Chapter 25

Beginning of the Internships (Arisa's POV)

Today is the first day of everyone's internships.

At the Emerald Shade, I changed into my school uniform and checked to make sure I had everything in my backpack. Then I checked the suitcase with my hero costume, and everything was okay.

As I got out of my room, Felicia and I walked together to the Tatooin Station, where we met with Speed Girl and the rest of our classmates. From there, we'd get on the train to where each of us has to go to.

"OK, everyone!" Speed Girl said to us presently. "I wish you all good luck and be kind to your mentor, and most importantly, do your best!"

"Yes, Sensai!" Everyone said.

After that, Speed Girl left her class, trusting everyone would be on their way to their internships. As time went on, most of Class 1-L boarded their trains. The only ones left were Felicia, Kai, Eli, Usagi, Yuki Drago, Tatsumi, and me.

I was with Felicia, Eli, and Usagi in a group while waiting for my train. Tatsumi was talking with Kai, and Yuki Drago was sitting on a bench.

"I'm so excited to start my internship!" Usagi hopped with joy.

"Me too. I think it's gonna be great," Eli agreed.

"I hope the same for my internship," Felicia stated.

"Same here," I said.

Then Usagi and Eli looked up at the train departure board.

"Holy Carrot! My train is here so I gotta go," Usagi got her stuff.

"Yeah, I'm heading out too," Eli got his stuff too.

"Okay. See you two in a week," I said.

"Safe travels," Felicia told them.

Usagi and Eli left the group to get on the escalators to their platforms. After that, I saw on the train departure board that my train would be here soon. Then I saw Kai talking with Tatsumi, who soon left for his train. I did want to Kai about something, but I didn't want to leave Felicia to do that.

"You can go talk to Kai if you want," I heard Felicia say as I turned to her.

"Are you sure?" I wondered.

"Yes, I'll be fine," Felicia assured me with a smile.

"Okay. See you in a week," I got my stuff.

"Safe travels," Felicia said.

I went to go to talk Kai while I still can.

"Kai!" he turned back to see me. "I just want to say that I am happy for you that you got an offer from someone. Before you go, who is it that gave you your offer? Is it a famous hero agency?"

"Well, sort of. It is someone I know who I will meet," Kai admitted.

"Really, who?" I asked.

"Wish I can talk longer, but I got to go now. You better get going, too." Kai looked at the train departure board.

I also looked at the train departure board, and saw that my train was here too.

"Oh, right!" I realized. "Well, see you later in a week, and good luck!"

"Yeah... Good luck." he waved goodbye to me and I did the same.

Then I got on the escalator to my train platform, and boarded the train.

-My Hero Academia-

After riding the train for about an hour, I arrived at the Gunma Train Station and got off the train. As I got out of the station, I found myself in Gunma City where the Endeavor Agency is located.

Using the GPS on my phone, I navigated my way through the city and found the Endeavor Agency.

It's a luxurious skyscraper type building with various floors. The front entrance is decorated with a stylized flaming "E" for Endeavor.

I arrived at the front of the agency, where I met up with some interesting Pro Heroes.

One of them is a young woman who has big red-orange eyes and pointy teeth. Her most distinguishable feature is her long, flaming yellowish-green hair with two bangs on each side and a wider bang going from the center of her forehead to the right. The ends of her fingers are also notably pointed.

She wears a light-gray double breasted mini dress with orange and black lining and slits on both sides of the skirt. Her collar, belt and wrist guards are black with a smaller orange line, and the silver buttons resemble flat-headed screws. She also wears a belt with a temperature gauge on the front and a fire extinguisher on the back, black knee-high socks, and short black boots. Her mask is black and connected to a red headband.

Another is an average adult man whose skin is covered by either strips of clothing or bandages. His signature bandages cover his entire face and as well as parts of his arms and hands. He wears a flak jacket over a short-sleeved shirt as a part of his hero costume.

The last one is a man with dull purple hair, black eyes, and tan skin. He wears a horned happuri that frames his face, black jacket with a white silver "X" on it, gray pants, and black shoes.

"Welcome to the Endeavor Agency!" a woman enthusiastically greeted me with a toothy grin.

"Call us the Flaming Sidekickers!" the two guys announced.

"If you don't already know, I'm Burnin," the woman introduced herself.

