Team STIK (Strike)

by Aragon365

One born without the power to make a difference. Another gifted with an incredibly powerful dual semblance. One who wishes to live up to his elder brother. And a faunus whose anger makes him almost as brutal as the Grimm. At Beacon Academy, these four unlikely souls would meet, and forever change the face of Remnant. These are their exploits. This is the story of Team STIK.

10. The Huntsman Hunter and The Stray

A/N: Here we are, at the end of Volume 1. It's only gonna get better from here! Thank you all for your overwhelming support! I will continue to try and meet your expectations! (although I know some of you may silently judge me) Enjoy the Chapter! This one's for you guys!

Sorry this took a little longer than usual. I wanted to get Volume 1 out of the way as soon as possible so that I could have a little more flexibility with the story. Thank you for your patience.

Edit (11/18/18): Got rid of the mid-chapter A/Ns. I'm pretty sure that's what a lot of these things are going to devolve into other than a few rewordings, huh?

Review Responses:

Guest: I know, but the name sounds cooler and it was the first thing that came to my head when I was trying write his name, and you have to admit, it does sound a little cooler than just plain old Yagi.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. They belong to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.

I do not own the cover image

Chapter 10: The Huntsman Hunter and The Stray

Preparations for the Vytal Festival were coming along extremely well, in spite of the numerous robberies that had been plaguing Vale for the past few months. Several flag lines dotted the streets, balloons were hung from various balconies and edges, and even the people themselves were happier than they normally would be. Speaking of happiness...

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!"

Weiss seemed a bit... too happy. Especially for her. Team RWBY was here to "Welcome the Exchange Students," as the aforementioned heiress called it. Izuku and Tenya had only been dragged along because Bakugo was getting low on ammo and Shoto needed fresh ice dust. The reason they weren't here was that they had a joint project that was due the next week, and this was the only weekend they had available. They didn't have much left to do, but hey, better safe than sorry. Back to the present...

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much before, Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out." Ruby commented on Weiss' unusual giddiness.

"Yeah. You never smile. Ever." Izuku awkwardly chipped in before pacing behind Tenya, knowing full well the unhinged wrath of the white-haired heiress after the accident in Dust class just a few days prior. She wasn't quite over it.

"Greenie's got a point there, Ice Queen." Yang picked up on what Izuku was trying to say. "You only ever smile when you're studying. Or lecturing us on etiquette. Or both."

Weiss snapped around at speeds Ruby was shocked to see, saying, "First of all, don't call me that! Secondly, how could you not smile? This is a festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There are going to be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is absolutely breathtaking!"

"Indeed! The amount of cooperation and agreements that take place during this time of year is simply astounding! It's wonderful to see nations that don't often agree with one another come together like this in a time of peace." Tanya said, eager to pitch in his own thoughts on the festival.

Yang sighed. "You two really know how to take a good thing and make it sound incredibly boring."

"Quiet you." Tenya and Weiss synched.

Izuku and Tenya split off from team RWBY soon after this, opting to go to the nearby Dust shop while they "welcome the exchange students to Beacon," as Weiss had put it, though Izuku thought that it was more than likely to spy on them for weaknesses.

They soon came upon the Dust shop they were looking for, but instead found it looking as though a tornado had torn right through it. Caution tape was all around the entrance, confirming Izuku's suspicion that the place had likely been robbed. He, Tenya, and unsurprisingly Team RWBY, went over to the two detectives who were gathering evidence from the scene. Ruby was the first to speak, asking them, "What happened here?"

"Robbery." The bearded man answered. "Fifth shop to be hit this month. This place is starting to turn into a jungle."

"What did they steal?" Izuku asked, wondering why someone would leave any place in shambles to the extent this building had been.

The second detective spoke this time, the one with unkempt hair. "That's just it, they didn't take any of the money. It's all there, wasn't even touched."

"It just doesn't make any kind of sense. I mean, who on Remnant would need that much Dust?"

"Probably an army."

"You thinkin' the White Fang?"

"Either them or Torchwick. I'm also thinking we don't get paid nearly enough to deal with this crap."

Weiss scoffed when she heard the White Yang mentioned, saying, "The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates."

Blake then surprised everyone when she began arguing with Weiss. "What's your problem?"

"I simply don't care for the criminally insane," the white-haired girl responded.

It was at this time that Izuku and Tenya left the group to search for another Dust shop in the area, after promptly saying goodbye to Ruby and Yang.

"So, Tenya... are you at all related to Ingenium?" Izuku asked, not really having another topic of conversation at that moment. "You seem to have the same semblance that he did."

"I am indeed," Tenya answered, his voice full of pride. "Our family have been proud huntsmen for four generations. Our hereditary semblance, Overdrive, is a speed semblance so great in power that the first to use it was rumored to travel at speeds beyond comprehension. I am the next in line to take up the mantle of Ingenium."

Not a millisecond later, they heard a bloodcurdling scream, startling them for only the slightest moment before they raced off towards the direction of the voice the moment they heard it, as quickly as they could. The two ducked into the ally from which the scream had emerged, and upon entering, saw a harrowing sight.

A man was pressed against the wall, his body covered in blood. His apparel gave away instantly that he was a huntsman, but his weapon had been tossed from his reach. But that was not what terrified Izuku.

