The Day finally came for Class 1-A to begin their Work Experience Internships with the Pro-Heroes. The Class would be spending Monday to Saturday with their Pro-Hero guides, learning more about what real Heroes faced on a day to day level. They had spent the morning eagerly gathering their possessions and leaving the dorms, before being taken by Bus to a Train Station in the neighbouring district. They'd all be staying at the homes or offices of the Pros until their internship was over, so this would be their last moments together until they returned.

As they gathered on the platform, Aizawa addressed the class; "You've all got your gear and luggage, right? Remember not to wear you costumes in public unless you have your Supervisor's permission; it's prohibited." he warned.

"Yes Sensei!" the class yelled, all carrying the special cases holding their Hero Gear. Since the station wasn't solely for U.A, a lot of people were watching the group, excitedly commenting and waving or shouting support.

"Alright then, you all have the directions and tickets for your trains, so get going. And be on your best behaviour!" Aizawa ordered. Most people would assume he'd be glad to have a week's break from his students, but in truth, he couldn't relax properly when he didn't know how they were all doing. Shota would be keeping himself very busy this week to keep his mind off it.

His class gave a shouted farewell and began separating to go their own ways. Shoto and Izuka were both going to Endeavor's Hero Agency in the centre of Musutafu City, so they moved off together, only stopping to say goodbye to their friends. Katsuki held Izuka close and kissed her hungrily, being a bit more forward than Izuka would normally be comfortable with in a Public Setting, but since they'd be apart for a week, it was understandable. They had NEVER been apart that long, not since Izuka was rescued.

When the two finally separated, Katsuki cupped Izuka's cheeks; "Be safe, Dopey Little Rabbit. Kick some villains' asses and if Endeavor gets cocky, kick his ass too! Half n Half, if something happens to her, I'll explode you to ashes, but you in an urn and explode that too!"

"Whatever you say, Firecracker." Shoto smirked. He and Katsuki had developed a... love-hate relationship, in which they both loved to piss the other off and one up each other. It was rather generously called a Rivalry, but the two didn't really like each other much; they just respected the other's strength and occasionally agreed on things, such as the need to stop Izuka from getting herself killed all the damn time.

Izuka just rolled her eyes and hugged her boyfriend; "My Lion, I'll be fine. You take care of yourself, eat properly and try to be nice. I know you can be."

"Yeah yeah. Now get a move on." Kacchan said, then spun on his heels and headed off to catch his train. To Katsuki, the faster he left, the faster he'd get to return.

Izuka hugged Momo and Ochako good bye as well and waved them off to their own trains while Shoto waited patiently. Finally, she ran to say goodbye to Tenya.

"Hey Tenya! Good luck this week!" Izuka smiled cheerfully. She was a little worried about the older boy. Ever since he received confirmation that he'd be going to Manual's Hero Agency like he wanted, he'd been distant with his friends and spent a lot of time training and studying. More than once, Izuka had found him trying to hide chest pains, like he'd been using his Plus Ultra Mode recklessly, but he always just said it was heart burn.

Tenya turned to greet Izuka and smiled, the same forced smile he'd worn all week. "Thank you, Izuka. Good Luck to you as well, and you too Todoroki."

Izuka gulped. Tenya turned to walk away without another word and Izuka had a horrid feeling; like she had to say something now or something bad would happen. She wasn't stupid; Izuka was ranked second in the class for academics after all, so she knew why Tenya was REALLY going to Hosu, and it wasn't to be close to his busy brother. Every vague mention of the Hero Killer, either on the news or murmured by his fellow students would make Tenya completely shift from whatever he was doing to full on training mode. He'd left without a word after each mention and would only return hours later, exhausted and with chest pains. Izuka had thought about reporting it, but feared she was wrong; if she was, Tenya might not trust her again or be upset that she'd think him capable of such unheroic thoughts. But now... Izuka had to say something. "H-Hey Tenya? You know I'm your friend, right?"

Tenya paused, "Of course. I have never had a finer friend." he said, a real smile on his face this time.

"I'm glad! But, you know that means I'm here for you, right? Like if you want to talk or someone to train with? You've been distant lately; I've been worried." Izuka confessed.

