Izuku was certain his first internship was going to be interrupted in advance or for the rest of it to be unproductive, especially given how Gran Torino pointed at his broken leg and said it'd be nearly useless to train until he was fully back in shape. With the help of Usagi's quirk, he had been dismissed from the hospital early, but his leg was still far from optimal and he could barely walk right, let alone train.
Given how run-down the agency of the elderly Hero looked like, he didn't expect to have any kind of actual work anyway, so he settled to pick up his old habit of checking the news to analyze quirks of the upcoming Heroes or Villains as they appeared.
The last thing on his mind was the possibility someone would knock at the door in the early morning of the day after the hospital discharged him. By his raised brow, neither was Gran Torino.
The visitor was a woman, a pro Hero clad in a dark bodysuit, sleeveless but with gloves and boots in matte black, with burgundy accents the same tone of the mask that covered most of her face; the black hood of a cape covered the upper part of her head, hiding her hair and forehead, so the only visible part of her face was under her nose: her skin was honey bronze, lips painted a strong mauve tone curled in a semblance of a smile.
Much to his surprise, Izuku recognized Chronia, the other pro who had put on a request for him at the Draft.
She was carrying a box, and from the smell alone Izuku could tell it was full of freshly baked sweets she offered to Gran Torino along with a chipper greeting.
The old man took the box, warily «What's the bribe for?»
«It's not a bribe, it's a good morning present. It's impolite to show up at people's homes at meals' time empty-handed» she replied, going in with ease, then turned at the youngest in the room «Good morning, Midoriya-kun»
The boy tried to get up to properly greet, he did. He only forgot in his haste his legs weren't ready for sudden efforts and bumped on both his chair and the table.
«Easy there! You want to send the food everywhere?!» Gran Torino scolded, the box of sweets clenched safely in his hands.
«S-sorry» Izuku stuttered, falling back on the chair with his face red «Good morning you too, Chronia» he added, his voice so small he wasn't sure she heard him.
«Oh, you recognized me, very well» the woman noted, then she sat at the table like nothing happened «Don't get up like that again, okay? From what I heard, you should still be at the hospital» she advised, her tone both fond and exasperated.
The questions in the boy's mind were multiplying by the minute. Why was Chronia there? How did she and Gran Torino know each other? She seemed to have a lot of familiarity with the space and the man himself, but what was exactly their relationship? Was she one of Gran Torino's old students? No, that couldn't be, she was too young to have been in the same class as All Might, who clearly stated the old pro had been his homeroom teacher for a single year...
«I hope for you those are the good ones» Gran Torino sat back at the table too and eagerly opened the sweets «Ah, yes» his scowl disappeared in giddiness and he dug into the treats, encouraging Izuku to do the same.
The boy hesitated. He wasn't used to having sweets this early in the morning, his mother always made traditional Japanese breakfast, but from day one it was evident Gran Torino had different eating habits.
«Try those ones, they're not as sugary as the rest» Chronia suggested, pointing at a corner of the box, as if reading his mind. Or maybe he muttered it out loud, it happened that he did.
Tentatively, he took the treat and bit it, finding it thankfully not too sweet, just like she said.
After eating no less than three scones and two tayaki, Gran Torino addressed the unexpected guest «So, what are you doing here?»
«I came for Midoriya-kun's internship. I found he was discharged and I thought I might come around and see what did you plan for the next few days»
«I don't allow you to question my competence»
«That wasn't my intention, I apologize if it seemed like that» she bowed her head, then reprised «The reason I am here is to renew my offer to Midoriya-kun. I was thinking of a more orthodox approach. Interns without license aren't supposed to act against Villains directly, not without supervision from pros. What happened in Hosu was irregular, and I'm not talking only about what was covered up»
Izuku tensed, while Gran Torino scoffed in annoyance.
«Accidents happen in the job. You can't avoid everything»
«I wouldn't dream of denying it» she tilted her head «So, what about my offer?»
«O-offer? As in the one of the Draft?» the boy couldn't but stare, wide-eyed.
Chronia nodded «I'd like to take you in to have a regular internship for those remaining two days, one that will put you in contact with the bones of the job, not just the fighting side»
«E-even with my injury?»
