Khan kept the door open for Yaoyorozu when she walked in. He then sat and explained. Uwabami wasn't growth. Cameras, poses, interviews where nothing got built except a brand that would chew her up and spit her back out polished and hollow. She didn't need pity wrapped in silk. She needed pressure, structure, and a place where her Quirk mattered more than her waistline.
He told her she'd probably get pulled into asking Kendo too. If Yaoyorozu saw Kendo circling that same glittering drain, she should say something. Internships were chances to grow. Wasting one smiling for a woman who sold perfume with her hips would rot that chance clean through.
Yaoyorozu listened. She nodded. She didn't argue. She bowed too deep, thanked him again, and left with her shoulders lighter than when she'd come in.
After her, the day blurred into faces and forms.
Mineta came in sweating.
Khan listened. Khan nodded. Khan didn't scold.
Then he sent Mineta to Mt. Lady.
That goblin deserved that punishment, and the universe agreed.
By the time the sun dipped low enough to turn the windows gold, Khan had worked through most of the list. He stretched, rolled his neck, refilled his mug, and watched the hallway thin out.
Then the knock came again.
Midoriya.
Khan shut the door.
Finally.
Khan gestured to the chair. "Sit."
Midoriya did.
"So," Khan said. "Internships."
Midoriya nodded. "Yeah."
He hesitated, then leaned forward. "I got a few offers."
"That's good," Khan replied. "You showed enough to make people curious."
Midoriya scratched his cheek. "I also got... a different suggestion."
Khan waited.
Midoriya shifted in his seat. "Al- my mentor mentioned someone. An old mentor of his. Gran Torino."
There it was.
Khan didn't react. Waiting for him to continue.
Midoriya did, "He said he's tough. Old school. He thought it might help with control."
"Maybe," Khan said. "What do you think."
Midoriya blinked. "Me."
"Yeah," Khan said. "You."
Midoriya looked down at his hands. "I don't know. Part of me thinks I should take it. He trained my mentor after all. That has to mean something."
"It does," Khan said.
Midoriya frowned. "You don't think it's a good idea."
Khan shrugged. "I didn't say that."
Midoriya leaned back, frustrated. "But you don't sound excited."
"I don't get excited about mentors," Khan replied. "I get interested in outcomes."
Midoriya breathed out through his nose. "What kind of outcome."
"The kind where you come back intact," Khan said. "Physically and otherwise."
Midoriya nodded. "I know. It just feels... big. Important."
"Big isn't always useful," Khan said. "Sometimes it's just loud."
Midoriya chewed on that. "Gran Torino works alone."
Khan hummed. "Does he."
Midoriya blinked. He had been expecting more than that. Advice. A warning. Something to grab onto. Instead he got two words and a quiet look that didn't rush him anywhere.
"He does," Midoriya said, filling the space himself. "From what I've heard. It's just him."
Midoriya waited. Nothing came.
"But," Midoriya added, because his chest felt tight now, "my mentor almost died a lot."
Khan raised an eyebrow.
"I mean," Midoriya rushed, "I know that sounds obvious. Heroes almost die all the time. But he talks about Gran Torino as someone who threw him into walls and told him to deal with it."
Khan nodded. "Some teachers teach that way."
Midoriya swallowed. "I don't know if that's what I need right now."
Khan didn't pounce on it.
Midoriya shifted again. "I'm still getting cramps. Not bad ones, but enough that I notice. And when I get tired, my control slips. I keep thinking if I mess up under someone like that..."
He trailed off.
Khan waited him out.
"I don't want to be a problem," Midoriya said finally. "I don't want to break something important and slow everyone down."
"Reasonable concern," Khan said.
Midoriya looked up, eyes searching his face. "You really think so."
"Yeah," Khan replied. "Injured interns make bad impressions."
Midoriya winced. "That's what I was thinking."
Khan stood and moved to the window. He looked out over the campus, hands in his pockets.
"Gran Torino's reputation is earned," he said. "So is his age."
Midoriya tilted his head. "What does that mean."
"It means he knows what he knows," Khan said. "And he teaches what worked for him."
Midoriya frowned. "Isn't that good."
"Sometimes," Khan said. "Sometimes it's narrow."
Midoriya went quiet again.
"You're in a different spot than your mentor was," Khan continued. "Different era. Different scrutiny. Different body."
Midoriya nodded slowly. "He did say that heroes back then didn't have as many eyes on them."
Khan turned back to him. "They also didn't have as many safety nets."
Midoriya stared at his hands "I thought I wanted the hardest option. The one that proves something."
Khan folded his arms. "Proves what."
Midoriya didn't answer right away.
"That I belong," he said finally.
Khan nodded. "Belonging tests are expensive. You sure you can gamble your first internship?"
Midoriya looked at him again. "You think I'd be trying to prove something."
"I think most first years are," Khan said. "Especially the ones who got in sideways."
Midoriya's mouth twitched. "Yeah."
"There were other offers," he said. "Smaller agencies. Disaster response units. Even one focused on mobility training."
Khan lifted an eyebrow. "That's a spread."
"They don't sound as... legendary," Midoriya said.
"Legendary doesn't equal best," Khan replied. "Sometimes the boring ones can fit you better."
Midoriya's shoulders dropped a fraction.
"I keep thinking," he said, "what if I go there and mess up. Not just hurt myself, but get in the way. He works alone. If I slow him down..."
"You'd be sent home," Khan said.
Midoriya blinked. "Just like that."
"Probably," Khan replied. "And that'd be a waste."
Midoriya nodded. "That would be humiliating."
Midoriya leaned back again. His gaze drifted to the door, then back.
"What would you do," he asked, then quickly added, "if you were me."
Khan shook his head. "Can't answer that."
Midoriya sighed. "I figured."
"I don't live in your body," Khan said. "I don't carry your Quirk. I don't wake up with your joints screaming."
Midoriya flexed his fingers unconsciously. "They don't scream anymore. Not like before."
"Good," Khan said. "That means you're improving."
Midoriya nodded. "I don't want to lose that."
Khan let that sit.
"I think," Midoriya said slowly, "that going somewhere safer doesn't mean I'm avoiding growth."
Khan said nothing.
"It might mean I'm pacing it," Midoriya continued. "Giving myself room to mess up without wrecking everything."
Khan's mouth twitched.
"And," Midoriya added, voice quieter now, "if I come back stronger and more controlled, I could always train with someone intense later."
"That option rarely disappears," Khan said.
Midoriya straightened. "Yeah."
He sat there for a few seconds, then nodded to himself.
"I think," he said, "I should turn down Gran Torino."
Khan didn't react.
"I mean," Midoriya rushed, "not because he's bad. Or because I'm scared. Just... because it doesn't fit where I am."
Khan walked back to his chair and sat.
"That's your call," he said. "You'll be the one living with it."
Midoriya smiled.
"I feel better saying it out loud," he said.
"Talking helps," Khan replied. "Annoying, but true."
Midoriya stood. He bowed, then stopped himself halfway and laughed. "Sorry. Habit."
Khan waved it off. "You're good."
Midoriya hesitated at the door. "If my mentor asks..."
"You tell him you chose what made sense," Khan said. "That's not disrespect."
Midoriya nodded. "Thank you."
"You didn't need me for this," Khan said. "You got there on your own."
Midoriya smiled again, then left.
The door closed.
Khan stayed seated for a moment. Then he sighed and rolled his shoulders.
"Well," he muttered. "That went clean."
**-**
This novel is completed. I'm currently editing the chapters and uploading them to Patreon. If you'd like to read the full novel and support my work, feel free to check it out. Available up to Chapter 80 so far.
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