It was actually quite amusing, Izuku thought, that the Pussycats had an office in the city. For some reason, he just associated them with nature. There was something ironic about it, he felt. Probably because nature and the outdoors had been where he had first met them, and where he had trained with them.
While he has heard of them, like many Heroes he had researched, he didn't have a full understanding of their personalities. The media tended to show Heroes only in the most positive light, unless there was an enormous controversy around them, and Heroes generally had to have a sort of stage presence when they donned their masks, as opposed to their usual personas. Well, a lot of them did anyway, for publicity reasons – That was certainly a lesson Izuku had learned in his short time at Yuuei.
The Pussycats weren't a group like that though. Maybe it was because their careers were based around being in a team with one another, and that meant that they had to be social by default, as opposed to many lone wolf type Heroes that dominated the profession. Perhaps that just made them more genuine when off duty. Of course, they were a fair bit calmer, but they were still easily recognizable.
"You think we'll be waiting long?" Mina asked, absently trying to make some sort of conversation. She was evidently quite bored.
He glanced around the foyer that he and Mina had been sat in for a short time now. It was mostly empty. Izuku never really considered the business side of Heroism – What sort of benefit did these sorts of office buildings offer? Who came here? Visitors or contractors from companies? Average citizens to make requests? Some sort of finance sector? He honestly wasn't sure – His research never really went into the economic side of things.
When he realized he was considering economic factors in Heroism, he realized he was just as bored – and s anxious and eager – As his girlfriend was.
The receptionist had told them that they would be seen to as quickly as possible, and that the Pussycats were in some kind of meeting with officials at this exact moment. They hadn't been here for long, but to a pair of bored yet simultaneously anxious teenagers, those few minutes did seem to drag on.
"I guess it depends on whatever kind of meeting they're in." Izuku answered honestly. "Maybe something came up that's more important than us."
That was a weird feeling as well. Up until now, they had been little more than students. True, they got involved in situations that would make even Pro Heroes shudder, and could easily be the most eventful parts of their careers, but that didn't change the fact that officially, they were still in training. Or even the fact that they still felt like they were only in training.
Mina let out a yawn, her eyes closing on their own, and her hand moving in front of her mouth. "It's way too early for a meeting like this..."
Curious, Izuku looked up the time on his phone, before giving Mina a sideways glance. "It's one-thirty in the afternoon."
"Way too early."
"Did..." Izuku paused for a moment, gave her a proper look, and then sighed, half with exasperation, and half with a laugh stifled. "...Did you stay up late on video games again?"
"No!"
"Mina."
"Maybe. In my defense, I couldn't sleep. I was too preoccupied thinking about what this meeting was gonna be like. I mean, the way Mandalay sent that message, it kinda sounds like a sure thing, doesn't it?" She paused. "Well, not a sure thing, but she sounded like she had pretty much already made up her mind, y'know?"
"Uh... Kind of, I suppose."
"So, what is there to 'sort out'?"
"I... Think you're just thinking about things too much."
"Well, shit." Mina couldn't stop a singular, loud chuckle from escaping her throat. "When you're the one saying that I'm the one overthinking things..."
Izuku couldn't stop himself from gently laughing either. Just a few months ago, Mina would have told him the same thing, for far less of a reason, and she would be the one who wasn't at all nervous. Experiences changed people, it seemed, far more than they realized at first, and experiences certainly weren't something the pair of them were lacking in. So they had changed.
Now that he looked back on himself, he could tell he had loosened up a lot since he began to date Mina. He could look at himself from just a few months ago, and chuckle at himself. Certainly, he was the same person, and he still had his bouts of awkwardness and stammering. But he was also different. He was more relaxed, certain, and confident in himself, and in his relationship with Mina.
It was weird to almost be thankful for getting kidnapped by Villains - Had it not happened, he wasn't sure what would have happened in that regard. Maybe things would have turned out the same, but that wasn't something he would ever know. So he was thankful for the end result of everything, irrespective of what might have happened otherwise.
