AN: Glad to see you all are enjoying Hifumi! She was the final character from Himiko's past I needed to introduce, now it's just a question of what will happen when Himiko runs into them again.
Planar-Walking-Entertainment - Absolutely, Hifumi loves her older sister.
Ricardo Valencia - plus with their hero hate, and they find out that their monster of a daughter's career choice?
Chaoscontrol85 - let's be honest, if she was sent back in time to where she was still at the Toga's she would run away, park herself outside of the Midoriya's apartment and hold a sign that says "Free Child, please take," until Inko adopted her (again). If she met alt-timeline Izuku and Ochako that may lead to some awkwardness though, given the status of Toga in their world (and much confusion why she has green hair and refers to Izuku as her little brother)
Atsuko was feeling down as she walked alongside Crust on patrol.
While she had learned a lot over the last six days, she couldn't help but think about what her friends were experiencing. Even if she couldn't explain any details, Tomoe was helping Sir Nighteye with active investigation work. Emily, meanwhile, took part in the battle of Hosu, and helped Izuku bring down the infamous Hero Killer! Then there was her best friend. Himiko's internship sounded transformative, boosting her confidence and cementing the idea that, after her quirk awakening, she would become a hero in the spotlight, much like the rest of them.
By comparison, Atsuko's training and patrols have been tame. Sure, she had helped the number six hero on several smaller missions, and he had given her several new ideas on how to use her quirk, but she couldn't help but compare herself to her friends.
And she felt like she was being left behind.
"Is something wrong, Skyshield?" Crust asked her, picking up her discontentment.
Atsuko looked at the hero, a slight blush creeping up her neck as she shook her head. "No, just thinking about my friends."
"Is that all?"
Damn the number six hero for being so perceptive. Atsuko thought as she opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by an explosion. The two reacted instantly, both turning their heads to see an explosion several blocks down the street, smoke billowing out of the vehicle that was hit.
"Today's their unlucky day, let's go!" Crust said as he began running
"Yes sir!" Atsuko followed in lockstep, staying only a couple of feet behind the hero.
When they arrived they saw someone in a gray trench coat who had a giant scorpion tail and was waving it menacingly at the crowd, keeping people away. As they approached they saw the source of the explosions - someone had a quirk where he was making a small object glow with a bright light.
As they watched he planted the object on the door of an armored vehicle, trying to break it open. Moments later the object exploded, blowing the door open just as Scorpion-Tail spotted them.
"Heroes!"
"Tch, you get the goods, I'll keep them at bay," the explosive object villain said as he pulled out what looked to be several ball bearings, which started glowing as he threw them at the crowds.
"Skyshield!"
"I see it!" Atsuko said as she threw her hand forward and pushed.
Moments later she felt the vibrations in her barrier as she saw the bearings impact onto it, exploding harmlessly, the civilians on the other side safe.
"Everyone, please vacate the area!" Atsuko announced, using the mini-speaker inside her helmet as a megaphone. "It is dangerous to stay here."
Crust, meanwhile, had already formed his signature plates along his hands and arms as he charged the villains. As Atsuko watched, he attempted to incapacitate the explosion-man, only for a third man to appear. The man opened his mouth, sending out a sonic shockwave that she could feel even from her current distance. She couldn't imagine how it would feel up close. Crust took the attack almost point blank. He was still standing, but many of his plates had been shaken loose and were lying on the ground.
Glancing over, Atsuko saw that most of the civilians had evacuated. Taking a chance, she dropped her barrier and began racing towards Crust. If nothing else, she could act as a distraction for him.
"Oi! Little girlie's decided to join us." the explosion villain said before another ball bearing was in his hand. From her experience, Atsuko determined that he must store them in the sleeve of his trenchcoat for easy access. Stopping, she raised a shield in front of her only to see the ball slam into it, the explosion creating an orange flower in front of her.
Without having to deal with the explosions, Crust had begun to regrow his shields as he battled with Scorpion-Tail and Sonic-Voice. Leaving her to deal with the man who was now focused on her. She knew she could contain him, she just needed to be fast enough. It was only ten meters, she could do this.
