Chapter Text
“Katsuki, this is my second time sparring today – I’m going to die.” Uraraka whined as she punched into the pads Bakugou was wearing on his hands repeatedly. Her arms felt like wet noodles from a week of prepping for her internship interview. She didn’t think she would have to show off her combat skills for Ms. Joke – but try telling that to Bakugou. He was insistent that she be in top shape so that there was no doubt she was the best candidate for the job. It would’ve been sweet if Uraraka wasn’t suffering from exhaustion.
“I know that’s not my girlfriend bitching.” Bakugou grunted as Uraraka aimed a jab at his right hand. “Thought she was a badass.”
“A tired one!” Uraraka hit him as hard as she could, and he didn’t even budge. She groaned in defeat and collapsed on the ground. Worn out as she may be, Uraraka was appreciative of Bakugou for wanting to help her. Her other friends were either too wrapped up in preparing for their own interviews – like Deku, whose muttering had increased tenfold in the past three days – or weren’t concerned at all. Mina had taken her time to update her hairstyle, file her horns and practice her makeup with Hagakure in anticipation for her interview with Midnight.
Bakugou had more reason to be tired than she did, but as usual, he was a machine. He had started his “apprenticeship” with Aizawa a week earlier and for three nights a week, he was leaving campus at twelve AM, Todoroki by his side. Each night when Bakugou would return, he would crawl into her bed at 3 or 4 in the morning and wrap his arms around her, waking her, but only for a moment before she fell into an even more comforting sleep than before. He had begun to sustain his life force on coffee and tea, and powernaps. He was in bed religiously by eight PM, ignoring the grandpa jokes that Kaminari and Sero through his way, and then was back out of the door a few hours later. It was a whirlwind of a life and Uraraka wasn’t sure how he was managing it, but Bakugou had always been incredible when it came to endurance and balance.
The hectic schedule made moments where they could spend time together actually talking few and far between. Usually their stolen moments consisted of anything but talking, so Uraraka did appreciate the time to catch up.
Today, however, Bakugou had been insistent that he needed to train, and would not hear it when Uraraka begged him to go beat up Kirishima, or Todoroki, or anyone else.
“Have mercy on me.” Uraraka said now, holding up her hands in surrender. Bakugou rolled his eyes then sat down next to her.
“You’ll never hear the end of it if Ms. Fuckin’ Joke is the one to take you down because you aren’t prepared.” He rolled his eyes then crouched down next to her, pushing the sweaty hair out of her face.
“I’m just resting, you animal. Normal people rest. It’s good for the body.” Uraraka swatted his hand away. He gave her a dry look.
“I rest.” He protested.
“Barely.”
“Got better things to do.” He said, then gazed into her eyes while licking his lips.
“You’re trying to kill me.” She accused. “That’s been your plan all along, hasn’t it?”
Bakugou laughed, then scooped her off the floor, effortless in a way that would always make Uraraka dizzy. “Yeah, ya caught me.” He dipped his mouth down to her ear. “Let’s go to my room, huh, angel face?”
Uraraka’s heart thrummed in her chest and she was sure her face was growing impossibly redder. “I’m so sweaty.” She said weakly. “It’s gross.”
“I think it’s hot.” His lips brushed against her. “But if you’re worried about it, we can take a shower.”
“It’s the middle of the day – what if someone walks in?”
“Then I’ll blast them to hell.” Bakugou said as if this was a simple and logical solution. When Uraraka groaned, and looked upside down to his face above her, she saw his smirk. “Everyone is busy doing whatever shit it is that extras do – no one is gonna walk in on us.”
Uraraka, admittedly, didn’t need a lot of convincing when it came to Bakugou. Not when she was pressed up against a wall of solid muscle and had his – quite literally – hot hands were curled under her, encompassing a sensitive area of her body. Every hero had a weakness, and Katsuki Bakugou was undeniably hers.
She inclined her head just enough to give her consent, and Bakugou lifted her hips into the air and spun her around so that she was facing him. He planted a searing kiss on her lips that left her dazed and dizzier than she already was from the exertion. “Let’s go.” He said, then he released her back to the ground, grabbed her hand, and pulled her away.