Shoto's eyes narrowed as he watched Tenya's posture turn even more rigid (if such a thing was possible for the Robotic Boy). Tenya was hiding something; "I understand, Izuka. I apologise if I've been rude or unfriendly this week; I'm simply eager to begin working with real heroes. When I return from Hosu, I'm sure I'll be my usual self again." he promised, then walked away and caught his train, disappearing from sight. Izuka frowned and clenched her chest... she still had that nasty feeling. She truly wished she'd said more to him...

... because she would soon come to regret that day.

Izuka was quiet as she and Shoto caught their own train, but after some attempts by Shoto to cheer her up, the girl eventually relaxed and focused on her own internship with Endeavor. She had to trust Tenya would be fine and do the right thing; in the mean time, she had her own work to do! Since the Musutafu city centre was only a short distance away by train, they arrived quickly and it didn't take long for them to find Endeavor's Agency; it was a colossal skyscraper that overlooked a large park, a testament to the wealth, power and prestige of the Number Two Hero. Shoto had been there before, as Endeavor's son, but few others had since Endeavor didn't allow tours, Press or Heroes not associated with him into the building. In fact Endeavor had never taken on an Intern before, only hiring occasional sidekicks and logistical specialists, so Izuka would be one of the first people inside who wasn't employed by him.

The inside was grand and modern, and every bit of technology was the best available. Endeavor's various sidekicks milled about, going to and from cases or training areas, only taking minor interest in the two teens. The two remained in the foyer at the insistence of a strict older woman, who was Endeavor's secretary, until a Sidekick came to greet them.

"You two are Shoto Todoroki and Izuka Midoriya, right?" the man asked. He was a tall man with a similar build to Aizawa-Sensei. He had red spiky hair and was dressed in a black costume reminiscent of a lizard. This was Flare Drake; Endeavor's most famous sidekick.

"Yes sir! And you're Flare Drake! I'm a fan of yours!" Izuka grinned. Shoto rolled his eyes as Drake's chest puffed up in pride.

"Don't let it get to you; she's every hero's fan." he said dully.

"Still, it's good to have a fan. Working with a guy like Endeavor, it's easy to be overshadowed. Todoroki, you're dad's a real taskmaster! Funnily enough, he's kind of eased up this last week. He still trains us into the dirt and is strict about professionalism, but he hasn't fired any of us all week, and even says Good Work from time to time!" Drake grinned, "Word has it that it's because your Mom is getting out of Hospital soon." he said to Shoto.

Izuka gasped with delight and turned to Shoto, who blushed a bit at the happy look she gave him. "Really? Shoto, why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry Izuka. It's not set in stone yet. The Doctors agreed to a kind of Home Care Program. Mom will be moving into a house with my sister Fuyumi in Nabo Ward. Her Nurse will be living there too, but it's really just changing her hospital room for a slightly more homey setting. Nothing else is changing." Shoto admitted.

"Still, that's great! I'm happy for you Shoto." Izuka smiled.

Flare Drake chuckled at the boy's blush and snapped his fingers to draw their attention back to him; "So anyway, the Boss asked me to come and escort you up to his office. He would have come down himself, but he's meeting with another Sidekick. Now, let's go!" he said, cheerfully leading the two teens through the building on a small tour.

Endeavor's sidekicks all shared two traits; they were powerful combat heroes, and they took their jobs seriously. No matter how jovial their personalities seemed, when it was time to work, they were all vicious, remorseless battle machines. Many Sidekicks came to him for strength, or because their quirks worked well with his, but so long as they had those two traits, they'd be accepted. As such, there was two very different atmospheres in the agency; one was for those on break. They chatted, relaxed and seemed perfectly happy and normal, like they were office workers around the water cooler. Then there were those training or getting information from the various logistics offices; they were stiff, formal and serious, with none of the relaxation or frivolity of those not actively working. That was the rule of the Endeavor Agency; on the job, you work diligently and seriously, but off the job, no one cared what you did.

The Agency Building had five main areas; the Logistics Offices where Heroes and Sidekicks could gather information for their jobs, the Training Areas for practicing their skills, the Support Workshops were Endeavor had his own team of Support Staff that maintained their gear, the Hero Offices where Full Heroes under Endeavor's banner operated with their own sidekicks and lastly, Endeavor's offices, which contained all the same areas but for Endeavor's personal use.

