Ebony {My Hero Academia}

Chapter 12- Sensei

Chapter 12

Sensei

.:+:.

... In the end... This is as much my fault as it is his...

.:+:.

"... This has been a major upset in the Rankings!"

"Tell me about it! It's not uncommon for a Pro to move up or down one, or even two Ranks in the span of a month or so, but it's nearly unheard of to move more than five spaces from where they last were!"

"It's like they took the old list and just threw it out and made a whole new one!"

"Now of course, we're not really surprised about Hawks jumping up more than a few. That boy has been hopping up several spaces on a constant loop the last year- so his sudden rise from 24 to 15 in the last month has no one surprised, yeah?"

"Yeah, no one's shocked with his progress. Even though the last month hasn't had much going on for him- no big fights or showdowns to be heard of, but he has been busy. He's kept up with his Patrols and his media appearances, and of course- there is no shortage of talk about him, what with his sudden bout of friendliness with the Ebony Hero!"

"-Who, is more the talk of Japan now after the Monthly Rankings were posted!"

"Right, back to the real topic at hand! As much as we'd like to sing Hawks some more praises, this slot of time is reserved for the Ebony Hero herself- Animal Spirit!"

"Now listeners if you haven't already seen it, the Monthly Rankings have been posted, and as always there has been a few changes in the tentative lineup for the year! A bit of the regular shuffling here and there on the lower half of the top 100, and of course Hawks' own continued rise. But the biggest upset of this month is the new Ranking that Animal Spirit is now settled at!"

"Animal Spirit has now been placed in Rank No. 19! A massive leap up from her No. 26 ranking the last month! And in no doubt due to her excellent skills and strength shown in her harrowing battle against the Hero Killer, and her swift rescue of fellow Pro Hero Ingenium! A battle worthy of entering the top 20 in the matter of only a few weeks to be sure!"

"There was talk that Animal Spirit would outplace Bryzair, the Hero who held the rank above her- but I'm sure no one expected her to surpass him, and so many others in so little time!"

"And now we're all gonna have eyes on her! We're all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see how far she can go!"

Message From: Death Arms
Congratulations, No. 19

.:+:.

"... Kitty...!"

A child's excited call stuck out among the rumble of voices and feet, shuttering closed doors, trains and masses moving all around in a constant cycle. The train station was full with people but not packed, the initial morning rush had already come and gone and now morning was setting in further as people made their way to and from wherever they were coming, and going.

It wasn't the first time some child had called out upon seeing her, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. But she hardly batted an eye as the small girl was tugged away by her mother's hand and on to the train they were meant to be on. Little anyone else payed the child's call any mind either, and those who did glanced up at her on her perch, curious, but quickly diverted in their attention by their own business.

Today is the day

Spirit forced herself a breath that was meant to be calming, her ears twitching as she sat still as a statue atop a signpost overhanging and entrance into the station, overlooking the main floor and it's constant traffic and in and out of people and bullet-trains. Her tail curled over her paws as she kept her attention on the train pulling away from the station, and resulting in a slight lull of people walking around.

First day

The first day... the first day in the last two where she had been fussing with getting ready and pulling everything together and setting her 'plans' in stone. She'd been hopping back and forth between the Support Office and the store and all places in between, and now today she hoped dearly that she hadn't forgotten anything.

I didn't right? I have my bag, I have supplies, I'm early and here and on time...

She grumbled a bit, a growl in the back of her throat as she shook her head at herself.

Stop

Every once in awhile someone payed her more mind and paused under her perch, smiling her way and offering up small 'hellos' or 'good mornings' from those who recognized her, or at least guessed... oh, and 'congrats on the new Ranking'.

She grumbled a bit more under her breath, ears twitching in exasperation.

Yes... as of yesterday, she was in some technical sense now the No. 19 Hero, and not the No. 26.

But not really... well, not officially. The no shit, hardcore, official rankings that dictated exactly what spot you were in were always announced twice a year, 6 months in and then at the end of December. And that Ranking was your actual one, and the one that stuck with you for half a year until they released the new list the following 6 months.

What had the whole of Japan in an uproar about her now was just the Monthly, tentative, and very much not official Rankings. The Monthly Rankings were scored in fairly the same way the Official ones were, taking into account Resolve Rates and Rescue statistics, as well as the number and type of incidents and fights a Pro was involved in. And then it paired all the normal and basic logistical stuff with more of the social side- how popular a Pro was with the general public, approval among the different tiers of people like businesses, police, political persons, etc. But as far as Spirit was aware, the Monthly Rankings were skewed more by the popularity portion of a Pro's career than they were meant to be. So, she was very much under the impression a large portion of why she'd suddenly skipped ahead 7 ranks was because of how (ridiculously) popular she was about the whole hanging around Hawks thing (the mess with Stain not included..). And with Hawks constantly moving up in the ranks from month to month, she was sure her 'relationship' with him had figuratively latched her onto what roll he was on.

So technically the whole No. 19 didn't count for much, she was still officially the No. 26, and she doubted she'd actually earn any different rank come December. To be entirely honest, the jump up to 19 confused the hell out of her, she couldn't see why she had gotten placed that high without the actual reasons being nonsense and bullshit... So yeah, there's not a chance in hell I'm the No. 19. I'm pretty sure this is just a lot of hyped up nonsense.

And she kept to that idea even knowing, that come the end of the year, the final Monthly Ranking was pretty much always damn near close to what the Official Rankings turned out to be.

She shook her head and the thoughts off, deciding it better not to brood about it or the numerous people giving out praises for the new Rank- Death Arms included.

... And Hawks. That had been a near immediate message over Instagram from Hawkward once the list got posted. And a very excited and overzealous one she hardly read more than two words of before feeling irritated.

She was still irritated about what happened (now three nights ago) in the park and about finding out he was spying on her and near everyone else in the world. Her rage had dulled down considerably since then, and Hawks had seemed to have made an effort of not being an annoying child since. His messaging to her had all but ceased, and she'd not actually seen him, not even when she was out on Patrol.

And the reprieve was nice, and sorely needed, and it allowed her to settle out again and not be so worked up when she thought back on it. Because when she did think about the whole ordeal, she felt like she wanted to punch him in the face- but only when she thought about that specific incident. She could think about him and the coffee and everything afterwards, and before having thrown him to the ground without feeling the need to assault him... But if she thought about him and his stupid explanations and justifications for spying- UGH

Away from that- now she felt she could handle being around him if he were to pop back into the picture again. She'd calmed down enough the last two days with being so busy with getting ready for today, and actually being able to sleep and eat and be away from him. Now her tolerance for Hawks was back at maximum, and for it, she doubted he'd manage to put her in such a foul mood again as she had been back on that day... Pending he didn't spy or meddle in her business again, the little fucking-

-damn it, you're getting worked up again. Just focus on right here, right now. You can't fuck up this Internship by being pissy about Feathers.

So instead she focused on the station and the people and only that. Letting her thoughts and feelings and memories of Hawks fade to the back of her mind and be replaced with the here and now once more.

... She supposed that even with the odd person here and there that greeted her and said congrats before heading on their way, was something of a good thing. Because at least they were being friendly and polite and not crowding around and causing a scene and drawing too much attention. They all had places to be, and Pros had been commonplace for a few decades now, so most of the general public had some sense of when it was appropriate to crowd around and divert Heroes from their day to day.

So in short, today wasn't starting off too terribly... It was still early though.

She sighed again, her ears drooping.

Yeah... She might be a little nervous, in all honesty.

... Okay, maybe a lot nervous.

Shiiiiiiit

Her claws dug into the plastic signpost she was sitting on, growling to herself and at what array of knots her stomach felt like it was in.

You'll be okay Spirit, just take it slow today, get to know the kid, settle all the basic formal stuff and don't rush... it'll be fine...!

Of course she'd already told herself all of that, or some variant of it, about a million times the last few days. And it never really did any good.

"Morning." A man hummed as he passed underneath her spot, and Spirit unconsciously dipped her head to the man in recognition of the greeting, though she said absolutely nothing.

What if I mess up and act like an idiot? I mean I am the adult here, so I have to seem like I know what I'm doing, right? That's my job? Be prepared and on top of things and know all the answers cause I'm the adult and the Pro Hero and I've been doing this for like... Like two years? I have all the experience?

... Fuck I only have two years of experience, and I'm barely old enough to even be considered an adult... How am I supposed to be the responsible one, be on top of everything, and have all the answers? I don't have all the answers!

I am going to crash and burn, aren't I?

She wilted, her head hanging.