Mentally preparing herself, she hoped all of her training would carry her through. With a quiet exhale of her breath, she let go of the air in front of her and felt her barrier dissolve around her as she charged through the now-empty space. As she closed the gap the man drew a pair of pellets and made them glow, throwing them at her.
She tucked herself and performed a diving roll, feeling a phantom heat as the pellets passed over her head. Coming out of the roll into a crouch, she saw she was a mere two meters away from her target. Further than she would like, but she wasn't about to let that stop her.
"Skycage!" Atsuko called out as she placed her hands in front of her. In her mind's eye, she saw the two tendrils of air racing forward before they spread out, growing into a two-meter by two-meter box around her target, trapping him.
She knew she had succeeded when she felt the explosions against the walls of her cage.
"What did you do!?" The criminal demanded.
"Explosives are dangerous, you need to contain them properly!" Atsuko felt the headache creeping in but wasn't about to let a jab go unanswered.
She dared a glance at Crust and saw that he had taken down Scorpion-Tail, and Sonic-Voice wasn't going to take much longer. She just had to keep the Explosive guy contained a little longer. She felt him launch another wave of pellets at her barrier, parts of it weakening. Refusing to be left behind, she reinforced the sections, ensuring that he was unable to escape.
"Give up, you're not getting out of there," Atsuko called out.
"Screw you!"
"You can do this the easy way or you can deal with Crust once he's done with your friends."
That seemed to make the guy hesitate as he saw Crust batter his friend with his shields, knocking him unconscious. Turning back towards Atsuko he decided that he didn't want to experience what they did and raised his hands.
"Good choice!"
She held the barrier a few moments longer, relieved that his attacks had stopped until Crust reached the edge of her quirk. Only then did she lower it, allowing the hero access to the villain, whom he rapidly disarmed and handcuffed.
"Good job Skyshield," Crust said as Atsuko approached. "You protected those civilians and managed to contain a villain."
"It didn't feel like much," Atsuko admitted.
That got a light chuckle out of Crust as he offered her a handkerchief, "It may not seem like much to you, but I'm sure the civilians you saved would disagree."
Seeing the handkerchief, Atsuko suddenly felt the blood running out of her nose. She felt a slight blush creeping up her neck as she realized how close she was to her limit. That man's explosive ball bearings must have packed more punch than she realized, but she refused to let her barriers fall. She took the cloth square and dabbed her face, soaking up the blood.
A few minutes later, police and paramedics arrived, and Atsuko had herself checked over. Other than a nosebleed and her typical headache, she was fine and released after being given a bottle of water and a handful of painkillers. She sat down on the curb and removed her helmet, swallowed the pills, and chased them with water.
"You were so cool!"
"Huh?" Atsuko turned to see a little boy standing there.
"Stopping that bad guy and protecting all of us! He wanted to hurt us but you put up your invisible shield and the explosions bounced right off of them! And then you locked him in an invisible box! It was so funny watching him get angry because he was stuck!"
"Thanks," Atsuko offered him a small smile. "I'm just doing my job."
The child's face lit up before his mother called out to him, causing him to run off. Atsuko watched the mother take her son's hand as she heard her mentor come up beside her.
"It may not feel like much to you, but to the people you save, it means everything," Crust said, appearing next to his intern. "Even if I can't compete with All Might, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop what I'm doing."
Atsuko looked to her mentor and back to the retreating family, "I'm glad I was able to keep everyone safe." She pushed herself off the ground and felt herself swaying as the headache threatened to send her back to the ground.
"Careful now, don't need you falling over," Crust said as he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"Thanks," Atsuko looked over to see the crowd, "I didn't think about how much I was straining myself during the fight. I just did what had to be done."
"That's what heroes do, after all."
Atsuko looked at her mentor and smiled, before looking back at the dispersing crowd. Even if she didn't participate in an operation as large as her friends, it didn't matter. Today was a good reminder: Japan didn't just need heroes like All Might and Endeavor, who were out there defeating flashy villains. It also needed heroes like her.
Bakugo was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily as Miruko landed several feet in front of him.
"I've got to hand it to you kid, you're good. Not many people can even come close to me, let alone keep up with what I've put you through for the past week."
"What did you expect? I already told you I'm going to be the best!" Bakugo said, pointing a thumb at his chest.
