Author's Note: Heyooo! Here's another one. I was really juggling how to go about this internship. Thanks for people's patience and kind words! Comments, especially the super kind ones, really stick to me and have me smiling for days. It's the little things, ya know? Anyways, hope this ongoing story brings you as much joy as kind words do for me!
Being allowed to use our quirk on our internships was a freeing concept. My only hiccup about it was that Yuu Takeyama, AKA Mt Lady, was having us do so to clean for her. Currently I had a pencil wrapped in paper towels trying to get the dirt in the window grooves. The breeze from outside blew in hints of grass and exhaust, a welcome smell over the degreaser and other chemicals Mineta and I used. A bird flew by, its wings fluttering before it glided to a perch on a lamp post.
"You're one lucky little dude." My self imagery of joining that small finch on the post made me feel a little better.
"Hey, can one of you guys go on a snack run?" Mt Lady waved from her reclined position on the couch. "We're out of sweet potato chips and peach rings."
"Yeah, because that's a hero training for sure." Mineta grumbled quietly enough for only he and myself to hear. Tipping the dust pan into the trash bin that was in the kitchen. The broom's handle was well above his head in height.
"Whatever gets me outta here." I whispered back, then raised my voice to respond to Takeyama. "I can do it!" Mineta grabbed at my pants as I tried to walk past, the rappel harness an easy handle.
"Wait, I want to go! I had to scrub the toilets earlier." Mineta argued.
"Can we both go? More hands to carry." It may have been obvious I was just trying to help the guy out, but Takeyama saw the benefit in my offer.
"Grab some drinks while you're out too."
The door chimed as we entered the convenience store. Mineta and I wandered in while wearing our hero costumes. Of the two of us, he stood out more than the I.
"Mommy it's a baby." A little girl pointed at Mineta. She couldn't have been more than five years old.
"I'm not a baby." Mineta pouted, not hesitating to glare so obviously at a kid.
"You look like you're wearing diapers, dude." Chuckling as I continued on and picked up a shopping basket near the front doors. "You think Takeyama will care if we get stuff for ourselves? She didn't ask for a receipt." As it would happen there was a stand for sweet potato chips at the beginning of the aisle and I loaded up the basket with three bags.
"She didn't say we couldn't." Mineta was the one to hold the cash, sifting through the wad and counting it. "I think there's enough here."
"Cool, I want a drink." We strolled the aisles getting what we needed and whatever else we figured we could afford. Basket full and Mineta with an armful more. "You sure we have enough to cover all of this?"
"Pretty sure." He attempted to shrug but it was drowned in the bags of peach rings he was totting. We waited our turn in line as an older lady was dishing out a whole sack of coins to pay. The clinking of the change against the counter was like a drip of water as she took her time to count. It was clear the cashier was getting impatient and took over for her, quickly scooping up the exact change provided. Bagged her items and bid the lady a somewhat crude farewell.
"Have a blessed day, young man." The lady smiled happily nevertheless and shuffled out the building. We dumped our goods for the cashier to scan, he did so quickly and efficiently bagging everything as he went. Clearly the man was interested in speedy transactions over guest service because he hadn't even said hello. Not that I cared all that much. We paid for our items with just a small bit of change given back and were on our way back to the agency.
"Hey, Aoki." Mineta had a bag hooked on one arm while chewing on some sour worms. "Why don't you use your quirk to get all the cleaning done? It'd be over in seconds if you did."
"Maybe for you it would. I would still have to-," In the distance I saw the gigantic form of Mt Lady jogging down the street. She must have received a call while we were on a snack run. Now we were missing out on the action.
"What?" He hadn't seen it. I pointed and his eyes followed my direction, then he did. "Seriously!? This is a crappy internship." I sighed at the same time he did.
"We can at least ask her questions I guess. Let's get back."
"Both of your hero costumes could use some work. What's your target demographic? If someone asked you interview questions like, 'what inspired you to be a hero' would you be prepared to answer on the spot?" The cleaning got done quickly with the two of us, and against my better judgment I did speed it up with my quirk. Meaning I ended up doing more work than Mineta but at least it was done with. We cornered Takeyama and asked her for any sort of advice she could give us. Aside from how to kill time between phone calls.
She made sure to thoroughly chew another peach ring before she uncrossed her legs only to cross them the other way while looking between the two of us to give her an answer. I didn't exactly have an answer ready.
"Target demographic?" I parroted back unsurely.
"I want the babes to swoon over my heroics!" Mineta answered confidently. "Ladies go crazy over heroes. I want to be super popular!" Takeyama looked unphased, popping another peach ring into her mouth and chewing.
"Popularity, got it." She vaguely gestured in my direction with her foot. "How about you, Tick-tock?"
"It's Blink." I made sure to close my eyes before rolling them. She was purposely switching my name to annoy me. "I just want to be able to help people without getting in trouble for it. I'm not in it for the popularity or the money."
"Why're you going to such a prestigious school if all you wanted was the license?" She actually lowered her bag of gummies. "There are other easier schools to get into if that's all you want."
"It was closer to my house at the time." My hand found itself scratching at my face a bit embarrassedly. "A hero I look up to works there too. I got really lucky." Takeyama hummed, she seemed more interested now.
"What hero? Was it All Might?" She guessed but I shook my head.
"Eraser Head." My answer had Mineta looking at me with a mix of expressions.
"Wait, really? Aren't you living with him now?" He'd helped himself to some of the sweet potato chips.
"Seriously? What's that like? I heard he's such a serious and boring guy." Takeyama leaned more forward, resting her arms on her knees, slouching a little. Her tone went up in pitch as she got more interested.
"It's not bad." I didn't feel the need to elaborate. This wasn't the subject I wanted to continue on, not really. "He's an underground hero, aside from being a teacher. I like the idea of staying out of the media. Do what I have to do and help when needed while having time to possibly have another job." I may have slapped Takeyama with how she reared back in shock.
"What? Why?! You have such a flashy quirk!" She put the bag of gummies on the table and sat up more correctly. "Fix up your public image a bit and you're easily going to be a popular hero."