The one who stood over the man was tall, his disheveled black hair waving behind him. His forehead and eyes were covered with a white bandage, with eye holes cut through it so that he could see properly. He was draped in a black sleeveless shirt, dark baggy pants, and black boots with plating covering various pieces, all the way up to the knees, and several knives hanging off of the vest he wore over the shirt. A tattered red scarf the length of his hair hung around his neck, trailing downwards to the small of his back. In his right hand was a long and bloodied katana with a rough and worn edge, and an angular combat knife that was currently digging into the wounded huntsman's shoulder. The attacker was flat faced, his faunus heritage given away by the slightest hint of the slits he had for nose holes.

The man raised his katana, preparing to stab the man clean through the chest when, before Izuku could react, Tenya had had already extended his Qiang and flung himself at the attacker, his gaze hardened and his spear aiming to skewer him through. The attacker saw this coming, dodging the thrust Tenya had made, freeing his knife from the wounded huntsman's shoulder simultaneously.

Tenya swung his spear at the attacker again in an overhead arc, and the attacker dodged again, this time counter-attacking with a straight jab along the spear length, hitting Tenya straight in the chin. The blow knocked the spear-wielding boy off balance, giving the attacker an opening to put his knife to Tenya's throat.

"You seem much like that Ingenium character I fought a few years back. One of my first targets. Are you their relative?" The attacker asked in an oddly calm voice.

Tenya was having none of it, opting to remain silent as he headbutted the attacker, causing the man's knife to draw the tiniest bit of blood from his neck. Tenya then spun his spear above his head and stopped with the point angled downwards, straight at the attacker. He began to thrust his spear down, wishing the man in his sight to be long dead once and for all, when suddenly...

He could no longer move.

The man finished licking Tenya's blood from his knife, the calm expression he wore never once leaving his face. "You really are his relative. That was the same move he used on me when we fought. Damn near ran me thro-"

The man never finished his sentence, since it was at that moment that Izuku decided to jump into the fray, starting by giving the attacker's face a right hook with Full Cowl activated, sending him back a few feet. It wasn't enough to knock him out, as the attacker retaliated with a wide swing from his katana, grazing Izuku's left cheek.

Izuku cocked his left fist back, ready to dole out a retaliation of his own. But suddenly, just as Tenya had, he stopped moving. It felt as if his own blood was fighting to keep him in place. Then, the attacker did something neither of them expected.

He sheathed his blades.

"You two have the potential to become true huntsmen. Especially you, green hair." The man looked at Izuku as he said that. "But remember this. A huntsman must be willing to lose up everything, even their own lives, for the sake of someone else. Anyone who does this job for the money is worth less than garbage."

Then, before the man could leave, someone else dashed into the alley and slammed their fists into the ground where the attacker once stood, as he'd dodged the attack, and gave the man a fierce snarl. "Get the hell away from them, you crazy bastard!"

"I was just leaving. I don't kill those with potential. Especially not children."

The man then ran up the walls of the alley and onto the rooftops, making a clean getaway once more. Izuku and Tenya were then released from the confinements that their own bodies had provided, falling to the pavement in exhaustion.

The boy who'd rushed into the alley then ran over to the paralyzed duo and helped them up, asking, "Are you both okay?"

He was tall and slightly tanned, with red hair that seemed only the slightest bit less spiky than Bakugo's, and eyes the same color and hue as his hair. His mouth, though only slightly opened, showed some very sharp and prominent fangs, giving away his faunus heritage, though the small, rounded tips of his ears were more obvious. He wore a black vest with red buttons undone, showing his torso in its entirety, and red metal gauntlets that went about halfway up his forearms. He also wore baggy grey pants and brown combat boots to complete the outfit.

Though his mind was still the tiniest bit hazy, he managed to say to the boy who'd saved them, "Yeah, we're okay. Did you call an ambulance?"

"First thing I did."

"Thank you..."

"Eijirou Kirishima. Pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand, obviously expecting Izuku to shake it. The latter, now realizing what the former was trying to do, gripped the hand as firmly as he could, though he couldn't quite avoid Kirishima's death grip of a handshake. Izuku the offered his own name in kind. "Izuku Midoriya."

Now acquainted, the two turned to Tenya, whose gaze had yet to leave the place they'd last seen the man who'd attacked the huntsman, the latter of whom Kirishima had decided needed as much first aid as he could remember. Izuku, now able to be concerned about his teammate, walked over to the spectacled boy, and asked, "Tenya, what did that guy mean when he said that? Do you know him?"

Tenya was silent for several seconds, so fragile a pin falling could've broken it, yet also so thick you'd need a chainsaw to get through it. Then he slowly answered, "That man is Chizome Akaguro, more famously known by his codename, the Huntsman Hunter Stain."

Tenya then looked back at Izuku and finished his answer with his voice and eyes full of pure malice. "And he killed my brother."

(Beacon Academy, 8:35 pm, Team STIK's dorm room)

The ambulance had arrived on the scene not one minute after Tenya had said those words. When Izuku asked whether or not he could elaborate on them, he simply replied that they had to wait until they got back to their dorm room, he didn't want Shoto and Bakugo to be out of the loop. They took Kirishima with them as they continued to look for a dust shop until they'd managed to find one and get what they needed. They then boarded the airship back to Vale and showed Kirishima to the exchange student dorm.

