The next day, the two left for their respective agencies. Before they left, (Y/n) had tried to get Katsuki to explain his sudden change of mood the previous day, only for the male to avoid answering it by shouting at her for being too nosy.

The girl left it at that and forgot about it, choosing to focus on her internship at Sir Nighteye's.

She stepped out of the elevator into the second floor, her briefcase in hand as she began looking around for a particular person. It was a typical office, with cubicles filled with different types of pro-heroes, all busy filing paperwork and answering calls. The kind receptionist at the front desk had directed her to that floor, specifically for Kaoruko Awata. The whole building was large and if she wasn't careful, she would've gotten lost in it.

She felt jittery all through and it was intensified by how many pro-heroes she had encountered on her way to the second floor. She had met some she looked up to in her kid days and if she wasn't careful, she would've gone full-on Izuku on all of them.

"Hi hi!" a cheery voice suddenly chirped from behind the girl, making her jump in surprise. She quickly swiveled around to be met with a blue-green haired girl, who was grinning at her. The girl took in the other's appearance, her costume slightly throwing her off.

The new girl wore a dark-blue short sleeved costume that revealed her midriff and the underside of her breasts. She had on yellow-white short shorts and spandex leggings within coupled up with thick white boots. She also had transparent visors with attached air filters.

"Hi, sorry for scaring you," the girl placed a hand on her chest. "I'm Kaoruko Awata, also known as Bubble Girl but you can call me Kaoruko or Bubble Girl, whichever you like," she then extended her hand out for (Y/n) to shake. "You must be Volcaness! The new intern! We've been waiting for you!"

(Y/n) took her hand and shook it, surprise replaced with a smile. "Hi. Nice to meet you, Kaoruko. Happy to be here."

Kaoruko released her hand and thrust her thumb towards a corridor. "Sir Nighteye's waiting for you in his office. Should probably hurry up and change into your costume and go see him."

"Okay," she looked around the busy office. "Where do I change?"

Kaoruko showed her the direction to the changing room and she thanked her before leaving towards it.

The girl closed the door behind her and a smile graced her lips as she set down her briefcase and opened it.

At least there's a nice person here, I wonder how Sir Nighteye is.

She took off her school uniform and put on her costume. It consisted of a blue jumpsuit that reached to her mid-thigh. She slipped on the blue thigh high boots and proceeded to strap on the leather belts and a holder bag around her right thigh. She put her phone in the bag. She then re-tied her hair up into a bun. When she was done, she packed her uniform inside the case and put in into one of the empty lockers.

(Y/n) exited the room and closed the door behind her as she headed towards the pro-hero's office.

She knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in."

The girl let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned the doorknob, opening the door.

Here goes nothing...

She entered the office, immediately locating a man sitting behind a large mahogany desk. The girl took in a deep breath and approached him. She noticed how neat and clean his office was, accentuated also by his appearance. He wore a light gray suit with a polka-dot tie, his hair was dark-greenish in color save for a few blond streaks on his bangs. He also had glasses on.

"Uh...hi, I'm (Y- Volcaness," the girl nervously smiled, wringing her fingers as she waited for the male to speak.

Sir Nighteye looked up from his work and stared at the girl for a moment. (Y/n)'s eyes slightly widened at his sharp glaring eyes, her nerves going haywire. A small amused smile broke onto the male's lips as he took in her nervous expression.

"There's no need to be nervous. Go on, sit," he spoke, pointing to an office chair beside the girl with the end of his pen.

The girl nodded and took a seat, taking the opportunity to look at a painting hung on the wall across the room.

"You like movies?" the male asked without looking at her, jolting the girl from her staring.

"Uh...yeah I do," she responded, unsure of where the question was going.

The man closed the file he was working on with a sigh and placed the pen on his desk. He then looked up at her and made a steeple of his fingers.

"Which kind?" he pressed on.

She cleared her voice. "Uh, (fave type) and (another fave type)."

