Chapter Text
Gin Akutagawa never went to school, as far as she could remember, she always lived in the slums with her brother, Ryuunosuke, and their friends. School was a privilege she had never known, even having a daily meal was a luxury. Her only purpose in life had been surviving. Back then, she would've given everything (except her brother) to live a normal life, to go to school like normal kids, to go home and find a hot meal on the table, to be able to wear clothes that didn't have holes in them and have the comfort of sleeping in a building that shielded her from both the rain and the wind.
Being in possession of mere chocolate bars felt like being rich, the same chocolate bars that you can afford for less than a 100 yens. Gin remembers Ryuunosuke saving all the chocolate bars he found for weeks, he collected around 300 bars and she had to beg for him to share some with her.
Things as simple as a piece of paper or a few pencils were a rare sight back in the slums, despite not knowing how to write well, she still took pleasure in doing it whenever she had the chance of getting her hands on a notebook.
Her life took a huge change after the Black Wrath, Dazai Osamu, a Port Mafia executive took her and her brother in. While becoming a Port Mafia member wasn't the best option, i twas infinitely better than continuing to live in the slums. Atleast now Gin and her brother earned money and were housed in the Port Mafia's appartments. She still couldn't go to school but she got tutors, education is important, even in the Mafia knowing how to read and write properly is mandatory.
Gin could still remember the joy she had felt when she had first laid down on her new bed, when she had taken a hot shower for the first time in weeks, when she received her first ever paycheck… She didn't have any problem with doing work for the Port Mafia, she had never cared too much about "doing what was right", no one had ever helped her before. It was like getting revenge for all of those years in the slums, where the adults would ignore her and the other kids pleas for something as trivial as a small slice of bread. Her first kill however, wasn't done for the pleasure, she had seen countless corpses in the past, but she hed never actually killed anyone. Ryuunosuke, on the contrary, never seemed to mind killing people, it wasn't the first time after all.
Walking on the red pavement that lead to Yuuei, an academy that boasted the finest heroic related education in Japan was never something she had ever imagined happening, yet there she was, walking amongst other teenagers like she was one of them and not a deadly assassin. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel out of place here, the mutant quirk made her feel like she was on another planet yet she knew better than to discriminate people for their looks, every single child was wearing a school uniform too, excluding her of course. She was wearing simple black trousers with a matching black jacket that had been draped over her white sweater. The outfit was quite formal but this was an important moment, wasn't it ? She still needed to look good, right ?
She was overcome by a wake of anxiety, even if this was simply the entrance exam, she had never been to school before. On top of that Yuuei wasn't just any school, it was a school that taught heroes in training. Gin didn't really appreciate heroes, wouldn't the police work just as good ? What was the point of having hundreds of them ? She vaguely remembered stealing a comic book about a superhero who she is pretty sure had the capability of protecting an entire country on his own at the very least, though perhapsthat was only possible beacause i twas a work of fiction. Nonetheless, Gin couldn't bring herself to like them. Heroes were stubborn and actually pretty useless. Yokohama didn't and never would need heroes to keep the peace in the city. However, these heroes couldn't accept that fact and they kept trying to get into Yokohama.
That problem was the whole reason of Gins presence was required here.
_ _ _
The elevator's doors slide open as two guns are immediately lifted and pointed at the young girl. She doesn't flinch; her expression beneath the mask covering the lower half of her face. "The boss called me to his office." She says. The two guards lower their gun, allowing the girl to go. She nods, a quiet "thank you" slipping past her lips. Her low heels strike the floor in a steady rythm as she moves down the hallway.
The girl adjusts the glove on her right arm in a nervous gesture she can't control as unavoidable anxiety pools in her stomach the closer she gets towards the dark wooden door. She stops in front of the door, lingering for a few seconds in a futile attemmpt to ease the stress she'd been feeling. She hadn't done anything wrong, right ? There was no need to be scared. She could hear two faint voices coming from the office. Was there someone else with the boss ? She turns around to check the clock on the wall, she's supposed to meet the boss at 3 o'clock, it's 3:02.
The girl shakes her head, she's already two minutes late. Her hand lands on the wood, knocking on it three times before she opens the door. She looks at her feet as she enters, letting the door close itself behind her as she takes a few steps ahead before she looks up.
"Hello Akutagawa-kun." Mori, the Port Mafia leader, greets. Despite the smile he's worn on his face, his voice is emotionless. The girl greets him back, her eyes fall on the tall figure infront of the boss's desk that had turned around to face her. "Hello Gin, how is your brother ?"
"Good afternoon, boss, Dazai-san." Gin responds. She doesn't answer Dazai's question, she knows he doesn't actually care, but thinking about Ryuunosuke makes her relax just a bit, the siblings had decided to go eat somewhere tonight, she was looking forward to doing so. Maybe the bandaged man asked on purpose to soothe her anxiety, maybe not, either way she's glad he asked.
Dazai gestures for her to come closer. "You may be wondering why I called you here Akutagawa" Mori says and Gin nods slowly. "Don't worry, your'e not here because you did something wrong." The man reassures, had he noticed how tense she was ? "Actually, I have an important mission for you."
Great, there returned her anxiety. What was the point of attempting to make her relax if Mori was planning to say this right after ? Important ? How important ? Why her ? If it's an important mission why is he giving it to a 14 year old girl ? She shakes her head internally, she needed to listen to what kind of mission he wanted to assign her.
"I'm sure you're aware that the pro heroes attempts to get in Yokohama are starting to develop an issue, right ?" He continues after Gin nods quickly. Of course she's aware, everyone had been talking about it. The Port Mafia had been chasing those heroes away from Yokohama since the beginning of the hero society. People with quirks were a rare sight in Yokohama as almost nobody wanted to live in a city 'ruled by villains'. Only the people who didn't like heroes lived here. Yet the pro heroes kept trying to enter the city anyways. "We need to get more informations on the heroes in order to find a way to keep them out of Yokohama forever, something like a weak point, you see ? And what better solution is there than sending a spy in a school specialised in training heroes ?"
Gin blinks, was he planning ton having her infiltrate a hero school as a spy ? Mori picks up a pile of documents that was laying on his desk and hands it to Gin. "You are going to get into Yuuei, a hero school, with the objective of collecting as much information as you can, understood ? We have learnt that All Might is going to teach there, he's the number one hero, this is the perfect occasion to learn more about him, don't you agree ? Do you think you can do it ?" The man smiles and Gin can't help but feel unsetlled, it isn't a normal smile, not a genuine one. The boss truly is a terrifying man, she doesn't know why she finds him that scary. Gin knows she doesn't actually have a choice, it doesn't work like that in the Port Mafia, so she simply nods and grabs the pile of document in both her arms.
She glaces at the words written on the paper between her fingers, then lifts her head. "I apologise for questioning but… why did you choose me for this job ? I'm sure there are far better options." She asks, her last words whispered, unsure if she has the right to doubt the boss's decisions.
Mori chuckles "Actually, it's Dazai that said you were perfect for this job." Gin's eyes widen slightly, it makes sense that Dazai had been the one to suggest her, he's the one who took her in after all and the boss barely knows her. She looks at the bandaged guy, waiting for an explaination without asing out loud to not seem impolite.
"It's true, I'm the one who said you were suited for this mission." Dazai says nonchalantly, his gaze lingers on Mori for a few seconds before straying away to look at Gin in the eyes. "First of all, you're almost 15, the exact age need to enter high school, second of all you're a skilled member of the Port Mafia and you're always quiet, it's perfect to go unnoticed. Also, you've only been in the Mafia for a year and you're a low-ranked member, I can be sure no one outside of Yokohama will recognise you as a mafioso. And lastly, I know you're loyal to the Port Mafia, right Gin ?"
