Itsuka looked at her cell phone with worry. She had received the text from Izuku detailing his current location, but no message about why. Itsuka had a feeling it was an SOS signal for help. She so wanted to go help, if it wasn't for the fact that Hosu city was two hours away by train.
'Izuku... please be safe,' prayed Itsuka.
"C'mon Battle Fist! Stop looking at your phone and get your ass here! Don't waste time dallying!" shouted her internship mentor.
"Coming!" shouted Itsuka while shoving her phone into her utility belt clip.
"Good, now let's see who we can kick!" grinned the hero.
Itsuka had managed to somehow land an internship with Miruko, the No. 7 Hero in Japan. It had been the last day to consider internships when Miruko's offer came flying out of nowhere for her. Eagerly, she accepted it without telling anyone who she chose. Miruko was famous for not having an agency nor teaming up with anyone, saying that heroes who joined teams were cowards who had to rely on others to beat the villain rather than using their own strength.
Which was a surprise she offered an internship. Then again, in Itsuka's mind, perhaps an internship wasn't rather teaming up, but guiding someone. And to be honest, Miruko was kind of her idol just as All Might was to Izuku. The strongest top female of Japan offering her an intern? She'd be a fool to refuse.
"Hey, Miruko?" asked Itsuka as she caught up with her, "I'm kind of curious. Why did you send me an offer?"
"Just felt like it," shrugged Miruko, "Saw your fight in the Sports Festival and thought you'd be pretty strong. Especially your second fight."
"With Izuku?" questioned Itsuka, "Why not send an offer to him, too?"
"Eh, I considered it, but I figured with so many offers to him, it didn't matter," mused Miruko.
"He only had ten," deadpanned Itsuka, causing her to stumble for a second.
"Wait, really? How... oh, right that interview with Endeavor! Damn the boy must've dissed him hard. I should've sent him one for that," exclaimed Miruko, bopping her hand into her palm, "Whatever, let's finish up patrol and head back home later."
Another fact about Miruko was that she didn't rent an office space for her work but instead chose to work from home. Though considering how efficient she was, she could afford it.
Meanwhile, with Ochako and Momo, they had the same response as Itsuka. Both were worried for Izuku and wanted to rush over to where he was, but they were too far away. They could only pray whatever came up, Izuku could handle it. Tsuyu would've had the same reaction if she hadn't been busy dealing with a villain that she didn't notice her phone going off.
Back in Hosu, Stain gazed warily at Katsuki and Shoto, who had arrived at the scene just in time.
'One after another... There are a lot of people getting in my way today.'
"About time," grinned Izuku before noticing Shoto freely using his left side.
"Get over your little daddy issues?" barked Katsuki.
Shoto ignored Katsuki's remark, replying to Izuku instead, "It took me a few seconds to decipher your message, considering all you did was ping your location to us. But you're not one to do that without any purpose. Which could only mean one thing."
Shoto launched an ice wave at Stain, who quickly jumped to dodge it, launching himself towards a wall. The ice wave curved upwards to where Native, Tenya, and Izuku were, sliding them downwards. Shoto then fired a blast of fire to Stain once more, who kicked off the wall to dodge it.
"It means that you needed help. Don't worry, the Pro Heroes will be here in a few minutes," declared Shoto as his flames melted the ice he had created, allowing the three paralyzed victims to slide down towards Shoto.
Stain clicked his tongue before musing to himself, 'Someone's time will be up soon.'
"Don't forget about me, asshole!" shouted Katsuki as he came from behind, his hands crackling with explosions.
Stain merely ducked under the left hook of explosions, spinning as he did so as his blade came up with a sickening gleam. Katsuki immediately let off another explosion to change his momentum as the blade cleaved right into the gauntlet, narrowly dodging the blade's deadly bite into his skin. Katsuki quickly maneuvered himself next to Shoto. He shook his gauntlet once, letting the pieces fall
"Tch, too shallow," muttered Stain as he swung his sword to the side.
"Listen, both of you! You can't let him get near your blood. He paralyzes his opponent's actions by ingesting their blood orally! That's how he got us all!" warned Izuku.
"So he sucks blood to keep people from moving. Explains all the blades," noted Shoto.
"Then we just keep a distance from-" barked Katsuki, only to widen his eyes as he managed to dodge a knife to the face, narrowly cutting his hair. Shoto wasn't as lucky as a knife managed to cut through his cheek as he tried to dodge.
Instantly Stain was already upon them, another knife in his left hand.
"You have some good friends, Ingenium!" grinned Stain as he swung at Shoto, only for him to block it with a thick ice wall.
Stain looked up, causing both Katsuki and Shoto to involuntarily look up along with him. They both saw his sword spinning in the air before Stain suddenly grabbed Shoto by the collar, pulling him closer as his tongue stuck out, ready to lick the wound. Shoto quickly ignited the flames on his left side, driving Stain away. Stain quickly jumped back, catching his blade in midair before dodging another blast from Katsuki before slicing apart an ice barrage from Shoto.
"Shit, this guy's not fucking around," grunted Katsuki. To be able to lure his opponent's gaze with a simple misdirection, forcing them to look away at a critical moment... this opponent was an expert at controlling his opponent's action.
"He's strong," nodded Shoto as he wiped the blood off his cheek.
Katsuki looked back at Izuku, noticing the cuts all over his body. He mentally tsked in his mind before deciding on a plan.
"Half and half, got any medicine for cuts?"
"Yea, some," replied Shoto as he took out a small capsule with some medicine, scooping some over his cheek.
"Go fucking help out Deku," ordered Katsuki, "Idiot's bound to have bandages in his utility belt. Bind it so he's not bleeding all over the damn place."
Shoto glanced back at Izuku, noting that he was indeed sporting multiple cuts with blood still leaking out.
"You think you can handle it on your own?" asked Shoto.
"I can hold back this fucker up long enough," stated Katsuki.
"Fine, but I'll try to back you up as much as I can," nodded Shoto as he quickly knelt down to bind Izuku's wounds.
'Bakugo said he could hold Stain back, not win,' grimaced Izuku as he heard that. That wasn't the usual confident Katsuki that he knew. Just what the hell did he...
'Oh right, he trained with Gran Torino,' remembered Izuku. Losing so many times to him while being beaten to the ground must've shaken that cockiness off.
"Hell, I beat him up and win," added Katsuki.
'Never mind, he's still the same,' winced Izuku.
"Why are you all... why? Please, stop! I've inherited my brother's name! I have to do it... That guy is MINE!" raged Tenya, his face full of anger.
"You inherited it? That's strange, the Ingenium I saw before didn't have that look on his face," commented Shoto, causing Tenya to freeze up on that comment, "You've got a lot going on behind the scenes in your family, too, huh?"
"Forget about that shit. If we let you go on with your shit, you'd lose and get yourself killed. And if you lose, then we lose cause we let you go. And I don't lose, I only win!" yelled Katsuki as he bent his knees, putting his hands behind him before blasting towards Stain.
"Foolish to charge at someone who's faster than you!" scolded Stain as he swung his sword down at Katsuki, intending to cleave him in half.
Before the blade even began its descent, Bakugo already had an arm to the side and blasted himself sideways, easily avoiding the blade. Stain quickly whirled around to meet Katsuki, only to see him bouncing off the wall towards him. Stain brought his knife to slash at Katsuki, only for him to slam the brakes as he thrust his hands forward to let off another explosion to not only attack Stain from a range, but to also angle himself away from Stain and towards the ground. Stain gritted his teeth as he tanked it and turned once more to find Katsuki, only to see him blast past his view as soon as he hit the ground. Stain growled in anger before hearing the sound of ice rushing towards him. Stain's eyes widened as he quickly whirled around, using his sword to slice and dice the ice barrage into pieces. Shoto lit his right side on fire, ready to blast another flame attack at Stain. Stain quickly drew out several knives, ready to hurl them at Shoto's arm to disrupt him when the crackling sound of explosions reached his ears again.
'These two... are getting very annoying!' raged Stain as he quickly adjusted himself, hurling one knife at Katsuki and another at Shoto.
Katsuki barely dodged the knife, getting a gash on his face while Shoto did the same, getting a nick on his arm.
'C'mon... move... Move!' willed Izuku to himself, trying to move despite his paralysis. Suddenly, he felt his finger twitch in surprise.
Stain had maneuvered himself so he was already diving down towards Native while Shoto and Katsuki were out of position, unable to stop him.
"You two are pretty good!" admitted Stain as his sword gleamed in the moonlight, aiming for his primary target for this hunt.
Suddenly, Izuku was up and about, kicking off the walls to rush at Stain. Before Stain could react, Izuku had grabbed Stain by the scruff of his shirt and already started spinning, hurling Stain into the ground painfully, not willing to stay close to Stain any more than necessary.
'Damn, the kid's must have O type blood,' winced Stain before backflipping away from an explosion by Katsuki.
"I can move normally again," grinned Izuku, only to grimace as all the wounds he had gotten throbbed at once, as well as feeling a bit light-headed.
"A time limit?" mused Shoto.
"No, the kid should've been the last one he got. I can't move yet, and neither can the other kid," denied Native.
"Get back and bind your wounds idiot, you're a fucking walking target for this sword fucker," barked Katsuki, landing next to Shoto.
"Been practicing and copying from Gran Torino?" asked Izuku as he obediently obeyed, grabbing a roll of bandage inside his utility belt. Shoto had only been able to bind a few with what he had before assisting Katsuki.
"So how did you get free?" asked Shoto as Izuku began to bind the most obvious wounds to prevent blood flowing out easily.
"He takes in a person's blood to keep them from moving. Since I got free first... I can only think of three reasons. The effectiveness lessens as he uses his quirk on more and more people, the amount ingested is proportional to how long it comes to effect, or the effect differs on a person's blood type," hypothesized Izuku.
"First and last one sound more plausible," murmured Katsuki, "You're bleeding like a fountain there, it couldn't have been hard for him to get a good amount of blood. You're a fucking O blood, aren't you."
"Blood type?... Mine is B," said Native.
"I'm type A," replied Tenya.
Stain could only grin at how fast someone had deduced his quirk in the middle of a fight when so many others had failed to even guess what his quirk was. Especially from a bunch a heroes-in-training, too. It was something he could honestly respect, even if one of the ones fighting him right now was someone he considered a 'fake'.
"Blood type? That's correct," declared Stain, rewarding them by confirming what his quirk was.
"Even if we do know what his quirk is, he's still not an easy opponent," said Shoto, narrowing his eyes, "I'd say we should just carry the two out, but his reaction speed is insane to say lightly. Maybe even faster than Bakugo's (Like hell it is!-Katsuki) but with a much higher training standard. He can avoid my fire and ice and Bakugo's explosions."
"He's also capable of dodging and countering my attacks, too," sighed Izuku, bandaging another wound, "That's how I got so many cuts. I had a feeling that ingesting my blood would've activated his quirk, so I tried to give him no time to drink my blood. He still got me by leaving himself open on purpose, tanking a knee to the chest before paralyzing me."
"So in short, we either hold him down until Pros get here or we kick his ass," snorted Katsuki, "You finish bandaging up and stay back. I got this."
"I'll support," added Shoto, "You focus on binding your wounds and catching your breath before helping us, otherwise you'll be a liability if he can paralyze again. I know from the looks of it, you've lost quite a bit of blood, too."
"The three of us will protect them," nodded Izuku, standing up before almost falling over, using the wall to catch himself, feeling a bit woozy, "I can still support."
"Three vs one, huh?" said Stain as he lowered his body, ready to fight, "Won't be that easy."
Izuku began the confrontation by raising his right arm, his index and middle finger being held back by his thumb before flicking the two fingers with One for All at 60%, sending an air cannon at Stain, who dodged it. Katsuki immediately blasted forward to meet him head-on.
As the fight began, Shoto couldn't help but remember seeing the news about Tenya's brother being hospitalized. He himself knew the destructive properties of pent up resentment and how it narrowed a person's field of vision. And just how freeing it was when one could finally get past it and rid him or herself of its shackles. To get past it so as to learn from the best, in this case, his father.
Shoto blasted another ice path at Stain, who cut through it with ease once more. Stain's eyes furrowed when he saw Izuku manage to stand up once more and charge forward. All of a sudden, his speed seemed to increase, his movements more deadly than before.