When they finally reached the imposing dark wood doors into Endeavor's offices, Flare Drake was suddenly forced to pull the teens aside as the door burst open and a furious sidekick marched out. The man was as tall and muscular as Endeavor, if not a bit more so, but unlike Endeavor, he was completely bald except for a long dark brown pony tail and had a boar's snout and tusks in place of a normal nose. He wore dark plate armour and carried a large spear, as well as a large clawed gauntlet on the hand that didn't hold his spear. He marched away, only stopping for a second to glare at the newcomers before marching off.

Shoto glared after him, "Who was that?"

"That was Gammon, right?" Izuka said, looking to Flare Drake, who nodded to her, "He's one of Endeavor's other Sidekicks and was the closest to going independent, since Flare Drake refuses to leave Endeavor's side. His quirk is Heat Vision."

"Really? He looks like an asshole." Shoto scowled.

"Oh, he is." Drake frowned, "He and the Boss have been fighting all week. You know how I said the Boss has eased up a little? Well Gammon has been going around saying the Boss has gone soft. It's ridiculous; he doesn't fire somebody for a tiny mistake and says Good Job like once, and Gammon suddenly thinks he's going to start singing Orphans to sleep or something. Endeavor's the same as always, he's just being a slightly better boss."

"Seriously? That guy is mad because my father is being LESS of an ass?" Shoto said, disbelieving.

Izuka frowned, "Gammon has some pretty bad history for a Hero. He has been given official warnings for Extreme Collateral Damage and Extremely Excessive Force."

"That's nothing!" Drake said, "Endeavor had to save him from serious consequences five years ago when Gammon killed a petty criminal. He claimed it was self defence, but witnesses say it was murder and the crook had surrendered. If it weren't for the Boss's work with All-Might during the All for One Battle, Endeavor would have been demoted down to at least fifth place in the Hero Rankings."

Shoto's eyes widened; "Why would my father save him from that?"

"None of us really know. Some of us think he owed Gammon a favour. Others think they're friends, but I doubt that; the Boss doesn't really "do" friendship. One guy used to say that Gammon was best buds with the Boss's oldest kid but he got his ass fired when the Boss heard him spreading those rumours. Personally, I just think the Boss didn't want to lose a strong fighter like Gammon." Drake shrugged.

"And the lot of you should mind your own business." came the rumbling voice of Endeavor as he threw open the doors of his office and glared down at the three loitering outside.

Drake gulped as the two teens snapped to attention, both nervous at Endeavor's irritated look. "Oh hey Boss. I brought the Interns for you!" Drake said with a nervous smile.

Endeavor growled, "Yes, I see that. You also decided to fill them in on the Office Gossip, when I told you to only escort them here while giving them the tour."

"Ah, well you see Boss, I did exactly what you asked! It's just that we ran into Gammon a moment ago..." Drake explained.

"Forget that Boar. He'll shape up or be kicked out. Now, I expect three resolved cases from you by the end of the week, or you're on Toilet Cleaning Duty for a month. Dismissed." Endeavor declared.

Flare Drake nodded seriously; "Yes Sir!" he shouted, then ran off, leaving Endeavor to lead the two teens into his office.

As his father sat behind his desk, Shoto couldn't resist commenting; "I'm surprised you didn't fire Drake for gossiping." he said wryly.

Endeavor scoffed; "Lesson 1: I run my Agency as a Meritocracy; so long as you work hard and do well, you're rank within the Agency increases. The higher the rank, the more I'm willing to put up with to keep you around. The Endeavor Agency currently has sixteen Hero Offices working under it and a total of 48 Sidekicks spread between myself and the Heroes of those offices. Naturally; I am Number One here while Drake is Number Two, so it will take more than some idle gossip to make me dismiss him. As newbies, you both will occupy the bottom ranks: Midoriya is Ranked 66 and you Shoto are Ranked 67, since she got further than you in the Sports Festival. Your goal here this week is to rise as high as you can in the rankings. As Interns, I don't expect you to got into the top 60, but if you manage it, I will reward you." the Flame Hero explained.

Both Teens nodded. Endeavor was acting purely professional, not really acknowledging any connection he had with them. His ranking Izuka higher also ended any worries by Shoto that Endeavor would try to use his authority to claim revenge against the girl for the Exhibition Match. Endeavor leaned back in his chair; "Now, let us get the introductions out of the way. I am Flame Hero: Endeavor." he said with a nod to each of them.

