31

Abandoned: Humanity's Drift - Chapter 31 - shansome - 

Chapter 31

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Momo was glad that she had so many internships to choose from. She really, really was. 

But just how was she supposed to single one of them out? It was such an important decision, and there were so many choices to pick from!

This was why the hero course fought so hard in the Sports Festival; the chance to impress Pro Heroes and get offered an internship to gain invaluable practical experience. And since she won third in the event, Momo received quite a large amount of offers.

The problem, though, was that all of the offers she'd flipped through were only somewhat helpful to her. There were a few heroes on her list that could teach her close combat skills, but none of them had a quirk or fighting style similar to hers. 

Momo took out yet another paper from the huge stack in front of her. This one was from Uwabami, a very famous pro and television personality. It was flattering to even get an offer from someone this well-known, but Momo moved it into the 'Decline' pile anyway; Uwabami was more focused on missing person work and dealing with the press than anything else. That wasn't what Momo needed right now. The next two requests were from low-ranked heroes in Hosu with interesting quirks, but neither of them seemed to have much to teach her.

It felt somewhat conceited to be this picky about her very first internship, but Momo just couldn't help it- she needed to be really precise about these things. Landing a useless internship would be an enormous waste of time.

Gunhead went into the 'Maybe' pile along with Mr. Brave. Mt. Lady and Cobra were shuffled into the 'Decline' pile. After them were Compass Kid, Slugger, Atlas, Manuel-

Wait, what? 

Momo flipped back a page and sure enough, there it was.

The Enduring Hero: Atlas.

Momo waited patiently after class, waving away Tooru and Jirou as everyone else filed out of the room.

Atlas tossed her a glance when he realized she wasn't leaving, equal parts curious and expectant. 

"Yaoyorozu, did you need something?"

She took this as her cue to walk up to him and present his internship form, careful not to crinkle the edges with her fingers. "Atlas-sensei. You um, sent me an internship offer."

"I did," Atlas agreed. He was taller than her, tall enough that Momo actually had to tilt her head up to see him.

"Why?" Momo blurted, only to immediately realize how rude that was and rush to clarify. "I mean, I am quite honored by your offer. But why take me on as an intern?"

Atlas hummed. "Well, the fact that you even came to ask me about it means that you got no 'amazing' internships, right? Or anyone who had quirk experience like Creation."

Momo nodded. After reading his request she'd carefully gone through the rest of the list, but nothing had really jumped out at her. 

"Fat Gum would've sent you something- your quirk's both manage fat in pretty cool ways- but his agency only does work studies. And if you had requests from anyone really high ranked, you would be researching them right now instead of checking in with me. So I'm probably your best option, then."

"None of the other offers I received are particularly appealing," Momo admitted. "But why is learning under you for a week worth turning down my other offers, Atlas-sensei? You'll be teaching us over the next year, anyway, so why give me an internship?"

She was afraid she'd been too blunt(this was her teacher, after all!) but Atlas only smiled. "That's a great question, Yaoyorozu." 

Atlas reached over and pulled out the staff he always carried on his back, unsheathing it in a fluid motion. It twirled into a slow, graceful spin before it stopped, balanced parallel to the ground in the palm of his hand. 

Momo expected the weapon to be beautifully crafted from how the powerful hero carried it everywhere, maybe made of some sort of high-tech, durable material. But instead, it was just a piece of ordinary, gray metal splintered with several cracks along its surface. It was also ridiculously worn down, almost like something you'd see in a museum. 

The staff glowed violet as mana outlined its edges, seamlessly covering the entire length before Momo's eyes. The reinforcement happened instantly, somehow, despite everyone Momo had seen taking seconds to a minute to reinforce a weapon like this. Atlas's magic seemed incredibly sturdy as well.

And his staff was still getting brighter, too- shining more and more until its violet light was almost blinding. This was already more mana than Momo could even imagine- enough to smash a zero-pointer to pieces- yet Atlas was still carefully pouring more power in. 

So this was what Pro Heroes were like! 

"Amazing!" Momo couldn't help but exclaim. 

Then Momo's weak mana sense kicked in, and she finally realized that his staff wasn't the only thing being reinforced. Violet energy was flowing through his red sneakers and rapidly spreading out across the floor, filling in floor tiles as it went. The desks and chairs were enveloped and fortified on contact, and not even a moment later so were the walls, whiteboard, and ceiling. The thin windows colored with light and took on a new, violet tint.

