The next day Natsumi woke earlier than she would have normally liked to, heading down to the shared common room area to grab a quick bite to eat before starting the day. When she arrived the overwhelming scent of maple syrup and bacon pummeled her senses, eliciting a loud growl from her stomach.

Kestrel let out a loud laugh, "Good morning to you too! Have a seat, I made breakfast! I hope you like pancakes, bacon, and eggs!"

"Thanks, this looks great." Natsumi grinned, piling her plate with food. She wasn't usually a breakfast person, and when she did eat early in the morning it was usually something quick from the bakery on the way to school. The last time she had a real breakfast was a memory lost to her.

Tokoyami shuffled into the room moments later, taking a seat beside his classmate, "Thank you for taking care of us, Kestrel."

The girl waved off his comment with a grin, "Of course! Now eat up, you two are going to be busy today so you'll need plenty of energy to keep up!"

That piqued their interested. Tokoyami and Natsumi both exchanged curious looks, both of them collectively hoping that perhaps Hawks would be taking their training more serious and not relegate them to cleanup duty.

"It's about damn time he took this training seriously, I'm ready to pummel some bad guys!" Dark Shadow made his appearance, hovering behind Tokoyami and pumping his clawed fists in excitement.

Tokoyami's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of his other half, he fanned his hands out in and attempt to calm Dark Shadow down, "Please don't make a scene, it's too early in the morning."

Natsumi bit into a particularly crunchy piece of bacon before pointing the piece of crispy pork at her classmate, "Mm, he has a point though. I mean, last night aside, I'm ready to learn some real fighting tactics from on the job experience from Hawks."

Dark Shadow beamed, placing his shadowed hands on his hips and peering down at his host, "Oi, oi. I like her."

"He's new to this whole intern thing so go easy on the guy," Kestrel laughed, pointing a batter splattered spatula at the two kids, "remember, if he slows himself down enough to allow you to keep up on patrols that leads to the potential of villains getting away because he won't be able to apprehend them in time."

The two teens huffed out indignant sighs at the statement. It made sense. He really was too fast for his own good. Though, the nagging thought of 'why did he send me an offer then?' plagued the two as they quietly contemplated their internship.

"Wait, so I'm not going with you on patrol?" Natsumi bit out, eyes narrowed and fingers curling at her sides, "Is this because of last night? Because I really am sorry about that, I'll listen from now on."

Hawks rubbed at the back of his neck, he really hated to disappoint others. He made a career out of being a people pleaser, that was how he had flown through the ranks so quickly when he was just starting out as a Hero—well, that and the fact that he was exceedingly efficient when it came to getting the job done.

"Don't think of this as a punishment. You wanted training, yeah?" Hawks tilted his head, lips pulled back into an easy-going smile, "You'll be working with one of the best today, ah—you know, I never got your Hero names." He scratched at his cheek sheepishly.

She blinked at his sudden change of the subject, still sore at the thought of being left behind as a form of punishment, regardless of how he saw it, she knew that that was exactly what this was about. He was right about one thing, however, she and Tokoyami had never given him their Hero Names.

The ivory haired teen brought her arms up, crossing them over her chest as she grumbled out, "Hisame."

The blonde Pro Hero perked up, leaning forward with a curious grin, "Oh? Is that a play on the fact that your signature move is frozen projectiles? Clever girl."

Tokoyami stood beside her, "Tsukuyomi."

Hawks tore his golden gaze away from the ivory haired teen, his attention now settled on the dark figure of Tokoyami, "Oh?" He regarded the boy with an appraising look, "It suits you well."

"Oi, you guys sound so unenthused. Lighten up, show a little excitement, will ya?"

The two teens whipped their heads toward the door as a new voice cut into their conversation.

In the doorway stood a woman barely an inch taller than Natsumi, with dark caramel skin, slanted ruby red eyes, and long silver hair that cascaded down her back and rested against her thighs. The woman's muscles bulged with every subtle movement made, she exuded strength and confidence.

Natsumi tore her eyes away from the impressive muscular figure the woman bore and slowly moved up to stare at the tall, silver rabbit ears perched atop her head. Cute, she couldn't help but to think despite the fact that the woman looked as if she could easily crush Natsumi between her thighs without a second thought. The teen blinked at the intrusive thoughts, cheeks burning bright red, God, that's something Mineta would fantasize about.

The newcomer was wearing a sleeveless white leotard with purple trim, a bright golden crescent moon design on her chest, and thick metal plates accenting her hips. A large, fluffy cotton-ball shaped tail protruded out of her backside. On her lower half were purple thigh-high boots with metal plating around her feet, shaped to look like rabbit feet.

"Nice of you to hop over on such short notice, Mirko." Hawks angled his chin over his shoulder, sending a teasing smirk her way.

The Rabbit Hero placed a hand on her cocked hip as one eyebrow perched precariously above the other, "Don't you have a city to patrol, tweety-bird?"

The Winged Hero waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, Thumper." He then turned his sharp, golden gaze to Natsumi who stiffened under his stare, "If the Commission heard that I let you go without any sort of discipline after last night they'd clip my wings. Just keep in mind that this is just for today, little dove."

