Camie Utsushimi snuck into an alleyway—avoiding being seen by anyone.
Once she entered the alleyway, she took a deep breath of relief.
Suddenly, Camie's outfit started to melt.
Not only her clothes, but her skin started to melt too!
When everything was melted off, all that remained was a pale, naked girl with pale-blonde hair and cat-like eyes. Himiko Toga.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Suddenly, a ringing could be heard and Toga picked up a cell phone that was hidden in the alleyway.
"Hello? Compress?"
She answered.
"Himiko-Chan. Do you have what you were sent for?"
The voice on the other end asked.
"Mmhmm! I had a lot of fun! I think Shiggy will be very pleased with my prize!"
She said—giddily.
"So it was you."
Suddenly, a deep voice was heard in the alleyway.
Toga's large smile was immediately replaced with a frown.
She turned around and saw someone's figure standing at the entrance to the alleyway.
Before she could do anything, the figure walked forward—revealing their identity.
Toga gasped the moment she saw who it was.
"S-Sam Suzuki?"
She stuttered out.
Standing before her was Sam—still dressed in his sneaking suit.
"You're Toga, right? I heard about you from Izuku and Uraraka. According to them, you're something else."
Sam said casually—aware of her nudity for a moment, before focusing on the situation.
Toga looked down and realized she was still naked and she was totally flashing the boy in front of her.
She never was one to be flustered by revealing herself, but this was still the first time she was so openly peeped on—which caused her face to heat up a bit.
He saw the phone in her hand and immediately understood.
"I see. So you snuck in and took Camie's place. It must have had something to do with Midoriya, right?"
Toga's eyes widened.
"I'll take that as a yes. To the person listening on the phone right now, I'll make a deal with you. If you return Camie right now, unharmed, I will look the other way and let you go. However, I can quickly alert the heroes to come over here, if you so wish."
Sam threatened.
His eyes were staring right into Toga's.
She shuddered when she saw his eyes. Not in fear, but absolute euphoria.
'Sam-kun… your eyes… I want your blood…'
She thought, staring back at Sam with adoration.
Whirrr!
Suddenly, a purple portal opened up to reveal a man with a fog body and a suit and tie.
"Samuel Suzuki."
The man said.
"You're Kurogiri, right?"
Sam asked.
"Indeed. Here."
Suddenly, another portal opened in front of Sam, revealing a sleeping Camie Utsushimi. The real one.
She was still wearing her Shiketsu uniform.
'They must have nabbed her on her way to school. Bastards.'
He thought to himself.
Sam gently picked her up in a princess carry.
"Pleasure doing business with you. See you soon."
Sam said as he turned and left the alleyway.
Kurogiri sighed as he and Toga watched Sam exit the alleyway with Camie.
"Are you unharmed Himiko Toga?"
Kurogiri asked.
Toga was still watching Sam's departing figure.
Kurogiri was confused until he caught a look at her face.
She had a crazy smile.
'Sam-kun! I think… I love you just as much as I love Izuku-kun and Ochako-Chan! I want to see you all bloody!'
Toga thought as her fantasies started to become more unhinged with each second.
Kurogiri could only deadpan at this crazy girl.
———
"Camie! What happened?!?"
Inasa saw him carrying his classmate, and Sam handed her over to him gently.
"I found her passed out in the alleyway over there. She must have overexerted herself or something."
Sam lied—staying true to his word with Kurogiri.
He brought her to his teachers and they brought her to the medics in the area.
After that, he returned to Sam and-
Slam!
He bowed so deeply that, once again, his head hit the solid concrete floor.
'Jesus Christ.'
"THANK YOU SO MUCH SUZUKI-SAN!!!!"
He yelled, bringing more unwanted attention to Sam.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"It's fine. You should worry about yourself. You and Shoto were acting like idiots out there. Luckily, you got your shit together at the end there, but still. That was a mess."
Sam criticized.
Inasa straightened up—casually removing a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe up the blood on his forehead.
His face was full of shame.
"I know…"
He meekly said.
"So. You really hate Endeavor, huh?"
Sam asked.
Inasa's eyes widened.
He was sure he never revealed his true thoughts on Endeavor to Sam.
Almost as if he read Inasa's mind, he clarified.
"You were giving Shoto the nastiest glare I have ever seen. It was obvious you had beef with him. I can only guess that you two met during the recommended exams for U.A. and Shoto was still in his daddy issue's phase."
Inasa stared at Sam with respect and admiration—amazed at his deductive skills.
Sam continued.
"Honestly, I think Endeavor is a piece of garbage human being. I felt bad for hurting some of the heroes on THAT day, but I didn't regret shooting that walking stove's knees out. While it was true that Shoto was becoming just like his dad with his past actions, he isn't who he once was. I'd appreciate it if you could not hold a grudge on him. He had a rough childhood."
Sam pleaded—putting his hand on the ashamed Inasa's shoulder.
Inasa looked at Sam and nodded.
"You're right. I will apologize. I need to if I want to be a good hero!"
Sam nearly scoffed at the hero part, but held it back.
"Good."
Sam said as he walked past him.
He was about to reach his classmates when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned his head and saw an unpleased Aizawa.
"What's up?"
Sam casually asked.
"Where were you? Your peers already got their results and you weren't there."
