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Darkest Before Dawn - 57
🕑 Added 2024-04-25 17:53:59 +0000 UTCChapter 57
Looking at her, Kazuki didn’t have too much trouble believing that Uwabami was more model than hero. She certainly looked the part, at the very least, and that was her hero costume. Even like that, she looked like she had come straight out of a TV show or a magazine. It was a little…
Intimidating, he supposed, although he didn’t really know why. In a way, he guessed it was because she was his opposite. Everyone loved her. At most, people could be angry that she didn’t dedicate more time to heroics, but that was a flimsy criticism at best. Not everyone could be All Might and dedicate their everything to being a hero.
Even Kazuki himself had other things he liked to do, hobbies and such.
“So good to have you both here,” Uwabami said with a smile that had him wondering if he should shield his face from the brightness or stare forever. “I’m Hina Maeda. It’ll be a pleasure to teach you as much as I can during this week,” she added, walking a little closer to them.
“Kazuki Endo, I’ll try to learn as much as possible,” he replied, nervously bringing a hand to rub his neck. If he’d felt out of place entering the building, that was nothing compared to how he felt at that moment.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Uwabami – or Maeda, he supposed – told him, but he caught a twinge of annoyance in her. She didn’t show it though and he didn’t point it out. With any luck, that wasn’t because he’d already screwed up.
“Itsuka Kendo, thank you for the opportunity,” his fellow intern said, bowing a little and feeling about as bad as he did.
“I’ll admit, it’s not often that heroes-to-be decide to take my offers. Kazuki here, can I call you Kazuki?” she asked then, turning her head towards him for a moment and he nodded before he could process what she said. Then he blinked and paused.
When had been the last time someone had called him Kazuki?
Had anyone that wasn’t his parents done so?
He… kind of liked it.
“As I was saying, Kazuki here talked to me, so I was kind of expecting him. You accepting was more of a surprise,” Maeda continued then, addressing Kendo. ‘Well, no attention is better than bad attention, right?’ he thought, kind of glad that he wasn’t ruining his chances already. At least Uwabami wasn’t feeling too badly about having him there. “Students usually pick more… action oriented heroes instead of me.”
Kazuki was pretty sure there was no way anyone would misunderstand the embarrassed expression that took over Kendo’s face. However, in a grand show of mercy, Maeda didn’t point it out. Instead, she made a show of looking at the girl, as if she were appraising her.
“Well, you have a style and it certainly works for you,” the hero told Kendo, who seemed more than a little embarrassed. “Or, at least, it does when you are being yourself,” the woman added, placing her arms on each of Kendo’s and giving her a pat. “No need to be embarrassed. Now, as for you,” Uwabami continued then, turning towards Kazuki.
In a split second, he was torn between the urge to stand straighter and make himself smaller. For one, he wanted to put his best foot forward. For another, her gaze looked very intent and she was appraising their looks, from what he could gather. Not much there for him to be confident in, he knew.
He almost flinched when she sent a slap his way, only to blink when her hand hit his cap and sent it up and to the ground behind him.
“None of that when you are around here. You are here to learn how to deal with the public, which means that the public has to see you, understand?” she said firmly and he almost got drill sergeant vibes from her, despite her not sounding nearly as commanding, for a second there. “Hm… Yeah, I can definitely work with this.”
“Really?” he asked, unable to hold back the incredulity.
“Yeah, you have that dark look naturally, goths everywhere will love you. From there… Well, you can’t go the regular handsome path, but cute would go wonderfully to play on the contrast. There’s something to say about bad boys, for sure, but you probably won’t like that,” Maeda mumbled, reminding Kazuki of Midoriya, amusingly enough. “What do you use for your hair?” she asked, bringing a hand to his white locks and making him blink again.
“I don’t know? I just tried a few that weren’t too expensive nor ridiculously cheap until I liked one,” he answered hesitantly. It made sense that she’d care for that kind of thing, right? Maybe he could get someone to tell him, if it was important, although he imagined she’d just tell him what to use or something.
“Really?” it was her turn to ask, tilting her head. “Well well well, it seems like things will be much easier than I thought. Granted, it’s just your hair, but I think I will make you have more fans in no time.”
Kazuki wanted to comment that there might be no fans of his, but he decided against that for the moment. There was no need to point that out and he guessed what few people supported him out there could count, maybe. He didn’t think so, since they likely didn’t know much about him or something like that…
Regardless, there was another thing to say at that moment that seemed more important to him.
“Fans aren’t really… my focus here,” he mumbled, feeling even more awkward now that he didn’t have his cap to hide him. He felt like a stain in the face of all the beauty that was the building, nevermind standing in front of Maeda.
