Reo had told him to cut down on his vigilante hours, but even several weeks after summer break had ended he finds it hard to actually put the suggestion into effect. He starts storing his vigilante gear inside an abandoned warehouse several blocks away from his school on the days he doesn't go to the dojo, squeezing in a short patrol before he heads home. And, on the weekends he continues doing his daytime rounds.

It's one such weekend that he runs into one of the worst heroes he can think to run into. It's partly his own fault. The vigilante had strayed far too close to one of the most populated parts of Musutafu while trying to track down a lead on his Kogane case.

He'd only been tailing the guy, hoping he'd eventually lead the boy back to wherever it was the Eight Precepts were hiding. He watches the man slip out the end of an alley and into a crowded street, the vigilante rushing to follow, afraid he'd lose sight of him.

But, when Midoriya speeds out the end of the alley, eyes already roaming the sidewalk, he slams face first into a flaming chest.

He freezes up at first, scared he'd run directly into his target, but the bulking chest he backs away from is nothing like the thin, rat like man he'd been following. The vigilante relaxes somewhat, rubbing gently at his nose. "Sorry about that, wasn't watching wear I was going." He steps back, looking around again for where the guy had disappeared to.

He spares the man he'd run into a glance, immediately tensing.

The boy locks up in horror. I'm dead. I'm going to jail. This is how it ends.

The flame hero, Endeavor, glares down at him, the vigilante wilting beneath his gaze as he stumbles back. The boy shrivels like a spring flower underneath the summer sun at the look the hero sends him.

There's no way out for him here, no fire escape to save him, no smoke thick enough to hide him. There's no gun for him to steal, no emotional weaknesses for him to play off of, there's only icy blue eyes and fire hot enough to carbonize cells.

Endeavor takes a step forward and Midoriya has to resist the sudden urge to throw his hands up and surrender right then and there. But, the step the hero takes forwards has him brushing right past the vigilante. There's a boy his age that follows with heterochromatic hair and eyes, half of which match that of Endeavor's. He gives the vigilante a brief nod of acknowledgement before he too moves past him, making to follow his father's looming form.

Piper is left to merely stare after them in awe.

The hero's voice flows back to the vigilante over the gathering crowd. "Did you the weapon in his hands?"

The teen doesn't respond verbally, merely gives him a small nod.

"There are far too many heroes in this new generation that rely on support gear like that to help them take down villains." The hero peers down at his youngest from the corner of his cerulean eyes. "The quirks inside you are my legacy. With them it will be easy for you to surpass everyone else."

Midoriya turns his head to follow the duo's progress, their conversation just audible over the murmuring crowd.

A hero? Izuku's mouth gapes open, eyes widening. He thinks I'm a hero?

Todoroki glance around him, ignoring his father's words in favor of watching the crowd. He can see that several people have their phones out. And, at first Shouto doesn't notice anything wrong with the situation.

It wasn't the first time they'd run into a hero while his father dragged him around on his patrols, and it certainly wasn't the first time Endeavor had bad mouthed other heroes to him.

But, it was strange. He could see a few people in the crowd holding back hushed laughter, and he realizes that all the cameras he'd spied hadn't actually been pointed at his father.

Todoroki pauses, turning to look back at the hero they'd passed. Perhaps it's a new up and coming hero? They look pretty young.

The lower half of his face is still covered, but Shouto can tell from the crinkle of his shining eyes that he wears a kind of star struck smile.

From the corner of his vision Todoroki can see a kid his age filming the three of them, his phone whipping back and forth between the hooded figure and his father. The teen seems excited, eyes glinting like he knows a secret that no one else is privy to, like he's watching the beginning of some epic battle royal.

Todoroki locks gazes with the hooded figure, eyes widening in surprise when he catches the other winking at him.

Shouto can see the new found giddy mischief gleaming in his red and green eyes before he blows a mock kiss at the red and white haired teen.

"Shouto," Endeavor's voice draws him out of his shock as he turns towards the man. "Keep up." The hero's looming frame marches on as Todoroki glances back at the hoodie figure.

But, when he checks again the guy is gone, disappearing as quickly as he'd come.

A hushed whisper makes its way through a small part of the crowd that'd seen. He frowns, turning back to continue following his father.

