Chapter 4: Opportunity


A/N: Alright guys! Shit's gettin real in regards to life here at home. Corona put California on a mandatory home-stay lockdown thing starting tonight. Unfortunately, both my workplaces fall under the 'takeout/delivery' category, I think, so I'll still be working. *Cries* I'm grateful that I CAN still work and that my jobs are still providing income, but... :( The opportunity to sit home and get paid for it for once... *Sighs* Well, nothing is ever easy, right?

Either way, I'm still planning to update as often as I can for everyone!! Please stay safe!! Stay indoors (be the little fanfic/anime hermits we all know we are inside! Hiss at the socialization!) and wash your hands often. I want to wish a belated happy birthday to Chi-chan and Kisa. I'm sorry that this was going on during your special days, and hope that next year is much better.

So with that said, please enjoy and I hope this relieves some boredom for everyone.

~~~


Izuku would admit that he wasn't expecting a phone call during his lunch break at school. Even less so from his vigilante phone (which, thankfully, he'd had the foresight to add the voice changer to).

"Hello?" He answered. It wasn't a number he was familiar with, and Naomasa and Eraserhead both knew to reach out through the group chat by now, but he'd only given this number to them.

"Hello. Viridian, yes?"

"Who's asking?"

"I am Tsuragamae Kenji, Musutafu Chief of Police." Oh, shit he'd really attracted the higher up's attention this time.

"Tsuragamae-san!" He smirked, using a confident and laid-back tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Detective Tsukauchi has told me about your interesting proposition. I'm open to negotiation. Please come by the station at your earliest convenience."

"And how do I know you're not just going to arrest and unmask me?" Izuku raised an eyebrow, even though he knew the man couldn't see him. Though he wondered how he must look right now, sitting on the Jr. High rooftop holding a serious conversation with the Chief of Police (not that anyone would know that, unless they heard him call the man's name earlier).

"I assure you, we have no intentions of doing so."

"Bring in Eraserhead, and allow me to keep my weapons on me, and we'll talk."

He heard a very heavy sigh on the other line. "Very well."

"Great! Then I'll see you this afternoon."

Izuku shut the old flip-phone (ancient technology he'd salvaged from the scrap heap) and pocketed it again and turned around to go back inside before he was late to class, only to find Bakugo there.

"Hey, Deku! Who were you talkin' to? It's not like a useless Deku like you has any friends!" Bakugo shoved him roughly, and Izuku rolled his eyes as it failed to so much as make him stumble.

"Believe it or not, Baka-go, I actually have a life. And it doesn't revolve around you." He nimbly dodged the explosive punch from the blond, hands in his pockets.

"Think you're so high-and-mighty just 'cause you've got good grades?! You still thinking you can be a fucking hero, Deku?!"

Izuku's expression darkened. "I know it's an impossible dream, asshat." He enjoyed the flinch from the blond. "But I'm working tooth and nail to make that dream a reality. I will get into U.A. Just fucking watch me. And as you watch me, remember that every time you've beaten me down... every time you've called me useless... every time you've tried to crush my dreams. I got back up. And I persevered. Because I will become a goddamned hero, even if it fucking kills me. Because unlike you I don't do it for me. I do it for the people I can save." He then flipped over Bakugo and his cronies before casually making his way to class.

Neither Izuku nor Bakugo noticed the young winged hero that sat atop the roof, watching the scene unfold with an unreadable expression.

Ohgee,Iwonderwhothatcouldbe?Maybesomeonethatcouldmakeanappearancelater?Iwonderhowmanyofyouknowwhothisyoungherois.;)well,line-chanheretoday!Iwisheveryoneahappydayandhopenobody'stooterriblybored.Lookforwardtotomorrow'supdate!Wonderwhichstorythat'llbe?


To say Viridian was nervous as he approached the police station in broad daylight in full vigilante gear was like saying a shark's bite was a little nip.

He watched as several people on the street looked at him oddly, likely because he was dressed like a ninja.

One kid perked up and ran over to him, dodging his mother's hand as he ran.

"Hey! You're that cool new Hero everyone's talking about on the internet!! Viridian, right?! Can I please have your autograph?!" Viridian blinked down at the kid, who looked no older than 7.

