The silver haired girl was carried to Recovery Girl's office. She was relatively fine, just a little dehydrated. The smell of antiseptic wafted into her conscious mind, stirring her from her exhaustive slumber. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes flittered unconsciously. She was trying to wake herself up.

"Oh, dearie, take it easy now. You've got plenty of time to rest up before you're needed back on stage."

She was pretty sure it was the old nurse who spoke to her through her haze, but she decided to take her advice and let herself fall back into the abyss.

When she next woke, Miko was hooked up to a drip and could feel a cooling balm had been applied to her skin to accelerate the healing of her dried out, cracked skin. Lifting her head, she could see nothing past the curtains by her bed. Feeling better, but still sore after her fight — which she lost despite her best efforts — she allowed herself a bit of patience. Recovery Girl came back from wherever she ran off too and brightened at the sight of her conscious state.

"You're awake! How are you feeling, dear?"

Miko laid her head back on the pillow, "Fine now that I've been pumped full of fluids again."

The old nurse chuckled as she watched her with a knowing gaze, but kept quiet. She helped Miko sit up once she felt strong enough and handed her a small paper cup with a tablet of ibuprofen inside. Throwing her head back, Miko widened her mouth until she could feel her throat open and dumped the pill down her esophagus. Recovery Girl raised a brow. Miko looked at her sheepishly, "I can't take pills with water."

Recovery Girl easily waved off her explanation with a shake of her head, "I'm a nurse, dear. I've seen it all."

Humming lowly to herself, Miko let the conversation die. She picked up the small tin of moisturizer the old nurse conveniently placed by her bedside and began applying the cosmetic to her skin, nodding appreciatively to Recovery Girl's back. She was already leaving when she paused at the door, glancing thoughtfully towards her nurse.

"Say, Recovery Girl, if you ever find yourself in need of an assistant, feel free to call on me. I have more experience than I'm willing to say under my family's tutelage."

"Oh, is that so? Don't make any promises you can't keep!"


Miko had slept through the rest of the festival. Apparently, after her fight with Todoroki, Iida was called away due to a family emergency, giving Bakugo a win by default. One could only imagine how he felt about that. Since there was no battle to be held between the two semi finalists, they were given a short reprove to allow Todoroki some time to rest before their final matchup. He lost. It stung her pride. She went all out trying to beat him, lost, and he lost against Bakugo. Who she openly and directly challenged but failed to meet in a matchup. It was unbecoming to get upset, so she resigned herself to her loss and moved where her teachers told her to move once she'd been collected from Recovery Girl's bay and waited.

The teen wasn't in a particularly good mood as she stood atop the third place podium for the first time in a very long time. It was humbling and simultaneously annoying as hell, but she took it in stride as was befitting of her character. Plus, her grandmother would kill her if she behaved the way the first place winner was behaving. Bakugo, quite understandably, was upset by the terms of his win. Understandable but still unfortunately a slap in the face as much as it was tiresome. He lashed out at everyone attempting to herd him until he was forcibly restrained by chains like Andromeda.

She didn't know how she felt about that.

He was chained up and muzzled. "Is that really necessary?" she said to no one. Baffled, she kept her opinion to herself, making sure her eyes were placed firmly on the crowd, giving reporters plenty of opportunities to capture good money shots of her person. Still, if it were her family in charge, she mused, Midnight would've used her Quirk on him to keep him subdued. UA's reputation was already under scrutiny, and binding and chaining their first year rep and sports festival champion as he screamed and thrashed violently, kinda made him look like a villain. The whole situation could reflect poorly on UA further and it humiliated Miko enough to make her feel uncomfortable about it.

In the end, it wasn't her problem, she thought. Shaking her arms and rolling her shoulders, she released the thoughts from her mind. All Might appeared at the lip of the stadium's concave opening, throwing himself down with a series of dextrous flips and spins in the air. No matter how much hulking muscle he packed on his body, it was extremely impressive how well he moved. Then again, he was simply an all around impressive man.

She took her medal with pride, even though it was All Might who presented it to her. Despite the roaring of the crowd and the huge feat she'd accomplished, his words fell of deaf ears as all she envisioned for the brief moment he smiled at her was blood seeping out of his mouth.

She nodded numbly. She didn't hear a word he said.


Glad to be free of All Might's presence, Miko contemplated Iida's regretable placement. Third place by default was unfortunate for the class rep, who didn't even get the chance to fight for a better spot. But she supposed winning third by default was probably the same if not worse than getting third because you lost. She was still deciding as she heard the triplets yelling for her by the school gates after the closing ceremony.

"Congrats, Miko!"

"Yeah, congrats Miko!"

A chuckle left her lips as the triplets came running over to surround her with hugs and kisses. "Thank you. I hope I was able to make you guys proud."

Aunt Ran waved her off good-naturedly, ignoring her children's shouts, "Don't worry about that, honey. You did well! Though I wish you hadn't pushed yourself so hard…I didn't even know you could use your quirk like that." She eyed her mercilessly.

"I wasn't sure it would work haha." She laughed sheepishly when Ran gave her a look but kept herself from digging her grave even deeper politely ignoring the first place winner who stalked past them irritably. Miko's eyes followed his back for a few seconds until Yuushi pulled on her arm with heavy force.

