Green Scale

by Elite151

Izuku is mysteriously gifted the deadly quirk of an emerald drake, but he must adapt and evolve when his brother and father return to Japan. With the strongest villain in the world hunting him and the planet aware of his power, will he become a hero that saves everyone? Or a green dragon that conquers the earth... Op Izu / Anti Hero Izu / Dragon Izu / M for heavy violence

19. The Morning Before Chaos

Green Scale

Chapter 19 ~ The Morning Before Chaos

Rated M

I Don't Own MHA

---

Endeavor threw down the small drone on the meeting table, hearing a loud clang as it landed.

He was in a room filled with all the UA teachers, as this was a matter only they could handle efficiently. Nezu knew everything about the school, from how many windows there were, to how many bricks were used to craft the buildings, so he was the person that Enji knew to go to, as this was something that went under even his sensitive snout

"These things are heavier than they look… Just one of them has the weight of an average human male, and they're pretty damn sturdy too. I can't even melt them with my fire…" his sapphire eyes glared holes into the metal devices.

"Yes. I'd expect nothing less from the Blazing Fang Labs…" Nezu said in a relaxed tone. "When you said drone, I thought you meant the military grade ones, but it seems that these are much smaller than we thought…"

"You seem to be underestimating the ditch we're stuck in here, mouse…" the flame hero snarled.

Nezu just smiled nervously. "Don't worry Enji, I am more than afraid of this problem and what it could mean for our nation, but you should know that I've had a few days to collect myself and focus on what's important. There's no need to panic about this right now. We just need to brace ourselves for the coming storm."

"Yes, fear mongering will only make these bastards even more willing to exploit us…" All Might said with a nasty grimace. "I know better than anyone; they will pick apart any weakness you have and use you like a toy in a sandbox… The only thing those two evil fiends like more than advancing their empire is dragging down others…"

"And how would you know so much, symbol of peace?" Endeavor smirked arrogantly. "Are you perhaps in league with these foreign fools?"

"Not at all… We just happened to meet once."

The flame hero's eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"Endeavor…did you happen to find any devices on the drones you located? Was there anything we should know about?" asked Ectoplasm.

The man frowned… "Well, it seemed to have been rigged for explosion, but that explosion had been deactivated before it was set to blow. I don't think it was supposed to be found, and the only thing concerning were all the high-tech cameras they had welded on. Perhaps they were using them for surveillance, or maybe another use relating to spying…"

Cementoss stroked the side of his head in a thinking posture. "Yes, the Midoriya family is known for illegally gathering information on other nation's heroes. We don't know why they do it, but it is concerning nonetheless… With the resources they have, and the vast amount of high-class heroes at their disposal, it's plausible to believe that they have been keeping tabs on us for longer than we know… In fact, it's probably the truth that we've been oblivious to their scouts for years…"

"Hmm… It did take China and France years to find any trace of Michael's involvement, and why their best heroes had been snatched away by the states. While this was when the Midoriya scientist operated mostly from the shadows, keeping his abilities a secret, it still took two of the most advanced countries in the world that long to link the connection… We may have Toshinori and Endeavor to brag about in strength, but when it comes to advancements in tech and security, we fall behind greatly when compared to the real powerhouses…" Ectoplasm continued.

Nezu smiled. "Then we must all be in agreement with what Midoriya said, about bolstering the power of our nation to the heights of the top ranking countries in the world…"

After a while, the whole room of heroes and teachers began hesitantly nodding.

"First, we need to know what the two of them will be doing when they arrive on our soil, right?"

"Hmph...they're a pair of spineless lab rats. They won't be a threat to me…" Endeavor brushed it off.

"That so?" Aizawa challenged. "We don't even know how strong either of them are, or what their quirks even do, so underestimating them a tad could royally fuck us over. I have next to no clue on what Michael may be hiding, but Akira seems legitimate in his strength from his words alone."

All Might agreed with a bow of his head. "Yeah, there was a colossal war against villains in North America, but the battle was so one sided that you could barely even call it a contest…"

"More like a massacre…" Eraserhead frowned angrily. "Apparently all 10 of the US's best heroes are on another level when compared to the rest, but the last five of them were the ones named as the heroes of the war, because they were too strong for the villains to even challenge..."

What Aizawa said was in fact true…

The number 5 hero, Pincer, was the hero that had the body and abilities of a deadly humanoid insect resembling an ant. He specialises in tracking down villains and using his resourcefulness to take them out, but he wasn't anything when compared to numbers 3 and 2 in combat. The bug hero was still on the level of any other top hero when it came to physical power, but he wasn't needed in the fight, so he took charge of evacuation and the defence of the citizens on the battlefield. He managed to keep the death toll of the innocents down to a very low number, despite hundreds of villains trying to take him down… Witnesses said that they saw each villain be effortlessly taken out by the vicious attacks of the ant...

The number 4 hero, Fume, was a hero that emitted black steam from his body that could reach lethal temperatures, and he was the man that was in charge of intel and stealth missions. He and Pincer were almost always seen working together on the streets of America, despite both of them having power greater than 95% of all villains in the continent, and he was extremely good as a support type hero. While Purity held the crown as the greatest support in the world, he was versed in offensive support and could manipulate the battlefield in any way he wanted with the fumes of his quirk being so hot that no villain dared get close. That power of his led the villains into a trap, and they were then forced to fight the two best heroes in Akira's agency inside the ring of smoke…

The number 3 hero, Volt Break, was known as the fastest hero in the world, able to manifest thunder and lightning to his person whenever he wanted. He could transform into an actual bolt of lightning or use streams of it to enhance his body. Like all members of Akira's agency, he was incredibly skilled in the combat arts of his master and could have survived the battle without even using his lightning, but he and the rest of them had orders to exterminate every villain that was on the battlefield, so the people of the US bared witness to a shower of golden thunder as he disintegrated legions of criminals with his quirk…

The number 2 hero, Regulus Nemea, was regarded as the greatest fighter in the agency, barring his mysterious master of course, and could transform into a golden lion, heightening his endurance, speed and power to insane levels. He was the most feared member of the agency and had no qualms with mowing down thousands of villains, using his claws to rip them all to shreds. There were even reports that he killed civilians that got in his way, but none of those rumours were confirmed. On that night, no villain could challenge him and he was the one that America saw the most, but there was one person that somehow outperformed him.

Somehow, not a single person saw what the number 1 hero did, but he was found in the centre of the battle sitting on a huge mountain of corpses; the main villain and instigator of the war being beheaded by the huge crimson and black katana on Akira's back. No one knew how he did it, but the top hero of the states managed to easily take out tens of thousands of villains before anyone could even catch him doing it…

It was the world's first and only look at Akira Midoriya's strength, and although it was dubious at best, the UA staff had to fear the worst and prepare for this phantom menace's arrival…

"I doubt he actually did kill that many, but there is a possibility that he did, and because of that slight chance, we mustn't mess around with this man…" Nezu stated abruptly. "It's pretty much confirmed that those 4 american heroes that starred in the war are the real deal, the best of the best, and probably the handiwork of that scientist, so even if you are all strong, keep your guards up…"

Aizawa nodded gratefully. "I wasn't about to risk the safety of my students just for an ego boost, principal. If we are correct in assuming that Akira does in fact care about his half-brother's wellbeing, the first place he will go is back home, and then of course to us at UA…"

Many of the teachers' expressions darkened because of that.

Snipe didn't like that at all… "From what I heard about his run-in with All Might, he was cocky and thought of himself as the only hero in the world worth something, so perhaps he would want to see how all the other students match up to-"

"Not a chance…" Cementoss quickly shot down the idea. "We would never let a pro hero as morally grey as him fight our students. It could result in a huge outcry from the parents…and perhaps grave injuries to the students. Izuku and Katsuki Bakugou don't have a good history at all, with that blonde loudmouth being a known bully in their middle school, so could you imagine what that bastard would do when they lock eyes?"

