"Sorry for what?" Himiko asked, suddenly sitting up in bed. This was not how she expected Emily to open any conversation.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect Izu better like I promised to!" Emily quickly blurted out, "When we first got to Hosu, he knew something was wrong and went off on his own. Then, when he attacked Stain… I was forced to stand there helplessly and provide fire support. I couldn't stop him from getting hurt."

"Emmy…"

"I'm sorry Himi! Please don't hate me!"

Himiko opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out. She knew she was over-protective of Izuku but was this how other people saw her?

"You're taking what happened in Hosu pretty hard, aren't you?" Himiko finally asked.

"Y-yeah. This was different from our fights at school," Emily said, "it sucks."

"Izu is alive though," Himiko pointed out, "and so are you. That's what's really important."

"I don't know what your brother did, but when Todoroki and I got there? Stain was trying to kill him."

"In case you forgot, Stain's got the label Hero Killer for a reason," Himiko deadpanned.

"It was more than that though. Himi, he was a fanatic. Someone who thought he was on some sort of holy crusade. If he had the chance, he would have killed all of us, because we don't meet his ideal for being a hero."

That gave Himiko pause. Remembering Izuku's words earlier, she realized that she needed to hear them from Emily, as well. "Emmy, I need you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Promise me you'll always come back."

"Wha- what brought this on?"

"Look, we both know how Izu is." Himiko sighed loud enough that it could be heard through the phone. "Despite knowing that, I still had to be dragged out to an empty field to let Ryukyu beat me up before I was able to calm down. But," Himiko paused, "when he called, he reminded me of his promise: that he will always come back because we're going to become great heroes together."

She heard Emily laugh on the other end of the phone, "Leave it to Izuku to come up with something like that."

"Yeah well, it made me feel better," Himiko grumbled.

There was a long pause before Emily finally spoke again.

"Himi, you know me. I'm too stubborn to let someone get rid of me that easily. Even someone like Stain isn't enough to stop me."

"Where was that Emmy five minutes ago?" Himiko felt a smile creeping onto her face.

"Himi, give me a break! It's been a day."

"You and I both know that's not an excuse."

"Shut up!"

Both girls laughed, before Emily continued, "We're going to pick up Izuku from the hospital in the morning. Do I need to smack him for you?"

"Yes. Make sure it hurts."

"Will do!" Emily sighed, "I'm not sure anything else is going to top today for our internship. It's going to feel downright boring now."

"I'm sure Majestic will find some way to keep the great Emily Song occupied," Himiko teased.

"What about you? Is it all quiet out in Nagoya?"

"Actually, we're going on a mission tomorrow. Apparently, Ryukyu suddenly having a shapeshifter as an intern means they are redoing all of their plans."

"I knew it!" Himiko heard Emily bang her hand against something on the other side of the line, "Your quirk is amazing Himi! Even if it didn't awaken, you have a top ten hero literally rewriting her plans because you exist!"

Himiko felt herself blushing.

"Also, if you're going to go on a mission, you'd better promise me the same thing," Emily pointed out, "After making me say I'm going to come back and all."

"Emmy, of course I'm going to come back," Himiko said, "Otherwise who is going to keep you in line?"

"Nobody, of course!"

"Exactly. Our class would go to hell if I wasn't there."

The two sat there in comfortable silence before Emily finally spoke. "Call me when you can tomorrow?"

"I will."

"Good. I probably shouldn't keep you then. Goodnight Himi."

"Goodnight Emmy," Himiko said, before hanging up her phone. Staring at it, she decided she was done with interruptions and turned it off, before setting it on the nightstand. She was going to have a busy day tomorrow and needed her sleep.

Even though his arm had been sliced open and it hurt if he moved too much, Izuku didn't have much trouble falling into a deep sleep before Tenya returned from surgery. The next morning when he woke, he saw his friend in the bed next to him, his arm wrapped in bandages. As he watched, the young man sluggishly fumbled with his phone in his free hand.

