"Sir Steel!" Tenya said as he walked alongside the pro hero. "I must thank you for agreeing to this internship. My brother spoke highly of you-"

"Yeah, Tensei is a good egg," Sir Steel commented. "And its Anakin, okay?"

That caused Tenya to blink in surprise. "It would be highly improper for me to address you so informally. It belittles all your work as a pro hero-"

"Uh huh, sure," Sir Steel said as they moved into one of the messiest garages that Tenya had ever seen. It was filled with different mechanical parts and stank of motor oil and other fluids. The cement floor was stained in a multitude of blacks and grays, like a patchwork of filth. While there were places on the wall to hang tools, and plenty of them were, there were just as many tools lying scattered about. He saw several cars in various states of dismantling and repair, from a rusted out skeletal frame to a mint 2XXX Grim that just needed a final wax. Some of the robots that UA had used for the exam were in a corner next to what looked like a red little trashcan with a dome on top. "Listen, I get that there are times to be respectful. But we are going to be working together closely, Tenya, and that means that we need to be comfortable with each other. There can't be barriers between us."

Tenya wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. He didn't think that showing respect was creating a 'barrier' but on the other hand he could see that having familiarity between him and the hero would make things easier.

"…very well… Anakin."

"See, wasn't hard at all," Anakin said with a smile, patting Tenya on the shoulder. "Now, I thought about giving you the tour of the place, showing you your room and all that, but I figure with your quirk you are someone that likes to get moving."

Actually Tenya would have liked to take the tour right then, as it would be nice to understand where he would be staying for the next 7 days, but he didn't speak up and correct the hero. He had his limits.

'And… I must admit… it would be nice to show what I can do.' So Tenya set his bags down and went ramrod straight. "I am ready whenever you are!"

"Great," Anakin said before looking over Tenya. "You like those clothes?"

Tenya looked down at his dress shirt, slacks, and polished shoes. "I thought to make the best first impression-"

"No, no," Anakin said, waving his one hand about. "I mean is it going to be a problem if they get dirty? And are you comfortable in them? Move around easy in them?"

That confused Tenya all the more. "I won't wear these while patrolling."

That caused the hero to sigh. "If I didn't know you weren't joking…" he muttered before looking up. "Alright, sorry Tenya. I'm used to Ahsoka and how she will banter right back at me when I get snappy. We are going to be working in the shop today and its going to get messy. I want to make sure you don't want to change into some different clothes."

Tenya blinked at that. "Sir… I mean Anakin… shouldn't we be patrolling? Fighting crime? That is why I am here."

"We are here to make you a better hero," Anakin said, sounding a bit more confident. "And part of that is helping push your quirk to the next level. To do that we are going to figure out how to make you even faster than your brother. To have you breaking every record there is. But-" he held up his finger, "-there is no way we are going to poke and prod your engines without an understanding of how they are when compared to regular engines. So you are going to help me work on the motor on the Snapper." He pointed to the one car that was half way done, its engine held by chains up in the air. "And we'll see how much you know before we begin looking over you. What's similar, what's different. All that."

"Yes Sir!" Tenya said, at once understanding. "And I am sure I will be fine. How messy could it get?"

Anakin just shot him a dry look and Tenya forced himself not to grimace.

~MC~MC~MC~

Ochaco adjusted the straps of her backpack before heading into Mirko's private gym. The rabbit hero was currently delivering every kind of kick she could to a padded pillar, a smirk on her face as the thing wobbled with every strike.

"So…"MIrko said, barely sparing her a glance, "you're my new fucking intern." She didn't even bother to stop her workout. "I was impressed by how you fought in the Sports Festival… I'll admit that. But I'm going to tell you the truth flat out: I only sent that offer in because Endeavor told me not to and I wanted to piss him off. I have no time for pampered little princesses so you better realize that this is going to be hell week for you. I fucking hate heroes who think that the job is just about posing for photos… I got no problem with fans but you better do some shit to actually deserve it. You've got the benefit that you want to be a Rescue Hero and they aren't huge in popularity but that's about that. I'm going to treat you like shit and we'll see if you survive."

Ochaco… dropped her backpack and walked over to the pillar.

"My family lives paycheck to paycheck," Ochaco stated, as casual as if one were discussing the weather. "My father does construction work and I don't mean that he sits in an office and barks out orders to the crew. I mean we are short staffed nearly every day because he can never get a full crew and needs to rely upon day laborers. And they are unreliable, even the great ones, and then half the time they don't make it past lunch. So he goes out there and hauls lumber himself and after 8 hours he goes and does all the work he was SUPPOSED to be doing while he was making sure that the project remained on time. My mom has bad knees from smoothing out concrete while the sun made her neck blood red. We couldn't afford babysitters so my first memory is playing with some bent nails because they were the only toys I had while my dad was screaming at the guy with the jackhammer to hurry it up.

