This Time

Chapter 1

The bell of the door chimed in an annoyingly cheerful trill as I trudged into my local convenience store the next morning. It was nearly noon, but on a Tuesday the store was quiet, save for the usual crew - Mr. Tanaka at work behind the counter, a young mother with her toddler who came in after seeing her older child to school, and a scary-thin blonde man who I usually saw once a week picking up odds and ends. Some days we would be joined by one or two other strangers, but today was not one of them. I greeted Mr. Tanaka and made straight for the coffee machine where I knew my salvation waited. The blonde was there ahead of me, and I offered a small smile as I stepped up beside him.

"Pardon me," he apologized, stepping to the side while he finished pouring hot water for his tea, so that we could share the counter.

"No worries," I replied. He was gone a moment later and at the register paying for a handful of things by the time I took a sip of the strong black miracle liquid.

I never really talked to any of the other customers other than small pleasantries, but the blonde man had always seemed friendly and polite. There had been a time, a few weeks back when I'd had a rough fight the night before, and hadn't cared enough to hide the bruises on my cheek or cover my under-eye bags with makeup. He had offered to buy my coffee that morning, and softly asked if I was okay after making sure no others were within earshot.

He had said it in a way that made it seem like he wasn't trying to pry, but was genuinely concerned for the well-being of some strange girl, and I had to begrudgingly admit to myself I was impressed. That didn't stir my emotions enough to actually tell the truth, though. I smirked as I gave  him the classic 'I fell down' line, and he frowned. The guy probably thought I was a battered wife or something but said no more. That was the most we'd ever spoken, and hadn't spoken any more since.

Suddenly the toddler shrieked from his mother's arms over by the front windows and my head whipped around to see out on the street some sort of sludge villain rampaging. Well shit, I thought grumpily, setting my coffee down and turning towards the doorway while my hand itched towards my bag for the mask that was my trademark. Everyone else had raced to the windows and were peering out at the scene with a nervous excitement.

All except the blonde that is.

He stood with his back to me just inside the doorway, grocery bags in hand. There was a tension in his stance and for a split second I wondered if this lanky guy thought he was about to rush out and take the villain on himself. I pulled the mask down, hiding my face and made to move forward, hoping this guy would decide against such a suicidal thought and just get out of my way. I would have to move quick if I was to incapacitate the slime monster before any pros turned up. My hand reached out to brush him aside when suddenly an energy hissed through the air and his body bulged unnaturally. The skinny man was gone and instead, All Might was in his place.

I was frozen, shocked at what I'd witnessed. He must have forgotten there was anyone at the back of the store, because surely this was something no one was ever supposed to see. Pros now days never had secret identities, and I only kept one since my work as a vigilante was illegal, technically speaking. Apparently, here was a hero who still kept a secret life, just like the old days.

All Might's voice thundered out his catch phrase in a voice much more boisterous than the one that had made a quiet apology minutes ago. As the crowd gathering on the street started to notice his presence I glanced around. No one else in the store seemed to have seen him change besides myself, and how my fellow shoppers didn't put two-and-two together either was beyond me. Slack-jawed, I watched as he vaulted away after the villain, leaving behind him a shockwave and a chorus of praise from the citizens.

Almost dreamily, I pulled my mask back off and stuffed it back in my bag. My hair was probably all frazzled now, but really I had much bigger things to worry about. Most importantly, I needed to think about what I'd just learned. Where to go from here?