Chapter 17: ——~(15)~——

"Be careful of who you pretend to be;

You might lose yourself in the process."

-Unknown

---

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, gentleman, it is now time for new assignments. That said, Shigaraki and Tomura will essentially be doing the same thing as normal. Deku, in truth, I didn't trust you very much before. I was unsure of how you would react upon meeting that boy and All Might once more. However, you have truly gone above and beyond my initial expectations, so think of this as your reward."

The room was enshrouded with silence once more, with Shigaraki having a slightly crazy look in his lone eye. Instead of lashing out, however, the white-haired boy simply stood rooted in place. It might have been because Sensei was watching, but somehow, it felt deeper. It felt genuine. It felt like a toddler that had never been said no to before, had been denied. That toddler then tried to lash out.

But then violence didn't work either.

The toddler didn't know what was happening. He had always got his way before, and even if he was refused at first, violence quickly changed their minds. But what was wrong with his way? Why would someone on the same level as him, if not stronger, make a different decision? Why would that decision get praised by an almighty powerful being? Was... he wrong? No, no that couldn't be it! Right?

But one brushstroke of purple, of maturity, wasn't enough to cover a whole painting of anger, inferiority, and envy.

'This... is only a fluke! A farce! Beginner's luck! There is nothing wrong with my methods! I simply need to be more... careful. Yes, careful. Get more information as Deku said... That bastard! He, he made me look bad in front of Sensei!! Like I, I was inferior! One day, I'll, I'll...'

"...Thank you for your trust. May I ask what I will be doing from now on?"

Deku hadn't noticed the changes with Shigaraki, however small, in favor of focusing on the fully grown lion. The ruler of the jungle. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he felt uneasy. The battle he had had almost felt too easy (even though it wasn't easy, per se. He had used every ounce of brainpower that he had, but nothing ever felt like it was enough against that man). He had a bad feeling about this whole thing. Despite the fact that he got off scot-free, he was definitely on thin ice. Any mistake would be capitalized on.

He had to do whatever he had to do perfectly, no matter what. Otherwise, he wouldn't just be a pawn anymore, he would be discarded.

(It wasn't the discarded part that made him uneasy. It was that he would never be able to avenge her. Ironically enough, it was the one thing that kept him going throughout all of this. It was the thing that finally broke him, but it also made him get up in the morning. Fate has always been a cruel mistress. She throws in pitfalls with the highs, and the only thing you can hope for is to break out even.)

"It's a very special job, indeed... Hahaha! Deku, how do you feel about continuing your education?"

'...Huh? My education..? What does that have to do with anything?'

"...What? I-I beg your pardon, but what do you mean?"

"Meet Allen Bowman, a foreign exchange student from America. You were raised in America all of your life, but you learned Japanese as well from your father. Your mother divorced your father later in life, and your father got custody over you. After that, he was fully devoted to helping you master the language, and as a result, you have a normal Japanese accent."

"..You mean-"

"I'm not done quite yet. You later enrolled in the best hero school in the nation, the Halbrook Institution for Heroes. Yet, you still found yourself being discriminated against thanks to your features being primarily Asian. When you saw a brochure for exchange students, to Japan no less, you immediately applied and miraculously passed the test. You'll only be there for a couple of months, but you're overjoyed to see the country that your father has always spoke so fondly of."

'He wants me to be a spy? I don't have any experience with long term operations... Just because I did it once for a short while doesn't mean that I can fool a whole school crawling with pro heroes. I'm decent at English, true, but that's only middle school level...'

"...Haha, I think you're forgetting one little thing, Sensei. My English is nothing to write home about-"

"But don't you excel at English, Deku? Top of the class, in fact. I have faith in your abilities. You completed your last mission so perfectly, don't you think that you have a talent? It would be a shame not to use it. Deku, you're going to accept this assignment, aren't you?"

'...He's not giving me a choice at all. He's just throwing flowery words around, you'd have to be an idiot not to get the message. Fine, I'll dance to your tune, Sensei. Right now, I have no choice but to move my piece forward. Please don't get too cocky, though-'

He couldn't stop a faint sheen from resurfacing in his eyes.

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'There's no rule in this game that says you can't get caught by your own move.'

"Naturally, I'm very honored to accept this assignment. When will I be leaving?"

You could hear All for One's smile through the screen.

"Right now. The 'plane' just arrived at the airport. You won't be officially starting your classes until tomorrow, but you'll be meeting all of your teachers today. You'll also be staying in a room originally for the faculty, but they're making an exception for you. Kurogiri!"

"Understood, Sensei!"

Deku had a faint disbelieving look on his face, and then Kurogiri leaped into action. With microscopic precision, he flung off his clothes in one second and draped his body in Yuuei's famous uniform in the next. He fiddled with the tie, and in a few seconds, it was perfectly creased and folded. He then took out bleach and dye. Within minutes, his rambunctious green hair turned into slightly wavy ash gray hair. His red eyes (with a touch of magenta, actually. It was different from the previous blaring red that his eyes had been) weren't typical features that screamed "AMERICAN", but in a world populated by quirks, it didn't matter. Having the head of a cactus was considered normal; no-one would care about red eyes of all things.

Concealer was put everywhere on his face until he actually looked somewhat healthy.

A little weary, a little haggard, but overall, he looked just like your average teenager.

And then, as a large portal was closing down on his in order to bring him near the school, All for One spoke one final thing:

"What you will be doing is gathering intelligence that qualifies as in-depth information. We suffered last time because of the lack of in-depth information. Figure out everything you possibly can about the students, the teachers, everyone. You're not allowed to break cover until I have judged what you have gathered to be worth the expense of creating a separate identity. That can get into Yuuei, I might add."

---

As Deku looked up at the high walls and buildings that compromised Yuuei, he laughed inwardly at the irony of it all. He had a quirk, (he was quirkless) and he was going to the best hero school in the nation, unwillingly. (He was gonna get into Yuuei no matter what!) He was going to have to interact daily with All Might and Bakugo. (He admired both of them, despite what the latter had done to him.)

He hated his life and wanted to die. (He wasn't going to die! He was going to save people, just like All Might!)

He was a villain. (He was gonna become a hero!)

And then a brown-haired girl tapped him on the shoulder.

"Umm, are you lost? There's kinda been a big incident, so nobody's here right now... I can help you if you want!"

"No thanks."

There was a large silence which he carefully bridged with an awkward laugh.

"Sorry, that came out wrong. I'm lead to believe that I'm supposed to be here."

His face changed into what would be considered a simple-minded smile. A genuine one.

"I honestly didn't expect such huge buildings! It's really cool!"

The brown-haired girl simply looked confused. No, it was 'Urakaka'? Ah yes, the one who manipulated gravity. He remembered.

"I'm an exchange student, Allen Bowman. It's a pleasure!"