"The other two are Kido and Onima," Burnin pointed to the bandage guy and the horned guy respectively.

"Hello. I'm Arisa Kawasaki," I introduced myself to them.

"Nice to meet ya. We've been waiting for you and Shoto to show up for the internship," Burnin said.

"Shoto is coming here?" I was surprised.

"He sure is," Burnin revealed with a grin. "Endeavor wasn't sure about you coming here, but he decided to allow it. So lucky you."

"Um, thanks," I sweat-dropped.

"Endeavor wanted to talk to you before we give you a tour of the place. So let's go," Burnin lead the way inside.

"Okay," I followed her.

Then Kido and Onima followed us inside.

We went through a hallway full of doors, which I thought might be rooms as part of the living quarters.

After that, we entered a large office with several desks and computers. It was full of receptionists and other Pro Heroes at the desks and on the computers.

I saw Burnin go to one of the receptionists and she said, "Tell him she's here."

The receptionist nodded and proceeded to do that on an intercom as Burnin returned to the group.

"This place is huge," I commented.

"It sure is," Burnin joined in. "This is the main office of the building. Here at the agency you'll be whipped into shape in no time. You're gonna learn a lot because this agency is totally different from your classroom. This is a gigantic operation. We've got more than 30 sidekicks employed."

"That's a lot," I said.

"Yeah. So if you wanna shine here, you're gonna have to work hard," Burnin stated.

"Okay," I sweat-dropped.

"Oh, and go to the big door and the end of the room. Endeavor's in his personal office," Burnin pointed to it.

As I approached the door, it slid open on its own. I entered and saw Endeavor's personal office is a very large room with only a relatively small table and his large desk inside.

Endeavor was sitting at his desk, looking at some papers. The door closed behind me as I approached him.

"So you're here," the pro hero said, finishing with his papers and looking at me. "Yes, I remember seeing you at the Sports Festival."

I nodded in agreement.

"We'll begin the internship when Shoto gets here. I'll admit I was surprised to see that you're an exchange student at UA High. I wasn't expecting you to come back here, especially with what happened back then," Endeavor revealed.

When he said that, I had an angry look on my face.

"So, how is your father doing?" the pro hero asked me.

"He's fine," I answered rudely.

"Somehow I doubt that. It seems you haven't forgotten what happened in the past. With that, I had some doubt about you being here for the internship, but I've decided to give you a chance. Though this only because you and Shoto are old friends. Just don't let your personal feelings get in the way of what I'm trying to teach Shoto and you," Endeavor warned me.

"Yes," I nodded.

"Very well. Be sure to change into your hero costume before Shoto gets here. That is all," Endeavor finished.

He pressed a button on his desk, which opened the big door, and he went back to looking at his papers.

I went through the door, calmed myself down, and met up with the Flaming Sidekickers.

"So how did your chat with Endeavor go?" Burnin asked with her usual grin.

"It was fine," I told her.

"Alright. Now let's give you a tour of the place," Burnin stated.

I followed her, Kido, and Onima as they led the way around the agency.

The first area we went to was the cafeteria.

"This here is the cafeteria," Burnin started.

There were plenty of tables and chairs, along with a large buffet and vending machines. Some pro heroes were there eating and talking with each other.

"We come here to eat the usual three meals a day and chat with each other," Kido said.

"The food is here is great," Onima commented.

"So if you want to eat some of the good food, you better come here early," Burnin laughed.

"Okay," I said with a sweat-drop.

The next area was the gym. It was spacious and full of standard gym equipment, like treadmills, stationary bikes, and squat racks. Some pro heroes were using the equipment.

"Up next is the gym, where we train ourselves to become strong," Burnin explained.

After that, the last area was the same hall I saw on the way inside.

"Finally, we have the living quarters. This is where we Pro Heroes live," Burnin told me.

"We've got some spare rooms here for you and Shoto," Kido revealed.

"You should go in and get changed," Onima said.

"Just don't take too long. We'll be in the main office waiting," Burnin said.

"Right," I responded.

The Flaming Sidekickers left as I chose and went into my temporary room.

Inside, I found the light switch and turned it on to see a standard bed, nightstand with a lamp, a dresser, and a mirror above the dresser. There was also a closet and bathroom.

'This looks like a nice room,' I thought.

I put down my backpack and quickly put my essentials away in the dresser drawers. Then I took out my hero costume from my suitcase, and got changed right away.

Once I had my costume on, I decided to not put on my kabuki make-up so I wouldn't scare the Pro Heroes and Shoto. Well, Shoto probably wouldn't show it.

With that, I left my room and headed to the main office, where I found the Flaming Sidekickers waiting for me.

"That's a nice costume you got on," Burnin commented.

Kido and Onima nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," I replied.

"While you were getting changed, Shoto finally got here and he's in the office with Endeavor," Burnin stated with a grin. "So that means you'll be starting your internship soon. One of the receptionists will let you know when you can go in the office."

"That's good to know," I said.

"Well, us sidekicks gotta do our patrol now so see you later," Burnin told me as she, Kido, and Onima left the main office.

After that, I watched patiently for when I would be called in.

'I can't believe my internship is going to start soon. I hope Shoto can understand why I'm here,' I thought.

"Call her in," Endeavor's voice came from an intercom nearby me, which snapped me out of my thought.

"Miss, you can go in," one of the receptionists told me and pointed to the big door.

I approached the door and saw Endeavor and Shoto looking at me. Though I can tell Shoto was surprised by the look on his face, which was rare to see.

Shoto's costume was a dark blue, short-sleeved jacket and pants with two gold-colored straps over his shoulders. He wore a metal plated combat vest, white boots, and a brown utility belt that contains medical supplies.

"You should remember who this is. Quite honestly, I didn't want her to be here, but due to her reasoning, I accepted and gave her a chance. I hope to see my decision isn't wrong."

"Arisa...!" Shoto was surprised.

I stood firmly and bravely next to Shoto and facing his father.

"Now then, get ready. We're going out," Endeavor declared.

"Hm? Where?" Shoto asked as I looked quietly and neutrally.

"I'll show you what a hero is," Endeavor said with his unchanged, smirk expression as he headed to the door.

We followed him out the door.

"We're heading out to Hosu City!" Endeavor announced to his sidekicks as they responded.

"Yes sir!" We spoke.

As we walked down the hallway, Shoto took this opportunity to talk with me.

"Arisa..."

"Yes, Shoto?" I responded.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"..." I didn't say anything back at first.

"Um, I mean, I'm not saying you should be here, but I'm just surprised that you are. I just want to know why you are here. What is your reason?" He explained.

"Well that's the point," I began as Shoto listened with a curious look in his eyes. "I want to find my reason to be a hero. I chose your dad, Endeavor's agency because if I learn from the Number 2 Pro Hero in Japan, then maybe I can learn something and gain a lot of good experience. I know it's going to be tough, and it is, but I want to do my best. Ever since I saw you and everyone at the Sports Festival. I just felt... inspired."

Shoto stayed quiet as he processed his thought. "... I see. If my father gives you any trouble, just let me know."

I grinned and responded, "Thank you, Shoto, but I will be fine."

After that, we left the agency and boarded the train at Gunma Station to head to Hosu City.

Once at Hosu Station, we left it and started patrolling Hosu City.

While on patrol, Shoto and I saw that some people were a little scared of Endeavor because of his attitude.

-My Hero Academia-

After an hour of walking, Endeavor let us have something to eat from one of the vendor carts in the city. Though some of the vendors were also scared of Endeavor. We had some burgers to eat as we controlled our patrol.

Everything in Hosu City was okay, and we headed to the Hosu Station when it got late.

On the train, we sat on the large seat together. Shoto sat in between Endeavor and me. To pass the time, I decided to ask Endeavor a question.

"Endeavor," I started as it got the Pro Hero's attention. "Why were we patrolling Hosu City?"

"To track down the Hero Killer: Stain," Endeavor answered.

I was silent because I remembered hearing on the news about the Hero Killer. Though I didn't think we would be looking for him.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," Endeavor nodded. "He has been sighted in Hosu City and he must be stopped. You two will get to see how I work."

I was stunned into silence because the chance of running into the Hero Killer surprised me.

Shoto remained silent during the conversation.

-My Hero Academia-

Eventually, the train reached Gunma Station, we headed back to the Endeavor Agency. There we had dinner at the cafeteria with the Flame Sidekickers and Endeavor at their table. Once we finished, Shoto and I talked to each other as we passed by a janitor mopping the floor.

"Hey rookies," the janitor Stan Lee spoke to us. "Watch where you're going."

The janitor pointed to a caution sign on the floor about the wet floor.

"Sorry," we said to him.

"You rookies better keep your eyes sharp if you're gonna be fighting villains," Stan Lee told us.

Shoto and I went around the wet floor and headed to our rooms.

In my room, I took a shower, changed into my pajamas, and got ready for bed.

While I sat on my bed, I got a text from Felicia.

FM: Hi Arisa. How are you?

AK: I'm fine. You?

FM: Splendid. How's the internship?

AK: It's good. How about you?

FM: My internship is good too.

AK: I'm glad. Thanks for asking.

FM: You're welcome. Hope to hear from you soon.

AK: Same here.

After that, I heard a knock at my door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Shoto," my friend said.

"Come in," I told him, putting my phone on the night stand.

Shoto opened the door, closed it once he got in, stood near it, and spoke, "Arisa, can we talk?"

"Sure. What is it?" I responded as he got closer, standing next to my bed.

"Are you okay from today's patrol?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I'm fine, but I'm a little worried about us encountering the Hero Killer," I replied.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine," Shoto assured me.

"Thanks," I said.

"Also, there's something you should know," my friend started.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"It's about my family," he continued.

"Did something happen?" I grew concerned.

"My oldest brother Toya died long ago," Shoto revealed.

The room was silent for a moment as I took in what my friend told me.

"Shoto, I'm so sorry," I felt terrible for him. "If it's not hard for you to talk about, when did he die?"

"It happened years ago. Sometime after you stopped coming over and after my mom was put in the hospital," my friend responded.

"How did it happen?" I asked.

"From what Endeavor told my siblings and me, it happened in the mountains. There was a fire, and Toya's body wasn't found. We think he was burned to death," Shoto explained.

"Um, why are you telling me about this now?" I questioned in a nice way.

"After we went to see my mom, I thought about telling you about Toya because I felt you should know about it. However, I wanted to tell you in person in a private place," he admitted.

"Oh. Well, thank you for telling me. How are you and your siblings taking Toya's death?" I was curious.

"I'm fine because I didn't spend that much time with Toya. Though it was terrible to hear about his death. Fuyumi and Natsuo took his death hard in the past. Now Fuyumi is doing well, but Natsuo is still taking it hard," Shoto revealed.

"That's good to know about you and your sister, but I feel bad about your brother because he misses Toya," I said.

"Yes. How do you feel about it?" my friend asked me.

"Um, I didn't get to know Toya as well as I did with Fuyumi and Natsuo. Though I do feel bad for Toya's death," I told him.

"Thank you for telling me that, Arisa," Shoto said.

"You're welcome. Well we should probably get to sleep now," I told him.

"Alright. See you tomorrow," Shoto exited my room.

'Wow. It was surprising and terrible to hear about Toya's death, but it's good to know that Shoto and most of his siblings are handling it well,' I thought as I got in bed and went to sleep.

-My Hero Academia-

The next day, I woke up and changed into my hero costume. Then I got out of my room and saw Shoto, who also in his hero costume.

"Good morning Shoto," I greeted him.

"Good morning Arisa," he greeted me back.

We went to the cafeteria and saw the Flaming Sidekickers at a table.

"Shoto, Arisa. Hey there," Burnin greeted us with her usual grin. "You two better get your breakfast quick while it's still there so you can get to patrolling soon."

When we got our breakfast from the buffet, we ate with Flaming Sidekickers at their table.

After that, we met up with Endeavor in the main office. From there, he, Shoto, and I headed for the Gunma Station again to go back to Hosu City.

As soon as we got to Hosu City, we did the same thing as yesterday. We did patrol in the morning, ate some food from a vendor for lunch, and continued patrolling in the afternoon.

Though when it became evening, something different happened.

We heard an explosion in the distance, and heard and saw scared people running away from it. Endeavor told us to run with him toward the commotion.

"Shoto, Kawasaki. There's trouble ahead. I'll show you both what it means to be a hero," Endeavor said.

While we ran, Shoto and I got texts on our phones, and we stopped to check quickly. The text I got was from Kai, but it was just his location, which was surprising because it looked like it was somewhere in the city.

