A/N: Hello everyone! Day 5 of consecutive updates~! YAY!! Yesterday it was Swan Dive, today it's Viridian! Sorry it's so short, it's mostly a transition/setup chapter for the U.A. Exams, which are coming up. (If you read Robin's Nest, you might notice how similar the exams are, but in my defense, Viridian Izuku has a PhD in Computer Science, soooo....)

Hope everyone's staying safe with Corona out there. My boss that may or may not have it came in to work with me today. Oof. Wish me luck. Hope it's just the normal flu or something.

Fanart is always welcomed, and if you have any please send it to [email protected] (I should really make another e-mail for fanart, shouldn't I?) Just please title the subject of your e-mail as 'fanart' or something similar so I know it's not spam. Cause I'm not going through my 4k+ unread emails I've been ignoring for the last six months. XD

Again~ We've got a bnha chat on Telegram. If you're bored enough, come join us~! We've added about five or six people over the last two days, so feel free to come and join us too. Just PM @SilvermistAnimeLover, and I'll reply. :)

Izuku was lounging in his refurbished lawn chair by his fire pit as he enjoyed some pasta that he'd cooked. He really couldn't thank Keigo enough for all the food and supplies he'd given to him—even if it did seem like a bit much at times. The sun was shining down, and the wind blew through his dirty green hair. "Maybe I should shower soon...?"

"How long has it been since you last bathed?" Keigo asked as he came into the clearing. He once tried to land from the skies and nearly toppled the delicately piled trash heaps with the wind his wings had created. So he had to memorize the very specific non-booby-trapped route that Izuku had dug out to get to his secluded home.

"Well, I don't exactly have running water, here. I sneak into the gym by the library whenever I can to catch a quick shower."

"Or, you could just waltz into my place and use my stuff." Keigo tossed something at him, and Izuku looked down incredulously at a bright silver key.

"Don't look so surprised—you've been to my apartment before."

"Yeah, but you've given me the key to your apartment. That's kinda different."

"Not really. I'm a busy high-ranking Hero, and you're a busy high-ranking Vigilante who helps out the police. Plus, the Entrance Exams for U.A. are tomorrow." He grinned as he flopped down in the other lawn chair. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Izuku's expression soured. He'd failed the exam miserably in his original timeline. "I put in all the paperwork for my weapons months ago, and Nezu's approved them."

"Relax, Izuku." Keigo sent him a carefree smile. "You're the best Vigilante in all of Japan. You ran circles around every Pro Hero and police force out there—even All Might and Endeavor!! This exam will be nothing to you!"

He remembered that one time that All Might himself had tried to catch him when he'd been patrolling on Tokyo. The man had been terrifyingly quick and strong, and he did not like being on the other end of that smile. But he'd managed to outwit the #1 Hero and give him the slip until his 3 hours were up. He'd jumped quite drastically in the Vigilante Rankings thereafter. As far as he knew, he was one of the only vigilantes to ever outrun All Might. And it'd been incredibly satisfying to do so. Like he was flipping the man the finger after he'd crushed his dreams twice.

"You're right." Izuku relaxed a bit. You have to be.

Izuku was also happy to note that the local homeless thugs in his area no longer gave him any trouble. After he took on that one guy with some kind of bear Quirk and won, the others backed off rather quickly. He'd earned their respect, which was everything on the streets.

Two things would keep you from being used or killed when you were homeless. It was the difference between living on the streets and running the streets. Respect and connections.

And Izuku had both—though they didn't know the connections bit, as he hardly interacted with anyone. But that was his choice. He didn't need to interact with the street crowd yet. He knew who was who, of course, and they knew him, but only enough to keep away. He had about six people who owed him favors, and that was enough for now.

Izuku had also been keeping an eye on his vigilante persona's online standing. He was blown away by the number of supporters he had across Japan. It wasn't just Musutafu or Hosu—not just the places he'd actually patrolled. It was everywhere. He even had people in other countries that were taking an interest in him!!

Word had spread about how he helped people that the heroes couldn't—or wouldn't—reach. He vaguely recalled saving a very well-known Quirkless man from a mugging months ago, and he'd apparently written an entire article on the interaction. He strongly noted how Viridian had taken his Quirkless status with a smile and saved him anyways.

Apparently that earned him a lot of supporters globally—from people with weak Quirks or no Quirks. Normally, he wouldn't understand it, but this time, he did. Because he knew what that was like. He knew firsthand that there were some heroes that would turn around and walk away from a Quirkless person in need. He'd seen it.

He'd lived it.

There was no way he'd ever turn his back on anyone. That's not who Viridian was. That's not who Izuku was. And that, he'd say, he was proud of.

Linelinelinelinelienlinelinelinelineline

Later that night Viridian sat on a rooftop at three in the morning, enjoying the night breeze as he calmed his nerves. In about four hours, he'd be seated down for his written exam. He was too nervous and excited to sleep, no matter what Keigo had said about resting up.

After all, the fate of the entire world was hinging on him actually getting in to U.A. this time. Izuku hoped he didn't blow it.