He felt weirdly nostalgic right now for some reason. That was why these thoughts were in his head now, of all times. He didn't know why. Maybe because he felt like this was a fairly big step, for whatever reason.
Not a step he'd ever expected himself to take, but a big one nevertheless.
Being born Quirkless had been tough. Especially in a world that had Quirks almost as the absolute foundation of society.
Everything revolved around them. The world had changed quite dramatically since they had evolved and become commonplace in society. Even if you weren't a Hero, certain Quirks could be utilized and used in everyday jobs, depending on the profession, the environment, and the Quirk itself. Entire sub-cultures revolved around certain kinds of Quirks. Schools developed particular sports that included Quirks, and some had even superseded some of the more famous sports from the Quirkless age. They said that twenty percent of the population didn't have Quirks, but that was worldwide, from previous generations. In his generation, Izuku truly was a rarity. Maybe one of the three percent who were born Quirkless.
Being born Quirkless had been tough.
But Izuku honestly wasn't sure if he could even begin to understand how it felt to have a Quirk, to learn how to use it and to be strong with it, to build your entire life around it...
Only to have it stolen away from you.
"Hey, uh..." He spoke gently, but then bit his tongue. He wasn't sure if he should say anything, or if he should even ask. What could he offer? What could he say? And even if he could say anything, should he?
In the corner of his eye, he could see Mina turn to look at him. Her expression was completely understanding, but apprehensive as well. She understood what he was thinking.
He knew what it was like to be Quirkless, but he didn't know what it was like to have your life stolen from you, and how it felt to be forced to pick up the pieces after everything had fallen apart.
"Something wrong?"
Ever since she had lost her Quirk, Ragdoll had been forced to retire from her career as a Pro Hero. She couldn't serve as a Pro without her power. Ever since, she had been in both physical and mental therapy to help her through the trauma of the experience. Without her, the Pussycats had been on hiatus to help her through the tough time. From a pragmatic stance as well - Without her, they were far weaker as a team, and they needed to learn how to act with one member down.
It was impossible not to feel empathy for her. But that was everyone.
Izuku felt it sting far more than anyone else ever could though.
"I um..." That awkwardness and anxiety was back. He bit his lower lip, and scratched the side of his cheek. "I... I - I just wanted to... Ask if you were... Holding up okay."
The former Pro Hero gave him a kind smile. "I'm managing alright. Thank you,"
Ragdoll hadn't just stewed in self pity all that time though. It wasn't as glamorous, and it wasn't as exciting as being a Hero - But she had taken up the job of secretary for the team. That was admirable, Izuku couldn't help but feel. Giving up entirely would have been easy. Incredibly easy, given the mountain that she would have had to overcome. Yet here she was, trying her hardest to make the most out of it.
The Quirk Inheritor returned her smile, and she turned her head back forwards. Izuku's smile faded as soon as her eyes weren't in him anymore.
She was struggling far, far, far more than she was letting on.
The old Ragdoll had been so full of hyperactive energy that she had made Mina look like the Alien Queen of Cool in comparison. She had been excitable and full of so much visible personality that she stood out among her peers like a lit sparkler in a field of gravel.
But now she seemed... Formal. And if there was any word that shouldn't be anywhere near anyone like Ragdoll, it should not have been 'formal'. But that was what she was like.
Formal. Polite. Just... Okay.
She wasn't unenthusiastic, by any means. Her charming, hyper personality hadn't completely died, but it felt a bit more forced than it had done before. Still with its charm, but, well...
No. To someone who understood, the word would be 'transparent'.
Considering that Izuku knew what she was coming to terms with, and what that meant though... He knew she was still hurting under all of that.
There were times when a Hero had to jump into things that weren't their business...
...But this wasn't something he could just... Fix. Words wouldn't help. Nor would assurances.
He had been bullied and mocked for his Quirklessness throughout his life. That didn't mean everyone had hated him though. Many had pitied him, and tried to help him feel better about himself. They had tried with only the very best of intentions, and Izuku appreciated the efforts - But they had only made him feel worse.
