This story has been beta by Ezylrb. Thanks as usual.
"You all have our Hero uniforms, right?" asked Shota as he looked over his students, "Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public, so don't lose them."
"HAAAIII!" yelled Mina in an excited tone as she lifted her case above her head.
"Speak clearly! And it's 'yes sir', Ashido," lectured Shota sternly.
"Yes sir," pouted Mina as Eijiro patted her on the back.
"Make sure to mind your manners with the heroes at your internships!" instructed Shota, "Now off you go."
"Yes sir!" was the reply.
They began to disperse, a few taking the train to their new destination.
Tenya was quickly walking towards his train when he heard his name being called. Being respectful, he turned to see Izuku, Ochako, and Momo quickly walking up to him.
"If you ever feel hopeless, please, let us know," pleaded Izuku with the two girls nodding in agreement, "We're friends, right?"
Tenya closed his eyes as his mind couldn't help flashback to the times they spent during the summer before U.A. He opened his mouth as if to finally let the emotions he had buried deep inside him to be set free, only for the image of his brother in the hospital shut that down.
"Yeah," nodded Tenya before walking away once more.
Izuku quickly stretched his arm out, grabbing Tenya by the wrist.
"I'm serious," stated Izuku, "Please don't shut us out."
"I'm fine," stated Tenya, not looking back, "It's time for us to depart. I'll text you when I arrive."
With that, Tenya shook off Izuku's hand and started walking away from them once more.
"Iida," whispered Ochako in worry as Momo patted her on the back, looking at Izuku.
"Attention! The train leaving for _ district will be departing soon!"
"Oh, I need to go!" panicked Momo, "I'll see you all in a week!"
"See you!" nodded Ochako as she quickly went to board her train.
Izuku watched them leave, sending a quick text to Itsuka, wishing her luck on her internship, before leaving the train station and boarding a bus instead. Kamui Wood's agency was actually closer to his home, near his old middle school area. Meaning he'd be in a place that he was quite familiar with the terrain.
"Now I think of it, those two haven't told me where they were interning with," mused Izuku as the bus began to move, "Oh well. I'm sure they'll text me later about it."
Shortly later, Izuku made it to Kamui Wood's Agency. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
"Come in!" shouted a voice.
Obeying the voice, Izuku entered the room. He looked inside to see a well-furnished office with plenty of potted plants, as well as a light brown wallpaper within the office.
"Ah, you must be the intern," waived an office worker inside the room, "Shinji Nishiya will be with you shortly, he's on the phone with his aunt."
"Shinji?" questioned Izuku.
"Ah, better know him as-" started the office worker, only for a door leading to another room open.
"Ah, Izuku Midoriya! There you are," proclaimed Kamui Woods, stepping out of a meeting room, "Good to see you! You've met my manager, Kei. He helps me run this place. Now then, let's get to work and halt evildoers on the prowl while training you up to dispense justice!"
Izuku grinned as he quickly rushed to the nearby changing room to change into his hero uniform.
Katsuki growled as he waltzed down the street, looking at the address he was given.
"The hell is this place?" growled Katsuki as he made another turn when the GPS function stated that he had arrived.
Katsuki looked up and frowned when he saw a dilapidated building. It looked like a single focus blast from his quirk could easily destroy it.
"I better have not gotten a prank address," growled Katsuki as he kicked open the door, "Yo! I'm here for my internship with All Might's teacher!"
The first thing Katsuki saw when he kicked open the door was an old man lying on the ground with what seemed to be blood splatter.
"... I ain't' touching that shit," huffed Katsuki as he turned to leave.
"I'm alive!" shouted Gran Torino as he lifted up his face before dusting himself off, "Man... I was carrying these sausage links with ketchup poured over them, but then fell... Who are you?"
"Katsuki Bakugo, the future number one hero!" barked Katsuki, "Be honored old shit, you get the honor of training two number one heroes!"
"... What?" asked Gran Torino, cupping his ear to Katsuki.
"I said I'm Katsuki Bakugo from UA ya deaf shit!" shouted Katsuki.
"... Who are you?" asked Gran Torino again before plopping down on the floor, "I want some food!"
"I'll kill you!" roared Katsuki, explosions popping out of his hands before huffing, "Shit, this was a waste of time. Even if he is the number one's teacher, he's too old. Maybe if I rush over to Best Jeanist's agency, I can still get something out of this."
"Hoo, not a bad costume," noted Gran Torino as he opened Katsuki's hero suitcase.
"What the? Hey that's mine!" shouted Katsuki, looking down at his hand, where he had been holding onto it, "When did you steal that!?"
"Put on the suit and fight me," stated Gran Torino with a much serious tone now before looking at Katsuki, "Who are you again?"
"Fuck off before I really murder you!" shouted Katsuki in anger, "I don't have time for games, you old shit! I'm leaving and going to see if I can still get into Best Jeanist's agency. I'm not going to stick around babysitting an old man while Deku keeps going ahead of me!"
Katsuki stomped forward, closing his hero suitcase, and was ready to leave when...
"In that case..."
Katsuki's eyes opened when he heard the ominous tone, followed by a deep breath, then...
Wham Wham Wham Crash
Katsuki looked up to see Gran Torino right above the entrance door, his hands gripping deeply into the plaster without a care with a malicious grin.
"Then you really should put on that costume and ready to fight me, you zygote! You got stubbornness and talent, and All Might thinks you can go further with my help. But from what I see, you're very far from being number one like All Might. All Might is called the Symbol of Peace and the Number One hero for a reason, but that justice-obsessed All Might is worse than a novice when it comes to teaching! Anyone could do better than him!"