The Commission? Natsumi wondered curiously before grumbling, "Yeah, fine, I get it."

"Don't think of this as punishment, think of it as a privilege—you get to train with me today, kid! Lucky you!" Mirko smirked, "Get ready for the workout of your life."

"Good luck, Hisame!" Hawks waved to the two girls as he and Tokoyami joined his sidekicks out in the hallway. Her classmate sent her one last fleeting look, eyes softening apologetically, before he followed their mentor out of the common room.

Crimson met ruby as the two girls regarded each other coolly. Natsumi tilted her head, lips downturned, "So, what? Hawks called you to come babysit?"

Mirko let out a hearty laugh, "Nah, kid. That bird-brain doesn't tell me what to do. I was in the area and thought I'd hop by and pay my good friend a visit."

"So, you're not here on official Hero business with your agency? This was more of a social call?" Natsumi asked curiously.

"I don't affiliate myself with a hero agency, so I'm free to come and go as I please." The rabbit hero explained with a shrug of her shoulders, "So, yes, this was more or less a social visit. Though, I will admit that I was pretty damn shaken when I heard that Hawks had taken interns. That kid has never been interested in guiding future heroes. So you bet your ass I had to come and see who piqued his interest."

Natsumi rose an eyebrow, "And?"

Mirko smirked, "Color me impressed. After Hawks told me about that little stunt you pulled last night it made me realize that you and I have something in common."

"And what's that?" Natsumi's curiosity was genuinely piqued by the No. 5 Hero's statement

The dark-skinned woman laughed, "We've both been considered reckless by our peers. The only difference between you and I in that aspect is that I'm properly trained and know how to assess the situation and make the best decision based on my observations." She closed her eyes momentarily, humming to herself, "But, you're still a kid, you'll get there."

The ivory haired teen blinked back her surprise, taking a tentative step towards the rabbit Hero, "So then…today…?"

Mirko opened one eye and focused her stare on the curious teen, lips pulled back into a devious grin, "Oh today I plan on working you till you drop—and then I'll make sure you keep going."

The car they had taken pulled into the parking spot and Mirko graciously paid the driver before she and her young charge for the day slid out and into the burning sun. The first thing Natsumi noticed was a heaviness to the air, a certain scent to it that was both salty and fishy as it tangled through her curly white locks. The second thing was the sound of birds crying in the breeze, their sound being drown out by the roaring waves—waves?

Natsumi bounced on the balls of her feet, attempting to hide her own excitement, and failing miserably, when she realized that Mirko had taken her to the beach. The Rabbit Hero began to walk towards the boardwalk that ran through the sand dunes, creating a clear path from the parking lot to the beach on the other side.

The teen was beside herself, she had never seen the ocean before but it had been at the top of her list of things to do. Growing up, she had never been permitted to stray far from their warehouse home so she had never gotten to see or do many things that most people took for granted. Natsumi trailed behind the older woman, crimson eyes darting back and forth, taking in every detail surrounding her which only fueled her growing eagerness.

The Pro Hero cast a glance over her shoulder, watching the teen pause to admire the seagulls flying above before her eyes darted to stare with rapt attention as a crab scuttled past her, hurrying over the wooden planks beneath their feet and disappearing into the tall grass of the sand dunes.

"You act like you've never been to the beach before, kid." The Rabbit Hero laughed, amusement dancing across her ruby eyes.

Natsumi's head snapped back to stare at the Hero waiting for her at the end of the boardwalk, a sheepish smile etched itself onto her lips as she answered the woman back, "Well…I haven't. My childhood wasn't exactly a…conventional one, so I missed out on a lot, I guess."

Mirko's gaze softened at the young girl's admission, that's right, she's the kid who came from a home of villains. She crossed her toned arms over her chest, lips quirking into a half-smirk, "Well, you'll have plenty of time to ogle the pretty scenery today because this is where we will be training."

Natsumi spent the next couple of hours with her shoes off, running up and down the beach in an attempt to catch the swift Hero. The sun burned brightly, beating down on the teen who had long since stripped down to just her crimson tank-top undershirt and rolled her leggings up as far as she could. Despite removing all of her extra layers, Natsumi still found herself feeling more overheated than she had ever felt, even with her lowered body temperature and Quirk working to cool her off. Her clothing clung to her sweat drenched body, face flushed from heat and overexertion, her legs were beginning to cramp but she continued to push herself towards the Rabbit Hero who showed no signs of slowing down.

"What's this? Kid, you're slowin' down, you tired already?" Mirko teased, turning around to face Natsumi while jogging backwards. Her pace had also slowed down considerably, but not because she was also tiring, it was because she recognized the signs of fatigue beginning to present themselves in her young charge and she wanted to make the goal of their training more attainable. Though, Mirko was by no means willing to hand over the win to Natsumi, the girl still had to work for it.

Natsumi stumbled forward, bringing the back of her hand up to wipe the sweat from her brow before it had the chance to sting her eyes, "A-absolutely not, I could do this all day."

The dark-skinned woman smirked, "Good to hear! And here I was thinking we should stop and take a break, but if you're so confident in your ability to continue then I guess we'll just keep at it."

