Wednesday, January 29. 5:15 a.m.

"Deku, you read me?" A voice came over my earpiece as I kept my distance from the scene.

"Loud and clear, Red Riot." I informed, watching as the villain came out of the supposed meetup sight, his hood covering his face as he walked into the shadows toward the alley.

"Be careful, Deku. We're going to move to apprehend the suspect while you inspect inside. We don't know what might be in there, but the heat detector only got one hit." Kirishima explained.

"Roger." As soon the man was completely out of sight, I moved forward toward the building, staying low and close to the wall, avoiding any windows. I listened closely for any movement before slowly pushing my way in, careful not to make a single sound. I stayed against the back wall and moved slowly into the far corner, the darkest corner, as I noticed a man standing in the front of the room. It was so quiet in the building that I was sure the sound of even a penny dropping would echo around us. The last thing I wanted was for him to notice me.

Just the sight of his costume gave me a hint as to who he was. Standing at the other side of the room, as confident as ever, was none other than Ground Zero. As evil as he was, he was still unfathomably gorgeous, and I hated him for it. I hated that someone like him could do such terrible acts and even laugh about it, no regrets at all. It was a shame. His quirk, his brains, his composure, and even his looks; everything about him was perfect for a hero. The only fatality was his personality.

Ground Zero had practically appeared out of nowhere, and he grew quickly in the Villain ranks. He made countless allies and became a force to be reckoned with within less than a year, a threat to the people and an enemy to all heroes. Though I hated to admit it, he and I also had a bond. From the moment I first saw him, I felt an instant connection, and I knew he had felt it too. We never fought to kill one another, and we knew when to stop. We knew when to call it quits and wait for another day. I was always letting him go, turning my back as he ran off. However, there was one time I felt him standing directly behind me, not running like he was supposed to.

"Welcome," Ground Zero suddenly said, pulling me from my train of thought, and my breathing hitched as my eyes scanned the room. There was no one around, which meant he knew I was there. Still, I wasn't positive of that, so I stayed where I was. Even if he knew I was there, he didn't know exactly where. "It's impolite not to return a greeting, Deku. And here I thought the world's #1 Hero was always polite." He teased as he moved farther down the aisle toward the fallen crucifix.

"What are you planning, Ground Zero?" I asked, then moved quickly to the other side of the room as he turned his head in the direction I was at before.

"Planning? I'm not planning anything. I'm just teaching our new recruits how to cause a distraction." He responded, and all color drained from my face as his words sunk in. "If you're here, then I suppose no one is at the other location."

"You're a monster." I sneered, standing up and revealing myself. The light of the sun came through the broken chapel windows, illuminating the man's blonde hair. It was crazy how stunning he was, and how his hair was styled so similarly to the man I had a crush on.

"Monsters are people too, Deku. We bleed and cry and lose, just like you. Monsters are born from the people who can't go on anymore." He said as he moved toward me, his eyes full of eerie confidence. I'd fought many villains in my life, and I'd won countless battles. However, it was different with him . We were on equal ground, and that was the thing I hated most about him. I was the #1 Hero, and he was the #1 Villain. We were constantly compared, and it hurt my pride to be compared to someone so vile, so cruel.

"I'm taking you in, Ground Zero. You've caused enough hurt in the world." I declared as he finally came to a stop in front of me. His red eyes cut into me like daggers, but I never faltered under his gaze. I refused to show any type of emotional weakness.

"Is that so?" He questioned, lifting his hand and placing it against my cheek. I was an idiot for letting him touch me so carelessly. I was a fool for thinking that it meant anything. Physically, he had some type of hold on me. Emotionally, I was detached. I could care less about what he thought of me. At least, that's what I liked to believe.

"Give it up. There's nowhere for you to run." I challenged, slapping his hand away.

Before I could even attempt to contain him, we were interrupted by footsteps running in our direction. Turning my head toward the chapel doors, I watched as they were suddenly kicked down. Dust clouded my sight for a second before it dissipated and revealed the five pro-heroes who came to my aid. When I turned back to see the villain in question, he was gone.

Dammit!

