"Three hundred and seventy-eight."
"..."
"Do you know how significant that number is?"
There were two men inside a metal room, inside said the room was two metal chairs and a table. The door was sealed shut and only a lamp illuminated their surroundings. Both men sat adjacent to each other, one had stacks of files and papers on his left and right as he spoke, and the other crossed his arms as he lent his ear.
"It's a huge number."
"Indeed it is," then the man recoiled from the cold table and sank deeper into his seat. "Each and every one of them is an attempted murder case."
"...And?"
"A hundred or more of which are successful."
The air between these men was tense. It was as if both were handling each other at gunpoint, their glares hardening and their minds ticking. By that, it already meant the seriousness of the current case before them that they have yet to unfold.
"But all of these murder attempt cases were on villains, correct?"
"True. They all are. Not one was on a civilian."
Grumbling, he shifted in his seat. "To the public...he's a hero. A vicious one. But in the dark, he's a murderer playing hero. A criminal."
...
"Hero, you say? Have you at least identified the suspect?"
"We have, but we aren't certain."
The latter sighed. "Spill it."
"Y/n L/n."
"...How're we sure it's him? He really is a licensed hero."
The man growled, slamming his fist on the cold metallic table. "He's not a damn hero! ...With enough evidence, we can prove that he's connected to all these murders!"
"The arising problem here is...do you have enough?"
Huffing as he sank back down on his seat, he grumbled. "...We do not."
Scoffing, the latter recoiled from the table, lighting a cigar. "Now that's our problem. We don't."
There was a long pause between these two. The stench of nicotine filled the ceiling of the room as the lamp flickered. The silence was deafening. A ringing in their ears would've been audible if it weren't for the burning cigar.
"Let's do a quick background review." One of them finally uttered, fixing his composure. "Who's Y/n L/n?"
"...An illegal immigrant from █████████ where its people waged war with each other. He then arrived here in Japan, was recognized as a proper citizen later on at the age of seven, and lived his life."
"Ah yes, █████████ civil War." Grabbing one of the cases from the table, he flipped through some pages. "It's a tragedy there. Millions upon millions died and were killed in cold blood. No wonder he became an illegal immigrant, he took aboard the only ship, which happened to head to Japan. It's because he came from that place. Even until now, there's still a ruckus going on."
"Right...he arrived in Japan at the age of six but was later endorsed as a citizen a year later."
Nodding at his partner, he flipped through another page. "..." he scoffed. "Now this is sad."
"Hm?"
"He wasn't a planned pregnancy. His parents failed to abort him 17 times."
The latter grunted. "That's..."
"Hold it, this is new." He cut his partner off, browsing through the final pages of the document. "...He has a sister."
---
Midoriya and Mirio were seen waltzing down the city's sidewalk currently doing patrol assigned by Sir Nighteye. Wearing their hero costumes, they caught the eye of most civilians, some took pictures with them, and some even asked for autographs. All this sudden attention made the broccoli boy stutter.
"I-I'm nervous..." Izuku said, strolling down the sidewalk, stiff.
"You must've at least gone on patrol at your internship, right?" the latter retorted with a toothy smile. "Oh, was the League of Villains attack too traumatic?"
"N-No...but for various reasons, I wasn't able to experience the basics..."
"Really? That's strange, right? But don't worry!" the blonde reassured him. "Sir and Bubble Girl are the ones watching the target today. We're just on patrol! I'll teach you a bunch of stuff. Stick with me!" he added with a thumbs up.
"W-Wait, how about uhm, Y/n? Where is he? Isn't he supposed to be on patrol with us? I remember he was with us when sir told us to be on patrol."
"Oh, Y/n? Yeahhh he does his patrol his own way. He's a real mysterious guy y'know? I've been friends with him for a while and I still don't understand him at all!" Mirio replied while laughing out loud. "It's weird since he's never openly shared anything with us!"
This revelation only added to Izuku's expanding curiosity about Y/n. The moment he first took note of the man back in the hallway, he was utterly perplexed by the aura he radiated. He was a rather intimidating man, the way he stands, his stance, his expressions...it's like he doesn't want to be bothered at all! Izuku thought he'd be the type of guy to punch you in the face if you utter a word! However, once the broccoli boy mustered up the courage to face the latter, he was surprisingly gentle.
"Uhm...you must at least know his quirk," the greenhead further interrogated.
"Oh, Y/n's quirk?" Mirio confirmed. "Yeah, I know his quirk. It's erm...yeah, I think his quirk was called Gauna."
"Gauna?"
"Mhm! Gauna!"
"I-Is it alright if you can tell me how his quirk works?" the greenhead uttered reluctantly, his inner self eager to learn new quirks.
