21

Chapter Text

 "Alright. You all have your hero costumes?" The class responded in the affirmative to Aizawa's question. "Good. Just remember that you can't wear them in public, and that you don't lose them. And be mindful of your manners towards the heroes at your internships. Now get on your respective trains. I'll be seeing you all in a week," informed Aizawa, walking off and leaving his class to their own devices.

Izuku was rather excited for his internship, having thought long and hard between all of his offers before choosing the hero he believed would help with improvement the most. As is, Izuku was still a bit sloppy in using his swarm while fighting hand-to-hand despite all the training he had with Kawabata. It wasn't necessarily his technique, but more of his lack of mobility and focus in tandem with his swarm. Fighting with his eskrima sticks or with his body was already taxing enough, even if Izuku had already mastered such methods. It was the addition of his bugs — or rather, the strenuous tasks that were currently impossible to commit while fighting — that would require Izuku to split his consciousness between two things that required his focus. Something which his quirk seemed unwilling to do.

However, despite Izuku's excitement for the upcoming week, there was another thing on his mind. And that thing had just sped off right past him without so much as a greeting, his face tense and bearing a small scowl.

"Uraraka," Izuku said, tugging on his friend's sleeve. 

"Hmm? What is it, Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku pointed in Iida's direction.

"Oh," Uraraka said. "We should—"

"Mhm. We should." Izuku interrupted. Both he and Uraraka moved towards Iida, calling out his name in an effort to get him to stop. He did so quite promptly, turning around to eye his two friends.

"Midoriya, Uraraka," he spoke in s curt greeting.

"Hey, Iida-kun," Uraraka said. "Midoriya-kun and I just wanted to let you know that you can talk to us about anything on your mind, you know?"

Iida eyed the two of them, taking a moment to respond. "Of course. We're friends after all." Iida nodded. "But alas, we each have our own destinations to meet. I'll be seeing you two in a week." He turned, leaving the two behind.

As the two watched Iida leave, Izuku spoke. "Uraraka."

"Yeah?" the girl asked, uncertain.

"You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a moment. I have something else I need to do."

"You sure?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Mhm. It'll be just a second. I'll greet you off before you leave."

"I… alright then. Don't take too long, okay?" She put in a small smile.

Izuku waited watching Uraraka until her form disappeared behind the masses if the train station. It wasn't long before he sped off towards the direction Iida had gone. Izuku's bugs had been keeping track of the bespectacled boy, watching as he weaved through the crowds of the busy station. 

It was a miniature swarm of flies that caught Iida's attention, the bugs forming an arrow pointing behind him, directly towards the form of the approaching Izuku.

"Iida," Izuku said.

Iida, already stopped, turned slightly to meet Izuku's face. "Yes, Midoriya?"

Izuku hardened his stare. "You're going to Hosu City, right?"

And there it was, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. A vengeful glare appeared on Iida's face for a split second, his eyes eerily similar to Izuku's own whenever he felt the thrill of going out on his vigilante runs. Iida's destination and current demeanor all meant one thing to Izuku, and he wasn't liking it one bit.

The look disappeared, replaced with something more annoyed than angry. "Of course. But you already know that. We talked about it not too long ago."

" Unneeded duress? Perha— No. What? B— No." 

"You're making a mistake, you know?" Izuku intoned.

"Excuse me?" Iida said, his facade of calmness cracking ever so slightly.

Izuku walked forward, moving until he was right in front of Iida's face.

"You're being stupid, if you think you can go after the Hero Killer yourself," Izuku said, barely over a whisper. "He's killed countless of experienced heroes. What good would someone like you, who's barely in his first year of high school, be in taking him down?" 

All manner of calm had disappeared from Iida, his face flaring up in anger. "You don't understand what he's done!" his voice spoke in a harsh whisper. "My brother was a hero! He's helped people all his life! And he could've helped countless more! And Stain took that away from him! I can't forgive such a monster for something like that!"

A tic. Izuku's face rolled into a scowl. "And your not all right in the head right now," he insinuated, getting up in Iida's face. "I don't fucking care about your revenge fantasy. You do know that there's a good chance of you dying out there if you truly commit to this, don't you? And Izuku here will be all torn up if you're going to just throw away your life like that!"

A look came into Iida's eyes. "What!? What do you — No. No, nevermind. It doesn't matter." Iida shoved Izuku away, looking at him with an intense glare. "I'm not having this conversation. Goodbye, Midoriya." 

Iida scampered off, showing no regard with what just transpired between he and Izuku. 

