Memes Are In The Chapter Today, Still Drop Yours though!
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The next morning, Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida showed up to see me. Izuku came with Gran Torino, looking nervous like he was about to get scolded. Todoroki had Endeavor trailing behind him, arms crossed like he was here to investigate a murder. Iida was visibly pissed. Probably because he did not get to fight Stain.
'Did I steal his character growth?' I thought. 'Nah, probably nothing.'
Izuku looked between me and the TV still playing clips from last night. "So… that happened."
"Yep."
"You fought Stain."
"Sure did."
Iida adjusted his glasses. "You told us Stain was at the west of Hosu."
I stared dead into his eyes. "No, I told you there was an anonymous notice from a citizen that Stain had been seen at the west of Hosu. You can check your inbox to see for yourself. And I also added that you should alert your agency and steer clear away from there. If you were not stupid enough to charge in, maybe the universe would reward you with Stain falling onto your lap."
Iida's jaw tightened. "You misled us."
"No, I gave you information and told you what to do with it. If you decided to ignore the 'steer clear' part, that is not my problem."
Izuku fidgeted. "But—"
"No buts, except they're with two t's." I cut him off. "You think you were going to jump in and fix everything? You were both one bad decision away from getting your spines used as drumsticks. And now, instead of being grateful, you are mad I did not hold your hand?"
Iida's fists clenched. "That was my fight."
"No, it was not," I said. "You made it your fight because you wanted revenge. That is not justice. That is selfish."
His glasses caught the light as he turned away. He did not have anything to say to that.
Todoroki, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke. "So, why were you really there?"
I shrugged. "I was walking back to the agency, got jumped, and defended myself. Not my fault Stain fights like he is in a battle anime."
He stared at me like he was trying to decide if I was lying. "That is it?"
"Yep."
Mirko, who arrived to join the fun, let out a laugh. "Kid's got better survival instincts than most of you combined. You should be taking notes."
Endeavor looked at her. "Did you find anything?"
Mirko shook her head. "He disappeared."
I tilted my head. "What are you talking about?"
Ryukyu walked out of her office, sighing. "An unknown person appeared out of nowhere yesterday, assisted us in battle against those creatures. A blonde vigilante. We ran his face through the database but couldn't find anything about him."
Endeavor crossed his arms. "You got anything on his quirk?"
"Hard to say," Ryukyu said. "He was fast. Strong. Almost unnatural with how he moved."
"Another enhancement type?"
"Probably," she said. "But the way he fought, it didn't feel like just brute force. He knew what he was doing."
I scratched my cheek. "So, what? We got a budget All Might running around?"
Mirko snorted. "More like a knockoff Batman with a sword."
Endeavor ignored us. "If he's operating outside the law, we need to keep an eye on him."
"Unless he pops up again, we don't have much to go on," Ryukyu said. "No records, no name, no contacts. Just showed up, fought, and vanished."
Endeavor's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sit right."
I shrugged. "Yeah, well, the world's full of weirdos."
Ryukyu shot me a look. "Speaking of weirdos, you're not off the hook."
Mirko grinned. "Yeah, kid. The school's still freaking out about you."
"U.A. always freaks out."
"Not like this," Ryukyu said. "Nezu called again. Calls are getting more frequent."
"Wow, rude," I said. "I saved lives and got famous. What's the problem?"
Endeavor exhaled sharply. "The problem is you acted without clearance, and now every news station in the country is running your face."
"Yeah, but I looked good, though."
Mirko grinned. "Gotta admit, kid, you did steal the show."
Ryukyu pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's not helping."
Endeavor stared at me. "Stay low for now. Believe me, you don't wanna cause more trouble."
"Fine, fine," I said, waving a hand. "I'll settle before Nezu starts planning my assassination."
Mirko laughed. "Too late for that."
Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida left after some chat, and Ryukyu walked out to patrol, so it was me and Mirko, who blew out a pencil from her lips. I caught it when it fell for the fifth time and said, "You know there are better things to do."
Mirko stretched her arms over the back of the couch. "Yeah? Name one."
I spun the pencil between my fingers. "Dunno. Punch a wall, break a table, terrorize an intern that actually listens."
She snorted. "Where's the fun in that?"
I tossed the pencil back at her. "You ever heard of boredom? 'Cause it's screaming at you right now."
She caught it without looking. "Kid, I've been in this business long enough to know boredom's just the world setting up for the next round of bullshit."
"Then let's get ahead of it," I said. "You, me, ramen shop. First stop, a field trip Second stop, whatever's on fire in Hosu."
Mirko raised a brow. "You got a death wish, or you just like pissing people off?"
"Little bit of both."
She grinned. "You're growing on me."
I looked at her up and down. "You are hot, but I am afraid you will break my neck with those thighs."
She glared at me. "Where do you imagine your head? Between my thighs?"
I put on a scandalous face. "How pervert, Mirko. I was simply imagining carrying you on my shoulders."
She smirked. "So was I? So when you imagined me pervert, were you thinking something pervert?"
I grinned back. "I am underage, and this conversation is basically a crime."
She flicked my forehead, shaking her head. "You start it and then act innocent. That's why people wanna punch you."
"And yet, here I stand, unpunched," I said, dodging back before she could flick me again. "Maybe it's my natural charisma. Maybe it's my overwhelming talent. Maybe people are just too slow."
She cracked her knuckles. "Try me, brat."
I held up my hands. "Alright, alright, let's not commit violence against minors. Nezu's probably already preparing a kill squad for me."
Mirko flopped back onto the couch. "That rat's got too much free time. You really got him pressed."
"Yeah, but in my defense, I am a very pressing individual," I said, pointing at the TV. The footage of my fight was still looping. "Also, my PR team sucks. Where's my hero name? Where's my cool theme song? At this rate, they're gonna call me 'Bat Freak.'"
Mirko stretched. "Could be worse. They could be calling you 'Discount Stain.'"
I scoffed. "Yeah, that's suicide reason number 11."
In the end, we went out for ramen, but Mirko forbade us from the field trip. We put on some disguises and left the office.
Mirko picked a small shop off the main street, somewhere quiet but not too out of place. She threw a hat on, pulled a hoodie up, and went in first. I followed, sunglasses and a medical mask covering my face. Not that I needed them—most people were too busy eating to care.
We slid into a booth. Mirko grabbed a menu, barely looking at it. "Get whatever you want. Ryukyu's covering."
"Neat." I grabbed one too, pretending to read. "So, what's good?"
"The food."
"Great. Super helpful."
A waiter walked up. "What can I get you?"
Mirko pointed at something random. "That."
I scanned the menu, picked the first thing that looked decent, and nodded. "Same."
The waiter scribbled it down and left.
Mirko leaned back, stretching her arms over the seat. "So, how's it feel? Being famous overnight?"
"Annoying. I still have not gotten a merch."
She snorted. "Yeah, I don't think that is how it works."
"It should be." I tapped the table. "I take down a serial killer, I should at least get a cool remix of my fight edited with some dramatic music."
"People already memeing your ass, what more do you want?"
I pulled out my phone and showed Mirko the screen. "Hehe, this one is my favorite so far."
It was the Patrick's Wallet meme.
Ryuu: "Who saved you when you were bleeding out?"
Stain: "A hero."
Ryuu: "Even the worst pro hero still saves people."
Stain: "No."
Ryuu: "This is your hero."
Stain: "...Yes."
Ryuu: "Then shut the fuck up."
Mirko snorted, grabbing the phone. "Damn, they got his dumbass good."
She scrolled down, pausing at another. "No Bitches?" Stain Edition.
Stain: "Heroes don't deserve the title!"
Ryuu: "Then why are you still waiting for them?"
Stain: -deadpan-
She let out a low whistle. "Internet's ruthless."
"Right?" I grinned, taking my phone back. "Man got his whole ideology folded like cheap laundry, and people are making memes before he even gets processed."
Mirko leaned on the table. "What did you expect? You humiliated a dude who looks like he gargles motor oil for breakfast. Ain't nobody taking him seriously now."
I scrolled through a few more, stopping on the "You vs. The Guy She Told You Not to Worry About" format.
You: "Society is rotten. Heroes are frauds."
The Guy She Told You Not to Worry About: "Even the paycheck-cashing hero still saved your ass."
I turned the screen to her. "This one hits different."
She cackled. "Man, I don't even know if this is cyberbullying or a public service."
"It's both," I said, saving the image. "Hero Killer got killed by public opinion."
Mirko grabbed her own phone, scrolling. "Oh shit, check this one." She turned her screen toward me—Always Has Been.
Astronaut 1: "Wait, even fake heroes still save people?"
Astronaut 2 (holding gun): "Always have."
I wheezed. "They made him the clueless space guy!"
"He earned that shit," she said, taking back her phone. "You really cooked his ass, huh?"
"I was just stating facts," I shrugged. "Man acts like he's some revolutionary thinker, but he's just a homeless dude with a shitful moral filter."
She nodded. "And now he's a homeless dude with a meme complex."
I scrolled again and snorted. "Yo, the 'Think, Stain!' one is actually goated."
Ryuu: "They still save people, Stain! Even the worst of them!"
Stain: "But they want fame and money—"
Ryuu: "THINK, STAIN! THEY STILL SHOW UP!"
Mirko covered her mouth, shoulders shaking. "Bro, they got you in Invincible format? Nah, it's over for him."
"Bro really thought he was onto something," I laughed. "Whole time he was just making it easier for me to verbally beat his ass."
She clicked her tongue. "Speech and violence. You really double-tapped him."
"Overkill's a myth," I said, tossing my phone onto the table. "Besides, I'm doing the world a favor. Now no idiot's gonna take his ideology seriously."
Mirko stretched. "Tch, maybe, but you know dumbasses multiply when you least expect it."
"Yeah, but at least now, they'll get cyberbullied into submission."
She shook her head. "Imagine getting your life's work turned into a meme in real-time."
"Bro should've shut the fuck up," I said, shrugging.
"Could've at least thrown hands first before getting philosophized into a coma."
I smirked. "See, that's why I started swinging immediately. No room for rebuttals."
Mirko tapped the table. "Smart. If he talked any longer, people might've started thinking he had a point."
"Yeah, until they remembered his diet consists of shoe leather and alleyway puddles."
She laughed. "So what's next? You gonna get a sponsorship deal off this?"
I leaned back. "Shit, I wish. If some energy drink hits me up, I'm slapping my name on it immediately."
"'Hero Juice: Now With 50% More Fuck Around And Find Out.'"
"Exactly," I grinned. "Tagline writes itself."
She shook her head, still laughing. "Man, Ryukyu's gonna have a brain hemorrhage when she sees this."
"She'll live," I said. "Probably."
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You are born.
You live.
You work.
You die.
In between? You read this novel.
What will they say of you?
"Here lies a reader who laughed, cried, raged…
and never once tapped the Power Stone."
Is that how you want to be remembered?
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