Hiro and Nozomi lounged in the quiet luxury of their massive living room, the absolute silence of the mansion a welcome escape from the chaos of London. Hiro stretched his legs over the arm of his leather couch, looking over at his sister.
"Do you want to go look for Mother?" Hiro asked, his voice low and tired.
Nozomi shook her head, slumping deeper into the plush cushions of the couch next to him. "No way. Death was kind enough to refill our soul-flux and heal our bodies, but I just fought a universe-destroying being and won. I deserve to be pampered."
She closed her black eyes for a brief second, releasing a tiny, gentle ripple of her soul-flux into the mansion. The warm energy drifted upward through the ceilings, tracking the familiar, massive baseline of their mother's presence.
"She's in her study," Nozomi said, opening her eyes and looking at Hiro.
Hiro smiled, his dark eyes gleaming with pure amusement as he watched his sister practically melt into the leather. "Alright then. Get ready to be pampered in five... four... three... two... one."
Right on cue, the heavy double doors burst open.
Akihime stepped into the living room, her nine glorious black tails wagging behind her with barely contained joy. Her face was lit up with pure, maternal relief. "My kittens! You're back!"
Without a single second of warning, she launched herself across the room, targeting Nozomi first. Akihime dropped to her knees beside the couch, instantly cupping Nozomi's head and pulling her into a fierce, crushing hug, burying the girl's face directly into her large chest.
Nozomi's five black tails fluffed out in surprise as she struggled to breathe against the sudden onslaught of affection. "M-Mom... can't... breathe..."
Akihime finally let her go, smoothing down Nozomi's hair before snapping her gaze over to Hiro. He was slumping on the single chair across from them, watching the entire display with a massive, highly amused smirk.
When their eyes met, Hiro's smirk instantly turned into a smile of pure acceptance. He knew what was coming.
Akihime crossed the distance between them in two long, elegant strides. Before Hiro could even adjust his posture, it was his turn to spend the next twenty seconds entirely without oxygen. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tightly against her chest as her nine tails swished frantically in the background.
When Akihime finally let him gasp for air, Hiro turned his head toward the open doorway.
Kenji, their butler, was standing there with his usual prim and proper posture. He offered a polite, slight bow, his eyes twinkling with quiet entertainment. "Welcome home, Young Master, Young Lady."
"Thank you, Kenji," Hiro managed to say, rubbing his ribs.
Akihime turned to the butler, her voice bright and commanding. "Kenji, please go get them some tea and snacks right away. They need to replenish their energy."
"Right away, Madam," Kenji replied, bowing once more before turning on his heel to head toward the kitchen.
Akihime took her seat directly next to Hiro on the couch, her expression shifting into one of intense, eager curiosity. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. "Alright, you two are going to tell me absolutely everything."
And for most of the afternoon and well into the night, they sat together and recounted the entire story. They spared no details, knowing their mother understood the cosmic stakes. They talked about the dizzying sensation of waking up in a strange alleyway in a completely different reality, meeting Natasha Romanoff, and the absolute madness of fighting Thanos on a ruined battlefield. They described what it was like trying to navigate a normal American high school for a week, trading sarcastic remarks with Peter Parker and MJ, and finally, the brutal, landscape-altering war against the Mirror Warden in London.
Akihime listened intently, her expression shifting from maternal worry to great, ancient pride as her kids detailed how they shattered the anomaly's space-bending shields.
As the midnight hour approached, the conversation finally began to wind down. Akihime leaned back against the cushions, her nine tails resting quietly behind her.
"You both did an incredible job," Akihime said, her tone turning more practical. "But you need to get your minds back into your curriculum here. Tomorrow, you are officially starting your internships under pro heroes."
Hiro blinked, shifting his posture. "Internships? Already?"
"Yes," Akihime nodded. "Your homeroom teacher, Aizawa-san, came by the estate yesterday, on Monday, while you were away. He dropped off a large stack of formal papers from various hero agencies who are willing to take you on as interns, all due to your overwhelming performance during the U.A. Sports Festival. While you were gone yesterday, the rest of your class already went through their offers and picked their hero names." [1]
They kept talking for a bit longer, discussing the local hero rankings, until the fatigue of two separate worlds finally caught up to them. Deciding to call it a night, they headed upstairs to get some actual, undisturbed sleep.
The next morning, on Tuesday, the twins woke up early, the bright sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. Walking downstairs in their comfortable street clothes, they bypassed the main living areas and headed straight down the hidden corridor into their primary laboratory.