"And you think you would be able to stop him?" the gunslinger chuckled slightly.

Nezu clapped his hands to cut out the small argument. "We must prepare for what's to come, and that means we need to predict what these "heroes" are going to be doing while they are in asia."

Recovery Girl spoke up. "Well we can't intrude in their personal lives, as I think even questioning young Izuku and Miss Midoriya would be enough to warrant aggression from the Fang Labs. I don't think it would be wise to underestimate our opponent just because we have All Might… For all his wrongs, Michael Midoriya does seem to deeply love his wife of many years, so getting a word with her will be next to impossible..."

"Agreed…" The little animal said softly. "Negotiations are off the table with the two men anyway. From what fragments All Might has told me, they would actually benefit from an interrogation and use it against us, and if we were to even try and reason with them, they would find a way to get something out of it…"

"A confrontation with them is inevitable though, so why shy away from it?" Endeavor grunted.

All Might shot an annoyed look at his peer. "Because he possesses things we have no knowledge of, in addition to having two extremely powerful children; one of which holds the power of the crimson dragon that destroyed us 15 years ago. If we back him into a corner or stick our noses too deep, he could retaliate and deal great damage to Japan as a whole."

"And how exactly do we block his eyes if we don't put up a defence?"

"We don't… We don't normally have much to hide, so we won't lose much…"

"You mean we're gonna let some bastard from the other side of the globe strip away everything and run the place!?" Enji roared.

The Principal shook his head at the former student's outburst. "You misunderstand Todoroki. We are going to be treating him and his son as guests of UA and will make sure his time here warrants no trouble for both parties, but we won't be letting him take over anything or have too much freedom. While he is arguably the most powerful man on the planet, he still must abide by the law, and with their family home being so small, he can't really do much without a lab…"

"Plus, I doubt he would really be directly involved in anything illegal while his wife is with him." Toshinori agreed.

"But the timing of these drones does raise concern, Principal. They were conveniently placed in that one room under the stadium, and were launched all around the venue, but what could they actually want with the school? We have nothing of value when dealing with someone who has the whole world as his backyard." Midnight asked curiously.

"Well, we believe that one of the heroes stole a selection of blueprints that mapped out the school, and also the files for every student in the first year. It is quite concerning, because with them, they would know the area like the back of their hand, though I am more worried about the info gathered on the students."

Vlad scowled. "Right, they could be targets for Michael's sick schemes…"

"Carla Smith, more commonly known as Purity, the greatest support hero in the world showed up out of nowhere and managed to heal those near irreversible injuries Midoriya had sustained in the obstacle race. This was obviously to aid the boy in his journey and not for any personal gain of the labs, but it is a concerning move nonetheless… She and a few others were able to sneak into one of the most secure places in Japan without issue, and she is one of the most recognisable female figures in the world… How security managed to let her slip through their field of vision is beyond me…"

"But Principal… When exactly do you think this drone bullshit even began? What is the origin of this activity?" Aizawa's critical gaze shot straight at Nezu.

The mouse paused for a moment, debating whether or not to tell them his prediction…

…

"I believe it started around the time he and Akira left Asia…"

…

Everyone present suddenly felt a sinister air come from those words, like the grave foresight of a great seer…

Aizawa's gaze hardened, sweat beginning to drip from his face as he realised what was actually going on... "Then we've been their target for over 10 years…"

"And every single event that's played out has been from their design… He's been behind everything, from Izuku's quirk awakening and his entry into UA, to the USJ attack and the reveal of his f-fire…" Nezu finished; his calm persona cracking for the first time as he glowered shamefully.

Whether they knew it or not, even the Fangs of Red Scale had been manipulated by this demon of a man…

Prism showing up for no reason other than for Izuku's capture…

All For One, one of the most intelligent men Nezu knew, choosing to send a complete fool like Tomura Shigaraki to the USJ…

And now, having his top heroes secretly raid the festival…

It was all coming together, and it seemed that everything linked back to him...

It seemed like everyone in the room went cold with dread…

Is this really something that one man is actually capable of?

---

(Hosu City…)

It was the early hours of the morning, and a few students of class 1-A departed from the train station, all wearing their uniforms and looking ahead to what could be in store.

Izuku stepped onto the station floor and noticed the lack of harassment he'd received on his journey. People either shot dirty looks in the distance or moved as far away as possible from him, like he had the CoronaVirus or something (author-san breaking the 4th wall with another dead joke), and those that were actually brave enough to confront him instantly jumped back in fear when he showed is agitation…

He was slightly amused by the public's reaction to him, but that humour was overshadowed by the shame of people cowering away from his eyes. He wanted to be someone that saved people with a smile, but how could he do that when people didn't want to be saved? Who would actually trust someone that resembled the very man that obliterated half of Japan in a single night?

The kid knew that self doubt and hatred would only pull him back several steps in his journey to be more powerful, but it was hard to brush it all off when his entire life had consisted of the same dream, replacing All Might with himself and having the people of Japan call out his name with incredible passion…

"Y-You good Midoriya?" Mineta asked from the side as he jumped up on a subway bench, trying to get a better look at a racy Mt Lady poster…

Izuku smiled awkwardly as he watched the pocket-sized degenerate try and lick the thighs of the 2D hero. "Just fine Mineta… Just...fine…"

He was grateful that Class 1-A were so welcoming of his change and identity…

Obviously; they were all now extremely intimidated of his strength and of him in general, and him being a western Midoriya made quite a few people trust him less, but none of them harbored any hatred or resentment for him, especially after the speech he gave.

This was all because they were born into a generation that didn't have the misfortune of seeing Red Scale kill millions of their fellow countrymen, or the knowledge that their family members had been slaughtered by his generals. It was just a stroke of luck that he'd made these small bonds with people before shit hit the fan. If he was as hated as Bakugou was now, he would have been villainised on the spot by some people, and others would drift away, so it looked like making friends wasn't just a fantasy Izuku wanted to fulfill from his failures in the past, but also a vital key in making it through school.

---

"S-So Midoriya… What exactly do you have in mind for the name the public will know you by?" Midnight nervously asked him.

The whole class had been waiting for this one moment, and most of them had actually been looking forward to it more than revealing their own names…

He'd been slammed and belittled by the majority of the public, but the new generation were more open to his side of the story, and most of them were convinced, or at least put at ease by his speech after the final match in the festival. He'd been the one trending name across the world, and people could almost guarantee that everyone on the globe had heard at least a rumour about him.

He was almost the symbol of both fear...and hope, as he expressed his desire to stand up to his red counterpart and defend the world against the horrors that once befell it…

The class was behind him, seeing Izuku as someone that put others first, and a guy that would always defend the weak, like he did Uraraka. Now, most of the UA staff were considering offering their complete trust and investing in him as the future number one…

His name would be one that everyone would come to know, and one that would strike either fear, or joy in the hearts of the japanese people in the coming years. He could become the greatest pro hero to ever live, or a villain on par...or even surpassing the mighty Red Scale…

This would be a name heard everywhere, and a name that he would carry for the rest of his life… His entire legacy, be it good or bad, would be centred around both his power, and the name he chose…

Izuku stepped up to the small stand and smiled at Midnight before he looked at the class…

Thoughts were running through his mind like cars on a freeway, and he was wondering if his choice was correct…

He wanted to impress his brother and father, but wanted to be his own entity and not live in their shadow, and he wanted to dispel the fear people had of the name Red Scale…

Unfortunately, the last wish he had would have to be earned with actions, and not the choice of his name… The damage his quirk had done to his image was already terrible, but over time, the name he chose would negate that fact, if he played his cards right that is…

"Well...I've decided to make this name something that defines everything I fight for as a hero, and everything the public will come to see me as… I'm no monster in human skin, and not anything crazy like what the press has made up, and I'm not going to make empty promises. Just watch me be the greatest, and then remember my name, and let your heart swell with pride…"

Some people in the class were reminded of the speech he gave, and they then saw Midnight's deeply shocked expression when she looked at the whiteboard he'd drawn on…

Midoriya turned the white sheet around, and his eyes lowered as he saw everyone freeze…

The tablet read…

'Green Scale…'

---

He needed to thank the class for their support, but now wasn't the time, as tensions were high with everyone awaiting the destination of their internships…

But...there was one person that did deserve some form of thanks straight away…

Yaoyorozu was the main person that rallied the entire class to his side in the fight against the public opinion of him, and if not for her efforts, the reception he would have got from his peers could have been far worse than it actually was. He needed to at least show that her efforts were appreciated.

