I was finally starting to adjust to my new schedule and couldn't be happier about that. Because of how exhausted I was after training and patrol I fell asleep super early every night, and woke up feeling rested (albeit sore as hell) and ready to do it all again the next day.

Currently, we were on our lunch break, enjoying some leftover curry that Gina had made for dinner last night. Uraraka seemed to find it a bit spicy, but I ate bowl after bowl of the stuff, the flavour and spiciness were just perfect for me. I sure as hell couldn't cook, but maybe I'd ask Gina for the recipe and try making it at home.

I looked over when I heard Uraraka giggling while looking at her phone.

"What's got you gushing?" I teasingly asked, leaning towards her.

Uraraka flushed red, closing her flip phone and setting it down on the table. "Nothing, I was just texting Deku, we were talking about how our internships are going."

"Oh, we were talking about that last night," I said, taking my phone out of my pocket. "Todoroki texted me too, which was super weird at first because he doesn't seem like a super talkative person."

"What'd you talk about with Todoroki?" Uraraka asked curiously.

"Well I don't know if I could really call it talking," I chuckled, shaking my head. "He just sent me a picture of him in his hero costume while on patrol. When I asked how his internship was going he sent another photo, this time it was him taking a selfie with Endeavor in the background. Todoroki's facial expressions don't change much, but in that photo he looked kind of irritated."

Uraraka laughed. "That's hilarious, what happened next?"

"I asked him how Kuse was doing and he left me on read for six hours!" I exclaimed, laughing at the absurdity. "When he finally did answer, he sent me a picture of him, his sister Fuyumi, and Kuse eating dinner."

Uraraka howled with laughter, struggling to say anything as she cackled, slamming her palm on the table repeatedly.

We laughed together for a few minutes, our giggling finally dying down when we had to stop to breathe.

"What about Iida?" Uraraka asked, her expression shifting to one of concern.

My smile fell and I sighed. "That jerk hasn't said a word to me."

"What about you?" She asked.

"Well, no..." I replied, looking away.

Uraraka groaned, but before she could reprimand me, Gina burst into the dining room.

"Lunch time's up!" Gina chirped. "Time to wash the dishes and get ready for patrol!"

Gina pulled a black apron off the hook on the wall, putting it around her head and tying the back. She then walked to the sink, turning the tap on to begin filling the sink with water and adding a few drops of dish soap. She removed her black gloves, slipping them into her pocket and switching them for yellow rubber gloves.

Normally Uraraka and I washed the dishes on our own, but the help was appreciated.

Without exchanging any words, Uraraka and I brought our dishes to Gina, placing them on the counter next to the sink. I grabbed a dish towel, standing next to Gina and watched as she began washing.

Like a well oiled machine we did the dishes together. Gina washed them, I dried them, and Uraraka put them away. Before I knew it we were done and Gina took her apron off, hanging it back on its hook.

"Be ready to go in five minutes," Gina said, grinning as she walked out of the kitchen. "Let's see how quickly you can get suited up in case of an emergency. I'll be timing you!"

Uraraka and I shared a look before bolting out of the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~

Patrol was rarely eventful.

Gunhead's agency was located in a quiet place, near the country and far from any of the high crime neighborhoods. The most I'd seen so far was a purse thief, who was quickly apprehended by Gina.

But the lack of crime made me wonder, why exactly did Gina work here? She bragged about being skilled, and strong (which she definitely is), so why doesn't she open her own agency, or work in a busier area?

I glanced over at the tall, red haired woman, hesitating to talk. It was just the two of us since Gunhead decided that we should split into groups of two.

"Hey, Ace," I said, grabbing her attention. "Can I ask you something?"

"What's up?" She asked, her eyes still scanning our surroundings.

I took a deep breath. "How come you're working at Gunhead's agency?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she gave me a quick glance, as if she was questioning if she should answer.

"Well for starters it's easier to stay here," She shrugged. "The pay is pretty good and because it's relatively crime free here I have plenty of time to take on other jobs. I sort of just bounce from place to place, if the police request my assistance I'll go and help them out, and I've helped other agencies plenty of times."