«Especially so. Your time of recovery will give you the chance to learn another aspect of the job. Hero agencies' activity isn't merely fighting Villains on the streets. There are two more main objectives: rescue and chaos control. The latter part doesn't involve only the panic in situations of immediate danger, but entails larger investigations, in cooperation with the police, and prevention of threats as well. A complete Hero takes care of all three aspects of everyday activity»
«This isn't what he needs right now» Gran Torino rebutted «His quirk is too unstable, he needs training»
«Which he can't have as long as he's not healed,» Chronia remarked «Besides, it can't hurt to learn a more advanced facet»
Izuku looked between the two pros, hoping the elderly man would agree. He knew he was there because Gran Torino wanted to train him in controlling One for All, but at the same time, Izuku ached to do more, now that the original plan was not available.
It must have shown on his face because Gran Torino crossed his arms: «What if I don't agree?»
«You will» the woman replied calmly «What did you plan to make him do? In his current state, he can't fight, train or else. Even patrols are out of question, people don't like to see around injured Heroes, especially trainees, it makes bad publicity and raises questions about our ability to protect. Moreover, you didn't plan a proper course of action for this outcome, am I correct?»
«You youngsters have no respect» Gran Torino grumbled, without denying the truth brought forth by the woman.
Chronia's lips curved in a peculiar way, as if the man had said a particularly funny, but at the same time incredibly complex joke, the kind of thing that needs a lot of facts to be known to amuse. It was a smile that pulled something in Izuku's mind, but he couldn't remember when he saw that before.
«Bah. The kid is still under my responsibility...»
«You're welcome to join» she replied.
The old pro scoffed «I'm not going anywhere!»
Gran Torino ended up accompanying Midoriya all the way to Chronia's agency.
Apparently, Yuuei had every Hero who took interns sign an agreement that implied the full responsibility for the duration of the week and the man couldn't ship the student away - nor home or with another pro - without a lot of bothersome papers to fill, which he had no intention to do.
He clearly appreciated the car she had come pick them up with, if his technical questions were any indication. Izuku, who didn't know anything about cars - unless they were made famous for belonging to some Hero - stayed quiet as they left the run-down zone Gran Torino lived in to reach Chronia's agency in Imuda.
Chronia's agency was a neat place in one of the tallest buildings in the middle of the city. Not exactly the abandoned warehouse, or office disguised behind a cat cafè Izuku had in mind knowing underground Heroes acted in a completely different way than other pros.
Chronia ushered her guests inside, the door opened and closed without a hitch. Inside there wasn't a speck of dust, but the room looked bare, save for the basic furniture, folders on the desk and the tea machine in the corner.
«I'm the middle of moving, so that's a temporary solution. I change place several times a year, depending on the cases I follow. It's not a common choice, but it's becoming more popular since Miruko reached the Top 10» she offered as explanation «I should probably add most Heroes work on commission from the police forces, which is why they need more sidekicks to handle the number of requests the more popular they get. Undergrounds, given the nature of the work, are mostly on their own»
«Does it mean you have no sidekicks?»
«Not quite. I have informers, unofficial sidekicks we can say, who are conducting investigations for my sake right now. If they'll show up before you leave, I'll introduce you to them, although they can hardly be of help for your future»
She said it with such assuredness, Midoriya wondered how she could be certain of it. Maybe her quirk had something to do with foresight, instead? He was immediately taken from any speculation by the pros talking again.
«If you're busy with a big case you shouldn't bother with babysitting» Gran scolded, claiming a place on one of the couches.
«One should always have an eye on the past and one on the future. Moreover, kids these days are quick to see things we don't. In this regard...» she pulled a folder from the library and handled it to Izuku, who took it with his good hand.
«You probably know that those internships are mostly illustrative for students, the main objective is for you to start forming an idea of the actual job and begin to create a net of contacts among the active Heroes,» she said «What you weren't explained is that many pros choose you kids as interns to correct the stances they didn't like in you, or enhance what they appreciated. In your case, it's both. You showed remarkable analysis attitude, but you lack control over your quirk. Now, while I believe you have much to work on in the physical and technical department, I'd like for you not to forget to cultivate your other talents. We start from this»
Izuku opened the folder, listening to the explanation.