“Oh, but they are, Kazuki,” she argued, and he couldn’t help but focus on the fact that she said his name again. It was definitely nice to hear someone call him that without sounding or feeling like they hated him. “You can’t work PR focusing on one aspect or the other, at least not unless you are willing to make sacrifices, which I don’t think it’s the case. Appealing to one side too much will just make one of the others dislike you.”
“That… makes sense, I guess,” he mumbled, taking a mental note of that. “So, where do we start?” he asked, giving the woman a nervous smile.
“That’s the spirit. Follow me, you two. We’ll start easy,” Uwabami told him, turning where she stood and walking down the hall.
[}-o-{]
Things actually started with them following Uwabami for a bit and the woman telling them a thing or two about what she did as a hero and how she balanced both jobs.
“Nothing wrong with having a secondary job or making hero work be the secondary job. Some people think this is their life and there’s nothing else to it, but nobody can do that and actually have a life. Those people are their hero persona and nothing else. I believe that’s no way to live,” she told them as they walked through the building. “I suggest you find something for yourself. Something that you enjoy doing, something that makes your life worth living, just like how I’m sure you’d like others to have. It sounds bad, but being a hero is a job, not your life. If you make it your life… Well, I haven’t heard of a single case that ended well yet. Sure, they might make the best heroes, but they live miserable lives.”
That sounded… logical, Kazuki supposed.
He found it hard to believe that he could be more miserable than he already was by dedicating himself to saving others though. If he could do some good for the world, that sounded like good enough. What else would he do other than be a hero? He certainly didn’t think he could do what Uwabami did. Maybe he could work in horror movies?
That sounded… sad.
“You are young though, so I don’t expect you to understand,” Uwabami added then and Kazuki wondered if his thoughts had reflected on his expression too much. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. It wasn’t the case this time though, because the hero was looking at Kendo. ‘Then again…’ he thought, looking at the woman’s three serpent heads coming out of her hair. One of them was looking at him. “Just try to remember that, ok? I promise that’s the only life lesson I’ll give you for now. You are here for hero lessons, after all, so I guess I should get started with those, right?”
And start she did.
Maeda started simple enough though, giving a reverse tour through the building and giving them a more inside look at the hero work in regards to the different departments. She explained what she did in every section and why, but it was mostly an introduction to all of them. She did tell them that she’d go over every part in detail through the week as they did work.
Overall, Kazuki wasn’t surprised that Kendo looked like she was very much regretting her choice.
Sure, all of it sounded very useful, but most of it was paperwork. Hell, the only reason Kazuki himself wasn’t bored out of his mind was because some of the places they checked and would learn about were, unsurprisingly, PR related. She talked about how she had to be thorough with her reports from when they took hero action so that they would have a good relationship with the authorities. She talked about the social media posts she set up so that they were closer with the general populace. She even touched on some of her modeling and acting career, but she said they could leave that aside for their internship if they weren’t interested.
If he were honest, Kazuki would give anything a shot if it meant he had a chance of improving his public image.
At some point through the whole thing, it became noon. Not surprising, since they’d had to travel all the way there early in the morning and then had spent a good hour or two with their welcoming tours. What was surprising was that Maeda asked them what they usually ate and if they were on any kind of diet. Kazuki wasn’t, but Kendo actually did follow a diet, if not a strict one.
From there, Uwabami took them to where she’d told them they’d have their meals while they were there, unless they were away from the building for whatever reason. There, after getting some food for both of them, she started talking about the kind of things one could look for in a diet. Kazuki knew there was more to those than just losing weight, but he’d never really looked into any of it all. By the time they were halfway through their lunch, he felt like he’d crammed a whole week of classes in those few minutes already.
Hell, he’d pulled out a notebook at one point and just started writing things down. There was no way he’d remember all of that, after all. Besides, he wanted to take note of some of the things they’d been told already. They had a week and he rather doubted he’d learn by heart everything they were taught. Better be safe than sorry.
Maeda had seemed pleased when he did so, at least, so Kazuki took that as the go ahead. Case in point, she’d just hummed happily when he’d asked for a moment to write down a part that sounded important about what and how they needed to eat when they were training in a more… general path instead of focusing on strength or speed or anything like that. It didn’t affect Kendo much, since she was more strength oriented, but he didn’t really have any focus, as a more or less base human without his grimm.
“Well, someone’s very dedicated,” Uwabami commented with a giggle before drinking from the straw in her glass.
“I have a lot to learn,” he replied with an uneasy smile. “And I need to learn quickly.”
“I guess you do,” she said then, her smile turning sad and he felt pity rising inside her. “Don’t worry, Kazuki. I’ll have you dealing with the press and anyone else in no time at all. I might not have come across anything like this myself, but I know a thing or two that’ll help and I have my own people looking at things.”
“I… The lessons would be enough,” he replied, gulping as he fidgeted with the edge of the page he’d been writing on. “I know I’m here to learn, not have you help me with my personal problems.”
