Third person pov

Toshinori couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed.

In this form, that normally wasn't an issue. His hero form was impossible to hide, and eyes were constantly on him. But like this, all shriveled up into a spindly mess of thin limbs... let's just say most people preferred to avert their eyes and walk the other way, not stalk after him. It was starting to get to him. Was someone suspicious about his identity? He used the cover of being All Might's personal assistant to get into the tower when he needed to, so his presence wasn't out of place to the many employees and the press that came snooping about. That being said, if someone had followed him and saw him transform at some point...

He continued to glance back as subtly as he could, sweat pouring down the back of his neck. Was his identity at stake? If a crisis of some sort occurred, was it safe for him to slip into an alley and transform? This street wasn't crowded. In fact, it was pretty much empty. It didn't make sense for him to be feeling this paranoid. When he looked back, there as nothing there. Nothing! Could it be a stealth quirk of some sort? That variety of power was popular in the paparazzi scene, as it allowed them to get information and take shots others couldn't. Toshinori had experienced a few close calls with them in the past, but never like this...

He adjusted his grip on his shopping bag, taking a deep breath that rattled his gaunt frame before he stopped walking. He didn't have anywhere to be. If it was a quirk, it had to wear off eventually. That, or the person tailing him would get bored and be forced to approach or leave. Either was fine with the blonde man, so long as they came out. He didn't like the idea that someone could be after him while he was like this. Did they know something? He'd been careful. He kept an eye out for cameras and for people, staying out of view when transforming into and out of his hero form.

The street was quiet. The sun was beginning to set, so most people had already made it home from work and were eating dinner in their dining rooms, away from the chilled air fall brought with it. Toshinori's gaze flitted about, scanning the street in front of him and the alley to his left. He didn't hear or see anything. Was this just his overactive imagination going to work? He had been feeling more paranoid lately. Especially since he'd agreed to come to UA next year. Maybe the need to find a successor was getting to hi--

"H-Hi!" A voice behind him chimed in a nervous, loud tone that seemed to echo down the vacant street. Toshinori yelped, his shopping bag going flying out of his hand as he whipped around with wide, startled eyes. A pair of hands reached out and caught the gallon of milk before it could hurtle down onto the asphalt. Toshinori didn't have time to be relieved. He was definitely old enough to have a heart attack, and he was nearly positive he was on the verge of one.

"Way to go, Izuku. We want to interview the guy, not make him piss himself." Kids. There were a pair of short kids standing there, one without shoes even. Wait, had he said interview? Were they the ones tailing him, and if so, how hadn't he noticed? They couldn't be a day over sixteen, if they were even that old. The shorter of the two was surprisingly tan for someone living in Japan, with scruffy brown hair and sharp red eyes. The boy next to him-- slightly taller, but not by much-- had a mop of curly green hair, massive green eyes, and a smattering of freckles. He was pale in contrast to his friend. They were opposites, almost.

"S-Sorry, sir! I didn't mean to startle you!" The boy, Izuku, sputtered. Toshinori blinked owlishly down at him. This... was not what he'd expected. Like, at all.

"I... It's fine, my boy. Can I... help you two with something?" Toshinori wasn't sure what to say to this, honestly. He'd been prepared to fight off an armed attacker or fend off a nosy reporter who wanted an inside scoop, not deal with a couple of fairly harmless looking kids. It wasn't hard to wrangle youth when you were All Might. They just sort of gawked and asked for an autograph. The younger ones would use him as a jungle gym. It was all in good fun! But right now he was Yagi Toshinori, and he... well, he probably looked fairly terrifying. 

It was sort of a shock that they'd approached him. They were young, and most young folk these days were sorely unprepared to defend themselves in a crisis. Unless they had the quirk for it, but the number of teens who did were few and far between. He was a creepy, gangly man. He sure didn't look like he could put up a fight. In fact, a strong breeze could probably knock Toshinori over in this sorry state of his. That wasn't the point! He admitted that he looked a little freaky, and it probably wasn't advised that you approach him! Even if he wasn't going to do anything, obviously. It was just the... the concept of it. He didn't know! Why were they out here alone at this hour?! To track him down?

