Hi, everyone! I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I did while writing it. Please feel free to review, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. Mizuki, however, is my own creation.
Let's start with the story, shall we?*
Chapter 35
"GOOD MORNING!"
The door to Mizuki's room was slammed open, the ash blonde teenager letting lose an explosion on instinct. The sudden awakening call had her spring up in bed, the bedding churned at the flames that came from her explosion.
Mizuki breathed heavy, heart thumping loudly in her ears. She looked up to see Burnin stare at her with a shocked and surprised expression. She blinked a few times, taking in the state of the bedding and burst out laughing.
"That's what I call burnt toast!" She laughed, Mizuki's brows twitching in agitation. If this had happened at home, she would've killer her brother. She looked at her clock. It was an entire hour before her alarm went off.
"What happened?! We heard an explosion?!" The other flaming sidekicks ran up towards the room, peeking inside to see a fuming teenager. They paled when they saw the churned bedding, the roof slightly darkened and Mizuki felt her cheeks darken.
"She's got a crazy Quirk, huh?! Haha! Hurry up, Kid! We're setting out in five!" Burnin called and then slammed the door closed. Mizuki was left with her own thoughts as she stared blankly at the door before letting her head fall onto her chest.
What a way to start the day…
She changed into her costume, rubbing away the sleep that was still stuck in her eyes. After yesterday's patrolling and touring around the city, she was sent to her sleeping quarters. They had warned her about the busy day and she prepared herself but didn't prepare for their energy.
She was familiarized with the streets and the buildings, the shops and the traffic. They had been a great help when it came to inform her about everything that went off. Not to mention that they had to keep an extra eye out after the Hosu incident.
"Took you long enough!" Burnin yelled at the female as she entered the voyeur, dressed and prepared for the day. Mizuki's eyebrow twitched. She barely took five minutes to get everything done.
"What was with that explosion in the room though? Do you always wake up like that? If so, we're going to have to file in enough damage reports beforehand," the horned male spoke and Mizuki flushed.
"I-It's not a habit. It only happens on instinct or if I'm caught off guard!" Mizuki stated, pointing at Burnin. She came barging in and yelled good morning, causing Mizuki's body to self-destruct all on its own.
"Ha? That's crazy! What's with that?!" Burnin asked, laughing loudly and only added to Mizuki's fuelling anger. If this happened every morning, she was going to kill this female even if she was a pro hero.
"Well, it's about time we start, don't you think?" Kido said, holding up his index finger. He walked in next to Burnin, his eyes peeking out between the bandages. "Do you remember what I said yesterday?"
Mizuki grunted. "Each group has their own designated area to patrol each morning while the others are on standby shifts until anyone needs to be dispatched," Mizuki answered, her face impassive as she did so.
"Correct, but I also said something else, remember?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "Heroes need to train every day. That's why the morning patrol…" He trailed off and Mizuki's eyes widened as realization washed over her.
"…is an early fitness run!"
Mizuki watched as the group rushed off, all grins and filled with energy. She was left in the dust, briefly covering her eyes at the debris that shot against her. She didn't expect them to be this fast, a trail of sweat cascading down the side of her face as she smirked.
She dug her heels into the ground and let loose and explosion as she ran after them, her pace fastened with her Quirk. They weren't even giving her any time to take in their words before they were off.
"You're too slow! You'll never be able to be the first on the scene like that!" Burnin called towards Mizuki and she clicked her tongue in irritancy. "Lesson number one! Learn to rush to the scene faster than anyone else!" Mizuki managed to catch up to them, their pace at high intensity.
"Rescue operations, aiding evacuation, and fighting villains. Those are the three fundamental skills to make a hero. A lot of heroes specialize in one of them but as sidekicks of Endeavor, we strive to excel in all three of those fundamentals," the bandaged male said, looking completely at ease running at full speed.
"Your Quirk is good for combat and fighting off villains, but dangerous during rescue operations in cautious areas and instead of helping with evacuation, you'll only make more chaos," the male with horns spoke, Mizuki's brows knitting together.
