The next morning, Tami and I walked to school together. Normally, she'd walk with our friends, Sakura and Kaito, along with her little brother, but there was a bit of a problem with that. 3-C students needed to be at U.A. a half-hour earlier than usual to start their final exams. I wasn't entirely sure why being that they weren't going anywhere like 3-A and 3-B students were.

I joined her for two reasons. When she texted me late last night about this, I didn't want her to go to school alone. Tami had a bad track record of when she'd walk alone from place to place. It wasn't always serious—last year, she nearly got lost as she was helping other people...twice—but there were a good handful of times that she could have prevented if someone else was with her. I didn't need that to happen today of all things.

My other reason I walked with her was to see Mr. Elastic and talk to him about the agency deal in America. I knew it'd be impossible to talk to him if I had gone to school at the regular hour I did, so this was it.

Tami was unusually quiet as we walked. After we got a few blocks away from her house, I looked down at her, noticing her hands clutching the brown paper back that was in her hands that was probably filled with those dinosaur chicken nuggets she enjoyed so much and a cookie or two. Her nerves seemed to be eating her up inside a bit more than usual, especially since she kept looking down at her own two feet. Knowing that, I couldn't take it any longer.

"You know, if something's wrong, you need to say something about it, right?" I asked. "That's the only way I can make things better is if you tell me."

The blonde shook her head. "It's nothing, honestly. I'm just nervous for this final exam."

I stopped and crossed my arms. "Tami, you know you're a bad liar, right?" I claimed. It was partially true. She always acted a bit strange whenever she was hiding something, and that was usually her being more nervous than usual.

Seeing how her hands clenched her brown paper bag, I knew it wasn't just nerves.

"I just don't want to bother you before your final exams," Tami admitted as she looked up at me. "I mean, you went through a lot last night, and I...it's nothing."

"What my dad said was all a lie," I told her. "He just does what is best for him, and that's it. Don't let anything he said get to you. Besides, if you're worried about what will happen to me after graduation, I've got that covered already."

Her eyes widened when I said that, but despite that, her grip loosened on her lunch. It was nice that was all I really needed to say for her to relax, but that was Tami. She was always thinking of others. That was why I dreaded ever having her meet my dad. The two were nothing alike. He might have been a Pro Hero, but he was by far the most selfish person I had ever known.

Unlike him, Tami cared for others first. The fact that she wasn't saying anything because of our final exams was just a small example of that. I just wished she knew that it was okay to express how she was feeling instead of trying to hide it all the time, but then again, that was just Tami. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone, even though that would be nearly impossible for her to be.

I just had to do my best to cheer her up.

"Really?" she asked. "Wait, you said that last night it was Mr. Elastic, right? Or that you were thinking about joining his agency. Did you finally make up your mind about that?"

"Kind of," I admitted, not really wanting to tell her before her exam that I was going to America. Despite that, I knew there was not other way, so I just started to walk again, watching as she walked by my side. "It's between that one and the Bravura Agency. I got a call from them last night about an offer."

For a moment, I thought Tami would have recognized the agency. She was from America and lived there for the first who knows how many years of her life before her family decided to move to Japan. It was before I met her, so I wasn't sure how much she really remembered of her home country. Not that one could guess from first glance. Because she was so young when she moved here, her American accent seemed to have vanished for good. Only when she had spoken in her native tongue could one hear the twang in her voice. It caught me off guard when I first witnessed it, but I guess her parents still had their American accent that it was nearly impossible for her to get rid of it.

"I've never heard of that agency," Tami admitted. "Is it a newer one?"

"Something like that," I told her as we stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for it to signal for us to cross. "I'm going to talk to Mr. Elastic about it before I make my decision. I'd get a lot of days off, so if all goes well, I could visit you."

Wherever you'd be in America, I thought. The thought of being so close to Tami was enough for me to want to take this job without question. I just couldn't do that to Mr. Elastic when he helped me so much over the past few years.

"You—you'd do that?" she asked, looking up at me with her large brown eyes.

I rolled my eyes, noticing the crosswalk signal had changed. Since Tami wouldn't have noticed, I placed my hand on her shoulder, giving her a slight push forward. She walked beside me, but I didn't take my hand away from her as she did.

"We're still dating," I told her. "People do that. It's not a big deal."

It wasn't a big deal. If it meant I could see Tami more than just seeing her on a screen, then I'd do it in a heartbeat. I wanted this thing we had to work. I wasn't blind in knowing most couples broke up after graduation, but I didn't want that for us. If Tami did, then fine, I'd let her go, but I wanted it try my hardest to make this work.

Besides, Tami made me want to be a better hero.

Before she could say something mushy, I tore my gaze away from her. "Now that you know that everything is fine, what's bothering you?"