She gestured him to sit and put yet another folder on the coffee table, explaining: «This is a tedious job, on the surface, but going through police records and other Heroes' reports can show openings previously unseen. Investigation is vital in some operations. Heroes can't always rush into things unprepared»
It felt like a scolding, so Deku blushed appropriately «Yes, madam»
«At the same time, an untrained eye may notice something a veteran overlooks out of habit. Try to avoid falling into patterns, they're lethal for mental elasticity»
The boy eyed the papers «Uhm... what am I looking for?»
«I am confident you'll figure it out soon. But to be sure, you have five minutes to tell me what this is about and ten more to point out what comes out of it. You start now»
Izuku missed Gran Torino's frown as he started to dig in the pages, unsure what he was looking at. On her side, Chronia picked another folder, this one from her desk, and laid in front of the elderly Hero.
«I'm not doing kiddies' games»
«Of course not. I stumbled on this during another investigation, I thought it may be of your interest since I have a feeling it's connected to our last one. I would have sent it your way soon anyway, may as well see it now»
The man took the offered papers tentatively, frowning the whole time.
In the meantime, Izuku realized he needed less than the allotted time to see what Chronia wanted him to: «This is... about the daimons?!»
Gran Torino left his own papers and squinted his eyes at the boy «How do you know what those things are?»
«I, uhm, saw one... before yesterday I mean...»
Chronia didn't miss a beat and picked one of the scattered sheets «This one, correct?»
The photo was blurry and the police report short and void of useful data. There was a place, Musutafu, and a date, aside from a "supposed Vigilantes intervention" note. The picture was the grainy silhouette of the daimon in the middle of a street, probably taken from a security camera, with several people collapsed on the ground.
He knew that street, he and Usagi passed by that road often.
Izuku could only nod at Chronia, who sighed.
«For the sake of honesty, I already knew» she admitted.
«I-it was a coincidence, it was in our jogging route and it showed up all of sudden and people were fainting all over the place...»
«I don't need to know more than that now» Chronia interrupted «After this, and given what happened in Hosu, I thought you may have some clue on what is going on»
A moment of dread filled him again. He had managed to play around Sakurada-san's interrogation with mentioning the sounds he heard, how the tone of the monster changed, and it was helpful that in his rush to stop Endeavour Izuku didn't utter the word "daimon" out loud. The Superintendent-General of Tokyo's police probably didn't know about his involvement in the other daimon situation and he had not mentioned it. Chronia, instead, not only was in the know of it, but must have been for a while, maybe from before the Sports Festival, which led him to worry about what more did she know.
Miraculously, he didn't start muttering all those things and focused on another inquiry to make: «That's what you're working on right now? But here is very far from Sankakusu and most the daimons were seen there or in Tokyo...»
«Which is the reason I'm moving» she completed «Well done. You were quicker than I expected. Now, second part. Eight minutes»
«Didn't you say ten before?» he low-key panicked.
«You're wasting time. Think faster»
Izuku started to place the pieces together in multiple ways, to figure out what she wanted him to see.
A few of the places were closer, Musutafu and Minato ward seemed like the ones hit with higher frequency, but there were a number of occurrences all around. Hosu seemed the furthest they went.
But... Not all attacks had as consequences such as memory loss or fatigue symptoms for the bystanders, and the victims who were restored in Juuban prior to Usagi's transfer to Musutafu - Izuku realized this was a conclusion only he and a few others could reach - had no consequences at all, while those who were in Musutafu before that date were dealt with another approach, more violent and quick, that left casualties to deal with the aftermath on their own.
«Time's up. Now, what can you tell me?»
«Uhm... The attacks don't seem to be constant nor follow a precise pattern. The locations are mostly consistent, except for the last one, but depending on the zone they were dealt with differently. They were also less violent at first and involved fewer people. Err, some of the last ones were during public events and there were a few pauses so time is not a factor either...»
She nodded «What about the intervention made? What can you say of how Heroes dealt with them?»
«Heroes... seldom solved those incidents. Someone else did» Izuku prayed Chronia wouldn't ask him to elaborate on that because he wasn't sure he could avoid something important to slip up and reveal he knew the Sailor Senshi.
