A/N: Guess who is kind of back! Oh man so I reread it all, and the first chapters made me cringe. So thank you for reading this far! I'm not good at the whole updating thing, so here is well... the whole arc I guess. A reward for being patient with me. Thank you all!
I'm curious about what part of the early story made you guys decide to keep reading, so let me know!
"The other hero was Endeavor?!" To say Star Skyline was surprised was an understatement. "But… But… He's mean! He shouldn't even be a top hero!"
Hawks chuckled, pushing open the door of the building they were walking into. "Couldn't agree more with ya, little Starling. Popular approval should be the most important metric a Pro Hero is judged for. But, the grump is the number two hero nonetheless, and good at his job. So humor me, yeah?"
Star grumbled, debating whether or not she should. Hawks had pulled her aside before they left in the morning, apologizing for upsetting her the day before. It had been a nice gesture, though he hadn't been able to hide the fact he had been spying on them from her in his thoughts, causing Star to find a new thing to be upset about.
Hawks had just scratched his head, grinning sheepishly, offering to buy them breakfast. They had given in, only to find that his idea of breakfast was fried chicken. The guy had obviously not had interns before, and it seemed they would always be bickering with each other at this rate.
Bakugo let out a low growl, looking ahead of them. "You've gotta be fucking shitting me…"
Looking up, Star grinned widely. "Slushie!"
Todoroki looked a little tired, wearing a casual set of training clothes and sweating like he had just been working out. The navy jacket was singed slightly on the right side, but not burnt off completely like it had been at the Sports Festival. The jacket wasn't on his mind currently so she wasn't sure, but it seemed like he had been getting a handle on his fire. She hoped she could improve her own quirk soon as well.
Todoroki sent her a look at the nickname but still greeted her in his head, lip twitching upwards slightly. He was standing stiffly, and when Star's eyes wandered over to the person next to him, she understood why.
The man was beyond tall and intimidating, sturdily built with a very muscular physique. With flames roaring off his body and sharp features, she realized that this must be Endeavor.
"No wonder people don't like him… he looks kinda scary." She quietly whispered in English to Bakugo. Air came out of his nose as he heard her, and his lips twitched, eyeing the Pro.
Hawks also heard her, speaking up. "Aw, you hear that Endeavor? Looks like someone needs an image change!"
Huh, so he could speak English as well. She really had to be more careful.
One of Endeavor's sharp turquoise eyes twitched as he crossed his arms menacingly.
"You're about due for an image upgrade anyway, at your age!" Hawks grinned jokingly, walking up to the intimidating man as if he wasn't dancing with death.
Endeavor's flames increased, but he spoke as if unaffected. "When you're done being a child, I have a private room reserved. We can speak freely there."
He turned and walked towards the room. Todoroki eventually followed behind, sending them a slight shrug. Bakugo stalked after him, probably to insult his hair color if the images in his mind said anything.
Star looked at Hawks and whistled. "You sure know how to dance the line, don't you, pretty bird? One more word and he was going to fry you."
Hawks grinned lazily at her as they walked to the room, tilting his head. "Guess I just have some good intuition."
Star shook her head in amusement. It was still strange to her how people like Hawks and Mina were so socially adept without a mind reading quirk like hers.
They walked into the room and saw a round table surrounded by chairs with papers spread out along the top. She sat next to Bakugo, who was looking away moodily, apparently from something Todoroki had said before she came in.
Todoroki's mind was much more focused on the task, reading over the papers in front of them. Star didn't bother reading her own and just listened to Todoroki's mental reading instead.
Endeavor spoke up, standing at the front of the room. "Hero Killer, Stain. He has killed seventeen known Pro Heroes and crippled twenty-three others to the point of being unable to make a full recovery, Ingenium being the first exception. He's made his appearance in seven cities, always injures at least four Pro Heros. He's only attacked one hero in Hosu so far, meaning he isn't done here yet."
