Excitement and nervousness filled Megumi's heart. 

Today was the day that she, along with the rest of her classmates would be starting their internships under pro-heroes. Class 1 A stood in a group at the train station, all waiting for Aizawa-sensei to give them last minute instructions.

"You all have your costumes, right?" The man in question asked. "Usually you aren't allowed to wear them in public. Don't drop them."

'I couldn't drop it even if I wanted to,'  Megumi thought, peering down at the vice grip she had on her costume case. Interning with a pro-hero was supposed to life changing and she'd be damned if that didn't make her nervous. And excited. But more nervous.

"Okaaaay!" Mina was enthusiastic as she spoke, stretching out the word.

"Don't elongate it. Make it short, Ashido," Aizawa-sensei scolded.

At his words, Mina's enthusiasm seemed to fade away, if only just a little. "Okay."

"Try not to be a burden to the hero during your internship," Aizawa-sensei said. "Now go."

"Yes!" The class spoke together. 

Soon after, everyone left in different directions. Natsumi went with Tokoyami since both their internships were to happen in the same city, under two very great heroes. After saying goodbye to them, Megumi walked over to where Midoriya and Uraraka were standing. As she joined the group, she couldn't help but be concerned about her other friend. Iida's expression was rather strange, and something did not quite feel right. 

'Is it about his brother...' Megumi had been devastated upon hearing about Ingenium, but she couldn't even begin to imagine what Iida must be going through.

"Iida-kun!" Midoriya called out him, Uraraka and Megumi following.

"If it ever feels hopeless, let us know," Midoriya spoke gently. "We're friends, right?"

Megumi and Uraraka nodded together. They were all going to be there for him, that was for sure. Iida turned around to face them and his smile looked rather fake.

"Yeah," He replied. Saying a quick goodbye, he walked in the direction of the train that would lead to his internship. The other three watched in silence as he left.

'Iida, please stay safe,'  Megumi silently prayed. But, for some reason, she had a really bad feeling about things to come. Shaking the thought out of her mind, she walked over to Todoroki, who looked like had been waiting for her.

Now, it was their turn to leave.

"Endeavor Hero Agency, here we go," She muttered under her breath, completely oblivious to the odd look Todoroki was sending her way.

*

This was going to be one hell of a train.

Actually scratch that. This was going to be one awkward hell of a train ride. 

Since getting on the train, Megumi and Todoroki had not exchanged a single word. Even as they sat next to each other, Todoroki stared out the window at the passing buildings while Megumi used her phone. Luckily, no one seemed to recognize them from the Sports Festival. Or they were just lost in their own worlds.

Megumi opened up her messages, clicking on the latest one. It was from her dad and said,

You'll do amazing as an intern, my girl. Make the best of this and tell me everything. And don't forget to stay safe. Cheering you on, always 💕

Accompanying the message was a selfie of her dad in full Red Flame costume with a bright grin on his face, as he stood outside his agency. Megumi rolled her eyes, but with fond exasperation. 

Then, out of nowhere, Todoroki spoke up. "Okumura, can I ask you something?"

Although a little surprised by his question, she nodded. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Why did you choose to come to Endeavor's agency and not your father's?" He asked. It was hard to get a read on his expression, but Megumi detected a hint of curiosity in his dual colored eyes.

 "I don't have any special reason," She started to say. "As much as I would love to work with him since he is the number seven pro, I have been around him my whole life and I just want to switch things up. Get out of his shadows. That's why I picked Endeavor's agency. He's number two for a reason and I wanna see and learn from the experience he has from being at the top."

"I see," Todoroki answered, in a tone that told her that the conversation was going to die out. 

Quickly, Megumi threw out the most random question, but in a way, it would also be relevant. "How is he as a hero if I can ask? 'Cause he's not on of the heroes I follow."

"He's strict," Todoroki answered stoically, his expression never wavering. "But as you mentioned, he has a certain amount of experience being at the top that I intend to make full use of." 