"What about me?" Mineta jumped a little in his seat eager for some compliments.
"Hold on, 'fix' my public image?" I cut off Mineta. "What's there to fix? I haven't made much of an appearance at all." Mentally I was thinking about the blackmail and the office massacre, but I was assured that my name was kept out of the media. I was just a vague reference if even that as an unnamed individual. Takeyama pulled out her phone and dexterously typed away before showing me the screen. A picture of me from the sports festival. I had a dark soot from Katsuki's explosions darkening around my eyes, a bit of blood showing on the bandages wrapping my skull. My expression was filled with disdain for the formalities of the time. I looked like a total delinquent.
"The sports festival is your first big debut as students. Especially for the U.A. students who survived a villain attack. The media is watching you guys already." She pulled her phone back, leaning more comfortably on the couch. "Honestly, as first impressions go you're doing much better than that Bakugo guy. Although he's got more going for him since he placed first." I didn't really know what to say back to that. It gave me something to think about for sure. I let Mineta take over the conversation and just listened to the offhanded shade Takeyama would occasionally toss his way.
Third day of my internship with Mt Lady plus Mineta, and I've realized she doesn't get called on all that much. She shares the area with other heroes and occasionally deems it time to go on patrols but they're short lived. Another interesting fact, her metabolism is stupid high because of her gigantification. Makes sense with all the junk food she eats.
"Hey Tick-tock, come over here." Takeyama had a pencil and some sheets of paper in her hands. My immediate thought was paperwork to sign. Not something I was unfamiliar with at all.
"Blink." My corrections were becoming something of a way of greeting at this point. She put the pencil on the table next to blank sheets of paper, then she pulled out a seat for me.
"Try redesigning your hero costume." She tapped the paper lightly. "To be blunt, you look like some off brand construction worker. If you had a reflective vest and a hard hat it'd be complete." I partially fell into the chair at her comment.
"Well shit, Lady. Tell me how you really feel." I didn't think to filter my sarcastic reply. Then cringed realizing I'd just cursed at the adult in charge of me for the next four days. "Uh…" I could almost feel the tension rising between us.
"Listen here you little twerp, I'm actually trying to be helpful. I didn't have to take you on." She shifted her weight to one leg while crossing her arms, the staple snarky comeback pose. "You don't think I know you dropped the ball on the internship applications? You wanted someone close to your age, right? Meaning you want to know how to get a leg up in the industry quickly. At least that's the impression I got initially, but it seems more like you couldn't care less about being a Pro Hero at all."
"Help? Heh." I scoffed to the side. "What the hell am I supposed to learn from cleaning and fetching snacks for you while you lay out on the couch?" I stood up tall, she and I were about the same height. "I could probably learn more about heroism from a vigilante!" The front door opened and Mineta walked in with a bag of drinks.
"Oh? A catfight?" Mineta asked hopefully. Neither Takeyama nor I heard him though.
"A vigila-ugh!" She choked on the word, her lips twitched up in a scowl. "Pro Hero work these days is more than just saving people, you know." I stayed perfectly still even when she poked her finger against my collarbone, her face getting closer. Backing down felt like defeat and I wasn't about to admit today's superficial heroes were truly 'heroic'. "Vigilantes run in and try to help but they aren't responsible for all the damages they do to property. If things go wrong or they get the wrong person then who's there to sort all that out? No one. Because vigilantism is illegal! If they mess up they run away and hide like a villain would!"
"People still shouldn't be punished for trying to help." I didn't want to admit she had a point. Hero agencies had insurance for instances of property damage. There was definitely a more structured way to go about it.
"Of course not." She forced out a sigh that sounded more like a growl. Leaning back to give me more space while she cooled down, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "Breaking the law is still breaking the law. If everyone did what they wanted then it'd be chaos." She nudged a chair out from the table with her foot and sat. Hitting the table with an open palm she pushed the pencil in my direction. "Look, do you want my help or not? Pro Heroism is a cutthroat industry of popularity and you not making it is no sweat off my back. You could probably make it as a sidekick but who wants to be taking orders from someone else forever?" Mineta happened to walk past carrying the bag of drinks, an open one in his hand. He looked disappointed all the way to the fridge.
"Not much of a catfight…" His grumbles were overshadowed by the sound of the plastic bag rustling as he put the drinks away. Sitting heavy on the chair again I found it physically hard to reach for the paper and pencil. Glaring a hole at the blank paper it felt like time had slowed but I knew I was breathing. Eventually I found my hand holding the pencil.
Mt Lady was a hero who was mostly active in the daytime, only acting during night when requested specifically. Meaning that come sundown we were changed out to civilian clothes and escorted back to the nearby hotel Mineta and I were staying in. Separate rooms of course.
"See you kids tomorrow." Takeyama, in her civilian clothes, waved before leaving the lobby. I'll admit she was a pretty face and there was effort in the way she did her hair and makeup. It seemed unnecessary in my opinion, but imagine everyone looking at your face if it was blown up to five hundred times it's normal size. You'd be self conscious of what you look like.
"Wanna hang out in my room? I got some playing cards." Mineta's invitation seemed innocent enough and I was tempted to accept. The creepy look in his eyes had me feeling just the teensiest uneasy.
"You promise not to try anything?" I adjusted my grip on the case that held my hero costume.
"What? Me? Of course not! I'm an honest gentleman." The cheesiest smile and obvious lie had me staring blank faced back at him. His hotel room was right next to mine so it wasn't like we had to go far. I glanced at the little store close to the front desk. They had sweets and miscellaneous necessities in their little shop. From where I was I saw they had a brand of ice coffee I enjoyed in their fridges.
"Buy me that coffee from the shop and I'll hang out with you." I said while pointing out exactly what I wanted. "The one in the white and red can that says latte." Mineta smirked.
"Oh? So I'm buying you a drink and then we're going to my room, huh?" He rubbed his chin like he was happy with the notion. Then he walked off to buy it. I just took a deep breath and let it go.