The ivory haired teen faltered, anxiously chewing on her bottom lip. A break sounded glorious to her, even if it was a quick five minute pause in training just to grab a drink and cool off.

The Rabbit Hero tilted her head and stopped moving backwards, instead she jogged in place, crimson eyes trained on the teen as she sluggishly moved towards her. Usagiyama Rumi could honestly do this for hours on end without needing a break, in fact, she had done just that many times in the past. But, she needed to take the limits of the teen into consideration. Bird-brain would kill me if his intern dropped from heat exhaustion.

"Alright kid, I think you've proven yourself plenty for now. Lets stop for a bit and cool down, yeah?"

Natsumi visibly perked up at that, letting out a silent sigh of relief when she was finally able to catch up to her, now stationary, mentor for the day. Her entire body ached and burned from the nonstop movement as well as the beginnings of a sunburn on her cheeks and arms.

"Thank god—I mean—yeah? Sure, we can take a break if you need one." The teen quickly covered, attempting to hide the fact that she was utterly exhausted by waving her arms animatedly around her as she spoke.

"Yup, you caught me. I totally needed to pause the training to catch my breath here." The Rabbit Hero guffawed, eyes crinkling at the corners, "I'll go grab us some drinks, why don't you plop yourself down and take a breather."

You don't have to tell me twice.

The crimson eyed teen felt her legs wobble and give out beneath her as her own exhaustion took hold of her, her aching limbs screaming at her to take it easy. She dropped down onto the sand, stretching her legs out in front of her while leaning back on her hands, palms digging into the granules beneath her.

Natsumi felt herself relax as she watched the navy blue waves roll in, racing along the shoreline to meet her. The water's edge lapped against her throbbing feet, her toes curled involuntarily from the shock of the cool water surging around her burning skin.

I finally made it. I can't believe how beautiful the ocean is.

She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on her already burned skin, listening to the sound of the waves breaking against the shoreline was enough to ease her mind of any and all worries. In that moment of respite, Natsumi found herself wishing that her friends were there with her enjoying the beach.

Ah, maybe we can take a trip during summer vacation. She mused with a blissful sigh.

A startled yelp escaped her as a frosty bottle of water was placed against her cheek, Mirko's laughter rang in her ears as the Pro Hero removed the bottle from Natsumi's face and tossed it towards her. The teen brought her hands up, catching the chilled beverage with deft fingers.

"Drink up, kid. Can't bring you back to Tweety-bird all dehydrated and shit." The Rabbit Hero plopped down next to the teen, taking a long swig from her own bottle of water before pulling out a thin, white cardboard box and setting it between them. With nimble fingers, Mirko flipped open the box and eagerly plucked out a skewer with a perfectly round, fried golden brown dough situated at the end of the stick, "Mm, this is the best takoyaki in all of Fukuoka. I always have to stop by whenever I'm in town." She grinned, shoving the fried treat into her mouth and relishing the texture of the fluffy fried dough on the outside before her teeth hit the soft, chewy octopus hidden inside. She had been stopping by the little shack on the boardwalk for the last 5 years, the owner was always sure to send her away with more than enough Takoyaki to last her her entire patrol. He was a sweet old man and she was always happy to over-tip him, despite his protests.

The Pro Hero nudged the box towards Natsumi, who watched the woman enjoying her snack momentarily before taking one for herself. A delighted hum vibrated from the back of her throat as she took a bite, appreciating the almost sweet taste of the breading as it complemented the saltiness of the octopus.

The two sat in silence, watching the waves roll in, allowing their toes to curl in the wet sand while they enjoyed their snack.

"Alright kid, once we're done with this I have one more thing I want us to do before we head back." Mirko tore into another Takoyaki ball, her eyes trained on the horizon as a swarm of seagulls flew past overheard. Several of the birds landed on the sand mere feet away from the two young women, hopping forward with tilted heads and loud chirps.

Natsumi absently ripped a piece of breading off of her Takoyaki ball and tossed it to one of the birds, watching with rapt attention, a small smile gracing her features as the birds quickly dove forward to fight over the morsel. She quickly tore a few more pieces off, throwing them towards the birds so that they'd each have their own portion.

After a moment of watching the birds happily bounce side to side, begging for more, Natsumi turned away from them and glanced at her mentor for the day, "Sorry. What else did you have in mind?"

The swift Pro Hero quickly wiped away her own soft smile, replacing it with a half-smirk, "We're going to walk this stretch of the beach and pick up any trash we find. Beachgoers leave this place an absolute mess every day and all that litter, if not picked up, ends up back in the ocean during high tide and that pisses me off. So, we're going to clean up as much as we can before we leave."

Natsumi bit her lip, her exhaustion mixed with the sunburn she had earned during the hours spent training under the sun without any sort of skin protection were starting to get to her, she felt so tired! And, ordinarily, she probably would have complained about being on cleanup duty—much like she had the night before, even though the situations were completely different—she couldn't deny that she felt a tug at her heartstrings at Mirko's heated declaration.