"You have to find a balance where to use your Quirk and where not to. Always stay calm and collected, but be quick on your feet. Don't let the slightest anomaly be overlooked and always minimize possible casualties," the bandaged male concluded.
They came to a stop, Mizuki's breathing heavy and sweat trailing down the side of her face. The sidekicks looked at her with calm expressions, barely breaking a sweat at the sudden burst of intense training.
"In other…words… I need to…find a way to…be limitless…no matter the situation…" Mizuki said between breaths and then smirked. Specializing in only one thing? That was only going to frustrate her if she was limited.
"Now you're getting it. That's why it's going to take much more guts and strength to survive this internship. You're an image towards the public, walking around under the number two hero's name. You can't slack off even for a second," the horned male said and then grinned.
"That said, let's keep going!"
Mizuki inhaled and then ran after them at full speed. She wasn't planning on anything being easy. She expected the challenge. She expected it to be difficult. After all, it would've been boring otherwise.
"Next is morning training! We need to keep our fighting instincts sharp and our body in shape on a daily basis!" The horned male said as he dodged Mizuki's punches, easily evading each one of them and making her move faster.
"We already told you, but we can't rely on our Quirks all the time. There are situations where it would be dangerous or even have no effect," the male continued, dodging the kick that was sent his way.
Mizuki paused and inhaled deeply. He was predicting what she was going to do even before she did it. Was it his Quirk? Was her fighting style predictable? Was she too slow? She smirked, sparks appearing all over her body.
"Hey! Self-Destruct girl!" Burnin called out towards her and Mizuki glanced at the copper green haired female. "You like incorporating your Quirk in your fighting, right? It must suck not to be able to get in a hit without it!" Her words had Mizuki fuming.
"Like hell I can't!" Mizuki shouted angrily and went to punch the male, his leg stepping out to trip her. Mizuki fell over him and as she was about to fall onto the floor, her hands touched the ground and she twirled in the air. She kicked her leg in the male's side and he let out a grunt.
He winced at the impact, watching as Mizuki flipped herself onto her feet once again. She was agile and her aim was good. She had consciously kicked him in his short ribs to make damage. She was intelligent and sly.
Burnin chuckled as she watched the female fight with more fire in her eyes. She managed to get more hits in, her partner soon having to switch out with someone else. It seemed like they were going to have to light the fire a little more.
It was barely even noon and Mizuki was already tired. The morning run followed by intensive gym and training session had her muscles stiff. She had gotten in a few hits before she was on the ground, defeated.
It was frustrating. She noticed the lack of strength in her battle against her brother. The impact she could make with her Quirk was much more than without it. Even though she always trained her body to stay in shape, she missed one component. Strength.
"Alright! Next is some mind training!" Burnin said, Mizuki's brows furrowing. "We've physically trained for the day, now, we have to get our mental state ready!" The ash blonde swallowed thickly. What challenge laid ahead of her?
Burnin slammed a stack of papers onto an empty desk and grinned evilly as she patted the heap. "Time to do some paperwork!" She said, Mizuki's crimson eyes widening in horror at her statement, more stacks being put down.
"Y-You're kidding me!"
"Filing reports and sorting out requests are very important for a hero agency to run smoothly," the bandaged male chimed in. "There are protocols and regulations that has to be followed. Every action we take needs to be recorded and filed."
"That's right! Your job is to sort out all these papers, documents and forms out by the end of the day!" The colour drained from her face. "Requests need to be read and forms need to be completed for each one! Don't forget to submit each one electronically!" Burnin said, pointing at the computer.
"I have to do all of those…? By the end of the day…?" Mizuki's mouth was dry as she rasped out the questions. She didn't know what kind of joke this was, but there was no way that she could do this all by the end of the day!
"We told you before, right?" Mizuki felt a shiver run down her spine at the sadistic look Burnin gave her. "We're a large operation with hundreds of request a day. We have even more after the Hero Killer incident. This is the perfect time for you to shine, Rooky!" She stated with a laugh.