"Good morning, Iida," Izuku called out, getting his attention.

Tenya's head snapped up, looking alertly at his friend before it softened slightly. "Good morning Midoriya, I trust you were able to sleep well?"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded, "When did they bring you back?"

"It was almost two in the morning," Tenya said, with a frown on his face as he looked down at his arm, "It appears I may have suffered a similar fate as my brother."

"Oh no!"

"Unlike Tensei, this will not stop me," Tenya reassured him, "however, the motion in my fingers is limited, and the nerve damage was bad enough that I have lost a lot of feeling in my arm. With surgery and proper healing quirks I can recover, but…"

"But what?"

"But it will leave me out of commission for a month, minimum," Tenya admitted, "as I recovered. I do not wish to give up my schooling for that long."

"What about during summer or winter break?" Izuku asked, "Or after the end of the year?"

"Waiting until the end of the school year was my intention. That way I can be back to one hundred percent for our second year."

"Will you be ok until then?"

"Of course!" Tenya nodded, "If anything, this will make me a stronger hero."

"I guess that is one way to look at it."

"Indeed," Tenya looked down at his arm, "but what kind of hero would I be if I couldn't handle something like this? Especially…"

Tenya never finished his thought as they heard a knock at the door before it opened and a police officer stepped into the room, followed by a tall dog-mutant with a Beagle head. The tall man bowed slightly before he began introducing himself.

"I am Kenji Tsuragamae, Commissioner General of the police forces in Tokyo. After meeting your companions last night, it is nice to finally meet the final two heroes who helped bring Stain to justice. The Hero Killer has been a thorn in our side for a long time."

"The pleasure is ours, sir!" Tenya loudly announced.

As they watched, the officer accompanying Tsuragamae closed the door behind them, and he stepped forward.

"Now then, we have a very important matter to discuss regarding the capture of the Hero Killer," the Commissioner said as he held up a binder, "You see, it is rather unusual for four students to bring down a villain. Even if you are hero students, the fact remains that none of you have your provisional licenses yet."

Izuku and Tenya suddenly felt the temperature in the room drop as they waited for the chief of police to continue.

"Now in the case of Midoriya, Song, and Todoroki, we have on record that both Endeavor and Majestic have authorized those three to use their quirks if necessary, as fitting for a hero and their intern during a crisis situation. But that leaves the matter of Mr. Iida here," Tsuragamae turned towards Tenya, a serious look in his eyes, "When interviewed, Manual claims he lost track of you in the moments after the crisis began and never authorized you to use your quirk. Normally, that would be a problem. However, when we took his statement, Native said he authorized you to use your quirk. Is that true?"

Tenya swallowed the lump in his throat. "Native said that?"

"Indeed. Now here is the problem. We only have yourself and Stain to verify this. Since Stain would be considered an unreliable witness, we are forced to ask you to verify his statement for him."

As Izuku watched, he could see the doubt and uncertainty fill Tenya's face.

"Of course, unlike Endeavor and Majestic, Native was not the hero you are working under. In fact, he doesn't even have the paperwork filed to take a student for an internship. While it was a matter of life-or-death, the fact remains that he authorized a civilian, and a minor at that, to use their quirk against another. As it stands, the punishment for his actions would mean he would suffer a temporary suspension of his hero license and likely fines as well," Tsuragamae looked knowingly at Tenya, "However, he seemed to have no hesitation in his voice, citing it as a matter of life-or-death."

"And what if I were to disagree with his statement?" Tenya asked cautiously.

"Then you would suffer a vigilantism charge. There would be mitigating factors to lessen it, but ultimately it would be a black mark on your record, delaying your ability to gain your provisional license, as well as your full hero license, until you were eighteen," the commissioner rubbed his eyes, "as unfortunate as that may sound, that is the law. Until it gets changed, those are the options available to you."

