Chapter 5

Shirou's eyes darted from side to side as he examined his surroundings. To his right was the sole door to the room and the likely only exit that didn't involve teleporting. To the left was a television running static, the volume though was thankfully muted. Dead ahead was a bar, run down and minimal stock. Then there was the only other occupant in the room outside of himself, and the black mist man who stepped through the portal before it closed behind him.

The occupant was a gangly man, pasty skin starkly contrasting the black attire he wore. That wasn't the only thing he wore however. Severed hands latched themselves to the man's arms, shoulders, neck and one even clung to his face, eyes only barely able to peek through the gaps between fingers. He tilted his head to the side and Shirou could tell that the person was eyeing him up, likely judging what he was capable of.

Taking a page out of Gilgamesh's book, Shirou acted. It took only a second for both the construction of the broadsword to be completed and even shorter for it to shoot forward from above Shirou's shoulder. The silver blade struck true, piercing the wall behind the bar with the edge's just missing the spirit bottles on the shelf by the barest of margins. Several strands of hair falling after having been removed from the man's head, having not flinched in the slightest as the weapon sailed past his features.

"That's a rude hello," said the man finally after what seemed like a tense moment.

"Sorry if I'm being a little more aggressive than usual, these things should be expected though after being kidnapped," said Shirou with a shrug of the shoulder.

"I'd recommend not doing something like that again," said the mist man as he stepped behind the bar. Whispy fingers gripped around the handle of the sword before he tried to pull the weapon out of the wall. Not surprisingly, he didn't have much luck. Seeing the futile struggle, Shirou allowed the sword to vanish into nothingness.

"So why am I here?" asked Shirou crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're pretty famous, you know that," said the person sitting down. "You come out of nowhere and within two hours the whole world has seen your face."

"I assure you, the idea of having my face plastered across the internet was not on my list of things to do at the start of the day," stated Shirou.

"Funny, how days and nights can be well and truly planned out in advance but at the end of it, nothing goes the way it should. We have a plan however and you can be an integral part to make sure that it goes the way it should."

"And what is it that you plan to do?"

"We want to kill All Might."

It was a cold, calculated statement. For most, the mere thought that people wished to kill the number one Professional Hero would be paramount to suicide. The strongest there was, even to challenge him was an inconceivable idea.

Yet here was a man, wishing to challenge the strongest man and still had the confidence that he could walk away victorious. The sheer audacity!

Now the true question was, how would Shirou react? The teenager, who with his partner, had fought against numerous heroes in the middle of the gay and was victorious against a large number of them.

"Who?"

There was a pause before the person wearing the hands began to laugh. At first it started as a chuckle before he leant backwards and laughed maniacally. "Yes! Who exactly? He is a man like any other and it doesn't matter how strong they are, all men must die! The symbol of peace will fall like any other!"

Shirou meanwhile listened on curiously. It was clear his question had been misunderstood for he truly didn't know who this All Might person was.

He figured that it was the name of a Professional Hero but there were so many of them in Japan, let alone the world that there was no chance of him remembering them all, even though it did sound vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had seen the name plastered in a cereal box while purchasing groceries one day?

"Now," said the man, a wicked smile plastered on his face. "I believe proper introductions are in order. After all we are the League of Villains.'

Rin was sitting in the penthouse, arms crossed as her fingers drummed on her forearm in a steady beat as she gazed at the three people that currently occupied the vicinity with her. Midnight had remained after having joined her for tea and cake earlier in the day. She had thought that after having bested her in verbal combat on more than one occasion that the provocative person would have simply let her be after escorting her back to the hotel. That however was not the case;

Midnight having spotted the facilities that had been provided to Rin and Shirou and had promptly invited herself in under the pretense that she had to ensure that two of her future students were behaving in a respectable manner. Rin wasn't quite sure what Midnight determined as

'respectable manner' but she truly believed that it didn't correspond with her own version. Especially after the woman had made herself comfortable in her area of living and then decided to invite a couple of her friends over.

Currently seated on the couch was the instigator of this whole debacle, seeming well too jovial in her attempts to get under Rin's skin. Rin would deny the whole idea that she had brought this on herself.

