"Finally a day off!" Kaminari said with a grin as he brushed his teeth.
"Don't do that in the kitchen," Uraraka said with a frown at the boy as she sat with Asui and Kirishima at a table in the kitchen.
"But it's exciting, what should we do today? These kinds of things are rare." Kaminari sighed out and Kirishima let out a laugh. "But I guess I should go to Yaomomo's study session." the boy sighed out before spitting in the sink.
"Gross! Wash that out!" Uraraka called out at him as she sipped from a mug of tea.
"Todo," Kirishima called out as Todoroki walked through the kitchen to head to the door while wearing his uniform. "You heading out today too?"
"Provisional license training." Todoroki told them all as he slipped his shoes onto his feet. "They're on the weekends, so I've got no free time anymore. But I've got to catch up to you all as soon as possible," He looked back at the others who were smiling at him warmly.
"Have fun, Icy Hot." Kasuki said as he walked out of the boys elevator and into the kitchen, grinning triumphantly at Todoroki. "Try not to give anyone the cold shoulder."
"Try not to explode the city." Todoroki shot back as he opened up the door, and gave Katsuki an icy look.
"You guys, come on." Kirishima laughed nervously before there was a thunk over by the elevators.
"WAAAH!" They watched Izuku scramble up off the ground as she pulled her bag on her shoulders, "Shouchan hold the door!" She called out as she started to glow golden and red while she ran at them, her gaze focused.
"Deku-chan, good m-" Kirishima started as she slid across the floor and kicked her slippers off her feet.
"MORNING!" She shouted as she jumped into her shoes and waved a hand as she took off out the door at top speed.
"... Where's she off to in such a hurry?" Uraraka asked curiously as they watched Izuku run away.
"Internship." Katsuki muttered out darkly as he grabbed some coffee.
"Hah, she have a step up over you?" Kaminari asked as he looked over at the explosive boy who shot him a dark glare. "It's okay man, let's play video games today!"
"Actually, we've got something to do today too." Kirishima said with a toothy grin up the blonde boy who looked at the group curiously.
"MIRIO-SENPAAAAAAI! WAIT UP!" They heard Izuku's cry from the open window looked at it curiously, before they heard an explosion and a mug breaking.
"Midorichan! Good Morning!" Mirio laughed out as she ran towards him as he stood at the gates. "Got everything you need? Costume and stuff?" He asked and she nodded her head, grinning brightly up at him. The two of them left the school grounds and headed towards the train station together. "Sir's office is an hour away by train." He said as they got on and Izuku sat down next to him on the train. "You look like you're a little more than just excited to be going!"
"Well, I just can't believe I'm going to be treated like an actual hero." she said with a big grin on her face. "This is... It's unbelievable really. It's my dream coming true..." she looked up at Mirio, and saw him grinning back at her. "I've worked so hard for this, I can't help but feel full of energy... I could hardly sleep last night."
"Here it is." Mirio pointed up at what looked like a normal office building from the outside, and Izuku looked up at it with wide eyes. "The Nighteye Agency!" Izuku gripped the straps on her bag tightly as she looked up at the building, and felt a nervous sweat on her cheek now. She was about to meet Sir Nighteye... All Might's former sidekick... She felt herself stiffen up a bit. "Hey now, don't be too formal! You were so excited a second ago!"
"S-Sorry..." Izuku smiled up at Mirio nervously, before looking back at the hero office.
"Ah, I failed to mention something before..." Mirio said with a thought and Izuku frowned up at him. "Sir is quite strict."
"I'm aware," Izuku said as she took a deep breath. "He's tough on himself and others... He's a hero famous for doing his jobs with a stoic demeanor. Even from the other side screen his sharp glare sends chills down my spine..."
"I guess there's all that." Mirio said with a laugh and she watched him look up at the office, before he looked back at her, grinning. "But he's got another side to him that he doesn't show the media! If you don't want to be turned away at the front door, from now until you're done talking with him... It's absolutely imperative that you make him laugh at least once."
"HUH?!" Izuku felt her face pale at that as she looked up at Mirio, before he started heading inside the building. He pulled open the entrance door and she hurried after him. "Wh-wat's that mean? Meake him laugh...?"
"You see, Sir is... Uh." Mirio looked up at the ceiling in thought as they walked down the hallway. "Above all else, he holds humor in high regard. The most I can do for you is an introduction." Mirio grinned back at her and she swallowed her nerves now. "Sir will be the one to decide whether or not you'll be of use to him. I want to help you as much as I can but..." He looked off down the hall and Izuku frowned. "From here on out, you've got no choice but to make sir acknowledge you on your own."
"Hmm..." Izuku looked down at her feet as she walked, Mirio had been so helpful to her. He had taken it upon himself to help her out with an introduction... "I uhm... I know it's a little late to ask this, but..." She looked up at Mirio. "Why are you being so good to me, senpai? Even though we just met... And suddenly being asked to do this..."
"It's not as if I was trying to be good to you or anything but..." Mirio looked back at her and she gripped the straps of her bag tightly. "You've got a crazy objective, and you're doing your absolute best to realize that. After everything that you've been through, well... If there's some one in trouble or needs help... Meddling is a standard protocol for a Hero, isn't it?" He grinned and let out a laugh. Izuku smiled back at him and let out her own laugh, knowing she'd heard those words before.
"NOW THEN!" She jumped a bit as he stopped and pointed at a door that was at the end of the hall. "It's just beyond that door! If you wish to become stronger, then you must open it on your own!"
