I RETURN! My computer was in the shop due to what I thought would be quick fixes, but it took around four weeks to fix. Now that I have it back, however, I'm going to Vegas for Combat-con so I can't bring it with me; don't expect a chapter for a couple weeks minimum. But for now, enjoy the story.
Sir Nighteye saw the future. It was common knowledge among those who worked with him. When he pulled his glasses down, he could see the future of anyone his eyes were focusing on. He called it foresight, and everyone assumed it was his quirk. His father was known for seeing the past through objects and his mother could see variables in cause-effect, so everyone assumed his power was the result of their quirks merging.
They would be wrong on those fronts.
Sir could see into the future, yes, but he didn't have a quirk; in fact, no one in his immediate family had one either. His power to see beyond time was due to his mother's abilities and a twist in fate. His power was hard to control as a child because he saw everything. He saw the small pockets in the ground and the ant colonies that would use it to make brilliant tunnel structures if left alone. He saw the man across the street go home to find his wife crying that she was carrying a child. The dog in the neighbor's yard would be treated with a flea bath when his owners came home. So many mundane things came to him just at a glance and while some could be beautiful, but it was more than he could take in.
He could also see tragedies. The car driving down the street would have its brake lines cut in a week from a crazy ex. The cat he liked to pet would be run over next month. The businessman would be shot two alleys down Friday. He always saw them, good, bad, or not necessary, but he couldn't control his sight; he couldn't not see the world when everything was screaming for his attention.
Men weren't supposed to be seers, after all. For one reason or another, women could manage to sort through prophecies and visions far better than men. Could men use magic to see the future, of course, but being born with the sight would drive men insane. Male seers couldn't cope, and women could.
Sir Nighteye broke that rule.
It wasn't easy, but his parents had managed to get a someone with knowledge of magic to teach their son how to use some of her mystic arts. He was given glasses that could filter the future out of his vision. Spots were still in his peripherals, but they weren't nearly as distracting anymore. Now he could make the glasses himself and even create enchantments for his clothes to make heroing easier.
He still saw though, and sometimes, what he saw was magnificent. He saw All Might become the best hero during his debut, but far before he was even considered among the top fifty; he wanted to watch it happen in person, see the titan of a man become the peak of heroism, and he wanted to help him get to that point, and he wanted to be in that legend even if it was in the background. Sure he'd be forgotten by most, but so was Iolaus, and the story he was in was still there after millennia.
But he was reminiscing too much, and Mirio was bringing in someone for an internship. He knew from the reports that the kid was given One for All, and he was worried. That power was dangerous in the wrong hands, and it was given to a kid in middle school instead of the intern he had been helping reach his peak; Sir didn't want that power to be wasted.
"Sir, I've come with Midoriya!" he heard the hyper blonde call from the other side of the door.
"Come in." the seer called. If he wasn't worth it, Sir Nighteye would just deny the kid.
Izuku was nervous about meeting Sir Nighteye. He had done his research, and All Might's former sidekick was a force in his own right with both his quirk and physical attributes. Something in the back of his mind told Izuku that there was something he was missing though, and he hoped it wouldn't affect his chance. As Mirio called out to his boss, there was a quiet confirmation on the other side.
The room had All might memorabilia everywhere.
Posters, figurines, booklets, bobbleheads, it looked like his room at home. He recognized some of them as real collector's items that had few made. The desk was sturdy and wooden, good to have in an area where everyone has full access to potentially destructive quirks. Tearing his eyes away from the content in the room, Izuku looked at the leader of Nighteye heroics.
In a well-pressed light-gray suit with a red with white polka dot tie, the man looked like a lawyer or salaryman, but Izuku saw it for what it was. The well-made suit was a challenge; it silently said 'I am good enough to fight you and keep my suit fine'. The only thing Izuku could point out of place were small lines under the hero's eyes telling of minor exhaustion. Remembering Mirio's advice of his humor, Izuku went for a joke that could either make him laugh or piss him off.
"So, do you still drink coffee, or have you forgone being civil, lined up the grounds, and just snorted it." Izuku mimed the actions with his words as if doing a line of coke. The silence after the question lingered for a moment before Mirio broke it.