It was really the least he could do.

What could be an appropriate payback though? It was obvious that she liked him in some way, and even though he was deeply flattered and embarrassed by it, he chose to shut out any feelings he had to focus on the threats that were popping up around the world.

He could perhaps take her on a date when everything was settled down, but he recognised that she wanted to keep her feelings covert…

He'd have to respect her wishes for now.

"So which pro caught your eye?" he suddenly asked the girl next to him as they made it out to the street.

Momo was taken by surprise when asked about it, but she straightened up before anyone got the wrong idea. "Do you know a hero named Uwabami?"

"The snake hero that's into modeling n hair commercials?"

"That's the one."

He shot her a strange look. "I didn't take you for a fashion tycoon Yaoyorozu… Is there something I'm not seeing here?"

His teasing voice made her slightly embarrassed. "N-Not so that I can model for yo- I mean her. I'm just trying to get experience on the field with a pro that's good at tracking."

"And what would you need tracking for, hmm?"

"B-Because we could be chasing a villain and it escapes our vision! Anyway, why are you asking?"

Izuku's eyes tilted to the left. "No reason…"

The girl's face was almost in the form of a question mark with doubt at his obvious lie, but she didn't bother trying to understand someone like Midoriya. "Then what about you? Which hero are you interning with?"

He ignored the stares he was getting from the people around them as they both walked out onto the sunny streets of Hosu. "No one at the moment… I was planning on interning with Endeavor if he'd have me, but the two of us aren't the best of friends right now…" the reply came flat and without any humor, showing a little glimpse of Izuku's true feelings on the matter. "I don't really think I'm ready for an internship right now, mentally I mean. I have a lot to figure out at home, and things to get ready…"

Yaoyorozu looked to him, concerned as she felt him leave her side. "Is it your father?"

He nodded, but continued to walk like it didn't bother him. "Both my dad and half-brother are coming back home to protect me from any sort of harm, though things have been going on under my nose that I'm not too fond of…"

He remembered his conversation with Andre, and how he was knocked unconscious. There was certainly something bigger than himself at play, seemingly so important that even someone as devout as Regulus Nemea would risk his neck to keep it a secret...and that is what bothered him…

Surely his brother wouldn't let that go, since he'd always been hauntingly overprotective and possessive, so it made Izuku wonder why Andre risked so much for those school documents… He didn't doubt that his father and brother had his best interests at heart, but he was still worried about the nature of the crime their agent committed.

"You don't think they're a danger to you?"

"No way… I might only have known them briefly, but I know true love and affection when I see it. I was only 5 when they left, but memories so impactful tend to stick with you, whether you want them to or not..." he snuck a quick suggestive glance at her as he said that. "It's just that recent events have been making me doubt the legitimacy of my father's moral code…"

Midoriya had a dubious look in his eye. "Now that people know about me, they will surely be after my head, or worse...my loyalty…" he was directly referring to All For One, since he'd been tipped off by the unknown message sender. "I don't want to be mixing any of you into my problems…"

"Well you are a part of Class 1-A, are you not? We'll protect you from whatever comes your way." She smiled at him slightly, not knowing if she should be so obvious.

"I'm sorry, but it isn't so simple as to fall back on the power of friendship or some other force of nature that shields the weak. The people out to get me are way stronger than any of us, and even with this fire I showed off, I'd be easy pickings for them."

Her face grew more worried with his reply. "You aren't planning to just…let them capture you...are you Midoriya?"

She didn't want him risking his life or his dream for his own ego. She wanted to prevent anything bad happening to him for both moral and selfish reasons, but the main force driving her was her dependence on him. They'd spoken through text, and although she was disappointed that they didn't converse in deeply flirtatious language, she got some advice from him…

He told her that she needed to rely on herself, because he wouldn't always be around to protect her. She didn't like the foreboding feel of his advice, but she knew that it was right. She had become far weaker than before the sports festival, because even though Izuku had lifted her back onto her feet, she was still reeling from having her ego shot into pieces and her confidence shattered. She now doubted every action she took, and only Izuku could reassure her that she was actually good enough to compete with the rest of her class.

His intention was to make her stand on her own, and not need him babying her all the time...

Again, she wished for something more between them, but she still didn't want to lose her mentor...

Suddenly and without warning, his hand came over the top of her head and rested on the back, gently lying on her pitch black hair. "M-Midoriya?"

"I never said I was gonna go be a martyr or anything stupid like that." They stopped in the middle of the street and Izuku didn't seem to care about the way the two of them looked. "I have a brother and father flying in from the other side of the world, and I have all of you here at UA, so why would I offer myself up to these people when I have so much to lose?"

She couldn't stop her eyes from closing as he stroked her hair gently. Was this what they called compatibility, or was she just that far gone? Just being around him now made her act like she was in a dream, and she didn't like how she always let her guard down around him, even if they were close... "Then why come to Hosu if you aren't looking for work?"

Momo wanted to reach out and hold his hand, or wrap her arms around him, but she wasn't sure if this was a genuine gesture of affection, or just him trying to get his point across. Even worse; she was still going through an embarrassing phase where she couldn't work up the courage to be assertive. She wasn't dense by any means, but she couldn't find anything about him that suggested he had the same feelings she did...

Midoriya looked up to the towering skyscrapers with a piercing gaze, his eyes roaming and trying to find something in particular. "I came because I wanted to find out more about this Hero Killer, the one that crippled Iida's brother."

Some people around them froze at the name...

"Stain!?" she realised instantly; the warm and relaxed atmosphere gone all of a sudden. "Don't you know he's ranked as an S class villain, one of the only in Japan!?"

"Sure I do, and I know that he's killed many pros, both fodder and elites. He's pretty dangerous even when you put him on the world scale, at least with what I've heard about him."

"Then why are you going to find him!? You could die!" she shouted in distress.

His expression turned serious. "Because of Iida."

Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"He's been acting suspicious recently; not turning up to class, leaving abruptly during lessons, being standoffish even to teachers and now acting aggressive to people that aren't close to him…"

"Is it because of his brother?" she asked nervously.

"That's probably the reason. Most people just thought it was his way of grieving, but I think I saw something in his eyes, and I'm not a fan… I have those same eyes myself… The eyes of a killer..." Midoriya said as he specifically targeted the alleyways in his glance around the street. He'd heard that the Hero Killer lured victims into unseen places and picked them off without any onlookers present. "He's probably enraged about his brother. If Akira was crippled, I'd hunt down whoever was responsible and probably wouldn't worry about a power gap, so I can see where he's coming from, but he's an idiot if he thinks he can beat an S rank while in his 1st year."

Momo glanced around, feeling a sense of claustrophobia creeping in.