Tenya looked at Izuku, who offered him a sympathetic look before he looked down at his bandaged hand. He knew that Native was doing this as a way to repay him, but does he truly deserve such an act of kindness?

Sometimes, being a hero is hard. Sometimes it means helping those who don't want our help or don't feel like they deserve it. But those people? They are the ones who deserve it the most.

Tesei's words came to Tenya, and his eyes went wide. Of course. If his brother was in Native's place, he would make the same decision.

Tenya hoped that, in time, he would too.

As hard as it was for him to accept, he knew that Native was only trying to repay him. To thank him for what he did in that alleyway.

To give him a chance to become a great hero.

As he finally made eye contact with the Commissioner General, Tenya nodded his head. "Yes sir, Native saw that I was there to investigate, and when Stain attacked me he authorized me to use my quirk. Otherwise, both of us would have likely been killed. Thanks to the use of my quirk, I was able to buy enough time for Midoriya, Todoroki, and Song to arrive."

"I see. Thank you for confirming the statement," Tsuragamae made a note in the report and turned back towards the door, "For what it's worth, we will try to reduce his punishment as much as possible. However, he is grateful to simply be alive."

"Thank you, sir."

"And you, Mr. Midoriya," the Commissioner added.

"Yes sir?"

"I wish to personally thank you, as well as the others who have assisted you in taking down the Hero Killer. He has been a thorn in our side for so long, knowing that students were finally able to bring him down? It makes me hopeful for the next generation of heroes."

"Thank you, sir!" Izuku said, before looking at Tenya, who seemed to have a stunned look on his face at the indirect complement.

After that, the police left and a heavy silence filled the air as both students looked at each other, neither wanting to be the first to speak. Eventually, Tenya finally spoke, as he stared at his wounded arm.

"Tensai always tried to help others. I always thought I would be the same way, helping others, instead of being the one to receive help."

"I know what you mean," Izuku admitted as he thought about his quirk.

"Do you think I made the right choice?" Tenya looked up at Izuku, locking eyes with his friend.

"Yes," Izuku answered without hesitation.

"Thank you," Tenya looked at his arm once again. "Before the internship, I had come to a decision. While I am not worthy of the name yet, I am going to take the name Ingenium when I finally receive my provisional license. I won't use it yet, of course. But someday. I will make Tensei proud."

"I know you will," Izuku said, offering his friend a warm smile.

In a dimly lit corner of the Nagoya docks, a hero and her two interns are quietly moving from rooftop to rooftop, searching for their targets.

"There!" Nejire whispered as she pointed at several unmarked delivery trucks, their backs open.

As they watched, the three saw several dangerous-looking individuals moving back and forth between a ship and the trucks, retrieving unmarked crates from the ship and carrying them to one of the open trucks.

"Carmilla," Ryukyu turned to Himiko, "are you ready for this?"

Himiko took a deep breath and looked at her mentor, her face filled with determination. "Yes."

Hours earlier…

Himiko was sitting with Nejire, Kashiko, and Habuko in the Ryukyu Agency's briefing room. Along with the four interns and the heroes mentoring them, several other local heroes were arrayed around the conference table. Whatever the operation was going to be, it was far larger than what Himiko was expecting.

Himiko tapped her foot nervously while waiting, and as she glanced over to Nejire she saw the older girl was also fidgeting nervously. The older girl didn't seem to do well waiting, either.

After what felt like forever, all of the heroes finally arrived, and Ryukyu called everyone to attention. Holding up a remote, she brought up a map of the Nagoya docks on the wall-mounted monitor.

"As most of you know, we have been having a problem with the drug Trigger coming into Japan through the ports of our city," Ryukyu began with a frown on her face as a yellow circle appeared on the map, which expanded to show a satellite image of a boat and several delivery trucks. "Unknown parties are importing the drug from mainland Asia and having it smuggled into the country through our ports before it is taken further inland to be distributed across the country."

"We know," A frustrated gorilla mutant said, slamming a large hand on the desk, "This is the third takedown operation we've planned in six months!"

