Chapter 4- Bow

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"My name is Tenya Iida, thank you for having me!" Iida yelled, bowing a perfect ninety-degrees to Manual, the hero taking him in for his internship.

His eyes were shut tight and hard with nervous sweat building up on his head, as if Manual could see through him and all his motivations for choosing Hosu as the place for his internship.

"Hey, no need to be so formal," Manual said assuredly, straightening Iida's back upright. "I get you must be a bit nervous, but we're all friends here."

Iida nodded, though still stiff. "Thank you, still, for this opportunity you granted me."

"Me too," Manuel laughed. "I'm a bit surprised you chose me for your internship, but I'm still pretty happy. I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise," Iida said. He then started glancing around the hero agency, the urge to move around and get out tugging at him. "So, what type of work does one do at an internship? When do we start?"

"Hm?" Manuel looked a bit startled. "Right to work, huh?" he smiled, "Well, for now we're doing hero patrols. But since it's your first day, it's fine if you want to settle in first."

Iida immediately shook his head, a bit faster than he intended to. Stain was out there, right now, injuring and killing heroes. The faster he started, the better. 

"No, but thank you for the offer!" he insisted, keeping his eyes trained on the Pro Hero. "It's important to make use of this occasion set for me."

Manuel looked a bit skeptical, studying Iida for a split second. The high school student suddenly felt his stomach knot.

"I like that eagerness. I suppose it can't be helped," Manual eventually said, a small smile forming on his face afterwards. "We can start in a few minutes. There's a couple of things I need to do before we're ready."

"Of course." Iida nodded.

"I'll be back," Manuel said, turning the opposite direction. He pointed to his left. "Changing rooms are over there. Afterwards come back here and we'll start."

"Okay, thank you."

Iida stayed stiff until Manuel left the room, a big pressure leaving his shoulders once he did. The thought of taking advantage of a hero as wonderful and kind as Manuel made him feel a twinge of guilt, but when he thought of Stain, those feelings went away.

He turned left, entering the changing room and wasting no time getting into his costume. 

Iida reminded himself that he was doing this for his brother. He needed to do this for the family name, to honor all its worth. That's all that mattered.

Manuel popped up around the same time Iida did, waving at the high school student as he walked back. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"I am." Iida affirmed.

"Alright," Manuel gestured over to the door. "let's go then."

The two walked out, where the hot sun met them with a blinding greeting. Iida took in the somewhat familiar city, filled with bustling citizens and not that much crime in sight.

"Crime tends to be slower around these parts," Manuel said. "Which should be a good thing, but considering you're on an internship, it makes less productivity. But anyways, I'm sure you know the basic rules, such as don't go off on your own, right?",

Iida nodded absentmindedly. He was more focused on the surrounding alleyways, where he knew Stain was more likely to be found. His eyes hardened with cold determination, remembering his brother in that stale hospital bed.

The day passed by more, and Iida spent most of that time looking after the city, along with watching Manuel do some of his work. But no sign of Stain.

Iida ended up feeling unsatisfied when the day came close to an end. He learned a bit from Manuel of course, and even though he knew it was unlikely Stain would magically meet him in the right place at the right time, he felt extremely annoyed.

He frowned under his mask, an urge to childishly stomp his foot on the ground withheld as Manuel told him they should get back.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, much to the teen's surprise.

Iida froze a bit. "Yes, I am doing fine. Why do you ask?"

Manuel shrugged. "Just wondering. You seemed a bit out of it."

"Ah! I apologize!" Iida said immediately. "I assure you I'm putting my focus on my studies here at my intern..." he trailed off, a certain figure ahead catching his attention, "...ship."

"Tenya?" Manuel questioned. He turned to where the teen was staring. 

'Sho?' Iida thought. 'Is that him?'

Someone in a dark-gray hoodie was talking to a middle-aged couple, red and white hair peeking out of the clothing. He seemed to be conversing with them. After he got the couple to smile, he waved them off, turning towards Iida and Manuel.

It was definitely Sho.

"Sho?"

The bi-color haired teen froze, staring in Iida's helmet. Manuel awkwardly stood to the side.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Sho asked, eyes narrowing.

Right, he was in his hero costume.

"This is all a misunderstanding!" Manuel cut in, pushing Iida forward. "We're very sorry about this!"

Sho blinked, unsure of what to do as the two passed by him. Eventually, he shrugged and went back to what he was doing.

Manuel sighed heavily once Sho left, stopping in place. He looked at Iida. "Someone you know?"

"I suppose you could say that," Iida answered rigidly. "I'm very sorry about that, by the way. It was very inappropriate of me."

"It's fine," Manuel said. "just don't let personal relations distract you from now on, alright?"

Iida nodded.

But he was smiling under his mask, not wallowing in shame, because he now knew that there was a chance he could see Sho again. 

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974 words

A/N- i can't tell if the writing style just blatantly changed or not, lol.

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