John was exhausted by the time the last student of the day left his office, his Quirk taking a toll on his mental stamina. He would have to be more conservative in its use going forward.

Other than the combative Katsuki Bakugo, the students were all fairly respectful. He had pencilled in a couple he wanted to talk with again later, including that hot-headed kid. He had five more students in 1-A to meet with tomorrow before he moved on to what he hoped would be less dramatic students. 

And the instructors. They are scheduled for the morning as well.

He sighed, standing up from his chair and walking over to the window. He could see several students still training in the sports field, including a girl who was… half naked. Before he could question what in the hell he was seeing on school grounds, she reached into her exposed abdomen and pulled out a cannon of all things.

“What in the hell am I seeing?” He said, shaking his head.

“That is Momo Yaoyorozu. With her Creation Quirk, she can use her own body fat to create pretty much anything as long as she knows how it was made.” A voice said beside him. John looked down at Nezu, who had apparently snuck into his office at some point. “She needs to expose her skin like that to be able to get larger items out.”

“That sounds both incredible and very inconvenient at the same time.” 

“It is. She can pull swords or simple tools out of her body with little thought, but she has been practising more complex items recently, which take significantly more time to assemble. So, how was your first day?”

“Insightful. Most of the kids seem to be faring okay in the aftermath, though there are a couple I want to speak with again soon. Many are worried about another attack happening soon.”

“Well, that is a possibility, but this League of Villains expended a significant amount of resources on the attack. I suspect it will be some time before they are ready for their next assault.”

“Not to overstep, but since All Might seemed to be their target, do you really think it is a good idea to keep him here with the students? Wouldn’t he be better off staying with a bunch of other heroes?” John asked. It was something that was really bothering him.

Nezu sighed. “Listen, I’m going to share something with you that isn’t known yet to anyone other than a few staff members. All Might has passed his Quirk on to one of the other students here and is overseeing his training as he tries to harness its awesome power. Izuku Midoriya, that green-haired lad doing chin-ups down there, is the next wielder of One For All.”

John looked down at the small, freckly kid. He was struggling, but was putting in a ton of effort to pump out more reps.

Oh, it’s that kid whose fingers I healed.

“I talked to him the other day briefly. Seems like a good kid, though a bit of an idealist. Still, what about the rest of the students? Is it worth putting that many children in danger just so All Might can oversee that one kid?”

“Don’t you know the power of One For All? The kid needs to be trained in its use.”

“Don’t you know the power of several hundred other Quirk users?” John fired back. “Seriously, Mr Principal. One weapon, no matter how terrifying, pales in comparison to dozens or hundreds of others, some nearly as terrifying. Let’s take Momo there. She can make anything you say? What if she learned how to make a missile, or even a nuke? Suddenly, she has the power to level a small city. 

But let’s not take pure power into account. How many places could All Might be in at once, even in his prime? Once they graduate, the forty students in 1-A and 1-B will be spread out across Japan, bringing down villains and making the country safer. Sure, there are villains who will be more powerful than some of them, which you need someone like All Might to deal with, but there are tons of powerful Quirk users around. You’re telling me if you sent Endeavor and a handful of his sidekicks into almost any situation, he couldn’t handle it?” John said, bringing up Japan’s number two hero. The man was a walking disaster if he wasn’t careful, but there were very few situations where a Quirk user who could shoot fire out of their body wouldn’t be able to stop the threat of a villain.

“There is more nuance with Endeavor’s situation, but let’s pretend he could. What do you suggest then? Not training young Midoriya?”

“Who said anything about not training him? Does anyone else know how One For All works? Who trained All Might? I don’t know the answers to these questions. Maybe having All Might train him in secret elsewhere is the answer, but there has to be a better option than having a known target for villains here at the school.” John said, growing a little heated.

Calm down, calm down. Don’t attack your boss on the first day. You’re not the same hot head you used to be.

Nezu appeared to be contemplating his question, but didn’t respond before a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

“Counselor Wayne? I wanted to come and apologise for missing our appointment. I had a bit of a tummy ache from using my Quirk and needed to see the nurse.” A blonde-haired student said, sticking his head past the door.

“Mr Aoyama, why were you using your Quirk when you knew you were supposed to see Mr Wayne today. You know what it does to you when you overuse it.” Nezu said, turning to face the student.