"While I share your frustration," Ryukyu said, "this time we are doing something different."

The screen changed again, now displaying a profile picture of Himiko along with a brief description of her quirk. "Carmilla is currently interning under me, and for those who don't know what her quirk is: she has a perfect shapeshifting quirk."

Himiko felt her face heating up as several heroes stared at her, while others began to talk amongst themselves.

"A shapeshifter…"

"She's just an intern though, is that safe?"

"Ryukyu seems to be putting an awful lot of faith in a newbie…"

"I assure you," Ryukyu interrupted, "Carmilla's qualified for the job."

"I agree," Shishido added, "we put her through the paces yesterday before we decided to incorporate her into our plan."

"So what's the plan?" One of the heroes asked.

"Simple," Ryukyu smiled, "We are going to let a few of the trucks get away this time."

"What?"

"You can't be serious?"

"Really?"

Once again Ryukyu held up her hand as she called for order, "More specifically. We are going to lure one of the smugglers away from the rest of the group, and then have Carmilla transform into them. Once she has done so, she can get close to the crates and plant tracking beacons on them. From there, we let the trucks escape, and use the beacons to follow where the Trigger is going. With any luck, they will lead us to the buyer, and we can shut down the operation at the source."

Himiko swallowed nervously as everyone's eyes in the room turned at her.

"So kid, after embarrassing my interns yesterday, are you ready to do the same thing to some villains?" Shishido asked her.

Himiko looked at Nejire who was offering her an encouraging smile and then at Ryukyu who was waiting patiently for an answer. She turned towards the assembled heroes of the room before she began vigorously nodding.

"I'm ready!"

"Great, kid!" Shishido barked happily.

"Now then," Ryukyu said, a satisfied look on her face, "after Carmilla plants the beacons, we perform the raid as we usually do, but this time the primary goal is to extract Carmilla. If we can capture several of the vehicles that will be a bonus, but we need to ensure that at least a couple of them manage to escape, otherwise this whole plan is pointless. Similarly, if Carmilla's cover is blown, they will be suspicious and likely inspect the crates, finding the tracking devices. So our best option is for it to appear as if we capture her during the raid."

Himiko looked down at the briefing in front of her and opened it up as Ryukyu continued to explain the rest of the hero's role in tonight's raid. Now that she was no longer the center of attention, she found her nervousness draining away, being replaced by excitement.

Ryukyu spoke a single word into her earpiece, and the operation began. Himiko couldn't see them, but she knew that somewhere nearby, Habuko and Kashiko were moving. Their job was to lure away one of the criminals and paralyze them. While it was dangerous to send interns directly into an operation like this, Habuko's quirk, like Himiko's, was ideally suited for her role in tonight's operation.

Himiko waited with bated breath for a few long moments as she heard someone approaching their hiding place before she heard the start of a gasp that was quickly cut off. Moments later she heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. Turning to Ryukyu, Himiko waited.

Ryukyu could be seen listening to something on the headset, quietly acknowledging the voice on the other line before she turned to her intern. "Alright Carmilla, you're up. Show us what you can do," She said with a confident smile on her face.

Himiko removed her long coat and boots, handing them to Nejire in exchange for a small pouch with a syringe and the tracking devices. Silently, she slipped off the side of the building and landed on the ground, and moments later found Habuko standing over the unconscious form of one of the criminals.

With a thumbs up, Himiko silently approached the criminal and, with practiced precision, extracted some of their blood. Shaking the vial, she pressed it to her lips and downed the crimson liquid, activating her quirk. She felt the gray slime wrap itself around her, and moments later she was an identical copy of the criminal.

Moments later, she had his weapon strapped to her back, as well as the tracking devices safely secured in her pockets. Taking a deep breath, she began walking back towards the docks.

It was finally time to show everyone what she could do.

AN: The excitement in Hosu may be over, but that doesn't mean internships are.