Bakugou wasn’t wrong – there was no one in the hallways, and he proved how confident he was in this fact by turning around swiftly, slamming Uraraka against the wall and pressing her wrists above her head.
“Katsuki!” She squeaked. They were right by the bedrooms – by Iida’s bedroom, in fact – it was like skipping through an active minefield. He growled against her neck.
“Can’t wait, angel face.” He murmured on her skin.
“You better!” She hissed. “Nothing would kill the mood more than Iida coming out here to lecture us.”
“Fuck, good point.” Bakugou crinkled his eyebrows together. “Let’s go then. Walk faster.” He released her and let her lead the way, which she was grateful for because it meant she wouldn’t be dragged like a ragdoll. Bakugou was in rare form today.
When they reached the door to the girl’s showers, she fumbled with the door due to her overzealousness and Bakugou smacked her ass impatiently.
Uraraka squealed and dragged Bakugou by the collar, sending him crashing into her in a tangle of limbs. “What’s up with you?” She gasped out after Bakugou pulled his lips away from her.
“Nothin’, just love you.” He mumbled. “And you look so fuckin’ hot when we spar.”
His words made Uraraka melt into a puddle at his feet, and she stretched up to her tip toes so that she could dig her fingers into his hair. She yanked hard, forcing his head back down and kissed him hard. When they broke away for air, Bakugou’s pupils were blown wide and his chest was heaving.
“Love you too.” Uraraka said sweetly. “Let’s shower.”
“You’re the one trying to kill me.” Bakugou choked out. He clawed at her tank top and Uraraka indulged him, letting him toss it into the corner of the room. It was probably a bad idea, leaving an evidence trail strewn around the bathroom, but Uraraka was having a hard time giving coherent thoughts any weight in her mind. Bakugou’s lips were too warm, his scent was too intoxicating. The bulge in his pants was pressing into her and any sensibility she might have had earlier was gone somewhere far beyond her reach.
“Maybe.” She breathed, slowing herself down and letting her hands wander under his shirt, tracing mindless patterns onto his stomach.
“Don’t tease. You’re always such a fuckin’ tease, angel.” His voice made her shudder – it was throaty and dangerous, thick with desire. “Not enough time in the day to take it slow.”
He was right about that – with their opposing schedules, they really didn’t have enough time to take things slow, and something about the way his words dripped with desperation caused a low ache in Uraraka. She nodded, almost as if in a trance, and pulled Bakugou’s pants down to his ankles. Bakugo stepped out of them, and then blindly peeled Uraraka’s sports bra off of her. She kicked off her tennis shoes, tossed her socks, and let her shorts land somewhere by the sink.
Bakugou had walked her into the shower cubicle, yanking the curtain to the side as he did. Deft hands slid the last bit of fabric separating them down Uraraka’s legs, and then she was smashed to Bakugou, skimming her hands down his back as she grinded against him.
“Mmm.” Bakugou licked a strip up her neck and Uraraka dug her nails into his shoulders. “Salty.” He teased.
“Shut up.” She replied, voice wobbly. She found the shower knob behind her and set it to warm, unleashing a cascade of water over both of them. Bakugou pushed wet hair out of his eyes and pierced Uraraka with a look of pure fire.
Bakugou kissed her like a starving man, hot and heavy and needy. He disconnected himself from her for just long enough to squeeze body wash into his hands, and he lathered Uraraka up with it. He gave special attention to her breasts, pinching and flicking her nipples. He smirked when she gasped, bucking her hips into him at the sensation.
Uraraka trailed her hands down to Bakugou’s thighs, tickling them lightly, enjoying watching him squirm. His cock twitched in response and he groaned, begging her to touch him with his body language.
She complied, tightening her hand around him and stroking. Bakugou whined and crushed his lips to hers once more, tasting her upper lip with his tongue.
“Wait,” Bakugou moved Uraraka’s hands away from him and she gave him a confused look – she knew what Bakugou liked, so she didn’t understand why he would want her to stop. “Let’s get you ready.” He smiled deviously, then he dropped to his knees on the floor of the shower, staring up at Uraraka from under wet eyelashes. He squeezed her close to him and dove in with his tongue.
Uraraka tugged at his hair and whimpered, moving her body in rhythm with his ministrations. She closed her eyes and reached back against the wall to support herself, biting her lip to hold back her moans.
“Oh my God!”
Uraraka’s eyes jolted open, and Bakugou practically seized.
“Oh my God! Oh my God! These are your underwear, Ochako Uraraka! In the public showers? Really? You both have bedrooms.”
Uraraka’s heart thrummed rapidly in her chest. Someone had come into the bathroom. A very specific, very nosy, very loud someone –
“Fucking alien freak, get the fuck out.” Bakugou growled, his arms still wrapped around Uraraka’s waist, his mouth still dangerously close to where she ached.
“This is my shower, Bakugou.” Mina retorted. “Also, are you on your knees? Ochako, you queen. I’m so proud.”
“Mina, how much will it take for you to leave and never speak of this again?” Uraraka closed her eyes and sighed. Mina had the worst timing in the history of the world, always.
“I’m never going to stop speaking about this, but that’s beside the point. I’ve been looking for you all over the place – I thought when I went by yours and Baku’s rooms that I would be safe from this mental scarring, but I guess you’re kinkier than I think.” Uraraka could hear the shit-eating grin in her tone. “What if it had been Tsu who found you? Think of the innocence lost!”
Uraraka thought back to a conversation Tsu and her had had earlier in the week where the frog girl asked her for advice on picking out lingerie and knew that the innocence was long-since lost, but she didn’t mention that to Mina.
“What’s your fuckin’ point?” Bakugou stayed on his knees, and he slowly turned his head and ran his tongue between her legs. Uraraka smacked his head in an attempt to make him stop, but that just motivated him to delve in deeper.
“My point –” Uraraka was struggling to focus on Mina’s rambling as Bakugou worked magic, kissing and nipping at her most sensitive spots. She said a silent prayer that she had decided to keep the water on so it drowned out any sounds Bakugou – or Uraraka – might have been making. “I have been sent on a mission by Aizawa Sensei to find you. He wants to talk to you before you go to your interview tomorrow.”
“W – what does he want?” Uraraka closed her eyes tight, cringing at herself for stammering. Mina would know. Oh, Mina would know. She was too well-versed in the art of sex to be fooled. Uraraka would surely be hearing about this later.
“You think he tells me anything? He just said to find you. He knows I have tabs on everyone in this school.” She sounded proud.
“Okay, I’ll go talk to him.” Uraraka promised, needing Mina to leave so that she could unleash the string of profanities and exclamations that were building up on her tongue as Bakugou gripped her tighter, devouring her. “You can go now.”
“Aw, man, I don’t get to watch a porn video come to life?” Mina pouted.
“Go.” Bakugou growled, his words vibrating against Uraraka’s slit. She bit her lip so hard it was painful.
“Okay, okay, going!” And she giggled her way out of the door. Once they heard it shut behind her, Uraraka let out a monumental sigh.
“I told you!” She cried, hitting Bakugou on the shoulder. “You’re so – bad!” She slapped him once more, but he just laughed and picked her up, pushing her against the wall, away from the stream of the shower.
“Yeah, yeah. She’s gone now.” He said against her neck. “Where were we?”
“You’re unbelievable.” Uraraka couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice. “I have to go find Aizawa.”
“Oh, you think we’re done here?” Bakugou’s breath was hot in her ear. “He can wait, you’re mine right now.”
And Uraraka was. As he slowly sank into her, ensuring that she felt every inch of him until she was pressed flush against his wet body, Uraraka knew that she was undoubtedly his.
-x-
Uraraka prided herself on being an above-average student. Sure, when it came to classwork, she was no Momo and she had a long way to go before she matched the likes of Bakugou, Deku or Todoroki on the field, but she was decidedly decent in terms of her hero education.
And yet, she was pretty sure she was the only one who could say they had been in Aizawa’s office three times in one semester. Not even Deku could claim that title, and he was the constantly-proclaimed problem child.
Aizawa was grading papers when Uraraka arrived – she knew this from the sheer amount of red marks covering the paper in front of him. If she strained her eyes, she could make out the name written on top of the page, and she was unsurprised to see it was Kaminari. She told him he shouldn’t write his hero work analysis papers while hyped up on multiple energy drinks at two AM, but she learned early on that he rarely listened to reason.