Katsuki couldn't help but grin. He completely underestimated just how spry this old man was. Now that he thought about it, he had a tendency to underestimate those who looked old, didn't he? His old hag was one, the old hag Rekai was another, and now this old geezer. Not to mention that the way he used zygote in his sentence. It was the exact same way All Might had done while teaching them. Meaning that All Might definitely had learned from him.
Katsuki quickly changed into his hero costume, ready to show the old windbag what he was made of.
"Come on you old shit, I'll beat you to death!" taunted Katsuki.
"Good grief, you like to talk a lot," sighed Gran Torino, taking a deep breath before suddenly disappearing in front of Katsuki's eyes. Katsuki could hear something bouncing off the walls all around him when...
"I'm already losing my patience!" shouted Gran Torino, kicking Katsuki from behind.
Gran Torino raised an eyebrow when he noticed his kick hadn't been a solid impact. Katsuki still went flying, but he quickly recovered with a blast, trying to grab Gran Torino. Before he could even get close, though, Gran Torino was already gone. Katsuki whirled around, trying to get Gran Torino's location.
'It's like trying to track the damn hag or Deku!' growled Katsuki internally as he got smacked in the head.
"Asshole!" shouted Katsuki as he flung a chain of explosions, only to miss.
"Where are you aiming, novice!?" cackled Gran Torino, bouncing off another wall.
'Shit! Fuck fuck fuck fuck," cursed Katsuki as he gave up trying to track Gran Torino's location, instead focusing on his reflexes.
As soon he felt Gran Torino rushing towards him again from behind, Katsuki whirled around with a wild grin, his hand already up and crackling with explosions.
"Instinct and reaction, huh?"
Just as the explosion seemed to hit Gran Torino, he swiped Katsuki's hand away, diverting the explosion into a wall.
"But you're still too green!" shouted Gran Torino as he suddenly stuck his leg out, a gust of air suddenly coming off it to slow down his trajectory as his other hand grabbed Katsuki's head and slammed him down into the floor, "I've fought against people with faster reflexes than you! Though I'll admit, you've got good reflexes and instinct to react to my attacks. But merely having such gifts will only take you so far. One can't always attack like a wild dog like you do."
Gran Torino hopped off of Katsuki, grabbing his walking stick and walking towards the door, "I'm going to step out to get something to eat. You stay there and think about it."
Katsuki stared up at the ceiling, blinking in for a bit before releasing a stream of curses.
Stain, the Hero Killer, stood on top of a building, his body covered by the shadow of a water container. He was looking down at the streets, his eyes narrowing as he looked for his next target.
"If you want to surprise me, you'll have to do better than that," remarked Stain, looking to the side to see Kurogiri appearing.
"Ah, but I am merely a humble messenger and transporter," bowed Kurogiri, "A certain information broker informed me of where you would most likely be. Please, if you could come with me? My leader is very interested in a serious discussion, and I will provide refreshments."
"What interest could your group even offer me?" sneered Stain.
"Well, we are the ones that successfully attacked U.A. and escaped," shrugged Kurogiri, "That has to count for something."
"How polite," scoffed Stain as he hopped off the ledge he had been standing, "Very well. Take me there."
Kurogiri nodded as he opened a portal for Stain to walk through, just to find himself in a bar. He looked around, taking note of his surroundings and exit while noticing Shigaraki and Kurogiri, who had just warped himself behind the counter, ready to serve drinks.
"I see, so you're the ones who attacked U.A.," mused Stain, "And you want to add me to your numbers."
"Yeah. Come on, you've got so much more experience as a villain," pleaded Shigaraki with a rather monotone voice. Stain could pick up a hint of sarcasm in it, too.
"And your goal?" asked Stain.
"For now, I just want to kill All Might. I want to break everything I don't like. Damn kids like these... Everything. Especially this straw hat brat," growled Shigaraki, holding a photo of Izuku with a grin, standing on the 1st place podium with his straw hat on.
Stain narrowed his eyes, "I was foolish to be interested. You're the type of person I hate the most."
Both Kurogiri and Shigaraki looked at Stain in confusion while Stain continued on, "You want me to go along with your childish tantrum? What meaning is there to killing without conviction? "
Kurogiri looked at the scene in worry, as they had brought Stain here on a spur to help Kurogiri grow. But with how the situation was going, he couldn't help but voice his concern. All For One, however, was unconcerned about the situation and ordered Kurogiri to let the situation continue. In an instance, however, Stain already threw two knives, wounding Kurogiri on the arm and drawing blood. Then, with a burst of speed, Stain stabbed Shigaraki in the shoulder, toppling him over. Before Kurogiri could even attempt to do anything, he felt his body suddenly seize up, unable to move. Kurogiri looked around as best as he could to see what could've frozen him but was unable to ascertain just what it was. He did notice that the knife that Stain and nicked him with was right next to Stain.
"No matter what you want to accomplish, it is necessary to have conviction and desire. Those without and those who are weak will be weeded out. It's only natural. That's why it turns out like this," lectured Stain.
Shigaraki growled in pain before asking Kurogiri to warp Stain out, only to find out that Kurogiri himself was unable to do anything.
"This society is overgrown with fake heroes where the word itself has lost its true meaning, and criminals who wave their power around idly should all be purged," stated Stain as his other blade began to approach Shigaraki's neck, only to halt as Shigaraki grabbed it. Within the second, the blade quickly corroded into dust in front of Stain's eyes.
