"This was a waste of my time." Shinsou sat down onto the bench with a deep sigh. The mall was buzzing with people, from every store to every cafe. "The hero course attract a crap ton of people, that's for sure." he looked over to the right seeing the stage set up at the far end off the first floor with colorful lights and massive speakers. The yearly "Meet the Heroes" was taking place, where many of the U.A. students met with their first gen fans. Something to also let the students taste the reality of being a celebrity.
"I didn't even wanna go here.. But those guys from class convinced me to anyway." he buried his face into his hands. "All this stuff just makes me depressed." he hissed and pushed himself up again, to start hugging the wall to escape the cramped building. Hearing the voice of Bakugo yell his stupid speech behind him.
It should have been me up there. The thought slipped through his mind but he didn't dwell on it. The thought had haunted him enough through his life to let it bother him anymore. Instead he picked up on a sign above him saying there was a tea shop upstairs pointing to a staircase to his left. "Guess I can make this trip worth something." he mumbled and brought up his wallet and looked through what he had on him, then starting to walk up the staircase. Without paying it much mind at first, something bumped into Shinsou as he walked up. A person wearing a black coat rushed past him, without as much as giving him a glance. "The hell..?" he made sure he didn't drop anything and carried on him, just happy he'd managed to hold onto his money. What was he in such a hurry for? It's not like the second floor is as cramped and sold out as the first one.. He came up to the much more spacious floor filled with clear white lights. He saw the teashop ahead of him.
"Here you go. Here's your bag." the woman smiled as she reached over the counter with the brownish paper bag.
"Thanks." Shinsou said quietly.
"Happy to help. Hope you have a nice day!" she bowed. Shinsou walked out of the store and tucked his wallet back into his pocket.
"Now let's just head home and.." he took a step forward and then froze up. The surroundings, something was off. He tried to grasp the hall in its entirety like the hero guides had taught him. All the web cameras were.. turned off? And why did everyone seem to gather? The few people who found themselves on this floor were all to the to the right clumped together towards a wall. Was this the heroes doing? But for what purpose would- No.. No way..
Being fast on his feet he tried to make it for the stairs. Holding the paper bag tightly in his hand. It was hard not to look over there, to see what was going on, but he did his best to look down into the ground without as much as an expression on his face. That way, maybe they wouldn't notice he'd seen what was going on. Damn it.. Why aren't there any heroes up here..!?
"You there, sorry, but staircase's closed at the moment." a man's voice said from behind him. Shinsou stopped himself as he was just about to take a step down. "Cleaning you know. We wouldn't want you to slip and get hurt." he looked over his shoulder where his first impression became the gun pointing at him. "We advice you to take another other way down, like, over there." he nodded with his eyes towards the mob of a few dozen people.
"How nice of you to be concerned." Shinsou said without moving as much as a finger. Damn villains.. How'd they even get inside? This place is packed with so called heroes. He forced his feet away from the staircase and walked off towards the others with clear and obvious footsteps not to worry his threatener, who now shut off the staircase with a chain. And downstairs two people in guard outfits nodded to him signaling they had it under control. They were alone on the second floor now. The man grinned under his mask and walked towards the mob.
"I welcome you citizens to witness a great moment in history." he threw out his arms and walked up to the crowd. The floor was now at a closer glance filled with not just a few, but an entire gang of them, all wearing weapons. There had to be over 20 of them. They had to have infiltrated the entire building to have gotten this far on an attack. Maybe they're part of the league of villains that you hear so much about these days? Shinsou stopped his thoughts as the man started to talk again. "My name is Hans the Grandeur, and today I'll show just how real the threat of villains really is." there were some children in the crowd all clinging to their parents. Some of the other villains surrounding the area all armed to their teeth let out a laugh and shared smiles.
No.. These people are too stupid to be a part of something that big. Anyone with brains at all would realise they're digging their own grave right now.
"You are all aware that the next generation is currently debuting downstairs, with their prepared speeches and quirk showcases. It's a fun time for the entire family, am I right?" his head fell back over his shoulder letting that cold white hair of his fall with it. "So I thought we'd blow it all up."
"You can't be serious?! They're just ki-" the dull sound of a soundless gun fired. And the man that had spoken up fell to the ground. Someone had shot as soon as he spoke.
"We don't tolerate any loudmouths in the crowd today." Hans said and looked back at them. "But don't worry. He'll wake up sooner or later. When he's buried under the rubble of this entire building." he let out a short chuckle, then gained control of himself again. He's insane alright..
"You killed him! How dare you!" yelled a woman who had leant over what was most likely her husband.