Her aunt looked to her, winking at her conspiratorially, "I hear your mom's coming home tonight to celebrate. Think she'll bring home ice cream mochi?" Miko grinned back mischievously as Nori and Yuushi fought over which mochi flavor tastes best.

The drive back was surprisingly quiet. The triplets tired themselves out with all the excitement of the sports festival and Nori pulled a fit about her car seat until Miko agreed to hold her in her lap for the ride home. Curled around Miko with her head nestled against her chest, Nori fell asleep quickly. The teen looked down at the younger girl's face softly observing her quiet doze and placed a gentle kiss in her orange hair. Slowly averting her eyes, she observed the passing streets blissfully.

She was greeted with congratulatory hugs and smiles from her cousins, aunts, and uncles when they arrived at the compound. Her grandmother even pat her head after admonishing her for knocking herself out in her last match. The air in the house relieved her of all the earlier tension she felt but she still couldn't forgive herself for losing.

"You did well, today." Miko looked up to face her mother. The rest of the family had already left after a small celebration with a large batch of instant ramen and ice cream mochi and they were the only two in the kitchen at the moment. She was looking at her daughter with a fox-grin, her expression eerily similar to her twin brother Minakami [it ran in the family]. Once upon a time, Miko had heard all about her mother and her uncle's adventures and pranks. According to her grandmother, they were heinous miscreants, regrettably attached at the hip. It didn't help that they were practically identical as children.

"Thanks, mom."

Her father chose that moment to walk in, wiping his hands on the seat of his pants. He looked to Miko meaningfully, "You did well, but that's no excuse to be reckless. You and the rest of your classmates have no sense of self-preservation."

Aoi laughed admonishingly at her husband, "You're one to talk! You and all those other fighters you compete against don't stop until someone's knocked out or dead."

"Aoi, honey, you know that's just the nature of the match. Miko's a kid! It's completely different," He pleaded.

"Is it, now? Akio, my love, I think you've taken one too many hits to the head. You're completely delirious~"

Akio sauntered over to his wife with a predatory gaze at the challenge. Once he was close enough he firmly pulled his wife to him by the waist, looming over her with a charming grin. "Then I do believe I need some assistance, doctor."

Kohaku, returning from walking their grandmother home, cried out, "Ew gross you guys! Cut it out!" She threw herself across the couch placing an arm over her eyes dramatically. Their parents, still wrapped in each other's arms, took one glance at their youngest daughter before kissing each other with dramatic passion, only pulling away when Kohaku screamed.

Laughing at the expense of Kohaku, her parents danced in each other's arms to music only they could hear. They glided across the kitchen and filled the air with a deep sense of love and intimacy that Miko was almost compelled to look away. She didn't, though. It was moments like these that brought her happiness and she too felt the love her parents held for each other, so unlike and glaringly more than the kind of love they held for their daughters.

Just as she was beginning to think she could never have the kind of love her parents felt for each other, her father spun away from his wife and gently grabbed Miko's wrist with a charming smile he wore only for his children. "Come now, Miko, let's see how well those dance lessons Himiko-sama put you through stuck."

Shrieking with giddiness for the first time in what felt like ages, Miko danced around the kitchen with her father while her mother struggled to lead Kohaku in a complicated series of footwork. Smiling and laughing, watching her family be silly and celebrate her win, she barely felt the absence of her missing sister.


The morning after, Miko was greeted with the sight of her mother already awake, standing by the mirror in the hall. "It's going to be raining all day today," she warned. The teen grinned, "I don't mind. It'll be good for a walk then." Her mother shook her head good naturedly. She hadn't been around often, but she still remembered her eldest's penchant for walks in the rain. "If you're not going to let me drive you to school, then at least remember your umbrella." Aoi, in all her early morning glory, was stylishly dressed and looked positively radiant as she tacked on her earrings. Miko smiled at her mother, "I will. Aren't you leaving too slow for work? You'll be late." Aoi laughed off her concern, "I don't have to be in until later afternoon. I thought your father and I could spend part of the day together." How cute, Miko thought, and she dressed up more than usual too. "Don't forget your umbrella!"

Rainy days used to scare Miko.

Wafting the incense she lit for Riko's shrine away from her face, she moved to the front door where she shrugged on her rain boots. "I'll be off then. Have a fun time with Dad!"

Miko took her time walking to the train, letting the rain hit her face for a few seconds. It was almost like something out of a movie, and it was refreshing. Her good mood from yesterday wore off now that she was left to her own devices and there were no more distractions from her mother or her cousins to keep her from thinking about things that she really, really couldn't let go of.

The wary regard Miko used to harbor towards rain was understandable given her quirk manifestation, but now it brought her a sense of comfort and nostalgia uncharacteristic of someone her age. Riko used to hate rainy days too. They forced her to stay inside, even though that was regrettably her default station. But Miko helped her finds ways to enjoy it, to forget about the nature of her condition, and eventually, Miko began to like the rain.

"Wow is that Tsukikawa from the UA sports festival?!"

At the sound of her name, Miko's attention was drawn to a small group of junior high kids, each with a look of awe and surprise. The bravest of their group, a blue skinned girl with equally blue hair, approached her with a determined grin. "You're Tsukikawa-san, right? I'd know that hair anywhere!"

