PHOENIX: A Pro Hero Toya Todoroki AU

Chapter 12: Enter Eraser (August 21, 2118)

"Thanks for dropping us off, Todoroki!" Shinji waves to me from the sidewalk as he and Yu step out of my car and grab their belongings from my trunk.

"Don't mention it. It made sense since my field course is here, too, and it would've saved you two the trouble of working with the bus system," I wave back, "See you guys in a month!" I roll the rest of my windows down and turn up the volume in my car all the way as I pull out of the parallel parking spot in front of Edgeshot's Agency and speed down the narrow streets to Machine Gun Kelly. I'm filled with a billion nerves, and my anxiety is having a field day as I try to keep my breathing steady. My first impression with EraserHead and Present Mic was the key to my future career as a pro hero. I grip the steering wheel tightly as I take a sharp left, almost running the red light.

Keigo knocked at my window at the crack of dawn, waking me from a much needed sleep, to congratulate me and tell me how proud he was. He said he would try to visit me at least three times before the end of my field study, but that he couldn't promise anything because he was part of some big underground case at the moment. That was fine. I would need to focus on my course reports anyway considering I would be filling out paperwork for the two Pros after each patrol. He ended up spending the night, but was gone as soon as I woke up. He could only spare a few hours because of his hero shit, but he wanted to spend time with me all the same. I missed waking up to him every day, but he said that, once I graduated, we were never gonna have to sleep apart ever again. It was so weird to think that he was already moving up so fast in the world when he was a year younger than me.

I blink and clear my thoughts as I pull up to the large, ornate building. It looks like half the building is a giant recording studio while the other side has the look of a drab office building. I parallel park my Dodge Charger in front of the building between a bright yellow Tesla and a silver Porsche and hop out to get my bags. I steal a glance at my watch; it's only eleven o'clock. I was here an hour early. Good. I needed to show that I was serious. I have my black duffel, my Pro Hero suitcase, and my bookbag; not too much stuff to carry considering I didn't own that many things. In addition to clothes and basic necessities, I brought Fuyumi's scrapbook with me, my student ID, homework and textbooks, letters that Nats had written me, and some of Keigo's feathers that he left. I walk up to the enormous Agency and ring the bright red buzzer.

YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAAHH!

The noise emitting from the buzzer seems to shake the very foundations of the building.

"Name?" A small feminine voice crackles from the speaker.

"Umm... Third-Degree?" I stutter, and a calm beeping noise drones before the heavyset metal doors creak open. As soon as I walk through the doors, the smell of cats and the sounds of EDM blast my senses. The doors immediately slam shut behind me, making me jump, and I look around the lobby floor. Several small Siamese cats roam around the lobby, and the floor is half a mix of dance floor checkered linoleum and soft, plush carpet. There is no one in the lobby but the cats, me, and a small-framed woman typing away at the desk.

"Um, where are the sidekicks?" I ask politely as I approach the woman, assuming I have to sign in. Her nametag reads: Yui Aoki.

"Oh, sweetheart. Aizawa and Yamada don't have sidekicks. It's just them. Well, and their cats. And me. And their son," She speaks softly as she types away at her fancy laptop.

"Their son?" I say, confused.

Meow!

I turn around to see a kid that looks about Shoto's age standing behind me. He's holding a black kitten in his arms and stroking it like some Bond villain. He looks incredibly sleep deprived, and his shock of purple hair sticks up haphazardly from his scalp.