With a psychotic smile, Shigaraki declared his intentions of crushing the current society where trash like All Might was worshiped. Stain quickly jumped back as Shigaraki tried to grab him.
"Ah man, we don't have a healer in our party, you know? Will you take responsibility for this?" expressed Shigaraki as he began to scratch his neck once more.
Stain's eyes narrowed, noticing just how psychotic Shigaraki was. Using game references as a way to express himself. The constant urge to scratch his neck until it began to bleed. Still, his little test allowed him to see just what drove Shigaraki and who he was.
"It seems our goals oppose each other," commented Stain, "However, we both agree on one thing-destroy the present."
He further explained just why he had done such a thing before stating that he wouldn't mind waiting to see just how Shigaraki grew before deciding to dispose of him. Shigaraki took offense to that and wanted to terminate the invite, but Kurogiri intervened, trying to reason with the both of them. In the end, All for One had gotten what he wanted out of Stain. Showing Shigaraki conviction and a goal, while also giving a small safety net for him, as Stain had said he wouldn't hunt Shigaraki for now.
"Now, return me to Hosu. There are things I must attend there," declared Stain with a bloodthirsty grin.
"... And that's how I use my quirk to capture," explained Kamui Woods as he was patrolling with Izuku.
Izuku himself was busy writing down notes at hyper speed, memorizing everything he could. So far, he had come up with a few variants of capturing a villain himself that he hadn't thought of.
"So just out of curiosity... how many agencies sent offers?" asked Kamui Woods as he swung across a building with his quirk, Arbor, creating a wooden hook to swing before retracting it.
"Just ten," replied Izuku as he did the same, only stretching his arm out to grab onto something to swing.
"What the? Ten only!?" gaped Kamui Woods, his jaw dropping down in surprise. It would've dropped down further had the mask not prevented that from happening. It couldn't be because of the bet he and Death Arms made against the other heroes, right? Did their bet make them hold a grudge against them that carried over to Izuku?
"How? Why? Don't tell me some of the agencies actually believed in that stupid interview Endeavor gave?" inquired Kamui Wood.
"Apparently so," shrugged Izuku.
"Hmph, that's stupid," sighed Kamui Woods, "Then besides Endeavor, did you get any from the top ten?"
"Actually yes. I had an offer from Best Jeanist," replied Izuku.
Kamui Woods raised an eyebrow at that before asking, "Not that I'm against you choosing me over him, but why didn't you go with Best Jeanist? I'm sure you could've learned well... a bit more from him than me."
"Well for one, you did come through with your offer from a year ago, so I thought it would be more respectful to reply to yours. Secondly, his style of capturing opponents is too different from mine. He uses fiber strings to subdue his opponents, which are too thin for me to even try to mimic. Yours, however, is something that I can at least learn from."
Kamui Woods had to look away to try to contain the tears that were threatening to pour out. Luckily, he didn't have to try very hard when the two of them heard a commotion.
"Let's mug them!"
Kamui Woods and Izuku turned to see two men, a short one with a knife and three eyes while the other was tall and lanky, though curiously his right arm was very bulky.
"Hey, give me all your money!" threatened the one with a knife, pointing at a mother, who was carrying her baby.
"Please don't hurt us!" screamed the mother.
"Shut up, I was talking to the baby!" shouted the mugger, pointing his knife at the baby.
Before anyone could really comment about what was wrong with that picture, Kamui Woods had already sprung into action.
"Lacquered Chain Prison!" shouted Kamui Woods as tendrils of wood wrapped around the muggers.
"I ain't going to jail!" bellowed the bigger mugger as he managed to punch his way out of the wooden chain, running away as fast as he could.
"Deku, intercept!" shouted Kamui Woods as he reeled in the first mugger.
Izuku had already jumped forward, landing in front of a large mugger.
"Ha, you're the one that Endeavor said was weak!" laughed the mugger in glee as he jumped into the air, "Take you down, and I'll be famous without even having to work hard! I'll shoot up in the villain rankings!"
The mugger's right arm was suddenly brimming with electricity as he tried to punch Izuku. Izuku calmly dealt with the situation by rushing forward and sliding on his knees, dodging the punch. While at the same time, his fingers, which he had interlocked with each other, stretched out behind him to form a net. The punch went through the holes, but the man's body was caught in the rubber net. With a swift jerk, Izuku pulled his fingers back, forcing the mugger's body to tilt forward before landing painfully on his back.
Before the mugger could try to do anything else, Kamui Woods was already on him in a flash, wrapping him with a much thicker tendril of wood.
"Good work," grinned Kamui Woods, "I see you're already improvising some of the moves I've taught you."
Soon night fell upon them. Kamui Woods led them back to his office, guiding Izuku to where he would be sleeping for the next few days.
"Get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow!" ordered Kamui Woods before shutting the door.
Izuku yawned as he began changing his clothes, grabbing his phone once he was done. Izuku scrolled through his messages, frowning as he saw the text he had sent to Tenya still unanswered. As he began to text into a group chat, his phone suddenly rang, surprising him for a second. Quickly answering it, he heard a voice he last expected to hear.
"Deku!" roared Katsuki into the phone, blasting Izuku's eardrums for a good second.
"What do you want Bakugo?" sighed Izuku in annoyance.
"You're the hero geek, I need information on a certain hero," barked Katsuki, "Gran Torino."
Izuku blinked for a second before hesitatingly asking, "Are... are you asking... for help?"
Silence followed after that, making Izuku think that perhaps Katsuki had hung up when he heard a cough.
"I need your hel... he... hellll," stuttered Katsuki, unable to actually form the words needed before snapping, "Dammit, just give me the info I need!"