"He's a fucking creep. That's just how he is. Let it go, Taka. Let it go." I wandered over to the elevators and hit the arrow up. Mineta caught up and made it in time to ride the lift up with me.
"You're cheating!" Mineta stood up pointing at my large pile of cards versus his dwindling deck. The game we were playing was War, as he deemed any game involving speed was not in his favor considering my quirk. The television was left on for background noise, whatever channel it was last we left it on.
"Oh yeah? How?" I smiled, proud of my luck thus far. Honestly, I wasn't cheating.
"You're probably stopping time to look at my deck or something." He accused while sitting back down and covering his deck with both of his hands. "You flip your card first." I laughed at his distrust and flipped a card. It was a seven of hearts. He flipped his own card. A five of clubs. "Dang it!"
"Hahah!" I rolled back laughing before taking the two cards and adding them to the bottom of my deck. "Tell me how I'm cheating again?" My attention was drawn to the television, whatever was being spoken about was being aired live. The name of the city was posted near the corner of the screen, Hosu City.
"Well you're really sneaky! I don't know." His hands were still covering the small amount of cards. "How long did you go without telling anyone you were working with villains?" I stopped laughing.
"I wasn't working with them." I sat up straighter ignoring the television again. A stab of irritation that my business became the topic of gossip in my class. "Who thinks I did all that shit willingly? What does everyone think happened? I want to know from your point of view. Actually tell me."
"From what I heard you were blackmailed by the Dragons to steal stuff. They burnt your house down and you teamed up with some vigilante to get back at them." Mineta organized his much smaller deck, although it was really like ten cards at most. "Kaminari and the others found out and told Aizawa and Midnight, I think."
"Uh huh…" I found my eyes travelling to the television again. The scene looked bad, like a horror movie.
"You got caught up in an internal fight between the Dragons. Your gang was involved somehow and Sero followed you. I mean, that's like the basics of it. Right? I heard you stole some guy's bike too." He eventually realized I wasn't paying attention. Turning to the television himself to see what I was so fixated on. What had me gaping like I didn't believe what I was seeing. "What?"
Nomu's were causing chaos and there was a large number of heroes trying to clean up the mess. A helicopter footage showed an all too familiar face covered by a disembodied hand. A man with billowing shadows that obscured his features except for the eerily bright yellow eyes.
"League of Villains." Speaking it made it seem more real. Remembering the terror I felt while sitting next to Shigaraki himself. My hands felt cold and I brought them closer to my stomach. My shirt slowly got bundled in my fingers as I felt the urge to hold onto something.
"Is that Midoriya!?" Mineta dropped his cards, fully turning to the television. Hero Killer was bold across the bottom as new information was being aired, the live commentary was helpful but again it was just words passing through my mind. A winged nomu began to carry Deku off and then in a flash some bandaged individual cut him free and stabbed the nomu right through the head. He saved Deku. He wasn't the hero.
Laying in my bed staring at the ceiling I couldn't seem to fall asleep. My mind was repeating the things I'd seen. The words I heard. That man, Hero Killer Stain. I hadn't really heard of him until recently when the news of the hero Ingenium's defeat circulated.
"No wonder Ida was pissed at me." I felt cold but the blankets weren't warming me up. What had me chilled was the sinking feeling in my stomach, the feeling that I agreed with Stain to some degree. I just could not agree with his methods. "He's a murderer."
Like I'm not a murderer?
"That wasn't intentional." I rubbed my eyes, turning to my side and pulling the covers higher over my shoulders.
I think heroes these days are more money chasing glory hogs. True heroes are rare.
"That doesn't mean I want to purge them. Takeyama is exactly the hero I dislike. I don't want to kill her. She still helps people." My phone was charging on the side table next to the room's clock. It was almost midnight. Reaching out I picked my phone up ready to mindlessly scroll through social media until I fell asleep. Then I noticed a few missed messages.
Masa - [When you get back in town I'm gonna need you to be a guinea pig for a recipe I made.]
What followed was what looked like ramen with extra thick creamy yellow broth. Just by looking I could see the scallions, breaded chicken, and was that baby corn? It wasn't something Pops normally served that was for sure. The message was from a little while ago but I replied anyway.
Takaomi - [I thought you didn't like to cook? I'm down to try it.]
The other message I'd missed was from Hanta. He hadn't messaged me the entire internship. Before this we'd message every night, I guess he was busy. I replied to it as well. He could read it in the morning.
Hanta - [Did you see the news? Wild, huh?]
Takaomi - [I did.]
My two words didn't contain all the other things I wanted to say. Sentences, questions, unsure notions were all floating around with no particular order in my brain. I wasn't sure how to… say them. Or even type them. My phone alert startled me enough I almost dropped it.
Hanta - [You're still awake? It's almost midnight.]
"Hah. Well, you are too." I wrote what I said and sent it out.
Hanta - [Yeah. Today was wild, not just the news about Hosu city either. I got to help chase down a robber. Made a trap with my tape and caught their getaway vehicle.]
Takaomi - [Good job man. In comparison my internship is boring.]
Hanta sat up on his bed, he too was having trouble falling asleep. A pillow propped against the headboard of the hotel bed. He hadn't been texting Takaomi recently on purpose. The reasoning was so stupid he actually felt some guilt in doing so. Kaminari and he spoke about the whole situation he was in. How he was waiting for her reply but at the same time she might-and Hanta was sure he wasn't imagining it-have something with Bakugo.
"Play some hard to get, don't make it so easy. Make her come to you, bro."
So as recommended Hanta began to slowly decrease the times he sent messages to her. She didn't initiate their conversations either so they'd gone three or four days without messaging. It had to be the internship, that's what Hanta assumed. He missed her.
Takaomi - [Hey, if I had to change my hero costume what would you recommend?]
"What?" Hanta blinked a bit, taken aback. "Where'd that come from?" Instead of texting he hit the video call button and waited for her to answer or hang up. If she didn't want to be on video he didn't blame her. She answered.
