On Monday morning, the 1-A students made their way to the train station with their teacher, since it was finally time to head off to their internships.

"You all have your costumes, right?" asked Aizawa. "Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public. Don't drop them or anything. Also make sure to mind your manner with the heroes at your internships!"

He then gave Bakugo a glance, almost as his last words had been directed to him.

"Off with you, now." he continued.

"Yes, sir!" said the students, as each of them began walking to the respective trains for their destinations.

"Have fun, Katsuki." Shiori smiled, waving goodbye to her friend.

The boy just nodded slightly in acknowledgment and walked away.

---

Shiori hopped on a train that took her to her dads agency, that specialized in undercover missions and stealth work.

Aoshi Himura, more popularly known as Shadow Ninja, was a high-ranking hero with incredible combat skills. Shiori had inherited the weapon storage/summoning aspect of her Quirk from him.

When she walked through the front door, the receptionist Mrs. Akeda greeted her warmly.

"Shiori! Welcome!" she said. "Its wonderful to see you here, feels like yesterday you would walk through that door as a little girl, clinging to your mom's hand."

"Thank you, I'm happy to be here." Shiori smiled.

"We'll just wait a few minutes for the other intern to arrive."

"Oh, I didn't know there was going to be another intern."

"Yes, a student named Sen Kaibara also chose this agency."

Shiori had a faint memory of the boy from the sports festival. He was in class 1-B, and Mina had gone on and on about how cute he was.

It didn't take long until he made his way through the front door.

"Good morning." he said, formally. "I'm here from U.A. for my internship."

"Welcome!" said Mrs. Akeda. "Mr. Kaibara, this is Shiori Himura. She will be interning here as well."

"Himura?" he asked, turning towards Shiori. "So you're--"

"Yup. Daughter." she nodded, smiling.

"Come on in, you two." said the receptionist. "Mr. Himura is waiting for you."

---

The two followed her inside the main office, where Shadow Ninja sat behind a dark wood desk.

"Mr. Himura, the interns have arrived." announced Mrs. Akeda.

"Good morning, U.A. students." he smiled. Mr. Himura was a tall, lean man with dark hair tied in a ponytail. "Welcome to my agency."

"Good morning, sir." the two students said in unison. Although this was Shiori's father, she knew this was supposed to be a professional experience.

"You two have chosen an agency that specializes in a very specific type of hero work, so I'm assuming you know what to expect."

Shiori and Sen nodded.

"The work we do here is less flashy and certainly less talked about by the masses, but that's the point." he continued. "Stealth missions are of outmost importance, but the heroes behind them are mostly left unnoticed by the public. Choosing this hero career means you should put your need for fame behind. If that's not something you can do, then this is the wrong path for you. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Sen and Shiori said, formally.

"One of my trainees will give you a debrief on some our jobs. You two will get to participate in a couple of the lower stakes missions this week so you can get some experience." explained Mr. Himura. "Feel free to head down the hall to the lockers, and someone will meet you there to get you started."

"Thank you, sir." the two students said, bowing.

As the two left the room, Mrs. Akeda stayed behind to talk to her boss.

"Shiori has grown into an amazing young lady, hasn't she?" smiled the receptionist. "Although I must say, its almost strange seeing her out and about without that boy she is always with... Bakugo is his name, right?"

"Yeah. Those two have been together for as long I can remember." said Aoshi, chuckling. "Katsuki has always been the brighter burning star, the one to catch attention — but Shiori is a steady flame, unwavering and honest. That's why they need each other."

He returned to his seat and stretched his back.

"But it's good for her to have a chance to show what she can do away from him." he continued. "She has a lot of potential, and I was always afraid she would live in the shadows of his accomplishments."

"But isn't that what ninja's do, sir?" smiled Mrs. Akeda. "Live in the shadows?"

Mr. Himura laughed. "I guess you're right."

---

Three days after the beginning of their placement, Shiori and Kaibara had gotten the chance to experience a glimpse into the life of a spy hero. From gathering information, to break-ins, to the stealthy capturing of villains.

That day, they were making their way to get an order of weapon supplies with one of the agency's trainees, Reo Sato.

"This place makes the best daggers and trowing knifes in Japan." explained Sato, as they walked. "Mr. Himura has been ordering from them for years. Your Sai are from there, right Shiori?"

"Yup!" Shiori summoned her Sai from her forearms and spun them in her hands. "My daggers and kunai are too."

