Chapter 3

'You where unbelievable, Ichi! How you overcame the obstacle course with ease. It was such a smart move to use your fire to increase you speed! Just like Endeavor does! And how~'

Ichika zoned out the constant blabbering of her younger sibling as she picked her food. Of course Izuku would be impressed by her feat. The boy had been blabbering about it all evening, excitedly recapping today's event which he had followed from home with their mother.

Yet Ichika didn't share his excitement. Yes, she had made it to the final round. Yes, she had fought to her best extent, yet she had suffered an humiliating defeat. All she had worked for, only to have been flushed down the drain in that final battle. Fainting in the middle of the fight due to overheating! Ugh, why did she think it was a good idea using that move? She was far from ready to use it!

'I'm sure you would have won if you pulled of that new move you've been working on.'

She groaned in frustration as Izuku's voice found its way to her conscious again. There was no need to remind her of that humiliating defeat, Izuku! No matter how much he wanted to analyse the fight, she still lost! And all because she had allowed her to get to her! She should have known better! She should have know Uma was only trying to get a rise out of her, making her angry to prevent her from thinking clearly.

'Well I think you did a marvelous job,' Inko interrupted her son's rambling when she noticed Ichika's sulking form. 'You placed second, sweetie. I'm so proud of you!'

'Easy for you to say, mom,' Ichika muttered, still pocking her food. 'You didn't faint in front of the whole school. And to make matters even worse, Thousands of people who followed the finals one way or another. And then there's the fact that I might have blown my chances of getting a great hero agency for my work studies! You do know they are already scouting for when I get my Provisional Hero License, right? Who'd pick a girl that faints due to overheating?'

'I'm sure you're just exaggerating, Ichika. I bet there are a lot of good agencies that would want you.'

'But I don't want "a good" agency,' Ichika complained as she quoted her mother's words for emphasis. 'I want the best! Ineed the best for my work studies.'

Frustrated, Ichika blew off some steam. Literally. Two streams of smoke shot put of her nostrils as Ichika tried to calm herself down.

'What did I say about that during dinner,' Inko scowled at her eldest child, while waving away the smoke. 'I get that you are frustrated, young lady. But rules are rules.'

The woman huffed as she crossed her arms expectedly, not even fazed by the glare Ichika gave her. Instead she held her own stern gaze at the teen in a staring contest. Then Ichika just sighed and looked away with a 'fine'.

'What's so special about work studies,' Izuku inquired, trying to change the subject. 'I haven't heard about that one before.'

Ichika finally decided to eat her soba, finishing it before answering his question. Once done, she placed the cup on the table and started explaining the concept of work studies. And why it was so important for her to do so at a high ranking hero agency.

'Oh, I see,' Izuku said as his face lit up. 'You still can become a teacher then?' Ichika nodded. 'That's a relief, Ichi! I was feeling guilty for you to go to U.A. just for me, while I know you don't even want to become a hero. But knowing you can follow your own dream, while attending the Hero Course makes me happy.'

Izuku gave her his trademark bright smile, bringing a smile on her own face as well. That sweetheart really did look relieved when Ichika had told him what Hound Dog had proposed. Sure, at first she would only be a teachers assistant, but it would still be something. And from there on, she could work her way up.

'And don't worry, Ichika,' Izuku continued, while looking at his bowl of soba. His green eyes staring at his food, before he found her green eyes again. 'I know you can do it!'

After Izuku's little peptalk, Ichika felt a lot better when she arrived at school two days later. While still feeling anxious about having possibly screwing up her chances, Izuku still had faith in her. And if Izuku had faith in her, then why shouldn't she?

Getting on the train that morning was a disaster. Just like last year, Ichika got crowded by strangers who had seen her on television. Recognising her as the runner-up of the U.A. Sports Festival. Though unlike last year, she wasn't surprised by the sudden interest in her. Though that didn't mean she enjoyed being crowded by all those strangers. So the moment the train stopped at her destination, Ichika made a dash towards the doors and quickly made her way towards school. From there she got her usual greetings and both students and teachers congratulating her.

'Morning class.'

'Good morning Hound Dog sir,' the class of 2-B replied simultaneously as their homeroom teacher walked in.