"Hang on." Her arm outstretched, positioning the phone and then pulled back. "This bulky ass phone case is at least good for something." Getting comfortable with a pillow behind her back and the blankets pulled up covering her chest. "Hey, Hanta."
"Hey, Mi-chan." The way he didn't even have to try and smile at her. It was a natural feeling that just happened. "Are you thinking about changing your hero costume?" He angled his arm and shot a strip of tape at the ceiling and stuck his phone to that same strip. It swayed slightly but accomplished the task of holding his phone for him.
"It's a dumb assignment that Mt Lady is making me do. I don't know if I'm going to go through with it." Takaomi bundled the blanket up more and snuggled further into the sheets, only her head really showing now. "She's all hung up about public appearances, appealing to target demographics, and media relations. It's all stuff I really want to avoid."
"Yikes, why'd you choose to intern under her then?" His answer was innocent enough but she rolled her eyes at him.
"My choices were slim since I hadn't turned in my application in time. When Aizawa asked who I wanted I just told him whoever was closest in age to me. That was her. I didn't really think too deeply about it."
"I guess that makes sense. She has a point though, heroes have a lot of different roles these days. They're basically celebrities." He reached over to the side, getting out of frame for a moment. Then showed a box of flavored nori sheets, a little snack from earlier. There was an image of an older looking Samurai with a long beard on the box. "Yoroi Musha, he's an older hero and even he has sponsorships." He put the box back down on the floor by the bed.
"Is that an expectation? Do I really have to commercialize myself just to be good at my job?" Hanta could tell there was more to it, clearly something was weighing on her mind. "Being a 'Pro Hero' versus being a hero seem like two different things now."
"Are you…" In his own mind he figured she was juggling the words of the villain from the news earlier. The way she spoke about heroes, how she felt they were all shallow and fake. It did coincide with the Hero Killer's view. Was Hanta really going to bring up such a heavy topic? Maybe another time. "I would recommend a helmet or some kind of eye protection. During the tournament everyone was getting around your quirk by blinding you."
"That would be smart. At least goggles or something." Takaomi nodded. "Katsuki recommended an oxygen tank in case I ever had to swim for any reason." She used his first name. He may have heard her say it before but aside from Midoriya referring to him as 'Kaachan' no one else said his name.
"You're really close to Bakugo, huh?" He didn't mean to say it so accusatory but it came out that way.
"Yeah. Why are you saying it like that?" Her eyes narrowed a bit and her brows twitched downward. Hanta liked watching her expressions and knew she was pulling back, building up some defensive wall. He much preferred the more open and relaxed look she wears when they chilled in his room.
"I didn't mean.." Hanta sighed. Adjusting his position on the bed so his knees were drawn up and he could rest his arms on them. His oversized shirt had short sleeves large enough they covered almost all of his biceps and elbows. The collar dipped low and Takaomi saw the definition in his shoulders. She wanted to feel the curves of his muscles. The memory of his abs tensing under her hand as he laughed. He was very warm. Something her cold self craved at the moment. She wanted to hug him and be hugged back. "I miss you."
"I… I miss you too." Her reply came out without much thought, but it was true. "When we get back. Do you want to hang out?"
"Like the first day back? Before we go back to school?" They had a single day between the end of their internships and returning to school. A whole open day off, and she was asking to spend it with him. "Yeah, of course. Will you be able to?"
"I'm pretty sure I will be. I can always sneak out, right? Cake and games like always." Her smile warmed and she looked to relax more into the blankets. Her expression softened and Hanta found his heart warming.
"You probably shouldn't sneak away from Mr Aizawa but if you succeed then I won't say no." His crooked smile looked charming on him, if Takaomi had to say. She had the urge to kiss that goofy look on his face but didn't want to say so out loud. "I don't want to keep you up too late. I don't mind talking more, but how early do you need to wake up?"
"We meet her at six in the morning. I should probably try and get some sleep." She felt as if the room only got colder since she began talking to him. "It's freezing in here, what the hell."
"What's the temp set to? You're in a hotel right, maybe the room attendants adjusted the thermostat." Hanta watched as she threw the covers back. Her thin tank top ended well above her navel and her shorts were higher cut than he expected. His hand came up to cover his mouth, a warming on his cheeks at the sudden display of skin. She crawled off the bed and he heard her quiet footsteps on the floor.
"What the hell!? No!" It was definitely an angry outburst. She stomped back and crawled across the bed, leaning most of her upper torso off the other side. Hanta felt he should have turned away, it would have been the polite thing to do. It just happened so fast. Smooth skin from her cute feet carried up to the generous display of thighs. He didn't really notice the sound of a bag being zipped and searched through. She shifted her weight and crawled back to her previous spot. "The place is a damn ice box. I don't know who set the temperature but it sure as hell wasn't me. I need a damn hoodie."
"Heh. Uh, well you figured it out at least." Again Hanta thought he should have looked away but didn't. Her arms raised when she put the garment on and so did the lower hem of the crop tank she was wearing. It was close, very nearly close, almost illegally close.
"I'm glad I brought this." She tugged down the dark gray faded hoodie. Covering all the skin his eyes had been greedily eating up. A very faint red word of VICTORY spanned the front chest. "I guess I'll be going to bed now."
"Y-yeah, sure thing." Having to swallow a lump caught in his throat. Hanta had not expected the little display this evening. Innocently unintended or not his dreams might be inappropriate tonight. "Good night, Mi-chan." He hoped she didn't see how red his face was, the lighting of the room was dim enough.
"G'night, Hanta." She reached forward to the phone bringing her face closer. Her soft smile accented by the phone's reflection in her eyes making them shimmer like pink roses dusted in glitter. Then the call ended. Hanta covered his face with both hands and groaned a silent scream in his throat.
"Holy shit." As if he was mentally holding it in before his blush came on at full force. Tomato red and face burning so much he could have sworn he was steaming. If she was getting this comfortable around him he wasn't sure how'd they be in person. Did she know what she was doing? He just wanted to touch her, the strongest urge to hold her tight came over him. "Please don't say no."