"That's the closest that I'm going to get, aren't I?" sighed Izuku, "What is it you need specifically?"
"Details of his damn quirk," barked Katsuki, "I can't pin it down right. It's something that fucking lets him pinball in an enclosed room, but it's not a bouncing quirk. He takes a deep breath before boosting off the walls, so it has to do something with breathing."
"Did you notice air coming from the bottom of his boots?" asked Izuku with a deadpan voice.
"Air? Of course I... did...," trailed off Katsuki. How could he not notice? After sparring with Gran Torino once more and failing to land a damn hit, he did notice that the old geezer's foot let out gusts of air.
"That's his quirk, Jet," answered Izuku, "He uses the air in his lungs to propel himself. Technically, with his age, you could try to outlast him, but considering your style..."
"Fuck that, I ain't going for that cheap win," howled Katsuki, "Now that I know more, I'll kick his ass."
"You know, there's something that has always been picking at the back of my mind," hummed Izuku, preventing Katsuki from hanging up on him, "Your quirk lets you sweat nitroglycerin, to which you can control to make it explode."
"Yea, so? I know my quirk already dumbass," snarked Katsuki.
"Could you also make them explode from your feet?" asked Izuku, "Might be something to consider, since feet do sweat, though not as much as your hands probably. Though you do have excessive sweat glands because of your quirk. Who knows? If that's all, then I'm hanging up, got other stuff to do before I go to sleep."
Hearing nothing else, Izuku hung up the phone before pulling out his hero notebook. With a practiced flick of the wrist, Izuku began writing down notes of the quirks he saw today.
'I wonder how the others are doing?' pondered Izuku as he wrote in his book.
Katsuki panted as day two of the internships rolled by. He was once more sparring against Gran Torino after making the geezer his damn breakfast of Taiyaki.
"What's wrong brat? You haven't improved at all, just attacking whenever you get the chance!" mocked Gran Torino.
Katsuki could only growl, unable to provide a comeback as any time he tried to, it left him open to an attack. Katsuki tried to follow Gran Torino by flying up with explosions, but his speed and control in the air paled in comparison with Gran Torino.
"Come on boy, you'll be a punching bag if you don't do anything!" laughed Gran Torino as he bounced around the room.
"If this an open space or if I was allowed to use all my explosion...," muttered Katsuki, only to be hit with a kick to the head.
"You're a hero in training zygote! Learn to control your strength and adapt to your surroundings!" scolded Gran Torino as he passed by Katsuki.
It was here that Katsuki enacted his plan. Every hit, every dodge he managed to make, he had been subtly loosening his right shoe until it was loose enough. Just as Gran Torino aimed for his head once more, Katsuki fell right onto his back, his right leg now pointing up.
"DIE!" shouted Katsuki as his foot began to crackle.
Gran Torino's eyes widened as he kicked the foot away, using it to bounce off as an explosion went off. However, thanks to the recoil from the explosion as well as the angle from being kicked, Katsuki flipped forward, his momentum carrying him forward as his hands reached for Gran Torino.
"You're mine!" grinned Katsuki as his hands finally grabbed Gran Torino by the shoulder.
Before Katsuki could do anything though, Gran Torino uppercut him in the chin, rattling his brain and forcing him to let go. Gran Torino quickly took this time to step back to assess the damage, shrugging his shoulder for a bit. Katsuki had managed to let off a small explosion before Gran Torino punched him.
"Not bad brat," smiled Gran Torino as Katsuki tried to stand back up, "Perhaps you can do more than just attack like a mad dog."
Day 3
Izuku woke up, ready for another day of patrol. Yesterday, he helped participate in rescuing hostages, working not only with Kamui Woods, but with Death Arms and Kyoka. That had been an exciting day to help out, and even got some recognition out of it. He went out to the kitchen to see Kei already preparing some eggs and bacon for him as well as a cup of juice. Quickly thanking him and consuming the food, Izuku walked out to report for duty when Kamui Woods stopped him.
"Use this time to rest up and catch up with some studies," advised Kamui Woods, "We won't be patrolling today. Or at least not this morning. I've got Mt. Lady filling in for that."
"Then what are we doing?" questioned Izuku in confusion.
"We're going to rest up for a little before we head out to another city to patrol," replied Kamui Woods, pointing to his map, "We're heading over to Hosu City."
"Hosu? Why?" asked Izuku.
"Been getting reports that it's been getting rowdy there," answered Kamui Woods, "That... and that's where Stain is possibly."
"Stain, the Hero Killer!?" gasped Izuku, "Why are we going there for?"
"Justice!" exclaimed Kamui Woods, getting a deadpan glare from Izuku, "What? I'm serious. Okay, there's a little more of a personal reason."
With a raised eyebrow from Izuku, Kamui Woods sighed as he sat down, "Fine. A little backstory, my childhood was not... the nicest. I fell into a rather bad crowd, got into trouble and stuff. I was on my way to becoming a villain when he came through for me."
Kamui Woods' eyes turned soft as he opened his drawer, pulling out a photo to look at. He calmly placed it in front of him for Izuku to see. Izuku's eyes widened when he saw a photo of Kamui Woods in street clothes, standing next to none other than Tensei Iida, Tenya's older brother, in his Ingenium hero costume.
"Yes, Ingenium," stated Kamui Woods, his voice laced with a smile as his mask prevented anyone from really seeing his mouth, "He pulled me out of that pit of darkness, that den of villainy, and led me to the path of righteousness. He showed me what it meant to be a Hero. Many people say they look up to All Might as their personal hero, and I do too a little. But if someone was to ask me who was the one that helped push myself into the light, I'd say Ingenium every single time. He sponsored me, took me as a sidekick when nobody would, and when it was my time to bloom, he smiled and told me that if I needed help, he'd be right there."