“I’m sorry, Mr Principal. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not, else you will be reporting to my office for a month straight after classes. Mr Wayne’s time is finite, mine is not. I will gladly keep you after classes until you understand.”

“Yes, Mr Principal. Sorry, Mr Principal.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at nine. Don’t be late.” John added. 

“Yes, Mr Wayne. Have a good night!” The kid said, darting away from the door before Nezu could change his mind.

“He is usually a good kid, but is prone to going a bit overboard,” Nezu said, turning back to John. “I will take your suggestion under advisement, Mr Wayne. I need to do some research and talk with All Might before I make a final decision. You were the first one to suggest that he should leave the school, so I never considered that option earlier.”

“Sometimes you need an outside opinion to see what is right in front of you. Not to sound crass, but my main concern is for the safety of these students, not the ego of a single person. If he needs to be protected, then a school shouldn’t be the place he goes to.”

“You may be underestimating the defence systems in place here, but with the recent attack, I fear they have ways of getting around those. I shall be off now, Mr Wayne. Have a good night.”

“Good night, Mr Principal,” John replied, bowing his head slightly to the ratman. 

With that, John locked up the files, popped another Substance X ball, and left the school. He still had to figure out these trains, grocery shop, cook dinner, and train some more. 

That Evening

Hosu City

“Crap. I think I did it again.” John said as he stood in front of the train station, having just noticed he got off at the wrong stop. He ran back into the station to reboard the train, but it was pulling away just as he got back to the platform. Cursing his luck, he checked the schedule on a nearby board, and the next train to Jaku wouldn’t be by for nearly an hour.

I guess I’ll just go grocery shopping here. There must be a market nearby.

He called a cab, not wanting to get lost in another city. A few minutes later, one pulled up and drove him a few minutes into the city, letting him out near a shopping plaza. He paid yet another exorbitant cab fare and got out.

Yeah, I am getting paid well, but I can’t be doing that very often. Wait, was that the same cabbie?

He shook his head at the inane thought and walked towards the plaza. He could see a small store that appeared to be a grocery store from a distance, with people coming out carrying bags of food. He started to make his way over when he thought he heard a muffled scream coming from a nearby alleyway.

He ran towards the alley, all thoughts of shopping disappearing from his mind. He didn’t know whether it was a criminal or a villain, but he was going to put a stop to it if he could. 

The alley appeared to be empty, but John barreled down it as quickly as he could, seeing that it branched off further down. He held off activating his armour, his leathers and boots much quieter than plate mail would be for now, not to mention he didn’t want to reveal himself in case this was a false alarm. 

“Why! Why are you doing this to me!!!” He heard a female voice shouting down the next alley, confirming that he hadn’t imagined the scream.

“Because you are just like all the other false heroes, claiming to be symbols of peace and justice, but falling short of realising those ideals when lives are on the line.” A crazed-sounding male voice replied, followed shortly by another pained scream.

Yeah, fuck this. 

John activated his armour as he charged around the corner, casting Darkness on a figure holding a sword driven into a… space suit?

What is Thirteen doing here?

He didn’t hesitate, didn’t even slow down, as he barreled into the now blinded villain and crashed into the wall. He blindly headbutted the man with his helmet, once, then twice. When he went for the third one, the ball of darkness had moved. 

John turned around and quickly found the man standing a short distance away, holding a beat-up old sword that was pointed right at him. The ball of darkness was still on his head, some blood dripping on the ground around his feet. 

Fuck he’s quick.

“What kind of Hero doesn’t announce his presence? Isn’t that a cowardly thing to do?”

“Who said I was a hero? I’m just a concerned citizen passing by.” John replied, then raised his hand, “Bolt!”

The bolt of lightning struck the assailant, but didn’t appear to stun him. Instead, he charged at John, who barely managed to raise his arms up before the sword came down with incredible power, slamming into his vambraces. Before he could counter, a foot collided with John’s chest, pushing him back into the wall. 

“I’m not sure what this Quirk of yours is, but I can smell you, you fake hero. I was just going to maim your friend there, but I think I’m going to torture you in front of her instead.” The man said, having stepped back further from John.

Smell? Thanks for the tip. Why the fuck is he talking and not pressing the attack?

“Waterball!” John said, locking the ball on the man’s head. The man dived towards John again, slashing wildly. He caught the blade on his pauldron this time, the power behind the swing driving him to his knees. 