The sunlight filtered through the hotel room curtains, floating bits of particles in the air made it feel magical. Takaomi rolled over on the bed and nuzzled her face into the crook of her arm. A bittersweet and semi burnt scent came from the sleeve of the hoodie and she sighed into it. Melting further into the bed comfortably.
"The sun's up kinda early today." She muttered to herself before deciding to sit up. Reaching for her phone she went to check the time but the device didn't show it. The screen was black and unresponsive. "Oh shit…" Her phone was dead, and as her eyes slid to the clock on the side table she realized her mistake. She'd forgotten to set it to charge and she'd overslept.
"Hey, Tick-tock." A knock at the door had Takaomi throwing the sheets off in a rush.
"Fuck!" She jogged over to the door before opening it to find Takeyama already dressed in her hero costume. "Sorry, my phone died so my alarm didn't go off." Takaomi's bed head and wrinkled clothes were just testament to her claim.
"Well hurry up. I came all the way over here to check on you, make it snappy." Takeyama took a step in and leaned against the doorframe as Takaomi blinked further into the room. In seconds the teen was dressed in her hero get up, hair still a wild disarray.
"Okay… Got it…" Panting from doing all those things with her breath held, Takaomi was ready to go. Mt Lady reached over aiming to brush a stray strand of hair but her fingers ran into knots. "Ow."
"Seriously? Brush your hair. Are you a woman or not?" Takeyama glanced into the bathroom and saw a small comb, basic but doable. "Get over here. I can't believe..ugh." Ushering Takaomi to follow her into the bathroom, Takeyama picked up the comb and leaned comfortably against the counter. She motioned for the teen to turn around.
"You don't have to. I don't really care, I'll just put it up in a ponytail or something." Takaomi turned around regardless while Takeyama decidedly ignored her words. Hands expertly combing through the mess and being surprisingly gentle with the knots.
"If you can't take care of yourself, how can anyone expect you to take care of them? Basically if it looks like you have your life together, then people will think you do. Whether that's true or not." The knots all gone, Takeyama ran the comb through Takaomi's hair once again for good measure. "I know you hate the commercialism side to Pro Hero work, but even that plays a part of the whole picture. We're not complete fakes who're out for a quick buck. We still all strive to help people."
"...You're suddenly being nice." Takaomi looked over her shoulder at Takeyama's sober expression. "I thought you'd be more pissed that I slept in."
"Yeah, well." Putting the comb back down, Takeyama pushed off the counter and stood straighter. "Grape said you were acting funny after watching the news last night."
"Oh." Takaomi looked back forward, her head tilting to the floor. Disrupting her thoughts, Takeyama slapped her hands on Takaomi's shoulders and pushed her out into the hallway.
"You got your things? You can charge your phone at the agency. Come on."
"How come it's just you? I figured we'd see someone else here by now." Mineta was sweeping the kitchen again. At this point her small agency building was going to be sparkling before we left. I was dusting the hard to reach areas higher up, again.
"Yeah, I was wondering the same." I was dangling by a ring anchor attached to my rappel harness, slowly swinging in place. A small stack of papers sat on the table next to Takeyama's elbow, currently she was reading one sheet and signing predesignated areas indicated. Without looking up from her paperwork she answered.
"I can't afford one right now. Starting out most Pros deal with everything themselves, unless they're picked up by another already established agency." She signed the paper at the bottom, her pen hovering over the paper once more as she double checked things and then proceeded to the next sheet. "I don't want to be stuck as someone's sidekick so I opened my own."
"That sounds like a headache. Wouldn't being a sidekick and then opening your own after some experience be easier?" Mineta stopped sweeping and leaned the broom against the wall.
"Don't stop cleaning." Takeyama pointed her pen at Mineta without looking up. "A lot of people get stuck being sidekicks if they're not popular enough. I took the risk. I know what I'm doing." The next few sheets of papers had numbers on them and it seemed like regular affairs for Takeyama. Eyes skimming and signing things off.
"What's that you're doing?" I asked. Pretending to dust when all I was doing was moving the same cloth back and forth believably. Mineta grumbled and picked the broom up again.
"Insurance stuff. No matter how careful I am, I still tend to break something depending on the situation. Normally the Safety Commission handles reimbursing those afflicted but if the damages are too severe we get fined. Seems I'm okay this month." She picked up the stack and tapped it on the table's surface to even it out. Paperclipping it and carrying it over to a filing cabinet in the corner. Then the phone rang. She crossed the room quickly and answered it. Her persona grew more serious as she listened to the call, nodding even though the caller couldn't see. "Understood, I'll be there shortly." Then she hung up. "A train got stuck on a bridge too high for the firefighters to reach. Simple evacuation."
"They didn't say it was over the river." Takeyama's irritated whisper would have gone unheard were we not riding on her shoulder. She'd stopped at a parking lot right on the edge of the river and could see the stopped train on the bridge. Firefighters were waiting on the other side of the river. "Guess I'm getting wet today." She stepped carefully down, the water reaching her mid thigh as she waded closer to the train. There were boats nearby that gave Mt Lady space to get through, her walking was kicking up waves and she had to go slowly. The train was a smaller passenger carrying only a few cars.
"I'll pass the civilians down to you, alright?" Mt Lady was speaking to a man on the rescue boats, he gave her a thumbs up in response. The train's doors were all closed and likely stuck that way, so she had to pry them open with her fingers. "Please step away from the doors." Her hand came up next to us, palm open like a platform. "Get them to organize a line. I don't want anyone pushing their way out and sending someone tumbling to the water in an accident."
"Roger!" Mineta hopped off Mt Lady's shoulder to her palm as did I. Our hand platform carried us to the train's door and we stepped inside. The train itself wasn't jam packed, but all the cars had a handful of people. The doors between the trains seemed to be shut closed as well by how one man was banging on the glass between them.
"Hey, I'm gonna see what I can do about that door." I said to Mineta.