Kamui's tone then darkened a bit, "And then Stain took that light away. Ingenium's end was not supposed to be this soon. If I was being honest, I'd be looking for vengeance. However, that is not a Hero's way, nor is it what Ingenium would look for. Stain has killed and harmed too many to remain free."
Kamui's eyes then turned to Izuku directly, "And that is why, if we encounter Stain together, your primary objective is to run and get help. Get more heroes to surround Stain so he doesn't escape."
Before Izuku could object, Kamui Woods raised his hand up, "I know you're strong, but you're still a student and under my orders. I won't allow a student to risk his life. It would sadden me if I risked your life and you got injured because of it."
Izuku bit his tongue to hold back a retort before slowly nodding in acknowledgment.
"Good, now rest up. We head to Hosu later."
"Ah wait!" exclaimed Izuku, realizing something.
"Hmm?"
"Do you know Ingenium's little brother, Tenya Iida? He's a classmate of mine who's also in the hero course," asked Izuku.
"I am aware of him, yes. Why?" nodded Kamui Woods.
"He took an internship at Hosu."
"Hosu? Why would he... oh no, you're not suggesting what I think you are?"
"I have a gut feeling that Iida also traced up where Stain is and might try something drastic. He's been ignoring my texts."
"... That's not good. Alright, do you remember which hero agency he was going to?" asked Kamui Woods.
Izuku shook his head, "He wouldn't tell me. Just that he was heading to Hosu."
Kamui Woods shook his head, "I'm afraid your friend may be caught up in vengeance. I would bet Ingenium's end hit him much harder than me, being family and all. If we can meet up with your friend before he goes off, then there may be a chance to halt his madness."
Izuku could only nod as he hoped that he was wrong about Tenya.
Meanwhile, with Katsuki and Gran Torino
"Fuck!" cursed Katsuki as he was slammed against a wall.
"Hmph, I think that'll be enough," hummed Gran Torino as he rubbed his chin.
"One more time!" shouted Katsuki as he got up.
"Na, we're going to move onto phase 2 now," grinned Gran Torino, "Which means, time to fight some villains! Now go clean up."
"Fuck yea!" grinned Katsuki as he quickly rushed over to the bathroom to clean up.
As Katsuki was cleaning up, Gran Torino looked around the room that he had rented for this internship. When he arrived, despite its shoddy look, the inside was rather clean. Now... there were cracks in the plaster everywhere as well as scorch marks.
"Good thing this building was scheduled to be destroyed anyway," shrugged Gran Torino as he picked up his cane.
"I'm ready!" said Katsuki as he jumped out of the bathroom, already in his hero costume, "We going on patrol around here?"
"Not quite," said Gran Torino as he motioned Katsuki to follow him, "The decreasing population in this area has made crime rates here also quite low. The reason why Hero Agencies are more frequent in urban areas is that there's a lot of crime there. The higher the population density, the more trouble you'll find. Around Shibuya, you'll find lots of small fights that break out on a daily basis."
"Awesome," grinned Katsuki, "Finally, to kick some ass."
Shoto sighed as he finished up lunch. Soba at his father's agency was mediocre at best, nothing compared to his sister's cooking. Honestly, he had debated on even coming to his father's agency since that interview. However much he disliked him, though, Endeavor was the best hero suited to teach him the fire part of his quirk. Not only that, but his reaction time, speed, and experience was the real deal. As he placed his plate in the kitchen sink, the door slammed open to reveal Endeavor.
"Pack up Shoto, we're heading to Hosu," announced Endeavor in a booming voice.
"Any reason why we're heading there?" asked Shoto.
"Because according to my research, that is where we will find Stain. And with that, I will show you how top Hero performs," rumbled Endeavor.
Stain hopped off the roof of a building, having finished his conversation with Shigaraki. As Shigaraki watched Stain go his own way, he began to scratch his own neck in anger.
"How many Nomu do we have?" demanded Shigaraki as Kurogiri warped next to him.
"Seven," replied Kurogiri, "The good doctor has been investing more time in producing these Nomu ever since he heard a child defeated it. None of them are like the one we used in USJ, though."
"It'll be enough," grinned Shigaraki as he pointed out in the distance, "Don't think for a second you can get away with stabbing me. In the end, whatever your conviction is, I will be the one standing over you and have the last laugh."
Izuku and Kamui Woods were swinging around Hosu, looking around to see if they could catch Tenya before it was too late. One would think looking for someone that looked like a robotic knight would be easy, but they were unable to find him as night fell upon them.
"Dammit Iida, where are you?" muttered Izuku as he sat on a bench, waiting for Kamui Woods.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine if the hero he's interning with is good," stated Kamui Woods, passing an instant ramen bowl to Izuku as he plopped down on the bench with his own bowl.
"I hope you're right," sighed Izuku as he dug into his ramen.
Minutes later, the two had finished their bowl (Though Izuku wondered how Kamui Woods ate his with the mask still on), and were back to swinging around when...
Boom!
"What was that?" asked Izuku, missing the ledge and crashing into the sidewalk with a splat. Luckily, he was made of rubber, and so suffered no damage.
"No idea, but we're checking it out!" shouted Kamui Woods from the ledge, "Come on!"
In a bullet train to Shibuya that happened to pass by Hosu, Katsuki sat there waiting impatiently with his leg shaking in boredom.