Aizawa demanded.
"Surely you are aware I found that Camie girl, right?"
Sam asked Aizawa—who nodded in affirmation.
"I saw she looked pretty bad, and went to check on her before the results were announced. That's where I found her."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes at Sam's explanation.
Sam kept his bored look on his face and stared back at Aizawa.
After a small stare down, Aizawa released Sam's shoulder.
"Fine. Good job."
Aizawa nodded in approval.
Sam just nodded back.
"Not just for that, but this."
He handed Sam a paper and a plastic license.
"That's your score and a breakdown of what you did good and what you did bad. And that… is your hero license. Congratulations on being the first quirkless hero in the world, Blank."
Aizawa said as he turned around and walked away.
Sam stared at the license with a neutral face.
He felt no joy from attaining this.
The only reason he got this was because the country was about to become a war zone.
'Ra. Pale Hand. League of Villains… Wushan. I'm waiting for you bastards.'
He thought—his dead-fish eyes hiding his resolve deep within them.
———
"…then I returned to the others and saw that they all passed… well, not all of them."
Sam said into his phone.
"Let me guess. That Bakugo kid who challenged you at the festival didn't pass did he?"
The voice on the phone asked.
Sam chuckled.
"Yeah. I saw that coming a mile away. I wouldn't have been shocked if that brat beat up some of those crummy actors."
"Hah! Anyways, how are you doing, Sam?"
The voice asked.
"I'm fine, Rumi. It's not that important to me."
Sam admitted—sitting outside, while basking in the moonlight.
He heard her sigh on the other end.
"You're worried about the Pale Hand."
She determined.
"Obviously. Those bastards… I can't just do nothing, Rumi. They will come for me, and I need to be ready for them."
Sam said—lamenting his miserable fate as he stared into the night sky.
Rumi didn't respond right away and Sam sat in silence for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Sam. I know this wasn't what you wished for when you got back. But know this. I'll always have your back. You aren't alone. You were never alone."
Rumi said in a soft and comforting voice.
Sam smiled at that and felt his heart skip a beat.
"Thanks Rumi. I'll remember that."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, we gotta meet up soon and have a scrap in celebration for you becoming a hero!"
Rumi excitedly said—changing the somber mood to an excited one.
"That's fine. But you would have wanted to spar even if I didn't become a hero."
"Of course! Who needs to go on dates when we could make sparring our date!"
She said with conviction.
Sam sighed in resignation.
"You really are the most unladylike woman ever. No wonder you never had a boyfriend before me."
Sam teasingly said.
"You!! Just you wait! When we meet again I'll have your ass eating the dirt!"
She yelled in rage—yet Sam knew there was no true anger in her voice.
"Good luck, then. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for the congratulations."
Sam thanked her with a gentle tone.
"Yeah! I'll see you later. I miss you."
Rumi said, but the last part was whispered in embarrassment. Sam's sensitive ears caught it though, but he wouldn't say anything about it.
"Goodnight."
"Night!"
Sam hung up the phone and sighed, looking at the stars with a weary gaze.
"Why can't I be free like the stars in the sky?"
Sam asked himself.
Creak!
Sam heard the door to the dorms open up.
He quickly hid behind a bush nearby.
'Why would someone leave the dorms at this time?'
Sam was sure his classmates wouldn't be outside this late—thus why he went out to talk on the phone.
He didn't expect someone to leave the dorms.
He watched closely and saw who it was.
"Come on. Follow me."
A rough voice that Sam knew all too well ordered.
'Bakugo. Who was he speaking to?'
Sam's question was answered immediately as Izuku exited the dorms after him.
'I should have known. I had an inkling that punk Bakugo was a bully, based on how Izuku acted around him. Is he jealous of Izuku passing? Is he going to hurt him?'
Sam thought with narrowed eyes locked on Bakugo.
He watched them walk away from the building.
Curious about this rendezvous, Sam decided to follow them discreetly—something that was child's play to an espionage expert like Sam.
He kept his distance, yet also kept close enough to hear their voices clear enough.
But they didn't speak as they walked. They just stayed silent as Bakugo led Izuku away.
After a short walk, they arrived at Ground Beta.
'Isn't this one of those practice areas for hero class?'
Sam was hiding behind a fake building in the area, keeping hidden from Izuku and Bakugo.
Finally, Bakugo stopped right in front of a large building in the area.
Sam decided to enter a neighboring building to stay in earshot of the coming event.
"W-What did you want to talk about, Kacchan?"
Izuku meekly asked.
Bakugo—facing away from Izuku—stayed silent for a bit.
Just as Izuku was thinking of asking again, Bakugo responded.
"All Might gave you his quirk, didn't he?"
Bakugo asked, causing Izuku to panic.
Not far from them, Sam was watching them with wide eyes.
He heard that. Clear as day.
'Izuku… he was given a quirk?'
He thought.
He recalled how Izuku's quirk would damage him so bad.
Sam always wondered why a quirk would be so damaging to the user. Now it made sense.
'His body was given a foreign power, leading to his body being unable to adapt to the power. Not just any power either. All Mights power!'
Sam felt as if he heard a secret that he should have never been allowed to know.
'Interesting…'
Sam thought—a slight grin of amusement on his face.