"I didn't get the latest gadgets for my birthday. And I never wanted them. Because I knew that just getting me a book or a doll meant my parents sometimes didn't get to eat dinner for a few nights. My shoes were held together by duct tape and I wore dresses my mother patched up from discount stores that still smelled of cigarette smoke. My hair was cut outside and one year I grew it out just so I could sell it for a bit of pocket change. And I didn't even spend most of it because I couldn't bring myself to waste it on the movies or an arcade or the like.

"It is taking EVERY ounce of willpower I have not to take that suit-" she pointed at the case that was sitting near the wall, the one she knew UA had sent Mirko, "-and sell it at a pawn shop because I know for a fact it is worth more than what my parents make in five years. Pampered princess? I'm not the one with a private gym. I worked out in parks, climbing trees and practicing my quirk where the dogwalkers couldn't see me. You think your cursing is going to make me all aflutter? Do you realize how much I have to censor my fucking language thanks to spending most of my life surrounded by hard-smoking, hard-drinking, pounding steel in the morning and pounding your mom's pussy at night construction workers? I talk like I'm fucking used to and those cunts at UA would shit golden bricks that they'd then demand my parents use to build them another rec center because the last one had a bit of a draft.

"You are surrounded by the rich of the city… I bleed the poor of the forgotten. So take your preconceived notions that got dredged up just because I bummed some makeup off of one of my friends so I for once looked a bit pretty and shove them up that hole right below your little white cotton tail. Then take it out and shove it up the other one. Might actually help you calm the fuck down and act like a fucking teacher."

Mirko… laughed.

"Oh… you and I are gonna get along just fine!" she declared, motioning for Ochaco to join her. "Now, you did good in the Sports Festival, like I said, but you need to learn how to fight dirty. Rescue Heroes go into the muck and the shit so you need to be ready to sling it. How do you feel about horrific testicular damage?"

"I mean I want to be a Rescue Hero so I can always rescue them from their pain."

MIrko slung an arm around Ochaco's shoulder. "This is going to be the best fucking week of my life."

~MC~MC~MC~

Shoto stepped off of the bus, the door barely managing to close behind him before the drive raced out of there. He understood why… when he'd informed the driver of where his stop was, after he'd kept riding for over two hours, the man had let out a groan. The camp where he would be staying for the week was the very last stop on the man's route and he'd kept him from being able to go home early.

Still, he was there.

And he didn't know how to feel about that.

His internship wasn't taking place at any agency. He could have handled that as he had been to plenty of them during his life. He'd trained nearly every day at his father's, first through acceptance and then through silent begrudgement. And his father had seen fit to take him to many agencies when he had been younger, to show him off. While that had tapered down a bit after his scarring he had still been sent out to be presented by his father as his heir.

He knew the ins and outs of most agencies. The lobby with art in frames showcasing posters of the heroes or news clippings of their greatest deeds. The desk with the too perky secretary who had a finger on the panic button just in case. The private gym where the only one using the mats was the hero. The office where paperwork was done. The Support Lab where equipment was maintained. All of that.

What he found at the Sun and Snow Ranch wasn't an agency at all.

The main building he approached was huge. Three stories tall and spreading out so wide that it was larger than some of the buildings at UA. Yet it also felt… comforting. Like a home. He was reminded of the best times in his life, before his mother had gone away, before his brother had become so bitter he couldn't stand to look at him, before his sister had become so beaten down by life that all she could do was freeze her own smile. Before Touya…

It felt like that. Warm and happy.

Walking through the front door he found Frostburn and Sunbite already waiting for him. Not in their hero costumes but in casual clothing. Both in blue jeans and hiking boots, Frostburn wearing a plaid shirt while Sunbite had on a t-shirt that declared 'Sun's Out, Guns Out' with an picture of a flexing man. Shoto didn't quite get WHAT the shirt was trying to say but then again he didn't get what purpose most shirts that had graphics on them were meant to actually mean.

"Todoroki, right?" Sunbite said with a smile.

"Who else would it be?" Frostburn said dryly though not with as much venom as he might have expected. "Welcome to the Sun and Snow Ranch. We're thrilled to have you for the week."

"Thank you for accepting me as your intern," Shoto said, giving a polite bow. "I am ready to assist you however I can."

The two heroes though glanced at each other before shrugging. "Sure." Sunbite said. "So, why don't I show you around while Frost sees to our other guests?"

"You have other interns?" Shoto asked. He had figured there would be sidekicks, as his father had plenty of those. He had never known how to deal with them as none of them acted the same. Some tried to befriend him, some tried to use him to get on his father's good side, and a few had tried to order him around like his father did. Those last ones never lasted… at the Endeavor Agency or as heroes. So he had been expecting sidekicks but not other interns.

"Oh no, not at all," Sunbite said happily, patting Shoto on the shoulder. "You want to meet them?" Shoto gave the barest of nods as he didn't know if he actually wanted to meet the other guests but figured it couldn't hurt to do so. "Frost, what are they doing now?"

"Getting ready for horseback riding. We should be able to catch them before they head out."

With that the two heroes led Shoto through the ranch, breezing past several large conference rooms… or what Shoto assumed were conference rooms. They had chairs and tables but also had blocks and toys set up inside. After a few minutes they reached a back door and Frostburn opened it to reveal a gaggle of people gathered around a bunch of horses and ponies, all of animals wearing saddles and having brightly colored ropes and reins.

"Hey squirts, ready to ride out?" Frostburn asked and several of the gathered children turned and smiled at him.

Shoto's eyes widened.

Every single one of the children had burn scars.

There was a little girl who didn't have any hair on her head because of the scarring on her scalp but DID have a rather pretty looking headband with a butterfly pin on it. Another boy couldn't open his left eye due to his scarring. Others had their mouths twisted in odd angles due to the burns while others had bandages on that were soaked with medicines that Shoto recognized all too well.

"Their school caught fire..." Sunbite said gently as Frostburn chatted with the kids; some had been a bit more skittish with his arrival. "Not a villain attack… just a tragic accident. No one was killed but a lot of the little ones suffered burns. When we found out we decided to give them a week at the Ranch, to take their minds off things… some are really subconscious about how they look…"

Shoto didn't even realize he had been reaching up to touch his own scarred face until he felt his hand on his cheekbone.

"Listen… if this is too much we can-"

"Let me help you," he said at once to a little boy who was struggling to get onto the small pony that he'd claimed as his own. "Where can I grab you?"

"Here," the boy said, pointing at his right side. "Left hurts."

"Yes," Shoto said, remembering how tender his scarring had been even weeks after it had happened. He didn't offer any sympathetic words, remembering how much he had hated it when people tried to comfort him after his own injury. He had just wanted to move on and everyone kept reminding him of it, their 'kind words' just ripping the wound open again and again. Telling him about their own trauma because that made them feel better. So instead Shoto asked direct questions, refusing to dance around the issue, and then moved on.

He carefully placed his hand on the boy's left hip and under his right arm and hefted him up.

When the little boy smiled at him Shoto realized that in all the years he'd seen his father act as a hero… NO ONE had ever smiled at him like that.

Ever.

He felt something flutter in his heart before he moved on to quietly help the next child.

~MC~MC~MC~

"…nope."

Momo frowned as she looked over her outfit. "No?"

"Nope," Midnight said before looking at her daughter. "What do you think?"

"Too stiff," Eri replied and much to Momo's confusion Midnight smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand," Momo said. "What is wrong with the clothing I am wearing?" She gestured at her outfit. She had been told it was professional without being too glamorous. A crisp jacket, white shirt, skirt and panty hoses, flats but ONLY because with her height if she wore heels she would towered over everyone.

Admittedly… she did feel a touch overdressed when compared to everyone at the agency. She had come in expecting Midnight to be in her hero costume, much as she was at school. But instead she had been wearing a baggy sweater that just barely hide the shorts she was wearing, slip on boat shoes, and had her hair done up in a messy bun with strands sticking up all over. She'd honestly feared that she had arrived at the wrong time but Midnight had just welcomed her in. If not for the two men she saw wearing suits she would have felt like she'd dressed for a wedding only to find everyone in their pajamas.

"At this Agency we have a rule," Midnight said before turning to one of her sidekicks. "Loona, what's the rule?"

"Dress for success," a woman whose mutation made her look like a bipedal wolf said with a lazy yawn. She was wearing all black: leggings with the toes cut off, a ripped skirt, a belly bearing top, and a black choker. She looked like she should be at a rock concert. "But only if it makes ya comfortable."

"Exactly," Midnight declared. "And while there are some that enjoy dressing like that…" she waved at the suit wearing men who, for some odd reason, had begun to slap-fight each other, "…others are far more comfortable in other clothes." Momo found her eyes drawn towards a red-skinned woman wearing a black tank top and pants that hugged her ample hips who gave a gap-toothed smile at her. "Did you actually pick that out yourself?"

"My… my maid did," Momo admitted. She always hated to admit she had servants as it seemed to turn people off rather quickly. They treated her differently when they were reminded how rich she was. Suddenly stopped seeing her as a person and instead as a rich girl who had everything done for her rather than-

Momo blinked.

"Oh," she said suddenly, blushing. "I… didn't pick these myself…"

"And this week is getting you comfortable in your own skin," Midnight said. "So the first thing we are doing is going shopping. Millie, Loona, you want to join us for some shopping? The boys can handle things here."

"Why not?" Loona said with a lazy shrug.

"I am so in!" Millie declared happily, her chirper attitude startling Momo as it went so against her dark look.

"We're…going shopping?" Momo asked. "But I thought this week was supposed to be about training me to be a hero."

"Yaoyorozu? Can I be blunt?" Momo nodded her head. "You are right where you should be in your first year. In fact you're probably ahead of where you should be. Some of the stuff you created at the Sports Festival? That was amazing." She smiled and placed a hand on Momo's shoulder. "But do you know what else I noticed?"

"No."

Midnight's smile became more sad. "During the first task, when you were manning that Gatling gun? You didn't care what others thought. You didn't think about what you were wearing or how to hold yourself so you looked professional. You just were… you. But in class, from what I've seen and from the footage Obi Wan showed me… you sometimes freeze up because you are worried about how you look. That you aren't utterly perfect."

Momo didn't say a word.

Mostly because she knew, deep down in her heart, her teacher was correct.

All her life she had been taught how to act. That there was a certain way that she must hold herself, a certain way to behave. All in the name of not harming the reputation of her family. That as a female hero she needed to look a certain way. That while it was nice that she was smart her greatest weapon was her looks. She utterly hated it but it seemed that all of society had been created to say "No, this is the way it must be". When her breasts had first begun to develop her parents had talked about how they hoped for a particular cup size as media research showed that heroines needed large breasts but not too large; already her mother had whispered that during the summer she should consider getting implants to put her 'over the edge'. That she needed to have hips and a nice posterior but not TOO big and thus she was forever dieting. When a quirk councilor who had served her family for years had suggested she pack on 30 pounds to better aid in her quirk he had been fired and another found that worked to keep her at her 'ideal weight'.

"I… I don't know how," Momo whispered, utterly terrified.

"And that's what we're going to work on," Midnight assured her.

~MC~MC~MC~

Katsuki pulled the hoodie over his head before ducking into the side entrance of Might Tower. There was a man taking a cigarette break though he doubted very much that the man was ACTUALLY out there to smoke. 'More likely just a guard to make sure that only I get through this door,' he thought as entered the building only to find another keypad. Typing in the code he'd been given (having spent the night before repeating it over and over to ensure that he remembered) he felt the room suddenly shift and realized that it was actually an elevator. A rather large one too, oddly enough.

He counted off the floors as he rose up through the Tower, doing his best not to freak out. He had worked very hard to rid himself of his more… extreme… fan boy tendencies, seeing how they had caused Deku so many problems growing up. But still… he was in Might Tower! Might Fucking Tower!

For one brief insane moment he considered breaking the contract JUST so he could take a photo and show it to Deku. It would make the nerd probably have a heart attack out of sheer joy.

But he contained himself.

'This is fucking important! I'm going to be interning with fucking Star Might… and considering how close she is with her dad that means All Might is going to be helping out! The current Number One, the next Number One… and me.' He smirked. 'The future Number One.'

When he'd talked to his father last and Star Might had been brought up the old man had been worried about mentioning the new heroine's name. Clearly he thought that doing so would set Katsuki off. But he'd informed the man that he was fine with Star Might being Number One… it just meant there was no longer any rush for him to claim the top spot. He could take his time so that when she did hand it over to him he was so established he could break All Might's records!

It certainly didn't matter that Star Might had saved him.

Not at all.

Not in the slightest.

The elevator dinged and Katsuki stepped out into a beautiful office. That was the only word for it… beautiful. It made him pause as he just took it in. There was something so… natural about it. Even though they were so high up that he could see the entire city stretching out before him he still felt like he taken a step into some earthy home. Still an office but… utterly comfortable. One where he could easily curl up beside the wall that was designed to resemble a waterfall with a large fishpond at the bottom and read a book in peace. Instantly he decided that when he was famous he was going to make the first thing he splurged on be making an office just like the one before him… or perhaps better. Some controls to change the ceiling to look like the open sky would be nice…

"Hey!" he called out but far softer than was the norm for him. "I'm here…" He walked further into the office, past a series of couches, only to pause when he saw an old man face down on the ground… "Okay, why the fuck are you sleeping in a puddle of ketchup and sausages?"

