Heroes and Horrors (Izuku x Kendo)

Chapter 1: A Hero or Horror?

As the last call for boarding passengers sounded, Itsuka made up her mind and hastily grabbed the offered ticket. "It's not often you run into people giving away stuff for free."

The man shrugged. "I try to be a good person, that's all there is to it." He then nodded respectfully and turned around to walk away. "Good luck!" He said with a smile.

With no time to reply, the orange-haired hero sprinted towards the train platforms. With less than a second to spare she made it onto her train, and no sooner had she gotten both feet inside the train car did the doors close.

"Holy shit that was close." She thought to herself as she fixed a wrinkle in her blouse. "Next time let's not rely on luck to get to an appointment on time."

As the sun began to set on the bustling Japanese city, Itsuka opened the door to her apartment and sighed tiredly. The whole day had been one meeting after another, and now that she was home Itsuka could finally get a chance to take a breath. First it had been the performance review, then a meeting to discuss a potential sponsorship deal, then meeting with Hawks about possibly joining his agency, then a phone call with the director of a charity organization, and then finally visiting her parents to let her mom interrogate her about why she did not have a nice man yet to introduce to the family.

Turning on the lights to her moderately-sized but well-furnished apartment, Itsuka took off her shoes and threw her handbag on the nearby couch. Undoing her ponytail and letting her orange hair hang loose, she trudged to her room and began changing.

Whoever said being a pro-hero is easy was a goddamn liar. Sure, if you are blessed with good luck, good skills, and a good quirk, then making a name for yourself is easy. But for the majority of pro-heroes like Itsuka, being a successful pro-hero means putting one's nose to the grindstone almost every day. Making money as a pro-hero isn't easy either, especially when you are a solo hero like Itsuka currently is. The bounties and other such rewards from apprehending criminals can range from abysmal to outrageous depending on the danger, so the most reliable way to get paid is through sponsorships or contracts. Overall it is a total pain in the ass, and while Itsuka enjoyed being a pro-hero there were days when the bullshit behind the scenes was particularly aggravating.

Changing into her pajamas, Itsuka walked over to her small kitchen and began microwaving some leftovers. She could have made herself a well-balanced meal, but right now she just wanted to relax and destress. With her plate of warm leftovers in hand, Itsuka walked over to her plush couch and scrolled through her smartphone while she ate. Halfway through her meal, Itsuka's phone rang with an alert of an incoming group call.

Putting the phone on speaker, the orange-haired hero answered the call as she poked at her meal with her fork. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Heya Itsuka!" The cheerful voice of Mina Ashido replied.

"Hello everyone." Ochaco Uraraka said cordially.

"Mina, do you really need to do these group calls every other day?" The slightly annoyed voice of Kyouka Jiro answered.

There was a short laugh. "Kyouka, if I left group chats up to you they would never happen." Ashido replied. "If I left you alone you would just stay cooped up in your apartment outside of work! C'mon, just chat a little then you can go back to watching music videos."

Itsuka chuckled. "I think you aren't giving Kyouka enough credit. Just because she isn't as outgoing as you doesn't mean she is some kind of hermit."

Mina Ashido, Ochaco Uraraka, and Kyouka Jiro. These three women were the ones Itsuka considered her closest friends. Right after they all had graduated from UA, they had spent 3 years working together at the same agency and became good friends as well as colleagues. Now, even though they all worked in different agencies, they still maintained their bond through phone calls, group texts, and the occasional meet up whenever they had time off.