"Okay." He nodded before hopping onto the chair next to the open doors. "Your dashing rescuers have arrived!" He announced to the crowd.
"Just get us out of here. I'm going to be late for work." One rather grumpy businessman elbowed his way through, his briefcase held close to his chest.
"Isn't it women and children first?" A snobby lady stepped in front of him.
"This isn't a sinking ship, ma'am." He retorted while raising his chin. Then set his disapproving look on Mineta, at the moment Grape Juice.
"Whatever, man. Just get on the hand." Mineta pointed out the door to Mt Lady's awaiting palm. The snobby lady and grumpy businessman stepped through at the same time but thankfully didn't push each other off. Two other civilians joined them before Mt Lady moved them to the rescue boat below. "Okay, line up people!"
At the back of the car Takaomi tried wedging her fingers between the sliding doors, it was just difficult to pry them open. They were indeed stuck. The man on the other side had already tried the same from what he had told her through the glass. Peering in she saw there was only an older woman and three children in that car.
"Okay, just gotta put some elbow grease into it." Once again getting her fingers on the edge Takaomi pulled, but this time she wedged a ring anchor into the small opening. The gap became large enough for her to shove her boot in and the man helped her with the rest. "Got it. Thanks, Sir. We can evacuate you this way."
"Thank you. Uh, she might need assistance. When the train stopped suddenly she fell over." He looked back at the older lady and the kids in her care. They looked less than ten years old, elementary aged kids. Scratches and bandages covered them randomly. They clung to the older lady's skirt fearfully. Takaomi walked over and knelt down.
"Are you guys ready to get off the train?" At her question they all nodded.
"I don't think they're going to let go of me. Haha." The older lady's face wrinkled with her gentle smile. "We're on our way to visit their mother, my daughter, at the hospital today. They were in a car accident recently so they're a bit more skittish than usual."
"Oh, I see." Takaomi remained kneeling but focused more on the kids. "I have brothers about your age, they're triplets. They're always looking out for each other. The older one, Mamoru, is like the group's protector. Which one of you is the oldest?" Takaomi raised her hand and the closest child raised her hand as well. "You gotta be brave for your siblings, okay? Can I count on you to lead them?" She lowered her hand but nodded. A shining in her eyes from the tears she and her siblings had been crying. "Awesome, you're a great older sister. What's your name?"
"Subaru." The girl sniffled. Letting go of her Grandmother's skirt to wipe her nose.
"Okay Subaru. Can you hold your sibling's hands?" Subaru reached back and her siblings clung to her instead of their Grandmother. "Good job, guys." Pushing up to her feet Takaomi went up to the older lady and spoke to her more quietly. "Are you okay, the man said you fell over?"
"I twisted my ankle it seems." She took the hand offered and patted Takaomi's arm. "I can walk with assistance, but not with the three tikes on my skirt." Using Takaomi as a crutch the lady stood.
"Hey, Subaru. My friend in the next car is a hero in training, but he's dressed as a baby. It's really funny." The kids laughed just a little.
"Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you." Their Grandmother shooed them off with a hand wave. Subaru led the three hand in hand through the door and into the next car. When the old lady and Takaomi joined them they were greeted by a wave of giggles.
"He does look like a baby." Subaru laughed more openly, her less fearful expression in turn made her siblings more comfortable.
"I-I'm not a baby!" Mineta pouted with a stomp of his foot. The kids just giggled more at him. Once the four civilians were on Mt Lady's palm Takaomi blinked to the next door, only three more cars to go before all the passengers were off. Having gotten the hang of prying the doors open the next two were a breeze, none of the passengers were injured enough to need assistance walking. For some reason as she went to each car the temperature dropped. The last car only had one other person, and they were on the other side attempting to break into the engine control room. There was a frost built up on the glass.
"What's that about?" Takaomi pried open the door, a thin sheet of ice dried from the inside and crashed to the floor. The person on the other side of the car didn't react. "Are you alright?"
"Help me, please!" The man turned frantically. He looked more beagle than human, his ears flopping in a distressed manner. "The man passed out, that's why the train stopped. But he's slipping and he's going to hit another button any second!" There were a number of scratch marks on the door to the engine room, his hands more paws and claws than long dexterous fingers. With the icy overlay on the door it was difficult for him to get a good grip.
"I got it! Go ahead and evacuate. Tell my friend what you told me." Takaomi waved the man along and he left with another word of gratitude. Using the ring anchor as a hammer she cracked through the thin sheet of ice before prying the door open. A high pitched beeping noise was going on in the room but she didn't know what it meant. As she exhaled a cloud of her breath hovered her sight somewhat. Checking over her shoulder she could see clear through the passenger cars, and the beagle man was just getting escorted off. Then the beeping stopped and she turned around just in time to see the man slip off from the controls. His sleeve caught a handle and cranked it to one side. The train lurched as it went from a standstill to almost top speed in seconds.
"Ahhh!" Mineta shouted as he thumped around the cars ahead. Takaomi had fallen against the controls and all the doors shut once again.
"Ah crap!" Through the windows she could see Mt Lady stepping out of the water, her hand outstretched as she'd tried to catch the train. They were growing smaller in the distance as the train sped onward. "Uhhh, wake the train guy. Wake the train guy!" She knelt down, pulling the sleeping train driver to a sitting position and lightly slapping his cheek. His skin was a pale blue but had more flesh tones near his cheeks. "Dude, come on. Wake up." It was clear he was breathing by the obvious misty exhale, but he wasn't waking. "Ah shit shit shit!" She laid him back down more gently and stood over the controls.
"Aoki! There's a turn coming up! Slow the train down!" Mineta banged against the doors and shouted as loud as he could.
"Okay okay okay! That's what moved, right?" When actually feeling the control she noticed the tension. It wasn't something that was meant to be yanked over so suddenly. Turning it at a steady but gradual speed she noticed the train slowed down, so she kept at it. They'd made it around the turn probably too fast than would be considered safe but Takaomi marked it a win that they didn't derail. Eventually the train stopped and this time they weren't on a bridge. "Oh thank goodness.." Takaomi wanted to sink down in relief but instead scanned the buttons and hit the control that unlocked the doors. Mineta came running in shortly after.
