Chapter 01
He hates this place.
He hates it here.
He doesn't want to be here, or even a mile radius from it.
He is forced to be here, against his will.
And it's all Mic's fault.
Well, it wasn't solely Mic's fault; he wasn't the only one nonstop pestering him, yelling into his right ear (Just why does it have to be his right ear? That loud cockatoo of a man) how he should, and must, attend the Gala even just once. He is not the only one to be blamed here.
Midnight had that kicked kitten look on her face as she begged him to attend. She even offered him a coupon to the cat cafe that she knows he loves to go to.
Might was being all sentimental about it. He talked about how the Gala was rowdy at times and how he wanted his friend to be there with him, so he doesn't feel lonely and out of place.
Ms. Joke gave him a call one afternoon, for once not cracking jokes and making horrible puns, and talked how him being there would be better than all the giggles she will induce on everyone.
Mt. Lady (yes, the walking disaster) even kindly asked him, completely genuinely, to attend the Gala. And she did it without breaking anything. That is a feat in and of itself.
And finally, to top it all off, Principal Nedzu had that "make me proud, Son" look in his eyes as he suggested him to attend the fucking Gala.
They had never been this pleading before, ever.
And curse his heart for being soft to his friends because he secretly decided to attend it without telling them all.
And none of those fucks attended.
Is he mad? No.
He's absolutely livid.
Now he's pretty sure someone made a bet on him attending the Gala. There is just no other way for all of them urging him to be here. Leaving his phone at home is a mistake; he should've brought it with him and expressed his displeasure to all of them through copious amounts of spam. And he never does spam.
At least Best Jeanist left him alone, he won't be living with straight combed hair for the day. He managed to clean himself enough to look presentable, at least enough to satisfy Best Jeanist. The suit is a little tight but it's good enough. He even tied his hair back.
Most of all, he left his scarf at home.
He feels naked and exposed.
And it makes his hate for being here only grow stronger.
He's a little far away from the crowds, leaning back against the wall. Most people leave him alone. This hall they are in is so huge that he almost thought it was a stadium arena, which shouldn't be a major surprise considering all the shapes and sizes the Heroes come by.
Manual did speak to him a few times, Ingenium was here too and couldn't hide his shock at seeing him attending, and Fatgum almost barreled him into a hug but managed to hold himself back. Best Jeanist did talk with him a bit after giving him a thorough inspection.
He takes another sip of the fruit punch he took from the table earlier. At least the drinks are good and enjoyable.
Through the crowds, he sees many familiar faces but he is not close to any of them, not close enough to consider colleagues beside work acquaintances, except for a selective few. The most prominent are the top ten Heroes. Who could ever miss them? Best Jeanist, the third Hero on the billboard, was with him earlier. Endeavor, currently and has been for a long while now, number two Hero on the billboard, right behind All Might, is impossible to miss with all his flaming beard and all.
One of the potential members of the top ten Heroes is Pro Hero Miruko, who currently sits at eleventh place on the billboard.
He is aware of her.
She's all over the news and has a very good reason to be: the female Hero who quickly rises up the ranks at an incredible pace. In fact, she was ranked seventeenth on the previous Hero Billboard Chart event. For her to jump from seventeenth to eleventh in a span between the Chart events is an incredible feat. And she's making it clear that she will break through the top ten spots.
But that's not the main reason why she has garnered so much attention.
She did all of her achievements without establishing any agency. All of the work she had done was all done by herself, by her own strength alone. She is an independent Hero, just like him. The only difference is that he is Underground, while she is a Limelight Hero.
He fully admits that she is quite powerful, thanks to her Quirk, maximizing it to its fullest potential even though it's simply a rabbit Quirk. But while her strength is very admirable, he finds it a little distasteful at her adamant refusal to cooperate with anyone, further solidifying her reputation as the solo Hero. He himself works great alone but he knows the efficiency of a team and just how better it is.
…Nevertheless, she is still an inspirational Hero. When it was revealed that she rose up the ranks and got the eleventh spot as an independent Hero, the number of female students entering UA was over doubled the numbers from the previous year, closing in triple. He will commend her on that; not many people can move the world single handedly.
Well there's All Might but that big yellow oaf is a whole different case.
She's currently talking with Uwabami and Ryukyu while wearing a full three piece suit instead of a dress like all the women here, especially Uwabami (just looking at her hurts his eyes). Whatever was told makes her let out a boisterous laugh, showing her fangs for the world to see. The mirth slowly dies down and the conversation continues. He can see her opening her mouth, about to speak.
Then, out of nowhere, she looks away for a second and her eyes suddenly drift to him.
They make eye contact.
Her ruby red eyes widen and she stops talking to those around her.
He tries not to snort.
He had never tried to make contact with her previously, never needed to because there's no reason to. So this is their first time seeing each other in person. She must be so utterly confused by his presence, wondering just who he is. At least he's not in his Hero outfit, then he is unrecognized as a Hero at all. Kamui Woods once tried to apprehend him thinking he was a Villain while Best Jeanist gave him twenty dollars that one time thinking he was a… bum.
Then, he watches as her red eyes begin to… light up?
He watches as her cheeks turn light pink, contrasting against her dark skin.
Then, her lips stretch into a wide smile.