It was so easy for them to say it would be okay. They had their Quirks. They were accepted by the world. They had the chance to chase the future they wanted. Back then, he didn't.
From Ragdoll's perspective, that was what Izuku was. Someone well meaning, but without any real idea what she was going through.
Heroes needed to know when to leave a situation alone. Otherwise, their involvement would just make the situation worse. It was a balance that needed to be learned. Izuku could thank his own experience with Quirklessness to he knew that this was one of those times...
The green haired teenager's eyes fell to the floor. He wished he hadn't said anything.
A hand tapped against his arm. He turned his head and saw Mina giving him a small smile - That gentle, soft smile that was there to assure him that things would be alright, and not to worry. A smile that made him feel both unintentionally lousy, but heartwarmingly and very intentionally good at the same time.
"Here we are!"
Both of the in-training Heroes turned their attention forwards, seeing that they had arrived at a fairly large dark green door at the end of a corridor. Behind it, the Pussycats were waiting for them. Somehow, that knowledge made the door seem far more imposing, and even a bit larger than it actually was.
The pair of them gulped. They had no reason to be, but now that they were here, neither of them could help but feel a bit anxious.
Without warning, or without giving them a chance to mentally prepare themselves, Ragdoll flung the door open, and made her way inside. "Hey, everyone! I found a couple of strays!"
Three additional pairs of eyes fell on the two teenagers - Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, and Tiger all looked past their friend to spot their new entourage. All of them were in costume, and all of them had pleasant, welcoming expressions on their faces.
For the brief second that passed where no one say anything, Izuku scanned over the Pro's faces. Firstly, he looked towards Pixie-Bob - The scar she had suffered from the attack back at the lodge was still present, but it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone had feared it would be at the time. it didn't seem to have dampened her spirits all that much either - Going from her expression, she seemed as... Well, as Pixie-Bob as she had been since the last time that he'd run into her.
Next his eyes jumped towards Tiger, who was far more difficult to get a read on. Not that he was hostile, but because his expression was one that didn't change all that much, generally speaking, and that always gave off a slightly intimidating feel from just about anyone. His body posture seemed more relaxed than Izuku remembered, though that wasn't saying much - The last time he'd seen this Pro, he was getting punched in the face by him as a part of his training.
"Ah, there they are." Mandalay stood up once her brain sent the message to her legs. "It's good to see the pair of you."
"He - Hello." Izuku awkwardly greeted. It wasn't until then that he realized that Mina had already taken a couple of steps into the room, and had stopped to wait for him to catch up with her. He did so quickly.
Quickly, he cleared his throat. For some reason, he had been expecting it to just be Mandalay, and not the other members of the Pussycats. He wasn't sure why he hadn't expected them to be here – They were a team, after all.
"How have the pair of you been?" Tiger questioned. He seemed to just be making small talk, like he was trying to make the pair of them comfortable before they got to business.
"Considering?" Mina asked, glancing at Izuku. He made an expression which involved the side of his lips kind of scrunching up into his cheeks. He also shrugged - Mina knew exactly how things had been for them. She didn't really need an answer from him. Turning back to the Pro, she responded, "About as well as you could expect, I guess."
The Pro Hero nodded. It was about all he could offer, really. The entire lodge experience had been, to put it mildly as possible, unpleasant for everyone there. It had been more just something to greet them with than something he had expected an elaborate answer to. Mina's response was just as long as it needed to be.
"I hear it's because of you two that we're back in costume so soon." Pixie-Bob stated, a slight grin appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"Well, Mandalay invited us here..." Izuku explained.
"Yes, sorry about having to keep you waiting so long." Mandalay said, standing upright and making her way around the desk she had been sat behind. "We had to go over an urgent report the police sent us."
"That's alright." That was work. Official Hero business – Neither Izuku nor Mina were going to hold them doing their jobs against them.
"Speaking of work though, I suppose we should go over this internship." The Telepathic Pro said with folded arms. The young couple glanced at one another briefly before Mandalay said anything further. "Like I mentioned in my text, All Might told me that the pair of you are looking for an internship that will let the pair of you act as a Hero Team."