'I hope you are all rested well after the two day break?' The hound hero didn't even wait for his class to reply as he used the digiboard to show the statistics his class had been eager to see. The Draft Pick Total of class 2-B. 'Let us see who have caught any attention, shall we?'

Like the tease he was, Inui sensei had programmed the list so that only the statistics showed up, but no names came with the graphics. They seemed to be evenly spread amongst the class this year. Probably because they had been able to show their skills last year as well. And some agencies had probably put the student they had trained last year on their list once again. Though Ichika couldn't help but notice the last place with only a handful of votes. For a minute she panicked that she really had messed up, but then sir Inui showed their names at the chart.

'As expected, Midoriya has caught quite the attention. Don't look too surprised girl, you placed second.' Ichika just stared at the chart in surprise, not even hearing her classmates congratulating her for her feat. 'And immediately after Midoriya is Anzai, how shocking.'

Upon seeing her name appear on the chart, Akio Anzai shrieked in excitement, while their teacher chuckled at his own joke. But Ichika wasn't surprised that Anzai had gained quite the attention. Throughout their first year, the girl has trained her Arc Volt to a pinpoint precision, electrifying whoever was at the wrong end of her electric whip.

More and more names appeared on the screen, until only one name remained.

Poor Mirio. Once again he hadn't been able to show what he got. She knew he was strong, exceptionally strong! But he didn't make it to the second round of the festival. And from what she had seen, he had a rough start when he was careless in activating his quirk and stood butt-naked in front of everyone. Not exactly how you would make a good impression.

'Oh wow!' Surprised to hear Mirio's excited outburst, Ichika turned her attention toward the said teen in front of her. 'I got an agency to notice me. Oh yeah!'

'That's great, Mirio,' Ichika said with a shy smile. 'That means that whatever you did, they saw potential.'

He turned to look at her and gave her his contagious bright smile and a thumbs up. And just like that, she felt her heart pounding in chest and a flutter in her abdomen. But why? As he opened his blue eyes, she felt her cheeks heating up.

Feeling self-conscious, Ichika brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and tried to avoid his eyes. Though before Mirio could reply, Hound Dog demanded all attention as he started passing papers with the agencies that had scouted them. But as the paper containing her name and list of interested hero agencies landed on her table, Ichika hardly noticed. Even as she unconsciously looked down and picked up the paper, she couldn't help but wonder.

Was she starting to fall for him?

'What! No way! Nighteye Agency has scouted me!'

Snapping out of her daze, Ichika read the names on her own paper. Her eyes scanning over the letters as they read the agencies. Most of them were the same ones that had scouted her last year. And it seemed Haws Agency had scouted her again too. But that wasn't what had caught her eye as she let out a gasp. No, it was the name right on top that shocked her. That couldn't be right! They only took the best of the best and the last one was years ago. Surely she misread it. It couldn't be true! So she read the name once again. Her eyes big as she realised she didn't misread it.

But she screwed up! She wasn't the best of the best! She made a fool out of herself! Yet they scouted her?!

'Hey, what's wrong, Ichika?'

With trembling hands, she showed Mirio her paper. Her voice trembling as she spoke, still in denial.

'I got scouted by Endeavor Agency!'

The rest of the week crawled by. After her initial shock, Ichika put Endeavor Agency as her first choice. It was afterall the best choice to make a name of herself. He was the number 2 hero afterall! But once word got out that the number two hero had actually scouted a student, everyone started swarming Ichika. Wanting to know how she was able to get Endeavor to scout her. But Ichika didn't have a clue either. Not that anyone believed her. So all she could do was wait…

'Argh! I hate this!'

'Calm down Ichika! I'm right here!'

'Whoops, sorry, Nejire,' she quickly apologised to the bubbly girl. 'It's just… I can't stand having to wait this long!'

'You're being a bit dramatic, don't you think,' Mirio questioned as he looked up from his book. 'It's already friday and you're meeting him Monday, right?'

'Yeah, but we still have two more days after today,' the redhead complained. 'And I've been waiting all week to meet Endeavor. He's my favourite hero, you know!'

Her eyes lit up in excitement as she remembered seeing the flame hero for the very first time. She was only six years old at the time, but she remembered like it was yesterday.

