I'll Be Your Hero

Chapter 1: The Toy

Tons of people flooded the busy streets of Musutafu, Japan. Each person with their own unique Quirk, the possibilities of what they can do with it are endless. In a world like this, you can either be a villain or a hero.

Bring chaos or peace.

Evil or good.

Money or love.

It was a common fact already that money was the root of all evil, it led people to do terrible things just for whole buckets of it. Yet, greedy humans insisted on using it, tons of it, to buy expensive luxuries, then to flaunt what they've bought in the faces of those less fortunate than them. What a waste of a civilisation.

At least that's how he thought, the man in a black dress shirt with matching shoes, pants, and tie. He hid his brass-knuckle-clad hands in his deep pockets, so no one would suspect who he worked for, or question what he was doing in a toy shop.

He scanned and skimmed the shelves, taking a peek at boxes then grimacing at the price. "They say they want to make children happy...things like this should be free to ensure that." He muttered to himself. Finally he picked up a box and took it to the cashier. As he did, the brass knuckles on the back of his palms slowly wilted away into his skin.

As the man at the counter scanned the toy, he smiled at the buyer. "It'll make your little girl very happy," he said, handing the doll to him in a paper bag. "Thank you," the buyer said as he paid. "I hope it will."

"I really hope it will," he thought to himself as he left the store. "Mistress will kill me if the little brat rejects this one, too." He walked into an alley, making sure no one was around, then he tapped on the bricks of the wall a couple of times. After a few seconds, the ground underneath him shook, but he seemed unaffected by it, his face was still black and stoic while his body managed to stay in place as the part of the ground near him opened, revealing a set of stairs that led to a brightly lit hallway at the end. He nonchalantly walked down the steps, and as he reached the last one the hole in the ground above him closed again, as if nothing had ever even opened there in the first place.

"Mistress," he said, turning on a walk-in-talkie and putting it up to his mouth. "I'm here now, with the toy."

After a few moments, the walkie-talkie started to make a sound. "Good," scams a feminine voice. It was stern and controlling, obviously coming from a boss. "Bring it to me in room E4 for inspection."

"Yes, Ma'am," he answered, then put the radio down and started moving.

He walked through the empty hallway, passing through hidden scanners that stayed quiet, after all, he was allowed there. He passed many other hallways and tunnels leading to all sorts of other places, these underground headquarters were hidden underneath a large part of the city, meaning it was very big and easy to get lost in. But he had been here enough times to know his way around. He passed metal doors that look very similar to one another, the only difference being the label at the top, which had a different letter or number on each one. There was A1 until A10, then B1 until 10, and so on and so forth. The doors were quite far apart, so one could only imagine how large the rooms behind each were.

Finally, he reached the room he was called into. He knocked on the door, which was opened for him after a second by a short man wearing a black tuxedo.

"Hello, Mistress," he said in a sing-song tone as he stepped inside.
"Greetings," Mistress answered.
"Here is the toy." The man said, handing her the paper bag. Mistress took it and looked inside, then pulled it out.

She held in her hand a small white stuffed bunny. "Interesting," she said. "I had one like this when I was young. I carried it around everywhere and called it Rosie, because of how pink it was. Adorable little thing, just like my angel." She looked to her side, and from behind the chair she sat on, a little girl with wavy, black hair, light skin and a long-sleeved white dress emerged. She had a curious yet terrified look in her eyes. She wanted to see the doll, a new gift for her. She got one practically everyday. It was her mother's attempt at getting her to like her.

Mistress believed love was attracted to material objects. The more luxuries she gave her, the more she would love her. That didn't work, no matter how she spoiled her. No matter what, the child still feared her.

"Angel, come here, sweetie," Mistress called. "Come greet your new friend."
The child walked forward, slowly headed to her mother, who held out the toy for her.
"Do you like it? It's a gift from your uncle! Say 'thank you!'"
She was silent. The little girl didn't say a thing, nor did she take the toy given to her.
Now Mistress grew impatient. "I said," she told her through gritted teeth, "say 'thank you'!"

She pushed the child forward, and her cheek hit the coffee table so hard it bled. Blood seeped out of her new wound as she silently sobbed over the pain. "See, child," Mistress said, "your rudeness caused you to get hurt. Apologise to your uncle and to me for having to discipline you, now."

Still in pain, the child got to her feet, hugged the man's legs, and apologised. "I-I'm sorry," she said "I'm so, so sorry."
"Apology accepted, dear," said the man. In reality, he really loved and cared for the child with all his heart. He hated seeing her get hurt, but if he said something, he was sure Mistress would make him regret it. So, he kept quiet.

"And what about me?" Mistress wanted attention. The girl walked to he mother and hugged her waist. "Apologies, Mama." She said. "All is forgiven, child."

"Takahashi, clean her up and take her to her room." Mistress ordered. Takahashi, the man who bought the bunny, nodded. He took the 7-year-old in his arms and walked out of the room.