Every single thing in the classroom, excluding them, had been completely reinforced in seconds. Power radiated from every little bit of Momo's surroundings, and all she could do was stare in wonder at the insane, glowing display around her.

"H-How-"

"I'm the best at reinforcement magic there is," Atlas stated simply. And despite the complete absurdity of that claim(reinforcement was one of the most common types of magic, with countless users in Japan alone), he said it so purely matter-of-fact that Momo couldn't help but believe him. 

And the way he was still reinforcing the entire classroom didn't exactly disprove that assertion, either.

"Ignoring your quirk, my fighting style is almost exactly the same as yours," Atlas continued. "If you accept my internship offer-"

Momo followed his gaze down to the form still in her hands.

"-I'll teach you everything I can fit into a week, and make you stronger than ever. What do you say?"

Momo thought of her loss to Todoroki at the Sports Festival. All the mistakes she made that fight that seemed just so obvious, looking back- letting her weapons get destroyed so easily, abandoning her bo staffs, using a flamethrower against an opponent affected by hypothermic quirk overuse. And after that first strike, her reinforcement just hadn't been strong enough to really pierce his defenses. 

Then she thought of her Heroics teacher and the glimpses she saw of him fighting at the USJ. The way he knocked around the ringleader of the attack like it was nothing with a reinforced staff, efficiently taking down a powerful villain and keeping their class safe at the same time.

Momo looked up to see him waiting patiently for her decision, standing tall with his runic cloak and snow-white hair. The room was still glowing and he didn't even seem to be putting in the slightest bit of effort to keep it that way.

In the end, it wasn't much of a choice at all, was it? 

In a nearby dorm room the next building over, a green-eyed girl scoffed to herself.

"What a show-off."

Dad was definitely the best person to teach Momo, yeah, but did he really have to be so flashy to convince her? She was trying to think and there he was, using so much power that she could've probably felt it from a different city. 

"Mm? Akari, did you say something?" 

Akari blinked out of her thoughts. "Ah, sorry, I was just brainstorming. Midnight gave us a whole day to come up with a name, but I've still got zero ideas." 

Tooru scooted a little closer to her on the floor. "Don't you have a list?"

"A list?"

Tooru bobbed her head, and her opal-like hair fell at her sides with the movement. The way Akari's lamp light reflected off it and shimmered colorfully was very distracting. She'd recently managed to make the girl visible from range and for quite a while, too, so that was their new normal. Akari had to concentrate the whole time and they still needed to be in the same room together for it to work, but it was progress!

"A list of hero names you made as a kid, or something." Tooru clarified. "You're a legacy kid, so you've gotta have a few! You might find some nice ideas in there."

"...I uh, actually decided to be a hero pretty last-minute," Akari admitted. "After the Drift, actually. So I don't have anything like that."

"Really?"

"Nope. What about you, Tooru? Do you have any hero names?"

"You bet!" Tooru's sapphire eyes gleamed, her hands flying out in front of her dramatically. "Check out this one! Invisible Girl-" 

"Denied." Akari immediately crossed her arms in an X.

"-you didn't even think about it!"

"The 'Girl' part is only going to feel more childish as you get older, right? And ending your hero name with 'Man' or 'Woman' just sounds kinda lame."

"Wait, but didn't Ojiro and Sato-"

"Exactly."

"...Ah, yeah, I see what you mean." Tooru raised a hand to cup her chin, her eyebrows scrunching up in thought. "Well, there goes half of five-year-old Tooru's names. Thanks a lot, Akari."

Akari laughed. "What about the rest?"

"Cloak, Reflector, Spirit, Phantom, Mask, and Sneaker. And then as I got older I added a ton more; Illusion, Spectrum, Veil, Mirage, Chameleon, Ultraviolet, Illumine, and Highlight..."

Whoa. 

"You've put a ton of thought into this, Tooru." 

"Of course I have!" Tooru played with a strand of her silver hair, twirling it around her finger. "Our hero name is what our whole public image is gonna be based around, and also be what we're called out in the field. So I really want to choose something cool, y'know?"

Akari hummed in thought. "Well, I think like Ghost, Veil, and Spectrum the most."

"That definitely helps narrow it down! Mm, Ghost symbolizes my quirk and just sounds pretty cool, same with Veil. But I feel like Spectrum fits me the best- when I go pro I'm going to be a lot better at light manipulation than I am now. And it kinda sounds like 'Specter', doesn't it? So..."

Tooru grandly swept her hand through the air with a bright grin on her face, her decision made. "The Stealth Hero: Spectrum!"