"HAH?! This is impossible?! How on earth am I going to do this all by the end of the day?! It's not humanly possible! It's going to take me the rest of the internship!" Mizuki snapped, pointing at the stacks of paper.
"Mm? Is that so? Too bad. If you can't finish with this then you won't be able to join us on patrols and training," Burnin said, shrugging as she crossed her arms behind her head and Mizuki's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Ah well, good luck! See ya!"
"W-Wait! Y-You're not serious!" Mizuki called after her, only receiving a glance from the female. It was enough to tell her that she wasn't lying to her. Mizuki looked back at the stacks of paperwork that waited for her and cursed.
She was screwed.
Best Jeanist Agency…
Katsuki had been forced to continue to wear a pair of tightly fitted jeans, his gauntlets were set aside and his hair flattened once again. He was forced to look ridicules but at least he was taken out to patrol for once.
"It's possible that the villains who were inspired by the Hosu incident the other day will become more active. Even though this is just a patrol, don't let your guard down," Best Jeanist said as he walked in the lead of patrolling, Katsuki walking behind him with a scowl plastered on his face.
It was irritating. It was all that everyone talked about. The Hero Killer and how he was defeated by the number two hero. It was bad enough that Mizuki was part of the ordeal but Izuku, Shoto and Iida were also part of it. They were fighting off villains and he was stuck with boring patrol. What bullshit.
"Right."
"This is sudden, but here's a question. Patrols are meant to deter villains from committing crimes, but they also have a secondary effect. What is it?" Best Jeanist asked, glancing back at the intern with a cool gaze.
"If we see villains, we beat them up right away!" Katsuki replied with a sinister grin forming onto his lips, his red eyes blazing brightly. Best Jeanist let out a sigh, shaking his head at the male's crude and aggressive answer.
"No."
"It's Best Jeanist! Please do your best at work!" A group of middle schoolers called out towards the pro hero. The number four hero stopped to give them a wave the girls squealing and Katsuki's brows twitching.
"The answer is: to show people who we are. To give the public peace of mind. It builds trust between those who protect and those who are being protected," Best Jeanist calmly informed him and Katsuki scoffed.
"What is this, a courtesy visit?" He grumbled out from underneath his breath. Heroes weren't there for fame and fortune, they were there to beat up villains and making crime disappear. A public image? It didn't matter as long as you were strong.
Mizuki popped into his head, his face becoming impassive. She was more the one to handle such bothersome matters, especially after she did a time of modelling for their father. She had much more patience when it came to things like that.
"Oh, I've seen him on TV before!" A young boy exclaimed, pointing towards him as his other two friends stood on opposite sides of him. Katsuki briefly closed his eyes in agitation, resisting an exasperated sigh.
The sports festival again?
"He was caught by a villain and looked like he was about to cry, right?" The boy said with a mocking tone, a laugh escaping his mouth. His words had Katsuki shaking with anger, his once flattened hair spiking with an explosion.
"What did you say?!" He yelled angrily at the boys, tears immediately forming in their eyes as they took a step back in fear of his demeanour. Best Jeanist watched as the male fumed and frowned deeply beneath his collar.
"Did you already forget what I taught you?" He asked the ash blonde male, causing him to briefly stop with his outburst. Katsuki resisted a groan, knowing that another lecturing session would be given. "Deal with them properly," Best Jeanist ordered.
"Alright already!" Katsuki snapped back and walked over towards the group. "You know, I wasn't caught by the villain back then, I was thinking about how to defeat him. It wasn't that I'd lost. I'm the man who'll become the number one hero! There's no reason for kids like to you worry about me-!"
They burst out crying after his finished outburst, the ash blonde male paling at their wailing. Each of his sentences ended worse than the next one and only made them more scared. Best Jeanist let out a sigh, his hand covering his eyes.
