Immortālitās
Hello, friends. I wanted to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter out, and I apologize further that it's a little shorter than I would have liked. Back in December, I discovered that my current employer was getting rid of the position that I am currently holding and that I needed to start searching for a new job. On top of that, my father-in-law was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. I have not had the gusto that came with the previous chapters, and I hope as time continues to move forward it will slowly return. While I am uncertain as to how often this story will be updated for the foreseeable future, just know that it is not forgotten.
Chapter Seventeen
It was, finally, the first day of our Hero Agency Internships, and Aizawa had us all gathered at the train station to see that we would all leave for our districts on time.
Well, except for myself, because I'd be leaving the country entirely.
To my understanding, being allowed to leave Japan as a hero in training wasn't supposed to be a thing until after passing the licensing exam. I was informed that the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Heroic Affairs, which is similar to Japan's Hero Public Safety Commission, personally reached out to our school in order to make this happen. Seeing as this was a good opportunity to form relationships between the heroes of both nations, I was allotted an educational Hero Travel Visa to undergo the internship.
It sounded like a bunch of political beeswax, but it worked out in the end.
"You all have your costumes, yes?" Aizawa asked once we were all gathered up, and after he saw us all motion to our outfit cases, he continued to brief us. "You are not permitted to wear them in public unless instructed by your professional hero, so I hope you all remember that. Don't drop them or anything as well."
"Yessum!" Mina shouted excitedly.
"You should speak clearly!" Aizawa grunted. "You should say 'Yes, sir,' Ashido."
"Yes, sir," she muttered.
Ah, poor Mina.
"Keep in mind that you should always be at your best behavior when interacting with the heroes at your internships," our teacher sighed. "Now, off with you lot. Ivan, you stay behind."
"Yes, sir!" We chorused.
"Good luck, Ochaco." I smiled at the doe-eyed girl, and then looked at my other friends? Acquaintances? "You too, Izuku. Iida."
"Thank you, Ivan!" Izuku lifted his costume case in parting. "You as well! I hope you have safe travels!"
Iida simply nodded his head in reciprocation, and the two boys walked away.
"I'll miss you," Ochaco whispered to me. "I hope you get to Norway safely."
"The most dangerous thing about my flight is going to be the boredom," I poked her forehead. "Nearly thirteen hours. What am I going to do with myself?"
"Knowing you, you'll probably meditate." She smiled at me.
"You're probably right," I rubbed the back of my neck. "But you should get going, you don't want to be late on your first day!"
"You're right!" She squeaked and turn to leave.
Before she took off, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug.
"I'll miss you, too," I squeezed her lightly. "Be safe."
"I will be," she quickly hugged me back before turning to leave again. "Bye, Ivan!"
"Bye, Ochaco!" I waved at her. "Kick some villain booty for me!"
"I will!" She giggled and turned to run after the other two boys. "You do the same!"
I watched her until she was longer visible.
"You two have gotten rather close," Aizawa stood behind me.
"Is there something wrong with that, Sensei?" I asked the older man.
"Rationally, yes," he responded bluntly. "But as long as you remember your priorities, then technically no. That's not going to be a problem for you, is it, Ivan?"
"No, sir," I shook my head.
"Make sure it stays that way," he turned towards the doors and I followed him. "Now, your ride should be here any minute. I believe I shouldn't have to remind you that even though you will not be in Japan for the duration of your internship, you will act according to any of the laws restricting you as a trainee hero?"
"I will be nothing but exemplary," he turned to look at me. "Sir."
He faced forward and just as we stepped outside, a black vehicle rolled up to the curb in front of us. The windows were completely tinted, so it was nigh impossible to inside. The exterior itself was a matte black, and the hood of the car was emblazoned with a white animal's paw print, a large 'B' was at its center.
It looks like my ride has arrived.