Kaibara looked at her in awe. In the past few days, he had been super impressed with Shiori's Quirk and abilities, and though he wasn't sure yet, he was developing a crush on the girl.

The three of them walked along the streets, and to Shiori's surprise, they ran into the number four hero Best Jeanist. With him, was Katsuki Bakugo.

The boy looked absolutely paralyzed when he saw Shiori, and anyone who saw the state he was in would understand why.

Bakugo was wearing his hair sleeked back with gel, looking like a trailer park version of a preppy boy.

When Shiori looked at him, she burst into laughter.

"Oh my god, Katsuki, what happened!?" she said, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "You look like the sixth member of One Direction!"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, enraged.

"Katsuki, what did I tell you about that kind of behaviour?" said Best Jeanist.

"What are you doing here, you damn Stitch?" Bakugo asked. "Is this some kind of courtesy visit?"

"We were just running some errands for the agency but man, this made my day." Shiori chuckled.

"Don't ever tell anyone about this or I'll keep trying to kill you for the rest of my life!" he growled.

"Well, everybody needs a hobby." she shrugged.

"Sen, Shiori, let's go." said Sato, hushing them along.

"Bye, Ellen Degeneres!" said Shiori, walking away.

Bakugo growled so hard that his hair poofed back up like a blowfish.

After they got far enough away, Kaibara looked at Shiori, confused.

"Isn't that the guy who won the Sports Festival?" he asked.

"Yup."

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah, we grew up together." smiled Shiori. "He's my best friend."

In that moment, Sato's communication device began beeping.

"Okay guys, we're gonna have to take a rain-check on that supply run." he said. "Mr. Himura has been summoned to an emergency scouting mission, something about a guy covered in hands causing trouble downtown."

Shiori's heart sank. She knew immediately he was talking about the man who attacked the USJ.

"We have to go help some people evacuate." continued Sato. "Follow me."

"Yes, sir." the students nodded, in unison.

---

An hour later, Shiori, Kaibara and Sato were inside a semi-collapsed building, moving people away.

"Help!" cried a little boy. "Help me!"

Shiori ran over, and crouched down beside him. "It's gonna be okay, don't worry! I'll get you out of here!"

"No, please, my dog is still in there!" the boy pleaded.

"Okay, I promise I'll get him for you, but you have to come outside with me first, okay?"

The boy nodded, so Shiori picked him up and ran out of the building. In a flash, she was outside and put him down. She instantly ran back inside, looking for any signs of the boy's dog. Closing her eyes, Shiori attempted to listen for the animal's cries.

After a few seconds, she heard a faint whimper. "There you are." she whispered.

She found the dog under a small pile of rubber, and though it looked dirty and scared, it didn't seem injured.

When she ran back outside with the dog in her hands, the little boy walked towards her excitedly.

"Pogo!" he took the dog into his arms. "Thank you so much, Ms. Hero!"

Shiori chuckled. "My pleasure."

Meanwhile, Sato made his way towards her.

"Shiori." he said. "You have to go back. Sen and I can take care of the rest."

"What? Why?" she asked.

"It's Mr. Himura." said Sato. "He's in the hospital."

---

Katsuki Bakugo was walking home after his internship when he passed by a TV in a store. The news were on, and Aoshi Himura's face was plastered on every screen.

He stopped to watch, and his heart sank when he saw that Shiori's father had been severly injured in a mission.

"Shit." he whispered, closing his hands into fists.

Bakugo turned away and began walking towards the city centre.

When he arrived at Tokyo's General Hospital, the entrance was packed with journalists. After pushing his way through, he walked through the hospital doors and made his way down the hallways.

He found Shiori sitting on a chair outside her dad's room.

"Shiori." he said, approaching.

"Katsuki, you-- what are you doing here?"

"Stop being ungrateful and tell me how your dad is doing damn it."

"The injuries were bad." she said, looking down at the floor. "Really bad. But surgery went well, and my mom's in there with him."

She could feel a lump building in her throat, and tried to push it down.

"I know he'll be fine, though, because this country still needs him. I need him." said Shiori. "And heroes endure because we need them. Not for their own sakes."

Before she could stop it, tears began streaming down her face.

Bakugo, who had been silent up till now, reached up his hand.

"Tears" he said, wiping her face with his fingers "don't suit you."

Shiori looked up into his eyes and felt the familiar feeling of safety and solace. She then closed her eyes and stepped forward into his arms.

Katsuki paused for a few seconds, motionless. But in time, he wrapped his arms around Shiori and allowed himself to take in her warmth.