AN: Sorry this took too long. I had work to sort out so I was very quiet these past few days. Thankfully, I have time again so updates will be a lot more frequent this time. Enjoy as I set up the finale to this story's version of the USJ Incident...

SideStory #12

"The Penalty of Deceit"

She had been trying to call her contacts for hours now. Today was the initiation of their supposed plan. The plan of that man that promised her help to save her sister after she helps them in return. Their plan was simple enough for her to grasp. The main reason for it to be in place, was that they wanted All Might's demise… simple enough. Easy to do in that regard, as it would force the number one hero to take action since the school was his new priority. In order to do that, she was tasked to sabotage the UA, allow them a shortcut to bypass their defenses and do their deed.

The terms were simple enough, and they were sure that Izumi wasn't going to be part of the plan. At least that was what they told her. Things became slightly worrisome and different this time, the reason being was that her contact had not been able to reply to her with any of her wails and concerns. It bothered her relentlessly when she first thought about it, sure there was a break-in towards Izumi's apartment but she never correlated the two incidents to come from her shadowy and pale-skinned acquaintance. Multiple reports from police told her that it was a random break-in, caused by thieves who wished to vandalize and take money from the local residents of Izumi's apartment building. While it was fishy at first, she took it in stride when it came to the suspects that died on that attempt. They were all low-level thugs who were struggling in poverty, doing small crimes along the way in their careers.

For her acquaintance to hire such goons against a very powerful telekinetic quirk user, a pro hero that had a useful sleep-inducing quirk, and one really powerful teen that Himiko had no full understanding as to what her quirk really is; to pay them to face those odds was foolhardy and stupid. She knew that the two especially the one with the pale skin and gnarly teeth was by her perspective, intelligent. So she ruled that out even with the vague suspicions of it being a large possibility.

Especially since they called to deal with Izumi directly this time.

The girl to Himiko was a noteworthy accomplice, a piece in a chess board to rid her sister's captors. She would be useful when the time comes and she knew that Izumi's heart was far too heroic to never accept her pleas. However, she was far too clueless with this situation and Himiko knew that the redhead girl would instantly disown their friendship should she know about her true whereabouts.

It made her shudder how much she and Izumi have been close this past year.

No one in their right mind would even befriend her in the first place and at the beginning of their initial meet-up, Himiko didn't want to truly be friends with her… but that changed the moment time passed on between them and their relationship fluttered.

Sure, they didn't have time between them that much anymore with this new class of theirs, but Izumi and her were still close and she cherished that friendship somewhat. Deep down, Izumi was an important figure to her, much like how she described her when she talked to the girl's mother.

And to be honest… the only reason she took interest of Izumi was when she saw her at the Slime Villain Incident. The Quirk Enhancing Drug given to her by the goons holding her sister was tasked for her to find a worthy candidate of seeing how its effects work. They needed a large canvas to work on, so it was mighty convenient that she encountered that villain and gave him that formula. She watched from afar to see how the drug worked and it was a success for the most part, until she saw Izumi Midoriya amongst the chaos, and ever since then she never forgot about her nor was she absent from her mind entirely. Now, she didn't know how much the random sight of Izumi meant to her as they were now good friends, best friends as they would say.

She now meant a lot to her as she reformed a bond with her that she didn't know was possible in regards to other people. Her sister was the only one she cared about at that point until she met Izumi.

She was a special case that Himiko acknowledged, but regardless of her ethereal and surreal abilities, Izumi was still pretty much clueless that the world around her was slowly trying to get its hands on her. Himiko was only brought to this reality when the news from various sources in the underworld talked about a 'redhead girl' that had special abilities.

She only realized it was Izumi when her contact had asked for a blood sample.

Now, with the looming threat of their plan coming to fruition, Himiko was concerned for Izumi Midoriya, knowing that there could be a chance that there was an ulterior motive that she didn't see at first. She wasn't the brightest when it came to investigations and educated guesses, but a thought crossed her mind and it was because they asked about the girl's mother.

She gave them all the known info she had over Inko MIdoriya, and they were seemingly happy that she gave them such information at the first place. As for what reason, she wasn't sure at all. All she knew was that the woman was also a point of interest and her presence yesterday in UA alongside All Might made her feel suspicious.

Her concerns however wasn't a valid choice to tell Izumi about. How would that even work when she was the reason this plan was going forward in the first place? It would blow her cover and Izumi would be lost to her.

She had all of these wild thoughts as she continued to walk along the hallways of UA towards Class 1-A's room. She had been silent all the way there ever since she entered the school's campus grounds, for today would mark the first time the school would ever be attacked in a major sense. All Might was in fact here, and should they succeed in killing him, it would spark a major blow to this country and the world in general. She found it quite cunning if this was the main reason for the attack, as it would indeed leave a huge mark in society should it work. Keeping the deaths of multiple people and the Symbol of Peace was a not a thing that this school can keep as a secret for their failures.

But even though she never cared about these things, and whatever the outcome was…

She was indeed concerned upon the life of Izumi who would be put in the middle of this chaos. She wished that there was an option to stop her from coming to school today, but there was no leeway nor window of opportunity to best make her avoid this situation.

And knowing Izumi, she would put her life on the front line for her friends and the people that put their trust on her. It was so much more apparent now since she was the representative of their class. She would do anything to ensure their safety even if it meant by giving away her own.

Stupid, heroic, and borderline crazy…

But that was Izumi. That was the girl that was so optimistic about everything around her. One of the few beacons of light left in her world that mattered.

She sighed heavily thinking about that.

"Miko! Hey… you mind slowing down?" A voice said. Himiko turned her head and saw Izumi holding a chocolate milk drink in her hand as she walked towards her to catch up. Her bag was slung on one side and she had a cheery air around her, much like usual. Though this time, it felt like she was pleased about something earlier. As to what it was, she couldn't tell.

And much like every time they met, Himiko shifted towards a personality that Izumi knew far too well. A face that was only partially true in the eyes of those who knew her with it. Including her.

She grinned at her as she tried to shove all the negative thoughts down on the drain to properly maintain the façade.

"Izu… I thought you were at class by now?"

"I was supposed to, but I had something to do first before heading there."

Himiko tilted her head in question as Izumi sipped on her drink through a straw.

"And what would that 'something' be?"

Izumi visibly flinched at that question but smiled at her in response.

"Oh nothing… let's just say it was a bit more important than I thought. Which is why I think we need to hurry to get back in class. Mr. Aizawa wants to talk with me and Momo for something important later." Izumi said.

The proclamation made Himiko to lose her smile.

"Something important?" she asked.

"Yeah… it's a secret at least for you guys that I can't really disclose. Let's just say something big is going to happen later… and I'm excited for what it entails for the class!" Izumi cheerfully said.

"What is it?" Himiko said again.

"I told you Miko, I can't tell you. It's a secret and I don't want Mr. Aizawa to put me into another one of those death glares he has."

Himiko's worry and curiosity doubled. She grabbed Izumi's hand and tried to force it out of her. In the best way possible that she could think of. Her eyes widened and she made a pouty-cute face to guilt-trip her into telling.

"PLEASE IZU? I won't tell. I'm good at keeping secrets right?"

"Miko…" Izumi said as they stopped in the middle of the hallway. Multiple other students looking at them with awkward faces as Izumi tried to pry off a begging Himiko.

"PLEASE… I'll be your best friend." Himiko teased.

Izumi smiled with a sigh at her.

"You are my best friend. Always." She replied.

"Then tell me…" she pressed with a toothy grin.

"Alright… fine." She said as Himiko celebrated with a giddy laugh. Deep down she was in relief that she would finally tell her, as she wanted to know what it was and what it would mean for later.

"Mr. Aizawa says it's something big. Almost like the battle trials a few days ago and best of all All Might's going to be part of it… and get this, another special guest is going to teach us while we're at it!" Izumi excitedly said as she looked at Himiko, who for some reason went silent.

And her smile fell with it.

"Miko? Did I say something wrong or…" Izumi said as she waved her hand in front of her.

