I clamped my lips down on my straw, drinking my strawberry shake. We had stopped our patrol halfway through for lunch. The morning had been pretty eventful. We had been called in to help with a villain holding a family hostage. Redemption had me go in first with my body broken down to see what the situation inside of the home was like before reporting back. He went in, captured the villains in a blink of the eye, and deposited them into the waiting police vehicles.
Redemption's phone screamed. He looked down at the text he had just received, "guess where we're going, next kid."
"Tartarus." I shrugged, taking a bite of my burger. We were sitting on the edge of the fountain in the park, our shakes beside us. Today was my last full day with Redemption. I did not want this to end. I could pass on the early morning runs and weight training though.
"Hawks' agency! You can see how the big boys play!" He scarfed down his triple-decker burger and finished off his shake in a moment. I watched him as I chewed my bite. He was getting way too excited. Wasn't Hawks' agency on the other side of Japan? I swallowed my bite as Redemption grabbed me around the waist and ran. Everything around us blurred to grey. Everything in my stomach rose into my throat. We stopped abruptly in a grand office. Tokoyami stood facing Hawks. I swallowed my lunch back down.
Hawks held his phone in his hand, "three minutes and ten seconds. You're losing speed in your old age." Tokoyami blinked, taking a step back. Redemption set me back down. I waddled over to the sofa, and laid my head on the back of it, holding my burger upright. We had crossed half of Japan in under five minutes. What the hell Redemption? Even Akari didn't travel that fast with me.
"Sa-Satoshi are you alright," Tokoyami asked, concerned.
"Just trying to keep my lunch down." I quivered. "A little warning next time would be nice before you run across Japan with me!"
"You came all the way from Tokyo? That's a three-hour flight." Tokoyami stared at Redemption in fear – or awe.
Hawks shrugged, putting his phone away. "He's the one person that's faster than me. Even I need at least a half-hour to travel that distance. They're the reason I was late by the way. Redemption told me that he had his first intern and I needed to see it with my own eyes. Got a little carried away." If Tokoyami had flown to Kyushu instead of taking the train he would have arrived at the agency around noon or just after pending his flight taking off by nine in the morning. Hawks got a call from his agency around twelve forty-five that first day. Why did he waste that much time with us when he could have been more focused on his own intern?
"Carried away," I gawked, standing upright while using the fancy sofa for balance, "you threw me off the top of the agency, multiple times." Hawks just shrugged. I heaved a sigh before taking a bite of my burger. Redemption laughed and began to discuss Dark Shadow with Tokoyami.
Hawks sat cross-legged on the sofa in front of me. "Tsukuyomi was telling me all about what happened at USJ. Apparently, you got in the middle of it." He pursed his lips and cocked his head to the side.
I looked over at Redemption speaking animatedly. "Yeah. I guess so." I took another bite of my burger.
He looked displeased, "you guess so? Did you fight the low-class villains like Tsukuyomi did or did you go up against the actual League of Villains?"
I swallowed. "Shigaraki and that weird Nomu creature. Why does that matter?" Something was off. His entire demeanour changed. He was an entirely different person. It was terrifying. He took his phone out of his jacket and slid his finger over the screen for a moment before turning it to face me. My heart dropped. It was a news article with a photo of me speaking with Shigaraki and Kurogiri the other night. The article claimed that I was working with the League of Villains and was their internal source at UA. My blood ran cold.
"Let's change their narrative," Hawks' eyes glinted as he put his phone away.
"So – what did you want to do with the two kids?" Redemption stalked over to us. I relaxed my shoulders and continued to eat my burger.
"Let's go on patrol," Hawks smiled – his body language from the other day returning. "Let's see who can keep up to me."
Redemption looked at Hawks, holding his heart in pain, "not me?"
"No one can keep up with you," I said between bites – finishing off my burger. I walked over to the garbage can beside his large desk. "See this. Teach your sidekicks to use it." He rubbed the back of his head with a large hand.
"My sidekicks will clean up our mess," Hawks stood from the sofa, motioning for us to follow. Redemption walked at his side while Tokoyami and I trailed behind.
"He's fast." Tokoyami spoke as we watched the pros in front of us.
"It's sickening," I glared at the back of Redemption's head.
"Him as well, but I was referring to Hawks. He moves too fast. I'm not learning very much from him at all." He sighed. We entered the elevator with them before I could reply. Hawks and Redemption were laughing about the latest top ten popularity poll that had Endeavor placed last.
The elevator dinged and we exited the box into the foyer before we filtered onto the street. "Do you normally do this much travelling Redemption?" I crossed my arms as Hawks expanded his wings.
He smiled like an idiot, "of course! Where villain's move, we go." A few of Hawk's sidekicks joined us outside.
