Akira POV
We all fell asleep like that, crowded into the living room. Random bits of conversation drifting in here and there. I hadn't ended up contacting any hero agencies yesterday like I had planned to, which meant now I was further behind than ever. So I very carefully maneuver to grab the phone and the list I had left beside it and start making calls to the agencies that are already open.
"Nighteye Hero Agency, how may I direct your call?"
"Hello, my name is Akira. I'm a U.A. student from class 1-A calling in regards to possibly interning and work studying at this agency."
"Full name and hero name please."
"Akira-Grace Rosemary Eubank-Toro. Hero name is Inkheart."
"One moment please, I'll be placing you on hold." It takes five or six minutes before I'm taken off of hold.
"Apologies miss, but unfortunately we will not be able to consider you for an internship at this time. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No ma'am, thank you for your time." Click. No final words from the other side of the phone.
I move down to the next open agency.
"Gunhead Hero Agency, how may I help you?" The conversation and results are near mirror images of each other, and as I go down the list it happens again and again. I'm not given explanations as to why and just told that they can't help me.
Best Jeanist? No.
Hawks? No.
Fourth Kind? No.
Manual Hero Agency? No.
I make it through the entire list, some names I know, some I don't. I get rejected very politely every time. It's a little harsh, as I last resort I make a call to Tensei, I know he's still in the hospital but perhaps he'll have a recommendation for me on who might accept me. His agency rejected me- they're the only one that gave a reason of course, he's out and so they already have a lot going on.
"Hello?"
"Hi... This is Akira?"
"Akira! It's good to finally speak with you, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I was hoping I could get some advice for my internships and work-study from you."
"Of course, what kind of questions did you have?"
"Well, Professor Aizawa gave me a list of agencies that might accept me and said I could contact them since I may also be doing a work-study with them immediately after my school internship credit. However... All twenty-eight agencies rejected me when I called."
"Oh, dear. I'd suggest my agency, but they don't really have the means at the moment to take on a student. You'll have to discuss it with your teachers I'm afraid. Did they give any reasons as to why they weren't accepting you? It's common for them to give feedback as to why they're not taking you so that you have a better idea as to how to find an agency that will be willing to work with you."
"I'm afraid not. Only your agency gave any feedback as to why, and that of course was due to you being out of commission at the moment."
"That's highly unusual, I'll make a few calls for you today as well. I'll let your teachers know if I find anyone on my end, otherwise best of luck to you."
"Thank you, you have a nice day sir."
"You to kiddo." Hanging up the phone, I nudge Kimiko to the best of my abilities. I don't know what the others plan to do today, but it's a bit of a trek to school for us.
"Ugh... No... Sleep."
"It's time to get ready for school Kimiko."
"...fine... Oh, did you pick a hero agency for an internship? I'm going to Fat Gum's agency with some kid named Kirishima from your class."
"No... I have to talk to Professor Aizawa about that today actually."
"Well, I'm sure you'll find someone awesome. Professor Aizawa is my spirit animal. I wish he took work-study kids. Are you just gonna wear that uniform again?"
"Yeah, I haven't done laundry. We can head out if you're ready."
"Same, up we go." Kimiko helps me maneuver out from under the other girls, luckily they all have a tendency to sleep like the dead when we have sleepovers.
Kimiko walked with me to homeroom, we're here a little early, and she nods in approval at Aizawa in his sleeping bag at the front of the room. I'm surprised he's already here, there must be something important going on today.
"Good morning Akira, did you decide on your hero agency?" I shrug nonchalantly.
"Well... They all rejected me." Aizawa just narrows his eyes and stares at me for a few moments.
"Why?" I shrug again and make my way to my desk. This new brace is nice but very tricky to use.
"They didn't really say." Taking my seat I pull out my notebook.
"I see." He says nothing else for a little while, just stares at me with narrowed eyes, as though he's contemplating a lot of different things at once and it's annoying him.
"I will admit I had considered the possibility of this being a problem. I had hoped other pros would be more open-minded, but realistically, no one wants to have an extra point of liability for a student than they absolutely have to."
"What are my options then?" Aizawa sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Those were really the only options available."
"What about working with a teacher? A lot of you still work as pros outside of school hours." He scowls and gives me a pointed look.
"Teachers don't usually take interns or work-study students. We already have a lot going on being full-time teachers and pros. Some teachers, such as Present Mic, have other public duties to attend to as well that make the extra responsibility of a student impossible. Not to mention that we have classes to teach during the day while the internships are going on, and your work-study time would be very limited. In all honesty, we're just going to have to see if a pro can be convinced to take you on."
"I have a strong feeling that that's going to be easier said than done. They were very quick to inform me I wasn't able to be accepted for an internship or work-study." He shrugs and rolls his eyes.