The driver's door opened, and a fierce-looking man stepped out and nodded his head toward us in acknowledgment before walking over and opening the rear driver-side door. A beautiful blonde woman slid out of the backseat and smiled at us. Her hair was up in a neat bun, and she wore high-waisted black pants that were coupled with a flowery blouse and black blazer.
"You must be Mr. Eraserhead," her black heels clicked as she walked over. "I am Freya, Bjørn's personal assistant. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She stopped in front of us and offered her hand, I quickly peeked at the man who appeared to be hesitating to offer the same.
Sensei?
"Likewise," he eventually muttered and grasped Freya's hand.
She smiled lightly at him before they released their handshake, and then she turned her gaze to me. Our eyes met and for a split-second, I froze as the memory of bright headlights passed through my mind, electric blue eyes staring at me through watery tears. I regained my composure just as quickly as I lost it, but I could tell that the adults in my company noticed the minute slip-up.
"You must be Ivan," she offered me her hand and I took it. "You were quite the sight to behold during the U.A. Sports Festival. Everyone at the Bjørn Agency is looking forward to working with you."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You don't have to call me ma'am," she beckoned for the man who was driving the car earlier to approach. "Just call me Freya if you'd like."
"Miss Freya, then."
"I know a few people in my life that could use your manners," she laughed and then motioned towards the fierce-looking driver. "This is Osmond. He's Bjørn's personal chauffeur and will be overseeing your stay in Norway. Osmond, if you could load Ivan's things in the car?"
"Of course, my lady."
Osmond walked closer to me and I let him take all my luggage.
Miss Freya turned her attention back to Aizawa.
"Everything appears to be in order," she hummed. "If there's nothing left to be discussed, I'd like to whisk young Ivan away. We're on a tight schedule after all."
"Yes, of course," he muttered. "But first, I assume you'll be handling the correspondence between U.A. and the Bjørn Agency?"
"As Bjørn's personal assistant, all of the daily updates requested by U.A. on Ivan's status will be personally handled by myself."
"I look forward to hearing from you, then," the scruffy teacher smirked before walking away.
Wait.
Was I imagining things?
Aizawa did not just smirk.
I rubbed my eyes.
I must be seeing things today.
"Are you ready to get going, Ivan?" Freya gestured towards the vehicle and I nodded.
"Let's do this!"
-|I|-
"How are you feeling about leaving the country?"
I glanced at Freya as we drove up to a security fence to reach the landing strips behind the large airport.
"I'd have to say I'm rather excited," I smiled at the blonde woman and listened to Osmond as he spoke with the guard manning the fence. "My mother was from Norway, so it'll be nice visiting her homeland."
"Hmm," Freya hummed as the guard gave Osmond the 'OK' to drive ahead. "I'm sorry your mother is no longer with us, I'm sure she'd be delighted to know you were visiting the place she was born."
"I don't know," I huffed. "She didn't talk much about Norway, only mentioned some things here and there. It was like she avoided it."
"I'm sure she had her reasons," Freya's eyes took an odd glint to them as we pulled up to a personal-sized jet. "But I did not mean to take our conversation down such a sad slope, come, it's time we board our plane!"
Osmond turned the car off and stepped out to open the door for us. Once we were both out of the vehicle, he shut the door and went straight for the plane.
"Should we get the luggage?" I looked at Freya, confused.
"No need," Freya smiled at me and placed her hand upon the hood of the car.
My eyes widened as near-instantly, the car we were just riding in was the size of a little toy model.
"Wow," I exclaimed as Freya went to pick the little car up. "Your Quirk must be super helpful! What happens to the items inside? Or if we were still inside? Does it work on people?"
She laughed at my quick-fired questions but waved me towards the jet.
"I can answer all your questions once we are aboard the plane, Ivan."
"Yes, ma'am! I mean miss!"
I ran up the stairs to the door and walked inside.
The interior is very...luxurious.
It almost made me feel uncomfortable being inside the plane. It felt like it was too nice for me.