Izuka smiled; "My name is Izuka Midor-"

"Stop." Endeavor cut her off. "I didn't introduce myself as Enji Todoroki. The person you are outside the world of Heroes means nothing here."

Izuka blinked, but realising what he meant, nodded and straightened up with determination on her face; "I'm the Eternal Hero: Seraphim."

Endeavor grinned and nodded, then looked to his son. Shoto looked him in the eye: "I'm the Freezer Burn Hero: Celsius."

The Flame Hero grinned wider and clapped his hands; "Good strong names. They send a powerful message. It seems my faith wasn't misplaced. While you are operating within this building or in the field, you are only to use your Hero Names from now on, and you must always be in Uniform. Celsius, go to the Training Area on the eighth floor and change, then go through your Warm Up. I need to have a discussion with Seraphim."

Shoto narrowed his eyes, but after a comforting nod from Izuka, he obeyed. With Shoto gone, Izuka turned to Endeavor, nervous as to what he would say. Endeavor looked at her seriously; "I have two things I must discuss with you; one is professional and one is personal. On the Professional note, I assume my son informed you that I am aware of your Quirks thanks to going through All for One's files?"

"Yes sir." Izuka nodded.

"Good, then this will be easy. You are not to die under any circumstances while working under me. If you do, I'll drop you down to the Bottom Rank and you will remain in the Office for the rest of your time here. Secondly, you are not to link with any member of my Agency unless it is an absolute emergency; each hero and sidekick here must strive to go as far as possible on their own merits. Is all that understood?" Endeavor said sternly.

"Yes sir, I'll do as you say." Izuka promised.

Endeavor nodded; "Good, you know your place. I'll be frank; I chose to send you an offer because I saw your power and potential. Your relationship with All-Might and my son, as well as the Incidents you were involved in had no bearing on my decision, nor did your fight with me. I will treat you as your rank and effort deserve. Now, moving on to the more personal issue..." the man stood and moved to look out his window; "You have my thanks. You actions helped my son and also opened my eyes to how far I have fallen."

Izuka smiled; "I'm happy I was able to help."

"Don't get the wrong idea, however." the man said with a serious expression; "I still aim to be the Number One, and I still aim to raise Shoto to that position. I've simply decided to change how I do it. Don't expect me to coddle the people or smile incessantly like your father; I will become Number One by becoming so powerful, no one will be able to deny my superiority. I will be Number One on MY terms.... However, I have learned that there is no room for cruelty in the road to the top. You have my thanks for opening my eyes to that. Now, I have a question for you." the hero looked her in the eye; "Why did you choose to come here?"

Izuka fidgeted nervously; "W-Well I knew you were the best Fire user, so as a fellow Fire user, I wanted to learn from you. You're also the Top Combat Specialist, and I want to learn how to fight better... I used to think I could just rescue and support while my partner fought the enemy..." Izuka thought about Katsuki and his resolve in learning something different from Best Jeanist, as well as how woefully unprepared she was to fight at the USJ. "But I learned a Hero that aims to be the best can't limit themselves; if people can't rely on me in every situation, I can't be the Top Hero."

Endeavor nodded; "A good answer. Fear not; when I am done with you, you will be a real fighter." he smirked. "Now go to the eighth floor training area and warm up. I'll be there soon, and when I arrive..." his smirk turned feral; "I'll train you like you've never been trained before!"

Izuka gulped and nodded, running from the room and heading to the training area. Changing in the female locker rooms, Seraphim emerged into the Training Area and began joining Celsius in his warm up routine; a series of rigorous stretches and many sets of push ups, sit ups and pull ups. For a normal teenager, the warm up would be a full work out, but for Celsius and Seraphim, it was fairly light compared to their usual training with their respective fathers. Both were fully warmed up and raring to go by the time Endeavor arrived, appearing with two sidekicks. The one to his right was a man dressed in a harlequin outfit and a mask that covered his face; the left side was crying and frowning while the right side was smiling and laughing like the old theatre masks. The one on his left was a woman with flowing red hair that reached all the way to the floor and was braided into a single long braid. Her costume resembled a black one piece swimsuit decorated with red flames, as well as pure black knee boots and elbow length fingerless gloves. She also wore a simple black mask over her eyes.