Izuku nodded. "Right."
"…I do think I speak for all of us when I say that we're immensely grateful for what you did to save Kouta." Mandalay glanced behind her at her teammates, like she was awaiting them to vocalize their approval. Each one of them nodded their heads without a word – They didn't need to say anything more than what Mandalay was already saying. Turning back to the two students she continued, "I owe you my thanks there. And the pair of you displayed a lot of talent during the camp. I'm pretty sure we can find some way to put you into an internship with us…"
She glanced between the two of them, inspecting them closely. Neither of the two teammates could help but feel like they were suddenly under a magnifying glass.
"…But, if it's alright, I do have a few questions." The brown-haired Hero then said, taking a step back towards her desk, and reaching for her phone. For a couple of seconds, no one said anything as the Pro unlocked her phone, and opened up a series of notes that she had taken in preparation for this conversation. "I talked with All Might a bit, and he said that you turned down an opportunity to meet with Nighteye so you could look for someone more likely to take you on as a team, Midoriya."
Izuku nodded. "That's right."
"Mind if I ask why?"
"Well… From what I got told, it didn't seem like Nighteye would have been all that willing to take on one intern, never mind two, like you said, and I wanted Mina and I do be able to practice acting as a team in a real-world setting."
The fact was, they did have very little experience in that regard. As individuals, they could fight, and they fought well. They backed one another up, and they were good at covering their weaknesses.
But the real fact of the matter was that despite that, they didn't have much experience fighting as a unit. The only real example Izuku could really think of was Overgrow, way, way back before they were even dating – ever since then, they had been fighting as solo trainees, who just happened to work closely together.
Even during their brief folly into Hero Team comprehensive work, back before they went on the summer ledge trip, they had worked more as two Heroes who fought side by side rather than a team which fought as one. And the end result had been that they had lost and failed the initiation. Quite badly, all things considered – Even if they had put up a good fight.
It was possible it was just Izuku overthinking how Hero Teams were supposed to operate, and how he and Mina needed to operate in this sort of format.
"Why did you want to work in a Hero Team for this?" Pixie-Bob asked from the side of the room. "Nighteye isn't exactly an easy person to get a meeting with – An introduction to him could have helped your skills improve in leaps and bounds."
"And Ashido training under another Hero could have improved her skills in a different manner" Tiger added on. "You could have gained experience from two very different Heroes, and have developed very different strategies to combine to cover one another."
"Our Quirks are already pretty different." Mina answered. "Pretty much anything we do, we have to think differently than most teams do. Especially since it's just the two of us."
Scratching the back of his head, Izuku elaborated, "We uh, talked about it – "
"Well, he talked about it. I mostly just listened." Mina joked. The smirk she wore seemed to make the whole event feel a lot less formal than it really should be.
"Right. And, uh… I thought it would make sense to learn from people who already had experience. And it, well, it just…" Izuku glanced at Mina, and then back to Mandalay, this time, speaking in a tone of voice which could only really be described as being firmer. "…It's safer."
This time, the pink skinned girl blinked. "Eh?" She suddenly felt herself no longer smiling and in a jovial mood – Now she was just confused as to what the heck he was talking about.
She hadn't really had any idea why he had been so focused on them being on a team together. It had been a very Izuku idea, that he had focused on a lot more than Mina had. She'd gotten into it, sure, but it had been mostly Izuku who had been invested in getting them under the same mentor. Turning down one hell of an internship just to have a shot at it was a testament to how far he was willing to go for this.
"I…" Izuku looked hesitant to say anything further. It wasn't anxiety in this case, nor was it him being socially awkward. The words he wanted to say were difficult to get out. He was hesitant not only because of the company, but because after everything he'd gone through, he still hadn't fully come to terms with it.
He gulped down that hesitation though. Now wasn't the time for it.