"Too bad you're never going to be a hero," Miruko said as she crossed her arms, looking down at him.
"What was that?" Bakugo asked, his hands already popping as he generated small explosions.
"Drop the act, you know that doesn't scare me." Bakugo refused to stop but continued to glare as she continued. "Your attitude is trash. Until you fix it, you'll never get your hero license, let alone have people accept you as a hero."
"How dare-" Bakugo began to roar.
Mirko interrupted him with a flying kick that he barely dodged. As he landed he realized how serious the hero was right now - if he wasn't already prepared to fire off an explosion at her, he likely would have been hit by that.
"It's that attitude. You don't see people for who they are. You judge someone solely on their strength. Or, more precisely, what you think their strength is."
"Did Aizawa put you up to this?" Bakugo growled. He remembered reading about the MLA philosophy, and it still made him angry at how close it was to his own views. He wasn't some villain! Let alone a follower of some washed-up terrorist group.
"No, just calling it like I see it."
"Tch, you're one to talk," Bakugo crossed his arms and spit on the ground.
Mirko's response was to toss her head back and laugh. "Kid, I am an asshole. The difference between you and me? I'm an asshole to the bad guys. But I can turn it off if I want to. How about you?"
Bakugo grimaced and turned away. He knew it was a dangerous thing to admit, but she was right. However, he refused to give her the satisfaction of saying it out loud.
"Take, for example, my secretary."
"What about her?"
"You think she is weak just because she works a desk job, don't you?" Bakugo's silence was all the answer she needed. "Just because she's not a hero."
"If she had a strong quirk, she wouldn't be doing your paperwork," Bakugo snapped back, "She'd be out there catching villains and having someone else do the paperwork."
"There it is," Miruko gave him a feral grin. "Now for your penultimate lesson." She walked over to the wall and hit the intercom with her fist. "Kawauso, you can come in now."
Bakugo saw the door to the locker room open, and Kawauso stepped out, her dress shirt having been discarded to reveal a black tank top. As she approached Bakugo saw her holding a canned shot of espresso. Cracking the can, she downed the drink in a single gulp, before crushing it in her hand and tossing it away. He swore he saw her eyes glow red briefly.
"Good luck kid, you're going to need it," Miruko called out as she leaned against the wall.
Bakugo dropped into a fighting stance, preparing to face the otter mutant.
Once he was discharged from the hospital, after calling his brother and parents Tenya returned to the shared building that Manual's agency was part of. He owed the hero an apology.
Returning to the agency, Tenya fumbled as he pulled out his keycard, still getting used to only having one functioning hand at the moment. Finally securing it, he entered the elevator and punched the button for the Normal Hero's floor. Exiting the elevator he made his way to the office Manual kept. While he intended to wait if necessary, he was pleasantly surprised to see the hero was actually in his office.
"Iida?" Manual asked in surprise as he noticed his intern, "I heard you were to be released today, but I thought you would be with your family."
"I intend to return home, but first I have something that must be done," Iida said before bowing almost a full ninety degrees. "I apologize for deceiving you!"
"What do you mean?"
"As you probably guessed, I had numerous offers that were more attractive than yours. However, I chose yours for one reason and one reason alone: it was the only offer in Hosu, where the hero killer was operating. It was a choice that was ultimately unfair to both of us, and for that, I deeply apologize!"
"Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed," While Tenya refused to move, he could hear Manual standing up and walking over to him. "While I was worried there may be another reason, I wanted to believe that you had a more sincere motivation than that."
"I know what I did was wrong and that I don't deserve your forgiveness. I had chosen you out of anger. I still was processing what happened to Tensei and was lashing out in an unheroic way. While I accept any consequences to myself, it isn't right for you to have lost a valuable week of your time thanks to me!"
Tenya got his answer moments later when he felt a gentle karate chop to the top of his head.
"You idolize your brother, don't you?"
"I do," Tenya admitted. "Perhaps too much."
"What do you mean?"
Tenya straightened up to look Manual in the eyes. "Before coming to UA, my view on heroes and heroics was- is rigid. It was only after I had started to attend UA that I realized that perhaps there were more paths than the one I was following. My classmates, one in particular, have shown me that."
"And what do you think now?"