Sir hummed and nodded. "Do you like comedies?"

(Y/n) furrowed her eyebrows and nodded, still confused as to why he was asking the questions.

Sir Nighteye smiled slightly. "Then tell me a joke."

What...

"Sorry? A joke?" she asked, now completely dumbfounded and confused at the request.

"Yes. Do you not know of any jokes? If you do, then tell me one. Go on, make me laugh," he added as he looked at the girl expectantly.

(Y/n) arched an eyebrow at him to see if he was joking but his cold eyes seemed to reflect the seriousness in his words. She sighed and bit her lower lip in the thought of a joke.

Oh jeez. I'm the worst at making jokes...

"Uh okay..." she scratched her head before a wobbly smile made its way to her face. "You know, girls with glasses need love too. Be like," she deepened her voice. "Hey, girl, come here with yo blind ass...no over here," She then let out a dry laugh, mentally facepalming at her shitty joke. A ghost of a smile was visible on the pro's lips but he didn't laugh.

(Y/n)'s smile fell and she bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm sorry. I suck at making jokes."

"No no. I actually found myself enjoying it," he nodded thoughtfully.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

His sense of humor must be alarmingly high then.

"Yes and I can tell what a good student you're going to be...except for one thing," he lifted up his index finger at the mention of one.

"One thing?"

"I still haven't evaluated your physical ability yet. After watching your fight at the festival, I crossed out a few things," he held up a finger to count. "One, hesitation. Two, you give up way too easily even when the chance is presented to you. Three, your Quirk ability. We may not use that most of the time but it is best if we touch on it while you're here," he entwined his fingers together. "Is that clear?"

Wow, already heading straight to work, huh? (Y/n) inhaled sharply and nodded. "Okay."

"But I should warn you. This is going to be hard and I'm not going to go easy on you. I normally start with basics such as patrol but you are going to be an exception. You have so much potential and the sooner you unlock your potential the better. And be assured, I am going to ensure you do so whether you like it or not."

The (e/c)-eyed female gulped and nodded once more in understanding, nervous that they would begin with combat on the very first day.

Sir smiled in satisfaction. "Good. We shall meet at the training room in..." he glanced at his watch. "Earliest fifteen minutes."

***

(Y/n) did some breathing exercises to calm her nerves as she watched Sir Nighteye take off his coat and hung it on a coat rack.

At one side of the room, stood Kaoruko and another male (Y/n) had never seen before. He looked much akin to a giant centipede. Kaoruko waved frantically at (Y/n) and gave her a thumbs up. The girl smiled in appreciation and nodded.

"Okay," Sir spoke, diverting her attention to him. "We shall start. No use of Quirks at the moment, just simple hand to hand combat. You will attack me first and be informed that I will also not hesitate to defend myself. Understood?"

(Y/n) nodded and stood in attacking stance as she waited for the order.

"Start!"

(Y/n) did not waste time in sprinting towards the male, her hands balled up into fists. She swung her fist towards the male, who simply dodged them without much ado. The girl grunted and swooped down, her leg shooting out to kick him from under his feet. Before the girl could do so, Sir flipped backward in the air surprising (Y/n) at his quick response.

Her moment of hesitation cost her as Sir landed a kick to the side of her face, sending her falling back. The girl hissed in pain as she quickly got up on her feet, her hand cupping her throbbing cheek. However, she didn't have time to soothe her aches as Sir lunged at her, swinging his fist to her face.

The girl dodged in time but she was now forced on the defense. Sir tried to land a hit on her but the girl deflated the attacks. But it wasn't easy for her. His hits were fast and strong and it was getting more difficult to avoid them.

At one point, the girl saw an opening but she was too slow to act, resulting in Sir landing a hard kick to her stomach, sending her flying back to the wall. Her back hit the wall hard, as she dropped to the ground.

The girl coughed in pain, searing pain spreading through her stomach as she struggled to get on her knees.