“Well, I know what my reputation is like, especially in hero circles,” Maeda said, a touch of annoyance bleeding into his sense despite the calm smile on her face. Then again, she was an actress. If she wanted to hide something from someone, she could… except for him, he supposed. “But I am a hero and I wouldn’t be a very good one if I left you on your own, would I?”
“I’m not on my own,” he mumbled, looking down at his notebook.
“Kazuki, Kazuki,” Uwabami said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “U.A. is doing its best. They are heroes and hero makers, some of the best of the best, for sure. They are not what you need, however. When you have a big problem, you look for the best you can to help you with it. That’s me right now,” she told him confidently. So much so, that he almost believed her. “I’ll help you. That’s what heroes do, isn’t it?” she added and he smiled shyly at her.
“I… Thank you.”
“Oh my, yeah. You can definitely go for a cute approach if you want,” she cooed then, making whatever gratitude and hope he was feeling turn into embarrassment immediately. “I don’t think it’s for you, sadly, but I’m sure we'll come up with something. For both of you, because I’m not forgetting you are here too, Itsuka. Both of you will be swarmed by fans in no time.”
“I’ll take not being swarmed by an angry mob, at this point,” he joked, but it seemed to fall flat with both his fellow intern and their mentor. “I mean-” he started then, drawing into himself but being interrupted by Maeda.
“None of that, mister,” she chided, eyes narrowed. “If I say you can be a star, then you can be a star,” she said with utmost certainty. Kazuki almost could believe her, but it was evident that Uwabami saw it on his face that he didn’t. “I guess I’ll have to prove it to you then,” she added, looking every bit a hero, if only going by the determination in her expression.
Maybe Kazuki had made the right choice.
[}-o-{]
“Well, this is… not what I expected,” Kendo commented from beside him. Uwabami had been called a moment before by her agent about… something. She’d actually asked them if they wanted to listen in, even though it supposedly wouldn’t be a very interesting call. Both of them had taken the chance for a break though.
Following the theme of the day, after lunch, they’d more or less had Maeda give them a summary of what she did, why and how. She described how she balanced her jobs, obviously going into more detail about the hero side though. She also continued from around where she’d left off before with what it was like being a track and rescue hero.
They also learned that, while the woman might not look it, she could also kick ass, from what she said. She might not be anywhere close to actual combat heroes, but she could fight if push came to shove. To hear her say it, any kind of hero could and should expect to get into a fight eventually.
Being a hero was dangerous, after all, regardless of what kind of hero you were.
Villains would always go after a hero, no matter what.
“Good unexpected or bad unexpected?” Kazuki asked, leaning against the wall and running his fingers through his hair. Idly, he glanced at the notebook he held in his other limb. First day wasn’t even over and he’d taken entirely too many notes. Maybe he was pushing things a little too much with his mindset of making the most of the internship. Most of the things he wrote weren’t even why he was there.
However, Maeda was taking a risk by taking him in. Kazuki had no doubt that news of his internship would get out and it would almost definitely negatively affect the hero. For a hero like Uwabami? That was much worse than for most others. Despite all that, the woman had extended her hand to him and he’d be damned if he didn’t try and make it all worth it.
“Just unexpected, for now,” Kendo mused, moving to lean against the wall by his side. “Uwabami is… somehow both exactly what I thought she’d be like and also not at all.”
“I know what you mean,” he agreed with a nod. “And it’s definitely good unexpected for me. I’m a lot less worried than I was before arriving here, that’s for sure. She’s nice, but professional. I think she can teach us a thing or two.”
“About being popular,” Kendo pointed out, and he got a hint of annoyance and bitterness, not only in her voice and expression but in her emotions. It wasn’t too bad, but it was definitely there.
“Nothing bad with that,” Kazuki reasoned with a shrug. “Being popular means that people know you. Wouldn’t you feel safer if a well known hero appeared to help you instead of someone you don’t know?” he asked, and her expression turned thoughtful. “Who’d you prefer came to help you, All Might or Endeavor?”
“I think I get it,” the girl said with a somewhat resigned nod. “I just… I’m not a fan of posing, I guess.”
“I mean, it’s a little… what’d be the word, gaudy?” he asked, getting a shrug from Kendo before he decided to just keep going. “But it’s good. Besides, nothing wrong with wanting fame, so long as you don’t take it overboard.”
“I’m not saying it’s bad, per se. I’m just saying that it’s not my thing,” Kendo explained and he hummed. Nothing to do about that, he supposed. Then again, she had come to Uwabami out of pride so…
“Well, it’s just a week?” he half said and half asked with a helpless look.
“Yeah, just a week of Uwabami trying to make me look pretty for the public and the cameras,” Kendo lamented with a huff. Kazuki detected some self-consciousness coming from her. Now that he could do something about.
