Intern Life: Traveling
Kaine and Mirko followed Tony through the brand new STARK Industries building, getting a pretty nice tour along the way. Mirko seemed bored, but Kaine was loving it. The advanced technology, the dozens of engineers and support heroes making devices that could be used in both the field and a practical setting, the arc reactor at the center of the building under a clear floor that spread its energy throughout the building itself. Supposedly, Stark had plans to use one of those reactors to power the city, but the council hasn't bought into the idea yet.
"I'm really glad you came with me, really I am." Stark said as he continued to lead the hero and intern through the building, "I mean, not only is that crazy kid from the sports festival here, but even the Number Six hero in Japan! I never thought I'd be so blessed. I can get an autograph, talk about hero stuff, and show off my new toys!" Kaine's initial impression of Mr. Stark was that he seemed...well...like a kid. Or rather, he definitely imbued that 'nerd who grew up to be rich' type of personality. "Over there my team is looking to improve capture technology." he said pointing to a room where many scientists and even some support heroes stood examining some sort of metal collar with different capture weapons laid out on a table, "You see, during the days of the 'Mutant Panic' there were dozens of devices created to 'take care of,' so to speak, of the 'mutant problem'." Tony explained with air quotes, "We, of course, know now that those were the early encounters of Quirks going to more people, but there was fascinating technology made. Back then it was due to fear mongering and thought to be lost for time, but I was looking through one of the many warehouses my company owns and you will not believe how many companies we bought out, some even had some of that old tech in their storage!" he exclaimed with a large grin, "What was once used in fear can now be re-designed and used for good. To make sure villains don't break out of police custody. I mean, imagine Eraserhead's quirk being indefinitely used on a multitude of villains! A safer world guys, that's what I see ahead of us."
Kaine continued looking at the different devices being created in awe, while Mirko seemed indifferent. Support devices weren't exactly her thing, along with teammates, side kicks and interns...she likes Kaine though, but he's an exception, not the rule. "Over to your left you'll see my team trying to make a specialized combat uniform that can be worn under your costume. So far, it can deflect and defend against most blades...the exception being adamantium and carbonadium, but those are so rare I think we can afford those chances." Tony laughed, "Actually, I've been having an influx of orders like these. I think it may have to do with that Hero Killer that's been running around."
"Hero Killer?" Mirko echoed with an annoyed expression, "The hell are you talking about rich boy?"
"The Hero Killer, Ms. Mirko." Kaine replied, "Do you not watch the news? He's been all over. He even hospitalized Ingenium." Kaine folded his arms and nodded, "Rumor circulating online is that his injuries are so severe he may never do hero work again."
"How do you know this?" Mirko asked as she and Kaine followed Tony into the elevator.
"The internet." Kaine shrugged, "Lots of potential leaks come out every day. That's why I said 'rumor'."
The elevator dinged and the Hero/Intern duo found themselves on the top floor of the large tower. A woman walked from behind a counter and greeted everyone. She was about average height, she had short cut brown hair, green eyes and fair skin. She wore a modest black dress suit and had small heels on. "Welcome back, Mr. Stark. Welcome..." the woman's eyes quickly vibrated back and forth between Kaine and Mirko, "Rumi Usagiyama, Kaine Yoshida." she finished with a slight bow. "I am Natalie, Mr. Stark's personal assistant."
"Why did she use my actual name?" Mirko asked with a growl.
"How does she KNOW my name?" Kaine asked in bewilderment.
Stark gave a bright smile and patted his assistant on the shoulder, "Nat here has been by my side since I was a freshman in college at the ripe old age of 15." he chuckled, "Yep, we're practically inseparable."
Mirko and Kaine looked at each other before looking back at Tony, "So like...arranged marriage? Oooooor..." Kaine asked with a shrug.
Tony blinked a few times before letting out a hearty laugh, slapping his thigh in the process. "Me and her?!" he laughed, "Don't be ridiculous, kid. Natalie isn't my partner, she's an artificial intelligence. That body is an LMD." he explained.
"LMD?" Mirko asked in VERY broken English.
"Life Model Decoy." Natalie explained, "A synthetic body given an artifical intelligence to bring it life. LMDs look like the real thing, but I assure you, nothing about me is organic."