He's too proud. It's fine for those strong feelings to be aimed to becoming a hero, but if that's no longer the case… Now, what shall I do with you? Best Jeanist thought as he stared down the aggressive male, his eyes narrowing.
"Your sister." Katsuki looked back at the pro hero, his expression instantly changing. Best Jeanist noted the change, the female an important and sensitive subject. Katsuki's expression told him enough to know that he was defensive and overprotective about the female.
"I watched your fighting closely during the festival. She seems less ferocious nature than you, why is that?" Best Jeanist asked, Katsuki clicking his tongue and averting his eyes away. Oh? It was something that Katsuki already knew.
"How the hell should I know? What has that to do with anything?" Katsuki asked, his tone laced with annoyance. "She's always been able to do these pains in the ass things better. She misses the goal of number one and acts all empathetic. It's disgusting."
Best Jeanist raised an eyebrow in interest. He was certain that the siblings had a lot of similarities, their battle instincts and intelligence one in the same. Yet, it seemed that they were much different when it came to their nature.
"Don't you think that is what you're lacking?" Best Jeanist said and Katsuki glared at him. "You've grown accustomed to your sister's presence and didn't concern yourself with matters that seemed insignificant. It has blinded you to miss a few fundamental elements."
"HAH? What the hell does that mean?"
Katsuki's snapping tone told the pro hero that he hit the mark. The twins each had a side of the same coin. Their resemblances brought them together and their difference in nature was where they filled each other. Katsuki was needed by his sister as much as she was needed by him.
Best Jeanist's eyes briefly widened as everything clicked in place in his mind. That was what made the barrier. Their bond. The possibility was high that the bond the twins had was the barrier between villain and hero.
It turned out that the changes he wanted to make was more troublesome than predicted. It was deep rooted within the young male. If he didn't realize it on his own, then he was never going to be able to grow.
"It's simple. Nothing changes, if nothing changes," Best Jeanist told the teenager. Katsuki was thrown in his own whirl of confusion at his statement. The statement sounding incomprehensive for him and at the same time, something started to make sense.
"Let's finish with patrol, shall we?"
Fourth Kind Agency…
"Contributing to the community is also an essential part of being a hero. Don't drag your feet doing it! Do you understand?" Fourth Kind scolded the two interns as they cleaned up a local park, garbage bags in hand as they worked.
"Yes, Fourth Kind-san," Eijiro and Tetsutetsu replied, their tones as unenthusiastic as possible as they picked up the garbage. They both expected something much more exciting and adrenaline pumping to happen, but did nothing more than patrolling and doing community work.
"I can't hear you!"
"Yes, Fourth Kind-san!" They yelled at the top of their lungs and he grunted in satisfaction. Eijiro resisted to let out a sigh, picking up more garbage and tossing it in the bag Tetsutetsu held. They knew it was necessary to do all kinds of community work, yet couldn't help but hope for more.
Ah, man. I hope the others are doing something more fun than this. Eijiro thought, picking up a small toy bunny from the bushes. He stared at the peach coloured toy and was about to throw it away before his eyes widened.
"That's it!" Eijiro exclaimed, making the other two males jump slightly and laughed sheepishly. "A-Ah, sorry! I-um was thinking of something really motivating!" He tried to counter, Fourth Kind nodding in satisfaction while Tetsutetsu gave him a sly look.
"You were thinking of Mizuki-chan, weren't you?"
Eijiro's body went rigid and he quickly put an index finger on his mouth. "Shh, don't say it out loud like that," he said, letting out a breath of relief when Fourth Kind didn't hear them and grinned. "I was thinking about how the others are doing and that I would like to hear everything after the internships…"
"Oh… Ah! Are you going to ask her out on a date?"
Eijiro laughed blushingly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, something like that. She asked me the first time so I thought I could surprise her this time. After all, she'll need a break from working hard this week!" He said and Tetsutetsu nodded with his own big grin.
"That's going to take guts!"