My questioned seemed to have caught her off guard. It took a moment for Tami to even remember what was bothering her, and even then, she brushed it off. I would've argued with her, but when I looked back down at her fingers, they were no longer white from grabbing her bag. For once, she looked relaxed.

I was going to do everything in my power to keep her that way.

✧ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ✦✧✦ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ✧

Tami and I parted ways when we first stepped foot into the gigantic building with windows wrapped all around it. I offered to walk her to class for good luck, but she insisted that she'd be fine. She also pointed out that Mr. Elastic could be talking to another teacher, so it was best if I went to find him as soon as possible. I couldn't quite disagree with her on that point, so I headed over towards his office.

Once there, I felt my hand hesitating to reach for the doorknob as things started to dawn on me. It wasn't the first time I had talked to him outside of class. I came down here countless times before and after classes to seek advice. This was just going to be the last time I could ever ask him for help. Even if I accepted his offer at his agency, it wouldn't be the same.

It just felt weird, like this wouldn't happen again. I shook my head as I decided not to barge in for once. For years, that was what I always did, but I just tightened my hand into a fist and knocked on the large wooden door instead.

Not long after did I hear the man beckon me to come inside. I didn't hesitate a moment as I pushed the door open to reveal Mr. Elastic's small office. For someone who was the Number 2 hero and could stretch himself to be however tall or long he wanted, this place seemed to be the last room he'd get for an office. That was Mr. Elastic for ya. He didn't need much of anything to keep going. Then again, when he was busy juggling his teaching career with being a Pro Hero, I guess it was just a place to be for a few moments. That had to be the reason he didn't have much on his desk or why his desk seemed a bit smaller than most.

The man turned around to look at me. A thin smile crossed his pale face as his fingers wrapped a red tie around his neck.

"Ah, Yamamoto, you're here early," Mr. Elastic noticed. "I take it you wanted to see Smith off to her first exam?"

I shrugged at his comment as I slumped into the chair on the other side of his desk. My backpack fell to the floor as I did. With my broad shoulders, it made it hard to even sit in these chairs, so wearing a backpack while I sat down wasn't good.

"Not exactly," I said, eyeing a bottle of white hair dye that was in his trash can. Most people tried covering their gray hairs, but Mr. Elastic was a bit less conventional. Of all the times I came down here, I should have asked him about it. It seemed a bit too late to do that now. Not that it mattered.

His fingers froze as he seemed to have noticed the shift that happened. It didn't take him long to sit in his large chair and fold his elegantly long fingers in front of him as he did. He drew in a deep breath before looking me in the eye.

"What's bothering you?" he asked, getting straight to the point. It was what I liked about going to him instead of the other teachers. Most would try to beat around the bush or push me out of their classroom, but not Mr. Elastic. He treated me like a normal kid.

"I don't know what to do," I honestly told him. "Last night I got a call from the Bravura Agency in America asking me to join. I wouldn't be able to start working until summer, but I'd be closer to Tami as she's studying abroad. But doing so, I wouldn't be able to work for you, and that's too good of a deal to pass up. Not because you're the number two hero or anything, but because I feel like there's a lot to learn from you."

"The Bravura Agency, huh?" Mr. Elastic asked as he slid his silver laptop to the center of his desk and pulled it open. His fingers started clicking on the keyboard as he continued to repeat that agency under his breath.

My stomach tightened as I realized how stupid of an idea it was. Go all the way across the world just to work at some agency that was unheard of? I was accepted to work under Mr. Elastic. He hardly ever accepted people with lack of experience to work for his agency. It was why his agency was so good in the first place. The more experienced people that worked for him, the less mistakes that would've been made.

The choice was so easy to make. It was what my dad...

No.

No, I didn't want to do anything if the sole reason was him. That wasn't an option. If I worked for Mr. Elastic, it would be because I wanted to work alongside my mentor, to become a better hero. I could easily learn that through him.

"Ah! Here we are, the Bravura Agency. Founded by Bravura," Mr. Elastic read. "The man wanted to create an agency that puts people first, whether that was who he hired or who he prioritized on the job. He's not currently ranked in the American Billboard chats," Mr. Elastic took a moment to look up at me. "Kind of hard to do when there are more people living there, and they only do the top 100 heroes in all 50 states," he commented before looking back down at the site for a moment. "It'd be kind of a hard deal to pass."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked. "I mean, I'd be learning from you here. I can't pass that up."

The number two hero shook his head. "Yamamoto, there is more to a hero than ranking. You of all people should know that. I gave you that off based off of your hard work and merit. If you take this job offer in America, even if its only for a year or two, you can learn different techniques and styles that American Heroes have and carry it over here if you decide to come back. Likewise, you can teach them some of your training."

"But I wouldn't be able to start until the summer," I pointed out.

"True," Mr. Elastic agreed. "Have you made a pros and cons list of that agency and mine?"

I shook my head. In all honesty, I was just hoping Mr. Elastic would give me the answer. This offer in America came all too quickly. What was

Mr. Elastic nodded his head before he reached into a drawer under his desk and slid it out. I watched as he pulled out a blank piece of paper and a pencil. Before he handed it to me, he closed his laptop and shoved it to the side, so he could watch whatever I would write. That normally would've intimidated people, but I didn't care. He didn't mean any harm by it. If anything, he just wanted to make sure I got all the points down, I think.

I hope.

"My agency," he said as I wrote it down. "Some pros to it is that you'll start working for me the day after you graduate. You know the area. You wouldn't have to deal with a cultural or language barrier, and you'd be closer to your family."

Everything he listed went under the pros except for the close to family. There was a moment of silence when he saw me write that underneath the cons heading. I glanced up at him, noticing the man shake his head, not saying a word about it.

"Other cons could be that I can't help you with your Ultra Strength Quirk, not as much as Bravura can. You wouldn't be able to grow as much. I might be biased, but I can't really think of any other cons for my agency, so feel free to continue writing anything else you might think of," he said.

He was right. There wasn't many cons to list when working with him, at least, not compared to what I was offered over at America. I didn't have a place to stay here. I'd have to jump from house to house, trying to find an older sibling or a friend to crash the night with until I could get a place. Even then, I felt as if that'd be too close to him.

The next time I'd see his face, it'd be all too soon.

Yet, in the end, there were more pros to working with Mr. Elastic than cons. There was just one name I found myself writing and couldn't stop myself from putting down until I wrote the very last letter to it. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Tami Smith?" he asked as a con for his agency.

I nodded my head. "She's studying abroad, for college to figure out what she wants. I think she sees this as an opportunity to visit her home for the first time since she moved here."

Mr. Elastic smiled at that comment. "You two have come a long way since your first year year."

I winced at his words. He wasn't wrong. My first impression of Tami wasn't exactly a fond one. She started out in the Hero Department, but she didn't want to be there. I noticed and saw it as weak. I couldn't get past how someone like her even made it into the top of the hero department, but as time went on, I realized she had other strengths, strengths that were much more important than being a hero.

Looking back, I wasn't even sure how she managed to survive those classes. Or worse, how she even dealt with me when I was just a miniature version of my dad. In all honesty, I didn't like to admit what I was even like when I was younger. That boy was nothing like the man I was now.

At least, I hope not.

"It'd be stupid to just go because of her though," I brought up.

"Some may say that," Mr. Elastic agreed, "but I don't want to be pressuring you into my agency either. You can say no if there are other reasons that make you want to leave Japan. After all, Bravura's Quirk is similar to yours, and his agency is filled with Pro Heroes and sidekicks with unique Quirks, more so than mine. I'm certain that if you'd go with him, you'd probably learn a lot more than you would from me."

As he said that, his eyes drifted over to the top of my list, the part that said my family was here. That'd just be the cowards way out. If I left to go to his agency...

But it'd be a great way to do something in spite of my dad.

"Thanks, Mr. Elastic," I said as I stood up. "I think I know what I'm going to do."

The man smiled as he saw me, still seated in his chair. "You do?"

I nodded my head once again. "Yes. I want to thank you for this opportunity of accepting me into your agency. It would be an honor to work with you." I took a deep breath as I noticed his smile falter a bit, almost as if he wasn't expecting that answer, or what was about to follow. "But I think I'm going to work for Bravura in America."

My answer earned a smile from my mentor, one I wasn't exactly expecting. "That's great. Let's get that paperwork filled out, so after your exam, you can let everyone know you have a plan."

Hearing his words, I felt my shoulders drop. It was almost as if there was this weight that was lifted off of them, a weight that had been there for years. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew it was a good thing. It had to be. Whatever my final exam was going to be, I knew it'd be a breeze.

For the first time, I felt as if I was making the first steps to what I was meant to do. Nothing felt better.

Author's Note:

And that wraps up the first arc of I'm No Villain. We will not see the final exams Raiden and his friends will take to keep the storyline moving on. I do have a plan what will happen next; however, that won't happen for a while. This is a side project to What Makes a Hero, meaning I won't be able to post another arc until I get an arc done there. Once WMaH is done, then this book will take priority.

When will the next chapter of WMaH be posted...hehehe...might not be for a while being that classes are kicking my butt rn and chapters to this next arc are a bit challenging. So please, bare with me.

In the meantime, here is the question for the chapter. As you can all probably tell by now, a majority of this book will take place in America! So, since some of the cast is traveling, I want to know, what is one place you'd love to visit someday?

Alright, that's all I've got for you for now. Take care everyone!

Character Spotlight: Mr. Elastic
Quirk: Stretch
Likes: Summertime

Song: Shelter. Ghibli Orchestra Edition by Porter Robinson and Madeon