Chapter 7: Sports Fest, Shinso, Internships and Names, Discussing Internships
The sports festival is loud. Izuku thought he was prepared for the sports festival, but he definitely wasn't prepared for the sheer noise. He cringes slightly as Present Mic announces the classes and counts down to the start of the obstacle race.
The first obstacle is a minefield with low yield explosives and a pink glittery powder that hangs in the hair, sticking to every surface it can as candidates pass through. The minefield slows everyone but Todoroki and Kacchan.
The second obstacle is robots from the entrance exam but with more 0 pointers. It turns out to be a good thing that everyone else gets slowed down, because Todoroki freezes a 0 pointer off balance and it crashes harmlessly to the ground without turning anyone into paste.
The last obstacle is a deep hole straddled by a huge H-frame structure with knotted ropes hanging from it, presumably to cross the hole with by swinging across. Easier said than done, really. He can already tell a lot of people are going to come to grief trying to switch from a rope on one side to a rope on the other side. Kacchan just blasts across with his explosions and finishes in first and Todoroki just forms a mini glacier to skate across, crossing the finish line a split second later.
Personally, Izuku takes a rope and walks across Todoroki's glacier, narrow as it is, it's still safer than trying to switch ropes during a swing. He inches across the few feet between one rope's reach and where the one on the opposite side hangs. Coming in fifteenth place is respectable as far as he's concerned.
He's certainly glad he's not in first place when it's announced to be worth ten million points. His team is made up of Ochako and Tokoyami (and Dark Shadow) and a support course girl with pink dreads who randomly chose to approach him after being rejected by both Kacchan and Todoroki for their teams.
The obnoxious blond kid from 1B comes after their team and makes the mistake of copying Tokoyami's quirk. Monoma's dark side is apparently filled with vicious self-mockery and self-sabotage. Dark Shadow steals his headband while they squabble. Izuku almost feels sorry for him.
His team comes in fourth, just a few points below the team of the purple Gen Ed. student who had challenged their class. People drop out, people are substituted in. Izuku doesn't pay much attention to it. He made it to the third round, that's what counts.
~
His first fight is against the purple Gen Ed. kid, who apparently is Hitoshi Shinso.
"Hey, that blond classmate of yours, the one with the tail? Don't you think he's a bit of a coward?"
"Wha-?"
"Turn and walk out of the ring for me."
Izuku finds his feet following Shinso's orders without his input.
You are under a mental debuff.
Clear mental debuff? Yes | No
He tries to reply, but can't.
Player unresponsive.
Clearing mental debuff.
Mental debuff removed.
Izuku sighs in relief, directing mental thanks to Find-san as he stops, turns and finds Shinso staring at him in shock with a fair helping of desperation.
Hmm.
Holding Shinso's gaze, Izuku deliberately steps backwards out of the ring. Two against one isn't exactly fair, after all. He wants to see how far the Gen Ed. kid can go, given an opportunity.
All the way to first place, it turns out.
Shinso manages to easily bait Todoroki, Iida and Kacchan into responding and walking out of bounds. Although Kacchan all but foams at the mouth after he's released, shouting at Shinso, accusing him of cheating and demanding a rematch. It takes Midnight gassing him to stop him from trying to go after Shinso, who is staring wide eyed and a little spooked at the display.
When the winner podiums go up, Kacchan is literally chained to the second place podium, mouth set in a line of grim silence. Which Izuku parses as Kacchan having come to terms with losing, but still trying to go after Shinso.
Midnight and All Might stepping on each other's words is kind of funny and then the medals are awarded. Todoroki stoic in third place, Kacchan still grim in second and an ecstatic looking Shinso in first. Then the ceremonies are over and Shinso searches him out and pulls him aside.
~
"How did you break out of my quirk? No one's ever done that before."
Izuku just looks at him for a moment, then shrugs. "My quirk is sentient and autonomous. It didn't appreciate your hold on my mind, so it broke it."
"Oh." Shinso blinks in apparent surprise, before asking, "Why did you let me win?"
"I wanted to see how far you could back up your boasts."
Shinso turns red, then gives a small bow. "Whatever. But thank you. Getting into the hero course means a lot to me."
"Yeah, I get that. I didn't get Find-san until about a year ago. Everyone made fun of me for saying I wanted to be a hero. I'm sure they did the same to you because a quirk like yours is scary to the average person. It'll be amazing for hero work, though! You can de-escalate hostage situations just by getting the villains to respond to you!"
A slow blink. "You're not scared of me?"
"Should I be? It's not like your quirk hurt me. It was actually kind of pleasant other than not having autonomous control of my body. If that's not enough reason for you, then it's not like you can keep me under. Find-san won't allow it."
"I guess that's fair." Shinso agrees, still looking vaguely puzzled.
"Anyways, I'm looking forward to you joining our class! I hope we can be friends."
"Uh. Sure." Shinso agrees hesitantly, then looks at the ceiling and asks dramatically, "Kami, why am I dealing with the personification of a cinnamon roll?"
Izuku laughs nervously, turning a little red. "I'm not- I'm not a cinnamon roll."
A pale blue pane pops up in front of Shinso's nose, startling him into stepping back.
It's karma. You are being punished.
"Find-san!" Izuku scolds.
"Okay. You know what? That's totally fair." Shinso answers.