"... Got it." Izuku let go of the straps on her shoulders, and she clenched her fists. She took a deep breath as she looked at the door, before she lifted her head up proudly, and steeled her nerves. She walked towards it, and reached out to the door. This was her dream, she had to do everything she could to achieve it. No matter what lay beyond this door, she was ready to take on anything to climb to the top. She grabbed the door handle and turned it, before pushing it open.
"HEY THERE!" Mirio called out happily as they stepped inside. "I brought the first year I told you about yesterday, Sir!"
"Indeed... It seems you can let out a loud laugh after all." Izuku paled in horror at what she had walked in on. A girl with dark skin and a revealing hero costume was strapped to some kind of metal machine, while being tickled by feathers as a tall man in a pressed light gray suit watched her cackle with laughter and tears.
"WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!" Izuku cried out in shock at the scene, and almost lost all her drive.
"PLEASE STOP!" The girl cried out in tears as she continued to laugh from the torture. "PLEASE! FORGIVE MEHYAHAHAHAHA!"
"Ah," Izuku looked back at Mirio as he let out a snort of laughter. "Bubble girl, his side kick. It seems she didn't have enough humor did she?" Izuku frowned at her senpai, before she looked back at the man in the room. He turned his head to look over at her, and Izuku felt like she had been hit by Todoroki's quirk as he gazed at her with that icy glare.
"Hah..." she felt a shiver down her spine and clenched her fists tightly. He ws way more intense in the flesh... she ground her teeth together as she remembered Mirio's words about making him laugh. She couldn't fail here... She needed to become stronger, but how could she make this guy laugh? She'd only ever made her friends laugh by accident... She remembered a time she made Kirishima and Kaminari howl with laughter as she showed Uraraka her All Might impression... Yes... That was it.. She brought her hands up to her face as she played with her hair and her muscles on her face. She needed to do this in order to become the number one hero...
"I'M IZUKU MIDORIYA!" Izuku grinned at Nighteye proudly with her All Might impression. Due to her admiration towards the hero, she'd practiced this in the mirror for years. She had absolutely no sense of humor, she had no idea how to make anyone laugh on purpose... If he didn't laugh at this, there was no way should could become Nighteye's intern... She was confident that this expression mirrored All Might exactly.
"... Are you making fun of All Might?" Izuku felt her whole being freeze over in horror as she saw the dark glare from Nighteye. She felt a nervous sweat drip down her neck as she did her best to hold up the expression anyways. She almost started to shake in fear as Nighteye approached her, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he did so. "You little brat... What are you playing at, wearing that face?" He demanded from her and Izuku took a step back as he got closer. She couldn't let this expression fall, it was years of hard work. "Are you in shock? Having realized that I'm All Might's former sidekick...?"
"Ah uhm..." Izuku could feel her nerves slipping as her hands shook a bit. "I... That is..."
"All Might doesn't have wrinkles like these!" Izuku froze in shock as Nighteye grabbed at her face and pushed on her cheeks, ruining her impression of her hero. "For his normal face, the wrinkles beneath his eyes are approximately 0.6 cm! And from the silver age on, 0.8 cm! Nowadays even non-licensed merchandise is made so that one can easily identify which era it's modeled after!"
"H-Hold on a...!" Izuku cried out as he continued to push and pull at her face with his long fingers. She looked around the room in a panic, and her eyes widened in awe. Everywhere she looked, she could see All Might merchandise. Books, DVD's, postes, action figures... And the poser on the far wall... there was no way, that was the not-for-sale 10th anniversary tapestry! She had wanted it so bad... There was no mistaking it... This guy was with out a doubt, an All Might Super Fan!
"How utterly offensive." Nighteye turned away from her after destroying her impression, and she rubbed at her jaw with her hand as she looked up at his back. "I'm afraid I must ask you to leave..."
"The Vinegar Suicide Incident..." Izuku clenched her fists tightly as she looked at the Hero's back. "Are you not aware of it...?" She asked him challengingly. She saw his head turn, and his eyes glance back at her as she spoke... She had him. "A middle schooler with a quirk that could alter the properties of water... They were drowning in a river. That was the name given to the incident after All Might rescued them." She stood up straight, and looked at Nighteye with her steeled gaze. "The Middle schooler entered a state of panic and changed the water to vinegar, but All Might jumped in anyways, and suffered damage to his eyes." She felt a grin pull at her lips. "THAT SMILE!" She said, as she pointed a finger at Nighteye, "The one he showed during the interview immediately afterwards as he was squinting his eyes... That, was the face I chose for my impression."
"Of course I'm well aware." Nighteye turned his head away from her and she swallowed her nerves again. "It occurred after I paired up with him after all, the NHA television special, Looking back on the Old Days touched upon it briefly."
"There were no villains involved, and compared to the rest of his accomplishments it was unremarkable." Izuku smiled brightly as she spoke, "Even on fansites it would seldom be brought up, but I happen to really like it..." she laughed a bit and held up her hands, "In particular the line that All Might said after this Middle schooler thanks him was so witty!"
"Don't mention it! Thanks to you my skin looks ten years younger!" Izuku and Nighteye spoke at the same time, and Izuku grinned at him brightly.
"Exactly! The precious skin part was just perfect!" She said with a laugh as she looked up into Nighteye's eyes and he gave her a piercing glare.
"You little... Were you testing me?" He asked in a cold tone and Izuku waved her hands around worriedly.