Hawks interrupted him, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet on the table. "You're forgetting something, Hot Stuff. In all the cities he has visited, crime rates have fallen."
Endeavor narrowed his eyes as Hawks sent him a wink. "And what other information of actual use did you find?" The second place Pro Hero barked.
Star was staring at Endeavor, listening to all the ways he could kill the annoying bird hero, when Bakugo nudged her. She jumped, almost falling with the chair she had balancing carefully, and realized Endeavor had caught her blatant gaze.
"Er- sorry, I was just getting some ideas in case Hawks spies on us again." She said sheepishly, not making eye contact with the intimidating hero again.
Hawks pretended to frown, touching his chest dramatically as if hurt. "Enveadie… you were plotting my demise?!"
"You chose a mind reader, just to annoy me?" Endeavor growled, crossing his arms.
"No no no, my dear fiery friend. Though, that is a bonus." Hawks winked at Star, ignoring Bakugo's glare at the action. "I chose this mind reader because of the case. Betcha can't beat that, can you?"
Star looked at Hawks sharply, and Bakugo stiffened in his seat. Todoroki raised an eyebrow at them, a question poised in his mind. Hawks just grinned.
"Absolutely fucking not!" Bakugo yelled, abruptly standing up and knocking his chair over.
Endeavor looked at him with mild annoyance, before turning back to Hawks.
"And how exactly is a mind reader of any help when we don't have the villain in custody?"
Star paled, knowing what was coming.
"Because," Hawks smirked, "she's the next target."
Hawks shrugged casually, as if he hadn't just subtly implied she was bait. Todoroki looked at her, startled.
"You're bat shit crazy if you're thinking of baiting that psycho." Bakugo growled, hands crackling. "We're your damn interns, not your toys."
"Olivia is in danger just by being in this city." Todoroki agreed, frowning at the situation.
"You endangered a civilian by bringing them to the city the killer was spotted?!" Endeavor hissed, slamming his hand on the table.
"Maybe I'll use one of Endeavor's murder plans after all…" Star grumbled.
She had to agree with them all. When she had first heard the changed location of their internship, she had thought it had been a coincidence. She had been scared it was a trick done by the Hero Killer, and hadn't gotten into the car until she touched the driver and searched his mind.
"Hey hey hey, cut the chatter, songbirds. The Hero Killer follows a pattern, which Flames over here seems to have missed."
Hawks closed his eyes, ignoring the angry stares directed towards him.
"He won't be killing until tomorrow, and we'll have our little Starling by our sides at all times. He won't go near her when she's surrounded by two of the top three heroes, and two of the top four finalists at UA, yeah? Catch my drift?"
Star huffed, annoyed as Hawks balanced his chair on the back two legs. "Better sleep with one eye open, pretty bird. I know exactly what's in that encrypted folder hidden in the right bottom corner of your laptop."
There was a sudden crash as Hawk's chair leaned back too far and hit the ground with him in it, and at the same time Star and Bakugo heard a short chuckle behind them.
Whirling around, Star pulled herself out of Hawks's mind and realized that she had missed the door opening and another mind walking in.
Standing there with a small half-smile, was a tall, lean but muscular man with sharp and elongated features. His shiny green hair was smoothed down with yellow streaks. His lips quickly turned back down into a glare, giving off a sense of authority.
"Interesting choice of intern, Takami. Apparently, you have a knack for choosing the ones with a sense of humor."
"Wait 'till ya hear the other one, he's a creative one." Hawks chuckled, standing up. "I'm glad you made it, Sasaki." He clapped the guy on the back, smiling.
"Sir Nighteye." Endeavor curtly nodded, collecting all the paperwork and putting it back into its folder.
"Endeavor." Sir Nighteye greeted, nodding sharply in return. "I do not have a lot of time. Let us get to it, shall we?"
Hawks nodded, pulling Star out of her seat. "You can have this little one. Endeavor and I will take the other two."