"I may be pretty straight forward when it comes to picking opponents, but even I don't feel completely confident fighting an S class villain, especially when they're a nutjob like Stain. That hand guy, Tomura Shigaraki was more incompetent than anyone I've seen before, and yet he's an S rank in terms of danger to the public so you'd believe I shouldn't be so worried, but I fought that Nomu in the USJ and only survived thanks to my fire managing to sear through the muscle fibres of its arms, making the thing unable to attack with its most dangerous weapons and having it reel back in pain, and honestly, if it hit me just once more after that final slam, I would have died instantly. That thing is somehow classed at A rank because of its lack of intelligence, but it is definitely in the S class when it comes to pure power, and I was far weaker than it, so trust me when I say that Iida won't stand a chance…"

His eyes then drifted over to the crowd that was passing by. "Stain is ranked at S for his dangerous ambition and the number of pro's he's sent to the grave, so we know next to nothing about his fighting capability, though if he was able to murder so many pros, I can assume he at least has either a strong quirk or extremely good instincts."

"T-Then...if he's that strong...what are you planning to do?"

Izuku's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought.

He looked at Yaoyorozu and saw her clear concern…

This was an opponent he could really be injured by, or even killed by…

If he was to die, what impact would that have on the world around him?

What would his mother think, or do? What reaction would his father, or even worse, his brother have?

Would Red Scale take this as an opening to attack the world again?

How would the girl in front of him react?

His eyes seemed to soften as he stared at Yaoyorozu's worried face, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Something about her made him feel better, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was completely unknown to him...

'No, it would be cruel to her, to see me meet such a boring end…' He thought. 'She deserves better…'

"Since I'm unsure on the strength of this villain, I will be making my way over to the hospital to get some facts on how he fights, or what his quirk is. If I'm gonna go protect my friend, I'm going to go in prepared and ready for anything. Villains are sly and cheating little vermin, so you have to make sure to expect every little marble in their bag of tricks…"

Momo shuddered slightly from his analysis, remembering what her father told her about the Midoriya family, and how careful they were… Her family was also in the quirk business, so they were extremely familiar with Izuku's father, with her own dad being an admirer of him. "So why are you going to the Hosu hospital? Are there any more inspectors looking for clues from the doctors?"

"There may be, but I don't care for anything like that at the moment. You're gonna be with Uwabami later today, so I won't be able to cover more ground with you as a partner, and I don't have much time at all. Knowing Iida, he would be able to cover the entirety of Hosu within a day or two if he really tried, so he would likely find Stain tomorrow, or even today… If I'm too late in tracking either of them down, it could result in the death of my friend, and our class president."

He was right…

"But why the hospital? Shouldn't you go to the police for records on him?"

"Yaoyorozu; if they had records and data on him, they would be trying to bring him in at any cost, sending the best heroes in the nation after him, but they don't, so the most I can get is some things about his nature and his victims...if they even grant me access to that information...which is pretty unlikely…"

He then opened up his phone and showed her the news feed on Ingenium's attack.

"What am I supposed to be looking at Midoriya?"

"What could give me the best possible information on the hero killer, with a full report on how the attack went down, what his fighting style was, what his quirk is, how he acts, whether there are any loopholes in his technique I can abuse or if he has any weakness or trauma I can cash in on." he smiled at her. "Who in this city, or in that hospital, would have all that information?"

Her eyes widened…

"I'm gonna go pay a visit to Ingenium and find out what really happened that day…"

---

It was the middle of the day, and the blazing sun was burning Bakugou's skin as he stood outside a huge building located in the outskirts of Hosu, seemingly hidden from the entire city… He'd been given a small navigation device that came with the letter, but even with that level of help, he barely even found what was essentially a military base in the backyard of one of Japan's biggest cities…

How this place had been kept a secret was beyond him, and for some strange reason, he'd forgotten the way back to the streets. He was in what looked like a deep and lush forest, but that didn't make sense when you considered that Hosu was and still is an extremely urban area. And also; if this was really some kind of forest, wouldn't there be a decent amount of wildlife roaming around?

There was nothing here…

Not a single sound in this ghostly wood…

Even the birds in the city didn't happen to pass by here, and there were no footprints or even anything suggesting that someone had been here before…

It was making Katsuki nervous…

In truth, he'd only come here because he felt pity for Deku's mom and how she'd been dealt with in life. He knew that it probably wasn't because of him, but he remembered the days where he and Deku would run around all day, pretending to be heroes and villains, having imaginary battles on riversides and chatting about All Might for hours on end…

Back then, nothing else mattered to him. No one else in school was even relevant when he was with Deku, and it didn't matter what anyone thought about him hanging with an introverted and lonely kid. He didn't like to reminisce, but he really did cherish those memories he had. Back then, before their quirks were revealed, they were the best of friends…

You could even say that Izuku was his brother…

But it all came crashing down around him when Izuku was found quirkless…

He was enraged that his only friend would never be able to fulfill his dreams and be a hero alongside him, and as he remembered that Izuku was far superior to him both physically and mentally, he began to use his quirk as a tool to control and abuse Izuku… First, it was just belittling him, but after giving him that stupid and mocking nickname, it turned physical, and that was where he thought Izuku truly drifted off…

Even recently when Izuku developed the scale quirk, Bakugou felt lied to because his friend had hid this power for so long. Katsuki had cried over him, and now that it was revealed that he actually had a future, it made the blonde's blood boil even more...

Now, he could see it in his eyes…

That hatred he had for him…

That deep rage, like he just wanted to murder him…

It honestly scared Bakugou, even when he was convinced that Izuku was quirkless…

Some part of him now wanted that old life back, when they were so blissfully ignorant of the world around them, and about how much a powerful quirk can change someone…

He wasn't feeling guilty about it...but it was something else…

Was it sadness, or maybe even a selfish desire for happiness?

"Izuku…" he sighed to himself as he looked up to the clouds, hating the feeling that was leaking into him…

He still hated the idea of him being weaker than Deku, but now, thanks to what his parents had told him, he was considering taking a look at himself and seeing if his hardships truly weighed up to that of his old friend… Maybe this friend of Inko's could help him with that...

The trees around him were tall...thicker than most he'd seen, but they all shared the same scars. All of them had been shattered and slashed down to the last piece of bark by what Katsuki recognised as the claws of a beast. Just one claw from the beast's hand must have been the same width as his arm to cut that deep, and Katsuki noticed that all of the trees at least had some kind of damage dealt to them…

Was this beast the reason that all the animals were gone, or why none had dared come here?

If he was anywhere else in the world, he could have recognised them as the remnants of a battle featuring Regulus Nemea; a hero that even he didn't see himself matching. That crazed bastard would run around America with this unstable grin while hunting down villains by the thousands. He'd resolved hundreds of thousands of incidents, and yet he was seen as a villain more than as a hero because of the almost psychotic way he toyed with his opponents before gruesomely defeating them…

But someone like that couldn't be here...

He was called Akira Midoriya's bloodhound for a reason...

Looking at the building, he saw two doors, around 3 meters high and coated in some kind of black and white steel. Patterns depicting a lone swordsman fighting an army decorated the doors, and Bakugou took it as a clue to who it was inside the building…

The man was black of hair with maroon strands appearing through his locks, and he was fitted with a mysterious red and black jacket, carrying a long crimson katana…

No… That wasn't the hero behind those doors…

It couldn't be...

He was about to give it a knock, but then, he jumped back out of pure instinct as the two huge slabs of iron slowly turned away from him, revealing the inside of the room…

He tried to use his eyes to see through, but all he was met with was darkness…

The room inside was huge with seemingly no end to it, and Bakugou thought that it was dangerous to proceed without caution, but he remembered that looking weak in front of the guy or girl about to train him was a serious mistake that could make his growth slow and the respect his superior had for him decrease.

Katsuki had already caught on that Deku was trying to make connections, mainly to compensate for the fear his quirk inspired, and the blonde knew that his old friend was far smarter than he was, so he decided to try the same. He didn't want the respect of anyone, but he kinda needed it after what he did in the sports festival, and making this pro impressed could lead to future opportunities that other students don't have access to.

