Chapter Text
"You seem more happy than usual Phantom Thief." Kafun Munda, or otherwise known as Pollen Hero: Futsu Himawari commented. (Futsu Himawari means Normal Sunflower, as ordinary sunflowers release a lot of pollen.)
"Ah, it's nothing really. It's just a wonderful day today!" Monoma grinned, walking along as they continued their patrol.
The Pollen Hero obviously didn't believe him, but seeing as it put him in a happy mood, she chose not to make any further commentary on it.
Of course, it was more than just a wonderful day that made Monoma so happy. It was the day before.
"Why am I here Shinsou?" Monoma asked, looking at the clearing. It was a spot the two of them had stumbled upon when running together one day, and the beautiful scenery made Monoma insist they stopped to look at it each time they ran together.
"We only come here when we're running. I think it was about time for us to come here when we're not doing anything." Shinsou said, sitting on the log conveniently placed beside the lake. He picked up one of the flowers growing near it, handing it to Monoma.
"A Hanashobu? Shinsou what's going on?" Monoma questioned, sitting beside him on the log. "You've been acting kind of weird lately." His gaze turned worried. "Is someone harassing you because of your quirk again?"
Shinsou shook his head. "Nothing like that. I've just been thinking about doing something for a while now."
"What have you been thinking of doing?" Monoma queried.
Shinsou sighed. "I want to confess to someone I've liked for a while now."
Monoma felt a pang in his chest. "Oh really? What are they like?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"Well for one they're really pretty." Shinsou informed, a distant, almost dreamy look crossing his face.
"Mhm." Monoma hummed.
"They can act kind of crazy, but underneath all of that they're actually a big softie."
'Who even is that? It could sound like Bakugou, but he's definitely not pretty.' Monoma thought.
"They're also very smart and can make amazing tactics. They don't think their quirk is really powerful though." Shinsou continued.
Wait. Someone smart, can make amazing tactics, doesn't think their quirk is powerful, really pretty, act kind of crazy but is actually a big softie-
"Y-You like me?" Monoma asked, eyes raising to his hairline. He could see a faint blush adorning Shinsou's features.
"Yeah." The lavender haired boy responded softly.
"Oh."
There was silence.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Monoma burst out, lightly punching Shinsou's arm.
"Wait what?" Shinsou questioned, bewildered.
"You should have told me sooner! Who knows what we could have done by now if you had said something!" Monoma exclaimed, standing up.
He held his hand out to Shinsou, who looked at both boy and boy's hand for a few seconds before accepting.
Monoma smiled.
"Let's not waste anymore time! Shinsou, we're going on our first date now!"
"What-"
The hero and hero student continued with their patrol, stopping small crimes like purse snatchers and small time muggers as they went. They soon stopped at an outdoor fast food joint to eat and have their lunch break.
"We haven't seen any big crimes these past few weeks." Himawari commented, taking a bite of taiyaki.
"Mhm." Monoma hummed, as he chewed and swallowed. "Isn't that a good thing?"
She nodded. "It is, but sometimes that just means the villains are plotting something big."
"Are you getting a bad feeling?" Monoma asked her, dropping his food to look at her properly.
"Nothing like that, just a little uneasy." The pollen quirk hero replied.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up and pressed it to her ear.
"Pollen Hero: Futsu Himawari here." She said into the phone.
There was silence for a few seconds as the person on the other end spoke, and Himawari's eyebrows furrowed at whatever they were saying.
"I see. We'll be there soon." She said seriously.
She turned to look at Monoma. "I was right. Some villains decided to set fire to a corporation not far from here, so we need to help with rescue and evacuation procedures. Look at the smoke." Himawari pointed in Monoma's direction, and he turned around in his chair to see black smoke rising in the distance.
"Let's go."
The two heroes arrived to the scene of the commotion, as Backdraft was already working on the fire. Kamui Woods was seen evacuating the people, while Death Arms broke down the doors to get into the building.
"There are still people in the building!" Death Arms shouted at them as he ran towards the ambulance near the corporation with an unconscious woman in a business suit.
"I'll head inside. You should help with the injured." Himawari commanded, running inside.
Monoma sighed. He wanted to do something more interesting, but he guessed helping with the injured was still an important assignment. As he walked towards the ambulance, he noticed a dark silhouette running away from the scene of the crime. Becoming suspicious, he ran after them, leaving everyone else behind. As they passed multiple turns and went through countless alleyways, Monoma grew annoyed.
"Hey!" He called. "Stop right there!"
As if by magic, the person stopped in their tracks, allowing Monoma to catch up to them.
"Excuse me," Monoma started, "but why were you running away from-"
The person had rotated their body to face Monoma, and now the blond was face to face with a villain.
Specifically, Hatakishi Komiodo, better known as Forget Me Not. He was called that because of his impressive skill of being able to get away without anyone knowing. No one even knew his real name, the one on police records was just a fake name given to him to make investigations easier to navigate. He was very mysterious. It was a miracle when the police first found out how he looked, though it didn't register in any legal documents, like he wasn't even a real person. No one knew his real name, nor his quirk either.
"Oh?" Komiodo grinned, "Is a little hero in training trying to stop me?" He taunted.
Monoma growled and charged at Forget Me Not, aggressively throwing a punch. The villain dodged easily, landing on top of a dumpster in the alley where they were fighting.
"Are you really trying to stop me? I'm a known villain. Do you think I'll let some child apprehend me? I knew you were following me all this time. I could have killed you at any point, but I didn't. I advise you to leave now, or else you might not walk out of this alive." Komiodo warned.
"Do you really think I'll just run away?" Monoma asked him. "I'm a hero, I can't just let you go easily."
Komiodo laughed mockingly. "I guess you want to die then." He grinned maliciously.
He brought out a knife from a holster on his hip.
"Let's go Phantom Thief."
"Crisis Averted." Backdraft reported.
Himawari sighed and stretched her back, heading towards the medic area.
"Phantom Thief?" She called out.
No answer.
"Phantom Thief?"
Still no answer.
"Neito Monoma? Where are you?" She asked, now worried.
She checked the entire perimeter of the incident, but he was nowhere to be found.
She sighed. I didn't want it to come to this.
Bringing out her phone, she activated the tracker that all members of the agency she was enlisted in had to have added to their phones. Turning it on, she saw a green beeping signal coming from a few blocks away, a red one blinking at her location, showing her position.
Found him. I'm coming Phantom Thief.
Monoma groaned as he pressed a hand to his side, and he sucked in a sharp breath. He had obviously underestimated Komiodo, and the villain had gotten the opportunity to slice his side. All Monoma needed was to land a punch on Komiodo's face, as the white haired villain was covering practically everything. Gloves, bodysuit, boots, mask, it was horrible for Monoma. He couldn't even let himself get hit so that he could copy the other's quirk. It could be a dud anyway, as it was still a mystery.
"Are you sure you still want to keep going against me? I could give you a nice and painless death." Komiodo offered.
Monoma rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't take you up on that offer."
"That's too sad. I guess I'll have to do it the fun way then!" Komiodo smiled manaically.
Monoma inaudibly gulped. Maybe he should retreat...
Before he had enough time to fully concentrate on that thought, Komiodo had come at him with his knife, slashing it at Monoma. The blond dodged to the best of his ability, but he still had some cuts on his body. Worst of all, the bastard had cut of a few strands of his locks. The nerve.
"I'm getting tired of this, I need to go soon." Komiodo yawned dramatically, twisting his knife in between his palms casually.
"Can you stop dodging and just let me please kill you?" The villain asked.
"What? Do you think I'll just let you because you asked?"
"I said please, didn't I?"
Monoma shook his head in disbelief. Was this guy a villain or some child in an adult body?
"No matter, I'll just end this now." Komiodo said, getting into a fighting stance. As Monoma assumed a similar stance, someone ran up to them.
"Phantom Thief!" Himawari yelled. Komiodo paused to look at her in disbelief for a few seconds, and Monoma took that opportunity to land a punch to Komiodo's forehead, which was uncovered, grabbing his quirk in the process.
Time to test this thing out.
Komiodo quickly recovered from the attack, before looking at Monoma, who had jumped back and held a fighting stance. "Pollen Hero: Fustu Himawari, and Hero In Training; Copy Hero: Phantom Thief. I know your quirks. I always prepare in advance. Your quirk is copy, right Phantom Thief, so you copied my quirk?"
Komiodo gave a fake saccharine smile.
"Go ahead, use it."
Monoma froze.
"You shut up!" Himawari shouted at him.
"Use it Phantom Thief." Komiodo urged.
Monoma could feel the sweat running down the side of his forehead. He didn't know what Komiodo's quirk was, but the way he was asking him to use it was definitely weird. Maybe it was useless? Like it would turn him into a mosquito or something? Was that how Komiodo always evaded capture?
A grunt broke Monoma out of his thinking reverie, and he turned towards the sound. There, Komiodo was holding a knife to Himawari's throat.
"Let go of me!" She growled at him.
"Your quirk is Pollen correct? When activated, pollen escapes from your pores and once breathed in makes people have a sneezing fit, rendering them unable to fight back." Komiodo informed, making his grip tighter. "This mask filters the air I breathe, so your quirk will only work on our dear Phantom Thief over here, but we don't want to make him immobile when you're possibly going to die, hm?"
All Himawari could do was glare at him.
"So Phantom Thief, you can either take your chances with my quirk, or your colleague here might not be making it home today."
'I- I have to. I have to at least try to save Himawari.' Monoma thought.
Gulping, Monoma felt the power of the quirk course through his veins, and he activated it.
He slammed into the wall behind him, breaking the stone, and he slid to the ground, leaving a red splatter on the bricks that had fallen.
As his vision went blurry and he felt a killer headache, he distantly heard the sound of someone screaming hysterically, before there was even more red and silence.
Komiodo walked in front of him, taking on a kneeling stance.
"You see, my quirk is Projectile. Basically it launches me to wherever I want, but the opposite direction I'm thinking of. Kind of hard to navigate, yes? It took me years to learn how to use it properly. And now," Komiodo kicked Monoma's head, further aggravating the headache. Now the blond could see black spots at the edges of his already blurry vision. "you can bleed out next to Hamiwari."
"You two were a fun experience. How do you feel?" Komiodo asked sadistically.
I'm not fine at all.
And darkness consumed Monoma.