People knew about him? Maybe he should take some time to browse the internet. He thought it was just the villains and police that knew him.

"I'm a vigilante, kid. Not a hero." He crossed his arms.

"No! You save people, which makes you a hero! You save everyone!" He argued stubbornly and held out his book expectantly. A few people whispered excitedly as they pulled out their phones. Damnit, he couldn't be an ass and just refuse, now. Viridian sighed before gesturing for the boy to hand it over, which he did with an excited grin.

"You wanna be a hero, kid?" He asked, and the boy nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! My Quirk lets me climb anything!" He grinned. For a moment, Viridian saw a younger version of himself. An eager young boy who had dreams of being a hero. He could've been this kid, had he been blessed with a Quirk at four.

"I'm sure you'll make a great hero someday. Just don't use your Quirk out and about without a license, you hear?"

"Yeah!" He took the book back with a starry-eyed grin, which made Viridian uncomfortable. "Thank you, Viridian!" He smiled as he ran off.

Viridian stared after the boy for a moment before a familiar presence came up behind him.

"A little hypocritical of you." Eraserhead raised an eyebrow.

"I told him not to use his Quirk without a license. I have never broken that law." Viridian smirked back up at Eraserhead who shook his head fondly.

"You aren't much taller than him, you know."

"Seriously, don't call me little, damnit."

"I was just saying that you're a bit shor—"

"I'M NOT LITTLE!" He snapped, and the older man blinked in surprise for a moment before his hands moved in a placating manner.

"Geez, what're you, Edward Elric?"

"I'm. Not. Short." He growled out.

"Fine. Fine, you're perfectly average height for a man your age."

"Thank you." Viridian huffed as he stared at the station doors again.

"So... are we going to glare at the door all day, or are we going in for that meeting of yours? The one you insisted I come along for?" He shot Viridian an unimpressed look.

"Because I know that you, at least, won't let them kill me if it comes down to it." Plus, if worse comes to worse, I can always rip off my mask and reveal that I'm a fifteen-year-old brat and put 'em into shock that way while I make my escape. Then Shouta's sure to make sure they won't hurt me.

"It's a meeting. Just how paranoid are you?" He gave Viridian an incredulous look.

"It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you." Viridian corrected as he headed inside, leaving the hero staring after him in mild concern.

The cops at the front desk eyed him warily. "Hi. I've got a meeting with Chief Tsuragamae. Name's Viridian." He gave them a shit-eating grin (even if they couldn't see it, he knew they felt it) as they paled drastically.

"You have too much fun messing with people." Eraserhead sighed, shaking his head.

"Think of it as training."

"Training? For what?"

"Ah, Viridian, there you are." Tsukauchi came around the corner, and Viridian grinned. "We were starting to worry that you wouldn't show."

"I had a few things to tie up before I came down." Like school.

"Right. Follow me."

True to his word, Viridian was neither searched nor restrained. He was led to a comfortable looking break room with plenty of exits where Tsuragamae sat with a cup of coffee.

The vigilante graciously took a cup for himself, checking it thoroughly to make sure it wasn't tampered with, before he carefully pulled up his mask enough to drink some.

"I've heard a lot about you, Viridian. I must say that you are by far the most elusive vigilante we've ever had."

He shrugged as he pulled his mask back into place, so his voice changer would do its work. "I'm just an easy guy to miss. You've got good coffee, here. I was always told station coffee was shit."

"It usually is, which is why I always bring my own brew." Tsuragamae laughed.

"Ah, I should've figured as such."

"So, down to business. I understand you want a partnership with us."

"Yes. I want to help people. It's why I've always wanted to become a hero."

"Yet you're a vigilante instead?"

"No hero school would let me in. I failed all their exams." He worded his answers carefully. He knew that Tsukauchi was in here to act as a lie detector. If he told a lie, he'd alert his boss immediately.

"With your skills, that's hard to believe." He shook his head.

"I assure you, I was anything but skilled back then. I cried myself to sleep as a child when I realized my dreams were beyond my reach. Instead, I went to a trade school and tried making support items. But that wasn't enough. I needed to help people. So I became a vigilante to help more directly." He caught the subtle nod from Tsukauchi.

"What is it that you want from this... Shigaraki Tomura?"

"Tsuragamae-san, you must understand. I've seen him do some terrible things. Irreversible things. I can't tell you how I know this, but if he's left to run about, countless lives will be lost."

"I..." Tsukauchi blinked in surprise. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a tad more specific." Viridian knew that he was a little unnerved at his own Quirk's reaction. He imagined that he normally didn't get people who were that certain about future information.

"I've seen him kill people for no reason other than to sate his bloodlust—I've seen him murder mothers and leave their infants sobbing in their cold dead arms to starve. He's killed people very close to me, and I have reason to believe that he's planning something... big. As in, destroy the world as we know it, big."

"Anything more specific than big?" Tsuragamae's eyes narrowed.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a way to prove my theories to you at this time. Perhaps after we gather more information, I'll be able to explain more in-depth." The detective shuddered as he nodded to his boss, whose expression became grave.

"Well, then... I suppose we've got a common foe." He mulled over things for a bit as they continued talking. "Moving on from that, what can you offer us in this partnership?"

"Information. I'm very well-informed, and have many ways of getting information that heroes and police both would struggle to obtain."

"If we form this partnership, are you willing to share your identity with us? Just us three?" Tsuragamae asked.

"Unfortunately, not at this time." Viridian shook his head.

"And what if we had ways of getting you licensed?" Eraserhead cut in, and Viridian's head whipped up in shock so quickly that he nearly spilled the coffee.

"Wh-what?!" He had to have heard that wrong.

"A Hero License." Eraserhead smirked.

"I... that can't..." He stuttered and blinked in absolute shock. There was no fucking way that it could be that damn easy.

"You're the #1 Vigilante in Japan." Tsukauchi deadpanned. "And you think you wouldn't pass the License Exam for heroes? As long as a current hero recommends you, you can take it, even if you didn't go to a Hero School. Since Eraserhead here spoke up, it sounds like he's willing to sponsor you in this."

"I am. It'll make things easier for the both of us."

Viridian's head was spinning. "Hold on. I need some time to think about this. You sort of just broke my whole world-view, okay?" He ignored the chuckles from Tsukauchi and Eraserhead, as well as the amused smirk from Tsuragamae.

Was there a reason to take it? Well, yeah! He'd be a licensed hero, just like he'd always dreamed! But he'd probably have to reveal his identity, which would complicate things, as he didn't think they'd let a 15-year-old become a hero without a fight. But if he was able to make it, then he'd be able to bring down the league outright, and forgo the entire student fiasco...

Cons, though... If he forewent the student fiasco, then there was no guarantee that he'd be able to make it to the USJ incident, which would result in the death of one Asui Tsuyu and near death of Aizawa Shouta. Plus, he'd be able to do so as Midoriya Izuku, and not Viridian, who could remain a vigilante and still help the police and heroes through information gathering and fighting. And if they knew that Viridian was no older than a first year, they'd surely start keeping him from things that they deemed 'too dangerous'.

But he couldn't give those reasonings to them. So what could he say that'd sound believable?

"I might take you up on that offer... but not at this time. For the time being, I think I'm more valuable to you as a vigilante who can get in and out of areas that heroes and police can't."

"Oh? Like?" Tsuragamae prompted.

"A few underground information and black market networks that I know of." He smirked, leaning back against he couch. He pulled up his mask a bit to take another sip of coffee, allowing them to see said fanged smirk.

"I'll agree to our partnership, then. So long as you stick to the laws, that is. And tell us what your Quirk is." Viridian pulled his mask back down so he could speak.

"Hmmm..." He hummed, as he stroked his chin, used to the stubble he had in the future. "Let's see... do I tell the truth and break you? Or simply leave it as a mystery?" He wondered aloud. Internally laughing at their offended looks.

"Please. Humor us." Eraserhead deadpanned.

"Fine." Viridian grinned. "My Quirk? Is nada." They blinked, not understanding. "I'm Quirkless. I'm practically invisible to the laws. That's why I'm your ace."

He watched with no small amount of glee as the information settled into their brains like water in a rock before freezing and expanding and breaking their minds.

"Y-you mean... all this time...?" Eraserhead stuttered, which was honestly what made Viridian lose it and start laughing.

"He's lying... right?" Tsuragamae looked over to Tsukauchi, who shook his head. "Don't tell me that Japan's #1 Vigilante is...?"

"He's telling the truth." He paused for a moment. "That drug trading ring you busted a few months ago... the one with the Quirk breaking drugs." His eyes widened in realization.

"Doesn't do shit to a Quirkless guy. Should've seen the looks on their faces when they got me with it and it did nothing." He let his smirk drop. "Of course, I completely understand if you'd like to reject this offer. I know things are a bit different when my Quirkless status is taken into account." He puzzled at the frowns of the three men.

"Illogical. This changes nothing." Eraserhead shook his head. "Quirkless or not, you still... ugh... ran circles around us." Wow, that sounded like it physically pained him to admit. Viridian bit back a snicker to spare the man some dignity.

"All right, then." Tsuragamae stood up, shaking himself out of his stupor. He held out a hand. "Welcome to the team, Viridian. I'll put out the word to stop chasing you. You'll be an official informant for us, now."

"Really? So no more late-night chases?" Viridian took his hand with a firm shake. "I have to say, I'm going to miss our midnight games." He sighed wistfully.

"Well I'm going to enjoy the quieter nights." Tsukauchi stated, and Eraserhead nodded resolutely.

"You two are no fun." Viridian pouted, causing Tsuragamae to chuckle.

"You've certainly done a good job keeping my men active and on their toes. Maybe we should have you run a training camp or two sometime?" He pondered, making Viridian grin, and the other two men pale.

"Sounds like a blast."

"I'll look forward to working with you, Viridian. Here's my number. Use it."

Viridian walked out of that police station with a grin that would've made the future Shouta shudder.

World, here I come.

What'sthis?Anotherline?Iwonderwhat'sbelow~?

{Cult of Viridian Chat}

[GayAFanimeBoi is Online]

GayAFanimeBoi: GUYS!! Did you see?! Viridian made a PUBLIC APPEARANCE in Musutafu!!

MoldiBroccli: No way?! Show me!

GayAFanimeBoi: Just check out his fanpage!! There's a ton of photos and videos there!! A lot of people saw him go into the police station, so maybe he's working with them, now?

DragoninaDress: damn, he's really public? That seems unlike him, tho...

Noiscardily: He looks distinctly uncomfortable in such a populated area. I'm willing to bet that the police asked him to come in for some reason (maybe the kidnapping case he helped with?). He's gaining a lot of clout online, so they may be trying to recruit him, or turn him into a legal hero instead of a vigilante.

Barbieisawhore: is that really possible?! I thought u had 2 go 2 a hero school 2 become a hero?

MoldiBroccli: I think it's possible... I mean, Hawks didn't attend a hero school, right?

Ihavenoname: It's an old law that nobody bothered to update. It's leftover from before the hero schools were established. If a licensed hero recommends someone who's been apprehending villains on their own, then they can take the Hero Licensing Exam. It was originally the only way to become licensed.

Noiscardily: I think I remember reading about that. The first heroes were given the title by the government, and when they came across young hero hopefuls, they trained them and then recommended them for their own licenses.

Ihavenoname: Right, but after the Hero Schools were established, it sort of just fell out of practice. It was easier to train a group of hero-hopefuls all together and produce multiple heroes than train them one-on-one with a licensed hero for months or years.

TheCakeisaLie: I really doubt ppl realize this is a thing. Once someone fails the High School Heroics Entrance Exams, they pretty much take that as a closed door and find a different career.

MoldiBroccli: So it's possible to enter the heroics field even as an adult?

Ihavenoname: Yep. But that's only if they can find a hero to speak up for them.

GayAFanimeBoi: I doubt Viridian'll have trouble with that. He's amazing!

Noiscardily: Either way, now we have GOOD pictures and videos of our favorite Vigilante! :D Guess what my new screensaver is~

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