As he watched, Izuku sighed, his resolve fading. He had done the best he could, really. He knew that Iida needed to figure out all of this stuff by himself; otherwise his grudge would just build up as resentment grew on those that prevented him from action. And Izuku didn't want that for his friend.

But Izuku trusted Iida to do what was right. And it was a risk. A truly big risk, to think like that. Izuku hoped that he wouldn't end up regretting his decision later. 

Izuku laid back in his seat with his eyes closed, losing himself to the deep rumbling of the train car. He listened as it traveled over the tracks, barreling towards the city of Kyoto. The trip as so far had been fairly uneventful, Izuku having already exhausted his excitement by watching the world blurred past the open windows of the train. The few bugs he had within his influence were within his hair, but he's already played with them enough to where they'd rather rest for the rest of the trip. So, the only thing left Izuku could do wait until he reached his destination.

Izuku spent the first half of the trip in this state, dazed and resting. He wasn't until when a familiar voice came to reach the ears that Izuku stirred from this state.

"Oh ho ho! Now what do we have here? Hey there, bug boy~" came the provocative tone.

Izuku open his eyes. He was met with the face of the girl from the Sports Festival, the one who had a quirk that Izuku found eerily similar to his own.

"Oh! Uh— Hi! You're from class 1-B, aren't you? And we sorta met at the Sports Festival. Umm… Setsuna-san, right?" Izuku asked dubiously.

"Oh? We're going by first names already?" she laughed. "I'm glad to know that I made such an impression already," she said teasingly.

A look of horror came unto Izuku's face. "I— that's not—!"

Izuku took a second to get his bearings straight. "Why do I always get into these situations?" he said under his breath. 

"Hmm?" the girl hummed with a smirk on her face. "What'd ya mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just." Izuku shook his head. "So, umm…"

"Tokage. Setsuna Tokage," she supplied.

"Right. Well, umm…" Izuku cleared his throat, "Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you," he said, holding out his hand.

"Well, Izuku," she said, shaking the offered hand, "nice to meet you as well." She immediately sat down next to him, bearing no heed to the abruptness of her actions.

Izuku laughed nervously. "Well then, Tokage-san," Izuku said, ignoring the pout that came onto the girl's face to the formality, "would I be right in saying that you're getting off at Kyoto too?"

"Got it in one!" She laughed, her smirk still present. "However, if I'm gonna be honest, my guess is that Edgeshot is only interested in imparting his cool ninja skills onto us because he sees our potential in reconnaissance." 

"That's what I was thinking too. He probably saw the way you and I were shooting off our quirks left and right during the festival," Izuku added. 

"Oh right!" Tokage interrupted, her hands clapping together. "The Sports Festival!" 

"The Sports Festival?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah, the Sports Festival! What's with you, making that guy use his fire? You basically had the fight in the bag! You just had to go in for the kill, smack him right out of the ring, and blamo!" she admonished.

"That, is a good point, Tokage-san." Izuku chuckled.

A confused look sprung up on her face. "Then why'd you do it?"

He shrugged. "Eh."

"That's it?"

"Mhmm."

Tokage looked at Izuku with an expectant look, yet eventually deflated after it was obvious that he wouldn't explain any further. 

Izuku spoke after a minute. "On the other hand, you're a recommendation student, aren't you, Tokage-san?" Izuku asked, changing the subject.

"Why, I am!" she said, reverting back to her usual tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Hmm… Well, I was just wondering about your cavalry team. It had a very versatile setup in its own right. With you as ranged defense, Kendo in close combat, and Yaoyorozu and Manga as your variable artillery, I would have expected you guys to make it to the next round. Well, either yours or Shiozaki's team. I guess Shinso really skewed the odds in his favor, then."

"Oh, purple hair?" Tokage questioned. "Definitely. That Shinso guy screwed us over bad. One second we're in third, and the next we're in fifth! Your vice rep felt kinda bad afterwards since she was the one who handed over the headbands. She was blaming herself for our loss way after."

"Really? Huh. I suppose that solves why Yaoyorozu's been a bit less talkative lately. Usually she talks a whole bunch whenever we're delegated to our duties as class representatives. I'll have to check in on her when we get back."

Izuku's face adopted a thoughtful look. "Thanks for telling me about this, Tokage-san."

Tokage let a a peeved whine. "You can just call me Setsuna, you know."

Izuku nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Tokage-san," he replied with a smile.

Tokage and Izuku found themselves led into a large, windowless, room by the secretary from the front entrance. Despite its dimmed state, it was obvious that the room was designed in a very traditional sense, taking the image of a dojo with wooden beams and pillars providing the structural integrity of the space.

