Chapter 4:

"Ehh," Izuku sighed as he stepped off of the plane. "Mike, can you actually speak Japanese? Since you're here with me, and not some other Japanese-speaking liaison."

The guy just smiled at him and replied in Japanese, "I've been assigned to you. That also means that I have to learn Japanese." He then grumbled, "Just like Hanna, speaking British is just another stupid accent."

The boy laughed, "Just try to understand what Achilles' liaison is going through. Greek is hard to learn."

"Other than knowing that you tried, you still know how to speak like four other languages." Mike grumbled again. "Let's go see your parents first. Then we're going to the agency."

"What about jet lag?"

"Some heroes can't afford to have jet lag." Mike smiled.

Izuku just dragged his feet all the way to the HPSC car. He did feel slightly stared at, maybe it's the suitcase, no one walks around with a metal suitcase. It could be his hair? That's normal around here, scratch that. Could it be his height? He's only 5'9 (175 cm). That's normal as well.

Freckles are less common. That could be it, but it's not noticeable from afar. He felt an uncomfortable feeling on his left side.

Ah.

Right, the scar. People can see his jaw and neck. T-shirts in the warm weather, visible to the rest. "Mike, are we there yet?" It could be Mike. He's a suit.

"Just an elevator."

The boy nodded and clenched the suitcase. "Don't forget to speak Japanese here." Mike joked, sensing the un-comfortableness from the kid.

Izuku nodded, only speaking Japanese from here on. "If my parents are staying in a hotel. Where will I be staying?"

"With me in the HPSC dorms. You'll get your own room. Since it's a low-key dorm for heroes and staff like I am. There is a doctor on site. Cooking is on your own, supermarkets nearby and all. You'll see when we drop your stuff off."

Izuku nodded and turned Metis on. "Hello Izuku, what can I do for you?" The A.I replied in Japanese.

"Hello Metis, install a local map from Hosu and around the Gran Torino Agency. Open the Hero Network from Japan as well. I'd like to see how that is navigated."

"Will do." Izuku opened the car door and stepped in the passenger's seat next to Mike. Out of the corner of his eyes did a feed pop up, and an incomplete circle, adding a millimeter every few seconds.

With small practiced motions, Izuku scrolls down the feed to see its layout. "Say, Mike. How am I able to see the HN?"

"The Paladins program has special access to such things. Each one of you is ensured to be trustworthy and future pro heroes." Mike did chuckle a bit. "They do have limited access. Since crime rates are higher in the Hosu and near the agency, you have a lot more access. It probably also has to do with your second week as well."

Izuku nodded. Curious about what's going to happen in his second week. Would Gran Torino know about it? Wait, why did Mike say that the crime rates are higher in Hosu and near the Torino Agency?

"Are crime rates higher because All Might don't go there?"

"Correct. Looks like you've done your homework."

The boy just scrolled through the wanted list of Japan. A lot of names, the higher it goes, the more pictures or the fewer pictures of villains. Some didn't even have a picture. Those names did let a shiver go down Izuku's spine.

Once the car stopped, the two stepped out and Izuku analyzed the outside of the hotel, nodding at the good representation.

Mike secretly sweated as he noticed Izuku's glare.

"Izuku!" His parents shouted and wrapped the boy in a hug. "We've missed you, baby!" Inko wailed. "I visited your favorite park! It brought up so many memories, I cried!"

"You'd cry regardless, Inko." Hisashi joked and let Izuku breathe. "How are your studies going, boy. We haven't heard anything other than some combat training and hanging out with Amalea." ah, nice memories,

Izuku smiled and sat down at one of their tables, their hotel room was very spacious. Penthouse huh, "Well, I'm starting on my college degrees. The only major I share with Amalea is teaching. We liked tutoring others in law and all." He waved away the wide eyes of his mother. "I'm studying quirks and law." Mike knows that the kid did it to honor his parents. He grew up seeing both of them so passionately. He wanted something like that as well.

Inko started fanning her eyes, "Oh god. Our baby."