From the murmuring of the people around him, Todoroki picks up on the conversation between two girls.

"They both have different colored eyes, that's just too cute I'm screaming."

"Forget about their eyes! A vigilante and Endeavor's son? That's some wattpad romance right there."

He jerks his head back to where he'd last seen the boy. "Vigilante?" Shouto murmurs the word quietly to himself, staring after his afterimage.

"I said keep up!"

Midoriya spins in circles in Reo's desk chair, watching the room's colors blur together. "He thought I was a hero."

Outside the sun begins setting, signaling the coming of his second patrol. Tsukauchi glances up from his phone to watch him spin. Amusement creeps into his voice, "So, you've said."

"He thought I was a hero. Endeavor, the number two hero, looked at me and said "must be a hero"."

Reo smiles at him. "Well, you do save people. And, by definition, a hero is someone noted for courageous acts and, or the nobility of their character. Which, by definition, would make you a hero."

Midoriya immediately stops spinning, feet slamming into the floor where he faces Tsukauchi. The vigilante looks at the older boy wide eyed.

"Perhaps you're not one in the eyes of the law," Reo says, smiling softly down at his phone as the fifteen year old gapes at him, "But, you save people, and you help put bad guys in jail. And, maybe it's not as glorious as being a pro hero and fighting flashy villains with your own flashy quirk. But, you didn't become a vigilante for the glory, right?"

When Tsukauchi looks up again he's greeted by Midoriya's watery eyed expression. A few tears drip from his lashes, sliding down his cheeks, and a smile rivaling that of All Might is carved across his lips. The boy's eyes pinch closed as the smile on his face grows. "Right."

Reo lets the boy gather himself before speaking again. "So, are you ever going to tell me what happened or are you just going to keep repeating that Endeavor thought you were a hero?"

Midoriya scrubs a bit more at the tear tracks on his cheeks before he replies. "I was trying to tail this guy from the Eight Precepts, you know, do some actual recon like you told me to."

"Wow," Tsukauchi exclaims, "You? Doing what I say? Now that's the most surprising news I've heard all day!"

Midoriya laughs, "I rip my stitches out once."

"And please explain to me how you managed to rip your stitches? Was it through the vigorous activity that I warned against? Or how about the time I told you about my mother's quirk and you still somehow managed to shake her bare hand." Tsukauchi lets out a relieved sigh. "That could've gone wrong in so many ways."

Midoriya shudders, thinking back on it. "If only in that instance your uncle really saved me."

Reo huffs a laugh, "Anyway, so you were tailing the guy and what? Just happened to run into Endeavor?"

The vigilante rubs at his nose in phantom pain. "Quite literally." Midoriya makes a face. "There's really not much to the story to be honest, he just kind of brushed me off and walked away while talking shit about weapons and then…" Izuku pauses, trailing off.

Reo raises a brow. "And, then?"

Midoriya's face flushes as he quickly leans his head on the back of the chair to stare at the ceiling. "It's embarrassing."

Tsukauchi glances back down at his phone, scrolling absentmindedly through his timeline. "No, embarrassing is being a professional criminal and getting your ass handed to you by a fifteen year old."

Izuku scrubs at his face with his hands. "No, this was really stupid. Like I must have been high on something stupid."

Reo lets out a low whistle, something on his phone catching his eye. "That's pretty high on the stupid scale, you sure about that?"

Tsukauchi taps on the video, attention fully taken. A quiet voice filters lowly through the speaker, "That's Piper right? That's gotta be him."

Midoriya starts spinning in his seat again, watching the ceiling twirl above him.

The video zooms in shakily, but the footage is clear. And there, in center frame, stands none other than Midoriya himself. Reo casts the boy a quick glance before turning back to the video.

The camera swivels towards another figure, obviously Endeavor by the back of the man's flaming suit. "I swear Endeavor literally just walked past him." The cameraman groans, "I wish I could've got that on tape. They literally walked right into each other." The video pans back towards the vigilante. "How is he not dead. Holy shit. If anyone says anything he's one hundred percent a goner dude."

