Assassins Can Be Heroes Too || Todoroki Shoto

|21| The Ninja Hero, Edgeshot

"You all have your costumes, right?" checked Aizawa for the umpteenth time, the students nodding, "remember that you aren't allowed to wear them in public, don't drop them or anything like that-"

"Yessir~!" cheered Ashido.

"Speak clearly, Ashido, it's 'yes, sir'," he narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, sir..." she drooped.

"Poor Mina," the girl sweat-dropped.

"Make sure you mind your manner with the Heroes at your internships... off with you now," he shooed, the students waving to one another and heading to their respective stations. The girl hummed, suddenly realising that her Agency wasn't too far from where Bakugo was interning at Best Jeanist's Genius Agency...

This is going to be one hell of a train ride, huh?

"Damn you, Sword Bitch, why are you on the same train as me?!"

"U-uh, well-"

She sighed, slightly shuffling away from him as to not get deaf in either of her ears due to his loud yelling, which was slightly unnerving to the rest. Her phone begun to vibrate in her pocket, the girl checking the caller and was almost startled to see Mirio's name flashing on the screen. She accepted it, holding it to her ear as she sweat-dropped, hearing Bakugo's yelling.

"Hey Mirio, been a while since we talked..." she regretted slightly.

"Yea, it has," he laughed on the other end, "Nejire's gone all pouty on me-she says hi."

"Tell her I say hi and that I'm sorry for not spending as much time with you guys as I should be," she breathed, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Will do," he chuckled, "Amajiki's a nervous wreck, as usual, I bet he's nervous about being the only shy one right now... can't wait until we get another shy kid in our group again."

"Hey!" she cried indignantly, turning red as passengers turned to stare at her; she calmed down, "s-so... are you heading to... uh... Sir Something-Eye's agency now?"

"Yup, I'm headed to Sir Nighteye's Agency right now-oh, pardon me, sir!"

The girl deadpanned.

"Mirio, what exactly are you doing?"

"Talking to you, duh!"

Her shoulders slumped hopelessly.

"No, I meant what are you doing as you're talking to me..."

"Oh, I'm walking."

There was silence on her end.

"No, you're flying," she snorted, "it's dangerous to walk and talk on the pho-"

"Next stop: Chuo Station, Tokyo."

"Oh, that's my queue... chat later, Mirio."

One hell of a train ride indeed.

~TIMESKIP~

"Holy shi-this place is massive..." the girl's jaw dropped as she reached a navy-blue building which was majorly made of glass, "couldn't expect any less from the Number 5 Hero."

With that, she opened the doors to reveal a darker room which was lit by a single lamp hanging from the middle of the room. She gazed around.

"Oh, you must be Stachel!" beamed a man, motioning for her to set her bag down. She did so, waiting patiently for the Ninja Hero to appear. She couldn't have been waiting for more than ten minutes when a voice rang out.

"Welcome to my Agency, Stachel," a low, familiar voice welcomed, the girl snapping out of her trance.

"Wh-Edgeshot?" she questioned wildly, the man silently nodding before appearing behind her, sending shivers up her spine as he whispered in her ear.

"You're very nervous."

How the hell-?

"You're a very smart girl, Rie," he hummed, revealing himself, "very observant, too... but you have one fatal flaw."

"F-flaw?"

"Your Quirk is dangerous, no doubt about that, with your ability to control your opponent's blood flow and manipulating weapons, you make a formidable assassin," he described, materialising himself as he stepped in front of her, a finger to his lips in an attempt to silence her.

"Th-thank you?"

Was that meant to be a compliment?

"Man, Edgeshot's so observant..."

"The kid's lucky to have him as a mentor."

"You think?"

"But she's way too nervous..."

"However, as I mentioned before, you have a fatal flaw," he led her up the stairs to his office, letting the girl enter as she hesitantly placed down her bag, gazing up as he pointed at her, "your personality."

"My..."

"Ah, allow me to reword that: you have a mindset that allows you to lose your levelheadedness, starting to panic and immediately jump to the worst-case scenario... simply put: you need to work on not getting so anxious all the time," he stated calmly, "through this week, I can help you maintain a calmer mindset when in trouble or in danger."

~TIMESKIP~

"Damnit, not again," she growled lowly, giving the man a slightly aggravated stare. He stared down at her, helping her up.

"The first and foremost step to calming yourself down is being less tense, Stachel" he informed, the girl grumbling words under her breath as she steadied herself, "if you're tense, your opponent will take advantage of that. Any hostages that need rescuing will be affected by your anxiousness, and we don't want that, do we?"

She shook her head silently, seating herself in front of his desk.

"Hey, Edgeshot?"

The man spared her a glance, motioning for her to continue.

"How... are you able to tell?"

"Pardon?"

"H-how are you able to tell..." she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck and avoiding the Pro Hero's gaze, "that I'm nervous?"

"Actions such as that," he pointed as her cheeks flushed, "rubbing the back of your neck and avoiding someone's gaze. You're also shifting on your feet quite frequently and you're biting the inside of your tongue... you're biting your nails..."

Each one earned mixed reactions in the young assassin.

Man... his sidekicks are right, he's really observant...

"And I can't tell, but you can tell from your opponent if their heartbeat is quickening," he pointed out, the girl's eyes realising in recognition. He let out a deep sigh.

"Now get changed, Stachel."

"Wh-where are we going?" she blinked.

"Endeavor's Agency, now hurry."