Okay, so that last chapter? Let's just say the muse was on a roll & it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to and I was really happy with it (so happy with it).

I continued to be pleased all the way up until after I posted and thought about the next scene I wanted to do and realized the muse screwed me over timeline wise. There's something I really want have happen in another scene that requires Iida to be in Hosu (*cough* Revenge!Iida ) and uh, he's not there yet because the old dear muse forgot that the internships & Shigaraki meeting Stain happened at the same freaking time and we haven't gotten to internships yet in class because Bakugou wanted to confess.

End point, I'm diving into Full On Canon Divergent AU land a little earlier than planned. A few things will still happen like in/as inspired by canon, just not in the same timeline as Izuku is going to mess with events. :P Enjoy!


Chapter 9

It was amazing how fast a small difference in convictions and goals could devolve into a knife fight.

Izuku breathed heavily as Stain excused himself from the room, still frozen in place not by the Hero Killer's Quirk, but from the rational voice in his head that said "Shigaraki can handle himself, don't get in his way." So Izuku observed the fight instead from the sidelines, heart beating out of his chest in a panicked way he was growing far too used to, taking in very detail of the room and the people in it.

(He was an analyst, he needed to take in every detail. Every detail.)

But Stain had just walked out the door, and Shigaraki was still bleeding and Izuku found the strength to move again.

"I don't want him in our party," Shigaraki hissed as he sat up. His eyes were wide and pupils tiny; Izuku could feel the anger radiating off him as he entered the first steps of throwing a full on tantrum. Shigaraki held his wounded shoulder and growled as he stomped toward the Master's television set.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked. He hovered near Shigaraki's injured side. He held his hand out just in case the other needed to lean on someone. "You're bleeding. We should get that looked at."

The knife had cut straight through his muscle and as far as Izuku knew, the League of Villains didn't have a Recovery Girl equivalent. (He was surprised that he was holding it together so well with all that blood, but he supposed the necessity to stay calm won out over squeamishness.)

"Later," Shigaraki said. He glared down at Izuku with misplaced anger and snarled. "I need to kill that man and show him just who the real villains are around here."

"How are you going to do that?" Izuku asked, still hovering close. Kurogiri moved behind him at the bar, inspecting his own wound and cut arm instead of asking of Shigaraki. Izuku bit his lip trying not to be angry at that. "You're hurt."

Shigaraki smirked, squeezing his shoulder hard enough a new steam of blood soaked into his shirt. "I'm going to borrow a few Nomu from Master and wreck Hosu. He can't finish his business in a city that's not there and everyone will know the name of the League of Villains."

Izuku moved around and clutched Shigaraki's uninjured arm. His friend was a killer and dangerous, but this was taking things much too far. Izuku had seen that Nomu in person now and anything that was even remotely on All Might's level should not be allowed to roam around causing destruction in a city, let alone three. The devastation would be unmeasurable and Izuku could stop it right now.

He'd never be able to live with himself if he didn't.

"I think you're in shock," Izuku said, moving just enough that he could stand between Shigaraki and the screen. He forced Shigaraki to keep his attention on Izuku. "I don't think you should be making big plans like this when you're bleeding and injured."

"I can think fine," Shigaraki said, tugging on his arm. Izuku held tighter, squeezing it between two of his own. "Let go."

"Not until you treat your shoulder," Izuku said. "I know you're smart so start acting like it. Leading an assault on an entire town while you're upset and hurt is going to backfire in your face. You're not thinking clearly, so take a second to calm down."

Shigaraki yanked his arm free and shoved Izuku back with his elbow. The hit smacked into his ribs (surely leaving a bruise) and Izuku doubled over with a cough. "I know what I'm doing."

"You really want to give Stain what he wants?" Izuku wheezed. He had to think fast. He was an analyst—no, he was a professional, paid-for-his-services analyst; he could do this. Izuku watched Shigaraki still, turning that murderous gaze toward Izuku. "Because that's what you're doing."

"Excuse me?" Shigaraki asked.