"That only means the robot revolution is closer than we know." Kaine replied with a slight chuckle.
Natalie blinked a few times and nodded, "A revolution seems difficult without more of my kind...but not impossible." Kaine stared at the LMD in silence, surprised at her response. "I believe you would call that...a joke?" Natalie said with squinted eyes.
Both Tony and Kaine seemed to let out a breath they were holding. "Oh, Nat. Such a kidder." Tony said with a nervous chuckle and a gulp, "Anyways, let me show you to my new office. I've been sprucing the place up to be my new home. I think the decorations are coming along nicely." Tony patted Kaine on the shoulder and led him through the doors to the next room. Natalie looked to Mirko and bowed before lifting her arm and motioning for the hero to follow.
As the Hero/Intern duo entered the next room they were greeted to a giant office that had a large window which showed practically all of Musutafu down below. The office also had a large desk with some sort of giant glass screen as the top and large glass cases that held all sorts of old hero memorabilia. Honestly, if Kaine didn't know this was an office belonging to a multi-billionaire, he'd think it was part of a museum. "Do you like it!?" Tony laughed, "I've got all sorts of awesome stuff here!" he exclaimed. He pointed to one case that had a large shield with the american flag design painted on it, "Captain America's original shield from the European Theatre before my great-great-grandfather made his disk shaped one we know him for today." he then pointed to a case with a broken skull mask, "The mask from the infamous and terrifying Taskmaster!" Tony said wiggling his fingers and making a voice like he was a radio announcer. "But, there is something that is outstanding! Something that took me years to acquire." he pushed a button and a red curtain on the east end of the room moved, revealing a large stand that had several suits that once belonged to different heroes. Suits such as All Might's original suit (greatly ripped and torn from years ago), the original Ant Man suit, complete with helmet, a torn pair of shorts from the Incredible Hulk (found in Bolivia somewhere), a female Fantastic 4 costume, but based on the size Tony believed it was from the short time She-Hulk was on the team, the original armored suit worn by Tony Stark the original Iron Man, and finally there was suit belonging to the original Spider-Man. "Beautiful, aren't they? God I love old heroes." Tony smiled.
"What the hell is all of this for?" Mirko asked with a frown as she crossed her arms, "Just because you have money, the name, and like heroes doesn't mean you are fit to be one. You have to take this seriously, this isn't some manga."
"But I am serious!" Tony defended and he quickly tapped his desk and pulled up a hologram of some sort of documents, "See, I've done necessary training and even have an equivalency certificate from the states. I trained for like 3 years in secret." he grinned, "I always had a soft spot for my great-great-great-grandfather. A shame his descendents didn't follow suite...until today! I'm righting the wrongs placed by my family and what better way to do that than to fight tooth and nail at the forefront! But, since I was new, I was hoping to make some allies, and it seems you two came landing on my doorstep, as if a miracle from god himself!"
"No thanks." Mirko huffed as she turned and immediately began walking out, "I don't exactly do allies. If you want to be strong, if you really want to do this hero gig, do it yourself, lazy ass."
Kaine's eyes widened slightly as his mentor began to leave, "W-Wait, Ms. Mirko. This could be good. Isn't having allies in different places one of the keys to being a hero?"
"If you want to make connections with him, then go ahead, but that isn't my style. I'll be downstairs." with that, Mirko left and entered the elevator.
Kaine rubbed the back of his head and turned to Tony who seemed just as shocked as he was, "She's...shy?" Kaine replied, trying to save face with the billionaire. He quickly bowed, "Thank you for showing us around. All this memorabilia is really cool." he tapped his foot nervously, "Um...I may only be an intern now, but I hope you and I meet again as colleagues."
"HA!" Tony laughed as he smacked his desk, "I like you already kid. Remember, if you need anything, come to me and I'll see if I can help you out." Kaine nodded and waved as he left the room to follow after Mirko.
"That didn't go well." Natalie said with a sigh.
Tony let out a chuckle, "Nat, you should know me better than that. I never expected to make an ally out of Mirko. But that kid! It's fate that we met. If I can get him to be an ally, then my plans will come to fruition even sooner than I anticipated. I'll watch that kid...he'll come in handy, just you watch." Natalie could only frown, unsure of the outcome her creator is striving for.