"Oh! Sure! It's actually really simple to understand."
Izuku prepared his mental notebook so he can take note of Y/n's quirk.
"I'm not sure what they're called by black branch-like appendages would sprout out from his spine and envelope him to the point he's covered in his own quirk! Then after that, his quirk morphs into some kind of armor that makes him strong! Like, very very strong!"
The greenhead immediately took mental note of this.
"That's...so cool!" Izuku exclaimed, shivering in excitement, eager to see Y/n's quirk.
"Yeah! I guess he looks cool...he's a bit scary for me hehe...Anyway, we haven't actually told each other our hero names, huh?"
"Th-That's true..." then Izuku let out a proud smile. "I'm Deku!"
The blonde hero frowned. "Deku? Deck? You okay with that?"
"I am."
"I'm Lemillion. I don't have to save everyone, but 1,000,000... Not all, but a million--That's what I want to do, so that's why I chose Lemillion!" then he faced the bustling crowd on the sidewalk, puffing his chest. "Once we put on our costumes and go out into the streets, we're heroes. Don't let your guard down, Deku!"
"I won't, Lemillion!"
Then the blonde hero let out a light chuckle as they continued their stroll. "Hey, hey, did you know, Y/n's hero name is just Y/n!" He then laughed hysterically, wiping away a tear. "It's so funny that he can't come up with a proper hero name! I mean, I can think of one! I think he can be called a 'dark knight' OoooooH! I like that! But I don't think he'll like it..."
"He will!" Izuku assured with an eager smile. "It sounds great honestly! A knight to the public that saves them, and a threat to the villains at the same time at night--I think it's the perfect hero name for him!"
Snickering, the blonde hero lightly slapped the latter's back. "How can you be so sure?" he uttered with a smile. "You haven't even witnessed his quirk firsthand!"
They continued to chatter with each other in glee until Izuku aligned himself in an adjacent alleyway...and there...a little girl no older than six, came running out of that same dark alleyway, and bumped into him by pure coincidence.
The said little girl had grey and white hair, red pupils and pinkish irises, and a horn protruding from the rightmost part of her forehead. Instinctively, Izuku knelt on one knee to aid her stand up, however, once he grasped her shoulders, he felt that she was trembling.
***
Fists stained with ichor, he loomed over his mauled fabrication, and he let out a hefty sigh. The scene pans out where the said man wearing a stainless black armor and 6 other bloodied bodies lay idle in an alleyway devoid of life. A perfect location for a silent murder.
Then his phone vibrated from within his metallic black armor, perfect for camouflage in dark places.
He picked it up.
"They came in contact..."
The man then placed his phone back in his pocket, turned his back against the seemingly lifeless bodies, and trudged away as if nothing happened. Every footstep he made led to a tiny crack in the pavement below him as his image faded away into the alleyway, disappearing completely like a shadow in the dark.
---
Later that evening in the 3rd year's dorm, Mirio was currently chilling on the couch of the living room, watching the news on his phone where 6 villains were murdered in cold blood, their ribs shattered, and their spines snapped in two. They died of internal bleeding and organ failure. Then he took notice of a huge man waltz past him and instantly recognized this as Y/n.
"Yo, Y/n!" he called him out. "Where've you been?" the blonde said in a cheery tone. "Izuku's been dying to meet you again ya know?" he uttered jokingly.
The latter stopped in his tracks. "Really?"
"Yep! He wanted to know your quirk! So I explained to him but wasn't really able to do that much since...er...I only told him what I saw hehe..." he admitted, rubbing his nape.
Y/n smiled, leaning on the couch. "No worries. So, you met the man himself, Chisaki, right?"
Then Mirio's smile of bright joy suddenly faded into a dark and gloomy expression at the sudden mention of the name. "We..."
The latter leaned in, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?" he uttered in a serious tone.
"We...met a girl...maybe around 6 or 7 years old...her name was Eri..."
"...And? What else?"
Then Mirio gazed at him, his usual bright expression morphed into a serious one. "Listen, Y/n. You shouldn't tell this info to anyone else except for Izuku and me, alright? Can you promise me that?"
"Promise."
Then the latter smiled weakly. "Izuku and I...met the girl, Eri...who was with Chisaki...She...she had bandages that covered her arms and legs..."
"..."
"...She was right there...She was asking for help right there and..."
Y/n could feel the frustration and the guilt in his friend's tone. Placing a hand on the latter's back he reassured him. "We'll get back at them. We'll get her back. We'll get Eri back. We will. Trust me."
Chuckling softly, he uttered. "Your...hehe...still really bad at reassuring..."
The latter deadpanned and slapped his friend's backhead.
"Heyyy..ow..."
"I was trying to help."
