Disclaimer: Of course I don't own My Hero Academia, its characters, or the franchise.
Story: As a result of their repeated run-ins with Villains in real life and the expected future encounters, Class 1-A is assigned a revised physical portion of their semi-finals -a simulation game of Heroes vs. Villains. Supposedly a way to give them experience and preparation in a safe, moderated environment, and also a way to just let go and de-stress...Nedzu really just supposes it'll be the perfect way to have Midoriya Izuku unleash entertaining hell. Plus, he would really like for her to utilize that brain of hers to break down everyone without restraint, give them reality and all their weaknesses. The best part is this could finally be the therapy she desperately needed and finally get her well-deserved vengeance! (He, after all, had managed to rain down hell on the humans that scarred him, so why couldn't she?)
Spoilers: Yeah, definitely, post-Endeavor-Agency arc.
Warnings: Age disparity, violence, cursing, maybe sexual situations, criminal matters…
Pairings: Enji/Izuku, Mirai/Izuku, Tsunagu/Izuku, David/Izuku, Keigo/Izuku

Blurred, Faded Lines
Chapter Three: Invitation to the Ball

"Awata, make sure to send in those reports from last week. They're building up."

"Got it, Sir! Just trying to prep some jokes for you in them~!" she yelled back teasingly and Mirai sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

A buzz from his phone alerted him to a text.

Toshinori is not All Might right now. In fact, he wishes he could be Thirteen'd out of existence. Or, you know, maybe just some brain bleach.

A small laugh burst out, but he controlled himself quickly. Still, a small smile stayed on his lips as he composed his reply.

What did you do?

He could already imagine the pout on her lips.

Why are you assuming I did something?

Because you are, as I have learned, an Agent of Chaos.

Bold of you to assume I am not Chaos herself :)

And honestly, he would not be surprised if that were true of Izuku. Having had her working for him, he'd gotten to know her and realized that, way too capable of it, that girl could be an absolute gremlin if she wanted to be. She'd broken down all his reservations like nothing and he had tried to desperately hold onto them to the very bitter end, only to have her smashing them to bits like All Might on a smashing villain spree, especially as she rapidly torpedoed around and into Overhaul like a human meteor shower.

He found my collection of Hero doujins.

Mirai's smile faltered and he became uneasy as his stomach dropped. He knew what they were and, despite his own fanboyism, had never bought any. Despite his ultimate collection, it felt taboo.

Unfortunately, it was (though a favorite) a MightEye 3 He might've yanked a few of his hairs out~

He blinked and reread that again. He twitched.

You are trolling me right now, aren't you, Midoriya? TROLL

An image attachment was sent and loaded and Mirai blanched, seeing the doujin cover depicting him and All Might in a lurid pose.

His phone rang then and he picked it up hurriedly, face heated up in embarrassment.

"Delete that cursed image, Midoriya!"

Giggling sounded on the other end and he twitched again.

"Only if you admit that I have the superior All Might Collection."

Mirai inhaled deeply, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. He glanced at his phone again before mentally making a face.

"Oh, alright," he muttered. "You win this time, Midoriya."

"It fills my soul with joy."

He silently huffed, rolling his eyes as he went back to his computer, though he still kept her on as he reviewed the report of the case he and his team just closed.

"And why am I the uke?" he grumbled, thinking about the cover and position.

"Really, Sasaki-san? Do I actually have to answer that?" Izuku replied, voice amused. His muttering caused her to giggle again. "To be fair, it's his physique and his more dominant and outgoing persona over your more quiet and subtle aura, Sasaki-san. And, well, you were always the fan and the one following his lead? It kind of just made sense to fujoshis that you filled the uke role."

He didn't dignify that with an answer, instead putting the phone up against his shoulder to keep it steady while he got free use of his hands again. He began typing up additional notes before he sent the report off to the corresponding people.

"Mirio-kun tells me there's some sort of change in your class's semi-final?"

There was a quiet hum on the other side.

"It's a Heroes vs. Villains simulation. We're basically in a roleplay game, nothing serious," she told him, voice nonchalant. "Kacchan is the Hero team's leader, so he's playing the Paragon. He won't know most of who he's leading until it's time, but he's at least taking notes and looking at who's good with what in class and good combinations."

He remembered her mentioning this 'Kacchan' before, though nothing really specific.