~
There's an extra desk in the back row when they start up classes again. The board reads:
Todoroki – 4035
Bakugou – 2746
Tokoyami – 231
Iida – 116
Kaminari – 114
Yaoyorozu – 108
Kirishima – 68
Shinso – 46
Uraraka – 20
Sero – 14
Midoriya – 3
Aizawa sensei looks tired, which really is pretty normal. "As you can see on the board, several of you received internship offers this year, mostly due to the extra attention on this class since USJ. It's rare that first years get offers. If you didn't get offers, don't worry. There are 40 agencies that work with UA to give students experience. You all have information packets on your desk, detailing those forty agencies and any offers you may have received. Choose carefully and learn the most you can from these internships. Don't rest on your laurels; it's not uncommon for these offers to disappear by third year if interest dies out."
"This is bullshit. How come Todoroki got so many more offers? I did better than he did. And who the fuck is Shinso?" Kacchan demands.
A knock on the door interrupts any answer. Then the door opens and a tall student with fluffy purple hair looks in uncertainly. "Um. I was told to come here?"
"Yes. Sit in the empty desk. It's yours now. Congratulations on winning the sports festival and transferring to class 1A. There's a packet on your desk detailing internship offers you have received and alternative agencies available to you."
Purple eyes widen. "Um. Thanks." Then Shinso steps inside, pulling the door shut behind him and hurries over to slip into his desk.
Izuku gives him a thumbs up as he passes by.
"As I was saying, choose carefully and turn in your choice to me by Monday. Now we have something vitally important to your futures as heroes. Choosing a hero name. This will be taken over by Midnight because-"
The door bursts open.
"Because you'll regret it if you take this lightly!" Midnight exclaims, striding inside.
"Because choosing names is not my strong point." Aizawa sensei finishes in a bored tone. Then he proceeds to get into his sleeping bag and close his eyes.
"Technically you can change your hero names, but if you're not lucky, the press will get to know you by the name you choose now and you won't be able to change it. You could get stuck with something like Eraserhead!" Midnight says cheerfully, handing out stacks of whiteboards and markers. "Write down your choice and if I approve it, you can keep it."
The next twenty minutes pass pretty quietly as students mutter to themselves or others as they choose names. Then Midnight starts having people show off their chosen names for approval.
Yaomomo's moniker, The Everything Hero: Creati,makes him glad that he rethought one of his ideas. The world does not need two 'everything' heroes.
Tsu chooses The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy which is cute. So is Ochako's Uravity.
Ashido's Alien Queen is denied.
Aoyama's I Cannot Stop Twinkling gets shortened to Can't Stop Twinkling which is still pretty long, but he's heard worse.
Kacchan tries King Explosion Murder.
"Denied. Murder is illegal, premeditated murder is more illegal. Choose something else." Midnight says, looking amused.
He sulks back to his desk.
Then it's Izuku's turn. The All Source Hero: Novell.
"Hm. Is that going to be a copyright issue?" Midnight asks suspiciously.
Izuku startles a little at that. Midnight is pretty well informed. "Uh, um. It shouldn't be? They haven't been in business for the last 154 years."
"Fair enough. Approved."
Phew.
Mineta picks The Fresh Picked Hero: Grape Juice.
Shinso picks The Dreams Hero: Hypnos, which definitely has a better vibe than some of the available choices.
Ashido goes with The Acid Hero: Pinky. Izuku thinks Alien Queen was better.
Kacchan glowers as he presents his new choice of Emperor Explosion.
"That's much less of a PR nightmare. Good job." Midnight praises, cracking her whip when he scowls at her. "Alright kiddos. Back to your regularly scheduled grumpy caterpillar!"
Aizawa sensei doesn't even twitch.
Midnight sighs. "Okay. Use the rest of class as a free study period and take some time to go over those internship offers."
~
Izuku ends up sitting together at lunch with Yaomomo, Tsu, Ochako and Shinso. The latter looks a little confused as to how he ended up sitting with them.
"So, who are you going with?" Ochako asks. "I'm going with Gunhead, to learn some fighting skills. The festival taught me that I'm behind in that area."
"I'm going with Captain Selkie, because his crew specializes in water rescues." Tsu says.
"I think I'm going to go with Uwabami. She's a rather popular hero." Yaomomo offers.
Izuku frowns. "She specializes in media attention. Are you sure you don't want someone who can teach you other things?"
"Oh." Yaomomo looks dismayed. "But I-" She sighs. "I'll look over the list again, then."
"What about you, Shinso?" Ochako asks curiously.
Shinso gives a beleaguered sigh. "I'm not sure yet, but I have to pass three tests this week to determine if I'm even allowed to take any of the internships. Not really looking forward to that."
"Always prioritize the rescue." Tsu offers.
Ochako nods.
"I think Gen Ed mostly has the same classes, but you'll definitely need to pick up the books for Hero Law." Momo adds. "We've gone over the first twelve chapters so far."
"If it's Aizawa sensei, he'll be more impressed if you use your brain than if you try brute force." Izuku comments.
"And if you do team exercises, work with your partner or you'll get scolded." Tsu points out. "Izuku, who are you going with?"
"Oh! Um. Sir Nighteye, I think. I do want to be a frontline hero, but I'm not entirely sure that's feasible. Find-san's abilities are more geared to information gathering, so I think studying with an Intelligence type hero is probably a good idea."
"Smart." Shinso says. "Even if you end up a front liner, having a background in Intelligence work should be useful."
"Can I ask why you all want to be heroes?" Yaomomo asks. "I decided it was the best way to use my quirk to benefit others without ruining the local economy."
Ochako laughs nervously. "Uh, you guys are going to think I'm really selfish, but I'm in it for the money. My parents' construction business struggles a lot. I wanted to help them with my quirk, but they said no, so I want to become a hero so they can afford to have it easy."
"Needing money is valid." Tsu says. "I just want to help because I know I can. Nothing special."
Izuku nods earnestly. "I just want to save people with a smile, so they feel safe."
They all look at Shinso, who shrugs and says in a lazy tone, "Spite. Everyone said I'd be a villain, so I'm going to be a hero."
There's a moment of silence, then Ochako laughs. "Okay, I feel better now. And that's totally understandable. I'd probably do the same."
Shinso smiles at her. "Gonna kick Explodo Boy's ass next year?"
She does a fist pump. "A lot sooner than that, if I have anything to say about it!"
"Spite buddies." Shinso says and offers his hand for a high five, which she returns enthusiastically.
"Yeah! Spite buddies!"
Tsu and Izuku exchange an amused glance, although Yaomomo looks puzzled.
You're gonna kick names and take asses.
They stare at Find-san's comment until Yaomomo starts giggling, then they all burst into laughter.
"Absolutely." Shinso finally replies when he can breathe around his laughter again. "Holy shit, Midoriya, how does your quirk know memes?"
"Oh!" Izuku says, trying not to giggle so much that he's non-understandable. "Find-san has access to any information free on the internet. I'm pretty sure he knows way more memes than the rest of us put together."
"You know what? Fair. But also. Overpowered. How do you not cheat on tests?" He asks.
"Find-san doesn't help with those."
I play games when he takes tests.
"Izuku's too pure for that." Ochako teases, making his cheeks go red.
"Th-That's not it! I need to know stuff. I'm not always going to have time to consult Find-san."
"Pure." Shinso agrees with a shit eating grin.
"Pure." Tsu says, looking smug.
Momo looks back and forth between them all and then adds with a tiny smile, "Pure."
Izuku groans and hides his face in his hands in embarrassment. "Quit it, guys."
"Never!" Ochako declares.
"Make me." Shinso challenges.
"Your chopsticks are in your hair." Tsu points out.
"Ack!" He yanks them out and then spends a couple minutes and several napkins getting sauce out of his curls, pouting while the rest of them smile or giggle at him. Meanies.
Chapter 8: Internship Gone Astray
Izuku blinks in disbelief as Sir Nighteye derides his character, his conviction, his ability and his worthiness to inherit All Might's quirk.
"Damn, who pissed in his cheerios?" Uncle Yoichi asks.
"Better question. Who gave this bitch the right to dictate who gets our quirk? It wasn't me and I know it wasn't the blond idiot." Someone who has to be Second or Third retorts.
"Hey! But no, I didn't. Nighteye is crossing a line."Ghost Might replies.
"Don't listen to him, kid. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Nana comforts.
"Oh, hell no. He knows. He's just delusional. Don't let him bully you, kid." En says sharply.
And yeah, that's what Sir Nighteye is doing, isn't he? He's had kids do this before, never an adult, but only one incident compares to this level of toxic.
"Wow, I didn't peg you as a bully." He says without thinking about it.
Sir Nighteye makes an ugly face. "I am not wrong, nor am I a bully. Quit your whining."
"Well, the last person who was this nasty to me told me to jump off a roof and pray for a better quirk, so forgive me if I can't see the difference." Did he just say that? Yes, yes he did. Oops. Now Sir Nighteye will get mad.
Can I speak to him?
"My quirk wants to say something to you."
"Your quirk?" And yup, Sir Nighteye looks (and sounds) both angry and dubious.
"Find-san is sentient and has his own opinions. Also, sure, Find-san, go ahead."
A pale blue pane pops up in front of Sir Nighteye.
You're an idiot. Even if One for All could still be passed on, which it can't as it has been absorbed, it would be genetically incompatible with this student you want to give it to and would kill him at a very young age, due to the body being incapable of handling the strain of two quirks.
"What is that supposed to mean? How can One for All be absorbed? And what's this about genetic incompatibility?" Sir Nighteye demands.
"Um. It's because of my biological father, not the one who raised me, being All for One. So Find-san and One for All are compatible enough to merge. And Find-san can't be passed on or taken, so. Oh, I've also got the ghosts of the former bearers on One for All in my head, by the way."
"If what you're saying is remotely true, and I don't believe you, then that's all the more reason that-"
And we're done here. Izuku has dealt with enough bullies. Goodbye.
"You can't do that!"
Can, may and will. Under contract, the student has the right to terminate the contract if the internship employer attempts physical, verbal or sexual abuse. You definitely fall under the second and we will be reporting this to Nedzu.
It takes a few seconds for Izuku to parse that since he's reading that backwards, but he can't exactly argue with Find-san's reasoning. Izuku came here to learn, not to be treated like gum on a shoe. He blinks, shakes himself and gives a little bow. "S-Sorry, Sir Nighteye, I'm not going to argue with my quirk, because it's right. Goodbye."
Sir Nighteye is speechless as he lets himself out and goes to retrieve his things.
Which is good! Arguing with an adult like this makes him feel shaky.
~
In Kamino…
All for One lets his new minion, a formerly quirkless replacement for Tomura, bought for the small price of a good quirk, finish explaining their stance on society and getting rid of All Might with some approbation. If nothing else the man is more articulate than Tomura. He doesn't have that much experience with strategy, but he has time and the will to learn.
"People like you, I hate the most." Stain spits out, then moves. A moment later, All for One finds himself, the nomu he'd kept nearby and his new minion all paralyzed. More or less in that order. "Don't worry about taking me back. I'll show myself out."
Well, that's certainly inconvenient. But no matter. Working with the unwilling is rarely profitable and he can use his knowledge of Stain's patterns against him and make people assume wrongly that they are affiliated, no matter what Stain thinks of the idea. Stain would've made a convenient ally, but only a fool has a plan that hinges on one man agreeing to the plan.
~
Izuku is on his way to the train station, backpack over one shoulder and hero suit case in his left hand, when something runs into his legs. No, not something, someone. A little, white haired kid – girl? – in a ragged dress and bandages with bare feet.