"Get up," Sir ordered. "You hesitated at first. If this was a real fight, you would've been dead yesterday."

(Y/n) hissed as she stumbled up to her feet, her teeth gritting in pain. She let out a war cry as she ran towards Sir, adrenaline fueling her and making her momentarily forget her pain. Sir also bolted towards her, expression hardened and ready to counterattack.

With a yell, she lifted her leg up to deliver a roundhouse kick to his face but Sir dropped to his knees, back bent backward as he slid under her leg.

What?! Her eyes widened. He-He dodged it!

Before she could react quickly to his dodge, Sir got to his feet and grabbed her arm. (Y/n) gasped when her world turned around as Sir threw her over his shoulder and slammed her on the ground.

(Y/n) winced in pain when her back harshly collided with the floor. Air was forced out of her lungs, making her wheeze. Exhaustion and pain screamed from her body and muscles. They hadn't been at it for long and yet she felt like dying. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and hope it's over and done with.

"Get up. We're not done."

(Y/n) groaned and turned her body to the side until she was lying on her stomach. She bit her lip hard when she felt her chest erupt with searing pain.

"Get up," Sir ordered once more.

The girl placed her shaky hands against the ground and tried hoisting herself up but her arms collapsed from beneath her, making her fall back to the ground. Tears pricked at her eyes when the same action failed once more and she let out a choked sob. Everything hurt all over.

"I said get up," the man repeated, tone heavy with impatience.

The girl shook her head as another sob escaped her. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. Will you allow yourself to give up this early and easily? I've merely pushed you around and yet you give in. What if this was a real fight?" he pushed on. "Would you allow yourself to die so pathetically? With your head on the floor like some kind of beggar?"

But it hurts so much...

"Are you going to allow yourself to be a pro-hero who don't push themselves to the limit and give a hundred percent? What kind of hero would you be?"

It hurts so, so much...

"Get up (Y/n)," he said with a much gentler tone. "You are not that kind of hero."

(Y/n) clenched her jaw at his words and weakly nodded. She brought a hand up to swipe at her tears and mustered all her strength to get up. She placed her hands on the floor once more and pushed herself up. Her sore muscles and bruised chest begged her to lie back down but she couldn't disappoint him. Not after the pep talk he had just given her. Besides, he was right. What kind of hero would she be if she continued giving up so easily?

She kneeled on the ground and pushed all way up to her feet. She weakly adjusted her footing and took in a deep breath before bolting towards him. With newfound adrenaline, she sprung onto the air, flipping backward as her legs precisely landed around the male's neck and twisted herself back to flip him over with her.

Sir fell to the ground together with the girl who quickly got up at the same time.

"Not bad but you're still not there," Sir commented. His comment distracted the girl who gasped when the male quickly advanced towards her. However, she failed to dodge his punch onto her stomach. She doubled over in pain and this gave him an opportunity to land a right hook straight under her jaw. The girl fell back to the ground with a thud.

(Y/n) spit the blood that had gathered in her mouth and wiped the remaining liquid off her lips with the back of her hand. Her breath was once again literally knocked out of her gut with that single punch. Sir looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to get up.

She groaned in pain as she struggled to get up on her feet. She winced as she took a step back, preparing to defend herself. Her battle stance looked off, as she was leaning to one side and her breaths came out short and labored like she was one step away from passing out.

Sir charged up to her, his eyes serious on his intent as his lips were curled up into a sneer. At that moment, for some unknown reason, she froze. She felt so defeated and beaten up and at that moment, a memory flashed in front of her eyes. The feeling was all too familiar. Helplessness. Uselessness.

Scared.

Since she was frozen, she failed to see Sir who swung his arm back and landed a punch onto her nose, immediately breaking it and landed another onto the other side of her face. He delivered a blow onto her stomach, making her double over and took an opportunity to land an elbow between her shoulder blades.