When the door behind them slammed shut, the duo of students found that the secretary that had escorted them had disappeared, leaving them in the darkened space seemingly alone.

Tokage and Izuku looked at each other in confusion. Tokage was the first to break the silence. "Hello?" she spoke to the open air.

Utter silence. 

But then, a voice.

"Welcome, Izuku Midoriya. Setsuna Tokage," the voice reverberated throughout the room with no discernible origin. "I must say, I was quite impressed by both of your performances during the Sports Festival. You two used quite some intuitive tactics against you fellow classmates."

Izuku sent a couple bugs towards the rafters. "Uh... thank you, Edgeshot. But umm… where are you?"

"Think of this... as a test," the hero said calmly. 

"A test?" Tokage questioned.

"Yes. A test of wit. A test of strength. A test of skill. Are you two up to match my speed? Beat me despite my experience?"

Izuku's bugs found something. He nudged Tokage beside him, gaining her attention. "Eighth beam to the right," Izuku whispered, motioning towards Edgeshot's location.

She nodded. A bit of her body broke off ever so slightly, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Don't think that I don't see those bugs, Midoriya. But, it does seem that you have found me. A little under thirty seconds since you sent up your bugs. Not a bad time. Prepare yourselves, now."

A long, thin shape launched itself from the darkness, moving at a speed nearly untraceable to the average person. But lucky for the two heroes-in-training below, their trained reflexes and Izuku's bugs gave way to an early warning. 

Tokage split into a myriad of pieces to evade the speedy form of Edgeshot, the independent parts zooming into different directions. The end result was her being relatively safe from Edgeshot. It wasn't the same for Izuku.

In front of Izuku sprung Edgeshot, immediately engaging in combat as soon as he deactivated his quirk. Izuku barely blocked the hero's first strike with his arm, and barely did so with the second strike that came afterwards.

A barrage of Tokage's pieces launched themselves at Edgeshot, yet were easily dodged when the hero folded himself inwards. A few of the pieces instead found their target in Izuku, the boy falling over due to the sudden attack.

"Sorry, Izuku!" came the voice of Tokage.

Edgeshot came into his normal form in an instant, swiping away at the three pieces of Tokage that came to his position. The pieces ended up slashed and in pieces, falling to the ground in a crumpled state. "I've read up on the both of you," came Edgeshot. 

"Tokage; you can deconstruct yourself to about fifty or so different pieces. Your pieces regenerate, which means that I can hack away at them all I want. A simple a war of attrition." Five more pieces came at Edgeshot, and another two fell to the ground useless. "They move to your will and at quite high speeds. And their impacts are fairly strong considering their size."

Izuku launched himself at Edgeshot, this time aiming to land a hit with a barrage of fist and elbow strikes. Edgeshot spoke as he blocked and countered every attack. "Midoriya. Fine bug control, but really only useful when bugs are accessible. And I cleaned this room out, as you might have noticed. And there are no windows. No vents, either. Which means that you are limited to what you have on you." 

A sweep was made at Edgeshot's legs. He retaliated by folding himself and reforming to Izuku's side, grabbing his leg mid-kick and pulling him to the ground. "Proficient at hand-to-hand, but not a master. My first piece of advice; don't use a kick unless your opponent for sure can not grab at your leg."

Ten pieces launched themselves at Edgeshot this time, coming in from two directions. Four were lost, and one managed to hit Edgeshot, though seemingly did little damage.

Then the attacks suddenly stopped. Tokage's attacks ceased, and Izuku had disappeared from the spot where he laid on the ground.

Edgeshot looked around the room, yet didn't spot any obvious signs of the duo. He began stalking forward in search of the students. "What happened?" he asked. "You two came up with another strategy?"

Edgeshot had passed his third pillar when three pieces of Tokage came barreling towards his back. The hero immediately turned to swipe at the floating chunks, hearing the incoming projectiles, but suddenly found his vision to be blocked by a small cloud of bugs. He jumped to the side, removing a small orb from his waist. The orb expanded, and was launched from his hand towards the bugs. This was done at the same moment Izuku launched himself from behind a pillar, his fists connecting to the pro hero's sides. Then Izuku was met with a harsh, blinding light of a flashbang, the bugs dying in the explosion of light as well. A kick pushed Izuku away.

"And now you're without your bugs, Midoriya. But a nice job anyhow. I see that Kawabata still teaches his students well."

Izuku's eyes widened in surprise. "You know Ka—" Izuku's words were interrupted by the sudden emergence of Edgeshot in front of him. The hero grabbed Izuku, placing a kunai against the nape of his neck. Izuku tensed. 

Edgeshot eventually lowered the weapon. "Good job, you two. Not bad. You can come along now, Tokage. The test is over."

The girl in question reformed in front of Edgeshot, her individual pieces converging together into place. She was missing half of her face, a bit of her torso, and most of her left arm, yet the smirk on her face was still present. "That was pretty exciting, Edgeshot, sir," she said.

"Exciting indeed," Edgeshot responded. "You certainly surpassed my expectations. Both of you were able to land a few good hits on me."

"Tokage-san," Izuku interrupted, looking over to his fellow student, "are you really okay like that?"

She chuckled. "What, this?" she motioned to her missing bits with her single arm. "This is nothing. It'll all grow back in a couple hours. I'm glad that you care enough to ask, though. Such a sweetheart." Her remaining eye winked at him.

"He heh," came the anxious laugh of Izuku. "Anyways!," Izuku startled, facing Edgeshot. "You said that you know Kawabata-sensei?"

Edgeshot gave a short laugh. "Of course. I was under his tutelage for a bit. He was quite something back in his prime." 

"Really? And I thought he was just an old martial arts instructor."

"Oh, but he is. But he's also a bit more," Edgeshot added cryptically. "But enough of that. I say you two are ready."

"Ready?" Tokage questioned. "Ready for what?"

"Why, our first patrol, of course."

"First patrol?" asked Izuku, rather calm at hearing the words. "Huh. Didn't see that coming."

"Didn't think that either of you would," admitted Edgeshot. "But you two are ready, I can assure you. Your performance just proved that. Now, you two rest up. I want you both in tip-top shape by 10:00 p.m. sharp."

 "We're meeting one of my sidekicks here, so don't be too jumpy now," Edgeshot spoke to his two younger interns.

Izuku and Tokage — or rather, Dragonfly and Lizardy now — nodded in response. The two mostly milled about, eyeing the skyline and watching for their meetup.

Tokage's attire, which consisted of a skin tight mass of sewn together scales, didn't do well to ease Izuku's anxiety. As such, the boy spent an inordinate amount of time negating his gaze away from the girl and her reptilian-based costume.

Around ten minutes passed until another figure landed on the rooftop. A small cloud of dust and trash launched themselves into the air as he landed. The young man sported a form fitting costume, skin tight and colored in black with grey squares dotting its entirety. He was massively buffed up, his body almost matching in the size and shape of All Might himself. 

However, as he trudged forward towards the other three gathered, his body slowly shrank in size, turning into a much more normal figure that you'd expect from the average person. 

"You found him?" Edgeshot asked.

Edgeshot's sidekick nodded. "I did. Two blocks down. In the toy factory," he said. 

"Heh. Good," Edgeshot praised. He then turned, motioning towards his interns in an effort to give his sidekick notice of them. "And here are the interns that I said would be joining us tonight."

The other figure looked at the other two, staring in scrutinization until he spoke. "Call me Highbrow."

"Oh! Umm… I'm Dragonfly, then. Pleasure to meet you," Izuku greeted.

"Ditto! Lizardy, at your service!" swayed Tokage. 

Highborow merely nodded, turning back around towards the edge of the roof. Izuku watched in fascination as Highbrow slowly grew in height and muscle, reverting back to the form that that he initially came with.

"Wow! Some sort of muscle augmentation?" Izuku mused.

"It's actually a type of self-enhancing biokinesis, from what he's told me." Edgeshot said, appearing beside the hero in training. "It allows him to reshape his body to suit combat situations. Subdermal bone plating, increased muscle and the like. It creates a strong synergy with his other power."

A strange look appeared onto Izuku's face. "Other power? He has two quirks?"

"In a way," Edgeshot spoke with nonchalance. "He also has a form of telekinesis. Tactile in the sense; reinforced punches, durability."

"Isn't that strange?" Tokage asked. "Have there ever even been people with two quirks?"

"It's very unusual," Izuku chimed in. "I mean, there's Todoroki back at our school, but he's sort of a special case. His fire and ice relate, kinda like thermodynamics. But I'm not seeing any relation between telekinesis and body morphing."

"I'm not entirely too sure of it myself," Edgeshot admitted. "Neither is Highbrow. What we do know is that he isn't the first. There have been others before him."

"Huh," Izuku plainly stated. 