Akari clapped for her with a small smile. She hadn't even helped much, but it was always great to see Tooru happy. "Nice! Do I need to call you that when we're on patrol and stuff?"

"Yep."

"Alright, then. Now-"

"We have to think of a hero name for you, Akari!" Tooru cut her off with a cheer. "You said you didn't have any ideas yet, right?"

"...I mean, I'm probably just going to use my given name."

"Huh? Why?" 

Akari found the idea of hero names kinda dumb, really- human warriors devoted to protecting their citizens taking up ridiculous, cheesy names and creating a whole persona for the public. Maybe they supported society and discouraged crime, or whatever, but it was all so weird to her. 

But if her friends wanted one, well, good for them.

"My name's all I need," Akari stated simply. "I'm allowed to just use that, right?"

Tooru sat back down, crossing her legs under her. "I mean sure, you can. But people usually only do that as a placeholder. Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Well, alright then. You're the one who's going to get called your given name your entire internship-" Which Akari was far more used to hearing than 'Midoriya.' anyway. "-oh yeah, I forgot to ask. Who'd you pick?"

Akari opened her mouth, then closed it. 

What was his name, again?

"Akari?"

"Um." 

Tooru looked utterly baffled. "...You forgot, didn't you? Akari, how'd you forget who you signed an internship with-"

"No, no, I know who he is." Akari rushed to clarify. "I just don't know his name. It uh, started with an E."

"You got thousands of offers," Tooru told her dryly. "That doesn't really help much."

"Well, he's kinda tall and had like, red hair."

"Alright."

"He also had a decently strong fire quirk."

"That's good! Anything else?"

"He's a complete asshole."

"Huh? Wait-"

"Oh, and he's Todoroki's dad."

"Why didn't you just lead with that?!"

From what she could tell, Todoroki was slowly getting used to using his left side again after so many years of suppressing it. He was only able to safely make small bits of fire at first- his control being absolutely horrible- but he was improving with every day that passed. Akari imagined that it must feel like restoring an atrophied muscle. 

And the best hero to help him with his fire was, unfortunately, Endeavor. So Todoroki agreed to an internship with the father he so clearly despised, determined to get stronger for his own dream. 

In contrast, Akari didn't even put the slightest bit of thought into her internship. She just didn't need one- there was nothing about combat that a human could teach her that she didn't already know or that she could just learn from Dad, and other stuff like rescue work would be covered in the Heroics curriculum eventually. 

So she skimmed the massive pile of offers in seconds, saw 'Endeavor', and signed her name down immediately. She'd wanted to talk to that man and boom, here came the perfect chance to do it.

Naturally, Todoroki wasn't very happy about her decision.

"You don't have to do this." The dual-haired boy repeated once again, his grip tight on one of the train's little ring handles. "We aren't at Hosu yet, Midoriya. You still have time to go back and choose a different internship-"

A day later, and the boy was still trying to convince her to run away from his father. It'd be cute if it wasn't so sad.

"I'll be fine, Todoroki. Really, you should be more worried about him- after what you told me at the festival, I really need to punch that guy in the face."

"...Please don't." 

"At least once." Akari pressed, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm not budging on that, man." 

Endeavor's agency was in Hosu, a city just a quick jog away from Musutafu. But since Akari wasn't even allowed to run fast without some very specific circumstances(damn those stupid quirk laws) she had to take the train. 

Ugh.

Akari hated trains. Not only were they super slow, but they were also always crowded with people. They didn't even seem pleasant for humans, either- if they didn't hold onto the built-in handles, they all got thrown around wildly by the train's momentum. Akari and Todoroki immediately gave up their seats and stood when an old human couple got on- who knows what could've happened to them otherwise!

Todoroki looked almost the same as he always did; dual-colored hair that he really needed to cut and dual-colored eyes that held barely any emotion. But after ruthlessly beating him up, Akari had learned to look a little closer at his expressions if she wanted to see anything, and right now his face was a mix of concern(for her, obviously misplaced), apprehension(he was about to voluntarily train under his borderline abusive father) and amusement(probably from imagining said father getting punched in the face).

How he could express all that while still looking as blank as a doll, Akari had no idea.

"I understand that you are quite strong, Midoriya," Todoroki began carefully. "And I certainly admire your confidence. But my father is the Number Two Hero for a reason- my power pales compared to his. And he's very experienced. He'll train you hard, but since you are a well-known hero student that he doesn't have custody over he won't harm you in any way, nor will he force you to ignore your limits."

Unlike me, was left unsaid. 