"We used tranquilizers you dumb wench." he hissed. "We're not as dumb as to kill in this place filled to the brim with people with unique quirks. No doubt they'd smell blood and death in an instant."
"Then why not just send us all to sleep?" someone else asked.
"Now that would be an excellent idea if it wasn't for the fact we're in need of some hostages who look alive." he licked his lips. "That way, if someone was to discover what's going on, we'll be sure to let them know that you'll be the first ones to die if they try to interrupt our little heart to heart." he said and walked closer. Shinsou who stood at the front of the crowd was only meters away from him now. "So you'll just be good duckies now and sit tight while we rig up the last of the bombs on this floor, to send the entire building crashing down upon your precious heroes. I bet not even All Might's love children would be able to take the weight of a 20 floored building falling on their pretty little faces." Shinsou laughed inside his head. You're underestimating your opponent by a landslide.. But still, there would no doubt be countless casualties. And there's no one here to do anything.. Except..
"That's a pretty cool plan you've got there, gotta say I'm impressed. But tell me.. What is it you really want?" Shinsou reached out a hand and moved his right leg forward. As long as you answer me.. I'll be able to end all of this quickly.
"Don't say anything boss. I saw that kid in the sports festival this year. He'll take over your mind or something if you answer to him." Damn it!
"Oh is that so?" asked Hans and looked at down at him. "So you're one of them eh? One of the heroes?" he asked but got no answer. "If your quirk only works when someone answers you, then staying silent won't do you much, hero." he moved away. "Either way, you'll die like the rest. Pathetic and weak. Buried under rubble and your own failures." he walked back. "No one speak to this purple haired freak over here, wouldn't wanna mess this up, would we?
This is why I hate this damned quirk.. As fast as someone sees it, it's all over. What is there left to do now..? If I try to provoke him, no doubt will they put me asleep like that other guy… There has to be something else I can do..
"Well speech's over, line em up men. We wouldn't want them to put their hands in the wrong places. So up with them in the air, and against the wall. Now." The armed men around us closed in, starting to poke us in our backs to have us stand against the wall. One of the kids broke up in tears, to which the distressed parents tried to silence him as one of the men didn't look to pleased with the sound. Shinsou gritted his teeth and thought, there had to be something he could do. If only something to get the heroes downstairs attention. Then they'd at least be able to evacuate the building. Their few lives weren't worth a thing for what was below them. It was worth the risk.
A man who was familiar to Shinsou approached him, emptying our pockets as he went from person to person. It was him from the stairs earlier, who had bumped into him earlier. He came up to the person next to him and he took his chance.
"Hey you, I think you owe me an apology." The man with blood red eyes looked up at him, but didn't say a word. "You sorta ran into me in the stairs a while back, and I dropped something very important to me." this time he scoffed, most likely in disbelief, as he started to look through Shinsou's pockets. "It was my mother's necklace you see. Last thing she gave me." no response. "You had a mother too right? Someone important to you?" silence. "I bet she was a good person too, unlike you."
"The hell you want kid? You'll be the one to be fucking sorry if you don't shut that damn trap of yours." The gun pressed against his neck, but a smile covered his lips.
"You idiot."
"Aren't we done soon? It's starting to feel quiet without the fireworks blowing up throughout this building." asked Hans and smirked at one of his coworkers who stood bent over at an open floor panel.
"Almost there boss, just a couple minutes and we'll have it all wired up."
"Hmph. What a bore. I was so excited to hear the screams of dying heroes right about now." he shrugged but stopped in motion as a gun clicked behind him. Everyone in the entire room put their eyes towards the sound. As a black hooded man with blood red eyes had put his gun straight to the head of Hans.
"Damn, is it a betrayal?" asked one of the burly villains.
Hans smiled. "Well played. Mr brainwash." he looked towards the wall, where Shinsou stood with his walls pinned to the wall like the others, but with a grin on his face as he looked over his shoulder. "Didn't think little ol Roger here would be so stupid as to fall to your japes." he sighed.
"Boss, what should we do?" one of the men asked with his gun pointed a the man named Roger in Shinsou's control. Hans chuckled and glanced over towards Shinsou again now walking through the hall towards them.
"Don't ask me, he's the man in charge right now."
"I want everyone to drop their weapons. Kick them away from you and get down on your knees." Shinsou kept his composure together. He had to stay calm, else someone would panic and start firing. And a gunfight was the last thing he wanted. Everyone started doing as he said, as Hans suddenly started laughing. Shinsou froze up, just when closing up to him. "What's so funny?"