"Indeed. But it isn't as if I'm complaining. His quirks allow him to be the muscle on my team. He takes on the more physical threats, like the one we're aiming for tonight."

"Centaur." Izuku clarified.

"Yes. Now come, we need to head to the factory before he moves." Edgeshot jumped off the roof to the next building over. He was followed by Highbrow, the man leaping with an enhanced jump to the next roof.

Izuku and Tokage looked at each other, then followed suit not long after.

 Izuku landed on the roof with a soft thud, his body rolling into his momentum. Tokage appeared not too far behind him, her floating pieces converging back together into her whole body. Edgeshot looked over at them and nodded.

"I'll go on ahead, draw him out." Highbrow interrupted, jumping off the roof not long after.

"I— is that really okay? Highbrow doesn't have to go down there, really. Both Lizardy and I could both draw Centaur out without getting in harm's way," Izuku asked.

Edgeshot gave a short laugh. "Oh, he'll be fine. Besides, he won't like the help. He likes to have bouts of time alone with Centaur as they fight. Highbrow gets really agitated when others butt in."

"Really? But why?" Tokage asked.

"The two of them each have this ongoing grudge. It's rather unhealthy, if you'd ask me, but we only have to worry about that as long as Centaur's out there roaming the streets. Hopefully by tonight we can finally corner him."

"Don't worry Edgeshot!" exclaimed Tokage. "We'll do the best we can."

"And I wouldn't expect anything less. But enough about that. Pop quiz for both of you, to see if you were paying attention during the briefing. What do you know about Centaur?" 

"Oh oh! I got it," Tokage cheered. She cleared her throat. "Centaur has a transformation quirk. He morphs into a ugly looking monster-thing made of pinkish flesh. The legs also grow a bit, but mostly to the point to where the added strength is able to support his enlarged torso and his giant arms. The spines on his, well, spine can also be launched from his body, but they take a while to grow back."

"Good," Edgeshot said. "What—" A giant explosion rocked from inside the factory down below. The shockwave knocked Izuku and Tokage off their feet. Edgeshot remained standing eerily still.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Tokage.

"Shoot. Is Highbrow alright?!" Izuku asked.

"He's fine, don't worry," said Edgeshot calmly. "We're doing something else right now though, don't worry about him. What else is there about Centaur?"

"Oh… umm… His punches!" Izuku said, somewhat reluctantly.

"And what about them?"

"Oh, uh, they sort of have this type of force behind them. They knock you back even if they don't hit, almost as if the punch really had connected. It gives him some fairly decent ranged capabilities aside from those spines of his. He also moves pretty quickly for someone of his size, too."

Another explosion rocked the building below. However, this time came forth the monstrous form of Centaur as he was launched through the wall of the factory out into the open air. He stood just over a whole story tall, his miniature face and normal-sized legs nonbefitting of his monstrous form.

"Ah, that's our cue. Good job you guys, looks like we covered everything. Let's head down, I think I've given Highbrow enough fun." Edgeshot leaped off the ledge, joining the ensuing fight.

"Ah, Edgeshot! I should've known you weren't too far behind!" bellowed the deep, gargling voice of the monstrous creature below. "Looks like I'll be able to play with you and kill Highbrow all in one night!" he laughed.

"Hey!" yelled Highbrow, getting up from one of Centaur's attacks. "Get back over here! I wasn't finished with you yet! I'm gonna pulverize you into a fine paste!"

"Like hell you are!" retorted Centaur. "When I'm done with you, there won't even be anything left to bury!" 

Chunks of concrete and the sounds of battle continued below The roof where Dragonfly and Lizardy stood remained untouched as the two watched on in awe and slight fear.

"Well… Alright then, Dragonfly. You have experience in fighting villains. What do you propose we do?" asked Tokage.

"Huh? Experience? What Experience?" Izuku said, panicked, thinking back to his more recent fight with that knife-wielding girl.

"Uhh… U.S.J.?" Tokage supplied.

"Oh. Yeah. That." Izuku laughed nervously.

"You're all gonna die!" roared the villain.

"Umm… we run interference?" proposed Dragonfly, a bit uncertain.

"Like hell I am! You're dying first!" exclaimed Highbrow.

"Umm, sure. Okay," replied Lizardy. 

Notes:

And so we have Izuku interning at Edgeshot's agency. And with Setsuna too. What else is there to be? Heh, we'll see.

And remember Worm! This fic has elements based off of that story, so maybe give it a go if you like what's here. In short: It's Great!

Ahem. On the other hand, the internship will continue next chapter. I have a bit more in store for the occasion, so stayed tuned!