No… this can't be. She'll be caught in the crossfire. If All Might is there then…

"Hey! Miko… do you have a problem?" Izumi asked again as Himiko stared at her.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Izumi said as the blonde girl went pale.

Oh no… she thought as a wild variety of thoughts came down on her as the looming threat of the attack became all the more terrifying and worrisome for her.

Sylvia was sitting in her seat at Class 1-A's room. There were only a but a few classmates of hers that were present at the current moment and some of her 'friends' were busy talking with each other. Her cover was solid for the most part and she knew well that she could continue without any strife. Her mistress' point of interest, the Midoriya girl hadn't arrived yet so she kept herself vigilant. The job was to observe and protect her should the need arise.

It was easier in this margin at least as Izumi was a friend of hers at this stage. The girl was indeed interesting and so was the other individuals here that resided within this class. The lessons were tame and easy for her, as the Mistress already taught her so much. In some points, she feigned a bit with her intelligence at a given matter so that she wouldn't draw suspicion. It worked for the most part and the whole class was behind her in support.

She was indeed a foreigner after all, and even though she was able to digest Japanese very well compared to her partner in this, she continued to pretend that she didn't know some of the words, terms, and other important facets of the language to enable her cover to blend in perfectly. It also provided a degree of trust that was given to her by her classmates, most notably Izumi herself.

The cover was also solid for the natural reason of her own mute condition. It allowed for a natural degree of empathy to be directed towards her persona. It made them feel for her in a good way.

With all of that said, even though she acted for the sake of this task given to her, she was enjoying the experience somewhat. Having new friends aside from those her Mistress had was a fresh new upbringing. Even Izumi was a friendly soul that liked trying to communicate with her.

It made her smile knowing that maybe this was one of the reasons her Mistress gave her this job.

Or maybe… this came naturally for her.

N: Io, do you read me?

Sylvia returned her focus back to reality when she saw underneath the HUD of her vision, was a message from her partner and older 'sister' Nemain. Being a tech-based quirk user allowed her to have subtle upgrades on everything, including her eyes.

I: What is it?

N: Inko Midoriya has been spotted downtown in Aldera. She's in a car with what we've determined as All Might in his depowered form. I've been following them for a few minutes.

Sylvia looked around as Kyouka and Toru were talking about something and they asked her a question. Thankfully, she was still able to reply to Nemain even without focusing too hard to conjure a message.

I: What does that mean for the current situation?

N: It means that our target is largely unprotected without those two. Even with the UA staff there, I'm still not comfortable that they're not present in case something goes bad.

I: I see…

N: What about you? Have you uncovered anything from yesterday's incident? The one you told me about that is.

I: I have. There seemed to be a breach in the security of UA. I have also traced a network breach in their systems. It seems someone is making their move against us. Though I cannot confirm who the suspect is.

N: There's a lot of activity recently with the villains posted here in Japan. If that breach was any indication, I think they're planning to do something drastic. The girl might be in danger if that's the case.

I: I agree. Though sister. There is one thing I need to tell you about.

N: What is it?

Sylvia looked at the doorway of the classroom and saw Izumi finally arrive as she talked to Momo, and beside her was the blonde girl Himiko Toga. Sylvia narrowed her eyes at the girl as she replied her response to Nemain.

I: There's a girl here. Blonde, red eyes, almost as tall as me.

N: What about her?

I: I believe she is worth investigating. Her actions are very suspicious and she's been acting differently lately than what Izumi Midoriya has told me.

N: Keep an eye on her. We'll discuss this later at length…

I: Understood. What about you?

N: They arrived at an apartment. I'm trailing them as we speak. Make sure you notify me when something happens.

I: I will.

The line of text-based communication between them was cut and Sylvia watched as Izumi and Momo talked about something important. She also had her eyes on Himiko, who was now conversing with Kyouka.

A peculiar sight indeed this classroom is.

Hopefully this was a normal day unlike yesterday's events.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 16

AN: Thanks btw for all of those that still stay and read this. It's much appreciated! Even though this isnt as popular nor reviewed that much than my other story, I still thank that you guys are still reading this and hope that you stay for more.

Leave a review or follow like always!