M. Hatsume X F! Reader: The Devil in Pink (BOOK 1)

Chapter 20: A Day in the Life of a Hero

"Wakey wakey! I can't have you sleeping till 8 now can I? Heroes need to be on the run!" Mirko shook you awake, early next morning, a bright grin on her face already present.

"Rumi-San, 5 more minutes please," you mumbled and rolled over.

"No way! C'mon, we've got to get started! It's a big day today Y/N-chan," she laughed, practically dragging you out of bed.

"4:50 AM? Mirko, what could be important enough to-" you glared at her, ticked off that you couldn't sleep until at least 6. Only, the hero silenced you.

"Listen," she told you simply, as she quietly got up and opened all windows.

Birds were chirping and a large array of different noises filled the skies as more and more birds woke up to greet the sky. Speaking of, the sky itself was a miraculous orange tint as the pin sized sun was visible behind various mountains as it began its ascent.

Overall, it was peaceful. All concerns about the world, the future, were long forgotten as you simply reveled in the sound and observed the beautiful scenery.

"We often forget that even heroes need to relax, and only see them as immortal crime fighting machines. I overcame this issue by getting up early. Sometimes to train, start work, drink a cup of tea, clean up my desk or just simply relax and observe the view. Stress relieving isn't it," she sat next to you and whispered, both of you admiring the early morning sunrise.

"How early do you get up?" You asked her.

"At 4, 4:30 latest. I sleep pretty late as well. It gives full control over my day and I can unwind before and after my day," she smiled gently, eyes and skin glowing a gentle orange as they reflected the light of the sky.

"I get up at 6 on school days, 8 on weekends. Usually I go to sleep after 3. Sometimes I pass out after doing school work or training, other times I just binge YouTube," you mumbled.
Mirko laughed at that.

"I used to do that too, always stay up either reading or drawing, but by my second year I was drowning in school work. I can't help you with organisation, I'm not here for that, but you better get it under control now or else it'll be too difficult later," Mirko frowned, before lightening up immediately and patting your back. "Brush your teeth then we'll eat breakfast and go for a run."

The hero stood up and walked out, the air still filled with high expectations and tension. You were reminded all the time how cruel and difficult this world is, especially for young girls.

You did as she asked you to and slipped into your UA gym clothes since the morning air was still fresh, before going downstairs to eat breakfast.
You made yourself a simple fruit oatmeal with a cup of orange juice and sat yourself down next to her. The news was already on and Mirko was watching it with a worried look on her face.

"4 more victims in the Stain murders," she turned to you, explaining the situation.

"No pattern discovered? Isn't there anything we can do to help the police?" You asked. It was true, the police were the main investigators to ensure that less heroes were hurt, but heroes were still dying or being put out of commission causing a lot of panic nationwide.

"No, no pattern's been discovered and I'm not letting you on the case. It'll be bad enough if another hero dies, I don't need or want a student dying as well," Mirko sighed. "Plan's changed. Change into your hero costume, the run will double as a patrol."

"Another one? Surely you can take shifts with heroes on patrols, right?" You questioned, surprised.

"We're doubling, probably even tripling security so not for now, no," she responded coolly before marking timing and place on the hero network.

You nodded and finished breakfast before changing into costume and then checked the hero net yourself.

"HN has no updates, and only very little information on the 4 victims," you told her, walking downstairs.

"How'd you get in? Only those with a hero license can access the web!" She asked, alarmed.

"Well Rumi-San, you forgot one thing. I'm a professional sidekick, with a license and therefore access to the network," you smirked as you toyed with your ID card.

Your mentor sighed in response.

"Fine, I'll let you in on the case but only for investigation. If you happen to encounter the man then step away instantly," she decided reluctantly.

After morning patrol, the rest of the day was just as the first. Your score in parkour improved and you got a lot of paperwork done on the old case to confirm the boy's death. But all in all, it was a productive day and you were proud.

"So, who are you a sidekick to?" Mirko asked later that day.

"Eraserhead. You won't find me on there, I changed my name. Since I'm an underground sidekick, very few people know me so it won't matter," you shrugged, going back to your book.

"Y/N Shirakumo, underground sidekick to underground pro hero Eraserhead. Licensed at age 12, Alias: Storm Cloud, current age: 16," she read the basic information page before turning to you mildly impressed.

You were surprised that she did find you on there, since most heroes didn't even recognise you. Heck, it took Midnight and Mic long to realise who the 'pretty young girl' at Eraserhead's side was and they've known you since birth.

But on the bright side, as soon as someone did realise who you were, their respect for you escalated instantly.

"Didn't expect you to find it," you mumbled.

"I like proving people wrong, I'm guessing you do too. Why'd you take the exam though?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Simple. I wanted to prove to my family that I'm strong enough and independent enough to not need protecting. Sidekicks protect heroes from harm, not the other way around. We can get hurt and we'll sacrifice ourselves to protect others," you told her nonchalantly.

"I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad I have you watching my back instead of anyone else Cloud Nine," Mirko grinned at you.

"Pleasure's all mine, Mirko," you smirked back and for the first time, the two of you formally shook hands as if to seal the unspoken business deal: you'd watch each other's backs no matter what, against each and every enemy you face.