"…Back at the lodge… I acted more or less entirely of my own accord." He explained, his eyes now looking towards the ground more than the people around him. "I moved based on my emotions, and because I did what I thought was the right thing to do… Not what might have actually been the right thing to do. I know a Hero is supposed to jump into things that might not be theirs to get involved in, and to not hesitate when someone needs help, and I don't regret doing that, but…"
By his sides, his hands balled up into fists. He looked up at the Pro's in front of him.
"…I keep wondering what I could have done differently. Even though I thought I had gone over everything in my head over and over and over again, I can't stop thinking about what I could have done to stop Kacchan from getting kidnapped, from getting myself caught in that attack, from putting everyone in danger from that shape-shifting Villain… From putting Mina through everything I did."
"Izu?..."
"If we'd been able to work as a team then, maybe we could have done something to stop all that from happening. But we didn't. We couldn't – We didn't know how to. We didn't even try…. I didn't try." Having vented that, his hands relaxed, and became open as opposed to balled up. "…That's why I want us to train together. As a Hero Team. I know we could both get valuable skills if we went to different Heroes and then combined them… But I… I don't think they're going to be of any good to us if we can't even work in a basic team together."
At this point, it wasn't completely clear if he was addressing Mina directly, if he was still talking primarily to the Pussycats, to both of them, or neither of them, and had just fallen into an open rant to himself. Certainly, he'd lost a lot of the neutral composure one was expected to have when it came to an internship application. Anyone could tell that it hadn't been a rehearsed speech.
"…I see." Mandalay broke the silence. She glanced at all of her teammates for a few brief seconds, before each one of them gave her a small nod. If she had used her Telepathy, or if they could just tell what she was thinking by the expression on her face, was unclear – Either way, they were completely unified in their stances. "Well, I suppose I don't need to ask any of the other questions I had. That about covers it."
Izuku's full attention turned back to the Pussycats – A small part of him had almost forgotten why he was even here as he made that small speech.
The Telepathy Quirk user's lips curled into a smile once more, and approached the two Yuuei students. Once she stood directly opposite them, she held out a hand for Izuku to shake. "We'll be more than happy to take the pair of you on as interns."
Watching the scenery pass did something for Izuku.
Building passing by, various people going from place to place. He watched for the various mutations some of the passers-by had, and tried to figure out what sort of Quirk they might have from them. Easier with people who had things like wings, not so much the people who had an unusual skin tone, or horns, or something along those lines. He didn't know what it was about it exactly, but it made him feel a lot more relaxed.
Not that it was unique to him, he knew. Lots of people did it. In fact, on this exact bus, he could spot a couple of people doing the same thing.
Something about it was just relaxing. It put his mind at ease. Made things easier to think.
Now that he thought about it, he wondered where Kouta had been during their visit. He had honestly hoped to maybe have seen him, but that hadn't been the case. Maybe he was at a kindergarten or a school or something? Maybe he'd just been in his room – The building they had been to wasn't exactly small, by any means. Maybe a room had been set aside for him to spend time in while Mandalay had been doing work.
That was something to look forward to, he supposed. Maybe he could ask Mandalay about that the next chance he got.
He looked around the bus again, and then let out a small sigh. Somehow he felt exhausted after that meeting. Maybe it was because deep down, he had been far more anxious than he had fully realized. It probably was that, the more he thought about it. He was probably going to pass out as soon as he got back to his room, he could feel it.
Hopefully the nap would do him some good.
"Hey, Izuku?"
"Hm?" Izuku glanced to his side. Mina was looking at him, almost nervously.
She had been fairly quiet, all things considered, ever since they had left the Pussycats' building. Of course, she'd been her usual enthusiastic self when they had been accepted, and whenever Izuku spoke to her, she'd replied, but that was it. She hadn't gone out of her way to speak up.
"…We said we'd be honest with each other, right?"
Apparently because she had had something on her mind.
"Yeah?..."
"So... Where did all of that come from?"
"Where did all of… Oh. You mean with Mandalay?"
The pink girl nodded. "I knew you wanted to work as a Hero team badly, but you never said why. Not to me, anyway. I just… What was that about?"