"He's training me?" Star asked after listening to the hero's mind. "Not bad Hawks, thank you for doing that."
"No problemo, Chickadee. That makes us even, yeah?"
She gave him a look.
"You put her life in danger, and call it even? You serious, Birdbrain?" Bakugo scoffed, standing next to her.
Hawks shrugged casually and followed Endeavor out the door.
"Hey, don't ignore me, shithead!" Bakugo yelled, storming after them. Todoroki put a hand on Star's shoulder, wishing her luck in his head, before following them out.
Soon, it was just Star and Sir Nighteye in the room. It was silent for a second, then they both spoke at once.
"Explain your quirk."
"You can see the future?!"
Star scratched the back of her neck, embarrassed at interrupting him.
"Are you able to detect quirks, read minds, or do you have a prediction quirk as well?"
"Um, the second one, though it's never been officially tested." She answered.
He was silent, and she realized as she listened that he wanted her to continue.
"Oh, um. Until a few months ago, my quirk was the ability to touch someone and read pretty deeply into their mind. Due to some, um, pretty extreme over-exertion, it's changed. Now, I can hear everyone's minds, at all times. It's mostly surface thoughts and feelings unless I concentrate. And I've… projected? Memories into other people's minds as well."
His expression didn't change. "Is there a limit?"
"Er… not exactly, since I don't get to choose when I'm using it anymore. There's a radius, except when under the effect of drugs or another quirk."
He didn't ask what she meant by that, and she was relieved.
"I only really have a limit when I'm not drunk enough around a lot of people, or when I'm completely sober. Which, ah, isn't often." She admitted.
"Drinking turns down the volume or turns it off until I touch someone. It allows me to handle more since the quirk isn't being used as much."
Sir Nighteye's expression still didn't change as she talked, making her tone unsure as she listened mentally to his constantly changing analysis of her. Finally, he sat down, drumming his fingers together as he thought out loud.
"I will advise Hawks to have your quirk tested. I am unsure why the school never thought to do so. Quirks don't change, only our understanding or level of use with them does. With years of training, you would have reached the same level you are at currently, albeit more controlled. Meaning, your quirk was never mind reading, but something else."
Sir Nighteye stopped drumming and looked at her sternly. "You treating it as a mind reading quirk is what is making your progress so deplorable."
"I… what?"
"Take my quirk, for example. I am able to see other's futures. Are they able to see mine? No. It's a one-way street. Therefore, your quirk is not a mind reading quirk. Mind reading is a one way street, like seeing the future. If others have been able to see into your mind as well, like you said they have… then it sounds more like a two-way street, does it not?"
She nodded, absorbed in his mind.
"Have you ever had trouble reading?"
"Um, yes. With K- Bakugo. And I can't read my father's mind at all."
"That proves my theory then, about it being a connection rather than a scan. They both likely have well-guarded minds. The road, or connection to their sides, is better blocked than most. Especially your father, if what I hear about his quirk is correct. My theory is that your own brain is equally as blocked for some reason, allowing nothing to travel through the connection." Sir Nighteye explained, then asked, "When did the projection happen?"
"When my arm was being disintegrated. Hitoshi said it also happened when I was… when there were extreme circumstances."
"Perhaps, when your mind was too distressed to keep the barrier up, yes?"
Star frowned, seeing his point.
"We will practice bringing the barrier down, then. I have to keep careful walls around my own quirk, to control how far I see into someone's future. Perhaps Hawks was wise to call me after all. Let's begin."
Katsuki Bakugo had been expecting a lot of things when he was told he'd be training with Icyhot and two of the three top heroes.
At first, it had gone well.
Endeavor had been teaching Icyhot about his fire and applying it to Katsuki's explosions. Five hours in, and he had learned about how using his explosive power without careful control was dangerous. He had learned how to use smaller bursts in faster succession, instead of hard-hitting bursts in staggered time.
Katsuki had expected a lot of things when training with the two heroes, yes.