Hisashi started rubbing her back, "That isn't a baby anymore." He nodded sadly.

Mike and Izuku just looked at them, amused. "How are your heroics going?"

Mike decided to take the lead, since he is a sort of caretaker. "Izuku now goes by the hero name Cipher. He is cleared for underground and undercover work." The man said, and let his glasses project some hologram for their parents to see. "This is his teacher's feedback. He is cleared by the HPSC."

"Why are you wearing glasses?" Inko asked and squinted at him.

Mike cleared his throat. "A present, Inko. In order to hide his civilian identity." Hisashi nodded in appreciation. It's already bad enough that the man is slightly sought after by villains for his analyzing skills.

Izuku smiled at his parents.

And they smiled back.

Izuku looked at the agency. It used to be a co-op with the pro hero Nana. He took a deep breath in and clenched the hero suitcase in his hands. He walked to the front desk and got ready to sign himself in.

"Think fast!" A shout was heard.

Izuku activated his quirk mode and ducked while the tall gray-haired man aimed a kick at him. The boy blocked out the tired sigh of the assistant at the desk and just turned intangible.

Cipher just tilted his head at the man. "Gran Torino. Nice to meet you, sir." He held a hand out as the man passed through his body with impressive speed.

The man was just a bit shorter than Izuku is. Huh, he shrinks, must be with his age. "Cipher. I don't like the lack of bite. I do like the fast response." The man said with a gruff voice.

The young hero just shrugged, "My liaison said to be professional. Otherwise, I would've asked for you to sign my book." He said with a sheepish smile. "I've been a fan since I was a small kid."

"Well then. Let's go upstairs and sign that book. We can get to the details after." The man ordered and walked into the closest elevator. Izuku just turned back tangible and gave a sympathetic smile at the front desk.

The elevator was cozy, had nice music and a sign that said, 'no beating up interns or anyone else.'. Izuku just snorted and looked at the man with a 'you actually do this?' look at his face.

"Don't act so smug, boy." The pro hero bit back.

"Yes sir."

The metal box opened with a ding, and Izuku was aware that the man now is allowed to beat him up as a form of training. Being on edge with a speedster isn't pleasant, the feel of intangibility is on his belt though, so he'd be fine, right? He can hold intangibility as long as he wants.

"At ease, soldier. What they train you in America." The man snorted.

Izuku, an empath. Sensing that that was a rhetorical question, just shrugged. "What will we be going over, sir?"

"Well, just our patrol route, since you haven't been in this area." The man spoke out as he pointed at the wall. A map stood out with different colors of lines. "You're the dark green, until I deem you fit, we'll do my route."

Izuku nodded. "Since you already have your provisional license, you don't need permission from me to do batshit. Thankfully. Since I don't take sidekicks anymore, you'll have to deal with the ones that still want to work here."

"What happened to the ones that left?"

"They were here for Nana." The man said, with no time for Izuku to ask another follow-up question. So it was a raw spot for the man. "You can talk with the press?"

"The press is no problem for me. Press in America is worse."

"Toshinori said they do come off very stalkerish." The man snorted, "Well, handle them for me. I don't like 'em."

"Do they blow your mysterious cover?" Izuku blurted out, he slapped his hands over his mouth and looked at the man's back with wide eyes. Only to relax when Gran Torino bursts out laughing.

"Yeah they do kid." he answered, "That's the bite I'm looking for." The man looked out to the city. "You know how to fill out the forms here?"

"I'm familiar with the system." Izuku answered truthfully.

"Even the HN?"

"Yes sir. First thing I did when I touched Japanese soil."

"Good. Looks like I got nothing to teach you." Gran Torino said, "You can drop the professional facade if you want. We're going to work together this month and I want to see progress in your fighting."

Izuku nodded with a smile, "Yes sir. Question though."

"Shoot."

"Where are the good taiyaki stands?"

The man turned around with an approving smile, "That's what I like to hear."

The two heroes sat on top of a roof, overlooking a whole street, with hot taiyaki in their hands. "So, what support items do you have, kid."