And so, here they were, in their team dorm room with Shoto leaning against one of the walls, Bakugo sitting on his bed trying to look disinterested, Izuku on one of their desk chairs, and Tenya in front of all of them on his chair, completely straight and composed, though a somber expression was worn on his face.

"I hoped that I would never have to tell anyone here any of this. It was supposed to be my burden, and mine alone." Tenya began, hesitation clear in his voice. "As I told Izuku earlier, I am the next in line to take up the Ingenium mantle. My brother was the one who came before me. He was my idol. He wore the Ingenium mantle with pride, he earned the title he bore ten times over every day. He helped so many people. And then..."

Tenya stopped, obviously digging through some very painful memories that he did not wish to revisit. Shoto and Izuku realized this, the former saying, "You don't have to share the rest if you don't want to. We'll understand."

Izuku then continued, "I know full well how difficult to relive certain memories can be. You can stop if you need to."

"No. No, you deserve to know what happened next. I've shared this much, it's only fair that I share the rest." Tenya insisted, full determined to power through his own fear of reliving that painful day.

"It was just a normal day when it happened. Just a few pickpockets, nothing more. And then, there was a battle. It tore up an entire city block in Mistral. They only fully repaired the damage last year. But my brother... he did not survive the fight. And even if he had managed to do that, he wouldn't have been able to walk. There was almost nothing left when the police and other huntsmen recovered his body. That was how that man received his codename. He almost left nothing behind but a bloodstain.

"In truth, I didn't come here solely to learn how to be a huntsman. Actually, now that I think about it, attending this school had always been a secondary goal. The reason I came to Vale, and the reason that I came to Beacon...

"…was to hunt down my brother's killer and avenge him."

Silence enveloped the room in its entirety. Izuku and Shoto were entirely silent, both from the shock of learning Tenya's true goal. He hadn't come here to learn. He'd come here to kill someone.

Then, surprising everyone, Bakugo broke the silence.

"Are you so idiotically optimistic that you thought you'd be able to take on one of the most dangerous people in the world for a case as petty as revenge?"

Tenya's head snapped towards Bakugo, ready to retort when the dire wolf faunus continued. "Look, I'm not saying that wanting revenge is a bad thing. If you think this guy deserves what you've got planned for him, then that's your deal. But let me put this into perspective for you.

"This guy has probably been killing huntsmen for as long as we've been out of elementary school. And if he was strong enough to take down someone like the previous Ingenium, he's probably not someone to take lightly, let alone someone to try and take down by yourself. You've got a team to back you up, so ask us for help when you need it, four eyes."

Izuku, Shoto, and Tenya all looked at Bakugo in complete shock, and all inadvertently thought the exact same thing at the exact same time. Holy crap! Did Bakugo just give a pep talk?!

"What's with those expressions?" Bakugo asked, oblivious to how out of character he'd just acted.

Shoto answered first. "We just never expected you to give a lecture on the importance of teamwork."

Tenya then chipped in, "Or to take precautions."

Izuku did not so much answer, as he nodded along with the others answers, opting to not give Bakugo a reason to blow him up. Again.

Bakugo reacted just the way anyone who knew him would expect him to. "SHUT UP! I'M ALWAYS LIKE THIS!"

And he's back to normal.

With that out of the way, Izuku once more turned to his spectacled teammate, saying, "Losing a family member is hard; believe me, I know the feeling all too well. But you can't go after this guy on your own, or you won't live to tell the tale. If you're not going to stop in this pursuit, then at least let us help you."

Shoto then took over. "I don't condone killing for any reason. I will help you, but to do that, this man must be put behind bars, not slain in an alleyway. If we are to become huntsmen, we cannot become worse than our prey."

Bakugo chipped in his own opinion, but really only because he didn't want to feel left out a second time. "If you decide to go after this guy on your own again, I'll drag your dumb ass back here myself, got it?"

Tenya looked at his teammates in shock, obviously expecting any kind of reaction other than this. "This is... well, quite frankly, I didn't expect any of you to just be this accepting of my true goal. Especially you, Bakugo."

"I still want to kick your perfect teeth in, if that's what you're wondering."

"Point taken."

The three were then interrupted when a knock came from their door, prompting any further conversation to be silenced. Izuku walked over to the door, opening it to find Ruby, Yang, and Weiss standing in front of their doorway. The former two looking rather distraught about something while the latter looked as though she could care less.

"What's up? Is something wrong? And where's Blake?" Izuku asked right out of the gate, immediately noticing that the bow earing girl was not among them at the moment.

Ruby and co. then walked into the room, saying, "That's just it. Blake ran away. I tried going after her, but by the time I got to the courtyard, she was already gone. We have no idea where she is, and we're really worried about her."

"Hmph." The heiress turned her head upwards in a common position the most people would've associated with rich people when they felt disgusted.

"Well, most of us are," Yang commented on Weiss' rather rude gesture.

"Did this have anything to do with the argument that started back when we were down in Vale?" Tenya asked, connecting this argument to the one that had begun near the torn apart Dust shop.

"Yeah." Ruby continued. "The fight got out of control, and the next thing we know, Blake's out the window and vanishing into thin air. We were planning on going into town tomorrow to look for her, but we're going to need some help in order to do that. Would you be willing?"

"We really can't do this on our own, guys. It would be a really big help to us if you could." Yang asked, seeming humbler than she'd ever been before.

