Chapter Text
From: [email protected]
Subject: Those Three Interns
Body: Hello Sir Nighteye! I have taken notice of your newest interns. They seem like quite the rambunctious group that’s for sure. They are currently in state custody? With your agency acting as home right now, yes? Well seeing as they’re of high school age next year I have a bit of a proposal for you.
Izumi Curtis was not a stupid woman. She may be belligerent stubborn and all together unpleasant when not in hero persona, but she was not stupid. The fact was she way dying, and quickly. So, a successor was on the menu but who to choose. At first, she had considered the eldest Elric, Edward. But Nighteye had quickly vetoed him. For the reasons that he was “simply to reckless,” and “he has already set out to be a quirkless hero, he’d say no anyway.” For Izmui it was clear it had to be one of the Elric’s. Something about the three of them was so perfect for One for All.
From: [email protected]
Subject: re: Those Three Interns
Body: If this is about offering them places at UA I would like to remind you they haven’t taken any entrance exams and in fact they have show little to no interest in UA. I suspect though that there is more as to why you are contacting me.
Next, she considered Nina. The girl was crafty and fast and a little mean just like her brothers. It was when Izumi saw her fight that Nina was vetoed. The girl was crafty and smart yes, but her mean streak veered off into cruel to often for comfort. Even after the men were down, she had a habit of breaking their ankles. Nina said it was so they couldn’t get up again and chase them but there was always a little too much joy in her eyes for that to be the whole reason.
From: [email protected]
Subject: re: re: Those Three Interns
Body: Its true! The entrance exams have passed anyway instead I have a bit of a special assignment for the three of them. Something they may find interesting enough to agree to. Bring it up with them. And if they say yes, meet me here.
gGfjklsa-45768gsdj-fydls
Then there was Al, he seemed at first the least notable of his siblings. Plain and a bit boring at first glance. He was always put together, in smart vests and slacks with his hair combed perfectly. Next to Ed and Nina he never stood out. Izumi considered this with the concentration of a couple deciding on wedding decorations. It was late, almost 3 AM when she decided, it had to be Al.
The following is a transcript of security camera footage from the Seventh Street Bridge.
[Alphonse Elric is sitting in frame with his head against a support pillar for the bridge. Izumi Curtis stumbles into frame, her expression is vaguely worried.]
Izumi: Ah my boy? What are you doing out here?
[Al turns his head slowly and blinks. Something comes back to him and he sits up a little straighter.]
Al: Ms. Izumi! I’m so sorry I didn’t notice you. I ah, I just come out here to get some fresh air once a while. The office is like right around the corner and Ed and Nina can get loud and uh, other stuff. You know how it is.
[Izumi sits next to Al on the pavement.]
Izumi: I’m afraid I don’t my boy. You’ll have to excuse that it’s been a long time since I was fourteen.
Al: Yeah, I guess.
Al: So, you know our story right? The three of us how we were found? Ed’s missing and arm and a leg, Nina’s missing an eye and a few fingers. Well I didn’t lose anything physical but sometimes its like.
[Al pauses for a moment.]
Al: Like my soul is loose. If that makes any sense. Like I’m not really feeling anything? Sometimes when I grab things my nerves don’t go off or something and taste is really difficult to distinguish now. Its just its little things making life difficult.
Izumi: Hm that does sound troubling.
Al: And Ed and Nina understand that! Don’t think they’re bad at being siblings or anything they’re fantastic! But like, Ed and Nina don’t even miss their quirks, and almost never bemoan their lost limbs and I just. I miss mine so much. Maybe that makes me weaker then them.
Izumi: I don’t think so. I think that maybe you and your siblings are processing this grief differently. And while to you it seems that they don’t miss or wish for things they might, just, under the surface.
[There is a long pause.]
Izumi: My boy what if you could have a quirk again?
NO CLERENCE BEYOND THIS POINT UNLESS LEVEL FOUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL OR HIGHER.
Russel Tringham exude confidence like sweat. He was sure, positive in fact, that as he exited the exam he passed with flying colors. Never mind that when he got home, he was hunched over his toilet vomiting for at least an hour.
Lan Fan was skilled to say the least. Yet with everyone else trying out and her lack of counting during the trial she had been unsure of her placement. When the acceptance letter arrived, she almost squealed in joy.
Denny Brosh could have gotten in on recommendations. But he wanted to earn the right to be at UA. Wanted to see what all the others were doing and know exactly the level he would have to be at to succeed. UA’s entrance exams didn’t disappoint.
Winry Rockbell hadn’t wanted to even get into the heroics department. She only did it as a joke. And yet there she was ranked third for most points gained during the exam. She guessed she might as well try it out.
Vato Falman was a rational person with rational goals. His quirk, compared to others, was boring and almost useless. But still he had gotten the acceptance letter. He was going to UA.
Riza Hawkeye blacked out midway through the exam due to overuse of her quirk. It wasn’t until she had long accepted, she wasn’t getting in that she received her acceptance letter.
Jean Havoc was thrilled, excited, over the moon. Any other word you could come up with. UA was in his sights and nothing was going to stop him.
Heymans Breda was not smart. In fact he had been told on many occasion he was a moron. Still he was pretty sure he had managed to do basic math during the exam. He was like 80% sure he got in.
Maria Ross considered herself a bit of a punk. A bit of a mean lesbian if her tumblr bio was to be believed. This wasn’t going to stop her from saving anyone she could save.
Kain Fuery’s quirk was unsightly. He had been called many names through out middle school and really wasn’t expecting the rest of his life to be very different. But he was going to try Goddamnit. He was going to try to be a hero people could count on.
Mei Chang hoped only for one thing during her time at UA. She hoped they could help her control her quirk.
Ling Yao wasn’t doing this for his dad, for his mom, or for his siblings. He was going to UA because he wanted to. At least that’s what he kept telling himself.
Rebecca Catalina was invisible but if she was a hero. Maybe she wouldn’t be.
Roy Mustang aced the exams for UA with little to no effort. He wasn’t surprised of course. His quirk was amazing and so it only made sense UA offered him a spot.
Olivier Armstrong kinda hated everything. She had come in dead last during the exam and was almost shoved into gen ed. What a nightmare that would have been. She supposed though at least she was in the hero course even if in dead last.
Sheska was going to make her family proud. Going to make all of everything worth it. She promised that to herself.