"Not at all!" She said with a panic, but she held up her grin. "But uhm... You see... The Man himself is always at my school, so it's kind of hard for me to ah, nerd out about him... I got excited, and before I knew it..." She smiled at him nervously as he looked at her.
"The crux of that incident was the Middle schooler's background." Nighteye said as he crossed his arms.
"Right!" Iuku said excitedly and grinned again. "The weight of his words is completely ddifferent for those who know about it and those who don't!"
"Alright..." Izuku watched as Nighteye walked over to his desk, and she looked over at Mirio as he helped Bubble girl off the machine that said Tickle Hell. He smiled back at her and she looked over at Nighteye as he took a seat at his desk. She walked over to it nervously as he looked up at her, tenting his long fingers on top of his desk. "In order to exceed your current level of strength, you wish to intern under me, is that right?"
"Yes sir!" She stood straight as she looked at him. "I beg of you!"
"About the contract..." Nighteye started and Izuku pulled it out of her bag and held it out to him. "If I provide my stamp on that sheet of paper, the contract will be made official."
"That's right..." Izuku nodded her head to him as he took the paper from her hands and held up his stamp.
"This is far from your usual carefree internship you know." Izuku nodded her head as Nighteye spoke and hugged her backpack to her chest. "At the very least, you'll be employed for over a month. Of course you'll receive compensation, but you are still a first year with a large class load. You will be forced to take many authorized absences, and you might not be able to keep up with your classmates."
"... I have confidence that I can keep up, sir." She looked down at the paper in his hand as he lay it on his desk. "I have to match everyone else's pace, then exceed it... Or I'll never make it to the top." she looked up at Nighteye as he stared at her coldly, before he lifted his stamp up. She looked at it nervously, before he slammed it on the desk, making her jump a bit. She looked down at the desk, seeing he had stamped the wood instead of her contract. "Uhm..." she paled a bit, and looked up at Nighteye, "You... Missed..."
"That's because I don't feel like stamping it." Nighteye said as he slammed the stamp on the desk over and over. Izuku felt nervous again as he looked at her. "I'm already well aware of the merits you would reap from working here. However how am I benefited by employing you? This office gets by just fine with two sidekicks and one student intern. How exactly would I profit from taking you in? What can you contribute to society?" Izuku looked into his cold eyes with wide eyes as he questioned her, and slowly relaxed her hug around her bag. "How can you be of benefit to others? If you wish for me to acknowledge you, you must demonstrate that to me." Nighteye stood up from his chair and walked around the desk, looking down at her. "All Might demonstrated it using his abundant power and humor. He granted hope to those frightened by crime and that is why the masses accepted him."
"... How...?" She almost dropped her bag as she looked up at the hero in front of her. "Can I be useful to society...?" She asked and clenched her bag tightly in her grip. She had never thought about that, she just wanted to help people to the best of her ability, she wanted people to feel safe when she was around.. but how could she do that?
"What profits can my company gain from your presence?" Nighteye asked her as he crossed his arms. "You are to demonstrate that to me, not with words but actions." He held up his stamp and Izuku looked over at it, "Three minutes. I challenge you to take this stamp from me in three minutes."
"Huh...?" Izuku frowned as she looked up at the hero with wide eyes.
"In other words," He spun the stamp with his fingers and she ground her teeth together. "I'm giving you a chance, in spite of the fact that you don't have a humorous bone in your body. How about that? Aren't I nice? If you want to work here as a hero, then stamp your paper by yourself." He looked over at Mirio and Bubble Girl, and Izuku looked to them too, frowning a bit. "Could you two leave at once?" He asked. Izuku frowned as they left, closing the door behind them. She looked up at Nighteye as he looked back at her. She tossed her back down onto floor, and stepped back away from him. She knew of Nighteye's quirk, Foresight. Clearing this kind of trial was going to be impossible...
"Not to worry, I won't lay a hand on you." Nighteye said as he topped the stamp up in his hand and caught it with ease. "You are free to attack me however you'd like. I care not what happens to this room, now try and take it."
"Alright..." Izuku bent at her knee's and took a deep breath. She clenched her as she touched her other hand to the ground, and focused. She activated One for All in full cowl, and felt her skin electrify with her muscles, before she kicked off the ground with a bang and went right for Nighteye.
"A full frontal assault..." Nighteye said simply as she narrowed her eyes at him, before her feet touched the ground in front of him. She jumped up over him, and swiped her hand at his, trying to grab the stamp. "Or so you'd like me to think, but actually... You'll launch a different attack." He moved his hand out of her way and Izuku groaned as she landed on his desk behind him with both her feet. She backflipped over him, reaching out for the stamp again as she spun in the air about the man, but he moved once more. "I've seen through it all,"
"Shit..." she landed on the ground and slid across the waxed floor as she turned to look back at Nighteye, before kicking off the ground again. It was as she thought, he saw her every move with his quirk... She needed to launch as any moves as she could..." She reached out her hand to swipe at his hand once more, before landing on the wall. She jumped at him again and again, never stopping, always trying to snatch the stamp from his hand.
"For now, you should put some distance between us." Nighteye spoke as she slid across the floor again, huffing as she looked up at him. "And do fret," She looked at him wide eyes as he held up the stamp up in his fingers. "At the reality that, you cannot possibly prevail over my Foresight."
"damn..." she clenched her fists as she looked at Nighteye, and bit her lip. Simply increasing her attacks wasn't getting her anywhere, it had already been a full minute. There had to be something she could do to slip through it...