'Shit!' thought Katsuki as he narrowly dodged a stab to the face, watching a chunk of his hair get cut off, 'He's not playing any longer.'
"Please stop... I'm already...," groaned Tenya in frustration as tears leaked out of his eyes.
Shoto gritted his teeth as he shot another blast of fire to support them before shouting at Tenya, "If you want us to stop, then stand up!"
Stain suddenly changed tactics as Izuku and Katsuki surrounded him, tossing something up in the air. Both boys looked up and paled at what they saw before hurling themselves towards the sides. Two small objects exploded above Stain, sending shards of fragmented steel at where the two just were, sending them out of position while Stain rushed forward towards Shoto.
Tenya looked up in surprise at that statement as Shoto roared as he fired another burst of flame, " Be the hero you want to be!"
Stain swiftly dodged the barrage of fire and ice, getting closer and closer to Shoto without even losing speed.
Tenya's mind began flashing as he heard this statement. The name of Ingenium, one that was supposed to bring honor for his brother, only to be stained by vengeance and the blood of his friends and classmates, protecting him. To be lectured by a villain who took away his brother's future as a hero. It was a repeat of the entrance exam again! Hadn't he learned his lesson to not be so selfish!? Except for this time, instead of points, the sacrifice was putting his friends in mortal danger! As much as he hated to admit, Stain was right about his selfishness. It wasn't an act worthy of a hero!
Tenya's hand began to clench in anger as Shoto attacked Stain, who dodged it with ease once more, closing the gap in an instant.
"Hasn't anyone told you? You're too focused on your Quirk! It's made you careless!" lectured Stain as his sword began its slash right at Shoto's shoulder, intending to cleave his right arm off.
'He's a monster!' thought Shoto as he tried to jump back to dodge, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.
"Todoroki!" shouted Izuku as he got back up.
'If I don't stand up right now... I'll never, ever be able to catch up to them! Them or my brother!' Tensei mentally shouted as he managed to stand up, his Quirk engines revving up overtime.
Stain noticed and mentally clicked his tongue at the situation that was about to come.
"Recipro Burst!" roared Tenya as his engines roared along with him. In a flash, Tenya kicked Stain's sword, snapping it in half.
Stain was unable to angle his blade to parry or divert the kick's power, and thus not surprised when it snapped. Tenya had aimed his kick at just the right angle and power at a structural weak point on his katana. Completing his spin, Tenya used the momentum to launch a roundhouse kick at Stain, who managed to raise up his arms to block it, but not before it sent him skidding back away from them.
"You got free? That Quirk isn't as great as I thought," commented Shoto.
"Todoroki. Midoriya. Bakugo. This all had nothing to do with you three, and I apologize," stated Tenya as he slowly stood up.
"Again with this?" blinked Izuku.
"And that's why I can't allow you three to bleed any more than this!" stated Iida he looked up, new resolve burning within his eyes.
Stain scoffed before calling out on Iida, stating that someone couldn't change so easily despite appearances and that no matter what, he would always be a fake who prioritized his own selfish desire over others, like so many heroes before him. Shoto tried to deny such a claim, hoping Tenya wouldn't falter, but Tenya shook his head.
"No, he's right," admitted Tenya, "I have no right to call myself a hero. But even so... I cannot give in! If I give in, then the name Ingenium will die!"
Tenya made this declaration with such passion and resolve that it immediately ticked Stain off.
"Out of the question!" hissed Stain, his eyes hardening with rage, almost to the brink of insanity.
Shoto noticed Stain's change and quickly shot another torrent of fire at Stain, hoping to catch him by surprise.
"Idiot! The Hero Killer is after me and the kid in white armor, right!? Just take him and run!" shouted Native.
"It doesn't look like he'll give us that chance," noted Shoto as he summoned more ice walls, noting that Stain had easily escaped his attack by slamming his sword against the wall when he jumped, standing on top of it before jumping to attack them, "Something's clearly changed. He's flustered."
At the same time, Shoto was analyzing the situation. The quirk itself wasn't too powerful, especially in a situation when dealing with multiple enemies. And yet Stain was still desperately trying to kill Native, Tenya, and perhaps Katsuki, all while under a time limit, despite his profile to flee before if the situation wasn't suitable for him.
'He has crazy tenacity to complete his goal,' thought Shoto as he fired another stream of fire to ward Stain off.
Tenya tried to boost himself forward, only for the engines on his legs to stall. Tenya looked down, theorizing that the kick he had just performed damaged the radiator.
"Todoroki, can you regulate temperature!?" asked Tenya.
"Not used to it with my left, why?" asked Shoto.
"Freeze my legs without plugging the exhausts!" pleaded Tenya.
Stain raised his arm, ready to hurl his knife at a distracted Shoto when Katsuki popped up next to him.
"Don't fucking forget about me asshole!" roared Katsuki as he managed to land a good palm strike to Stain's body, followed by an explosion.
Stain went tumbling down into the ground before using the momentum to backflip onto his feet. He looked up just in time to quickly lean back, dodging a kick from Izuku. Stain immediately tried to stab Izuku, only to be forced to dodge as Katsuki rushed at him. Katsuki, although barely missing him, kept momentum as he kicked off the pavement, jumping towards the wall to keep the pinball movement.
If Stain had trouble with one, then he was definitely in trouble when Izuku joined in, also bouncing from wall to wall, attacking every now and then.
'Troublesome!' raged Stain as he could barely keep track of the two boy's movements. All he could tell were streaks of green and blonde passing by him. But even if just barely, Stain could still read it. And so he began to attack in a careful manner, not minding that his attacks weren't landing. He was directing where they would bounce to.
'And... now!' thought Stain as he finally managed to guide the streaks into crashing into each other in mid-air right in front of him.
Stain's broken sword was raised in front of him already as he slashed down, intending to take out the two annoying pests. He imagined them crashing into each other, disoriented and tangled up in a mess of limbs. However, as his blade descended, he noticed that the reality of it was very different from what he thought.
Katsuki and Izuku had indeed collided with each other, but not in a tangle of limbs, but instead mirroring each other. Both the soles of their shoes were pressed against each other, their knees bent. Both of them had a palm pressing against the other's palm. Overall, it was the usual posture that one did when landing from a high place.