Midoriya winks at someone off camera. "Bro." The phone camera swings back towards Endeavor, and while Endeavor is in frame it's not him that's taken the spotlight. "Did he just wink at his son?" The red and white haired boy that's in frame seems just as surprised as the guy filming. The video quickly flips back towards the vigilante just in time to catch him blow a kiss at the already stunned teenager. "Bro!"

Reo barely suppresses the urge to laugh as he glances back up at the fifteen year old still spinning in the older boy's desk chair. "You're right that was pretty stupid."

Midoriya's head whips up, desperately trying to stop the chair's momentum. He lets out a distressed noise when Tsukauchi flashes him the phone screen.

"So," he says, grin spreading across his lips, "Endeavor's son."

Izuku lets out a quiet whine. "I told you it was really stupid."

Reo flips to his trending page, only half aware of the tags until something else catches his gaze. His eyes widen, a strangled noise escaping his throat as he scrambles up from his bed to shove the phone in the other boy's face.

Midoriya leans back a few inches to read the screen, eyes growing comically large. "Holy shit," he breathes, "I'm trending." His eyes widen further. "Please tell me that's not why I'm trending."

It is why he's trending.

19 · Trending in Japan

Pied Piper

9,259 Tweets

Ghost gh000st_ · 3h

i dont know why pied piper is trending but i know he deserves it

Hawk's Toenail crunchysushiii · 7m

ALSDJFLAKSDJF IS THIS BECAUSE HE BLEW A KISS AT ENDEAVOR'S SON RIGHT BEHIND ENDEAVOR'S BACK? PIED PIPER IS AN ICON W N

Presentation Michael loudboistan · 49m

This boi really just winked and blew a kiss at the number two hero's son, no hesitation, no remorse, this is the level of confidence I aspire to be. I say we elect Pied Piper for prime minister, we need this kind of confidence leading our government.

Riot! my bday! bakuqos · 26m

So let me get this straight. Endeavor sees Pied Piper . Thinks he's a HERO, proceeds to brush him off. But, his son, who was with him, realizes something is fishy. And so Piper just….. Winks, blows a kiss at him, and... takes off? Im?

[Nico]le _crims0nri0t_ · 1h

This. This right here. This is it chief. Pied Piper is IT.

[Gif: Pied Piper, blowing a kiss at a stunned Todoroki Shouto.]

[alien emoji] Miki jiikimiki · 2h

who is this pied piper person and why are we stanning them? is this a new idol or something? im genuinely so confused sdgffghfjjk

Soul [cherry emoji] Luminasia_ · 37s

IM SCREAMING IM ABSOLUTEL TAHT BOY THAT B O Y

PIED PIPER IS ASDJFLAKDSJ T

BDE TheBDETwt · 40m

I'm out here trying to piss and come across a video of Endeavor's son with THAT face and you expect me to be okay?

Absolutely NOT I am NOT OKAY

PIED PIPER WHAT YOU HAVE HELPED CREATE

Human EЯЯ0r obliigatory · 5m

I swear if DC is making ANOTHER remake of Pied Piper I'm going to SCREAM

LET I we don't need a 3RD remake

Midoriya can't escape the whispers of his vigilante persona. While there aren't many he catches a few people at his school the next day talking about the video during their free time. Even the dojo isn't safe from talk of his run in with Endeavor's son.

It embarasses the fifteen year old to no end and throws him off his beat everytime he hears Gamon laugh about it with one of the girls while cooling down. But, nothing throws him off more by the figure that walks through the dojo's front door.

Midoriya takes a foot to the face when his eyes lock on that of Hirano's.

The blow sends him stumbling to his hands and knees, multicolored stars sparking across his vision.

"Midoriya!" His sparring partner rushes to his side, grabbing his elbow to help him stumble his way up. "Are you okay? I thought you'd dodge that!"

He ignores their concern in favor of calling out a greeting to Hirano. "Welcome back." The boy is still a little dazed, but he offers the girl a smile and a small wave.

"Tell me that again when you don't have blood in your teeth." Hirano's eyes crinkle at the corners. She looks better than she did the last time he'd seen her. Her eyes look brighter and the boy can tell the smile she offers him is genuine.

He gently cradles his cheek, turning back towards his sparring partner. "This is gonna bruise isn't it?"