"All he sent was his location," I overheard Shoto say to himself, looking at his phone.

We were too preoccupied with our strange texts to notice Endeavor stopped running to look at us.

"Damn it. You two should be watching me," Endeavor complained.

'If Kai's in trouble in the city, then I have to go help him,' I thought.

Suddenly, Shoto started running somewhere else and I followed him.

"Hey, wait. Where the hell are you two going?" Endeavor asked us.

"An alleyway at 4210 Echo Street. If you're finished with what you're doing or see extra pros, send them there. I'm leaving you here to take care of this trouble. I'm sure you can handle it yourself," Shoto told his dad.

I didn't say anything to Endeavor because I was too concerned about Kai.

When we reached the end of the block, I stopped for a moment to check the map on my phone and to talk to Shoto, who also stopped.

"Shoto, what's wrong?" I questioned, looking at him.

"My friend Midoriya sent me a text of only his location in Hosu. He might be in danger," Shoto looked at me.

"My friend Kai sent me the same text, but with his location in Hosu," I told him.

"According to my map, I have to go right," Shoto explained.

"On my map, I have to go left," I read aloud from my phone.

"It seems we'll have to split up from here," my friend stated.

"Yes, it looks like it. Good luck, Shoto," I said.

"You too, Arisa," he said.

We both went our separate ways to help our friends.

On my way to find Kai, I got worried about what might have happened to him.

'I hope Kai is alright, and that he still is when I come over to help,' I thought.

"Hey Arisa," I heard a familiar voice call me.

I turned around, and saw it was my friend Eli coming to me.

His hero costume was a green skintight jumpsuit with a helmet-like visor that covered his eyes. He kind of looked like a ninja from the future.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

"I was wondering the same thing," I said.

"Well, I interned for the Pro Hero Manual here at Hosu City with Iida from Class 1-A. Manual revealed that Iida is here because he wants revenge for what the Hero Killer: Stain did to his older brother Ingenium. When a fire and explosion started in downtown, Iida left while Manual and I were distracted by it. I told Manual I would go look for him, even though he said I shouldn't, because I wanted to either bring Iida back safely or help him fight Stain. So far, I haven't found him, but I did get this weird text from Kai, and then I found you," Eli explained.

"Oh. Well, I got a text from Kai too, but it's just his location in Hosu City," I showed my phone to Eli.

"Same here," he showed his phone, with his text from Kai the same as mine.

"I think Kai might be in trouble. I'm on my way to find him," I told Eli.

"Aw man. I don't know who to help," Eli complained. "Iida because he might be fighting the Hero Killer: Stain, or my bud Kai because he might be in danger."

With Eli uncertain, I started to think about something.

'If I remember, Shoto got a text from Midoriya, they're both Iida's classmates, and Shoto and I went in different directions. Maybe Iida is fighting the Hero Killer, Midoriya could be helping his friend, and Shoto went to go help them. If that's right, then I know we have to do,' I thought.

"Eli, we should go help Kai," I decided.

"Huh? Why? Also, why are you here?" Eli was confused and curious.

"I interned for Endeavor along with Shoto from Class 1-A. While we patrolled here to find the Hero Killer: Stain, we ran toward an explosion to help out, and then Shoto and I got texts. Shoto's text was a location from Midoriya, and he and I ran off to different locations. I think they both might be helping Iida right now, so I think you and I so should go help Kai," I stated.

"Ya know, you make a good point, but what if Kai is fighting the Hero Killer?" Eli pointed out.

I was stunned for a moment about that idea because of what I remembered hearing about what the Hero Killer has done to some Pro Heroes. But with Kai in danger, I think we needed to take that chance.

"If Kai's in danger, we have to help him because he's our friend," I replied.

"You're right," Eli agreed. "If Iida is getting help from Midoriya and Todoroki, then you and I should go help our pal Kai. Even if we gotta help him fight the Hero Killer."

What Eli said worried me, but I decided to focus on finding Kai and helping him.

"So let's go," Eli led the way and ran, using his phone to find Kai's location in the city.

"Um, right," I followed him, and used my phone to do the same.

'Please be alright, Kai. We're coming to help,' I thought.

Eli and I ran through the city, hoping to find our friend Kai and help him with whatever danger he might be in.