"What are you two doing talking about?! We still have work to do!" Fourth Kind hit the two boys on their heads, their Quirks quick to activate beforehand. "There is still another park that we need to clean up! Let's hurry!"
"Yes, Fourth Kind-san!"
Miuzki rubbed her tired eyes, blinking the irritation away as she finished up with completing another form. She submitted the online application and then moved on towards the next document from the medium sized stack next to her.
She had worked her eyes dry and her hand into a cramping state to finish up with the documents that was put on her desk. She surprisingly made progress amongst the heaps, only having a few left before she finished up.
The sun was already halfway set as the day came to an end. She could feel the churning in her stomach when she realized that she wasn't going to be able to finish with her task before the end of the day with night coming fast.
She recalled Burnin's words and clicked her tongue in irritancy. With the amount work that lay ahead of her, she wasn't going to be able to do any training or join them on patrols. She'll be stuck with desk duty up until the last day of the internship.
She briefly closed her eyes, resting them for a while. Her respect for Aizawa grew as she experienced the suffering from dry eye. The poor male had dry eyes as a chronical condition. How did he survive with his Quirk?
Speaking of which, she hadn't contacted him. The medicine Recovery Girl prescribed kept the worst of the vertigo at bay and she hadn't experienced any other symptoms. She hoped that it would stay that way. The thought of contacting him was too much out of her comfort zone.
She opened her eye with a sigh, blinking at the cooldrink that was placed in front of her. She glanced around, looking for anyone who could've put it in front of her but found no one. Who brought her this?
She took the cooldrink, a note attached to the side. Flame On. Mizuki resisted a chuckle, a smile forming onto her lips. Even though they were merciless with having her do all the documents, they had a caring side.
Alright! Let's try this again! Mizuki tried to motivate herself and let out a breath. Her brows furrowed and she started with the documents once more. If she wanted to join them on patrolling and training, she needed to spark.
Burnin watched the female as she continued with filing once again, fastening her pace slightly but not enough to do sloppy work. Her lips were pressed into a straight line, eyes blazing and her thoughts lingering in her head.
Flashback
"Huh? You want us to take care of her? Why? The request was personally for her. I'm sure she'll rebel against the decision," her partner had asked Endeavor, the male sitting by his desk and a deep frown plastered on his lips.
"I don't plan on training someone who throws away their talent." His reply was simple, with much meaning behind it. "Moreover, she doesn't show any signs of respect or restrictions." Burnin's head cocked to the side in confusion.
"Why did you scout her then?"
"To put her on her place." They sweat dropped at his words. It was difficult for them to believe that there was someone who had gotten that deeply underneath his skin. The only other person that did that was All Might, making them wonder what type of impression she made.
"In other words, you want us to push her into a corner until she submits? Isn't that a bit…" He trailed off, uncomfortable at the thought. Breaking someone's spirit wasn't the goal of a student internship and if they pushed it too far, they might make too much damage.
"Only until she bites back."
End of Flashback
Biting back? The young teenager was far from biting back. She was reluctantly accepting but still accepting. She was trying to show that nothing thrown her way could get her down. She was missing a very important component.
That Night…
Shit.
Mizuki sat on her bed, hands folded into one another as she rested her forehead against them. Her eyes were closed, the exhaustion coming over her like waves. Her body was stiff from the intense training followed by the long hours of desk work.
She couldn't finish with everything. It was frustrating. She worked her eyes nearly completely dry, her dominant hand still twitching in strain. She was mentally more worn out that physically and honestly only wanted to sleep.
She was stuck.
Usually when she felt mentally drained, she would design and let her mind wander off on its own. It was her relaxation activity. However, she didn't feel like designing at all, making her almost bite her bottom lip open. What was going on with her?
She glanced at her phone next to her, eyes quivering. What was wrong with her? She could feel an unsettled feeling within her chest, her brother feeling lightyears away. It didn't make sense. Surely, she could handle an internship without Explodo-kill yapping in her ears.