Annoyed, I ordered the others to search the place as I exited. He was gone. I knew he was gone, but there was always a chance that they could find something important.

"Deku!" Kirishima called as he ran in my direction.

"Did you question the one you caught?" I asked as I met him half way.

"Not yet. They're moving him to the precinct now." He explained as I thought over what Ground Zero had told me in the church.

"They're planning something. Ground Zero mentioned how he was training him to cause a distraction and how being here meant no one was at another location. It's not right. Have them find out what they can as soon as possible, and then they can get back to me." I instructed, and Kirishima immediately started calling it in.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked as I started walking away, and my cheeks immediately flushed.

"I- uh, I k-kinda have a c-coffee date." I stuttered, losing all my previous charisma as my awkward personality began to resurface. When I was on duty, I never faltered. I was always standing proud and ready to take on anything, but life outside of work was different. Just thinking about the date had my stomach turning.

"Oh, wow! Great for you, man! Let me know how it goes, good luck!" Kirishima cheered, in a voice a little too loud for my liking. I could hear people around us whispering, which only caused me to curl in on myself even more.

"Y-yea. Thanks, gotta go!" I said, and then bolted away before it could get any worse. As soon as I was back at the agency and out of my uniform, I pulled out my phone and checked the time.

5:52.

I still have time for a quick shower! I thought in excitement, grabbing my towel and running for the stalls. It took me less than fifteen minutes to wash up my body and rinse out my hair. Being at UA had taught me to shower quickly for early training classes. I thanked my lucky stars for all the experiences I'd gained because of school. Drying myself off, I pulled on my clean pair of extra clothes and checked the time again.

6:19.

Sighing in relief, I pulled on my shoes and headed out toward the diner. It was a nice ten minute walk from my agency, which is how I'd found it in the first place. Sure, I was going to be there early, but that gave me time to talk to Ayumi and relieve some of my jitters. I was half way there when my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket and scared me half to death.

"H-hello!" I answered with a squeak, not checking the collar ID and praying it wasn't Kirishima needing me.

"Deku!" Uraraka shouted in my ear, and I winced as I held my phone away.

"D-don't yell." I pleaded with her.

"Of course I'm going to yell!" She argued, and I rolled my eyes as I continued walking. "Why didn't you tell me you had a date?! With who?! Where?! At what time are you meeting up?! With who ?!" She questioned me, asking one of the questions twice.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd overreact." I interjected, and I laughed as I heard her huff on the other end. She was my best friend, so I knew her like the back of my scarred hand.

Turning onto a busier area, I tried to lower my voice and keep my head down as I continued on. My hearing mainly focused on our conversation and the footsteps of the people around me. It was hard to think straight with how the topic made me so flustered, so I wasn't surprised when I counted an extra pair of footsteps behind me. I'd probably miscounted the first time around because of my inability to concentrate.

"Listen, Uraraka." I continued with a sigh. "I don't even know if this is really a date. I mean, I don't even know the guy. I kind of just told him he should try a cappuccino, and he said he would and that it'd be my treat. If you saw him, you'd know what I mean. He's so out of my league, so tall and good looking and, like, perfect ." I explained, cheeks burning just imagining him.

"Well, that sounds like a date to me. What's his name?" She wondered.

"I- well, I actually don't know his name. I remember hearing part of it once at the diner, but not all of it. The most I caught was 'Ka' before my music kicked in on my headphones. By the time I hit pause, it was over, so I've just been calling him- Uh, I'm not sure how to say this. I guess it's like a current nickname. I went with, umm, K-Kacchan." I admitted, finding it hard to believe I'd actually said it out loud. It was a name I'd only ever called him in my head, and it was embarrassing how ridiculous it sounded out loud.

"That's so cute! You have to tell me everything afterward! We need to meet up A.S.A.P!" Uraraka shouted, and I once again pushed my phone away from my ear as I approached the diner. "Does he know your name?! What does he call you?!" I could barely hear her asked. Just as I moved my hand back toward my ear, someone else reached over and snatched my phone away from me. Spinning around, I stopped dead in my tracks as I found my face only a few inches away from Kacchan's.

"I call him Deku ." He answered her with a smirk, and then hung up on her.