"We want to interview you." The brown-haired one offered his jug of milk back to him. Toshinori tentatively took it, feeling perplexed, concerned, and maybe a bit curious. "I'm Kit Suzuko, with the Suzuko magazine. This is my companion, Izuku Midoriya."

"H-Hello!" Izuku sputtered out, looking like he may pass out from excitement. Toshinori rose an eyebrow. Where had that notebook come from? And that pen? You know what, asking questions when it came to this sort of thing wasn't ever advised. It didn't matter much anyway. 

"Right, well we're doing a segment on the workers who support heroes in the industry. EMTs, support gear techs, PR officials," Kit gave him a pointed look that made his spine unintentionally straighten, "secretaries."

Ah, okay. This was all sort of coming together and making sense in Toshinori's feeble mind. Of course, he'd heard of Suzuko Magazines. They were rising in popularity quite fast. They touched on topics most news sites and stations wouldn't broach because of how sensitive and out there they were, but Suzuko seemed to tackle them with vigor and didn't care how many people it pissed off. It was quite noble, actually. They brought up things most didn't think about, and shone a light on meager heroes and advocated for the quirkless. This Kit boy... he had to have inherited it from his mother, who'd previously run it as a fashion gig. He'd briefly heard of that from Tsukauchi when they'd had lunch last week. Quite the story indeed.

"Y-Yeah, and you're All Might's secretary! You must know a lot about how hero agencies work and about how hard everyone employed there works to support the heroes they were hired by!" Izuku beamed like it was Christmas day and Toshinori was Santa Claus. A definite fanboy. The brunette was a lot more level-headed, eyeing him critically with his nose scrunched up and his brows furrowed. It sort of made Toshinori uneasy. Was he onto him?

"I do believe I've heard of your publications, yes!" Toshinori gave a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. He eyed them. They seemed fairly passionate. Or one of them did, anyway. Would it hurt to answer a few questions so long as he was careful? He didn't want to shoot them down when they'd come all the way out here to find him. Wait, how did they find him? "I... I do suppose I could answer a few questions."

Maybe this wasn't a good idea. He wasn't actually a secretary, so was it dishonest to pose as one in their interview? He did do all his own paperwork. With his limited time performing hero work, he had plenty of hours to spare. It wasn't the funnest, but it gave him something to do on slow days. Perhaps he should look into getting a new hobby... he'd think about it more later! These two young men surely had questions about All Might!

"Y-You can?!" Izuku all but shrieked. Kit swatted the back of the freckled boy's head. 

"Good god, Izuku. Keep your shit together. He's answering questions, not giving you his winning lotto ticket. Keep it in your pants." Kit scolded. Izuku flushed with embarrassment, giving an apologetic smile. Kit whipped out his phone, the recorder already at the ready. "Do you find yourself discriminated against, mistreated, or robbed of benefits you were promised in a work position underneath such an influential and powerful public figure?"

Toshinori froze, his brain short-circuiting. Was he what?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They waved to Toshinori as the man walked away, looking pale, wide-eyed, and vaguely traumatized. Most of the questions he got-- as few as they seemed to be-- were probably about All Might and not his actual job as a secretary. They asked him what he liked most, what he liked least, how the job made him feel, how he was treated by those in positions above him. Things like that. Did he get harassed by the press often, or was he someone who flew under the radar and was able to remain in All Might's shadow, out of sight and out of mind? As someone who worked with the biggest hero of all, they'd dug deep. Only... the way he'd answered the questions and the way he'd scrambled to find things to say....

"That was definitely All Might, wasn't it?" Izuku asked, looking paralyzed. He was still smiling tightly and waving, but Toshinori was nowhere in sight anymore. Kit winced slightly. He'd thought the same thing. They'd asked if All Might's cut down hours affected his pay, hours, and benefits. The look that had popped onto his face was like a flashing neon sign. His pathetic, squeaked out 'no' hadn't been convincing either. How had he kept the secret so long?

