**Swish.**
Neito felt everything go dark for a moment. Then he opened his eyes and saw Toga smiling at him.
"Neito! You came! Did you use Star's new order to teleport here?"
She ran to him and gave him a big hug. Neito hugged her back, but his eyes were already looking around.
They were standing on a tall building. From up here, he could see the streets below. A green-haired boy was walking by himself with his head down, quietly talking to himself.
Neito's eyes narrowed.
"That's Izuku Midoriya… the main character of this world."
Neito activated High Spec, a quirk that made his brain work faster. Time didn't really stop, but his thoughts sped up a lot. He looked at Midoriya carefully.
From what Toga had told him, and what he saw now, All Might had just spoken to Izuku. Maybe he had even told him about One For All.
"He's talking about quirks… that means it's already started."
"All Might is going to pass One For All to him."
Neito let out a slow breath.
"The story has begun. And that means the countdown has started."
"In one year, the hero society will break."
It felt real now. Everything he had done for the past few years was for this moment—training his quirk, making friends in important places, and earning money using the name of UA.
"When the current system falls, people will panic."
"They'll need someone new to believe in."
"I'll be that person."
"I'll become the new symbol of peace."
"I'll be rich, famous, and powerful."
Neito smiled to himself.
Heroes and villains? It didn't matter. Both sides were going to help him reach the top. While All Might and AFO fought each other, Neito would stay in the shadows and prepare to win when it was all over.
Toga suddenly shook his arm. "Neito! Are you listening?"
She pointed at Midoriya. "That boy is getting away. Are we just going to let him go? Why not kill him?"
Neito blinked, then smiled calmly.
"No. Let him go."
Toga looked confused. "Why? He's weak and annoying."
Neito looked down at Izuku. "Because he's useful. He's a good person for AFO to focus on. Let them fight each other. While they do, we'll make our move."
He looked back at Toga and became more serious.
"And also… you need to stop saying things like that."
"What?" she asked. "You mean killing people?"
"Yes," Neito said. "You've been seen with me before. If people think you're a killer, they'll start thinking _I_ work with villains too."
"I need a clean image to enter UA. If people think I'm lying about being a hero, I'll never become the principal one day."
Toga crossed her arms and frowned.
"So you want me to just act normal forever?"
"Yes," Neito said. "At least until I'm inside UA and safe."
Toga looked down at the ground. "I tried. I really did, Neito."
"But I can't keep pretending to be normal. I hate it."
"I love blood. I love violence. And I don't want to hide that part of me anymore."
"I'm not like normal people. I can't pretend to be someone I'm not."
Her voice was quiet, but firm.
Neito looked at her for a long time. She wasn't joking. She was telling the truth.
"…You really can't do it anymore?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. I don't want to lie anymore."
Neito let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "Alright," he said. "Then you can be a villain."
Toga's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Neito nodded. "But you'll be my villain. Just like Twice."
"You'll still work for me. You'll gather information and help from the shadows. I don't want you going crazy or killing for fun."
Toga smiled. "So I can still be myself? And still help you?"
"Yes," Neito said. "I trust you. Just be careful."
Toga's smile grew wider. "I'll be your best spy! Better than Twice!"
She laughed. "And anyway, I already ran away from home and left the country illegally. I'm a villain now, right?"
Neito chuckled. "You're definitely not a hero."
She looked thoughtful. "I want to train first. I want to learn how to control myself better before I really start acting like a spy."
"I want to be useful to you."
"You already are," Neito said, handing her his bank card. "Use this while you're away. The password is 'CopyIsTheGreatestQuirkInTheWorld.' Try not to spend it all on blood or weapons."
Toga laughed. "Thanks, Neito!"
She looked up. "Can you send me to the park where we first met? I want to leave from there."
Neito sighed. "I told you before—Copy doesn't let me use any quirk I want."
"I can only use quirks I've already copied. And teleportation quirks are really rare."
"But…" he paused, "I do have a floating quirk. I can use it to float you down like a balloon."
Toga clapped her hands. "That sounds fun!"
"You sure?" he asked. "I won't have control after you leave. If something goes wrong, I can't help you."
Toga nodded. "It's okay. I want to do this on my own."
"I don't want to depend on you for everything."
Neito stared at her for a moment, surprised.
She really wanted to grow.
"Okay," he said at last. "Just stay in touch."
He raised his hand and gave the order.
"Float: Locate safe coordinates in Park Number 8."
"Float: Eject Toga to the located coordinates."
**Swish.**
Toga slowly floated into the air like a balloon. She waved at him as she flew off.
"I'll make you proud, Neito!"
Neito smiled and waved back.
"I haven't walked around this city in a while," he said to himself.
"I should get some food. I'm starving."
He walked to the edge of the rooftop, looked at the busy streets below, and took a deep breath.
Then he jumped.
The wind hit his face hard, but he didn't panic. He loved the feeling of falling—it made him feel free.
But he knew he couldn't just crash into the ground.
"Leap: Let me land safely."
As the quirk activated, Neito smiled. He was back.