If this pro thought he was scared of the dark, all promise of this meeting would be gone, and he would look like a fool.

'I won't lose to the nerd again…' He said mentally as he took his first steps inside.

Again...darkness…

He couldn't see much past where he was walking, and even though the lights were slowly glowing brighter, everything was foggy for him. The floor of this building was plain ice white, and as the brightness of the room built up, he could see what looked like a huge collection of black pillars lined up in different places, all with different heights and mass.

Was he meant to use them to see where the hero was?

Perhaps this was Edgeshot and he'd moved his agency to this remote place, or was it Ryukyu because of the claw marks on the trees? He couldn't think of a pro that would have this kind of room…

But then...he realised that this was the only floor of the building that looked more like a fancy warehouse from outside…

Every agency would have at least more than one floor, or places to sleep and work, but from what he could see, it was all just a training room…

Was he in the right place?

*Hissssssssssssssssssssssss*

His head turned as he saw the two heavy doors slowly close behind him, and even with his explosions, he wouldn't have been able to make it out. Katsuki was at the exact distance to allow the doors to close without him escaping...so were these doors automatic, or triggered...manually…

He began to sweat nervously as he looked around again.

'The hell is going on here?'

But then, the lights suddenly glared at full intensity, making Bakugou flinch back and cover his eyes, and as he looked around the immaculate floor and up at the ceiling, he noticed something that really unnerved him…

This place had only one floor…

The roof was curved like some kind of dome…

The floor had various traps and apparatus scattered around it…

And the biggest thing that alarmed him was that the room itself was shaped like a circle…

Around the sides of the room were steel barriers made from the same unknown steel as the doors, and with the same black and white colouring…

Almost as if he was in a fighting ring...

Up above him, the lights shone down like huge spotlights in a sports stadium, and the entire room was now visible…

"This isn't an agency… It's a battle arena…"

Then, he heard another hiss from the other end of the building as more doors opened, this time far away…

He squinted to see what was coming out, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of the person, he fell to his knees…

"M-My legs…"

A man stepped out from the darkness with an aura Bakugou hadn't felt since…

The USJ…

He wore a tight fit hero costume coloured in gold and grey, and he had a yellow cape behind him that blew to the side. His whole body was fitted with thin and almost weightless armour that shone in the light, like a very fresh alloy, and the metal boots made clangs on the white floor as he came closer…

Bakugou strained himself and forced his head to stay level as he gazed at the man's face, and he almost felt his body shut down from the shock…

He could recognise that golden hair anywhere…

"Y-You're!-"

He didn't have a second to spare!

Bakugou quickly lifted up his arm and the fires of his explosion were bubbling in his palm, but before he could let loose his power, something akin to lightning came right in front of his eyes and he felt a strong grip on his arm.

He looked up to see the hero glaring at him, a boot right above his head.

"N-" The boot cut Bakugou off as it impacted his forehead and stomped him down onto the steel floor, making his eyes widen in pain.

Normally, in a villain attack, Bakugou would be done for, as he was sunk to his knees and his back was bent, not giving him much room to defend, but the hero backed off as soon as he attacked.

Katsuki groggily got up, and when he regained his posture, the hero vanished again before he could even process what was happening. 'How can someone be this fast!?'

He then fell down on one knee and shakily looked down to where he'd been struck, feeling the blood ooze from the tiny cut on his calf.

He couldn't even see him…

Who knew how many times he'd been cut…

It reminded him of that time...but his memory was too foggy to remember the ordeal completely…

It reminded him of Prism...

Bakugou normally knew how to deal with enemies faster than him, and that was with AOE, but when he faced Izuku, he realised that people with both speed and skill would be able to avoid such things…

He had to give it a try-

The hero's leg suddenly invaded his field of vision and crashed into Bakugou's nose; shattering it and sending him hurtling into the ground where he would remain for the remainder of the fight…

The explosion user couldn't even believe how easily he was being thrown around, and not even his thoughts were faster than this hero… Fear was slowly eating away at him, and Bakugou then looked up to see the silhouette of the man looming over him from up above; his fist pulled back and his back straightened…

The hero descended like a bolt of thunder, and Bakugou closed his eyes, like he was accepting death…

"Weak…"

And then, Katsuki's eyes shot back open.

"So utterly pathetic…"

He looked to see the hero's fist just inches away from his right eye, and his golden eyes were almost pulsing with lightning as he glared daggers at the blonde. Bakugou was lying on the floor with nothing to defend himself with, and even though he could use his explosions and fire them upwards like when he was fighting Deku, he somehow knew that this hero wouldn't fall victim to that tactic…

The hero got up off the ground and withdrew his fist; rummaging around in the black belt of his costume until he took out a small pink vial.

"W-What are you-"

"Quiet…" the western man said with a Japanese accent as he slapped the blonde across the face, making his cheek sting like it had been burned.

Now, with all the time in the world to marvel, Bakugou knew that this was someone that shouldn't have ever set foot in Japan…

Volt Break...

But why?

Why was he here!?

Minoru gave the kid a look of loathing as he pulled him up. "Sit…"

Bakugou was still in shock...

"Where-"

"Sit…" he almost hissed like a snake.

Bakugou looked behind him and couldn't find a chair, but to his dismay, he couldn't possibly question the person in front of him… He gritted his teeth and sat down on the floor…

"On your knees, mongrel. That's not how you address someone far greater than you…"

"You-"

The golden eyes of the hero blazed as he heard Bakugou about to object, as if he was encouraging him to say what he wanted and pay the price for it...

Bakugou saw nothing but cruelty in the eyes of this so called Hero and knew that he would definitely be punished if he disobeyed anything… He repositioned himself while his scowl became even more pronounced…

Then, he saw the hand of the hero reach out. "Here…"

He passed him the pink vial…

"What is it?" he glared at the potion.

"Drink…or do you want me to cripple you and take away the only cure?"

The blonde kid flinched at the threat…

Was this some sort of healing potion?

No, that was absurd… This was earth, not some fantasy. He wasn't in a game where you get strong and have unlimited lives. How could he trust-

"If you still don't have the stones for it, how about I tell you that it's harvested from Purity's quirk?"

His eyes widened. "That isn't possible."

"When you work for the CEO, the word possible isn't in your vocabulary…"

He strongly doubted it, but if that was indeed true...then…

Incredible…

Bakugou was debating whether or not to drink it, thinking it was poison, but he could almost feel the glare from the hero, so he downed the whole thing…

It tasted...of nothing…

But then, his body began to feel lighter, like all the stress was taken off him, and as Bakugou looked down to inspect what was going on, he felt something akin to a cold breeze hit his skin, and his red pupils shook as he watched his own wounds slowly close like they were being rewound…

"Don't expect anything crazy like Carla's ability to make you the best version of yourself. This is just the basics of her quirk and has none of the improvements she has acquired over the course of her life. You just drank the effects of her base power, which just made your body revert back to the last time you were unharmed, which was around 2 and a half minutes ago." Hoshino calmly explained, but the ice was still present in his voice.