"Oh, without a fucking doubt." Kit grabbed Izuku's wrist and pulled his hand down, stopping him from waving. "Agree to never mention this to anyone and pretend we don't know shit?"

"Yeah." Izuku wheezed. 

With that decided, they convened in Chad's hospital room with Hawks, Tenya, and Dabi. The hospital was strict about reporters. Very strict.  Especially since Hawks was on the most expensive floor reserved usually for heroes. He'd had Chad moved there early on in his career, and was willing to continue paying the massive fee. Kit was planning to pull an 'anonymous donor' move to help the guy out. Hawks wasn't hurting for money or anything, but it was the thought that counted. The hospital was good because no one knew why they were going in, whereas if they all tried to go to Iida's house, Hawks could easily be followed and the location could be singled out. 

"I see... the gossip circuit amongst secretaries is large. Many aren't treated well, and it goes the same for PR officials." Tenya nodded. Kit nodded as well. They were sitting side by side, crammed in a single armchair. It was especially a struggle because of how wide Tenya's frame was. Kit was practically in the taller teen's lap. Not that the brunette was complaining. Izuku was being annoying as hell and wiggling his eyebrows from across the room every time Kit dared look up and in his general direction. Little shit. Kit was rubbing off on him a bit too much. Whatever, Kit could just take out all his rage on Katsuki later. Scaring the shit out of him would never get old. 

"You wouldn't believe some of the shit I found out. And my face looks like this." Dabi gestured to himself. Hawks snorted, rolling his eyes. Dabi gave him an irritated look. "What, bird?"

"Your face is probably the reason they told you shit. You look like a backstreet mugger melded with a fifty-year-old boxer that got in a fight with a bonfire and lost. You corner a middle-aged woman who files papers for a living after work, she'll tell you whatever the hell you want." Hawks and Dabi weren't... not getting along, but they definitely weren't best friends either. Dabi had a stronger bond to Chad at this point, and Chad was in a coma. Maybe his lack of ability to move, talk, or be obnoxious was the reason Dabi liked him more. "Don't give me that look when you know it's true."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a bastard?" Dabi hissed, blue flames licking his forearms. "Because you're a real bastard."

"That makes two of us." Hawks gave a cocky grin. Dabi stood up from his chair in a threatening manner. Kit let out a sigh.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and other identities. Sit the fuck down or you're fired." Kit waved a hand, eyes not moving from the screen as Tenya played around with a few filters. They'd decided to put Mitsuki on the cover of this issue, and Tenya was having too much fun trying to make it perfect. He wanted to make it exemplary, but it already looked so good that they weren't sure what else to do other than to add the title and print that shit. Mitsuki was a woman of many talents. Modeling and looking flawless were just a few.

"I don't work for you." Hawks noted. Dabi plopped back down in his seat, folding his arms over his chest like a pouting child.

"That just means you're not in the cool kids club, bitch." Kit tossed up his middle finger, which Tenya scoldingly swatted down. Ah, young love. Hawks remembered what that was like. Sort of. Alright, he'd never been in love before, but he was going to keep his eyes peeled for the perfect candidate. Right now the only viable options in his life were Tensei and Dabi. The latter wasn't happening, so Hawks was going to focus on flirting with the former and hope Tenya didn't try to cut his wings off for it. Tensei seemed nice! Maybe it would work. 

"Guys, guys!" Izuku gasped, looking up suddenly. Everyone whipped their heads to look at him. "I was just contacted by Natsuo Todoroki! Look, he sent a picture of him throwing up a gang sign to prove it's him! He wants to help us!" 

Dabi started to cough uncontrollably, but Kit just cackled and leaned over so he could fist-bump Hawks. Even Tenya smiled. If Endeavor hadn't been fucked before, he definitely was now. They were going to light a fire under him, and this wasn't one he was going to be impervious to. Kit really loved wrecking people's lives. Looking around at everyone in the room, they seemed to be enjoying it just as much as he was too. Kit squeezed Tenya's hand and reveled in the chaos.