The thought of her brother exploding and yelling had her unconsciously smiling. After a usually long day he would always be there to make her feel better. Even if it was only his presence. Even if it was his yelling. Even if it was only his shadow.
"Ugh…!" Mizuki fell onto her back, her arm covering her eyes. It was ridicules. She wanted to go to a designing school far away from him and stay in a dorm. There was no way she would endure it if she couldn't even endure this.
Stupid, Katsuki.
Her phone suddenly buzzed next to her and she whined. Someone was calling her and she didn't have strength to answer it. She didn't want Eijiro to ever hear her when she felt like this. It would only make her feel worse. The buzzing continued, veins starting to palpitate out of her skin.
"WHAT?!"
"Who're you calling stupid, huh?!" Mizuki's eyes widened at the voice on the other side of the phone call. "You may be at the number two's hero agency but I can still kick your ass!" Katsuki yelled angrily.
He…heard her? Mizuki had a wave of mixed feelings wash over her at her brother's voice and bit her bottom lip. She actually missed the asshole and hearing his voice made her painfully come to realization.
"Yeah, I'm sure you can."
"…Hey…what's with that half-hearted reply? Did someone die?" Katsuki asked, his tone of concern and statement making Miuzki laugh lightly. She rolled onto her side, crimson eyes softening as she stared at the wall.
"No. Not yet anyway." Mizuki then closed her eyes, her grip on her phone tightening. "What about there? Anything new that's happening except your new love for jeans and gel," Mizuki teased lightly and could imagine her brother snapping.
"Like hell I do! It's damn uncomfortable!" He retorted, Mizuki chuckling. "I made a bunch of stupid brats cry on patrol today and then got a lecture about it! It's not my fault they piss me off!" Mizuki burst out laughing at his statement.
"You made kids cry? What did you do? Show them your face?" She continued to laugh, her brother yelling in her ear that it wasn't funny. It was hilarious! She could already see it happening in her imagination.
"Screw you, Mizuki! Go die! I don't get this internship at all! Shouldn't we be doing something important? Like, butchering villains?! I don't give a shit about public courtesy!" Katsuki yelled and Mizuki's face softened.
"Unfortunately, it's part of the job, Little Brother. Though, if heroes like Endeavor can be at the top, I guess you'll make it too. There is still hope for your…what did Best Jeanist call it…ferocious nature," Mizuki pointed out and Katsuki growled.
"I'm not aiming for just the top. I'm going to be the number one hero! I'm going to get an indisputable first place!" Katsuki countered and Mizuki nodded at each word he said, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Yeah, yeah. I hear you, Mister Number One."
"Hmph. What about you?" Mizuki blinked at his question and frowned. "Have you surpassed that Half and half bastard and his father yet?" Katsuki asked and Mizuki let out a bitter chuckle, eyes falling beneath a shadow.
"Ice Bastard's only returning to his internship tomorrow and Prickhead hasn't done anything but please the media. But don't worry. I'll make it." Somehow. She thought and rubbed her temples soothingly.
"Are you sick?"
"What? No. I'm in perfect condition!" Mizuki told the male and then let out a sigh. She could practically feel the disbelieving look he gave her. "Fine! I'm…a bit…homesick…" She muttered as silently and as incoherent as she possibly could, embarrassed that she felt this way.
"…"
His empty reply only made her want to bury herself deep underneath the ground where no one would ever find her or dig her up. She wasn't like this. She was challenging and nothing ever got her down!
"Tch, it's too damn quiet without your stupid voice," Katsuki replied and Mizuki's eyes widened. Her one hand went to clutch her clothing. She could feel it. She could feel the longing from both of them. They didn't have to say anything more, knowing that they missed each other was good enough.
"I'm going to sleep. Don't die."
"I hear you. Don't tear your jeans until I can buy you more pairs!" He growled and she laughed lightly. She could feel the loneliness fading and a feeling of contentment filled her chest. "Good night, Katsuki."
"Good night, Mizuki."
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