Bakugou looked around, distressed. He still couldn't believe that this was Volt Break standing before him…

Hoshino's eyes suddenly changed from judging to completely devoid of any emotion other than one, and his long slender fingers were slowly moving in a flowing motion, like a restless river. 'Yes, that bitch won't be in the city for long. I must wrap up this talk and gut her before she returns to her nest…'

"And now that you know this...it would probably be best to brace yourself…"

That caught the student's attention. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Those vials are quite sought after in the world, and we make a fortune by secretly selling them through various trade routes, but I only have about 3 with me, so I can't enjoy myself as much as I'd want to…" Hoshino slowly walked forward as Bakugou backed off slightly. "We have little use for a loose cannon like yourself, but you do happen to hold some significance to Izuku, and that's the only reason we're keeping you alive. You're gonna be the insurance our boss needs to make sure his plan succeeds when the rest of my comrades come over to Asia in mere months. Our chances of failure are around 3%, but none of us would dare take the chance to fail…"

Bakugou froze as he felt something dark in the air…

What was this feeling…

This bloodlust…

Minoru grinned hauntingly at the boy as his arms and legs began to be surrounded by golden waves of electricity, and Bakugou could see the yellow hue around the hero now. He was really about to go on the offensive…

"I understand that you are looking to prove yourself to the boy you call Deku, and you want to do that by fighting strong opponents. You are arrogant and deluded in your pursuit of power, and I loathe you for daring to consider yourself his friend, but there is a single positive about you that I can take comfort in…"

A dark shadow obscured the features of his face as his eyes erupted with electricity, and Bakugou fell down to his hands and knees from the shockwave of his power. "You are foolishly rushing to every enemy and defeating them with a violent display of strength, and that allows me to exploit you…"

The explosion user felt the same fear he did when he faced Prism, and he felt that same crushing helplessness that came with fighting someone out of every league ever established… "S-Stay away you bastard!"

Hoshino then got into a stance, letting one arm hang loose in a blade like shape as lightning coiled around it, making an invisible sword of thunder… "Believe me when I say that I relate to you wanting to be like a certain hero and copy them in every way. Forgive me for forcing you into conflict, but…

"You wouldn't mind if we had a one-on-one fight, would you?"

---

(Hosu Hospital)

"W-Why the hell are you-"

"I'm here to see Ingenium on behalf of Tenya Iida, my class president." Izuku spoke with a smile as he walked. The short doctor was trying to stop him at all costs, but there was really nothing he could do against someone like him. "Please let me pass sir. I won't cause any trouble for your staff."

"We can't l-let anyone in to see him!"

"Yeah? And why's that then?" he challenged.

"W-Well…"

His eyes narrowed as he neared the metal doors. "My quirk right? You think I'm just gonna kill him because I have this shitty dragon attribute?"

The doctor was quirkless, but even he could sense some type of deathly air around the youth as he mentioned his power. "P-Please don't misunderstand kid! We are just concerned for that man's safety and we would act this way to all other visitors!"

"I'm sorry doctor, but I have to see him…" Izuku put power into his foot and quickly pushed himself away from the place he was in and appeared right at the door, pushing it open gently and using his enhanced vision to look around.

He saw people gathered around the bed, all with the dark navy hair he recognised from his friend, so it was easy to tell that this was Ingenium's family…

They all caught sight of him as he entered the room and seemed to flinch from looking at him…

'That's right… Some of them were probably present that night…' He let his head fall and bowed to the family of heroes.

They all had worried looks on their faces, but that worry was overshadowed by the grief they felt for their greatest pride falling to a villain. He could relate to their pain, but it would be selfish of him to voice his own hardships.

He was here for one reason, and one reason alone. That reason was to help a friend out and stop a villain that could perhaps cut his life short…

The tall inspector recognised him instantly and his eyes widened in fear. "Y-You…"

"Relax sir… I'm here to see Ingenium, and I need some details about the attack." Izuku replied swiftly, brushing past the concerned official.

He spotted an old woman that was aged at about 50. She was the most saddened about what had happened, to the point that she refused to look at him; instead choosing to keep her eyes fixed on her wounded son. "Excuse me miss…" He respectfully got her attention and the woman looked up with worried eyes.

"Y-You're my son's classmate… He spoke so highly of you…"

Midoriya's eyes softened slightly, but he reminded himself not to get sidetracked. "I know this is wrong of me, but I need to know what happened in the dawn of the sports festival, and what exactly Ingenium faced in that street. He's a strong hero, for sure, but it bothers me that there's a villain in this city that was able to take him out, because I have yet to sense its power…"

The mother was surprised at the question and quickly looked to her husband who was equally as shocked.

"We don't know that much about it really… We were only able to get so little out of Tensei before he remembered the villain's face and went unconscious… It must have been so traumatic for our poor child…" she sobbed.

'Stain did that? Just his face could make Ingenium lose his consciousness? That doesn't seem in the realms of an S rank like him…' His face hardened as he showed his doubt of the claim. "Are you sure there wasn't anyone assisting this villain? Was he perhaps helped, or was it someone even stronger that framed it on the Hero Killer?"

The doctor finally made it back into the room and scowled at Izuku. "No… It's bad enough that we have all these burned and half dead patents. We can't have you running around and mongering fear, dragon…"

…

Izuku paused and looked to the doctor from over his shoulder, not wanting to waste any time and alarm the grieving group. His eyes turned to slits as he stared down the medical professional. "My apologies..but...could you perhaps repeat those words again, Doctor?"

The man felt like he just looked death in the eye. 'M-Monster… He's a demon!'

"That's enough Mr Haruno…" a mellow yet damaged voice choked out from the other side of the room as Izuku calmed down.

The green haired boy looked to the hospital bed and smiled as he saw Ingenium cough and stabilize himself.

Tensei suddenly rose from the bed, watching his mother's eyes widen in hope as he stretched himself.

"Y-Your injuries Sir!" the doctor almost leaped towards the hero, but the man just simply waved him off.

"Don't sweat it doc. I'm not in too much pain n-"

Then, he met the eyes of the boy he couldn't stop hearing about…

"Please don't get involved with this kid! He's probably trying to pick you off!"

'So that's Izuku Midoriya...or...Green Scale now…'

As the rumours stated...he was in a league of his own when it came to his power… Even as a teen, he was already debated to be stronger than almost all the pros in Japan, and now with that fire of his, people are even suggesting he just skip to the 3rd grade to face real competition…

That black and green hue around him was really pressing down on Ingenium, and it reminded him of his attacker…

And he knew exactly why…

"Please, don't get the wrong idea! I'm not here for a vendetta or anything! I just need to know about what happ-"

"My attacker?"

"If you could…"

The two of them smiled, but Izuku didn't have time for small talk, and Tensei recognised that… The former pro's face then shifted into a deeply concerned one… "You didn't bring anyone with you, right? And no one is sharing your goal for more information?"

Instantly, Izuku recognised the fear in his voice… 'He's probably just worried about Iida. I shouldn't overthink right now…' he thought as his gaze hardened. "I came alone sir, and I'm the only one actively trying to uncover the attacker's identity in my class."

"Good, good… That's a relief…" a heavy sigh came from Tensei as most of his worries were put to rest. "If I could do anything in this pathetic state, I would at least like to stop others from pursuing such a villain. I don't want their blood on my hands…"

"Then why reveal this information to me?"

The hero's eyes narrowed. "Because you're a Midoriya…"

Izuku flinched.

"You guys over in America are called the apex of the human race; a breed of man that towers over all others… You're all geniuses, masters of combat and have more power than anyone else in the world. The elite of the elite… If anyone was going to handle something like this, I would like it to be someone as competent as you Izuku."

"And you trust me, given the history of my father and Japan?"

"Not at all. I feel like I'm on death's door by just being in the same room as you." He chuckled lightly. "The trust between the Midoriya family and the Japanese heroes is a thread that had been severed years ago, and it would take something even your father would struggle with to regain that faith, but you seem different…"

"In what way?"

...

"You don't have that monstrous look in your eyes...yet…"

A vein popped on Izuku's forehead. "Excuse me?"

Tensei saw that glare and knew he'd crossed some sort of line, probably by insulting his father too much. He was alarmed by the reaction, but he could certainly understand it. "I'm sorry. After your speech, you seemed to have an innocence about you, and I liked that. Bear in mind that I was only able to see little fragments of the footage, but it surprised me."

"You're calling me naive?"

"Oh no, not at all… I was just saying that you seem more trustworthy."

Izuku put his head down, refusing to be angered by any more talk about his family.

"Well, we should get back on track, right?"

"right, so where exactly did this attack take place?"

