(Sorry dudes, no internship under Aizawa.)
...
"So, what'd you call me here for, Madam President?" The Number 3 Pro Hero, Hawks, asked the middle aged woman before him. This woman from an outsider's perspective, looked like an ordinary woman, but she was the powerful head of the Hero Public Safety Commission, in charge of the Hero Association in Japan.
"I hear from multiple little birds that Ryomen Sukuna intends to intern with you?" She began. The golden brown eyed hero narrowed his eyes, already having an idea of where this was going.
"What of it?" He asked in an disinterested tone. The President, leaned forward, resting her head on the back of her hands.
"You've read the report of the USJ incident. A teenager with such power, it's mostly unheard of, except for a few rare cases." She stated, as Hawks' mind immediately went to All Might and Endeavor.
"A boy with strength that could surpass All Might's, and with a personality like that. It's no question that I need to make sure nothing unpredictable happens." She gave Hawks a directive. It wasn't because they'd expect him to turn villainous, it was more about risk management, which was how large security institutions tend to think.
Hawks received a file from her, more specifically Sukuna's psychological report in UA. The teen was classified as a high-impact, high-control, morally ambiguous power user.
'So he holds back deliberately in combat. He shows little emotional transparency and doesn't fit conventional motivational archetypes.' That was what Hawks could gather from reading the report. Was this kid really that big of a variable that they actually need someone to indirectly monitor him?
'I'm not surprised that they would do this. But geez, they're really that wary of him huh. I mean it's bureaucratic mathematics, power plus unpredictability equals surveillance.' Hawks handed back the report.
It was understandable. If one only saw his performance during the Sports Festival, they would think he only had a strength enhancement Quirk, but added to what he did during the USJ, they wouldn't be cheering anymore.
"I don't want a future where we wish we had monitored him." Madam President added seriously. Hawks grinned a little.
"All of this for a 15 year old is kinda funny, ya know. Are you that worried about what he might become?"
"I'm serious here." Madam President only further narrowed her eyes.
"Hey, I'm not saying that I won't do it." Hawks raised his hands as he backed up.
"I'll get back to you in a week." He waved, exiting the office.
...
"Woah, look. It's those kids from the Sports Festival."
Aizawa sighed to himself, ignoring the gazes the civilians were sending their way. He and Class 1-A were gathered at the Shinkansen station as today was the day of the work place field training, and he was at the station to see them off.
"You all have your costumes with you, I presume?" He asked, as everyone raised their briefcases a little.
"Good. Wearing them in public is strictly prohibited as you don't have your licenses just yet, so don't lose them."
"Okayyy!!" They all replied in unison, causing Aizawa to sigh.
'One second they're serious, and then they're all just goofballs.' He complained internally, letting his students go off to their respective trains they were taking. He watched them go, though there was a tinge of emotion in his eyes.
'These kids are growing up too fast.'
Meanwhile with Izuku, he was staring at his briefcase with an excited gaze. Finally! His new hero suit was here. He still remembered what happened when he entered the school's Development Studio.
...
"Good. You're here." Sukuna muttered as Izuku entered the studio, looking around curiously, like he just entered a new realm.
'Oh yeah, since he's in the support course elective, Sukuna has full access to the studio.' Izuku reminded himself after he was aware of the pink haired teen's presence.
"Yo Midoriya!" Mei grinned at him, holding out a hand asking for a high five. Izuku smiled a little at the grinned, giving her a high five.
"Hello Mei. I'm here to see my hero costume. I hope I didn't disturb you two." Izuku stated. Mei shrugged.
"Meh, it's nothing. We were just discussing our new project. Your arrival was a well needed break." Mei motioned him to come over, as Sukuna came over with a briefcase. Mei pushed aside the table full of tools and blueprints as Sukuna placed it down, opening it before presenting it to Izuku.
"We've initially completed your costume waaayyy before the Sports Festival, but when you showed what you can do during the tournament and stuff, we decided to make some more upgrades first." Mei began.
