicks and advanced students were getting lessons, so Ochako had had a chance to take a shower. She didn't luxuriate in the hot water that she didn't have to pay for, not at all. Okay, maybe she did a little, but it was good for her muscles.

One of Gunhead-sensei's most senior sidekicks, a woman operating under the name Shocker, was making dinner, and it smelled amazing. Better than the instant ramen and granola bars that Ochako had been having for dinner for the last month, at any rate.

Dragging herself down to the small living space attached to the dojo/agency, she offered to help Shocker with the cooking, but the older woman had waved her off. So, Ochako got to sit down and play on her phone for five minutes. She generally didn't need more than just texting, but she did like to look through her photos. The current background of her phone was a picture of her, Deku-kun, and Himiko-chan that Tsu had taken at the train station. Himiko-chan was in the center, her arms around the others. All three of them were grinning at the camera. Ochako loved the picture. But it also made her wonder what was coming next for them, with the confusing swirl of feelings they found themselves in.

"Oh hey, who's that? A boyfriend? A girlfriend?" Ochako yelped as she became aware of Gunhead-sensei right behind her. The man looked unbearably smug, covering the spot on his mask where his face would be. It's actually kinda cute! Her face fell as she considered her sensei's words.

"It's...complicated." Gunhead gave her what she interpreted as a sad look, which led to her being surprised when Shocker huffed from where the woman was dishing up food from the rice cooker.

"Romance ain't complicated unless you make it complicated. Either you like them or you don't, and either they like you or they don't. Apply that to however many partners are involved. Problem solved, problem stays solved." Ochako blushed at the older woman's blunt assessment. Then the gravity quirk user considered what her senpai had said.

"Wait, what do you mean by multiple partners? Isn't that, like, cheatin', or maybe swingin'?" The older sidekick shook her head in response to Ochako's question.

"It's a complicated subject, kid. If the boss has to go out on a high-risk call, I'll give you the rundown." Everyone at the table ate in peace for a few minutes. "I'll make sure you get caught up to speed before you leave though, no matter what." Gunhead-sensei sighed at his sidekick's words.

"Great, she'll go back and teach her class what you teach her, and then I'll get complaints that I'm teaching her weird shit, then I won't be able to get new interns, and then I'll have to close my agency, and then I'll have to get a job at the corner store. All because you spent a semester in Europe." With a sobriquet like 'The Battle Hero', few would have suspected that Gunhead could whine like a spoiled idol. Or that his senior sidekick could push him around. Deku ain't gonna believe this!

"Not my fault they're still stuck in the Meiji era, boss. Besides, a lot of the fuddy-duddies got their hands dirty, so they ain't in a position to bitch and moan." Shocker snorted. "What a surprise, people afraid of cultural changes have no actual moral code and commit treason." Gunhead-sensei shook his finger at Shocker.

"Cool the politics, unless you're just trying to get your butt kicked in training here after dinner." The two senior heroes began a back and forth that Ochako was beginning to think was actually just long-form flirting. Which would likely continue onto the dojo floor, which could continue... Ochako went bright red and put her full attention on her food. I'm glad I borrowed Himiko-chan's extra pair of headphones.


If anyone could see inside of the non-descript hotel room, they likely would have screamed. Bugs that never lived naturally rested in terrariums. Colonies of more normal sized insects waited, with an unnatural stillness. A huge map of the district dominated the largest wall, bugs crawling all over it. A woman sat in silence, facing the roiling map. Spiders wove their way through her hair, and one of them, a small black specimen with a bright red marking on its abdomen, walked down her forehead. The little spider kept up its walk down the length of her nose, where it stopped. For all that the woman moved, she may have been an elaborately posed corpse, left there in that nightmarish room.

An oddly cheerful tone pierced the stillness. The woman moved, the spider still perched on her nose, to pick up a phone.

