I was about to leave when darkness swallowed the alley.
Not the natural kind of shadow you'd expect from clouds passing over streetlights. This was something else entirely—a deliberate, unnatural eclipse that made me look up despite every survival instinct screaming at me to keep my eyes on ground level.
Holy shit.
A woman the size of a skyscraper peered down at us, her blonde hair cascading like a waterfall around a face that belonged on magazine covers. Even at that impossible scale, every detail was perfect—the curve of her lips, the sharp intelligence in her purple eyes, the way her costume hugged curves that could probably be seen from orbit.
Mt. Lady.
She shrank down to normal size—though 'normal' was relative when you were built like a supermodel who moonlighted as a bodybuilder. Her landing barely disturbed the dust at our feet, which was probably more impressive than the size-changing trick itself.
Police officers filed in behind her, their presence turning my little vigilante adventure into something official and potentially problematic.
"You have any idea how much trouble you're in, kid?" Her voice carried the kind of authority that made grown men confess to crimes they hadn't committed. "Illegal Quirk usage in a public space, engaging in vigilante activity without a license—"
She stopped mid-sentence as she stepped closer, the dim alley lights catching my face properly for the first time.
"Well, now..." Her tone shifted like a gear change in an expensive car. "What do we have here?"
She leaned in close enough that I could smell her perfume. "You know, it's a shame I have to lecture someone so... promising."
The woman I'd saved stepped forward. "Officer—Hero—ma'am, he saved me! That man was going to rob me, maybe worse, and this young man stopped him. He's a hero!"
Mt. Lady listened to the passionate defense, but her eyes never left mine. When the woman finished, she sighed dramatically, one hand resting on her hip.
"Fine. You got lucky this time." She tilted her head, studying me like I was a puzzle she wanted to solve. "And you're what, a college student?"
"Seventeen," I confirmed, "about to graduate".
Something flickered across her face—disappointment, maybe. It was gone before I could read it properly, replaced by a smile that was equal parts professional and predatory.
She reached into what I was now realizing was a very strategically designed costume and produced a business card.
"Well, if you get into a hero school this year..." She pressed the card into my hand, her fingers lingering against mine just long enough to send a message. "Let's just say I'll be keeping an eye out for you. I could always use an intern with your... talents."
The card was warm from being pressed against her skin. I glanced down at it—premium stock, embossed lettering, with her hero name and a phone number written in elegant script across the bottom.
"Call me," she said.
A news van screeched to a halt at the mouth of the alley, tires smoking against asphalt. A reporter and cameraman spilled out like they'd been shot from a cannon, drawn by the combination of police lights and Mt. Lady's distinctive silhouette.
"Mt. Lady! What happened here? Was there villain activity in the area?"
Before I could process what was happening, her arm was around my shoulders, pulling me against her side.
"Just a minor incident, all handled!" she declared, her voice projecting to the back of whatever invisible audience she was performing for. She gestured to me like I was a prize she'd just won at a carnival. "My new protégé here was a huge help. A real natural! Showed some amazing initiative."
Her hand squeezed my shoulder.
I understood the play immediately. This was theater, and she was offering me a starring role instead of a walk-on part as 'Stupid Kid Who Gets Arrested.' All I had to do was play along.
I looked directly into the camera and let my most charming smile spread across my face.
"Just doing my civic duty," I said, my voice carrying just enough humility to seem genuine while still projecting confidence. "Though I have to say, learning from Mt. Lady was an honor. She really knows how to take charge of a situation."
The reporter ate it up, scribbling notes while the cameraman adjusted his angle to get both of us in frame.
"This young man has real potential," she continued. "With the right guidance and training, I think we'll be hearing his name in the hero rankings someday soon."
I looked down at the business card in my hand, then back at Mt. Lady as she fielded questions from the reporter. Two cards in one day—the woman I'd saved, and now this.
The vertigo hit me again, but this time it felt different. Not like sickness or displacement, but like clarity. Like two puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.
The dead gigolo and the student weren't separate people fighting for control of the same body. They were both me. The man who could read a room and play the angles, and the kid with a superpower that could turn pocket change into artillery. The survivor who'd clawed his way up from nothing, and the brother who'd do anything to keep his sister safe.
I wasn't choosing between two lives anymore. I was standing in the middle of the biggest casino in the world, and I'd just been invited to the high-roller's table.
"So what's your name, young man?" the reporter asked, shoving a microphone toward my face.
I glanced at Mt. Lady, who nodded encouragingly.
"Yukio Murano," I said, and for the first time since waking up in that classroom, the name felt like it belonged to me. "Future U.A. student, if everything goes according to plan."
"And what's your Quirk?" the reporter pressed, clearly sensing a story.
"Kinetic Charge," I replied, pulling a coin from my pocket and letting just enough purple energy dance across its surface to catch the camera's attention. "I store energy in objects and release it on impact."
The reporter asked a few more questions, but I was barely listening. Mt. Lady wanted something from me—that much was obvious. The question was what, and how I could leverage that want into something that benefited me.
She was beautiful, powerful, and connected. She had the kind of influence that could open doors or slam them shut, depending on her mood. And right now, her mood seemed very favorable toward one Yukio Murano.
When the reporter finally packed up and left, Mt. Lady turned to face me properly. The police had taken the thug away in quirk-suppressing cuffs, and the woman I'd saved had given her statement and disappeared into the night. We were alone in the alley, just me and a pro hero who was looking at me like I was dessert.
"So," she said, her voice dropping back to that intimate register she'd used before the cameras arrived. "U.A., huh? That's ambitious."
"I don't do anything halfway," I replied, pocketing the coin but keeping her business card visible. "If I'm going to be a hero, I want to be the best."
"Good attitude." She stepped closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back slightly to maintain eye contact. "The hero world can be... challenging for newcomers. It's not just about having a strong quirk. You need to understand the game. The politics. The media."
"And you're offering to teach me?"
Her smile was answer enough. "Call me after you get your acceptance letter. We'll discuss... opportunities."
She turned to leave, then paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, and Yukio? Next time you want to play hero, maybe don't do it in an alley where the security cameras can't see you. Bad for the footage quality."
She walked away, her hips swaying.
I tucked Mt. Lady's card into my jacket, letting it settle next to the first one I'd earned tonight. Two contacts. Two assets.
The alley was empty now except for me and officers dragging Mr. Steroids away to jail. I started walking toward the main street, my steps confident despite having no idea which direction would actually get me home.
It didn't matter. I'd figure it out, the same way I figured out everything else. And if I got lost along the way, well...
That just meant more opportunities to play the hero.