For a moment, Izuku didn't say anything. He looked at Mina, and then he sighed. He didn't really need to think of the answer.
Mostly because there was only one he could give.
"...Would you believe me if I said I didn't know that was how I felt until I said it out loud?" He asked. He felt remarkably calm, maybe because of how watching the scenery had mellowed him out. "I… Don't really know how else to put it. I guess I hadn't really thought about it much… But I… I guess that was why I wanted to have a Hero Team internship with you. I… I don't know if that makes any sense though."
Did it make any sense? He didn't know himself. It made sense in his head, but to others, it might not. Like a lot of things that went on in his mind, it was possible this was something that made sense only to him.
"…Well, it does to me." Mina said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Even if you barely do."
Wearing his Hero costume in public was still something Izuku wasn't completely used to. The only time he could remember wearing it in any context outside his classes or training, was back during his brief internship under Gran Torino.
People looked at him with interest, and with curiosity. Some middle school students took photos of him when they thought he wasn't looking – Some of them seemed to recognize him from the Sports Festival. Some children who didn't know any better seemed to believe that he was a Pro of some sort. And some of them did know the difference, who could tell just by looking at them that they were still Heroes in Training, but were still out and about, willing to put themselves on the line in order to protect the people that surrounded them, and for that, they seemed to almost emit a sort of respect to the young students.
Of course, predictably, Mina got far more attention than he did. It was practically impossible for her not to – She stood out so much that not noticing her was an exercise in futility. It would be like trying to ignore a dark green sky with clouds of, well, pink. Unlike Izuku though, Mina dealt with the attention pretty well, grinning and smiling and giving polite waves to the people who waved at her. All things considered she was pretty reserved, but Izuku suspected that she felt how different this was as he did.
"You two certainly seem popular." Mandalay placed a hand on her hip and glanced over her shoulders to observe the young couple, a small grin apparent on her lips.
The Pussycats hadn't wasted a single day in establishing a work timetable for Team Awkward Energy, which they had made sure to clear with Yuuei the day before. The professionalism of the whole ordeal came as a bit of a jolt to Izuku's system – He knew the world of Heroism was a professional one, but his experience with that side of things was fairly limited, at least, first hand.
Gran Torino had been more focused on helping him better learn One For All rather than showing him what life as a Pro was all about, like everyone else had been. So this sort of professional environment was new to him, as was wearing his costume in public – He had only done so the once before. It wasn't an insurmountable issue – But it was one of those things where he was just aware of his surroundings a bit more because of his inexperience in this sort of situation. He knew he'd get used to it eventually.
Right now, they were just on a patrol. It was their first day as interns, so getting the two of them to be 'broken into' their new professional environment was important. Nothing too crazy, and nothing too dangerous. They were with Mandalay, but not Tiger or Pixie-Bob – They were on their own route nearby, but had split up in order to cover more ground.
"Did… You do stuff like this on your internship, Mina?" Izuku asked, glancing towards her with his eyes.
"Yeah. Me and Heator did a couple rounds now and then. Never saw anything happen though. I kinda think he just took me out cause he thought he was supposed to."
"Still more than I ended up doing…"
"I don't even remember if you ever told me what you did with Gran Tornio."
"Didn't I?"
"I mean you might have. I just kinda forget if you did or not." Mina laughed slightly awkwardly and scratched at the bad of her head as she admitted this.
"I uh… I'll tell you later." As he said this, Izuku nodded his head towards Mandalay. He didn't want to say anything on the off chance she overheard him. Not that he didn't think she could keep a secret, but too many people knew about One For All now, and he didn't want that pool to get any larger than it already was.
Even if it was kind of his own fault the pool was a bit big now anyway.