'He's just so cool! And his stoic attitude makes him even cooler, because it makes him seem unreachable. And then there's his flames! So vibrant and elegant, yet deadly at the same time!' She shrieked in excitement just thinking about the flaming mask the hero wore while on duty. 'And I'm going to meet him next week! Ah! I think I'm going nuts!'

'Could you calm down, Ichika,' came the quiet voice of Tamaki, as the said girl continued to freak out. 'Your starting to freak me out too.'

'Oh! So passionate!'

'Sounds like you have a crush on him,' Mirio joked as he shifted in his seat. With a playful smirk, he leaned closer to her. 'The way you talk about the man and all. Like Nejire said, you're so passionate about him. You always are. Is that why you decided to let your hair down? To impress him?'

Immediately she felt her cheeks heating up. He noticed! She had indeed traded her long braid for just a simple half up hairstyle, allowing her hair to fall down freely down her back.

'Oh sush! I'm meeting one of the only heroes I actually idolise. I happen to be quite picky when it comes to heroes, you know.' She crossed her arms in a challenge, fighting against the blush that was rapidly spreading across her cheeks at his close proximity. 'And same goes for my choice of men, actually. And married men twice my age just isn't my type.'

Not wanting to meet his eye, she instead looked away to where Nejire was sitting. Though the look on the periwinkle haired girl didn't promise her any good as she looked back at her with a mischievous gleam in her eyes and a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

'Don't do it,' Tamaki warned as he too noticed the look Nejire gave her. But his warning fell on deaf ears as she opened her mouth. But Mirio beat her to it.

'Their not?' Mirio smirked playfully at her, while his blue eyes twinkled mischievous. 'Then what is your type?'

The moment the question left his lips, Ichika felt herself burning up. Her cheeks and ears felt like they were burning and she knew her face was a red as her hair. She knew what her type was, but there was no way she was going to tell him! Nor Nejire or Tamaki for that matter! Knowing Nejire, the whole school would know what type of guys she liked before the end of the day. And Tamaki was childhood friends with someone who fitted the description perfectly.

'Oh, I know,' Nejire cried out with a giggle. 'I know Ichika's type!'

Ichika glared at the girl in annoyance. She had hoped to change the subject. But then again, it wasn't like Nejirereally knew her type, so she decided to listen to what she thought would be her type.

'Ichika likes a guy who's taller than her, which isn't that easy ya know? She's a giant compared to me.'

'Nah, you're just short, Nejire,' Ichika teased, relieved that the description Nejire had given was quite easily fitted by a lot of guys.

'Not fair!' Nejire stuck out her tongue childishly. But then she grinned again. 'Anyway. Like I said, tall guys. And brave, am I right?'

Ichika just shrugged casually. She wasn't wrong, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Tall and brave. There are plenty of guys on U.A. alone that could fit that profile.

'Can't say I appreciate a short guy who runs off like a scaredy-cat,' Ichika confirmed before taking a sip from her water.

'And of course blue eyes. But most importantly, she absolutely loves a muscular guy. Like big,big arms, right? Right?'

Ichika almost spilled her water as she watched Nejire mimic a large muscular arm as the girl grinned at her like a Cheshire cat. Then she glared at her friend as her cheeks once again heated up. Dammit and she had just regained her normal skintone! Did she just guess correctly or had Nejire actually figured out her crush on their tallest companion?

'So itis Endeavor then,' Mirio mused cheekily. 'No wait, he's married. So All Might then? Is he married?' He looked over to Tamaki, who only shrugged in return. 'Alright, All Might it is.'

Yeah, just let him think it's All Might, then he won't know who she really likes!

'Yeah, sure. If you say so,' Ichika replied as casual as she could, before changing the subject. 'Anyway, what about your internships? Aren't you guys excited to get started? You're starting next week as well, aren't you, Mirio? At Nighteye Agency?'

'Yeah, I'm thrilled to get started,' Mirio replied with a bright smile. 'I wonder if he's just as strict as he always appears.'

'I'm sure you'll be alright, no matter what,' Tamaki said quietly.

'And what about you, Tamaki,' Nejire asked as she turned her attention to the shy boy. 'You're going to Fatgum! That guy seems like so much fun!'

'Yeah,' Ichika agreed. 'He seems to be the less strict hero out of all four. Ryukyu, Endeavor and Nighteye seem like strict persons. But from what Izuku has told me, Fatgum is always so chipper. Just the kind of guy you need to climb out of that shell of yours.'

