Zero Hero || MHA ||

2. A New Foe Has Appeared

I've come to learn that sometimes, bad things happen to balance the good in life. You get 90 points on your math test—you forget your lunch at home. You find a lucky coin on the ground—a bird takes a dump on your head. You win the lottery—you get hit by a car. You successfully evade some weirdo wearing a strawberry mask—you accidentally switch bags with a random person you bumped into on the street and end up having a bag full of stolen money, and now you may be guilty of a crime that you didn't commit.

"Today on Shimaya News: a group of five villains wearing paper bags robbed Eno Bank earlier this afternoon at approximately 2:13 pm."

In the background, I could make out panicked civilians rushing out of the door. Or at least, what remained of it. Glass was shattered everywhere, and the brick wall was destroyed. One of the villains supposedly had an explosive Quirk that they used to blast into the bank. It cut back to live footage to show four robbers getting handcuffed by the police. Their paper bags were removed, revealing their faces. They were brimming with anger as they explained to the authorities about what happened.

"We were driving off in the get-away car when he did something. Next thing we know, the four of us are in a completely different place with no money in sight!" one of the robbers spoke. Without warning, he reached up toward the camera. His face was plastered on the entire screen. With a crazed look in his eyes, he said, "That kid set us up! I swear when I get my hands on that blond brat—"

         The police pulled him away and the video cut off. The news anchor informed that the culprit was spotted in southern Shimaya. A blurry pictured popped up, and I immediately recognized where this photo was taken; it was where I dropped my bag. The robber's head was blocked by a red stop sign, but I could see my backpack slung over his shoulder. The news anchor said they'd keep us updated, and it cut to commercials.

I stared at the purple backpack that sat on my lap. The bottom of the bag was dirty, probably because it's been thrown around a lot, with the tattered straps having holes. On one side of the backpack was a faded image of a smug cat with patches of dirt on its face. The words underneath were peeling off, with the only legible letters left being OW. Crumbled up green dollar bills were stuffed inside the bag. There was a fair amount of money in here, since the backpack was practically overflowing.

How is it possible that someone happened to have the exact backpack as me? I won it as a prize at a cat-themed park in Korea last year! And just my luck that I bumped into them and switched backpacks. Well, at least it makes sense why that weird strawberry dude kept bugging me. He probably heard the news about the robbery and thought I was involved.

The man sitting next to me flickered his eyes at my backpack. He had very pale skin, nearly white, and a bony jawline. His sunken dark eyes traveled to my face, to the backpack, then back to me. He lingered not long but long enough to where it was weird. It was like he knew that I had cash stuffed in there. How did he know exactly? I had no idea.

Thankfully, the train screeched to a stop, and the man stood up and walked out without saying anything. People flooded in and out of the train like schools of fish. I made sure to close the bag shut so nobody could see the stash of money. As people came in, I noticed teenage girls board. I crossed my fingers that he wouldn't sit in the empty seat next to me. The train doors began to close, and I sighed in relief.

I'm safe. Now I can have a peaceful train ride.

I heard the sound of someone plopping down beside me and immediately felt the jealous gazes of teenage girls dig into my skin like a knife. Oh god... Why did he have to sit there? The train was about to leave! I peered over at the boy who was silently scrolling through his phone.