"We've made two versions before the Sports Festival. We made Costume Beta, which was basically a more combat ready attire and a better color scheme and stuff. Then we made Costume Gamma where we planned to add iron soles to where your red boots would be so that the power of your kicks increase." Mei explained as Izuku nodded silently, listening attentively. Mei patted the briefcase.
"This baby here, is Costume Delta. Its design is the same, but it has one new feature." Mei handed Izuku a pair of white gloves with green palms and yellow sights attached to each of the knuckles.
"These are the Air Force Gloves. I got the idea when I saw you shoot air from your fingers. These babies can help you focus the blasts so you can pinpoint your target whenever you flick your fingers to create an air gun." She started ranting.
"Whenever you flick your fingers to create a wind blast, the gloves' outside layer across your wrist can jolt forward to funnel your air blasts to a certain point. And you see these sights over here? These little guys can help fire off smaller blasts if you choose to do so. And get this, you can fire off four shots at once." Mei grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up.
"How's that for a hero costume huh?"
"W-wow..... I can't tell you how grateful I am for the effort you two put in."
Sukuna sighed as he closed the briefcase. "Just don't break it as soon as you use it. That's all we ask of you. Got it?"
"Mm! Got it!"
...
'I'll use them responsibly, I swear.' Izuku vowed silently as he looked around the Shinkansen station. He looked at Iida walking away silently.
"Iida!" He called out. The blue haired boy turned around, glancing at him. Izuku had heard of what happened to Iida's brother, the hero Ingenium after the festival. The hero had been paralyzed from an encounter with the notorious Hero Killer: Stain, a man that had brutally murdered seventeen heroes and injured twenty three beyond recovery.
"If... if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here. We're friends after all." Izuku muttered out. Iida stared at him for a while before smiling back, though Izuku could tell it was forced.
"Sure." Was what he only said before walking away. Izuku stared at his disappearing figure. He had a gut feeling Iida was going to do something reckless during this week.
Oh how right he was.
....
"See you in a week!" Uraraka waved at Izuku as she stepped off the train. Izuku smiled at her, waving back. The automatic sliding door to the Shinkansen closed, as Uraraka watched it disappear into a distance.
"No time to be sad!" She gave herself a wake up call by slapping herself.
" It's just a week Ochaco! How hard can it be?!"
...
"So... Hawks huh..." Izuku awkwardly muttered, sitting beside Sukuna who only nodded slightly at Izuku's words.
"I'm going to intern under Sir Nighteye you know..." Those words made Sukuna blink.
"Any reason why? Based on your fighting style, I thought you would work under someone who's more combat orientated." Sukuna commented. Izuku smiled nervousness before straightening up.
"I know everyone thinks I should just focus on power growth… but to me that's not enough. From what I gathered from my research, Sir Nighteye doesn't rely on overwhelming strength. He predicts outcomes, studies patterns and builds cases before fights even start! I can use power, sure, but what happens when raw power isn't the answer?" Izuku started mumbling, though he left out one more reason, and that was being All Might's successor doesn't mean copying him.
Sukuna hummed. "So you're going for strength with foresight, effective." He muttered. Izuku only laughed nervously.
'That, and I need to understand why he disagreed with All Might. If I'm going to carry that responsibility, I should know all sides of it.' Izuku silently thought. When he revealed who he was going to intern with to All Might, the man had sat him down for a history lesson.
Turns out Sir Nighteye does know about One For All, it was obvious due to him being All Might's sidekick in the past, and it also turns out that he doesn't agree with Izuku being the Number One's successor.
'Well, agree or disagree, I want to understand and learn from him.' Izuku decided.
"So... uh... Why Hawks? I can't really imagine you working with someone so... carefree..." Izuku continued the conversation, not wanting to sit in silence the whole train ride. Sukuna shrugged at his question.
"It's either him or I intern with Endeavor."
"Ehehe..." Izuku laughed nervously. That wasn't the answer he wanted, but he could understand why. Secretly he felt bad for Todoroki, the half and half man clearly wanted to go on his own path, but clearly he didn't want the hassle of facing the wrath of Endeavor.