"Is something the matter?" Freya placed her hand on my shoulder.
"No!" I quickly moved forward and took a seat on one of the recliner chairs next to a window. "I'm just not used to...this."
"It does take some getting used to," she sat down in one of the seats across from me and Osmond got the jet ready to take off. "If it'd help to ease your mind, I can answer some of the questions you have about my Quirk if you'd like?"
"That would be great!" I smiled again. "Your Quirk shrinks things?"
"That it does," she grabbed a small glass that was next to her and it shrunk in her hand. "Simple, isn't it?"
"Even the simplest of Quirks can do great things!" I studied the small glass in her hand. "How small can you shrink items to?"
"As small as I'd like," I watched as the glass in her hand began to get smaller until it completely vanished.
"Woah!" I yelped, "What just happened? Did it shrink out of existence?"
"Not necessarily," she responded lightly before the glass was instantly back in her hand. "It was just too small for the human eye to see."
"So after you deactivate your quirk, it goes back to its normal size!" She confirmed my statement with a nod. "That's so cool! Can your Quirk work on living things as well? Or just inanimate objects?"
"The only thing I cannot use my Quirk on is another person," she places the glass from where she grabbed it from. "Not that I can't, necessarily, it just gets a little messy."
"Messy?"
"The last person I used my Quirk on became a blob of red goop on the floor."
I stared at her as if she didn't just mention she killed someone.
"The person was not innocent," she sighed. "There's quite a lot a person can do for the people they love."
I opened my mouth and then closed it again.
"I can't say I disagree with that," I grimaced a bit. "I just can't imagine it being a very pleasant way to go."
"I would hope not," she hummed once more and then shrugged. "But it was instantaneous."
She is now very scary.
"What would happen if you shrank something while we were in it?"
"Like this?"
I tightened my grip on my chair and waited for my life to come to an end.
Freya laughed and I opened my eyes.
What in the world?
I looked out the window and my breath caught in my throat.
"Interesting, isn't it?" She asked me. "I'm not quite sure how this is possible, considering I can't physically shrink people, but somehow it works when inside a construct."
"This is Osmond speaking," Osmond's voice came through the speakers above us. "I am informing you that we will be taking off shortly. My lady, I ask that you return us to our natural state before the others become frantic."
"Oh!" I took my phone out of my pocket and nearly dropped it after noticing us popping back to normality. "I need to let my friends know that we're about to take off!"
Well, one friend.
I: Hey, Ochaco! I don't know when you'll get a chance to read this, but I'm just about to head off to Norway. The jet we're taking is really fancy, and I kind of feel out of place. I hope your first day at the Gunhead Agency treats you well!
"A friend, hmm?" Freya wiggled her eyebrow with a smirk.
"Of course!" I rub the back of my neck. "Need to let the boys know what's up!"
"The boys," she laughs. "Of course."
She sees right through me, doesn't she?
"What's Bjørn like?" I needed to change the topic.
"There's a lot to say in response to that question," she responded with a gentle smile. "He's strong, amazingly so, yet very gentle. His presence demands your respect but he is no fearmonger. His loyalty to the people of Norway knows no bounds, and they feed off his compassion. He's courageous, wise, dedicated, and so much more. He's the greatest man I know."
"It sounds like you respect him greatly."
"Of course I do," she then laughs. "But there's more to him than just his heroic side. As he says, we must never forget that we are all human. He loves to laugh, but the poor man is horrible at making jokes. He's a big family man as well. He cherishes nothing greater than his family."
"Does he have a large family?"
"No," she shakes her head. "He has a wife and two children, but they are his world. He would do anything for them, and they the same."
I feel a small pain in my chest, but I force it to go away.
Family.
"I can't wait to meet him."
"Oh, Ivan," she says whimsically as the jet begins to take off. "Neither can he, you."
Goodbye Japan, hello Norway? I wonder what possibly could happen next.
TTFN.