He'd been patrolling with Eraserhead nearly every night, and on the nights he wasn't patrolling with him, he went with a different hero (he enjoyed the patrols with Midnight, too, even if she'd loathed patrolling the South Side. Eraserhead had certainly been shocked at his ability to find trouble; he wasn't sure the man would ever let him patrol alone again). Tsukauchi made sure that nobody (especially Viridian) patrolled alone while Stain was still at large.

Some nights, Viridian spent his time with Tsukauchi and his team, helping them look over case files and pointing out things they'd missed or overlooked. Other nights, he patrolled with his favorite Underground Hero.

He smirked as he heard the quiet footsteps of Eraserhead on the roof behind him. The man sat down beside him.

"I thought we were supposed to patrol together." Eraserhead raised a reprimanding eyebrow as he held out a cup of coffee to Izuku, who took it gratefully.

He smiled as he gave a nod of thanks. "And I thought you'd get some extra shut-eye, considering you've got a long day tomorrow. Aren't the U.A. Entrance exams in a few hours?"

Aizawa sighed, taking a long sip of his coffee. "I'd ask how you knew I was a teacher there, but I doubt I'll get any answers from you."

"Don't like that, 'Zawa." His eyes crinkled in a smile, making the hero twitch in annoyance. "I'm just looking out for you, trying to make sure you take care of yourself."

"That's not your job." He replied gruffly.

"It is, because I'm your friend."

"You're a coworker, not a friend." He glared, but there was a certain fondness behind those eyes.

Totally a friend—tsundere.

Over the last month or so that he'd been patrolling with Eraserhead, the two had grown close. Eraserhead had learned to trust Viridian's gut instincts and let him lead the patrols to find trouble.

Viridian was a bit more confident during the daytime, too, and had started some smaller patrols in the late afternoon.

Perhaps because of this, several civilians had started to mistake him for an actual hero, which Eraserhead had pointed out he technically could be without the license because he was Quirkless. The Hero License pretty much just let people use their Quirks legally, and since Viridian didn't have one, he didn't need one to be a hero. (Though he still should have one, and it would help him gain access to information and places that he couldn't legally access otherwise).

The fact that those words actually put Viridian in tears was something that only Eraserhead knew (and he started freaking out when he saw Viridian crying, but calmed down when he was told that he was happy, because no one had ever told him that before).

His online persona was really popular. People always talked about 'Viridian Sightings' and the like. They nicknamed him the Shadow Hero because he was hardly ever seen while working. Viridian thought it was a cool nickname... maybe he'd keep it? The Shadow Hero: Viridian. Yeah... that sounded badass.

Speaking of online, he'd ghosted several chatrooms and was shocked to see people making merchandise off of him. Like, what?! He wasn't a Hero! Why would people want merchandise of him?! It'd taken Keigo shoving BBQ Chicken Wings into his mouth to snap him out of that stupor.

"So you gonna tell me who's under that mask?" Eraserhead asked casually. It's become a little joke to them, now. Though he could tell that the man really wanted to know.

"Nope! But, just a head's up, you might not see me as often for a little bit." Viridian looked over the city. "Things are calm right now, something big is coming. A lot of villains have been going off the grid, lately. Be careful, Shouta."

The man scowled lightly at the use of his given name. He never got used to Viridian calling him by that.

"Could you maybe call me by my Hero name while I'm on the clock?"

"Life's too short to worry about silly things like formalities. You're my friend, so I'll call you what I want."

Eraserhead gave him an odd look. "Sometimes I swear you're older than me." His eyes narrowed. "But other times you seem younger than my first years."

Well, if all goes well, tomorrow, I might be one of your first-years! Those words were so close to escaping his mouth... but he bit back the urge. It was much more convenient to keep Izuku and Viridian as two separate people, right now. Izuku would be his student, and Viridian would be his informant/comrade. There was little chance Aizawa would let Viridian fight by his side if he knew he wasn't even old enough to legally drive. The man was honestly too soft when it came to children.

"I promise you, Aizawa. I'm no first year." He chuckled. Not yet... or would it be not anymore?

"My shift is nearly done. I should get going." Eraserhead sighed. "And so should you."

"Be safe. And like I said, be careful. The underworld is stirring, these days, and I rather like you. I don't want you dead. Pass it on to Masa and Ken, would you?"

"I still can't believe Tsuragamae lets you call him by his given name." Eraserhead shook his head. "Same to you, Viridian. Be safe. I'll see you later."

The vigilante couldn't help but smirk as he watched the hero go. He stayed until the sun started to peek over the horizon, painting the sky.

"All right, U.A. Here I come." He cackled as he vanished out of sight.

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GayAFanimeBoi is Online]

GayAFanimeBoi: Guys!! Check it out!!

GayAFanimeBoi: Viridian_bedspread.jpg

DragoninaDress: Did... did you buy Viridian merch?! That's a thing?!

MoldiBroccli: I MUST HAVE!! WHERE U BUY?!

GayAFanimeBoi: off Etsi!! Ppl make stuff by hand, there. It's pretty chill. I've got a Viridian keychain, too!! And some stickers... and maybe a poster...

