Author's Notes: The song for this chapter is the English cover of "Kyomu Desden" by Ali Project.

In-between what tomorrow will bring,
and the past that it leaves,
You're caught in loneliness again...

Now arise, go and open your eyes,
face the dark you despise -
Don't fear the shadows that lurk in night!

The hero course, prestige and ability to freely use their quirks notwithstanding, had something that set it apart from all the others: the internships.

During his first time at UA, Touya would watch the hero students come and go from their internships, suited up in their fancy (and tacky) costumes, wearing excited smiles or tired but pleased expressions. It wasn't the same as the fighting they went through during school hours. Internships could be boring as hell from what he'd gathered. Some students spent the entire time doing absolutely nothing, not encountering a single villain or getting involved in stopping any crimes. Others came back with wild tales and adventures that he would have dismissed had he not seen reports on the news.

He was lucky that he'd gone by his mother's maiden name back then. A few of his Gen Studies classmates had, unfortunately, known of his aspirations to get into the Hero course. Had they known who his father was, they probably would have asked why he couldn't just ask to shadow his father. After all, the first internships were done after the Sports Festival without a provisional hero license. Students weren't permitted to fight yet, but they could help out. They could still do something. Meanwhile, he was stuck at school doing approximately nothing that mattered for his future.

It wasn't that being a hero was the only thing he was interested in. He simply had to be a hero. He had to prove his father wrong. He had to show the world that he was worth something.

Aside from the Sports Festival, internships were the first step in doing that. Too bad he'd royally fucked that up too. His second go around during the Festival had ended poorly for everyone near him, including himself. No hero in their right mind would have wanted him. It hadn't been long after that he'd had the phone call with Shouto that their father interrupted - the night his memories ended. It was weird thinking of how he'd reach that point soon. It felt like he was free falling off a cliff.

Then again, hadn't his entire second experience at U.A. felt like that so far?

Internships happened a little differently for their second year. Because they'd already proven themselves and stood out to pros, they did an internship before the Sports Festival. It wasn't unheard of for students to switch or request a different hero agency to follow if they were invited back, but it made things a lot more difficult. Most stayed with the agencies they worked with the previous year if given the opportunity.

Touya had been surprised to find out that Shouto had not only chosen to shadow under their father for his Field Internship, but had failed to gain a provisional license during his first exam and thus hadn't been allowed to do a Work Study. Wasn't he supposed to be perfect? Also, why the hell would he have willingly chosen to work under their father? Why agree to spend even more time training under the egotistical bastard than he already had?

Shouto's response was short and honest enough to stop Touya from questioning him any further. "Because our father might be an asshole, but he's an incredible hero, and if I want to be better than him, I needed to see him in action."

Shouto hadn't enjoyed it one bit, which was part of why he requested to see his other agency offers for their second Work Study Internship. But having an unpleasant time working under their father was not the entire reason for his decision and both Touya and Aizawa knew it. Although his brother refused to give any details, he claimed to have been involved in an incident that made the internship difficult. He didn't want to be at odds with the hero mentoring him again.

It was a good try, but Touya could see right through him. He didn't want to intern with their father because of him.

While Touya sat in homeroom and listened to everyone gab excitedly about next week, he watched Shouto flick through papers holding multiple offers. Technically speaking, none would be as good as the still-standing offer from the current Number One Hero's agency, but he would make do. Shouto insisted that he needed guidance from other heroes to be well-rounded. Touya didn't know why bothered. It wasn't like the two of them would be paired together like Uraraka and Asui were with Ryukyu.

Touya wasn't going to intern with anyone at all. Shouto might live in a land of delusions, but he wasn't about to fall victim to that again. Too many good things had happened to him already. Internships were based on recognition and good impressions, which he sorely lacked. The only heroes that knew of his existence outside of UA also knew he was destined to turn back into Dabi. He had the mark of a villain against him. No one would want to risk their reputation to deal with him.

No one would want him.

The most he could hope for was a teacher or two maybe taking pity on him and dragging him out for a patrol with them. Nearly all of the teachers still operated as heroes. Not as much anymore, since most of their time was devoted to teaching (or also a radio station, in Present Mic's case), but a few of them were known for their work outside of school. Aizawa still did patrols, although even more irregularly, as his shifts were usually at night. Touya kind of figured it'd be a repeat of spring break.

No, he wasn't jealous of his classmates. He wasn't going to wallow in irritation while they went off to work with pro heroes and took steps toward their future. He didn't have one. This second Work Study Internship was a wake up call to that.

"Touya."

Upon hearing his name being called, Touya snapped out of it, sitting upright and turning his attention to Aizawa standing in front of his desk. "Uh, yeah?"

"You received an offer to join a Work Study Internship."

Touya stared at him blankly. "What?"

"It caught me off guard as well, but-" Aizawa handed him the paper, which Touya gently took and laid on his desk. An offer for an internship? He hadn't thought… He hadn't dared hope. Who would want to deal with him? Hell, Touya didn't want to deal with himself half the time. Someone had actually volunteered to put their career on the line for a week that would inevitably prove pointless to them? "Obviously, since he made the offer, he's aware of your situation."