"You know, I had high expectations s to what kind of person you would be, but..." Izuku looked up at Nighteye, and started to wonder where he was going with this... "although you do hold power reminiscent of the symbol, you are in every sense of the word, mediocre. The villains have all grown enthusiastic. In these ties, where we've begun to see shadows on the horizon, it's as I thought." She looked into Nighteye's cold gave and felt her blood run cold, "Mirio should have been the one to inherit One for All."
"... One For All...?" Izuku clenched her fists tightly as she felt her being crackle with power. "M-Mirio-senpai was...?" She stood up straight and frowned.
"Even now, I have immense respect and affection for All Might." Nighteye sighed out as he looked down at the stamp in his fingers. "but Purey on the matter of his successor... Although it was his will, I cannot fathom his intentions."
"What...?" Izuku was confused, she had never heard of this before. She admired her senpai, that was for sure but this was... Did Mirio know? Nighteye and even All Might held him in that high of a regard? Wait... Was All Might aware of this too? Then why hadn't he told her... Why...
"Do you really have the leisure to spend so much time mulling things over?" Nighteye ashed her and she clenched her fists tighter. She felt stain in her right arm and ground her teeth together. "Or could it be you're tired? You've run out of ideas? When Mirio said he wanted to introduce you to me, I was surprised to say the least. A small girl who got attacked right after getting her license..." She looked up into Nighteyes cold gaze again and felt her heart drop. "There is someone much more worthy of One for All, I do not acknowledge you in the slightest."
"Hah..." Izuku let out a laugh as she looked at the hero, and clenched her fists tighter, feeling the muscles in her arm strain even more. He had a point, what kind of hero got attacked so easily? But...
You can become a Hero.
"That's right..." She muttered out to herself as she flexed her muscles and crouched down. She could feel more of One for All filling up her body. The words that All Might spoke to her that day, they meant everything to her... She needed to surpass Nighteye... she had to push out everything she had, so that he couldn't see it. She couldn't let him shake her faith in All Might, and everything that had happened until this day. She launched off the ground with the bang as she thought back to how Gran Torino moved to train her. She bounced off all the walls, the ceiling, the floor and the furniture. "I'LL BE STAMPING THOSE PAPERS NOW!" she shouted out at Nighteye, making eye contact with him as she shot around at top speed.
"It's as if your a gimpy Gran Torino." Nighteye commented with a scoff. "You're slow, this is meaningless." She clenched her fists as she forced herself to pick up speed with each kick off the surfaces she landed on. She had no idea how far ahead Nighteye could see, she didn't know the details of his quirk, but she needed to be faster. There was no way she was leaving with out the last word.
"So Long as the conditions are met," She dove towards the hero, stretching her hand out to his so she could grab the stamp. "Whether its a second from now, a minute, or an hour." His hand moved out of the way of hers, and bonked the top of her head softly as she dove past him. "I can see exactly where you are, and what you're doing."
"SHIT!" She landed on the ground, cracking the tile a bit as she spun and dove at him again.
"by the way," He leaned out of her attack as she swiped her arms out at him. "In about two minutes you'll be cowering on the ground with a stampless form in your hand."
"DAMN!" She spun in the air, and looked back at him.
"You've had an uneasy expression on your face this whole time, that should have been the first thing All Might taught you." Nighteye told her as he showed her the stamp again. "Those who stand at the top do not show hesitation or uncertainty. Those who understand that carry their vision with them as they act! Weren't you saying you'd make me acknowledge you? You can't even smile in the face od adversity. The more I look at you, the more unconvinced I am that it should have been you."
"Tch..." she landed on a wall with a thunk beside a book shelf. She glanced at it, seeing it wasn't All Might merch, and looked back at Nighteye. "HE TOLD ME THAT I COULD BECOME IT!" She shouted as she reached her hand out to grab the top of the bookshelf.
"Become what?" Nighteye asked as he stood up straight and looked at her. "A member of the riffraff?"
"NO!" Izuku shouted back, as she gripped the shelf wit her hands. "THE GREATEST HERO!" She pulled at the heavy piece of furniture, before she swung it with all her being. The books scattered about in the air, like a heavy snowfall, blocking his view of her. "Sorry but, you said you didn't care what happened to this room, right?!" She called out, before she shot off the wall through the cover she created for herself. His choice of words... Where and what she was doing... What exactly was he seeing? All the conditions of the future or her behavior? She shot through the flurry of books and papers as she set her sights on the stamp through it all. His sight shouldn't be able to predict the objects flying around at random... She reached her hands out towards the stamp, her fingers started to close around it. "I AM ALL MIGHTS DESCIPLE!" She shouted as her hands closed.
"What I can see, does not change." Nighteye said simply as he moved the stamp out of her fingers at the last second, and they clasped around nothing. She was still mid jump and she felt determination boil inside of her chest.
"I'm not done yet...!" She shouted in frustration, before her eyes widened at the oncoming wall in front of her. She stuck her legs out to kick off it, but made eye contact with the poster of All Might grinning at her. "SHIT!" She pulled her legs back, and hit the blank wall above it hard with her right shoulder. She groaned out in pain as she fell down on top of a book shelf bellow her, breaking the wood and scattering more books. "I... I'm not...!" She pushed herself up off the pile of books and wood and looked up at Nighteye.
"Times up." He said simply and Izuku felt her whole face pale in shock. "Three minutes have passed. Disciple? Hearing that makes me sick..." Izuku clenched her fists as she looked at Nighteye, before lowering her head. She felt tears burning in her eyes and start to form as he spoke. "With just one of your plans foiled, you become an unsightly mess. Did you lose your focus?"