John took the cheap shot offered to him, smashing the man in the nuts with an armoured gauntlet. He bounced back, clearly in pain but still standing. 

“Dig!” He called out as he rushed towards the man, intent on dropping on top of him and beating the ever living tar out of the villain. A block disappeared under his feet, but instead of falling over, he jumped upwards. And upwards.

John watched helplessly as the man bounced from building to building, parkouring his way up to the rooftop and out of John’s sight. 

Damn it. Do these spells end if he gets out of range? I’m not waiting around to find out. 

“Thank you,” Thirteen said, in clear pain. Her suit had been punctured multiple times, blood leaking out from the holes.

“Don’t worry about it. Can you hold onto me? I can’t heal you here in case he comes back.” John said, pulling out his motorcycle.

“I think so? Wait, how did… Argh!” She replied, clearly in pain. He could hit her with Holy Light, but it would eat most of his mana up, and if that man came back, they would be dead.

He helped her onto the bike, then got on himself. Revving the engine a couple of times, he drove it out of the alley at a reasonable speed, not wanting to jar his passenger or cause an accident. He drove back towards the station, having no idea where else to go in this city from here. He pulled the bike into a nearby alley and shut it off. 

“Here, let’s get you fixed up, darling.” He said, helping her off the bike and laying her down against another wall. “Middle Heal! Cure!”

His magic flowed through her again, causing her to moan loudly in her suit as it repaired her body and did… other things.

“Hah, hah, hah. Thank you, Sir Twilight Knight. This is the second time you saved me in a week.” She said, popping her visor open. Her face was flushed, but she had a small smile on her face. 

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” 

“I’m glad you were. Thank you.”

“Do you have somewhere safe you can go nearby?”

“No. I live in another city. I was just here to help with a cleanup operation after a fire. I was heading back to the station when I was attacked.”

“Well, we are here now. Let’s get you on your train safely.” He said, offering her his hand.

“My name is Anan.” She said, taking his hand and standing up. 

“Nice to meet you, Anan. Just call me… TK. I’m afraid I can’t give you my actual name.”

“That’s fine. Just… be careful. I think that was the hero killer, Stain. He is wanted for killing over a dozen heroes and badly hurting several dozen more.”

“Well, good thing I’m not a hero then.” He chuckled. 

“Wow… you’re really tall.” She said, still holding his hand.

“Your train? Plus, you should probably call someone about that attacker.”

“Oh! Right!” She said, releasing his hand and pulling a phone out of her pocket. “You should probably get out of here, else I will have to explain why I didn’t arrest you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“You saved my life, again. Why in the world would I arrest you?”

“Some of your fellow heroes seem to be a bit more zealous in applying the law.”

“I’m not exactly a typical hero. I do disaster relief, not arrests.”

“Sounds like the best kind of hero to me,” John replied, mounting his motorcycle and firing it up. “Stay safe, Anan.”

“Thank you again, TK!” She shouted as he pulled away.

He accelerated out of the alleyway and into the street, heading away from the station. He had no idea where he was going, but he needed to get out of sight again before he walked back to the station. Another inane thought went through his mind as he turned down another street. 

Crap, I still need to go shopping!

Unseen by John or Anan, a pair of bloodshot red eyes was watching them from a nearby rooftop. The hero killer, Stain, watched as the strange man drove away from the station, leaving his previous target alone. He considered returning to finish what he started, but she was in too public a place for his liking now. 

He licked his lips, his long tongue lapping up the blood still dripping from his busted lips. It was mostly superficial damage that had been done to him during the fight, but when his head was somehow submerged in water, he decided retreat was the better choice at that moment. The man didn’t feel much stronger than an average man and was definitely slower than he was. However, he was wearing that armour that his sword couldn’t seem to pierce.  

Without being able to cut his target, he couldn’t use his Quirk. If he couldn’t use his Quirk, he couldn’t disable his target, he couldn’t teach them a lesson. He couldn’t make them regret pretending to be a real hero. To show them they were all hypocrites, unlike the real hero, All Might. 

He would remember this man’s name, this vigilante called Twilight Knight and his weird Quirk. He didn’t have time to hunt for him right now, but soon, soon, he would track him down and show him that he wasn’t heroic. 

He licked his bloody lips again. 

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep