MHA: The One Who Laughs

You bastards better thank my sleep deprivation for making me write this chapter.

Also give me your stones! Shower me in your glorious stone, just not kidney stones. 

Anyway If you guys don't have power stones, you can support me by giving a review! Don't need to be positive, can be anything you want. It just help people better understand the story ya know, and it helps me improve or give me ideas.

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Johnny's POV

Present Day

I stared at the TV as the news covered a bank heist. Even though it was a small bank, it held millions, and they had more than a dozen security guards. Winning against a pro hero meant the villain—or villains—had to be pretty strong.

My mom snapped me out of my thoughts. "Stop standing there, sweetie! You'll be late! Hurry up, eat, then head to school."

The word "school" brought back memories from yesterday, and I subconsciously touched my bruises.

Noticing, my dad asked, "What's wrong, kiddo? You sick?"

I glanced at him for a split second before answering, "I-I wanna graduate early."

My grades had never dropped below an A+, even though I skipped school a lot. It wasn't a prestigious school, so as long as I won tournaments and have good grades, they let me slide. They didn't care about attendance as long as I kept bringing in trophies.

Dad put down his fork, and Mom stopped what she was doing to look at me. They exchanged glances before Dad finally spoke. "Are you ready? What will you do after you graduate? You can't really enroll in High School right now—it's already the second semester."

"It's fine. I'll take a break from school."

"Why is that?" Mom asked.

"It's nothing, Mom!"

Realizing I had just raised my voice at her, I quickly bowed my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

She walked over and hugged me. "It's fine, sweetie." She kissed my head gently. "If you want to graduate and take a break, then go ahead. We'll talk to the principal next week."

"Thanks..."

After Mom finished, Dad added, "Oh yeah, we can't do it this week. We have a business trip."

He looked at me seriously. "I know you hate America, but you should come with us. Every time we go on business trips, which is almost every other month, you refuse every time. You're always alone in the house."

"It's fine, Dad. I'm used to it."

Dad sighed but didn't push it further. My parents were always traveling for work. My dad was a weapons dealer, and my mom was his lawyer. They mostly sold military weapons, not hero gear, but sometimes, if they got their hands on hero tech, they'd flip it within days.

After breakfast, I grabbed my bag and headed to school. When I arrived, the gates were closing.

"Wait! Wait!" I shouted.

The girl closing the gate sighed. "You're late, Johnny."

I apologized and hurried to class. The three bullies weren't there today. According to the gossip, they had tried to fight Bakugo three-on-one and ended up in the hospital with burns.

"Alright, class, be quiet! I'll take attendance," the teacher called out.

Class started, and before I knew it, the first bell rang.

I grabbed my food and headed to the rooftop, where I noticed the door was already open. Curious, I stepped out and saw a green-haired boy sketching something.

A gust of wind blew one of his drawings toward me. I caught it and looked down—it was Endeavor, Japan's second-ranked hero. Seeing the drawing, memories rushed through my head, and I accidentally wrinkled the bottom of the paper.

"Ah! S-Sorry about that..."

The boy scratched the back of his head nervously, trying to explain, but I quickly cut him off, handing back the drawing. "Nice drawing."

I walked to my usual spot, and he followed. "W-What's your name?"

I glanced at him. "Johnny."

He held out his hand. "My name is Izuku Midoriya. Mind if I sit here?"

I shook his hand. "Go ahead."

"Johnny… That's a western name," he noted.

"Yeah, I'm half-American."

We made small talk until he brought up an interesting topic. "Did you hear about last night's bank robbery?"

"Yeah, I saw it on the news this morning," I replied.

"Who do you think the hero fighting the villain was?"

Without thinking, I said, "Aizawa."

I froze. Why did I say that? I didn't even know who that was.

Midoriya pondered for a moment. "Ah, Eraser Head! He wasn't really well known before, but after becoming a teacher at U.A., he started gaining recognition. He mostly worked underground and never appeared in public, which is why the public didn't know much about him."

'Still doesn't ring a bell,' I thought. Even after his explanation, I had never heard of Aizawa. So why did that name come out so naturally?

"But why him?" Midoriya asked.

I quickly came up with an excuse. "You said it yourself. He worked underground and stayed out of the public eye. The reporter never mentioned a hero's name, just that there was one. Any normal hero would have shown their face or at least announced who they were."

"You're right… I heard he barely sleeps," Midoriya added.

Hearing the word "sleep," I stiffened. "Speaking of that, I feel like I haven't been sleeping much. But I go to bed early—around nine."

"Hmm, that's weird. Maybe you're waking up and going back to sleep? Or sleepwalking?"

I shook my head. "I've never done either of those before."

"Maybe you just started. Why not check?"

"And how do I do that?"

"Get a camera, of course!"