Of everyone there, they would learn the most from Mandalay – Not because Tiger and Pixie-Bob didn't care, but because Mandalay had more to teach. She was their, for the lack of a better word, leader. And she was the one who had taken these two under her paws. It made sense that she would be the one to take on the role as their teacher,
Almost as if she had been listening in on Izuku's thoughts, Mandalay came to a stop, and then turned around to face the pair of them. "Alright you two, Now that we're out here, I think it's a good idea for me to go over a few things that I think you should know if you're wanting to work as a Hero Team."
Immediately, Izuku and Mina broke away from their conversation, and looked straight ahead at the older woman. Both listened intently, ready to hear whatever she had to say.
As Mandalay pulled off a glove and reached into one of her belt's compartments, she said, "I could've done this before we set off, but I have a feeling that you'll remember more if we do this while out on patrol…. Here we are."
From said compartment, she retrieved two pieces of small plastic. A couple of blue LED lights were on the sides of each, blinking on and off every couple of seconds. Devices, of some kind.
"These are headsets." Mandalay explained. "Well, they work in the same way. They're earpieces that you can put into your ear and communicate with one another over a reasonable distance – Two or three miles, depending on weather. They're also linked up to one another, and they use… Some kind of technology I don't understand so that your heading isn't impacted either."
Both the interns took one of the devices each – They were very small things, and virtually indistinguishable from a pebble, except for the white sheen that the plastic carried. They were incredibly compact, no doubt, even if they didn't look it.
"They'll help you communicate over long distances." The Pro Hero explained. "They're more efficient than relying on a phone or a radio or anything like that – And you two won't be able to rely on my Telepathy once you join your own agency."
"What do we need these for though?" Mina asked, raising an eyebrow at the device, and holding it up in front of her eye between her finger and thumb. "I thought the point of being in Hero Teams was that we worked alongside other Heroes."
"You do." Mandalay agreed. "But as a team, you're able to cover more ground if the pair of you split up. And there are going to be plenty of situations where you're going to need to be able to communicate over long distances – Not every scenario is going to let you be close to one another."
"It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared…" Izuku muttered to himself, before looking over at Mina. He gave her a nod.
She took another glance at the device, and then shrugged. "Fair enough." Moving her curly mess of a hairdo out of the way, she then inserted it into her left ear – A comfortable fit. And just like Mandalay had said, her hearing hadn't been affected in the least. How that had been done, she really didn't have a clue.
Turning back around to carry on patrol, Mandalay decided to continue speaking. "That's why it's still important that you develop as Heroes on your own – Though I'd imagine that you already know that much. You've got to strike a balance between being a team player, and being able to go it alone."
That much was obvious, Izuku understood. A Hero team was only as good as the Heroes that made it up, and how they could utilize themselves and their powers. Still, it was good to go over the most basic of things, which Mandalay seemed to be doing now. She seemed intent on actually teaching them about Hero teams, and how to become the best one that they could be.
"D'you and the other Pussycats have like, team moves? Or anything like that?" Mina asked. "Me and Izu're trying to think of some, but our Quirks aren't exactly the most compatible in the world."
"We've figured out ways to make the most out of our Quirks, even though not all of ours are all that compatible either." The Professional Hero answered. "You just have to find the best way to utilize your Quirks together if that's what you're wanting to do. Since your Quirks are unique to you, I can't really suggest anything to help there." She paused for a moment, before adding "I'm… Not exactly much of a teacher, either. My job is to show you the ropes of working as a Hero Team and to help you get experience… Not to teach you special techniques. I doubt I'd be any help to you there, anyway."
She wasn't a teacher – She was a tutor. A distinct difference, even if the two did have a lot of overlap.
Mandalay was here to help them on the art of being a Hero – She wasn't there to teach them how to become one. That was a job better suited for the actual teachers back at Yuuei. Even then, she was here mostly as a form of repayment to Izuku for saving her nephews life. Her entire team was, in a sense.
Already she was going above and beyond the call of duty – Especially given what had happened to Ragdoll. They couldn't ask more from her, Izuku felt. She was here, and she was helping them get the experience they seriously needed for when they went Pro.
The actual aspects of that, like the Team Moves – That was something they would have to figure out on their own.