The older woman's ruby stare slid over to land on the teen who was quietly mulling over what she had previously said. Her long, silver ears twitched against the salty sea breeze, "I know it ain't the most glamorous of gigs, but helping out in the community in any way, even if it's picking up litter, is still a very important aspect of being a Hero. Civilians will see that you are actually taking the time out of your day to do something so mundane and the fact that you care about little tasks such as that will earn you a ton of respect, remember that, kid."

Natsumi turned fully to face the Rabbit Hero, her chapped lips pulling back into a bright smile as she stared up at the woman with admiration, "I think it's great. Knowing that you and other Heroes care so much about the environment really gets me all fired up—I just wish more people took conservation and keeping the environment clean and free of trash more seriously. We only have one planet, right?"

Mirko blinked at the young girl, before nodding enthusiastically, "That's right! And who knows, maybe when you go Pro one day one of the major proponents of your Hero Campaign can be Environmental Conservation. I feel like the younger generations these days are more eager and willing to protect the planet than their predecessors are, so, you know, you guys could really make some big changes to the world moving forward." The Rabbit Hero finished with a wide grin, pulling herself to her feet before offering a gloved hand to the teen, who eagerly accepted and allowed the older woman to pull her to her feet.

Mirko had brought her back to Hawks' Agency well after the sun had already set on the horizon, waving goodbye in an exuberant fashion before hopping along down the street. Natsumi had wandered back up to her room, guiding her hand along the wall on her way so that she'd be able to catch herself should her legs give out again.

She made it back to her room without much trouble and decided to jump in the shower to wash the seasalt and sweat from her body, taking great care to carefully, gently, lather her bodywash across her reddened skin. A groan escaped her, "I don't even remember the last time I had a sunburn…"

After her shower, Natsumi stood in front of the fogged up floor length mirror with a frown, rubbing her arm across the cool surface, the image projected before her became clearer with the action. A light pink dusted over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose courtesy of the harsh rays of the sun. Her shoulders and forearms were also reddened, an annoyed huff left her at the sight. Luckily, the sunburn didn't look too terrible and she hoped that it would go away on its own very soon.

Natsumi shuffled over to her open suitcase and rummaged through it until she found a dark crimson sweater and a pair of black leggings. Once pulling on her undergarments she tugged the sweater over her head, fingers reaching back to pull her damp ivory hair out of the back of her sweater, letting it fall over her shoulder.

Once fully dressed, she fell back onto her bed, deciding to check her phone after having left it on the nightstand all day once more. The group chat had blown up once more but that wasn't what caught her attention.

2 new messages from: unknown number

She slid her finger across the screen to unlock it, ignoring the group chat and opening up the messages from the unknown number, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Hey kid! I nabbed your phone number from your file at Hawks' agency, hope ya don't mind. Just wanted to say good job today! Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything! Here's a cute pic I took of you today, thought you might want it! -Mirko

Natsumi quickly saved the phone number to her contacts list before clicking back to the message and downloading the photo that had been attached. Once it finished loading she felt her lips pull back into a soft smile at the image—it was a photo taken from behind that depicted her staring out at the sea, ivory curls floating in the breeze, the sky painted in a myriad of colors as the sun set beyond the horizon, dark orange, pink, purple, and various shades of blue all swirling together to create the perfect back drop.

The photo had been taken at the tail end of their training, during their mission to cleanup the shoreline, the sun had started to set and Natsumi had found herself mesmerized and unable to look away. She had no idea that Mirko had apparently thought to capture the moment on her phone but…Natsumi was glad that she had.

She tapped against the image, saving it to her camera roll before typing out a quick, 'thank you for today, I love the photo!' punctuated by several happy and heart filled emojis to the Rabbit Hero.

With nothing else to do, she found herself scrolling through the group chat to catch up on what was going on with her classmates. Biting her lip, she clicked on the 'add image' button and sent the photo that Mirko had taken of her to the group chat.

Natsumi: Did some training at the beach today with Mirko! The sunburn was definitely worth it with a sunset like this waiting for me at the end of the day~
Kaminari: What?! You got to go to the beach? Not fair Natsu-chan! T_T
Ochako: Did you say Mirko?! What're you doing with her, aren't you at Hawks' Agency?

She was about to respond when the sound of footsteps outside of her door caught her attention and she realized that Tokoyami must have just returned from his patrol with Hawks. She leapt from her bed, leaving her phone behind on the mattress as she raced to the door, hoping to catch her classmate before he disappeared into his own room for the night. Delicate fingers gripped the doorknob, ripping the door open with more force than what was really necessary and effectively startling the boy who had been about to enter his own room next door.

The boy blinked, hand hovering over the handle to his own room as they both stared at each other awkwardly. She was the first to break their silent stare down.

"How did it go today?" She shuffled out into the hallway, balancing on the balls of her feet in eager anticipation, hoping to hear that Hawks had at least started taking things seriously so that she would have that to look forward to when she joined them the next day.

Tokoyami let out a long, drawn out sigh, retracting his hand and letting it fall at his side, "Similar to how things went last night, minus you being there, of course."

Natsumi frowned, "What? So…cleanup duty?"

Dark Shadow suddenly appeared behind him, crossing his arms over his chest, "It was bullshit! Didn't even see the guy at all tonight!" She quickly deduced that he meant Hawks, meaning that her classmate had been dumped on the sidekicks again.