In the corners of his eyes, Touya could see Shouto watching him with laser focus. It was intense. Touya should've handed over the paper for him to see, but he kept it on his desk instead. Hawks: the Number Two Hero. What the hell did the Number Two Hero want to do with him? Was he suspicious? Curious? Well, if anyone was capable of taking him out on the chance he turned back into Dabi on the spot, it would be him. Maybe he thought it would make him look good - take on the charity case.

What did Hawks get out of this? Shit, what did he get out of this?

"As he...works closely with your father on occasion," Aizawa continued carefully, turning to Shouto, "he's apparently also aware that you're searching for a new internship for your first Work Study."

Shouto blinked in surprise. "Did he-?"

Aizawa nodded. "He's offered to take you both."

Touya and Shouto caught each other's eyes. Some people might've expected Touya to be disappointed, as he would no doubt be overshadowed by his more experienced and hero-worthy brother, but honestly, he was a little relieved. He had no fucking clue what he was doing. Yeah, he'd done a crash course in hero studies and had picked up his pace in the hero course, but he had no practical experience. Shouto might only have the Field Internship with their father, but it was something at least. Touya was going into this blind. He'd thought he would be excited to get in on the action, but now that it was staring him in the face, he was kind of freaking out. A familiar face, one that he undoubtedly trusted, would be nice.

"What about Tokoyami?" Shouto questioned. "I thought he was interning with Hawks. Did he-?"

"He invited me back, but also explained the situation to me before making the offer to you," Tokoyami cut in without missing a beat. "I accepted both. I believe you deserve this opportunity, and he can give it to you. It does not bother me."

Unlike the other people talking, Tokoyami had remained mostly quiet. Now he knew why. He had known that Touya was getting the internship offer but had stayed silent so he could find out on his own. That meant he had also known Shouto would be getting one as well. Tokoyami was fairly reticent and dramatic, so it made perfect sense that he hadn't said a word about it. Touya didn't know he should feel grateful or not. He could have easily said no so Hawks would focus on him, but he hadn't.

Touya swallowed. "Thanks."

"There is nothing to thank me for," Tokoyami reassured him.

Yeah, there fucking was, but Touya wasn't about to argue with him, especially in the middle of class. Aside from Shouto, Midoriya was also watching him curiously. He also had to find another agency to intern with, although he had deigned not to talk about it. When Touya had asked why, he simply looked away and muttered something about things not working out the way he thought they would. Considering that Touya didn't like people prying into his own shit, he hadn't asked any further questions.

"Did you want to accept his offer?" Aizawa asked.

Touya snorted. "I have a choice?"

Aizawa settled a careful look on him. "Yes, you do. You don't have to take him up if you're uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Touya raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his seat. "That doesn't matter. I'm not going to get this experience elsewise. I'd be an idiot not to take him up. Number Two Hero? How impressive."

"Touya-"

"No, no, I mean…." Touya sighed and touched the paper. "I'll take it - the offer, I mean. What do I have to lose? And if he's willing to take Shouto too, and he accepts-"

"I do," Shouto interjected without hesitation.

"-And Tokoyami is cool with it-"

"I look forward to working with you," Tokoyami put in.

"-then I want to do this." Touya locked eyes with Aizawa, putting a little more resolve into his gaze. He didn't want to come across as unsure, even if that was how he felt. During his time at UA, he had always dreamed about scoring an internship, but nothing ever came of it. He couldn't make a name for himself at the Sports Festival with a faulty quirk and he wasn't in the Hero course. Now the chance was staring him in the face, and he felt like he was being backed into a corner.

Satisfied, Aizawa nodded. "Okay then. I'll send word to his agency."

"Only-" Touya cringed. "Won't it be a little...weird? I don't have my Provisional Hero License."

"Consider this a Field Internship," Aizawa told him. "There will be stricter rules on you than your brother and Tokoyami - and not just because of who you are." Yeah, that made sense. If there was a villain attack, Touya would not be allowed to engage in a fight. He was pretty good at running away from confrontations, so it shouldn't be that much of a problem. "Truth be told, the authorities were reluctant to give you this much leeway" - that wasn't surprising - "but because it's Hawks, they allowed it."

Touya smiled thinly without any warmth. "Oh, goodie. He must be a real charmer."

"Only the most charming and handsome hero ever!" Hagakure exclaimed, having overheard the conversation. More like she'd been eavesdropping, but even with her clothes visible, her quirk made it a lot easier to do.

"Well, I've never heard of him."

"That's because he didn't break into the pro hero scene until a few years ago," Tokoyami explained very seriously. Touya couldn't tell if it was respect for the hero or simply in his nature to make everything sound deep. "He's only twenty-three. Considering the years you lost, he must have opened his agency when your memories end."

Touya felt more alarmed than awed. "What the hell does someone that successful want with me?"

Tokoyami considered him for a moment and then shrugged, one of the few flippant gestures that Touya had ever seen him make. It looked odd on him. "He's good at seeing the potential in people and helping them reach it. If he knows of your story, perhaps he saw something worth working on if UA decided the same."

Great, so he was one of those honorable heroes. Touya didn't know if that was any better. Heroes like that always acted like they had a stick up their ass or were better than everyone else even when they were trying to be helpful. Then again, it seemed like Tokoyami genuinely admired Hawks, so he couldn't be too bad. Touya wasn't sure if they had the same taste in heroes as they did in clothes, but he, Jirou, and Shoji had helped him when no one else could. It might've only been clothes, but no one had done that for him before.