"But why not start your own?" I asked, taking a moment to check over our surroundings.

"First of all, it's a lot of work," She laughed. "And secondly, I'm just not good with being in the public eye. You've probably noticed by now that even on patrols Gunhead is constantly in the public eye. People want to talk to him, and thank him for all the work he's done. Just like you first thought, when civilians see me standing beside him they assume I'm a sidekick. Haven't you noticed the difference in the way sidekicks are treated?"

I tilted my head in confusion, waiting for her to continue.

"Let me ask you this, how many sidekicks can you name right now?" Gina asked, crossing her arms.

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. I didn't have an answer, my mind was blank.

"Exactly," She sighed, shaking her head. "Sidekicks are treated as just that, sidekicks. They're seen only as tools to assist heroes and have no sense of individuality. No one remembers their names, quirks, or all the great things they've achieved. I may not be a sidekick, but I do understand how they feel, and I've come to appreciate them even more. Sometimes I wonder if I should've just stayed a sidekick, not much has changed since the days I first became a hero."

"But that's why you have to make people recognize your efforts," I argued. "If you continue to act like a sidekick, they'll see you as a sidekick. Talk to people, show them how strong you are, make it impossible to deny that you're a hero."

Gina smiled at me, but her grin seemed more sad than anything. "You're right, I'm using the whole being unrecognized thing as an excuse."

I stayed silent, listening as she continued talking.

"Truth be told I'm just scared of being seen," She sighed. "I don't want my every action to be broadcasted to the world on TV and I'm scared that I'll be judged. It doesn't help that my quirk has always painted me in a bad light. Ever since it first awakened I've been tormented by it. I had hoped becoming a hero and helping others would help me get over that, but nothing has changed."

"Nothing will change if you don't so something about it."

Gina turned to look at me in shock before beginning to laugh. "I guess you're right about that. Must seem pretty pathetic to you that a grown ass woman is still worried about what others think."

"No, I understand where you're coming from," I replied, feeling awkward. "I think it's pretty sad that I can't deal with my feelings at my age. I have a bit of a short temper and I'm not great at being nice to people either. I also suck at talking about my feelings, probably because my family never talks about feelings."

"My upbringing was similar," Gina sighed. "My mother was a Russian hero, and my father was a Japanese business man. Both of them came from cultures that don't talk about their feelings, and they expressed their love for me in other ways. So when my quirk appeared and I was struggling to control it my mother didn't know what to say. I lived in Russia with my mother until I was about ten, my father would come for yearly visits around Christmas and then return to Japan. But because of my difficulties with controling my quirk I constantly had to move schools, and then my mother decided to move to Japan to live together with my father. On top of struggling to control my quirk, I had to learn Japanese, and because I could barely speak the language I didn't have many friends in school. But I don't hate my parents or anything, they just did what they thought was right for me and didn't know how to talk to me."

I was a little surprised that the conversation had shifted to talking about our families, but I didn't mind listening to Gina talk.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked.

"Yes, not too long after moving to Japan my younger brother was born," She answered, her expression softer than before. "He's just a bit older than you, he'll be turning eighteen soon. What about you, do you have any siblings?"

"Just my younger brother," I replied. "He's six."

"Having a sibling is nice," Gina commented. "I would have felt lonely if I didn't have him. Even if I didn't have friends at school growing up I still had someone important to me."

Suddenly, the fluffy atmosphere was interrupted. Gina's phone blared, blasting music I definitely didn't recognize from the speaker.

"Hello?" She said, answering the call.

She exchanged a few words with the person on the other end before hanging up and facing me. "Time to head back."

I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. "Okay..."

"You better wake yourself up," She chuckled, grinning mischievously. "When we get back I'm going to teach you how to use a meteor hammer!"

"Meteor hammer?" I repeated, grinning right back at her. "Sounds dangerous, I like it."

"It is dangerous," She snorted. "That's the point."

"Sick."

A/N

I'm so glad I had some chapters done in advance because I've been sick for the past week and school is really stressing me out. But on that note, this was the last chapter I had done in advance, so I don't know when the next update will be. Regardless, I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!