"And that's how it is! Plus, we're allowed to have side jobs as well. I hear of people who, in the days, it was all determined by official duties, and quite some trouble but these days you can get a big push from your popularity with civilians and how in demand you are with them. To that end, I actually have a commercial to film now. Why don't you get to know each other?"

Kendo sighed a little. "But I wanted to go experience more, you know, heroic things."

"NO!" I cried. "This, too is a path one cannot avoid if one aims to become a pro! Besides, she has graciously taken a look at me, who has been bereft of good points! I shall have her allow me to study under her a great deal indeed!"

"Damn girl, you're going all out."

"Do you want to know why I hired you?" said Miss Uwabami, turning to us with a smile.

"Because you saw true heroic potential in us!" I cried.

"Of course I did. But there's another reason." She smiled knowingly. "You're both very cute young ladies."

"Huh?!"

And before we knew it, were were both in a commercial for hairspray products, being filmed and scrutinized by cameramen.

"Wave up your hair with just one spray! Do the wave with coil hairspray today!"

Afterwards, in her dressing room, Uwabami smiled "Well, that was quick work. But this is just a demo, so it'll be broadcast as a commercial in about a month or so. All right girls, shall we go out on patrol?"

"And now we're on TV," mused Kendo.

"Heroes, we're heroes," I muttered over and over to myself, trying my best to be optimistic. This will be helpful won't it?

But when a week and passed and nothing more hero-like occurred, I began to feel quite certain that my internship, so long looked forward to, had ended up as a complete waste of time.

chapter

The week before our internships had started, the news had reported about how a villain known as the Hero Killer Stain had attacked and crippled Iida's older brother, the pro-hero Ingenium in Hosu City, Tokyo. During our internships, I received a group text from Midoriya showing a location in Hosu - and nothing else.

Later it came out that Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki had all encountered the villain, who'd been stopped by Endeavor. There was no information in the newspaper, however, about whether they were all right, and so I spent the last few days trying not to worry about them.

Another encounter with a villain, in only a month? They must have been so frightened…

Iida and Midoriya, who had beaten me as class representatives…and Todoroki, who had beaten me in every possible way…they might eb my rivals, but I certainly still cared about them and didn't like they idea that they may have been hurt.

Our classmates were discussing their internships, but I could only watch those three; they had gathered together at Todoroki's desk and were discussing, in hushed voices, the events in HOsu; I didn't like to butt in, so I said nothing, until Kaminari turned the general subject to the three of them.

"You know, the ones who've transformed the most would be those three."

"The hero killer!" cried Hanta Sero, wh was being manhandled by Bakugou along with Kirishima.

"At least you three are ok!" cried the latter.

"I was so worried," I murmured, looking at Todoroki. He wore his usual inscrutable expression.

"Lucky Endeavor came in and saved you guys! That's the Number 2 hero for you!"

At this, Todoroki looked down rather unhappily. "Yeah. We were rescued."

Oh, right. Endeavor is Todoroki's father, and they don't exactly get along.

"I saw it on the news," continued Ojiro. "Something about the Hero Killer and the League of villains being connected. Imagine if a really scary guy like that had showed up at USJ!"

"He's pretty scary, sure," said Denki Kaminari. "But did you see that video, Ojiro? I dunno if it was his single-track mind or tenacity, but don't you think he's kinda cool?"

It was hard not to be appealed at the look on Todoroki and Iida's faces at these words. Do you have no tact whatsoever, Kaminari?

"Kaminari!" cried Midoriya. At these words he jumped and placed his hand on his face.

"Oh, iida, I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right," said Iida. "He was certainly a man of conviction, so I understand if people find him cool. However, he chose to advance his cause by means of a purge, and whatever beliefs you may hold, that alone is in error. And so, in order that people like me may not hereafter multiply, I shall proceed down the path towards being a hero anew!" And just like that, he was back to his usual moves, ordering the class and calling me, the Deputy rep, to order.

Our exercise in class that day was a training session with All Might, in a brand new stage that looked like a huge mess of pipes, buildings and construction equipment.

"I AM HERE…is the note I usually start on, but right, onto foundational hero study time!" boomed our teacher. "It's been a while, boys and girls. In good spirits, I hope?"

"That was a really lukewarm entry…after so long too. He must have run out of schticks," a few of our classmates muttered.

"Right! on the heels of all your workplace experience, this time we'll do something playful,' said Sensei, muttering back "Run out? Never. My supply of schticks is inexhaustible." Then, back to business: "It's a rescue training race."

"Shouldn't rescue training be conducted at USJ?" Iida called back in his usual over-serious tone.

"No, that place is for disaster rescue. What was I saying? This is a race. This place is training ground gamma, where densely packed lanes make this construction site seem more like a complex labyrinth. Make four groups of five! We'll done the training one group at a time. When I've given the distress signal somewhere n the area, you all simultaneously start form the outside limits. This is a competition to see who can get to me first. Of course, keep damage to the surrounding buildings at a minimum," he finished, pointing at Bakugou, who snarled back

"Stop pointing at me."

The first five up were Midoriya, Ojiro, Iida, Mina, and Sero. Our classmates were soon taking all bets on who'd get in first

"Iida hasn't made a complete recovery yet. He should just sit this one out."

"All the kids with the most maneuverability in the class are in that group."

"Yeah, but I'd say Midorwya's at a slight disadvantage here," I reasoned.

"Yeah, I'm not really sold on his power yet," said Jirou. With a nod, I concurred. "I mean, whenever he tries anything he gets hurt."

"I'd say Sero takes first," said Kirishima.

"I'm betting on Ojiro!" said Kaminari.

"I say Ashido! Her reflexes are nuts!" said Mineta.

Predictably, Bakugou chimed in, "Deku's dead last!"

"He has that wound handicapping him," said Uraraka, "But I still feel like it'll be Iida."

START! blared over the phone.

Sero went jumping out ahead of everyone else, flying over the buildings with ease.

"See, look! It makes sense to be above everyone else," said the triumphant Kirishima.

But suddenly Sero was surpassed by a blur, speeding through the air above buildings and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

It was -

"MIDORIYA?!" everyone cried out. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, bouncing around without breaking a single bone.

Midoriya, of all people? How did he do that in a single week?

Todoroki was in the second group, and won too, with relative ease. I was in the third, and despite my best efforts, I was beaten.

Of course I was, there's no way I could have actually won. I haven't done anything great in that regard. It's just not a strength of mine. Physical, practical skills. Everything I try, I just mess up.

Thoughts like those had become more and more common with me as time went on. As we changed in the locker room, I couldn't seem to shake them.

Though the wall, the obnoxious tones of Mineta, somehow having located a peephole, could be heard as he described just what parts of each of our bodies he wanted to touch. Fortunately, Kyoka had heard him and stabbed straight through the hole into his eye.

"Thanks, Kyoka!" said Hagakure.

"How despicable!" I cried, humiliated and angry. "Let's plug up this hole immediately."

One humiliation after another lately…