M. Hatsume X F! Reader: The Devil in Pink (BOOK 1)

Chapter 18: The Chess Board's Queen

Patrol wasn't anything special to say the least. You ran into Hawks and Tsukuyomi again, both of whom were in the air as Tsukuyomi practiced a new move to keep him aloft.

Followed by that duo, you met Best Jeanist and a certain 'Lord Explosion Murder'.

"Oi Kacchan," you chuckled, immediately walking up to him. "Still going with the old hero names or did you finally pick something out?"

The explosive blonde was controlling every fiber in his body to not explode your ass to hell that instant.

"Shirakumo-San, I will give you 0.1 seconds to get the fuck away from me," he growled. Of course, you compelled. But not without throwing a remark beforehand.

"Nice hairdo by the way, really suits you," you snickered at his hair. You thought for sure that most of it was gel just by the gravity defying nature of it, but seeing it tamed in a neat side part now sure changed your image of the feral child.

"We have a patrol to do, if you'll excuse us," Best Jeanist cleared his throat, glaring at you.

"Of course, of course. Sorry. I'm a fan of your work, you should definitely tame more feral pricks like- AHHHH I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" You tried buttering the hero up, only to be exploded by your dear friend.

"Teenagers these days," the long necked hero rolled his eyes, followed by Mirko laughing at your antics as she simply filmed it. It didn't hurt anyone, did it?

Unfortunately, you did have to say bye to him but not before receiving an earful from Jeanist on proper hero etiquette and how you only address each other by code names -something Bakugo failed to do.

"Hey Kacchan, if you change your name to firework you'd also have a theme song," you whispered to him as you began to terribly hum 'Firework'.

"Shut up if you know what's good for you," he hissed back, trying desperately to avoid another lecture.

Once that horror was over, you were back on patrol duty as Mirko walked beside you teasing you every step of the way. Worst of all? She assumed Bakugo was your boyfriend.

"Mirko, he's a friend and classmate. My type is more... less masculine," you attempted telling her you were gay, seeing as you didn't know your mentor's standpoint.

"Nice, females it is then! I do agree, they are amazing," she smirked knowingly.

'Ah yes, the gaydar never lies' you panicked slightly, though you were still relieved at her openness.

"Now, Cloud Nine, there's a fire. 6 people evacuated and outside the building, 6 inside and trapped. Firefighters will be there in half an hour. How do you approach the situation?" Mirko raised an eyebrow, awaiting your answer.

"I'd evacuate everyone trapped using my clouds as a method of transport, then stop the fire with rain, then take everyone to the hospital for check ups. It may vary based on how long it takes for help to arrive," you listed, determined to get every question she threw at you correct.

"Sounds good! Situation 2, a child is crying. No guardian figure is seen other than someone they seem to be scared of. Do you follow?" Your mentor gave you the second scenario which you began picturing in your mind.

"Yep, got it!" You nodded.

"What measures do you take? No one is around, only civilians, so it's up to you to help the kid," she smirked.

It was certainly a harder one than the first. You took the child and saved it? You'd be stalked, the child would be in danger and would probably fall back into the hands of the captor again.

You leave the child? Who knows what the captor is doing to them, this could be a life or death scenario for the child.

"I can't fight the captor and hand them over to the police without solid evidence, but if I took the child without any evidence that'd be considered kidnapping as well. Therefore I'd probably give the child back to the captor, but operate from the sidelines and collect evidence to get the captor thrown in jail. After that, I'd either send the kid into an orphanage, or see if they have other family. Worst case scenario, I'd take in the child myself," you slowly explained, still thinking through the situation and all possible outcomes.

Mirko smiled at that. Most inexperienced interns didn't give a thought through answer like you did, and rarely gave reasons. It only further proved her point that you'd make a fine hero one day if you stopped hesitating and thought through all possible opportunities both you and your opponent had.

Essentially, this quirk-filled world of heroes and villains was similar to a game of chess: you need to think ahead and consider all possible options, while considering all possible counters for every possible option. The chance of success for heroes is extremely low, but most agencies have sidekicks in the background helping the hero terminate the villain. It's all a matter of how, and how quickly, you can turn the tables into your favour.

Because, in the end, no one likes losing. Finish the spontaneous, unruly villain quickly, and you just might survive with few injuries. Dawdle about and hesitate and it won't only be your life lost, it'll be lives of multiple other citizens who were unlucky enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Citizens with families. Daughters, sons, children, mothers, fathers, parents, grandkids and grandparents. All gone due to one hero's mishap, one single mistake by one person.

It's hard to remember but heroes, no matter how powerful and how fake they seem, no matter how much we idolise them, are people. They will make mistakes, some small, such as bringing a cat to its wrong owner, but some big, costing lives.

You certainly wished and hoped to never be the cause of a person's death, especially after losing three people in your early childhood.

"That is correct. I think I'll let you handle a kidnapping case or so when we come back to the agency. Nothing much, just filling in information," Mirko nodded, white hair swaying in the wind.

Your new aim was to become as inspirational as Mirko while kicking villains' ass. To be the queen on the chess board.