Aizawa made one final mark before setting the paper aside, then turned his attention to Uraraka, who had been fidgeting with her wet hair while she glanced around the room. Even knowing Aizawa for as long as she had now, there was still an air of intimidation about him that she didn’t think would ever go away.
“I’d like to know the motivation for your choice of internship.”
Uraraka had been expecting this, and she had practiced her defense in front of her mirror until she had memorized all the facts about why this internship would be perfect for her. Of course, under Aizawa’s intense gaze, she forgot everything, and blurted out in a panic: “It’s not what you think!”
“I didn’t ask what it isn’t.” Aizawa said steadily. “It’s just not what I would’ve expected of you. If anything, I thought Ashido would be trying to intern with Em – Ms. Joke.” He grimaced as he said this, probably imagining all the embarrassing things that the two could come up with about him in an office together.
Uraraka smiled at the image. “I’m sure she considered it. She did ask me to gather intel on your relationship.” Aizawa looked pained, but kept his lips tight, so Uraraka could continue. “Honestly, I just think she would be a good teacher. Fighting with Ketsubutsu – sorry again about that – it was obvious that they knew their stuff. They were all very skilled in both close combat and distance attacks, and I know they’re good in rescue from seeing them at the Provisional License Exams. I want to be good at everything a hero needs to know, and it seems like Ms. Joke is the whole package.” She paused, then added as an afterthought, “And she must be legendary if you like her.”
Aizawa grumbled something incoherent that was probably vaguely threatening.
“I just don’t want to typecast myself either, you know? I don’t want to just be a rescue hero. I want to be a hero-hero.”
“You’re definitely not going to be a typecast hero, Uraraka. It would be a loss if you just ended up in one niche.” He said simply, as if this was the most obvious fact in the world. Uraraka’s heart swelled with pride at his words – he believed in her. He believed that she could be more than just a rescue-hero. Aizawa clasped his hands together and sunk further into his seat. “You’ve all impressed me with your choices, actually. You’re growing as a class. Most of you.” He added, squinting at the paper as if it had insulted him. “I do have to approve all internships, and I will approve Ms. Joke as a mentor for you on the basis that you don’t have any more dangerous and stupid revenge schemes up your sleeve.”
“Sensei, I didn’t even plan that!” Uraraka protested.
“I spoke to Bakugou and Todoroki as well, on the first night of patrol. Bakugou said something about ‘next time I see that bastard, I’ll kill him’ and Todoroki caught on fire. I think I drove the point home well.” He sighed. Uraraka blinked at him, picturing what a general patrol with Bakugou and Todoroki looked like. No wonder Aizawa seemed even more exhausted than usual lately.
“No more stupid revenge schemes.” Uraraka promised.
“I’m choosing to trust you, Uraraka, because I think that Ms. Joke will teach you a lot, but you’ll have to convince her of your intentions as well.”
“I will, Sensei!” Uraraka stood, suddenly more fired up than she had been since she made the decision. She would show Ms. Joke what a capable hero she was – she would prove she was worthy to be taken on as an intern. “Thank you.” She bowed low.
Aizawa almost smiled. Almost.
-x-
There had been many times in the past year that Uraraka had thanked the higher powers of the universe for gracing her life with Mina Ashido, and today was one of those times. As Uraraka bounced on the soles of her feet and pulled on her jacket while she waited outside of the gates of Ketsubutsu Academy, Mina rubbed her hand and comforted her with soothing, reassuring words.
Uraraka had been informed that since Ms. Joke was primarily a teacher and only patrolled occasionally when school-work would allow it, and so she didn’t have her own agency and therefore worked out of her school office. When she had learned this fact, Uraraka had almost changed her mind entirely – maybe a safe choice like Thirteen wouldn’t be so bad after all. However, when she dared voice that opinion at the lunch table – Mina’s domain, that day – she had been met with a roar of disapproval.
“You are not chickening out on this just because that fuck might be there.” Bakugou had grumbled, snatching a handful of fries from Kaminari’s plate and ignoring his cry of protest. “If you’re worried about it, I’ll come with ya.”
“No!” Three voices shouted at once – Kirishima, Mina and Uraraka herself. Bakugou’s murderous declaration that Aizawa had disclosed to her came into her head, and she knew the last thing she needed was to bring Bakugou to Ketsubutsu’s campus.
“Probably not the best idea, bro.” Kirishima patted Bakugou’s head like he was an angry puppy, and her boyfriend scowled at his best friend. Kirishima cheerfully ignored it. “But if you want someone to escort you, Uraraka, I’d be more than happy to.”
“Oh, don’t be stupid, Kiri. What could you do?” Kaminari spoke up. Jirou had given him some of her fries, so he was placated again. “She needs someone with long range attack, so if we see him coming around the corner, he’s done for before he even notices us.”
“No, she needs someone with capture power.” Sero’s chest swelled importantly. “You know how far out this tape goes? How strong it is?”
Jirou rolled her eyes. “You’re all morons. You just want to go to Ketsubutsu so you can snoop around and try to find out what happened to that asshole.”
None of the boys made eye contact. Bakugou snorted.
“Agreed, morons.” Mina said. “Ochako, you don’t need a bodyguard because you’re a bad bitch and I think everyone at this table knows that.” She glared pointedly at the boys. “However, seeing Ms. Joke brings me incredible amounts of joy and I also already had my interview with Midnight yesterday, so I would be thrilled beyond my wildest dreams to accompany you.”
Uraraka considered this. It would be a lot less intimidating if Mina was there. It’s not that she was afraid of seeing Shindo – she knew he couldn’t hurt her anymore – but the thought of being the lone UA student on Ketsubutsu’s campus after everything had happened would be enough to give anyone a set of nerves.
That was how Mina had ended up with her here today, at four PM on a school day at Ketsubutsu Academy.
“Are people staring at us?” Uraraka whispered as the gate opened for them and they walked through the lush, grassy campus. Ketsubutsu reminded Uraraka of a college campus from her history books – old, regal brick buildings and large patches of grass where students lounged despite the still-present chill in the air. Ketsubutsu was a dorm system just like UA, and Uraraka could see the tall buildings in the distance and she wondered if Shindo was in one of them.
The thought gave her a stomach ache, so she pushed it away.
“I’m pink and I have horns, Ochako, people are always staring at me, and so by default, you too.” Mina said casually, smiling and giving a small to wave to a Ketsubutsu boy who had been eying her. He blushed and looked away quickly. “I think I recognize her.” She said, nudging her head towards a petite girl who sat on a blanket, seemingly doing homework. Uraraka recognized her too – Nusumu. She looked normal in a school setting – less like a tiny, evil bug.
“Yeah, she’s in Ms. Joke’s class. Let’s not say hi.” Uraraka steered Mina in the opposite direction towards the building Ms. Joke had told her to meet her in.
“You’re no fun.” Mina pouted, but she followed Uraraka obediently all the same. They didn’t see anyone else they knew, thankfully, and they arrived at the building – which boasted the school logo impressively on a banner – with relatively no incident. Mina did hiss at a girl that they overheard whispering loudly to her friends about her horns, but that was tame for Mina, and watching the girl stammer and then run away had been entertaining. Once they were standing in front of the door to Ms. Joke’s office, Uraraka took a deep breath, trying to expel the nerves from her body.
“Alright, it’s time. You ready? You pumped?” Mina was bouncing side-to-side like a boxer in the ring. “You gonna get this?!”
“Mina, it’s just – ”
“I asked, are you gonna get this?!”
“Yes, yes.” Uraraka sighed exasperatedly, then she giggled. “I’m gonna get this!”
“Yeah, you are.” Mina grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “Get in there and kill it. I’ll wait out here and hope that I get blessed with a glance at Ms. Joke’s beauty.”
Uraraka rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Mina’s enthusiasm was as infectious as always. She knocked twice on the door, and when a lilted, sing-songy voice answered: “Cooome in!” She entered, holding her head high.
“Ochako Uraraka.” Ms. Joke’s smile was as wide as ever, filling Uraraka with an unavoidable joy and a pleasant tickling feeling in her stomach. “I will admit, when I got the call saying you were interested in interning, I was shocked. I didn’t think a UA student would be interested in little ole me.”
“Oh, I - I think you’re a great hero!” Uraraka stammered out. “I was really excited to see your name on the list!”
“Then I suppose it’s a good thing you met me at the Provisional License exam, hmm?” She winked. “Unfortunately, that was all about what you’re capable of, not what I’m capable of.” She laughed lightly, and Uraraka laughed too, the noise bubbling out of her like a shaken-up soda can, quickly filling her eyes up with tears as the unconscious desire to smile fogged her brain.
When Ms. Joke released her, Uraraka breathed out sharply. “That’s brutal.” She said, catching her breath and smacking her cheeks.
“Everyone thinks it would be such a pleasant way to be captured – but in reality, it sucks.” Ms. Joke shrugged. “Gives me an edge over villains though.” She gave Uraraka a steely look. “So, Shouta – sorry, God, that must be weird to hear – Aizawa Sensei said that you’re trying to diversify your hero portfolio.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously.
“Hearing you call him Sensei is weirder.” Uraraka pointed out politely.
“Noted.”
“Yes, I want to learn all about your hero work, and new skills for combat and capture. I want to perfect my quirk.” Uraraka nodded rapidly, getting excited at the prospect of actual patrols, actual villains, and actual hero work.
“And this has nothing to do with my students?” She appraised her with still-gleaming but more serious eyes.
“I’ll never live that down, will I?” Uraraka asked sheepishly. Ms. Joke barked out a laugh.
“No, probably not.” She said honestly. “I know it wasn’t you who orchestrated the thing – and I can’t technically say this because they were my students that you waged war on – but, damn girl. That was something else you kids came up with.” She shook her head as if still in disbelief almost two months later. “I have to be sure, though.”
“Promise I didn’t come for more revenge. I have had my fill of revenge for the rest of my life.” Uraraka said firmly. “I just admire you as a hero, and I want to expand my horizons. And, to be honest, I really want to see your quirk in action against villain’s because, wow. I’m still a little breathless from just a quick example.”
“It is a lot of fun.” Ms. Joke grinned. “Well, I know what you can do, because I’ve seen you in action, so I don’t think we need to do a trial run. Plus, don’t tell him I said this but, man, does Shouta – Aizawa, jeeze, sorry – sing your praises. He said you’re one of his top students in terms of raw hero capability.”
Uraraka felt a tug at her heartstrings at that.
“I do already have one intern from another school, but she’s a pleasure, and I think you’ll get along really well. It would be interesting to see how you two would use your quirks together.” She put a thoughtful finger to her chin. “Well, wanna join my team then, Uravity?”
“Yes, I definitely do!”
“Great.” Ms. Joke beamed. “We do patrols three times a week, always in the afternoon because we’re all school girls, aren’t we?” She winked. “Meet me here every time – I’ll get you a badge so you can swipe into the gate – Monday seem like a good starting point for ya?”
“Absolutely, Monday works!”
“See ya then.” She said happily. “Oh, leave the door open, will ya?”
“Of course.” Uraraka bowed respectfully, then backed out of the room, leaving the door wide-open. When she turned to Mina to tell her she was done, she saw the girl was already up, straining to see into the room.
“Hiiiya, Ashido!” Ms. Joke called, waving brightly. Mina froze and then jumped up and down, waving back with more gusto than should have been possibly in her compact body. As they walked across campus again, Mina couldn’t stop beaming.
“She remembered my name. I am so in there. We’re gonna be best friends and gossip about Aizawa. Just you wait.”
Uraraka laughed – naturally that time. She wouldn’t bet against it.
-x-
Uraraka radiated so much energy that she felt like she was a mixture of electrified and on fire. Her stomach flipped like she was on a rollercoaster, and she tapped her fingers together so rapidly that she kept accidentally taking away and returning gravity to herself.
“Relax, girly.” Ms. Joke said sternly, but even her authoritative voice was accented with an uncontainable smile. “You’re going to do great! I’ll stick with you the first week at all times, then depending on how you do, I’ll set you free, like Princess. She does most of her patrolling by herself at this point. If you think I’m a firecracker, wait until you meet her.”
“I can’t wait.” Uraraka said earnestly. Princess was the name of her internship partner, and other than that name, she was a mystery. Uraraka wasn’t surprised that Ms. Joke would take on an intern by such a name, but she did wonder about what her quirk was, or her personality. Ms. Joke promised that they would meet after patrol today, when they were going through paperwork.
“Well, if you can’t wait, then I guess we’ve gotta go! Onwards, mini me, let’s go kick some villain booty.” Ms. Joke punched the air, then wrapped her arm around Uraraka’s shoulder and pulled her outside.
The air was still sharp, but it lacked the bitterness that it had been holding onto for the past several weeks. Spring would be there before anyone knew it, and would bring with it sunshine, green grass and the smell of flowers in the air that Uraraka so loved. She was not a winter person by any means. As she shivered slightly in her non-insulated uniform, she looked forward to the warmer weather. She would have to talk to Hatsume about getting something more appropriate for the harsh winter, because she would be an easy target for a villain if she spent all her time shivering.
According to Ms. Joke, however, the cold weather was a positive.
“Villains are a bunch of babies. Put a little chill in the air and they all decide to take a vacation from crime and hole up with hot chocolate and a blanket.” She giggled and rolled her eyes. “Though, that does mean the ones that do come out are real baddies. I’ve had some nasty fights in winter.”
“What’s your fighting style?” Uraraka asked, eager to learn everything she could. “Do the villains just, like, give up when you use your quirk?”
“Oh, definitely not. They’ll fight through the laughter, easily. It makes for an entertaining show, avoiding punches from a hysterical villain.” Ms. Joke smiled. “My fights get a lot of press because people think they’re fun. I draw a crowd.” Uraraka increased her pace, because Ms. Joke walked fast for someone who had decidedly little legs. “I’m an extremely skilled close-combat fighter, if I do say so myself, but everyone just focuses on the laughter and not the fact that I pack a punch. I actually started teaching because I got sick of nobody taking me seriously.” She shrugged. “Funny, huh? The joke hero wants to be taken seriously.” She laughed in spite of herself.
“So why take on interns?” Uraraka wanted to know.
“I missed it.” She said simply. “And Shouta asked me to.” She added slyly. Uraraka smirked – if only Mina could be there then; she would lose her mind. It was odd that Aizawa had recruited the teachers – there was definitely no shortage of pro heroes that would love to take on interns. She decided to ask Ms. Joke.
“Oh, he did that for your boyfriend and Endeavor’s kid.” She said breezily. “He said they have too much potential to miss this opportunity, and that he would fail as a teacher if he didn’t do something. He thought taking them on would be favoritism, so he just asked a bunch of teachers from different schools to help out. To disguise it, ya know?” She winked. “That Bakugou must be pretty special. Shouta talks about him almost as much as he talks about Asui and Ashido – though it’s more often than not when he’s explaining why he has a headache…” She trailed off, sheepishly. “But we didn’t come here to gossip about our men, yeah? Let’s get moving, Uraravity!”
Uraraka nodded, and they kept moving, discussing strategies for patrols as they walked.
Uraraka quickly learned the rhythm of Ms. Joke and exactly how she operated. She stopped to sign autographs for children, couldn’t keep herself from staring at flashy displays – especially when food was involved – and used enough bad puns to make even Kaminari groan in pain, but the moment there was a cry for help, she was on the move.
That moment happened around three hours into their first patrol.
Ms. Joke stopped in the middle of her story about her time as a freshly-graduated hero and how she ended up trapped in an elevator with Best Jeanist when she poked at her headset, nodded, and said seriously to Uraraka: “Baddies on the prowl. Let’s go, Uravity!”
They were off running. It wasn’t a huge ordeal – three of them, holding up a convenience store, Ms. Joke explained as they ran, but there were civilians in danger, and so they moved fast.
They reached the convenience store a moment later, sliding to a stop in front of a broken window. Uraraka craned her head and saw that several citizens were on the floor with their heads in-between their knees as a man shouted demands at them. “The register!” He shrieked at the poor cashier, who couldn’t have been much older than Uraraka. The girl had tears in her eyes as she fumbled with the keys, trying to keep steady with a gun being waved at her.
“Such a bully.” Ms. Joke said with narrowed eyes. “I hate bullies. Stay close and watch me this time. Don’t do anything bold.”
Uraraka nodded, a flame was cultivating inside of her, coursing through her body. She knew instantly she picked the right career.
