Chapter 21: Nothing Illegal (probably)

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Izuku is thoroughly kicking himself Sunday night for being so idiotic in the café. If his neighbor is actually into some shady dealings, him knowing he isn't just bilingual and can speak more languages could be dangerous. Why not just hand him a resume with all the other things he's capable of, too, while he's at it?

Should we take this chat someplace more private? is not what one says to a possible criminal ten seconds after he's admitted to planning misdeeds.

(Even if it had turned out to be a ridiculous lie.)

(And he couldn't understand him, anyways, thank god.)

(It's fine.)



He needs to be more careful. Flirting with his hot neighbor is (probably) fine as long as he remains a mostly normal citizen. Nothing to see here except an idiot that will apparently make very bad choices in his quest to get a damned kiss.


(He does not spend the next hour contemplating how much he might be able to impress his very hot neighbor with his wide variety of obscure skills.)

(Or which language might be the biggest turn-on.)

(There has probably been a study. Izuku adds that to his list of things he'll want to find later this week.)



Monday morning, he decides it might be safer to lounge on his couch for research, mostly because he's antsy for the contact to send their update and he wants to be able to focus on the information he's found. He texts Murasaki something cute about cats so he doesn't worry about his absence and buries himself in old news articles and police records. There is very little, but he doesn't need much to build a profile.


Every once in a while, his thoughts drift to Murasaki and his enchanting eyes. A shiver runs down his back when he thinks about how helpless someone would feel to just look at someone and lose their free will.

He wonders at the level of trust he's built that lets him forget about the possible danger, to just blindly believe Murasaki isn't going to abuse his quirk.

He wouldn't normally assume someone would abuse a tool they have just because they can, but the villain (that is probably not Murasaki) has done it in the past and likely has no qualms about using the quirk whenever it suits.


And he's spent so much time staring into those eyes.

Is it a quirk, or is he just obsessed?


(He's not sure which is better.)



It's very late Monday night when Izuku finally receives the follow-up from his contact.


The contact estimates that the villain's home has been empty for at least a month. There's a fine layer of dust along the interior that hasn't been disturbed. An opened letter has been left on a desk, and the contact reports it's from a former partner talking about a lucrative opportunity back home.

Back home?

In the villain's home country?

Home city?


There's even an address where they should meet to discuss in person.


the cute guy next door (might be a villain) // ShinZukuWhere stories live. Discover now