2nd day of internship
" Morning, Sora-chan!" Burnin greeted her while doing her morning warm-ups.
" Morning Burnin," she told the blazing green head.
" Had a rough time with Endeavor?" She asked with a wide smirk.
" Listen to this Burnin," Sora sighed. " He is ignoring me totally. I bet you anything he doesn't even notice me."
Burnin laughed out loudly at that. " It's just his obsession with his son. That's all."
" This obsession is rather worrying." Sora sweated.
" Morning, Burnin, Shirogane," a voice greeted from behind them.
" Morning, Todoroki-kun." Sora smiled at him. Well, if anything came of this internship, it was that she got to get closer to the other boy. " If you haven't had breakfast yet let's go grab some together."
" Alright." He simply nodded as they trudged over to the cafeteria.
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" Keep going!" Whisper prodded Yuu as he, along with Uraraka, were training under Gunhead's supervision.
" Don't do it aimlessly. Make sure you focus on each action, see? Because what counts the most in the end is your basic physical strength." Instructed the pro hero.
" Yes sir!"
Whisper looked down at the sweating Yuu, rather taken by his determination. It was different from his tearing face back when Whisper was training him for the entrance exam. You're already growing up that fast. This is the expression of a serious soldier.
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" A dojo?" Sora blinked at the place they were in. " Didn't expect Endeavor to have one at his agency."
" We have one at home too." Todoroki pointed.
" Eh, you too!"
Todoroki rose an eyebrow. " You too?"
" Ah..." She rubbed the back of her head. " It's quite common for our family to learn martial arts. I mean, we have extra power but that would be pointless if we don't know how to use it."
" I see."
" You two." Endeavor walked into the dojo with a tight body suit and a shinai in hand. " Since I realized you're rather stiff in action, I decided it's time to train you seriously." He leaned both hands on his bamboo sword.
" You weren't serious for the whole time?!" Sora exclaimed.
" What do you mean?" Todoroki asked.
" When facing an overwhelming danger, it's common for you to halt. It's a reaction made by the body due to fear. A survival mechanism to avoid pain and hurt." He stated." But as a pro hero, it's a hindrance. That very moment may be the difference between life and death. Heroes need to beat that survival mechanism in order for others to survive."
He held up the shinai. " It's needed that you overcome the fear of pain to be a pro."
" So to boil it simply, you're going to beat us down to earth, right." Sora jolted at Todoroki's calm voice. " Well, I've got used to that." He pulled his left arm to warm up. " I'm not going to get beaten by you."
Endeavor merely smirked before his eyes shot at Sora. " You too, it's better if you warm up. I won't hold back on you."
" Oh my..."
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3rd day of internship
" I'm dead." Sora didn't have the energy to lift her hand to her mouth to eat by the next day. " Your father is really terrible, Todoroki-kun."
" He lied," Todoroki said as he took a sip of his tea. " He said he wouldn't hold back but he did."
" Eh! Even with that strength! As expected of a pro... The gape is too huge..." She slumped her head back on the table.
" The N.2 hero Endeavor is really strong." Todoroki pointed. " It was worth coming to watch him up close."
Sora blinked as she realized it. She still didn't bring the favor subject to Endeavor yet. She sighed, sitting straight in her chair and grasping her fork. Even that slight move caused pain to shoot up her arm. She then looked back at Todoroki, he hardly seemed fazed by the training the previous night although he did get beaten up himself. " You're actually dealing well with the aftereffect of last night's training, almost makes me wonder if you're used to it."
" In fact, I'm. I've been trained this way by my old man since I was five."
Sora merely stared at him. " ... To surpass All Might, right?"
Todoroki put down his cup, his eyebrow rising up slightly, a sign he wanted explanations before he recalled Yuu's words during the sports festival. " So you heard it too?"
" I'm sorry, it's not like I wanted to eavesdrop or something! " She shook her hands frantically in front of her before cradling the back of her head with a sweat drop. " It's just, I was worried."
" I appreciate the concern, but the thing is in the past."
...
" It's your power, isn't it?"...
"But, remember, the one to choose what you do with your power isn't your father, it's you."...
...
" I'm making my own path from here on."
" Still, I can tell you can't even stand the sight of him. Your aura is clashing with his." Her eyes trailed down to her plate as she continued poking around her egg. " I won't go as far as to call it pure hatred though..."
" You're not wrong, as a father, I hate him." Annoyance was apparent in his own voice. " He sucks at being one. There could be no parent worse than him."
Sora's fork then impaled the egg and scratch the china of the plate, making the boy rise his head up to her. " Well, at least he didn't abandon you did he?"
When she noticed the boy looking at her with a quizzical gaze, it downed on her that she had spoken out loud. She shook her head with an awkward smile. " Don't mind that... Man, I can't really force anything down my throat. Think I better go grab some drink."
She hastily grabbed her plate and walked away, leaving Todoroki to his own thoughts and questions.
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" What on earth..." Sora's eyes widened at the sight in front of her. Two strange yet familiar creatures were fighting off against a bunch of heroes. What stood out about them was the brains were visible to sight.
Sora wanted nothing more than to barf right then. To think the same creature from USJ would be there, and even two of them.
" Calm down. Endeavor told me to scout the area from above and report back to him. I need to inform him."