"Military grade hero suit material." He answered and pointed at his chest. "Steel Escrima sticks with a built-in taser. I was thinking of going for a gun license, so I will later add a gun holster and a belt for ammo." He answered and then tapped his domino mask. "A built-in A.I. to help with a bunch of things." Patting his thighs and hips, "Hidden compartments with EMT supplies." He then tapped his boots on the ground, "Protected military boots with steel toes."

Gran Torino nodded at the boy. "Good stuff kid, you know how to use the EMT supplies?"

"I got an EMT diploma. I was thinking of joining an advanced course and maybe an emergency operation."

"Good. Get that, kid." The man huffed and looked at the boy with an incredulous look on his face. "How old are you again?"

"14, sir."

"How did you get this all done?"

"A lot of sleepless nights, sir. I get bored a lot, so that's how I keep myself busy." The man just nodded.

"How is your school going?",

"College degrees at my own pace is nice. I'm taking my time with that, though." Izuku answered.

"Geez, how smart are you kid? If only Toshinori could be like that. Damn oaf."

Izuku just shrugged as a notification opened on his interface and a beep from Torino's phone went off. "Villain attack, nearby."

"See you there, kid." Gran Torino said, and launched off of the roof with a taiyaki snack in his mouth.

Izuku just snorted at the action and started flying at a fast pace towards the signal. He stepped down on the ground and looked for the two heroes who called it in. They are fighting the villain.

He looked at the surrounding area. People stood holding a camera in their hands, mouths agape. Cipher grabbed the escrima sticks from his back and decided to do crowd control, he walked to the crowd and spread his arms out. "Stay back for your own safety." He shouted.

He turned his back to the crowd to look at the villain fight. Seeing if he could do something about it. He saw a grown ass man in the corner of his eye trying to inch closer to the fight, the camera in his hands were trembling.

Cipher slowly made his way to the man and gently ushered him back. "Sir! I don't think that you would want your expensive camera to be damaged by the villain." He shouted out. The man yelped and let go of his camera. Izuku quickly dropped his stick and grabbed onto it with his telekinesis. The boy grabbed onto the camera, pushed it into the man's hands and took hold of his escrima sticks before shooting up in the air.

He stood next to the pro hero, "His quirk looks like some minor strength augmentation with some tall genes." The hero called out.

Cipher nodded and avoided a punch from the villain. The man looked at him with such a mad expression, Izuku would've been slightly intimidated if Gran Torino hadn't kicked it in.

"You're a fast kid." The man grunted.

The young hero just nodded and looked at the police, who converted to crowd control. "Throw me your quirk suppressor cuffs!" He shouted out. The men looked slightly hesitant, but threw it up to the hero once the villain stood up, letting the ground shake a bit.

Cipher reached up and caught it in his hands. He runs right into the villain as he avoids a punch from the man. The man in his boxing position felt a blow of a stick to the back of his leg, he buckled down a bit and Izuku threw the cuffs in the air. Copying the man's form, Cipher pushed himself into the man and took possession of his body.

The surrounding pro heroes looked confused as the man caught the cuffs from up in the air and cuffs himself. Stopping his and Cipher's quirk.

The kid is pushed out and landed on his feet beside the villain. Who just shouted in anger with a glare at Izuku. "You might want to knock him out. He looks like a rowdy person in the back of a police car." He smiled at the police men.

The crowd cheered, a news van pulled up and Izuku felt Gran Torino nudge him. "You want to make this your official debut?"

Cipher straightened his back, "Isn't it a bit too early for that?"

The man just shrugged, "It's a convenient place. Looks like the crowd likes you. Wave and smile." Cipher just did as the man told him to. He thinks he even heard someone 'aw' and squeal at him.

He just raised his eyebrows and helped the rest of the police officers make a quick sweep of the street and make it easy for the construction services so that they could fix the street. The boy once again straightened his back once the civilians were allowed to enter the streets again.

The same man with the camera walked up to him. "May I take a picture of you?"

Cipher his eyes widened and blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck he agreed to a picture. He smiled at the camera while intensively listening as his earpiece came to life.