It meant something.

"If you say so," Touya mumbled.

"Ah." Tokoyami hesitated. It was hard to tell if he was making a face because of the whole bird situation - beaks did not allow for many changes in facial expressions - but Touya could sense the changes in someone's behavior like it was his job. "He is kind of...unusual. I would be remiss if I didn't warn you."

Touya raised an eyebrow but said nothing. When he glanced at Shouto, his brother only shook his head, unaware of what his classmate meant. If Tokoyami said someone was unusual, then that person was probably truly out there. Not that Tokoyami was weird or anything, but he was kind of intense and had some interesting hobbies.

Aizawa eyed Shouto. "Well, if you're going along with this, did you want to change your code name? It's not unusual for students to do that in their second year. It will be more difficult and not advisable in your third as you will start to be recognized by it."

Shouto considered his question for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I'll keep it."

"What name did you pick?" Touya asked, extremely curious. What had he picked that was so awful that even Aizawa suggested changing it? Granted, Shouto wasn't creative by nature, so he'd probably picked something basic. Even if he hated his father, he had to admit that his hero name was catchy. No one could misunderstand what he meant to do. Finally, in the number one spot, he had lived up to his name.

His brother didn't even look embarrassed when he answered, "Shouto."

"Shou…" Touya jerked upright and furrowed his brow. "That's not a real hero name! You have to pick something better than that."

"Oh yeah?" Shouto shot back. "And what about you?" He looked to Aizawa. "Does he get a code name too? We had these for our Field Studies."

Touya paled slightly. "No, no, I don't need one. I'm good."

Shouto narrowed his eyes at him. "You didn't think of one before?"

Had he thought of one while he was whittling at his time and wasting away in Gen Studies when he wanted to be in the Hero course? Of course he had. Like any idiot kid who wanted to be a hero for whatever reason (with the exception of Shouto, apparently), he'd had a list of potential hero names that he'd added onto throughout the years, scratching off old ones that he didn't like anymore. Fuyumi had found it once when they were fourteen, and he'd nearly burned it to ashes upon snatching it from her in a panic. He hadn't wanted her to know that he was applying to UA.

"You should probably have one," Aizawa finally decided.

"Are you sure?" Touya asked, his voice too high-pitched for his liking. "I mean, it's not like this is real. We both know that I…"

I can't become a hero.

He didn't want to think of that. If he did, then all the hard work he was doing - all the effort everyone was putting in with him - would be for nothing. No, it had to count for something, even if it was just pretend. Maybe he wouldn't become a hero, but he could make something of himself. He could be better. There was no way he could go back to being the total villainous asshole Dabi was after experiencing all of this. He couldn't. His future self could suck it up.

"Come on, Touya!" Mina appeared out of nowhere, shoving her way in his space and leaning over with her elbows on his desk. There was a huge smile on her face, the kind of smile that made him feel like he should appease her so she would keep smiling. It made him vaguely uncomfortable, but he didn't move. "You have to have some sort of idea, right?"

"Um, well…" Touya cleared his throat. "What's your hero name?"

Mina frowned, which was startling when she'd been beaming a second ago. "My hero name is Pinky."

"Oh, I've heard worse," Touya replied. When Mina blinked, he jumped in his seat, realizing a second too late that what he'd said was insulting. "I mean, I've, uh-"

"It's okay!" Mina laughed. "I don't really like it either."

Touya sank in his seat, only somewhat relieved. "Then why did you pick it?"

"Midnight didn't like my first name," Mina said with a pout on her lips, "so she made me change it."

"That's dumb," Touya stated with far too much confidence. Aizawa didn't say anything if he disagreed, busy leafing through paperwork and talking to Iida about his internship. "It doesn't matter if she likes it. What matters is that you like it. Who cares what other people think? This is a name that will define you."

The brightness returned to Mina's face, reflecting in her golden eyes. "That's what I thought!"

"So what was the original name then?"

Mina popped upright and pointed one finger at her horns and another at her unusual eyes. "Alien Queen!"

"That sounds awesome," Touya said genuinely. "It makes me think of some cool sci-fi movie."

No wonder Mina liked Star Wars so much. To her, Princess Leia-turned-General Leia was very much like an Alien Queen. She wanted to be just like one of her heroes. Touya couldn't blame her. She was his favorite character in the series aside from Luke. Plus, with her pink skin, pink hair, and gold and black eyes, Mina did look a little different from everyone else. Mutant quirks seemed to be on par with everyone else's at UA. At least no one really talked badly about them. His father had usually insinuated that they weren't as good, but Ojiro could kick anyone's ass without some fancy-ass quirk.

"Everyone else thought it was tacky," Mina admitted.

"Screw everyone else," Touya declared. "You should do what you want."

"Really?" Mina's eyes were shining again. "You think so?"

Touya shrugged. "I mean…"

Maybe he wasn't the best advocate for following your own dreams. He had tried to do that and it had backfired so miserably that his dream to become a hero and prove his father wrong transformed into becoming a villain and killing him. Prior to that, his whole life hadn't been about doing what he wanted, but what his father wanted, except maybe…

This was what he wanted to do. Here at UA now, even if it was under strange circumstances, he was living the life that he'd always dreamed of living. It was his choice. After all, Aizawa had made it clear that he had a choice in this where he'd never had one before.

Mina turned to Aizawa. "Sir, can I change my hero name?"

Aizawa shrugged. "Sure, it doesn't matter to me. I don't care what you're called."

"Yay!" Mina cheered. "Thanks, Touya."

He damn near choked. "Wa-wait, I didn't-"

Before he could finish denying culpability in giving her the suggestion that would change her hero career, Mina flounced back to her desk. Touya gawked and sank in his seat. That was her hero name, and she was going to change it just because he'd said a few flowery words? It was too much responsibility.

When he looked to Shouto for help - to talk her out of it or something - his brother turned it back on him, "So? Code name?"

"Er, can I get back to you on that?" Touya asked weakly.

"Whatever, but make sure you have one chosen before your internship starts," Aizawa said, having decided it was not worth the time or energy to push him to choose now. Touya nodded and watched as the teacher returned to the front of the classroom to start the day. Shouto looked rather disappointed, but it was probably because he'd known that Touya would only have stupid ideas. He had thought them clever at the time, but now that he was put on the spot to choose one, he was almost certain that they sucked.

He had an internship alongside Shouto and Tokoyami with the Number Two Hero. He had a chance to actually prove himself to someone outside of UA. Maybe he could even make a difference. If he could show someone from the outside world that he was actually trying to do good and become something with the time that he had, maybe it would prove that UA had made the right decision. He was good, and he would be better.

So why then did he feel so anxious? This was what he'd wanted, wasn't it?

Sometimes, dreams really did come true - and they turned out to be a lot more nerve-wracking than you were asleep.

He didn't think of a hero name in time.

Touya it was.

Todoroki Touya was the most irritating thing to ever happen to Hawks.

He was not exaggerating. Ever since he first met Dabi, the villain had made his mission extra difficult by setting up all sorts of hoops to jump through. Whether it was completing some task to prove his loyalty, scheming with him to reinforce that he really was against the heroes, or seemingly pointless conversations, he was constantly wasting his time and making him lean harder and harder into his role. (Or the worst of them all, when there was nothing else to focus on, nothing but the act, and it became harder to not truly listen.) And for what? His first and primary assumption was that Dabi was simply suspicious by nature, but sometimes he had to wonder if the villain was just messing with him.

Then there was the incident at the warehouse and all the controversy that came with it. (He tried not to overthink it.) Todoroki Touya was only sixteen, they said. (Endeavor's son.) He hadn't committed any of the crimes that made him Dabi. (They had happened.) All evidence suggested that he didn't think or feel any of the things Dabi did. (Didn't he?) Although he would turn back eventually, he was innocent until then, and they couldn't treat an innocent teenager like a villain. So they turned the ticking time-bomb over to U.A. and let him walk free.

It wasn't like he would turn back completely without warning. According to the professionals , he would start regaining memories before he turned back. They trusted the teachers to notice if something was up in case he didn't tell anyone he was starting to remember. (Implying that they actually trusted him to a degree.) That was supposed to reassure him. The notion of a hero student regaining his (damning) memories before turning back into a murderous villain was meant to be soothing to Hawks.

In some twisted way, it was kind of funny that Dabi managed to stress him out so much when he wasn't even around.

With 'Touya' at U.A., it should have meant that he was able to wash his hands of the whole situation. He was still stuck without his League contact, and thus without any contact with the League, but that would have been a problem regardless of what happened to the de-aged villain. He'd figure out a solution eventually. The near-electric string of nerves in the back of his mind should have started to settle. Instead, Class 1-A became Class 2-A, mentorships began earlier than they had the year before, and those nerves came back into sharp focus.

The worst part was that he only had himself to blame.

He was the one who had prodded Endeavor into talking while they were patrolling together earlier that week. Slowly, reluctantly, Endeavor had confessed that he was 'somewhat agitated' because his youngest had requested to shadow a different hero for his second year. That had thrown Hawks for a loop. Not the mentorships – he was well aware that they were coming up as he'd already spoken with Tokoyami about it – but the fact that Shouto had asked for a different mentor. It wasn't exactly rare, but Endeavor was the number one hero and hadn't rescind his offer. It could easily be viewed as a blatant insult to his father. Even he would have hesitated at such a thing.

There was no question why he had done it. That was probably for the best, considering that Hawks wouldn't have been able to get a word in to ask anyway. Endeavor picked up steam and continued on to explain that no one had requested to be paired with his other 'youngest' to his knowledge. While unsurprising, it meant that Touya would likely be paired with Eraserhead, who Endeavor feared would show him special treatment.

Prickly as Aizawa Shouta was, having seen his reaction to the initial incident, his stalwart defense of the de-aged villain, and how easily he seemed to allow him into his class, Hawks couldn't help but be inclined to agree.

It didn't mean that he had to do anything about it. Under different circumstances, not offering to help his idol might be out of character enough to arouse suspicion, but he already had Tokoyami to think of. If a student requesting to be paired with a different hero was unusual, a hero taking on two students was even weirder. All he had to do was offer his condolences and say that he hoped everything worked out. That was it. He just had to say a few words, maybe redirect the conversation, and he'd be in the clear.