He nodded solemnly, his fingers twitched at his side, "I will not lie, I am feeling discouraged about this whole ordeal." Ordinarily he would have shushed Dark Shadow, doing his best to keep his other half in check, but he felt too disheartened to really care about his vulgar familiar.

"You're right, Dark Shadow. That is bullshit." Her voice came out as more of a growl, she felt a sharp ache in her chest at her classmate's admission. Just knowing that the boy was doubting himself and feeling disappointed in the situation was enough to set her off. They weren't close by any stretch of the imagination, but she couldn't deny that she was also feeling dispirited by this whole internship, even if it was only the second day.

If Hawks wasn't serious about 'guiding the next generation' as Mirko had so eloquently put it earlier, than why the fuck did he put in offers for her and Tokoyami?

Tokoyami glanced up abruptly, almost wincing at the sharpness of her voice. He tilted his head and frowned, "It can't be helped I suppose. We have five days left, I guess it's just best to resign ourselves to the fact that we will be working alongside Origami and Kestrel for the remainder of our time here. We're still learning something at least, even if it's the cleanup aspect of a crime scene."

"No, I'm sorry but I can't accept that." Natsumi clenched her fists at her side, brows dipped down angrily, "We're not learning anything practical here—we should be learning, I don't know, fighting techniques, how to operate stealthily on a mission, interrogation—something, anything!"

"Yeah! That's more like it! Let's go beat 'im into submission!" Dark Shadow howled eagerly, pounding his fist against his palm, earning an amused snort from the ivory haired teen and a reproachful glare from Tokoyami.

"Let's not do anything shameful that could get us sent back before the end of our internship." Tokoyami reasoned firmly, his dark eyes shifting between his other half and Natsumi almost warily.

She waved her hand dismissively in the air, her lips curling into a lazy smirk, "No worries, we won't get sent home. But I do think we should go talk to him, tell him how we really feel, ya'know?"

Tokoyami's frown was persistent, much like the girl standing before him with fire alight in her crimson gaze. He was the type of person who sat back and did what he could to get by without making any waves, he left the troublemaking up to his classmates. But…he couldn't deny himself the need to improve upon his own abilities and to gain better control over Dark Shadow.

A low sigh breezed from his beak, "I don't know, Kurosawa."

"Look, I didn't want to say anything before because it's really not my place and we don't know each other like that but…I could tell that you've been having self-doubt. From what I can tell, it's been fueled by this stupid situation where we were forced to sit on the sidelines, being unable to engage in the fight is incredibly frustrating and honestly makes me want to scream and hit something, but for you? You've been internalizing that shit and that's not healthy physically or mentally." Her voice came out much softer than it had been previously and she took a tentative step forward, stopping herself when she was just a foot away from the boy. Damp curls of ivory fell over her shoulder as she tilted her head, "You can trust me. Though, I understand if you're wary of talking things out with me since we've never really talked much before…"

Tokoyami blinked back his own surprised thoughts, he couldn't believe that she had been able to read him so well in the short amount of time that they had been on this journey together. Perhaps I'm simply not as good at hiding my true feelings as I originally thought. He mused, allowing a dark chuckle to escape him.

"I cannot deny your astute observations, I have indeed been feeling doubtful towards my own strength and abilities while on this journey. I understand that it's only the second day and maybe I'm simply overthinking things, perhaps my expectations were far too great and now I'm just realizing that the internship I imagined is far from actuality." He closed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh as the weight of his own words permeated the empty hallway.

Natsumi let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when he began to speak, she didn't think that he'd be willing to open up to her considering the fact that the number of conversations they had had could be counted on one hand. This is a start in the right direction, though, right? She thought hopefully.

"Okay, okay, but are we going to give Hawks a piece of our minds or not?!" Dark Shadow groaned impatiently, waving his dark arms around in the air to get the two to focus their attention on him once more.

Natsumi exchanged an amused look with Tokoyami as Dark Shadow successfully dispelled the heavy atmosphere that had settled around them, "Yeah, yeah. We're going now." She nodded her head towards her companion, her lips pulling into a soft, appreciative smile that silently told him she was happy that he had been willing to talk to her.

Tokoyami let out a quiet hum, almost reluctant to follow after his classmate as she started down the hallway to confront their mentor. Her temper was legendary amongst their class, rivaling that of their resident hothead Bakugou Katsuki…which made the impending conversation with Hawks make the boy feel a bout of nervousness slip over him. An almost inaudible groan escaped him as he jogged to catch up to her, he needed to be there to keep her in check and make sure she didn't step out of line and say anything that could truly get them kicked out of their internship.

They rode the elevator in silence up to the top floor where Hawks' office was, it was late and there was no telling if he would actually be there or not, but Natsumi assumed that being that he was a Pro Hero that he'd probably have paperwork or other official business that would keep him up for a little while longer. She tapped her foot against the tiled floor of the elevator impatiently, but still in rhythm to the instrumental music that played through the speakers.

Tokoyami watched her from the corner of his eye warily before drawing in a calming breath, "Kurosawa."

