Arising from the Ashes

Chapter 5

Ichika continued to stare at the man as he turned around and started to walk away. He recognised her! He really recognised her! After all these years? With all those hundred and hundreds of faces he had seen throughout the years? Yet he still recognised her!
'How did you know it was me,' she asked as she followed the man walked out of the gym. 'I-I mean, it's been 10 years.'
'And you think a talented child with a fire related quirk wouldn't pique my interest?' He didn't even turn to look at her. Instead he kept his stern gaze ahead as the two of them walked toward at the elevator. 'Girl, you played around with my fire like it was just a toy. Everyone else would have severely burned themselves if they even dared to do so.'
They stopped at the elevator. Endeavor pressed the button, before he finally lowered his gaze to look at her. His brows still furrowed in their usual frown, yet there was a trace of a smirk tugging on his lips. And she would have missed it completely, if she hadn't been spending the whole week with the stoic hero. But she noticed. And she felt a twinge of pride to know she was the reason of his unusual display of emotions.
'Even my own children couldn't handle the heat,' Endeavor continued once the doors opened. 'Not at that age.'
Ichika just nodded as she listened. Endeavor sure was talkative right now and she would be a fool to not listen intently to everything he had to say. Whether it was useful information or not. If the man talked, then she listened! It was as simple as that.
'Truth be told, I had forgotten about you at first,' her idol confessed after a moment of silence. 'My only focus was on training Shoto, but the boy never listens. He only tries to fight against me and the fire that burns within. So when Burnin told me about you last year, I remembered that young child and it made me wonder. If I was to train another, then perhaps Shoto would come around and see my way.'
'So... You wanted to train me, in order to make your son jealous?'
And just like that, she felt her pride break down to nothing. He had said he saw potential, that's what he had said. But while she had thought it to be a compliment, he merely meant a potential to get his son motivated in training to become like Endeavor. She should have known better than to think a hero such as Endeavor would see a potential hero in her, when she herself couldnt even see such a thing.
'Yes.'
A brutally honest answer and it hurt worse than the punches she had received earlier. Not physically, but it was a hard blow to her self-esteem, which somehow hurt worse. She felt so stupid! Of course Endeavor would never be interested in training her, without gaining something from it. It was only natural afterall.
With this new information, Ichika looked at her feet in shame as she followed after Endeavor. The man appeared not to even notice her crestfallen expression as he walked in front of her towards his office.
She had felt so proud to be scouted by the flame hero. A dream come true, to be able to learn from her personal number one hero. The man she had looked up to her whole life. To have him wanting to train her, it was the best thing ever! It had motivated her to actually try her hardest. Yet all she had been was a potential motivation for his son.
'Sit down, Midoriya.'
She looked up again. Endeavor had already walked over over the other side of the room and sat at his desk, while Ichika still stood in the doorway. His stern gaze at her as he waited for her to move. So she quickly made her way over to the vacant chair and muttered an apology. Not really sure what he wanted of her now that her week of internship was over. Was his attempt of making his son jealous not working? And was that why he wanted her to stay?
But now that she knew the truth, she wasn't so sure if she even wanted to or not. And if she refused, then she was free to leave. Right? He couldn't force her to stay and continue her internship during every other weekend? This one week was something she had to do. But staying longer would be voluntary, for it meant a student had less time for studying. And without a Provisional Hero License, a student would be useless for a hero agency.
'Perhaps an apology is in order,' Endeavor said once Ichika sat down across from him. His flaming mask now gone, so she could actually look at his face now. 'My initial reason to scout you, may have been for personal reasons and I am sorry for that.'
The man sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed a hand over his temple. And once he reopened his eyes, the were a little less stern as he looked at the teenager.
'You do have potential, Midoriya,' he then continued. 'And I would be a fool to let you walk out of the door, without telling you so. You have shown progress, even if it was just a little. And I must admit it was nice to have someone to actually listen to what I have to say, instead of only fighting against everything I have to offer.'
He looked down to his desk as he opened a drawer. Ichika watched on with a mixture of curiousity and hurt as he pulled out a paper and placed it on top of his desk for her to see.
'It is no secret I raise my son in the hopes of him surpassing All Might. But perhaps I could make a fine hero out of you too.'
And with that, he handed her the paper. A form for U.A. with the request for a longer stay, already filled in and signed. Ichika read over the form again, not knowing what to say. What could she say? One moment he had praised her, then he told her he had only allowed her internship because he wanted to make his son jealous and now he wanted to actually train her because he did in fact see potential? She was so confused. She didn't even know whether she should be honoured or disappointed. Or perhaps even mad?
Besides, was this what she wanted? Well, of course she wanted this! Who wouldn't want to work at Endeavor Agency? Even if it was just a prolonged internship. She had always looked up to Endeavor, admiring him. So this was supposed to be a dream come true. But it didn't feel like one right now. What if she couldn't live up to his expectations after her prolonged stay? What if she failed to improve? Could she live with that?
But then again, this was what she needed. Under Endeavor's tutelage, she was sure to gain attention. Whether she could eventually do her work studies here or not. Other agencies would surely be interested in the student Endeavor was interested in and it would open up all sorts of possibilities for her future. Which in the long run would lead to her destination.
'Thank you,' Ichika finally whispered as she looked up from the paper. 'I will do my best.'