• Benevolence •

Chapter 60

"Welcome to Endeavor's Hero Agency!"

I find myself startled to hear Endeavor so nice. The lack of flames is strange and his smile seems out of place but it's there. I start to wonder if maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he's not as scary as I thought-

"Psych. As if I'd be that friendly."

Nope. That's the Endeavor I had expected. Eyes stormy yet giving nothing away. I find myself shifting to stand closer to Bakugou, feeling nervous under the hero's gaze.

"I only accepted you guys because Shoto asked me to! But to be honest, I wanted Shoto to come alone."

"You accepted them, so stop complaining." Todoroki is direct as ever, not even batting an eye at the fact that he's speaking to the number one hero. I suppose being his son gives him an edge of his own.

"Sho- Shoto!"

I start to wonder if I made the right decision to intern here when Bakugou speaks up.

"I've been thinking this ever since our courses together but... you're a real stick in the mud, aren't you?"

I startle at the blunt sentence, grabbing the blond's arm. "Bakugou, that's ru-"

I'm cut off by Endeavor's loud voice. "Shoto! Do you really get along well with this brat?!"

Bakugou scoffs but doesn't pull away from me. "Well, I guess it's alright as long as I can see what the top agency is like."

"I thought I told you to bring your friends!"

Midoriya speaks up next with a determined smile, clearing the air. "Thank you for accepting us as your interns! Please, allow us to learn from you!"

There's a heavy pause where the hero eyes Midoriya wearily.

"It seems... Shoto is not me."

Midoriya seems taken aback and Endeavor shifts his gaze to me. I fidget nervously, looking down. Then he suddenly vaults over a rail, fire roaring to life as he takes off down the street.

"Unfortunately, I have no plans to concern myself with anyone but Shoto. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN FROM ME, WATCH ME FROM BEHIND!"

We're after him in seconds, moving almost in sync. I dig into my case for my gloves and Recall Lenses, pulling them on. Ready for action. Midoriya's voices my next thoughts.

"Your instructions, please!"

Endeavor hardly spares a glance back. "WATCH ME! FROM BEHIND!"

Midoriya speaks up again as we move down the sidewalk after the pro. "To do that, we're gonna have to keep up with him first!"

"Watch him from behind, huh."

The sounds of a distant attack suddenly make themselves known and I understand why he started running. It's amazing how he noticed the attack even before we could hear it. The hero suddenly takes off into the air, enveloped in his flames.

Bakugou growls and I faintly hear Todoroki's voice over the sound of us running.

"His Flashfire...!"

This pushes the others to move even faster, resorting to using their quirks to keep up. Dashing along with them, I find myself instinctively jumping and climbing along anything in my path to give me a boost like I had learned to keep up with Aizawa. I faintly remember someone calling it parkour.

Leaping off a guard rail into the air, I pop forward and land on the arm of a bench. I jump off, teleporting forward again. I keep up with the others easily, hardly even exerting myself.

The sound of people screaming and glass shattering should scare me but I keep my eyes forward and mentally prepare myself for whatever could be waiting for us.

"GO FORTH, SERVANT OF HADES!"

Distantly, I see Endeavor smash through an enormous ball of glass, shattering it to pieces and I have to remind myself to breathe.

We're still too far off to hear what he says next and I find myself reaching for the others. Todoroki seems to catch on and grabs my shoulder as I snatch Bakugou's and Midoriya's wrists. I glance ahead and pop us down the street.

In seconds, we've reached some villains at the mouth of an alleyway. I pop forward again and disarm one just seconds before crimson feathers whisk him away from me.

"Oh! The interns!"

I'm left clutching a knife dumbly as pro hero, Hawks, appears. I catch a glimpse of a relaxed smile as he flies passed, leaving a rush of air in his wake.

"Sorry, looks like I was a bit faster than y'all! I thought Endeavor might've been in a pinch, so..."

The villains land with a thud further down the street and Hawks with them. Bakugou and Midoriya drop to the ground next, a few feet away.

Behind us, Endeavor almost growls. "Did it look like I was in a pinch?!"

"It sure did, didn't it, Shoto?" The pro turns to Todoroki with a carefree grin.

"Um...ah...sure."

"If you're planning to assist, contact me first." Endeavor replies.

He sounds annoyed and I glance down at the knife in my hand, suddenly unsure of what to do with what is probably considered evidence.

"Nah, I really just dropped in on a whim." Hawks makes his way over to me and holds out his hand with a smile. "I can take that for you. You're pretty quick if you managed to get it before I did."

I hand him the knife, stuttering out a 'thank you' as the police arrive to apprehend the villains. He hands it off to an officer and offers me a smile, nodding. "You're the little teleporting kid, right? The one who helped that other kid during the sports festival?"

I run a hand through my hair, embarrassed. "Why d-does everyone r-remember that?"

"Probably cause it was a competition. Nobody expected anyone to help another student out like that. Anyway, I just wouldn't have expected a kid as friendly as you to end up working with Endeavor."

I glance over at the flame hero, lowering my voice a little. "If I'm being honest, I w-wouldn't have expected it either."

Hawks laughs and shoves his hands into his pockets. "What's your name?"

"Uh- my hero n-name is Meraki."

He gives me a toothy grin, saluting playfully. "Well, Meraki, I hope you get something outta this internship!"

Suddenly, Midoriya appears at my side with his patented 'Wow, A Hero' smile.

"My name is Midoriya!"

Hawks turns his attention to the green haired teen. "The finger destroyer kid. I've heard about you from Tsukuyomi. Man, I really wanted to work with him again too..."

"Tokoyami...? Did he not return to your agency...?"

"I had him go do some sidekick work in my hometown. My schedule has been just packed, you see... I felt kinda... bad about it, but..." Hawks trails off and I glance over to see Bakugou staring him down.

The ashy blond narrows his eyes angrily. "I was faster back there, you hear?!"

"Haha, sure, kid!"

Endeavor makes his way back over to us. "Well?! What business did you have? Hawks!"

"It's not so much business, but..."

---
Man, I love Hawks!
I almost went and had the internship with him but it would have taken some weird turns considering his other 'obligations.'
I'm trying to space out these chapters until the manga updates but I do have stuff written!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you again for reading!!