Miko was a little taken aback by the attention, "Um, yes that's me. Was there something I could help you with?"

"You were amazing at the festival! Would you please sign this for me?"

"Oh, oh! Me too!"

The kids she signed autographs for were not the only ones to recognize her on her commute to UA. With the lingering emotional high from last night's celebration and now the praise from complete strangers Miko was the most confident person walking onto campus. Striding in with a regal presence, Miko appeared happier to the few friends she somehow managed to acquire in the short time they've been at UA.

In 1-A's classroom, it was clear to see they were all still riding on the excitement of the sports festival. Jiro greeted her with a bright smile and a snarky comment she guessed was supposed to be congratulatory. Kaminari clapped her shoulder and grinned charmingly, Kirishima's smile as usual lit up his surroundings. She preened under their praise and was so genuinely happy about it she didn't even look arrogant about it.

"Alright settle down everyone. It's time we go over business. You're choosing your hero identities today."

"This is related to the pro hero draft picks the last time we were in class together. Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft yet. Not until their second or third year actually, but your class is different. In fact, by extending offers to first years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though." Aizawa gestured towards the board behind him, "Here are the totals for those of you who got offers."

Miko's eyes bugged out for half a second, a disbelieving chuckle escaping parted lips before her jaw slammed shut, a triumphant grin taking over her face as she took in the number of invitations she received. Strangling a gleeful noise in the back of her throat, she waited for Aizawa to finish speaking. A creeping feeling of pending implosion distracted her from the rest of his speech, but she was too pleased to care.

Jiro's voice pulled her out of herself, "Todoroki got the most ahead of Bakugo?"

"Yeah, the opposite of how they placed in the festival," Kirishima.

"They probably weren't excited about working with the guy who had to be chained up at the end," Sero whispered back.

"If I scared a pro, they're just weak!"

Miko rolled her eyes and looked to Sero admonishingly, "It's not like the school helped him anyway. Midnight could've knocked him out if they really wanted to keep him under control."

"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with pros. Got it? Even those of you who didn't get any offers. Your hero names will likely be temporary, but choose carefully or else-"

"You'll have hell to pay later!" Midnight barreled in. Miko rolled her eyes as politely as she could."Speak of the devil," she muttered to Jiro, who was ignoring the obvious way Kaminari ogled the older woman. "What you pick today could be your codename for life. You better be careful or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent."

This was it. Picking a name to represent the hero you want to be…

"Any idea what your hero name will be?" Miko shook her head at Jiro. "Not really, I mean, I've thought about it before but…back then it was just a kid's dream." One of the ways Miko would entertain Riko during rainy days was by playing 'Heroes'. They would come up with all sorts of scenarios, and it was up to them to save the day. Riko would spend hours thinking up her hero name, her hero costume, and Miko was nigh but content to allow her little sister to decide what she wanted to do with her for that game.

Kaminari turned to look at her, "I totally get what you mean. There's no way I'd go with something I picked out as a kid!"

"Are you sure you can come up with anything decent now, Jammingway?" Jiro said.

"Hey, I actually like that!"

Miko grinned at Jiro as permission to turn away to focus on her own identity. Hero names were a significant part of Miko's childhood. Riko often changed hers and dubbed Miko something new whenever she felt like it and Miko herself was indifferent to the change. She didn't want to be a hero. But it was important to Riko and because it meant something to her the silver haired teen was weak to the will of her sister.

She tried to remember the names Riko came up for her, hoping to find one good enough to use as her official identity as a hero, but came up short.

"Can't Stop Twinkling!"

"Rainy Season Hero: Froppy!"

"Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt!"

"Pinky!"

Miko made her way up the stand and declared, "Tide Surge Hero: Hydra."

Midnight's reaction to her name was the same as her reaction to 'Alien Queen'. "Like the monster?" Personally, Miko thought 'Alien Queen' was better than 'Pinky'.

"Why'd you scratch out Tide?"

Miko was uncharacteristically shy, looking to the side as she answered. "It reminded me of the detergent which reminded me of Wash. I thought Hydra was fitting because of the way I use my quirk…Plus its part of 'hydrate' so…" she let her words wander off. She hoped that would distract Midnight enough to approve of her name.

Midnight winked, sparkles enveloped her aura, "Reminds people to drink water regularly! I'll allow it!"

Aizawa shoed her away from the front, Miko tried not to take it personally. "Now that everyone's decided on their hero names, we can go back to talking about your upcoming internships. They'll last for one week. As for who you'll be working with, those of you who were on the board will choose from among your offers, everyone else will have a different list. You have a lot to think about. There are around 40 agencies across the country who've agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different focus that its heroes focus on. Keep that in mind."

Two days to review 1,003 invitations for an internship, an insanely high number that realistically she had no way of examining each one. A daunting task indeed. She wondered what Riko would have thought if she could have received that number of invitations. "I'll be back," she said to Jiro picking up her bag, careful not to knock over her water bottle, and walking out of the class. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she left for the bathroom as was her routine. She was glad to be alone in there, silently musing her options whilst she moisturized her skin, mindless as always. The sheet of invitations laid innocently on the countertop from where she pulled it from her bag and she eyed it as it taunted her, breathing forcefully out of her nose in frustration.