"Fine, fine...hehe...you did help me. I feel a lot better now thanks to that."
Y/n smiled. Then suddenly someone jumped over his back, hanging behind him. "Y/nnnn!" a bubbly, girlish voice yelled his name.
It was Nejire.
"Why're you back so late huh?!" she asked, concerned. "It's 10 in the evening!"
"It's not that late... Also, isn't that your bedtime?"
"Well, I won't sleep properly if I didn't see you come back!" she retorted playfully, as she hung at Y/n's toned backside.
"Yeah?"
"Mhm! I just wanna see you safe when you come back! It puts me at ease!" Then she hugged his neck, snuggling too close for comfort. "Mmh. This feels nice."
"Hey, hey, I think Nejire likes you!" Mirio joked.
The said lady's face flushed red, got off Y/n's back, and ran back upstairs, leaving both men dumbfounded.
"You scared her."
"She's not denying it, though!"
---
Some days have passed, and something important has come up. The Big three were forced to wake up early, and due to Y/n being a part of Sir Nighteye's agency, he too had to wake up earlier than intended.
Once they got dressed into their uniforms, they met down at their dorm, greeted each other, conversed about the current issue, then waltzed to their destination.
However, this particular stroll throughout the city was silent. Well, not particularly pure silence, but there wasn't as much chattering due to their awareness of the intensity of this meeting. Especially since a lot of heroes are supposedly going to show up.
Then right at the corner block of the building ahead of them, they met Izuku and his friends. Y/n took note of their appearance. There was a redhead with unrivaled energy and competitiveness, a green-haired girl that was slouching that was gazing curiously at him, and a bob-cut girl with a fixed blush on her cheeks.
Izuku took the honor to introduce the man to his friends. "Oh, right! Y/n, meet my friends! That's Kirishima, Ocahaco, and Tsyu!"
The latter greeted the broccoli head's friends with a silent nod.
"Hi!" yelled the redhead known as Kirishima. "I've heard a lot about you from Midoriya! I can't wait to see your quirk in action!"
"Yeah!" added Tsyu. "It's nice seeing you for the first time!"
"Ehehe..what they said," the bob-cut girl added, slightly intimidated by the latter's height.
"Anywayyy!" Mirio cut them off. "Let's go in now, shall we?" he said as he made a gesture toward the front door.
---
Opening the door to the meeting room, they were overwhelmed by the number of heroes inside the said room. Izuku could even name each and every one of them. Y/n noticed Sir Aizawa and decided to walk up to him, even Ochaco and Tsyu reluctantly followed.
He noticed his students first.
"Mr. Aizawa!" the bob-cut girl exclaimed.
"Mr. Aizawa, why're you here?" Tsyu asked.
"I was called out suddenly," he replied deliberately. "I also heard roughly what's going on."
"Sir." Y/n finally stated his existence to his former teacher.
The latter gazed upward to study this man's features. He had to squint, hard. "Uhm...Do I know you?"
"...It's Y/n, sir."
For a moment, Aizawa's eyes widened. "Y/n?"
Ochaco gasped loudly. "You know Y/n, Mr. Aizawa?!"
"I do. He was my student once." Then the sleep-deprived man had to study the latter from head to toe, his mind trying to recall the voice and the physique. "Really, Y/n? Is that you?"
"In the flesh, sir."
He scoffed. "Stop calling me 'sir.' I'm not a general. I'm a teacher. We discussed this 2 years ago."
"Old habits...sir."
Aizawa scoffed softly as he looked back up at the latter. "Your way too tall for my liking. You have a growth quirk or something? 2 years ago, you were just as tall as me. No way in hell did you get this tall in 2 years."
"I believe it's called 'genes', sir."
"Right, right...whatever. I thought I told you to stop with the sir."
Later on, once the crowd has calmed down, they were kindly instructed to take their seats...
...and then a long, fruitful discussion about Shie Hassaikai...and Eri took place that shook the hearts of heroes and the students. Except for Y/n. He had nothing to say about it.
The discussion progressively turned dark, once noting that the bullet shot at Tamaki contained blood. The ones that were shaken by the thought that this was real, were Ochaco and Tsyu, while Izuku and Mirio were in utter frustration of themselves.
The meeting later ended, leaving Izuku and Mirio specifically even more frustrated.
---
Sitting on a chair, Y/n's lap under the table, he observed the utter guilt and frustration Mirio and Izuku have. He made no comment on it. Since he doesn't know how to comfort people in such a state like that. But..it's the first time he's seen Mirio so down...it was a bit...saddening to see.
Then he suddenly stood up from his seat. "I'm off..." he said, trudging down the hallway on his left.
"Hey, Y/n..." Nejire called him out only for her voice to die down when he disappeared from the hallway completely.