"Heroes don't always know who they're going to work with for certain raids or missions, especially in emergency situations, so sometimes we go in blind. At most, we can at least know the other's Quirk and fighting prowess and try to work with that," he advised her, like she was still working with him. "The Villain team however…There is never a guarantee that any of their members, much less the leader themselves will be known. You'll probably need to be vigilant."

There was a strange pause on the other side before Izuku replied. "Yes, I promise I will be."

"Good," he mentally nodded, since he couldn't really with the phone against his shoulder as is. "Now have you deleted that cursed image yet?"

"As promised," he sighed in relief, "I'll just have to reread my physical copy when I feel like reading it."

Mirai blinked before he twitched yet again. "You have a physical copy?"

"But of course!" she chirped. "Kept safe and hidden, where you won't find it."

"I'll find it if it's the last thing I do!"

Musical laughter erupted from her and then she hung up. He let the phone drop from his shoulder and neatly caught it, sighing. Then he got another text.

Besides, you told me to delete that image. I was just being nice and deleted my digital doujin~

You never said I couldn't re-download it again :D

"That's it! That girl's going into the tickle machine for an hour the next time she comes here!"

Awata, who passed by his door at that exact moment, paled and squeaked. "But I didn't do anything!"

Mirai waved her off. "Not you. Midoriya."

Awata looked relieved before a mischievous look crossed her face. "Ever think you just pick on her like a schoolboy with a crush?"

He startled, giving her a strange look. "What? Don't be ridiculous."

"Seriously though, Sir. You like pulling on her 'pig tails' too much."

He felt his cheeks heavily infuse with heat and the fact that he was actually blushing…

"Like I said, ridiculous," he muttered, deciding to ignore his Sidekick.

She only walked away laughing and he pushed his glasses up irritably, opening up his email. To his surprise, he saw he had an email from Nedzu, with the subject line regarding the mentioned UA semi-final that he'd talked about with his former intern.

He opened it and read it through, surprised to find it acting as an invitation to come attend the semi-final, as well as use it as a gauge to see the progress of Izuku and as to check in on her.

Well…Despite her visiting from time to time, she didn't always talk about her training and she hadn't actually showed off or trained with them since she'd left his agency. This would be a good way for him to see how she's been doing…

Mirai quickly typed a reply in the affirmative back, and then was about to check his next email when Centipeder duck his head in and hailed him.

"Sir, you've got an envelope package delivered," he waved it in the air and then walked in, handing it over. "No address from sender."

Mirai frowned, accepting it. Centipeder probably already did the basic checks, but he should probably still be careful. After checking it himself, he finally opened it and gently had whatever was inside slide onto his desk. It was a flash drive?

Written on a label placed around it though, was 'Play when needed.'

His eyebrows furrowed. What in the world?

Enji pinched the bridge of his nose, refraining from rubbing his temples and showing his agitation anymore than he already had.

But goddamn it, Shoto's blond friend could be annoying.

So was the blond chicken humanoid that was persistently chattering in his ear. He could only be thankful for his son's silence (as brooding as it was) and for Izuku's quiet, even if she was humming under her breath and oddly watching her surroundings intently. What was up with his sweetest intern?

Eying her in discreet concern, he reluctantly tuned into his other newest intern. He was still ranting about something, and he hadn't listened until now, especially as the words "Villains" and "gonna crush 'em!" were spat out.

He blinked and listened in more closely.

"And when this is all over, I'll get the best damn grade!"

What in the world?

"Your email looks important," Hawks hmmed and Enji inwardly sighed and wished he was alone in his own damn office.

Pushing Hawks aside and further out of his space, he clicked on the first email in which there was indeed an important looking subject line. It also was addressed from the Principal of UA himself, Nedzu. Curious, he read on.

And then he frowned and glanced at his two junior employees who weren't preoccupied, with his son looking indifferently at the ranting Bakugo and Izuku —

Izuku was watching him with an inquisitive smile on her face and he gave her a small smile back to reassure her. An odd look shifted onto her face for a moment and he worried that he'd somehow offended her (not that he knew how), until she gave him a bright smile that made him feel relieved.

"Shoto, Midoriya-kun, what is he on about? And does it have anything to do with this semi-final simulation I'm being invited to by your principal?" he asked them, especially since Bakugo was still busy being on a rampage (and he couldn't tell if the kid was angry about it or eager to get on with it? He sounded really angry, but his words sounded like he wanted to hurry up and get to it already…)

The two traded looks before Shoto shrugged. "The physical part of our semi-finals are being changed into this Heroes vs. Villains game. My class is the guinea pig for Principal Nedzu, who set the whole thing up. Bakugo is the Hero leader and the class will be split into the two teams."