If only Riko were here, she thought.

She worried it would always be like this. Whenever she was presented with something difficult, her thoughts would seamlessly wander back to her little sister, the one who actually wanted to be a hero. But never would. Holding the sheet with a death grip, the edges of paper wrinkled between her fingers as her eyes blindly scanned the long list of ink that would determine her future. Frustration building in her chest, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nostrils, held it until she felt faint, and let it go.

She'd have to pick someone to help her become the hero Riko would've wanted her to become; strong, powerful, and kind. It was hard, trying to live out Riko's dream for her. She didn't have the drive her sister did, not really, and though she was perfectly capable of it, she didn't have the will to truly reach the top.

The sports festival was proof of it. She said she'd win and she didn't. She got angry, frustrated, and lost. She was third for the first time since she couldn't even remember when, has yet to place first in any of their training exercises, and still was not good enough to get more invitations than goddamn Todoroki who lost against Bakugo. Bakugo the asshole who had to be chained up and muzzled because he wouldn't take a win if it wasn't irrefutably his and fought for a rematch if his opponent didn't give their all as he deserved. She understood it. Supported it. But she knew that she wouldn't fight as he did for a rematch. No, Miko would take the win and lord it over the loser because she didn't care about circumstances, she just liked the glory.

Miko was no hero.

As soon as the invasive thought breached her mind, she shook her head violently, momentarily dislodging one of her twin buns. Staring impassively at her reflection, the young girl slowly began to gather herself and her belongings to return to her classroom. She'd spent too much time away and didn't want to risk one of her friends —her friends!— coming to search for her. With her items safely packed away in her bag and her uniform smoothed out, she inhaled deeply, holding until she felt faint, and let it go. With a straight back, her small chin in the air, Miko walked out with all the controlled grace of an autocrat to return to reality.

The half smile she bore when she approached her desk mates was only partially forced, and she was lucky they were so focused on their own lists. Why am I even searching through these names as if I have a clue who these guys are? Turquoise eyes diligently scanned the pages, passing through alphabetically until reaching a name in bold lettering EDGESHOT HERO AGENCY. Miko sputtered, reaching for her water bottle.

"You okay, Tsukikawa?" Miko hastily waved off Jirou's concern. The girl leaned over her shoulder to peer at her list anyway, blinking when she saw the cause of Miko's sputtering. "Whoa, you got an offer from Edgeshot? That's Hydra for you," she teased good-naturedly.

Kaminari who'd been pulled in at the mention of a top ten hero, butted in, "She killed it in the finals! You're definitely going with Edgeshot right?" Sitting back in her seat, Miko crossed her arms behind her head thoughtfully. "Well, obviously. Who wouldn't pick the highest ranking hero on their list? They're up there for a reason."

Moving her eyes back to her list, she noted she wasn't truly reading the names in front of her until she got to a particular one.

ENDEAVOR HERO AGENCY.

Endeavor?! No way! She must have done something to impress if he was so inclined to send her an invitation. He definitely didn't seem the type to invest in future heroes. She couldn't help but feel a burning sensation at her back. If his father was obsessed with him as he made it seem, Todoroki would also be receiving an invitation, and Miko was not keen on working with him, one-on-one, for an entire week. She resisted turning to look at him, keeping her eyes focused on the pages in her hands. She wasn't truly reading the names, but it helped her get her thoughts in order. He was the number two hero, and that had to count for something.

"You look like you've come to a decision, Tsukikawa." Miko turned to Kirishima. "I have," she matched his smile. He watched her scrawl out the characters on her sheet only to yell out, "Endeavor?! You got an invite from the number two hero?! Whoa, that's so manly!" It was all it took to get the rest of the class to join.

"No way! She's already got Edgeshot— leave some heroes for the rest of us!"

Bakugo, who's irritation at all the commotion was slowly building, finally erupted, glaring petulantly at the silver haired girl and the group of extras surrounding her. "No way you got an invitation from the number two hero. You sucked in all your matches, you didn't even win!"

"So what if I didn't win? I didn't have to in order to get this prestigious invitation to intern with the number two hero if that's all it took," she snarked back.

"There's no way I'll let you beat me, princess. I'll be the number one hero, Endeavor's too scared to take on a hero like me!"

"Maybe he saw I'm just better than you. Who needs more heroes with fire quirks? You come a dime a dozen."

"Who you calling a dime a dozen?! You couldn't even make it past Icy-Hot. You were too weak to win, princess. Try again next year."

"Hey, hey, calm down Bakugo. You both made it to the semi finals, and you're both good heroes!"

"Shut up, Shitty Hair!"

Though he'd irritated her, Bakugo was right. "It's alright Kirishima. Whether I like it or not, he's got a point," she grumbled. "You sure, Tsukikawa?" Kirishima looked at her with quiet concern, relenting when she nodded decisively. Bakugo still had an irritated look on his face but sat down at the girl's submission. Miko gripped her pen tightly. She knew the hot head was right but it still irritated her. She didn't even have anything to defend herself with. She grit her teeth, she'd scribble in both heroes and find the next highest ranking one on her form.

