Reina sighs softly as she adjusts her ponytail in the break room the school had set up for the pros doing security. The star shaped piece she kept on top of the hairband sits on the table she sat at, her visor next to it as she leans her head back afterwards. She just wanted out of the heat for a few minutes, sweating inside her suit and causing the spandex to rub her joints wrong and create little suction bubbles when she moved. The cold air of the AC unit inside the break room relieved that a bit.

"Elementia, have you seen the results of the second round yet?" Mt. Lady asks, having propped her feet up on the table as she watched her phone. "Seems a lot of your sister's classmates placed for the final event."

"Mmhm."

"Is your sister doing okay?" Kamui Woods follows up, standing awkwardly off to the side with his hands dangling. He looks away as Reina raises an eyebrow at him. "I-I'm just asking, since she collapsed after the first round."

"I haven't been able to check on her yet, but I think if it was serious, they would have called me," she retorts, leaning up in her chair and placing her visor back on before slipping her hair through the star piece to affix it to her head. "I need to get back out there, before Endeavor cusses me out again for slacking off."

"I keep telling you to get a suit like mine," Mt. Lady sings as Reina chuckles. "A lot more room to breathe than the spandex."

"Eh, I like the way it makes me feel," she chortles, waving as she walks out of the room. Endeavor raises an eyebrow as she walks up to him. He has his arms crossed over his chest, his lips set in a tight line. "And what crawled up your ass and died?"

"Probably my partner up and disappearing on me with no warning of where she was going?" he retorts as they start to walk towards the festival grounds. Reina has her arms folded behind her head as she walks, a yawn breaking from her lips. Endeavor's eye twitched. "Can you please take this seriously?"

"But I am," she replies, tilting her head to the side. "There's also like a dozen other pros here besides us. I can slack a little-oooh, dango!"

"Re-Elementia," he hisses as she diverts off the path to a dango stand. She pays for two sticks, holding one out to him with a smile. A small blush comes across his cheeks as he mutters a thank you as he takes one of them from her. She happily bites into one, sliding it off the skewer as they continue walking.

"Anyway, I heard Lil Sho placed for the final event, I bet that was nice," she says after swallowing the sweet dumpling. "Are you a proud papa yet?"

"I will be when he decides to stop being rebellious and use his flames," the hero responds, biting into one of the dumplings and pulling it off before chewing twice and swallowing. "This phase of his is starting to irritate me. He's supposed to surpass All Might."

"He will in his own time, Endy," she replies, using her fingers to slide off the next dumpling and pop it into her mouth. She chews once before swallowing. "What was it you told me? Let them work it out on their own, it'll be fine."

"I suppose you're right," he sighs, taking another piece. "I heard your sister collapsed after the first event. Is she alright?"

"Oh look at you showing some empathy and concern," she teases with a laugh. Endeavor's eye twitches again. "I haven't been to see her yet, keeping a low profile while I'm here so she doesn't get bombarded by my adoring fans."

"You have fans?" he asks, tilting his head with a slight smirk. She uses her free hand to smack his arm, huffing.

"I have plenty of fans thank you!" she says defensively. They stop as some girls in cheerleading outfits walk in front of them, laughing and raising pompoms in the air in front of the line. "Aw, they're so cute!"

"They're children," he remarks, rolling his eyes as he finishes the last two pieces of dango and finds a trashcan to throw the skewer away in. Reina tilts her head as she sees a familiar purple haired girl with her hair up out of her face and wearing a similar cheerleading outfit with long sleeves. "We should head to the stadium. I need to speak with Shoto."

"Um, yeah, right," she agrees, shaking her head twice before nodding. "I thought I saw my sister just now in a skirt."

"Would that be a bad thing?" Endeavor asks, confused as they head towards the stadium. "It would mean your sister is fitting in, which is what you want isn't it?"

"She's supposed to be focusing on her course work, not extracurriculars," Reina responds, taking the last dango off and swallowing it whole. "And if she really did collapse after the first event, she needs more endurance training."

"I agree. But you were worried about her fitting in and making friends."

"Jesus christ, are you really trying to parent me, Enji?" she hisses, stopping to grab his arm. He glances around before glaring down at her. "Leinei's situation is difficult."

"As is most things with you, Reina," he replies softly before sighing and rolling his shoulders back. "We can talk about this later. Professional, remember?"

"Right. Professional." She walks over to a trashcan and throws the skewer away, tapping Endeavor's arm. "Tell Lil Sho I say hi, and I'll meet you at the stadium."

"What are you going to do?" he asks her, irritated she was taking off again. She smiles, tilting her head as she gives her signature peace sign before running after the group of cheerleaders. She catches up with them as they go to reenter the stadium, reaching out to grab the familiar purple haired girl's shoulder.

"Lei?" She says, causing the girl to turn and her face to go bright red. Reina has to cover her mouth to laugh, shaking her head. "What are you wearing? Why are you wearing it?"

"Th-the teachers said the girls had to," Leinei replies, looking away and using a pompom to hide her face. Her version of the cheerleader outfit had long sleeves to cover her arms, and hid the scars that would otherwise streak across her wrists and forearms. "And I didn't really wanna be left out, so that people don't think I'm getting special treatment."

"Salinsa, you know Elementia?" Mina gasps, walking up and hugging Leinei's arm. "That's so cool! I didn't know you were supposed to be here today! I'm a total fan; I love watching the clips of you with Endeavor, they're always so cool!"

"Haha, well thank you!" Reina laughs, rubbing the back of her head as she takes a small step back. She took in the other girls standing around her sister almost defensively, and smiled. She's in good hands here. "Well, I'd offer to sign some gear or whatever you wanted, but I think we'll save that for after the festival, yeah? I'll be up with the other heroes for a quick meet and greet before the day ends, so if you guys want to meet Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, Endeavor, anyone, we'll be up by the front gates at a little booth. And Lei, your sister is very proud of you."

Leinei watches Elementia walk off, her shoulders slumping as she fights the urge to cry in front of the girls. She takes a deep breath, inhaling through her nose before exhaling through her mouth. Mina looks at her as she shakes her head to get rid of her nerves.

"Are you okay?" she asks, letting go of the girl. "I only hugged your arm in case something was about to happen; Kirishima says you have a thing about being touched-"

"No, I'm fine," she assures, smiling at the pink girl. "Thank you, um…"

"Mina Ashido!" she greets. "Sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner; we've barely seen you!"

"Mina," she repeats. "Thank you, Mina."

"What're friends for?" she asks as they continue walking onto the pitch. Leinei couldn't hide the blush on her face, or the small smile she had. It was nice having friends for the first time in a long time, even if...they didn't know the whole story.

"You look so cute in that outfit too!" Hagakure says, throwing one of her pompoms in the air. "Yaoyorozu, how did you get everyone's measurements so precise?"

"Oh, I really didn't," Yaoyorozu chuckles nervously. "I just estimated the best I could. I'm glad they came out okay, though!"

"They are really cute," Ochaco agrees as they walk onto the pitch. A few of the side events were in play, some of the guys from all of the classes going full force and enjoying themselves. Leinei kept her head down, trying to seem enthusiastic about the cheer the girls were doing, but felt really insecure about the outfit, even if it is cute.

"Wow you guys look a lot better than I thought you would!" Mineta drools, making his way over to them. A collective shudder runs through each of the girls as Mina glared at the short boy. "What?"

"We only dressed this way because you and Kaminari said Mr. Aizawa said we have to," she retorts. "Not for you to drool over us."

It takes a moment for them to realize what had actually happened. Yaoyorozu's shoulders slump as Jirou throws her pompoms down in anger. Mina pops her neck as Mineta starts to scramble backwards, begging for them to take mercy on him. As Mina, Ochaco, and Hagakure approach him, he's suddenly kicked away from them, his scream of terror and pain echoing throughout the stadium. In the distance as the purple boy descended, there was a faint yell of 'goal' that sounded strangely like Tetsutetsu.

"Tch," Bakugo snorts, shaking his foot out before looking at the girls. "What? He was in my way."

"You're not as mean as you look, Bakugo," Mina teases, grinning. Bakugo rolls his eyes, glancing at the quiet purple haired girl hiding her red face in her pompoms. Mina glances between the two with a sly smirk, but says nothing. "Thank you Bakugo!"

"Whatever," he growls, skulking off with his hands in his pockets. He glances over his shoulder at Leinei, who tried to participate more in the cheers the girl's were putting together. Her demeanor shifted again, from the girl telling him to win in the hallway, to this quiet meek thing trying to fit in. The fluidity of her personality confused him, as much as it irritated him. Something about her just didn't sit right with him, and he didn't understand why. Everyone else seems to have taken so well to her, and yet he has a weird feeling in his stomach every time he sees her.

Stupid. Focus on winning. She's the least of your worries right now.

But why did he feel so worried when she dropped after the first event? Why did he feel so concerned during the second that he had to follow Sparky and Shitty Hair to go check on her? Why did his brain think 'holy crap she actually looks good like that' when he saw her in the stupid cheerleading outfit?

He's being stupid. He had to be. Short Stack must be using her quirk on him, that's it. Projecting emotions, she could do that, couldn't she? Yeah, that has to be the only reason he was thinking this way.