"Though overall most of the class has kept quiet about which side they're leaning towards in the civil war game," Izuku interjected. "There are those that probably haven't chosen and let Aizawa-sensei choose. Then again, the few ones that have spoken up have all been on the Hero side, so we know who they are at least and they've already gotten to work with and train with Kacchan. This is really exciting though, Endeavor-san! It should be really exciting and I think really helpful for everyone!"

She was as bright as always, but the more Enji watched her, the more something felt off. He couldn't put his finger on it though…

"What about you two?" Hawks grinned over at Enji's son and Izuku. "Since we know the blond Pomeranian over there barking madly is the Hero leader, which side are you two thinking you want on?"

"Hm? Me, I've already chosen to be on the Villain side," Shoto revealed offhand, looking like he could care less.

"WHAT? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, HALF N HALF?!"

Even as Enji cringed, he took a look over at Izuku to see if she had any thoughts about her own choice, only to see her still smiling and shaking her head at their interactions. He also mentally shook his head. Of course she'd be a Hero.

He couldn't see her as anything but.

"Izuku-chan~ Are you busy later? Want to have dinner with me after your work study?" Hawks had sidled over to Izuku's side. Enji's eyebrow twitched.

"You!" he growled, stalking over and grabbing the back of the other's man collar. "Stop being so familiar with my intern and asking her out!"

Good God, some days he wished he wasn't surrounded by troublesome people.

He let out a harsh breath as he moved wrong, wincing at the sharp pain that erupted from his side —right where his missing lung was and where he'd had to be operated.

"Tsunagu-san, are you okay?"

He put on a smile, probably tired and strained looking, but a smile nonetheless. Midoriya Izuku had actually come to visit and he didn't want her to worry over him the entire time she was there.

"The usual," he told her. "I'm still adjusting to not having a lung and my side is still tender. I'm recovering, but I'm much better than before. Besides, I'm thankful I'm alive."

And he really was. If he hadn't been so fortunate, he could've been dead had he not been lucky enough to have had help come to him in time and for his stubborness to have gotten him to hold on for as long as he could, despite the vicious and practically fatal assault from that supervillain.

Then he never would have met Izuku, who had kindly visited and shown a lot of care for him while he'd been in the hospital.

"Soup's almost ready," she smiled gently at him. "Sorry it won't be much, Tsunagu-san."

"It's not your fault," he refrained from grimacing. "Like I said, I'm still recovering and can't eat a lot of solids. I do appreciate you coming here and checking on me. You don't have to, you know."

"But I want to," she told him firmly. "Now come, come! Time to eat," she grinned at him cheekily and all he could do was just chuckle and do as she said.

He enjoyed a quiet meal with her, thinking that (despite it being more soup, as he had been having for days), that her cooking was delicious and he wouldn't mind this kind of scenario happening every day for the rest of his life.

Tsunagu would've been happy like this.

"So, I wanted to ask about something," he brought up instead. "I got an email today from Principal Nedzu. He was inviting me to watch your semi-final?"

Izuku hmmed, giving him a sheepish look. "Nedzu-sensei is probably bored and wanting to change things up," she said. "I don't know why you're invited though. But Endeavor-san was as well, I believe, when I was there with him earlier for work study."

Tsunagu nodded. "It sounds interesting. I would like to come, if you don't mind."

She looked amused. "I wasn't the one who invited you, Nedzu-sensei did. You don't have to ask me for permission."

"It's your semi-final and I know you personally," he pointed out. "I think it fair to consult you about it."

"Then please feel free to come," she smiled gently and he was back to feeling content.

But a very brief shadow passed over her face, though made him uneasy, was also too quick for him to be sure it had actually happened.

Then she was his smiling princess again, and he thought he must've imagined it after all.

Started 8/4/22 — Completed 8/28/22

A/n: Aaah, our guys have been introduced~ And are mostly clueless XD Let me just say Izuku's reveal is gonna be so much fun…

Quick Points:

1. I had too much fun with Mirai's part.

2. I also stuffed as many headcanons as I could in here.

3. I'm pretty sure I had something else, but I can't remember anything XD

Anon Reviews:

1. HatsuneRin: Thanks! And nope, neither of those. At the end of the first chapter on the notes, I mentioned Skip Beat! :)

2. Sage of wind: Kukuku, just the kind of reaction I want for those scenes~ I'm glad you're loving it so far!