"What the heck happened?!" He looked like he had a bump forming on his cheekbone, probably fell and hit his face when the train took off. "Whoa, it's freezing in here!"
"The driver was laying on the controls and slipped. I don't really know. I couldn't get him to wake up." Takaomi's phone began to ring. "Who's calling me?" She pulled it out and the image of a yellow diamond with PHSC as the caller ID. She answered more so from curiosity. "Hello?"
"Stay where you are. Authorities are on the way." The voice which sounded like a man said in a very stoic manner.
"Uh, I hope so? Who is this?" Takaomi had an idea but the whole situation was very coincidental and confusing. The symbol and the acronym was something she'd more so seen on her fostering paperwork. She knew it was a larger organization that dealt with more, but to call her and be very specific about current ongoings… It was eerie.
"Who're you talking to?" Mineta asked, he'd hopped up on the driver's chair looking out the windows. They were closer to a residential area, mostly apartments. Takaomi held the phone a bit away from her face and whispered.
"I'm not really sure." The man on the floor began to stir and both Mineta and herself got closer. "He's waking up." The man took the largest breath as if he was a balloon being inflated. Then he exhaled a chilly snow like frost that dropped the temperature of the cabin even more.
"Ugh, what happened?" The man groaned and tried to sit up but only got halfway before laying back down. He didn't appear at all bothered by the chilly climate. Mineta on the other hand rubbed at his arms and shivered.
"What's going on?" The man's voice on the phone was stern, not exactly demanding but it didn't seem like he expected any pushback. Takaomi took a step back and Mineta was the one to talk to the driver. It was much warmer outside the smaller compartment when Takaomi wandered into the next car.
"Hey, random caller. No offence, I don't know who you are and I'm not about to disclose information to someone over the phone. I'm assuming you're with the authorities, but normally they start by announcing that don't they?" From her view Takaomi could see pretty far down the road that ran parallel to the train tracks. Police vehicles were already coming their way.
"Think of me as your manager. I'm the one now in charge of your case, Takaomi Aoki. My name is Furuse Ichikawa. Now, your position shifted over five kilometers in under a minute so I was notified." The man carried on even though Takaomi was having trouble following, her mind focused on how they were notified. Why were they notified? "Currently you're on a hero study trip with…" There was a pause as if Ichikawa had to verify the information. "..Mt Lady, Yuu Takeyama. Is she with you?"
"Uh.. Hold on. How did you get notified?" Takaomi saw that the police had arrived and stepped away from the door. Mineta must have hit a button as they'd opened for them. Most entered and met with the driver and Mineta, one in particular was staring at Takaomi rather hard.
"Hand the phone to the officer." Ichikawa said. Stunned at all that was happening, Takaomi just followed the orders and handed her cellphone to the officer. He didn't question it. Speaking low and quickly to one another before he handed the phone back. She took it but was still confused. The officer mimed a phone and gestured to her to bring it to her ear. "Oh! Uh, Mr. Ichikawa?"
"Stay with the officers until Mt Lady arrives." It seemed to be parting words but then Ichikawa said one more thing before the call ended. "Good job with the train." Then the line cut off. Takaomi held the phone away from her head and stared at her phone.
"What the hell was that?"
"-and he said his name was Furuse Ichikawa and that he was like, my 'manager' or something? I don't know. It was strange." The day had already turned to night, Takaomi was showered and ready for bed. One large oversized shirt and undergarments was all that was needed for nighttime attire. This time around she checked the thermostat before getting comfortable. Her hair was still slightly wet but she didn't mind.
"Uh huh. Why are you telling me this?" Katsuki sounded anything but interested, his own internship had ended for the evening and he was preparing for bed as well. He hadn't expected the call from Takaomi but he answered it nonetheless.
"Don't you think it's weird?" Takaomi grabbed a pillow and plopped it on her lap, partially hugging it. "He was notified, that means I'm being monitored. Maybe constantly? I mean… If they're going to keep such a hard eye on me, why bother letting me continue Hero school? Are they worried I'm going to run away or something?"
"Why the hell are you asking me? Don't you normally have someone in charge of you aside from whoever has to take you in?" Katsuki grumbled.
"A case manager, yeah. I think they changed who.. Oh, that makes sense. But, how did-?" Takaomi gasped and pulled her phone away to look at it. Navigating to the location sharing portion of her phone she didn't see anyone that was connected, at least that she could see. She turned off her location tracker just in case, as well as her internet and bluetooth. The only thing that remained was normal cell service and she considered putting it in airplane mode before bed. "They gave me this cell phone."
"Then obviously they have your number and can track you. Don't overthink it, this is your own doing. It's not like you snuck out to go partying. You ran off, multiple times, to meet with villains. It's a damn miracle they let you stay in the school." He wasn't holding back the punches and was telling it bluntly. Katsuki was tired, not from anything really physical, but the mental side of things. Having to put up with Jeanist's demands about being nice to people as well as the damn hair styling. Hell, the man had restrained him to a chair the first day. Not to mention the jeans. "So what the hell happened with the train driver?"
"Hmm? Oh, he was overworked apparently." She explained how the train had gotten stopped on the bridge and how she and Mineta had sped off unintentionally. "The guy's probably going to lose his job over it, or at least get suspended. Oh, Katsuki, question."
"Just ask." Katsuki had his own hotel room, not much different from Takaomi's. He laid out on the bed, one hand resting on his stomach while the other kept the phone to his head.
"If I had to redesign my hero costume, what would you recommend? I know you said oxygen tank, and Hanta suggested a helmet or eye protection." Takaomi fell back, the pillow still clung to herself and she rolled to her side.
"Why're you asking? What's wrong with your costume now?" He wondered.
"Takeyama is making me do it, not that I have to go through with it." She shrugged but he couldn't see it. "She's a lot more focused on making a brand of herself and catering to a target demographic."