And just like that, the boy tried to hide his face from his friends. His pointed ears slightly tinted in pink. Yet a small smiled tugged at his lips as his friends laughed cheerfully.

Yes, next week would mark a big day for all of them.

'Yeah, I'm almost there.

Of course I will tell you all about him. You know I will.

No, I won't forget about asking for his autograph. I promised you that I would, didn't I?'

Ichika smiled as she heard her brother's excited voice on the other end of the line. Bombarding her with questions and reminding her of the promise she made. Do to yesterday's events, Izuku was grounded, though according to Ichika his punishment seemed a bit unfair. It wasn't like he choose to be attacked by some mud villain, right? Though luckily he got saved by none other than All Might! Lucky bastard! Meeting the number 1 hero like that!

Yes, it was stupid to go look for trouble right after he was saved. But secretly Ichika had praised her little brother for his bravery. Even without a quirk, he had done what no hero had done. He had sprung right into action to help his childhood friend. Like a true hero.

So yeah, that little sound had earned him punishment in the form of house arrest. Though if one was to ask Ichika, the kid deserved a medal.

And with Izuku being Izuku, the perfect medal came in the form of an autograph. She didn't know how or when yet, but she would ask Endeavor for his autograph. Though perhaps it would be best to do so at the end of the day. Best not to ask right away on her very first day at his agency…

'Hey, I need to go,' she told Izuku once her destination came in view. 'I'll see you later, okay? Bye, Munchkin.'

'Good luck, Ichi,' she heard him say before she hung up.

With a bright smile on her face, she put her phone away. She couldn't wait to tell him about her day. And hopefully, he would soon have his own experience at a hero agency.

Swallowing thickly, Ichika mustered up the courage to enter the large building. What would lie behind those doors? What would her favourite hero be like in person? Would he be the same as the man she had met years ago? Or did his stoic personality came with his title?

Only on way to fight out, right? With her suitcase containing her hero outfit in her left hand, Ichika opened the door.

'Hello and welcome at Endeavor Agency,' a woman with neon green flames as hair said as soon as Ichika reached the front desk. Her reddish orange eyes scanned Ichika for a moment, taking notice of her school uniform and silver suitcase. Then she leaned in closer to. 'Ah, our one and only U.A. student. How'd you manage to gain Endeavor's attention, hm? Miss second place.'

Ichika glanced down at her feet under the intense stare.But instead of answering, she just shrugged. She had been pondering over the same question for days, yet she couldn't find the right answer. As the young woman in front of her had already pointed out, she had come in second, not first. Why would a man such as Endeavor even as much as blink in her direction?

Suddenly her head shot up in surprise upon hearing the amused laughter as the woman's intense stare had turned into a look of amusement.

'I'm just messing with you, kid. No need to be shy.' Then she stood up and beckoned Ichika to follow her. 'I'm Burnin by the way. And I was the one to recommend you.'

'You did? Why?'

'Because I had seen you last year and I thought that perhaps Endeavor wanted to known about a young fire user.' Burnin grinned at Ichika as she lead her through the large skyscraper towards the elevator. 'You do know most heroes at Endeavor Agency have a fire or heat related quirk, right?'

Ichika nodded. Yes, she was aware of that. She was a Endeavor fangirl afterall. Though she did not know the heroes that worked for him, she did know that little detail.

'Though I must admit I was a little surprised when the big guy actually went to the Sports Festival this year,' Burnin continued as they moved up to the right floor. 'He didn't seem all that interested last year, you know. He never really is. But somehow you manged to pique his interest. Must be with how similar it is to his own.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' was all Ichika could manage to squeak out as the enthusiastic flame-haired girl continued rambling.

'Hm,' Burnin nodded before stopping in front of a large door. She turned to look at Ichika with a cheeky grin. 'Perhaps you should ask him yourself, if your brave enough that is. Now, let's go and introduce you to the big guy himself, shall we?'

And with that she knocked on the door, opening it after a gruff 'enter' came from the other side. As Burning opened the door, Ichika felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety wash over her. He was really there! Endeavor was really behind that door! Years after she had first seen him on the streets, she was now going to actually meet him!

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she followed after Burnin.

A/NThank you all for the follow and/or favourite.