Izuku was the first to agree. "I don't really know her all that well, but any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Shoto came next. "Well, if my partner's agreeing to it, I've gotta come along to make sure he doesn't get himself killed doing something ironically heroic."

Tenya too agreed. "I should come as well. You'll be without a backup sniper if I don't come with you."

Silence fell upon the room as all eyes fell on Bakugo as he contemplated his answer. Then, he spoke. "Well, someone's gotta be there to pull your asses out of the fire when this all goes to hell. Alright, I'll help you get your little kitty cat back."

Everyone other than Shoto looked at him in confusion, and Izuku, though very hesitantly, asked the question currently weighing on everyone's minds. "W-w-what do you mean by that?"

"I'm a fucking dire wolf faunus, Deku," Bakugo answered rather rudely, as he was used to doing. "If I wasn't able to smell whether or not someone's another faunus, I'd be an old man."

"Wait, Blake's not a faunus though," Yang tried to reason. "She wears... a... bow..."

Yang facepalmed, as did just about everyone else in the room, not including Shoto or Tenya, the former somehow already knowing whilst the latter was extremely well composed. Ruby then broke the extremely long and awkward silence when she said, "She does like tuna a lot."

(the streets of Vale, 3:37 pm, two days later)

The morning after the discussion about Blake, Izuku's first thought after eating breakfast was to get Team JNPR involved, seeing as they needed another Team's worth of eyes to scour the entire city of Vale in only a day. They decided to split Team JNPR by partners and have them accompany one of the respective teams looking for Blake, leaving Ren and Nora with RWBY, and Jaune and Pyrrha with STIK.

The groups had stayed this way for the past two days as they looked throughout the city with little luck. At the moment, Tenya and Bakugo were in the front of the group, arguing and discussing battle strategy at the same time whilst Izuku, Shoto, Pyrrha, and Jaune remained near the middle, talking about various things as the day went by. Just like the day before, they had little luck in finding the bow wearing faunus. And then...

Jaune's Fable began talking to them.

"Is it not about high time that I revealed myself, Master?"

Shoto and Izuku were so surprised that they whipped their heads around to where the voice had originated, and were surprised to see that it was actually the blonde knight who'd decided to help them in their search for Blake, as he responded to the voice, "Well, they were going to find out eventually."

"W-w-wait, was that Lancelot we just heard?!"

"That is extremely creepy."

"Yes, I know," Pyrrha answered, obviously the better of the two present to explain this. "I felt the same when I first heard his voice. Apparently, only people with large Auras can hear Lancelot other than the user themselves, or if they have a Fable of their own."

"The champion is indeed correct. You both have extremely large Auras, almost enough to rival my Master's."

"I already told you twenty times to stop calling me that. Just Jaune is fine."

"Very well then, Master Jaune."

"Adding my name to the end of that only makes things more awkward for me."

"Then I shall simply stick with Master."

"I think Lancelot's toying with him," Izuku whispered to Shoto.

"Well, he is basically a spirit that can only see the world through Jaune's eyes. Maybe this is what he does to amuse himself." Shoto whispered back.

"HEY! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT! WE CAN'T WAIT AROUND FOR YOU ALL DAY!" Bakugo impatiently yelled at them, his aura not large enough to hear the being they were currently conversing with.

Now realizing that they were falling behind, the four caught up to Tenya and Bakugo, once more continuing their search for their enigma of a friend.

(the streets of Vale, 8:56 pm, the same day)

When they first saw the pillar of smoke rising above the area of the docks, they'd just met up with Ruby and her tagalong, who had short, rather curly orange hair with a small ahoge on top that came down to her chin, and she wore a pink bow on the back of her head. She also had bright green eyes, light skin, and freckles. She wore a whitish-gray old-fashioned blouse with short gray feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. The green lines on the side of her stockings also appear to glow at times. She had what appeared to be a small and thin backpack on her back, completing the oddly cheery girl's outfit.

It was off in the distance, but it was as large as Beacon Tower and as thick as an office building. After very briefly being introduced to the oddly bubbly girl, who identified herself as Penny, they ran off towards the towering signal of trouble, and not a moment too soon either. As soon as they got there, they found a blonde monkey faunus being held at gunpoint by none other than Roman Torchwick himself, gun-cane he carried aiming its barrel straight at the boy's head. Blake had been pushed behind a large crate, obviously looking for an opportunity to strike the crime lord down.

But of course, as she usually did, Ruby took the high ground and revealed herself almost immediately. "Hey!" The young huntress in training yelled at the man below her, drawing his attention and promptly taking his cane's sights off of the faunus on the ground beneath him, giving the blonde monkey plenty of room to slip away unnoticed.

"Oh, hello Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman taunted her, though the only effect it really had was for her to grip Crescent Rose the slightest bit tighter.

"Do you two know each other?" Izuku asked.

"'Know ' is relative. I got caught up in the middle of one of his heists, beat the crap out of his goons, but he still got away. You could almost say that he's the reason I'm at Beacon."

"Ruby?" Penny asked out of the blue, and for whatever reason still there. "Are those people your friends?"

"Penny stay back!" Was all Ruby managed to say before Roman took his cane and shot a blazing red flare at the hooded huntress, causing an explosion that knocked the girl clean off of her feet. Luckily, Tenya and Jaune had been just behind Ruby, who caught her before she hit her head on the rooftop, though she was still dazed by the blast.