"Stain wants to seek and destroy corrupt Pro-Heroes. What better way to figure out who they all are than to see who does and doesn't respond to a city level threat?" Izuku asked. "The good ones will stay and fight the unbeatable odds and the fakes will run away, putting themselves in the perfect position to be tracked down. It'll be like handing him a bag of candy."

"I know what you're doing." Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. "You're reaching for an excuse to stop me because you don't want me to kill people."

That was true.

Izuku maintained eye contact and turned his hands into fists. "But I'm not wrong, either. I'm an analyst, too, remember? You're the one who wanted to be my friend because of it. Are you saying you don't trust my strategies now?"

Shigaraki's fingers twitched on his shoulder. One moved to scratch his neck, but he kept his hand on the wound.

He didn't say anything; Izuku could see his brain running through his options.

This was the time to push it.

"Did you notice that Stain only used his Quirk on Kurogiri?" Izuku asked. Shigaraki tilted his head just so much to the side, considering Izuku. He tightened his grip on his shoulder; listening. Izuku rubbed a thumb into his bruised rib and tried to keep an even face. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say he can only use his Quirk on one person at a time. The fact he usually corners Heroes when they're alone supports that information. He's fit enough to handle one or two opponents, he'd be overrun fairly easily.

"I don't know what conditions he needs to use his Quirk, but even if he can switch targets quickly, he'd still be at a disadvantage against a large group," Izuku finished. Shigaraki stared for a moment and he dropped his hand. The red stuck to his palm and Izuku swallowed. "If I can tell you that much now, think how much better a plan we can make if I have a chance to really study what he can do."

"You want to help make a plan to kill Stain?" Shigaraki asked, leaning forward until the wrist of the hand on his face nearly touched Izuku's nose. "Is that it?"

"Yes," Izuku said, straightening his shoulders. The motion drew his attention to Shigaraki's wound. Izuku pointed at the injury and narrowed his eyes. "And I want to treat that before it gets infected."

"Why?" Shigaraki asked.

Because Izuku didn't want Shigaraki to kill innocent people with a mob of Nomu. (He didn't want anyone to die; too many had already.) Because Izuku remembered what the Hero Killer did to Iida's brother. (He had a face to the Hero Killer now. He had a face). Because whether Izuku liked it or not, it was true: "You're my friend."

Shigaraki laughed and dropped his forehead into Izuku's shoulder, the hand of his costume digging into his shoulder blade. "You're a much better party member than Stain could ever be."

Izuku exhaled and reached up to pat Shigaraki on the back.

"If you two are finished having a moment," Kurogiri said, clearing his throat and drawing attention to himself and breaking his unusual silence. "I believe we should be tend to Shigaraki's shoulder, as you said."

Shigaraki pulled himself away and scratched his neck. He grunted in agreement and shuffled toward the bar before he came to a dead stop. Shigaraki squinted behind the fingers of his hand-mask and looked at Izuku. "I forgot we were interrupted. We were going to talk about why you came by so late."

Izuku laughed, thinking about his stupid dream and his bad day. Compared to what just happened, it all felt like that had happened a thousand years ago. Izuku shook his head. "It doesn't matter right now. It was something stupid and your shoulder is more important."

Shigaraki grabbed the hand on his face and removed it. He looked Izuku straight in the eye and smiled. "If you ever want me to make someone disappear, you know you can just ask, right?"

"Of course," Izuku said, feeling his chest tighten. "Who else would I ask?"

Shigaraki snickered under his breath and continued his walk to Kurogiri. "Good."

Izuku leaned his head back and tugged out his phone to let his mother know he was staying the night. He'd be an awful friend to leave Shigaraki alone after all of this.

(And he didn't trust the man not to change his mind if left alone with Kurogiri.)


Izuku kept his eyes on Iida the next day in school. It was no secret that their class rep had kept to himself, alone and quiet since the Sports Festival. He forced a smile when he said that he was fine.

It was a smile Izuku could relate to more and more every day.