She waited until the end of the day to submit her form. There was no rush and submitting early would've fried her nerves even more so. Present Mic was bothering Mr. Aizawa, which seemed normal for the two, who waved her along after she gingerly placed the sheet in a pan with other submissions. It was final. "Before I forget, pack a week's worth of necessities— toiletries, clothes, etc. You're free to make a daily commute, but since the agencies you've chosen are more than an hour's commute away from the school, arrangements should be made with them upon arrival. They're all aware they might have to house students for the week so make sure not to forget anything."

"Of course, Mr. Aizawa." She walked out with her chin in the air, almost jumping out of her skin when she heard someone's voice directly in her ear. "So you chose to intern with my old man. He's never shown interest in taking interns before so it's safe to assume he's only brought you along because of me," she heard to her left. Todoroki was leaning against the door with his arms crossed, a neutral look on his face as he cornered her. "A word of advice," he continued. "Don't take everything he says to heart." With that Todoroki walked away from the teacher's lounge, leaving an affronted Miko at the door. Huffing indignantly, she turned away and stalked her way home. Her grandmother would be expecting her for tea.


The sports bag she carried on her shoulder wasn't as heavy as it could have been had she not cut down on the number of clothes she packed. Lifting her fingers from their grip on her costume case, she wished Jiro luck on her internship before making her way onto her train. She had to admit that being friends with the girl (and Kaminari and Kirishima) made the train ride to Endeavor with Shoto fucking Todoroki a whole lot easier than it would've been had they not shared their music playlists with her earlier that week. Jiro's taste was unsurprising but enjoyable, and Miko found herself nodding along more than once.

Todoroki had done little more than acknowledge her with a small nod as they boarded. They didn't speak, but the teen still felt strange after he confronted her in front of the teacher's lounge earlier that week. He told her that she was only there because of him, and not to take anything Endeavor said to heart. She wasn't sure what he was trying to warn her about, and with her own brief conversation with the man at the festival, she could tell he was a hard ass who expected the absolute best from others. If there was one thing she knew about herself, it was that Miko Tsukikawa was a show off through and through. It wasn't so much for her own narcissism, but for the amusement and praise of others. As a child, this fixated on her little sister Riko, but it never failed to extend to others in areas in which she excelled (like gymnastics). She had no doubt she would find a way to impress Endeavor. Even still, she worried, she wasn't much of a thinker, in all reality, and she hoped that wouldn't hold her back. She understood things by experiencing them and associating those learned experiences with concepts. Hopefully, this internship would be enlightening.

Their stop came up sooner than expected. Todoroki didn't wait for her as he walked straight towards the cluster of buildings. Miko's brows furrowed, but she followed him anyway. The streets were busy but she was pleasantly surprised to see Endeavor already waiting for them at the entrance. He seemed pleased with their arrival.

"Good, you're here. Follow me."

Endeavor led them to a set of elevators and pressed the button for a floor that would likely take them to his office. The entire building screamed rich, which suited him just fine. Gold ornamentals, spacious high ceilings, looking more like a five star hotel than a pro hero's office. Crime solving and public service wouldn't look this good anywhere else. The ride up was tense and noticeably awkward. Miko was glad to be free to walk through the halls once they were out. Looking around at the expensive decor, she had to wonder if this was simply the benefits of taking on so many cases that no one else could or would take. Todoroki himself seemed accustomed to the grandiose atmosphere, which for all her starts as a privileged rich girl, Miko was still awed by the taste. Humility was not in Endeavor's vocabulary.

He stopped them in front of a pair of huge mahogany doors, not waiting for them to follow behind him. His office was huge, entirely empty save for his desk and a guest table about half a mile away in the great expanse of his space. Light filtering in from the massive floor to ceiling windows fell short of the crystal chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. He stopped and trend in front of his desk, and Miko automatically straightened when he faced them.

"I've been waiting for you, Shoto. You're finally ready to walk down the path of the mighty."

"I have no intention of following any path you've created. Only I can decide my future."

"Is that so?"

Miko coughed uncomfortably into her elbow at the exchange, causing Endeavor to glare at her. "Shoto, why don't you introduce yourself to the sidekicks. I'd like to have a word with your classmate." She straightened her back, but she was wholly unprepared for his next words.

"I have no interest in training anyone other than my Shoto," he said resolutely. So this is what Todoroki warned her about.

Trying her best not to blanch, she asked him as evenly as she could, "Then why did you invite me here?"

"I believed that having your presence here would remind Shoto that he needs both his sides to properly win in a fight instead of winning because his opponents are incapable. I'm allowing you the opportunity to observe, but nothing else."

Baffled, Miko remained silent, only able to respond with a simple, "Yes, sir."

"You'll join us today on patrol, but I trust that you'll remain out of the way while I instruct my Shoto."

She lowered her eyes, "Of course, sir."

Internally she was fuming. This whole internship was a setup, but she wouldn't allow something like that to get in the way of her learning something from what she was allowed to take part in. He walked her out of his office and addressed both his interns, "Change into your costumes and leave your belongings in the locker rooms. They'll be there when we return." She made a point to get out first, standing at attention in front of Endeavor. He eyed her disdainfully but otherwise ignored her presence. Minutely wilting internally at the non-verbal jab, she steeled herself. This was a golden opportunity and she had to impress him. It was only a week long and she'd prove herself worthy, or at the very least learn something from him. She lifted her chin when Todoroki begrudgingly saddled next to her, seemingly resigned to his father's presence.

She winced slightly, there wasn't much she could do about the awkward air between father and son but she'd have to work around it anyway. Endeavor cleared his throat, "We'll see what you're made of today. It's time I show you what it means to be a hero." Miko didn't have to be told that those words were not directed at her. Physically shaking it off, she pretended they were to avoid psyching herself out. The Flame Hero led them out towards the main entrance, neither speaking nor checking to see if his interns were following. His pace was brisk and not at all sympathetic to the children rushing behind him to keep up.

"We'll be going on patrol. Since neither of you are licensed, you'll do your best to stay out of the way and watch," he passed a meaningful plane at Miko. She did her best not to squirm under his stare. "For you, Shoto, this will be more useful since I'll be teaching you the basics of your flames. Girl— remain watchful and learn."

Their first patrol with the flame hero went as smoothly as it possibly could. The city was peaceful as ever and there weren't many demonstrations as it was Endeavor lecturing them while they strolled through the streets. "Both of you have good control of your quirks," Miko preened at the comment. "But you lack endurance. Tsukikawa, you have both fine control and the strength to wield powerful attacks, but your body can't sustain the use. Shoto— same for you. Your right side is powerful, but you must take the time to master your flames lest your body succumbs to the cold; or, you'll be stuck in a battle of endurance against villains like your match-up against Tsukikawa. Had you used your flames, you could have easily overwhelmed her, but instead, you had to outlast her clever maneuvering of your ice. In both cases, this is not something either of you should fall victim to as heroes." Both students glanced at each other at the mention of their match. It was something neither would be forgetting anytime soon. Miko stared up at Endeavor's back, considering. He said he wouldn't be teaching her, but here he was offering advice.

He continued his lecture, "There are heroes and agencies with specialized operations suited more towards their abilities, perfectly respectable, but my agency does no such thing. We specialize in the three hero basics: Suppression, Evacuation, Rescue. We work frequently with the police since our agency gets among the most case requests of most hero agencies and we solve the most cases every year."

Endeavor is kind of amazing, Miko thought to herself. As he continued to speak, she couldn't help but be more and more impressed with the hero. Her gaze unknowingly shifted to a look of awe as she and Todoroki followed him — a look which did not go unnoticed by the hero's son.

They spent the rest of the patrol evaluating different scenarios, how to best approach, what factors to keep in mind while in-operation, and what the processing would look like for both the agency and with the police. When they returned to the agency, Miko was beat. Her items were untouched in their temporary home at the agency's locker room and she was once again quick to change out of costume to impress her new mentor. When she stepped out, her hair was up in a high ponytail instead of twin buns to allow her scalp some sort of reprieve. Todoroki found her soon after, speaking to her for the first time that day. "Some of the dorms are still being used by the sidekicks who're supposed to move out. Their landlord needed more time to renovate their building so you'll be staying at my house for the week instead. I hope that's not too inconvenient for you."

Blessings from Benten, she could've smashed her head on the pavement. A whole week practically living at Todoroki's house? She still resented him for their match and for losing to Bakugo but she was already packed for a week's stay. Even if she could refuse, the commute from the agency to her home was impractical especially when he was clearly offering her more convenient lodging. Her smile was only slightly strained, "Not at all, Todoroki. I'd appreciate the room." Curse Japanese manners.

Endeavor offered them a ride to the house (his house!) in a town car, not unlike the one Miko's family owned. Based on the stiff awkward air surrounding father and son, she would've guessed that had she not been there, he would have refused. Still, she was grateful for the short trip, but if the offer came up again she'd politely refuse for his sake- if only to avoid the obvious tension between the two. She sighed in her seat, it was going to be a long week.

An iron gate opened as the car pulled up to the driveway, and she should have expected the sizable compound the Todoroki's lived in. It was admittedly a very nice home, and not unlike her own. Miko followed the pair inside, quietly murmuring, "Pardon the intrusion" when she found herself warmly greeted but a young woman with white hair flecked with red. "Welcome home! Oh, you must be Shoto's classmate. I'm Fuyumi Todoroki, but just call me Fuyumi to avoid confusion."

Blinking, she introduced herself. "I'm Miko Tsukikawa. It's nice to meet you," she bowed.

"Shoto why don't you clean up? Dinner's almost ready and I can show Tsukikawa to her room."

"Sure," he responded.

"Just follow me Tsukikawa, it's just down this hall." Fuyumi ushered her down a narrow hall past the living room. The room itself was clean and organized but obviously belonged to someone else. "This is Natuso's room. He's in college right now, so he's not home much. He won't mind you using the room anyway," she chuckled before looking away softly. "We would've opened the guest house for you, but Dad's currently using it to work out of."

"Thanks. Natsuo's your other brother?"

"Yes, he's the middle child. Do you have any siblings, Tsukikawa?"

Miko struggled for a moment, debating her answer. "I do. My little sister Kohaku." Fuyumi seemed to brighten at her answer. "Ah, so you can relate! It's hard being an older sister. Though I am a little jealous of you. I've always wanted a little sister!"