"Help!" She whisper-shouts.
Quest: Take her and run.
+100 DEX for length of event.
Ah, shit. If Find-san is saying that, there's definitely at least one nasty villain on this kid's tail. He scoops her up in his left arm, shoves his right arm through the loose strap on his backpack, places his right hand on her head to keep her stable and books it towards the train station. Dimly, he realizes that he's going way too fast to be normal, but all of his concentration is focused on dodging pedestrians and cars instead of running into them and keeping the girl from falling. And breathing, because breathing is important.
~
Behind him,
Overhaul has just a glimpse of Eri being carried off by someone in an All Might hoodie with a yellow backpack and a split second later he realizes that he's vastly outpaced by Eri's 'rescuer'.
No matter. The speedster can't run forever and Overhaul can set his minions to search for her.
She'll be back where she belongs before the end of the day.
~
By the time he reaches the train station, he's severely out of breath and has to walk around a little bit so he can talk coherently before buying a kid's ticket for Eri. He definitely needs more stamina. The ticket teller gives the kid a concerned look, but Izuku soothes her worry by mentioning that they're headed to UA. The kid clings to him tightly the whole time.
When they get on the train, the passengers urge him to sit down, which is frankly a godsend. His legs hurt, his arm hurts, his feet hurt and his lungs are still on fire. Not to mention, it makes it easier to hold the kid. Whose name he really should learn.
"Hey there." He says quietly. "Now that we're safe, my name's Izuku. Or you can call me Novell. I'm a hero student. What's your name?"
She stares at him with wide, solemn eyes. "Eri. Are we really safe? He won't hurt you?"
"We're safe for now and we're going to UA and that's a super safe place with a bunch of heroes to protect us." Aizawa sensei and Nedzu are going to kick his ass over this stunt, aren't they? Ah, well. Worth it.Besides, he doesn't believe that either one of them would've left her behind in a dangerous situation.
~
Aizawa sensei walks into Nedzu's office, takes one look at Izuku holding Eri and sighs. "Problem Child. Care to explain why you're here instead of at your internship and why you have another problem child with you?"
Eri squeaks. "Is he mad?"
Izuku rubs her back soothingly. "No, he's just grumpy. I promise he won't hurt you."
"What about you? Will he hurt you?"
"No, he won't hurt me either. He's not like that. Promise."
"Okay." She says and buries her face in his shoulder, eyes peeking over his shoulder suspiciously at Aizawa sensei.
"Problem Child?"
"Oh. Um. Sir Nighteye and I had a difference of opinion. So I came back and ran into Eri here being chased by a villain, so I brought her back with me."
That's a nice way of saying Nighteye is a delusional bigot that believes that Izuku doesn't deserve his quirk, to be a hero or happiness in general.
Aizawa sensei looks the slightest bit startled at being addressed by a floating screen and looks at Nedzu, who nods.
"Find-san has given me a transcript of the conversation-" Of course he did. "And suffice it to say that this is the last time Sir Nighteye will be allowed to do internships for UA students. He was extremely derogative with no provocation and is abusing secrets for his own purposes." Nedzu says with a falsely pleasant smile.
Izuku spares a second of pity for Sir Nighteye, because kami knows that Nedzu isn't going to have any. And if Nedzu does, he's sure Find-san won't. His quirk doesn't take kindly to others putting him down, for some reason.
If I didn't, you'd let others walk on you.
Okay, that's probably fair.
"Can I see that transcript?" Aizawa sensei asks.
Sent.
Aizawa sensei raises a brow and checks his phone. When he finishes, his expression is carefully neutral. "Okay, then. So we have two issues, correct? First, who Midoriya should spend his internship with. Do you have any ideas, Midoriya?"
He shakes his head. "I don't trust Hawks and I don't know much about Word, but I know he's underground and I'm going for limelight, not underground."
That gets the faintest grimace, but Aizawa sensei nods. "That's probably safest for you. In that case, I'll have to ask to be sure, but Present Mic expressed some interest in asking you for an internship. Teachers generally don't unless certain circumstances happen, but this falls under that. I'm assuming that you didn't even look at the agencies that work with UA?"
Nedzu starts typing on his half sized phone.
Izuku looks sheepish. "Not really. Sorry."
"Well, it shouldn't be a problem, but be prepared to if Mic says no."
"Okay, sensei."
"Yamada said 'yes'." Nedzu chirps.
"Good. Which brings us to our second issue. Do you know who Eri was running from?"
"I…don't. I didn't stick around to get a look after Find-san said to take her and run."
"Not ideal, but smart." Aizawa sensei agrees.
Overhaul. Leader of the Shie Hassakai yakuza. Recent takeover from adoptive father, who fell into a suspiciously timed coma. Eri is the granddaughter of the previous leader. Her father disappeared shortly before she was given into his custody. No record of her quirk. The group has been making waves in the underground with Trigger sales and rumors of sales of a new 'special' type of bullet that can erase quirks. Sir Nighteye recently started researching the group.
Aizawa sensei groans.
"Oh, that's inconvenient. Would it be wrong to assume that the new bullets have a connection with Eri's mysterious quirk?" Nedzu asks before Izuku has finished reading the backwards text.
Unknown.
"Hm. I suppose it is too soon to be drawing connections. We'll have to contact Sir Nighteye and see what he's got. Eri, what is your quirk? Do you know?"
Eri twists to look at him. "You mean my curse, Mr. Rat? I make people disappear when my horn glows. That's why mommy didn't want me anymore. He said it's why grandpa got sick, too. I'm dangerous."
