chapter xiv.
(pic above is the hero costume, just add a mask covering
the nose-down and imagine skin-tight pants)
( internships part 1 )
Hawks, Miruko, Endeavour, Best Jeanist, Nighteye, Kamui Woods... who the hell am I gonna choose?
Keiko had her head in her hands as she sat in her chair at the back of the classroom. She was planning on not taking the internships seriously, but when she went through the ridiculously long list of people, she wanted to actually think about it.
This could help her improve, but it could also be a window to stop as much crime as she could, whether it be in Musutafu or Miyagi for that matter.
Her top priority: stopping the Hero Killer: Stain.
Of course she understood what he was doing: eliminating heroes who he thought weren't stopping crime for the good of the society, but for what they get from it.
In a way, Stain and her were the same: they knew that the hero society was corrupt, but Keiko had changed her direction and decided to change it from within, unlike the hero killer.
It was risky, seeing as the best heroes weren't stationed in Hosu, the one place that had the highest possibility of Stain fighting in the alleys.
Besides, she wasn't even sure she could even encounter him without bait.
She groaned a little, stretching and sighing as she heard her joints pop back into place.
I'll worry about that later. My brain's to jumbled up for that kind of thinking.
"Todoroki," Keiko called, looking at the boy who turned to face her. "Who're planning on internshipping with?"
The peppermint tilted his head a little from the girl's vocabulary, but answered nonetheless. "I'm thinking of going with my father."
Keiko nodded. "Though he's an asshole, I understand your choice. You want to tame your flames, don't you?"
The boy nodded, not at all surprised with her observation and her chosen name for his father.
Oh right. I forgot to tell you.
They had talked to each other after class as they walked home, then when they reached the Todoroki household, Keiko would head over to Shinso's, who would ask her questions about Ninja and herself as they played video games or with his cats. You could consider the two friends.
"Good luck. Let's see how strong you'll become after this."
▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎
Keiko hummed a random tune under her breath as she walked towards the teachers' room.
First things first: She wanted to talk to Aizawa about Iida, since she noticed that he chose his agency fairly quickly.
Just like her, I guess.
She knocked gently on the door, smiling politely as she found herself face-to-face with Ectoplasm.
"Do you need anything, Kobayashi?" He asked, his voice warbly.
"I would like to talk to Aizawa-sensei," she said.
Ectoplasm stepped aside and looked at Aizawa's direction.
"Thank you."
Keiko kept her head down low as she walked towards their homeroom teacher.
Wait... how did Ectoplasm open the door?
"Aizawa," Keiko said. "I need to talk."
He looked up from his papers, his expression unchanging as he found his new student standing in front of him. "What do you need."
"Iida's choice of agency," Keiko answered without skipping a beat.
Aizawa hesitated a little, before saying, "Manual in Hosu, Tokyo."
He understood Keiko's concern for Iida, since he also had the same thoughts. He trusted her with the truth.
"You know what he's going for, don't you?"
Keiko scoffed, raking her fingers through her black hair. "It's obvious. He's looking for Stain for revenge."
Aizawa nodded. "That's also what I thought. I can't interfere, but what do you think you can do?"
Keiko ruffled her hair a little as she thought. She does this normally in the house or in the company of friends only, but she was too deep in thought to care.
"I don't know. I got an offer from Manual, but I... don't really want to go there," she said sheepishly.
Aizawa nodded in understanding. It was normal for someone to do something that would actually benefit them.
"But, I planned on picking at least someone in Hosu to make things easier then... improvise from there.
"That reminds me..." she handed her internship paper to the pro hero. "I've already made my choice."
Aizawa grabbed the paper, going through it and raising his eyebrows as she saw the name she encircled. "Edgeshot Agency. You're sure?"
Keiko sent a small smile his way. "Yup. Besides, I can tell you wouldn't give back my paper if I wasn't."
Aizawa nodded approvingly. "Good to know you're catching on. Go home and worry about it later."
She held up a lazy peace sign. "You got it, Aizawa."