"Yes, I am. But people need a quirk to enter Yuuei, something I don't have. Why don't you send Ryuunosuke ? He has an ability and is probably more capable than I am."
"Your brother is too stubborn to follow orders like that. Knowing him he probably won't hold back in hero training and try to kill his classmates." Gin frowns, it's almost unnoticable but it's still there. Despite Dazai probably being correct, she still doesn't like to hear him talk about her brother like this. "You being quirkless and not having an ability won't be a problem at all. Yuuei never actually specified that the students needed a quirk to get in after all. But knowing how some people treat the quirkless part of the population... your'e going to fake having a quirk !"
"What ?" Gin asks, dumbfounded, she doesn't see how that would even be possible. Are quirkless people treated that badly for her to have to fake having one ?
"Think about it, your'e very skilled at attacking people from behind. It's actually really impressive how you manage to be so quiet while walking when you want to." It's true, that's a skill she picked up after stealing food and money coutless times in the slums. She's even able to run without making too much noise. "Your quirk will be called 'Furtiveness', it supposedly makes your footsteps inaudible." The young man explains.
_ _ _
Gin was sitting in a big sort of auditorium, a sheet was laying in front of her, she had already answered half of the questions on the paper. It seemed like the tutors the Port Mafia had provided her were useful, at least for the Japanese and english part, Dazai himself had spent his free time teaching her maths so she could be ready for Yuuei's written exam, thanks to the executive's lessons, she was able to answer most of the questions. Basic history was pretty easy too but the hero history part was hell.
She had been given this mission 5 months ago equating to her having 5 months to prepare for Yuuei's written exam, the subject she had studied the most was hero history, as a Yokohama citizen, it wasn't easy at all. For a short moment Gin thought about the teacher that would be incharge of grading her paper, would they find it weird that a student who supposedly wanted to become a hero knew so little about hero history ? She shook her head, there was no time to overthink, she needed to finish her exam first.
She glanced at the people around her and relief flood through her as she realized she wasn't the only one who seemed to be struggling. Gin didn't waste too much time looking around and quickly got back to answering the questions.
When the papers were being collected by the teachers Gin didn't have the time to finish all the questions about hero history. To be honest, she had given up and had focused on the other subjects instead. Even with these missing points, she thought she passed the exam. Next to her she heard a student complain in a forein language, french, maybe ? She didn't pay too much attention to him.
The hero Present Mic, she recognised, was now standing at the font of the auditorium. His quirk was to amplify his voice, at least that's what Gin remebered from the documents about pro heroes the boss had provided her.
"Welcome to today's live performance ! Everybody say 'hey' !" The whole room stayed silent and Gin was definitely not the one who was going to break it. Even with a silent auditorium, Present Mic looked satisfied, maybe he was imagining the teenagers shouting 'hey' ?
"I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical exam ! Are you ready ?" The hero paused once again, waiting for an answer, but the auditorium stayed quiet once again. It was kind of embarrassing actually. However, Gin was sure she had heard someone muttering further in the back of the auditorium. It was pretty irritating.
"This is how the test will go, my examinee listeners ! You'll be experiencing ten-minutes-long 'Mock Cityscape Maneuvers' !" Gin was now half-listening. The documents she was given explained everything she needed to know about the practical exam. The participants would be divided in seven different fields where they would need to fight 'fake villains', robots, there were four different types of robot, each of them would earn you a certain amount of points once you would have disabled them. The participants were supposed to earn as many points as possible.
Honestly, Gin didn't understand why they were given handouts explaining the exam if the pro hero was going to explain everything. That was such a waste of paper. Gin folded the handout and tucked it into her pocket, the other side was blank so maybe she could have written on it later, she didn't know why exactly she had done that, an old habit she supposed. The french guy next to her gave her a confused look to which she answered with a single raised eyebrow. Why was he staring ? It was none of his business after all.
She was paying attention to what was being said again when a second voice could be heard. She looked around and spotted a teenager with glasses and dark hair. His voice was loud and clear despite having no mic. "There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of villains on this handout ! Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for Yuuei, Japan's top academy !" Then, he proceeded to scold the teenager that was muttering earlier, a boy with curly hair, at least Gin knew she hadn't imagined voices.
But what was the problem with the four types of vilains ? Had Present Mic forgotten to present them all ? "Examinee 7111, nice catch. Thanks !" Said (screamed) the hero. "The fourth villain gets you zero points ! He's more of an obstacle !" Present Mic then quoted Napoleon Bonaparte then shouted "Plus Ultra !"
All the people in the auditorium walked to the exit to go to their assigned field. Gin passed by a table where the handout the students were given was still laying, probably forgotten behind by the person who had been sitting here. She took it without thinking and tucked it in her pocket too. Stupid old habit.
_ _ _
Gin was waiting with the other participants, they were all waiting for the exam to start. She had changed clothes for the practical exam like everyone else, now wearing a simple black tracksuit. She had also tied her hair just like she does in the Mafia, if she had her mask with her it'd feel like home.
Yuuei hadn't let her bring a knife because it was apparently 'too dangerous'. Gin guessed it made sense, but that didn't mean she was happy with the decision. Now she'd have to use her hands to disable the robots. The documents the boss had given her showed the weak points of the fake villains, their red eye or the wires hidden on the back of the machines. If Gin had her knife she'd be able to take down the robots in mere seconds, she'd simply have to throw it in their eye.
Well, if she couldn't earn enough villain points, she'd need to compensate with rescue points. The other participants didn't know about this, which means she had an advantage. She had never cared about 'doing what's right', but if she had to help people for the sake of her mission, she would. She tightened her ponytail slightly, preparing herself to start running when the test would start.
She heard a familiar voice and looked at her right. The guy with glasses was scolding the boy with curly hair again. It was something about 'distracting other participants' Gin didn't really care. The boy with curly hair looked wimpy, Ryuunosuke would probably not like him at all. He was trembling a few seconds ago, if you had asked Gin, he didn't look like a future hero in the slightest. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought he wasn't suited for the job, a few whispers talking about 'one less participant' reacher her ears. It almost made her feel bad for-
"And… begin !" Present Mic announced. What ? Shit, she wasn't ready. Gin didn't waste any more time and started running. "What's wrong ? The test's started ! Run !" Shouted the hero.
The field was really huge, Gin went in a narrow alley where she knew almost no one would go, she'd have all the robots there to herself. She met a fake villain, the machine tried to attack her. Was that really safe for teenagers with no experience in fight ? She dodged to the side and picked up a rock, she aimed at the machine's red eye and threw it. The rock had caused a red spark to come out of the eye of the robot, then the fake villains stopped moving completely. "2 points…" Gin said. She started running again, if she stopped in front of every robot she disabled she'd never have enough points in time.
Gin eliminated a few other 'villains' that were on her way, she must be around 30 villain points. She grabbed a broken piece of robot and was about to throw it to another one, however, a sparkly laser hit the machine right in front of her. Gin bliked and looked at the source of the laser. She recogised the blond boy that had been sitting next to her in the auditorium, the french guy. Was that really him who had destroyed the robot infront of her ? He was wearing a weird belt, probably something to enhance his quirk. He waved goodbye to her and left as quickly as he came.
Gin sighed in frustration, she looked around to find another villain but she only saw the remains of broken ones. She'd need to help the other participants instead. She started searching for someone who might have needed help. The teenager with glasses destroyed a villain next to her, sending broken pieces of robot in the air. She moved to the side slightly to dodge one.
He could've been more careful, at least Gin didn't get-
"Look out !" Gin warned a girl that almost got hit in the head by a piece of robot. The girl moved out of the way quickly and gave Gin a thankful nod.