"That was annoying." Mirko groaned as she walked out of the building with Kaine following close behind. "I absolutely detest hot shots like that. People who become a hero because they think they can. Dumbass doesn't even have powers, what the hell will he do!? Buy out the villains!? And don't even get me started on that overglorified sex toy of his!" she fumed, her eye twitching and a vein starting to pop out from her forehead.
"Wow, he really got under your skin, huh?" Kaine asked with a chuckle, "That sex toy bit was pretty funny though. You should consider doing stand-up part time." Kaine's reply was quickly met with a smack to the back of the head.
"Whatever." Mirko rolled her eyes, "Listen, kid. I gotta be somewhere else tomorrow...do you wanna come with? There'll probably be some light hero work, but it's technically an off day for me."
Kaine perked up, "Really? Wow, I've...never been outside Musutafu before. I'd really like to go. Being in a different environment would probably help me grow more as a hero, huh?"
"Huh?" Mirko cocked her eyebrow in confusion, "O-Oh, y-yeah. Totally, kid." Truth be told I actually have something to tell you, but it won't be as effective without you there. she thought. She smiled and smacked Kaine's shoulder, "Tomorrow morning, eight sharp, meet me at the train station. Bring your costume, but go ahead and wear your street clothes, preferably shorts." Mirko began to walk back to her 'office' when Kaine called out to her.
"Wait, where are we going?" Kaine called out.
"Hiroshima!"
The next day, Kaine showed up to the train station about a half hour early wearing a black shirt and shorts that were given to him by UA. Not the best looking outfit, but it was more than serviceable. He gulped as he felt all the strange stares coming from the comers and goers of people getting on and off the trains. Geez, I feel more uncomfortable than an Englishman in North Ireland. he thought with a gulp. "Hey, are you Kaine Yoshida? From UA?" a woman stopped and asked. Suddenly an entire crowd began to bunch up around Kaine, practically drowning him in the sea of bodies.
"Oh my God, it totally is!" some man said.
"Dude, you totally rocked during the festival!" another man shouted out.
Kaine felt himself shrink, pageantry was one thing the people weren't so close to him during the tournament, but this? This was too much, people were all up in his face, he felt like he was suffocating. Holy shit, this is intense. Why is fighting giant killer robots less stressful than this? Hell, fighting villains and Yakuza is less stressful than this, these people are like vultures! "Alright, alright, get away from him you vultures!" Kaine breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar, aggressive sounding voice. Kaine turned to see Mirko in stylish looking streetwear. She wore a long sleeve white shirt with her sleeves rolled up, underneath that was a black tank top. She wore form fitting denim capri pants with a stylish black leather belt with a large golden buckle on. Finally, she wore a pair of gray high heeled boots. "The kid and I are doing important uh...team building exercises...or some shit, and he needs complete attention!" the crowd quickly stopped talking about Kaine and began talking about how cool it was to see the sixth ranked hero.
Mirko clicked her tongue and grabbed Kaine by his arm and lead him through the crowd as the paparazzi came, "Come on, the train's here." As he was lead by Mirko, Kaine couldn't help but do a double take at her outfit. It was just such a culture shock not seeing her in hero uniform now. One thing's stays the same at least...she definitely likes her figure to show. he thought as he looked down. "Stop looking at my ass!" Mirko growled, her tone causing Kaine's entire spine to shake and tingle. The two boarded the train and made their way towards the back. Mirko, being a big name hero, would naturally be a celebrity for people. But aside from the few pictures she was asked to take and autographs she was asked to sign, her and Kaine were left relatively on their own.
As the train left and made it's way towards Hiroshima. Soon the vast cityscape turned into a vast countryside, and Kaine felt nothing but glee from the change of scenery. "Getting a little excited over some trees, don't you think?" Mirko mentioned with a mocking tone.
"Are you kidding!?" Kaine practically shouted, "I've been stuck in that city my entire life, seeing nothing but the same buildings, the same cars, the same people for my entire life! I haven't been this excited in years! A new area, a completely different biome even. It's like getting a power up in a game and being able to travel to a completely different section of the map you couldn't explore previously." Mirko had to hold back a chuckle at what Kaine said, sometimes she forgets that, despite how strong or how mature he comes off, he is still a child in some ways.