"You didn't know? It's all over the news."

"Could have happened somewhere else. The villain may have had the foresight of dragging you somewhere that wouldn't lead back to their hideout, or whatever thing they are using to keep safe. The heroes used to dominate society and the law, but now the police are catching up to them and making sure to be just as useful, so being careless about how you attack someone in today's world could mean that you get caught easily. With Japan's lineup of cops, it seems like you just make one mistake and they're on your ass..."

Tensei blinked, being impressed by the child. "I guess I should stop treating you like a kid. Tenya always complains about it, so it wouldn't be fair if I gave him special treatment. But no, I was definitely attacked in that alley, even though your suggestion was good."

"The Hero Killer normally attacks from the shadows, so I shouldn't be too surprised…" Izuku took out an unused hero diary from his backpack and scribbled down some notes.

…

"It wasn't the Hero Killer, Midoriya…"

…

The pen abruptly stopped moving…

"You're telling me that there is another villain in this place capable of beating you?"

Tensei scowled to himself, glaring down at the bed he was lying on. "You won't breathe a word of this to anyone, will you?" he asked as his voice was overtaken by that same fear Izuku sensed in the beginning.

"You have my word Iida." the boy bowed his head respectfully.

'Yeah, I guess I can trust him…' Tensei thought. 'Tenya is a great judge of character, so when he was singing his praises, I shouldn't have been so sceptical…'

Ingenium stared Izuku straight in the eyes. "It was in the early hours of the morning when I was patrolling the city with my squad. We were looking for a hostage in one of the shady Hosu streets, and even though I'm no good with detecting this 'aura' thing that everyone is talking about now with you and Prism, I could feel someone strong nearby. Their presence was hammering down my senses, beating away any positive emotions I had previously. The whole air filled me with fear…"

Izuku listened carefully while trying to draw comparisons with any other villain he knew besides Stain…

"Then, when I got close enough, I saw her…"

A female… A female villain capable of defeating Ingenium…

"There were countless corpses that seemed half-eaten and some were even skeletons, all belonging to humans."

"And specific gender or race?"

"No, she didn't discriminate. It was just pure gluttony…"

'So she's a cannibal… How interesting…' Izuku thought with a grimace.

"I decided to call for reinforcements, because even with my lacklustre sensing skills, I was able to pick up the power gap between us, and it was far too great, but even then, they wouldn't have mattered. The power I picked up on was only the amount she let me see, and when we actually fought for real, she almost killed me from just the exposure of her aura…"

"That strong huh…"

"Yeah, it's hard to believe, but it's true." Tensei sighed shakily. "It wasn't even a battle, just a beat down… She had some sort of purple liquid flowing from her body, but she didn't even need that to beat me. The power of her punches, the precise nature of her kicks and how she was able to read my every move was what terrified me."

Izuku's concern grew. "Then why do you have slash marks on your abdomen and face? They are quite hard to miss."

"She used her nails with the grace of a dancer and cut me down with them. She did have weapons that I could see; two double barreled pistols she kept on her waist, but she didn't need them…"

"Because her objective was to keep you alive and inflict as much damage as possible…"

"That's right…" the hero shamefully turned his head. "Please don't try and fight her. She's stronger than anyone in this city, for sure… Just alert the heroes of the city and get anyone you know out of Hosu."

"Count on it…" Midoriya nodded stiffly as he turned to walk out of the room. "I'll make sure to send Iida right back to your side as well, hero…"

…

Tensei's eyes widened greatly…

Tenya was in Hosu?

"M-Midoriya…"

Izuku turned around.

"Where is my brother! Where is Tenya!"

The boy's expression darkened. "That's why I'm here…"

…

Tensei looked like his world had been shattered… "H-He's going to die… She… That monster is going to devour him…"

---

(Kamino Ward)

It was sunset in Yokohama, and the calm and pleasant air of the city was slowly turning sinister as the hidden evil of the area began to rise. With the setting of the sun, people knew that villains would be more active, and it sparked fear in their hearts, though that fear was numbed by the presence of All Might, the great symbol of peace…

However, it wasn't always like that…

Before Toshinori Yagi became the beacon of hope everyone clung to, a different symbol ruled Japan with an iron fist…

All For One was a shadow cast on the nation for over a century and was known and feared as the strongest villain in the east since Rakuya Yamazaki suddenly went missing 50 years ago… His influence was spread across the land and there wasn't a single street that wasn't viewed by his followers… The people lived in fear of this masked menace, and not one hero could dare oppose him…

The possessors of One For All were the only ones with the courage and power to stand against him, and yet they were beaten back into the dirt by his overwhelming power and cruelty. The last possessor of the heroic quirk was Nana Shimura; the former number 1 hero of Japan who was peerless in her rise to stardom, and she was annihilated by All For One in a huge explosion of black lightning when the villain was at the height of his power…

This dark age of villains only ended with the rise of All Might, who managed to fight the dark overlord to a standstill 5 years ago and spring the world into a temporary age of light and peace, and the scars of All For One's reign were still felt today…

"Master… I'm afraid that she has come…" Ujiko scowled to his computer as the mastermind of the league sat comfortably in his chair.

"Daruma… How is the serum coming along? It won't be long until the heroes find our little shelter…" All For One grinned as he looked out from the window in the room.

The doctor began to sweat as he felt the power of the woman outside increase from annoyance. "I-Is it really the time to be discussing this? That woman will kill me if we keep her too long!"

"Don't be so pathetic. I'm just enquiring about my future… The age of heroes is soon going to crumble, to the dismay of the public, and will be replaced by the age of empires, like olden times before quirks existed. That fool outside is one of the factors that will twist this society to fit her master's needs, and I am also one of those factors…"

Ujiko's eyes narrowed in stress. "What exactly are you talking about Shigaraki…"

(A/N: Shigaraki is All For One's family name)

"I will need to be stronger in the future… I need the same level of strength I had back when I was struck down by All Might in my prime state… That serum will be the key to my rebirth…"

The doctor knew little of the master's plan; only that he was in close contact with Red Scale himself, but it was obviously something that would damage his nemesis All Might in ways he could only imagine. His master's power was already the greatest in Japan since All Might's strength had declined along with his own, but now he wanted more? What exactly for?

Suddenly, All For One smiled darkly as the small door of the room was melted into nothingness by a purple liquid.

"It seems that she has arrived…"

Ujiko's heart was in his mouth as he saw the woman walk in, never thinking that he'd ever see her face again…

She was dressed casually, but underneath her clothes you could easily see a small leather layer of armour on her, like the rest of her group. She had a bland purple cap on her head; highlighting her dark purple hair that flowed down to her waist. Her arms were tattooed heavily in a punk rock style and her attire was mainly black and violet, ignoring her scarlet eyes that looked like droplets of blood…

She was beautiful beyond words and hadn't seemed to have aged at all in the years since they'd last met… Born from Europe and bred to be the perfect killing machine, she looked like a man's worst nightmare

Even though she was supposed to be around the age of 50, she looked to be in her early 20's…

"Are you messing with me, Shigaraki?" the girl instantly glared at the eyeless face of the evil villain.

"First Rakuya, and now you? I must be blessed…" he smirked devilishly as the woman's eyes erupted in a red light.

She grabbed the fabric of his suit and pulled his muscular body up to her face and scowled, getting progressively more annoyed at the fact that her power wasn't phasing him. "I see that the rumours are true… Only my master can make you shudder…" A scowl spawned on her face. "I should warn you though… I'm not as lax as that angelic little failure and I won't take shit from a has-been like you…"

All For One smiled arrogantly. "I believe I have been quite active since my loss, while all of you are only just poking your heads out of the sand…"

The female villain suddenly unclipped one of the pistols she had around her waist and it took less than a second to point it straight at Shigaraki's skull. "Say another slanderous line like that again and I will send your brain onto these walls behind us…"

"Oh? But what would your dear old leader think?"