"Your quirk's pretty amazing, I'll give you that. But there's one thing you didn't account for." He answered to me? Was it on purpose or did he forget? Either way I can't let my guard down. "We all have pretty cool quirks." he vanished from the spot. Huh!? Don't tell me he has one of those quirks. I'll have to- a cold blade wrapped around Shinsou's throat and a hand pulled back his head. "Typical hero, overwhelmed with self confidence." he grinned.
"You talk big for someone who just lost.." hissed Shinsou as he concentrated on his quirk. But his quirk was rejected from Hans mind. "What.. What in the.."
"Aww yeah! Boss's quirk is amazing!" one of the men yelled.
"Heck yeah it is. My quirk is frequency. I can tap myself in and out of existence at will, and also disturb any kind of quirk trying to mess with my head. Quirks like yours are what I eat for breakfast." he laughed. Does that mean I'm outmatched? No.. I can't let this be the end!
"Why not just kill him boss, one less hostage won't matter."
"You- You'll never win!" Shinsou manage to yell out.
"You damn brat, won't you just shut up!" the same guy pointed his gun towards him in anger.
"You idiot Jake!" yelled Hans as Shinsou once again gained a grin on his lips.
"Shoot this guy." Shinsou's command came through and his now slave aimed at Hans, and fired with a perfect aim. Hans hissed and was forced to vanish before he could do any harm to Shinsou. He appeared a couple meters away. Just afterwards a gunfire was heard. As someone shot Shinsou's puppet. Everyone looked at him. He'd used the wrong weapon in the stressful situation.
"Why'd I team up with a bunch of good for nothing braindead's.. I told you to not use the real stuff till I gave the order!" hissed Hans as there were immediate screams downstairs. "Abandon mission, kill the hostages and get outta here as quickly as possible." Shinsou froze up slowly turning towards the people behind him. Kill them..? N-no way.. I can't save any of them in time..
An explosion was heard just beyond the staircase and the floor from below crashed open.
"The hell!?" yelled one of the soliders, and everyone turned that away.
"You idiots! Kill them before-"
"LISTEN TO THESE BEATS YOU SCUM!" it was President Mic's singing voice, and just behind him, no one but Eraserhead. The sound waves emitting from him was unbearable. Almost ear shattering. But through the sound, Shinsou managed to look up, seeing Hans escape in through a staircase leading up. The sounds stopped, and it didn't take Shinsou a second longer to get up from the ground and rush after him. I can't let that guy get away.. He threw himself into the staircase, and ran upwards. His head throbbing in pain from President Mic's attack. He understood why he'd done it. Using the commotion to his advantage to get everyone immobilized. Even the hostages themselves. But the quirk wasn't deadly, so it had been the perfect fit. And with Eraserhead's combined power, all of them had been made defenceless almost effortlessly. But this Hans guy.. He must have been able to avoid both of their quirks with his frequency. Shinsou was just about to exit the staircase onto the crowded third floor when he saw that the staircase was also chained off at the top, when the two guards pointed their guns down at him. Further away on the floor, he could see Hans running. He was gonna get away.
"Don't move a muscle kid!" one of the guards yelled. Shinsou took a deep breath and rose his arms.
"Oh fine, you got me. Nice job." he smiled.
"Don't try to-" he didn't let him get any further in that sentence before Shinsou had him throw himself over his companion. Shinsou set off in a run again jumping over the chain and through the confused masses, making way for them as Hans was pushing people aside as he went. But he was too far ahead, almost at the entire other end of the room. If Shinsou was to make it past through that crowd he'd not get there in time. This is what I get for not getting all the physical training I need.. I can't catch up to him at this rate.. But what if I.. Shinsou stopped and looked around. He took a jump and up on a bench, where some people threw a glance at him. He spread his arms wide so people would see him.
"Everybody!" Shinsou yelled as loud as he could. "I work for U.A. schoolpaper and I want everyone in this room to tell me what they're favorite hero is!" yelled Shinsou. The response was fast from multiple in the room, already in the hero spirit. Now all I need to do is.. Hans fell over at the end of the hall tumbling in through a glass window of a cafe. Just behind him stood a woman with her leg held out. Her eyes were blank. Without hesitation Shinsou jumped down from the bench and ran through the confused crowd. Damn.. It was harder than I thought to pin a single person down to brainwash with so many open links at once.. But I got the one closest to him. I managed to trip him.. But it hadn't helped the headache. It was harder to think clearly now. He approached the cafe.
"You damn brat!" yelled Hans and crawled back up from the floor and ran in through the table filled room. Shinsou jumped in through the window and followed him inside. The room had a balcony and was covered in glass walls. And right now he found Hans standing at one of the doors trying to open it as it was locked. He was just about to kick it open when Shinsou spoke up.
