First I was stunned. This gave way to fear, but quickly escalated into excitement. "If I stick around you, I'm bound to be in the spotlight. I might as well provide information on my own terms, and I'd rather risk Enji's wrath than keep getting asked if I'm 'Endeavor's sister'."

"I know a place where you could make a mock introduction and get your arm fixed."

"Sounds like a one stop shop," she chuckled. "And exactly where's this?"

"We're going to UA. Recovery Girl can heal you and you can practice your interviewing skills with a pile of overanxious students."

"That sounds like hell." I couldn't fault her honesty. "I'll go to get my bone mended. As for the rest of it...we'll see."

We didn't take the train. Neither of us felt like another episode with a cameraphone quite yet. I'd had enough to public transportation and finally put my foot down. We flew to the academy. Judging by the single armed death grip around my neck, I'd finally discovered a fear of hers. My severe landing was enough to knock the wind out people under ordinary circumstances. Teiko had a silent look of agony creased on her face. "Are you alright?" I asked cautiously. We had settled outside the gates and waited to be let in. Fortunately, there were no paparazzi lingering.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she responded stiffly. I set her down just as the intercom began to blast.

"Yoooooooo!" Resident Mic's voice boomed over the speakers. I smirked privately when Teiko startled like a deer. "Wha'chu up to, All Might-o?"

"My friend and I want to meet with Recovery Girl," I explained.

"Tune on in!" He declared. There was a buzz, and the gates opened to admit us. We walked side by side past the privacy fence and to the sidewalk beyond. She looked around with the same interest as every first-timer. I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride of my old high school, which looked as pristine as always. "Back there is where we have training fields and students take examinations," I explained, gesturing to the place as I described it. She followed my gesturing finger and nodded. Even if she wanted to talk, I was in full narration mode. While aware of this, I couldn't bring myself to stop.

I chattered all the way up the stairs, an excited boy once more. I hadn't been here since before my years in America. "Is that you, All Might?" Recovery Girl asked, her once black hair more heavily streaked with grey since the last time I'd seen her.

"It's me," I confirmed. "Long time no see. I was wondering if you could help fix my friend's arm. We have a job to do, but can only move forward when she's healed."

I didn't miss her questioning stare. Oops. I hadn't told her that I spoke with Grim. She kept her emotions in check and regarded the heroine. "Todoroki Teiko," she declared with a respectful bow.

"If you have a job to do, girlie, then shouldn't you be using your hero name?"

"I guess." Her uncertainty was odd, yet refreshing compared to the arrogance she dished out at home. "Sandspark, then."

"Come here, Sandspark. Let me give you a kiss!" Recovery Girl declared. Her lips puckered and little feet scuttled forward.

"What? No! What are you doing?"

"Just hold still." Recovery Girl swooped to the tips of her toes and gave Teiko a wet kiss on the cheek. The red-head was stiff as a board and pale faced from the unexpected affection. The school nurse shuffled back to her chair and took a seat. "There you go. All fixed up!"

Teiko slowly peered down at her arm. She used her hand to spark a fire on the cast and watched with obvious satisfaction as it peeled harmlessly away. "Well look at that," she muttered. "Thanks."

"It's no problem, sweetie."

She got suited up and looked just as stunning as I remember. The dark grey metal on her bracers and shoes mixed with the burgundy of the synthetic material heavily implied at her fire abilities. For the first bit of her career, she'd be able to take everyone by surprise with her earth. Teiko snapped her black utility belt in place. "What do you have in there?" I asked.

"My rock collection," she answered. I leaned over and unzipped one of the pouches.

"Wow, you were serious." She snickered. We both wished Recovery Girl well and went on our way. Every student we passed stared. Some stopped to gawk. While their attention was mostly on me, more than a few inquisitive minds honed in on woman at my side.

"I know that's All Might, but who's that?"

"I've never seen her before."

"Holy crap, guys. It's All Might!"

"Did he get a new suit?"

It was easier not to respond. I walked through the crowd with a smile. I cast a sidelong glance to see how my companion was faring. She looked impassive and distant. I felt the urge to press her cheeks up and make her do something with her face. One on one she was fine, but put her in a crowd…

"I think I saw a video with her in it. All Might and Endeavor were on a train with her yesterday."

"Is she a sidekick?"

I had no idea what was going on in her mind, but I was worried. Somehow, I had to show her the spotlight wasn't everything she feared it'd be. Surely, it better to ask forgiveness than permission. Classes had just ended for lunch. "If anyone wants to come to the practice field, my friend and I will give you a demonstration." I felt refreshed by the young students' collective gasp of excitement. Most rushed to the training grounds right then and there. We paused to let them go. I chanced a glance to see how Teiko would handle it.

I swear I saw Endeavor's glare on her face. Even as someone who faced death on a near-daily basis, there was something especially terrifying about a woman's wrath. "Is your costume fireproof, or do I need to aim for your face?" I had backed myself into a corner. To not show up would disappoint my fans.

"A hero always keeps his promises," I said to her in a louder voice, as there were still children watching. "But my suit is water proof, fireproof, and breathable." I sounded like a comic strip.

"Why do I hang out with you?" She muttered, as if there was nothing more than casual friendship between us. I figured she was playing it cool for the kids.

Word spread like wildfire and every student at UA was waiting for us, along with half the faculty. The lawn was crowded enough that I decided it best to take flight over the congested field. I landed heroically on at the front and struck a pose. As expected, a cheer rose out among my fans. Teiko refused a dramatic entrance. She walked the long away around the bodies and stood by the edge of the chalked off zone. "Today Sandspark will show you how to try to take down an opponent bigger than you. It's not all about power and strength, but focusing on precise poi-" She didn't even let me finish! A rock struck my head with enough force to make my ears ring. Some of the watchers chuckled. I opened my mouth to reprimand her, but two more projectiles hit the backs of my knees. More laughter followed. I blessed the few students that felt outraged for me. While I didn't go crashing down, my legs felt surprisingly weak, as if she'd hit pressure points. While I was stunned, quicksand gurgled at my feet and began to pull me down.

I jumped away before it could fully engulf me. I had been too busy being assaulted to keep track of her. Now that I looked, Teiko stood on a chunk of sod like it was a flying carpet. She hopped off and let it drop over me like it was a net. Just before it could land, I punched upwards and blew it to smithereens. While I focused on the one obstacle, she blasted fire at me. I ducked and swept out my legs, knocking her to the ground. Even as she fell, jets of flame jutted from the soles of her boots. While it wasn't the most masculine way to get the job done, I back handed the embers away. She was out of momentum. She had to land. I turned to prepare.

More grass tore up from the ground and caught her in a cushion. I was amazed it didn't tear, but suspected she put quite a bit of concentration into the dirt. I noted how her terrakinesis and pyrokinesis were a switch. She could use one or the other, never both. While she was busy catching herself, I lunged forward and grappled her to the earth. In hindsight, I wasn't thinking.

Quicksand sucked us both underground - her entirely, and me only up to my thighs and elbows.. I kept her grip on her and waited for the inevitable stop. As expected, she ceased in burying us. No matter her abilities, she still had to breathe. I felt intense heat burn in my chest. I took the warning and released my hold. She shot out of the pit like a bullet. I could have kept going, I'll admit to being quite curious about her full fighting potential, but the crowd cheered. They'd already accepted I was the loser, she the winner.

A lad stood with his phone out. "That was amazing!" he praised, the adoration in his eyes for the both of us. I pulled out from the trap with a series of itches on my limb. As soon as I got home, I'd give my suit a thorough shaking to get all the sand out.

"Are you related to Endeavor?" A bold girl asked.

I could tell Teiko didn't know what to say or do. I had pulled her too far from her comfort zone.

"You're asking the wrong questions," I declared as I stepped forward. "It's not about who she's related to, but how to use your quirk in the best possible way."

The boy filming pressed on. "Do you have two quirks?"

The questions were simple enough, but I could see her grappling to find the right response. My instinct was to save her, but I kept back. More of the students stood and swarmed her. It was time that I let her sink or swim.

"Yeah, I've got two, and I'm Endeavor's older sister." She looked like a cornered animal, but was trying.

"Did you go to school here, too?"

"How come I don't know you?"

"Two quirks?!"

"Are you mean, too?"

Teiko made the rookie mistake of trying to look at each commenter in turn. I could only imagine how dizzy she got. She pivoted and turned at the last speaker. The look she gave him was the angry Todoroki glare that I'd come to know well. She leaned down and all inquiries ceased in a hush of anticipation. "What do you think?" Her answer was flat and unheroic. I thought she was going to punch the kid in the face.

I laughed as loudly as I could and strolled over to her side. I put a hand on my shoulder and patted her sternly. While my gesture appeared fatherly and kind, I'm sure she got the memo for a ceasefire. "She's a real jokester, this one." I declared with a smile. I aimed to capture as many children in my gaze as I could. Maybe if I got them dazed enough, they'd accept my point of view. I felt her sigh beneath my grip. She knew she'd failed the moment I stepped in as a buffer. "Who wants an autograph?"

I spent the better part of twenty minutes signing everything shoved at me, though I did refuse to write on something that was either a dog's chew toy or object for personal pleasure. I wrote on that kid's forehead, mostly because I didn't want to touch anything they could peel from their bag. Teiko told the children that she wouldn't sign anything until after her first successful mission. She said she wanted to earn the right.

We left UA the same way we came, by flight. Teiko made sure to puzzle the pieces of lawn back together and collected a few dozen fist sized rocks for her ride. She molded them together into a single platform and rode the disk by my side.

I steered us not to home, but the agency. I wanted her to set her change of heart in stone before she could change her mind again. "Yagi," she grumbled. I turned my head and grinned.

"You said you were going to go public. I need it on paper before I can believe you."