The floor started shaking, Gin looked up, a giant robot appeared, it made the buildings around it collapse. Wasn't this exam made for teenagers ? If this wasn't a test, Gin would've started running away, but there were people that might've gotten hurt here.
She spotted the curly haired boy, it looked like he had fallen down, she ran in his direction to help him up, telling another kid that was also frozen on her way to run away. She slows down as she sees another girl, she was stuck under the debris of a collapsed building. This practical exam really was dangerous.
Before Gin could reach the two teenagers, the curly haired boy got up, she thought for a second that the boy was going to help the girl stuck under the debris but instead the boy jumped up. He must've used his quirk because nobody could jump that high. Gin blinked, staying still as the boy punched the giant robot.
The machine was destroyed instantely. Gin shook her head to concentrate on her mission again and rushed to help the girl. She removed the debris that where on the girl's leg and helped her getting up.
She heard someone screaming and looked up at the sky. It was the curly haired boy ! He was falling down. Why had he jumped if he couldn't land safely afterwards ?
Gin was so focused on the falling teenager that she hadn't noticed that the girl she helped had climbed on a broken robot. She reached out for the curly haired boy and slapped him, the two started floating shortly after. A quirk that controls gravity like Chuuya perhaps ? Or simply a quirk to make people fly ? Whathever it was, the girl had managed to save the boy from a terrible if not fatal injury.
Gin let out a sigh in relief. The boy was sobbing, crawling vainly, he was trying to earn 'just one point', or at least that was what Gin thought she heard him say. Had he not earned any points ? Gin should've probably felt bad for him but it was his own fault in a way, he obviously had a powerful quirk; he destroyed the robot with a single punch ! Why hadn't he used his quirk to earn points earlier ? Maybe he couldn't control his quirk ? His arm and leg were obviously broken, and it wasn't because of his fall. Everthing in this case seemed suspicious.
Well, even if he didn't earn any villain points, with the heroic act he just accomplished, it'd be surprising if he wasn't accepted into Yuuei.
"It's over !" Shouted the hero Present Mic. The curly haired boy let his head hit the floor, he had probably passed out.
"Well done. Good work." A voice came from behind Gin. She looked at the old lady that was giving candies to the participants. Gin recogised her as Recovery Lady, the school nurse. "your own beloved quirk did this to you… It's almost like your body isn't used to it." Said the heroine as she approached the motionless body of the curly haired boy.
The woman kissed the teenager on the head and his limbs healed instantely. This woman's quirk was really impressive. "Any other hurt children ?" The old woman asked.
_ _ _
Gin dropped on the matress. The bedsheets smelled good, like flowers, though she couldn't tell which type of flower. The entrance exam was exhausting. Gin was pretty sure she passed the practical exam, she had around 30 villain points, she didn't know how the rescue points were calculated but she must have earned at least ten.
She layed on her side and pulled her phone out of her pocket, making the handouts she had taken earlier fall on her bed at the same time. Gin turned her phone on and checked her notifications, one of them was from Ryuunosuke, the other one was from 'dad', it was Dazai, but he asked her to rename his contact like that just in case her classmates look at her phone.
Ryuunosuke: Are you alright ? text me when you're in your appartment, I need to know where we are supposed to meet
Gin smiled softly. Ryuunosuke was supposed to come to musutafu in five days so they could spend some time together. Gin went to Musutafu a month ago to get used to the city, it's been a while since they had last seen eachother.
Me: I'm fine :) meet me at *link* it's the only café I found that didn't have overpriced food or hero merch everywhere
Then she clicked on the conversation with Dazai.
Dad: Make me your report for tomorrow
Gin sighed, she wasn't in the mood for that, she didn't even know what to say in the report. Well, maybe she could rest for the moment and work on it later. She thought about what to write to answer his message for a minute.
Me: Yes
That would do.
An assassin in a school for heroes… what a joke !