Today was the first day of Zen's hero internship with the Tiger Hero: Cat Scratch. He arrived 10 minutes before he was supposed to, seeing Cat Scratch leaning against the front desk, waiting for him, her green eyes piercing his soul.
"You're here early. Good." Cat Scratch said, walking towards him. She had a serious energy about her.
"I'm eager to start. Learning from someone of your caliber will help me become as strong as possible." Zen said.
"This job isn't easy, kid. There are very bad people out there." Cat Scratch told him.
"I know. I've met a few bad people in my life." Zen remarked.
"Y'know, upon seeing you up close and face-to-face, you're quite the looker. Got a girlfriend?" Cat Scratch asked, seemingly lightening up. Her tail was swaying from side-to-side.
"I do. She's interning with Gang Orca." Zen said.
"That's good. Young love can help build character." Cat Scratch said, pulling her gold hair into a tight bun. "Come on, put your costume on and let's get to work."
Zen went and changed into his hero costume. A blue jacket of element resistant material, with thick black lines going down each shortened sleeve, and a hood of different yet still element resistant material. He also wore a pair of black and gray pants with a military camo design, a black shirt, armored boots, fingerless brown gloves, and a pair of aviator goggles. After getting dressed, Zen met Cat Scratch outside, beginning the day. They did a standard patrol around the city. Cat Scratch gave Zen an earpiece so he could hear the updates from the agency. They had a mainly quiet day, although they did stop a robbery. Closer to the evening, they returned to the agency. Cat Scratch sent a few of her sidekicks out to patrol. She then took Zen to the agency's gym.
"So, I noticed that you were dodging most attacks during the Sports Festival. Is your durability lacking?" Cat Scratch asked.
"My durability is fine, I'd just prefer taking as little damage as possible." Zen said.
"Fair enough. However, your dodging needs serious improvement." Cat Scratch said.
"Yes ma'am." Zen said.
"Alright. So, I know that my Quirk gives me enhanced senses, but I still had to train them. We'll start with getting your hearing up. So, put these on." Cat Scratch said, handing Zen a pair of goggles with blackout lenses, as well as a mask to cover his nose.
"Am I gonna have to try and fight you by only being able to hear?" Zen asked, a bit nervous.
"Exactly." Cat Scratch said.
"But your Quirk lets you move very quietly." Zen said.
"That's only if nothing is on my feet. I'll keep my shoes on at first." Cat Scratch said.
"Alright. Well, I gotta get better, so let's do this." Zen said, putting the goggles and mask on.
"Start now!" Cat Scratch said, rushing him.
Zen narrowly managed to step out of her way, feeling her hand graze his cheek. They trained for hours, Cat Scratch constantly knocking Zen on his ass. Eventually, Zen started to get more in touch with his hearing, being able to avoid Cat Scratch more often. They trained for a few more hours, with Zen becoming more adept with his hearing. They eventually stopped, both having become tired from the training.
"Damn, you hit hard." Zen said, rubbing his neck and shoulder.
"Getting your durability and endurance up while we train. We've been training for eight hours." Cat Scratch said.
"It's already 1 in the morning?" Zen said, checking his phone.
"Yep." Cat Scratch said. She took a drink of water.
"I'm gonna be so sleepy tomorrow." Zen said.
"You'll be fine." Cat Scratch said, messing with him.
"Maybe." Zen said.
"If your house is too far away, you can stay here. I've got a night shift tonight anyway." Cat Scratch offered.
"Thanks. I'll take you up on that." Zen said, accepting her offer.
"Alright, I got a couch in my office you can sleep on." Cat Scratch said.
"Okay." Zen said, following Cat Scratch as she walked out of the gym.
"Oh, by the way, when we're not out in the field, you can call me Shizuka." Shizuka said.
"Okay. I guess you know both my names." Zen said.
"Zen Sokuda and Elemancer. Nice hero name." Shizuka said.
"Thanks." Zen replied.
Shizuka led Zen to her office. He laid down on the couch, sending his mother a text telling her where he was. He then fell asleep.
The next day was similar, but they did everything earlier. Zen managed to wake up fully rested, which surprised both him and Shizuka. They started the day with a recap of his hearing training. He performed better than he did yesterday.
"How'd you get better without training?" Shizuka asked.
