Lacking Insight

*beep beep beep*

The harsh, high pitched tones of my alarm pierce through the morning air. The sudden jolt of consciousness paralyzes me for a moment as my mind starts to awaken.

*beep beep beep*

I blink rapidly in a desperate attempt to find my phone. With no windows and the lights off, I have no choice to blindly grope in the direction of the alert.

*beep beep bee-

My finger gently presses against the phone screen, successfully silencing the alarm. It takes a moment for my groggy eyes to read the time. 7:31 am. I let out a groan as I sit myself up. The tempting softness of my pillow begins to call to me and the prospect of five more minutes doesn't seem so bad. Before I can cave into my weakness, I stagger out of bed and groggily begin my routine. The harsh slap of water against my face is effective in waking me up and by the time I'm fully dressed, I feel at least somewhat prepared to start the day.

Even so, the shock of such a rude awakening hasn't worn off. Over the past few months, I've gotten accustomed to waking up at my own pace. The hard switch from that to a merciless alarm will probably take a while to adapt to. The vague sensation that I've been robbed of precious rest is almost enough to convince me to just go back to sleep. Still, I press on and silently march downstairs.

My new sleeping schedule seems pretty stupid now but it's better than the alternative in my opinion. If I didn't change my schedule then I would keep waking up at the same time as Dabi. He didn't seem that bad at first but he's proven to be the most consistently troublesome recruit. His derisive tone has been putting him at odds with just about everyone. As for me, something about him makes me seriously uncomfortable. I can't place it but it makes me want to avoid him as much as possible. Maybe changing a big part of my lifestyle is drastic but I would do much more to stay away from him. It makes me feel guilty for lecturing Shigaraki on dealing with the new members. I'm dodging the issue just like him. Still, it's not something that I'm ready for.

When I get downstairs, I'm completely alone. It's unusual for me to be awake before Kurogiri but I wave that off as him being tired. With Kurogiri incapacitated, I'm left on my own for breakfast. Reheated miso soup from two days ago isn't a perfect fit for most important meal of the day but it's something. Before I can take a bite, I hear the dull creak of the floorboards upstairs.

I know that 8am isn't exactly the crack of dawn but this should still be too early for anybody to be up. My eyes follow the sound of footsteps across the ceiling and down the stairs. To my surprise, Shigaraki enters the room. He doesn't acknowledge me as he makes his way into the kitchen and I can't think of anything to say. I didn't think that he was capable of functioning before 10 o'clock. The earliest that I've ever seen Shigaraki up was 9:30ish on my first day and Kurogiri essentially had to drag him out of bed for just that. I also remember how irritable he was back then so I'm not too eager to deal with him at this hour.

Shigaraki doesn't speak as he walks back into the room, slightly steaming mug in hand. Based on past experiences, I can assume is full of coffee. He navigates behind the bar and places himself directly in front of me. He breaks the silence first.

"Look at this," Shigaraki requests plainly with a tired edge in his voice. He extends a folded piece of paper towards me. I take it while brushing my bowl away in order to make room. As I spread the paper out, I recognize it as a map of Japan. When fully expanded, the map is fairly typical. The kind of map that you find in tourist guides and classrooms. The only change is a small black dot in the center of the country.

"What's this supposed to be?" I ask. Evidently, my question can wait as Shigaraki is in the middle of long chug. Seconds pass as he slowly tilts the mug higher and higher before lightly placing it back on the bar. I sneak a peek inside where only a few drops remain.

"This is U.A." he states, pointing at the dot. "The school always holds a summer training camp for the hero wannabes. There'll only be a few Pros and any of the more troublesome students will be exhausted by their training. It's the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. The only problem is finding out where it's gonna be."

"It's a secret?" I ask.

"It is to anyone outside of U.A.," Shigaraki responds. "It isn't like the Sports Festival where those idiots were standing loud and proud. Without the shield of a couple dozen of Pros nearby, the school will be afraid of another attack. According to Giran, they aren't even telling the students' families where they're going."

"Do you think it would be possible to infiltrate the school like we did with the U.S.J.?" I inquire. Shigaraki thinks on it for a moment before answering.

"The security will be much tighter than before. Now that the school is afraid, there's no way to just walk in and steal the location again. Our only choices are to pay someone for the information or to take it some other way."

"Buying it isn't a viable option," I reply. "We would have no way to confirm that the informant wasn't working with the Pros to lure us into a trap."

"Then stealing the location is our only option," Shigaraki claims. He begins to tap his finger in thought as he continues. "Are any of our members capable of that?"