Penny looked at Roman with anger as the man cackled in the most stereotypical way you could ever expect a criminal to laugh. The orange haired girl the stepped onto the edge of the rooftop, only stopping when the others there with her asked what she was doing.

The girl merely glanced back at them with a slight smile, saying, "Don't worry, Ruby and Ruby's friends whose names I cannot recall at this time. I'm combat ready!"

As she finished, she turned once more to Torchwick, and, as if by magic, her backpack opened up. From it came a single-edged sword with an oddly shaped edge, which flipped open to its full length as it floated in midair. The bronze guard held the emblem of a power button in green neon, and the hilt seemed to form from some sort of piping that extended from the guard. But that wasn't what amazed them.

What amazed them was when the girl's sword split from one to ten in an instant, and she used them as wings as she floated downwards toward all of the White Fang grunts that had occupied the space during her preparation time. Needless to say that she absolutely destroyed them. Trying to put the battle to words would take several minutes too many knocked out grunts.

As Penny fought, Ruby, Izuku, and Teams STK and JP watched in amazement, making small comments while she did so.

"Holy crap! She just took out all of those goons in six moves!" Izuku exclaimed, obviously enamored with her unusual style of swordplay. If you could call it that.

"Indeed. She'll be quite the formidable opponent during the tournament." Shoto said, his gaze only giving away the slightest hint of enjoyment.

"Oh, hell yeah! I can't wait to crush her in a fair fight!" Bakugo said, slamming his fist into his palm, giving away his eagerness to battle the girl, as well as causing most of the people there to sweat-drop.

"She just took down two Bullheads by herself. I'll say this right now: she's leagues above us in both skill and power." Tenya commented on Bakugo's earlier statement, though the blonde dire wolf didn't really seem to care at the moment, opting to instead watch the ongoing fight in uninterrupted enjoyment.

"Do you think she's at your level, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked as Penny began to destroy yet another Bullhead while it tried to take off with a shipping crate of Dust.

"Maybe. Maybe not. At this point, only an actual fight would determine an answer to that question." Pyrrha answered as Penny pulled the bullhead down to the ground, slamming it into the nearby stack of shipping crates full of Dust, causing the entire shipment to explode.

"Either way, that was so freakin' cool!" Ruby shouted in excitement.

Roman, however, did not run. In fact, he simply pulled out his Scroll and dialed someone. He finished the call only a few seconds after he made it, and stood there with his cane in his hands, waiting for something. Then it happened.

Something akin to a black vortex appeared next to him.

And from this vortex came crooks. Each with quirks and semblances. Several dozen made their way onto the dock, each more intimidating than the last. And then, the main players came onto the stage.

One was a young man who seemed to be not much older than twenty, but had gray hair instead of a normal hue. He wore a simple black shirt and gray pants with blood red boots to complete the outfit. There were hands just about everywhere on his arms and shoulders, and there were even some on the back of his head, whilst only one of the hands obscured his face from view.

The next was the vapor itself given physical form, with a dark violet outline and a pair of burning yellow coals for eyes, a set of five metal plates being the only thing akin to clothing he wore.

And finally, something else emerged from the portal. Something terrifying. It was as large as All Might with a similar muscular structure, with scars covering its entire body. Bone plating covered spots of its skin, particularly near the elbow's and kneecaps, and a white bone half mask that outlined its gaping jaw, leaving its brain exposed. It looked like a humanoid Grimm.

There weren't supposed to be any humanoid Grimm this close in anatomy to an actual human or faunus.

However, before the group had the chance to fully process this fact, the gray-haired man yelled to his underlings, "Wreak havoc upon the hunters, and don't hesitate to kill them all!"

Then the bullets came flying towards them like a storm, just barely missing them as they jumped off of the roof's edge to avoid dying. Though the bullets still flew at them, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Izuku stood at the forefront, their shields blocking the deadly rain and their blades drawn to bare. Tenya and Ruby stood behind them, returning fire to their attackers with their own firearms.

Shoto and Bakugo took a direct offensive, taking out various grunts in the front of the criminal's offensive, Shoto using Jotunheim to immobilize and knock out his opponents, whilst Bakugo took to the approach of beating his opponents till they either couldn't move or got knocked out, as well as using Mortar Shell's guns when he needed to retreat or use an explosion/bullet powered punch. Which he did. A lot.

There were many broken bones that night, and none of them were his.

It was at this time that Weiss and Yang finally showed up, the latter grinning in pure glee as she joined the battle, yelling, "Finally, I can blow off some steam!" before she began smashing her way through the various goons that had swarmed the section that Ruby and Izuku's group hadn't been able to clear

The white-haired heiress opted to do the opposite, remaining silent as she leapt into battle after her boisterous teammate, stabbing her rapier into the ground, causing ice glyphs to appear under many a crook as they were frozen into place by Weiss' Dust.

Ren and Nora, the latter of whom had somehow managed to get them on the lifting tower, jumped off and into the fray, Nora with a grenade powered hammer strike and Ren with support fire and various hit and run tactics.

With most of the gunmen now disabled, Jaune moved forward, summoning Lancelot's arms and torso, the former of which still holding its giant blade, and began taking care of crowd control, opting to keep a certain group of crooks as close together as possible while Tenya, Pyrrha, and Ruby began taking out the stragglers of the group.

