Chapter 31 - Mind Games

AN: I'M ALIVE! I was resting cause let me tell ya, exam can be mentally draining HAHA!

_________________

No words were spoken as the head of the Academy, and the student walked through its prestigious halls. They say getting the attention of Fury is never a good thing, and the vibe the Director of the Academy radiates is proving those rumors right.

Meanwhile, Leo feels like a child caught red-handed, starting to feel his uniform's collar tighten. Fingers wanting to fidget, eyes urging to scan every nook and cranny of the halls they go through, and the feeling to take in bountiful breaths.

Of course, Leo didn't. He willed himself to act as naturally as possible. As long as nothing is confirmed, then nothing is proven. 'I'm starting to regret entering SHIELD Academy. Especially since I haven't had contact with Mom in months! I wonder how she's doing?' His mind raced, the only thing going wild within Leo.

Looking ahead, he observed Principal Fury walking with stride. No shifts in body language, no change in breathing. Hell, the guy didn't even spare a glance at Leo. It was unnerving how quiet everything was. The students they passed instinctively moved out of the way, which had to be with the atmosphere the duo gave off.

With each step, Fury sent sounds of clacks of his heels resonating within the walls of the Academy. It added to the 'You're in deep shit' vibe, and its repeating clacks started irritating Leo. 'I wonder if I should escape?' He briefly thought before shooting it down. 'Nah, they'll instantly brand me and Mom as a villain... probably.'

But with the silence becoming the norm, it broke with Fury's words of question. "Do you know what my quirk is, Mr. Morningstar?" Fury's voice was calm and prodding, seeming to glance at Leo after it.

"Uh-!" "No need to answer. I already know." Fury intentionally talked before Leo could say no. Although Fury's words did sound cryptic, as if he was setting the tone for their soon-to-be discussion.

"If you did know... then... we'd be having problems, Mr. Morningstar," he emphasized heavily, even his name. Fury's quirk isn't known to the public. All they know is his quirk is damaged and unusable because of the injury his eye suffered, affecting it.

Using the cover of injury, not many know that his quirk is still functional. If few knew the workings of his quirk, then even fewer knew that it's functional but slightly only weaker with one eye.

And from Fury's point of view, Leo kept flashing between red, green, and a mix of the two, yellow. A quick recap of Fury's quirk is that he can literally see danger. Before, he could ask specific questions. Asking if Individual A is a danger to Individual B or even asking if they are a threat to society.

And if they are, the person would flash red. Green for safe, and yellow for 50/50. However, with his injured eye, he can only now see if a person is dangerous to the surrounding area or those around him. And the quirk's name, Eyes of Security. Or rather, Eye of Security, with one out of commission and all.

"A word of advice, Morningstar. Don't become a problem that I have to solve. So whatever it is that you're deciding to do, best snuff it out of the bud," Fury warned stoically as he walked closer to his office.

Fury's words halted Leo in his tracks; he even looked down at his arm and noticed it glowing slightly. 'Damn, am I that tense that my quirk activated by itself?' "You told me to walk with you, am I supposed to stop?" he sarcastically joked, trying to ease the growing pressure he was feeling.

But as he said this, they entered Fury's office simultaneously, with the doors automatically closing behind them. Both still standing in the room, Fury turned to the student and spoke some haunting words.

"You're right; you should stop. Stop with the bullshit, Mr. Angelos, Son of Atreus Angelos AKA, The Pantheon." His eye was dead set on Leo's figure. After speaking, metal shutters immediately dropped from the walls, locking them in and secured.

The space of the office was so secured that the ventilation and their breathing could be heard. The metal shutters were also not ordinary metals; they blocked sound-based quirks from traveling through as well.

Leonidas hearing the words Fury spoke, sent his mind into overdrive, 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, I never thought of a cover story to say. But what am I supposed to say? I don't even know how he found out, but what if he's only trying to confirm my identity? SHIT! Let's test the waters first.' His quirk unintentionally activated and boosted his mental faculties, speeding his thought process, with only a second happening from Fury's perspective but past a minute for Leo. Though Fury could see the slight changes in Leo's features, further proving his conclusion.

'Let's see what game he plays and what this greenhorn offers. When's the last time I played mind games?'

"Look, I don't even know who my father is, so you suddenly calling me a different name and the son of some Hero I have never heard about is quite the left field," Leo remarked, crossing his arms on his chest as he stood against Fury.

'Playing ignorant, but his body language is standoff-ish,' Fury thought as he observed Leo's actions.

"Uh-huh... And you just so happened to be fluent in both Greek and Japanese language and culture? Kid, I got eyes in this school. Best stop playing dumb and let me help you," Fury pressed. He had all the combinations of cards to play. And he was serious about helping Leo, even if it may seem like bait for Leo to drop his guard.

"They have an interesting culture and language, so I asked my Mom during childhood to get me a tutor. And I get the Greek, but what does Japanese have to do with this?" Embracing the role of ignorant.

"Yuna Shimura, Japanese citizen, daughter of Japan's former Number One Hero, Nana Shimura. And also happens to be the wife of Atreus. Rings any bell?" Fury answered back, impressed with Leo's quick responses. 'Not many kids can think on the dime. The kid got potential.'

"I don't know the Hero, so why would I know the wife? And Japan's previous Number One? Never bothered to know since a topic never came up about her, only now," Leo reasoned back with a lie, faking a look of confusion with this line of questioning. With each fact the Principal was dishing out, Leo struggled not to seem familiar with the names.

'A plausible and well-thought-out reason, and he didn't react at all, but the kid still doesn't want to give, huh? But I had enough; time to end this little play.'

"Six years ago, a family of two entered through New York Harbor with some papers that had 'technical difficulties.'" He emphasized the last bit, "And it just so happens that a Leo Morningstar and Lucy Morningstar were input into the National Database as American Citizens on the very same day. Still, trying to bullshit me, Mr. Angelos?

"You may have stealthily got your papers without alerting the authorities, but that method of illegal entering has its flaws. It lacks a proper trail. No one knows you. No physical evidence of your existence exists apart from virtual documents. And this hole has alerted my Academy, which performs background checks on EVERY student that enrolls within these walls.

"So, tell me, are you still planning to speak shit in front of my face, or will we have a proper conversation about your situation? And trust me, you're in a shit hole-sized volcano when the most heinous of villains has the hots for your family."

Leo's eyes furrowed, and he mentally felt cornered, especially when reminded of that dastardly mastermind lingering around his family. No, he is literally cornered now. 'Maybe entering this Academy was too much? And I should've just settled for some no-name Hero Academy? Nah, only this Academy has the perk to remove your information from the public database. FUCK!'

Trying his luck, Leo attempted to lie again, but with a bit of truth. "O-Okay, we're illegal immigrants, happy? We're just looking for a new start, and figured America's advertised 'American Dream' would work on us, you know? Plus, I really don't know how I could be related to the Pantheon unless my Mom had some one-night stand with the Hero."

Okay, Leo internally gagged and flinched at what his mouth was saying. 'One-night stand? Mom, being that type of woman? Not in a million years! She's a Lady amongst Lady!' Maybe he's really just a mama's boy.

Frustratingly, Fury turned back and sat at his desk's side, resting his weight on it. 'Let's try that; this kid is more challenging than I thought.'

Grabbing a faked DNA testing document, Fury threw it at Leo's lap. "If you're denying my claim, try denying this document. Your DNA sample tested a 99.99% probability of you being the Son of the Pantheon and Yuna Shimura. Still got cards to play?"

Stunned and unready for such a thing, Leo was speechless. Looking at the document, it showed the results, unaware of its forgery. "B-But when did you take my test? This thing can easily be forged." His reason sounded weak but had a point nonetheless.

Unlike Leo, Fury was a veteran of these types of things. "During the screening for the exams, we had every student tested for who their parent is and try and match it with health records to ensure that it isn't a twin or shapeshifter acting on their behalf. Trust me, it has happened."

Again, he lied, but he has done these things so often that they became natural. 'Hmm, maybe we should start doing those?' He thought mindlessly.

"Now, will you just come clean? We both know that I can help you. If I can find out your identity, who's to say others can't?" Fury added a bit of fear to it, "And you better not wait for the other one to find out; you won't be the only one targeted."

'Shit... Let's see how this plays then.' Leo's shoulder sagged, and he instinctively touched his face, rubbing it tirelessly.

"Fine," Leo seriously toned, "What you speculate is true, but we had no choice in the matter. Would you rather have us publicly seeking asylum in the States? Have you seen the state Greece is in? The countries beside it have gone to shit because we went missing!" Slowly, his voice morphed into anger, remembering everything he and his Mom went through.

Fury wanted to smirk, but he didn't. It wasn't the time to boast; this issue is easily an international crisis. Like Leo said, a simple public reveal would bring a rise in crime within the U.S. and the boogeyman barging through their borders.

"First off, glad you've come to your senses to come clean. And good thinking on your part, couldn't have done better. Though the change in appearance is a touch that fooled everyone." Fury started off, easing the tension that built up.

"Anyway, you became a problem when you entered this country. Literally. A problem that I now have to deal with. Do you know the villain after your family?" Fury's brow slowly wrinkled by the minute.

There was this small hope within Fury that he didn't want his suspicions to be true. The weight and threat Leo's history brings are too great to openly accept.

Leo stood straighter when he heard that; his Mom didn't know the answer since All Might didn't share it. Afraid that we'd go digging our noses into danger. So, he shook his head, "No."

Nodding, Fury spoke, "All For One, that's the motherfucker after you." He even double-checked the shutters to see if they had a crack. "You know, there's a saying that all water sources are connected. Now, the same for him. Except he is to crime. His connections are so wide that every organized crime has some form of connection to him. Do you now know how deep your foot is unknowingly in shit?"

Leo could only gulp at that. "That's practically an empire in hiding," he comments, "But what can he do to even have this sort of reach?"

"His quirk can take and give the quirk factor of others, he can render me and you quirkless. As his name suggests, he hoards quirks and shares them with crime families, organizations, and more to form connections. With him stealing quirks since before, we have records of him spanning nearly a century ago. That's the type of threat after you.

"And with your quirk, strengthening in some advanced form, he could theoretically use it to empower the quirks he has stolen. This is why I need you to stay with this identity until you can eventually eradicate All For One for good. Understood?"

All Leo could do was nod; there wasn't even something he could say no to; everything made sense. And he also felt relieved about the situation. But he had to make sure.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No. You'd be in trouble if you sloppily kept that secret. Be glad I was the one who plugged up all the holes and found out."

"Soo... Now, what? Am I just going to continue on like we never had a chat?"

"Yes and no." Now, Fury had a smirk. It confused Leo, but before he could respond, Fury beat him to the punch. "You'll intern under someone who was targetted by him as well."

Raising a brow at this, "And who'd that be?"

'Their quirk must be something else if they're targeted.'

"Star 'fucking' Stripe."

.

.

.

.

.

CHEERS!