Noiscardily: He's getting very popular. I've seen more and more people with his merchandise walking around. Sometimes, when there's a crime near my house (I live in a bad neighborhood), I hear people calling for Viridian instead of just 'help' or a hero.

TheCakeisaLie: You mean they call him by name? That's pretty damn cool!

Noiscardily: Yeah, and the thing is, he comes. Consistently. It's like he has a homing beacon for trouble, it's really cool to see.

GayAFanimeBoi: are you stalking him or smthn?

Noiscardily: It's my Quirk. I can 'see' everything in a certain radius of me. The calmer I am, the wider the radius.

DragoninaDress: You guys are lucky. I'm over here in France. I don't even have the ghost of a chance to meet up with Viridian.

GayAFanimeBoi: Wait... you live in an area he regularly patrols, right? You wouldn't happen to be in Musutafu, would you?!

Noiscardily: Mayhaps I am?

GayAFanimeBoi: So am I!! That's so cool!!

Demonic-Gay-Microwave: Then you've got me... living over here in Tokyo by my lonesome. *cri*

Barbieisawhore: Don't be such a mope. I live in Tokyo half the time, too. The other half I live with my dad in Musutafu. He works for the cops of Musutafu PD, and apparently Viridian's been working with them. I haven't seen or met him yet, tho. Thinking of asking my dad if I can.

GayAFanimeBoi: if you do, plz take me with you!! I HAVE to thank him for saving my life!!

Noiscardily: It would be pretty cool...

Barbieisawhore: I'll have to ask. My dad doesn't work directly with him, but he knows the guy that does. Apparently Viridian's a bit skittish, tho. Gee, I wonder why? *eyeroll*

GayAFanimeBoi: Ack! Gtg. Bro's goin to sleep and we share a room. UA exams tomorrow, ya kno? Wish him luck!!

Noiscardily: Oh yeah... @Deku Good Luck on your exams today!! :D We're all rooting for you!

Barbieisawhore: Good luck, Deku!

GayAFanimeBoi: Good luck! Find my bro, yeah?!

[GayAFanimeBoi has logged out]

OMAKE:

Izuku was walking around downtown in the early afternoon. School had just gotten out, and he wanted to spend some time out and about in his civilian persona for a change. Bakugo had been concentrating on studying lately, what with the U.A. Exams coming up, so Izuku didn't have to worry about his school bullies as much.

A flash of green caught his eye, and he stopped to stare at a kid walking by. He had a dark green hoodie with 'Shadow Hero: Viridian' written across it.

"What the...?" Was that... Merch? For... for him?!

He took a closer look at the keychain of the woman walking by. It was a chibi version of his face. Or, masked face, at least. "Excuse me, miss?" He stopped her, and she turned to look over at him. "Where'd you get that?" He pointed to the keychain.

"Oh! Another Viridian fan, huh? He's sure is popular." She grinned. "You can really only find his merch online—places like Etsi who make stuff by hand and to order, but I think there might be a shop or two in the mall that has some stuff for him. Honestly, sometimes I forget he's not a legal hero!" She laughed before bidding a shell-shocked Izuku goodbye.

He had merch. What the hell? He pulled out his cellphone and called Keigo.

"You knew." He accused the moment the winged hero picked up the phone.

"You're going to have to be a tad more specific than that, Izu."

"Viridian has merch." He still couldn't process this. He wasn't a hero. Why did he have merch?! A vigilante with merch was unheard of! That was like a Villain getting merch—it just didn't happen.

He stared as a kid across the street loudly proclaimed to his sister that he wanted to be a hero like Viridian some day. The world had gone crazy. This was a whole new type of apocalypse.

"Yep. Wondered how long it'd take you to catch on. You're really popular, you know." Keigo sounded amused. Traitor.

"But... I—Viridian is a vigilante. Not a hero." He echoed dumbly.

"Yep!" He chirped happily. "Listen, Izuku. Why do you think the police accepted your offer?"

"Because we can help people?" Suddenly, he wasn't so sure anymore. Why had they agreed to a partnership? It was actually fairly unheard of for a vigilante to work with the police like this—something that hadn't happened since... oh, wow... since the pre-Quirk era.

"Try again~" Keigo teased.

"Uh... because... I have connections?"

"It's because they know it's impossible to catch you." Keigo responded. "They can't win against you. So when you offered to join their side, they jumped at the chance. It's a sore spot, but you beat them. They have no power over you, Izu. You have power, and you don't even know it."

"Me?" Izuku laughed. "Yeah right. April Fool's is long passed, Kei." He shook his head. And here he thought the winged hero was going to give him an actual answer. Though he did have a point that that they couldn't catch him. Maybe that was why? If you can't catch 'em, join 'em? Or something like that. "Anyways, I've got to go. Still got a few errands to run. Love ya, bro." He chuckled as he heard Keigo splutter on the other end.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get into too much trouble, baby bro." Izuku felt his face heat up as he clicked off the phone. He hadn't thought Keigo would take his little joke seriously.

Didn't mean he didn't like it, though.