... What a terrible idea this was Spirit, way to go... This kid is totally gonna go back to UA thinking I'm Animal Spirit- the most unprepared and bumbling mess of an 'adult' and Pro Hero there ever was...... Guess I'm just gonna have to fake it till I make it, huh? And hopefully fake knowing what I'm doing well enough that nothing goes super terrible, and Eraserhead doesn't find a reason to hunt me down and make good on his threat/warning/whatever...

... Oh great, now I'm imagining being killed by Eraserhead... Lovely...

Her ears perked subconsciously as the next train rolled into the station and to an abrupt halt. She spared a glance up and at the train, before her eyes left it for a few seconds to take note of what time it was, and then she looked back toward the mass of people filtering onto the station platform.

... At least I don't need to worry about being able to pick the kid out of a crowd... Based on the picture I had in the file, spotting him won't be hard... Ah.

Her ears perked, shoving forward and posture straightening as her red eyes locked to one figure among the many who stepped off the now idle train that had come into the station.

A tall young man of a wide, muscular build with peach-colored skin, and his head more the form of a rock, unevenly shaped and pointed at the top, caught her attention among the many. Rightly so, since he was quite a bit taller than many of the other people coming off the train- and even more so a bit of an 'odd one out' given the clearly Hero-centric clothes he had on. His Hero costume, to be exact, was a tight yellow suit, only reaching to his knees and elbows, with a large red marking over his torso and at the ends of his sleeves. On his chest was plastered a symbol resembling an open mouth, and he seemed to wring his hands together in front of him, casting nervous and embarrassed looks toward the people who gave him a sideways glance or otherwise just looked his way.

Ah... She supposed it would be a little odd for a student having to wear their Hero Costume out in public like that, and so casually when just taking the train. But what could she do? She didn't have any Agency building, so he had to come prepared to work and with nowhere to change or anything... She hadn't really thought about it, or how embarrassing and strange it might be on the poor kid. Besides, she was plenty used to wearing her uniform when she was out and about doing whatever- so it was normal.

Not for him though... Kids in their first year seldom get out of class wearing their uniforms, huh?

She sighed slightly at the clear nervousness on the boy's face and woven into his body-language as he took a few more steps away from the platform.

Damn... He looks about as nervous as I feel... Oh we're gonna make quite the pair...

She shook her head at herself and stood up onto all four paws, balancing with ease on the signpost.

Please, whatever god or deity or all powerful force or whatever else- let today go well, yeah? No getting mobbed by fans or Press, no dangerous Villains popping out of the woodwork, no massive disasters... Please?

With that last thought, she shook her fur out and hooked her claws over the edge of the signpost, ready to jump down but pausing when the boy's fluttering gaze moved across the station quickly, and then found her. His steps faltered and his face fell too, surprised and searching as their eyes locked, and Spirit found herself stuck in place for a few seconds too. She quickly shook it off and dipped her head to him, and her tail waved over her back in an arch of distorted reality. Sections of black fellover her shoulders weightlessly as she saw his eyes widen at the sight, his jaw dropping ever so slightly.

Spirit cocked her head a bit, gesturing for him to come her way and purring in amusement at the look of awe she had seen so many times before.

The boy faltered a second more, before taking a jerking step forward in her direction, moving passed the crowd and the people and headed toward her perch. His eyes broke from her the second he started to move, and they stayed glued to the floor all the way till he was a few feet from where she was. When he did come to a halt in front of the sign, he wrung his hands together in front of him a few times and glanced up uncertainly, eyes glittering as she hopped down from the top and landed on the cement floor in front of him with the utmost grace.

"Hey." She hummed as he looked down at her, "It's Koda, right?" She asked lightly, and he nodded stiffly in reply. "Great. Let's head out of the station and we can find a better place to talk for a bit, alright?" She told him, and again she earned a stiff nod, but nothing else. She tilted her head in the direction of the exit and turned, her whiskers twitching as she paused for a single moment, and then started out. Her ears angled backward, catching sound of the boy's footsteps following behind her as the two of them wove through the people and out of the station- earning a few looks here and there but little else. The boy kept closed behind her, almost like he was afraid of being separated, and they both made it outside the station and up the street a bit in sheer silence. Spirit rounded the corner and stepped off the sidewalk into a small square, bringing them both around to a little corner near a copse of trees away from the few people around, and stopped them in the dim shadows underneath.

Spirit turned back toward the boy, her tail tip twitching as she purred a bit in an attempt to break the silence, and the slight bit of tension that came with it. "Ah, welcome to Heiku, by the way- if you've never been to this part of the city before." She spoke up, breaking the quiet and turning in his direction completely. Her body melted into a black-red haze and the relatively small figure of Animal Spirit the cat, got replaced with the taller, and regular form, of the woman. She stood before him with her hands on her hips, dressed in her usual Hero Uniform (she'd gotten it back from being repaired at the Support Office, so she was able to replace Version 1.0 with her preferred 2.0), and plus a small bag strapped to the low of her back and made of the same sort of material her suit was.

She stood there before him, smiling softly as she tilted her head back a bit to keep eye contact with the young boy. The kid was taller than her by an extreme amount as a cat, and even as a human she was more than a few centimeters shorter than him- not that it bothered her, mind you. She was fairly used to being in the company of people taller than her, what with Death Arms being about (the ridiculous amount of) 31 centimeters above her own head.

The boy went stiff as a board as he stared at her, his hands instinctively coming up and holding together in front of his chin, almost covering his mouth as Spirit kept up that smile that was meant to be friendly and reassuring. Though to be honest, it was a little hard to keep it up as the boy seemed to grow more nervous by the second- seriously, he looked like he was sweating up a storm, and he was trembling for frick's sake.

Did I... Do something...?

"It's good to finally meet you, Koda. I'm excited to work with you, and help out with your training and whatever else, as well as showing you some of the ropes about being a Pro." Spirit went on despite the somewhat anxious(?) reaction she was receiving from the boy, and the anxiety that seemed to get worse the more she said anything. "I figured we could just chat for a little and settle some of the more logistical things before heading out for a bit of Patrol, alright? I'm happy to answer any questions you have, so please don't be afraid of asking me anything. And if you're unsure of something or uncomfortable, please let me know. I want this Internship to be helpful and enjoyable, sound good?" She hummed, and he seemed to flush a little, his eyes glittering. "Oh, and did you have a Hero Name picked out yet? I can call you by that instead of your actual name, for privacy's sake and everything when we're out and about." She added, her confidence waning a little bit more when he went rigid in front of her, almost... is that awe or fear...?

His eyes scrunched closed as the trembling reached an all time high as he seemed to shake himself furiously, his hands broke apart and he waved them a bit in air before him, all sheer... Flustered animation...

... Ah...?

"I-I'm so sorry, I'm just so... So honored to meet you, Animal Spirit! A-and I can't believe I'm actually getting to meet you! I never imagined I would get the chance, l-let alone Internship under you! I've just been so nervous about it and I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around being here with you..! B-because I am such a huge fan and this is amazing and terrifying and I really don't want to mess this up, and I want to be better and not be so nervous or anything but I just...!" The words came out quickly, his voice shaky and soft and maybe a bit more high-pitched than she had been expecting.

Spirit blinked, frozen in her spot as the torrent of words seemed to pour forward after probably having been bubbling up. But her eyes were more focused on the constant series of deliberate hand gestures that the young boy was making all through his talking.

Is that... He's using Sign Language as he's talking...?

His face was flushed slightly, eyes still shut and still flustered as hell in his overflow of rambling, and he didn't seem to even notice his hands or their motions- like it was instinct.

"I-I'm sorry, I just get really nervous and I don't really talk a lot but I just wanted to say to thank you for this opportunity..! A-and I promise I'm going to do my best, a-and it's so amazing to meet you, and y-you're an amazing Pro and you're so strong and talented...! I-I've been so impressed with everything you've done, w-with all your fights and your rescues, a-and how you protected Ingenium against S-Stain...! A-and... and I really look up to you as a Hero!" He stammered in embarrassment, and it was Spirit's turn to flush, just a little. The boy jumped though, stiffening and looking a bit mortified as he realized he was rambling- his hands clapped over his mouth and he wilted. "O-oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say so much all at once...! S-sorry...!" He apologized in a frantic and hushed whisper, his eyes shutting tight again from briefly opening when it dawned on him what he had been doing.

Spirit blinked a few times, her mind suddenly sluggish as she tried her best to process what information she had just been given- both spoken and unspoken.

She was used to fans, and praises and whatever. And she was even used to people freaking out a little when they met her, it was all part of being a (fairly) popular Pro. It was a bit weird now, seeing as how she was going to spend so much time with the kid, but even then it wasn't much different than how things were going to be with Okita at the club, so she could handle it. And it wasn't even much of a bother if he was as nervous and shy as he seemed (and mentioned he was), she didn't think that would be hard for her to handle... But...

