Internships

Estelle stood at the train station with all of her classmates while they rustled about in excitement. When she had informed Nona about her departure for a week, she worried about The Beanery, but the old lady had put her fears to rest.

"What's one week compared to the year I've worked alone. Don't worry, dear. I'll be fine! I've done it before, and I can do it again. Just make sure you enjoy yourself!"

Estelle really appreciated that woman.

She stood behind the class in tranquil silence and waited for Aizawa to show. Once he arrived, he promptly investigated, "You all have your costumes, right? Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public. So, don't drop it or anything."

"Yes, sir!" The class returned, Estelle still chilling at the rear.

"Speak clearly! It's "yes, sir," Ashido", Aizawa reprimanded.

"Yes, sir..."

"Make sure you mind your manners with the heroes at your internships! Now off with you."

"Yes, sir!" They all returned once again before breaking off to head to their respective internships.

Estelle boarded the train to Musafasu, took a seat and closed her eyes to the enjoyable silence. It was interrupted when a figure sat across from her, making noise whilst they fidgeted.

'I swear to god, I am getting sick of the constant interruptions. I will drop-kick the next person that bursts my bubble.'

"Hello", a male voice stated and interrupted her violent thoughts. Estelle opened her eyes to see who she was going to kill, only to find herself startled that it was Todoroki sitting across from her.

'Okay, maybe not.'

"Hi", Estelle responded bluntly.

"I'm surprised you're heading to Musafasu; where is your internship?" He queried.

"It's with the asshole Endeavour; I'm guessing you're going as well? I'm surprised."

Todoroki lifted his brow in contemplation, "Well, I need to work on my fireside, and Endeavour is the best person for that even if I do hate the old man. It seemed like you did too. Why go to him?"

Estelle smiled amicably, causing Todoroki's breath to hitch. She disregarded it in favour of answering, "I have a fireside of my own, you know? It's the same as you, I don't like him, but he could teach me something."

Todoroki nodded again, starting to feel like a bobblehead. "I forgot you had a fireside as well. You don't use your quirk often; why is that?"

Estelle understood where his curiosity stemmed from, but did he really have to spend the whole ride asking questions? She replied anyway, "yeah, well, I don't rely on it for everything. It's boring; I prefer to be more hands-on."

"Hmm, I see. I almost forgot. I never thanked you for what you said to my old man at the sports festival. It meant a lot."

Estelle shook her head, and she waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, it's fine. I wanted to stick it to the old piece of firewood anyways."

"Firewood?" Todoroki examined with furrowed brows.

Estelle shook her head at the boy before closing her eyes again, wordlessly telling him that the conversation was over.

He seemed to have missed the memo since he spoke up once again. "I visited my mom for the first time in years."

Estelle opened her eyes, hiding her irritation at him and processed his words. Oh yeah, she did the thing. "That's good. The first step of healing is facing open wounds. Ignoring them will just allow them to continue festering. Is she doing okay?"

"You are wise. My mom is doing good. I'm going to keep visiting her at the hospital."

Estelle nodded, and they finally fell into a calm silence. Todoroki relaxed in his seat while they travelled the rest of the way. He was glad to have a companion with him, but he couldn't help but wonder what Endeavour was planning. He never invited other people to intern with him.

Ignoring that thought for later, he rested on the idea of spending a week with the girl sitting across from him. He was slightly pleased about that; maybe he would be able to get to know her more.

Once they reached their destination, the two students walked to Endeavours hero agency and met the lady at reception.

After being directed to Endeavours office, Estelle and Todoroki stood outside the door in silence. The two-toned male turned to the silent female and asked, "You ready?"

Estelle scoffed. "Of course I am. I'm meeting a douchebag, not a god."

Todoroki huffed with a small smile before opening the door, and they both made their way to stand in the middle of the room. Estelle was not impressed by the aesthetic.

'Someone is overcompensating.'

The number two hero stood behind his desk and moved to meet the two in the middle of the room. "I see the both of you found this place fine. Shoto, are you here to finally accept your rightful place!?"

"No. I'm only here to train my fireside and work next to the number two hero. I still completely reject the path you have laid out for me."

Endeavour huffed and turned to face Estelle with a raised fiery eyebrow. "I see you have decided to join us, just like I knew you would."

Estelle smirked before voicing, "I came here to train my fireside, just like Todoroki. I'm still uninterested in anything else you have to offer."

The man's flames soared as displeasure showed on his face. "Hmm, how is a girl who, by the records I looked into, is completely non-existent until she went to UA so ready to decline anything the number two hero could give her?"

"A girl who has her priorities in check."

Endeavour grunted in dismay; the crackling sound of the fire grew louder, evidently showing his irritation. Stepping forward into Estelle's vicinity, he bluntly demanded, "Marry Shoto."

"What?!" Todoroki barked and jumped in disbelief at the audacity of the older man.

Estelle's expression didn't change since she was expecting him to stop dancing around the topic. Staring him down, she deadpanned, "I decline."

Todoroki slackened at the response before swerving to his father. "Why the hell would you ask something like that? I didn't know you could get any lower, old man."