The heavy steel doors slid open with a soft hiss.
"Good morning, Creator Hiro, Creator Nozomi," E.V.E.'s calm voice echoed from the central holotable. Her purple-haired hologram materialized in the center of the room, offering a polite bow. "Welcome back to the primary facility."
"Morning, Eve," Hiro said, walking over to the console and dropping the massive stack of hero recruitment papers onto the glass surface. "We have a job for you. Go through all of these requests from the pro heroes and determine which ones are actually beneficial to our operational parameters."
"Scanning and initiating data analytics now," E.V.E. responded smoothly.
Lines of light traced across the papers as the system digitized the requests, sorting them into floating holographic profiles above the table. For several minutes, E.V.E. ran comparative analytics, sorting the heroes by efficiency, geographical jurisdiction, and administrative freedom.
Finally, the system narrowed the list down to a single profile. The face of the Number 3 Hero flashed in the air.
"Based on your requirements, the optimal choice is the pro hero Hawks," E.V.E. announced. "His methodology focuses strictly on extreme velocity and tactical efficiency. Furthermore, his agency operates with a high level of independent mobility, meaning he has a low probability of micromanaging your daily coordinates or asking invasive questions, provided you deliver successful results."
Nozomi smirked, leaning against the edge of the holotable. "Perfect. He's all about speed, doesn't ask questions, and his connections within the Hero Commission could be highly useful for our future operations."
"Hawks it is," Hiro agreed, grabbing the specific forms from the desk and signing his name neatly at the bottom.
An hour later, the twins arrived at U.A. High, stepping out of their sleek black limo. The entire classroom of Class 1-A was full of barely contained excitement. The energy in the room was buzzing because the formal internships were officially starting today.
As soon as Hiro and Nozomi walked through the door and took their seats, Momo Yaoyorozu and Eijiro Kirishima walked over to their desks, looking at them with wide, curious eyes.
"Hey, where were you guys yesterday?" Kirishima asked, scratching the back of his head. "Aizawa-sensei said you had an excused absence, but we missed you during the name selections!"
Hiro looked at him with a completely straight, deadpan face. "In another dimension."
Nozomi didn't skip a beat, her face equally expressionless as she completed the thought. "Fighting reality-warping monsters and titans."
Kirishima and Momo just stood there, completely frozen, staring at the twins with blank expressions. They blinked, utterly unsure if the two were pulling a massive prank or speaking the absolute truth. The sheer seriousness in the twins' eyes made it impossible to tell.
Luckily, the front door slid open with a dull scrape, breaking the awkward silence. The entire classroom went dead silent as Shota Aizawa shuffled into the room, his tired, bloodshot eyes sweeping over the rows of teenagers.
"Settle down," Aizawa mumbled, stepping up to the podium and dropping a folder onto the desk. He looked over at the twins. "Since the two of you weren't here yesterday, you'll need to submit your internship forms now while everyone else is handing theirs in. While you do that, you can think about your hero names. When everyone is finished submitting their paperwork, the two of you will come up to the front and present your choices to the whole class."
Hiro walked down the aisle, placing their finalized forms neatly on the podium. Aizawa scanned the pages, nodding slightly when he saw Hawks' name at the bottom. He stamped the papers with an official U.A. clearance seal. "Alright, Hawks' agency is confirmed. Now, take your whiteboards and write down your names."
Hiro and Nozomi didn't need to brainstorm. They already knew exactly what titles they were going to use. They picked up the dry-erase markers, quickly scribbled a single word onto their respective boards, and turned around to face the class.
Hiro held up his board first, his expression completely relaxed. "I am going with Kage."
Nozomi flipped her board right next to his, her golden eyes gleaming with a confident smile. "And I'll be using Aegis."
Aizawa gave a brief, approving grunt, recording the titles into the national registry on his tablet. "Kage and Aegis. Rational choices. Both of your titles are officially registered in the system." He tapped the desk sharply to get everyone's attention. "Alright, that's everything for the administrative side. Pack up your things. You will all head to the locker rooms, change into your official hero costumes, and head out into the city to find your respective heroes. Don't keep them waiting."
The classroom instantly exploded into a fresh wave of excited chatter as the students grabbed their support cases. Hiro and Nozomi shared a quick, silent thought through their link, their five black tails swaying as they stood up. The preparation was over. It was time to show the pro heroes exactly what they could do.
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