Shika had nearly fallen asleep twice on the train ride home after her first supplementary training session with Pro hero: Edgeshot.

Mr. Aizawa had asked for the ninja hero specifically to help her since she'd grown up and developed her quirk in a ninja village. And their fighting styles were pretty similar in most aspects, other than the differences in their quirks.

At first it irritated her a bit that he chose a ninja hero as her new teacher since she'd been trying to get away from the whole "ninja" thing to begin with, but Edgeshot quickly pushed that childish way of thinking out of her mind.

His speed and abilities made quick work of her, leaving Shika feeling more like a ninja academy student than a high school hero-in-training. Guess he wasn't the number five hero in Japan for nothing. She learned that the hard way.

Mirio decided to stay with her during training so that he could see her home after, but honestly he was just really curious about her quirk. He wanted to see this "dangerous ability" he'd heard the other students whispering about around school. Even the seniors were talking.

And boy was he pleasantly surprised! But no, unlike most of the other students, he wasn't afraid of it. Shika's quirk just seemed like something she'd have to put lots of hard work and dedication into controlling and perfecting. Much like his own.

So if anything her quirk only added to her appeal. She'd be strong. Super strong, and Mirio wanted to be there to witness every second of her transformation.

And now he found himself sitting silently next to her on the train, watching as she fought to stay awake. A battle she was quickly losing. She'd done well today, despite having her butt handed to her repeatedly by Edgeshot. But she never gave up. So she deserved to rest.

Also, he thought it pretty cute the way her head drooped slightly to one side every time her eyes closed.

But this last time her tired eyes closed and she slowly dozed off, he pulled her tired body into his, allowing her to comfortably rest for the duration of their ride.

However, when they came to her stop and Mirio tried to wake her, she wouldn't budge. She even snored once when he nudged her.

So he did what any self-respecting hero-in-training would do in that situation. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way home. Any hero would do the same in his shoes. It was only right.

And of course he didn't get butterflies in his stomach from the way she cuddled against his chest, or have to mentally restrain himself from squeezing her soft, plump thigh that rested gently in his hand. And he definitely was thinking ANYTHING inappropriate.

That wouldn't be very plus ultra of him after all.

Needless to say, Fuyumi was more than surprised when she opened the door to see an unconscious Shika being cradled in the arms of some huge unknown boy.

At first she was worried that something had happened to Shika, but Mirio quickly explained the situation to her, calming the older woman. Then, as she watched him with Shika pressed so gently against his chest, Fuyumi couldn't help but gush at how romantic it was.

Stepping aside, she let him enter before shutting the door behind them.

"Thank you so much for bringing her all this way," Fuyumi said before bowing at Mirio, "You can just take her up to her bedroom, if you dont mind. It's the d-"

"It's okay ma'am, I remember which one it is," Mirio said, successfully surprising Fuyumi before heading for the stairs, "And please forgive my rudeness for wearing my shoes," she heard him say over his shoulder before disappearing from her line of sight.

Actually, she was so shocked about him already knowing where Shika's bedroom was that she didn't even notice that he hadn't removed his shoes. Had he already been invited into Shika's bedroom before? She placed her hands on her warm cheeks to cool them.

Kids these days.

Mirio hadn't meant to walk through their house with his outside shoes on, but he hadn't really been able to remove them at the time. He supposed he could've just kicked his shoes off and walked in his socks, but he hadn't thought about it until it was already too late. After all, his main focus was Shika.

Walking into her bedroom, he gently knelt down and placed her on the bed, but she started waking before he could lay her down completely.

"Mirio-kun?"

"Hey there, Sunshine," he said softly, placing her head down on her pillow.

"I'm home...? But how?" Her sleepy eyes were full of confusion as she gripped his hand. She began to pull herself up, but Mirio stopped her.

"Hey, it's okay. I got you home safely. You were so tired from training that you fell asleep on the train. So I carried you the rest of the way." This made her bolt straight up.

"OHMYGOD, WHAT!?"

Shika's face was boiling hot with embarrassment. Mirio gave her an apologetic laugh as she covered her face with her hands to hide away.

"Mirio-kuuuuun," she whined, "why didn't you wake me up? Geez, so embarrassing."

"Well, I did try to wake you, but you wouldn't budge. Sorry. But don't be embarrassed, Sunshine. I am a hero in training after all, so try thinking about it like that."

Shika sighed and removed her hands from her face. "Sorry. I know that must've been tough for you having to carry me and both our bags. I'm a little chunky and I haven't been on a proper diet in a long time, so I'm sure I was super heavy."

"Nah, you weren't heavy at all. You're the perfect size in my opinion. Plus, I dont have all these muscles for nothin'," he said, flexing his left arm. She giggled and he smiled.

"Besides," he continued, "I... kinda liked the way it felt. The way you fit in my arms was perfect...," he said softly while flexing his fingers as if he could still feel her there, "And I got to see your sleeping face for the first time. You looked so peaceful. And super cute!"

Shika was beyond flustered at this point. Any more and she'd pass out from spontaneous brain combustion.