"Hm. Well, if your quirk makes people disappear, I think it's safe to say that your grandpa getting sick was not your fault. And your quirk being dangerous doesn't mean it's a curse, it just means you need training to master it. Fortunately, we have someone on staff who is very capable of keeping dangerous quirks under control. Aizawa-san can erase other quirks with his quirk."
Eri is silent for a moment, then asks, "Who is Aizawa-san?"
"I am."
She startles and twists back around to stare at him. "You?"
Aizawa sensei flashes his quirk at her. "See?"
"Your eyes glow! Red! Just like my eyes!"
He gives her a soft little smile. And, wow, he did not know Aizawa sensei could make that expression."Yes, they do. That's how you know my quirk is active."
"Does that mean my curse is gone for good?"
"No, but it does mean that I can help you teach your quirk to be good instead of a curse."
Eri wiggles to get down and Izuku lets her, rather grateful to be rid of her weight. She runs over to Aizawa sensei and hugs his knee as she looks up at him. "Promise?"
"I promise." And there's that soft little smile again.
"I'll have guardianship papers expedited on your behalf, Aizawa." Nedzu says, moving to his computer and starting to type. "Eri, will you be okay with staying with Aizawa-san?"
She keeps hugging Aizawa sensei's knee, but looks worried. "Can't I stay with Novelzu?"
Izuku crouches down, despite his legs screaming at him to give up on life, to look Eri in the eye. "It's just Novell. Aizawa sensei is safe. You should stay with him, okay? And I'll visit you every day, so you'll still see me."
Eri stares at him as if looking at his soul for a long minute, then finally says, "Okay."
His legs choose that moment to dump him on the floor. Eri squeaks in alarm. Izuku is fairly sure Nedzu laughs. And Aizawa sensei sighs. "Are you okay, Problem Child?"
"Uh. Yeah. Just too much running earlier. Don't worry about me!"
Aizawa sensei mutters something that probably isn't the "Don't tell me what to do." that it sounds like. "I need to take Eri to Recovery Girl for a health check. You come along."
"Okay, sensei."
"Midoriya, if you're not too tired, please stay and shadow Aizawa san and help Eri settle in for the next couple hours."
"Uh. Okay. I should be able to do that. But I need a place to leave my stuff."
"Just use your locker, problem child."
Izuku facepalms, cuz yeah, that was stupid.
Chapter 9: Recovery Girl, Cats, Present Mic
Notice:
+100 DEX is no longer active.
Quest Accomplished
Accept rewards? Yes | No
Izuku ignores the notification in favor of more immediately relevant things and after a couple minutes Find-san closes the pane so it's not taking up space in his vision.
Eri is terrified of Recovery Girl. She clings to Aizawa sensei and Izuku with hysterical determination. Aizawa sensei has to use his quirk on her several times. Izuku keeps repeating that he's here and not going to let anyone hurt her. Recovery Girl makes sure to use her smallest needle and be as gentle as possible as she draws blood and does several other tests.
Izuku ends up holding Eri and stepping on the weight scale, getting a measurement, then handing Eri back to Aizawa sensei and stepping on the scale so his weight can be deducted from the total.
Getting her to cooperate with having her height measured is surprisingly easy. Izuku holds her hands while Aizawa sensei adjusts the measure and then they all step away so Recovery Girl can record it.
When they're done, Recovery Girl gives Eri a bag of gummies and reminds her to drink lots of water and juice. She also tells Aizawa sensei that once the tests come back on the blood, she'll work with Lunch Rush to come up with a dietary plan for Eri to amend her borderline malnutrition.
Then she gives Izuku a checkup, tsks and gives him a kiss on the forehead.
Abruptly, he's so tired that he almost falls asleep sitting up. At least his body isn't in pain any more.
~
Honestly he kind of just shuffles after Aizawa sensei, who carries Eri, who is still barefoot. Eri shoots him worried glances, but he assures her that he's fine, just tired, and she seems to accept this although it doesn't stop the worried looks.
To his surprise, they go to the teachers' lounge instead of a class and Aizawa sensei hands him Eri and gestures at the couch, so he sits down with her in his arms and quietly tells her stories while Aizawa sensei works on papers. Until she drifts off to sleep, her head against his chest. Then he leans his head back and rests the best he can. Which is the last thing he remembers until Aizawa sensei shakes his shoulder.
"Problem Child. Time to get up."
He cracks his eyes open and yawns, then blinks away tears and glances at the clock. It's three hours later. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to sleep."
"It's okay. You obviously needed it. Can you carry Eri or should I take her?"
"I can carry her. Where-" A yawn interrupts him. "Where are we going?"
"My apartment on campus. You can help me introduce Eri to the cats."
"Cats?"
"I have seven of them. Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. My friends thought it would be funny to get me a rainbow pack of them."
Izuku blinks a few times and then says dumbly, "That's a lot of cats."
A small smirk tugs at Aizawa sensei's lips. "It is. Come on. Let's get some proper food into you and Eri. You both need it."
His stomach rumbles embarrassingly on cue.
Face red, he heaves to his feet and goes to grab for his bag and case, but Aizawa sensei is already holding them. Eri makes a muffled sound of protest against his shoulder, then relaxes back into sleep.
~
As soon as they step inside the apartment, they are mobbed by a swarm of cats. There's another word for it, but he's too sleepy to remember. Surprisingly, it's not just the cats' names that are rainbow themed. Somehow Aizawa sensei's friends had managed to get their hands on quirked cats of the appropriate colors.
"They're all quirked?"
"No. Red, Orange and Yellow fall within natural color ranges. But the others are, yes."
"Wow. Your friends went to a lot of trouble."
"Not as much as you'd think. There are cat breeders who specialize in breeding color quirked cats. I think they did spend a few months' worth of salary on them, though."