Though one of the more obvious signs that he was still upset about his brother, was that Iida failed to come up with a hero name when they started preparing for the upcoming internships. Izuku hadn't known the other boy long, but he knew Iida well enough now to know that he was responsible, someone who thought things through, and had a desire to become a hero as strong as anyone else in the class. It was unthinkable that he'd not put thought into his future title.

The Hero Killer had put Iida into such a state, there was no disputing that.

And Izuku had met that man last night; the same man who had put Iida's brother in the hospital and caused him so much distress.

He had suggested helping Shigaraki take down the Hero Killer as a way to distract him from his plan to send Nomu to Hosu, but there was that half-second moment where he thought it would be good to take the man down for Iida's sake, too.

It was something to think about.

"You figure out which internship you're going to?" Kirishima asked, his voice loud and cheerful as he crossed his arms on Bakugou's desk, kneeling in front of it (Izuku made fists under the tabletop). Classes had just ended and if it wasn't bad enough they went another day without All Might teaching and his already lousy day, he had to deal with Kirishima distracting his thoughts, too. The other smiled, pointing at himself with his thumb. "I'm going with Fourth Kind."

"I haven't decided yet," Kacchan answered, leaning back in his chair. He dropped his arm behind it and blew a few strands of his wild hair out of his face. "I'm still sorting through all of the offers."

"You did get first place," Kirishima said. He leaned his chin on his hand and grinned wide, showing off the teeth Izuku wanted to break (he really needed to get his jealousy under control). Kirishima poked Kacchan in the forehead. "I'd be more surprised if you hadn't gotten so many."

Kacchan grunted in response and knocked his hand into Izuku's desk as he moved his arm. He frowned at the rattling desk and looked behind him, catching Izuku's eye. He cleared his throat and glanced at Kirishima before asking. "What about you, De—Izuku? Did you know where you're going?"

Ignoring Kirishima's pleased grin, Izuku focused on Kacchan and counted down the days that saying his proper name would be as natural as "Deku" used to be. "Not yet."

Without his knowledge, Kurogiri had nudged a few corrupt Pro-Heroes into sending Izuku a few offers in order to make things easier. He'd yet to pick one, still disgusted by how many Pro-Heroes were under the League of Villains thumb unbeknownst to the rest of the world.

But that wasn't an excuse he could give for being indecisive.

"It's been hard to pick when I'm still trying to learn how to use my Quirk," Izuku said instead. "I haven't had a lot of chance to practice with it and I haven't really used it since the Festival."

"That's got to be a tricky one to practice," Kirishima said, butting into the conversation. "Since you need to be hit with something like an energy blast, right? There aren't a lot of people in class who could help with that."

Izuku nodded and pressed his lips as he looked at Kacchan. "There's only one or two."

"Yeah, there's Aoyama, and then maybe Todoroki if your power works with an energy like Fire," Kirishima counted down. He frowned and scrunched his nose. "I think that might be it. Talk about limited options."

"You forgot Bakugou," Shinsou said, stepping up to Izuku's desk. He held a hand up in a fist, and then burst all his fingers open. "Explosions are a burst of energy, aren't they?"

Izuku was so happy he had made friends with Shinsou. The man was selfish, but reliable and smart; Shinsou also had wonderful intuition. He even provided the opening needed for Izuku to start getting closer to Kacchan on his own and finally put Shigaraki's gift to it's original purpose.

"Shinsou's right," Izuku said. He crossed his arms on his desk and tapped one finger on the surface. "If explosions work with my Quirk, then maybe you could help me practice, Kacchan."

"Sure, maybe after the internships," Kacchan said, almost dismissively. It wasn't a straight up "Yes" of an answer, but Izuku would take it.


"You're avoiding class," Aizawa said, half hidden behind his scarf like always. "That's not like you."

Toshinori twitched, putting a hand on his neck as he hunched. He held his neck tighter and sighed. "I may have been taking advantage of other emergencies to avoid teaching class the past week, yes."