But when he opened his mouth, the words felt so empty. Sorry, hope it gets easier. What good would that do? Endeavor had built himself through actions rather than flowery words. (Besides, if Hawks had been able to put one and two together sooner, maybe none of this would have happened.) All he had to do was offer some lip service, but when he opened his mouth, he said that he was willing to take both of them if Tokoyami was okay with it.

Tokoyami was okay with it.

That lead Hawks to where he was now, standing in front of three teenagers who were doing a truly impressive job of emitting a stubborn aura and trying to find something to say, preferably something that wouldn't result in a deeply unimpressed look of some sort.

He tried not to let his gaze linger on the current bane of his existence for too long. "So!" Hawks said, clapping his hands together encouragingly. "You should know each other for the most part. I know or know of all of you, and you obviously know me–"

He barely caught Touya's gaze sliding surreptitiously toward his classmates. The 'boy' muttered something under his breath, most of it too soft for Hawks to make out, but he managed to catch the words 'not impressed'. One perk of all his acting experience was that he didn't pause for too long or allow his expression to waver, but Touya looked back at him almost as if he had, their eyes catching for a moment.

Eraserhead and his friends said that Todoroki Touya and Dabi were different people, but his eyes were just as heartlessly cold as he remembered.

"–so I say we just skip the formalities," he finished.

This was met by a shrug from Tokoyami, a nod from Shouto, and… absolutely nothing from the third one, who had taken to eyeing him suspiciously. Suspiciously. He was meeting this individual for the first time for a second time, this time openly aligned with the side that he kept ordering Hawks to 'prove' he wasn't loyal to, and he was already eyeing him suspiciously when, from his perspective, they had barely even interacted yet.

Of course. Because no version of Dabi could possibly make things easy for him.

None of the uneasy suspicion that writhed under Hawks' own skin was visible as he raised an eyebrow at the de-aged villain. "Someone isn't very talkative," he teased, keeping his voice light and pleasant in a playfully annoying sort of way. Not showing him preferential treatment probably meant that he wasn't supposed to make him feel (further) singled out or otherwise treat him differently from the other students either (aside from the monitoring).

Truth be told, Hawks didn't have any special hatred for Dabi. He tended to be a bit of an asshole even at good times and was a murderous villain, but as far as villains went, there were worse ones to interact with. Sometimes, he even came close to making some sort of point amidst his mockery and mad ramblings. (That wasn't a good thing.) There was no excusing what he had done, what he hoped to do, and what he represented. Dabi was a terrible person – some might even say evil – who deserved and eventually would be locked up for good. That there had been a few times where, for a millisecond, he thought he might have thought a flicker of something human in the unforgiving blue of his eyes didn't change that. He felt no sympathy for Dabi and wouldn't even go as far as to say that he liked him or they could have been friends in another life.

But he wasn't the worst. If this younger version of him really didn't remember anything, then he probably would have vouched not to lock him up, given different circumstances. Except the problem wasn't even Dabi himself. It was what Dabi knew – what Todoroki Touya could send crashing down if he got the wrong memory back at the wrong time.

Dabi wasn't the problem, but he was a problem. He wasn't the worst, but he was still bad. Even if he didn't remember the actions of his older self, his very presence was still enough to disrupt U.A. The other heroes didn't know Hawks' situation, but they did know that by doing this, they ran the risk of Dabi escaping when he turned back and being cut a free break. A break he did not deserve. Regardless of the innocence of a boy who was not yet Dabi, the fact was that he had become Dabi and would once again. (Was that even truly innocent?)

That shouldn't have been and wasn't the priority. There was no room for pondering the tricky morals of such a situation when months of dangerous and vital infiltration was at risk of being wasted. Hawks knew the risk and anxiety posed by his interacting with Touya and, once he had finished reeling over his impulsive decision, had prepared himself for it.

In doing so, it seemed that he hadn't properly prepared himself for the part that wasn't the priority. Hawks hadn't expected it to be so hard to not look at Todoroki Touya and compare him to the person he knew he would become. He hadn't expected to feel like a terrible mistake was being made with every similarity caught, to wonder if it was all inborn or Dabi wasn't as gone as so many people seemed to think. It was difficult to shoulder the weight of promising to be fair while unable to see anything but the similarities. This person was going to be a murderous villain one day, and he couldn't afford to see anything else.

It all combined to make him feel spectacularly shitty in a variety of interesting ways.

And it had only been a few minutes.

"Let's see," Hawks hummed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You two are running behind, but I don't want to weigh down Tokoyami either." Shouto had a lot of promise, but Touya… Well, he wasn't exactly a hero student, now was he? His future looked a hell of a lot different from theirs. Hawks had to work with that in mind. "Of course you all deserve personalized time. That's what we're here for, right?"

"You could just pawn me off on one of your sidekicks," Touya muttered under his breath.

Hawks' lips quirked into a smile. "Now why would I do that? I offered to take you under my wing, didn't I?" Touya wrinkled his face. Not a fan of puns, or just him? Dabi had been much the same way. There had been no pleasing the asshole. "Look, how about this? I've got some things I want to work on with Tokoyami, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. I trust him to be able to work on his own and watch over you when the time comes. It'll be good for him. Higher interns often watch over the younger ones - ah, less...advanced ones, in this case."