"Run all you'd like, but you know it's all for nothing, right?"
"Don't try to play mind games with me. Or you forgot already, that your quirk won't work on me." he hissed and didn't even bother to look at Shinsou as he broke apart the window. "Go back home kid. You've messed up enough for me in one day."
"Wait. I have a question."
"Huh?" he turned around just before he walked out.
"What do you think of my quirk? Could you see it as one a hero would have?" Hans looked at him for a short moment.
"You were born to be a villain kid." A weight fell over Shinsou, and he could feel it tug on him. "With a quirk as devious and black as that.. You're destined to end up as us one day or the other." he stepped out through the glass. "Despite you being the hero today, sooner or later you'll realise that this world wasn't built for people like us." he smirked and let out a chuckle and smirked at Shinsou. "But you know.. I'd welcome you. I see your strength." he reached out his hand through the broken glass. A tear rolled down Shinsou's cheek. "I'll show you how to become stronger. How to become a-" his movements stopped, and eyes blanked out.
Shinsou smiled and dried away that one single tear with his wrist. "Like I'd be one of you. All you villains are such damn idiots." he said and walked over towards him. "Your quirk can only cancel out anything that goes through your head right? Like mine and that Mic guy. But Eraserhead's quirk affects your entire body.. Why'd else would you have ran through the crowd, and broken the glass down. When you could have warped yourself through?" Shinsou shrugged and leant up against the glass, feeling how Hans was staring at him in furious anger behind his mind control.
"And thanks by the way.. For calling me the hero of today. Makes me happy to know at least one villain scum said that about me." he grinne.
Back outside the mall, we find Shinsou walking with his hands in his pocket away from the chaos of police cars and heroes behind him.
- just before -
"You did a good job getting to this guy in time Shinsou. He'd gotten away if you hadn't been there. And we might never have found out about the danger just above us either." Aizawa said as he let Hans over to the police force just outside the cafe. "Bet even some media would want a word with you."
"No.." sighed Shinsou. "I didn't do a thing." he had his eyes peeled down scratching the back of his head. "All I did was put people in danger. Their own stupidity became their doom. Firing that bullet, and not to mention not taking me out sooner when they had the chance." he glanced away. "President Mic disabled all of them at once, and I wouldn't have been able to get this guy if you hadn't gotten him first." his fist tightened. "I wasn't a hero.. Just a some guy who happened to be around." Aizawa looked down at him as he then sighed.
"Shinsou. I don't think you understand. This is the reason we haven't moved you onto the hero course yet."
"I know my quirk is useless, you don't need to-"
"We all saw what your quirk could do today. And don't think us at U.A. haven't noticed that."
"W-what..?"
"It's your damn attitude which could use some work. A hero shouldn't doubt in themselves."
"But there's no way I-" Aizawa laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Prove to me you want to be more than just a hero." Aizawa said. "You know, when I think about it.. You and another student of mine are very similar. Only that he never stopped to doubt himself for a second."
"Hey, is that you Shinsou!?" a voice yelled out behind him. Hm. That voice? Is that.. Midoriya? "Are you okay? I was so worried you'd gotten hurt!" he yelled as he ran up to him. Behind him followed Ururka and Iida.
"U-um.. I'm fine. But why do you ask? I thought you all were caught up in your introductions."
"Oh yeah but we all saw what happened on third floor! It was insane!" yelled Uraraka and punched in the air. "You really got those guys!" she laughed.
"Yes! It was an excellent strategy to use a fellow citizen to help you! I wish I'd thought of that." said Iita doing his wild hand gestures.
"Yeah Shinsou, you looked like a real hero!" smiled Midoriya. Shinsou swallowed.
"I'm like Midoriya!? How so?" asked Shinsou and looked up at Aizawa as they walked through the building.
"I shouldn't say too much. But both of you were destined with abilities no normal hero would have. Yet, you set your eyes on the same price."
"But his quirk is nothing like mine, it's strong and powerful. It's the perfect quirk for a hero!" yelled Shinsou.
"How so? Then why were you the hero today and not him?" he asked and looked back at him. Shinsou was almost taken aback by the question. "The only difference is that he believes in his power. And so should you." he walked off.
"H-hey Shinsou..? A-are you crying..?" Uraraka asked and tilted her head.
"Oh you just shut up and leave me alone." he hissed between his teeth and spun around and started to walk away.
"But Shinsou, we-"
"Don't speak to me again, Midoriya. What do you know, I'll take your place if you let your guard down again." he had a smile on his lips. Midoriya smiled too.
"I won't let you beat me that easily." he smiled back. His eyes and mind then went blank.
"... You idiot."