Alright, this one is a doozy. It's a little longer to make up for the short chapters lately. Also, if you haven't noticed already, I took out Mashirao Ojiro. I really didn't feel like he was an important character, and that's kind of where the whole idea came from. I really hope you enjoy this action-packed chapter of Arashi Haruto's life! P.S. I make a bunch of outside references to Pokémon and Studio Ghibli in this chapter. Let me know if those add to the story or if they're just extra!

I woke up with the worst headache of my life.

Blood pounded behind my eyes and rushed through my ears. The sun glared through the open blinds of the hospital room I was in. A bag of IV fluid fed into my arm, its drip, drip, drip the only sound in the room. My headache wasn't helped by the hospital's shitty decor. Look! White sheets! White walls! White goddamn everything!

I was pissed as hell and there was no one to yell at. My phone was resting on the little table next to the bed, so I picked it up and switched it on. My Pokémon phone case- a mess of Gen 3 legendaries- greeted me with a mishmash of Hoenn. My lock screen wallpaper was comprised of Gen 7 legendaries: my favorite. The date cut me short. Wow. It was two days after the sports festival and apparently I'd missed a hell of a show. Uraraka had created a "Class 1-A!:D" group chat and I had about six hundred-odd alerts. Lots were questions about what had happened to me. Some complaints about homework. A borderline porn meme from Mineta (Lots of dislikes). A few 'Wow! You're so powerful!' messages directed at Bakugo- who had WON THE FESTIVAL?!

My first message to the class was: "What in the hell did I miss?!"

A good thirty or so messages popped up all at once. 'You're okay!' and explanations of what happened clogged my screen. My points and standings had been completely erased (apparently I'd absolutely screwed up a match between Kirishima and Bakugo. They had to start over) and Tokoyami had taken the third place spot. Iida bailed around the halfway point for family reasons. In the final match- Bakugo versus Todoroki- Bakugo had gone nuclear on Todoroki, who supposedly didn't actually do anything. And boy, was sparkles pissed! Uraraka posted a picture of Bakugo strapped to a cement slab because he kept trying to blow everything up, his gold medal clenched in his teeth. "Lol"

I snorted and set my phone on my lap. There was a tv in the room- a little boxy one- so I turned it to the latest news. And I swear my heart skipped a beat. Pro Hero Ingenium- Iida's older brother- had been attacked and mutilated by a villain assassin calling himself Stain. I kind of stared at the screen for a minute as the news anchor rattled off some essential facts. Ingenium was in critical condition after receiving multiple stab wounds. His family asked the press to respect their privacy, so that was basically it. A really awful feeling grew in my stomach as the channel recounted previous attacks by Stain. He'd killed 17 Pros. How powerful was this guy to have taken on and either killed or maimed a total of 31 Pros? And he was somewhere in Hosu City. My city. I swallowed a lump in my throat and turned off the tv. Then I hurriedly sent Papa a text: "Have you seen the news?"

My phone beeped almost instantly: "Don't worry about it. Worry about making up the math test you missed yesterday." Before I could stop myself: "I had a math test?!" Then: "No shit, Sherlock." After hissing, "Damn you," at my phone, I sent another message to the group chat: "Is Iida okay?" Midoriya responded with: "Not sure. He was really shaken up. Are you okay?" If I could send a digital shrug- "Don't worry about it."

After I was discharged from the hospital, Mom and my brothers came to pick me up. Papa and I couldn't fit in cars, so they had dragged their bicycles out from storage and biked over. "Hey!" I shouted, waving them over to the curb. The sun was just dipping below the horizon, and everyone's faces were bright with golden light. Mom burst into tears, wrapping her arms around my neck and scolding me for pushing myself so hard. My brothers each got a fist bump. I flew over them as they pedaled back home. It wasn't far. Hosu City wasn't really a big place. People waved and took pictures of me with their phones as I zoomed overhead. Then it came to me. I was on international television! (But really… I screwed up on international television!)

The day I went back to school, it was raining hard. I really didn't feel like banishing a rainstorm that covered about half of Japan (too much effort), so I pulled on a rain slicker over my backpack and took off. However bad the rain was, the wind was worse. I was buffeted and yanked all over the place on my way. And I most certainly wasn't pleased by the fact that my wings were absorbing water like two feathery sponges.

I was dripping everywhere as I checked into UA. One of the front desk ladies offered me a towel, which I took with a sheepish smile and a thanks. In the locker room, the other girls froze when I walked in. "Haruto!" "You're okay!" "Wow, you're dripping everywhere!" I was flustered and freaked out by their sudden attention. "You guys," I whined, "Leave me beeeeeeeeeee."

I dragged my wet wings to class (deadweight, trust me) and plopped down. Bakugo stomped past, but hesitated. He slammed his hands on my desk. I looked up, bemused. "I'm glad you're okay," he growled, "You really scared everyone." Then he retreated to his desk. "Aw, that's so sweet of you, sparkles," I said softly. I really meant to poke fun at him, but I genuinely appreciated his concern. Uraraka passed by next, pausing to talk to me on her way. "Bakugo is right. We were really worried. And we're all super happy that you're back." I grinned, "Happy to be back!"

And at last, Todoroki. He didn't stop as he stormed past, a cold wind in his wake. I jumped out of my chair and followed him back, "Hey!" He didn't look at me as he sat down. "Thank you," I snapped, "If you hadn't caught me, I would have cracked my skull open like a coconut. Thank you." He looked up through his mismatched eyelashes, "You're welcome." I rolled my eyes and made some kind of incoherent angry noise before stalking back to my spot. He literally stopped me from maiming myself and he couldn't man up and accept my thanks!

Mr. Aizawa wandered in slowly. "Hey, Mr. Aizawa," Tsu chirped, "You don't have bandages any more!" He looked sideways at us through his hair and sighed, "Today we'll be doing Hero training in the classroom." I groaned and dropped my head on my hand. This was looking to be boring. "You'll be deciding the code names for your internships." I whooped and punched my fist into the air as the class cheered behind me. Aizawa's Quirk fired up, leaving the class scrambling back to their seats. We all squirmed a bit. We hated the feeling. "They'll be related to the draft picks. Usually, first-years don't have to worry about the draft, but you're a special case. By investing in first-years like you, Pro Heroes are essentially investing in your potential. Offers can be rescinded if their interest wanes." I coughed, "Wow. Way to ruin someone's childhood." Aizawa scowled harder as Hagakure piped up, "So we'll have to prove ourselves even after we're recruited?" He sighed, "Correct, now, here are the totals for those of you who received offers."

A bar graph appeared on the board, with numbered names. Todoroki, Bakugo… There I was! I'd received 1 mysterious offer! A few snowflakes shook out of my hair as I bounced happily. I was super curious who had requested me (and a little voice in the back of my head wondered why I didn't get more). Todoroki- even though he hadn't won- received the most offers out of all of us by far. I hated to say it, but I muttered, "Hey, ice cube. You know it's probably 'cause of your dad, right?" I winced as he shrugged. We'd already experienced combat, so all of us would end up in an internship. That was pretty fair. Even those without offers were fighting baddies pretty early on.

And to be Hero interns… WE NEEDED HERO NAMES!

I already had mine pretty much mapped out. Either Thunderbird (after my Quirk, duh) or Zapdos (search it if you don't know). But I was pretty sure pop-culture references as Hero names were frowned upon, so Thunderbird it was! Midnight swaggered in, slamming the door shut behind her. I swear I could hear Mineta drooling. Aizawa returned to his sleeping bag and let Midnight take over the naming. She passed whiteboards and markers down the columns of desks. I almost gagged as the sharp smell of 20 markers being opened. Boy, did I hate the smell.

I scrawled my name in messy Japanese that was honestly barely legible and marched to the front, slamming my board down on Aizawa's podium. "The Tempest Hero: Thunderbird!" I shouted. Lightning zapped at the corner of my eye as I grinned. "The thunderous power of a storm of good!" I winked and a huge boom of thunder echoed me from outside. "Wow!" Midnight squealed, "A powerful name for a powerful up-and-coming Hero! Villains would quiver at the mention!" Then quieter, "Thank you for going first, Miss Arashi." I grinned and zoned out on my way back to my seat. I registered everyone's names and categorized them: stupid and regrettable, or actually really cool.

Next was Aoyama. "Can'tStopTwinkling." Stupid and regrettable. If he was trying to intimidate a villain in the future, it was kind of a pansy name. Then Tsu. "Froppy." Awesome! It really reflected her approachableness and kindness. Also, it was super cute! Kirishima took a page out of the Chivalrous Hero's- Crimson Riot's- book and called himself "Red Riot." That was a really neat name, too. It brought to mind his mess of spiky red hair and his raucous attitude. Midnight cooed at them from time to time, but otherwise let the class do most of the judging. I was feeling all high and mighty with my kick-ass name until Bakugo stomped up.

"King Explosion Murder!"

I snorted a laugh and rocked back in my chair, hugging myself with laughter. Midnight made a face, "That seems a little too violent." I practically hooted, "Hey, Bakugo! Why don't you go for 'King Explosion Sparkles?!'" I almost fell out of my chair at his offended expression followed by sailor-worthy curses. Turning back to see others' expressions, I saw Todoroki trying to bury a smile in a hearty scowl. Momo looked ready to facepalm herself off of the nearest building. Midoriya smiled, but looked kind of confused. Kaminari, Kirishima, and Jiro had similar reactions to mine, howling with laughter all over the room. Iida and Uraraka just looked lost. That only made the whole shebang funnier to me.

Once Midnight had shut us up, the rest of the class flew by. Iida and Todoroki just used their first names (Tenya and Shoto), which I definitely thought was a waste of their time. Pro Heroes had code names for a reason. Then Uraraka with "Uravity." Super clever in my opinion. Also it was a play on words and I liked to think that I was punny, so.

Aizawa passed out lists with internship opportunities on them. I thought it was pretty funny that Bakugo and Todoroki got a few-centimeter-thick packet with their thousands of offers listed. One name was underlined on my sheet. "Endeavor, #2 Hero Agency." Interesting. I wondered what Endeavor saw in me that literally no one else did. So I circled it, obviously. He'd made a request, so it was kind of a no-brainer. I listed Pro Hero Hawks as my second choice and Pro Hero Best Jeanist as my third. Both had more or less similar Quirks to mine, so it would be easier to work with them on training. But Endeavor's offer really got me thinking. Why did he want to train me? Was it because of my power level (not bragging, just a fact) or my combat skills? Was it because of my winning attitude? (Yeah, probably not that one.)

I turned in my sheet confidently before lunch. On my way to the cafeteria, Iida appeared in front of me, "Arashi!" I tried to duck around him, "Iida!" He swiftly blocked my exit. "Come on, legs, I'm huuunnngggrrryyy!" He smiled, "I have a nickname now!" Then he posed dramatically, "I have earned your trust!" I rolled my eyes and attempted to muscle past. "You live in Hosu City, right?" Pausing, I looked dead into his eyes, "Did you get taller? Damn pubescent boys." He didn't laugh or smile. I sighed uncomfortably, "Yeah, I live in Hosu. Little too far from Tokyo for my liking, but near enough to here that I can fly to school." Thinking… "Hey, wasn't your brother's Agency in Hosu?" Iida flinched, but smiled wide, "Don't worry about my brother. I've also heard that the Manual Agency is there. I'm thinking that's where I want to do my internship." I stuck my tongue out, "Why Manual? His Quirk and fighting style don't go with yours at all- hold on," I scowled, finally putting the pieces together, "You want to look for the assassin. That's a bullshit idea, legs." Iida smiled again, but I could see something flicker across his face, "Of course not! I'm trying to broaden my horizons in the Hero world."

I finally shoved my way past, but looked back at him, "You call me if you're planning on doing anything stupid. I'll be close by, and annoying backup is better than no backup." I strode off to the cafeteria. Iida was smart and careful. He wouldn't do something so careless… would he?

No one else was at my lunch table that day, all of them staying in the classroom to decide their internships. My mom had tried her hand at packing a character bento box. I was assuming that it was supposed to be some kind of My Neighbor Totoro theme, but O-Totoro himself was looking a little sad. His meticulously cut eyes had slid off and settled on the banana Cat Bus, and it was a really unsettling image. I got a hot lunch after Chibi-Totoro's little rice face caved in.

I was going to have a talk with Mom later.

We reconvened in the classroom to see if our choices had been accepted. My name was last on the list for some reason. Some shit alphabetizing. Midnight read the names and the Agencies, and a few golf claps pattered around the room. When Todoroki was called out for Endeavor's Agency, I deflated like a balloon. It was rare to have two kids go to the same Agency. It happened with Momo and someone from class 1-B, but in the same class? Fat chance. I buried my face in my hands as Tokoyami was given Hawks. And Bakugo: Best Jeanist. If I could groan in class, I would sound like a dying whale. Finally my turn.

"Arashi Haruto," she paused for dramatic effect. I peeked in between my fingers. "Also Endeavor Agency. Hmm, that's interesting." Snowflakes burst out of my fingertips as I pumped my fist into the air, "Yessssssss!"

I sped home as fast as I could, slamming the door open and sprinting into the kitchen. My family looked up from dinner, startled. "I got the Endeavor Agency as my internship!" I said breathlessly. My mother clapped happily, and my brothers started asking ten billion questions. Papa, however, looked like he wanted to kill something. He looked up and ground through gritted teeth, "Your room. Now." I scowled and marched off. After not-so-gently unbuttoning my blazer, I kicked my shoes as hard as I could into the wall. Five minutes later, I growled, "Hurry up," under my breath. Ten minutes. Fifteen. Finally, Papa barged in (without knocking, mind you) and plopped down on my extra-wide, wing-friendly bed. The end I was sitting on bounced into the air upon impact. "Papa!" I whined, scrambling off to my feet. "You're not doing the damn internship," He snapped, looking up with the same warm brown eyes that I had. "I have to, Papa," I countered, "It's a grade." He snorted, "Not with that motherfucker." My jaw dropped open to snap back, but what he said made me reconsider, "What do you mean?" I perched on the bent-up corner of my bed. He blew a sigh through his teeth, "Endeavor is not the kind of Hero I want you working with." I flopped over onto my stomach, kicking my feet back and forth like a little kid, "Why?" He scowled, "He's a bitch, kiddo. Not even his sidekicks really like him."

I responded to that with, "Not even his family really likes him." Papa shook his head with a wry laugh, "No, they don't." Then he paused, considering something, "C'mere." I scooted closer as Papa took his phone out of his pocket. It looked really tiny in his huge hand. He opened his photo album and scrolled to the very first picture. I rolled my eyes, 'That's your wedding picture. I've seen it before." Mom had forced Dad and his entourage to go to Chicago for the wedding. Papa looked absolutely perfect in his tux, his wings gleaming in the sunset behind them. Mom was like a goddamn model (I wish I was as graceful as her) in a blinding white gown. I scanned the faces to my dad's right, counting the tuxedos. His finger jabbed at the screen, pointing at a red-haired guy. The only person not smiling in the picture. "That, my darling, is Enji Todoroki," Papa said triumphantly. "No fucking way. He was your best man?!" I screeched. Papa nodded solemnly, "And my best friend until about ten years ago. We went to school together, lived in the same apartment building, even had the same damn backpack as kids."

"Then he started going all power-hungry," Papa's voice dropped a pitch, anger swirling through his words, "He married Rei, and every ounce of the guy he was before… just disappeared. He was obsessed with creating the perfect child and becoming number one." I said softly, "Shoto Todoroki." Papa sighed, "Then we had a falling out, and he was just too far gone to bring back." He laughed, a soft, sad sound, "He was the first one besides your mother and I to hold you, y'know. You and his son were born at Hosu General, but you already know that. You were sixteen hours ahead, and he came to see you." I snorted, "Believe me, I don't let Todoroki forget!" Papa ruffled my hair, "Damn you and your smile. Now I don't have any reason to keep you from that damn internship." I winked, "It's your smile, Papa." As he was leaving, he snorted, "But you've got your mother's dimples, so it's her fault."

The next day at school, we were given our costumes in little cases (they weren't supposed to be seen in public yet) and carted off to the station to take trains to our respective internships. I was going to be flying (duh) alongside the train with Todoroki inside. My family didn't necessarily have the money to pay for tickets, so this was easier. I hiked my costume case over my backpack and lifted off as the train picked up speed, saluting Iida on the ground. He looked up, dark determination written all over his face.

Dumb. Ass.

The view was pretty, a bunch of mountains and fields upon fields of sparkling rice paddies. And when the train pulled into the station, I could see the Endeavor Agency. It was a huge skyscraper with mirrored glass windows and a stupid amount of communications equipment balanced precariously on the roof. Huge crowds of people ran in and out of the building. From way up in the sky, they looked like a bunch of little ants. Wow, Haruto. Wake up. You're not that powerful.

I met Todoroki on the boarding platform. He looked as pissed as ever as he strode past without a word. "Rude!" I scoffed, but quickly fell into step, "Hey, your dad patrols Hosu, right?" He grunted. "Maybe we'll see Iida and Manual. That'd be neat. Ooh! Or my family!" Todoroki wasn't looking enthusiastic enough, so I elbowed him in the ribs, "You look like you've seen a ghost, ice cube. You sure this internship was the right pick?" Todoroki steeled his jaw and squared his shoulders, "I want to reconnect with my father. We've grown apart over the years and I want to make an effort." I nodded, impressed, "Hardcore." He shrugged, "Also, he's the number two Hero for a reason. I want to learn from him." I scoffed, "You and me both, ice cube."

We walked for about ten minutes in silence before we reached the foot of Endeavor's Agency. I looked up as far as I could, taking a few careful steps backward, "I can't see the top." Todoroki huffed, "It's 50 stories tall. I doubt you could unless you were flying." I rolled my eyes and hurried to catch up with him, "Is that jealousy I detect? Also, where's all the fanfare?" I wrapped my hands around each other and made a vaguely trumpet-like noise, "It's the new interns! Welcome to our humble Agency!" Todoroki scoffed, "It's Endeavor, not a tea party." I took a hefty amount of offense to that, babbling after him angrily as he triumphantly stalked into the building. We took the elevator (not a fan, myself. I hated enclosed spaces.) to the top floor, which was marked as floor #1. Instead of floor #50. I rolled my eyes as we entered a cavernous office. A single desk sat in the dead center, looking tiny compared to the empty space around it.

Two sharp blue eyes regarded us over a flaming beard, lit from beneath like some kind of video game boss. The number two Hero was dressed in a smartly tailored suit that was half-hidden by his desk. I bowed as low as I could without losing my backpack, "Endeavor-sensei. I am Arashi Haruto, here from UA High for the internship." Endeavor stood from his massive high-backed chair, stomping forward. "Noted," he said boredly, "Welcome to the hardest internship in Japan, children. Shoto, get that ridiculous uniform off and get into combat gear. Miss Arashi, come with me." Endeavor stomped into the next room without another word. I shot a look at Todoroki before dropping my bag and case near the wall and following him. As I pushed open the door, a bundle of cloth came flying at my face. I caught it, thankfully. A black tank top, fingerless gloves, and cropped leggings. He shot a pair of hair ties at my face next. Those I couldn't quite snag and they whipped into my face. Damn did that sting. "Go get dressed," he said over his shoulder, "My secretary can direct you to the nearest restroom. We'll tape your wings when you get back." I paused as I turned to exit, "I don't know if I heard you right. Tape my wings?"

Shit. "With all due respect, sir," I said quickly. He sighed. Oh yeah. This guy was definitely Todoroki's dad. "Just do it." I bobbed a little bow and hurried to the little foyer on the floor below. The 'secretary' was actually one of his sidekicks, a lady named Burnin. She looked annoyed at my appearance, but directed me to the bathroom all the same. The clothes fit perfectly, and I wondered where they'd come from. I sprung for messy double buns with the hair ties. When I made my way back and shoved my balled-up uniform into my backpack, Todoroki magically appeared from the shadows, dressed more or less like I was. Black tank, black cargo shorts, a red glove and a white glove. Endeavor was in his costume, and I could feel the heat radiating off of him. Excitement zapped through me like a little spark of lightning.

"All right," Endeavor snapped, crossing his arms, "You two are going to spar. Three taps if it's too much. No Quirks." Suddenly, Burnin popped up behind me and started wrapping some kind of belt-thing around my wings. I flinched and tried to turn away, but a glare from Endeavor stopped me in my tracks. "Sir, I-" He cut me off with: "Watch your tongue, Thunderbird." I stifled a groan and let Burnin tie off the tape. I couldn't move my wings pretty much at all and it was really throwing a wrench in how excited I was. The only good thing was: I'd been doing martial arts my whole life, from Aki-do to Krav Maga.

Endeavor led us down to a training floor with padded floors, weight racks everywhere, a sparring ring, and a few punching bags hanging in random intervals from the ceiling. "Today, we'll be getting a good assessment of your physical fighting style," Endeavor boomed, leading us to the ring. It was a bamboo mat with thin ropes marking the boundaries. I cracked my knuckles as I swung a leg over, adjusting my gloves. "I hope you're ready to get your ass whooped," I said, a tiny bit too loud. "Watch your language!" With a hasty "Yessir!" Todoroki and I circled up. I kept up on my toes, scanning Todoroki's body language for an opening. Finally, I darted forward and swept his legs out from under him, flipping him over and planting my knee in the center of his back. He promptly shoved backward. I regained my footing as he scrambled to his feet.

And he was pissed.

He lunged at me, going for my legs, so I sidestepped him and caught his elbow. Todoroki cracked a smile and pinned my arm behind my back in the most painful of holds. "Dammit!" I hissed, wrenching away and rolling out of his range. My bare feet stuck to the mat a tiny bit, so I used that to launch myself forward and nail my shoulder into his rib cage. He went down, coughing and sputtering. I gave Todoroki a second to stand up and shake himself off. Endeavor made a disapproving noise. Todoroki's gaze snapped to behind me, anger written all over his face. I got a little distracted, and he was able to land an elbow in my side. Pain ricocheted down my arm. A manic laugh burst out of my throat as I responded with the heel of my hand to his nose as he rushed me again. Something warm splashed on my hand.

I whipped around to Todoroki wiping blood from his nose. Endeavor looked mildly surprised (or he was constipated. It was kind of hard to tell). Todoroki looked angrier than I had ever seen him, his face twisted in a scowl. He was panting hard, glaring daggers at me. I was pretty winded, too, but damn me if I was going to let him see that. Shaking the blood off my hand, I began to pace again. Now things were getting intense. I grinned, "Come at me, ice cube." And he did. And I was totally expecting him to. I kneed him in the chest and followed him to the ground, keeping my knee on his chest. He tried to roll off, but I held tight. I pressed harder and harder until his red-gloved hand slapped against my leg. One. Two. Three.