Tokoyami sighed deeply when Hawks pat him on the back. Still hadn't lost that mood in the past few months. Good. He needed someone serious with him on this. Plus, if Tokoyami agreed to this, then he must've liked the Todoroki boys some. Hawks was fast, but he had no doubt that Shouto and Touya were a handful on their own. It must have been in their blood. Todorokis were so dramatic. Number One Hero, the heir apparent, and a villain-slash-de-aged hero student. What a mess.

Why had he agreed to this again?

Oh, right, because he was an impulsive fucker. At least he would have a chance to notice if the mini-villain started to remember, given that it was his ass on the line.

Hawks pointed at Shouto. "You know how patrols are handled, right?"

"Yes," Shouto replied flatly. "I went on them with my father."

Touya rolled his eyes. "Sounds like fun."

"Okay, I can work with that."

Hawks rubbed his hands together and thought quickly. He hadn't got this far because he could only keep his eyes on one person at a time. Besides, he'd glean better intel on Touya if he was out of sight. Just like Dabi, Touya had a wall up that could be seen miles away. No doubt he was holding himself back. The best way to get a view in would be overhead. If he was starting to retain any memories, especially ones that related to him, it would be easier to spot a change in his behavior if he wasn't around.

"You two can patrol on the ground while Tokoyami and I work from above," Hawks explained. "There might be times when we need to jet and take care of something, but short of" - an attack from the League - "a major catastrophe, it shouldn't take long. If something suspicious happens on your end, I won't be far off." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and waved it at them. It was expensive, top of the line, nothing like the burners he'd used to contact Dabi, who hadn't even owned a cell. Touya glanced at the phone he'd pulled out of his back pocket. He did now. It paid to not be a villain. "Can I trust you two not to get into too much trouble? I'd rather not babysit."

Touya opened his mouth and then shut it, most likely having reconsidered the smart remark he was about to spit out. Hawks fought the urge to smile. Dabi refrained from a lot too, but never from insulting. Perhaps UA was instilling some manners in him, or maybe, at this age, he hadn't been in the position to freely throw insults.

"You can trust us," Shouto said in Touya's stead. If anything, Hawks trusted him to keep his brother in line. Maybe he was a little blinded by the fact that this was his blood, but he was sharp enough to know this was serious. He would keep an eye out. It was obvious that Touya knew this as well, judging by the way he folded his arms across his chest and looked away to nod. He didn't like it, but then again, neither did Hawks, even if he was all smiles and jokes.

Not a fan of heroes? That was fine. Hawks had worked with less.

"Brilliant," Hawks declared, "because I'd rather not have to deal with any of you severely."

Touya's eyes flickered to him briefly. There was that suspicion again. It was so painfully familiar that Hawks almost laughed. Dabi had looked at him like that too, but with a lot more arrogance. Touya just looked like a moody teenager - which he was. He wasn't quite the villain that Hawks remembered, but there was too much Dabi in him to keep him from forgetting the truth. They were both toeing a line, only he didn't know it.

There was something to be said about a hero's legacy, as it was how they inspired people. Some heroes, like All Might, had inspired the next generation to believe they could be heroes too - that they could be greater than they actually were. It was a nice line. Personally, Hawks hadn't thought much of it. He didn't see being a hero as some great, wonderful, compassionate thing. It was why he'd gravitated more toward heroes like Endeavor. Yeah, he was clearly about power and strength, but there were no delusions about him. He'd inspired in his own way even if his public persona was as rough as his flames were hot.

Except what did it say about him and his legacy that one of his children became a villain? Shouto would no doubt grow up to be an incredible hero - Hawks could always spot an early bloomer - but Touya… How could two kids come out so differently? What had inspired Touya to take such a violently different path? It left a lot of unsettling questions in Hawks' mind, questions he didn't want to ask a hero who he'd grown up admiring.

Ah, there were the warehouse implications again. He bundled the errant thoughts up and pushed them off to some far-off corner of his mind. Best to just ignore that and get to dealing with the current thorn in his side. Fun times.

Twenty minutes later, Touya found himself wandering the city with his brother. Hawks and Tokoyami were somewhere above them, but after catching a few glimpses of them here and there, he couldn't be bothered to check for them anymore. Hawks would fulfill the terms of his internship with his more promising student and then return to work with him and Shouto. He didn't have any illusions about his worth here, but it would've been nice if he'd liked the hero who had chosen to work with them.

Instead, Touya found himself unable to offer anything more than a helpless shrug as they all but wandered the streets under the guise of a patrol. "Something about him just… doesn't feel right."

He didn't know how else to explain it. Normally, he could pinpoint the exact things he disliked about someone, a necessary skill if you wanted to insult them properly, but in this case, he couldn't quite put his finger on what bothered him about Hawks. It was just a feeling. There was something about him that went beyond him picking up Touya out of obligation and pity. Something in his eyes, maybe, or the smug way he spoke. Maybe he was just so skeevy that untrustworthiness radiated off him in waves like a natural warning system.