"Hey kid. That taking over a body thing is a neat trick. Finish rounding up with the people and make yourself known. Don't go 'I am here' like that big oaf, though. You'll see my location on that fancy map of yours. See you then."

Before Izuku could even activate his side of the earpiece the man cut the connection. He smiled at the news reporter that was making her way to the young hero. "A question!" She called out.

With a charming upturned smile and wrinkles around his eyes, Cipher turned his whole body towards her and made eye contact with the journalist. "Yes?" He asked.

The woman smiled at him, "I don't think Japan has seen you before. Were you accompanied by Gran Torino?"

Izuku nodded, "Yes I am. I'm here with him for a kind of work study."

"So is this your official first time out on the field?" The journalist asked, she looked nice. But those heels just don't look convenient.

"Yes." He answered.

"I think that it's clear to say that we're all impressed by your efficiency with taking down that villain." She said, and the crowd behind her cheered.

Cipher blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just doing what teachers trained me to do."

"Your personal skill also comes from you! I'm sure you've trained diligently." The journalist called out, the crowd behind her once again cheered.

The young hero just smiled, but it turned serious when another notification appeared on the intercom. "I am being called." He said sheepishly.

The journalist nodded and held a fist out in front of her, "Good job today!". Cipher just smiled and nodded, "Of course, if I can help, I will help."

A faint shout was heard. "What's your name?!"

The journalist pushed a microphone in his face. "I'm Cipher." The boy answered and backed up before flying off.

G(r)eek
Izuku already debuted?

Crumpets
ur kidding? Bloody hell mate, you work fast

Dracula
As suspected

Ferrari
Everyone give me my money

Green-ish
How do you all know already?

Ferrari
We all put our notifications on for anything you-related.

G(r)eek
Facts, you get in a lot of accidents

Dracula
Remember that time you just went out for snacks and ended up in a villain fight?

Crumpets
Focking drac, I was typing that shit all out then you come in with your bloody fast typing, you cunt

Green-ish
Mia is back in her element, she learned a new cuss word! So proud 3

Crumpets
My mentor woke me up at 6.30, of course I'm going to cuss like a sailor. Say another thing and you'll never hear the end of it.

G(r)eek
Lolll, I just woke up :p sucks to suck

Green-ish
Ohno

Crumpets
Oh yes

Dracula
Achilles?
Are you okay?

?

Ferrari
RIP

Green-ish
F

Izuku looked up as a shadow blocked his sunlight. "Break is over, kid. Back to heroics." The boy nodded and turned his quirk on to go back into ghost mode. The other protected sync phone is in his hidden pocket.

"Don't ya get kid?" Gran Torino asked as they walked through the streets next to each other.

Cipher shook his head, "I only need three hours sleep in a whole week. Regardless of energy."

"Damn, wish I had that." The man grumbled.

Izuku just laughed, "A lot of people do. It does get boring most of the time."

"So ya keep yourself busy with studies and all of that, eh?"

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, the young hero nodded, "I lose track of time with simulators, gaming, meditation and just going into random time periods of studying."

"Simulators? What you do in there?" The man made a sound. "I'm born into some technology time, but I still can't keep up."

With a chuckle, Izuku started his explanation. "In the simulators, some have access to. Because of my sleeping issue, they gave me a card. There are different stuff in it, villain attacks simulators, rescue, parkour, and a lot of combat tutorials." he then rubbed the back of his neck again, "I also finished everything last year."

"Damn kid. Sounds like a lot, how many sims did you go through."

"About 257."

The gray-haired man stopped in his tracks. "We're talking about the American level, right?"

Izuku nodded, not really seeing where the conversation was going.

The man let out a bolstering laugh and clapped the mentee on his back. "I'm still joining ya tomorrow. Gotta work you out of those repeated situations." The man straightened his back at the sound of a notification.

Cipher looked at his empty interface, confused.

Gran Torino fished the phone out of his pocket and looked at it. "Oh! My new taiyaki machine arrived."