Hey! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Plus, I wanted to thank everyone who reads and votes for this! Up above is a song I recommend its: Savior by George Ezra! Also, here's my Discord Server if y'all wanna join: https://discord.gg/hDWxEd2
BRTZZ
"Good day my precious viewers!" A posh, well mannered voice comes from a computer screen, it was a HeroTube video.
The video shows a simple convenience store in Musutafu, and the camera zooms out to show a man white hair and moustache, holding a cane and a knife in the opposite, the man smiles at the camera, his eyes gleaming;
"I hope that you are swell! Today I will be doing a... Robbery!" The video transitions from the store front to the inside, where the man from before holds a knife to the cashier, who recognises the robbery and stutters,
"I-I know you..." But the robber interrupts the clerk stating-
"As much as I would like to stay and chat, I am on a rather tight schedule. Please could you place all your money within the briefcase." As the clerk starts to pile money into the case, the video speeds up until the case was filled and the man thanks the cashier.
"Thank you. I will be leaving now."
The man turns around and as he does so, the store doors slide open, revealing two rather unknown heroes, who demand.
"Put your weapons down!" A female voice comes from behind the camera.
"Ah! This is bad Gentle! The Heroes are here! Will you be okay?!" The man - Gentle – Chuckles at the girl, confidently stating.
"Worry not, La Brava! Do you really think two heroes can stop me?" Suddenly three more heroes drop in, all ready for action as they repeat;
"Drop your weapons!" Gentle's smile tenses as he drops his knife, muttering aloud,
"More came..." He then puts down the briefcase, calling out; "La Brava. You may want to cut this part..."
The video cuts out, the screen buzzing as black static filled the screen before colour and motion filtered back on. The scene is odd when it cuts back, Gentle walks away from the store, pink smoke evaporating off his form, 5 heroes laid on the ground, defeated and the store wobbles and bounces like Jelly...
Now the viewers get a good luck at the criminal, he's wearing old fashioned clothes, a tailcoat with two tails, a cane two large collars behind his neck and bagging pants. His cane clicks as Gentle walks away, saying;
"Let us make our exit, La Brava!" The voice from before, La Brava, states worriedly;
"But Gentle! The money!" Without looking at the girl, Gentle tells her.
"Don't worry, La Brava. I'm merely paying for the appearance fee!" The well-mannered man chuckles, stating;
"I don't do this for money. No, I want my name to go down in history! Yes, that's right! It is I, Gentle! Gentle Criminal!" The man waves to the camera, exiting with bravado and grace. The screen fades into black and the video ends.
Izuku huffs, pausing his Herotube browsing, and wonders;
'Gentle Criminal, huh? I wonder why he chose crime, what he wants...?' Izuku scratches the back of his neck; 'The man has style though, he's snazzy with that cane, I'll give him that, he also appears to be an avid tea drinker, perhaps...'
Thinking, Izuku smiles sadly.
'I can't get my mind of Eri's question; how does a person smile? It's natural for me to smile, it came as easily as breathing. Eri is different, she's never been shown kindness, or love, she's never experienced Joy or Happiness.' Glancing around the room, Izuku's eyes fall on his classmates, they were all smiling and laughing, all preparing for the upcoming Festival...
'She's never been given hope, she's not been taught properly and has been abused for all her life...' Izuku stops in his track,
'The Festival... We can bring Eri to the Festival! We can show her everything we stand for! Hope, Love, Happiness!'
Happily, Izuku calls Shouta and Mirio, telling them of his idea. Mirio was enthusiastic about it, and Shouta hummed in consideration. Izuku knew that Eri wasn't in danger or could cause any danger and told his parent/teacher that this would be good for Eri.
On the other side of the line, Shouta glanced at the girl in question. She had fallen asleep not long after both Izuku and Togata left, leaving Shouta to watch her during her recovery. He pats her head and she leaned into it like a kitten, and Shouta was sold, completely ignoring Izuku as he pets Eri like a small kitten, which wasn't far of the mark, in Shouta's mind...
Softly Shouta smiled, knowing that Eri would be a part of his family now, he idly wonders what Izuku would think of his new sister...
He's gone soft, so what?! You touch any of his loved ones and you won't see the next day...
Hanging up, Izuku sighs knowing that Shouta had blocked him out, no longer listening to Izuku, and so he put the phone down. His stomach rumbled loudly, and Izuku laughed before getting of the sofa, wincing at the sound of his joints popping like firecrackers, and moving into the kitchen to grab a bit to eat. He waved at Sato and Hagakure as he passed and nodded to Tokoyami as Izuku entered the kitchen.
Stomach Growling, Izuku scanned the cupboards for food, freezing when he sees the note on the fridge. Izuku pinches his nose and lets out a disappointed sigh, realizing that Tenya of all people, forgot to go shopping; it was his turn to go and now the dorm's kitchen was barren, not a scrap of food in sight. Then again, Izuku couldn't exactly blame the robotic boy, he was setting up the music concert that the class would be doing for the festival, after all.
Cracking his knuckles, Izuku grabbed a jacket, his cane and a small package before shouting a quick goodbye to his dormmates, first he needed actual permission to leave the campus. Izuku smirked, Shouta may not let him leave but a good old pair of puppy eyes at Toshinori and he'll be allowed to leave; Now all that's left is to find the gaunt man himself...
Inside of an office, Toshinori shivers unexpectedly, an instinct blaring that something was coming for him...
Izuku barged into the office, waving brightly at Toshinori, hiding a package behind his back. Izuku knew that Toshinori was feeling down after Sir Nighteye's death, who wouldn't after losing a close friend, and Izuku thought to get the man a gift, he's lost so much already...
Izuku smiled and said;
"Hey Toshinori! I've got something to give you and something to ask you!" Izuku tilted his head slightly, smiling, his eyes glowing and his face almost glowed, as he asked –
"Can I have your permission to leave the campus?" Unaware, Izuku smiled, and Toshinori's mind shouted;
'Something's wrong! Did he ask Aizawa?' Toshinori put down a piece of paperwork, and gave Izuku a look, before retaliating;
"Did you ask Mr. Aizawa?" Izuku only brightened his smile, his pearly white teeth on full display, saying;
"He's not the boss of me!" Toshinori stops everything. Internally he was screaming, externally he was smiling. Now let's get something out of the way; Izuku Midoriya stands at 6 foot and 5 inches, body made of pure muscles, so how does the boy look so adorable?! It defies all logic! Toshinori's mind blares like a siren –
'It's at trap! It's a trap! It's a trap!' It repeated over and over like a mantra, trying to escape the madness, and in the end, Toshinori nods, giving in;
"Sure, be back soon, though, okay? Your fathers may have my head on a spike if anything happens..." Izuku nods rapidly, his head becoming a green blur as it did so, then he pulls out a small package, telling the man;
"I know that Sir Nighteye's death took a toll on you, he was one of your closest friends, so I got you this to remember him by..."
Inside of the small package was a small round disc, it popped onto the desk and activated; a neon hologram sprung to life.
On the hologram, was a painting of Sir Nighteye. He was standing proud, a smile gracing his face, his quirk activated, and three stamps held in his hand. He was posing, with a shadow of Toshinori's Hero form behind him, a pale hand hovering over the man's shoulder. Izuku put his hand on Toshinori's, smiling.
"Remember, Toshinori; Even in Death, Sir Nighteye lives on in our hearts, our memories and actions." Izuku turned, giving the man a wave, and didn't comment on the tears in his mentor's eyes.
Groaning, Izuku stalked down the streets towards the nearest convenience store, his cane clicking against the pavement (or sidewalk, depends on where you live!) in a rhythmic beat. His pace slowed as he neared the store, checking his pockets before entering, making sure he had his phone and money then walked in, tossing a friendly wave to the man behind the counter. Going down the aisles, Izuku unlocked his phone, pulling open his shopping list, and began to fill up his basket, humming a song as he studied the labels. An hour later, Izuku walked out with bags of groceries, his cane hanging onto his hip, and a smile on his face.
As Izuku walked back carefully to U.A, he saw a man wearing a black face mask and dressed to impress; it set Izuku on edge, although many people in his day and age wear face masks, a sort of fashion statement he supposes, this man looked out of place wearing one. It made him look totally suspicious; who wears a hat with a huge trim and sunglasses with a facemask on too?
Sharpened eyes glared at the suspicious man, who looked at Izuku and stopped in his tracks. Izuku watches as the man positively lights up, striding over to Izuku, waving as he shouts;
"Young man! Hello! Do you by chance have a taste for teas? I noticed that you bought some!" Some people in this situation would run away, others would get defensive and some would just ignore him; a normal person would do one of theses options, but Izuku being Izuku, nodded, saying,
"I love tea! How about you?" The man nods, taking his glasses off, revealing blue eyes that Izuku recognises immediately yet he doesn't comment, instead goes along with the man; this was Izuku's chance to find out about Gentle Criminal...
Izuku clutches his bags in his hands, knowing how completely and utterly idiotic his plan was, what hero voluntarily goes with a villain? Izuku Midoriya does, apparently.
They soon end up at a quaint tea shop, just a short jog to U.A, the school was just up the hill ahead. Izuku thinks –
'Well then... At least I can run away just in case...'
The hero and villain pick a table in the corner, and just talk about tea and other things in common such as the preference for a cane and dapper clothing. During the conversation, Izuku has a realisation: This man wasn't a criminal, he was barely a criminal. The man introduced himself;
"My name is Danjuro Tobita! At your service!" He bows politely, "It is good to meet another tea lover within the city! Not many enjoy the delicacy anymore..." And then Izuku introduced himself;
"My name is Izuku Midoriya. You may know me from the U.A Sports Festival. Pleased to meet you, Tobita."
From there, the tea duo talk and converse. Izuku learned about the man's past and sympathized with the man. Izuku learned about how Tobita wanted to be a hero, to be able to save people; the man had an innate instinct to help others for no other gain then to save them. He could have been an amazing hero, but it was cut down in an incident, not unlike the Sludge Villain incident he found himself in so long ago now; but it went south, instead of Tobita saving the person in need, he halted a hero from rescuing them, causing a severe accident to occur. Tobita was expelled from his hero school and disowned by his parents.
Sometimes the world is a truly cruel place...
Being fair, Izuku tells the man his own story. He starts with his vigilante career, to his acceptance to U.A and adoption. Izuku cuts the bits about One for All and All Might; that was a state secret after all... When he finished, Izuku says;
"Tobita, I cannot say much, you have suffered lots of injustice. What I will say is this, I believe you can be a hero. From the bottom of my heart, I do believe you can be a hero. You can move on, start anew. Become the hero you wanted to be, what others like you wanted to be. Be their symbol." Izuku pulls out a card, writing a number down;
"If you want to become a hero; ring this number. It is an organisation that works with the International Hero Committee to enable people with skills and quirks such as your own to earn a Hero Licence. Think about who you are, Danjuro Tobita. Farewell!" Back during Izuku's vigilante career, he received word of the International Hero Committee. He learned that they are basically the U.N for Heroes, holding more power over Heroes than individual hero commissions around the world had.
The Committee has the power to test a person and offer up a hero licence for them, Izuku wanted to take that test but you have to be at least eighteen to take the test, it was mostly for those who failed in hero school but could still be a hero with special assistance and training.
Not many people actually do it however, because the Committee requests for any takers to take a test to review if they could become heroes. Izuku had a feeling that the Committee wouldn't pass up the opportunity to give Tobita a Hero Licence.
Danjuro Tobita wanted to be a hero. He wanted to save people, to have people know his name and be safe. That dream had been extinguished by his instincts to save someone, it got him disowned and expelled. He buried those feelings, hid those instincts, they hurt him so much, cost him so much, why would he need them if they caused harm.
So, he flipped the coin, if he couldn't become a hero that saves people, why not become a villain that does the opposite, a villain that goes down in the history books, distancing himself from his true self. Hundreds of books and websites later, Danjuro found how he could enact his master plan, using Herotube to film his crimes, naming himself Gentle Criminal.
But, for all of his crimes, all of his bad deeds, Danjuro could never harm someone on purpose, he could never become a true villain by causing mass destruction and death. He could never shake that small part of him mind, the part that whispers not to harm people but to save people, and it was what caused him to find La Brava.
La Brava, Danjuro knew the girl had it hard, her quirk made her an outcast, and for the life of him, Danjuro couldn't let her go, he had to save her, even from herself, he shared his home, made her food, and grew to love her; truly he never lost his heroic spirit...
And now, he had that chance, that sole chance to become a hero, to save people and to reignite his dreams, but he wondered what would happen to La Brava, she loved making Gentle Criminal, well, Gentle Criminal. If he went with his own dream, what would happen to La Brava...
She could become his sidekick...
The Gentle Hero and his loving sidekick La Brava; their names would go down in history as the best heroic duo ever to live. Danjuro smiled, his eyes softening as he watched as Nova Blaze fought Overhaul, Izuku Midoriya was a Hero through and through in Danjuro's mind.
Power walking back to U.A, Izuku pushed open the dorm door, revealing most of the class dancing with Mina in the common room, Tenya stiffly moving and the others a complete mess. Izuku moves past them, giving them a wave and encouragement before stocking up the dorm kitchen with his groceries, enough for the next few days at least.
When Izuku heard about the plan for the Festival, he decided to take a backfoot and assist his class in the background, he was basically the muscle and pyrotechnics rolled into one, and the winch as Aoyama had been told to become a disco ball and Izuku would use his telekinesis to suspend Aoyama and spin the boy around.
Secretly, however, Izuku practiced for his solo act after his class; they wouldn't know about as it was aimed solely at Eri, she was the main party for his act. And that was how it was for the next two weeks or so, the entire school body prepping for the Festival with hours dedicated to decorations, acts and performances. Stands were erected around the school with different activities and food items, stages were set up and equipment brought in, classes were in full practice mode as studying had been halted for Festival preparations.
The entire school was abuzz with life and energy as the Festival neared closer and closer; everything was refined and thoroughly practiced, equipment checked and checked again, and security was at an all-time high. Izuku was sitting in the cafeteria with Tenya and Uraraka eating when Izuku jumped slightly as Midnight and Principle Nezu both sat at their table. Honestly, none of the students realised that the heroes where there till Nezu's squeaky voice told them about the security and plan in place for the Festival.
This gave Izuku a chance to talk to the Principle personally, he'd never gotten the chance before...
The entirety of U.A shivers in tandem, a foreboding feeling overcame them, even Shouta felt in all the way from the hospital. What that feeling foretold, no one knew...
(How are you all today?)