My first day of lessons had come to an anticlimactic end. This was one thing I wasn't missing the slightest when it came to my old life. But if I wanted to fit in, I would have to play along. I'm pretty sure I can get Kurogiri to help me with any homework if it comes down to it. Slouched against the gate to the school, I flipped open a burner phone, dialling the only number. Waiting for a short moment, I heard the voice of All For One on the other side. "It's a full moon tonight."
"Perfect for a hunt."
"Y/N. Report."
Looking around at the other students leaving, I began pacing back and forth. "I've infiltrated the school with no problems. My first day went without a hitch; the teachers here are strange. I gave them a demonstration of your quirk."
A small chuckle was heard from the phone. "I'm sure they were blown away. That is one of my more. Prefered quirks; use them wisely. What about All Might?"
"I didn't see him today. He was teaching Class 1B. I'm gaining the trust of many of my classmates. One, in particular, seems interested in me. Izuku Midoriya." There was a pause causing me to look around again. "Father?"
"Can you befriend him?"
"I'm pretty sure I can. Is there a reason for him?"
"Izuku Midoriya is close to All Might. You could cast him as his personal trainer. You have a new mission Y/N. Befriend this Izuku Midoriya, learn everything you can about his quirk and All Might. And when the time comes, kill him."
"Kill him?!" I yell, getting some strange looks as I move further away from the gates. "Why? I thought the mission was only about All Might."
"I cannot explain right now, but he is an important assist we must eliminate." All For one stated. "Is that clear?"
"Crystal, and All Might?"
"Consider him your main priority still. If you cannot take out Midoriya, that's fine. Just make sure All Might is dead." He orders, clearing his throat. "Did you learn of any students quirks?"
"I didn't ask. I thought it could draw attention. Although it seems our teacher Aizawa can stop quirks with just a glance."
"Yes, I've heard of his... Problematic ability. He, however, shouldn't stand a chance against The Red String Butcher. That is all, report back when you have any findings. I have faith in you, my son. Do not fail me."
Closing the flip phone, I clenched it tightly, baffled, staring at the ground. "Why Midoriya? That wasn't a part of the plan."
"Hey Y/N!" I turn around, smirking to myself putting my phone away. Speak of the devil. Midoriya, Iida and Uraraka came over almost out of breath. "We were looking for you."
"You were?" I whisper, confused. "Umm, why?"
"We wanted to walk home together. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough time to chat today." Uraraka insisted.
"While it was Midoriya's idea, I too would like to get to know you a bit more." Iida insisted.
Blinking serval times, I stepped back, startled. "Wait, you want to walk home. With me?! You're not pulling my leg here, are you?"
"Why would anyone do something horrible like that?" Uraraka questions tilting her head.
Midoriya nodded along. "Yeah, that's what friends do, right? Do you live nearby?"
Taking a few seconds to process this, I smiled dearly, nodding. "I live just by the station. I've got my own small apartment, so it's just a short walk from here."
"No way you have your own apartment. That's awesome!" Uraraka said, walking ahead. "I heard they were going to be moving us into dorms soon."
"Seriously? That's so cool."
"And safer too. It only makes sense after the villain attack a few months back."
"I heard about that. Some villains attacked while you were taking a trip for a training exercise. Oh, and you took down the hero killer, Stain. For students, you guys sure already had experience."
"It's strange to think that," Midoriya admitted. "I wasn't expecting to be fighting any villains for a while, so I must admit it was something."
Turning and walking with the others, I rubbed my bandage again, frowning. "Does that hurt? I mean, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."
"It's fine, Uraraka. Someone was bound to ask eventually. It doesn't hurt. Not in that sense. It just becomes irritating."
"Aren't their pros who can heal those wounds? So you don't have to live with the pain." Iida questioned.
Feeling my bandages, I nodded in agreement. "That would be the sensible thing to do, I must admit. But this is sort of a reminder of how far I've come. I don't really feel comfortable explaining what happened, but my wound reminds me every day of the past. I was told time and time again I could never become a hero. No matter how much I wanted it, society always seemed to have another idea. My quirk was seen as a threat. Something a villain would use. There was no way I could be a hero in their eyes. For a time, I believed them too."
"They're wrong," Midoriya said with a stern look. "There's no such thing as an evil quirk. The quirk doesn't make someone bad it's what they choose to do with it. Once you graduate from UA, you can show them. You've already proven them all wrong just being here."
I stopped in my tracks, dazed as the three looked at me, confused. "What's wrong?"
"I never saw it like that..." I come back to my senses, scratching my head. "If you guys aren't too busy, I know this nice diner around the corner that sells killer coffee and eggs. My treat."
"No, no, we couldn't do that."
Shaking my head, I disperse the argument very quickly. "I insist. Please."
Each of them looked to each other as Midoriya nodded. "How could we say no?"
****
The diner was full of life as plates were being moved across tables and orders made. Midoriya was glued to the menu struggling for choice. "I didn't even know this place existed. It's like those American diners you see in movies."
"This place used to be quiet, but recently it's gained a lot of attention with the younger crowd. I would come here in the mornings to simply kill time. Nothing better than some tunes and coffee in the morning letting the world pass you by."
Uraraka stood up, patting herself down. "I'm going to quickly go for a toilet before our food comes."
"Yeah, I should probably give my brother a call and tell him I'll be home late," Iida added, leaving just me and Midoriya left.
Leaning over the table, I pointed to the full English. "You cannot go wrong with that. It's a little bit of everything. My personal favourite is the pancakes, though. Oh, and you can't leave without trying their 5 dollar milkshake... I think that's just under 1000 yen."
"Are you ready to ord- Holy crap. Are you alright?! What happened to your eye." My usual waitress came over to the shock of her life.
I turned to her, looking deflated, sighing. "I'd... I'd rather not talk about it. I'm fine, really."
"Are you sure? You were just here a few weeks ago. Man, I'm sorry... Tell you what the drink is on the house."
"You don't have to do that."
"But I want to." She says, turning to Midoriya. "Do you know what you want to order?"
"Oh! Right, yes! I'll... I'll have the pancakes?"
"Pancakes. Did he tell you to get that? Good choice. Two pancakes?"
"Make it four. And milkshakes all around."
"You got it, boss."
Leaning back in the booth, I let out a long sigh smiling. "After a long day of school, it feels good to just relax like this. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've brought anybody with me here. Should have done that more often. You seemed nervous making that order."
"I did?" He muttered, laughing to himself. "I've never been that good at ordering. I freeze up at the last second, not remembering what I want to order. It's quite embarrassing."
"You get nervous over that? I would have thought villains, and the school festival would build up nerve of steel. That's quite funny, actually." I chuckle at tapping my fingers against the table. "We all have our weakness, I suppose."
"She seemed nice."
"Who, oh her. Yeah, I guess. Funny, I don't think I ever remember anyone else serving me. I've come here for almost a year, and I don't actually know her name. That's pretty bad if you ask me."
"Ask when she comes back."
"Now, that would be embarrassing. While I've got you here, do you mind if I pick at your brain a bit?" I ask, hoping to pry some information about All Might.
"Sure, ask away."
I opened my mouth, wanting to ask about All Might straight away but stopped myself chuckling. "What made you want to become a hero?"
"All Might." He replies, peaking my attention. It's like he can read my mind. "I've watched him saving people time and time again on repeat that I memorised every word spoken in any video with him in. I wanted to be just like him, saving people with a smile on my face. Is there something wrong with that?"
Shaking my head, I shrugged my shoulders. "No, no. Not at all. We all have our heroes, right? For some, it's big pro heroes like All Might, others it's police officers or firefighters and others it's their parents. So we can all follow in our hero's footsteps. You just got to step back and question if that's the right shadow to follow."
"Who's your hero then?"
I paused for a moment changing the conversation. "That book of yours. I saw you jotting down notes when I was doing that practical test. What is it?"
"Oh, let me show you." Taking out a worn down notebook, he began skimming through pages turning it around, opening it on Endeavour. It had everything about him written down, his quirk and special moves. Everything you needed to know about a pro. "I write down as much as I can whenever I meet a pro or pro in training. It helps me build up a database to look back on and learn from... I was like you too, Y/N. I was constantly told I would never amount to anything. I couldn't become a hero. I would never let that stop me. One day I'm going to be in this book. The day I become the number one hero."
Taking the book from Midoriya, I skimmed through, stopping on All Might. My heart began to race before I calmed myself down, passing through finding my own incomplete page. I smirked at it, reading all about the air cannon quirk I borrowed. He really brought this shit on a silver platter. "You work fast, I'll say that. But you've got the information about the quirk all wrong. I don't make air. Instead, I release the air around me into a shockwave. The shockwave can manifest in different forms, depending on the user's arms' motion when releasing it. The blast's shape can range from a straight, concentrated air shot to a broad, crescent-shaped air blade."
"Wow, I didn't realise that."
Soon enough, the waitress came back with our drinks passing each one down. "Here you go. Our special five-dollar milkshake with extra cream."
"Thanks, you're amazing... Say. Well, umm, this is seriously embarrassing. So forgive me for this but."
"Yuuki." She replied, pointing to her name badge. "My name is Yuuki. I don't like most people knowing my name, so I generally hide it best I can. You're a different story." Taking Midoriya's notebook, she playfully laughed, handing it back. "It's nice to meet you, Y/N."
I watched Yuuki leave, untying her dark blue ponytail going behind the counter, cashing up. I turned to Midoriya holding my glass up. "To becoming the number one hero."
Raising his glass, he cheers, nodding. "To becoming the number one hero."