"Ready? We'll end it at the national park." Hawks stretched his arms out. I nodded. Tokoyami did not look pleased while Redemption could not wait to start. "Let's go!" In a second, they were rushing off. Tokoyami and the sidekicks rushed after them on foot. I broke my body down, rushing high above the sidewalk after them. I excited my atoms, soaring past Tokoyami. I closed in on Hawks and Redemption. I had gotten faster since the start of the week – but still not nearly as fast as Akari. I watched as Hawks used his feathers to help anyone and everyone as he flew. Redemption would stop for a moment, assist, and then take off running again. I watched as a feather glided right past a small bundle as it fell from the top of a department store. I rushed forward as the feather slowly began to double back. I reformed my top half in time to catch the small bundle of fabric. It wailed. I pulled back the top of the fabric as I descended to the ground. Hawks made his way to the roof while Redemption stood below us on the street, his arm around a distressed woman. The child grabbed my finger as he calmed down.
"My baby!" The woman rushed toward me. I let my legs reform as I hit the pavement. I handed the baby back into her arms and she kissed the child. I stood there awkwardly, eyeing Redemption for help. The baby had a vice grip on my finger.
"So, what exactly happened," Redemption asked, standing beside me. "How'd the tyke make it all the way up there?"
The woman began to tear up again as her face flushed with anger, "my ex-boyfriend wasn't happy that I had our child, so he took him and ran. I got here as fast as I could, and he was already throwing him off the top of the building." She blubbered, blowing her nose on her sleeve as she held the child. I heard Hawks' wings flapping above us. I turned to see him floating down to us, holding an unconscious man by the back of his shirt. He landed, giving the woman a smile before taking him off to the police. The woman followed after the two.
Redemption ruffled my hair, "nice catch Polaris. Ready to get going again?"
"Shouldn't we wait for Hawks?" I stared at my finger that the child had almost refused to let go. Redemption pointed skyward before he took off. Hawks barreled through the sky again. I smiled, breaking my body down from the outside in, and followed them. Instead of being undetectable – I looked like a comet's tail with how I arranged my atoms. I looked behind briefly. Hawks' sidekicks and Tokoyami were speaking with the crowd and the police, working to get things returned to normal. Did Dark Shadow not have a speed or flying technique? Maybe that was why Hawks kept such a fast pace with his intern – he wanted Tokoyami to find a way to keep up. But, that could not be the only benefit to their internship.
"Finally, an intern that can keep up!" Hawks roared as he flew below my sparkling stream of atoms. An alarm sounded. Redemption and Hawks veered right down another street. I followed. A large lion-like villain stood in front of a jewellery store holding handfuls of gems as he shoved them into his pockets. I swirled around the beast, dissipating his spoils while Redemption fought him. I solidified the gems and jewellery inside the store before continuing with Hawks.
It only took about fifteen minutes before we reached the National park. Hawks was able to solve most of the issues we came across with his feathers. Occasionally he would miss catching something or removing someone from the middle of the road, so I would reform my hand and complete the task. After the fifth child in the street, it was obvious he was missing some of his feathers on purpose.
"You've improved since the week started," Hawks squatted on the side of the stone dividing wall. His arms dangled and tapped the rough stone. "If only Tsukuyomi would improve at that rate. I was hoping he'd've created at least one new move with me – but looks like that'll have to be his homework for next time. How well do you know him anyway?"
I froze my jaw slackening. "I don't. I don't talk to my classmates."
He frowned, sliding his glasses to rest on the top of his head, bangs pushing back. "Really? That's a shame. Being a hero on your own is boring – I don't recommend it." He stood back up, stretching his arms behind his back. "Isn't there at least one person? Your sister doesn't count."
Katsuki's face flashed through my mind. "Well, I guess I've started to get to know one person."
[B&M]
I picked up my backpack, slinging it onto my back, and picked up my case. I sighed, staring around the – now – clean room. Maybe I could put in a special request with Principle Nezu to do my work-study here once I obtained my provisional license. If I would even last that long at UA to pass that test. I sighed, exiting the room and took the stairs two by two. I stopped in the living room. Redemption was lounging on the sofa sipping on a can of iced coffee. "Thank you for having me as your intern for the week." I bowed my head as his attention turned to me.
"Hey, hold up. You're not heading out of here that fast." He quickly finished his can and crushed it in his hand.
"Uh, no?" I adjusted the strap on my shoulder. He stood up, tossing the can into a trash can in the corner of the room. I set my case down against the door frame.