"I still am, perhaps, too rigid in my thinking," Tenya admitted. "While I acknowledge my faults, two months has simply not been enough time to correct them yet."
"I see," Manual replied thoughtfully.
"However," Tenya continued, "Despite my impure reasons for choosing you for my internship, I had learned a lot - much more than I expected. It was, perhaps, a blessing in disguise. And I regret only having two days under your tutelage. I would have liked to spend the entire week interning under you."
"Really?"
"Truly. And I was wondering, would it be alright if I returned during the summer vacation to have a whole week under your care?"
Manual found himself taken back by Tenya's words. "I'm surprised you are aware that that is possible."
"Tensei often brought promising students on for additional internships. As a way to teach as many people as possible."
"And you are sure you want to intern under me again?"
"If you will have me, yes. I believe a week interning under you, without any hidden agenda, would be extremely helpful. And I would be able to repay you by letting you properly mentor me for a week."
Manual smiled at Tenya. "Well, with that logic, who am I to argue? If you can get the teachers to agree to a summer internship, I will gladly give you another shot."
Tenya smiled back at Manual.
Izuku was sitting across from Emily in the lounge of what had become their unofficial home for the past week, both of them silently writing notes for their quirk assessment class. At least, that's what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, he found himself distracted. Rather than thinking about quirks, Izuku found himself thinking about a certain brown-haired girl.
While Ochako had been an almost constant presence in his life, ever since his mom invited her over for dinner on a daily basis, it wasn't until she visited him in the hospital that he truly realized how much she meant to him. Even though she was only there for a few minutes, her bright smile and gentle touch did wonders for him that night.
Izuku's train of thought was broken when he felt a stylus poking his cheek.
"What're you thinking about?" Emily asked curiously.
"Nothing!" Izuku denied fervently.
"I don't believe that, gimme that," As she was speaking, Emily practically lunged over the table to grab his notebook, her sudden movement too quick for Izuku to react. Looking down at the page, she saw a rather detailed sketch of Ochako's face smiling up at her.
"Ochako, huh?"
"Not you too!" Izuku groaned, "Himi teases me enough already."
"Is that a bad thing, though?" Emily wasn't quite using her 'why are you making me ask a stupid question,' tone, but Izuku certainly felt like she was.
"Huh?"
"You and her. Even if Himi's views are warped by all those sappy romance films she and Atsuko watch, you know how observant she is."
"Yeah, I do," Izuku agreed.
"So what if she saw the chemistry between the two of you before you did? Is that such a bad thing?"
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Himiko Midoriya?" Izuku deadpanned.
Emily laughed. "Okay. Yes, she can go overboard, but you and I both know that is how she expresses herself." The girl spoke with a note of fondness in her voice as she thought about the green-haired girl.
"True," Izuku set the pencil down, "I just- I don't know how to feel."
Izuku saw a strange look flash across Emily's face, but before he had a chance to ask she threw the notebook at him. Thankfully his reflexes kicked in and he caught the notebook before it smacked him in the face.
"Oh please, your mind is wonderful but you and I both know how much you overthink things."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"She's your first crush, isn't she?" Emily asked pointedly.
Izuku blushed. "I-I'm not sure I'd go that far." He sighed, "You know what my last year of middle school was like. How I didn't have many friends. I just don't know if what I'm feeling is friendship or… something more."
Emily rolled her eyes, "How will you ever figure out your emotions if you never do anything about it?"
Izuku caught the underlying tone this time, and tried to turn the tables, wanting to talk about anything but his own emotions, "Are you asking me? Or yourself?"
Emily blushed, "Of course, I'm talking about you!" She gave a heavy sigh and Izuku swore that he would have imagined the next part if he didn't see her lips moving. "My problem is I can't seem to do anything right. I'm lucky she doesn't hate me."
Izuku let the topic drop and a companionable silence settled over the two, each lost in their own thoughts. His homework long forgotten, Izuku instead stared at his drawing of Ochako, her smiling face staring back at him.
As he felt a warmth settle over him, one that he didn't feel when he thought about Tenya or Tsuyu, he knew his answer.
Now he just needed to figure out what he wanted to do about it - without asking Himiko.
AN: Even though the excitement is over, there's a few more characters we will be checking in on before internships are over.