"Looks like both of us are here for the same thing then," Megumi remarked, offering him a kind smile. 'Come on, Todoroki. Talk.'

"Right," Todoroki answered. 

"Well, I'm looking forward to working with you," Megumi said. "I think us fire types would make a good team." It was hard to read his expression and to get a gauge on what he was feeling; it was definitely hard to be friends with him, but he had been pretty open compared to earlier, which was nice. 

Still, getting him to fully open up was going to be a task

*

By the time they got to the agency, it was sunset and the sky was a colorful mix of oranges and reds. Endeavor's agency was located in a tall building, giving off the vibe of a strict corporate office where every worker was very disciplined. Megumi and Todoroki walked towards the entrance, which was decorated with a stylized, flaming 'E'. Rather ostentatious, but Megumi kinda liked it.

Inside, there was a large office space, littered with several desks and computers.  Some of them were being used by the sidekicks, most of them empty. This was a busy hero agency and from what Megumi knew of it, the thirty or so sidekicks were always busy handling the constant requests and hero work for Endeavor. It was almost the same thing with her dad, though he got a significantly lower number of requests as compared to the Number 2 hero. 

A couple of the sidekicks noticed them and nodded in acknowledgement, before going back to their cover. Todoroki nodded in return and did not see a word, before walking in the direction of the elevator located past all the desks. Megumi also did the same. If Todoroki was not going to say hi, she was not going to either. She was a pretty awkward person in that sense.

In the elevator, Todoroki pressed the button for the floor they had to go to. They didn't talk here either, which was good. The closer they got to meeting Endeavor, the more nervous Megumi felt. She clutched her costume case a little bit tighter. She took a deep breath, staring right at the metallic doors. 

'Calm down. You'll be fine. You're Scarlet Flame's daughter,' Megumi mentally told herself. 'You'll be fine. You're confident. You'll do fine.' 

She ended her mental pep-talk when the elevator dinged and came to a stop. When both of them walked out the door, they found themselves facing a large corridor, looking like a corridor from a hotel. The double doors at the end were massive and the large windows on the right side were letting the light of the setting sun pierce through. 

Megumi almost felt as though she was walking into the open mouth of a dragon, ready for it to close its jaws down and swallow her whole. Luckily, her quirk made her fireproof, so she was safe from being burned. 

The corridor felt unusually long, but soon they were at the double doors. Todoroki knocked. A loud, booming voice came from the inside. "Enter!"

Taking a deep breath as Todoroki opened the door, Megumi followed him inside. The room was larger than she had expected. It was rectangular shaped and there was a beautiful carpet laid down in the center of the room. Paintings were hung on the wall, but somehow to Megumi, they felt oddly soulless. Endeavor stood behind a wooden desk, littered with office supplies and a computer. 

"I've been waiting for you, Shoto," Endeavor spoke, looking only at his son. "Are you finally ready to walk the path of the mighty?"

"I don't plan on walking the road you've paved," Todoroki replied, more emotion in his voice than Megumi had heard the entire day. "I'll walk down my own road." 

'Did they forget that I am here too?' Megumi fiddled with her costume case, not knowing what to say. 'It feels like I am intruding on a family meeting.'

Endeavor let out a laugh that slightly grated on her ears. "Get ready. We're going out."

"Where?" Todoroki asked.

"I'll show you and your friend what a hero is," Endeavor finally acknowledged Megumi and looked at her, as if trying to gauge her reaction.

Megumi held her chin up and stared right back. Maybe she was an awkward person, but she was also confident at the same time. If Endeavor wanted to ignore her so be it. She'd show him her strength and she'd show him that she was worthy of being a hero. 

First things first, I am so sorry about the lack of updates for this. Trying to write Megumi and Natsume into canon episodes is a hard job because I never know where to put them in so I sort of lost inspiration for this chapter. But I am really determined to finish the Stain Arc soon because I have some really cool scenes planned, including scenes of Megumi and Todoroki bonding and becoming closer hehe. Next chapter has one of those bonding moments which I think I really enjoyed writing.

Till then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments <33