July,

Luke sat down at the table, the maid serving breakfast to him — a thick slab of meat. Poached eggs. Sautéed vegetables.

To Luke's left, Nyx slurped noodles in a very ladylike manner.

In front of him, Rikuya put the mobile down as the main served him grilled chicken and pasta.

To Luke's right, Aina nibbled at her salmon salad, scrolling through the feed, reading her fans' comments.

"They want me to dress black today," Aina said. "Do I look good in black, Luke?"

Luke nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Registrations for Provisional Hero License Exam," Aina said. "You should enjoy your Summer Break this time… It will not be the same next year. Trust me. Third years are even busier.

"I heard you aced the Final Exam, by the way."

Luke smiled. "Or… you can say, I choked the life out of the exams…"

"Pfft!" Bits of food came flying out of Aina's mouth.

On the other hand, Rikuya tsked. "Tch! It's been weeks! The joke's as old as the grandmother next to you, ruining my breakfast!"

Nyx slurped another noodle and looked to her right. "He's calling you a grandmother, Aina."

"I am calling you!" Rikuya snapped as he saw his sister's gray eyes narrowing at him.

Luke kept eating, ignoring Rikuya, Nyx, and Aina as they began bickering.

This was a pretty normal morning now for him. If there came a day when Rikuya and Nyx didn't end up cursing at each other, then that would scare the life out of him.

During the Summer Break, unlike Rikuya, Aina would be attending her Provisional Hero License Exams.

Meanwhile, Luke had his Internship to deal with.

In the 1st Term's Final Exams, Sand and Pro Hero: Ectoplasm, who could make clones of himself, took charge of the Practical part.

Each student had to deal with Ectoplasm's clones.

Depending on how they put their Quirks and what they learned from the Combat Exercises into practice, the students were awarded certain points.

After the exams, Luke had even gotten the rest of the Inorganic Ingredients, corresponding to the Swindler Potion, from Momo, as they wouldn't be seeing each other until the next term.

"You still haven't told me which Hero Agency offered you an Internship," Aina said after a while.

"I am not allowed to say," Luke said. "All Might's orders…"

Aina raised her brows. "Wow… Sounds so secretive…"

"Maybe because even All Might felt shame, seeing who offered him an internship," Rikuya commented, getting up with a scowl.

"Can you just not say something mean for once?!" Aina snapped.

Rikuya scoffed. "Bet it's on some remote island, no?"

Luke suddenly had a feeling that Rikuya was literally asking him where his internship was. Was it his Clown Intuition? Or… No. That couldn't be right. He was thinking too much into it.

"It's in Tokyo," Luke replied, looking at Aina. "Can't tell more than that."

"Ah, well," Aina pouted as Rikuya walked away. "Anyway, I am just glad you will have something to do while I am busy…"

"Cough!" Nyx choked on the noodle.

"I mean…" Aina said, blushing, "It can get boring… OK. OK. Need to go… Best of Luck. And, if you feel someone's being mean to you, just drop me a text. I will take care of it."

Luke smiled at that as Aina stood up. "Will sure do, Big Sis…"

Tink…

With a twitch on her mouth, Aina hurriedly picked up the plate that had fallen from the table and ran away. "Packing… I NEED TO PACK!!!"

Luke frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

"…" Nyx.

[…] Miss Justice.

…

Odaiba,

Tokyo

It was the 7th day for Cirque du Soleil, the world-famous Circus, to be in Japan.

People were storming in by thousands, lights and fireworks enlightening the mood, bringing smiles and joy to their faces.

In one crowded corner, surrounded by dozens of children, was a clown, juggling balls.

Every few seconds, he would add a ball, make it disappear, and then add random things in its place, making everyone laugh.

When his performance ended, the crowd clapped for him.

The clown took his hat off and bowed in acceptance.

From somewhere, a raven flew down and landed on his shoulder, cawing out the timing of the next performance after a break.

A fat clown approached him hurriedly, then. "Matilda told me you will not be coming tomorrow," he said in a thick, foreign accent. "Will you truly not consider this again? I can get you more money…"

The clown shook his head. "I have some important business to attend to…"

The fat clown seemed reluctant to take a No. This man had come to him a week ago, asking for a job. With the reputation of their circus, he had been all but rejected after giving him a chance to perform once.

Surprisingly, the man was natural at it, the fat clown noticed, attracting a bigger crowd than even him.

Taking a deep breath, the fat clown sighed. He took out a bundle of cash and handed it over to the man. "If you want to work with us again, you have my number. We will be delighted to have you on the team."

The clown again took his hat off and bowed.

When the fat clown was gone, the clown with the raven on his shoulder began preparing for the last performance.

"Daddy, look!" A little girl, holding her father and mother's fingers, pointed at the clown. "That bird's speaking!"

The little girl ran toward the clown, but slipped.

The father and mother came running as the girl began crying.

The clown watched the three of them in silence, tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, he beamed as if there wasn't, and would ever be, a funnier moment than this in his life.

He walked to the family and crouched next to the little girl.

Then, reaching out, he tucked a stray lock of the girl's hair behind her ear. But when his hand returned, he was holding a shiny coin.

The girl immediately stopped crying, her eyes widening with shock.

Closing his fist around the coin, the clown blew on it. When he opened it again, there was a rose in place of the coin.

"Wow!" the girl smiled, clapping.

Giving her the rose, the clown ruffled her hair and stood up, the parents thanking him.

And as the family walked away, the clown and the raven watched them, smiling at a fate that would never be theirs.

****************

AN: Original Image of Luke as Clown at the end of the chapter is available

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