Spirit swallowed slightly, her fingers and hands twitching as she found her thoughts delving down into a chasm of memory and images and whatever else, she had more or less kept locked up and out of sight for years now. Her hands moved up and hovered over one another, hesitantly almost, before she shook her head at herself and separated them.

That's the wrong one... Ah... This...?

One hand reached forward toward the boy while her other came up to her face, and she tapped him lightly on the shoulder in order to earn his eyes. Once she did she smiled slightly and her other hand pinched at the air near her forehead and then flattened as she made a decisive, gentle chopping motion downward in the air before her. An odd gesture to be sure, to anyone who didn't know what it meant, but the boy looked awed and almost stricken at it. His face turned a deeper shade of red than it already was, as Spirit's hands continued to make a series of motions and gestures in tandem with her words- though a bit jittering, and uncertain, and not near as fluid as his own hands had been but moments before.

"Ah, sorry... I noticed you were signing the whole time while talking." Spirit started slowly, offering up a slightly embarrassed smile. "Are you deaf, if you don't mind my asking...? I can follow most of your signing I think, and sign back... I am a little out of practice though, so you'll have to forgive me if I mess up, and if I'm slow..." Her smile broke for half a second as her hand stalled, and then she quickly reiterated a gesture that was the correct one, and not the last (incorrect) one she had managed. "Ah... as you can tell, I haven't done this in years..." She hummed, and the poor kid looked ready to have a heart attack as he watched her with wide, glistening eyes and an expression so starstruck you would have thought something magical had dropped from the sky.

"Y-you know sign language...?!" Koda stammered quickly, his hands gesturing again of their own accord and Spirit nodded.

"The basics, mostly." She hummed, and her red eyes flashed as she saw the first hint of a smile spread over his features- a drastic break from the flustered animation and uneasiness. But the smile faltered again when it seemed her question registered in his mind, and he quickly shook his head,

"O-oh, uhm, n-no... I'm not deaf... I just... I don't like talking for the most part... so I learned sign language instead... to.. to talk to everyone..." Koda explained quickly, his already soft voice dropping away with every word until he went quiet entirely, his eyes falling on his hands as he tapped his fingers together in front of him in embarrassment. Spirit hummed silently under her breath,

Bet ya this is the most the kid has talked to anyone in a long while, huh? And only cause he got so worked up about meeting me...

Her hands fell on her hips as she nodded at him with a cool smile, watching as Koda tapped his fingers together a few more times, his eyes still averted and cheeks flushed.

... ah, he's kinda cute... and so shy and flustered... not what you'd expect from such a big guy, hehe~

"No worries, you talk as much, or as little as you feel comfortable with." She told him with ease, and he looked up in surprise at the sound of her voice. "If you wanna communicate with me by signing that's fine. I don't think I'll have much of a hard time understanding what you're trying to say, it was the signing back bit that I was gonna muck up with. But I don't need to do that, hmm?" She hummed, and he smiled slightly, shaking his head a bit to her question. "Cool, so talk to me in whatever way you feel comfortable with." He smiled a bit more, nodding to her this time around and signing 'thank you'. She smiled in return, "... Ah, and about that Hero name...?" She added, rounding back to her earlier question as Koda flushed a bit more.

His hands raised as he started spelling out the name in sign and Spirit nodded along as she linked the letters together.

"Anima." She hummed, "Good name. So I'll call you that from now on, kay?" Koda nodded in understanding. "Cool, so I figured we'd take a bit to get to know one another and settle some more logistical things, before we do a little bit of Patrol and get used to Heiku, sound good?" He nodded again with a small, albeit a bit more nervous smile, and Spirit let out a silent breath.

Well, this is starting to go better than I expected-

She broke her thoughts off though, stiffening ever so slightly as her heart skipped a beat. Because she said that, talking logistics and getting to know one another, but-

-Aaaah, what... What do I even talk about? Or start with?

Shit I don't know, I'm drawing a fucking blank here...s..shit...!

What do I even ask...?!

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying her best not to let her smile waver- lest it give away her sudden, quickly getting worse, panic.

Think Spirit, think... What would Death Arms ask? What is a good question for this situation? I can't just go straight in and ask personal things, or skip over to lecturing about Hero stuff... Hero stuff... Uuuuhhhhhhhh...

"...ah, so... Just wondering, what sort of Hero work were you thinking about getting into?" She asked slowly, the words almost coming of their own accord. Koda blinked in question, and Spirit sighed internally.

Ah, you didn't start off right, but this is good. This is a fair question, appropriate. Yeah.

"... In terms of what sort of work you'll specialize in." She elaborated, "Were you thinking you'd be more Search and Rescue, or focus more on apprehending Villains?" She murmured, "And on that note, were you planning on staying more inner-city and urban setting, or moving somewhere more rural? Given what I read about your Quirk, it might be easier to move out of the heart of the city a bit..." He nodded in understanding, smiling just slightly as his hands raised and he started to gesture out his reply, Spirit's red eyes watched them carefully.

In (a very loose) translation;

'I was thinking more Search and Rescue. I don't wanna face off against Villains unless I really have to... I'm don't really like fighting or confrontation... And I would prefer somewhere more rural I think, it's quieter, and the animals like it better there.'

Spirit nodded in understanding, "Alright, though it would be worth your while to learn how to fight with your Quirk, despite wanting to remain more as a Rescue Hero." She hummed, and he seemed to tense at the idea. "Despite your plans, you're definitely gonna find yourself in situations against Villains, and where you need to defend yourself and other people. It's just inevitable in the life of a Pro." She explained, and Koda looked down at his hands rather nervously, but he nodded anyway in understanding.

Grant you she probably didn't need to tell him that, in all honesty. After all, he was part of the class at UA that had been involved in that whole USJ mess with all those Villains- he'd likely already had to contend with real enemies even when he hadn't wanted to.

Personally, she had always intended from the very start to be the more 'beat up the bad guys' sort of Pro- and for the most part she was. Of course she also got called in for Search and Rescue and Disaster Relief on top of that, but that was mostly because her Quirk made it easy to go either way. With what she had read about Koda's Quirk from the files she'd been given, she wasn't all that surprised he wanted to veer toward the latter... but there really weren't a lot of Pros nowadays that could get away with doing just one part, and not the other- as she mentioned.

So yeah, we'll definitely work on the more offensive side of things... Just so he's prepared.

"We'll switch a bit from doing Patrols and stuff, and take time to do a little combat training, as well as work on your Quirk, alright?" Spirit murmured, and Koda nodded a little, quickly signing 'okay'. She let out a quiet breath, offering up a small smile that was meant to be reassuring. "Don't look so nervous, I won't force you through anything too difficult, and I certainly won't go too hard on you during training." She assured, he smiled a bit in reply, his hands gesturing again.

'Thank you... I'll do my best to keep up with you. You're a great fighter, I just hope I can learn at least some of what you know...'

His gesturing slowed for a moment and his eyes dropped, almost hesitating before he started to continue signing.

'... It really amazed me, seeing how well you fought against the Hero Killer... I didn't really wanna watch the video to start with, but after I did I just couldn't believe how well you did against him... You're such a good Pro Hero, and you're an even better fighter...! There isn't a lot of videos or anything about you facing off against Villains, so seeing it was really something new to be able to watch and see...'

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her red eyes flashing as she continued to watch and 'listen' to what he had to say- and tried not to let her unease show when the Hero Killer and that fucking video came into the topic.

Seriously, screw whatever security guard asshole posted that on the internet

Koda seemed hesitant to keep going though, and she hoped it was because of his own nervousness, and not because her face had changed. He glanced up slowly, his eyes almost searching and Spirit blinked in surprise to find concern suddenly flood his features.

'... I hope I'm not out of line asking, but... Are you okay, Animal Spirit? After fighting Stain...?' He signed slowly, his suddenly sluggish hands betraying what uncertainty he felt for asking the question at all. And Spirit paused, her expression falling flat and a small section of silence stretching between them.

People had asked that question, several times over the last week... And it had only been one week ago that she went head to head with the Hero Killer.

It felt something like a lifetime ago now, between being sick as hell for a few days after, and then contending with everything else. The Internship, the call from the Director, dealing with Hawks and his spying... This whole week had went by in such a blur, she had honestly started to forget about the whole thing... Right up until Stain invaded her dreams, the fight, the feel of blood, the fear- and then the pain.

She wasn't healed and she knew it. Of course not, it would take more than one week to heal all the way from being stabbed and cut and whatever else. And as it was, she hadn't really taken much time to just rest and relax. She still felt her injuries even now, should she move or bend the wrong way- or bump into something along her side. And though the pain has faded over the last week, it was still painful... Sometimes even throbbing, and for quite awhile when she agitated the wound on accident. She'd several times the last few days struggled to keep her pain quiet as she worked around the bar. After all, no one there could know about her injuries, our of risk they put two and two together, and peg her as Animal Spirit.