Kaoruko, who was watching in horror, took a step forward to help her but stopped when an arm shot out in front of her. She trailed the arm back to Centipeder and he didn't spare her a single glance as his eyes were glued on to the fight. The yellow-eyed girl sighed and bit her lower lip as she turned back to watch the disturbing fight.

Sir wasn't done with (Y/n) yet, he delivered the last finishing blow, a double roundhouse kick that sent her hurtling back into the wall, the force of the collision denting the cement wall.

The girl slid down the wall onto the ground, small groans of pain coming out of her mouth. Her whole body ached with pain and her vision was split into two. She had little to no energy left, so she couldn't bring herself to stand up.

(Y/n) could feel blood seeping from her broken nose to the ground and it was made worse by the throbbing pain coming from the back of her head.

Sir sighed and walked towards the girl, a solemn expression on his face.

He shook head and crossed his arms over his chest. "You hesitated at the last minute. This fight ended quickly because of that. A fatal flaw that could have major repercussions in the future. To be fair, I also backed down on you a bit but pay heed that villains will not care and will not hesitate to do you in the minute you pull a stunt like you did earlier."

He looked at her thoughtfully and scratched his chin. "Though, I do have to compliment on your impeccable combat skills. They still need to be sharpened though. We have a lot of work to do but that's all for today. I will tend to your wounds and then you may go back to your room and rest."

***

(Y/n) hissed in pain as she placed the ice package back onto her slightly swollen eye. She sighed and stared at her beaten up reflection on the bathroom mirror at the motel.

It was almost night and she had just woken up from a five-hour nap. She had regained some of her energy but her body was still sore from the abuse it had received earlier.

(Y/n) looked at the small pieces of tissues lodged in her nostrils and she took them out, satisfied that her nose had stopped bleeding. She threw the tissues into the bin and went back to staring at herself. Her uncovered eye stared at her busted lip and the visible blood clots littering it. An Elastoplast was stuck onto the bridge of her nose and another on top of her right eyebrow. She lowered the ice pack and grimaced at the sight. The skin was a horrible color of black and blue but it wasn't any better than the skin around her chest and back. She raised the ice pack to her swollen eye and sighed.

I hope Katsuki doesn't see this. Who knows, he'll probably laugh...

As if on cue, several loud bangs resonated from the door.

"Shit..." the girl cursed under her breath as she placed the ice pack on the sink and quickly gathered all the used cotton balls and antiseptic, throwing them into the bin. The bangs continued and they were getting impatient judging from their frequency.

The sound of the door suddenly swinging open and hitting the wall made her good eye widen in surprise as Katsuki's heavy footfall approached the bathroom.

"What the fuck, (Y/n)?!" he snapped the minute he got into the bathroom. "Didn't you hear me knock?! Are you fucking deaf?!"

(Y/n) sighed and grabbed the ice pack. She kept her face down and away from him, her loose hair thankfully hiding her face from him.

"Look Katsuki, I'm not in the mood, please," she said, her voice sounding her exhaustion as she hoped that he'd depart and leave her in peace.

"Not in the mood, my fucking ass!" he bit back, his crimson-colored eyes momentarily falling on the ice pack.

(Y/n) sighed once more and passed him as she went back to the room. "I just wanna sleep. I'm tired and I had a long and painful day, okay?"

Katsuki gave her a quick once over and his scowl deepened when he noticed that she was avoiding eye contact. Not that it mattered but it felt like she was ignoring his presence, and he hated being ignored. With a growl, he took a step forward and grabbed her arm before she could go back to her room.

"Look at me," he commanded.

(Y/n) frowned at his quick realization, but still kept her gaze away from him. She tried to yank her arm away though his grip was strong.

"Let go of me."

The boy drew his lip back in a snarl and his fingers tightened around her arm to prove his point. "Fucking look at me!!"

"Let go of me, Katsuki!" she shot back, still trying to pull her arm away from his hold while maintained keeping her head turned away from him.

