Izuku rubbed his eyes and wished he'd stolen some of Eraser's eye drops. He'd known that staring at a screen for so long could be exhausting, but before, he'd just been analyzing videos heroes sent, which felt as natural as breathing, so he hardly even noticed the strain. It wasn't that hacking was difficult, per say, it was just that it was a brand new skill that he wasn't used to. He had to learn the grammar of the different codes and make sure that he didn't have any typos. Each line of code had to follow the last in a way that made sense to make sure the program did what he wanted it to in the correct order, whereas analyzing moved and made connections more freely. He was basically having to retrain his brain to think in a different way.

Kaminari: But Viridian figured it out pretty easy.

Shoda: We don't necessarily know that. We just know he had it figured out in around five weeks of online school.

It was still fun though, even when Nezu laughed that time when he'd missed a semicolon and ended up yelling at the screen. It was a semicolon, it shouldn't have made that big of a difference! But no! It messed up the entire code and it had taken Izuku an entire hour to figure out what he was doing wrong. He hated computers.

Mei(affronted): Hey!

Okay, not really, but he was definitely glad that it was time to switch gears and do some work on paper instead of on a screen. Hacking would probably be a lot easier once he'd had a chance to take a break and come back to it with a fresh mind. Nezu finished brewing the tea and brought it to the kitchen table as Izuku sat down. There were already a few files laid out between them and Izuku opened one of them curiously. To his surprise, it seemed to be a practice test of some sort.

Tsukauchi: Oh it's that.

"I thought I'd already completed all of your intelligence tests?" Izuku asked.

Nezu chuckled, "This is not a test that I designed, Midoriya, Tsukauchi gave this to me a few days ago. I believe I told you that a private investigator's license would serve you well, did I not?"

Mt. Lady: ...I forgot about that.

Kamui: You're not the only one.

"Oh..." Izuku looked at the test again and, sure enough, most of the questions were about legal restrictions and detective work. "There's just been so much else going on..."

Nejire: Yeah tell me about it.

Nezu nodded, "Yes, especially since you have decided to bring the number two hero to justice. However, that is exactly why you need a license. Much of the work that you have been doing will apply toward the practical hours you need for it, and once you receive your license, the evidence you have gathered will be more easily admissible in court. Not to mention that the hacking skills you're learning this week will help you in this and in future investigations."

Izuku nodded, "That makes sense. So... do I just take this test or...?"

"This is, of course, only a practice exam." Nezu said. "But they are holding an exam shortly before the next semester begins and I would like you to be prepared to take it."

Shinso: Oh. A mock test.

"So what do I need to know?"

Nezu grinned and Izuku felt a chill run down his spine, "Why don't you take the practice exam and let's find out!"

(a lot of people gulped)

Momo wasn't sure she'd made the correct choice for her internship. Uwabami was a popular hero, and a strong woman, so Momo had assumed she'd learn a lot about being a woman in a field where men were much more common and women were often objectified. She'd been hoping to learn how to avoid that objectification, and instead she was left to wonder if her only option was to embrace it. There must be some other lesson that Uwabami had in mind, but for the life of her, Momo couldn't find it.

Kendo had apparently decided that Uwabami was a joke, but Momo wasn't quite willing to admit that yet. Their mentor couldn't be wasting their time, could she? Momo had always known that fame and public opinion was essential to being a hero, her mom was a master of that, after all, but Uwabami seemed to take that to the extreme. The only hero-like thing they'd done since they arrived was go on patrol, but even then Uwabami seemed to spend more time signing autographs than actually looking for villains and keeping people safe.

Spinner: Fake hero.

Momo was still grateful, though. She honestly hadn't been expecting any offers at all, not after her epic failure against Tokoyami at the sports festival. She'd had such high expectations for herself and wanted so badly to make her parents proud, but instead she'd frozen when she should have fought. She just knew Mom was disappointed in her, even though she'd said she wasn't, but even more than that, Momo was disappointed in herself. How could she be a hero if she couldn't even fight when it really mattered?

Midnight: Aw sweetie don't worry I'm sure other me isn't disappointed in you.

Todoroki: Are you okay Yaoyorozu?