Except none of those could be it, because if they were, he would know. The sensation of not knowing only served to further agitate him. On the bright side, that was one thing he could confidently say that he disliked about Hawks. He didn't like that he was struggling to figure out why he already didn't like him.

(He didn't dare consider the other option why. Even if he did, he would dismiss it quickly. He hadn't heard anything about Hawks encountering Dabi. Even if he had, Touya had interacted with heroes who had fought him without feeling any recognition.

He couldn't be remembering something.)

Shouto shot him a flat look. "That isn't a good reason."

"I know that!" Touya exclaimed, tossing his hands in the air. "Maybe I'm just predisposed toward not liking number two heroes." Nevermind that he was pretty damn sure that wasn't it. He allowed his gaze to drop to the cement while lowering his hands with a huff. "Or maybe the number two hero spot just attracts jackasses."

"Touya."

"Look, I won't be an asshole to his face, alright?" It was the best he could do for now or, at least, the best he was willing to do. He wasn't about to apologize when he wasn't sure he was wrong and wasn't going to say 'I know' a second time when they both knew it wouldn't stop him.

Shouto sighed. It made his chest twinge in… regret that they disagreed, maybe, but it wasn't quite guilt. It certainly wasn't enough for him to change his mind. In lieu of another failed attempt to explain himself, Touya offered his brother a smirking grin, picked up the pace a little, and urged, "Come on; let's get on with the heroing. We don't have forever."

He didn't catch the twist to his words until they had already left his lips. The muscles in his face stiffened as he tried to figure out what to do with his face despite the gears in his mind grinding to a halt. It only lasted for a split second before he slipped back into his default neutral expression. It wasn't like Shouto would see anything but his back with the way he was lagging behind.

"I don't think we'll find much to do outside the superstore," his brother muttered.

Indeed, just to the left of the sidewalk was one of many shopping centers that dotted the city. Villains tended to avoid attacking such places unless it was a spontaneous coincidence or they were looking to cause a scene. That only left small incidents and natural disasters. A quick glance was all it took to confirm that there weren't any ongoing natural disasters. And he had worked so hard to force some wind in his sails.

Casting his gaze skyward, Touya sighed, "Who knows. Something might pop up." It was also on the route they were supposed to follow, but he wasn't about to use that as his reasoning.

Not that Shouto was likely to forget that Touya didn't have room to do anything but meticulously toe the line.

The clatter of metal and plastic hitting concrete made Touya's gaze snap toward the concrete. A red-haired girl had a plastic bag in one hand and another on the ground in front of her with its contents spilled out onto the ground. She stomped one of her feet in frustration as her eyes darted around to track the cans that were rolling away. With a whisper of what he assumed wasn't a word meant for mixed company, she bent down to gather her fallen items. As she did, she glanced up at Shouto and Touya, blatant surprise shimmering in her eyes.

"Well," Shouto said, "that's something."

Touya shot his brother a look. It was met with absolutely no change of expression. No shame, no remorse, no sign that he was joking or even just being mouthy. He narrowed his eyes to try and squeeze something out, but no, Shouto was unwavering. Either he was being genuine or he had achieved new levels of brattiness. A miniature war was waged with the only noise being the gentle scrape of the girl picking up her items in the background.

" Fine," Touya huffed. Even as he turned to walk over to the girl, he quietly grumbled to himself, "Picking up groceries. How heroic."

Still, Endeavor wouldn't lower himself enough to help someone pick up their groceries. That was something – or at least it should be. A twist in his chest made him wonder.

(Any forgettable fool with hands could pick stuff up.)

Now that he was closer, Touya could see that the girl was probably a few years older than him and Shouto. Not exactly ugly either. His gaze lingered for a second as he crouched down across from her. Then, hazel eyes glanced upward, and he quickly looked down, discomfort tightening his chest. "Here," he said, grabbing a can of corn that had rolled over to his feet. "Let me help you with that."

"Oh," she said, "thank you. I was ju–" Her voice cut off as she glanced over his shoulder. With a strangled gasp, she clasped her hands over her mouth and jerked back, the movement making her fall back on her bottom. She didn't seem to care about that or how her other bag, dangling awkwardly from the crook of her elbow, clunked against the ground. "It is you! Todoroki Shouto!"

Touya blinked. He was forced to spend a moment utterly befuddled before it clicked. A fangirl. His brother had a fangirl. He glanced over at Shouto, whose blank expression said he was going to take a little while longer to catch on.

"Yes?" he asked, shooting Touya a confused glance.

Spectacular. What a boy worth flailing over. There was no fighting back the bitter thing stinging at his insides, so he instead resolved not to acknowledge it. Having placed the can of corn by the fangirl's leg, he set to work collecting the other things in her immediate area.

"I remember you from the Sports Festival," the fan gleefully continued, seemingly unbothered by the utter obliviousness before her. "You were incredible! Especially your fight with that green boy - Midori or something? I mean, you were already great with just your ice, but when you unleashed your fire as well… Wow. I already knew you were Endeavor's son, but you're something else entirely!" She clapped her hands in delight, a dreamy expression on her face. Touya forced himself not to frown. "Half Hot/Half Cold is the perfect combination! And so strong, too!" Yep. Shouto's quirk was perfect. He was everything he was meant to be and someday he would be the perfect hero. Anyone with a functioning set of eyes knew he was the perfect (experiment) child. "To luck into a quirk like that… Or maybe it wasn't just luck."