"No I... I didn't..." She rubbed at her eyes with her fingers as she looked at the ground.
"Then what? A mistake?" Nighteye asked with a sigh and Izuku clenched her fists, feeling the tears burn more in her eyes.
"The ten year anniversary commemorative All Might hero poster..." She choked out through her tears. "I didn't want to step on it..." She rubbed the rest of the tears out of her eyes, trying to gather her wits about herself again as she sat back on her legs and looked up at the room around her.
"You... While jetting around like Gran Torino..." Nighteye spoke as she looked around at all the footprints she left on the walls and ceiling. She bowed her head in shame, hearing a muffled sound come from Nighteye. There was no way she could step on all of the merchandise she admired. Half of it she owned herself, but a lot of it was extremely rare. It didn't matter how angry or upset she was, she couldn't step on any of it.
"SORRY FOR INTERUPTING!" Izuku let out a sigh as Mirio came back in the room with Bubble Girl. She couldn't look at him, not after he went to so much trouble to help her. "Are you finishes? We heard quite the commotion!"
"She's Employed, Mirio." Izuku looked up in shock as Nighteye spoke and her jaw dropped.
"WHOA! YOU DID IT!" Mirio shouted with a grin and Izuku looked over at him with wide eyes. "That's so awesome, Midorichan! Way to go!"
"Wait... But..." Izuku looked up at Nighteye as she went to stand up. "I totally failed to do anything!"
"I said I would give you the stamp if you could take it from me." Nighteye told her simply as he looked over at her. "But I didn't say I wouldn't if you weren't able to."
"A-Are you serious...?" Izuku asked as she fell back down onto her knees half way through getting upt and put her hands on her face.
"Hey hey," Mirio laughed out as he looked over at Nighteye. "You were laughing, weren't you, Sir?"
"The moment I head that you were coming here, I had already made the decision to employ you." Nighteye said simply and Izuku looked up at him after pulling her hands off her face. "I knew that you would be of no use to me." She frowned at that while he walked over to her. "however, this still doesn't mean I've acknowledged you."
"But I..." Izuku looked up at Nighteye as he handed her the contract and she took it with one of her hands.
"All the citizens of this world, without their symbol... They are not looking for a faint light. They are looking for a dazzling one. Even if it means opposing His thoughts... I intend to make clear in the pro setting, who exactly is befitting of that power." Izuku felt her mouth drop open as he dropped the stamp into her other hand and she looked down at it.
"... Then," She clenched the stamp in her hand tightly. "I'm looking forward to working with you." She looked back up at Nighteye, steeling her gaze. She knew he was aiming to make her give up, but that was exactly why she couldn't back down now. She took the stamp in her hand, and put it on her contract for him. She was the one chosen by All Might, even if he refused to acknowledge it, even if he wanted Mirio to be the next symbol of peace... She had to show him she was capable.
"Midorichan, you ready?" Izuku stepped out of the changing room in the agency dressed in her hero costume. She was tying the mask over her eyes when she looked over at Mirio who was waiting for her in hallway. It was her first actual day on the job, and she was going to go out on patrol with him. She smiled a bit at the sight of his hero costume. Black pants and boots, a long red cape and a visor over his eyes, but her favorite part was his shirt. It had the number 1 000 000 across what would have just been a plain white shirt that showed his toned muscles. "Wow, that's one heck of a costume!" He pointed a finger at her, and Izuku blushed a bit as she pulled at her metal mouth guard. "You look really tough now!"
"Thanks," Izuku laughed as she followed him to the front door of of the building. She could hear her iron boots clunking on the ground as they walked, and she clenched her right fist.
"Today is patrol and surveillance," Mirio told her with a grin and Izuku looked up at him curiously.
"Today we'll split into pairs." They stopped in the entrance as Nighteye spoke to them and she stood straight next to Mirio. "Bubble Girl and myself will head off alone, while you are with Mirio." He pointed a long finger at her and Izuku nodded her head.
"Are we looking for something in particular?" Izuku asked, and saw the surprise in both his and Bubble Girl's eyes. "I've been on patrol before, back in Hosu..."
"We're currently conducting a secret investigation." Bubble Girl said and Izuku looked over at her curiously.
"A small designated Villain Organization called The Eight Precepts of Death." Nighteye pulled a photo out of his pocket, and handed it to Izuku. She took it in her fingers, and saw it was a picture of a man wearing what looked like a plague mask from the dark ages in England. He had short dark brown hair, and cold piercing eyes. "Their leader is a man named Chisaki. He's demonstrated some unusual movements."
"... A Yakuza...?" Izuku looked at the photo curiously now, "I thought these types were pretty docile these days..." She looked up at the others in confusion. She had seen rumors on the internet of these kinds of things, but the mask on the mans face looked pretty scary.
"That's becuse there was a massive demolition of their world in the past," Bubble Girl said with a smile to Izuku. "But this Chisaki has started assembling those types together again. Recenty he made contact with the Villain Alliance, but what happened we are not sure."
"The Alliance..?" Izuku asked worriedly as she looked over at Nighteye with wide eyes. She thought back to Kamino, then to Toga in that dark park... She felt a chill down her spine as she bit her lip.
"We haven't been able to gather evidence to show that they're planning anything criminal," Nighteye told her with a sigh and Izuku handed the picture back to him. "And for that reason, the Eight Precepts cannot be treated like a criminal organization. But we at the Nighteye Office are seeking proof of their activities."
"Got it," Izuku nodded her head to the two pro's, and clenched both her fists.