"Wow. You must hate that." She heard his smile, he was internally laughing at her expense. "Why not just pick your favorite drink and slap their logo on your ass. That'll sell for sure."
"Fuck you Katsuki." Her words weren't really heard over his own laughter. "How come no one is giving you shit? You're clearly not in it to be likeable, you just wanna beat people up." His laughter stopped real quick.
"Not just anyone, I'm in it to be the best there is. I'll slaughter anyone that gets in my way."
"You mean, villains, right?" Takaomi corrected, her own smile audible as well. He just scoffed.
"Whatever." Rolling his eyes and sighing. Katsuki sat up instead, not feeling entirely tired anymore. "It's not like Jeanist approves of my image either. I'm not even allowed to wear half my hero costume right now. He even changed my damn hair style." His phone hung up and then began to call again, it was a video call. He rejected it. It called again. He rejected it a second time and sent a text message.
Katsuki - [No.]
Takaomi - [Show me.]
Katsuki - [Hell no.]
She called him twice more and on the third try he answered it more so in rage. Takaomi was sitting against the headboard of the bed much like he was, a pillow on her lap, the oversized shirt partially hanging off her shoulder. Her hair was freshly washed and still a bit damp. Her cheeks somewhat flushed from the hot shower she'd just come out of. Whatever remark Katsuki was going to make died on his lips.
"Pfft! Hahahah!" Takaomi rocked forward hugging the pillow tighter to her stomach. "Is that a side part? You look so damn proper!"
"Shut the hell up!" Reaching up and purposely messing his hair up, but it went back to the position that Jeanist styled it to. Takaomi laughed louder, rocking backwards instead and pulling her knees up.
"Sorry, sorry." She moved the pillow away and wiped the tears that came with her full belly laughter. "Oh, I needed that. Thanks Katsuki."
"You're not fucking welcome."
"Anyway." She picked up the pillow again and tossed it behind her back between herself and the headboard. In doing so she shifted something on the bed, something Katsuki noticed.
"Is that my hoodie?" Sitting on top of the covers near the head of the bed was the gray pull over hoodie with the faded text. There was no mistaking it. "You brought that with you?" In a blink the hoodie disappeared. "No, you can't play that off. I already saw it."
"Dammit." Takaomi pulled it out from the covers she quickly stuffed it under. Pulling the hoodie up to her lap and just bunching it up to hold it. "I know it's weird. I just… I like the way it smells. It's kind of calming."
"You're right, it's weird." Usually being mean and bantering insults at her was normal, almost expected. Now though, his words hit a different nerve for the both of them. She seemed to sink a bit more into the bed but not in a comfortable way, her head hung a little lower. Katsuki's pin prick of guilt had his lip twitching in a scowl. "Hey, quit that shit." He flicked the screen close to the camera. It made a loud noise on Takaomi's side and she looked up in response. "If it helps, then whatever. Do what you want." In Katsuki's mind he assumed the hoodie wasn't going to smell the same forever. He was considering other things to give to her. Maybe he could just wear the hoodie again and then return it. Of course, that was too embarrassing to say out loud. Takaomi was thinking along the same lines but wasn't going to ask him to do that either. "Did you reject Sero yet?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. It's been a while, he deserves an answer. Just egging him on like this is rude." Katsuki's phone vibrated, it was a message from Kirishima. He replied to it while waiting for Takaomi to speak.
"I haven't yet. I know, I really should and I do feel bad for dragging it out this long. I want to say yes, but-,"
"Then fucking say yes." He spoke while another message came in, clearly not all his focus was on his call.
"What? No, hang on. You're the one who told me to turn him down!"
"You were second guessing to begin with." Katsuki's focus returned, the phone still held out so his upper half was visible in the video chat. "I gave you my opinion since it seems to matter to you so much."
"You kissed me! You told me not to date him and then you kissed me!" Takaomi tossed the hoodie away to the other side of the bed. Shifting her sitting position so her legs were crossed, hands propped on her knees as she leaned forward to the phone. "Do you know how confusing that is?! How am I supposed to tell Hanta I don't want to date him because my feelings are conflicted?"
"Is that the reason now? I thought it was because you didn't want to be a bad influence." Katsuki smirked, it was a very proud one at that. "Didn't think I affected you that much, Taka. You did kiss back." Watching her grow more flustered was entertaining. Instead of hanging her head low she raised her chin and squared her shoulders to something more intimidating. It was contradicted by the embarrassed blush that spanned her face and even the tips of her ears.
"Why are you-," She rose to be on her knees, pushing the phone out farther and then pausing the case to keep it at the right height. "-do you even want to date me or are you just messing with me? What's the point? If you're only teasing then say so and I can move on!" Katsuki's expression wavered, she wasn't supposed to fight back like this. It was supposed to be more banter. Her hands clutched at the shirt around her stomach, pulling it in a fidgeting manner. It made the hem rise but mostly it revealed more of her hip's curve and how much smaller her waist was in comparison. Her head lowered and he was about to say something about it, but she snapped her head back up. "Actually, you already said you weren't going to ask me out. I must be a complete idiot to think you really had any serious feelings for me. Shit, why was I so damn guilty over this? Thanks for the chat. I made up my mind." Her hand reached out to hang up.
"Taka wait-!" The video cut off and the call ended. His phone vibrated and a notification of a text came in from Kirishima. The way his heart leapt up at the thought of her calling back right then made him sick. Why was he so hopeful? Instead of replying to the message Katsuki threw his phone down on the bed. It bounced and landed on the pillow thankfully. His hands were smoking with pent up explosions, he was furious.
At that moment a hotel housekeeper happened to walk by. The aggressive shouts and sounds of explosions startled them enough that they went down to the front desk to report it. Katsuki had to later make up an excuse, because the actual reason he wouldn't tell anyone. Compensation was to be paid for the burnt mattress and the bed sheets. More house chores promised to his father paid for the secret to never reach the light of day.