Evening,
Same day.
Midoriya broke the news of his acceptance into Sir Nighteye's Agency for his Hero Work-Study in the Heights Alliance common room.
"Whoa!" Kirishima gasped. "Damn! That's…"
"Congratulations, Midoriya," Tenya said, shaking his hand.
More and more students began surrounding Midoriya to congratulate him, with Todoroki and Bakugo eyeing them from the sidelines.
Despite both of them securing positions for the summer, an internship was still just an internship, unlike a Hero Work-Study.
This meant that even if the Pros they would be working under recognized their strength, they wouldn't necessarily treat them the same as students with Provisional Hero Licenses on their Hero Work-Studies.
This, in turn, meant fewer opportunities to gain meaningful experience.
"The gap between us will only widen…" Todoroki muttered.
A vein twitched on Bakugo's forehead. "Shut up!"
There was another form of preferential treatment that students with Provisional Hero Licenses enjoyed.
Unlike the three of them, who had been given an ultimatum to find an internship on their own by tonight, the rest of the Class 2-A students weren't bound to such a strict deadline.
For them, the bigger headache was finding a Pro not only willing, but capable of taking on students for Hero Work-Studies.
"You are so lucky!" Ochaco complained. "Gunhead can't even accept our requests…"
Hagakure, who had interned with Ochaco, groaned as well. "… You need to have a record of a certain number of interns, he told us. His agency doesn't meet the criteria…"
The girls weren't alone in falling into despair.
Among the students, only Momo and Tenya had managed to secure Hero Agencies for their Hero Work-Studies before Deku.
Momo had chosen Snipe's Agency, despite receiving multiple invitations from other agencies. Her performance in the Sports Festival—going as far as to win the Battle Royale—had brought her to the center of attention. The sheer versatility of her Quirk was also a big factor behind the invitations. However, Snipe and she already had a verbal agreement to continue her weapons training, something all the students knew about.
Ida's case was even simpler; he had chosen his older brother's agency—Team Idaten!
Tensei Ida, Turbo Hero: Ingenium, had been injured by Stain before the Hosu City Incident and had temporarily retired after suffering paralysis. However, after months of recuperation, the Pro was back to work and had taken charge of his old duties at the Agency.
The others weren't as lucky as Ida to have a prestigious Hero with an exemplary record in their family.
"It cannot be helped," Momo, seated next to Jiro on the sofa, said. "Unlike our internships, we will all be directly involved in various field activities. If anything happens… Pro Heroes are very mindful of their agencies getting caught up in controversies."
"Well put, Yaoyorozu." The students' heads snapped around to find Eraser Head walking toward them. "It becomes a problem of taking responsibility in such scenarios. So, Pros who accept students for Hero Work-Studies, even after knowing all the risks, must be the real thing. Often, these Pros willingly look for such trouble…"
Just as the students were frowning over what Eraser Head meant by that, the Pro looked toward Tokoyami.
"Hawks called," Aizawa said unenthusiastically. "He specifically asked for the 'wyvern-guy' from the Provisional Hero License Exam."
The students' eyes went wide.
"Hawks?!" Kaminari gasped.
"The No. 3 Pro Hero Hawks?!" Hanta Sero gulped.
All Might had retired long ago, but the Hero Billboard Chart had yet to be updated.
People unanimously considered Endeavor, currently at No. 2, to be the only choice for the next No. 1 Hero.
However, the positions of the other Heroes in the rankings were still up for debate.
It didn't change the fact that Hawks was an extremely strong contender for the No. 2 spot—not that his current rank was any less jaw-dropping.
Without waiting for Tokoyami's verbal acceptance, Eraser Head faced the other students.
"Lemillion visited UA yesterday," he said, making Midoriya jump. "After learning that it was time for your Hero Work-Studies, he graciously offered to contact his friends—Nejire-chan and Suneater, the other two members of the famous Big Three."
All the students exchanged glances, hope shining in their eyes.
Who among them didn't know about UA's Big Three from a year ago?
Sadly, the students of Class 2-A had only gotten the chance to meet Lemillion, and that had been during the Training Camp.
Senior Togata had never stopped talking about his friends, they remembered.
So, if those two had chosen students from Class 2-A as well, it would be an immense relief.
"Kirishima," Eraser Head said. "Suneater from the Fat Gum Agency wants you to call him. Uraraka, Hagakure—Nejire-chan from the Ryukyu Agency asked for you two."
Kirishima instantly shot to his feet, smiling from ear to ear, while the girls held hands and jumped up and down.
"Alright," Eraser Head said. "That's all."
As the other students fell into another bout of despair regarding their Hero Work-Studies, Momo almost stood up and called out to Aizawa to ask what had happened to Luke.
However, remembering how immensely difficult it would already be for him to secure an internship due to his house arrest, she held herself back and sat down.
Midoriya didn't hesitate.
"Sir!" Deku called out. "Did Luke find a Hero Agency for his internship?"
Eraser Head paused.
He didn't turn around for a moment, prompting the students to glance at each other in confusion.
Then, shaking his head, he finally faced them. "No," he said. "Luke failed to secure an Internship…"
"HAHAHA…" Bakugo laughed his lungs out.
"Instead…" Eraser Head continued, "… Luke became Rabbit Hero: Mirko's Sidekick."
***************
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