While he doesn't know Miruko on a personal level, he can't escape knowing about her even if he doesn't want to. Almost every news channel has coverage of her feats, and his female students constantly talk about her. They want to know what an independent Hero, with no Agency or whatsoever, can do that made her a top ten Hero.
So he knows her expressions quite well, more than he wants to actually. He knows she has a prideful smile, teeth glimmering and lips stretch up proudly, toothily, boastfully, challenging the world to try bring her down.
But this one…
He has never seen that wide smile before.
…She can smile like that?
"Eraserhead!"
He can't help but blink in surprise.
She is aware of him?
She walks over towards him, leaving Uwabami and Ryukyu behind, who look confused at her abrupt departure. She beelines for him while waving an enthusiastic hand at him. She completely ignores anyone who tries to stop her for empty conversations.
And not once her eyes leave him.
There is what seems to be glitters in her eyes.
"Miruko," he greets once she is close enough and her eyes brightens even more and her smile widens a bit too. What's with that reaction?
"Fancy seein' you here," she starts, stopping just in front of him. He pushes himself off the wall and stands up, mainly out of courtesy. "What brought the Underground Hero out from the shadow? Against your will, I take it?" she asks with a teasing tone.
He blinks again, surprised again.
Not only does she know of his occupation, she knows a bit about… him too.
She knows that he is an Underground Hero. Many don't even know he's a Hero in general.
And adding to that, she seems to know he doesn't like attending events. Everyone except for a handful knows that.
He knows of his anonymity, and he is proud of it. Ambiguity is one of the main key things that defines an Underground Hero. Apart from being a teacher of UA, he knows that any information about him is really scarce to come by. For her to know this level of details, she must have done intensive research on him.
…But why go to such lengths?
"Yeah," he groans out with a deep sigh, roughing the back of his hair with his free hand. He doesn't voice out his concern; he'll deal with that matter on a later date. He knows that Miruko is not a potential problem to him; he can trust her.
At least, trust her as a Hero.
She lets out a chuckle at his response.
"Is it your first time here? I never saw you at previous events. Or maybe you just hid too well for me to notice," she asks, looking quite intrigued.
The glitters in her eyes seem to brighten.
"It's the first time I am here since I became a Hero," he answers. "And you are correct. Some bastards managed to garner up some sympathy points enough to push me to attend this hellhole, and they have the audacity to not attend it themselves."
Miruko lets out a laugh, almost as loud as the boisterous laugh she let out earlier, but it has a different tone to it. Even the way her lips part has a different energy to it. In fact, there are creases at the corners of her eyes.
She seems to have a different demeanor now.
She talks to him differently, compared to everyone she had talked to before.
"I've been meanin' to ask. Why'd you go Underground?"
.
"OBORO!"
.
He blinks the memory away.
"I don't like attention, loathe being in front of the camera. And the less people know about my Quirk, the better."
"Paranoid type?"
"You have no idea."
He subtly shifts his footing, and takes a small sip out of his drink that he had been neglecting.
He knows she doesn't mean anything harm. She doesn't know. Only a handful knows.
But it did pick on the scab.
He hopes his discomfort isn't showing.
But he sees Miruko doesn't have a smile on her face.
…Nothing escapes her attention, it seems.
"For someone who ain't liking attention, you do teach the top class of UA."
He releases an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes.
"It wasn't my intention to be a teacher, but some bastards managed to garner up some sympathy points enough to push me to become one," he answers with a light sneer. Miruko cackles at his answer.
"The same bastards?"
"The same bastards, but only half of them."
She cackles again.
The smile has returned.
He notices it.
He knows that she quickly moved the conversation to a different topic, away from the one that got him uncomfortable.
He is silently grateful for the gesture.
"It must be hard teachin' some rowdy kids."
"You should be proud. Almost all of my female students are inspired by you."
The prideful smile reveals itself and she puffs her chest.
"Kids these days have got some good eyes!"
He will admit that her presence makes the gala a bit more bearable.
.
"Yo man!"
Ah great, there's the cockatoo of the hour.
He stops in his tracks and turns towards his soon to be disowned best friend and glares at him. Unfortunately, Mic is already used to his death stare, putting up with it for ten years. The walking banana walks over him, eyebrows high in an inquisitive manner.
"Where were you yesterday?" He has the audacity to ask. "Midnight and I had been trying to reach you but you ain't answering!"
His eye twitches and it takes his entire will to not instantly snap at him.
"Where else?" he replies steely through gritted teeth.
"What?" Mic frowns, looking utterly lost.
"You told me to go. You and everyone."
Mic frowns deeper, deciphering what he had said. Then, his eyes widen so big his glasses look tiny in comparison.
"…Wait… YOU ACTUALLY WENT TO THE GALA?!" Mic screams to his face and he resists the urge to suplex him to the ground.
"Yeah, as instructed."
Mic only looks even more baffled, mouth hanging agape, completely, utterly shocked.
The audacity of this man.
"B-Bu… Who…?" Mic stutters out incomprehensibly. He releases a sigh and rolls his eyes.
"Alright, who won the bet?"
"What bet?"
Mic doesn't answer, continues to stare at him dumbfounded.
His hair starts raising.
And so does the fear in Mic's eyes.
Hello, I have return with gifts
Your special gift is a box of tissues
See you next week
Happy Christmas