"Brat, stop bouncing your leg," lectured Gran Torino.
"Aren't we there yet?" huffed Katsuki, "By the time we get there, it'll be deep into the night already!"
"Bah, that means more skirmishes brat," shot back Gran Torino.
Katsuki couldn't argue against that, as he wanted more skirmishes to fight in. He was just afraid that by the time they got there, all the villains would decide to just turn in for sleep.
"Hey, look at that! A building just exploded," shouted a passenger.
"Really? Where?"
Soon passengers were all crowding towards the window, curiosity overriding their sense of safety.
"Passengers, please return your seats and safely sit still." announced the operator.
Suddenly, the train began to brake, sending quite a few passengers tumbling forward into other seats.
"The hell? Why'd we stop!?" barked Katsuki.
His question was answered a second later when a Pro Hero crashed right through the train, landing painfully inside.
"What's with that-?" started the hero, only to be crushed into the floor by a large hand. The passengers were soon greeted with a strange monstrosity with its brain open to the world as well as two eyes on both sides of its brain.
"That's a fucking Nomu," cursed Katsuki, ready to fight.
"Kid, sit down!" ordered Gran Torino as he quickly used his Quirk to jet himself up, bouncing off the ceiling and above the passengers' heads before kicking the Nomu's head, forcing it to let go of the Pro Hero it had hostage. Within the next second, Gran Torino had already bounced off another wall and crashed right into the Nomu, forcing it off the bullet train, crashing through the wall, and carrying that momentum all the way into another building.
Katsuki quickly hopped over the passengers (or extras, as he prefers) and looked out of the hole, his gaze quickly taking in the situation. Seeing the telltale signs of a fire brewing in the distance, Katsuki grinned.
"No fucking way I'm missing out on this!" hissed Katsuki as he jumped off, using his quirk to create explosions to fly through the air towards the fire.
On the streets of Hosu, Gran Torino sent the Nomu crashing into another building, quickly jumping off to get a breather in. He winced as he felt a jolt of pain from a small burn he had gotten sparring with Katsuki. It wasn't anything serious, but he wasn't a young man.
The Nomu screamed in anger as it burst out of the building, sending debris flying towards innocent civilians. The passersby screamed in fear as they quickly fled the scene. A woman fell down from the panic, her high heels tripping her over. As her boyfriend tried to protect, a familiar old lady with a wooden cane passed right in front of them and the Nomu.
"Oh no you don't!" shouted Gran Torino as the Nomu was about to pounce on the lady, trying to jet to the Nomu.
Before Gran Torino could hit the Nomu, though, the old lady somehow shifted herself so she was far closer to the Nomu's chest than it expected, her palm lightly striking the Nomu's chest. Within the next second, her cane struck right at the Nomu's upper chest with a jab, catching it by surprise.
"Urg!?" grunted the Nomu as it tried to raise it's left arm, only to find it paralyzed.
With a swift sweep from the cane, the Nomu was sent tumbling to the ground. Before the Nomu could raise its head, the old lady was already spinning in the air before ax kicking the Nomu on the brain, sending it collapsing to the floor once more.
For Gran Torino, it was a bit of a confession time. He was never married, though he had quite a few flings over the years. The reason for this was because he was in love with Nana Shimura. Her quirk, float, was the perfect match with his, Jet. Yet he never asked Nana out, because by the time he had met her, she was already dating someone, which turned to marriage. So Gran Torino buried that feeling away. He thought he would never find another woman like Nana again.
And yet, just seeing this lady ax kick a Nomu, sent his heart racing. If one was careful enough, within Gran Torino a song could be heard, Suddenly, by B_lly O_ean.
Gran Torino quickly shook that song off and pushed forwards towards the Nomu, intending to attack it. However, before he even reached it, the old lady suddenly jumped towards him, taking him with her while sustaining her momentum.
'What is she doing... and is she blind?' gaped Gran Torino as he just noticed the lady's eyes had been closed the whole time.
Seconds later, a stream of fire struck Nomu.
"I was looking for the Hero Killer, but this guy's timing was bad," announced Endeavor as he stepped forward, "I do not know who the two of you are, esteemed elders, but leave the rest to me."
At another location, several heroes were fighting against three Nomus with little luck. Explosions from vehicles were raising fire everywhere, giving the Nomus a chilling visage.
"Manuel! Put out the fire!" ordered a hero with bull horns as he ripped open a fire hydrant.
"Why did you choose to go off at a time like this, Tenya!?" muttered Manuel as he quickly took control of the water, using it to put out the fires.
The bull hero quickly went to tackle one of the Nomu's, only to abort his charge to block another Nomu's attack.
"What's with that power!?" grunted the bull-horned hero before he was suddenly tossed against a building.
Yui Kodai, otherwise known as Ruler, had been helping evacuate civilians, providing support for the active heroes. Her internship had actually been with the two ninja heroes, hoping to learn how to throw stuff accurately. She never imagined she would see Nomu again, and this time three of them. Yui was helping The Fly get up and trying to pull him to safety when one of the Nomu grabbed a vehicle and threw it at her.
"The Fly! Ruler!" shouted one of her mentors.
Yui looked up, her eyes widening in shock and fear as the vehicle came closer. Her mentors were trying to move, but there was no way they would be able to save them. The light from her eyes seemed to dim as she accepted she was going to die. Just as the car seemed to hit them, Yui suddenly felt something wrap around her waist. Then, with a sudden jerk, she and The Fly were suddenly pulled away from the vehicle as it exploded.