Endeavor briefly inspected the two interns, and upon judging them properly warmed up, he introduced them to the newcomers. "Alright you brats, these two are going to be sparring with you. These are my newest sidekicks, fresh from U.A's last graduating class. This guy is Blade Jester and the girl is Embright: ranked 65 and 64 respectively. You'll fight them until one of you surrenders or is knocked out. They know your quirks, but you don't know theirs. Celsius, you're with Embright and Seraphim, you're with Blade Jester."

The Flame Hero has been careful when picking these two sidekicks to fight the interns; Embright was a fire user like himself, so she had to be matched with Celsius, as Seraphim would be immune to her, but Blade Jester was someone Seraphim would be unprepared for. He was actually an Underground Hero and despite having attended U.A while Seraphim was training with Recovery Girl, he had never been to the Nurse's office so the girl didn't know who he was and couldn't use any analysis from his resolved cases to fight him. For this, she'd be as blind as any one.

Celsius and Embright went first. Celsius sent a wave of ice to try and freeze the sidekick, then Embright simply whipped her hair at the incoming attack, causing her braid to come lose. Each strand of hair became a thread of fire and easily shredded through the ice, then snaked it's way through the slush to catch Celsius' leg, though it wasn't burning any more. Embright's quirk was "Flame Gorgon", the ability to freely manipulate her hair and set it on fire at will. This became clear when Celsius was thrown into the wall of the training room despite trying to both freeze and burn the hair away. The hair was fireproof, much like Izuka's and the fire burned hot enough to melt any ice used against it. Recovering from his trip into the wall, Celsius activated Plus Ultra Mode and aimed both hands at the Sidekick, shooting a massive torrent of icy cold water from each palm, mildly impressing Endeavor. Embright squealed as the cold water hit her and was followed up by some intense cold to freeze her in place, but it didn't last long as she was still able to ignite her wet hair, drying it instantly and freeing herself. Celsius didn't have time to be surprised as the hair snaked around his throat and choked him out, leaving him to fall unconscious to the floor.

Izuka gaped at the sight; Embright had beaten him so easily! Shoto was strong; very strong and was considered one of the two top boys of their generation, yet he'd not been able to do more than make Embright uncomfortably cold. The girl was suddenly much more apprehensive about her own fight... this was the difference in power between a student and a sidekick.

As Shoto woke up, Endeavor regarded him with a small frown; "As I expected. You have keen control over your ice and are fairly skilled with your fire, considering how little you used it in the past, but you always attack the same way; looking to overwhelm your opponent with the elements. Every battle, you start with a wave of ice. Raw power isn't enough at this level; you'd need to be much stronger for that alone to win against real opponents. You demonstrated creativity in the battle with the Laser kid; I want to see more of that! Until you have more power, you need to make up for your weaknesses with tactics." the man lectured.

Embright nodded along with her Boss, helping Shoto to his feet; "He's right. When I was your age on my own work experience, I was really vulnerable to cold and water. If you'd fought me then, I'd have been defeated easily. When faced with something you can't beat, you either have to grow so strong you can steam roll it with pure power, or use tricks and tactics to overcome it."

Shoto frowned, thinking back to his battles with Aoyama and Uraraka. Both had been far outmatched by him, yet had stood up to him and been able to push him with clever use of their quirks. "I think... I think it would be better if I was able to use my quirk more effectively before growing stronger..." he admitted. He had only recently been able to incorporate water into his combat style, but thinking about it now, there was more he could do, like using steam or simply lowering and increasing the temperature of his surroundings. Endeavor nodded approvingly, seeing his son thinking seriously about how to use his quirk more effectively. Certain Shoto would come to the right answer on his own, he turned to Izuka.

"Seraphim, you'll battle Blade Jester now." he declared, gesturing for her and his sidekick to move to the middle of the training area. Jester was silent and made a showy bow, jingling the bells on his outfit in the process. Izuka smiled and returned the bow, then took a combat stance and watched her opponent carefully. Since she had no idea what her opponent could do, she remained on the defensive; her wings summoned and ready to block any attack that suddenly came at her as she watched Jester. The Sidekick clapped at the appearance of the wings, then spoke for the first time.

"Oho! How pretty. You match your name; Little Angel." he said, his voice light and feminine, with a playful lilt to it.

"Thank you. I like your costume. It's pretty." Seraphim replied cautiously. It was true too; while it was garishly coloured, Jester's harlequin outfit was quite nice to look at; it was a vibrant royal purple and deep blood red spandex suit with the gloves and shoes attached. He wore a torn green shawl that covered his back and a matching blue skirt with bells along the hem, and what parts of his head that weren't covered by his mask was hidden by a patchwork hood. Suddenly, Jester drew a pair of thin curved daggers from his skirt and spun them in his hands before dropping them to the ground, apparently failing whatever trick he had been attempting. Puzzled, Seraphim took a step back, knowing that with a name like Blade Jester, the man must have a quirk related to those daggers. Jester tilted his head when he saw Seraphim wasn't reacting and so took two steps forward and turned his back on her, bending over as if to pick up his knives. As he bent, he flipped up the back of his skirt, to reveal a big patchwork smily face sown into the seat of his costume... he essentially had a smily face on his ass.

Caught off guard by this ridiculous man, Seraphim giggled, not noticing Endeavor or Embright cringing on the sidelines.

As soon as the giggle left her mouth, Seraphim suddenly felt very dizzy. Random colours began to invert themselves while others darkened or lightened. Noises randomly got quieter and louder and the room seemed to spin, causing the young hero to stagger and gasp, feeling nauseated by the sudden shift of her senses. Blade Jester immediately moved to act; he grabbed his blades and with lethal speed and skill, attacked her, his knives slicing this way and that, dancing through the air towards the girl. Despite her vulnerability, Seraphim was able to see the attack coming and willed her wings to surround her, so they protected her from the blades, however while they were able to stop Jester getting through thanks to their heat, they weren't fully physical, so the Sidekick leapt backward and threw one of his knives through the wings directly at Seraphim. The attack wasn't meant to seriously hurt her, so only barely cut her cheek, but that cut stung like nothing the girl had ever felt; it was like a thousand bees were stinging the same thin line of skin. She grimaced and bared the pain stoically, but it did make her eyes tear up a bit, and that was all Jester needed.

The moment Blade Jester saw a single tear leak from Seraphim's eye, he bowed once again and Seraphim promptly felt all air vanish from her lungs as she struggled to breath. Thanks to the number of times she was killed by drowning or suffocation, and her Evolution adapting her to resist more attempts, Izuka could go without oxygen for an hour and wouldn't lose consciousness until the 45 minute mark so she was able to stay standing and fighting, though she was significantly weakened without oxygen. Still, she could still use her flames, so Izuka recognised that there was air, she just couldn't breathe it for some reason. Sluggishly, she decided to go on the offensive, flaring her wings and firing several flame feathers, but Jester effortlessly ducked and weaved around them with his acrobatics, acting as if he was in a show. The Sidekick's posture was surprised though; he clearly didn't expect his opponent to be able to fight this long without breathing. However, the fight soon ended as it became clear Seraphim couldn't fight any longer and was just continuing through dogged determination. Her chances of victory were 0%, so Endeavor called the fight.

Izuka looked down at the floor as she fell to her hands and knees, disappointed at her loss even as air raced back into her lungs and she hungrily breathed it in. "I lost..." she muttered sadly.

"You did. There's no shame in it; Blade Jester is not a good guy to fight unless you know his quirk." Embright said, helping the girl back to her feet.

"It was triggered by laughter, right? And my tears too. It's some kind of mental quirk, like Hitoshi's." Izuka said.

"How observant!" Jester said, clapping his hands, "My quirk is called "Comedy and Tragedy". If I make you laugh, I can manipulate your emotions and senses by playing around with how your brain reacts to chemicals and outside stimuli. If I make you cry, even just a single tear, I can manipulate your body by forcing your brain to send or stop sending signals. You giggle, which was a joy to hear by the way, allowed me to confuse you, then my blade was able to make you cry a single tear, allowing me to tell your brain to tell your lungs to stop working. My knives are coated in a special agent that stings like crazy; based on lemon juice and bullet ant venom to help induce crying." he explained. He gently petted Izuka's hair; "I've wanted to fight you since I saw you defeat Shinso in the Sports Festival! I thought you might be immune to my quirk, but it seems not. Still, I'm impressed."

Izuka blushed; "Thank you, Blade Jester. My immunity to Mind quirks is really only limited to quirks that try to suppress or control my free will. Since your quirk doesn't try to control me, but rather messes with how my brain understands things, it still works."

Endeavor nodded; "So tell me Seraphim, what is your analysis? I have heard a lot about your skill in that area, so I wish to see it first hand." he said

Izuka gulped, easily intimidated by Endeavor despite knowing he couldn't hurt her. "Blade Jester's strategy is practically flawless against one on one opponents. He forces his foe to laugh, then uses his Comedy half to disorient them and leave them open to an attack with is blades. If that doesn't take them out on their own, the stinging agent would make them tear up, allowing him to shut off their lungs and choke them out. It would be more difficult on multiple opponents, unless his quirk can effect many people at once, and against stoic opponents like yourself, making them laugh or cry would be tough."

The Flame Hero nodded approvingly; "My own analysts came to the same conclusion. Now, on to your own critique; you are tenacious, I'll give you that, but against any opponent you have no knowledge off, you become overly cautious, allowing them the first move. If you had attacked immediately, you might have been able to win, or at least last longer. While Shoto's problems revolve around his quirk and skill, yours revolve around your personality; you are too soft!"

Izuka recoiled a bit, before looking down ashamedly; she knew Endeavor was right. Even at the USJ, during a life and death battle, she'd been soft. She could have used her flames to attack and capture Tomura, but had been afraid to use her power against another person for real. The Noumu was easy, since it was basically a walking practice dummy, and in a practice or faux fight like the Sports Festival battles, Izuka could fight with ease because she knew there were limits in place. That was where she'd failed here; she'd fought Jester like it was a sparring match (which it technically was) while he fought her like it was a real battle, using the same tactics he used against real villains. She lacked any sort of real fighting spirit as unlike the Sports Festival, she wasn't fighting for the sake of her father or those she had beaten.

Endeavor noticed her staring at her own hands and nodded in understanding; "You can't truly bring yourself to do it, can you? You can't bare to use your power against other people. You can only fight in practice because you know it's not real and you have others to stop you if you go too far. I've seen it a lot in teenagers like you."

Izuka frowned; "What do you mean by teenagers like me?" she asked curiously.

A strange, almost sympathetic expression appeared on Endeavor's face; "Those whose quirk has taken a life."

The room became deathly quiet as Izuka paled dramatically. Jester and Embright looked at her sympathetically and Shoto grimaced. Izuka had killed (or at least believed she'd killed) All for One. It was currently unknown if that was actually true, since Tomura had suggested his teacher was still alive but it didn't seem to matter to Izuka; for five years, she'd lived with the knowledge that she, a hero hopeful, had taken a life. For someone as gentle as her, who wore her emotions on her sleeve and had such a cavalier attitude towards her own suffering while caring deeply for others, that knowledge had affected her deeply.

"I just don't want to hurt people..." Izuka said, her voice impossibly small and vulnerable.

"Good." Blade Jester said, "It's not a Hero's job to hurt others, but to save them. To save the many, we must fight the few, so when you next fight, remember this: I'm not doing this to hurt the enemy, I'm doing this to save the innocent. If it's practice like your fight with me, then think: I'm doing this to get stronger so I can save others! So long as you remember why you're fighting and why you're hurting the enemy, you can keep moving forward. That's the role of a hero."

Izuka and Shoto exchanged looks. Being a Hero... it had so much more nuance to it than anyone ever really talked about. To most, it boiled down to beat the bad guy and save the good guy, but it was so much more than that. Izuka clasped her hands into fists and squeezed them tightly; she came to Endeavor's Agency to learn to fight for real, to face Villains and do what needed to be done. Her softness and reluctance had to go, or at least had to be set aside when things got serious, and that was her first task.

"Sir, I'd like to try again." Izuka said, determinedly.

Endeavor smirked, "Good. Now get up and fight! Keep standing up again until it's your enemy that falls and remember; every time you fail, it's a civilian who suffers, so don't fail! Get to work!"

Izuka nodded and faced Blade Jester once again. She would fight again and again until she won. Because Heroes couldn't afford to lose.