Mastermind: Strategist For Hire

The Daily Life of Mastermind

"Be careful today? I don't want you getting hurt on the way to school..." Inko fretted.

Izuku rolled his eyes, "Mom, I'll be fine. Aldera High School is literally a 10 minute walk, I don't even have to take the train."

Inko brushed imaginary dust off the shoulders of his blue uniform, "I know, it's just that there's so much more crime nowadays with Mastermind on the loose and...I just worry about you, you know that."

Izuku sighed internally. Yeah, he knew that Mom worried. He also knew she'd worry less if he'd been born with a quirk. He hid his frustration behind a smile, "I gotta go Mom. I don't want to be late for the first day of high school!"

She waved at him with the famous Midoriya tears in her eyes as he shouldered his backpack and walked down the road toward his new school. It had been pretty easy to get into. He'd applied a few other places, including a few that had a track that specialized in analysis and hero support. All of those had taken one look at the red Quirkless written on his ID and promptly let him know that he "wasn't the right fit" for their schools.

In the end, it was better this way. Going to a prestigious school would bring attention, something that Izuku couldn't afford right now. The police hadn't tried to arrest him since he'd started his hostage situation, but he was almost certain that Nedzu was working hard to try and uncover his identity. It's what Izuku would do. If they could find out who he was, then they might be able to find the computer program he'd hired La Brava to write that would release his murder plans if his arrest or death was ever trending on the internet, or they'd go after Giran, who also had instructions to release the plans if anything happend to him.

But Izuku knew from experience that no one expected anything from a quirkless kid, especially one who didn't even stand up to his own bullies. If Izuku Midoriya was ever a suspect for Mastermind, his lack of quirk would instantly clear him of any suspicion. If the police looked past that, then the fact that none of his bullies had died mysteriously in the last year would be brought in as evidence that he obviously "wasn't capable" of being the villain. What the police wouldn't know is that Izuku Midoriya, quirkless deku, was a mask. And if they managed to look past all that? Well, then they were smarter than Izuku gave them credit for and maybe, just maybe, they deserved to arrest him.

"Hey Deku, haven't you thrown yourself off a bridge yet?" The bully, Makoto Ito, was big, stupid, and obviously trying to fill the void that Katsuki had left by going to UA if the crowd of sycophants surrounding him were any indication. Izuku resisted the urge to glare at him.

"H-hi, I-ito! H-how are y-you today?" It was amazing how quickly people saw weakness when Izuku stuttered. He smirked internally as Ito puffed his chest out and sneered at him.

"Don't try to be friends, Deku . You're worthless and don't you forget it!" With that, Ito shoved him to the ground and turned on his heel to enter the school, followed by his entourage. Izuku stood and brushed himself off. He'd gotten worse from Toga on their first day of training.

He smiled as he thought of his friend. He'd have to remember all the dumb things his bullies said and tell her later. She'd get a kick out of it and they'd giggle about all the ways they kill the idiots. It was a good friendship.

By the time Izuku got to class, he was back to wearing the mask of a weak, quirkless deku, but underneath, he felt stronger than any of them.

Izuku walked around the apartment and checked the security system one more time. From the outside, it just looked like any apartment in the red light district, but the walls were heavily fortified and the security system could probably put UA to shame. And it was all his.

Izuku sighed, he could finally stop smuggling his villain outfit out of the house and changing in Giran's office!

"Nice digs, kid." Giran leaned up against the doorway in the kitchen.