On Midnight's right was a Uwabami who Rin had immediately felt mildly intimidated by. It wasn't due to the woman herself mind you, Midnight having introduced her as a professional hero who had a side career in modelling, perhaps explaining the elegant dress she wore. It was more due to the fact that atop the woman's head were three snakes! Three individual snakes protruded from her golden locks, likely attached to her scalp as if they were overly large strands of hair. That had scales…and perhaps their own sense of consciousness. Rin swore that the one closest to her had yet to take it's beady eyes off of her.

Uwabami told her to pay them no mind but that was easier said than done.

The other woman was sitting on the recliner opposite Rin and was dressed in a far more casual attire, wearing jeans and a jacket while her right eye was covered by the fringe of her hair. While Midnight and Uwabami seemed content with gossiping away, Ryukyu seemed fine with just listening in and adding to the conversation when she was asked for her opinion on the matter.

Outside of these times, she, along with Uwabami's snake, seemed to watch Rin intently. It also didn't help that Midnight had introduced the woman as the second highest ranking female pro hero, coming in at eighth overall in the rankings.

"You know, you have a lovely complexion Rin," said Uwabami as she tried to include the teenager into the conversation. "One day I might ask you to join me in some promotional work."

"It is unwise to cut off potential connections so early in your career," said Ryukyu as Uwabami pouted, having felt mildly insulted by having been referred to as a floozy. "You should keep an open mind and use these years to make connections that may benefit you in the future."

Rin blinked several times, not so much taking in the advice that Ryukyu was trying to give but for the first time in a long time it seemed as if someone was actually trying to look out for her.

Perhaps Ryukyu was actually a hero not for fame and fortune, but actually someone who would save people because they felt it was the right thing to do. If given the chance, Rin would have to make sure Ryukyu and Shirou met sometime in the future.

Speaking of Shirou, it seemed as if he was running late. As if like magic, as soon as the thought had crossed her mind there was a knocking on the door and Rin simply thought that Shirou had forgotten his key.

"That'd be the room service!" announced Midnight, practically leaping up from her seat.

Apparently not.

It turned out that Midnight had not been shy in ordering things off of the hotel menu, including a fancy bottle of champagne that sat in a fancy bucket filled with ice. "Are we celebrating anything?" asked Ryukyu, wondering why Midnight had gone all out on the order. Rin knew however that since U.A was footing the bill for her and Shirou to be staying here that anything put on the room would be covered as well. She and Shirou had yet to use the service personally, Shirou having taken full control of the room's kitchen facilities. It seemed at the end of the day the professional hero was looking for both a free meal and a free way to entertain her guests, despite the fact it wasn't even her hotel room.

"Why don't you toast to the fact that Midnight has gone another year without wrinkles?" suggested

Rin as the aforementioned Hero reached for the bottle in question.

"I believe you don't need a reason to enjoy time with friends," said Midnight, her left eye twitching ever so slightly.

"You know that whole thing I said about cutting off potential contacts?" said Ryukyu. "You are aware that Midnight will be one of your teachers at U.A, perhaps trying to get under her skin is unwise."

"Please, getting under her skin has given me hours of entertainment today," said Rin. "If it means she tries to issue me a detention as a result of past disagreements I can report to the principal and lodge a complaint. Who knows, enough complaints from students might result in her being removed from her position."

"It's statements like that which make me glad that you're not going to be in the hero course," said Uwabami as she partook in some of the nibbles that had been delivered. "I fear that after your graduation you would have bulldozed your way through the rankings with underhanded tactics all the way."

"That's why you're in the general studies department!" shouted Midnight as she slammed her hands on the table, as if having just solved a murder case. "You're going to be Shirou's manager!"

"A manager," scoffed Rin. "While I could make the road easier for him, Shirou wouldn't accept that.

He'll only want to be a hero by his own skills and merits." Besides, Rin had a far more important role to play.

"Oh, and how far do you think his skills will get him?" asked Uwabami.

"To the top."

"That's some lofty aspirations," said Ryukyu. " know how ruthless the path to the summit is. He will likely need your support on this journey and if you're willing to help him on this quest then he is lucky to have a friend like you."

Of the heroes that Rin had encountered during her brief time in this world, Ryukyu was definitely her favourite by a long margin.

"Well then," said Midnight as she popped the cork off of the champagne. " propose we toast to Shirou and the next generation in their quest to the top."

