The first day of interning was more intense than I thought it would be.
We were wearing something breathable as Gunhead walked us individually through the basics of his martial arts, stopping now and again to give his usual students exercises.
It was a lot of knowing where to put your body and how to move, at least until we were made repeat the moves faster and faster. And while it was just going from standing to defensive, doing so in under a second every few seconds was way harder than anime made it seem.
As Gunhead only had a week’s worth of time to train us, he’s obviously trying to pack in as much as he can.
Doesn’t make it any easier though. Only an hour in an my muscles are screaming at me from just the first exercise and he’s about to show us another stance to switch to on top of the first.
We get a break every hour or so for water and a quick rest, but sweat lines the floor as the last of the beginner stances of the basic stances are performed. While there isn’t enough time to practice them all, only 5 hour sections allowed before ethics are called into question, we are expected to practice more at home.
For all Gunhead sounds like an intense and forceful teacher, he’s actually very sweet and caring.
Means no one wants to disappoint him though.
I would have loved to just collapse into my bed and sleep the next 12 hours away, but alas, Mirko wanted to meet me out late in the middle of nowhere.
And I wasn’t going to keep a Pro waiting.
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Nowhere turned out to be a mall called Toya’s.
Abandoned of course, and long since it seemed as it lacked a lot of Quirk accommodation that was a legal standard nowadays. I made my way to an overgrown fountain at its centre.
Obviously wanting to show-off, Mirko dropped from from above, startling the hell out of me and landing just before said fountain. She was smirking, like a predator staring down its prey, as she took a seat on it’s edge. Her muscles were incredible, rivalling that of All Might’s due to both her Quirks strength enhancement and her own rigorous training.
“Your lankier than I’d thought!” Mirko chuckled.
“Well, go on then! Show us your hops!!”
“Didn’t you know that from the Festival...?” I asked confused.
“Ha! Never watched that boring thing. I was just curious to who was encroaching on my territory!!”
I couldn’t tell if she was upset or just joking because I couldn’t think of a single thing I did to have Pro Hero bearing down on me. Mirko was obviously awaiting some kind of response, but I had no idea what about.
“I think you’ve made a mistake-”
“There’s been no mistake.” Mirko cut in in complete seriousness. “Did you think I wouldn’t have found out? Because I won’t allow some kid to just come along and ruin my image so easily! If you plan on competing in my bracket, then you better be ready to go all out!”
“Rabbituary!!”
Wait WHAT!
Did Mirko pull me out here because she thought I was trying to gain fame through her name!?
Or was it just because no Hero is using a rabbit theme other than her?!?!
“This mall here was designed in an age of low Quirk users, with small shops, doors, and passages. Riddled with holes from years of neglect it’s now the perfect parkour place.” Mirko suddenly spoke.
“If you want to be a Rabbit... You better move like one.”
“Find the Civilian in under 10 minutes... or else!!” she finished, cracking her knuckles.
While I was completely lost on everything that was happening, I understood a threats just fine.
I was already completely worn out by Gunhead’s training so I struggled to gather the focus to utilise my quirk properly. Still, I didn’t exactly have much of a choice and so chose to check through the closest shops, or what remained of them.
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There were many parts that sustained damage or outright collapsed over the years, creating many areas I needed co check, even in the emptiest of units. I couldn’t keep my initial speed up, and had slowed a lot by the time I had reached the last few units on the ground floor, with still no sign of the target.
The ten minutes were up, marked by the unmissable form of Mirko dashing over, filling my face with her fist in a devastating blow that I’m surprised didn’t knock me out.
Or it did and I simply hadn’t realised.
After taking a minute or two to recover, I could form a coherent enough thought to complain.
“What the hell was that about!?” I shouted.
“What, the punch or the challenge?” Mirko asked as I returned a blank stare.
“Your class is the talk of the town, making headlines with all the stuff going on. You can’t honestly be surprised that something like your official Hero names would get out into the Pro’s community at the least, right?”
“Thought I’d have some fun beating the new kid round the block after I saw your choice, with how rare it is for a Hero to take the name of the literal figure head for the word ‘non-threatening’.” she explained.
“Didn’t think you’d be such a weakling though.”
“Well sorry but I just got back from hours of training with Gunhead, so I’m not exactly in peak condition!” I countered.
“Yeah. My point still stands.”
“Now get going!”
I stood rooted in place, having no idea what Mirko wanted now, before she chased me back out of the mall.
“No training till you beat the first challenge!!” she shouted as I distanced myself from the lunatic as best I could.
“And bring your costume next time!!”
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Day two at Gunhead’s dojo wasn’t any easier.
If anything it was harder as the pains from yesterday put all the more strain on the lessons of today. Said lessons were all about the first few moves against opponents in a few different situations, combining our knowledge of stances with proper movements.
There were a few punches and a kick or two, but mostly relied on grapples to disarm and incapacitate your opponent, which made sense with a Heroes necessity to capture the average Villain rather than beat them into the afterlife.
It did make the moves all the more complicated, with the few attacks to be used on opponents that were dangerous to get close to or had you in their own grapple.
While the exercises were both difficult and tiring, they were also very boring to repeat so often. That would be solved tomorrow where Gunhead would be setting us interning few up against each other in practice battles.
Until then, it was a horrible grind over hours before we could rest.
And after all that work, I still had Mirko’s Challenge to complete.
This time, I showed up at the mall fully kitted out in my costume and gear, only waiting a few moments before Mirko dropped in again.
“Yeeaah, No.” Mirko immediately stated, confusing me once again before I noticed her gaze scanning my outfit.
“I don’t care how much teenage edge your name holds, there’s a reason Heroes wear bright, vibrant colours.”
“And what’s with the bulked out limbs?” she asked.
“Ah, when I pull on theses bits...” I explain, yanking one of the rods with my hand, “It redirects to push the sole down, adding some extra oomph to my jumps.”
“Eh, that works. But you’ll find those blasters of yours rather lacking in a real fight, unless you can boost you Quirk by quite an amount to send them fast enough. I’d suggest getting the pellets redesigned into something more destructive.”
“You can’t afford to hold back against real Villains.”
“Also that visor-mask doesn’t fit ANY style, and get something ear-like. You need to work in a style to be successful, as UA will no doubt teach you in time. I’d say something white like mine, get the main sections redesigned into something more rabbit-y and ditch the visor.”
“...That’s ...a lot of changes!”
“Yeah, but it’s necessary.” Mirko commented, “The sooner the redesign the better.”
“Now.”
“Ten minutes!”
“Get going!!”
The day ended with me getting kneed in the stomach before making it to the second floor.
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Day three was much the same.
Gunhead paired everyone up half way through the classes, each taking turns to be on the offensive and the defensive, with the loser having extra work while the winner rested.
So plenty motivation to do well.
I was paired up with Uraraka... did I mention that? Uraraka also went for Gunhead’s, probably under the same thought of needing to defend without an attacking Quirk. Quirk types think alike I guess.
But this girl was terrifying. I was barely getting any hits in before Uraraka would violently slam me against the floor, technique compensating for strength as she reacted with insane speed. And on the offence, she would slip past any blocks or counter grabs I could make and force me to tap out almost instantaneously.
That makes two for women wiping the floor with me, and in Uraraka’s case, almost quite literally at that.
Mirko wasn’t any gentler, as although I managed to finish searching the ground floor within the time limit, Mirko quickly figured that t was due to nothing changing between attempts, so she went around creating a mess to make it challenging again.
Then she drop-kicked me.
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Day four and five went much the same, just expanding on our knowledge by Gunhead, and both Uraraka and Mirko casually beating the hell out of me.
Mirko had started using wrestling moves on me whenever I failed, probably in response to me trying to run from her punishments on Thursday.
Saturday, things changed.
There was no training from Gunhead, as the internship was only from Monday to Friday, though I did sign up for weekend training starting next week.
But this meant I was at my best for Mirko’s challenge.
Being able to use my costume made everything easier than the first run, at least in theory as the extra weight was really making itself known. With all the rest necessary it took only the first few minutes to clear the ground floor, moving on to the one above where I would have to clear a big gap otherwise go around in a ring to get to all the hiding spots.
The first couple units were mostly empty, no sign of this elusive target I had yet to ever see. But as I jumped into the next one, I spotted it. Sitting slightly uncovered with dust from many days of being stuck in the exact same spot it was put the first day I came here, was a mannequin with an x across its chest.
I could have pulled it out and called it there.... but...
I wanted to see how far I’d come.
Putting in everything I had, I leapt the gap to the other side of the mall, landing into a roll and quickly checking through every nook and corner, bouncing from wall to wall like cartoon character before moving onto the next. I make it back round the ring of shopping units, back up near the one holding the target before Mirko calls time.
I jump back to the ground floor, awaiting Mirko’s beat down, only for it not to come at all.
“Training starts Saturday, every Saturday.” She stated before jumping off faster than I could track.
I guess she noticed.
I don’t know if it’s just Mirko rubbing off on me, or all the head injuries I’ve sustained this week, but a white bodysuit like Mirko’s is seeming more and more desirable.
...
I’m keeping the jacket though!
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