They grimace, nodding reluctantly. "Are you okay?"

Midoriya waves them off, swiping the blood away from his teeth with his tongue, assuring them that he's fine. "I've had worse."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," they call after him as he makes his way over towards Hirano.

She smiles as the fifteen year old approaches. "That was quite the hit you took there."

Izuku returns the smile, there's still some blood clinging to his teeth and his jaw aches, but its sincerity isn't marred by it. "That it was. Genji has gotten a lot better at squaring their kicks since you left."

"Hirano?" The two turn towards the voice to find Chee Sensei walking towards them. "It's good to see you again. How have you been doing?"

She offers the woman a sheepish smile. "I want to say great, but I'd be lying. It's been better the last few months but…" She scratches at the back of her head. "I fell into the wrong crowd at school and they got me into a bit of trouble."

Midoriya offers the girl a sympathy smile, remembering how he'd been a part of that 'bit of trouble'.

"Since I just started my second year I figured it was time to find some new people to hang out around. I actually wanted to talk to you Sensei, about joining the dojo again." She looks nervous bringing up the subject. "I realized that I missed this place, these people."

The woman offers Hirano a soft smile, freckles casting her cheeks in a dim glow. "We'd be happy to have you back."

The girl looks like she's on the verge of happy tears as Midoriya's smile stretches into a bright grin. He didn't usually get to see the after effects of the work he did as Pied Piper. Izuku knew that he saved lives, but this was the first time he'd been allowed to see the ripple effects of what doing so created.

"I hope you haven't gotten too rusty," Midoriya jokes, smirking at her.

"Midoriya," Ji-woo says, "Go wash the blood from your teeth and put some ice on your jaw. I don't need your mother to call me crying again. Once was enough."

The fifteen year old blanches as he pushes his sweaty curls back from his face. "I don't know how I'd managed to forget about that."

Ji-woo stares down at him, black eyes holding a deathly seriousness in them. "I haven't been able to forget."

The next day dawns like another other, when he wakes up his jaw is still sore and the bruise that'd formed there is noticeable to say the least. He pokes at the area around it in the mirror, grimacing at the bloom of darkened colors. He slips a mask on to cover it, only the barest edges of the top of it able to peak over the top of the mask. It's not perfect, but it'll have to do. He has plans today that can't afford to wait any longer.

Izuku watches from a distance. This is most definitely one of the most stupid decisions he's made, and he's sure Reo wouldn't approve of what he's doing. Not only is he missing his first few classes for this, but he's camping not too far from UA's main gate, looking for someone who'd be able to help with his plan. He'd meant to do it far sooner than he is now. But, life had gotten a little too chaotic and maybe he'd forgotten about it.

He's not in full vigilante dress, but he's got his gloves and mask on, and he's dyed his eyes a dark blue color with a new pair of contacts and tucked all his curls beneath a beanie all for the sake of this plan.

Midoriya pumps himself up, hopping from foot to foot in the alley he's in. He starts up a convincing mumble of, "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late," under his breath before he speedwalks out of his spot, coming up behind a girl he thinks will be able to help with his plan. He pretends to accidentally bump shoulders with her, the action nearly sending both of them tumbling to the concrete. Midoriya lets out a yelp as he scrambles to right himself, a near automatic, "I'm so sorry!" spilling from his lips. "Are you alright?"

The girl manages to keep her balance as well, fixing the hold on her backpack. She turns to him flashing the boy an unreadable look. "I'm fine, no worries dude."

Midoriya pretends to study her uniform, widening his eyes comically as he does so. "Do you go to UA?"

The girl glances him over, nodding reluctantly when she doesn't immediately identify him as a threat.

