I've got no Strings

Part 15~Vlad

Stepping out of his room, Izuku stretched his arms behind him. It was still weird without Toga there but it was even weirder to see the prisoners out of their cells. “Naoki! How many times do I have to tell you to leave the prisoners where they were?!”

Naoki jolted, spinning around on his foot. He opened and closed his mouth, unable to answer as Dabi snickered. “Go ahead, shout at him, see if the hundredth one finally gets through into his thick skull.” Dabi patted Naoki’s head, making the boy scream in protest. “Besides, we brought Seiji out cause they weren’t looking so good.” Jabbing his thumb behind him, Dabi pointed at Seiji who hung their head weakly. “I think you took too much blood.”

Izuku walked over, pushing back Seiji’s head. He twisted a valve, completely stopping the drain of blood. “Give them a week to recover, Toga shouldn’t need any more blood until we return.” Izuku glanced at Mineta, pushing the happy purple blob off the chair and grinning from the distressed noise Mineta made.

Walking out of the bar, Izuku sighed. They were going on internships today. Shinso had agreed to stay with Aizawa and make sure Toga can keep up appearances with Vlad but Izuku, Izuku was going to spend two weeks with some pathetic hero AFO had chosen.

Izuku was not happy.

His fingers twitched in his pocket, curling around his phone that buzzed with new messages. By the time he got to UA, the phone had quietened down as the conversation came to a natural conclusion.

Toga and Shinso awaited Izuku by the gates. The second Izuku came close enough, Toga took his arms and began counting the lines while Izuku turned to Shinso and began a light conversation.

Apparently, the 1A group chat had been alive all morning, different students getting excited and bragging about who they were going to intern with. Izuku barely recognised any of the names that were included, well, almost. He knew Endeavour and Best Jeaniest who Todoroki and Bakugo were staying with but no one else.

Eventually, Izuku stood away from his friends, waving goodbye as he rushed to the train station. He was off to Hosu, only one other from the class heading that way, Iida. Since the battle training, Izuku hadn’t really interacted with him. It was fair enough as Izuku had almost burnt him alive but still. It made for a very awkward ride.

~~~

Knocking on the door, Izuku peered around the office. There wasn’t anyone there. Izuku scoffed, chucking his hands in his pockets. Whistling under his breath, Izuku waited for the hero to make an appearance.

He had to wait a long time. He ended up falling asleep before the hero made an appearance.

Stopping in his door frame, Native stared in confusion at the small child asleep on his office chair. “Can I help you?”

Izuku yelped, startling out of the seat and falling on the ground with a loud thud. “Ow, that hurt.”

Native raised his eyebrow, not moving to help Izuku in the slightest. “How did you get in here?”

“The front door, obviously.” Izuku rubbed the back of his head, pushing himself up to look at the hero. “I’m here for my internship.”

Native paused, narrowing his eyes as he walked to flirt through his files, finding the note saying he was going to have Izuku here on this day. “So you are. Pyro Spire, is it? You're a fire-based hero.”

Nodding, Izuku stood slightly taller, putting on his act. “That I am.”

“Why did you come here? You got second place and could have easily chosen a different hero to go to rather than me.”

Scratching the back of his head, Izuku chuckled awkwardly, buying himself some time why he tried to remember the lie he had practised. “I know I could have gone somewhere better but I don’t want to. Going to the top heroes only helps if you can get to the top right away. Starting off lower gives me more practical experience that will be more helpful in the long term.”

Native hummed, putting down his file. “Fine but don’t expect me to be kind to you. If you're here, you will be expected to pull your own weight.”

“Sure thing boss. I’m used to it.” Izuku watched Native walk away, awkwardly shifting as he stood in the office.

“Well, come on, we don’t have all day.” Native pulled on his shoes, waving for Izuku to follow him onto the streets.

“Why do I get a bad feeling from this? Probably because father chose this and he never does anything without a reason. Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Now, Pyro!”

“Coming!”

~~~

Toga gulped, walking alongside Vlad as they returned to UA. The whole day had been uneventful and basically boring but that was a good thing while the others were not around. Shinso waved as he spotted Toga, ignoring the slight glare that Aizawa gave him.

Toga waved back when Vlad sharply stopped and turned to the only other student who had stayed with the UA staff. “Shinso, right? Come here for a moment.”

Shinso blinked, cautiously approaching the hero with Aizawa behind him.

“You both are here because no one else would take you. The general public will call you villains but that doesn’t have to be the only possible future. You will both work together over the next few weeks to prove to the rest of society that just because someone has a villainous quirk does not make them a villain.”

Toga shared a look with Shinso, suppressing her urge to chuckle at the irony of the statement. “Do you really believe that?”

Patting Toga’s shoulder, Vlad nodded seriously. “Of course. Us blood benders have to stick together.”

Toga laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. “Yeah, us blood benders do have to stick together.”

“Now, come on, lad. I have yet to show you the greatest benefit of staying at UA over your internship. Lunch Rush‘s food.”

Toga nodded, running a step behind Vlad.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes, watching Toga leave.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Shinso shifted his gaze as Aizawa pulled him away.

“Something is wrong about them. They’ve changed. Keep an eye on them for the next few weeks and don’t let them get you alone.”

Shinso nodded, hiding his panic. Aizawa suspected something. They needed to hurry up their plans.