In another second, the two pushed off each other, completely dodging the blade while landing next to Stain from either side.
"Bakugo, now!" shouted Izuku.
"Don't tell me what to do!" roared Katsuki in reply.
Both of them spun as they launched a spin kick into Stain's ribs. While Izuku had power using One for All at 50% for this kick, Katsuki had managed to loosen his boots so his bare foot came into contact with Stain's ribs. Upon impact, Katsuki let his foot explode. Stain gasped in pain as he was sent flying up in the air.
Meanwhile, Shoto had finished freezing Tenya's legs without plugging the exhausts, as requested.
'This time, I'll finish this, not as someone looking for revenge, but as a hero just as Ingenium should be!' shouted Tenya inside his mind as the engines on his leg roared to life.
"Recipro Extend!" howled Tenya as he blasted off into the air, right where Stain was.
Stain's eyes widened as he tried to turn to deal with Tenya, but it was too late. With his engines boosting his speed and power, Tenya twisted his whole body in motion before landing a savage roundhouse kick into Stain's head. Stain's neck snapped to the side, almost losing consciousness, if not for his stubborn nature. With a crazed roar, Stain swung his blade, aiming for Tenya, who was helpless in midair. Still, Tenya gritted his teeth as he was prepared to take the blow if he could land another hit on Stain. Just as the blade approached his head, Tenya suddenly felt himself being pulled down just enough for the blade to miss. Stain gaped in surprise before noticing Izuku's arm already stretching out, grabbing Tenya's back and pulling him down in time.
"This ends now!" shouted Tenya as he managed to use his other leg and kick Stain in the ribs, sending him up even higher. It was just in time, too, as his engines faltered after the last kick.
"Now's my chance!" shouted Shoto as he fired another burst of fire at Stain, consuming his whole body in the attack.
Izuku pulled Tenya back towards him, catching him before quickly setting him down on his feet. They all looked up at Stain with caution, unsure if he would still attack them. Shoto launched an ice pillar, trapping Stain in the pillar, waiting for a reaction, only to see none. Seeing that Stain was truly unconscious, they all let out a sigh of relief. This fight was over.
The four boys quickly began to remove any weapons they could find on Stain before binding him with a rope Shoto had conveniently found at a nearby trash collection sight. Izuku noted that Stain actually had some of the latest light ballistic type body armor on him, which would explain why he was able to tank quite a bit. At this time, Native was finally able to move again after quickly being treated for his wounds. Once they were all bandaged up, they slowly trudged back onto the streets with Native dragging Stain. He insisted on it, saying it was the least he could do as he had been dead weight for them.
Few minutes prior to the end of the fight.
Gran Torino and the others watched the Nomu that Endeavor had incinerated stand back up on all fours, panting in pain. They quickly jumped back when it started to release flames similar to Endeavor, who already theorized that it was an absorb and release sort of quirk. Endeavor was a little shocked when he heard Gran Torino warn that it had multiple quirks, but it didn't matter. To him, such an insignificant pest wouldn't even be a hassle. Before Endeavor could deal with it as Nomu tried to pounce on him, Gran Torino zipped past him, breaking through Nomu's desperate attack before quickly changing directions, rushing right at Nomu before crushing it underneath his feet, causing the pavement underneath it to crack.
"I cracked the road... It's been a while so my control's not that great," grumbled Gran Torino to himself.
"Huh, you're not bad, honored elder," huffed Endeavor as he extinguished the flame on his hand.
Before the two of them could do anything, they heard another squeal of pain near them, turning to look at the source.
"You boys need to pay attention to your surroundings," warned the old lady. Underneath her cane was another Nomu pinned against a wall that had certainly not been there before, "This little one was trying to scuffle around all sneaky like."
"An invisibility quirk... no, more of a camouflage quirk," noted Endeavor as he saw various parts of its body changing colors.
"Yes, yes," waived Rekai as she kicked the Nomu in the head, causing it to go limp. Clearly this one was built for stealth and not durability.
The trio heard another explosion before looking over to the distance, where the glow of a fire could be seen. Endeavor frowned as he noted that despite the amount of heroes that should be there, they still hadn't been able to handle it.
As Gran Torino suggested that they all head over there, Endeavor hummed as he remembered his son running off to another location, spouting out a certain location. What shocked Endeavor the most was his son telling him that he trusted him to finish up wherever he was needed in no time. At that, Endeavor could only feel a hint of pride that his son at least acknowledged him somewhat.
Endeavor quickly passed on the address to Gran Torino and the old lady in hopes they could help resolve whatever his son had landed himself into before rushing over to the explosions.
"Well, shall we?" asked Gran Torino to his companion with a bow.
"You can go ahead, I'm not exactly a hero," shrugged the other.
"You aren't? But... err... I mean,"' stammered Gran Torino, cursing himself at that moment for not knowing what to say. Technically, she had broken the laws and was a 'vigilante', in a sense.
"Oh relax, I didn't use my quirk at all," huffed the old lady, "My quirk is Sonar, which means I hear better than a lot of people. And you can't exactly prove that I used it as it passively already increases my hearing. Not to mention I was defending myself against a threat. You wouldn't tell the police about little old me, would you?"
"I see," nodded Gran Torino, following her logic with a hum, "Then may I at least have your name... just for personal reasons!"
"I don't see why not," hummed the lady, "It's Rekai."
'Rekai... why does that name sound familiar to me?' thought Gran Torino before noticing Rekai holding out a piece of paper for him.
"What's this for?" asked Gran Torino curiously as he took the paper.
"My home phone number if you want to reach me," answered Rekai, "I don't carry a cell, and I'm usually at home in my dojo. I could hear your heart beating loudly, and it sure wasn't from fighting."
Gran Torino flinched and flushed at that comment, but pocketed the paper.
"Well, don't you have somewhere to go?" asked Rekai, pointing at him with her cane.
"Yea, I should go," coughed Gran Torino before jetting away, but not before looking back at Rekai once more.
Rekai hummed as she walked away, intending to complete her little shopping when she heard the screech of another Nomu. Walking around the corner, she noticed another pair of heroes trying to take on the Nomu that was spitting acid with her hearing. At least she assumed it was acid, based on the sound of liquid splashing into the object before giving a hissing noise as the said object began to melt.
"Useless, some of these people are," sighed Rekai as she walked forward, jabbing the Nomu in the chin to shut its mouth.
Back at the major area with Kamui Woods and a few other heroes, they were struggling to deal with four Nomus now. Luckily, Kamui had managed to subdue one of them, the one Izuku had punched, before punting it out of the way before its allies could try to break it free. But they still had three more to contend with.
They all tried to attack one of them as one while Kamui Woods distracted the other, only for it to smash the ground, creating a cloud of dust and rubble to hide it. Manual himself quickly looked around, trying to find it, only to see in horror as the Nomu was already behind one of his fellow heroes with its arm already raised, ready to pulverize the heroine into the ground. He shouted the warning, knowing it would be too late for her to do anything, when Endeavor suddenly appeared, punching the Nomu. Endeavor had aimed for the ribs, but the Nomu was apparently intelligent enough to quickly raise its other arm to defend itself. But with Endeavor's build, along with his Quirk, the Nomu was still sent flying away. Before the Nomu could react after regenerating its burnt arm, Endeavor had already clasped his fingers on its head.
'There has to be a certain limit it can regenerate. I wonder how long it can last under the heat of my flames,' smirked Endeavor mentally as he began to burn the Nomu's head, his flames easily changing from orange to blue, signifying he was raising up the temperature to inhuman limits. He only stopped when he felt the Nomu's head burn off, along with its arm falling down to its side.
"Carbonized cells cannot regenerate," smirked Endeavor before another hero called out for Endeavor, pointing to the Nomu flying away while carrying a hostage.
Endeavor immediately took in the situation, noting Kamui Woods dealing with another Nomu before barking orders, assigning a few heroes to head over to Ekou Street, District 4, before launching himself towards the escaping Nomu.
While half split to help out Kamui, the other half followed Endeavor's orders. Yui was one of the ones who went with the others as her mentors told her it would most likely be safer there than helping out with the Nomu.
Present time
Izuku and the others had just dragged Stain when Gran Torino found them. After quickly kicking Katsuki in the face for not listening to his orders, Gran Torino slowly looked around to see Izuku and the others before more heroes came rushing in. The Pro Heroes were quick to start calling the police and ambulance when they saw Stain tied up as well as multiple injuries on the children, though none too threatening. At this time of lull, Tenya quickly apologized to Izuku and the others for dragging them into his mess. Shoto and Izuku shrugged it off while Katsuki almost began to boast, only to be elbowed by Izuku.
Due to so many Pro Heroes surrounding them, Shoto, Izuku, Tenya, and Katsuki unconsciously relaxed their guard down a bit. Unfortunately, quite a few of the Pro Heroes themselves let their guard down, thinking it was over when the flying Nomu from before suddenly appeared, diving straight down for them, specifically for Izuku.
"Get down!" warned Gran Torino, but it was too late as the Nomu's claws sunk into someone.
Before the Nomu could grab Izuku though, Izuku felt someone push him out of the way. Izuku quickly turned around in time to see Yui's hand before the Nomu snatched Yui away. Yui screamed in pain as the claw harshly sunk into her shoulder, drawing a bit of blood.
With a great flap of its wings, the Nomu flew up once more while leaving a trail of blood that splattered on one of the Heroines, winds buffeting them all.
"Kodai!" shouted Izuku and Tenya as the Nomu flew up even higher.
'Oh no, if it gets too high, then I won't be able to reach them with my Quirk!' thought Gran Torino, nevertheless already prepping up his Quirk.
Katsuki growled as he prepared to use his quirk to propel himself forward, only to wince as crackles fizzled in his palms. He had used it a lot for mobility in his fight against Stain, as well as jumping off a train.
Before Izuku could pump One For All within his body to jump, or even stretch to grab Yui, Stain suddenly broke out of his bindings with a hidden knife that they had failed to find. He simultaneously licked the blood off of one of the Heroine's face, paralyzing the Nomu before dashing off to chase after it.
"This society overgrown with fake heroes..."
Within seconds, the bindings fell off as Stain jumped up, managing to land on the Nomu before stabbing it in the brain, instantly killing it.
"And the criminals who wave their power around idly..."
The Nomu fell down to the street, crashing headfirst into the cold pavement. Despite Yui having been under the Nomu, Stain had managed to wrench Yui out of its grip and held her to the side, saving her from being splattered underneath the Nomu.
"Should all be purged!" rasped Stain as he gently dropped Yui to the ground, "This is all.. to create a more just society."
Stain pulled his hidden blade out of the Nomu's brain as he slowly stood up once more.
Izuku and the other students were shocked that Stain was still standing despite all the hits they had landed on him. They were sure he would've been unconscious for a while, definitely more than a minute.
The heroes began to prepare for another fight when another voice called out to them. They all turned, recognizing one of the top heroes of Japan, Endeavor, had arrived.
"The villain should've escaped this way," said Endeavor as he jogged into the scene before noticing the Nomu he was chasing clearly dead... along with Stain on top of it. Stain looked back and noticed Endeavor had just arrived.
"Endeavor," rasped Stain as his mask slowly slipped off his face.
Endeavor grinned as he lit his fist on fire, cocking it back as he readied his aim at Stain, not noticing Yui behind Stain.
"Todoroki, wait!" shouted Gran Torino with a desperate tone.
Luckily, Todoroki wasn't so hot-headed that he would ignore another person's warning, and so paused his attack. It was only when Stain stood up did he realize another person behind Stain, bleeding from her shoulder.
"You fake..." declared Stain in a harsh voice as his mask fell off to reveal his face with his nose clearly cut off, whether self-inflicted or by some sort of accident.
"I must make things right..."
Everyone was frozen in their spot as the killing intent and conviction poured out of Stain's bodies in waves, threatening to consume them in a tidal wave. Both heroes and interns couldn't even move, much less fight back despite how beaten up Stain looked right now.
"Someone must be dyed in blood..."
Even an experienced hero such as Gran Torino unconsciously stepped back.
"I must take back what it means to be a hero! Come! Try and get me, you fakes!" taunted Stain with frenzied eyes.
Even a top hero such as Endeavor couldn't help but take a half step back at this.
"The only one I'll let kill me is a true hero... ALL MIGHT!" screamed Stain.
To the heroes and interns, they felt like they saw waves of dark red pouring through them, and at the source of the waves, bright red eyes staring at them, as if judging them all. Even some of the heroes fell back onto their rear in fear. For Yui, it was the worst as she was the closest among all of them, even if Stain was standing in front of her.
Nobody could move until...
Clack
Stain's eyes immediately turned towards the source of the noise, as did everyone else.
Clack
Izuku took another step forward, his hand adjusting his hat before looking straight at Stain. Slowly but surely, Izuku's arms readjusted themselves into a fighting position once more, his stance lowered in preparation for another fight. Was Izuku terrified, just as the others were? Yes, he was. But another part of him deep inside him roared against it. He wanted to be a hero, just like All Might. He wanted to protect everyone he could, and if he backed down from this, then he would be turning his back on his dream. And that one thing he refused to do!
All of a sudden, the heroes within the area felt another surge of energy flooding the area, all originating from Izuku. If one could describe it, it was as if waves of brilliant green clashing against Stain's red waves.
'Killing intent for revenge... no. He's emitting killing intent for the sake of protecting!' thought Stain, his eyes widening.
It wasn't just Izuku that was able to move, either. Katsuki slowly shook off the fear he felt and raised his arm up, his palms crackling with explosions. Shoto stepped forward, his left arm flicking in flames with his right arm began to produce ice. Tenya bent down, getting into a runner's set position as the engines on his legs began to roar to life once more. All of them inspired by Izuku's courage to break out of the fear instilled by Stain.
'Izuku Midoriya... truly another rising true hero like All Might. Perhaps the future won't be so dim,' mused Stain as he saw a potential pillar that could be even greater than All Might, inspiring others to move instead of shaking in fear like the others, especially as it was the younger generation that was moving.
Izuku took another step forward, his step creating another large stomp, causing Stain to focus on Izuku once more. Just as he did, Tenya activated his quirk.
"Recipro Burst!" shouted Tenya, forcing his engine to work one more time as he charged forward.
'Foolish one. To think the others thought you would change!' thought Stain as he tried to raise his arms to stab Tenya, no matter the cost, thinking Tenya was trying to attack him.
However, he was very far off the mark as Tenya swerved to completely avoid him, instead choosing to scoop Yui off the ground and running as far away from Stain before his engines gave out once more.
Stain could only stare at the ground in surprise before he heard Tenya speak.
"It was never my intention to fight you again, only to make sure one of my fellow classmates was safe. You were right about some things, I should focus on saving someone if I have the ability to do so instead of seeking vengeance! And for that, I thank you for driving that lesson in me," stated Tenya, cradling Yui in his arms.
Izuku had purposely stomped on the ground loudly to distract Stain from Tenya, even for just a moment. The two boys had merely glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, and with just that, able to convey a plan from one another.
'Hehehe, to think that this could happen... perhaps... there are a few still worthy of the title hero besides All Might if the corrupt system doesn't get them first. But with HIM in the forefront...," thought Stain as he finally lost consciousness, the knife slipping out of his hand, but not before he finished his last thoughts.
"He will be the one to usher the world into a new era."
The sound of the knife hitting the ground caused the rest of the heroes to snap out of their trance. Endeavor blinked as he took a closer look at Stain to see his eyes rolling up, drooling onto the floor as the threatening aura disappeared completely. Stain was now just standing there in place.
"He's... unconscious," noted Endeavor.
Hearing that, the interns finally break out of their fight or flight mode, causing them all to collapse to the ground as exhaustion overtook them all.
On top of a water tower, Shigaraki looked at all the Nomus that had been defeated. His grip on his binocular began to tighten each time he went over each Nomus' location, scratching his neck harder and harder as he saw them defeated. As he scanned the last one, he saw Stain and most importantly, a familiar straw hat student. Finally unable to hold it in, he gripped his binocular hard, unconsciously putting his pinky on it and disintegrating it.
"Let's go back," ordered Shigaraki, unwilling to stay here any longer.
"Were you satisfied with the results, Shigaraki Tomura?" asked Kurogiri as he began to warp them away.
"Idiot, ask me that tomorrow," huffed Shigaraki as darkness took over before he saw the familiar bar once more.
Next Day at Hosu General Hospital
Izuku, Katsuki, Tenya, and Shoto were in the same hospital room, their wounds having been bandaged. Out of all of them, Izuku and Tenya had it the worst. Izuku had gashes all over his body while Tenya had deeper wounds. Katsuki and Shoto merely had a few small scratches on their face but were mostly suffering from abusing their quirks so much.
Inside they were discussing their fight against Stain. Well, three of them were. Katsuki was ignoring everything as usual. In the end, they all concluded that despite Stain's words and attacks during their battle, he hadn't tried his best to actually kill them. It was like he had put a limiter on his attacks, whether consciously or not.
"But in the end, I can't believe you could stand up against him like that," commented Shoto, turning to Izuku, "That amount of bloodlust he was giving off... I just froze up because of it. Even my old man didn't move."
"But you guys did move after I managed to step forward," countered Izuku, "And Iida even moved to save Kodai."
"Only because you inspired us all," deflected Tenya, "Not only that, you distracted him long enough for me to rescue her."
Katsuki just grunted, turning his back towards them when the door opened, revealing Gran Torino, Manuel, and Kamui Woods.
"Brats, I have so many complaints about you all," grumbled Gran Torino, kicking Katsuki up before walking to Izuku and kicking him on the shin, "But before that, you all have a visitor."
As if summoned by those words, an anthropomorphic dog with a black suit and tie walked in, easily towering over all of them with his height.
"This is Hosu's chief of police, Kenji Tsuragame," introduced Gran Torino.
Out of the four boys, Izuku, Shoto, and Tenya immediately stood up to greet him. Katsuki stood up a bit later, albeit a bit slowly after a glare from Gran Torino.
"Please, there's no need to stand up, woof," waived Kenji.
Seeing the boys still standing, Kenji dived right into the heart of the issue, "You must be the U.A. students who brought down the Hero Killer, right?"
"Damn right!" barked Katsuki, only to get another kick to the shin by Gran Torino.
'Why is the chief of police here?' thought Shoto, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Regarding the Hero Killer...," began Kenji before going into details of all the injuries Stain had as well the law and history in regards to unauthorized quirk usage despite the circumstances.
"Even though Izuku Midoriya had been given permission to use his quirk, his primary order was to rescue his fellow student, not engage the Hero Killer. The four of you don't have proper licensing to go and do such an act, and the fact your instructors allowed this does not set a good precedent. The four of you, along with the pro Heroes Endeavor, Manuel, Gran Torino, and Kamui Woods must receive strict punishments," concluded Kenji.
Tenya could only look down in shame at this statement. Katsuki growled, ready to explode when to his surprise, Shoto went first.
"Wait a minute," said Shoto in anger, "If Iida hadn't done anything, then Native would have been killed. If Midoriya hadn't come, then the two of them would've been killed! No one realized that the hero killer had appeared. Are you saying we should've followed the rules and watched people get killed!?"
"Are you saying that as long as it turns all right, it's okay to bend the rules?" rebuked Kenji.
"Fucking seriously? C'mon it all has to depend on the situation, doesn't it!" growled Katsuki.
"A hero's job is to save someone, isn't it!" added Shoto.
"That's why you all are not full-fledged heroes yet," sighed Kenji, "Goodness, what are you being taught by U.A. and Endeavor, woof?"
Shoto angrily stomped forward, ignoring Tenya's plea to stop when...
"Geez, you boys sure are noisy."
They all turned around to see Rekai standing in front of the door with Yui behind her.
"Old hag/Master!" greeted Katsuki and Izuku at once, Izuku quickly bowing in respect to her.
"Brats," replied Rekai, waltzing right past the pro heroes with Yui following her.
"Madam, this is a rather private conversation, so if you could please leave," asked Kenji with a raised eyebrow.
"If it was private, then you wouldn't have the door open," shrugged Rekai, causing them to look back to see the sliding door had indeed been open.
"Nonetheless..., this is rather an important meeting," coughed Kenji.
"Yea, I'll be out of your hair in a minute after I take a good look at my disciple," scoffed Rekai, grabbing Izuku's wrist and placing two fingers on it, finding his pulse.
"You seem fine, but you still got too many wounds," lectured Rekai, smacking her cane onto Izuku's head, "We're going to have to go over more empty-handed combat against a weapon."
"If you're done, we have a lecture to finish," grunted Kenji, "Th-"
"You can stop bluffing," interrupted Rekai, causing many to drop their jaws at this disrespect.
"Miss, I assure you that within the boundary of laws, these boys-" started Kenji, only for Rekai to interrupt him once more.
"Under the articles of self-defense, the boys were allowed to use reasonable force to protect not only themselves but others as long as they had a reasonable belief that such force was necessary. Something a lot of people have a tendency to overlook in favor of the quirk laws. Not to mention it's hard to quantify the amount of force used, but in this case, the Hero Killer was trying to kill them while they stuck to capturing him, so reasonable force can be applied there. Since they were protecting someone from being killed and did not actually kill Stain, they cannot be prosecuted for such a thing. The quirk regulation law is to prevent the citizens from abusing their quirk for their own personal gain. However, the law also had the consequence of squashing down vigilantism as well as limiting the police force of what they could do with their quirks. Which is where Heroes came in, licensed to be able to freely wield his or her quirk. What people don't realize is that this little loophole that we have here allows people to intervene, to protect someone. Though granted, some if not most vigilantes do take it too far," explained Rekai, "I get bored sometimes, so I have a law book in Braille that I skim through."
"You mean I can do shit as long as it's saving someone? Sweet!" crowed Katsuki, only to get smacked on the head by Rekai.
"It's not something I'd advise shouting out to the world. It's not foolproof, and the loophole can easily be sealed up brat! But based on the heart rate from the chief of police, he's pretty calm about it. A little spike from my little rant, but it sounds like he had a plan to get you boys out of trouble," lectured Rekai before taking a seat next to Izuku.
"Ahem, quite," coughed Kenji, "While unexpected, I suppose that will be plan B in case plan A fails. Nonetheless, I am quite surprised at that loophole. It's something even I have forgotten about it to my shame, and I'm the chief of police."
"Wait, what's plan A?" asked Izuku.
"The version I just described was the official opinion of the police. And the punishment and such would only happen if this were to be made public, woof," explained Kenji, "If this were to be made public, you would probably be applauded by the public, but you wouldn't be able to escape punishment. On the other hand, while a bit underhanded, but if not made public, the burn scars on Stain would support Endeavor being the hero who saved the day, and it would end there, woof. Thankfully, there were very few witnesses, and the violation would be crushed there."
"But what about Iida?" asked Izuku worriedly, "He rescued Kodai with his quirk, and like you said, witnesses caught that."
"There is no need to worry, Endeavor has taken it upon himself to say that he authorized the use of his quirk. So any heat would fall on him, so to speak. But considering his popularity and strength... it wouldn't faze him," answered Kenji.
"So the bastard gets all the credit," harrumphed Shoto, not too pleased with the results but unwilling to risk his classmates' careers over this.
"Either way, we also need to take responsibility for being negligent in our supervisory duties," added Manuel.
Tenya quickly apologized to Manuel for all the trouble he caused, to which he gave a light chop to Tenya's head before waving it off.
"Because of the unfairness of adults, you will not be able to receive the praise you would have gotten, but at the very least... As someone who also protects the peace, I can say thank you," praised Kenji as he bowed.
"Start off with that next time," mumbled Shoto in slight embarrassment, sitting back down now.
"Well, I must be off. I have a bit of paperwork to do," said Kenji as he left, "I'm sure your instructors have some private conversations they want to have with you."
"Damn right I do," said Gran Torino as soon as Kenji left, landing a stamp kick into Katsuki's face, "Didn't I tell you to stay behind?"
"Like hell I was going to stay put when you went off to get some action!" barked Katsuki as he pushed the foot off, "I ain't a weakling that you can put to the side in the face of danger! My fight against the Hero Killer with the others should prove that!"
"Did you stop to think the reason why I wanted you to stay on the train was to protect the citizens on there, as well as the hero that had been injured!?" shouted back Gran Torino, taking the steam out of Katsuki's upcoming rant, "I'm well aware of your strength brat, I've been sparring with you for a few days!"