"Let's go," She looked up at Mirio as he grinned at her, and she nodded her head as she followed after him down the street.
"... I'm a bit nervous..." Izuku said as they walked through the streets in the late afternoon. She looked up at the people around them, and bit her lip. She felt a bit exposed, being in public in her costume was new to her, and she started to wonder if she should ask for a full body jumpsuit instead of the leotard she wore.
"Hey, you're not traumatized from the Alliance attack are you?" Mirio asked her, and Izuku looked down at the ground in front of them with a frown.
"Maybe...?" she said with a sigh as she looked at her hands. "I have some experience for the basics thanks to Best Jeanist... But I still messed things up the other day with that Alliance member..." Izuku looked up from the ground and around at the people. "But... I don't plan on letting it happen again."
"That's the spirit!" Mirio clapped a hand on her back and she felt her breath leave her, before she looked up at him. "But there's no need to worry you know. The real area of interest is being monitored by Sir himself. We're just patrolling the surrounding vicinity! I'll teach you anything else you want to know."
"Alright," Izuku let out a soft laugh as she watched Mirio strike a couple of poses to show her he was capable. She touched her metal mouth guard with her fingers nervously, as she thought about what was really bothering her. All Might hadn't said anything to her about Mirio being a candidate for One for All, and she wanted to know why. She was going to talk to Katsuki about it last night when she got home, but it was late, and he still hadn't gotten back yet from his own internship. "Hmm.." That bothered her too. He hadn't told her anything about his internship at all, how he got it or who it was with... She wondered who took him in, and scratched her cheek nervously. This was the first time they'd be working apart from each other...
"Oh that's right!" Izuku looked up at Mirio as he spoke and grinned at her. "We still don't know each other's hero names yet, huh?"
"Oh," Izuku let out a laugh, and grinned. "I'm Deku!"
"Deku?!" Mirio let out a snort and laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah it's..." She looked up off to the side as she thought back to Katsuki. "... It has a never give up vibe." she smiled to herself as she thought of everyone else.
"Mines Lemillion!" Izuku looked up at Mirio and held back her own snort of laughter at his name. "Not quite to the level of All, but I want to be able to save a million people! Anyways, My point is... When we don our costumes in the streets... We are Heroes!" He held up his fist and Izuku grinned brightly at him. "Be sure not to let your guard down, alright Deku?!"
"Yes sir, Lemillion!" Izuku laughed and saluted to him. He grinned back at her and they carried off down the streets on their patrol. Izuku looked around with a smile on her face as they passed people who stared at them while they went. She touched her hair to make sure her ponytail wasn't too messy. She looked up as Mirio turned to go down a side street, and she hurried after him to catch up. She let out a sigh as her thoughts kept swirling about All Might, her senpai, and then her secretive boyfriend...
"Ah," Izuku felt something run into her leg with a lot of force, and she turned around in confusion to look down. Her eyes widened as she saw a small girl fall back onto her bottom, and she stopped walking. She had long wavy white hair with a horn that poked out of it. She felt her whole being freeze as a big pair of crimson eyes looked up at her in a panic.
"I-I'm sorry, did I hurt you...?" Izuku asked as she dropped down to her knee in front of the girl, seeing the sadness and panic in her eyes as Izuku reached her hands out to touch her shoulders.
"We mustn't be causing any problems for our Heroes now..." Izuku felt a shill run down her spine as she heard a voice from the alley that the girl came running out of. She lifted her head up, only to feel the blood in her face rush out as she made eye contact with a sharp pair of dark ones that looked down at her. He wore pressed black dresspants and a black dress shirt with a white tie, as well as a coat that looked out of place with fur around the collar... But it was the mask that gave away who he was... That plague mask...
"My apologies on behalf of my daughter, Hero." She looked into his cold staring eyes as he stepped closer to both of the girls on the ground. "She gets carried away with her games sometimes and hurts herself. Such a trouble maker this one..."
"You forgot to put your hood on, you know!" She heard a laugh from beside her and her hood was yanked up over her head. She felt her hair bunch up around her neck as she looked down at Eri from the force, and closed her mouth. "Is the sizing off? Sorry about this, we should be the ones apologizing!" She looked up at Mirio nervously as he held a happy smile on his face when speaking with the man she knew was Chisaki. She swallowed her nerves, she must have shown something on her face that she shouldn't have... If this man found them suspicious, it would only make Nighteye's job more difficult. "That aweome mask of yours, you must be a member of the eight Precepts, right?" Izuku looked down at the girl in front of her as she tugged on her hood to cover her hair.
"Pay no attention to the mask, I'm just sensitive to dirt." Chisaki said with a simple laugh. Izuku focused on the girl in front of her, and helped her up to her feet and dusted her dress off for her. "This is the first time I've seen either of you two heroes. Are you rookies? You both look rather young."
"That's right! We're both rookies just doing our best!" Mirio said with a laugh and Izuku looked up at him with a smile. "Hey come on, partner! We need to be prepared to face the uncertain future!"
"Which Office are you affiliated with?" Izuku felt her bones chill again at the tone of voice Chisaki used. She glanced at him to see a pretty intense look in his eyes.
"We're still students, just baby chicks!" Mirio said with a laugh, and Izuku could feel the guarded tones they were both using in their voices. "They're having us participate in field training." She got the hint, she couldn't mention Nighteye's name... "Now then, we've got finish up here before dinner, so let's go." Izuku looked back up at Mirio again, and went to stand up.
