Sunday – 7:43 AM

Eleven Days until the UA Sports Festival

Knock! Knock!

A single blurry eye slowly opened.

Knock! Knock!

Half-submerged into a pillow, flower-patterned blanket pulled over her forehead, she stared at the digital clock next to her bed, "….uuuuuggghh," rolled over, closed her eyes, pulled her blanket a little higher and grumbled.

The knocking didn't return.

And as her consciousness faded into a grey encompassing mist of blurry colors and sounds, she chocked the knocking up to a strange dream.

Knock! Knock!

Her eyes snapped open.

Knock! Knock!

By the fourth knock, she was ready to kill someone.

In fact, she was so angry and tired that Ryuko found herself unable to come up with ideas on how to beat them senseless. She moved on autopilot, throwing off her blankets, slouching out of bed and shambling towards the door, one hand covering her mouth and the other scratching her back. Wearing nothing but gym shorts and a black t-shirt with a series of bold red Kanji stretching from collar to hem, hair an atrocious mess and pissed to high heaven, Ryuko opened the door and growled from the depths of her throat at the figure one idiotic word from discovering what the outside of his nose tasted like, "What!?"

The sickly-looking man with sunken eyes and pale complexion standing outside her apartment attempted a friendly greeting.

"Good morning, Ry – "

SLAM!

Yagi Toshinori was caught off-guard, but not totally surprised by, when Ryuko slammed her door in his face. Bag of store-bought lemons in one hand and the other still caught in the middle of waving, he stood outside her apartment on an otherwise pleasant spring morning for what felt like hours. It wasn't hours, more like five minutes. And it wasn't bad enough to warrant stepping out of the sun. But the secretary-manager of All Might's temporarily closed agency found the uneven passage of time unimportant in the grand scheme of things when Ryuko returned a couple of minutes later, fully dressed yet hair no less messy.

"You have five seconds," the irascible and exhausted teen stood in the door, each word punctuated by a glint of sunlight against a blood-red dagger clenched between her fingers.

The man known far and wide as the unbreakable symbol of peace and justice gulped.

This wasn't going to end well.

For him.

His feet moving before the rest of him, Toshinori attempted to leave the scene of the crime with whatever remained of his health intact as he realized, belatedly, he probably shouldn't have stopped by Ryuko's apartment so early on a Sunday morning, "Maybe I should come back later…"

With far more strength than her lithe figure would suggest, Ryuko grabbed the emaciated man's bony shoulder.

"Oh, by all means, come in."

It wasn't a request, not when the bastard was already stumbling around looking for an escape, "Make yourself at home," kicking the door shut with the back of her foot, then turning the lock for good measure, Ryuko pressed her back against the thin panels of wood, blood disappearing as she begrudgingly deactivated her Quirk, "Anything for the great All Might."

SPLURT!

Blood gushed from Toshinori's mouth, "W-What!? Don't be ridiculous!"

"Are you calling me an idiot?" phrasing it less as a question and more as a statement, Ryuko glared at the disguised – well, it was a damn good disguise – symbol of peace.

Heart pounding, the sickly hero searched for an excuse, "No! It's just…do I seriously look like him?" his rhetorical question was answered by a hardened glare, "Shit, no point beating around the bush," letting out an exhausted grumble too deep for someone of his size, lanky fingers rubbed the back of his neck, "So, what gave it away?"

"What didn't give it away?"

In one swift motion, Ryuko not only snatched the bag of lemons from the skeletal hero's hand before another pathetic excuse stained her floor but rolled her eyes and scoffed. Bribe or not, she wasn't passing up her favorite fruit, "For starters, you look like him, including those stupid hair antenna, even if you look like something a cat dragged in."

Another cough.

"You were never in the same place at the same time," more blood from the emaciated man's mouth as she collapsed onto her couch, "Plus, you kinda have the same voice," thrusting the metaphorical knife a little deeper into All Might's back, she ripped open the bag, grabbed a lemon and promptly bit into it, "Oh, and dad might've mentioned it once or twice."

"Okay! Okay! I get it."

Toshinori desperately threw his hand upwards before Ryuko could finish what All for One started.

"I should've known you'd figure out my identity. I wasn't exactly subtle," despite his lanky frame, Toshinori wasn't weak, "Isshin always did like to talk," Tired? Sure, anyone incapable of eating more than an ounce or two would be exhausted, "Still, you knowing my identity makes things easier," grabbing the chair from Ryuko's kitchen-slash-dining room, he dragged it towards the couch and sat down, "I was planning on setting up a meeting between you and 'All Might'," he gave air quotes, "Tomorrow after school, but this saves time," his sunken features hardened, "So let's get straight to the point – there's been something of a development in your father's case."

Ryuko angrily wiped the juice dribbling from her mouth, "Unless you caught that psycho, I ain't interested."

"You have every right to be angry, especially since Couturier slipped right through our fingers," the difference between what society thought of the number one hero and his genuine personality were as different as night from day. Extroverted versus introverted. Flamboyant versus reserved, "Couturier…such a freaky name," boney fingers reached towards one of the lemons Ryuko dropped onto the floor, "She's covered her tracks pretty damn well. It takes a lot to irritate Sir, not that he's returned my calls or emails."

Sunlight fluttered through the half-open curtains in front of the window.

"We arrested more than eighty villains, all hired by the League of Villains within twenty-four hours of their attack," sunken eyes, blue shadowed in darkness, ignored Ryuko's withering gaze, "Most of them aren't talking. Or they're demanding lawyers. Standard stuff. The system will eventually sort them out."

Ryuko was about to take another bite before something All Might said caught her attention, "…most?"

"It's being kept under wraps, but over the last forty-eight hours, at least a dozen of the villains who attacked the USJ were found dead in their cells," the emaciated hero stared at the greenish-yellow lemon between his fingers, "It'll hit the news later this week. A mass break-out prevented by the police and heroes, albeit with casualties," the silence from Ryuko's anger faded, leaving an oppressive atmosphere marked by confusion, "At first glance, there weren't any connections between the murders. No pattern between their Quirks. Nothing in their records to suggest retaliation. Until this morning."

He pulled out his phone, opened an app and slid it across the table.

Ryuko's heart skipped a beat.

It was the bald asshole from the USJ who nearly pissed himself.

"Sir found the pattern," Toshinori watched Ryuko flip through the dozen mug shots, each new picture causing her eyes to widen a little further, "Every villain killed was someone you personally defeated at the USJ."

Ryuko almost choked, "The hell!?"

"I'll spare you the details," what felt like silence pressed against their ears. A deafening absence of noise that drew Toshinori's attention towards the cat-themed clock above Ryuko's cough, "But if I had to guess…" the hero paused, lost in thought over a case that had taken too much time and energy, "…I'd say a certain someone's tidying up loose ends."

Something deep inside Ryuko's soul clenched, "Couturier."

Her emaciated guest nodded.

"Whoever she is, her Quirk's not registered in the database. And our international allies haven't found anything," something drew his attention. Information he'd forgotten. Or rather, intended on telling Ryuko at the meeting he now needed to cancel, "There was a villain with a similar theme active in Italy. Scissors. Dress and mask. Sadistic streak a mile long. Name was…Tessitrice…or something," Toshinori's sunken eyes stared at the crumpled piece of paper with said villain's name on it before sticking it back into his pocket, "But she was caught last year. Plus, she had brown hair and green eyes with a noticeable scar on her right cheek."

He gave a rough approximation of said injury.

Ryuko didn't find that helpful.

Time slowed to a crawl.

The cat-themed clock on the wall ticked away the seconds.

"So," Toshinori coughed, "Word on the grape vine is you're thinking about dropping out of the sports festival."

"Don't change the subject!"

"Ugh, should've left when I had the chance," the number one hero grumbled through decimated lungs, "The truth is…when Couturier landed in front of that decaying villain, I thought she was just another nameless thug. Nobody important. I didn't piece together the connection until her boss mentioned you," a wet cough forced more blood onto his knuckles, "But by that point, they'd already retreated. I might have pushed myself taking down that Nomu, but I still had more than enough fight left to bring Couturier to justice. If I'd only realized it a few seconds sooner."

He looked around Ryuko's relatively spartan apartment, devoid of most things girls her age worshiped, even that bizarrely popular pop hero band with the crappy music.

"That's the reason I wanted to meet with you in private. To apologize. Isshin was my friend and I let his killer slip right through my fingers," sunken eyes narrowed angrily, "And worse than that, I failed to protect you. My student. If anything had happened…"

"You think I blame you? Because I don't!"