"Are you alright?" asked a voice as Yui tried to blink to see just who had saved her. At first, a warm and strong chest greeted her sense before she looked, seeing a familiar straw hat and green hair.
"Midoriya?" whispered Yui in shock and awe.
Izuku nodded, putting them down as he turned around, facing one of the Nomu that was screeching in anger at its kill being denied. It charged towards Izuku, ready to pounce when...
"Lacquered Chain Prison!"
Tendrils of wood wrapped around the Nomu, imprisoning it for the while. However, this wooden prison was much different from what Kamui Woods usually used. He usually wrapped his enemies around the center of mass, locking his opponent's arms as he did so. This time, he aimed to lock the hand, body, and legs all separately.
As the Nomu began to teeter forward, Izuku's arm pulled back, infusing One for All into it.
Austrian Smash
Izuku's punch smashed the Nomu in the chest before being lifted up into the air with Izuku's arm stretching as he punched the Nomu. Seeing the Nomu up in the air, Izuku quickly turned to Manuel, who was busy trying to contain the fire.
"Did Tenya Iida intern with you?" asked Izuku quickly.
"Huh? Oh, yea he's an intern at my agency. However, he seems to have disappeared on me. Damn it, where are you?" gritted Manuel as he shifted to another fire building up.
Izuku's face paled before turning towards Kamui Woods, "Kamui!"
"I heard!" shouted Kamui Woods, now helping the other heroes handle the other Nomu, "Go! Try not to engage in combat and just run rescue!"
Izuku nodded, and after getting a little more details from where Manuel and Tenya had been a few minutes ago, rushed in that general direction.
"Ruler, are you alright?" asked her mentor, rushing over to her.
"Eh? Yea, I'm alright," blushed Yui. What she didn't want to mention was that she was already missing the warmth and safety of Izuku's chest, as well as his power.
'Ah, I wish he would come back so I can cuddle against that warmth... what am I thinking!? Do I... Nononono, Big sis Itsuka has dibs on him already! Bad girl, Bad Yui!... Naughty Yui...'
"Err...," sweatdropped her mentor as Yui was slapping her face.
Stain shot an annoyed glance at the streets, completely ignoring the ranting wannabe hero below his foot. He would deal with those scum later.
"I'll kill you!" cried out Tenya in anger, outraged by his helplessness.
"Save that guy first," lectured Stain, pointing to Native, another Pro Hero that laid slumped against a wall. For some reason, he was unable to move despite only having a cut on his shoulder.
Tenya froze, unable to comprehend that tone of voice before slowly craning his head up.
"Reflect on yourself and save others. Don't use your powers for yourself. Being taken in by the hatred before you and trying to fulfill your own selfish desires...That is the furthest from what a hero should be," lectured Stain as he jerked out his blade from Tenya's shoulder.
Tenya couldn't help but glare at Stain. A villain, giving him a lecture on how to be a hero? It was infuriating and humiliating to be receiving such a lesson! Yet his words rang true. Tenya should've just called for help when he found Stain. Get a Pro hero. Maybe use his Recipro Burst to grab Native and escape. But instead, he chose to fight for vengeance.
"That is why you die here," proclaimed Stain as he licked the blood off his blade, stained with Tenya's blood.
Tenya's eyes widened as he felt his whole body freeze up, unable to move even a pinky. It was as if someone had taken away control of his body.
'Is it like Shinsho Hitoshi's quirk? No, I still have control of my mind and my mouth. But everything else feels paralyzed!' analyzed Tenya.
Stain flipped his blade once more, raising it high up above Tenya's head, "Goodbye. You're an offering to a more just world."
Tenya pleaded... no begged his body to move, to do something as the blade began its descent. He half hoped his brother would miraculously recover and show up and kick this villain away. Tenya couldn't help but close his eyes as the blade approached closer until...
BAM
Tenya's eyes shot open when he heard something impact Stain's face, as well as the pressure on his head from Stain's foot lift up, sending Stain stumbling across the floor.
"Get away from him!" roared a familiar voice as the figure landed in front of Tenya.
"Brother?" whispered Tenya as he looked up in disbelief, seeing an image of his brother in his hero costume. A blink wiped that image and replaced it with Izuku.
"Midoriya?" stuttered Tenya.
"I came here to save you, Iida!" grinned Izuku as he adjusted his straw hat.
Stain shook his head, shaking off the concussion he was feeling as he looked up to see Izuku. Stain immediately recognized him as one of the primary targets that Shigaraki wanted to kill, and especially this kid as he apparently was holding a grudge against him.
Izuku narrowed his eyes as he quickly analyzed the situation. Stain was apparently able to tank a bit, having been hit by a punch that had been infused for 20% of One for All. Izuku had been only using that amount running around, not wanting to accidentally miss anything as he sped through the streets to find Tenya. He noticed that Stain was armed to the teeth, having knives everywhere, even spiked shoes. The blade, although looking rather jagged, was still sharp enough to cut through objects.
"Iida, can you move?" asked Izuku, not taking his eyes off Stain while surreptitiously fishing out his phone.
"I... I can't," grunted Tenya in frustration, "Not since he slashed my body. It must be his quirk!"
'Is it? Or a neurotoxin? Paralysis agent? Coated among his weapons? Or is it something else,' wondered Izuku before slowly scanned around Stain, noticing Native, who was still paralyzed, and unfortunately, was right where Stain was.
'Crap. If it was just Iida, I could just grab him and run to safety, to where more Pro Heroes are. Killing or using civilians as hostages doesn't fit Stain's style,' winced Izuku, 'If I leave now, then Native will definitely die.'
