Rumi's foot tapped an unnatural patter on the floor of her agency. Her eyes darted towards to the clock in the corner for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes. Only three minutes had gone by. She slouched in her chair and groaned. It had been the single longest week of her entire life. Not just because had been anxious to see Percy, and because she was out of her mind scared about how the hell, she was supposed to teach him, but because her own damn principles were warring with her.

She had gone her entire life, being on her own. Fighting her own fight, and being her own person. She had only ever had to rely on herself, sure she had friends and people she was close to, but she'd never been faced with this type of situation. She'd never allowed herself to open herself up like this. Not only did it completely go against her own brand, but it went against her principles. She didn't rely on others, she didn't work with others, having partners or teams just slowed her down. Only weaklings needed to team up to be strong, the Cats being the lone exception to that rule, not that she'd ever vocalized it.

She'd tried justifying things by telling herself that it wasn't a partnership, but a mentorship. They weren't on the same level, and she wasn't relying on him for her own strength, which was partly true. But Rumi wasn't a fool, she knew full well that if push came to shove, Percy was far stronger than he let on. She'd heard about the fight at the USJ, heard that even before he'd lost his arm, Percy had been going blow for blow with something that was created to kill All Might. Then, even down an arm, and losing god only knew how much blood, the stubborn bastard still managed to hold his own.

Rumi couldn't say that she would have been able to do the same.

While she didn't know the full extent of the man's powers, and didn't know truly how strong he was, she knew enough to know that at the very minimum, they shared the same level of proficiency for combat. Percy could keep up with her, he could be an equal partner and ally. That was nothing to say of their encounters when he was the Homeless Hero. That thought alone had been haunting. She'd only managed to keep herself semi-sane by reminding herself why she was taking him on in the first place.

Rumi had no doubts that Percy could go pro as he was at that moment. He had the strength, the ability, and the charisma to be a pro, but he wasn't quite there yet. He was still a long ways off from being ready. Sure, he could kick ass like the best of them, but he was still a novice in terms of actual hero work. Combat was only half of the formula.

She'd taken to re-watching tape of the festival in order to remind herself that she was the one with the power in the relationship. That it wasn't an equal partnership, and that she had something valuable to teach him.

It had helped somewhat, but she was still terrified, and she had almost been unable to send out the request form. It had only been the constant badgering by the Cats that she had been able to send in the request form.

Literally hours before they were due.

Her tapping became more erratic, as it became harder to breathe. She inhaled deeply through her nose, and tried to steady herself, but her stomach was still tight, and she thought she might get sick. She groaned, wiping her face with her hands as she slunk deeper into the chair in her office.

This was so stupid; she was being stupid. She was over-analyzing things. This entire internship was for her benefit. She was directly benefiting from this. Percy owed her, he needed to fix the reputation that he ruined.

But she didn't really believe that.

It wasn't like that. She genuinely wanted to teach him, wanted to help him. Let alone the fact that she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him, and while she had spent the week in a panicked frenzy, she'd also been really excited.

Fucking hell, this was why she didn't deal with people. People brought emotions and drama and all the other kinds of bullshit that she had been so successful at dodging for so many years. She should cancel, call the school, cancel the internship, and never deal with this nonsense ever again.

She sat up, her hand reaching over and hovering over the phone on her desk. But her fingers refused to close around the device. She growled in frustration, it would be so easy, all it would take is one phone call, and she wouldn't have to deal with all of these obnoxious feelings. So why couldn't she just do it!

The bell to the front door of her agency rang, and Rumi jumped in her seat. Her hand jumping away from the phone. She stared at the door to her office blankly, not moving an inch. Her breathing came in large, heaving gasps, and her shoulders shook slightly.

The bell rang again and something in her snapped. Fuck this. Fuck this stupid, sappy, emotionally vulnerable bullshit. She was Rumi, mother-fucking, Usagiyama. She was Miruko, the number-seven and future top-five hero. She didn't get all emotionally compromised, and self-conscious. With another growl she stood from her chair roughly, the chair sliding back and slamming against the window. Stomping around her desk, she strode out the door, down the hall, down the stairs, and yanked the door to the agency open. Fully intent on taking charge, on making sure to establish the power dynamic, on showing this stupid, hot, charming, upstart that she wasn't going to be lay back and let him steamroll all over her.

All that bravo left when she opened the door.

Again, she was reminded that he was absurdly tall. He towered over her, to the point that she had to nearly crane her neck to meet his eyes. He hadn't shaved his face in a few days, and there was a thick line of stubble covering his cheeks and chin, giving him a gruffer, older, and more masculine appearance. He was still in his school uniform, or what was left of it. He had ditched the school jacket and tie, and the top button of his uniform was unbuttoned, showing off a few strands of hair covering his broad chest, his sleeves were rolled up to the forearms, showing off the rippling power of his body, and the strong and terrifying metal arm. He was smiling at her, a genuine, happy smile, like he was genuinely happy to see her.

She gulped.

"Hey," He said, and Rumi hated how much she loved the sound of his voice.

She bit back another growl of frustration, and tried to recompose herself,

"Took you long enough, what's the matter hotshot, get lost?"

"Nah," He said easily, shrugging his shoulders and causing his shirt to tighten more around his chest, "Just nearly missed your agency, it's almost as short as you are,"

Dammit, he could give as he good as he took.

"Shut up," She muttered, "And get in here," she turned her back and did her best to fight the flush creeping up her neck.

She shook her head, and once more attempted to compose herself. She started walking inside, not turning around when she heard him follow and close the door behind her,

"Follow me," she said, and started her way up the stairs.

The silence between the pair was uncomfortable, at least it was to her. She didn't know what to say, or what to do. She'd had a rough game plan for when he showed up, and had completely forgotten said plan upon seeing him. She didn't know what she was doing, so she let the silence stretch as she led him through the building, before opening a side door in the hall leading to her office. Stepping aside she gestured for him to enter. He gave her a cheeky smile, as he stepped inside and she followed behind him. It was a simple bedroom, with no real furnishing aside from a single bed, nightstand, lamp, and dresser.

"This, uh, this'll be where you're staying while you're um, here." she said awkwardly,

Percy scanned the surroundings, and nodded to himself, "Looks great," he said genuinely, looking down at her with a smile, and he strode forward and placed the large duffle on his back, and the large case in his hand on the bed. Turning back to Rumi, he crossed his arms,

"So, what's the plan here?" he asked, laughing awkwardly as he scratched behind his ear, "They, uh, didn't really tell me anything about what to expect,"

Rumi jolted, as parts of her plan came back to her, the personal shit? She couldn't handle that, but the work, she could deal with that shit She had planned thoroughly what she wanted to accomplish and she'd run with that.

"Right, training," she said, "You bring workout clothing like you were instructed?" He nodded, "Good. Get changed and meet me down the hall, turn right out of the room, and it's the next door on the left." Without another word she turned on her heel and left, closing the door behind her. With it closed, she leaned back against the wood frame and sighed.

This was so fucking stupid. Why was she feeling like this? She'd never been like this, never been this out of sorts before. She hated it, worse still, she didn't understand why in the hell she was feeling like this. She didn't understand it, and she hated it.

With a huff, she pressed off the wall and strode toward the film room, she'd sort this whole thing out later, when Percy wasn't around and she could think more clearly. She strode into the film room and distracted herself by preparing the projector and the film. The door opened and she looked up, and immediately regretted it. If Percy had been good looking before, seeing him in workout clothing, gym shorts and tank-top, was going to be more than a problem. She gulped, taking the moment to compose herself as she sat herself down in the chair besides the projector.

"Have a seat," She said simply turning away from him and keeping her attention firmly on the screen,

"Ok…" Percy said slowly, taking the seat beside her, "So, what are we doing then?"

"Watching film," Rumi said easily,

"Film?" Percy asked, "What, like a movie, or are we reviewing film like in football?"

"I don't know what that is," Rumi deadpanned,

"Seriously?" Percy asked, incredulous, "They don't have football in the future?" He groaned and slumped in his chair a little, muttering under his breath,

"If you're done sulking," Rumi teased, a smile playing at her lips, "Yes, we're watching film, it's a vitally important part of being a hero. You watch over film of your fights, of your heroics, of everything you do. You break it down, you review it, see what you did right, and what you did wrong."

"Ok," Percy said, sounding unsure, "So…what are we going to be looking at then? My entrance exam? One of the class lessons?"

"None of the above," Rumi said, which drew another confused look from Percy, so she explained, "Ok, so I'm not going to jerk you around, I honestly don't think there's anything I could teach you about fighting, that you don't already know."

Percy shifted uncomfortably in his chair,

"Tell me I'm wrong," Rumi demanded, giving him a dry look,

"Fair enough," Percy admitted, "Then what are we watching then?"

"This," Rumi said, grabbing the remote next to the projector and turning on the machine. The screen flicked to life and the second event from the festival appeared on the screen. The screen was paused at the moment right before Percy began the event.

"Rumi…" Percy asked, "What are we watching?"

"Like I explained already," Rumi began, turning to look at Percy, "You're a fighter. Better still, you're a very good fighter, probably better than me and that's-that's not easy for me to admit. Like I said, there's nothing I can teach you that you don't know." Percy looked like he was prepared to say protest, but Rumi cut him off,

"But there's more to being a hero than fighting. You have to be able to protect people. To keep collateral damage to a minimum. Not to allow your fight, to destroy half the city, or to topple a building, while you're trying to save the people inside. Now shut up, and watch." She hit play on the remote, and the video began playing.

They watched in silence, as Percy completed the event, and as he utterly destroyed the building in the process.

When the event had ended, Rumi paused the video, and turned to look at Percy, who jumped to his own defense before she could say anything,

"Ok that's not fair. I know I destroyed the building, but that was just a stupid tournament, no one was even at any risk, and it was all about speed, not cleanliness. If that had been a real fire, I would not have destroyed the building like that, c'mon Rumi what is this?" He asked, pleading his case,

"Getting a bit defensive, already aren't you?" Rumi asked, brow raised, "What, can't take a little criticism?"

Percy glowered at her, "I can take criticism just fine, thank you, but I don't think this is a fair assessment of my abilities,"

"Fair enough," Rumi shrugged, hiding a smirk. Percy was unknowingly acting precisely as she wanted him to, "How about this one then?" She asked, and she hit a button the remote.

The black screen in front of them changed, and a street in the eastern part of the city appeared. Though the moon was high in the sky, there was plenty of light filling the streets below, due to the large fire raging in the apartment on the screen. Percy stiffened next to her, having clearly recognized what was happening.

They watched as firetrucks arrived at the scene, and as hordes of people began flooding out of the building, screaming in fright. The scene continued in a similar fashion for a few moments, as the fire department began trying to combat the large flames. Then, in a flash of movement, something appeared on the screen. The two of them watched as Percy landed with a large thud on the roof of the burning building, causing the entire foundation to shake slightly.

The camera zoomed in, and they got a close look at the emaciated, homeless form of Percy. His hair long and unkempt, and his body thin through his ratty clothing. It was a strong reminder of how far the man had come in a very short period of time, and Rumi's stomach clenched at the sight of him. Knowing how long he'd been on his own, and how terrified, he had to have been.

The Percy on the screen didn't waste any time, as he leapt into action, crashing through the ceiling of the building. The camera zoomed in again, and shifted positions, so that Percy and Rumi were watching the action through the windows of the building. They watched as Percy crashed through a wall, unwittingly destroying a support pillar as he did so. He grabbed a little girl and scooped her up into his arms.

He paused, as he scanned around him, before seeing what he was looking for. Raising a foot, he stomped the ground and crashed through the ceiling into the floor below, before breaking through two more sets of walls. He proceeded to smash and break his way through the building rescuing people as he did so. The entire ordeal took several minutes, but Rumi was only half watching the video, she was instead, focusing the majority of her attention on Percy, watching him closely.

He was not very good at hiding his emotions, and his feelings were plain on his face. He looked hurt, not with her, but with himself. His mouth was a thin line, his jaw clenched, and his hands were balled into fists.

Good, she thought, he realizes what he's been doing.

The video continued, as Percy exited the building, depositing the people on the street. Before turning and extending his arms out to the firetrucks near him. He summoned water from the tanks of the vehicles, and used the water to extinguish the flames. He did not stick around once the flames were doused however, as he turned, and leapt away as quickly as possible. No doubt aware that the authorities were after him. However, the video did not end there, as once Percy had leapt away, the building began to shake, and rumble, before collapsing into a heap of rubble, and debris. Walls and ceilings, points of structural stability that Percy had dislodged, caved in on themselves, as the building fell to the ground. When the dust had cleared, there was only a mess of brick and mortar, where the building had once stood.

Rumi paused the video, and looked over at Percy. Who was looking at the screen, his features pinched, and angry. Though clearly not at her. She nearly made a smartass remark to him, but managed to keep it herself, as she allowed the silence to stretch on for a few minutes. Then, finally, she spoke,

"You could have done any number of things. You could have summoned bubbles of water, drawn the people out and to safety. You could have used your mist thing and collected them quickly. Hell, you could have simply summoned the oxygen out of the air and snuffed the flames out, don't say you couldn't do it either, because you told me yourself that you can manipulate water at an atomic level. So why didn't you?"

She didn't wait for an answer,

"I can tell you why, because you didn't think through your actions. You simply acted. You reacted without thinking things through. And as a result? You destroyed people's homes, you destroyed lives, and displaced dozens of people."

Percy was shaking, and his face was pinched, and Rumi cursed herself. That had come out a lot harsher than she had intended, but they were all things that Percy needed to hear. He needed to know and understand that there was more to life than fighting, there was more to being a hero than beating the bad guy. She took a breath and recomposed herself.

"You are very talented Percy. You're one of the most capable fighter's I've ever met. You managed to keep me at bay, when you were arguably at your weakest, and I know that you know that I'm a goddamn badass, and how hard this is for me to admit that, so you'd better appreciate what I'm trying to do here."

Percy nodded, his fists still clenched, and Rumi sighed, she knew exactly what he was doing. He was beating himself up for what had happened. It had happened to her too, early in her career. She had gotten it in her head that because she was such a good fighter, that meant that she was a good hero, and the first time she'd screwed up, and gotten people hurt, she'd beaten herself up about it for weeks.

She also knew Percy, for as much of an unbeatable badass, not quite as good as her but nobody was, he was the ultimate softy. He genuinely cared for others, and wanted to help people. That he had destroyed the building, that he had cost people their homes, their treasured memories, perhaps even their livelihoods, would be killing him on the inside. So, she decided to put an end to it.

Rumi reach over and slugged him in the shoulder, "Knock it off Percy, and stop sulking, I didn't show you that to put you down, or embarrass you or anything." He still didn't say anything. Growling Rumi stood up, march over to him, wrapped a hand around his mouth and dragged his face to meet hers,

"Percy. Look at me." His eyes finally turned and met hers, "I'm not blaming you, or condemning your actions. No one can say that what you did wasn't heroic. At the end of the day, those people are still alive because of you, because of your actions. You should and need to take some measure of pride in that. You saved lives, that's a good thing. And no one is saying that you're not a hero because of it. The point of this, is to show you that your actions have consequences. That you can't just power and punch your way through every obstacle. It's a lesson we all have to learn one or another."

Percy just sighed and nodded, and Rumi grunted in appreciation,

"Besides Percy, you can't be perfect at everything. Not immediately. I know I don't know everything about you, but I know enough to know that you are a fighter because you had to be. You never had to worry about saving lives, because you were always too worried about saving your own. That's more than understandable. So, don't beat yourself up. Promise to be better."

Percy was silent for a moment, as he stared at her, his bright green eyes boring into her own. Then, he seemed to come to some conclusion, because his features hardened, and he gained a look of resolve that she'd only seen in veterans.

She shuddered a little.

Percy nodded at her.

"Show me what to do."

BREAK

The alarm woke her. Groaning, Rumi turned over and slammed a fist down on the clock, shutting it off. For a few minutes she just lay there, trying to summon the discipline required to leave her little den, and get ready for the day.

She and Percy had spent all the previous day in her training room. A state of the art, holographic training simulator. Very difficult to come by, and equally as expensive, but something more readily accessible to one of the top ten heroes in the country. They used it to run exercise after exercise, getting Percy accustomed to thinking through his actions, calculating the correct way of entering and exiting a building, extracting hostages, and causing minimal collateral damage. While he was by no means proficient, especially after only one day, Percy did take to the exercises and the lessons better than she had even hoped for.

Unfortunately, they'd gotten so caught up in the exercises that they hadn't taken the time to actually patrol, something they'd make a point of doing later tonight after more training.

With a grunt, she stood up, stretching her arms over head and enjoying the popping of her joints as she did so. With a light hop, she got out of bed, threw on her workout clothing, and made off for the kitchen. She stopped briefly to check in on Percy, however when she knocked and checked inside, Percy was nowhere to be found. Assuming that he was already up and perhaps making breakfast, she shrugged it off and made her way downstairs. However, she'd only just reached the bottom of the stairs when she nearly fell over. A blast of energy rocked the foundations of the building, shaking its foundations.

She took off at a sprint, chasing after the direction of the energy. She ran directly into the training room, nearly knocking the door off its hinges as she did so. What she found, as she entered the room however, stopped her in her tracks.

There was an ethereal wind in the room, so strong that it blew Rumi's ears back and flattened her hair, but that wasn't the most surprising. Standing in the center of the room, shirtless, with glowing runic looking symbols covering his back, and the large black kanji tattoo, was Percy.

The power in the room was overwhelming. It felt as though some invisible force was pushing down on top of Rumi, threatening to flatten her. Rumi had never quite felt anything like the sort before. It was…intoxicating. And terrifying. As though with a simple wave of his hand, Percy could flatten her where she stood, and it wouldn't trouble him any more than the swatting of a fly. She watched, in awe and fascination, unsure of what to do, and if she should interfere. But before she could come to a decision, Percy moved.

At least she thought so.

She didn't actually see him move, one moment, he was standing in the center in the room, the next he was simply gone. Then he reappeared, punching the air at the other side of the room, almost as though he'd teleported and was fighting some mysterious foe. He cocked his fist back, and punched, so fast that Rumi would have missed it had it not been for the colossal explosion that resulted from the attack. It was the kind of power that she'd only ever witnessed from All Might himself.

Her jaw dropped open.

Then, Percy disappeared again, and reappeared, this time kicking at the air, with the same sort of result from his punch. Rumi watched, in slack-jawed amazement, as Percy fought some invisible battle, faster and more powerfully than perhaps anyone she'd ever seen before. The sequence continued for several minutes, before finally, Percy landed back in the middle of the room. The wind around them started to die down, as the glowing sigils faded from his body. He collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. His back, slick with sweat, heaved up and down with each breath, as he shook slightly where he sat. It took Rumi several moments to compose herself to approach the man.

With slightly shuddering steps, she padded quietly over to the man, who had managed to slowly raise himself to one knee, as he rested one arm on his right knee. Hesitantly, she reached out gently touched his sweaty back.

"Percy?" She asked, hesitantly,

The man jumped slightly at her touch and her voice, before he relaxed as he craned his neck to look at her, his eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated. He looked like he was coming down from a trigger high.

"Oh, hey there," he said back. "How long you been here?"

"Long enough," She replied, warily, "Percy?"

"Yeah?" he asked, as Rumi removed her hand and he sat back on his rear,

"What the FUCK! Was that?" She asked, her voice becoming a little shrill. She was normally so composed and in control, but whatever that power had been, was unlike anything she'd ever seen or felt before. She was beyond caring about showing any form of weakness or vulnerability in favor of figuring what the hell she had just witnessed.

Percy's shoulders tensed, and he seemed to panic a little for a moment, before he got control of himself and he answered,

"It, uh, it's something that happened during the whole USJ thing. After the Nomu thing dropped me in the lake, I got something of a power boost. With the festival and you know the whole losing an arm thing, I only just started practicing with it."

"Yeah, that's great and all Percy, but what the actual fuck?" Rumi interrupted,

"It's a power boost," Percy said easily, brushing off her aggressive nature easily, "It makes me a hades of a lot stronger, faster, and makes my connection to water and my other elements that much more powerful. When I started training with it, I could barely move, but I recently got to the point where I could actually practice with it... I'm getting better with it! I can hold it for like ten or fifteen minutes now!"

Rumi just stared at him.

Unblinking.

Unmoving.

Then she breathed in slow, and exhaled a deep breath.

"You're broken, you know, that right?"

"Little bit," He shot back with a smirk, then he groaned,

"You ok?" she asked, slightly concerned. It was the first time she'd ever seen the man actually tired.

Percy waved off her concern. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just sore as hell. That form, it like tears me apart from the inside, but my body has been getting more adjusted to it. Just need a shower and I'll be in good shape."

"If you say so," Rumi said, though her tone was slightly disbelieving. She wasn't certain about that, but it was his body, and he knew himself better than she did. "Well, go wash up, I'll get breakfast going, I guess."

Percy nodded and with a groan, he stood up, "Sounds good, what's the plan for the day?"

"Breakfast, then more training, then I'm taking you out for patrol. We didn't go out yesterday so we'll cut training short today so we can get in more work today. It'll probably be slow, but it should be a good experience for you,"

Percy nodded, and smiled, "Sounds good, see you in a bit then,"

He turned and made to stumble out of the room, before he gasped out, and gripped at his right arm. Collapsing to one knee, and in one fluid motion, he ripped the arm off his shoulder, and tossed it aside, where it clattered and skid across the floor.

Rumi was at his side in a moment, but he waved her off, and with a flurry of motion with his left hand, he summoned a bubble of water and wrapped it around the stump of his right arm. He grimaced, as sweat poured from his forehead.

Rumi watched in concern, but couldn't pull her gaze from the mangled flesh, where his arm should have been. It was considerably paler than the rest of his skin, and it was knotted and scarred. A well of anger sprang to life from somewhere deep within her, and she promised to unleash hell on earth to the bastard who did this, but vengeance could wait, for the moment, her only concern was Percy.

She placed a calming hand on his back, and rubbed it a few soothing circles,

"I'm ok," Percy said, his voice coming out raspy, and his eyes screwed shut. He shuddered once, and then inhaled sharply, before sitting back on his heels and sighing. After a moment, he turned his head and met her concerned gaze,

"I'm good, promise." He reassured, when he saw her disbelieving gaze, "It goes away after a few seconds, but it's really damn irritating."

Rumi snorted, "Somehow, I'm pretty sure you're underselling it big guy." She removed her hand and stood up, striding over to pick up the metallic arm, and returning it to Percy. She refrained from asking if he still wanted to patrol. She knew that would only insult him. Percy was a lot like her in that respect. He didn't want pity, he didn't want excuses, he would power through the pain, and persevere.

She respected the hell out of it.

Percy accepted the arm, and then accepted her hand as she hauled his considerably heavy ass to his feet. He disappeared the bubble, and reattached the arm, wincing slightly as he did so.

Looking at her, and pretending the entire thing hadn't happened, he said,

"I'm going to go clean up and then I'll meet ya for breakfast, see ya in a bit." Then, turning on his heel he strode out of the room.

Rumi watched him go, still more than a little shaken by the display of sheer power she'd witnessed. Not just the strange transformation, but the entire episode with his arm. She knew that Percy was stronger than he'd ever let on, she just had never realized just how strong he was. A fire of pride swelled in her chest; she was proud of his ability to power through his own personal pain. His ability to fight through adversity and his drive to be the best hero could be.

Although, part of her was furious, furious that the gap was even wider than she'd originally realized. But another part, a louder and much more vocal part of her inner psyche, was very excited by the thought. Finally, she had someone she could test herself against, someone who could push her to her limits, allow her to grow, to be challenged.

She was excited by the prospect. She'd hit a wall in her own training lately. As much as it pained her to admit, without someone to push her, she'd stagnated, she'd not seen the growth she'd wanted to. But now that she knew Percy could not only hold his own against her, but could potentially thrash her? The thought got her blood pumping. The thought of a good, proper fight, one where she didn't need to hold back, didn't need to worry about hurting her sparring partner, and the potential growth she could see from it made her shiver one excitement.

With a wide grin on her face, she strode out the room to get breakfast prepped.

BREAK

Rumi finished latching up her bracers and stepped out of her room, they had finished up training a little before noon, and she was planning on running a patrol for around nine hours. She needed to make up for the day they lost the day before.

Closing the door behind her, she almost ran straight into Percy as he was leaving his own room. She arched an eyebrow, after she received word that Percy had accepted her offer, she got a care package of all the training footage the school had on Percy, so she'd seen his costume.

Which had apparently changed.

Gone was the bulky, militaristic looking combat armor, and its place was something considerably more form fitting. He wore a simple, yet sturdy looking sleeveless hoodie, that was dark navy blue, with silver trim around the sleeves and neck. In the center of his chest was the same silver trident from his previous uniform. As Percy turned to close his own door, she couldn't help but smile at the large Cats Paw on his back, also in silver. No doubt a memento to his teachers.

He wore a simple utility belt, that held up what looked like form-fitting dark denim jeans. On his feet were black combat boots that were covered with silver-black grieves that came up to his knees. Completing the new ensemble were a pair of stubbed black gloves.

"Didn't realize you changed your costume," She shot at him, as he closed the door.

He turned to face her, an amused expression on his face, reaching up, he laughed uncomfortably and scratched behind his ear,

"Yeah, my original costume was really just a rip-off of a comic book superhero from my time. It was cool, and I really liked it, but after the whole USJ thing happened, I decided that I wanted something that was a little more unique to me, you know? That and that suit was cumbersome as hades. This is a lot more maneuverable. Plus, Hatsume, someone I really ought to hook you up with by the way, designed this top," He tugged at his hoodie,

"It's actually some kind of super lightweight, but durable as hades material. Supposed to be as strong as Kevlar if Hatsume is to be believed, which since she built my arm, I do."

Rumi stepped up, and scrutinized his appearance, then she laughed and smacked him on the chest, and smirked up at him,

"Looks good wonder-boy. Every hero needs a look that's unique to them. I like it!"

Percy chuckled and smirked back at her, "Good, because I was so craving your stamp of approval,"

She glared at him, "You should be pal, I'm a certifiable badass, and if you forget that-"

"You'll kick my ass," Percy finished the threat with a laugh, and strode out towards the stairs, nudging her jokingly as he did so, "I know the drill, now come one, let's get rolling. I don't know about you, but I'm getting antsy and I'm ready to bust some heads."

Rumi laughed again, and jogged up to him, pumping a fist as she did so, "Now you're speaking my language, c'mon, let's get moving." Reaching the door first, she yanked the door open.

"Oh, what the fuck is this?"

Rumi was nearly blinded as the flash of several camera's flashed all at once.

"Gah" Percy grunted, standing beside her and covering his face as he too became stunned by the assault of camera's.

Before Rumi could regain her bearings, Rumi felt a microphone get shoved under her nose,

"Miss Miruko, care to comment on the revelation that you have indeed taken on your first ever intern?" Asked some reporter that Rumi thought she recognized from the evening news. Growling in frustration, Rumi ignored the woman and turned to Percy, a cheeky smirk on her face,

"Try and keep up," she said, before launching herself into the air, using her powerful legs to jump several stories into the air, and away from the throngs of vultures.

A voice in the back of her mind told her that she probably should have taken the opportunity for easy publicity. That was the entire reason that she was taking on Percy as an intern, and that had been a golden opportunity to try and up her reputation a little.

But something in her hadn't wanted the easy publicity. Sure, she cared about her reputation, but for whatever reason, she just wanted to find some crime and bust some heads with Percy. It was conflicting and confusing and she sure as hell did not want to delve too deep into the reasons behind that, because they were incredibly concerning. So, she buried those thoughts and instead focused on enjoying soaring through the air.

"Godsdamnit Miruko!" She heard Percy roar, before she felt the wind around her shift, and looked down to see Percy jump into the air after her, she laughed loudly and happily, as she turned her attention back to her jump. Finding purchase on a nearby building she prepped herself, landed, and launched back into the air, straining her ears.

It was a technique she'd honed over the years, being able to traverse the city while listening for potential crimes in progress, she'd long since been able to tune out the more mundane sounds of city-life for those of active crimes. Sure, the Commission sent out alerts for when crimes were occurring, but more often than not they were too late to be truly effective, so Rumi stuck to her own method.

One ear twitched, as the sound a window smashing grabbed her attention. Twisting in the air, Rumi changed her direction mid-flight, and began making a beeline towards the noise. She landed on the edge of a building, overlooking the side of an alley, three men, all in their early twenties and wearing ski masks, were piling out of the side of a building. There was a hole in the wall, smoke billowing from the rubble, as the men stumbled to a car parked on the edge of the street.

It was a little brazen for them to be trying a daylight robbery, but who was she to complain, she'd been asking for action, and here she was about to get it. So, wrapped up in the thrill of the chase, she completely forgot about Percy.

She pulled out her phone, and hit the alert on the pro-hero app, that sent her location to the police, along with a message that she was stopping a crime in progress.

Jumping down, she landed on the hood of the getaway car just as the thugs were trying to break in. The metal roof caved in, and two of the men screamed in fright at the sudden appearance. Rumi didn't waste any time, lashing out, one of her feet connected with the sternum of the nearest thug. He gasped out in pain, before he was sent flying into the wall of the building. She only used a fraction of her total strength, which was more than enough to get the job done. Spinning on her heels, she hopped off the hood of the car, flipping over and onto the shoulders of the next thug. Wrapping her thighs around his neck, she leaned back, leveraging her own strength against his, before flipping him onto the ground with a painful thudding sound.

