Apparently, Hanten had been a successful underground hero, and because of that act, she had little to no information on her. No matter how Toshinori tried, he couldn't find a lick of information about her. She might as well have dropped off the face of the planet.

Toshinori took the problem up with Nighteye, who discouraged trying to stalk another pro hero, but eventually caved in -it took a long conversation about the definition of stalking and a long explanation of Toshinori's time in UA.

It turned out that Nighteye was very good at finding such information. He'd found the woman's hero name, last worked case and the names of a few other heroes she's worked with. His sidekick managed to pull up a video as well.

"Perhaps you could watch this on your own time. I remember there being a city to save, at the moment." Nighteye pushed up his glasses and clapped his laptop shut. Toshinori slumped and rubbed his hands together.

"Could you at least send me a link? I don't want to ask you for permission." He pulled at a long strand of hair. He'd need another haircut soon and maybe a shave. He could start feeling stubble poking at his palm. Maybe tomorrow. He had work to do today.

"I'll have to help you figure out your email anyway, but if you truly want." Nighteye let out a long sigh and rubbed at his temples -a migraine no doubt caused by the older hero.

"So, you'll send it to me, right?" Toshinori spoke as he walked backwards out of Nighteye's office. He could get to whatever disaster was going on in less than a minute. He had a little time to spare, right? Right.

"Yes, now please go. We both know that arriving too late will ruin your week."

It rarely happened, but when All Might managed to show up too late to save someone, it usually ended up making him more sober than he'd like. Sometimes, they'd carry into his nightmares, just adding to the list of reasons he couldn't sleep well. To avoid wasting time, Toshinori gave a last smile and thumbs up to Nighteye before running out of the building.

He'd made it to a villain attack just before a building collapse. He'd saved an entire school of children from dying. He'd have to thank Nighteye later.

…

The video was shaky and too dark to really see much, but he could make out bits and pieces of the fight that played on his small screen. Whoever had filed it was obviously scared or just really bad at holding their camera. Within a few seconds, the blur of dark colors had taken down three villains with the grappling hooks Toshinori had seen her get their third year at UA.

Further research showed that she had a very secret life and lived the way most other underground heroes did. Typically, they could barely make enough money to keep their head above water. Some drowned. The pay was difficult, since they were undercover. It makes police officers feel morally wrong to pay someone who had just been in the same slums the recently arrested villains had. Often, other heroes would end up with their pay and without the help of the media, it was hard to get much of anything done.

This was why Toshinori decided to build an organization for the underground community. Anonymously, of course. He donated over one million yen to each downtown hospital and an additional five hundred thousand yen to each underground hero's card through the police station. It wasn't the most he could do, but Nighteye would've killed him if he had donated any more. He still had to use a good percentage of his income to pay those who worked at his agency -they got more than he did each month- and for building repair. He was still working on damage control.

The underground community slowly became more popular, but in the best sense. They didn't gain any unnecessary media coverage, other than the random donations. They become noticed as hard working heroes who deserved the pay they got just as much as those who worked in the open streets. Toshinori only hopped that Hanten could now live a better life.

…

Being the Symbol of Peace meant that the public trusted you. It meant that you were a true hero in their eyes and would stand for them, unwavering. To be a symbol for all humanity was to protect without payment. Another side effect of that role was being used to the community's advantage.

Toshinori had been forced to go to more than one gala that he had no desire to be at. After running away from them because of his duty as a hero, they'd started making him sign contracts that promised that he would stay the entire gala. It was never someone he enjoyed doing, but had to, to show the public that he cared.

As he walked through the large room of the latest Summer Spring Gala, he noticed a number of hands landing on him. The first few had seemed like just grazes, accidents. Then, they become more bold. Some pulled at his suit, others traced their fingers along his thighs or arms. One even groped him. He smiled and waved through the touches because this wasn't the first time and definitely wouldn't be the last.

Year after year, he'd endured touches like this simply because of who he was. Slowly, he stopped jumping away from them and even started to expect them. This was the price he had to make to keep Japan safe. To keep everyone smiling and happy. This was what he got for trying to become someone that everyone loved.

"It's a lovely evening, . The wine is sharp and the occupants seem even sharper." Toshinori let his booming voice echo through the air, attracting more unnecessary attention.

"Indeed it is. Say, would you mind if I spoke privately with you?" She leaned forward, looking at him from under her eyelashes.

He felt tired and wanted nothing more than to go home, but he smiled brighter and nodded, following the hostess to the far corner. Once they settled, all eyes still on them, she pointed to a certain girl in the crowd. She had a strength mutation and stood a little less than a foot under him. Very tall for such a young woman.

"That is the pro hero Builder. She's known for her amazing strength but he's a bit shy. I think your quirks would work wonderfully together. You use wind pressure to knock enemies back, but with another strength quirk, what do you think the possibilities could be?"

Toshinori suddenly felt very uncomfortable and really wanted to leave. He almost wished a villain would break in. "Um, are you suggesting a quirk marriage?"

"Oh! You could also go with Striker. She's a bit harder to deal with, but her sound wave quirk would also do well with-"

"I apologize, but I'm not exactly looking to get married at the moment." or ever. It was too dangerous to bring someone one into the mess of his quirk. All For One was still roaming around somewhere.

"And why not? You're a very handsome young man and I'm starting to fear you'll miss a shot at a good quirk combination. Endeavor just went into a quirk marriage, you know." She gave him a sly wink.

He'd heard the news about that but bringing the Number Two hero did nothing to convince him. He knew that Todoroki's anger and determination to become Number One had nothing to do with protection and saving lives. It was all in his ego and that quirk marriage had proved it.

"I must thank you for your advice, Mrs. Yarren, but like I said before, I'm not interested in getting married." He needed to get away from this conversation before he said something he'd regret.

With a polite bow, Toshinori made his way back into the crowd, getting touched almost immediately. He really did hate galas.

Author's Notes: I'm really sorry that this took so long to get out. Quarantine has done no good for my motivation to write and I have no idea where to take this. I'm starting to think that I should just wrap it up quickly so I don't leave anyone hanging.