I got off of him and offered him a hand up, but he blew me off and stumbled to his feet. "Well done," Endeavor mused, "Get your clothes back on. We're done for today." Todoroki angrily stalked off while Burnin unwrapped my wings. "Endeavor-sensei?" I called before he could leave. "What?" He snapped. "My dad showed me a wedding photo of his. I didn't know you knew each other," I said carefully. "Ah, Daichi. What's he go by now? Albatross?" I nodded. Endeavor turned to face me, looking very decisively down, "He's a good man, Thunderbird." I mumbled some kind of indiscernible thanks before grabbing my school uniform and changing.

Ok. I was going to strangle Todoroki when I saw him next.

A huge, elbow-shaped bruise covered literally my entire left side. And it hurt like hell. It really sucked when I tried to put on my blazer. Damn that sucker had tiny buttons. I didn't even feel like flying home I was so goddamn sore. My wings were stiff and my knuckles were bruised and it just sucked. So I walked the four kilometers home. Not far, but not close either.

My family was out at dinner with one of my mom's work friends (I'd politely declined), so I showered like my life depended on it and went straight to bed. I actually couldn't fall asleep straight away. I kept thinking about Todoroki's attitude. He was usually a little distant, and the intensity I saw today made me nervous. Obviously, there was something screwed up between father and son there. I didn't really want to find out what.

The next morning, I was somewhat less sore. I went straight into my costume and downed a glass of water before leaving the house. Papa was passed out on the couch with the news playing on the tv. The remote rested on his slowly rising chest. With a tiny, happy eyeroll, I set the remote on the coffee table and pulled an old blanket over him. With a little smooch, I grabbed my backpack and took off for Endeavor Agency.

Todoroki was walking in from outside when I set down. "Hey, ice cube," I offered. "Hey." Very non-committal. I sighed, "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I'm honestly not sure what came over me. And I know, in front of your dad, it sucks to lose." He looked to be ignoring me, so I cut him off in the lobby, "I'm sorry, okay?!" A few people looked up from their respective tasks. Todoroki huffed and rolled his eyes. "Well damn you, then!" I shouted, "You want to blow me off? Damn you. The only reason I'm here is to learn. I was hoping to do that with you, but if you're going to be an asshole, I'll do it better than you." Todoroki had the balls to look bored. "Get the hell out of my way, snowflake." I stormed past, rain pattering at the windows of the foyer.

A cold breeze tickled the back of my neck, but all it did was make me smile. Finally, a reaction. "Go ahead and strike, ice cube. We both know who'll melt first," I said over my shoulder. The room got a few degrees colder, and some of the people around us looked genuinely terrified. "I want to be a Hero to help people, ice cube," I said, in a softer tone. Then I looked up, my signature lightning eyes meeting his mismatched ones, "And if that means that I have to screw someone over- our classmates or a villain- then so be it."

A flaming heat appeared in between us. "That's enough, children."

I whipped around to Endeavor, "And I'm going for the number one spot, too." With a windy gust, I zoomed closer and looked Endeavor dead in the eyes, "And nothing in hell is gonna stop me." Endeavor had that same stupid look on his face. Half-surprised and half-bemused. "We're going on patrol to look for the Hero Killer, Thunderbird." He bent down so we were eye-to-eye, "And you're going to behave, or so help me, I'll shut you up myself." I grinned a dare, "I'd like to see you try." A quick flash of anger appeared on his face, but he grumbled and stomped out before things could get any worse.

Endeavor ordered me to fly over the city where they were walking, looking for any threats ahead of time. After several hours of this, my communicator beeped, Endeavor's tinny voice leaking through the speaker, "Get down here. We have a situation." I tucked in my wings and dove as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Something resembling the thing that attacked the USJ- Nomu, the big black monster dude- was being burnt to a crisp by Endeavor. I set down and made my (really kick-ass, mind you) lightning whips, coiling them at my hips in case we needed them. A little old man dressed in yellow and white was standing by Endeavor. I made the smart decision to keep my mouth shut at this point.

"Have the citizens of Hosu evacuated, sir?" I asked. The question about my family remained unsaid. Endeavor didn't look over, "Yes, but there are a few left. They're leaving now." Todoroki crouched next to the seemingly unconscious Nomu, "This one is different." I poked it with the toe of my boot, "Yeah. It's skinnier and probably faster than the tank at the USJ. Also, look. It has more eyes. Ew." The little man looked up, and I recognized his face almost instantly. "Hey, you're the Hero Midoriya's interning with," I pointed out, "Where is the hotshot, anyway?" The man shook his head, "He and I were separated when the Nomu attacked. There's a bigger fight with more of these things a few blocks down. He's probably somewhere near there."

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket with the intent of checking the news for any info. As I unlocked it, a single notification lit up my screen. A set of coordinates texted from Midoriya on the group chat. I looked up the coordinates in a mapping app I had, and received no results besides a city name. Hosu City. "Hey, ice cube?" I said slowly. He rolled his eyes, "Todoroki to you." I huffed, "A: you know I'll never call you that. B: There's a weird message from Midoriya on the group chat." Todoroki held out his hand, and I dropped my phone into it. "Does this mean we're friends again?" I asked, clasping my hands under my chin and batting my eyelashes. "Let it go," he said with a glare. I blew a raspberry at him, "Alright, Queen Elsa." Todoroki's eyes flicked back down to the message. He frowned as he read it, then practically growled, "Let's go."

Todoroki ran off to tell Endeavor that we were going to investigate, and that Endeavor had to deal with the Nomu without us.

When he came back, I lifted him up under his arms and flew to Midoriya's coordinates. "Hey, do you think he got caught by one of those Nomus?" I shouted over the whistle of the wind. "Don't know, but Midoriya doesn't send stuff like that usually. And something that specific must have some kind of meaning."

As I neared the alley in a shabbier part of the city, I knew something was wrong. I took Todoroki up to a nearby rooftop. We couldn't see all the way down, but sounds of a scuffle made it clear enough that something was up. "I've got the ground, you've got air support," he snapped. I stuck out my tongue, but launched up anyway.

He nodded up at me and made an ice slide down into the alley. I dove in after him, taking in what I could. Big, gangly dude with knives. Midoriya and Iida dodging said knives. Pro Hero Native down. Clearly, the guy with the kitchen knives was the issue.

He landed a throwing knife in Iida's shoulder, and by the amount of blood on the ground, it wasn't the first time. Midoriya shouted to Todoroki, "Don't let him draw blood!" Damn. What was this guy's Quirk?

That fucker licked- yes, licked- his katana, and Midoriya froze in mid-step. Maybe his Quirk had to do with ice or blood… or both. Todoroki was dodging attacks left and right with crazy-fast ice and fire blasts. I landed and knelt by Native. He was covered in gaping holes. He gasped, "Get out of here, kid. He's only after me and the guy in white armor. Get out while you still can." Way to be counterproductive. I tried to force him to his feet, blocking him from the combat with my wings.

I couldn't do any big-time damage to the bad guy with the boys and Native so close by. Not with my Quirk, anyway. Even my lightning whips were too long-range.

"Haruto!" I whipped around to a set of small knives landing with a thwup, thwup, thwup, in my right wing, hissing as burning pain ripped into my back. I set Native down and dodged a few more, carving my way toward the big guy.

Was this the Hero Killer?

I brought out my trusty whips and took a crack at a long-range attack. The Hero Killer threw- yes, threw- Iida's paralyzed body at me, and I was forced to dismiss my whips as he crashed into me. Nudging Iida against the alley wall, I darted toward the Hero Killer. Damn this guy was fast. He dodged my first couple of attacks, but I finally managed to land a kick where the sun don't shine. He doubled over and winced. Iida and Midoriya were both still as statues, and Todoroki was limping around with several small knives embedded in his arms. I was cursing this guy up and down, circling back.

I was busy lunging again at the villain with my wings flared wide, when I froze. I couldn't move at all. I was stuck. The guy stood up raggedly and proudly held up a bloody dagger. My wing. "Damn you!" I snapped. An angry storm swirled above us, responding to my mood. No rain yet.

I pulled down lightning and struck over and over, but I couldn't control it without my goddamn body. He dodged too easily and kept advancing on me. He rammed into me, pinning my stupid unresponsive body to the wall of the building. A kind of strangled variation of the word "Damn!" filtered through my gritted teeth. The guy drew a battered katana from his belt and rammed it through my shoulder and my wing deep into the concrete behind me. Shit. It hurt like hell, and tears streamed down my frozen face. He let go, and I was left hanging from the blade. I cried out as my full weight landed on the steel. "You're in my way," he said in a gravelly, soft voice, "But you are strong. I won't kill you." I strained really hard and dangled limply. I could move again! He must've had a time limit. "Damn you, headband!" I choked, struggling to get the sword out. Finally, it slid out and landed with a clatter on the ground. I followed it, landing hard on my knees. "Todoroki, he's gonna fall hard!" I shouted. After a fantastic dual attack from Iida and Midoriya, I struck. Bolting up behind the guy, I took flight, grabbed him and flew up. My wing screamed and the guy kicked and struggled, but up, up, up I went. About 20 meters in the air, I let go.

He twisted in the air and chucked a dagger at me. I dodged easily and watched Todoroki rock him to the ground with ice. As I hovered, I heard a weird whistling sound. The dagger thudded into my injured wing. I went down fast. About a meter from the ground, Todoroki caught me. I staggered off the ice to my feet, "Cutting it a little close there, ice cube." He scowled at me. "But thanks. That could have been… y'know… splat." He didn't look amused.

Todoroki and Midoriya found some rope and tied up ye olde Hero Killer, and I hiked Native over my uninjured shoulder. Iida led the way to help.

I was too buzzed on adrenaline to worry about the blood dripping from my fingertips or the agony that hovered at the corners of my awareness. And I'm pretty sure the boys were, too. As we came to the city center, a huge mess of Pros surrounded us. "Why did you have to drag me into this?" I grumbled as a swarm of them overtook us. Native was promptly snatched away and hustled into an ambulance. Endeavor was PISSED as hell. He was just starting to scold us when one of the Nomu (this one had wings) swooped down and grabbed Midoriya.

We kind of froze for a second. Then I sprinted after the Nomu, lifting off and chasing it. Wow this thing was fast. I was injured, and having a real hard time keeping up. The little man from earlier bounded up and tried to kick it, but it swerved away. Its exposed brain was bleeding all over the place, and it suddenly stopped in midair and plummeted down. "SHIT!" I dove down and slammed into Midoriya, rolling over in the air to cushion the fall with my wings and a blast of air. None other than the Hero Killer appeared and jammed a knife into its brain. Gross.

Suddenly, his boot was on my back in between my wings and his fist was balled in the front of Midoriya's costume. I wiggled and tried to throw his boot off, but the spikes on the toe dug into my skin. Dammit. I was forced to hold still. If I zapped him, I'd fry Midoriya, but if I didn't, how much damage would he do? Angry storm clouds still swirled overhead, and wind whipped up hair and capes everywhere. "Get… off… me…" I ground out. The Hero Killer staggered to the side and fired up some kind of aura ability. Some kind of horrible dread washed over me, and all I wanted to do was fall back and cower. Dammit. I almost did, feeling hot waves of anguish try to force me down.

Screw that.

I finally brought out the storm, rain coming down in droves. Ready… The Hero Killer staggered forward, his rant coming to a crescendo. Aim… He paused for dramatic effect. I screamed and slammed a lightning bolt on the Hero Killer. Somehow, I managed to stagger to my feet and redirect the leftover electricity into my hands, keeping it close around my fists as the Hero Killer slumped to the ground. "Shut. The. Fuck. Up!" I roared, dispersing the storm with a boom of thunder that shook the ground.

Taking a moment to look around, I realized that literally everyone else looked terrified. And they were all looking at me. I shot them a thumbs-up paired with a faintly queasy smile. Wooooo, was all that adrenaline catching up with me. Something started to hurt somewhere, and my body took that as a cue to nope out of the situation, my legs folding underneath me as I plopped onto my butt.

I vaguely registered a few EMTs coming over and hefting me into an ambulance, and a noisy ride back to Hosu General. Then there was a quick visit from Recovery Girl to help speed my healing up. I didn't get a wink of sleep that night, and I was quarantined and given my own personal 'everyone is scared shitless of me now' police guard. The morning came way too slowly for my taste, and first thing, I got a visit from Hosu's chief of police. He had the head of a basset hound and said "woof" at the end of every sentence. He'd be cute if he wasn't literally pardoning me from a prison sentence.

After my lightning strike, the Hero Killer was in bad shape. He'd recover, but it didn't matter. I'd almost killed someone using my Quirk, and that was ILLEGAL. The Chief told me that Endeavor was planning to take the blame for the whole crapfest. Then the Chief did something I didn't appreciate. He tried to tell me that I should've stayed with Endeavor. "With all due respect, sir," I said from my bed, bandaged up like an actual mummy, "I know that it was wrong to disobey my sensei's orders, and to take on a villain in public with my Quirk," cue the wince, "But all I was trying to do was help, sir." He smiled slightly. "A-and I know that deserves punishment, technically, but think of how bad things would've- could've- been if we hadn't taken action," I said, as slowly and reasonably as I could.

Tears shone in my eyes as my head snapped up, "And I don't care about the punishment if I did what was right!" The Chief bowed his head, "Very noble of you, Miss Arashi. Thankfully, you'll be free from punishment thanks to Endeavor. I'd also like to offer you my thanks for the service you have done the public. Good day." He bowed tersely and slid the door shut on his way out. I completely and totally lost my shit. Triumphant, happy tears slid down my face as I stared out my window.

I would never apologize for saving lives.