Hello again! my deepest apologies about how late in the day this is being posted out- usually I prefer to have this posted either the night of Wendsday, or the morning of Thursday

it's currently the last hour of Thursday, whoopie!

anyways, the latest chapter of All for Us! enjoy!

Chapter 6.

It was on their way home at the end of the school day when things supposedly went wrong, the goddess having appeared beside him without explanation and narrowed eyes. On her insistence they turned left at the next crosswalk- the opposite way of the apartment complex. At the next intersection they took another left, followed immediately thereafter by a right down an alleyway between two buildings- still decently lit by the warm late afternoon sun. He didn't know why they were going this way, nor why the goddess kept her eyes focused behind them, but he could take a guess or two as to why.

Earlier I heard someone mention Bakugo acting strange lately, ever since the slime villain incident he's seemed to be more. . .not docile, but more non-confrontational. . . Could he be following us?

I am not sure from where, nor as to why, but we are being watched. And I doubt that it's that miscreant Bakugo like you're thinking.

Ah, well, this situation has grown significantly more worrisome, hasn't it? He attempted to take a glance over his shoulder, to attempt to see his unknown stalker, only for his eyes and face to be forced forwards. It was in the corner of his eye that the goddess shook her head, pointing towards him before pointing towards the alleyway ahead, she pointed towards herself before gesturing wildly towards the direction he was trying to look. When a look of confusion came across his face, she looked towards the sky, audibly sighing.

Keep moving forwards, at this time of day the streets should be overcrowded. While you lose our would-be assailant in the crowds, I shall be keeping my eyes on our rear, encase of any. . . Undesired surprises. Act as if you're ignorant of them.

He couldn't help but think that last bit was easier said than done as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his cheek, his eyes, now locked forwards as if by design, were wide with pinpricks as pupils. Barely two months into All Mights successor training, and already he was being attacked by a villain? Again?! He didn't even know how to properly throw a punch- that being within the final month of the training plan according to the scheduling sheet Pinned to the wall of his room. That, coupled along with his lack of this nifty thing known as a Hero's license, the very thing that would allow him to use his "quirk" in public without having to face potential arrest, were his two biggest disadvantages when faced with a potential threat.

In other words,

How the heck he supposed to defeat a villain?!

OKAY, okay, be calm. Take a deep breath, one. . . Two. . . Three. . Four. . . Five. .

On the count of one he took a deep breath, not enough to hurt, but enough to fill what he could of his lungs in one go. He held past the count of two, past the count of three, up until he was midway between the numbers of four and five did he release his held breath.

Right, focus. What can we tell without looking behind us? I can't hear anything, so it's possible they have a sound-based quirk, or a quirk that allows them lighter movement. There's no smell either, maybe they're just extremely good at sneaking? No, it's most likely some sort of stealth quirk. They came specifically for me the moment school ended, and I was just far enough away that I couldn't turn back, so either they don't know where I live or thought they had a better chance to apprehend me if I was traveling.

The majority of his information was situational at best, but he could still work with it to a degree. Even if he didn't know much as to who was following him, he could possibly figure out as to why.

All Might.

There was the distinct possibility of a villain having followed All Might without his knowledge, possibly in an attempt to defeat him with his guard lowered, only to discover the pro hero training a couple of kids at the beach. That brought up the frightening chance that the person following him not only had an associate going after Itsuka, but that one or both of them had a chance at defeating All Might. How was he going to go about this? Could he even escape? He didn't have any evidence- couldn't even look at the person, could he even go to a pro if he saw one?

He was broken out of his thoughts as the sound of a tin can bouncing against the pavement came from behind, he made to turn around on reflex, but found his legs moving faster on their own than he wanted. The goddesses voice screaming inside his head to MOVE.

Like a rabbit spooked by the smallest of sounds, Izuku raced out of the alleyway without the slightest bit of hesitation, mostly on account of the goddess having briefly taken over his legs- and since when could she do that?

He weaved between two people as they leisurely walked down the sidewalk, ducked under a behemoth of a man and his backpack as it was swung over his shoulder. At the next crosswalk he turned the corner, narrowly missing running into a pink-skinned girl with horns, before rushing down to turn again at the next corner. Hiding amongst a large gathering of people as they entered a rather small café, the viridianette sat at a table in the far corner before finally releasing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

His eyes remained fixated on the entrance for the first minute he was there, the fear of his stalker managing to have followed him ever present. Then the second minute passed by without anyone else entering, with the third quickly going by with little change aside from an elderly man taking his leave.

He lost track of how long he stared at the door until he heard the clearing of a throat beside him.

He definitely didn't leap out of his seat, definitely not startling not only the waitress but the people around him, no matter what the goddess would claim later in a small fit of laughter.

The frills belonging to the black fabric of a skirt that barely kept hidden anything decent met his eyes as he looked away from the door, his eyes traveled up the woman's body, sparing only a passing glance at anything else as moss green eyes met ocean blue. He ignored the way her lips tugged upwards at the crimson hue of his cheeks, and instead focused on the small notebook clasped in her left. . . paw? While a pen was held between two claws on her right, a quick glance at his surroundings revealed a handful of other waitresses- all with some form of cat like feature emphasized by their uniform. A brunette with the tail of a cat had a little bow with a bell tied midway up the extra appendage, while a ravenette had a white frilly headband sat behind a pair of cat ears on top of her head. By comparison, his waitress had no distinguishable add-on to her uniform, save for lack of white gloves.

"So, what'll it be, Master~"

"E-eh? M-M-master?"

"But of course! Everyone who dines at the Pawsome café is our beloved master! Nya~"

The waitress would blink as the young viridianette's face exploded in a red hue that rivalled that of the shiniest of firetrucks she had ever seen, why, his face looked fit to burst like that of a balloon! Or this one western candy she had heard about once. Before she could ask him a second time on what he would like to order, the young man seemingly blurred. No longer was he sat at the table, and if the chime of the door opening and closing was any indication, she could make a guess as to where he went. It was a shame they lost out on business, but she supposed not everyone was as ready as they thought to face a maid café, one cat-girl themed at that. While not common, it did happen from time to time- especially when serving foreigners.

Hopefully the kid wasn't permanently scared off, he was rather cute, if a bit scrawny.

/././././

The rest of the evening went by in a blur for the young Midoriya after his little detour. After sending off a text to Itsuka asking if she was alright- the girl having given the blushing mess that was the boy her phone number some two weeks prior, he arrived home. Having arrived home slightly later than usual to the worry of his mother, Izuku made a beeline for his room, leaving the door partially open as he tore open his latest hero analysis notebook and began writing. The potential quirk of his stalker remained a mystery, but perhaps in the morning he could ask All Might if he knew of any stealth-based villains still at large, or of any that had a grudge against the number one hero. He tried to ask the goddess about the stalker, if she had spotted anything while he ran, unfortunately she hadn't.

There were some bees pollinating a couple of small flowers growing out of the pavement, a mouse or three in the dumpster, but no stalker. It was. . . strange, I could feel their presence, their gaze following us as you ducked into the alleyway, but I could not see them.

Could it be possible that they had hidden behind the corner? Just out of sight enough to not be seen, but still watch us?

No, their presence indicated that they were there, watching us as if standing just a few feet behind you until you ran. Watching from behind the corner would've been easier to sense.

It wasn't at all concerning that she just now told him of how the stalkers presence felt as though it was directly behind him, definitely not. After all, it wasn't like a potential villain stealthy enough to evade a literal gods gaze had been behind him, ready to possibly attack or kidnap him at a moment's notice. Nor was it at all concerning that neither of them had any sort of clues as to just who or what had been stalking him at the time.

Alright, it was just a little concerning.

Before he could think of what to ask the goddess about their plan of action, if there was one at all aside from telling All Might and being careful, his mother yelled for him that dinner was ready. He left the room, his notebook still open to his latest page, before closing the door behind him with a soft click. It was the promise of a nice warm meal after today's events that had him rush through the hallway, Regardless of how tired he might have been, anyone would be tired too after being chased by a stalker, and subsequently fleeing the scene of a café.

At least, he'd like to think that would be tiring to others.

The wafting smell of his mothers cooking had his mouth watering as he neared the kitchen, he turned the corner of the hallway, and saw her already sitting down at the table waiting for him. Pork cutlets overtop a bedding of sticky rice, while not his absolute favorite- that title belonging to the slightly expensive Katsudon, it was still a dish he preferred above several others. He say down at the table, and was just shy of shoveling the first chopstick full of fried pork into his mouth before his mother cleared her throat.

"So Izuku, you never told me why you were late today?"

"Oh! That's. . . Because. . . I, got lost after being turned around from another villain fight. I stopped at a café to ask for directions!"

A technical lie, sprinkled in with some aspects of the truth, he didn't need his mother worrying about a villain stalking him, nor her knowing his embarrassment that was going to the cat girl café.

"Oh? Who was fighting?"

Crap, he didn't think of that.

"W-who was fighting? W-well, it was. . ."

Out of the corner of his left eye he saw the goddesses arms flailing wildly, she noticed him staring, and immediately began to imitate someone flexing with their arms low to the ground. Her muscles bulged, inflating to the size of tree trunks while her hair faded into a pale white.

Ah, he knew what she was doing!

". . It was Death Arms! He was fighting a villain with a feline quirk!"

That wasn't exactly inaccurate either, he had seen Death Arms on the way home, the Pro Hero likely out on his daily patrol in the neighborhood. While those with feline quirks were common enough- almost as common as strength enhancing quirks, so it wouldn't be all that unbelievable that a minor cat quirked villain had attacked someone and Death Arms rescued them! Right? Right?!

"Well, as long as you were safe- unlike that time with that sludge villain, then that's alright"

She gave him a small smile in which he returned in kind, ignoring the small pain in his chest screaming at him to tell her the truth, to tell her that he was being stalked, that he finally had a "quirk" to call his own-

That Bakugo bullied him, assaulted him, urged him unto suicide, that all those torn up and burnt school uniforms weren't the result of simple playtimes gone wrong

That his class hated him, that school hated him, that everyone hated him for something akin to a birth defect he had no control over

That All Might left him alone, defenseless atop a building after crushing his hopes and dreams with just five simple words

That he had tried to die.

A hand gently taking hold of his shoulder caused the boy to jump, snapping him out of his thoughts to look around, he saw his mother with a worried frown decorating her pale features. He smiled again at her as he stood up, excusing himself from the table before going back to his room. A bee sat in the center of the page in his notebook, his window opened by just a crack as an explanation to its arrival. He walked across the room, opening the window by another crack before collapsing onto his bed, his final thought before sleep claiming him being that of the bee hopefully finding its own way out of his room.

.

.

.

.

The darkness of a near pitch black room, save for his digital All Might themed clock, welcomed him back into the waking world. A quick glance at the chest of the clock read that the time was two thirty-seven in the morning, far too early for him to train, or be conscious enough to do anything of significance.

His eyes slowly closed in an attempt to drift back off to sleep, an attempt, the universe gave a heartfelt middle finger towards in the response of glass shattering in the living room.

His heart leapt into his throat at the unexpected sound, his eyes immediately opening to stare at the closed door in mild confusion and panic. Did his mom break something when grabbing a midnight snack? No, she would be asleep by now, not to mention she would've caught something that fell with her quirk. Did she leave something on the edge of the counter and it slipped?

Did the stealth villain find him?

Goddess-

There's three of them. One is standing guard outside, while the other two- ?!

The other two what? Goddess?! Goddess?!

The last thing he felt through their bond had been confusion, at what? He wasn't sure. Anxiety quickly set in the longer she went without responding to his call, his mind kicking into overdrive at the possibilities and what they meant. Did the stealth villain somehow see her? But that was impossible, wasn't it? Did that mean the villain was somehow another vessel as well? Was his house about to be caught in the crossfire between two gods?!

She appeared beside him a moment later, her eyes wide while fixated entirely on the doorway to his room. Slowly, Izuku slid his legs off his bed, careful to make as little noise as possible, least he alert the villains he was awake- or startle the goddess. He inched his way closer to the door, shuffling his feet on the floor as opposed to lifting his feet off the floor, stealth was his friend, stealth was his love, stealth was going to keep him alive.

Izuku.

He paused in his shuffling to take a quick glance back at the goddess, his eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

Alert All Might to our situation. We need to leave, No- THE DOOR!

With a speed rivaling that of Ingenium he whipped his head back towards his door, just as the wooden barrier between him and the outside world exploded in a mass of splinters and red flesh. Darkness welcomed him back into its embrace, as the last thing he heard before slipping unconscious was the Goddess crying out his name.

Oh no! a cliffhanger, the horror!

so, while this isn't a perfect example of long writing, I do want to say that I might make shift my update times to a minimum of once every two weeks. Now, this doesn't mean that i'll only post once every two weeks, just that within a two week time, this is guaranteed to have at least one update! this is due to me finding my time stretched a litttttle thin- to the point that I don't exactly have the time to work on this on top of personal projects, and that just wont do!

With this change, I should be able to release a lot longer chapters with some better quality to them, you know? plus! the extra time will allow me to do more stuff too! like possibly write more fanfics! it'll be great!

probably

maybe

I at least want to make more than one decent one dang it

and with that! I shall see you all next time!