Silently, we both mentally check each member's quirks. Kurogiri will still be vital for infiltration but we'll need someone to actually enter the school. Magne, Dabi, Compress, Shigaraki and I are all suited to combat. Twice's clones wouldn't be any help since he can't control them.

"None of us are a good fit for a mission like that," I admit. "That leaves Spinner and Toga as the only unknowns."

"Even if that idiot did have a good quirk, I can't imagine Spinner being sneaky at all."

"Then that leaves Toga as our last option," I reply. "But she won't tell any of us what her quirk. Kurogiri told me that when he asked, she just said that it was 'a girl's secret' and walked away."

Shigaraki thinks on this for a moment before responding. "Then there's only one thing that we can do."

The amorphous crowd below shuffles forward at a slow, yet steady pace. Each face blends together among the tide of moving bodies. Our vantage point is the third floor of a department store that's undergoing renovations. Being this high up makes it even more difficult to sparse through the horde of people. The heavy traffic is to be expected of such a densely populated area, especially one located so closely to U.A. On paper, that would make this street the perfect location to find one of the U.A. staff members out in the open. However, it's a much different story when you're actually trying to find someone among the congregation. Even when a rare splash of color does stick out, it always belongs to one of the many other Pros that populate the city. Still, I survey the masses dutifully. But after thirty minutes, my attention has begun to waver.

"Hmmm hm hmmm~"

The constant musical interjections haven't been helping. For just a second, I allow my eyes to dart towards my current partner. Toga is sitting down, knees to her chest and back to a nearby wall next to her bag. Her feet are tapping along to the rhythm of the song that she's humming. I don't recognize the tune but she seems to know it by heart. Despite being right next to a window, her eyes are glued to ceiling. I can't help but be frustrated by her lack of attention.

"Toga, can you please help me?" I ask, trying hard to keep my exasperation from showing. "Another pair of eyes could get this done a lot faster."

She appears to be contemplating it for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope. That would just be a waste of time," she replies before returning to her humming.

I should've guessed that someone with her energy wouldn't be willing to participate in such a mundane task. When Shigaraki asked me to investigate Toga's quirk, I thought that a job like this would be perfect. I could simultaneously get Toga to open up while locating a potential source for the camp's location. Unfortunately, my attempts to initiate a conversation have just as pointless as my attempts to find one of the teachers. At this point, I'm feeling fed up.

"Why would someone like you ever want to bother with this kind of work?" I ask in a drained tone. Toga stops humming and looks at me inquisitively, prompting me to explain myself. "From the day you showed up, you've done nothing but act cheerful and carefree. You haven't shown the slightest hint of interest in anything other than Stain." Now on a roll, I hop to my feet and begin to pace as I continue.

"Maybe this is just a dumb sideshow to you but for me, the League is all I've got. I won't tolerate you if you keep treating it like nothing more than a fun distraction."

"Hey, that's not fair!" she retorts, pouting slightly. "Just cause I act all cheery doesn't mean that I don't care. I just can't pull off the serious look like you guys do." She grabs the corners of her mouth and drags them down to accentuate her point. "See, it doesn't fit me at all."

She begins to rummage through her bag while she talks. "And anyways, what's wrong with talking about Mr. Stain? He's the coolest!"

"So, you're only sticking around because you're his fan girl?" I shoot back.

"Well, yeah but gimme a break. This is the first time that I've ever felt this way about someone."

"What do you mean?"

Toga takes a moment to respond. When she does, it's in a more subdued tone than usual."People have always thought that I was weird. My quirk would always gross them out. For someone like me, there was no one that I could admire. But then I heard about Mr. Stain. He killed like I did, cut things like I did. Some people said that he drank his victim's blood, just like me. So I want to be more like him. I want to believe in a cause and all that junk." She stops to think for a second before resuming. "I've never had one before but I think that Mr. Stain is my hero."

Unfazed by her own speech, Toga continues to rustle through her bag. I, on the other hand, have been rendered completely speechless. Before I can begin to formulate a response, Toga jumps to her feet as well and walks to the door.

"Where are you go-" I start before being cut off by the sound of the door being closed behind her.

Another thirty minutes have passed. The constant crowd surveillance has been making my head throb so I've given up on that. I would abandon the job altogether if not for Toga. She didn't bother to explain what she was doing so I'm completely in the dark for now. Still, I don't think that she would've left without a word if she was going back to the hideout. Toga must be doing something related to the job but I can't imagine what she could accomplish on her own. Still, I think that the best thing to do now is trust that she knows what she's doing. I at least owe her that.

I can't believe that I was stupid enough to think that I could judge her. I had no right to pretend like I understood her motivations. I hope that she gives me a chance to apologize. Without the mobs below to distract me, I'm left to stew in my own regret about the situation. Then, past the dull buzz of people, I hear footsteps outside the door. I instinctively tense up, prepping myself to run if it's an intruder.

The door opens to reveal a plain looking girl with straight brown hair. Her breathing is a little stilted but she is otherwise unfazed my my presence. Her ordinary appearance throws me off and I hesitate to properly react. She walks in casually and addresses me.

"Geez, that took longer than expected. Sorry, Deku." Her cheerful tone and the name Deku tip me off.

"Toga?" I ask with a degree of trepidation. She appears to be confused until she looks down at herself.

"Oh, right. You've never seen me do something like this." For a second, nothing happens. Then, the girl's facial features start to melt away and drip onto the floor. As the last of the gunk trickles away, I can recognize the girl underneath as Toga.

I start asking questions immediately."Is that your quirk? How does you choose what you look like? Is there a time… limit?"

My words slow down. I've begun to realize something. The thin paste that covered Toga's face has melted away but it didn't stop there. The entire physique of that girls has begun to trickle away including her clo-

"Toga!" I exclaim, unable to produce a more rational response. I hastily turn to the wall and cover my eyes. "You're… you...clothes…"

It takes a moment for her to decipher my ramblings and respond "Oops. I forgot about that part. Gimme a minute."

I can hear rustling through her bag, hopefully for a change of clothes. Without looking, I grope blindly for the window blinds. I close them tightly in a desperate attempt to save dignity. My hand remains glued to my face until Toga calls out to me."I'm good now."

I tentatively turn to see Toga fully clothed. I immediately let out a deep sigh of relief as I collapse against the wall.

"What were you talking about before?" she asks.

I have to do a mental rundown of the moments leading up to my heart attack in order to remember. "Um, yeah. Was that your q-quirk?" I stutter, my nerves still shot.

"Yup. I can look just like someone if I drink their blood," she replies. "The more blood I drink, the longer I look like them. But if I wear clothes when I do it, then they overlap and ruins the whole look. So I usually don't."

That last part is pretty weird but the rest of it makes sense. Toga said that people judged her for her quirk. Such a gory prerequisite would be off-putting to just about anyone.

"So, where did you go?" I inquire. Part of me is genuinely curious and another part just wants to change the topic.

"Well, I've been following this hero named Midnight. She's always posting about this one coffee place near U.A. Today was my first chance to check it out and I just happened to see a lady that looked a lot like Midnight. So, I snuck up behind her and got this."

She holds a small glass vial. On first glance, it appears to be empty but when I look closer, I can see a little bit of blood rolling around inside. "I could barely get this much before she noticed. I had to switch disguises and get out fast," Toga explains but I'm barely listening.

An plan is starting to form in my head. "Why did you want a hero's blood?" I ask absentmindedly. I'm curious if she had the idea as I did.

"Just thought it'd be useful, you know?" she replies.

"But Toga, this is perfect!" I exclaim. "With that blood, you can pretend to be Midnight. There's no need to sneak into the school if you look just like one of the teachers. You can just waltz right in and ask for the location."

We warped back to the hideout as quickly as possible. I was pretty excited to share the plan with Shigaraki but we had to wait for him to wake up. Turns out that the side effect of waking up semi-early was a three hour nap in the afternoon. Tired and disheveled, he still listens intently as I illustrate my plan.

"That could work," Shigaraki responds, "as long as Toga is up to it." he gazes at her questioningly.

She thinks for a second before answering."Hmm, I probably can. The only problem is time." She holds up the near empty vial of blood and twirls it around. "This much will only get me about ten minutes."

"So you'll have to be fast," I say, connecting the dots.

"Yep. But other than that, it's no biggie," she replies.

"Then get ready because you're doing it tonight," Shigaraki declares. Toga and I both give confused looks until he continues. "This information is the crux of the whole operation. The sooner we get it, the more time we have to plan out our attack."

Toga nods and gives a stern salute before running upstairs. I start to walk towards the stairs as well.

Shigaraki stops me. "Wait, Deku. I have more orders for you." I turn back to him. "I want you to partner up with Toga again for this mission."

"But the school knows my face," I retort. "I can't walk in there with her."

"I know that but I want to hang around nearby. We still can't trust her," he adds, glaring at the staircase. "If she gets caught, we can't rule out the possibility of her squealing on us. I would want you on the scene as a monitor just in case. If it all goes to shit then you can be the first to warn us."

I don't agree with how distrustful Shigaraki is being but I can't really argue with him. Even if I do understand Toga a little better now, I can't think for a moment that I'm capable of predicting her actions.

I nod at Shigaraki. "You can count on me."