But to have Koda asking her that question that Hawks, Death Arms, Cementoss, All Might and so many others had asked of her lately- sort of caught her off guard, not that that made any sense.

I mean, it is a pretty regular thing you ask when someone gets hurt, right? I just... I don't know, maybe because I've been so busy... And kinda trying to ignore the whole thing and move on...

Her thoughts broke off when she realized she had paused a bit too long there, and she quickly offered up a faint smile and a nod to the young boy. "I'm okay." she replied softly, "I appreciate the concern, but don't worry about me, okay? I'm healing up just fine." she murmured, and she noticed the small bit of apprehension that flooded his face when she said 'healing' instead of 'healed'. But thankfully he did as she asked, and didn't linger on it. His hands moved up again as he signed his reply,

'I am very glad to hear you're doing okay.'

... Am I really though? I mean, I have sort of just ignored it-

-stop, Spirit. Not now.

Spirit clapped her hands together in front of her softly and smiled a little wider, "Alright, now I actually have a few questions about your Quirk and how it works, okay? The file I read on you had a pretty general description, but I'm interested in a few more in depth things. And it'll help to know the limits and specifics for when we Patrol and do training stuff." Koda nodded, looking nervous again as he glanced to the ground.

'A-alright... I'll do my best to explain things..' He signed quickly, she nodded.

"Thank you." She hummed, "So, first thing- what is the range you have? Your Quirk being voice-based, I figure you actually have to be in earshot of the animals you're talking to, hmm?" He nodded,

'The animals have to be able to hear me when I ask them to do things, so if it's really loud or noisy and they can't hear my voice, my Quirk doesn't work.' He signed, Spirit nodded in understanding.

But since animals generally have better hearing than humans, the range of his Quirk is larger than if he were trying to talk to another human being... Cool.

"Alright, and is there a limit on what sort of animals you can talk to?" She asked next, "Do certain types of animals listen better over others, for example?" He paused, before shaking his head a little.

'No, as long as they can hear me, and don't get scared off or anything, I've never had any trouble between different kinds of animals.' He explained, pausing again as he seemed to think about something, before continuing on. '... They just have to be a real animal... Not just animal-like... They are all fine if they're actual animals. But of course I haven't talked with all the different animals that exist in the world though, just ones around here and in the city... So like mice and rats, birds and rabbits, squirrels and cats and dogs... And... And bugs...'

His signing got a little choppy, and almost nervous at the end there, and Spirit blinked at it, her head tilting a bit. The kid didn't linger too long on it though, and instead of pressing it, Spirit let it go too.

So his Quirk wouldn't work on things that take on animal appearance. They actually have to be real animals... Does make me wonder though, if hearing him ask me to do stuff when I'm Shifted would have any sort of affect...?

Again, not important right now, and not something to ask the poor kid to test out on a whim. It would probably make him a little uncomfortable.

Spirit nodded in acknowledgment of the information, her arms crossing over her chest as she cocked her hip a bit. "Alright... Do you have a limit on how many animals you can control at once?" Was her next question, and he paused.

'... I don't know, I've never tried to control a really large group before, usually just around two dozen birds maybe... So I might, but I haven't found it yet.' He explained, his shoulders shrugging a tiny bit.

"Gotcha, so maybe we'll try and test that out a bit in the next few days." Spirit hummed, "For today though, I figured we'll just make some rounds around Heiku, get you a little more familiar with the layout and everything, and get started with Patrol and what that means, and usually involves. Sound alright?"

'Yes ma'am.' He signed, and Spirit felt her posture wilt the tiniest bit.

All these kids keep insisting on calling me ma'am, huh...? And I'm not even much older than they are...

She smiled a little and shook her head, "Ah, you don't have to call me ma'am." She hummed quickly, "That's like super formal, you can just call me Animal Spirit, or even Spirit if you want. Just not ma'am... heh, you're gonna make me feel old." She chuckled softly, and he looked a little surprised for a moment, before a smile broke across his face at the comment.

'Alright, Animal Spirit, I understand.' He signed, she smirked.

Now this is going very well, if I do say something myself~

"Great, let's get started, hmm?"

.:+:.

"... so for the most part, Patrol is really just about keeping an eye out as you move around your designated part of the city... or in my case, the city as a whole in itself." Spirit murmured with a glance to her left and toward the young UA student following closely at her side- but always with a bit of distance between the two of them, as if he was afraid of being too close... But he still seemed intent on not lagging, almost like he was afraid of being left behind at the same time.

Such a nervous kid... Though I can't really complain, this whole thing has been going better than I expected so far.

She tilted her head to the side in a silent gesture of the street and the buildings around them. They were headed up the sidewalk side by side, walking slowly and calmly and ignoring and unperturbed by the glances and looks they got from the passerby's.

Well, Spirit was unperturbed. Koda seemed a little self-conscious of the stares, honestly, but he seemed to also be doing his best not to let it show.

He'll get used to it... Eventually.

... Aaaaahh... I hope

The looky-loos and murmurs that sprung up on all sides were her fault, of course. Not only was she prone to earning attention just by being a Pro- she was still a hot topic with the Stain thing, in some ways- and she was even more in the lime light because of the Rankings. But then add all that on top of seeing her out and about and in the company of such a young kid, and one wearing a Hero costume?

'Oh my god, is Animal Spirit hosting an Intern?'

'No way!'

'He's so lucky!'

... And other such comments being thrown around as they continued on Patrol. Apparently it was a pretty common surprise for even the general public to see her doing the Internship thing.

But anyway, back to what I was saying-

"Since I've pretty much got the whole of Heiku I'm looking after, I try to slowly make a loop of the city between two or three days." Spirit explained, "That way I'm covering the whole distance, but not all at once. You probably won't have to worry about that though. Once you sign up with an Agency, you'll be assigned a certain sector of the city or ward, not the whole thing. Agency's don't usually like to leave one Pro with too much ground to cover, so they split it up between their members... since I'm not signed on with an Agency, I got to pick where and when I do the whole Hero Stuff, but that'll be less your choice than theirs, when you join one." Koda nodded in understanding. "... Mmm... I'm sorry I can't really give you much of a rundown on how Agency's work other than all that, though. It's information you'd benefit from knowing, but I'm afraid I'm not gonna be much help in that department..." Spirit added slowly, almost as an afterthought. Koda looked at her in surprise when the small hints of nervousness appeared in the woman when she said the words.

He shook his head a little, his hands raising; 'It's not a worry, Animal Spirit.' he told her (or rather, signed to her...), and she nodded a little, though honestly she still felt a little lacking.

"... Alright... So anyway, we'll start on this side of the city and slowly make our way toward the center, and the border with Hosu the next few days." Spirit explained, "And we'll do our best to make a sort of loop, and end back around on the other side of Heiku when we're Patrolling. And for training and stuff, I figured we'd stick to Bakanei Park, its really big and there's lots of open space and not that many people to run into or get stared at." She hummed, he smiled a little and nodded. "So, any questions so far?" His hands started up again as Spirit watched the gestures carefully, their walk down the sidewalk not slowing hardly at all.

'I do have a question, just out of curiosity, how busy are you when you are out on Patrol?' He asked, and Spirit blinked at the question. 'There isn't usually a lot of news coverage about your Patrols, unless something really big happens. And usually most things that do seem to happen are done and over with before anyone is there to really record it. There isn't much about other Hero's Patrols either, so it seems like not a lot actually happens... which I know isn't right, things go wrong all the time, right?' He explained, and Spirit nodded along as she put the gestures and signs together.

"Well it really depends on where you are." She murmured, "Some cities have very little 'traffic' in terms of accidents, Villains, and other things Pros would get involved in. And some are really, really busy, and there is actually something going on at all seconds of the day." She murmured, "Generally more densely populated parts of cities have a lot of stuff going on, but it usually ranges from car accidents to minor scuffles and small-time theft and whatnot. In terms of serious Villains, those aren't all that common- but the chances go up when you get into a place with a high population density and a lot of stores, banks... you get the gist." She brushed a bit of her hair back from her face, glancing ahead and away from the younger boy for a moment. "For me, and being in a fairly populated place like Heiku, I deal with a lot of accidents and thefts, and sometimes the occasional fight that breaks out for no reason, and all I have to do is pull some people apart to settle it. And Heiku has a lot of people, but we're not as business oriented as Kiyashi Ward or Hosu, so generally there isn't a lot of high-profile robberies, or even that many Villains that reach above D-Rank." She paused a moment and glanced back to him, "Ah, you know about the Villain Ranking system, yeah?"