So he just has to ignore it. Ignore the urge to look back at her one more time, to tell her she did amazing during the first event, and he wished she had gone to the second because he would have loved to go against her. Ignore the want to fight her, to see how good she actually is. Ignore the want to see her smile one more time.

Stupid. Stop being stupid. Focus on what's ahead.

Reina sighs as she leans against the wall at the top of the stands to watch the optional events play out. She smiles as she sees Leinei down there with the other girls, at least trying to be part of the class festivities. She wasn't lying before, about being proud of her. She genuinely is. Her baby sister got a lot farther in the festival than she expected; she honestly thought Leinei would drop out before the day even began, or beg to stay home so she didn't have to look her classmates in the eyes.

Her sister has surprised her a lot this week, though most of them are pleasant. One week here accomplished what ten years with the Commission wasn't able to. So either the teachers here are just that good, or her sister could already control her quirk. The latter thought twists Reina's stomach, her hand going to it as she looks down at her feet.

"Did you eat too much?" Endeavor asks as he walks over to stand next to her. She glances up, seeing the irritation and anger written plain as day on his face. She can't help but smile, dropping her hand.

"How'd your talk with Shoto go?" she deflects, waving at a student who was staring at them wide eyed. "From the look on your face, not too well."

"He's being the same rebellious child he's been for a long time," he grumbles, arms crossed over his chest. "And I ran into All Might, which just pissed me off more."

"Yeah, I don't blame you on that one," she consoles. "I know your rivalry with him-"

"Don't. Not right now."

"Mmhm, whatever you say, Number Two," she teases, giggling when he glared at her out of the corner of his eye. But it makes him crack a small smile too, raising a hand and lightly tapping her on the back. She blushes and swats his hand away. "Professional, remember?"

"How did your talk with your sister go?"

"Ah, well, her friends didn't exactly put two and two together that we're sisters. I don't blame them, we don't look alike. But I told her I was proud of her for doing what she could. I'm pretty sure our brother called already to tell her, but it was surprising to see her in a skirt without leggings underneath. So I guess this class is rubbing off on her in a way."

"I suppose. I thought you said she couldn't control her quirk?"

"I thought she couldn't either. So either Eraserhead is an amazing teacher, or she's been lying to me, and that thought makes me sicker than any amount of sweets."

He nods solemnly, sighing as Present Mic announces the end of the break, and the optional side events. The students not participating in the final event filed off the pitch, a proud smile coming across his face seeing Shoto down there on the pitch. Reina shakes her head, wishing her sister could have gotten further in the event than she did. You could've won, if you just focused.

"Their internships should be coming up soon, shouldn't they?" she asks Endeavor. He nods, glancing at her before looking down at students being paired against each other. "I'm gonna guess you're taking Shoto."

"That was the plan. Unless he found another hero to intern for, but I doubt it."

"Then I'll take Leinei," she decides with a shrug. "I'm a support hero, she's got a great support quirk, if utilized properly. Maybe we'll do a teamup, see how her and Shoto work together. It'll give us a good look at how the future top rankers will get along."

"You just want a reason to work with me."

"Maybe, but this is looking out for the kids too. It's our job to pave the way for them, and to make sure they have all of the tools needed for success."

"It would be good for Shoto to work with someone who can manipulate fire the way you can," Endeavor murmurs. "And as for your sister, she may just hold him back. But she is your sister, so who knows what can and will happen."

"I don't know if that last bit was an insult or a compliment."

"I think it was a mixture of both."

"Of course it was," she sighs, shaking her head. But the smile remained; it always did. Negging was how their friendship started, it certainly wouldn't be the end of it. He always made her smile despite the fucked up compliments. Maybe it was the daddy issues, maybe it was the

fact she was sneaking around with a married man. Either way, she enjoyed it.

After Leinei was committed following the Shiketsu Incident, Endeavor contacted her first, offering her his condolences and asking her to get a drink sometime after work. A few drinks too many, some venting about the bullshit her sister was putting her through, and the next morning, Reina had woken up in his bed. She was horrified, but at least Fuyumi and Natsuo weren't home to see her shamefully walking out of the house.

But she liked it. She liked texting him after, she liked the late night calls where they would talk about family, and other things. They could walk to the facility Rei and Leinei were in, and no one would be the wiser when they left together. The tryst was addicting, and Reina had no care if they were caught. One of them would be blamed in the media's eyes, and it was most likely her. Her career isn't the most illustrious compared to Keigo's, but she was comfortable. If sinking down in the ranks means more freedom, she'd take it. Less of a spotlight, less of a worry. Fuck what anyone else thought.

"So, teamup when we have them doing their internships?"

"I suppose, Elementia."

And back to professional we go.