"Ooookay, I think that's enough talking for today!" She said before tossing her legs over the side of the bed and standing.

She pulled at Mirio's arm until he was standing next to her, then with what little energy she had left, she turned him around and marched him towards her bedroom door.

"I will see you soon Mirio-kun! Thank you for bringing me home!"

"Wai- I- bu-," Mirio sputtered as she pushed him out of her bedroom and into the hallway before slamming the door behind him.

Shika leaned her back against the closed door and covered her face with her hands again. How could he be so sly without even trying? Was he even aware of what he was saying? Or even what he was doing to her?

No, she thought as she slid down to the floor, he was too genuine a guy. There was no way he would purposely say something like that just to rile her up.

But he had, and her heart just wouldn't slow down.

"Psst...hey Sunshine.."

Shika heard Mirio's voice calling to her, but it didn't sound like he was still standing on the other side of the door. In fact, he sounded like he was standing right next to her. Right by her ear. But there was no way... right?

Slowly she removed her hands and looked to her left, and there he was. His face was so close. Too close!!!

"OMG!!! WHAT THA FU- Mirio-kun!!! Your face! How is your head going through my door!!?"

"My quirk, duh. And was that English just now?" he asked between his laughter.

"...Uh, yeah, it happens sometimes when I'm startled. Picked it up from my mom. But anyway, I--...I've never seen you do this before," she said, reaching her hand out to poke his cheek.

"I know! Weird, right? I've been practicing really hard lately and this is my newest move. I've finally perfected my quirk enough to stick my head through objects without getting stuck or seriously hurting myself. Nice, right?"

"Uh, yeah. It's... really cool, actually," she answered. He smiled.

"Anyway, sorry for scaring you. But I just really wanted to say...goodnight, Sunshine."

Time seemed to fly by after that night. Shika was slowly making progress with her quirk; learning how to better control it and modify it's size and shape.

Though, it still took a long time to perform particle release and it used up way more energy now with the added control and modifications.

And somehow she still hadn't made any friends in class, but she was already starting to get used to it. She had Nejire and the boys anyway. They were all reall kind to her and no one was afraid of her quirk, so that was enough for her.

Her relationship with Shoto was still rocky at best and showed no signs of improving any time soon. But despite herself, Shika still found herself peeking through her window at him every chance she got. She didn't think he ever noticed though, so it was fine.

However, watching him was starting to open her mind up to some pretty uncharacteristic thoughts. Thoughts about him, thoughts about Shikamaru, thoughts about Mirio and even some thoughts about herself.

It was all beginning to be too much for her really, but sometimes it was all she could think of.

Growing up was becoming...interesting, at the very least.

Weeks had quickly turned into months and before long the sports festival had arrived. However, Shika hadn't been allowed to participate, much to her dismay. This had been decided by both Tsunade and the Principal.

The sports festival attracted way too much media attention that would be broadcast all over Japan. It wasn't safe, they decided. If someone recognized her or saw her rare quirk it could put her life in danger.

And as of now, Shika didn't have her quirk fully under control enough to defend herself from such dangers.

A giant load of bull crap if you asked Shika though.

She really hated how much control Tsunade had over her life, even from so far away. But there wasn't much she could do about it. Her only option was to become stronger; so strong that no one would dare try and steal particle release.

All wasn't lost though. Since she wasn't permitted to participate in the sports festival, a special exam had been put together for Shika in which all the pro heroes and some of Konoha's top ninja were allowed to watch and evaluate her skills. Kakashi and Gai were among them.

In the exam she had to go up against the top three first year students from the sports festival. She loved that idea, of course! It proved to her that they found her capable enough a student to go up against the best her year had to offer.

And she beat them all. Without using particle release, might I add. Just her fire, earth and wind style jutsu.

After that, she was told to think about a hero name. After all, she and the three winners from the sports festival were to begin their hero agency internships.

Which, at the time, was pretty rare for a freshmen. But even though she was just a first year student, Shika had received over 200 offers after her exam.

In the end she settled with Team Idaten.

There was just something about the way the turbo hero: Ingenium worked together so fluidly with his team of sidekicks to take down villains that spoke to her. She could definitely learn a thing or two about teamwork too.

It was during her time as an intern that she finally came up with her hero name.

The elemental hero: Arcana.

The internship lasted one week, and in that time Shika learned a lot about teamwork and the importance of knowing how to use her quirk in combination with another hero's quirks.

She had to practice until it was like second nature. Day and night. But before then she'd never even thought about how to make her quirk work with someone else's.

She'd only ever thought about working alone. That in itself showed how far she had to go to become a real hero.

Not only did she learn a lot about herself and her quirk, but she also learned about the Iida family as well. During her internship, Shika stayed with Tensei and his family in the Iida household.

And for a family of rich Pro heroes, they were all so warm and welcoming. She even got to meet Tensei's young brother, Tenya!

Though he was a bit...stern at times and a little intimidating to look at, Tenya was just as kind as the rest of his family. He looked up to his big brother and strived to become just like him someday.

Shika couldn't help but admire the younger boy for that. She also admired Tensei, and that fact brought she and Tenya closer as friends.