She tilted her head, angling her chin to the side to give him her attention as the digital screen above the elevator doors dinged, signaling their arrival at the top most floor of the building.

He let out a quiet sigh, "Just…don't go overboard."

Natsumi let out a small laugh, her lips twitching at the corners, "Hey, hey. We're just here to get some answers and try to convince him to take things more seriously." She strode out into the room as the doors opened, peering back over her shoulder at him, "You worry too much, Tokoyami-kun."

The boy rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets and shuffling after her. The first thing the two noticed upon arriving at the large office space was that the Hero they sought was hovering in the air on his back, his wings fluttering slowly beneath him. His hands were stretched out, holding a brightly colored tabloid magazine above his face as his lazy golden stare flitted over the images printed, reading through the article, failing horrendously to disguise his own amusement, "Childish? Me? Psh, as if. At least they got the part about me being a 'pretty bird' right. Ha ha." Hawks didn't seem to notice the entrance of his two interns and they quickly realized that he had his headphones pulled up over his ears, loud music drifting out of the device.

A bright crimson blur whizzed up to the two teens, fluttering around them, and Natsumi instinctively reached out, running her fingers across the soft downy feather.

Hawks' wings fluffed up around him and he felt an involuntary shiver run up his spine, his golden gaze slid over to land on his two interns as he felt the young girl's fingers graze one of the feathers that he had been using for surveillance. Oftentimes, he would allow a multitude of his feathers to zoom across the city as a way to keep watch over his patrol routes, in a way he was able to be in multiple places at once. He was able to pick up on subtle vibrations and hear snippets of conversations, it was the best way for him to keep an eye on the city and gather information. He had sent them out earlier in the evening when he had been out on patrol and they were just now returning to him.

"Ah! Hey, you two. What brings you to my humble abode, hm?" He righted himself, hovering in a vertical position now. He quickly tossed the tabloid onto one of his couches uncaringly, his fingers rose to remove the headphones from his ears, allowing them to rest around his neck so he could give the two his undivided attention.

The feather flitted away, out of her grasp, and returned to its place amongst Hawks' impressive plumage. Natsumi's hand fell to her side and she found herself suddenly too nervous to bring up her complaints, despite having just had such strong resolve about having the conversation in the first place.

Tokoyami glanced over at his companion from the corner of his eye, immediately noticing the change in her demeanor, his brows dipped down over his dark eyes.

The blonde Hero tilted his head to the side in a curious manner, "What's got you two lookin' so down, hm?"

Tokoyami glanced over to Natsumi once more to see if she had snapped out of her thoughts, but realized that she still seemed lost in her own mind. He closed his eyes momentarily, allowing a small sigh to slip out before meeting Hawks' curious golden stare. All the self-doubt and questioning thoughts that had invaded his mind the last two days suddenly overwhelming him. The over-flowing insecurity he felt for his own strengths and abilities activated his inner rage and he clenched his fists at his sides, "Why did you extend the invitation to me to come intern at your agency?"

The blonde blinked in surprise, his lips drawing themselves into an amused grin, unbothered by the sudden hostility in Tokoyami's stance, "Because we're both birds~!"

Natsumi's head snapped up, successfully pulling herself out of her own thoughts of being intimidated by the No. 3 Hero, an incredulous look overtaking her countenance at the words uttered by the Winged Hero.

Tokoyami's eyes narrowed, "Are you joking?"

Hawks shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, bringing a hand up to wave around dismissively as he spoke, "No, I'm twenty-percent serious. It was mostly because I wanted to talk with someone from class 1-A about those little punks who attacked your class, calling themselves the 'League of Villains'. And, well, I figured if I had to pick one of you then it would have to be someone who could potentially keep up with me, someone with a lot of promise. So, I thought, 'why not that birdman from the top three?'"

Tokoyami frowned, his brows knitting together as he drank in the words spilling from the Pro Hero's mouth. On the one hand he was disappointed to hear that he had only been sought out to satiate the Hero's own curiosities about his class and their run-in with those villains…

He thinks I have potential? Tokoyami still had his self-doubts but hearing those words uttered from his idol was enough to quell the self-deprecating thoughts for the time being.

"Well, last I checked, I'm neither a bird nor was I in the top three. So, what was your reasoning behind sending an offer to me then?" Natsumi finally found her voice, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat and taking a step forward with her arms crossed over her chest.

His attention flitted from Tokoyami over to the silver haired teen, his lips pulled back into a lopsided smirk as he brought his index finger up to tap against his chin, "You would've been if you hadn't been impaled during that last match, and even then you tried to soldier on. That was impressive and took major guts. Your drive and overall will to come out on top, coupled with the sheer speed and agility you demonstrated during the obstacle race as well as those final battles, were enough to have me thinkin' that I wouldn't mind having you on my team. Also, I was curious about your take on this supposed League of Villains, considering your background and all."

At first, she felt a small wave of relief mixed with pride caress her as he spoke highly of her abilities and the reasoning behind choosing her but then as he ended his speech her irritation seeped back in through the cracks of her resolve. She kept her arms crossed over her chest, fingers digging into the fabric of her sweater to keep herself grounded through her anger. She had promised Tokoyami that she wouldn't get them kicked out of their internship and she was afraid that if she let her hands fall from their current position that she might act on her anger.

"Considering my background?" She seethed, teeth gritting together, "You mean how I was raised by Hydra and Spectre? How they taught me everything they know with the intention of me surpassing them one day? Or, how my two childhood friends happened to join that same group of villains that attacked us, that you're so curious about? I'm not some novelty to keep around because I have ties to the Underworld. I'm serious about my training and fully intend on becoming a Hero."

Hawks placed his hands up in front of himself defensively, his lips pulled back in an apologetic grimace, "Whoa, whoa, little bird. I didn't mean it like that, though I guess I wasn't being very tactful in my approach for information so I'm sorry about that." He raised one of his arms to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly, nimble fingers tangling through his windswept blonde locks as he did so.

Tokoyami eyed his classmate from the corner of his eyes, he couldn't exactly blame her for feeling the way she did after Hawks' uncouth way of mentioning her upbringing. From what he knew about her, which wasn't much to begin with, her past was a notoriously taboo subject to speak of and was something that she was working towards overcoming. He knew that their classmates weren't bothered by her past and who her parents were, not anymore at least, but a good portion of the general public were still sore over the matter if their reaction to her participating in the Sports Festival were any indication. And he knew that the 'boos' and angered whispers from the crowds in the stands had affected her, but she still fought on and gave it her all despite the public backlash.

Because of that, Tokoyami was surprised by Hawks' tactless approach. He was a highly intelligent Hero, wasn't he? Shouldn't he have known that it was a sore subject that shouldn't be encroached upon? The boy found himself frowning to himself.

"Ah, now I really feel bad." Hawk frowned, averting his gaze briefly before meeting her unwavering glare, "I have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and information on a wide variety of subject matters and the fact that Yūei did their best to keep all the details from the attack under wraps had my interest piqued—sorry if my way of trying to seek answers was a little unconventional and rude."

Natsumi angrily expelled a harsh stream of air from her nostrils before drawing in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her grated nerves. Quit acting like a brat, you should be used to people bringing up your shitty childhood like this. Use this to your advantage. She brought a hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes as she mentally debated with herself.

"Kurosawa, are you okay?" Tokoyami fully turned to face her, his voice soft and tinged with concern as he watched.

Her eyes snapped open, all her previous anger was replaced by heated determination as she met Hawks' stare, "You only sent us offers because you wanted information. Well, how about we make a trade?"

The Pro Hero perked up at her proposition, an eyebrow rising high into his blonde hairline. He had to admit that he was curious by her sudden change in demeanor and was interested to hear what she had to offer. He lowered himself to the ground, allowing his wings to curl against his back as he leaned forward, eager for her to continue her line of thought, "Oh? What did you have in mind, chickadee?"

Her lips curled into a devious smirk, "We'll tell you everything we know about the League of Villains and our experiences with them and you will take our training seriously, no more leaving us behind on patrols. We're giving you the intel you want so all that we ask is that you give us the information we need to take back with us and apply to our own hero training."

Hawks let out a low whistle, leaning back on his heels and averting his gaze to the ceiling of the office, he tapped his index finger against the stubble on his chin, making an exaggerated gesture of contemplating her offer. He let out a long, drawn out sigh, as if her words spelled some sort of defeat for him, when in truth it was all an act that he put on to give off the impression that he wasn't easily swayed by such a tempting offer. It was only five days that he'd have to slow himself down enough to give the teens what they wanted from their internship. He could do that. It would be torture not being able to work at his usual fast pace, but the intel he'd be learning from them about the League would be worth it in the end. Knowledge was power, after all.

"You drive a hard bargain, little bird, but you got yourself a deal." His easy-going grin returned, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he spoke, "Gotta say, I'm impressed by your ability to negotiate."

Her hands dropped to her side, palms digging into her cocked hip as she fought back her own excitement over Hawks actually agreeing to her proposal. She was able to school her expression into a neutral one, only allowing the corners of her lips to twitch subtly before she answered him coolly, "I know how to get what I want, considering my background, and all."

The blonde let out a burst of laughter at her response, quickly realizing that she was teasing him by throwing his own words back at him. She's got spunk. He turned to saunter back towards the plush, crimson couch where he had previously thrown his tabloid, placing his palms against the soft material and hoisting himself over the back of the couch. He let himself drop down on to the cushions, stretching his legs out in front of himself and repositioning his wings to make himself more comfortable.

Natsumi and Tokoyami exchanged glances when the Pro Hero beckoned them to join him. They did so, taking the couch across from him before delving into the story of what happened during their training at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. The two went back and forth, telling Hawks what happened to them individually, who they fought, and what they saw, sparing no detail in their explanation of that fateful day. The Pro Hero listened with rapt attention, his piercing stare never once leaving the two teens that sat on the other couch across from him.

"So, this Nomu creature had a combination of multiple Quirks?" Hawks asked once they finished the retelling of their experiences, his thumb and index finger stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Indeed." Tokoyami supplied, "From our understanding, the League of Villains bioengineered the beast with the sole purpose of beating All Might with it."

Hawks, who had picked himself up into a sitting position at some point during their story, leaned back, draping his arm across the back of the couch, "Hoo boy, that's one hell of a story. Makes you wonder if they've got more of those creatures stashed somewhere, doesn't it?"

Natsumi rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, the thought had definitely crossed her mind once or twice before but she abruptly squashed it by convincing herself that regardless of numbers, All Might would always be there to thwart the villains' plans. But she couldn't deny that growing anxiety that bubbled in the pit of her stomach when Hawks mentioned the possibility of more of those abominations.

"Let's hope that was the only one." She let out a breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding, garnering the attention of both males from the action.

Hawks watched her quietly for a moment before cocking his head to the side and offering a bright smile, "You're right, there's no point in dwelling on the 'what ifs' at this point in time." His amber gaze flickered briefly to the clock hanging on the wall behind the two teens, in place of numbers were various colorful birds, while the ticking hands were bright red feathers, "Whew, look at the time. I kept you two up pretty late, you should probably head off to bed if you want to be in tip-top shape for your training tomorrow."

Natsumi made it back to her room and flopped unceremoniously onto her bed, her lips splitting into a satisfied grin as her mind drifted back to earlier in the evening when Hawks agreed to take their training seriously. She turned off the lamp on her bedside table, enveloping the room in a pleasant darkness that was only interrupted by the glow of the moon hanging high in the sky outside of her bedroom's tall windows.

Quietly, she shuffled underneath the comforter before reaching over to check her phone. She was exhausted and eager to go to bed so that she could wake up and start her training, but she couldn't deny her curious mind the knowledge of what her classmates had gotten into. So, she found herself reading through the massive wall of text that was her class' group chat.

They seem to be having a good time. She smiled softly, I'm so glad.

After reaching the end of the chat thread she realized that there was still an unread notification hovering over her text message icon. Tilting her head, her finger tapped against the icon to open up the new message that was waiting for her.

Shinsou Hitoshi:
[image attached]
Your cat loves me.

Crimson eyes widened as she took in the image that he had attached. It was a selfie of Shinsou holding his phone out in front of himself, his lips curled in a teasing smirk at the camera as Kaguya stood on her hind legs, placing her tiny paws against his chest as she leaned up to nuzzle against the boy's chin.

She had to admit that it was a cute photo but it begged the question…

Kurosawa Natsumi: WTF? What're you doing in my apartment?

Being that it was already two in the morning, she didn't expect to receive a response until much later, so it went without saying that she was surprised when her phone vibrated, alerting her that she had a new message.

Shinsou Hitoshi: Earning your cat's love and affection, obviously.
Kurosawa Natsumi: Did Aizawa-sensei send you to take care of her?
Shinsou Hitoshi: In a way, yes.
Kurosawa Natsumi: What's that supposed to mean?
Shinsou Hitoshi: Technically, he's taking care of her. I just came along for the ride…and I was curious about what your place looked like. Your room is a mess btw, when was the last time you cleaned it?

Warmth blossomed across her cheeks at the implication that Shinsou had snooped through her apartment and taken a peek at her room.

Kurosawa Natsumi: …I didn't plan on having visitors. And excuse me! You can't just go rummaging through a girl's room, you know!
Shinsou Hitoshi: I didn't 'rummage' through anything. I'm not a creep, you know.
Kurosawa Natsumi: Says the boy who went snooping around my room without permission -.-
Shinsou Hitoshi: Yeah, yeah. How's the No. 3 Hero treating you?
Kurosawa Natsumi: Good, now that he's finally going to take this internship seriously.
Shinsou Hitoshi: Oh? He wasn't taking it seriously before?

She filled him in on how the last two days at the Hawks Agency had been and how frustrated she and Tokoyami had both felt which lead up to her and her companion confronting the Pro Hero. Shinsou offered quips here and there, and when she had asked him how he had been and expressed her interest to know what he was doing with Aizawa-sensei in the first place the boy seemed hesitant to give her the answers she sought. He teased her, dancing around the subject with skill, offering vague answers before directing the conversation elsewhere.

By the time the clock struck three in the morning she bid him good night, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

Okay, so I made up my mind. The internship arc will be 3 chapters total, so that means the next chapter will be the climax of the arc and I'm really excited about it! So, if you read the manga then you know that Tokoyami's internship with Hawks was a dud—which is where things are different here because Natsu is determined to learn something so that this whole thing isn't a waste (not that Tokoyami wasn't, but he's too nice and not willing to resort to such devious tactics to get what he wants like she is lol)

Is anyone else panicking over the current arc in the manga by any chance? Because I am. I feel like my anxiety has been through the roof these last couple of weeks because of what is going on with Hawks (he's my favorite character so I'm just really invested in everything that has to do with him lmao). Anyone want to sit around and panic-cry with me? LOL

I really hope everyone is staying safe out there during these crazy times! At work we now have to wear gloves and a surgical mask at all times and if we are the person dealing with clients then we have to dress up in sterile surgical drapes and eye guards as well, it's insane. So stay home if you're able to please!

Thank you so much everyone who reviewed last chapter! You guys are absolutely amazing and I love each and every one of you for being so supportive, it means everything to me! So please keep the reviews coming :3