Momo: Yeah... I'm fine now...

So, she let Uwabami drag her and Kendo into a commercial, which was... interesting? It had taken much longer than Momo had thought it would, and afterward Uwabami stayed behind to sign autographs for the camera crew, networking was what she'd called it, and Momo had gone with Kendo back to the dressing room.

"What do you think of all this, Yaoyorozu?" Kendo asked. She was sitting on the counter and swinging her legs out as they waited for Uwabami to finally join them.

Bakugo: Seems like a waste of time just like my internship with Jeanist.

"We're lucky to have gotten the offer."

Kendo rolled her eyes, "I mean, yeah, but it's still ridiculous. Isn't she supposed to be teaching us something?"

"Maybe we're just missing it?" Yaoyorozu replied. Leave it to her to be dumb enough to miss whatever their mentor was trying to teach them.

Hagakure: Oh Yaomomo you're not dumb!

Tsu: Yeah, you're really smart.

Momo: Thanks you guys...

"You just keep telling yourself that." Kendo said. "I don't know. Maybe what we need to take away from this is that the hero industry isn't as perfect as we grew up thinking. I mean, wouldn't Uwabami have made a better model than a hero?"

Aizawa: Some people just become heroes for the extra fame.

Hawks: And the hero industry definitely isn't perfect.

Dabi(looking at the number one hero and the previous number one hero): I can see two examples right over there.

"Popularity is an important part of the industry." Momo said weakly. The argument sounded weaker every time she repeated it.

"You have homeroom with Eraserhead." Kendo pointed out. "So while popularity is important, it's obviously not essential. I personally want to fight and save people more than I want to have my own line of hair care products. Do you want to be a sexy hero?"

Momo: Well... no...

Momo thought about it for a moment. Her mom was a sexy hero, but she still fought, unlike Uwabami. But was that what Momo wanted? She remembered the way that Mineta had leered at her every time she entered the room and her stomach turned, "No, not really. I... don't want people looking at me like that."

Midnight: You don't have to be like me if you don't want to.

Kendo shivered in solidarity, "I know what you mean. Have you ever considered redesigning your hero costume? We could probably come up with a few ideas while we wait for Miss you can have a rabid fanbase too to come back."

Momo rubbed her arm awkwardly, "Well, my costume needs to show a lot of skin..."

Midoriya: But you can focus on practicality can't you?

Kendo nodded, "I get that. I can't have long sleeves on my costume for the same reason. They'd rip as soon as I activated my quirk. But now that you've been fighting for a while, you've learned where you usually create items while fighting, right?"

Momo thought for a moment, "I usually use my stomach or back for larger items, and my hands or wrists for smaller items, simply because they're more accessible if I make them there. I honestly don't use my thighs nearly as much as I thought I would, though. I just don't think about them."

Uraraka: So you can get rid of those.

Power Loader: Do you want to change your costume like the other you Yaoyorozu?

Momo: Yeah... I think I do...

Mineta: Aw! (everyone glared at him and he wilted)

Kendo looked around, then grabbed a napkin and an eyebrow pencil, "Alright, so let's design based around how you actually use your quirk. You're pretty smart, Yaoyorozu, I couldn't remember all those chemical formulas if I tried, so I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something that will match the type of hero you want to be."

Momo nodded and started sketching out some ideas. Kendo was most likely just humoring her, but well, redesigning her costume was something productive to do while Uwabami was busy signing autographs. Maybe Kendo was right and Uwabami didn't really care about anything besides popularity, or maybe Momo was still just missing the lesson, but in the end, she supposed it didn't matter as much as she'd thought it did.

If they couldn't learn anything from their mentor, they'd just have to learn from each other.

Kendo: Too bad we didn't even do that on our internship.

Shishida: Wasted your time?

Kendo: Mm-hm.

To Hitoshi's surprise, Ms. Joke didn't leave after she'd realized Aizawa had an intern. Instead, she'd hung around and sat on the bench laughing at him as he tried to survive Aizawa's nightmare training. He didn't know what he'd expected from whoever Aizawa was dating, considering that he was still trying to wrap his head around the idea of his favorite hero dating anyone, but if someone had told him that Eraserhead was dating an extrovert, he wouldn't have believed them.

(everyone giggled and Aizawa sighed like he was trying to empty his entire lung capacity)

Hitoshi didn't necessarily mind her hanging around, it was just weird. It was also a little strange because Aizawa fought differently when she was around, almost like he was subconsciously trying to show off. If Hitoshi didn't live in mortal terror of Aizawa expelling him right after he'd gotten in the hero course, he would be tempted to file that fact away for blackmail. It was a shame, but Hitoshi didn't have a death wish.

Shinso(dryly): No I don't.

Mina(giggling): Would still be really funny though.

At some point, Aizawa had gone to take a nap and Hitoshi had taken the opportunity to collapse on the floor. He'd only been on his internship two days and he was already exhausted, but it would all be worth it the minute he held his real life hero's license in his hands. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

Recovery Girl: Yes, goals are very good motivators.

"Are you okay?"

Hitoshi opened his eyes slightly to see Ms. Joke standing above him, chuckling.

Joke: What do you think other me?

"Yeah," Hitoshi weakly pumped his fist into the air as he let his eyes close again, "living the dream."

Ms. Joke snorted, "Oh my goodness, if Shouta wasn't still alive, I'd think you were his literal reincarnation."

Mic: She's got a point. Like he's basically a tiny you.

Aizawa: No he's not.

Hitoshi shook his head, "No offense to your boyfriend or anything, but Aizawa is way scarier than I am."

Tamaki: Shadows would like to have a word.

He didn't need to open his eyes to know she was rolling her eyes, "He's already given you his expulsion speech, hasn't he?"

"If you mean he has made it crystal clear that he can kick me out of the hero course at any moment, then yes," Hitoshi said, "he has given me the expulsion speech."

(all of class 1A giggled, remembering their own experiences with his expulsion speeches. It was funnier when they weren't the ones at risk)

"Yeah, that's Shouta for you." Hitoshi glanced over as Ms. Joke laid down on the mat next to him. "But don't let him fool you, he's a giant softy."

Histoshi raised an eyebrow, "I think your definition of softy might be a little skewed."

"Nope." She said with a pop. "He took us to a cat cafe for our first date."

Aizawa: Joke!

That made Hitoshi sit up, "What?"

She nodded, "Like I said, a softy."

Aizawa: I am not-

Everyone: Really?

Hitoshi laid back down and shook his head in disbelief, "I can't see it."

Ms. Joke shrugged, "He puts up a tough exterior, but don't let that fool you. The secret about Shouta is that he cares a little too much, and we both hate it when our students end up hurt because they didn't realize how dangerous it is to be a hero. But as long as you take things seriously, he'll do whatever it takes to make sure you succeed. Now up! Time to get back to work!"

Gran Torino: Yep! Back up and at them!

"Fine," Hitoshi groaned and stretched, "whatever you say, Aizawa's girlfriend."

(Joke and Aizawa went red as everyone else burst into laughter)

Ms. Joke laughed and helped him to his feet, "You can just call me Joke, kid." She thought for a moment, then a wicked grin spread across her face. "Unless of course, you want to see Shouta blush, in which case, just keep doing what you're doing."

Hitoshi found himself with a matching grin. Well, if he had permission...

Aizawa(groaning): Oh no...

Shoto used his right side to bring down his body temperature again as he laid down after another exhausting day of training. His control over his flames had gone up dramatically the past few days, but he was going to have to practice using each of his quirks to just regulate his temperature when he got back to UA, because Endeavor obviously wasn't focused on the balance between his two quirks. Maybe Midoriya would have some ideas?

Midoriya: Do you need any help?

Todoroki: I wouldn't mind the tips.

Shoto jumped to his feet as the door to his room slammed open and his father walked in, the light from his mustache illuminating the dark room, "Shoto, be ready to leave early tomorrow."

Todoroki: Ah right Hosu.

"Why?" Shoto tried to keep the suspicion out of his voice as much as possible. He didn't need to be dragged back into the training room again if he had to wake up early.

"We're going to Hosu." Endeavor turned and strode back out of the room. "It's time I show you what a real hero does."

Shigaraki(scoffing): Like you're a good example of one.