«My fellow pros launched themselves in with too much confidence and pride. Principal Nedzu sent a dispatch weeks ago, about those modified beings and the indication to contain and not harm them, if possible. It was clear he knew more than he said and that he had more concrete information about this than he let us on, but what he told could have been enough to prevent the latest tragedy. Several pros, instead, were convinced it was tied to the noumu caught after the so-called USJ incident, assumed the two things were the same and could be treated as such, disregarding Nedzu-san's tip altogether»
«They aren't the same» Izuku confirmed «As far as I could understand, the noumus are prepared and then released by the League, while the daimons appear from normal people in, uh, another way. That's what the ones I saw did»
«I reached similar conclusions. Unfortunately, it's not enough to solve the problem. And, aside from Nedzu-sensei, the only ones who seem to know more are unreachable»
«You mean those girls?» Gran Torino interfered.
The other pro nodded «There is no official investigation on the so-called "Sailor Vigilantes". I've been told any attempt is cut off by the Superintendent-General of Tokyo's metropolitan police herself, but, after all, Vigilantes are seldom punished anyway. There is a margin of tolerance for them, especially those who are of active but discreet help to the official forces. Contrary to most people's opinion in this regard, Sakurada-san is known for pushing Vigilantes to legalize their position by hiring them in the police, obtain Hero Licenses and so forth»
«I heard about that!» Izuku jumped on his seat «Her belief is that Vigilantes can still turn into assets, like they did back when they first appeared, before the Rhode Island law, otherwise they could turn into Villains! She also said that "the difference between a Vigilante and a Villain resides in how much, or how little, trust they have society can improve on its own, and towards which end, along with the means they employ"»
The woman nodded, then added «Stendhal. It was the chosen name of a Vigilante who acted in Naruhata a while ago. You met him recently. Up close»
Green eyes widened «You mean...»
«Stain. Before he became the Hero Killer, he was a former Hero student who turned his back to the system and decided to live according to his own rules. Later on, his interventions degenerated. My point is: rules are in place for a reason and following the law is what keeps Heroes apart from Vigilantes, while morals distinguish the latters from Villains. It's easy to cross the line. Sometimes it takes just one bad day»
This made him think about Stain's speech on corrupted Heroes, how his baseline idea - that Heroes had to be like All Might, selfless and unbreakable - wasn't that wrong, but he applied it by killing people who didn't measure to his personal scale.
«As I said, there is tolerance for Vigilantes and often they manage to obtain valid Hero licenses after a while. A few of my colleagues consider them criminals, Endeavor is one of the most vocals about it, and they're not accepted by the community until they get the legal permission we have, sometimes not after either, but us undergrounds learned to see them as assets. Just because someone couldn't receive the education of a Hero school, it doesn't mean they can't become Heroes later on»
«Don't put those ideas in the boy's head, Chronia» Gran Torino interrupted «He's already reckless enough as he is»
«I'm just trying to outline the situation. They don't explain it at school, do they?»
Izuku shook his head. Sure, he could rebuild the discussion from Hero interviews and the likes, but the look of an insider was bound to be more insightful by default.
«To get back to the topic, Vigilantes may have info Heroes aren't privy of. To keep an open mind and treat them with respect can open doors to wider investigations that would stay sealed shut otherwise. Even so, vigilantism is illegal and proper interventions must be handed by pros»
«But...» Izuku hesitated, then decided to speak anyway «If all the Heroes present can't act against a Villain and there is someone around who can act, isn't it more important to save people than follow protocols?»
Surprisingly, she smiled «You're not wrong. Saving lives is always the priority, although Heroes shouldn't allow civilians to stage interventions that may put in danger people who are untrained. There are lines we have to be careful not to cross. Not everybody knows how to handle their quirks at the best, with proper training you Hero students learn the finer working and extent of your quirks, while Vigilantes learn, if they do, on the streets, where it's easy to make fatal mistakes. Quirk counselling as it's done now doesn't help» then she sighed «The system is not well-made, nor the society is just towards those who don't or can't conform»
Oh, he knew about that. Izuku thought about it more often than he would admit. About the discrimination against the quirkless, about the people whose quirks were hard to control, or people with mutant quirks that were considered especially hideous or scary at first sight.
Men weren't born equal, he knew too well.