"I'M ALIVE!" the old man suddenly shouted, leaping to his feet.

At once Katsuki shot how his hand and fired off an explosion.

The old man… easily dodged it.

"Quick to react, aren't ya?!" the old man taunted.

"Who the fuck are you?" was Katsuki's only response as he sent out more of his sweat.

"Kids today have no manners!" the geezer declared, suddenly appearing behind Katsuki and swinging his leg right at his head. Katsuki caught the limb but any sense of satisfaction was wiped away when the man merely twisted and sent his other leg into his middle, both freeing himself and sending Katsuki toppling backwards. "An old man can't sleep in his lunch in peace?"

"What the fuck?" Katsuki gasped before springing forward, moving to snatch up the deranged man. He didn't know if he was a villain or some delusional nutjob but either way he wasn't going to let him get any farther! He grabbed onto the man's wrist, twisting his arm before he flung the old man over his shoulder. Katsuki pivoted on his toes, ready to take advantage of the old man being flat on his back.

Instead he found the geezer on his feet, smirking before he lashed out with his open hand, clapping Katsuki on the side of the head and causing him to cry out in pain.

"You think just because you learned some basic throws that you can take me out, sonny? Seriously, there is a reason why that is taught within the first few days of Heroics!"

"DIE!" Katsuki roared, moving to grab the front of the man's shirt.

Only to blink when he found his hands encased in oven mitts.

"Good, now go make me a sam-itch!" the old man said with a laugh, causing Katsuki to grit his teeth as he tore the mitts off. "Aw, I didn't get a chance to put the frilly apron on you!"

"…what the fuck?" Katsuki said only to see the old man make a KISSY FACE AT HIM.

His eyes widened but only for a second.

Then they narrowed as the red bled over everything.

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

But that made the old man laugh as he dodged him. "That an offer? I admit its been a while… might need one of them blue little pills." He suddenly zipped around Katsuki and drove his foot into his back, sending the teen to the ground. "Now… say "Harder daddy"."

Katsuki let out a scream and tried to buck the bastard off of him.

"What. Is. Going. On."

Even though the pressure didn't lessen Katsuki could tell, even without looking, that the fight had gone out of the geezer. And he understood why as he looked up to see Star Might standing there, arms folded over her chest, a single eyebrow raised. Behind her was All Might who… oddly looked worried and nervous?

"I'm sure there is a legitimate reason," the Number 1 Hero and Symbol of Peace said from behind his daughter, only to wince when the geezer turned to look at him.

'What the fuck?'

"Of course there is a reason, ya blond doofus!"

"Then," Star Might said, not cowed at all, "please. Share."

"…if you can't figure it out-"

"Try again," Star Might said, cutting him off.

"Well," the old bastard said, his confident tone not nearly so, well, confident, as it had been before, "it is important to teach-"

"Do I smell ketchup?"

At once the old man leapt off Katsuki's back.

"I was startled?"

Star Might merely continued to stare him down and finally the old man hurried over to a cabinet and pulled out some paper towel and a spray bottle. "I thought you'd like it after your kid-"

But once more Star Might cut him off, leaving Katsuki confused. 'Star Might… has a kid?' He frowned. 'All Might hid that he had a daughter… maybe she is doing the same thing? But seems too young to be a parent…'

"Just a little fun…" the old man muttered. "Fine… All Might, come and help an old man out."

Katsuki was left staring in shock as the Number 1 Hero suddenly disappeared. There was the feeling of wind blowing past him and when he looked back he saw All Might on his hands and knees helping scrub up the ketchup.

Wearing a pink frilly apron.

"…what the fuck?!"

"Yeah, that's a thing," Star Might said, walking over to him and offering her hand. "Hello Bakugo, nice to meet you again."

The teen found himself… well… oddly moved that she remembered him. It must have shown on his face because she smiled.

"A hero should remember every person they saved… and every one they didn't. The latter to get us to be better… the former to remind us WHY we do this." She paused. "And honestly you were the first person I ever saved in Japan." She smiled and broke off the handshake. "Now then, we need to get started on your internship. From what I saw at the Sports Festival you know how to handle yourself in a fight… though I do think we need to work on your control."

"What does that f… what does that mean?" he said, catching himself.

"Why throw a punch when a tap on the shoulder will do?" Star Might asked and Katsuki was at once reminded of Tsu and what she had once told him about managing his explosions. Why waste all his power on riff raff?

And hell, he was up for any challenge. It might actually be fun to see how little he actually had to put into his blows to take down enemies.

"Alright… what's first?"