All of this was really beginning to take a toll on Tomura, and Kurogiri was noticing it. "Why isn't he here? He should be here by now. Where the hell is he? Where? Where? Where?" were among some of the other various things he whispered to himself as the battle raged on in front of them.

Tomura then began instinctively, and rather sporadically, scratching his neck, various pieces of fresh skin being torn off in the process. Kurogiri tried to calm his master, but Tomura was having none of it. And then, an idea dawned on him.

"What if we killed one of these kids? That should be enough to draw him out, right?"

At nearly the exact same moment, Yang saw an opportunity to make a beeline for the gray-haired man, and took it, moving from her earlier position to right in front of Tomura in only a second. But he didn't even try to defend himself. He simply held out his hand towards Yang's face, the blonde brawler still completely unaware of his semblance.

Izuku saw this, and, as if on instinct, somehow knew that if that man's hand touched Yang, she wouldn't get out unscathed, if she even survived at all.

Time seemed to halt as Izuku activated Full Cowl and raced over to the two, weaving through various crooks and criminals before getting to his destination, putting himself in front of Yang with his shield expanded and his arm blade drawn. As time seemed to slip back into normalcy, Izuku swung his blade at Tomura and, although the latter was surprised, he still managed to grab the boy's blade and crush it within his grip, disintegrating it entirely. This allowed Yang to shift her focus to Kurogiri, who began to take a battle stance of this own.

"Nomu!" The man called out, the humanoid Grimm responding to the name it had been given, punching Izuku's shield arm as he brought it up to protect himself, sending him across the docks and almost into another stack of shipping crates.

Izuku had managed to slow himself, planting his feet firmly into the ground while he flew across the docks from Nomu's punch, his shield and blade now in shards from Tomura's semblance and Nomu's punch, which probably would've broken anyone else's arm even if they did have Aura. Izuku, getting extremely serious now, activated his gauntlets second form, the full metal gauntlet mode, covering every bare part of his hands in metal. Then, another arrived.

"Fear not, trainee hunters, for you are safe!" A familiar voice boomed throughout the docks. The fighting stopped almost immediately. Everyone looked up to see the Symbol of Hope, All Might, standing atop the stack of shipping crates that Izuku had almost gone through, dressed in a white dress shirt and bright yellow pants with thin black lines running vertically downwards, brown dress shoes and a blue tie completing the outfit. "Now that I am here!"

His smile was still ever present on his face, even as he faced down the hundreds of crooks who either looked at him with rage, fear, or a mixture of the two.

But Tomura didn't seem distressed at this at all. In fact, he felt elated! Phase two could now begin!

"Nomu!" The humanoid Grimm looked at Tomura. "Kill," he ordered, pointing directly at All Might. Nomu ran towards All Might, a feral gleam in his incredibly tiny eyes, jumping up to punch All Might, the smiling huntsman merely dodging the attack, allowing the hulking figure to pass him by, leaping after it to do battle.

Now, with the other trainees occupied with the other criminals who weren't already knocked out, All Might currently battling Nomu and Penny nowhere to be found, there were only two. Tomura and Izuku. Their fight was just beginning.

(A/N: "Again" by Yui)

They slowly circled each other, knowing that the one to make the first move would likely lose the battle. The tension was high, and the silence would've been deafening to even the most resistant of people. Then, Tomura stepped just the tiniest bit off balance.

Seeing his opening, Izuku rushed the gray-haired man with Full Cowl, a right hook cocked back as he charged. Tomura dodged out of the way just in time to avoid being skewered by the punch, allowing Izuku to pass him and hit the shipping crated behind him, leaving a rather sizable hole behind.

Tomura then tried to grab onto Izuku, as doing so would play to his semblance's advantages, but the blazer-wearing boy proved to be much more evasive that at first glance, dodging all of Tomura's attempts masterfully.

On his final attempt, Tomura overextended himself, casting his arm far above Izuku's head. Izuku, seeing yet another opening, ducked under Tomura's failed attempt and gave a double palm strike to his chest, sending the man back several feet as he skidded to a halt near the same shipping crate Izuku had left a hole in not twenty seconds earlier.

Tomura, enraged beyond all belief, rushed Izuku once more, but his time with actual martial arts instead of the failed grab attempts. He opened with a straight jab, which Izuku managed to parry with one of his own strikes, then a roundhouse kick that Izuku jumped over, returning the attempted blow with one of his own in midair, which Tomura barely managed to duck under.

As Izuku landed back onto the ground, Tomura had rolled backwards and stood up, his hands in front of him as he prepared for Izuku's next move. He then rushed the gray-haired criminal and unleashed a flurry of punches at him, all of which the crook dodged just as masterfully as Izuku had dodged his grab attempts just a few minutes ago.

Tomura then grabbed Izuku's left gauntlet, and activated his semblance, destroying the weapon entirely within his grasp. Realizing what had happened, Izuku put his feet onto Tomura's chest and launched himself off with a backflip, freeing his hand from the man's grip and putting him at a safe distance once more.

Izuku was then rushed by Tomura once more, but this time he was low on stamina, and at that point, out of options. Izuku took the blow head on, rending him dazed and disoriented. Tomura capitalized on this by once more giving him a hook punch, followed by a knee to the gut and a jab to the nose.