What he hadn't been expecting, was for the overgrown pigeon to drop him off a goddamn skyscraper.
"WHAT THE HELL, YOU FUCKING CHICKEN?!" Katsuki roared, feeling the air fly past him as he fell.
Hawks was suddenly in his face, grinning. "Small bursts in rapid succession, Pilot!"
Katsuki growled but decided that listening was better than death. Just barely.
He fired off explosions from both hands the same way Endeavor had been showing the two students and felt his descent start to slow. It took a few seconds for Katsuki to calculate the right size of explosion and the right timing, but he did.
When he finally came to a stop in the air, he looked down to see the street just a few yards below him. Fucking hell! The winged bastard had almost let him die!
"Ey, good job Pilot! I didn't even need to step in!" Hawks clapped, appearing next to him.
"And when exactly were you planning to step in, dipshit? Before, or after I fell to my fucking death?"
Hawks started climbing in altitude, yelling down to him.
"WHAT'S THAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU FROM ALL THE WAY UP HERE!"
Katsuki felt his anger spike, and increased his explosions, calculating again to climb higher. It was a struggle, and not at all graceful, but climb he did.
To his annoyance, Hawks kept just out of his reach, causing Katsuki to have to let off more and more powerful explosions as he rose. Finally, they reached the top of the building. Katsuki crash-landed next to the Winged Hero, arms shaking from the continuous use, and groaned.
Hawks started speaking as he gazed at the city below them. "You're capable of moving much more freely, Pilot. I wasn't especially interested in training the next generation of heroes when I chose you. But, I still chose you for a reason."
Panting, Katsuki pulled himself into a sitting position, looking down at the city below them in muted awe.
"I saw your move in the last round. The look on your face as you barreled through the air. You were made to fly, Pilot. If I have to make sure you learn something before you leave, it'll be that."
And with that, Hawks pulled Katsuki up, clapped him on the back, and walked inside.
"I'm- I'm ready." Star Skyline announced to the people in the training zone. Hawks looked up at her, eyes lighting up. "Y-yes, Hawks. For that."
Sir Nighteye closed the door behind them, locking it. "As the final part of our training, she will be practicing switching visuals while projecting. When she informed me of your…" He glared disapprovingly at Hawks, "...deal… I suggested this may be the best way to relay the information, and practice as well."
"What about Icyhot and Hothead Senior?" Bakugo scoffed, shifting uneasily as he remembered the vision she had projected before at the USJ.
"I was there as well, Bakugo." Todoroki reminded him, not taking his eyes off of Star. She could hear his light concern, aware of her struggles. It was his simple way of offering to stay.
She smiled, thankful for having a friend in the quiet man. "They can stay. Slushie has already seen some of it. And as the number two hero, I'm sure the mean one will need to be informed as well."
Endeavor nodded professionally. "Precisely- wait, what did you two call me?!" His flames roared, but unlike Hawks, Star could hear exactly when to back off.
"Anyway, um. Don't panic, I guess?" She finished, looking around her.
Every one of them looked the opposite of panicked, with their stoic stances. Well, all of them stoic except Hawks. He was now laying on the mats lazily with his hands behind his head, like he was preparing to dream. She wished she could show them something pretty instead. What he's going to see won't be very dream-like at all.
Ignoring his questioning look, Star sat next to Bakugo. Picking up his water bottle, he made room for her. He looked pretty exhausted, his arms twitching every few seconds. She briefly wondered how their training had gone.
"Er, everybody close your eyes, I guess. It'll make it easier if you aren't switching between two views. I'm not very good at it yet." Star warned nervously. As everyone closed their eyes, she closed her own.
Star took a minute to go through the exercises and visualized bringing down her walls, imagining connections to every mind in the room.
Bakugo and Todoroki were the easiest due to her familiarity and the fact she was touching one of them, so she concentrated more on the Pro Heroes.
Finally, the last of her barriers fell away, and she began.