Shadow Monarch Hero: Viridian (SMH: Deku rewrite)

The Knight's Tale

"Keep going... keep going..." Miruko's breath was ragged as her leg flew through the air, the armored shin separating the head of a Direwolf from its body. "Faster... come on!" Her armor was still intact, but after hours of fighting, her body had accumulated scrapes and cuts, and the exhaustion was setting in. "It's just an A-Rank! If you can't handle this by yourself then you don't deserve to... you don't deserve to stand by his side." Miruko dispatched the last of the beast-type Villains in that junction of the cave with a gasp of respite.

Though an A-Rank was many times weaker than an S-Rank, protocol was that every Raid had a certain number of people so that there were backups in case someone got injured. This was, in fact, the only reason Izuku ever survived any of his early Raiding.

Regardless, Miruko, despite having the advantage of raw strength, also had the disadvantage of not knowing when to give up. This A-Rank Gate she was in was the third solo Raid of the day for her, with the previous two also being A-Ranked.

Not even Endeavor, the most arrogant asshole in Japan, went into A-Ranks alone. He always had his party to back him up. Granted they mostly just watched as Endeavor was too proud to not annihilate the Gate single-handedly. But they were still there in case of an emergency.

Only a few days had passed since being released from the hospital, but no one would have suspected it by the way Miruko was going at it. If anyone saw her, they'd probably assume she had a death wish, but really, the reason was much simpler. She felt pathetic.

Miruko wasn't like most S-Ranks. She lived in a small apartment, she had no extravagant hobbies, nor did she hook up with people like the human race was going extinct, something that could be said of Thomas Andre or Endeavor himself. She donated most of her money to charities, or used it to take care of her siblings, and often accepted less money from Raiding than she was owed, giving items to other lower Ranks who desperately needed them rather than selling them to make a quick buck. However, there was one trait Miruko shared with all the S-Ranks in the world. She couldn't stand to lose a fight.

All that bravado, all that courage, and it ended up with her on the floor of a cave, her body broken by a fucking ant.

Of course no one blamed her. It wasn't like that "ant" was a normal Villain. And no one even gave her shit for her upbeat attitude. Japan saw it as a staunch willingness to never give up. Miruko was a symbol to Japan in a way All Might wasn't.

Miruko was a hard worker, who pushed herself, even if it was for no direct monetary benefit. Somewhat tragically, she was a symbol of Japan's horrible work environment. More hours, less pay, but still just as ready to fight. It didn't actually help anyone push for office reforms, but it gave them the energy and spirit to continue on, even if they shouldn't.

Miruko was looked upon highly, even in her failures, people loved her, and she despised it. To her, she hadn't earned it, she hadn't earned any aplomb or praise. Not when she had to be saved, not when she failed to be that protector, that fierce warrior who would end a fight before anyone else needed to involve themselves. It wasn't just that she loved the rush of a battle, though she did enjoy that, it was that she felt an urge to end the fight so no one else had to risk their life.

Ever since she woke up in that hospital, Miruko had one image burned into her mind. A fading glimpse of a dark shape appearing in that cavern. She heard his reassurances. "It's okay now." And just before fading into unconsciousness from a loss of blood and incredible pain, she had caught something else, a whiff of his scent.

Mirio hadn't smelled too bad to either Miruko or Cha Hae-In's noses, but he didn't smell particularly good either. This was in stark contrast to a boy Miruko had met in a hole in the wall restaurant. The boy with green eyes. In other words, Miruko knew that Izuku Midoriya was the Shadow Monarch.