"Please... Don't... don't go..." Izuku felt tiny hands clutch at her costume and Izuku looked down at the girl. She saw fear and pain in her eyes that started to well up with tears. Izuku felt her whole being freeze at how tightly she was holding onto her costume, and she halted immedately.
"Uhm..." Izuku reached out to the girl who had latched onto her, and wasn't letting go anytime soon. "Your... Your Daughter..." She looked up at Chisaki with a nervous smile. "She appears to be frightened by something."
"It's because I just scolded her." Chisaki said with a sigh and Izuku glanced back down at the girl who was holding onto her so tightly. This girl definitely didn't want to let go, and Izuku wasn't sure if she wanted to either... "She happens to fall down a lot."
"A little girl like this..." Izuku looked up at Chisaki as her arms started to coil around the small girl in front of her. "Shaking and frightened, with out saying a word... That doesn't seem very normal to me." She put a hand on the back of the girls head, and hugged her tight. This was unnatural, not even she had ever been this scared growing up, and she grew up with Katsuki of all people...
"Please do not impose your idea of normal onto other people's families." Chisaki said with a dark glare in her direction.
"People have all different types of dispositions you know!" Izuku could hear the urgency in Mirio's voice, she could see the annoyance on Chisaki's face... But above all else, she couldn't ignore the shaking and crying girl in her arms. She knew Mirio wanted her to look the other way, but she couldn't... This was unnatural, and looking the other way would have been even more unnatural.
"What are you doing to this girl?" Izuku demanded with a dark glare of her own in Chisaki's direction. She felt the small hands grip her costume tighter, and she ground her own teeth together.
"Hah..." She watched Chisaki shrug his shoulders and sigh. "All of you heroes are so perceptive, all right." He turned away from them to head back down the alley. "It's an embarrassing topic, I don't want to talk about it out in the open, could you follow me this way?"
Izuku stood up with Eri in her arms, and looked over at Mirio. She saw him giving her a look that said to let him deal with any trouble that was created. She couldn't let this man take this small trembling girl from her... She looked back at Chisaki as they followed him into the alley, and bit her lip nervously.
"You see, I've been worried about Eri lately." Chisaki said with a sigh as he walked. "No matter what I say to her, all she does is defy me."
"Raising a child can be quiet difficult, huh?" Mirio asked, while Izuku glared at the man's back. This looked more like abuse in her eyes, the poor girl had bandages all over her arms and legs, and her dress looked old and tattered.
"Indeed, They're hard to understand, Children that is." They stopped in the Alley, and Izuku watched the man in front of her closely as she held the girl named Eri to her chest. "Especially when they must be seriously thinking about... What Kind of person they'll become..." Izuku felt a chill down her spine and the small girl flinch in her arms. She looked down at Eri as the small hands shoved against her shoulders, and frowned as the girl jumped out of her arms and ran towards the man. She looked up at him, and felt a familiar pressure in the air around her... One that Stain the Hero Killer had...
"Ah..." Izuku looked at the girls back as she ran over to Chisaki, and Izuku frowned as she reached her hand out.
"Are you done with your tantrum now..?" Chisaki asked the girl and Izuku watched her nod her hed ever so slightly.
"Wait... Uhm..." Izuku took a step forward, before feeling a hand on her shoulder. "E-Erichan...?" he asked worriedly.
"She's always like this." Chisaki turned to look back at tem, "Sorry, but thank you for going out of your way to listen to my worries. Well then..." the man turned away from both her and Mirio, and took Eri's hand. "Good luck with your work."
"W-wait...! Why...?!" Izuku called out before she felt the hand on her shoulder grip her tightly. She ground her teeth together as she watched Chisaki disappear into the shadows of the alleyway.
"Don't chase them..." Mirio told her in a low voice, and she looked back at him with wide eyes. "You noticed it too, right...? He showed his killer intent... That's how he got her to follow along." Izuku looked back down the alley and pulled her hood off her head as she bit back her frustration. "If we chase too far, he'll be harder to catch. We need to respect Sir's orders."
"Damnit..." Izuku looked down at her feet as rain started to hit them from the sky. She clenched her fists tightly as they turned to leave the alley, and go meet up with Nighteye and Bubble Girl. She could hear Mirio on the phone with them, but her mind was busy. She had let that man walk away with a little girl that was clearly being abused... She put her hand over her face as rain dripped down her skin, to hold back her tears that wanted to form. What kind of hero was she, if she couldn't save a little girl...
"My apologies, we screwed up!" Mirio told Nighteye as they met up with him and Bubble Girl on a street corner. The rain was pouring now, and Izuku felt her curls start to stick to her cheeks. "I never would've guess that it would turn into those 'bumping into the transfer student' kind of developments."
"No... This was my error." Nighteye said with a sigh as he held up a hand. "If I'd been looking at the two of you before we left, it could have been prevented."
"For the time being, I'm glad you're both safe." Bubble Girl said with a smile to them, and Izuku clenched her fists again. "If you'd made one wrong more and he became suspicious, it could have been dangerous!"
"The other day a group of criminals were making their escape and ended up triggering a tuck accident involving a lot of people." Nighteye spoke as he djusted his glasses. "Those people that were dragged into it were none other than the Eight Precepts, yet... There were zero casualties. The members of the gang apparently felt an intense pain and lost consciousness... But came out unscathed." Izuku looked up at the hero in confusion, and frowned. "Not only that, all their chronic illnesses were healed with out a trace. It ws thought to be the result of Chisaki's quirk, and as a result, because of the lack of wounded and the criminals were apprehended, he couldn't be charged with crimes."