"Plus, we're going to Hiroshima, there's bound to be a couple dozen historical landmarks we can see and take pictures of." Kaine then felt a hand come down and chop the top of his head.
"You idiot," Mirko groaned, "This isn't a school trip, we're going to Hiroshima specifically for business. I have a couple things to take care of, including a quick visit to my Alma Mater."
Kaine rubbed his head and nodded, "Oh yeah, you didn't go to UA. So they have a hero school in your home town? That's pretty convenient."
"Gurētobei won't get any recognition, but the school itself isn't terrible. Hell, I practically was allowed to do whatever I wanted." Mirko smiled. That's probably the reason why it won't get recognition. Kaine thought with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I used to get in a bunch of crazy hijinks when I was younger." Kaine cocked an eyebrow and leaned in closer, showing his intrigue in Mirko's early years. Mirko gave a big smile and leaned in herself, "Okay, so have you ever heard of the X-Man Bling!?"
10 Years Ago, Yanocho, Hiroshima...
Deep in the forest of Yanocho, close to the camping grounds but far enough as to not be disturbed, lie what looks to be an abandoned shack...at least, that's how it looks on the outside. The shack was run down, falling apart, it honestly looked like it was only there if rangers needed to get some spare batteries or some extra repellent. But the inside...the inside of this shack were more than meets the eye.
In the shack there was a secret hatch on the ground, this hatch lead to a set of stairs that went underground to a vast underground tunnel system. But, once one gets to the end of the tunnel, they will be greeted by a gigantic, open, underground coliseum. The center of the room was a giant caged arena, almost as if it were a Thunderdome, around that Thunderdome were bleacher seats with hundreds of open areas for people to come and watch the secret fights.
Already, the seating area was filled from top to bottom with viewers itching to see some killer cage matches. Their excitement only grew more and more as it had finally come down to the finals of the tournament, a no holds barred cage match between the two contestants that made it all the way through their brackets. "I hope you are all ready for a stunning conclusion!" the announcer declared into the microphone, standing at the center of the ring. He was a large, heavy set man. A foreigner, gained the name 'Fat Boy.' The reason was because he was an American who supposedly had a killer right hook that could demolish buildings. There were also rumors that he was able to stand toe-to-toe with America's then Number One Pro Hero 'J3'. "It's been a killer tournament, but at the end of it all there must be a winner!" he declared, riling up the crowd, "In the Blue Corner, we have ourselves constant favorite, and returning champ, former X-Man, BLING!!"
The crowed erupted into cheers as spotlights come down on a tunnel as a woman, standing at about 168 cm, with literal crystalline features. Her whole body was made of a blue hued, crystal-like rock, her head had no hair but instead spiked...stalagmites in the shape of hair. She wore a black sports bra, and black MMA spats. No shoes though...but she probably didn't need them. She entered the ring and the cage door behind her closed and locked.
"Annnnd in the Red Corner, a surprising newcomer, quickly finding her way to the crowd favorites, it's..." Fat Boy didn't even have time to finish as a spunky, pre-hero days 16 year old Rumi crashed through the opposite gate of her opponent and began hopping up and down, rolling her arms and shoulders to get loose, "The ever ecstatic 'Tiger Bunny'!"
"Pfft." Kaine interrupted Mirko's story by letting out a very loud snort, "Tiger Bunny?" he asked.
"Ya' got a problem with the names I choose?" Mirko asked with an annoyed twitch in her eyes. Kaine held up his hands and quickly shook his head, "That's what I thought. Anyway..."
Rumi, or rather, Tiger Bunny stood on the opposite side of the arena. Young Rumi wore a normal school girls uniform, a white button-up, red bow around her neck, skirt, slippers and long baggy socks. She also wore some white gloves and wore a gold and black luchadore mask to hide her identity. She learned from her mistakes when she was younger, when she was 13 and in middle school she was dumb and didn't wear a mask. When she was caught crashing fights she got in a lot of trouble and even got expelled from her school. Now that she was in the hero course in high school, she had become a lot 'smarter'. "C'mon, let's hurry it up here! Enough of the introductions, I've seen all her matches already I know who she is. LET ME PUMMEL HER ALREADY!" Tiger Bunny shouted as she began punching her fist into the palm of her hand.