Todoroki glanced at her. "So please, don't pick a fight with him."

"Fine," Akari lied, like a lying liar. "I won't."

"Thank you."

They finally arrived at their train stop and stepped off to walk the rest of the way. They were recognized by a lot of passersby on the way- she'd almost forgotten that the sports festival was nationally televised. Todoroki didn't seem to know how to handle the positive attention at all, which was both hilarious and sad.

"You're Todoroki, right?" A redhead with wide eyes asked on the street. She looked to be about 15 human years. "I saw you win second place in the tournament! I love your ice quirk!"

"...Thank you. I got it from my mother."

"Oh, nice! Is she a hero, too?"

"She's stuck in a mental hospital."

Next to him, Akari winced.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't know..."

Todoroki tilted his head, genuinely confused. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't put her there."

The fan flushed pink with embarrassment. "Ah, um, no-"

"Todoroki, she means that she feels bad about it," Akari interjected.

"I see."

"Yeah," The redhead bobbed her head. "I can't imagine what I'd feel if Mama...anyway, uh, can I have an autograph?"

She held out an open notebook.

"I'm sorry, but Endeavor wouldn't do one even if I asked him." 

"What?"

"He doesn't give autographs. He's very strict about that." Todoroki repeated.

"No, I don't want an autograph from Endeavor." The girl clarified. "I mean I want your autograph, Todoroki-san." 

Todoroki blinked twice, stunned. "...Why?" 

She beamed up at him. "'Cause, you're super cool! I saw you fight on TV, and you didn't give up once the entire time! I have a pen over here, it's Riko, by the way..."

Riko dashed off a minute later, a new grin splitting her face, and her notebook hugged tight. She didn't even remember to take her pen with her.

Akari almost laughed when she looked back to see Todoroki still frozen in place, staring after his fan in shock.

"C'mon, Todoroki, we're going to be late." 

Endeavor towered over the two of them in his hero costume, bracers covering his arms and flames actually burning on his face. It was really weird, actually- wasn't he using his quirk for that? Seemed like a huge waste of energy for him when the fire beard wasn't even intimidating, but what did Akari know. 

Blue eyes narrowed. "You're ten minutes late." 

Todoroki nodded. "We were recognized on the way here by several civillians who saw the sports festival, and it held us up." 

Endeavor huffed. "Dealing with fans and the public is a skill every hero must learn, Shouto. Luckily, that's certainly something you'll have a chance to practice this week. Come with me."

Endeavor's agency was impressive and very large. They followed the hero through a series of winding hallways, getting glimpses of all the numerous moving parts. There were all kinds of staff, office workers, and sidekicks all buzzing about, efficiently carrying out their jobs. Several came up to Endeavor to have him check stuff, which he did smoothly before they continued on. 

He finally led them to a spacious training area, walls all some kind of durable, likely fire-proof metal.

"I was glad to see both of you accept my internship offer," Endeavor started. Shouto, does the fact that you're here mean that you've finally accepted your birthright?"

Todoroki nodded again. In Endeavor's presence, his expression was even more closed off and blank than it usually was. Akari hated it.

"Excellent!" Endeavor boomed. "And Midoriya, I look forward to cultivating that immense power while you're here. You have the potential to make it into the top ten along with him."

"Thanks, I guess."

"What are your hero names?"

"Shouto."

"Akari."

They both exchanged an understanding glance.

"Given names, huh? Fine for now, but that needs to change by your second year. It won't do to make it big without an actual hero name."

Two of Endeavor's sidekicks filed into the room as he finished talking, making their way behind him. They couldn't look more different- one was an excited woman with bright green fire for hair and the other a more reserved-looking man with bandages covering his whole neck and face. 

"Meet Burnin and Kido." Endeavor introduced gruffly. The woman tossed them a lofty wave, while the bandaged man just nodded in acknowledgment. "They'll be helping me test both of your current combat capabilities in order for me to determine what we'll need to work on this week. To that end, you will each get the chance to spar one of them- you both have your hero costumes, correct?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"If you wish to get changed into them, we'll lead you to the changing rooms."

Akari and Todoroki both opted to do so. She was happy to see that the boy had ditched his ridiculous costume from before- the one literally half-covered in fake ice- for something far more practical. Now, he wore a simple dark-blue jacket and combat vest paired with some kind of utility belt. 

Akari's was less of a costume and more 'comfortable clothes she could fight in.' All that she had specified was that it be colored violet and white(to match her hair and magic) and also be easy to move around in, and the support department had made exactly that. It got damaged when she went all-out at the USJ, but they'd fixed it up within days. She should really give those students a gift, or something.