"Midoriya... Don't get involved!" grunted Tenya as he tried to push himself up, only to fail again as his body refused to listen to him, "You have nothing to... do with this!'
Izuku looked at Tenya's face, blinking in surprise at the amount of anger in Tenya's face, before quickly snapping back to Stain's face.
"Your friend came to save you. What a pal. But I have a duty to kill him. The one blossoming into a fake hero as well as this other one," stated Stain, swiping his blade to the side, riding it of blood, "If we were to clash, then it is inevitable that the weaker one will be culled. Now, what will you do?"
Izuku flinched as he felt Stain's killing intent as well as those eyes glaring at him with no hesitation in his actions. Stain would kill Tenya, a teenager, without a thought.
With a step forward as well as a glare back, Izuku answered while putting his phone away, having already sent a mass text to everyone in his phone his current location, while also giving a silent apology to Kamui Woods for not running.
"Sure if I ran, then I could live. But if I ran, then you would just kill these two. I can't run away, not knowing if I could've saved them. Like All Might said, meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero!"
Stain's eyes widened in shock before narrowing, a smirk slowly forming on his face. For a second there, he could've sworn he saw a ghostly image of All Might behind Izuku.
'This kid... he's stepping into a fight he knows that losing equates to death. And yet he despite my killing intent, he's not shaking or fleeing, but instead, meeting it head-on, just to save these two fake heroes. Someone who could become a true hero in this corrupt system. But only if the rot doesn't get to him first,' thought Stain as he saw Izuku raising his arm, taking a more defensive stance.
"Stop it! Run away!" shouted Tenya, "I told you, didn't I? It has nothing to do with you!"
Izuku ignored him, focusing on Stain.
'Many sharp objects. Stretching attacks are a bad idea,' analyzed Izuku as he slowly stepped closer to Stain, feeling out for his reach, 'In that case!'
Izuku charged forward, sending a quick jab to Stain's face, to which he dodged with ease.
'Quick reflexes,' added Izuku as he sent another quick and compact attack.
'Kid's not bad. He's using quick and economical attacks to avoid leaving his limbs open to attack,' thought Stain as he dodged another attack, his blade flashing in the moonlight glint as he attacked.
Izuku jumped back to dodge, quickly raising his right arm to block the sudden knife Stain had thrown. Instead of deflecting off his gloves laced with carbon steel, though, it sunk into it, almost hitting skin. Izuku's eyes widened as he quickly jumped back further, removing the knife from his glove as well as disposing of his glove.
Taking a quick chance, Izuku quickly sniffed the knife.
'Don't smell anything from it. Is it scentless or only on his sword? No weird coating either.'
Izuku didn't get the chance to analyze it anymore as Stain charged in with a downward slash. Izuku immediately blocked it with the knife.
Shlink
The knife held for a second before it was cut under Stain's blade with barely any resistance, forcing Izuku to jump back, but not before sustaining a gash on his arm.
'Damn, his sword is even sharper than the knives,' winced Izuku, feeling the cut on his arm. He noticed he wasn't paralyzed, and carefully watched Stain raising his sword towards his mouth.
Just as Stain stuck out his tongue, ready to lick Izuku's blood, his eyes widened as he quickly adjusted the blade to block a punch from Izuku's stretched out arm. In a flash, Izuku was already in front of him once more, his body infused with One for All at 40%, hurling a barrage of punches, kicks, and grapple attempts. Stain easily dodged those attempts, but found out that he didn't even have the leeway to bring his blade back up to his mouth.
'This kid... does he know how my quirk works, or does he just suspect it? Either way, he's got a good mind there too,' grinned Stain as he pulled out his knife with his other hand, attacking with it.
Izuku winced as he sustained quite a few cuts, but kept attacking, landing a scraping blow to Stain's face. As Izuku dodged a kick from Stain, gaining another cut from the spiked shoes, Izuku saw his chance.
'Now's my chance!' thought Izuku as he clinched Stain.
"Eat this!" shouted Izuku as he kneed Stain in the chest.
'I win!' thought Izuku until he suddenly felt his body seize up.
"Not bad, but you made a mistake," coughed Stain as he pushed Izuku off him, sending him flopping to the ground, "You let me get too close. But I suspect you have an idea of what my quirk is now."
Izuku's mind raced at those words until he realized what he had done. He had literally shoved Stain's face right next to one of his cuts.
"That was quite a powerful blow," admitted Stain as he stood up, "Enough to knock most men and women out. But not enough for one with such convictions like me. People who are all talk are a dime a dozen, but you... you are worth letting live for now."
Stain looked around, noticing that the fight had pushed him further away from Native and Tenya.
'So the straw hat kid not only prevented me from having time to lick his blood off my blade but also pushed me further away from my original targets. Well done indeed,' mused Stain as he began to walk towards them, only to suddenly hear explosions from above.
"Die!" shouted Katsuki as he pounced towards Stain, setting off a chain of explosions.
Katsuki quickly jumped away, landing next to Izuku before giving him a small glare.
"Don't fucking text me. I never gave you my number," rumbled Katsuki before looking back to where Stain should've been his name, a stain on the floor.
"Another faker!" hissed Stain, rushing towards Katsuki with unnerving acceleration. Before he could reach him, though, he noticed the crackling of ice coming his way and quickly jumped away to the wall to dodge the sudden burst of ice. He kicked off the wall, stabbing his sword onto a different section of the wall as he dodged a fireball. Stain calmly stood on his blade, analyzing just who had interfered.
"Midoriya... you need to give more details in times like this. You made me late," said Shoto as fire licked away at his left side.