"Ah," Izuku looked up at Mirio as he raised his hand while the group walked down the street in the pouring rain. "That's right, I guess you could call it a fortunate error... But we gained some new information! Chisaki has a daughter!"
"Daughter...?" Nighteye asked as Izuku looked down at her costume and touched the spots where the little girl had clutched to her so desperately.
"... He called her Eri... Her arms and legs were all wrapped in bandages..." Izuku clenched her fists tightly again and glared at them. "She was extremely frightened, I have no idea what her circumstances are but... She was crying for help...! If only we could some how take her into custody..."
"Don't start getting arrogant thoughts in your head." Izuku looked up in shock as Nighteye spoke coldly to her and pointed his finger back at her. "If you try and rush everything, you will surely fail. If you grew impaitent and chased after them, they'd only run further out of your grasp. You aren't so special that you're able to save every person who wants to be saved right then and there." Izuku felt her blood run cold at that statement, and lowered her fists as she frowned. "First you must predict what your opponent's goal is, then make a thorough analysis. You need to make flawless preparations for every situation. You cannot possibly save everyone with will alone, it's not that easy."
"The truly intelligent villains conceal themselves in the darkness..." Izuku felt her heart being crushed as she looked back down at the ground while Nighteye continued to speak. "There are cases in which you must bide your time, you'd do well to remember that. Now, the both of you are to return to the office for today, then head home."
"... Midorichan..." Izuku lifted her head up as she stepped off the train with Mirio, and looked up at him. "You're looking pretty down, but Sir didn't mean to make you feel bad you know," He patted her head with his large hand, and Izuku looked away from him as he grinned a her.
"I know, I... Might be catching a cold..." she said as they walked out of the station.
"Well then we better run, can't get sick if you're a hero!" Mirio laughed as they looked up at the pouring rain that doused the pavement. Izuku nodded her head, before they took off at a run to the school. She sighed out as she ran up the steps to her dorm building, waving Mirio off as he ran towards his, before she let herself inside.
"Izuchan, how was your day?" Ashido called out as she walked past, and Izuku looked up at her as water dripped off her soaked clothing. "WHA! You're absolutely soaked!"
"Sorry, I'll take a bath right away." Izuku said with a sigh as she kicked off her wet shoes and went to head up stairs to grab some dry clothing. She absentmindedly took a hot bath to warm herself up, before stepping out into the common room with a towel around her shoulders. She sat down on a sofa with a flop, and looked up at the ceiling.
"You alright...?" Izuku looked over as she heard Todoroki speak, before she jumped in surprise as she saw him covered in bandages and bruises.
"Sh-shouchan, what happened?!" She cried out in horror as she saw his face. He looked at her in confusion, before touching a bandage on his cheek.
"Just provisional training, don't worry." He held up a hand to calm her down and she frowned at him as he walked around the sofa and sat down on a chair.
"I'm worried, you're all beat up!" she told him as she sat back down and looked at him worriedly. "What kind of training are they making you do?"
"Nothing to hard, but hey." He pointed a finger at her and she looked at it. "You looked pretty down when you came back yesterday, and didn't speak at all last night you just stared at the ceiling."
"Oh, I've..." Izuku let out a sigh as she looked up at the ceiling and leaned back on the sofa. "... Had a lot on my mind..."
"You're doing it again." Izuku glanced over at Todoroki as he spoke and she frowned. "It's not like you to stare off into space like that, are you sure you're alright?"
"yeah..." Izuku sighed as she leaned forwards and looked at her hands. "Sorry, You've got a lot going on too, I didn't mean to worry you." she smiled over at her friend who let out a sigh.
"If you want to talk I'll listen. Though I'm sure you're waiting for Bakugo." He pointed at the cell phone in her hands and she looked down at it.
"I can't talk about it, It's work..." she said with a frown as she looked at her phone. "But thank you for being concerned." She looked back up at Todoroki who nodded his head. "I'll let you know if it's too much."
"Alright, maybe go get some sleep?" Todoroki stood up and put his hand on her head. "Staying up late won't do you any good, besides. There's class tomorrow."
"Yeah, thanks." She stood up from the sofa and walked towards the elevators with him. She hit the up button and looked back at Todoroki as he waited next to her. "Let me know if you need help too, alright?" She smiled up at him as he glanced at her.
"I will," She saw him give his half smile that he was famous for, and she nodded her head before she got into her elevator. After she climbed into her bed, she looked at her phone worriedly. It was late, and she still hadn't heard from Katsuki at all... She opened up her messages and frowned.
Just got home, I hope your internship is going alright. She sighed out as she typed the words on her smart phone before hitting send. She lay her hand on the pillow and was a bit surprised that she got a message back almost instantly.
I won't be back until late tomorrow. She frowned at the words he sent back and gripped her phone tightly. Everything's fine, just get some sleep.
Alright. She typed her message back slowly, feeling a couple of tears burn in her eyes. Have a good night and be safe.
Dork, She felt a smile pull at her lips a bit as another message came back. Good night, love you.
Love you too. She blushed a bit as she sent the words back to him with an emoticon, before she set her phone down on her nightstand. She rolled onto her back to look up at her ceiling, and felt all her thoughts pull at her mind. She didn't want to send messages about her troubles to him, she'd rather talk... But he was just as busy as she was, she couldn't burden him with this. She looked up at her poster of All Might that was above her bed, and frowned as she looked at the smile.
She didn't sleep at all that night.