"This is yours." Redemption reached into his pants and pulled out a stuffed and tattered wallet. He took out a small yellowed piece of photo paper, smiling at it before handing it to me. I took it, staring at the creased and rough-edged photo. It was me and my Dad. I was only a few months old, but I was smiling in the photo. My sparse black hair was pinned up in two messy pigtails. I was actually smiling a gummy smile with one hand reaching for the camera. Sirius held me in his arms, smiling down at me. His scruffy dark hair reached his chin. He watched me with the same look that my Grandfather would give me. My other hand held his necklace in a death grip. I looked back up at Redemption – did he have this in his wallet all these years? He held up the same necklace that Sirius wore in the photo. "He wants you to have it." He handed me the necklace. I stared down at the photo of us and his necklace. It was a small silver rectangle on a thick light silver chain. The name Kai Yagami was engraved on the side and inlaid with black enamel. I finally knew my father's real name.
"Why me?" I held the pendant tightly in my fist.
"Sirius would bring you around the hideout almost every day. You would stop crying the moment you saw us and start crying the moment you left. Kaguya took preference to Akari and he for you. Seeing you two all grown – he would be proud. He would be ecstatic at what you've done in two months at UA.
"Here's my number. Give me a text anytime you want to train, talk, punch a villain – our door is always open. You're my first intern so that principle of yours probably won't allow me to take you on for a work-study, but I will always be here for you. Sirius did make me your Godfather after all. Haven't gotten to do much though with that demon of a Grandmother you have. Wanted you raised by family – bull crap."
"Thank you," I smiled at the tattered business card he had handed me.
Redemption rested his hand on top of my head and ruffled my hair, "go show everyone what you learned here. They won't believe their eyes when you rocket to that number one spot."
[B&M]
"Best Jeanist is such a jerk," Akari groaned as she set her empty rice bowl down. "I don't see how he could be a top ten hero. This week was an absolute waste. Should have gone with Endeavor after all."
"I'm sure you must have learned something of worth," Grandmother chided Akari before taking a sip of her tea. I rose from my spot, taking my dishes over to the sink to clean.
Akari let out a grunt. "We did work on a new move – I'm sure it'll wow Honenuki and Vlad." She held her hands to her chest. I kept my eyes downcast and dried off my dishes, setting them in the rack. "What's with the haircut? Did Redemption not like it?" Grandmother did not even look in my direction.
I bowed my head slightly before turning to leave. Akari huffed before complaining about Best Jeanist once again. I left the main house and walked across the stone courtyard to the guest house. I jumped, my phone vibrating in the pocket of my shorts. I took out my phone as I kept walking. Why was Katsuki calling me? We had not even texted since he put his number in my phone. I answered his call, putting the phone to my ear, "hello?"
"How was your internship?" Katsuki sounded calm. Something thudded at a steady pace on his end of the line.
"Oh – uh, it was good. Redemption and I trained a lot, we went on patrol, and he let me help on a few of his missions." I replied, opening the door to the guest house. I took off my sandals and padded down the hall to the living room. "How was yours? You had Best Jeanist too?"
"It was bullshit!" The thudding stopped for a second before the glass shattered. I heard his mother yelling at him for breaking a window. "The damn window is fine!"
"That bad? Akari said it was a waste of time," I questioned, laying down on the sofa.
"Eh? What the hell does your sister know, she didn't even last an hour!"
"What?"
"Best Jeanist ended her internship early – said she was a waste of his time. Don't blame him, she's a psycho bitch."
"So, she didn't spend the week with you?"
"Fuck no. He kicked her out of his office himself." Who did she spend the past week with then?
"Did you learn anything?"
Katsuki grumbled his reply.
"Sorry, I think the phone's acting up."
"I hate his hair!" My phone pinged with a text from Katsuki. I opened up his message and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. His hair was slicked down and neatly styled instead of his erratic look. Best Jeanist had also dressed Katsuki in a pair of tight, properly fitted, blue jeans. "What are you laughing at?"
"It doesn't suit you."
"What'd you mean it doesn't suit me?!"
"You look like the people Iida and I went to school with at Soumei. The jeans do look good though."
"Fuck." He went quiet for a moment. "What was Redemption like?"
"Loud. Impulsive. He was my Dad's partner when they were villains. He became a hero after Sirius died."
"Did you know?"
"No. Not at all. He told me lots of stories from when they were kids, taught me some new moves too."
Mitsuki began to yell at Katsuki again. He shouted back at her. "Ugh, I gotta go deal with the hag. See you at school tomorrow."
"See you at school." He shouted to his Mom again before hanging up. I held my phone in my chest as I let my legs hang off the arm of the sofa. I lifted my right arm up, breaking down and reforming my arm in waves. Redemption had said that it was as if Father's body was always on alert. I held my breath, focusing on speeding up the pulsating wave of particles. I got up from the sofa, walking into my bedroom. I changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and refolded my shorts. I exited the guest house, heading barefoot into the forest. I stopped in front of a tall tree with a trunk about a foot and a half thick. I took a basic fighting stance that Redemption had drilled into me and swung my foot up and through the tree. I reset my stance and repeated the action a hundred times before switching sides. I will find a way to use my quirk to be a successful hero.