Eri lifts her head and looks at the cats for a bit, then asks shyly, "What are those?"
"They're kitty cats. They're fluffy and soft and will love you forever if you pet them or feed them treats." Aizawa sensei explains. He stoops and picks up the green one and holds it close enough for her to touch. "Here. Just rub your hand gently along his back and he'll start purring. His name is Green."
She stares for a minute at the wiggling cat, then tentatively reaches out and pats him.
Green immediately turns his face and rubs it against her hand and starts purring loudly.
Eri jerks her hand back in surprise.
"See? He likes it."
"Oh. He's soft."
"He is, isn't he? Do you want to sit down and pet the other cats too?"
She shakes her head, but giggles and reaches out to pat Green again, who responds with enthusiastic approval.
"Midoriya, why don't you sit on the couch while I fix something to eat? Green's the friendliest of the cats, so I'll leave him with you. The others will probably follow me into the kitchen."
"Okay, Sensei." He says and shuffles through the crowd of cats to the sofa.
Aizawa sensei sets the green cat down beside them and he all but climbs into Eri's lap in search of further affection. The yellow cat hops up on the nearer arm of the sofa and stares at them suspiciously, while the other cats follow Aizawa sensei into the kitchen as predicted.
Izuku takes time to look at his décor, more than a little surprised, because it doesn't seem like the pinstripe yellow and black wallpaper, bright pink windowsills and small posters of various heroes would be to his teacher's taste. There's one of Present Mic, one of Midnight, one of Nedzu and well done but undoubtedly fan-made posters of Eraserhead and a hero he doesn't recognize with wispy hair and a cloud theme. Along with several rather obscure heroes from the previous generation. There's even a small poster of young All Might that is impossible to get one's hands on these days, and well, Izuku would've sworn that Aizawa sensei would rather burn a poster of All Might than put it on the wall.
By the time Aizawa sensei emerges from the kitchen with a plate of sandwiches cut into eighths and a plate of apple bunnies, the cats have already drifted back from the kitchen, Eri is sitting beside Izuku with a lapful of green purr, Izuku's right foot is trapped under a pile of violet fur and the orange cat is standing on his lap, leaning up to rub his face against Izuku's. The yellow cat has retreated to stare from a further distance and the indigo and red cats are checking out Izuku's bag and costume case curiously, while the blue cat is flopped regally in the middle of the living room rug.
"Looks like you're all getting along. Here's something to eat."
Eri doesn't take any until Izuku eats some of each and tells her how nummy they are. She seems to like her piece of sandwich pretty well, but her eyes widen when she tries the apple bunny. Stuffing the rest into her mouth, she immediately grabs two more, one in each hand and holds them close to her chest as she chews her awkward mouthful.
"You can have as many apple bunnies as you want, Eri." Aizawa sensei tells her gently. "But maybe slow down just a little bit so you don't choke, okay?"
She hesitates, then nods slowly and chews a little less frantically. Finally she swallows and says, "They're good. I love them."
Before stuffing only half of one of the bunnies in her hands into her mouth.
Izuku stuffs a piece of sandwich into his mouth to stifle his giggle at her reactions. She's just too cute and obviously apples are a big hit.
~
Yamada sensei drops by and introduces himself to Eri about 45 minutes later, before taking Izuku and leaving.
"Hey listener, I hope you're up for a car ride. I'm taking you over to my agency to get you settled into a room and then show you around a bit. I know it's not what you signed up for, but I think getting to know a bit of the publicity side of hero business will serve you well. And of course we'll go out on patrols too."
"Okay. Thanks, Yamada sensei." Honestly, he's just so glad that the man is willing to take him on at last moment to protest anything he comes up with. Not that he would anyways. Learning new things is important, whether he turns out to like them or to hate them.
Yamada sensei shoots him a smile. "When we get there, we use hero names, ya dig?"
He nods seriously as they get in the car; he knew that, actually.
"If you have any questions or concerns, be sure to speak up, okay? I'm good with people, but I'm not a mind reader. And you can ask my sidekicks if you don't want to ask me or I get called away."
"Okay, Sensei."
"Mind if I put on music?"
"That's fine." He agrees. It makes sense that the Voice hero would like to listen to music all the time. After all, it's practically his brand.
~
Present Mic's agency is a couple blocks from the radio station that hosts his show. Funny thing that, because Izuku would've assumed that they'd be in the same building.
Yamada sensei apparently sees his questioning look, because he smirks. "No, I don't own the radio station. I just have a contract with them. They're owned by a retired hero, so several of my sidekicks work there part time too."
"Oh. That makes sense. I never thought about it but you have three full time jobs, ofcourseyouwouldn'thavethetimetorunanentirechan-"
"Maybe breathe, listener? When you run your words together like that, it's hard to understand you." Yamada sensei interrupts. "I understood up to the part about three full time jobs. Which is actually incorrect. The radio show and hero work are actually part time jobs. Teaching is my only full time job. Unlike Shou, that maniac, who does both teaching and hero work full-time."
He blinks at Yamada sensei for a moment, then flushes. "Oh. Um. I said that of course you wouldn't have the time to run an entire channel."
"Bingo. I do not have the time. I do, however, have a standing offer from the current owner to let me purchase it if that changes." Yamad- Present Mic says as they get out of the car.
"That's so cool! Do you want to someday?"
"I'm glad you think so, listener! And yeah, I do, but not for at least another decade. I want to retire from active hero work first, but I've got some good years left in me still!"
Izuku nods, because that makes a lot of sense. "Do you do all your shows at the station or do you have a set up here and just record them ahead of time?"
Present Mic laughs. "Good question! The answer is 'some of both'! I do Friday questions and answers live and do most of my shows there, but I always make a few pre-recorded shows in case I get called in to hero work or have a school event that interferes. And we make those here. In fact, I'm going to have you help with making at least one of them." He grins. "I won't subject you to the nosy nellies at the station, though. You'll just be interacting with my staff and with civilians when we go out on patrols. Sound good?"
"Yes, S- I mean, Present Mic." He says, stumbling over the address a little and very relieved that he won't be expected to interact with more people. It's not that he doesn't like people. It's just that he doesn't like being the center of attention for a bunch of strangers who all know each other.
"Just call me Mic, listener. Everyone here does."
"Oh, um. Okay, Mic."
"That's the spirit, listener! By the way, what's your hero name? I didn't catch that, because I kind of hurried through the paperwork."
"The All Source Hero: Novell."
"Oh, I like it! That's a reference to your quirk being an information quirk, right?"
"Um, yeah. More or less."
"Well, I think it's clever! Novell is a good name for an information hero. Do you want to specialize in information or are you wanting to mix that with frontline or rescue stuff?"
Izuku relaxes a little at the knowledge he isn't being pigeonholed by another mentor. "Actually, I want to mix it with mostly frontline and a little bit of rescue. I think Find-san would be really useful in disasters, but I don't want to make him do all the work; being a hero is my job, not his."
Chapter 10: First Afternoon and Morning
When they walk inside, Izuku realizes that the size of the building from the outside is a clever optical illusion. It's larger inside than one would expect. The lobby area is huge and contains three different food franchises as well as a small general store and an unmanned counter with a bell, with a sign above it stating Custom Repairs. And of course, an actual reception area next to an elevator and a door labeled Stairs.
Present Mic grins at him as he looks around. "We sponsor the franchises, so we have food available at all hours, but quite a few people in the area stop in to get food from them as well. Custom Repairsgenerally fixes up our sound equipment, but they can handle basic costume replacements and fix gear, or even come up with something special if you need it. They do outsource some of the trickier gear repairs and replacements, but that doesn't happen very often. It's a team of three that splits the shifts between them, so there's always someone on duty. Ring the bell loudly for service or they won't hear you."
Izuku nods, still looking around in fascination.
They pause at the reception desk.
"Shinohara, this is Novell, my intern for the week. I'm going to need a pass for him."
The man, who has nails that look like they're naturally blue to match his blue sclera, nods with an acknowledging noise and fishes a pass out of a drawer and drops it on the counter.
Izuku hesitantly picks it up and hangs it around his neck.
"Thanks, Shinohara!" Present Mic says and then leads him to the elevator without waiting for an answer. "Don't mind him, he's not one for small talk, but he knows everything that goes on around here because he's fantastic at his job and also willing to listen to anyone who wants to gossip. Normally I take the stairs, but I've heard you've had a big day, so we'll use the elevator today."
"Do you not like the elevator?"
Present Mic shudders. "No one likes the elevator. It works fine but it creaks and groans like crazy and it's slower than just taking the stairs. It's mostly the maintenance and cleaning staff that use it to get their carts around between floors."
True to Mic's words, the elevator creaks concerningly and groans now and then as if doing its job is too much effort. Izuku is more than glad to get out when it finally reaches the second floor. He can see why no one likes it. It's like something out of a horror movie. He half expects a ghost to pop out of the ceiling to add to the atmosphere.
~
"This is your room while you're staying here. Just leave your stuff inside. No need to change into your costume today. I have a stack of paperwork I need you to fill out so have the proper clearances and releases. And then I'll have Soundbite show you around and explain what we do with the various rooms. After that, she can bring you to the sound room where we'll be recording a segment for tomorrow, because I switched things around so I can take you on patrol instead. Sound good, listener?"
"Uh, yeah." He agrees and goes in to leave his bag and costume case on the bed before coming back out.
"Alright, Novell. Let's go introduce you to Soundbite and Sono, my office manager, so we can get you started on things."
"Okay, Mic." He says, feeling eager despite the prospect of filling out a bunch of forms. It's really rare that someone gets even a limited tour of Present Mic's agency and it's usually a contest prize or for special guests.
~
There's more forms than he thought there would be, but it doesn't take as long to fill them out as he feared. They are very straight forward for the most part and most of it is just skimming what he's agreeing to and signing his name.
Sono gives him a pleased smile when he hands them to her and a check through shows that he hasn't missed anything. "Good job. Do you remember where Soundbite's office is?"
"Yes, I do."
"Good, good. You can go there and Soundbite will show you around so you're not in danger of getting lost while you're with us."
"Thanks, Sono."
She waves him off with a smile.
~
Soundbite makes the tour rather interesting. It helps him remember what things are where, which is nice.
"And last, but not least, this is our main sound room." She says with a flourish, then taps on the door, which opens a few seconds later to reveal Mic smiling at them.
"Right on time! We're just about to start. Come on in, Novell. Soundbite, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Make sure you pick up some food for yourself when you're done, before you head home."
"Righto, boss." She mock salutes and takes herself off as Izuku gingerly steps into the room.
There's sound equipment everywhere.
Quest: Learn the technical, basic ins and outs of making a prerecorded show.
Quest: Take part in recording a radio show.
Quest: Take part in making a live radio hour.
"Ambitious much?" He asks Find-san after rereading the quests for the second time.
Mic laughs. "It is, but totally worth every penny. Nothing like cheap equipment to give a segment shitty sound quality."
"Um." Izuku waves his hands a bit. "I didn't mean that, but that makes sense. Find-san, can you show him the quests?"
"Fin-?"
A pale blue pane with the same information pops up in front of Mic's nose, startling him. He stares for a moment, then blinks. "Wait, what? I thought you had an information quirk?"
He nods. "Yes. Find-san is sentient, though."
Mic gives him a look that clearly doubts that Find-san is merely a sentient information quirk. Oops. "Hm. Well, it seems Find-san has some ambitious goals for you. I can show you the technical basics later, but for now I'm just going to have you alternate reading song names off an electronic prompt as we record. As for that last one, we'll talk about that later. I'm not sure you'll be comfortable doing that and I want this internship to be a positive experience for you."
"Oh. Yeah, I don't know either."
"Sit there. This here is where the song name prompts will be and I'll do finger guns at you when it's your turn to speak." Mic says, pointing at things as he takes his own seat.
"Ready, boss?"
Izuku sits and wiggles a little to get comfortable and finds the prompt again, then looks at Mic and nods.
"Take it away!" Mic says. "Hello, listeners, big and small. How are you tonight? I've got a surprise for you tonight. I've got an intern with me and he's going to help announce the songs. Say 'hi', Novell!"
"Uh. Hi?" Izuku manages, then wants to kick himself for sounding stupid. How does Mic make this sound so easy?
~
Quest accomplished.
Quest rewards.
+318 EXP
+1 INT
+1 StP
Quest rewards.
+472 EXP
+2 INT
+1 StP
Izuku Midoriya
Level 10
Exp. 8744/12000
STR: 39
VIT: 36
DEX: 16
INT: 52
WIS: 54
HP: 216/216
MP: 0/0 Locked.
STA: 75/75
StP: 0
~
Since Mic is only there afternoons and evenings, Izuku gets the privilege of sleeping in, which he is undeniably grateful for. Yesterday was a lot. With a yawn, he turns off his phone alarm. It's ten, which gives him an hour to dress, struggle with his hair and get breakfast from one of the food franchises downstairs. With another yawn, he gets up and sets about doing that.
There's a different secretary at the reception desk. This one has waist length dark blue hair, blue nails, blue sclera and an almost painfully high voice as she addresses him. "Good morning! You must be Novell? Welcome to Put Your Hands Up Agency. I'm Mai Shinohara, but you can just call me Mai because my brother and cousin also work this desk and it can be confusing to have three Shinoharas. Mic probably forgot to tell you because his face is so well known that he doesn't have to, but just show your agency ID to the food service workers and they'll get you a meal for free because the agency covers all employee meals. If you don't like anything available, just let me know and I'll order in what you'd prefer to eat. It'll take a little longer, but I'll send it up to you when it arrives."
He blinks at her. "Thanks, Mai. Do you and your brother both have siren quirks? Shinohara is your brother not your cousin, right? Does your cousin have a siren quirk too? Is that why Shinohara doesn't talk unless he has to? With your voice pitch, can you shatter glass? Have you ever tried? What about luring people? Can you do that? What about-?"
Mai's high pitched laugh cuts him off. "All three of us have siren related quirks. Yes, brother goes by Shinohara. My cousin Tiki works the night shift here. His quirk is the least siren-like voice-wise, but he has the nails, teeth, odd colored sclera and a second eyelid like brother does. I don't have the teeth or second eyelid, but I have tried shattering glass successfully. It's pretty easy, actually. My mother was not impressed. I can't lure people, but I can call dogs without a dog whistle. Brother's voice doesn't actually entrance people, but it does get their attention in ways that tend to make him uncomfortable, so you're right that it is why he doesn't talk much. You're a curious one, aren't you?"
Izuku flushes, realizing that he's been a bit rude. "Sorry."
"No need to be sorry. Maybe keep it to less than ten questions at a time, though, so you don't confuse the person you're asking."
"Oh." He mentally counts up. "I only asked you eight questions before you started answering, though. Is eight a good number or should I make it less than that? Can you breathe underwater? Can you sing underwater? Do you sing or do you avoid it because of your voice pitch? Do you need to regularly spend time in water? Do you need to drink extra to stay hydrated?"
"For most people, four to six questions is probably the most they can track at one time. Some people can only track three or less. People who talk a lot are probably more likely to be able to track more questions at one time. Eight is probably my max number to track. I can't breathe underwater, but I can hold my breath twice as long as average without a problem. I can't sing underwater because I can't breathe water. I do sing! I'm the lead singer for the band Cut Glass. We do gigs for a few places and occasionally record a single. I don't need to spend extra time in water or drink extra water to stay hydrated, but brother and Tiki do have to drink extra. Neither of them can breathe underwater, but brother likes to sing in the shower. His place is soundproofed, because otherwise he gets people knocking on his door when he sings and he hates that. Why don't you go get food and come back, so you can eat while we talk?"
He beams at her. Most people get lost and won't answer his questions or tell him he's a creepy stalker or chuckle at him for being a hero fanboy. Well, and he really does need to eat. "Okay!"
~
In the end, Mai reminds him to cut their conversation short and go upstairs and he gets to the top of the first flight just in time for Soundbite to open the door, ready to go down.
"Oh, there you are. I was just about to go get you. Sono wants to introduce you to the joys of paperwork and how an agency runs on paperwork." Soundbite says, then snickers at his expression. "Yeah, that's how we all feel about it, but it's important to know how to do it right."
He heaves a sigh, but doesn't actually feel too bad about it, still riding the high from his chat with Mai. "Okay, that makes sense."
"First day's always the hardest. We do some investigation, so we'll have you looking through information tomorrow to see where your skills are at and then Mic will work with you on it later."
Izuku perks up at that. "That sounds like fun."
"No wonder Mic likes you." Soundbite says in a tone of fond exasperation. Maybe she doesn't like the investigations part?