Midoriya throws on his best puppy eyes and kicks his acting skills up a notch. He'd been planning scenarios for this conversation out for the last forty-eight hours. "Would you be able to help me with something? Only if you have the time though!" The boy fiddles with the edge of his hoodie, real nerves kicking in. He'd practiced this same conversation in his room a hundred times over, looking for the perfect way to get someone to do something for him while making them think it was their idea. "I'm one of Snipe-san's new interns and he told me I was supposed to drop something off at his desk, but I realized I'm not actually allowed to go through the gate since I'm not a student or faculty member." Izuku's brows furrow with mock worry as he gently shifts from one foot to the other. "I tried calling him, but he's not answering. Could you tell him I'm waiting outside?" And rule number for making people think it was their idea was never directly asking for whatever it was you wanted. Piper pulls a phone out of his pocket and checks the time. "I'm supposed to be at the agency before nine, but I was supposed to give him this before I went into work today." He glances down at the plastic bag gripped in his hand. Inside it he has Snipe's gun wrapped in a variety of multicolored tissue paper and a bit of glitter he'd nabbed from a small time kidnapping ring disguised as a party store. He hopes it's enough to at least conceal what's inside the bag until it gets to the hero.

The girl looks a little reluctant at first, but Midoriya has his mother's eyes. Even if their color had changed, both the mother and son had some of the sincerest eyes one could find. He's lucky that this trait doesn't go unnoticed by the girl. "I mean… I can just take it to him if you want? I have to pass by the teachers' office on the way to class anyway."

If it's even possible, Midoriya's now blue eyes widen further. "Are you sure? I don't want to make you late because of me." Success .

The girl offers him a small smile. "It's not a problem. I can just leave it on his desk if he's not there right?"

Izuku's eyes brighten, smile widening behind his mask. "Of course! If he's there could you just tell him one thing for me?"

Snipe leans back in his desk chair, tired of looking at all of the papers spread across his work space. He'd come in early to try and get some of it done, but he still wasn't quite awake yet this early in the morning.

Behind him someone clears their throat. "Sensei?"

Snipe looks up from his desk, turning to look at one of the students from his class standing just behind him. "Haya-san, how can I help you?"

She holds out a plastic bag for him, looking a little sheepish. "Your intern said that he couldn't get through the gate, so I offered to bring this up to you."

The hero stares at her, bewilderment clear on his face. "My intern?"

She nods as Snipe gently takes the bag from her. "He apologized for it taking him so long to return it. And, said that he'd forgotten he'd thrown it under his bed."

Snipe eyes the girl curiously. "You're certain it was of my interns?"

The girl is starting to look a little concerned. "I mean he said he was one of your interns, someone called Piper?"

The hero's eyes snap back towards the bag in his hand. "Alright, thank you Haya, I'll see you in class, make sure Hado isn't late again."

"Yes sir, I'll see ya' then." She gives the hero a mock salute before heading back out the door.

Aizawa turns towards Snipe with a raised brow. "I thought you didn't have any interns right now?"

Snipe cautiously sets the bag on his desk. "I don't."

"Sansa," the detective sighs, "Can you please explain why I'm getting calls about Piper having trended on twitter two days ago?" The man has his forehead pressed against his desk, dark circles hidden from view.

The feline officer laughs at the question as he turns towards the detective. "It's nothing too bad to be honest. He just ran into Endeavor." Naomasa's head snaps up and Tamakawa lets out a surprised laugh at the look on the man's face. "He's fine Tsukauchi, Endeavor didn't recognize him. Piper's just going viral for flirting with the man's son."

Naomasa splutters, startled at the revelation, but there's an undeniable hint of relief on his face.

Sansa huffs a laugh. "He is a teenager after all."

On his desk the detective's phone buzzes. The man lets out another sigh before answering. "Musutafu Police, quirk crimes division, Detective Tsukauchi speaking."

"Piper made contact with one of UA's students."

Naomasa immediately recognizes the voice as Eraserhead's, the man straightening in his seat. "Is he there?"

"He was. He sent a package to Snipe and manipulated one of the students into getting it to him."

Tsukauchi drags a notebook towards him, jotting everything down. "Do you think it was the work of a quirk?"

Aizawa strides down the hall towards Nezu's office. "It's always a possibility for something like this. Maybe a slight form mind manipulation or suggestion. I know you were looking into non offensive quirks and one of those would certainly fall under it."

"Right," Tsukauchi agrees, "I'll head over. Try not to touch anything he might have we may be able to find prints." Naomasa glances up, sharing a look with Sansa as the two of them push themselves up from their desks. He presses the phone between his ear and his shoulder. "Hopefully forensics will be able to lift something."