Ms. Joke burst into the store, Uraraka hot on her heels, and called out the villains, who instantly turned on her with their weapons. Before any of them could make any move however, Ms. Joke singled out the bigger man – Uraraka assumed he was the ringleader – a short and squat man with leaves covering an otherwise bald head.
He glared at her for a beat, before his scowl twisted into something more pleasant and then he burst into uncontrollable laughter. “What – the – hell?” He gasped between the manic chuckles. Ms. Joke used this opportunity to tackle him to the ground, pinning him with her boot on his knee and her hands clasping down on his arms. He struggled against her. “Good try, villain.” She growled and Uraraka’s eyes widened in wonder. Ms. Joke was awesome.
“Oi, bitch!” The second villain was tall and gangly, the opposite of his counterpart. He had twisted horns coming directly out of his forehead, and he didn’t turn away from the cashier, who was still trembling. “Stop killing our vibe!”
Uraraka reacted before she had a chance to think better of it – she knew next to nothing about this man, or his abilities, or what weapons he could’ve held. A second-long analysis showed that he was young, bold and had long, greasy hair, but that was all she could note before she was running at him.
“Fuck off, kid!” He snapped at her, swatting at her like she was a fly, but Uraraka was already there. She pressed her hand to his arm and pushed hard. He smirked at her then opened his mouth to say something- probably a taunt – but it was lost in his throat as his feet detached from the floor.
Uraraka watched in satisfaction as he flailed his arms hopelessly for a moment and pushed against the ceiling. She turned away, ready to receive her praise from Ms. Joke, when she heard a threatening thump, and the man was on the floor again.
How…? She hadn’t released him.
Then she noted where his arm once was, there was a dripping stump. He glanced up at the ceiling, smirking, and followed his eyes. His arm floated, pressed up against the tiles, seemingly having been detached cleanly.
“Pretty neat, huh? I concentrated your stupid ass quirk’s power into one arm, and then said goodbye.” His grin was manic. “It’s a fun quirk when dealing with punks like you. Now, c’mere.” He abandoned the cashier at last and lunged for Uraraka, taking advantage of the fact that Ms. Joke was still grappling with the villain on the floor, who had started sending vines up her arms.
“I’m gonna enjoy this.” The gangly man licked his lips and put his finger to the trigger of his gun.
“Idiot, don’t shoot her. Jesus.”
Both the man and Uraraka’s eyes snapped to another man, this one so huge that he could barely fit in the building. His skin was burgundy, his eyes were yellow, and he carried a backpack of artillery on his back. He looked like a nightmare. “
“Come here, Gyanguri. And drop the gun.”
The man looked terrified at the use of his name from the behemoth’s mouth. He obeyed his every word, dropping the gun to the floor with a clatter that made every civilian on the floor shake. Out of the corner of her eye, Uraraka saw Ms. Joke finally finish restraining the man on the floor.
“You’re useless, you know that?” Said the nightmare. Then, he took his head, and bashed it into Gyanguri, knocking him out instantly. Uraraka heard a crack as his body hit the cold tile.
“Uravity, run!” Ms. Joke called, and Uraraka prepared to do as she was told, to get back up, to find someone who could handle this monster, when –
“Em, it’s cool, girl.”
The words that came out of the red terror of a man did not match the deep timbre they were spoken in, but then black smoke surrounded him, temporarily blinding Uraraka and obstructing the man entirely from view. She could see Ms. Joke, however, who seemed suddenly utterly relaxed, sitting next to the villain she had finish off. There was a hint of a smirk playing on her face.
“Where did you put him?” Ms. Joke asked in the direction of the smoke.
“Police got him already. He was all bark, no bite. Typical baddie boy.”
“Atta girl.”
Uraraka was no less confused, giving Ms. Joke the most lost look she could manage. Ms. Joke burst into laughter, standing up and making her way over to where the foggy air was beginning to clear. “Uravity, meet your partner. This is Princess – but that’s not the name she prefers, of course. Just the name I gave her.”
Finally, after the longest, most discombobulating minute of Uraraka’s entire hero career thus far, the smoke disappeared, and left standing in front of her was a familiarily beautiful, voluptuous blonde, smiling at her through thick-coated eyelashes.
”Hey, Ochako, babe! This internship is gonna be mad lit!”