Landing in a handspring, she righted herself with another graceful flip, ducked under the punch of the last would-be attacker, grabbed him by the nondescript sweatshirt he was wearing and tumbled backward, placing both feet on the man's chest as she did so. When she was nearly turned over in a somersault, she pressed forward, and rocketed the man down the alleyway. She'd been trying to throw him into the far wall, but the sound that came from the attack wasn't consistent with that of a skull colliding with brick. Instead, it sounded more akin to that of metal clanging together. Rising to her feet, she turned back around and looked, and felt an embarrassed flush rise up the side of her neck.

Percy had close-lined the last thug, and had a fourth mystery person thrown over one shoulder.

Rumi had also completely forgotten about her would-be charge.

Rumi felt one ear droop in embarrassment, but quickly composed herself. "Where the hell were you?" She asked, cocking a hip to one side, "What's the matter, couldn't keep up?"

Percy, to his credit, just rolled his eyes, and unceremoniously dropped the fourth body on the ground, like the other's he had a ski mask over his face.

"You missed one," he said teasingly, and Rumi felt her flush deepen somewhat, but busied herself by shackling the thugs. Percy just watched awkwardly from the side, and Rumi felt herself flush once more, realizing that she hadn't even supplied him with capture tape, or zip-ties or even some old-school handcuffs.

"So…what now?" Percy asked, shifting uncomfortably, "Do we leave or…" He trailed off, scratching behind one of his ears.

Rumi looked up, and blinked at him, "No," She said, "Why the hell would we leave? We need to stay until the cops show up. Why would we just abandon them like that? What the hell are they teaching you?"

"Nothing, literally nothing," Percy replied dryly, then grew a little uncomfortable and shifted his feet, clearly feeling a little embarrassed,

"But no, they haven't really taught us any of this. It's just, like, what they did in the comics back in the day, you know? The hero shows up, stops the bad guy, and then peace's out because the cops are going to arrest them for being a superhero,"

Rumi just blinked at him, and then looked up at the clouds, "This is the man who can beat me. Un-fucking-believable" She muttered to herself, then shook her head.

She needed to remember that Percy wasn't from this time, that heroes and pro-hero agencies weren't around when he was a kid. The types of things that were common knowledge for everyone else, weren't for him. She needed to have patience.

Which was not something she had in abundance.

"No. We're pros, remember? We stay here, wait for the authorities, give them our statements, and then after that, if there are any reporters, we should probably answer some questions, put on a show, and then we can leave."

Percy ducked his head and scratched at his ear, laughing uncomfortably, but he nodded his head,

"So, should I call the cops or something?"

Rumi shook her head, "Did it before I jumped down." She reached down and grabbed one of the bags the men had been carrying, looking inside, she saw stacks of bills on the inside. It had just been a simple smash and grab from the looks of it.

"So," Percy's voice drew Rumi's attention away from the bills, "Um, can you talk me through the process here? You did a lot pretty quickly back there. How'd you find out about this? How'd you call the cops, I didn't see you call anyone, can you go back over what we do when the police show up?"

Rumi stiffened, and then flushed again, and almost groaned,

Goddammit, why the hell did I agree to this? I have to be the most shit teacher in the entire damn country.

Shaking the thoughts off, Rumi nodded, and proceeded to start walking Percy through her process. She also explained how heroes without enhanced senses often used other means to detect active crimes in progress.

The police showed up some time later. Rumi took her time as she walked Percy through each step of the process. Since apparently there were rats in the police force, there was a fairly large group of reporters that had followed soon after. They spent nearly an hour answering questions, and conducting interviews, but after a while, Rumi's patience finally wore out, so she jumped away, dragging Percy away with her.

The rest of the day followed in a similar routine. They never ran into anything too interesting, but it had been a productive enough day she supposed. They'd stopped a few muggings, a car-jacking, and Percy had even pulled a goddamn cat out of a tree.

Because that was a thing apparently.

It had been getting late, so they stopped for dinner, which they proceeded to enjoy on the edge of a building overlooking the sea. Even from the distance they were at, Rumi could smell the salt in the air, and Rumi closed her eyes and stretched. Relaxing to the quiet sounds of the city, and lapping of the waves against the surf.

"So, things are weird right? Cause things definitely feel weird." Percy said, and Rumi's eyes snapped open and she sat up,

"No…it definitely feels weird." She said slowly, "All day has just felt…off, you know?"

Percy hummed, and then he leaned back, tucking one arm behind his head. "So, what do we do about it?"

Rumi bit her lip and considered his question, "I have no idea honestly," she said, feeling annoyed. Percy was right, things had been weird and tense between them all day. None of the usual energy was there. Instead, it felt as though neither were really sure how to act around the other.

"I think we've been trying too hard," Percy said. Rumi turned to look at him, and saw that his eyes were closed.

"I think we've been trying to keep this…I don't know, professional. Teacher and student, you know? Both of us know that's bullshit. You're not comfortable teaching, I'm not comfortable just following you around all day asking stupid ass questions. We're just not comfortable. We should just be us; you know? I mean, we got a lot of the stupid crap out of the way, I kind of know what you're doing now, and how this whole hero thing is supposed to work, let's just train, practice, go out, and just be us. No need to make things more complicated than they need to be right?"

Rumi snorted, "You just said a lot without really saying anything Seaweed Brain."

Percy's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. "What did you just call me?" He asked, his tone surprisingly tense,

Rumi just eyed him, stunned a little by the sudden reaction, "I called you a Seaweed Brain…" She said back, "Because you have seaweed for brains…"

Percy got in her face, his expression wild, the green of his eyes illuminated, seemingly glowing.

"Don't ever call me that." He snarled, and Rumi flinched, before she got control of herself,

"The hell's the matter with you?" She growled back, getting in his face too, "It was just a stupid nickname, chill out,"

Percy didn't back down, "It's not, just a nickname." The glow in his eyes disappeared slightly, and he deflated somewhat, and he started fiddling with the ring around his neck. Reaching up with his metallic arm, he started to curl his fingers around the band, before he lowered the arm, and his left took its place, shaking slightly, as he clutched at the ring like a lifeline.

Rumi felt her heart sink, and her ears flattened against her head as realization hit her. The owner of that ring, the girl he left behind, that must have been a nickname that she called him. She often forgot that, in the grand scheme of things, he hadn't been separated from her for all that long. In spite of his care-free attitude, and that he smiled more than he did during the entire time she had known him, he was still hurting. The realization that everyone he'd loved were gone was still sitting heavily on his heart.

Rumi backed down, sliding a bit away in order to give him some space. For a few minutes, they just sat there in silence, just listening to the sounds of the city and the ocean. Rumi twitched slightly, uncomfortable with the silence and stillness.

"What was her name?" She finally asked, when she couldn't take it anymore,

Percy jumped, Rumi's voice bringing him out of his thoughts, and he turned to look at her,

"What?" He asked,

Rumi pointed at the ring, "What was her name?"

Percy looked down, and his grip around the ring tightened,

"Annabeth," He said, his voice soft, "Her name was Annabeth." He let go of the ring, letting it dangle against his chest. Sighing he ran a shaky hand through his hair, "She was my best friend in the world. Met her when I was twelve…we went through literal hell together. She was the one, you know?"

He sighed again, and leaned back, placing his hands on the rooftop behind him as he stared out into the water,

"I thought I'd gotten over it." He paused and shook his head, "Well, maybe not gotten over it, but at the least I thought I'd come to terms with it. I, erm, did some digging, found out she got married, to someone else, like twenty years or so after I disappeared. Had a couple kids. For all intents and purposes, she lived a happy life. I was upset at first, but I was happy that at least she'd found some happiness,"

Rumi watched him intently, her attention focused solely on the man as he bore himself bare in front of her. It was the first time she'd ever really seen him talk about his past like this, and she wasn't about to interrupt him when he was opening up.

"But hearing that name-hearing you call me that," Percy looked back down, "It just brought everything back up again,"

"Sounds like you didn't really deal with…all of that," Rumi said, with a vague wave of her hand.

Percy chuckled sardonically, "Guess not." He sighed, and ran his metallic hand through his hair. They fell silent again, and Rumi fidgeted slightly in her spot.

"Do you, want to talk about it or something?" She asked.

She wasn't even sure why she said it, wasn't sure why the words had left her mouth. She hated that kind of emotional, touchy-feely crap. But for all her bluster, deep down, she was still a hero. She liked helping people, she might have gotten into the gig to show everyone that she was strong, but she had grown to enjoy the swooping sensation she got when she helped someone. She also felt responsible for the young man, he was her charge, and they got along well. Even during their game of cat and mouse all those months ago, the man had always had a smile on his face, as though he enjoyed their game. Seeing him so depressed, so broken, it just felt wrong. She wanted to see him smile again.

Percy just stared at her for a moment, as though appraising her. Sighing, he leaned back and laid down on the roof.

"Well, Hound Dog has been getting on my ass about opening up to people." He mused, staring up at the stars. He seemed to be staring intently at one set of constellations in particular. "I don't know. Things have gotten better. I stopped trying to push people away, stopped trying to pretend like everything is all right when it's not. But it's still hard, you know? I still wake up some mornings thinking that this is all just a weird dream. Like I'm going to wake up at my mom's apartment, and everything is going to go back to normal."

"Would you like that?" Rumi asked, "If all of this did turn out to be a dream?"

Percy just shrugged, "I don't know. When I was a kid, I always dreamed about this sort of thing. Who didn't want to be a superhero? To have a sweet costume, and a codename, and to fight crime. It's a literal dream come true. I just wish it didn't come at the expense of literally everyone I cared about." He sat up, and pulled a knee up to his chest, draping his metallic arm around it.

"Like I said, I'm not as bad as I used to be. And it honestly is getting better, but Hound Dog told me that it's one of those things that can only heal over time." He looked over to her, "Sorry again for snapping at you though. Just because I'm upset is no excuse to take my shit out on other people."

"It's not," Rumi agreed, "But I'd be the last person to preach about not letting your emotions control you." They shared a brief chuckle, "That being said, I think in your case, it's a little more justifiable."

Percy just gave her a small smile, "Thanks Rumi…You're a good friend."

She gave him a smile, and she leaned back. She stared out at the dark sea, enjoying the sound of the wake crashing into the sand.

"You're welcome, Percy."