"Pfft! Hahahaha!" the phasing hero started laughing before Nighteye pulled his head down, but Izuku could see the twitch of his shoulders signaling the silent laugh.
"Alright, I'll give you that one; I can't even remember the last time an interview used me as the butt of the joke." the well-dressed hero said, lifting his head to show the slight smile Izuku won. "So, why should we spend resources on you for an internship?" he asked, thinking about what the answer could be.
"Well, your organization focuses on information and tactics, which while I don't have much training in, I do like tracking and cataloging quirks and abilities people have. As a freshman, I can learn many of the tricks you and your group can teach while taking less time for combat training, as I've been trained far longer in martial arts." Izuku pointed out. He wanted to expand his training other than with fights, so he came to one of the best in terms of intelligence. While he didn't have much to bring to the table at the moment, the green-haired teen knew that if there were any other offers for an internship, he could look better just by taking up fewer resources in the short-term; interns are expensive to train, after all.
"You have just said you aren't the best fit for this office, so why should I choose you over someone more qualified?" Sir Nighteye interrogated, tilting his glasses down. Izuku felt the change in the air at the foresight hero's gaze. It felt like he was under a microscope, as if everything he was bared to the person across the table.
He decided to match.
"Because while I'm not qualified yet, I can keep up until I am. I'll take less overall resources than most due to my hobby in quirk analysis and general planning skills." Izuku's chi filled the room, making the oppressive air around Nighteye more bearable. The interviewer was starting to connect things in his head but pushed on.
"Your hobby, give me an example." Sir Nighteye demanded. The teen simply pulled a notebook out, flipped to a page, and handed it over before reciting the contents.
"Togata Mirio, Quirk: permeation. The individual can phase through matter by reversing polarity in personal molecules, slipping between the space in atoms. Density and mass do not change, so non-physical forms of attacks such as ionizing radiation or gravity still affect the body. User's body falls while phased at a rate of 9.8 meters per second squared like all forms of matter, but is not slowed by buoyancy and friction. Returning from phased state causes a diamagnetic force to the user, making them launch in the path of least resistance until phasing shift has ended, launching them through mediums that don't move such as plaster and stone, but not liquids or gasses, which move out of the way. A difficult quirk to use, but highly dangerous with proper training."
"Damn…" Mirio muttered; while knowing your quirk was common, having someone lay out the facts in front of you after only one encounter and a brief explanation, it was more than a little unsettling.
"And you even made basic diagrams to illustrate…" the pro-hero noted before nodding. "Alright, for the next part, I'd like to talk with you alone. Mirio, if you could leave the room for ten minutes?"
"Ah, sure!" the blonde exclaimed before leaving the room. Izuku saw the door close and thought that the talk would go to a sensitive subject.
He didn't know how right he was.
"Yo Mirio-kun! How've you been!" the blonde in question turned around to see a familiar face.
"Awata-san, I've been doing well!" the phaser responded as he sat by the blue-skinned woman by the coffee machine. "I was just booted out of the room with Sir Nighteye and Midoriya."
"Oh, and how did first impressions go?" the cheerful woman asked.
"Made Sir laugh with a joke about coffee." he said just as she drank from her cup, making her choke and sputter the same hot liquid. At her glare he repeated the joke with the motions, making her giggle.
"So, what do you think his chances are?" she asked.
"Well, that depends if Midoriya can impress him or not."
"W-what?" Izuku asked in confusion. He probably misheard Sir-
"What part of the moonlit world are you from?" the seer repeated. "I started using my sight to see into your future, and you shifted the mood to the room with a smile. I know All Might could do the same, but not to your extent." now things were clearing up for the martial artist. The physical feats Nighteye could do, the extent of his foresight, the feeling of being under scrutiny, the pieces were coming together. Izuku bowed his head before doing a simple introduction.
"Izuku Midoriya, Chi user and martial artist." he greeted. Anima gave him the start of how to interact with those from the moonlit world; if you were from a magic family, you gave your family name first, otherwise, you used your given name. After that, you said what energy your supernatural abilities came from and how you used them.
"Jikan Shikaku, Magic-user, seer, and enforcer. Call me Sir Nighteye" Nighteye responded, and Izuku winced. Enforcers were known for enchanting their attire or body to grant superhuman strength and speed; seers weren't often fighters, but apparently, that wasn't the case in this instance.
"Now the video of you bracing a car makes more sense." was the first thing that came out of Izuku's mouth, and Nighteye gave a dry look in response. "Sorry. It just slipped out."
"It's fine, I just wanted to clear that up before we continued." Sir reassured. "Now onto the other subject I had Mirio leave for; One for All." Izuku's mouth went dry at the mention of the stockpiling quirk.
"Do you have what it takes to use that power like All Might?"
It was such a simple question, but the way it was phrased made Izuku feel uncomfortable. It was as if the seer was asking if he was going to be the next All Might. But there were too many differences between him and Toshinori. All Might was a brawler, an unstoppable pillar, an unreachable ideal, and Izuku just wasn't that.
"No, I can not and will not use it like All Might." the martial artist answered with confidence. "I'll never be the next All Might, but I will be the First Deku." Izuku couldn't hold his head high like his idol, because he never wants to miss helping the person in the alley.
Nighteye felt the teen's convictions and was moved. His answer wasn't what he expected, but the way he said it with what his sight provided of the teen's future made him see not his brightest moment like his former partner did, but how far the hero in front of him would go even in his darkest hour; the hero in green was battered and almost dying in his vision, but that immovable spirit still burned in his eyes like a supernova even after years without dimming. The future wasn't a glory like All might's, but it seemed brighter because of the struggle involved.
"Well then, Deku, welcome to My hero agency. Let's see how your story plays out from now on." he said, holding a stamp up.
"Thank you for this opportunity, and I'll do my best." Izuku bowed as he handed the paperwork to his new employer.
The next day, Deku was in the agency wearing his hero suit. He was given the rundown for the assignment. He was partnered with Lemillion on patrol to look out for a member of the Yakuza named Kai Chisaki.
"Any abilities he has we should be aware of?" the younger teen asked. He wanted to cover bases and make plans involving what to do if they have to engage or run away.
"His quirk is named Overhaul. It can deconstruct and reconstruct matter on skin contact." Bubble Girl noted, but Deku wasn't satisfied with only that.
"How far does his powers reach, how fast can he manipulate it, is there a limit to how often or how much he manipulates before exhaustion?" he started rattling off question after question, making the blue-skinned heroine's eyes widen. She took a glance at Nighteye before speaking her thoughts.
"And you said he has no practice with information gathering?" she asked dubiously.
"No, I said he has no training with information gathering." he replied deadpan before handing the newest intern a manilla folder of everything he was willing to share on the Yakuza boss. Deku flipped through the information at a quick speed before getting a rough estimate about who they were trying to find evidence against.
"Alright, I can work with this." Deku responded before handing the folder back. He and Lemillion started their patrol. While they were supposed to be gathering information on Chisaki, they were still heroes and would help anyone along the way. Izuku talked with his partner about the regulations and expectations of the group he was in while keeping a lookout for people needing help.
And a little girl just ran into him needing exactly that.
"Hey are you okay?" he asked her in worry. Her arms were covered in sloppy bandages and her silver hair was a mess. The child's entire body language screamed abuse and it tore at his heart to see someone so young this scared. When she looked up at him, he gave a smile and tried to calm her with his chi.
"Come now, you shouldn't interrupt the heroes on duty, Eri." the two heroes looked up and saw the person they were investigating; Overhaul.
Okay, that wasn't my best execution, but I think it went well enough. Now, as I was thinking of the way to go, I realised I could go one of two ways; Izuku could get dragged with Eri back to the Yakuza base (I got the idea from a Beacon in the dark, good fic on AO3, check it out), or I could have him escape from Overhaul with her, turning the table for the yakuza storming the heroes for her instead of the opposite like cannon. Leave a comment for which you would like to happen please, as this will be a turning point in the Arc. Thank you all for reading, and Till next time!"