“She won’t have to try too hard, at least,” he commented, drawing a wide-eyed look from her. “I mean, I don’t think it’s breaking news to tell you that you are pretty,” he added, pushing down the embarrassment of saying that out loud. She needed some reassurance, and he’d give it to her. “Uwabami probably won’t even have to do much of anything in regards to your appearance.”
“I-Um-That is-I mean,” Kendo stammered then, trying to get an actual sentence out and failing miserably. Her face had turned almost completely red and she seemed to have a hard time looking at him in the eyes for more than a second. Not that he was any better, but at least the bad feelings had gone away. That was a win for him, right? “That’s… very kind of you to say.”
“Just calling it how I see it,” he replied with a shrug. “Honestly, how can you feel bad about how you look when I look like something straight out of a horror movie?” he added, waving a hand towards his face and chuckling. “Now I will give that woman a challenge, I can tell you that.”
“You don’t… don’t look that bad,” Kendo mumbled, looking down and away from him and fidgeting with her clothes.
“You don’t have to comfort me,” he told her, still grinning. “I know what I look like and how others feel about it. It’s fine. Now, you, on the other hand, don’t have any excuse, lady. Take the compliment, will you?”
“I wasn’t just saying that,” she protested weakly, managing to glare at him.
“Sure you weren’t, that’s why you hesitated,” he pointed out, knowing that he’d won that argument. “Anyway, I just think you’ll have an easy time getting people to like you.”
“I can agree to that,” Maeda’s voice said, making both of them jump and turn towards where the hero stood with her phone in her hand. “And for the record, you don’t look bad. It won’t be anywhere near as bad as you think it will, Kazuki, I can tell you that.”
“Now that’s a lie,” he replied instantly.
“And why are you so sure?” Uwabami asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Because, and you might not know this, my Quirk allows me to feel the negative emotions of people around him. So, every time someone found me scary or disgusting, I’d know right away,” he explained, running his fingers through his hair again. “It’s just how it is. I’ve accepted that.”
“I see…” the woman mumbled, looking at him thoughtfully. “And how does that tie with your creatures, or is that an unrelated part of it?”
“The feelings… I guess you could say there’s a connection when I feel them, and they come to me as a sort of energy. That’s what I use to make my grimm, that’s their name by the way,” he answered dutifully. Maybe he could write down the information about his Quirk for her? Or better yet, there was probably a record somewhere.
“I see,” she repeated, more definitely then. “I guess that explains some things…”
And indeed it did. After all, it was no wonder that his summons looked so dark and scary when they were the manifestation of negative emotions. Then again, maybe she was talking about something else? Like his appearance? They had been talking about that and she’d apparently heard at least part of it.
“Well, regardless of that, I can guarantee you that there are people out there, and not few, that would find you very attractive, Kazuki,” Uwabami told him with a smile. “So, no self-confidence issues here, alright?”
“If you say so.”
“I do,” Maeda told him firmly. “And I mean it. If you were as… you say you are, then I’d tell you, because there’s no way I could help you with a problem I’m denying.”
“That… I don’t know if that’s brutal or nice.”
“It’s supposed to be a bit of both,” the woman replied with a sad smile. “This world isn’t nice. It’s shallow and there’s no one that knows that better than I do. So, I won’t let someone suffer because I was too “nice” to tell them things straight and help them from there.”
“Ok, then… thanks for the compliment, I guess,” he eventually muttered, unsure of what else to say, really. Not that he was actually taking that compliment though. He was just finding it very difficult to wrap his head about that when almost everyone reacted negatively to his appearance.
“Do you two have to be stereotypical teenagers with confidence issues?” Uwabami asked them, obviously unimpressed. Then she brought a hand up to massage the bridge of her nose.
“Hey!” Kendo protested.
“I resemble that,” Kazuki muttered with a wry smile.
“I guess if it’s a challenge, that’ll make this more fun,” the hero told them, pulling her hand away to reveal an exasperated smile. “God knows it’d be too easy otherwise, huh?”
“With Kendo, yeah,” he agreed easily. Was his kindness rewarded though? No, no it was not. Instead, the girl next to him stabbed him with her finger on the side. “Hey!”
“I have a feeling I’ll like having you two around,” Maeda commented, very amused.
[} Chapter End {]
Hey guys! How’s it going?
Well, that’s the first day of our boy’s internship.
I’m finding myself very grateful that the whole thing lasts only a week, because I don’t know how much I can write about PR related stuff. It’s no secret that I’m a fucking shut-in, after all. Furthermore, I detest the news and pretty much all of social media. So… I’m probably the worst person to write about this.
I’m trying, alright? Uwabami is, however, the new bane of my existence, right next to romance.
I hope you liked the chapter though.
Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ
Random Question: Are you listening to a song right now? If not, do you remember the last song you heard? Right now, I’m listening to “Sleepwalking” by Smash Into Pieces.
See you.