Miko laughed a little, momentarily forgetting her answer. "I'm not too sure it's that much different from having little brothers," she conceded. Fuyumi was quick to rebuttal, "Natsuo was rough around the edges as a kid. Still is actually. Shoto's much better behaved." Miko grimaced slightly. Learning about Todoroki through friendly conversation with his older sister was suddenly struck her as odd. The older girl noticed Miko's expression. "I take it you and Shoto aren't that close? It must be weird having to stay in our house then."

"We're really not. It's not like I don't appreciate your family's hospitality, it's just a little strange since he and I haven't spoken much."

"Maybe this is a good opportunity to get to know one another!" Fuyumi smiled brightly. Sobering a little, she leaned against the doorframe, "Truthfully, I'm glad you're here. Shoto doesn't talk much about school, and he's never had friends over before." She turned to Miko with strong eyes, "From one older sister to another, please take care of him!" The silver haired girl was floored for a moment, turquoise eyes widening but she agreed nonetheless. She understood Fuyumi's feelings.

The older girl chuckled abashedly, "Ah, well, I'll leave you to it then. I still have to finish dinner."

Miko spoke up before thinking, "I can help. I'm not the best cook but I can at least prepare the table." Fuyumi tried to argued but relented when she saw the younger girl's face. "Okay, fine. Take your time cleaning up. Shoto can get the table ready if you need some extra time."

Leaving her to her own devices, Fuyumi left Miko alone in her borrowed room.

"Tsukikawa," Todoroki caught her in the hall. The situation seemed all too familiar. "I'd like to apologize for the awkward exchanges you had to witness today. My father and I don't often see eye to eye."

She suppressed a groan and turned up her head, "That was pretty obvious. I won't lie and say I wasn't uncomfortable, but I appreciate the apology, Todoroki." At least he had manners. He nodded sympathetically, "I imagine having to spend the week at our house is also a little strange, but I hope it isn't too uncomfortable." She sighed heavily, mind racing. She thought about Fuyumi's confession. She still resented the boy for their match and his quirk, but she understood his sister's feelings. She really, really did. With a barely suppressed groan, Miko leveled the taller boy with a heavy stare. "Look, Todoroki," she started. "Since we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the week," and the rest of the school year, "let's be friends." She looked him directly in the eye, the weight of this decision could make or break the rest of this internship, and her stay at the Todoroki household. "Call me Miko."

He blinked in surprise, "If you're sure. Then, please, call me Shoto." The desire to squirm uncomfortably was great, but Miko managed. She could practically hear her grandmother's hiss in her ear. It was his hero name, and he didn't seem to put much stock in being called by his first name anyway. "Alright. Shoto then," the name still felt strange on her tongue. He didn't exactly smile but his aura didn't seem as heavy as before. Walking back towards the living room, the pair joined Fuyumi in the kitchen as she finished the remaining touches of their meal. Todo— Shoto showed her where the plates and utensils were and together they set up the table quickly and efficiently. The subtle calls of their first names didn't go unnoticed by the older female, who smiled quietly to herself with a satisfied, knowing grin.

Dinner was a quiet affair and Miko was glad she called the ceasefire between herself and Shoto. It was strange, calling him by his given name, but it seemed to ease him as did her permission to call her by her first name. She'd even allowed Fuyumi to call her by her first name— strange and wholly out of character, but she appreciated the older girl's presence and she might as well befriend her too since she was already living with her and eating her food.

She only slightly regretted allowing that when the girl first called her name.

Fuyumi had a very friendly personality. It gave Miko's polite conversation just enough to work with to make up for Shoto's quiet disposition and Endeavor's taciturn attitude. She learned that Fuyumi was a teacher and the oldest of her siblings. She took the role of caretaker but seemed to enjoy the position. Miko was tempted to ask about the absent mother, but from the tense atmosphere she'd already witnessed between the Flame hero and his son, she opted not to ask potential disaster inducing queries. She talked to them about gymnastics and her family's hospital — safe territory. Fuyumi revealed the brother — Natsuo — was actually studying healthcare and mentioned a desire to intern at Shinoda Hospitals. The silver haired girl offered to get information on their student programs, though she doubted they offered many undergraduate programs. Still, the offer was on the table.

Fuyumi rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I don't usually get to talk like this. You should get dressed for bed. I'm sure your internship has already tired you out. Not to mention my chatting your ear off," she apologized. Miko waved her hands gently, not at all bothered. "Don't mind it. I enjoyed the conversation, Fuyumi. Thanks again for the food, it was delicious!" The older girl smiled prettily and sent her to bed. Miko tried not to feel like a child when she did that, but Fuyumi had such a caring and nurturing aura it was hard not to appreciate her charm, and Miko had never had an older sister figure in her life.

She was gathering her toiletries in her arms when she heard a knock on her door. "You can take the bath first," Shoto said. "Thanks," she hummed. He nodded, turning away from her room, but his hand lingered. She looked at him quizzically, about to

"Miko," She jumped at the sound of her name. "Thank you— for tonight. Fuyumi…doesn't always get to enjoy herself like that." He turned to face her, and though he was looking at her, he seemed to look right through her, "Good night, Miko."