"Hopefully those who teach us don't prevent us from reaching our full potential due to their own incompetence," said Rin, causing Midnight to spill a handful of drops onto the coffee table. Ignoring the spillage, the hero passed a glass to both Uwabami and Ryukyu, the three of them simultaneously raising the glasses in the air before taking a sip of the liquid within.

Before they had even finished their initial tasting, the door to the penthouse opened once more, Shirou walking in. "Oh, I didn't know we were expecting guests," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Wa weren't," remarked Rin. "Why are you home so late?"

"I got kidnapped," said Shirou, the words causing the glass in Uwabami's hand to slip before shattering on the ground. Midnight and Ryukyu meanwhile just sat there with stunned looks on their faces as Rin rubbed at her eyes.

"Only you Shirou, only you."

Two hours later, after police interviews and the three female heroes having done their best to make sure that Shirou was okay (Rin definitely not appreciating the level of closeness that Midnight was trying to insinuate with him), the two of them were finally left alone. Rin knew the moment that Shirou walked in and announced his kidnapping that the fact he was fine spoke many things that the Heroes would never know. Even the police in their interrogation had wanted to know names, locations and the like but Shirou had merely stated that one of the men had a teleportation power which had been used to send him to and from the hideout. The police begrudgingly left after being unable to get anything more than some descriptions of characteristics and their plans.

"I'm surprised you didn't just kill them," said Rin as she plonked herself on the couch, glad to be rid of the extra company.

"The hand guy isn't a bad person," said Shirou as he moved to the kitchen to prepare something light for the two of them to snack on before they went to bed. "Listening to his ideas and conviction, it was almost as if listening to a child declare how they were the strongest with no idea of what the real world was like."

"So what, you're hoping that reality will slap him in the face one day and he'll realize his mistakes?"

"He's too immature at the moment to see how big the world is," said Shirou from his sanctuary.

"Once his plan fails he'll find that he has to either change as a person or die."

"So you didn't join them or anything did you?"

"No."

Rin allowed a sigh to escape her lips as she closed her eyes. The fact that they had simply allowed Shirou to walk away, meant that there was a larger game at play. They knew he would discuss the plan with someone, almost anybody would inform the authorities that such malevolence was being planned in the background. Shirou wasn't just anybody however and had it only been him and Rin alone that night then the information would have likely have never gone anywhere. It was just unfortunate that the three professional heroes had been in attendance.

She couldn't help but feel that they were on the back foot.

She hated being on the back foot.

The rest of their free time flew by quickly, including the time where they were given their new living arrangements. A couple of the members of staff had created two identical concrete cottages in the corner of the facility. Thankfully, with the ridiculous sizing of both the school and the land it operated on, there was little chance that anyone would simply stumble upon their living arrangements.

That hadn't prevented in from creating some defences of her own were anyone to approach with malice on the mind. They had also been told that over the next couple of evenings they would be permitted to go to the local shopping centre and purchase appropriate decorative items to make their housing more homely. Rin would undoubtedly go over her allotted budget.

The two students walked side by side through the halls as the rest of the students made their way in from off campus. Eventually they came to the door for Massroom 1-C, the general studies room which Rin would be learning for the foreseeable future.

"Don't do anything reckless now," said Shirou with a cheeky smile.

"Please, as if I would do anything reckless," said Rin as she flicked a few loose strands of hair over her shoulder.

"I seem to recall a certain girl attacking me in the corridors of a school once before..." started

Shirou, earning a hit to his shoulder in response.

"Go to your own classroom already," said Rin, dismissing Shirou who wouldn't help the smile on his face from spreading ever so slightly.

It only took him another couple of minutes to navigate the halls and find his own classroom, slightly pleased to find that he was not the first one in attendance, although there was only one other student present. "Ah, it is good to see another student so punctual..." they started before their eyes sharpened.

"You!"

"Me?" questioned Shirou as the door shut behind him.

"You're the one who attacked my brother!" they shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Brother?" repeated Shirou before the door behind him was nearly kicked off its hinges.

"One of you shitheads better be the person who stole my place at the top!" they shouted as they barged their way into the room.

Shirou meanwhile couldn't help but feel as if he had already found himself in an unfavourable position.