'But going to his agency doesn't necessarily mean he'll follow his father, so I guess Todoroki's got it handled over there.' Izuku decided to put his faith in his friend.
"No but in all seriousness..." Izuku put his attention on Sukuna again.
"I didn't choose Endeavor because he'd probably just teach me how to overpower someone or something similar. And If I already know how to do that, there's no value in learning more of it." He sighed before continuing.
"I'm not chasing fame or ideology by interning with Hawks. I chose him for refinement reasons. Yes, I know that Hawks is somewhat politically connected, but if you want to operate at the top level, you learn how the top level thinks, right?" Izuku hummed at his blunt words.
"Your words would probably make some of us in class uncomfortable. I know I would be in the past, but it's becoming increasingly clear to me at this point." Izuku commented with a laugh. Sukuna shrugged, his mind thinking of a few still naive classmates.
"It's better for us to start acknowledging the machinery and choosing to understand it instead of pretending it isn't there."
"I never had the chance to ask. Why do you want to become a hero?" Izuku questioned, smiling at the chance of getting to know Sukuna better. Sukuna stared at him for a moment, silently, while thinking about his answer carefully.
"Because I can."
"Huh?" Izuku blinked. What kind of reason was that? Sukuna smirked a little, sensing his confusion.
"Is it... because you enjoy fighting?" Izuku questioned, hoping it doesn't offend him. Sukuna snorted.
"I do get the craze, but no. I enjoy ending problems. You know the feeling when you finally solve a sudoku puzzle, that's how I feel sometimes after solving a problem."
Izuku was silent as Sukuna went on. The pink haired teen didn't even know why he was opening up to him, he'd much prefer Mina to be in Izuku's place. But somehow opening up made him feel lighter.
"From a personal experience, I learned that if you can stop someone from being hurt and choose not to, then the result is on you." Sukuna thought back to the first time he helped Todo at the alleyway, the way he himself jumped in without hesitation.
" I'm not one to suffer for others, but I'm doing this to make sure others do not have to suffer at all." His words surprised Izuku.
Sukuna continued, looking down at the floor.
"I... I just don't want people to believe they are alone when danger appears..." He whispered, unexpectedly honest. Izuku nodded silently,
"You said something before, I can't remember when, about not pretending this world is perfect." Izuku continued before silence followed. Sukuna nodded.
"Maybe I've talked about it a few times."
Izuku was silent, choosing his words carefully. "I think... a lot of people want heroes because they want the world to be better."
"I don't want to pretend this world is perfect, never have, never will. People suffer, some are afraid, some are hurt without reason." Izuku nodded in agreement, eyes watching the outside city passing by like a blur.
" But you still want to be a hero..." It was not a question.
Sukuna nodded.
"Yes... Yes I do..." He whispered. There was another pause, though this time it went on longer.
"I don't fight because the world is good, I fight because it's not allowed to become worse." He added, his voice softer than usual. Izuku turned to him slightly.
"That kind of decision, it sounds lonely..."
"I..." Sukuna found himself speechless.
"It's a price to pay, choosing responsibility over comfort. Someone has to..." He muttered decisively after a while. The green haired boy shook his head.
"I don't think strength has to mean distance." Izuku argued calmly. "And I don't think heroes are supposed to pay that price alone. I think being a hero means people don't have to face danger by themselves. If people feel safe because of you…" He smiled at Sukuna.
"Then maybe they should also be allowed to stand beside you." Sukuna just stared at Izuku, a little wide eyed. Izuku became a little shy and laughed nervously.
" All and all, I think you'd be a great hero, Sukuna." Sukuna stared at him for a while before closing his eyes, smiling.
"Hmph..." He shook his head, leaning back on his seat.
"Just don't tell the class I said anything sentimental, especially Mina." Izuku laughed at that.
"Sure, whatever you say..."
To be continued....
(Kind of a contrast ya know? Sukuna's the type to protect by accepting distance while Izuku protects by building connection.)