Katsuki mumbled words, unable to fight back that logic.
Meanwhile, Kamui Woods could only sigh as his eyes met Izuku's eyes.
"You couldn't help it, could you?" chuckled Kamui Woods.
"I didn't want to turn my back on Native," blushed Izuku, "I could've gotten Iida out, but by the time I got him to safety and went back, Native would have died. He had been paralyzed by the Hero Killer's Quirk."
"I'm not blaming you, it's just... I should've gone with you. We had more than enough heroes to handle the situation," sighed Kamui Woods.
"No, no, without your help, we would've been in much more trouble," intervened Manuel. "You were able to capture one Nomu and distract the other until Endeavor arrived. We were having trouble just dealing with one, I can't imagine how many could've been injured, or worse, killed if you weren't there. As expected of a hot rising rookie, though."
Kamui Woods hummed before turning to Tenya, "You're Tensei's little brother, right?"
"Huh? Oh yes, why do you ask?" blinked Tenya in shock at how Kamui Woods was using his brother's name with such familiarity.
"If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always willing to listen," said Kamui Woods, "Tensei Iida, or the old Ingenium, is my personal hero too. I owe him a lot for what he's done for me, including molding me into the hero I am today. I know how much it must hurt to see not only your family member, but a personal idol forced to retire from an injury."
As Tenya looked at Kamui Woods in shock, he continued on, "It is good to see that you managed to steer yourself away from vengeance."
"I didn't... really... do that," murmured Tenya in a guilty tone, "I tried to take on the Hero Killer myself and lost. If it hadn't been for Midoriya, I would've died."
Kamui Woods tilted his head left and right before replying, "Well, then it's a good thing that you're still alive. It's a mistake that you can learn from. I'll be honest, I had my feelings set on vengeance on capturing him, too. You're younger, though, and therefore a bit more prone to erratic decisions. Goodness knows how many times Tensei had to reign me in during my younger years. But in the end, if you have any doubts, one of the things I like to do is ask myself, 'What would Ingenium do?' Once you ask that, you find yourself answering that question with his voice. Since you're his little brother, I'm sure you know what he would've done."
Tenya closed his eyes in response for a second before a single tear came out of his eyes. He knew what his brother would've done in his place. He would've never foolishly searched for the Hero Killer by himself, and if he did find Stain, then he would've called for reinforcements immediately before saving whomever Stain had taken hostage.
'The one who was disrespecting Ingenium's name the most was myself,' thought Tenya, 'But no longer. Like I declared before, Ingenium's name will live on through me!'
At this moment, Izuku, who had finished talking with Rekai for a bit, turned towards Yui.
"Is your shoulder alright?" asked Izuku in a worried tone.
"Fine," replied Yui in her usual monotone voice, "It'll heal up fast."
"That's good to hear. Thank you for saving me," thanked Izuku.
"I was merely returning the favor," said Yui with a small smile, "You saved me from being crushed by a truck."
"Anyone would have done so," smiled Izuku, putting his hand out, "But still, thank you. That injury you got was meant for me."
Yui nodded as she shook his hand.
For Yui, her mind racing as her hand reached for his. Would she fall for Izuku if she shook his hand? Would the touch of his skin electrify her sense, making her enjoy his touch? She couldn't fall for him, she would be betraying Itsuka, who clearly had already called dibs!
When her hands clasped around Izuku's hand, Yui blinked in surprise. The hand felt warm, as any human hand should be, but there was no spark between them, at least none that she felt. And from the look on Izuku's face, he didn't feel a spark either, as no blush rose.
'Does that mean... it was merely a temporary knight in shining armor syndrome?' questioned Yui, a bit more relieved now. Not to be mean, but despite all of Izuku's power and personality, he just wasn't her type. The more she looked at Izuku, the less likely he matched her physical attraction. It wasn't to say that Izuku wasn't handsome, but it just didn't match what she wanted.
Yui turned to Tenya, who had finished his talk with Kamui Woods.
"I'd like to thank you for rescuing me from the Hero Killer," thanked Yui.
"It was the least I could do," said Tenya, his hands once more gesturing in a chopping motion, "Midoriya would have done the same thing if he hadn't been instrumental in distracting the Hero Killer."
Yui couldn't help but let out a small giggle at Tenya's action. She hadn't really thought about it, as her interaction with Tenya was mainly through Itsuka, but Tenya's behavior was the opposite of hers. He was very expressive, to the fact he used hand gestures to help express his emotions. She, on the other hand, was very stoic. She barely made any changes to her facial expressions, even if she was excited or sad. At most, even the most tragic movies that left the audience bawling only had her sniffling a little with at most, two or three teardrops coming out.
Yui had no idea why she was so stoic, but she supposed it was just the way she was raised. Her father was a part of the military, thus had a strict upbringing while her mother was raised to never show weakness in front of an audience, being an actor.
So, much to her surprise, when she shook Tenya's hand, she felt something electrifying crawl up her skin.
"I hope your instructors aren't mad at us for letting you get injured. We shouldn't have let our guard down so easily! Of course, we'll take full responsibility on this, right guys?" asked Tenya, turning towards the others.
With courage and swiftness Yui didn't know she even had, Yui leaned forward while Tenya was distracted and kissed Tenya on the cheek.
"Then I'll hold you to it," whispered Yui to Tenya's ear before leaving, giving her waist a little extra swish as she left.
The remaining residents of the room slowly turned to Tenya, whose face was slowly turning crimson as his glasses began to fog up.
"Well, well, someone's a hit with the lady," grinned Manuel.
"I'm so texting this to Tensei," snickered Kamui Woods as he got out his phone, snapping a picture of Tenya's current state.
"Wait, wait, there's no need for that!" shouted Tenya as he tried to grab the phone, only to be grabbed by Izuku, "Let me go!"
While the others began to laugh, Gran Torino could only sigh at this.
"These young ones have no sense of reality," sighed Gran Torino.
"Well, I should be leaving, too," added Rekai as she hopped off the table.
As she passed by Gran Torino, she murmured to Gran Torino's ear, "I expect a call from you soon. Don't keep a lady waiting."
Luckily nobody noticed Gran Torino turning crimson, otherwise, Izuku would've snapped a photo and sent that to Toshinori for some well-deserved blackmail.