'Yes, generally speaking.' He replied, and she nodded.

"Right, so all in all, Patrol can be pretty consistently busy for you, if you live in a more urban area. But for the most part, really flashy stuff happening is pretty uncommon." Spirit murmured, "I've had days where I'm constantly going between one little thing to the next, and other days where I'm just walking around for several hours without anything happening that needed my help or attention."

'How do you know when you need to help?' He asked next, and she tilted her head a bit at the question. Upon seeing that he faltered, before his hands moved quickly as he tried to explain what he meant, '- In terms of letting the police handle something instead of stepping in yourself. How do you know when it's something a Pro should be helping with, or if it's better to let the police handle it instead? Or how you decide if you should let another Pro handle something on their own, rather than jumping in?' Spirit paused, her red eyes flashing a little, before she let out a small breath and smiled a bit in uncertaintly.

"Ah... well, those are good questions." She hummed, her hand moving to rub the back of her neck a few times. "... though honestly, there really isn't a clear cut answer to any of them. The deciding bit is up to you, and what you know and think might be better for whatever situation you're looking at." She bit the inside of her cheek, quiet for a few seconds as she seemed to mull things over in her head.

And really, she didn't actually have a no-shit answer. Because when she thought about it, thinking back on situations where she had had to make those calls herself? On whether or not she jumped in or stayed back, or ran to do something or decided to just let the cops handle it?

When she thought about all of those, the reason for her decision wasn't clear. There was no mental checklist she had thought up and went through, counting up how many tallies there were and then using that score to decide go or no.

To be honest... I sort of just go on gut-feeling...

But how the hell was she supposed to make that an okay answer?

She glanced back toward Koda (or maybe she should actually be calling him Anima, like she said she would...) slowly. "Sorry, this is gonna sound like a lame answer- but you sort of just know." She murmured, and he blinked. "It's sort of a mix of guessing how well someone else can handle that situation- police, Pro, whatever- and how well they can't. You ask yourself 'if I jump in here, am I gonna make things better, or worse? Or maybe just more difficult?'... and thinking about that is all well and good and logical, but in the end you just have to go with your instincts." She murmured, smiling a little in apology. "I know that doesn't really help, but I suppose as a basic rule- if the situation looks like it can logically be solved by the police, or someone else just fine without you there- leave them to it. Being helpful and having a good relationship with other people is nice, but sometimes trying to be helpful just isn't helpful at all." She hooked her hands behind her back, bumping her bag a bit without meaning to, but not lingering on it. "It's pretty much gonna have to be up to you, and your better judgment. It'll get easier to be able to make those decisions the longer you work as a Pro, but sometimes it's still hard to choose, that's just how it is."

Koda nodded a bit, his eyes falling away from her and toward the road as they continued to walk, and silence settled in once she finished her piece. She watched the boy from the corner of her eye and how pensive he was, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

I probably didn't help at all... well damn.

"... I'm sure you'll do just fine, when the time comes." Spirit told him softly, earning a surprised blink. "It just takes some practice, and I'm sure you'll pick it up pretty quick. So try not to worry too much about it, alright?" He held her eyes for a few seconds, almost unsure of what to do or think of what she said, before he nodded his head.

'Thank you.'

"You're out and about earlier than usual today." A woman, holding on to a small child in her arms, hummed as she passed Animal Spirit and Koda by. Her eyes caught Spirit's as she smiled to the Pro, after briefly looking Koda over. "I hope both of you have a good day, and Patrol goes well for you." She murmured as they drew shoulder level with one another. Spirit smiled and dipped her head toward the woman, murmuring a small 'thank you', but otherwise said nothing as they each continued on their ways.

Spirit's red eyes trailed sideways and toward the small line of cars running passed on the street to her left, stoplights turning and people slowing up, halting, then going again in a constant drone. But it was normal... it was quiet.

Maybe it'll stay that way... a little boring for a first day maybe, but I think this kid wouldn't really mind...

A small tap on her shoulder brought her attention back around and she glanced toward Koda, his hand moving back after gaining her attention. "Hmm? What's up?" She asked,

'I just forgot to say congratulations earlier, about the Rankings.' He signed and she blinked, he smiled. 'You deserve it, Animal Spirit, you've been doing so well in everything that's happened lately.' He told her brightly, and she smiled a bit.

"... thank you." She hummed, and he nodded.

"... is that kid signing to Animal Spirit...?"

"Huh, I think so... man, I didn't know Animal Spirit knew sign language...!"

"... she's so cool...!"

"That kid is so lucky to be hanging out with her...!"

Those array of comments were owed to a small group of younger boys walking along the sidewalk in the opposite direction that Spirit and Koda were headed. Koda and Spirit caught the comments easily enough, and Koda's eyes quickly averted to the ground in embarrassment, while Spirit cast a small, imperceptible side-glance toward the band.

Shouldn't they be in school or something?

She shrugged it off and focused instead on further up the street and toward a small square and intersection they were approaching. They'd be turning up there onto a different street, though they had a few minutes before getting there. She glanced back toward Koda,

"Anima." She hummed his Hero Name, and he jumped a little in surprise, blinking at her in question, "Just out of curiosity, how much Hero Training have you guys done so far?" She asked, "I realize school started not that long ago, and you hit a bit of a snag with the whole USJ thing... but I figure you've had at least a few lessons on protocol and stuff like that, yeah?"

'We've run a few training exercises focusing on combat and team working, and we did a Quirk Apprehension test at the start of the year to feel out how our Quirks work with different things.' He replied, his hands moving in those same fluid, precise motions. 'We were supposed to do some hands on Rescue Training at the USJ, but that never really happened... but we have had class and reviewed protocol in different situations, disasters and stuff like that. I know a lot of the basic information, but we haven't really done all that much physical work...'

... UA's a little slow this year, huh...? Aren't they supposed to be the premiere Hero school...?

She shook the thought off and nodded to the young boy, "Alright." She murmured, "That's good for me to know, and keep in mind... so in your own words, how good would you say you are in high-pressure situations? I realize you've not had much hands on experience, but in a general sense?" He paused a few seconds, like he had to think about the answer.

'... I'm okay, I think." He replied slowly, 'I mean, when the Villains showed up at the USJ and we all got split up, I did my best to stay calm and safe. I was with someone else though, so I wasn't all by myself... but if I'm with you, Animal Spirit, I think I can stay focused.' He told her, his expression becoming a bit more steady at the end and she smiled.

"Cool." She hummed, "I don't anticipate being in the middle of something really off the rails, but just in case; you'll need to do your best to follow my directions, okay? And don't go rushing into something dangerous alone. If you can, try and stay out of the middle of the fire and stick with me so we don't get split up on accident. We'll try and limit ourselves to crowd control and assistance, alright? And if there's any Villains, we'll leave it to other Pros instead of getting involved ourselves."

'I understand.' He replied, looking a slight bit relieved that she didn't plan to have them in anything too crazy.

Spirit drew to a small stop at the end of the street, and both she and Koda waited on the sidewalk for the stoplight to change and the pedestrian walkway to flash green. Around them a small group of other (random, day to day) people formed a small group, waiting for the crossing and casting small, silent glances at the Pro and the Intern.

Koda looked down at Animal Spirit quietly as they waited there, watching carefully as her eyes scanned the street, buildings, cars, people and everywhere in between in constant rhythm. She'd been doing that the whole time they were walking, just generally keeping an eye on their surroundings, and he'd been trying to do the same without accidentally catching someone's eyes. It surprised him though, how attentive she seemed to be on the environment even between watching him sign, ask questions, and just generally chat between them... he wasn't really sure how she could manage her attention so well.

Practice, maybe...? She was a top Pro Hero though, so maybe it was just talent?

His hands wrung together in front of him a bit, nervousness constantly biting at his heels, and slowly getting worse the longer the pause for the crosswalk grew, and the more people that trickled to a stop around them. His attention diverted to the sound of soft cooing and the flap of wings, his eyes finding three pigeons alight on the top of the stoplight near them, and peering down at the crowd with beady black eyes. He smiled a little, one hand moving up in a small wave toward the animals, just out of habit.

Spirit cast Koda a sideways glance when he moved his hand in a wave, and she smiled slightly in amusement at the gesture.

... ah damn, he's such a cute dude for being such a big guy...

Her eyes flicked up toward the small trio of birds he was waving to, and she felt a small twinge in her stomach- an urge, and her mouth watered despite herself.

... and there goes my stupid animal thoughts... I'm not hunting birds... I'm not hunting birds... no, damn it...

Speaking of though... did I eat this morning...? Ah... probably not, I was so focused on getting to the station...