"Hello Vic." A pause, as the person on the other end of the line spoke. The woman in the room reached up and removed the spider, gently setting it on the floor. Others disengaged from her hair, scurrying off to little hidey-holes around the room. She snorted, looking around the room.

"Yes, I have my 'lair' all set up." An explosion of noise from the phone caused Taylor to flinch. "Yes, I know it 'freaks you out', it's why I got you a second hotel room, ya drama queen." Another pause, and Taylor considered the map and the bugs moving on it. "Yeah, take-out sounds good. I'll meet you in your room when you get back. Okay?" A confirmation led to a nod. "See you then." Taylor stood up and stretched, while a gem red bug crawled into place on the map. She walked over to the map, before kneeling to be eye level with the red insect.

"Alright, Hero-Killer Stain. Tomorrow night, your time runs out." Taylor stood up, and headed to the bathroom. "Vicky will actually punch me if I show up with spider webs in my hair.

Later

"So what did Idaten have to say about Stain?" Taylor asked, her plate of Yakitori half-eaten. Her timing was, of course, impeccable, her sister-in-law having just taken a bite. The unamused glare Taylor got from the blonde caused a giggle from the bug controller. Vicky finished her bite of food, wiping her face with a napkin and taking a drink from her glass.

"Well, fine, Ms. Super-Scary Plotter, since you couldn't wait till the end of the meal..." She gave Taylor a side-eye and was met by the unamused look she'd been seeing since she was 17 and crying over study materials. "Fine. Handoff confirmed that if Stain ingests your blood, you get frozen. Enigma's team said that he was able to use a similar effect on all of them, but on a much shorter duration. Handoff described the ingestion effect as feeling like their blood had frozen solid. Enigma and her crew described it as feeling like they were in the presence of a predator." Taylor nodded in understanding.

"Hopefully," She said, laying out her thoughts, "It functions how Terrorgheist's quirk did when I hunted him down. But, if it doesn't, I'm still going to try and disable him before I approach. Use the Cluster Wasps, make sure he can't move. If he can lock me down, I'll use a Blackout Beetle on him." She took another bite of her food, still obviously thinking. Vicky seemed to guess the direction of Taylor's thoughts.

"Sounds like you won't be needing me then until its time to pick up the relays." Taylor nodded at the blond's statement.

"Well, I had a thought earlier. They're going to be announcing that Ingenium is expected to make a full recovery, since Shaper has agreed to take his case. Unfortunately, she won't be here till Saturday, which might make Iida-san a target for Stain. I know that Idaten has a few people there, and his friend Haimawari-san is there as well. For how strange he may be, something tells me that that man is quite competent in combat. That being said, having someone with the ability to attack through a 'fear aura' effect would not be a bad thing." Vicky looked down at Taylor's statement. "I know you hate using it these days, but...that power is one hell of an ace in the hole, Vic." The blond nodded in understanding.

"Alright, you're right. I'll head over there tomorrow before the press conference. Give me a heads up if you can though – I'd prefer not to have to be fighting surprise assassins in the middle of a hospital. Or anywhere, for that matter." Taylor snorted at Vicky's words.

"Stain likely won't be a problem – I already have him marked. But he does have that little cult of personality, and they're the one's that have me really worried. There's a lizard guy who was talking shit at the bar the other night – not enough to bring him in, but it's cause for concern. So keep an eye out, alright?" Vicky nodded as Taylor finished her speech, the brunette beginning to eat with gusto.

"I'll keep an eye out. Also, there's a cool karaoke bar down the road, when Amy gets here this weekend we should go!" Vicky's declaration was met with the unamused owl look.

"If you start hitting on the server when you're drunk again, we're done." Taylor's statement left Vicky looking aghast.

"That was one time!" Her defense left Taylor unmoved.

"It was the rehearsal dinner for my wedding!" Taylor replied, ending the conversation as both women started laughing.


A/N: Beta'd by RikaAltraz.

Seeing some students, and why Taylor in Manhunt mode is TERRIFYING.

Yes, Vicky's power is different. That is by design.