With a grin, Mina turned to her boyfriend. "Piggyback while I shoot acid at Villains?"
"I… I – I'm not sure that's a great idea…" There were… Way too many ways that could go wrong.
"Awww." She put on an exaggerated pout – Enough that Izuku knew that she was just messing around. After a couple seconds, she dropped her fake pout, and smiled again. For no real reason in particular.
Then they heard the scream.
It was sharp, loud, and piercing. It cut through the air almost like a knife did. It made the Professional Hero, and the two in-training stand on edge immediately.
Next came the sound of something smashing into something else. Just as loud and just as crisp. For one brief, but extremely long-feeling quarter of a second, silence. Silence so silent it actually hurt, rather than left one confused.
And then the screaming on the whole began. Followed by a roar.
Followed by just chaos kicking off; Stamping of boots, the yelling and screaming of people, the sounds of things being crushed and smashed - So many noises, from so many people, that it all blurred into one loud overhanging cry that made just about every other noise indistinguishable from every other noise. It didn't take even a tenth of a brain cell to realize that something was happening.
Something that was putting others in danger. A Villain? Some kind of natural disaster? An accident?
Whatever it was…
Acting like any other Pro Hero would act, Mandalay almost seemed to forget that she had two interns with her – Her priorities immediately shifted, and she went into Hero mode. She found the source of the noise, pinning it down to a left-sided diagonal street, and made a run for it.
Izuku and Mina both gave each other another look – Whatever was going on, it sure as hell couldn't be any worse than the amount of crap they had already gone through. Mina even showed off her teeth as she grinned, and nodded at Izuku.
And Izuku found himself the same.
…The situation needed Heroes.
of them were running behind Mandalay within seconds, and having to navigate their way through a crowd of people trying to get away from whatever on Earth was going on behind them. Trying to push by civilians, or make their bodies small enough to slip through the momentary gaps between people as they made their way closer and closer. Up a bit further ahead, Mandalay was yelling something about wanting people to try to make way for her, but it was barely clear if the people around could hear her or wanted to pay her any heed whatsoever. Izuku quickly found himself wishing that he had used One For All to leap over the crowd.
As he tried to make his way through, there was a small space between a few people that lead to a brief clearing, that was abnormally free of people for some reason. Moving instinctively, he made a beeline for it, getting himself into the clearing and free of people, and able to make his way to the scene with minimal resistance.
He ran, mentally and physically readying himself for what he was to encounter. Full Cowl's static crackled off from his body, and he felt its power surge into his veins. He didn't know what he would encounter, but he wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
Turning the corner, he saw what people had been running from.
A man with pale, almost silver skin, his head adored with a pair of towering horns, and about twice the size of a car, seemed to be throwing his fists at just about anything around him at random. His random flailing attacks had power – Enough to shatter concrete around him, and upturn trucks like they weren't even there.
The green-haired intern couldn't tell why this man was doing this, or what had set him off – Some sort of incident socially? Did he have some kind of Quirk he struggled to contain? Had he been involved in something illegal and gotten caught, or what? Izuku didn't have a clue. He certainly didn't appear to be in pain. He just looked angry, and the surroundings didn't give much away – And if they had, they'd been punched into oblivious before he'd gotten here.
Not that it mattered. He was a danger now – That was what was important.
A Strength Enhancement Quirk? Certainly, this strength wasn't natural for Humans. Or was the strength a side effect of a Gigantification Quirk of some kind? The man's build and size was fairly abnormal, even in a world of superpowers, so was this from his Quirk? If he could figure out exactly what kind of Quirk this was, maybe he could come up with an appropriate strategy?
Should he wait for Mandalay? Or should he –
He stopped his thinking for a moment.
As the silver man tossed aside a pair or cars either side of him, he seemed to focus in on something. If he had been searching for this… Thing intentionally, or if he had just zeroed in on it during a rage, Izuku couldn't tell. But for a moment, the silver man just stared at it. Izuku followed his line of sight.
It wasn't an it at all. It was a small child.
A little girl with white hair, and a single horn.