Ryuko wanted to kick All Might. This was the perfect opportunity. But the bastard looked so weak and frail. Like he'd blow away in a gust of wind. Even if this were a disguise and he could buff up in the blink of an eye, he just looked so pathetic she couldn't help but feel sorry for him, "You were protecting everyone. Like an actual hero…for once," she purposely spat the last two words, "But that brain dude must've been scary strong to kick your freaking ass."

"Ha! Ha! Yeah, he kind of was."

She stared at him.

All Might coughed, "So, about the sports festival…"

"Oh my god!" Ryuko collapsed against her couch, fingers twitching from the irresistible urge to punch the disguised hero, "If you're about to say I have to enjoy myself, I'm gonna…"

"…I think it's fine if you want to watch from the sidelines."

The seemingly starved hero's acquiescence caught Ryuko off-guard, "…huh?"

"Nobody can force you to participate in the sports festival. Not even Aizawa," Toshinori laughed, only a little blood spurting from his mouth, "Although, if you're set on dropping out as soon as possible, try to make it look authentic. I'm sure you have a few ideas in mind, but with your Quirk, you could fake a major injury without anyone being the wiser!"

"You make it sound like I have a choice."

Something tickled Ryuko's eye, "Either I give it my all or someone gets kicked out of class."

All Might broke into another fit of laughter.

"Stop laughing, god damn it!"

"Sorry, it's just…" wracking coughs stopped the emaciated hero's laughter, "…I've never heard of anyone getting expelled from the hero course like that! It's hilarious!"

If the bastard wasn't already one foot in the grave, Ryuko would've decked him, "Start talkin' sense!"

"UA's strict, not sadistic," sunken eyes set into a frown, Toshinori stroked his chin, "Unless a student personally requests being transferred out of the hero program or breaks enough rules to warrant suspension or expulsion, UA can't remove them. It's no different from a normal high school. Whoever told you this 'transfer' nonsense was lying. Or psyching you out before the sports festival. Either way, everybody in your class is fine. So, no pressure!"

"So…" hesitation lingering on her tongue, Ryuko sat a little straighter, "…you're not gonna try and convince me?"

"Ha! Ha! As if I could convince you to do anything! You're as stubborn as Isshin was," Toshinori half-coughed, half-laughed, "You are required to participate in the opening ceremony. Maybe give a speech. But that's it. Whether you keep going is up to you," he scratched behind his ear, frowned and shrugged, "Obviously, getting eliminated early won't lead to many offers. But we both know you couldn't care less about that. Not to mention you're Isshin Matoi's daughter! No agency in their right mind is going to pass up the chance to recruit you!"

Ryuko snorted, "Tch! They can kiss my ass!"!"

Despite her better judgment, she felt less angry. Less frustrated. And that made her more suspicious, "This ain't some reverse psychology bullshit, is it?"

"If only," with a scoff of his own, Toshinori leaned backwards, "I was never good at that kind of stuff. Always too straightforward, they said," his blunt confession trailed into a drawling sigh as he rolled up a sleeve and looked at a watch made for a wrist five times thicker, "Well, I better get going," standing up, he began walking towards the door only for something to pop into his consciousness, "Oh, there's something else."

He patted down his suit.

"One of your dad's old colleagues contacted me," unable to find what he was searching for, Toshinori bashfully rubbed his neck, "You got a pen or – "

Ryuko pointed towards her desk.

The symbol of peace and justice hurried over, scribbling a name and number, "He'll be in town in a couple of weeks for a conference. You should think about meeting him. Might be good for you."

"Aikuro Mikisugi?" Ryuko mumbled the weird name under her breath, "Never heard of him. Who is he?"

"There's not much I can tell you. All I know is, Aikuro and Isshin worked together before parting around the same time you were born," standing at the door to her apartment, on the precipice of freedom, Toshinori inhaled. And with a flex, All Might took his place, "Anyway! I best be off! A hero's work is never finished. And now that I'm a teacher, my work's twice as tedious!"

And he was gone.

By the time Ryuko closed her door and locked it, the pompous windbag was already halfway across Musutafu.

Her eyes drifted towards the clock on the wall – 8:07 AM.

"Ugh," the piece of paper fluttered to the floor as she stumbled back to her bedroom, "It's waaaaaay too early for this shit."