The fangirl's sweet giggle was completely offset by how cold Touya suddenly felt. His grip on the can he was holding tightened to the point where it almost shot out of his hand, but he barely noticed, too preoccupied by his brother's fan. He looked back up just in time to see her wink at Shouto. (His eyes had to be so cold right then. Did it still pin him as a relative of that man or was it easy to ignore for once, utterly desaturated by the other option?) Somewhat reluctantly, he glanced at his brother once again, only to meet a sight that immediately caused a tingle of guilt. Shouto's jaw was clenched and his gaze was distant.

Anyone with a functioning set of eyes knew. His brother may have had a scar over one of them, but Touya knew heyes worked fine.

"It's genetics!" the girl carried on. Touya distantly wondered if she was really stupid enough not to notice that Shouto wasn't comfortable or she just didn't care. "I was really wowed by the Sports Festival, like I said, so I did more research. Your mom has an ice quirk, right? She must be so proud! A hero with a powerful quirk taking after her and the man she loves… Of course, it's not all quirk strength! Even the weakest quirk can be dangerous if you use it right. You're really smart about how you use yours, except you didn't use your ice and fire at the same time. Why not? Were you trying to give that explosion boy a fighting chance? I think you would have won if you had. Next time, do you think you'll–"

"Getting a little pushy, don't you think?" Touya snapped. He didn't care about the cruel bite in his words or how heartless his glare must have been. Shouto's gentle intake of breath didn't make him regret it, nor did the thought of whatever look he must be giving him. This girl was talking about things she shouldn't be at a thousand miles a minute, and he just wanted her to stop.

To her credit, she did. Surprise painted her features first, then guilt, and then outright dismay. "Oh." The girl briefly pressed her hand against her mouth before lowering it to speak again. "I'm so sorry. I didn't–" She shook her head and repeated, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Shouto assured her. The lack of emotion in his voice made Touya doubt it. Sure, he wasn't the most emotive person in general, but… No, it wasn't alright.

"No, really," the fangirl continued. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just so surprised and excited. All I wanted was to get some laundry supplies and restock my pantry, then suddenly, bam! It's you!" She gestured at Shouto with enthusiasm that seemed to wilt and die.

With a tiny frown gracing her lips, she turned her attention toward Touya and murmured, "Thanks for stopping me."

He started to nod when he noticed that she was looking at the ground and a wavy lock of copper-red vision had fallen in front of her face, likely obscuring what view of him she had. "Sure," he said instead.

After a second or two, she peered at him, curiosity flickering back into her gaze again. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

Before he could say anything, Shouto answered, "Todoroki Touya. He's a cousin of mine who transferred in recently."

The girl hummed thoughtfully. "Odd. I've never heard of you."

With a shrug, she began putting her now-collected cans back in their bag, the thought apparently dismissed. Touya took that as his cue to rise to his feet. She did the same a few seconds later, far too graceful for someone who had nearly fallen over because of some sort of hero-student-celebrity crush.

"Thank you for the help, and again, I'm really sorry to upset you," she continued, her attention switching to Shouto halfway through the conversation. (And Kaminari had called him a 'prettyboy'. Too bad she was so rude.) However, her gaze was on both of them when she said, "With luck, maybe we'll all see each other again sometime, and it'll go better."

Touya shrugged while Shouto murmured a largely noncommittal, "Sure." It was hardly encouraging but still enough to make the fangirl shoot them a beaming grin before walking away.

The entire interaction had taken under five minutes, yet somehow, Touya felt like he had spent an hour analyzing his social interactions over the past week. The girl spared them one last glance, briefly meeting Touya's eyes, before she turned away and moved on. He didn't want to admit that he was embarrassed, but… Yeah, getting stuck in a situation where some girl raved about his brother while he was the lame duck kind of sucked. At least Dabi had more infamy than the complete nobody he was now.

You're really going to think positively about villainy?

He winced visibly. Unfortunately, Shouto caught it and prompted, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Touya replied dismissively. His brother's gaze was too sharp, especially after getting called out by that girl, so he tilted his head up to look at the sky instead. "You think Hawks is just gonna forget about us and leave us on our own for most of the internship?"

"What's up, you two?" Hawks piped up cheerfully from behind him.

Touya jumped and just barely managed to suppress his quirk. "What the hell, man?"

Hawks pointed at him. "You should always be on your guard." Touya opened his mouth to declare him a lunatic, but the Number Two Hero didn't seem to care. "Now that you have have been model citizens, would you like to actually do something heroic?" Touya glanced at Shouto and then returned his gaze to Hawks so he could nod. He didn't like it, but it was an honest response. "Good – because we just received word of a bank robbery in progress. This will be fun!"

Yeah, Touya highly doubted that, but he wasn't going to complain. Any action was better than helping clumsy ass girls with their groceries, even if he knew he'd be stuck on the sidelines. Hawks peered at him sideways and then looked away. Touya frowned. Now, if only this asshole would stop giving him such weird looks. It was a weird situation, but if he couldn't handle it, he shouldn't have volunteered for the job. Touya took a deep breath. No sense in getting irritated over it now.