Endeavour glanced down at his son as if the answer was obvious "Her quirk is powerful; she has the power of all four elements. With her quirk and our blood, the child she would bear would be exquisite."

Todoroki scoffed in disgust whilst Estelle stayed quiet, fully aware Todoroki needed to express his mind more. "That is not happening. Listen here, old man; you will not dictate our choices. We can do our internship, or we can leave; it's your call."

Endeavour sighed but agreed with a nod, understanding that this was getting nowhere. With disappointment lacing the hero's tone, he stated, "Fine, we will start training in the morning. The woman outside will take you to your rooms. Be at the training grounds for eight."

Giving no further response, the two students left the room to meet the receptionist that directed them to Endeavour's office earlier. They followed along behind her. The woman guided them to two rooms right next to each other and passed them their keys.

Thanking her, the two bid each other goodnight before heading to their rooms to settle in before training commenced the next day.

Estelle woke up in her temporary room with a sigh and got ready for the day by getting into her hero uniform. Meeting Todoroki outside the rooms, they made their way to the training rooms and waited for Endeavour to arrive.

The hero arrived fifteen minutes late. Without wasting a breath, he started training without any apology. "Show me what you can do with your fire. Shoto, you first."

Todoroki walked up to the middle of the room, lit up his flames and shot it out towards the target across the room. The blaze trailed across the floor wildly towards the target, leaving a path of fire.

Estelle scanned the way he used his quirk whilst Endeavour muttered a sharp "I see. Estelle, you next."

Estelle stepped forward, using water first to extinguish Todoroki's flames that shimmered on the ground before lighting her hand on fire. Throwing the flame, it never touched the ground as the smoky red ball soared through the air and hit the target a slight right from the bullseye.

"Hmm, you seem to have better control. I want you to spend the day improving your fire aspects. Shoto, you need to learn to contain your flames more accurately, so practice on Estelle. Estelle, you should attempt to try to find new ways to use your fire. I will come back in a few hours to see what you've learnt, and I'll train you both further personally."

Without waiting for approval, Endeavour left the room. Todoroki turned to Estelle apologetically. "Sorry about him. Let's practise for when he gets back."

Estelle nodded in agreement before giving him her analysis. "I watched you when you threw your flames; you're using it like you would with your ice. Try focusing the flame on one point first."

Todoroki looked at her confused "I thought we were getting trained by my old man? But it seems like your competent enough without his help."

"I am, I just figured it wouldn't hurt to work on it. Now give it a try."

Todoroki stared at his hand while he focused, the flames igniting his whole arm once again. Estelle walked up to the male, placing a finger on the middle of his palm once he let the fire disappear. "Close but not quite. Close your eyes. Good. Now I want you to focus on my finger on your palm. The exact point of where it's touching you, once your full concentration is set on it. Set it on fire."

Todoroki's eyes shot up in horror from her words, "What?! No! I'll burn you!"

Estelle rolled her eyes at him. "No, you won't; I'm warming up my skin to withstand your flames with my fire aspect. Close your eyes and do it."

The boy looked at her, unsettled but shut his eyes. After a minute of silence, Todoroki set his entire arm alight and looked down in defeat. He relaxed when he saw Estelle completely unharmed by his fire.

"Don't worry about it; try again", Estelle assured.

Repeating the process a few times, the two-toned boy opened his eyes to his hand alone, showing flames. He looked up in wonder and gave a small smile to Estelle when her eyes glinted at him. "Good, try it again without me."

He was successful after a few attempts. Estelle took numerous steps back and faced Todoroki. "Throw it at me."

He looked hesitant when he attempted to throw the fire towards her. To his dismay, the fire did the same as before and left a blazing trail in its path, leaving Estelle to put it out with water. "Again, imagine it like a baseball."

He nodded and created a semi-ball shape before it flew into the air. It wasn't perfect, but it was a vast improvement. Estelle caught the flame, fixed the form and threw it back with no warning. He fumbled as he grabbed it, surprised that it wasn't hurting him.

"It's your fire; it wouldn't hurt you", Estelle affirmed. He nodded back thoughtfully. The next few hours consisted of them playing catch silently before Todoroki disrupted the peace.

"My old man said that he couldn't find anything on you before UA. Do you know why?"

Estelle frowned at his question because what on earth could she say to that? She was honestly stupefied that nobody had caught onto that fact earlier. "It's difficult to explain. The best explanation I can give you is that to the world; I didn't exist before UA."

"So, someone removed your records?"

"Hmm," Estelle acknowledged, giving no direct answer. Todoroki took that as a yes, his conspiracy prone mind running a mile an hour.

'She could be a lab experiment; that explains why she is so powerful and has no last name. Or she is a hidden child of an important person. Maybe her family was being chased,' Todoroki thought.

Before he could ask further questions, Endeavour stepped in and smirked at the development he could see between the two. "Very good! Let's get started. Watch me complete some of my special moves and take in the technique."

The three spent the rest of the day working with one another in harmonious dislike and professionalism.