"Yes, obviously. In case it's not possible I want you to draft a personal training plan for while the others are at their internships. You can, of course, ask teachers if they would be available to allow you to train with their class or for other short periods. That would be manageable for most compared to taking on a work-study student."
I'm distracted all morning, I need an agency to work-study for, but there isn't one. I've drafted version after version of potential personal training for the week to best improve my abilities, but I know nothing will be as helpful as real experience. Taking my usual spot at lunch, I pull out my notebook to study. I feel so far behind right now it's not even funny. Like I'll never be able to catch back up in my studies.
"Hey! We missed you yesterday, how's it going Akira?" Kaminari sits down across from me, Jirou right behind him.
"Yeah, your new brace looks super cool though! Present Mic said that's why you were out yesterday. How's it working for you?"
"It's... rough that's for sure. It's so different and I haven't gotten the hang of using my quirk to help me move with it. It's made of a special compound that I should be able to move using my quirk with practice. Use it long enough and it should become second nature!" Kaminari stares at me a little blankly before turning to Jirou for help.
"It's made of special ink dummy. That's super cool though, I bet you'll figure it out in no time!" Kaminari nods in agreement and gives me a double thumbs up.
"Yeah! For sure!" Bakugo and Kirishima are on their way over, and Bakugo gives me a pointed look at the lack of food in front of me, as usual. I just shrug.
"Hey nerds."
"Bakubro! How's it going?" The lunch period dissolves into the usual conversation, the only anomaly is Uraraka waving at me from their table. Before I know it, it's time to head out for hero training.
"My young students! Today we will be competing in simple hand to hand combat exercises, without the use of our quirks! You may pair up however you like for this!" It's not long before everyone is paired off, but All Might seems to often forget that there's an odd number of students in this class. However, Bakugo and Kirishima insist I pair up with them to make a trio instead of pointing it out to All Might once again.
"Alright! No quirks Bakubro, I bet I'll beat you no problem!" Bakugro grunts and flexes his shoulders.
"Fuck off shitty hair, I could beat you in my sleep." Bakugo and Kirishima start sparring, it's interesting watching them fight without their quirks, and as usual, All Might is not doing a very good job paying attention to the majority of the class so they can hit each other as hard as they want without him noticing. Ten or fifteen minutes pass before Kirishima finally ends up calling it quits on the first round of sparring. When I'm standing across from him Bakugo gives me an odd look, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back on his heels a little bit.
"Do you know hand to hand at all?" That's a difficult question to answer, technically yes, and in some situations, it's easy to use, but my leg is a hindrance, and this new brace is a pain to move in.
"Well... In theory yes, and I've got a little practice, but practically hand to hand isn't easy or ideal so I've never spent much time on it. I can get out of holds and put distance between myself and others, and dodge of course, but that's about it, and with this new brace I'm still learning how to move around efficiently." He nods thoughtfully and turns to Kirishima.
"Oi, Shitty Hair, get up. We've got practicing to do." Oh, I go to return to my seat, but Bakugo snaps his head around to me immediately and the look in his eyes sets my nerves on edge immediately.
"What in the hell are you doing?"
"I- I... Uhm, I thought you were gonna spar with Kirishima again?" He scoffs and walks over to me, and Kirishima takes his spot.
"Nah, that's too easy, I'm gonna teach you some hand to hand and Kirishima is going to be your practice dummy. Right, Shitty Hair?" Kirishima gives us a thumbs up.
"Alright, man! Way to be a good friend! Let's do it." I give Kirishima a smile and look at Bakugo who's just rolling his eyes.
"Oh fuck off Shitty Hair, I just don't wanna get blamed if she gets her ass totally kicked next time we do this."
The madness starts with Bakugo teaching me how to stand. It's difficult, and nothings really comfortable, but eventually we find a stance I can remain relatively steady in. Next, I have to learn to keep my balance while shifting between slight variations of that position. Between Kirishima and Bakugo I don't end up on the ground too many times. As we get closer to the end of class, Bakugo starts trying to teach me how to use my opponents size against them, similar to the way Midoriya had thrown him on the first day of class together. Eventually, he steps back and lets me try it on my own, going completely through the motions and attempting to throw Kirishima. Every time ends with me taking a serious tumble, and I swear I've got more bruises than clear skin by now.
By the end of the time, however, I successfully get Kirishima over my shoulder one time. It ends up with both of us on the floor, but hey, progress is progress.
"Pfft, you're worse at this than I thought you'd be." I shrug, hand to hand is something I understand technically and see a lot of, but my own hand to hand skills are just... Not very good, with supplementation from my ink I can manage a little better, but completely quirkless it's not that easy.
"I do have multiple disadvantages against Kirishima you know. Hand to hand just isn't my thing."
"Whatever, let's get going."