Fat Boy chuckled and he began backing out of the caged arena, locking the gate behind Tiger Bunny the best he could, considering she had broken one of the hinges. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's the final match of the night. The reigning champion versus the up and coming challenger! Who will win in this battle of green and experienced? Let's find out in a good ol' fashioned Hiroshima Rumble!"
A loud buzzer went off, signaling for the fight to start. Tiger Bunny gave a cocky smile and began hopping in place again before getting in a fighting stance, "I know I have that sort of effect on guys, but I gotta say, this is the first time I've made a gal rock hard." she joked.
Bling! scoffed in annoyance, "Sorry, I'm into women, not little girls."
"Woah, woah, woah, hold on." Kaine interrupted.
"UGH, what!?" Mirko growled in frustration.
Kaine shrugged his shoulders nervously, "Well, you make it sound like Bling understands you. But you also mentioned that she was from the states and was only there for tournament. So...how did she understand you? Do you speak English? Does she speak Japanese?"
Mirko squinted her eyes and stared at Kaine for what felt like several minutes, "Shut up! We just understood each other alright! It is what it is!" Mirko growled back, "Now...if I could PLEASE finish my story..."
Tiger Bunny, being the type to try and draw first blood, immediately dashed forward at high speed, putting Bling! on alert right away. TB jumped up in the air and tried for a crescent kick to Bling!'s face, but instead it was blocked by the former X-Man's forearm easily. TB felt a light sting shoot up her foot as the crystaline body that protected Bling! was far stronger than anticipated. Bling! immediately countered by grabbing TB's ankle, pulling her close and delivering a gut punch. TB let out a a light groan as the air left her lungs, but she was able to grit her teeth and grin as she sent a kick with her free leg, nailing Bling! in the chin.
TB was able to get out of Bling!'s grip and performed a back handspring to gain some distance between her and the former pro hero. "Not a bad punch for an old bag like yourself. This is getting exciting already!"
"If you thought the punch was nice, wait until you actually see my power!" Bling! replied. She held her hand up and it became a jagged and almost blade like. Bling! tried slicing down on TB and the young teen narrowly avoided the attack. So she can change the shape and form of her body huh? TB thought with a grin, This is getting more and more interesting.
"Cool party trick, how many carats are you?" TB asked with a chuckle, "Do pawn shops accept bits of your finger nails?"
Bling! frowned and changed her hand back to a standard fist, "Be careful with that mouth of yours girlie. Last person I knew that didn't know when to stop talking during a fight didn't live very long as a hero." She charged TB and performed a spinning backhand. The attack was more to see how Tiger Bunny would react, if she dodged then Bling! knew she could play more aggressively, but if she countered then she would play more defensively.
Tiger Bunny didn't do any of those things. No, instead, the teen took the force straight on to her face, a little blood splatter coming from her mouth. The crowd roared at the sight of the attack. "Not bad!" TB smirked, "I was wondering how hard you could actually hit. Now I see you don't mess around!" TB's plan came as such a shock to Bling! that she didn't even see the teen go for an easy sweep kick, followed by a flash kick that knocked the former pro-hero against the cage.
Bling! grunted at the attack and quickly moved away from the fence to avoid getting hit again. She then sharpened bother her hands to points and began swinging her arms around to try and cut down TB once again. TB bobbed and weaved, admittedly, her smaller stature allowed her with an easier time of avoiding getting cut, and her ears weren't stiff so if they got hit by the diamond hands they just moved with them. When TB saw an opening she sent a right hook to Bling!'s jaw, but instead ended up recoiling in pain. "I don't know what you were thinking, Diamond is the strongest precious stone on Earth." Bling! commented before sending a headbutt and knocking TB down onto the canvas.
"Yeah," TB grunted, "and all precious stones can be broken!" she quickly hopped to her feet again before charging towards Bling! She jumped in the air and spread her legs out before wrapping her lower half around Bling!'s torso, she then used her momentum to spin to Bling!'s back and slammed the ex-pro to the ground, putting her in an arm lock. Bling! grunted and groaned as Tiger Bunny's grip was much stronger than she anticipated. "See, I already figured you out!" TB taunted, "You may be hard as diamond, but that doesn't mean I can't just bend you till you break!"
Bling! gritted her teeth. The strength of the teen was much more than she could have anticipated. Years of fighting villains, training with other pro-heroes, fighting in these circuits, sure she has seen some tough fighters, but this girl was like some sort of prodigy! Without any other plans, Bling! sharpened her hand to try and scare TB into loosening her grip. However, when she sharpened her hand to a blade, she cut TB's face, the surprise caused Tiger Bunny to pull back in surprise, breaking Bling!'s arm.
"AAAAAAGH!" Bling! shouted in pain as she found her unbreakable body still had very much breakable bones. The crowd 'ohed' and 'awed' at the sight.
A bell rang out and Fat Boy entered the ring, parting the two fighters. "Folks, looks like we're gonna have to call it here. So, winner by TKO is the young and rambunctious: Tiger Bunny!" Fat Boy grabbed TB's hand and threw it up into the air.
Bling! was able to get to her feet by her own power (thankfully). Tiger Bunny thought the ex-pro would be upset, but instead she smirked and gave the teen a quick thumbs up before leaving the arena, "No bad, kid."
"And that's how I became the undisputed champ of Hiroshima." Mirko said with a smile.
Kaine nodded with an almost uninterested look on his face, "Wow, amazing. I can actually see your nose growing in real time." he was, of course, swiftly met with a punch to the top of his head.
"I'm telling the truth, dammit!"
After a long...really long, ride to Mirko's home town, the pro hero and her intern finally arrived in Hiroshima. Immediately Kaine noticed a different air about the place, everything felt so urban and false in Musutafu...Hiroshima was like that too, but it also had the benefit of smelling like the coast. On top of that though, there was history that could be learned and discussed here in Hiroshima that one couldn't get in Musutafu. Kaine was absolutely giddy. "Quit all that bouncing, I told you we aren't here for a school trip!" Mirko groaned, "I swear, you're the only kid I know that willingly wants to learn."
"I like history, and I like the second world war era, like..." Kaine had a big goofy smile on his face, "Did you know that, SUPPOSEDLY, not only was The Wolverine here in Hiroshima during the second world war, he was actually a POW when the bomb dropped!? AND HE SURVIVED!" Kaine threw his hands in the air, "Like, how cool is that? To survive a nuclear explosion with no negative repercussions. Of course it's awful what happened, but that guy became one of the most well known heroes of his generation!" Mirko simply rolled her eyes.
Well...I suppose we have some time to kill. Nobody says I had to visit the school RIGHT away. Mirko thought. Being a good resident, and realizing this was technically Kaine's first time away from Musutafu, she decided to treat him to some sights. The first thing she did was show Kaine the Carp Castle, a landmark that (not counting the more recent reconstruction several years prior) was arguably one of the oldest buildings in the city. Kaine got to stare in wonder as he took pictures of the large structure, Mirko even got a good chuckle over the look in the teen's eyes. Kid really falls for crap like this? Here I was thinking he was only 60% serious about the history stuff.
Next she took him to the Atomic Bomb Dome, the only building that avoided complete destruction when the bomb dropped. However, the interesting part to Kaine was that it practically survived, though that was impressive, what intrigued him was how the building was practically underneath the center of the blast zone and still stood standing. It became memorial for the war as well as a symbol to the people.
Finally, after grabbing a bite to eat, Kaine dragged Mirko to a baseball memorabilia museum of all places. She never took Kaine to be a sports fanatic, but apparently he's a big baseball fan, go figure.
After a couple of hours of checking out the city, the two finally made it to Mirko's Alma Mater: Gurētobei Academy. It was considerably smaller than UA, that much was for certain, definitely a "second choice" type of school. But, according to Mirko, it was still...fine? Kaine really couldn't latch on to the feelings Mirko had about the school, every time she talked about it it was like someone saying they had fond memories, but with the delivery of a dead fish.
"Oh yeah, this definitely takes me back." Mirko said as she and Kaine stood at the front gates of the school. The pro hero took a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips, "Take it all in, kid. This place definitely bred a great one." Good to see her cocky demeanor is intact. Kaine thought. Suddenly, Mirko's expression changed. She now had a slight frown and began biting her lip, "I messed up here, I know I did. Running around causing trouble, getting expelled. I was told if I didn't change my attitude I'd end up a loser, a disgrace to her family. They said I had to learn to work with others and that this place was the best shot I had. And...maybe they were right." she breathed out.
Kaine squinted his eyes in confusion, This...sounds somewhat out of character. he thought. "I figured, after how far I've come, after everything I've done, I should come back and apologize..." Mirko's frown quickly turned to a smirk as she raised her head up and put two middle fingers up facing her former school, "TO ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOBODY!" she laughed. Ah, there it is. Kaine chuckled. "I DIDN'T CHANGE A GOD DAMN THING ABOUT ME AND LOOK AT ME NOW! I'm the only female hero in the top ten, I'm the sixth rank hero, I'm 159 centimeters of whoop-ass, and I DID IT ALL MY WAY! ON MY OWN!" she turned and pointed to Kaine, scaring the teen slightly, "Take notes, kid! This is why I brought you here, so you can learn a lesson! No matter what people tell you, no matter what they say: FUCK 'EM ALL! Be the hero YOU want to be, not the hero somebody else wants you to be! Maybe you get it wrong at first, that's fine because you'll learn from your mistakes. That is what makes a great hero--no...that is what makes a True Hero. You understand that!?"
Kaine felt...strangely motivated? It was weird, everything Mirko said should be wrong but he couldn't deny the results. There was no textbook way of becoming a hero, Mirko was definitely proof of that. A strange speech, sure, but the fire she put behind it will definitely stay with Kaine for as long as he lives. "Yes ma'am." Kaine replied with a slight bow.
Mirko chuckled and nodded, "Good, now let's get the hell out of here before one of the staff recognize me and start asking me to do some speech for the upcoming graduates or something." Mirko pat Kaine on the shoulder and the two made their way to the train station so they could go home.
Elsewhere...
"The schools security systems definitely aren't what you'd expect for what's supposed to be a top of the line hero school." Assassin mumbled to herself as she typed away at her laptop on top a building across from UA. She was able to easily get a communications relay at the top of the school and wirelessly hack into the systems. She wasn't going to bring it down, oh no, that wasn't what she was paid for. Instead she's looking through the student database to find the student that had been giving her boss trouble. "Kaine Yoshida." Assassin said to herself as she scrolled through class rosters, "They said he was in the hero course...I think they said a first year too, so that narrows it down." she continued scrolling through names and faces until she eventually crossed his name, "There you are." she smirked, "Shouldn't have tried to play hero, kid. Now you have to die, and I oh so look forward to our rematch."
She looked at his address and smirked, "The Sinkhole, huh? Well, doesn't that make my job easier." The Assassin closed her laptop and immediately made her way towards Kaine's home address. Soon, she would know everything there is to know about her next victim.
To be continued...
A/N: Annnnnnd I'm back! How was everybody's holidays? Real good I hope, hope everything turned out okay, hope you guys got everything you asked for. Maybe some nice warm socks to combat the cold weather. Been real cold here lately we had a week where the warmest it got was 16 degrees (Fahrenheit) and it got as low as 6 degrees!
Sorry for taking so long...kinda? After the last chapter I realized I wrote a lot in the three months when I started this fic. I mean, nearly 6 chapters a month is pretty impressive for me, probably the fastest I've written something. So I wanted a quick break. At first it was to enjoy Thanksgiving. then I realized I wanted to enjoy all of December too (mostly because Halo released). Then I also got a Switch for Christmas, so I've been playing Pokémon as well.
I probably would have had this chapter done two weeks ago, but I had to have emergency dental work done to remove a wisdom tooth and I didn't want to try and write while on meds. Oh, and then FanFiction dot net decided to update the mobile app and fuck with uploading. So there's that too.
But yeah, a bit of a filler chapter, but one I think sets up what Mirko and Kaine's relationship is to each other better, and also a chapter that sets up the arc I want Kaine to go through. We also see some things are starting to get serious now, only time will tell how the situation escalates.
Until then, see you next time when we see Kaine doing more Intern stuff.