«There was always discrimination in human society, in any time and place. Now, in addition to all the troubles there always were, humanity didn't deal well with the development of quirks and, despite the apparent progress, has not adapted yet. Heroes are seen as peaceholders, at the expense of all those who can't get where we are. Vigilantes try to fill the blanks and often pay their good intentions with their lives. You'll find out many Villains start as normal people whose quirks caused them problems society doesn't want to deal with. As a Hero, it'll be your duty to help them too. Never forget: in most cases, evil isn't born, it's made»
«That's a brand of idealism that gets people killed» Gran Torino opposed «Some evils are beyond saving. Some are evil just because they are»
«I said "in most cases"» Chronia tilted her head in agreement «The extremes, those beyond saving, exist, but are rarer than our society wants to believe. I was so unfortunate to hear a Daylight Hero accuse a robber to be "pure evil" for blocking the traffic during rush hour, when we all know there are far worse things out there for which the definition is far more apt»
Gran Torino scowled but didn't add more.
Afterwards, the topic changed to some more day-to-day matters, with Chronia encouraging Deku to ask all the questions he wanted and replying with patience and precision.
It was a far cry from his crash-course kind of beginning, Izuku thought, although he appreciated the chance he was given: he must have been one of the very few Hero students with the chance to do two internships instead of one and felt very lucky.
Still, her words weighted a lot, gave him much to think about. She didn't outright judge vigilantism, her stance sounded neutral, but her last comment on the topic was ominous.
"Vigilantes try to fill the blanks and often pay their good intentions with their lives"
As far as he knew, Usagi-san and the girls didn't receive any formal training in the past, how close had they been to die? How many times? But didn't Heroes risk their lives every day as much?
Had they not stepped in, how many people would have suffered?
Who were those beyond saving?
Was it right to turn a blind eye on some things and not others?
Was there even a solid answer to any of those questions?
The whole thing kept him awake for the better part of that night.
The rest of the time left for the internship, mere two days, went on quietly.
Chronia never took Deku on patrol, but taught him a number of tricks starting from how to find the right police reports and reliable online sources. Izuku already knew a few of the latter, but some were more elusive if one didn't know how or what to search for.
He also learned how official paperwork looked like and a few common mistakes in filing it, with the addition of a quick course on how the Hero Commission calculated each Hero's individual pay.
Turned out Chronia's wages were high. Star level high.
Even with her not letting him see her final paycheck, he could make an esteem she had to be among the most well-off Heroes.
She shrugged it off «International work pays better than average. It's more taxing and requires a separate license and a deal with UN, but it's more rewarding too» she explained to his incredulity «Plus, a License obtained in any of the EU countries is valid in all of them, so it's a good place to start»
«Not America?»
«America has more criminality, on average, and the country is vast. It's laxer with quirk rules, too, it gives Heroes more wiggle room with some laws and so forth. Still, it became a trend to go there after All Might did, so the workplace is far from optimal for newcomers, the wages are lower and competition is high. If you think of going out of Japan after graduation, I'd advise for Europe»
«To be honest, I didn't think this far yet. Being able to attend Yuuei was an accomplishment already. For now, I need to focus on making the most out my time at school and the chances that come with it»
«Wiser than most your peers» she praised.
It wasn't the first time in those days: Chronia was generous when it came to pointing out his strong suits, as much as she was firm - but never forceful or rude - when it was time to correct him.
Again, it reminded him of someone he knew, but for the life of his, he couldn't figure out who. It didn't help she used an excellent voice changer, which he realized only in the middle of his second day, to alter her voice, so even if he had heard her in the past - but he didn't think so - he wouldn't be able to say who she was.
Anyway, the internship ended and he thanked Chronia repeatedly when she accompanied him back to Gran Torino's agency, where he had left his things. She left after dropping him there, with the hopes to work together in the future.
Gran Torino's farewell was a little less orthodox, but, as Midoriya wobbled away on his still healing legs and large backpack and hero suit case, Gran Torino thought about his last conversation with his old student.
«You say this, but you never come around to visit me» he had reprimanded after Toshinori's clumsy speech he made about being grateful to his old sensei.
«I-it's that I'm busy with my new job as teacher and Usagi-shojo...» he interrupted himself abruptly.
On his side, Sorahiko scowled «What about the girl?»
«A-ah, she... Ikuko thought better for her to come live with me for a while, she wants to apply for Yuuei next year...»
«She what?! And you agreed on this madness, you idiot boy?» the old man snapped.
Gran Torino could picture his old student sputtering blood everywhere in deep shame.
It didn't come too much as a surprise what Usagi wanted to do, according to Sorahiko it was only a matter of time before the girl cleared her mind of her childish idea of "I want to be a princess" and found what was in her all along, was it in management, like her mother, or else, but he never doubted related to heroics in some manner. She had always been too caring, open and willing to help others to do otherwise. Even so, the girl's healing quirk wasn't noteworthy, as far as he knew, and even if it improved with age, there was no way for her to protect herself in a fight.
How could her parents be so idiotic not to consider the danger they put her in? His disappointment towards Tsukino Ikuko had no bounds, how could that woman be so foolish to put her daughter in the line of danger that way? How could Toshinori follow that idea when he knew better than anyone the risks he could expose her to?
Had he learned nothing?
«The situation is a little complicated to explain, we agreed it was the best for her»
«We'll discuss it another time» Sorahiko broke off «I called to talk with you about the Hero Killer now»
The old pro had said what his thoughts and conclusions were, The charisma the Villain exuded and the consequences it could have.
«The current age, for better or worse, is one of suppression» an inescapable truth, one that Chronia too, albeit in her cryptic way, had talked about to Midoriya and Sorahiko couldn't deny.
Suppression leads to revolts, that was just history.
And when history was involved, people who saw much of it could predict the upcoming events with ease.
«The Hosu incident suggests that Stain and the League are connected somehow. With this, the League will go from a bunch of delinquents to the group with that ideology and gain a wider following, in other words, there's a receptacle ready to receive that breeding evil»
He went on with the reasoning and knew Toshinori followed him, having reached similar conclusions on his own.
«Everything points to All For One to be the one behind it» the old man affirmed.
«It's not something I want to believe in... that that monster can still be alive after that fight»
Of course, he didn't want to. That confrontation had come to an incredibly high price. But Toshinori wasn't stupid: the dread in his voice held no actual denial, if anything, it the hope to be wrong in the worst-case-scenario assumption, and the knowledge it was the most likely outcome nevertheless.
«Toshinori, that kid admires you beyond measure. You said you spoke to him about the story of the quirk»
«I did...»
«But you withheld things from him. He doesn't know all he needs. He doesn't know about you. He doesn't know about Shimura»
The man on the other line hesitated «No, he doesn't»
«He deserves to know the whole story. The war he's about to fight is greater than he can imagine, even without those holes in his knowledge. He's smarter than you, I'll give him that, but he can't possibly picture everything behind this situation»
«I see»
«Send the girl back to her mother and focus on your successor. Make sure he's prepared for what's to come»
Silence was on the other side for a long moment and Sorahiko thought the call had ended.
«I will instruct Midoriya-shonen better, sensei» was the reply before he closed the call with a simple goodbye.
It didn't go unnoticed to Sorahiko that Toshinori said nothing about Usagi. Sure, the discussion was too delicate to have on the phone, but the old man had the feeling there was more behind it.
Maybe he'd have to make a visit to Musutafu in the near future. Just in case.
Notes:
Everybody already guessed who Chronia is (the name is a tad obvious, I admit), but there will be another surprise about how she fits in this universe.
And, ahem, I guess me being a Ouat fan shows sometimes, virtual cookies to who recognized the quote.
Mythology note: a common misconception is that Chronos was both the god of time and Zeus' father. In fact, it was two different beings that got confused in later times. Chronos (Χρόνος) was the entity of time; Kronos (Κρόνος) was the titan who fathered the Olympian gods, who in latin translated into Saturn. Likewise, Hades and Pluto were originally two different gods too: Hades was the god and king of the Underworld, while Pluto was the god of riches, especially those that lied underground as gems, seeds, metals and so on; at the same time "pluto" (that means literally "the rich one") was a title used to homage Hades, which caused the mix-up. The correct latin correspondent of Hades should have been be Orcus or Dite, but since the mistake was common back then as well, they used Pluto together with the others, with the result that we have today.
Next week there will be the new installment of the SilMil spinoff, and at the end of the month the next chapter of this one.
Stay safe!