Izuku was sent sprawling onto the pavement, barely conscious and coughing up blood. Tomura then straddled his chest and held his hand menacingly above Izuku's face. As if adding insult to literal injury Tomura began to taunt the poor boy. "Is this really all he had to offer? Are you truly his apprentice?"

Izuku, though shocked, couldn't speak, instead only coughing up even more blood. Toura hardly noticed, but even if he did, he wouldn't have cared. The green haired boy tried to lift his right gauntlet in some form of resistance, but Tomura put an end to the attempt with extreme precision, grabbing the boy's arm with his other hand before he even had a chance to get it two inches off of the ground, pinning it to the ground once more.

"Oh well. At least I don't have to kill anyone else here. That'd be too much work, and quite frankly I'm getting tired of all the pointless grinding. If I want him angry, I'll just have to kill you."

What do I do?! How am I supposed to get out of this?!

Then he remembered what Toshinori instructed to him. If his only choice was to use One for All at its full power, and he couldn't afford to break his arm...

… he could break his finger.

Izuku lifted his left hand a focused all the power he could muster into his middle finger. Tomura didn't notice this, he was too busy monologuing. He flicked his finger.

The kinetic force was enough to send Tomura across the battlefield, right next to Yang and Kurogiri, who stopped their battle to see the results of theirs.

They were both shocked.

(A/N: End Song)

"Izuku!" Yang yelled as she dashed over to him, her own fight with Kurogiri now all but forgotten. She lifted Izuku bridal style and yelled to the others, "Guys! Izuku's injured! We gotta get him to a hospital!"

It was at this moment that All Might had punched Nomu into the sky, with an extremely loud, "PLUS ULTRA!", causing the other crooks who were still conscious to run straight for Kurogiri, who had widened himself to make the same portal they'd come from.

The last two to go through were Torchwick and Tomura, the former of who mumbled, "These kids just keep on getting weirder," before stepping through Kurogiri's portal. Tomura was the last to go through, shooting hateful gazes at All Might and Izuku, the latter in particular, before stepping through Kurogiri's portal and disappearing. Not even making a sound.

This was all that Izuku witnessed before he fell unconscious in Yang's arms, the pain from his battle and his broken finger taking their toll at last.

(Vale Hospital, the next day, 12:47 pm)

A lot of things had transpired while Izuku was out cold in the hospital, a few of which he found out within a few seconds of being awake. Penny had disappeared, Blake was a cat faunus, as well as an ex-member of the White Fang, Torchwick, Tomura and their new posse were still at large, All Might was currently standing in his room in his normal form, and Yang was asleep at his bedside, which made him blush redder than Ruby's namesake.

"You really outta thank the girl when she wakes up. She hasn't left since yesterday." Toshinori commented, causing Izuku to somehow blush even more.

After Izuku was caught up on the above-mentioned things, Toshinori the continued, "All joking aside, while I may not approve of you fighting that man when you're not even a huntsman yet, you did damn well in that fight. I'm proud of you, Midoriya."

Those words brought a smile to Izuku's face that slowly turned into a grin, one that rarely showed on his face. He too happy for words to describe.

But Toshinori continued still. "However, just because I said that doesn't mean you should let it get to your head. Overconfidence can and will get you killed. But don't forget to have confidence in what you know you can do. Also...

"… If you keep on copying my style, you're going to get yourself hurt in the long run. I suggest building a new weapon. That doesn't mean you should stop using hand to hand combat, but having a weapon other than your own two fists is going to help you out a lot more than you think it will."

Toshinori then headed to the door, but not before leaving Izuku with, "Don't get held down by me. Experiment until you find the right weapon for you."

Toshinori then left, leaving Izuku to solve the meaning left behind by Tsohnori's sagely advice. My own weapon...

He thought of what he would want it to be, how he could use a new fighting style. He was almost tempted to take notes, but he, unfortunately, didn't have his notebooks with him. Then he thought back to two of the strongest fighters he knew. Shoto and Ruby. Swords and a Scythe...

Izuku then pulled out his scroll and dialed Mei, whose scroll number he'd received when he and his team had been looking for Blake just a few days earlier. The bubbly pink haired girl picked up the line, greeting with, "Hey there Izuku! How're ya doing'?"

"In the hospital, so I guess I could be better." He responded with a slight cheeriness in his voice, her happiness was that infectious, though he was careful not to awaken the blonde still sleeping on his bed.

"Mei, do you remember that new blacksmithing method you were talking to me about?"

"Of course! Why do you ask?"

"Well...

"… I've got a job for you."

(several hours earlier, unknown location in Vale, 12:35 am)

Torchwick, Tomura, and the lodge of criminals walked into their hideout in defeat, missing out on one of the biggest scores of their time. They wouldn't get another chance like that in a very, very long time.

"How very disappointing, Roman. And you as well, Tomura. So underwhelming." A sultry voice said in slight hostility from behind him. Startled, the two leaders looked behind them to see their employer, Cinder Fall, standing at the entrance to their hidey hole with the two members of her posse, as well as two others that they didn't recognize.

Cinder herself had ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes, while her fingernails were painted dark red. She wore a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, V-neck mini dress with yellow designs. There was a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress. The dress ended in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees. There was a baseball diamond-shaped keyhole on the dress' upper back at the same height as her chest. The sleeves ended in a triangle shape, which were wrapped or tied around her middle finger, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists. She wore black shorts underneath her dress, as well as a black choker on her neck. She also wore a gold loop earring with a black gem dangling from it on her right ear. She has dark, glass, high-heeled shoes and a jeweled anklet on her right leg. On her upper back, in the keyhole of her dress, she had a black tattoo of what appeared to be a pair of high heel shoes placed sole to sole, forming a heart shape inside.

When she and Tomura first met, they didn't particularly like each other, not even slightly. It was practically hate at first sight. Moving on...

"Whoa!" Torchwick exclaimed, clearly more surprised at the sudden arrival than Tomura, though he quickly composed himself, continuing with, "I wasn't expecting to see you guys this soon."

"We were expecting... more out of you. Especially with the new lackeys you'd recently received."

"We aren't lackeys." Tomura sharply responded, earning another death glare from Cinder. This wasn't the first time he'd been the victim of one of these, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. However, unlike most people, like Torchwick, Tomura wasn't even phased by the death glares she often sent his way, only meeting them in full force with his own. And, to stop and al out fight from happening, Torchwick yet again had to play peacekeeper. He hated playing peacekeeper.

"Now now, let's all calm down." He said to them, putting himself between the two to keep a brawl from occurring. "There's no need for this. And he has a point Cinder. Tomura and I are partners. Nothing more, nothing less.

"And besides, you're the one who suggested working with those idiots from the White Fang."

"And you will continue to do so." She continued, lighting a fire in her palm for intimidation, though it hardly even phased Tomura at that point. "We have big plans for the two of you. All we're asking for is... a little cooperation."

"And what about the two brats behind you? They part of your posse now?" Tomura asked as rudely as he could.

Cinder, though some anger could be seen in her eyes, doused her flames as she responded. "No. On the contrary, they came here looking for you."

Tomura was only minorly shocked at this. While the Huntsman Hunter Stain had been quite the enigma and proved damn hard to get ahold of, he had spoken to the man a few weeks prior, and they had a rather... violent difference in opinion. They'd agreed to stay out of each other's way, but it was an incredibly shaky truce. Ironically, Stain's actions were only giving his faction more and more support by the day, giving many a crook the courage to come out of the shadows and join his cause. But back to present matters...

Tomura gave them both a once over. The girl was petite with blonde hair, stylized into messy buns on the sides of her head, also sporting a set of straight bangs in an uneven 'hime' cut with two long strands of her hair on either side of her face. Her eyes were yellow and somewhat squinted, with cat slits for pupils, giving away her faunus heritage, and the had dark purple bags under them. Her Pronounced teeth gave away, yet again, that she was either a type of canine or feline faunus, though the latter was more likely, considering her lithe form. She wore a sailor uniform with an oversized cardigan that covered most of her skirt, and cuffs that covered the palms of her hands. She also wore knee-length black socks and classic school uniform loafers. In her right pocket, she carried what appeared to be a number of charms on a CIS.

The boy, however, was much different than the girl next to him. His most striking feature was the patches of purple skin that looked as though they'd been sewn and stapled on, and were also deeply wrinkled, though the rest of his skin was normal, pale and smooth. There were rows of stitches that extended to the corners of his mouth to just above his ears, giving him something resembling a permanent grin. There were also patches of purple skin under his eyes, making them appear permanently lidded. He also had jet black hair arranged in a spiky style, the only thing remotely normal looking about him other than his clothes. He wore dark pants that reached above his ankles and a dark coat over a simple light shirt, along with dark shoes. He also wore a belt and what appeared to be a small leather pouch around his waist.

The boy then continued, introducing the two of them. "Hello. This psychopath next to me is Himiko." He pointed to the crazed looking blonde, who gave him a pout. "You can call me Dabi.

"And we'd like to join the Lodge of Criminals."

A/N: Phew! Finally, done! Sorry that took so long guys, school just started back up again, and I don't have nearly as much time as I used to.

A lot happened in this chapter too. Stain appeared, Tenya's out for revenge, Tomura directly affected the main story (like he always does), Izuku needs a new weapon, and Himiko and Dabi are being added to the mix. Can things get any crazier?!

They can and they will.

Also, for those of you still missing other people from the HeroAca universe, fear not! For Tokoyami and Tsuyu will be appearing in the next chapter. Hopefully. Maybe.

Please don't kill me.

And now on to our next profile, Tenya Iida!

4-Tenya Iida

Age: 17

Race: Human

BDay: 06/22

Handedness: Left

Hair: Blue and Neat

Eyes: Blue

Blood Type: A

Height: 6' 1"/185.42cm

Gender: M

Semblance: Overdrive, a hereditary semblance that can achieve speeds easily comparable to Ruby's, if not even more mind-boggling. He can get muscle cramps if he uses it too excessively.

Weapon: Pride, a Qiang/ .50 caliber sniper rifle hybrid, used in a combination a gunplay and traditional Qiang style.

Range: Mid/Long range combat

Fighting Style: Traditional Qiang style

I'm also gonna try and schedule myself, since that will be a good thing to start practicing, considering the fact that I have school, a part-time job, and Taekwondo to worry about. Hang in there guys!

Next chapter (hopefully): August 25th

See you guys in the next one!