"Well, I've got a particular memory type which let's me remember anything and everything, and I vividly remember everything you taught me yesterday. I practiced listening to everything as I fell asleep last night." Zen explained.
"That's crazy, kid. You'll make a formidable hero when you get more experience." Shizuka told him.
"So what's next? More training, another patrol?" Zen asked, eager.
"We'll go on patrol for a while. When we get back, we'll work on your sense of smell." Shizuka planned.
"Got it. Let's get to it." Zen said.
Again they went on patrol. After a few hours, they returned to Cat Scratch's agency. They went to the gym, where Shizuka handed Zen the blackout goggles again. This time around, she had him smell and identify various items and substances. After getting used to the various scents, she set up multiple things giving off strong smells. She had Zen locate what certain smells were and where they were. Zen struggled at first, but eventually began getting the hang of it. By the day's end, he could smell some weaker scents, as well as pinpoint the locations of smells. The day's training ended. They then went on patrol for an hour, with Zen sleeping at the agency once again.
The next morning, Zen's sense of smell hit him like a truck upon waking up.
"I'm gonna have to get used to that." Zen said, pinching his nose.
"Morning, kid. Scents getting stronger for ya?" Shizuka asked, having just walked into her office.
"I smell smoke." Zen said.
"That's me. I just finished a cigarette." Shizuka said.
"Ah, ok." Zen said
"Is my couch comfortable?" Shizuka asked.
"It really is. It's almost as good as my bed at home." Zen replied. Shizuka laughed.
"Alright. We'll do a recap then work on your eyesight. How's your vision normally?" Shizuka asked.
"Last time I went to an optometrist, they said I had 20/17 vision. Better than most." Zen said.
"Good. This'll make training your eyes a bit easier." Shizuka said.
"What's your eyesight?" Zen asked.
"My eyesight used to be bad, actually. My Quirk, as you know, is Feline, specifically tigers. Tiger have worse general vision than humans. It's our night vision that's better. My eyesight used to be 20/23. After training my eyes, they've reached 20/10 vision. They are, however, starting to get a bit worse again, because of a bad habit." Shizuka explained. She held up her box of smokes on her last sentence.
"How long did it take you to reach that?" Zen asked.
"Let's see, I'm in my thirties now, so, um, about 15 years." Shizuka answered.
"I've got a lot of work, don't I?" Zen asked rhetorically.
"Yup." Shizuka answered, unrhetorically.
"Alright, better start training now." Zen said, thinking of getting the best vision he possibly could.
They performed the recap, then began training Zen's eyes. Shizuka gave Zen the mask from his first day back, then gave him a specialty pair of noise cancelling headphones. Shizuka then began having Zen perform various eye exercises. They did this for hours, taking many breaks to keep Zen's eyes from straining too much. By the day's end, he didn't really feel any improvement.
"This one will take a lot longer to have any notable improvement." Shizuka told him.
"Yeah, I figured. The others are easier, since they can instantly be applied. Eyesight, it can't just naturally be improved immediately." Zen said.
"Yep. Well, it's time for patrol. Let's go." Shizuka said.
They did their standard patrol, then returned to the agency. They did more eye exercises for the rest of the day. Once again, Zen slept at the agency. The next day, Shizuka worked with Zen to improve both his sense of taste and sense of touch. They were easier to train than his eyes, but both were harder than his hearing and smell. They trained for hours like normal, then went on patrol. The next day, Shizuka hit Zen with a full course training routine, simultaneously training all five senses. They trained twice as long this time. After what felt like forever for Zen, their time came to an end.
"Everything feels strained." Zen said, laying on the floor.
"Yep, and it's gonna stay that way. After some time, your body will convert it into strength for your senses. Just remember to do this training daily." Shizuka told him.
"Yes ma'am." Zen replied.
"Today's your last day, Zen. I'm gonna miss you." Shizuka said.
"I'm gonna miss you too." Zen said, sitting up.
"Whenever you get your provisional hero license, will you come back and be my temporary sidekick?" Shizuka asked, wishing to train him more. She saw insane potential in him.
"Definitely." Zen answered.
"Great! Well, it's starting to get late. Go rest." Shizuka told him.
"Right. Good night, Shizuka." Zen said to his mentor.
"Good night, Zen." Shizuka said back.
Zen slept on Shizuka's office couch one last time. The next day, he returned to school.