The male growled impatiently and yanked her back to him. The girl gasped when he turned her around and grabbed her chin to forcefully lift her head up to meet his eyes. His eyes widened in shock when he saw what she was hiding all along before his expression quickly morphed into one of pure unadulterated rage.

"Who the fuck did this to you?!!"

(Y/n) winced at his loud voice and yanked off the hand that was grabbing her chin. "It was just training and-"

"Training?! You call this training?! Have you fucking seen yourself?!!!" the male thundered, his hands balling up into fists as a new wave of rage surged through him. He was going to murder someone. Whoever dared lay a hand on (Y/n)...He was going to fucking rip their tongue out and shove it in their asshole.

"Yes, I have. Could you please stop shouting? There are other guests here too," the girl advised in a gentle tone, hoping to calm him. She peeked her head out of the bathroom door to see if anyone was coming to tell them to keep it down. When she saw none, she turned back to him. "Besides, why are you so angry? It was basically my fault anyway."

"Your fault?!!" Katsuki grabbed both her arms and leaned into her face, completely disregarding her earlier warning to keep it down. "Your fault?!!! That bitch ass hero beat you up and you say it's your fucking fault?!! I'm gonna kill him!!"

(Y/n) pushed his hands off her, her patience with him getting thin and pointed a finger to his face. "No! You will not do anything because this is none of your fucking business! I chose that agency and I'm gonna take the shit it comes with it! Understood?"

Katsuki growled in anger, the desire to break someone's face still bubbling within him.

"Understood?!" she repeated with emphasis, her stern eyes boring holes into the male's.

Katsuki scoffed and looked away. "Crystal."

"Good!" her shoulders sagged, her expression turning pained. "Because I'm hurt and I honestly can't deal with this right now."

Katsuki's eyes widened slightly when he heard her voice crack at the end of her sentence and it darn near broke his heart. He watched her bring the ice pack back to her swollen eye and she winced when she pressed it against the bruised part. No matter how much he wanted to slam someone's face in the concrete, he couldn't go off on them after what (Y/n) had said. He hated watching her suffer and he didn't want to be another cause for it.

He took a step forward, his hand going up to the ice pack and he placed his hand over hers.

"Let me hold it," he said in a voice gentler than what is the norm for him.

The girl regarded him for a moment before nodding and let her hand fall to her side as they stared at each other in silence.

(Y/n) frowned as she looked into his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," she muttered bitterly.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm a fragile, breakable doll. Besides..." her uncovered eye focused on an empty space between them to avoid his eyes. "I look like utter shit."

Katsuki frowned a bit. "You look the same to me."

The girl smiled slightly, wincing at the pain of stretching her cut lips. "That depends on how you see me."

Like the most fucking beautiful girl I've ever seen. "Like an annoying dipshit."

The girl looked back at him and shrugged, her smile growing larger despite the sting it came with. "Well, at least it's good to know I haven't changed then."

Katsuki scowled at the sight of her now bleeding lip and pulled away from her. He placed the pack on the sink so that he could cut some tissue paper from the roll. He folded it up and returned back to her to wipe the trail of blood off her lips.

"Awww, I didn't know you were caring," the girl cooed, a smile still on her lips.

"No, am not," his scowl turned into a snarl at the sight of more blood trickling from her wounds. "And will you stop fucking smiling, you idiot!! You'll continue bleeding!!"

For some reason, his outburst only made (Y/n) burst into laughter. Katsuki growled at her and wiped more blood from her lips.

"Stop laughing dammit!!"

"Hahaha! But I can't!! You're making me laugh!!!"

"Stop it!!!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Katsuki groaned in frustration and scowled at the laughing girl, who had tears streaming down her cheeks from the intense laughter. Despite his facial expression, he was legit happy that she was finally laughing and not looking as defeated and dejected as she was when he entered the room.

(Y/n) felt so good while laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed that hard and she was glad that it managed to take away the stress that downed her mood after that day's killer training.

In fact, she was actually glad in general that Katsuki was around because it would've sucked balls if he wasn't.

***