Over it was her emerald green cloak, adorned in runic designs just like her father's.

They were both changed and ready in front of Endeavor of minutes, Aizawa's desire for efficiency already driven into them. 

"Shouto, you're up first- you will be fighting against Burnin over here."

Mismatched eyes flicked to his new opponent. "Alright." 

The sidekick grinned back. "This is gonna be fun, boss! What're the rules?"

"All quirks, magic, weapons, and support gear are allowed." Endeavor looked directly at Todoroki as he said this. "The spar is over when your opponent surrenders, is declared unable to fight, or five minutes have passed. Understood?"

Todoroki nodded, and Burnin gave the hero an enthusiastic salute. Akari, Endeavor, and Kido watched from the side as two combatants walked over to the middle of the training room, a wide space clearly built for this very purpose. 

Kido leaned over. "Who do you think is gonna win, kid? My money's on my hot kouhai over there- she's really strong."

Akari shrugged. "You sure? I mean, Todoroki isn't no slouch, either."

"Oh, of course." Kido nodded in agreement. "He's the boss's son, after all! But right now the boy's still what, 20? Most of us have years of combat experience from our work and drifts."

Akari didn't say anything for a moment, watching Burnin and Todoroki get ready. The sidekick was saying something to him, her stance full of cocky pride as her flaming hair danced wildly above her head. Meanwhile, Todoroki was just watching her calmly. 

Hmm. She hadn't used any of her Earth money yet, had she?

"I'll take that bet," Akari told him. "5000 yen?"

Kido reeled back in surprise. "Wh-really?"

"Yep."

"...Huh. Well, it's your money. Boss, can we gamble on this?"

"Do whatever you want." Endeavor decided.

"You have a bet then, kid!"

Across the room, Burnin made the first move, reaching up into her flaming hair and pulling out a mass of fire. The heat condensed into a ball in her palm before she chucked it right at her opponent.

The thick wall of ice stopped the projectile in its tracks, getting blown apart in the process. A pillar barely rose up in time to block a second, and the third glowing green fireball just grazed Todoroki's cheek as it blazed past. Burnin looked like she was laughing as she summoned more and more flames to throw at him.

Burnin's quirk seemed to allow her to fluidly manipulate the fire in her hair- letting her pull out flames, shape them, and even propel herself around. It was very flashy, too.

Todoroki launched one of his large waves of ice, numerous white spikes shooting up out of the floor, and she flew straight up into the air to dodge it. Now well above him, she pelted the area with a storm of attacks, green fire forming into spears, exploding fireballs, and lashing tendrils. 

It was almost impossible for Todoroki to attack her- his ice had to build up high to even reach her, and the sidekick could shatter his structures to pieces long before that. Countless shards littered the floor as he struggled to block her flames.

It looked like he was barely keeping up. 

"He's amazing for a first-year," Kido noted. "Maybe even pro-level already. But Burnin's just got too much firepower for him to handle- his ice isn't enough to stop her."

Akari hummed. "True."

It certainly wasn't. 

But there was already a huge difference between the Todoroki she fought and the one in front of her- this one wasn't locking away half of himself. His left side was already active, a decent amount of heat forcing away all of his hypothermia. So despite the huge chill and ice-covered floor, Todoroki was perfectly fine. By the intent look in Endeavor's eyes, Akari could tell that the man had noticed. 

Burnin glided back to the ground in time to slice apart a huge glacier. Her flaming hair hovered around her head like a glowing green halo as she pulled out two bright whips, spinning them in fast circles at her sides. They shot towards Todoroki with an audible crack.

"Oh, now it's over," Kido told her. "This is one of her strongest Super Moves, see-"

The temperature was finally low enough. Todoroki's entire left side erupted with flame, a bonfire that lit up his determined face with orange. He thrust his left hand forward and a massive blast of power blazed through the air. 

The still cooling, freezing cold air.

It heated up rapidly and then expanded outward in an explosion of pure pressure and force, easily overwhelming Burnin's attack. It was so bright that it blinded the spectators, sending wind flying out in every direction. 

The dust finally cleared to reveal an exhausted and panting Todoroki on his knees, sweat dripping down his face. 

And on the other side of the room, Burnin laid in an unconscious heap against the wall, the floor around her entirely scorched. The wall behind her was dented in, and her fiery hair was completely resting still.

Akari held her open palm out to the speechless sidekick next to her. 

"Pay up."