A few days later, Bakugo retrieved a suitcase handed to him by one of the U.A. staff members. He gave a brief nod in thanks before turning around to rejoin the rest of Class A.
"Hey Bakugo! How's it going?"
A redhead with spiky hair waved at him warmly. Recognizing Kirishima's gesture, Bakugo replied with a grunt and leaned against a pole.
At the moment, Class A was waiting at the train station closest to U.A., waiting for their teachers to give final instructions before they left for their internships.
Aizawa arrived a few minutes later and reminded them to listen to their internship supervisors and not to act impulsively or independently.
Eventually, the class dispersed and Bakugo boarded his train. He found his seat and sat down quietly, placing his suitcase — containing his hero costume — under the seat.
Guess I'm lucky. Got the row to myself. He closed his eyes to catch a bit of sleep during the trip, but a voice suddenly woke him up.
"Oh! Bakugo, you're sitting here? Haha, looks like we'll be traveling together for a bit."
Opening his eyes, he saw Denki standing in front of him with an awkward smile. "Hehe, I thought I'd be traveling alone, but I'm kind of relieved — I was a little nervous haha. Hey, maybe we're interning at the same place if we're headed the same way! Who are you doing your internship with?"
Slightly irritated by his classmate's energy, Bakugo just pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to him.
Denki took it without question and glanced at it. His eyes widened in surprise, and after a few seconds, a grin spread across his face. He spoke with a tone any guy would recognize.
"So you're into that kind of thing too, huh? Haha. I was already jealous of Mineta's internship with Mount Lady, but maybe you got the real jackpot."
Bakugo stared at him, eyes wide. He felt anger rising fast, his palms starting to sweat. But instead of lashing out, he simply took the paper back, deciding it wasn't worth wasting time responding to the electric blond.
He glanced at the paper again before folding it and tucking it carefully into his jacket pocket.
It read: "Mirko's Agency." A photo of the rabbit-eared heroine was printed in the top left corner. She looked irritated, as if posing for a professional photo was a waste of her time.
Denki seemed like he wanted to keep chatting, but one icy glare from Bakugo shut him up.
Unlike what the blond might've thought, Bakugo had given serious thought before choosing Mirko for his internship. While other students aimed for heroes who could offer experience similar to what they'd be doing in the future, he already knew that the future would be deadly if they couldn't stop Shigaraki and AFO like in the original story.
So, for him, the best option was a placement that would help him hone his strengths — and at first glance, Mirko was the best fit.
Bakugo knew his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. At first glance, his brute and destructive power seemed like his biggest asset — which wasn't entirely wrong — but what truly set him apart was his combat sense and sharp instincts.
Mirko also belonged to that category of fighters who relied on instinct. After realizing that, his choice became clear.
As the train finally started moving, Bakugo shot Denki one last dark glare before closing his eyes, clearly signaling not to disturb him.
Denki quickly straightened up in his seat, even slowing his breathing so as not to provoke the volatile Bakugo any further.
After two hours, they finally reached their destination. Without saying goodbye, Bakugo immediately hailed a taxi to the address written on his slip of paper. He didn't need to worry about the expenses — transportation, lodging, and any extra costs were covered by U.A., as long as he could justify them. As long as they weren't excessive, the school would take care of it.
About fifteen minutes later, he arrived at his destination — in front of a small building under construction. Bakugo double-checked the address before walking up to one of the workers sitting on the steps, a bottle of water in hand.
"Hey, slacker. Where's Mirko's agency?"
Surprised by the rude words, the man gave him a hard stare — but then a flash of recognition crossed his face when he saw who it was. "You're the intern scheduled for today… I didn't think it'd be you — the winner of the U.A. Sports Festival. Anyway, you're in the right place. The agency's upstairs. Go find her."
Bakugo frowned. He couldn't help speaking aloud. "This is the agency? Was there a villain attack or something?"
Understanding Bakugo's confusion, the man laughed and slapped his thigh lightly. "Hahaha, a villain attack would've been better. No, the agency's been under renovation for almost three years now."
A bad feeling crept over Bakugo. He already had a hunch why the place was constantly being repaired. Without wasting more time, he entered the building. The first floor's floorboards were cracked — as if an earthquake had hit.
Ignoring it, he headed to the second floor. It was a massive open space that looked like it had barely survived a bomb blast. At the entrance sat a desk with a secretary watching a screen. The area around her looked completely new — a stark contrast to the rest of the room.
The secretary, probably in her fifties, noticed Bakugo's presence and gave him a kind smile, motioning for him to come closer. "Katsuki Bakugo, right? I've been expecting you. You're a bit early. Anyway, Miss Mirko is at her desk. You can go introduce yourself."
She pointed toward a corner of the room where a desk could be seen. Mirko was slumped over it, face down, softly snoring.
"Oh, she fell back asleep. Well, I guess you can wake her — won't do her any harm. It's already 10 a.m. With a lifestyle like that, she'll never live to see my age…"
Nodding at the secretary's words, he slowly approached Mirko's desk, his mind hazy with thoughts.
I knew she was eccentric, but that word feels too weak for her. She's probably the one who caused all this destruction. Does she even care about constantly paying for repairs? And it looks like there's only one employee here…
Just as he started doubting his choice of internship, Bakugo opened his mouth to speak — but suddenly a desk came flying toward him.
Without a second thought, he jumped to the side, dodging the object that had rushed at him for no apparent reason. An instant later, a pair of feet landed in front of his face. He quickly set off an explosion to shift his position — but it wasn't enough. His shoulder was struck, and he was sent flying toward the secretary's desk.
He braced to blast himself away — but suddenly crashed into an invisible wall that stopped him cold.
A barrier? Is that her quirk?
"Oh dear… so much violence this early in the morning… I'm going to get myself a coffee." Without looking the least bit surprised, the secretary stood up and walked toward a pristine coffee machine.
Shocked by her casual reaction despite the chaos, Bakugo turned toward where he had stood just moments earlier. There stood the rabbit heroine, yawning with her hand over her mouth.
Sensing his gaze, she looked back and a small smile spread across her face. "Not bad reflexes for a kid. You're Bachalo, right? Welcome to my agency. This week's gonna be fun!"