She was stopped when she heard the cries of the heroes beneath her. " I need to..." They were all hardly holding it together and one of their friends was held hostage by the flying monster. "... To go back..."
" Someone get him down!"
" We can't launch a large-scale attack with him in there!"
"... To Endeavor."
Still, her body didn't listen. Before she knew it, she had flown back at the Nomu. " Let go of him!"
A strong kick to the head made the creature drop the pro it was holding before ramming into the building behind it. However, it didn't take long before it lunged at Sora. Don't get afraid! Don't let it hold you back! " First, move!"
She dashed at it, smacking it in the gut to which it let an ear-piercing scream. But it was persistent that it grabbed the girl by the arm and swayed her violently Sora heard her shoulder crack as it snapped out of its place.
She was sent flying into another skyscraper. Sora shouted in pain feeling the broken glass from the impact cut into her back and wings.
I can't see its aura! The girl's eyes widened at that, wondering what on earth those monsters could be.
Seeing the villain coming at her again made her force herself out of the broken windows, cutting her flesh in the process. Don't worry. You will recover from it. Right now. Her eyes wandered to the creature following her. " This comes first!"
With a deft twirl, she changed direction, entwined her fingers and hit the creature hard with both hands, forcing it down to the ground.
She panted heavily, feathers growing out of her arms already. It's strong. Even back then I used my full power in that kick.
The Nomu screamed again before bolting at her at neck-breaking speed. She tried dodging it but it caught up with her, grasping her head and slamming her face first onto a wall. It held on to her left arm and pulled hard, Sora screamed feeling her arm about to be ripped. Am I gonna be killed here?
...
" Don't be afraid of the attack, Shirogane!"
" But-" Sora wiped the thread of blood gashing down her chin.
" You seem to always hold yourself back! You're afraid! Your fear will cause the death of someone one day!"
" I-"
" Don't make excuses!" He stood over her, his towering figure intimidating her even more. " Don't expect to be a hero if you're afraid!"
...
To think it would be my death that my fear of my nature would bring.
She struggled to glare back at the Nomu. " Don't joke around!" Her pupils shrank to a long sharp one before slapping the air with her wings violently. The villain was blown away from her.
" You chose the wrong person..." Her nails lengthened to claws. " It's just you and me..." The color of her feathers and even her hair changed to a grey degree as the white of her eyes faded to black.
" If it's against you monster..." She charged at him, causing a strong wind pressure to erupt. She grabbed it by the mask and shoved it back to the ground in a strong impact that send the whole area shaking. Dust rose up around them and once it cleared, the right half of her face was covered in feathers, her hair rather disheveled. " I will become a monster too!"
The creature wrestled within her grasp before it kicked her in the stomach, pushing her off and flying away. " I won't let you go!"
She chased it at high speed. She could hear cracking in her face due to the transformation, her form enlarging. Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! It's the same as getting hurt! Just forget about it! There is no one even to see you now!
Suddenly there was a wave of flames surging in between the buildings, forcing the Nomu to change direction. But not before a harpoon of fire pierced through its brain. Sora could glimpse a certain flaming hero land on the ground as the creature flew higher and out of his reach.
" Endeavor!" She exclaimed. Still, the scream of the Nomu got her attention. Even Endeavor couldn't reach it. I need to go. She sped forward, leaving behind strong waves of air.
" That's..." Endeavor narrowed his eyes at the stormy grey wings flapping through the air.
" Where did it go?" She looked for the monster when her eyes fell on her reflection in a glass window. It was the first time in years she let it go that far. The whole right side of her face felt as it was pulled back. Her eye enlarged, her mouth slightly lopsided with the right side longer than the left and her teeth jagged like a saw. Her arms were covered in feathers and even formed smaller side wings. Her halo had dispersed completely.
She gritted her teeth at her appearance before averting her eyes, not wanting to look anymore. " Don't worry about it. Just find that-"
She heard a loud screech, a sign of the whereabouts of her enemy. " Found you!"
As she bolted to where she heard the scream, she came across the scene of the Nomu hauling Midoriya up. It was flying out of reach. " That's bad! I have to-"
Just as she rushed for the monster, Midoriya's eyes fell on her, and they widened in fear. Sora stopped seeing his expression, she couldn't make her body move. It's the same look.
The rest were rather focused on Midoriya they didn't see her hovering over their heads.
" Shirogane... San..."
That fearful look he had, she couldn't bear it. What're you doing!? Your friend is in danger! Move! Move!! No one can help him at that altitude! MOVE YOU DAMN IDIOT!
Then something unexpected happened. The monster stopped moving and fell to the ground just as the villain they had secured rushed off, grabbing Midoriya and stabbing the Nomu in the head.
Sora held her breath, dreading what may happen to her friend. However, the villain turned from Midoriya, screaming out at them as his mask fell off, revealing his missing nose. From her position in the air, Sora couldn't move a muscle when she felt his intense aura. Even those who can't see it were rooted to the ground by its rigor.
Then, a miracle happened. He stopped. He lost consciousness. How or why was beyond her. But she was relieved. Beneath her, everyone fell on the ground having realized they were safe.
Feeling blood circulating in her veins again, Sora hurriedly flew away while they were unable to react.