"Good night," she called back slowly, staring after him even after he left her. She gripped the items in her arms a little tighter. The events of the day and her conversations with his older sister had somewhat softened her opinion of the boy to her. She still resented him, but only less so. The girl sighed heavily. This wasn't something to contemplate at the moment. It was better to focus on learning as much as she could from his father and become a decent hero. Still, her mind wandered to the two siblings she'd spend the rest of the week with when she went to bed.

They woke up two hours before dawn to do practice katas in Endeavor's dojo. She was given little instruction and was simply expected to keep up. The girl was lucky he even remembered to include her in Shoto's training at all. Said boy murmured corrections to her, but she was managing just fine on her own. The help was appreciated if unnecessary. When Endeavor dismissed them to get ready for the second day of their shared internship, he wasn't glaring at her as much. He still said nothing to her but glanced at her appraisingly. She tried not to get her hopes up.

"You did well," Shoto murmured to her. "Thanks," she half smiled, her chin raising an inch. Tentatively, she added, "My father is a mixed martial artist. He taught me everything I know." If she really wanted to make good on their 'friendship' she'd give him tidbits of personal information. He nodded sagely, "That's how you managed to do so well at the sports festival." She scoffed derisively, "Not well enough to beat you." He didn't seem offended by that, and they left for breakfast in comfortable silence.

The next few days were filled with morning katas, quirk training between patrols, and heroics lessons when they were on patrol. It was an intensive amount of learning packed into a short period of time and Miko in particular was struggling with improving her quirk endurance. While Endeavor taught his son about their shared quirk, she was left to run circuits (an elaborate obstacle course) to improve her reaction time, quirk creativity, and though it sucked, she slowly but surely started seeing results. Their patrols were even getting more interesting. They'd assisted in a few robberies, broken up brawls, and even got caught up in a car chase. Her mentor himself was a taskmaster, strict, and expected 100% from them at all times. He seemed to warm up to her, only slightly, as he began to irritably call out her mistakes when she sparred with Shoto. If she didn't immediately correct herself, he'd force her to repeat her actions over and over until she was able to utilize a skill or technique in any and every situation he put her in, drilling it in until it was second nature.

"Mastery over one thing is not mastery until you can use it at any time, anywhere," he said to her once as he stood above her while she was sprawled on the ground after yet again failing her training circuit. "Is he always like this?" She asked Shoto when the Flame Hero left to fix a filing incident. "Yes," was he said. His face only slightly irritated now that his father had left. Miko had to admit, her time with the boy had begrudgingly not been as horrible as she expected as they developed a slow camaraderie under their mutual mentor's intense training regime.

They were once again alone, taking a break from quirk training when Miko finally built up the courage to ask Todoroki why he so vehemently refused to use his flames during their match. They were both heavily sweating, still catching their breath when Miko confronted him. She didn't care at the time, but Endeavor pointing out how easy it would've been to outclass her had his son simply used his flames against her left the girl curious as to the reason why. "My dad is obsessed with beating All Might," he started, avoiding Miko's eyes. "Since he couldn't do it himself, he used his money to arrange a quirk marriage with my mother to create a powerful child who could annex him as the number one hero." Her breath felt stuck in her throat. She watched him clench his fist before releasing it at his side as he continued. She was afraid he could hear how unsteady her breath was. "All the memories I have of my mother are of her crying." He paused briefly to put a hand against the scar on the left side of his face, reliving a painful memory. "She called my left side unbearable before pouring boiling water on my face."

Her eyes widened, but he didn't allow her time to process that as he powered on. "My old man is a scumbag. But he's a scumbag with the judgments and instincts of a number two hero...and I can acknowledge that."

It was immensely tragic, the life her new friend had to endure. Growing up in such a loving environment, Miko couldn't imagine the kind of trauma he must have suffered at the hands of his father's ambition. She remembered herself after taking a moment to absorb the information. "Thank you for sharing that with me," she said quietly. Trying to lighten the mood, she gave him her signature cocky grin, "Guess this means you'll have to drain him dry of all his knowledge if you're going to be a better man than him." She stood abruptly, dusting off her pants as she lifted her chin at him with an air of arrogance. "You'll have to beat me first, though. So bring all you've got, Shoto. I won't go down easily," despite her declaration, she outstretched her hand toward him meaningfully. He stared up at her, quietly taking her hand. Yes, she decided, she would do her best to keep her promise to Fuyumi; but this time, she'd do it for Shoto's sake as well.

They didn't talk about it again and she did her best not to mention it a second time. She was well aware of their strained relationship by this point, and now that she and the boy had developed a bit of a friendship, she struggled with her budding admiration of his father when he so obviously and rightfully resented the man and found herself wary of him. More often than not, they'd each found themselves quietly thankful that the other was there to help them endure it all.

They were on the streets patrolling as had become their routine when Endeavor received an urgent call. Miko could hear the frantic voice of one of his sidekicks on the other line. "Endeavor! The police in House city is requesting back up against a large group of villains! They have yet to detain them and the heroes are being overwhelmed!"

Miko and Shoto shared a glance from behind the hero. Endeavor turned to look back at them, "Prepare yourself, Shoto, Hydra. It's time to show you real hero work."