"We're still in campus. It's Aizawa-sensei to you, Kobayashi," Aizawa's gruff voice called out to Keiko as she weaved through the tables and towards the door to leave.
"Noted, I guess."
Keiko opened the door and stepped out. She groaned a little when she found out how busy the next few days were going to be with what she expected to happen. "This is gonna be a long week..."
▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎
It was the next day, and everyone was standing with backpacks slung over shoulders and the suitcases containing their hero costumes in hand. At least Keiko had something to look forward to this internship: seeing how much of UA's money she spent from her hero costume.
"You all have your costumes?" Aizawa asked as they stood in a train station.
"Usually you aren't allowed to wear your costumes in public. Don't drop them."
"Haaaaai!" Mina said, throwing her suitcase up in excitement.
"Don't elongate it. Make it shorter, Ashido."
Mina deflated, making Keiko smile. "Hai..."
"Try not to be a burden to the hero during your internships. Go."
"Hai!"
Keiko turned right, walking slowly while whistling a happy tune.
She stopped when she found Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka talking.
"If it ever feel hopeless," Midoriya said, looking at Iida in concern, "tell us. We're friends, right?"
Iida looked at the pair, the same look in his eyes as he said, "Hai."
Iida turned and walked away, leaving Uraraka and Midoriya worried and scared for their friend.
"Don't worry."
They turned, to find Keiko walked through the gap between them to the train to Hosu, where her internship would occur. "I'll watch him."
Keiko walked, keeping a distance between her and Iida for no apparent reason.
They went into the train, and Keiko sat a few rows behind Iida, making sure to blend in with the crowd in the aisle to keep her cover.
She didn't really see any benefit in showing herself to Iida yet, which was why she decided to just keep herself hidden for now.
She brought out her phone and texted in the group chat, since the three asked for regular updates if possible.
The Fat Ones + Keiko
Keiko
I'm on the train to
Hosu.
I'll be there
in about 30 mins
Aiko
Stay safe out there Kei.
The Hero Killer was
there only a few days
ago
Ichiro
Yeah. Who are
you interning
with again, Keiko?
Keiko
Edgeshot
Kai
Hah. We're gonna
spar when u come
back
Get better.
Keiko
And what?
Beat
your ass for the
fourth time in a
row?
Ichiro
Language
Kai
I let you win back
then
This time I
won't hold back
Keiko
Mhm. Keep
dreaming, Kai
Not all dreams
become a reality
Keiko plugged in her earphones and played some music after that, wanting to get at least ten minutes of sleep in.
She had stayed up until two in the morning, doing some homework and getting as much information about the Hero Killer as she could, which wasn't much.
In the past, he's killed seventeen heroes and injured twenty-three permanently. He has a lot of blades, so she assumed that they were for his quirk, which was something that Keiko couldn't find.
He mostly attacked in alleys to not get caught, and there was a really big possibility that he would show up again in Hosu. That was information that Iida had probably caught up on if he was in the city (?) just for that purpose.
She clutched onto her phone tightly. Stain wasn't the only thing that kept her awake last night.
She started having dreams of some guy she couldn't really pinpoint who he was, telling her things that she couldn't remember.
The ravenette felt that it was connected somehow to the voice in her head during the sports festival. Though the voice had been quiet for the past few days, she would still have a sudden headache once in a while.
The train suddenly stopped, breaking the girl from her trance.
Like many in the train, she stood, using the tall people as cover from her classmate.
Once Iida had left, she stepped out, just in time as the train door closed and the vehicle zoomed away.
"Iida-kun," Keiko called, taking out one bud from her ear. The bluenette turned around in surprise. "Keiko-san! What are you doing here?"
"My internship's in Hosu," she answered, walking over to him. She looked at her watch, seeing that she only had a few minutes until she had to be at Edgeshot's. "I have to go, but please..." She looked into his eyes. "Be careful. Don't do anything that you'll regret later. It won't be worth it."
The ravenette turned around and went away, with Iida staring at her back in shock. Does she know what he was about to do? But he didn't tell anyone.
I'm sorry, Kobayashi... But you wouldn't understand... I have to do this... for my brother... I will never forgive Stain for what he did to him...
Keiko sighed and fished the piece of paper that contained the address out of her pocket.
Somewhere to the left once I get down from the station... not very far.
She stuffed the paper back in her skirt pocket and walked, going down some flights of stairs and walking through the busy streets of Hosu, many pointing at her as they recognized her from the sports festival.
She turned left, going on for almost a minute before she stopped in front of a very large and traditional Japanese building, surrounded by a lot of trees like it was in the middle of a mini jungle.
Damn..
Just in case, Keiko kept her guard up as she approached the large iron gate.
"State your name and business," a robotic voice asked from a small device on one of the columns of the gate.
Keiko approached it and said, "Keiko Kobayashi, here for the internship with pro hero Edgeshot."
The gate swung open on its own, making Keiko think that something was bound to happen.
Here goes nothing...
She stepped in, keeping her eyes peeled for any threats hiding in the shadows of the trees that loomed over her. She felt a shiver go down her spine, making more alert than before.
There was a rustling sound to her left. Without hesitating she turned and used her quirk to shoot a small beam of neon.
It didn't hit anything except for the bushes.
Behind!
She turned, eyes widening as she brought up her suitcase to shield herself from the red tendrils that were sent her way.
It hit the metal case, giving Keiko a second to run through the path.
This must be a test. If it isn't, then I'll tell Edgeshot to upgrade his security so no more villains could enter. If it is, I can't afford to fail.
Her senses were going haywire as she heard the figure jumping through the trees surrounding her. She stopped panicking and started listening, looking for a pattern judging from her opponent's sounds.
Left, right, right, left left, right, right — THERE!
Keiko suddenly turned around, aiming for her left and shooting with blinding speed.
A grunt was heard as someone toppled down onto the path behind her.
Keiko skidded to a halt, her fists glowing as she prepared for her opponent to make his move.
"Good job," the man complimented, rising to his feet and brushing off the dust on his armored shoulder and stepping out of the shadows of the trees. "It's to be expected of someone who got second place in the festival."
It was the man himself, Ninja Hero: Edgeshot. He had his hair in an intricate style on the side of his face, shinobi-like armor on his body, a mask covering the bottom half of his face, and a red scarf.
Keiko bowed respectfully. "It's a pleasure to be here, Edgeshot. Please take care of me."
"Let's go. You can settle once you're in the agency," Edgeshot said, walking down the path normally like he didn't just get shot off a tree a few seconds ago.
Keiko nodded, smiling a little as she followed behind the hero. Honestly, she was impressed. The introduction she got from Edgeshot was not what she expected, but that didn't make it disappointing. She was actually looking forward to working with this guy, though she doesn't know that much about him.
Once they reached the edge of the path, the doors to the agency swung open. Keiko couldn't help but look around, taking in every detail of the busy building. There were a lot of sidekicks bustling around, carrying papers and going back and forth between desks.
The interior of the structure was simple, with beige walls and potted plants dotting the sides. There was an elevator in the middle, and some rooms on the side, possibly break rooms or equipment rooms.
"Welcome to the Edgeshot Agency," Edgeshot said, going through the chaos and gesturing for Keiko to follow. "We'll talk in my office."
The ravenette exhaled, excitement pumping through her veins... along with dread.
I'm finally in Hosu... Let's just hope that I don't have to disrupt this internship with a certain classmate of mine doing something stupid...
She was worried for Iida, because it wouldn't help him if he succumbed to his anger. Many people did that in movies, and they never really turned out well.
Though Ninja was created partially on revenge, she was able to change it into something good, knowing that she was dealing with an entire country over here. One mistake could cost a life, if not dozens or even thousands.
The two entered the elevator, staying in silence until the ding was heard, which indicated that they had arrived on the next floor.
Edgeshot and Keiko stepped out, the girl tailing him as he walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a door that read "Ninja Hero: Edgeshot."
The hero entered the room and sat on the chair behind the desk, while he gestured for the ravenette to sit on the chairs in front of the table.
Keiko had scanned the room quickly before sitting down, placing her suitcase on her lap.
It was like a normal office; some books on fighting techniques and drawers that were possibly full of different missions that the hero had been assigned.
What disturbed her the most was the cork board in the corner with big bold letters on the top:
Vigilante: Ninja.
There were a lot of pins, pictures, and red strings on the board, making Keiko think that Edgeshot had been tailing Ninja for a while now. Possibly ever since he defeated his first villain.
If only he knew that I was Ninja.
"Kobayashi," Edgeshot said, bringing her back to earth, "as you know, you'll be spending a week here for your internship, doing hero activities like patrol, paperwork, and training. You will settle in a nearby hotel, which has your room paid for and prepared."
He handed her a piece of paper, which she tucked in her pocket without looking at it.
"Today, we'll be patrolling around Hosu, then you'll be training with one of my sidekicks."
Keiko nodded. "I'll change in my room. Thank you."
She bowed, turning around and to walk out of the room. We could have just talked about this downstairs instead of going to your office, but okay.
"Wait."
The girl paused, looking over her shoulder. "Do you need anything else, Edgeshot?"
"It seems that you're experienced when it comes to fighting," he said.
Keiko turned around, making a conscious effort to keep her expression blank so she wouldn't give anything away. "Yeah. I have some talented friends, you could say."
She wasn't wrong; Ichiro, Kai, and Aiko were the top three in Shiketsu. Though she sparred with Ichiro and Kai a lot more than with her own brother, she still got tips from Aiko when she had trained under him for the sports festival.
But what was this hero's motive in asking that question?
Edgeshot nodded, before opening a drawer and pulling out a file, which he put on the desk for her to see.
KOBAYASHI, Keiko
The ravenette's eyes widened by just a millimeter, before she kept them nonchalant.
"Sir," she started, surprised her voice wasn't trembling, "why do you have a file with my name on it?"
"You're a very mysterious person, Kobayashi," the hero said, looking into her eyes to see a reaction, or any sign of emotion.
Nothing.
That made Edgeshot more curious.
And so, Edgeshot continued digging the hole deeper, trying to confirm his suspicions.
"Three years ago, you're cousin Blake had jumped off a building in a form of suicide. You saved him from —"
"Her," Keiko interrupted. "Blake's a girl."
"— his untimely death. You had caused damage to public property and injured some civilians who were standing on the ground. You were sentenced to three months of house arrest, for the court judged you too young to go to juvie."
Keiko kept silent, fearing that if she made a sound, she might give Edgeshot what he wanted.
She took a deep, quiet inhale before turning around to face him fully, saying, "what is the point of this, sir? I'm only going to be here for a week. I don't think you would want to waste your time with me making useless assumptions by looking into my past and bringing it back up just to get whatever you want from me, no matter how much pain that moment brought."
Keiko broke eye contact with the hero. "I'm here to get stronger, Edgeshot. If you only sent me a request to continue your petty game of detective, don't expect me to play along."
She opened the door and slammed it closed, not letting the hero respond.
The ravenette sighed, running a hand through her hair.
I have to be more careful around him, or else he might expose me...
She walked away, avoiding the gazes of the people who had crowded the hallway.
She pressed the button of the elevator, then stepped in once the lift arrived.
A few minutes later, she was outside of the agency and looking at the card Edgeshot had given her a few moments ago.
So much was going through her head: the internship, Edgeshot's suspicions, Iida.... It may not seem like much, but it's enough to make the average teenage girl snap.
But not her.
It seems this week would be busier than I thought.
[ author's corner ]
I HAVE RETURNED WITH ANOTHER FILLER!
This is to get you all excited for the upcoming days as Edgeshot's intern! Did it work? I hope it did.
Also, 1.5k READS. thank you, iz really like a dream come true :]
I hope you stick around for the Hero Killer Incident to happen. If you will, I'll see you in the next one!
Plus Ultra!
(PS, I'm sorry if this chapter's trash, I've been doing this instead of homework and my mind's trashed atm, so yeah)
- R