Her eyes flicked from the birds and toward the light on the street turning red, and she glanced to the crosswalk sign briefly in anticipation for the walk sign to pop up. And just out of ingrained habit, she glanced up the street, watching the approaching cars carefully.

Oh you have to be kidding me-

She grimaced, her eyes flashing as she took a quick step forward and her hand raised, Koda beside her looked suddenly nervous.

Spirit's hand fell steadily on the shoulder of a man at the head of the small group they stood in, his head bent and looking at his phone as he started to take an unconscious step forward after having briefly seen the crosswalk sign turn green. He jerked back a bit, halted in place as Spirit pushed ahead to the front of the small crowd and waved her hand back in a gesture for everyone to stop.

"Wait a minute." She ordered quickly, her voice steady and clear as the citizens blinked at her in a mixture of question, surprise, and realization.

"Huh?"

"What..?"

She didn't pause very long on them though, her eyes had moved to the opposite side of the street and to the crowd of people waiting to cross there- and some of them already in the crosswalk. She grumbled, her hand leaving the man's shoulder and ready to call across the street, and even move there- but she never got that far.

Her red eyes widened in surprise to see three pigeons suddenly swoop down from midair, halting in the path of a young woman at the head of the group trying to cross, and ultimately stopping her in her tracks. She jumped back a little from the birds, yelping in surprise and trying to shoo them off. But they kept up on their pestering and she stayed still where she was, her hands waving while everyone else behind her slowed up at the sudden commotion.

Spirit paused, the sound of flapping wings lost on her ears at the drone and rumble of a fast approaching car. The car came from up the street they meant to be crossing, and barreled straight through the redlight, and subsequently, straight through the space of the crosswalk- the horn beeping quite obnoxiously all the way through. The woman being hampered by pigeons jumped back in surprise, stricken as the car zoomed passed where she was standing not four feet away from, the pigeons a barrier between herself and the metal vehicle. The people behind her let out a ripple of gasps and mutters- a common theme in the group Animal Spirit stood apart of on her side of the street.

"Did you see that?"

"That idiot totally ran the light!"

"... I didn't even realize..."

"... thanks for the warning, Animal Spirit."

"What a fool!"

"Geez, if that woman had kept walking she'd have probably gotten hit..."

"What's with the birds though..?"

Said birds gave up on their flapping and took off in air again, circling back toward the side of the street she was on, and landing graciously on Koda's shoulders, unperturbed by him or anyone around them. Spirit turned, her red eyes glittering as Koda mumbled a few quiet words to the pigeons and gently ran a finger over one of their heads, focused on the birds and not on the looks and stares he was getting. Spirit smirked, her hands falling on her hips as she watched him a few seconds longer, and he finally glanced toward her slowly.

"Good reflexes, Anima." She hummed brightly. "You beat me to the punch on warning the other side of the street. I didn't even realize you'd asked the birds to head over and stop that woman from heading any further." She tilted her head toward the still approaching group from the opposite side of the street, some of their own group crossing quickly, but most of them paused as they heard Animal Spirit addressing the tall young boy. "Good job, that was a great call." She told him with ease, and he blushed at the praise, looking both flustered, and a little pleased.

"Ah, you told the pigeons what to do, huh?"

"That was a good call, that lady would be flat as a pancake if you hadn't decided to do that."

"Good job, kid!"

"Quick thinking."

"Especially on your first day, hehe."

"You look like you got yourself a pretty good Intern, huh Animal Spirit?"

There was a wash of small murmurs and praises that the people around them tossed out, by now understanding what had happened and how the young boy had stepped in to act just as quickly as Animal Spirit had. And even more- he did it without having been asked to, and he made a good call on top of it.

Koda turned bright red under the new praises and comments, almost steaming from the head as he did his best to nod and smile in reply to what the people were saying. Many of them smiled in amusement, while others looked a little sympathetic for how flustered the boy was. The murmuring continued on even as everyone began to move again, crossing the street and moving in and out of other people as they headed on their ways.

"You said 'Anima', right?"

"Well, you're sure to get pretty good being around Animal Spirit. I'll be keeping an eye out for your name in the future~"

"Good luck with the Internship, young man!"

"And keep up the good work, both of you!"

Spirit let them stand there awhile as the crowd thinned out again and the people dispersed, still smiling as Koda did his best to recompose himself, and the pigeons cooed at him.

"Heh, you're a natural already." She chuckled, and he flushed a little more, looking at her nervously. "I know you were a little worried about making calls on whether or not to step in for things- I was gonna try and warn that woman from walking, or head across the street if I had to- but you were on top of it, and you helped out." She hummed, "It's your first day and you already helped avert a potential accident." He held his cheeks in his hands, still red-faced and all flustered, but his lips twitched in a small smile anyway, nodding.

"... T.. thank you..." He whispered breathlessly, one of the pigeon's on his shoulder nudged his hand a little.

"Yep." She said, he pulled his hands away from his face and started signing again.

'... I was actually paying attention to the street because I saw you doing it, and I saw the car, and thought the people on the other side might not have seen it coming...' He explained, '... the driver shouldn't have run the light, but I'm glad nobody got hurt...'

"Mhmm." Spirit hummed, "Making sure everyone is safe should be your top priority. You do that first, and do your best to handle the rest afterward." He nodded, his eyes finding hers, though the words rang familiar to the ones she had said to the news that day she fought Stain. "And don't worry about the driver, this intersection has traffic cameras, so they've definitely got their photo snagged. The police will catch up with whoever it was." She added, and he nodded again. "Good job on the paying attention part though, even if you were just looking where I was. It's a good idea to try and stay alert to everything you can when you're Patrolling- so hopefully we can catch stuff like that and act before something goes wrong."

'I understand.' He signed, nodding firmly in acknowledgment of the words.

You know what? I actually feel sort of like a capable, sort-of-teacher-material, adult right now.

"Good." She smiled coolly, her eyes lingering on the pigeons still resting so at ease on the boys shoulders.

There is was again, that tingle, that suddenly urge to... Pounce. Chase. Bite. Eat-

- I hope that doesn't become a problem.

Get ahold of yourself, Spirit.

"Now let's keep going, yeah?"

.:+:.

Thank you- whatever the hell you are, or call yourself- thank you for a perfectly normal, slow, easy first day. With no Villains, no natural disasters, and just small, not at all dangerous stuff... I know you screwed me over the last time I wanted something easy, but seriously- thanks.

Spirit clapped her hands together in front of her softly, and only twice, before her hands fell again and she gave up on her brief spell of appreciation. Beside her, Koda glanced toward the Pro curiously at the sudden gesture, but quiet kid he was, he didn't ask.

A quick glance at a billboard overhead gave her the time it was; 1:06 in the afternoon.

So yeah, technically they had another 4ish hours left for today- but still.

Apart from that little issue with the redlight runner early on, they had mostly been invested on just walking around and keeping an eye out. They'd paused for a few things, helping someone pick up the bags they dropped, provided a little crowd control as another Pro handled a few rebellious young teens causing havoc on a street, and settling what small little dispute emerged among two men who had clearly been drinking a little too much (ugh... drunk people, a common theme for the next week to be sure...)

None of which were hard or overly dangerous, and Koda seemed to handle himself well with what Spirit has instructed him to do so far. And as the hours passed, she thought maybe he'd grown a little less uneasy... Just a little. (Though grant you, the drunk guys gave him pause, and he'd stayed back while Spirit handled them.)

And now, she felt surprisingly less like a nervous wreck about this whole thing, than she had anticipated. She supposed that comment she'd made about being 'the most unprepared Pro Hero' hadn't really come true... Kudos to me, I guess. I feel sort of like a responsible, capable adult. Yay.

... Now you just gotta keep that up for the next four hours-

Spirit's feet drew up as they came upon a street lined with little shops and food stalls, and filled with no small amount of people and hustle and bustle... unsurprisingly, since it was more or less lunch hour, but slowly winding down from the height. They paused for a moment at the edge of the opening to the street, and Spirit cast a small glance up the street running passed it, before glancing toward the one ahead again, and then finally at Koda.

"Anima."She hummed lightly, calling the boy's attention after he had been glancing over the people ahead. "You wanna take a break for awhile and grab some lunch? My treat." She asked with a small smile, and the boy's eyes widened at the offer, looking slightly flustered again. He didn't answer right away, in fact it looked like he wasn't sure how to process the offer at all, before he jumped and nodded a few times, stiffly and still unsure. Spirit just smiled a little more and tilted her head, "Alright, let's go then. You can pick whatever looks good, and we can go eat over at that little open space over there, kay?" She told him, her head tilting next in the direction of a small collection of tables and trees, where other people were busy eating or otherwise chatting. He nodded a little again and she started forward, and Koda kept close as they headed in, and Spirit payed little to no attention to the looks they earned. She just smiled and nodded, but kept going, all the while those blood-red eyes of hers kept on the (taller) boy walking at her shoulder and eyeing the food stands cautiously.

They'd only headed a little bit into the street itself, before Koda slowly turned Spirit's way and started to create the (quickly becoming familiar) gestures with his hands, and tilted his head toward a small yakisoba stand a little to their left. 'Do you mind if we get food here?' The gesturing of his hands asked, and Spirit smiled coolly.

"Of course." She hummed, stepping around him and heading toward the stand. Koda followed quickly and nervously whispered a hushed order to the man behind the counter, and Spirit ordered her own- whilst also accepting a congratulations from the man for her jump up in the Rankings. She pulled her wallet from her bag and handed the money for the food off, before replacing it.

"You're Interning this year then, huh?" The man asked in between the stirring of the noodles, and casting a look at Koda. Spirit nodded, "You one of those UA kids?" He asked of the younger, and Koda nodded quickly, but averted his eyes. He cast a look at Spirit again, "So, first day been going well then?" He asked, keeping up with his plan of chit-chat. Spirit didn't usually care to just chat, but she was polite and friendly when the time called for it... And hell, the man was making their food, so she might as well.

"So far, so good." She replied with ease, "Patrol's been pretty calm, and what few things we've helped out with, everything's gone smoothly." She explained, the man smiled with an understanding nod. "Anima's been good help, and he's got good instincts. I'm sure the rest of the week will be just as good as today has been." She hummed, and she saw the poor boy flush a little at her words, but she meant them... or at least, the first bit. That last bit, about the rest of the week going well, was more a hope than a certainty.

"Ah, that is very good to hear." The man chuckled, the noodles sizzling as he stirred them and started to separate them a bit. He scooped them up into two different containers and closed them, handing them to both Koda and Spirit in tandem as he nodded at them. "Good luck with the rest of the Internship, and have a good day." He told them, and Spirit murmured a small thanks while Koda did the same, very quietly. They turned and started back off the way they came, heading back to where Spirit had gestured earlier, and settling down at a table underneath a tree.

Koda set his food down and clapped his hands together in front of him, dipping his head to her with a shy smile. "Thank you, Animal Spirit." He said softly, and she nodded.

"You're welcome." She replied with ease, and silence settled again as they both started into their food. And honestly that was fine, and something that had been sort of normal, so far. He was just a quiet person, and she didn't mind. She knew he was being attentive and he did ask questions when he needed. Otherwise?

Silence was sort of content between them.

Spirit invested most of her attention on her food, while leaving a little bit of it on their surroundings. She caught a small glance of a group of people pausing on the sidewalk a bit of a ways away, and clearly catching sight of her and the young boy sitting there, but they and everyone else had better sense (and manners) not to bother.

She was in the midst of twisting a few noodles around her chopsticks when she got diverted by something small landing on the table near to where Koda was sitting. She glanced up quietly, blinking a few times at the small blue bird that landed there, and how Koda smiled at the small creature immediately. His eating paused for a moment as he gently drew a finger down the birds neck and stroked it, and the bird was oh-so utterly comfortable with the contact from the boy who, was quite frankly, about twenty times its size.

Over the course of the day Spirit had noticed this; birds, squirrels, mice, and even a cat, just casually approaching the young boy, and even taking residence on his shoulders and hands. Koda wasn't at all bothered by it, and in fact seemed to welcome the contact, and every time he did so he was so, so gentle... it was sort of odd to see someone so huge and bulky have such a soft touch with creatures so tiny and fragile compared to himself. Not that it wasn't nice to see, it was just surprising... but honestly she sort of liked it. Even if his gentle and quiet demeanor was a bit unusual in the realm of Pro Heroes.

He stroked the bird a few more times, nodding to it's chirping and eventually returning to his food. The bird stayed, and Spirit paused a little longer just watching, her eyes moving between the boy and the bird and a soft smile gracing her lips.

... oh geez, this kid is really cute... I wasn't expecting that...

Her eyes settled on the bird as it chirped softly, it's feathers ruffling as it adjusted, and Spirit felt her mouth start to water the longer she watched it bounce here and there on the edge of the table.

Fucking stop! We are not eating that damn thing- FUCK!

She growled under her breath and quickly shoved her noodles into her mouth, diverting her attention from the bird entirely and cursing herself in her head over and over.

All of those stupid, bird-eating, carnivorous little assholes- You. Need. To. Stop.

I am not eating any of these damn birds!

She grumbled a bit though, because the urge still lingered in the pits of her stomach and she wilted, exasperation hitting her full on.

... I don't wanna be tempted to eat whatever little animals this kid attracts or calls to him... oi... it's not usually this bad, but shit... first the pigeons, now this thing...

She kept up with focusing on the yakisoba and not the bird, all the way until the former was gone, and by that time the bird (thankfully) fluttered off. She gathered her plate up neatly and set it to the side, settling her elbows on the table and linking her hands together as she settled her chin into them a bit. Her eyes dropped closed as she waited patiently for Koda to finish his meal, and this time her attention wandered toward everything around them. Every sound and every smell, every bit of feet on the ground and the hum of voices all around, the rumble of cars and the small whistle of the breeze... it was in some ways peaceful, and sure to be huge contrast to how her night (and early morning) at the Yowai Hikari Club would be later on. Honestly she was dreading it... but she needed the money, so she couldn't complain too much.

... just got to soldier through, I guess...

"... Animal Spirit and Hawks seem to be spending an awful lot of time together!"

Spirit cracked an eye open, her gaze landing on a small digital sign situated on the corner of the street, and currently broadcasting a number of things. But in particular, a segment of a popular gossip newscast. She was far enough away she couldn't see the actual image, but the sound came through enough, and she sighed silently.

"... With this new photo circulating, it seems to everyone that our Ebony and Winged Heroes have upped their relationship a bit! Now, we don't know all the details of course, but there is no denying that Animal Spirit and Hawks seem to be casually sharing coffee here! Is it a coffee date? Or maybe just a little bit of time with a colleague? Maybe the fanning of the flames for some serious romantic action? Who's to say? But we're certainly interested to know more- and just how close Animal Spirit and Hawks seem to have gotten these last two weeks!"

Romantic action, seriously...? Fucking hell... nobody would be saying that if they'd seen me throw his feathery ass to the ground just a few hours earlier...

... though maybe if they had, and had seen how she pinned him, and straddled him- maybe they would have started those stupid 'romantic' rumors anyway. The media always blew things way out of proportion, and painted things not at all like how they actually are.

... I'm sure Feathers has been enjoying all that coffee date nonsense too... he would, the cheeky little git.

"... uhm, Spirit-Sensei...?"

Spirit stiffened, her eyes snapping open wide in surprise and glancing quickly toward the owner of that quiet voice. Her hands fell away from her face a bit and she blinked, her heart having sped up unconsciously and her mind whirling a bit- I'm sorry, what did he just call me...?

"... hmm..?" The hum was all she managed though as he tapped his fingers together in front of him, his eating done and over with, and failing to meet her eyes for a few moments.

"... I... uh... I was just... wondering..." He started, his voice breaking off and on as he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say- pause- and then shake his head at himself as if he thought better of it... whatever it was. "... uhm... just... I was wondering... when you first Interned in school... did... did anything bad ever happen...?" He asked softly after a second, and Spirit blinked.

Bad...?

"... l... like in terms of... Villains... or... a really big... accident...?" He went on, his voice dropping away entirely and Spirit wilted a bit.

He's still worried about that, huh? He's so nervous... I guess I can't have expected any different, this is new for him, and he is super young still...

Spirit looked away for a minute though, her hands still folded together and one finger moving to tap her knuckle almost pensively. Her thoughts trailed away for a minute, back to it. Back then, with her own Internship and who she Interned under... and what happened in the midst of it.

Her stomach knotted a little uncomfortably and she shook her head at herself, and especially at what small pang of wistfulness flooded her core.

"No, nothing like that ever happened." She told him, and he glanced up. "Listen, Anima... I understand this is new for you, and you've never been out in the field before... or even that you've had all that much experience. We are going to do our best to stay away from anything like that- and if things don't really go according to plan, I will make sure you are safe." She told him firmly, and his eyes glinted a bit. "You're my Intern, so you're my responsibility, and you being comfortable and out of harms way is on the top of my list for all of this. I will make sure you are safe and I will protect you if things come to that, I promise."

His mouth fell open a bit, almost a little awed as he just looked at her, and how steady she was, how utterly calm. When she said 'I promise', the words felt almost heavy, important even... and he hadn't thought he'd hear her say anything like that to him.

In a world of Pro Heroes and a culture steeped in celebrating those Heroes, and even obsessing over them in all their work and their fame and popularity... it was commonplace for everyone to look up to them. Everyone saw Pro Heroes and they respected them, believed and trusted in them. And they even believed that what shinning, selfless personalities they saw in the news and media were the truth.

All Pros seemed kind and brave and valiant- and many were that, of course- but some of them were just an act, or they were hiding the true depths of their personalities from the world. Sometimes that bright and kind Hero on the tv was shrewd, and utterly reproachable in person. Sometimes Pro Heroes let their fame get to their heads and grew arrogant, even rude... and hope as you might, sometimes the Hero you saw through a screen was nothing like the person standing before you.

And Animal Spirit?

She had little of herself in the news or the tv or anything, and what little people saw of her were always fleeting moments. She was more reserved as a Hero than some, but she seemed nice enough with her fans... She'd never snapped at anyone or been publicly rude, at any rate. So even with what little anyone really knew about Animal Spirit, it was a general consensus that she was, at least, something of a decent person. He'd figured that, and that she might be a little reserved, and that maybe she would be a bit to the point when they met.

When he saw her response to the press after the Stain Incident, and about her choice to let him go in lieu of helping Ingenium- he'd thought maybe she was more than just a decent person. Maybe she was loyal, and very brave, and she truly cared about other people... He'd hoped that when he met her, she didn't get annoyed with him for his nervous behavior, or tell him he needed to toughen up, or turn out to be cold. He hoped she was patient, and calm, and that she was- at least- something of a decent person, and maybe more than that; A truly good person, and a truly good Pro.

He'd been so nervous about all of this, and he still was. Upon finding out she'd offered to take him as an Intern, his nerves had all but skyrocketed. He'd been beside himself with shock and confusion, and then unease quickly settled in, and with it so did fear. He hadn't even been sure he would accept it, how could he? Was it a good idea to be around the Pro that he looked up to, but didn't really know? Was it worth it to risk shattering his hopes about who she was, and her personality? Was it worth it to risk her being rude or curt, or even dismissive of him when they met and spent time with one another?

He hadn't been sure the entire time- even when he first met her this morning, he still hadn't been sure... but he was sure now.

Animal Spirit was so much kinder and gentler than he had ever expected, or even hoped she would be. Even in what few hours they had been together, she had been patient with him and his nervous behavior, acceptant of how he wanted to communicate. She'd been nothing less than friendly and even supportive of him the entire day... And now with her promise to keep him safe, and seeing how much she meant it- meant it just as much as she had when she talked about Ingenium- he felt his heart flutter.

They say never meet your Heroes, but he was glad he met her. She proved that saying wrong in so many ways, and it was only the first day.

He smiled, nodding a little and looking both relieved, and even a little glad. Spirit smiled in return to the change in mood, and her eyes flashed as she watched him lift his head a bit and sit a little straighter.

"Thank you, Spirit-Sensei."

.:+:.

"I'll see you tomorrow, and good work today." Spirit hummed, waving a bit as Koda backed up toward the train station platform. He nodded to her, smiling as he waved back, and quickly signed;

'I'll see you tomorrow, Spirit-Sensei. And thank you so much for today!'

He nodded once more, before turning and heading on to the train and amidst the current of people headed that same way. She lost sight of him in a few moments, and paused for a single second, before turning away and heading out of the station. Her hand rubbed the back of her neck as she smiled to herself a little,

... Spirit-Sensei, huh...? I guess... I don't really mind that he keeps calling me that...

Harsh orange light was beginning to settle in over the whole of the city, and the sky was mimicking it's hue as she headed out. Pulling her phone from her suit pocket she gave it a look-over for (probably) the first time since that morning. A routine dismissal of the various news articles and notifications later, she scrolled through what little there was she cared about- and paused on one in particular.

Hawkward
I hope your first day of your Internship went well

She popped the app open and read to see if there was more... but that was it. Right after his earlier (overzealous) congrats about the Rankings, there was just an 'I hope' and no trace of those silly, very Hawks-like embellishments and childish cheer. The message was so normal and even formal, she just stared for a few seconds.

She didn't bother to wonder why he knew about it, she knew full well she'd been seen by enough people today with Koda, that news about it would have spread. And Hawks being Hawks, he was very much invested in the news and media and whatever, so of course that notification would have popped across his phone. Similar to what little attention she had allowed on her own array of news notifications, she had seen something along the lines of 'Hawks UA Intern...' or whatever.

But he sounded so... boring, maybe? Is that the right word?

Or is he still pouting?

She sighed heavily and ignored the message, not bothering a reply and walking away from the station she stuck her phone in her pocket again. Her Internship was over, and now her first day of Happy Hour was to begin... and damn it she really just didn't want to go. She couldn't do that though, and she supposed she couldn't really leave anyone at the Club without a bartender for the night... and she had Okita to look after too, so she had to go.

She paused at the end of a sidewalk and ran her hand through her bangs, her other landing on her hip and grazing the wound there- enough she hissed and her hand recoiled.

Right... I keep forgetting about that...

She shook her head at herself, her figure blurring and distorting at the edges as she melted into a red-black haze. From the cloud of non-reality and black, glass-like snow, an eagle sprung up into the air and took to the sky with ease, leaving Heiku behind.

Happy Hour here I come

.:+:.

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! (Not a lot of exciting stuff happened, but hopefully that's okay!)

Thank you all so very much for reading, and all the reviews/comments you've been leaving! You guys have been asking lots of great questions, and it makes me so happy to see you guys getting so invested in this story!

I'm actually going to answer a few of the questions you guys have given me! (Whilst keeping spoilers at bay~!)

I do tend to answer comments/questions on wattpad when people ask, but it's a little harder to do on Fanfiction, but I will give it a go! So for your viewing pleasure, here is some of the stuff ppl on Fanfiction have been asking-

.:+:.

1. lev.mel.y: 'Is her 'uncle' figure in chapter 7 Kurogiri? If not great, but with the bar and all, I'm asking on a whim.'

- Ah, no! Sorry, but it's not Kurogiri (that would have been interesting though!). Rest assured, stuff about Spirit's family will be revealed as the story progresses!

2. Love Remedy: 'I'm curious as to how old Spirit is? It's kind of presented that she is fairly young for being a Pro Hero, but at the same time she keeps criticizing Hawks for childish behavior. How much older than him is she? Or is it just that she's more seemingly mature than him. Also curious onto why you had Hawks so low on the ranking list, since he was #3 when he took Tokoyami on in canon.'

- At current, Spirit is 22 years old, and Hawks is also 22 years old. Hawks' birthday is December 28, while Spirit's birthday was January 1st of the following year. So actually, Hawks is older than Spirit by a few days! But he is a lot less mature than she is, that's why she's always pointing it out.

- As for Hawks' Ranking, I do know that cannonically he was already the #3 Hero when Tokoyami Interned underneath him. For the sake of the story, I decided to have Hawks and Spirit be a bit closer in their Rankings, and make a point to set Hakws up as a Hero who is quickly moving up the ranks (at almost impossible speeds). He'll reach a Monthly rating of #3 in the following month of this chapter, and by the end of the year he will be the #2 like he is in the manga. I've just reworked a few things, hope you guys don't mind.

3. Padgent: 'Ooo are you going to write about the students who she requested to intern with reactions to finding out that they have her offer?'

- Yes, I will have a little bit about Koda and Class 1-A finding out about Spirit offering him to Intern, in the next chapter, or the one after that. I haven't quite decided yet~

4. NarieMarie: 'I would say it may be useful to look for a beta reader. There weren't ton of grammatical errors or anything, but I think you tend to be a little overly descriptive (which is still better than not adding enough description!) and maybe talking to someone you trust could help to make the flow a little more natural?'

- (not really a question, but I will reply!) Thank you for the advice, I might look for a beta reader, but in the meantime I will try and keep the descriptions a little less over the top from now on! I will look out for it as I edit, and do my best, so thank you for bringing it to my attention!

.:+:.

Alrighty! Questions done- ONE MORE THING!

I have a full Bio up of Spirit on Amino/Deviantart, if you guys wanted to know more! (Do be aware this is a very detailed bio, and may spoil the story a bit- most particularly at the moment- who her Favorite Pro Hero is ... so read at your own risk, you are likely to find out stuff you don't wanna know yet (or do? lol Idk)~)

I have a link to my DA on my Profile, so it should pop up (also, if you were unaware until now, EnergyMageFrea is my main account...). You'll be able to find the reference pics of Spirit, and her Bio will be in the description!

Cool, all done, so thank you all for reading!

Please vote and Comment if you can! Thanks!