"I thought you out of everyone would want to make sure this kid isn't falling down the wrong path." Aizawa took a few steps closer, eyes less judging than Toshinori had expected. "Or is something else weighing down your mind?"

"I'm not sure what to say to him," Toshinori said. He sighed and leaned against the wall, waving down at his thin form. "He saw me like this, you know. It was one of the only reasons I convinced him what I was saying was true, and that even with a Quirk it's difficult.

"It is also hard," Toshinori continued, "to try and go from 'It's perfectly acceptable to not have a Quirk and pursuing another path' to tell him 'You have a Quirk now! You can be a hero!' without some form of awkwardness."

"How so?"

"I worry where he acquired this Quirk," Toshinori admitted. "As long as I approach him with the suspicion that he got it from that man, I fear I may not be able to help him with as open mind as I should."

"Have you spoken to Nezu about this?" Aizawa asked quietly.

"Not yet," Toshinori said. "But I plan to."

"Good," Aizawa said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "The sooner we get this kid under control, the better."

"Have you noticed something about him in class?" Toshinori asked, curious despite himself.

"He has a weird fixation with Bakugou," Aizawa said, lowering his voice. His eyes scanned the hallway for eavesdroppers. "Aside from trying to listen in on most of his conversations, there's also extended longing looks, and doodles of him in that notebook he keeps. He has stalker tendencies, though I haven't caught him full on following Bakugou yet. I looked into it further, and found they used to go to the same middle school. When I originally did my research, I will admit I hadn't thought to look for previous student connections."

"And Bakugou?" Toshinori asked.

"Mixed," Aizawa said. He crossed his arms and hummed. "He had starting acting weird a few months ago, being more irritable and confrontational than usually, but I regretfully didn't make the connection to Midoriya's arrival. I thought he was just stressed with the Festival coming up. Now seeing them together, it's obvious that Midoriya's arrival is what set him on edge. Bakugou moves unsure around that boy, uncomfortable and like he wants to escape. I'm not sure what happened between them though without straight up asking."

"Do you think they're a danger to each other?" Toshinori asked.

"I'm more worried for Kirishima," Aizawa said. His eyes narrowed and he straightened his back. Toshinori was sure he would not like the next sentence from Aizawa's mouth. "Midoriya is perfectly pleasant when speaking face to face, but the second Kirishima turns away or leaves, he drops the mask and the hatred I see in his face is concerning. It's not hard to deduce he's jealous of Kirishima's friendship with Bakugou, and whether or not he acts on that jealousy is a powder keg waiting for a light."

"Such as getting a new Quirk," Toshinori finished. "That would bring new confidence."

"Exactly," Aizawa said. He exhaled and took a step back. "I'll keep an eye on it."

"Thank you," Toshinori said. He gripped his hand into a fist and steeled himself. "As soon as the internships are over, I'll be sure to have my head straight."

"Good," Aizawa said. He held a hand up as he turned to leave. "Don't keep us waiting, All Might."

Toshinori did not intend to. He'd kept them waiting far too long already.


"You're going to Hosu for your internship?" Uraraka asked. Izuku paused filling in a line for his notes on Mineta, and listened in, despite not being a proper part of the conversation. "Why'd you pick there?"

"Normal Hero sent me an offer, and I thought it might be a good idea to tag along with a slightly lesser known Pro-Hero and see how things operate on that level, since I already have a better idea of how a high ranked one works."

"Right, because of your brother," Uraraka said. She stopped and covered the bottom of her mouth, having caught herself. "Sorry, Iida."

"It's alright," Iida said, voice strained. He fiddled with a pen on his desk, avoiding looking Uraraka in the eyes. "My brother also spoke well of Normal Hero, which is another reason I'm picking him."

"That's good!" Uraraka said, her voice lightening in genuine cheer. She patted Iida on the shoulder and leaned forward. "I hope you have a good time and learn all you can."

"How about you?" Iida asked, tactfully changing the subject. "Where are you off to?"

Izuku tuned out the rest of the conversation; he'd gotten what information he'd needed.

But now he needed to figure out what to do with it.

The Hero Killer was no joke if he could put Shigaraki on his back so easily, and Iida was in no shape mentally or physically to take him on either. Considering how hard he was trying to hide that he was upset, it wouldn't surprise Izuku if his plan was to take on Stain alone with no knowledge of his Quirk or weaknesses.

(He really thought Iida would be smarter than that, but anger made people do stupid things.)

Izuku knew the Hero Killer's Quirk, and could help create a plan around the man's weaknesses, but he had no way to explain how he'd come across that knowledge without admitting his connection to the League of Villains.

Izuku may have driven himself into a hole with this one, but he could perhaps discourage Iida from getting in over his head.

Maybe.

(The internships started far too quickly for Izuku's liking.)


"How's your shoulder feeling?" Izuku asked, heading into the bar. Stopping by had become a routine he indulged in more often than he had before. His mother thought it was nice he had friends to hang out with (Izuku ignored the guilt that bubbled up over that time and time again). Shigaraki nursed a drink, his shoulder bandaged through the torn shirt he refused to replace. Izuku sat next to him and accepted the soda from Kurogiri. "Any better?"

"Doesn't hurt much," Shigaraki answered. He turned his head, a few strands of hair falling in his face. Izuku breathed an inward sigh of relief seeing the hand missing from his face. Shigaraki smirked, voice teasing as he asked, "How was your day? Having fun playing intern?"

"I skipped," Izuku said. He leaned on the counter and breathed out. "I told the fake hero I had other things on my mind today, and for him to lie and say I was there or I'd rat him out to the Hero Organization."

Shigaraki laughed and patted Izuku on the back in approval for that answer. Izuku tried not to roll his eyes or admit that it wasn't quite like himself to do something like that either.

(He hated how easy it had become to blackmail someone into lying.)

"So what had your mind so occupied?" Shigaraki asked, amused.

"Stain," Izuku said, catching Shigaraki's interest. The other rolled a finger, wanting more information. "He paralyzed my friend's brother, forcing him to retire from being a Pro-Hero. I'm fairly certain my friend took an internship in Hosu in order to get revenge, but I didn't get a chance to stop him from going. I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Surprised you're so worried about someone who isn't your precious Kacchan." Shigaraki hummed. He reached over and tugged on a strand of Izuku's hair, hard enough to hurt but not enough to tilt his head. "Aren't you popular?"

"It's not good to have only one friend, Shigaraki," Izuku said, flicking Shigaraki's wrist to get him to let go of his hair. He smiled out of the corner of his mouth and blew his bangs out of his face. "You should probably have more than just me, too."

"I'll look for more party members when I want to," Shigaraki said. He held his fingers open and flexed his fingers. "What are you going to do about your classmate and Stain?"

"I don't know, but it would help if I had more information," Izuku said. He bit the side of his thumb and leaned forward. "But at least I'm motivated with two reasons to figure out all of the Hero Killer's weak points: For you to get Stain out of your hair, and to keep Iida from doing something stupid."

"Might I suggest leg work?" Kurogiri said. He finished polishing a glass and set it on the counter. "Take to the streets of Hosu yourself and find out first hand information on the Hero Killer. I'm sure your experience will be informative."

"You want me to go to Hosu and investigate the Hero Killer in person?" Izuku asked, narrowing his eyes. "Alone?"

"I'll go with you," Shigaraki said, putting his glass down. "I haven't been out in a while, myself."

"Sure," Izuku said. He tossed back the rest of his drink and hopped off from the counter. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "And if all else fails, we can just hang out for a while together."

"Because friends do that," Shigaraki said, nodding to himself as if he weren't sure. He grabbed his hoodie off the stool next to him and yanked it over his head. "Let's go find where Stain is hiding and dig the rat out before your other friend does."

"Deal," Izuku said.

Kurogiri opened the Warp portal to Hosu, and he followed Shigaraki onto the new street in the alley. Wind whipped through his hair and Izuku prayed that he and Shigaraki found Stain before Iida did.