She froze and her arm faltered slightly.

"If you even touch me, I'm sure he himself would get involved with your punishment, and you would definitely have it worse than poor little Prism~"

She leered at him with her dark red eyes. "Shut your mouth...vile weakling…"

While this was going on, Ujiko had received mail on his pc from his master and opened it…

{Release them now…}

Ujiko stared back at All For One in shock, and the man confidently nodded back.

"The whole lot of you hide behind your beastly power and fail to realise that you are all just little children following a real man… You foolishly flaunt your strength in front of me, knowing how superior it is, and yet fail to put your vows before your pride…"

The girl glared at him hatefully, but stepped back with an inhuman growl. "Fine, I'll play along for now… Why have you called me here?"

The villain smiled at her victoriously. "The same reason why you have appeared in Hosu, Tanya…"

"You dare use that name…" her aura spiked rapidly, but she stopped it from enlarging when thinking about what she was sent here for.

"Relax girl… We are all allies for now. While I am under the wing of your leader, I am immune to any damage you cause, and should you do anything to me, you will surely die... "

…

"You are here for Izuku Midoriya, yes?"

Her eyes widened a tad. "How did-"

"It's obvious really… You are all slowly pushing that boy to the edge, little by little, all for something even I haven't been able to find out. Your master's goal is certainly something that he keeps close to his heart, and he's only slightly clued me into what that might be, but I'm confident that the young boy is the key to it all… You crippled the hero Ingenium to lead his brother, Izuku's classmate, to Stain, and since Izuku isn't as cold as the rest of us, he would probably follow… My question is: what do you intend to do with the boy known now as Green Scale?"

Tanya glowered at the vain man. 'This asshole is only acting cocky because he knows I can't kill him… The moment our pact is severed, I'll make him scream in agony…' Her eyes hadn't glanced away from his sockets for the entire conversation, and she was beginning to detest even looking at the former ruler of the criminal underworld… "Master is moving onto the next phase of our plan, which is directly getting involved with the boy's life."

…

"We are going to capture him alive…"

All For One's eyebrows rose slightly in amusement. "And you think it would be that easy? He's under the protection of UA and has two men that could perhaps rival you in strength as members of his family… Red Scale does seem overly ambitious…"

"Failure is impossible with our strength, scum… We may be small in numbers, but the four of us total the strength of the entire earth…"

"Hmph...are you saying that even those new and powerful American heroes working under young Izuku's half-brother are beneath you all as well? That's quite a stretch…"

"Those irrelevant band of clowns are of no threat to us… I could wipe them all out with a single violet wave…"

"I suppose we'll see…" the overlord smirked again, leaning back in his chair… "Once you do actually capture him, what will you do? I admit that I am quite invested in that child's wellbeing…" the mood changed slightly, and Tanya couldn't pick up a trace of sarcasm from that sentence.

She looked down at him, inspecting everything she could to see if he was worth trusting. "I'm afraid that information will stay with me… I'm not letting your grubby fingers dirty my master's crystal vision…"

"I demand you tell me, now…" the man rose from his chair, rolling up one of his sleeves menacingly.

Tanya's eyes enlarged with excitement. "Hoh? You think you can take me, old man?" She pressed the muzzle of her pistol on his stomach. "One inch closer and I'll implode you…"

Shigaraki chuckled… "So easily provoked…"

"Don't...toy with me, filthy mongrel…" Her voice became deeper as purple slime began to creep up her body…

"Very well…" the girl flinched slightly in shock, watching him back down with wide eyes. "I won't question you anymore about the matter, but know that I will have your head if you use any...unsightly methods...to alter him…"

"Is that a threat?" she challenged.

"Obviously, you fool… I'm not going to let him suffer more than he needs to…"

Tanya grinned. "And why is that? Has this child touched your heart?"

"Seeing as you won't disclose your secrets...neither will I…" the man dusted off his suit. "But don't worry, Tanya… I have some aid to give you…"

"I don't need your aid, weakling."

"Perhaps not, but you should note that one of those clowns you mentioned is in the city of Hosu as we speak, patrolling unofficially with none other than Katsuki Bakugou…"

Her pupils suddenly dilated in rage at the mention of the student. "Suppose I'll have to get blood on my hands again…"

"Well yes, if you intend on disobeying your master…" Shigaraki cackled in amusement.

The woman ignored him, choosing to stare through the window. 'Strange… I can't pick up any signs of that lightning bastard's power… is he really so weak, or can he hide it well?'

"I'll be sending a squad of weak Nomu soldiers with you Tanya, just to make sure that no one happens to spot you… Prism made the mistake of being seen by the UA staff and students, so I suggest you learn from his failures…"

"Talking like you own me…" she spat on the floor before his feet. "I don't need your laughable minions to cover me… I'll swoop in and grab Izuku before anyone even suspects anything…"

"If you could do that so easily...then why wait until now, and why set up such a plan anyway? You could have just taken him at the sports festival in front of millions by that logic…" All For One said offhandedly.

Tanya flinched once more. "Don't ask such questions, rat…"

"You're afraid of his fire, aren't you?"

No answer…

"Well, I'll take your silence as a sign of agreement. You'll move into Hosu again and capture the boy without being seen, and you will not use any physical force in your methods later, or else I shall personally get involved…" the scarred man moved over to his monitor, opening a shutter in the room and letting a collection of small and large Nomu spill out. "These weak puppets will suffice. I'm not giving you any High-End creations for this relatively easy task, and I'm not having my apprentice come with you, like you asked…"

"You scared he'll fail again, like the last time? That dumbass is the reason why our plan failed in the first place; making that bird bastard attack the young master like a fool…"

"Still bitter?"

"Fuck off, scarface…"

All For One sighed tiredly. "Once you complete your task, make sure to avoid Volt Break at all costs… A battle between the two of you will not only expose your existence to Japan, but it would destroy all of Hosu, and possibly damage our future lord…"

The female villain narrowed her eyes and was impressed to see no lies in his statement. "I'll trust you...for now…"

She turned her back on him and clipped her gun back on her belt, sparing a glance back at Ujiko before leaving… "Don't contact me again, lest you want to die…"

The woman then vanished in a burst of speed, cracking the concrete beneath her feet as she disappeared into the night…

---

"Hey…did you hear about the fire on the streets?"

"Yeah, what the hell caused that?"

"Guess just some villain messing around. Don't sweat it…"

"No, that can't be it. The blaze was way bigger than normal…"

"That dragon bast-"

"Shut the hell up you fucking idiot! He might be on this train!"

"It could have been him though. He could have used that nice speech as a cover to blow up a building…"

"The fire is orange guys. Stop blaming that kid ALL the time…"

Izuku scowled as he listened in on the passenger conversations being had on the train they were on. His senses allowed him to hear people from far away like they were right next to him, and that was both a good and bad thing…

He was dressed in casual attire and was wearing one of his brother's old agency hoodies with the logo on the back. It was extremely popular merchandise even over in Japan where everyone detested Akira, and almost every time you went on the online store, everything was sold out. It was just the popularity of the number one hero that drove everyone to buy his things, and probably just because the consumers wanted to look just as edgy in the same gear…

Edge aside; it helped Izuku blend in with the public, and it saved him dying his hair and using makeup to hide his defining features. People wouldn't ask about it because of how many people owned this hoodie, and he would also be able to look cool in it, so there wasn't very much wrong with his clothing choice…

But…

That conversation about this Hosu fire had him worried…

He'd sent numerous texts to Iida to ask for his location, but none of them went through, probably because the class president didn't want anyone following him to Stain. It was understandable, but damn infuriating…

This villain he was after wasn't to be messed with, and although he actually had a good chance of beating Stain, this villain Ingenium talked about seemed to be a totally different beast… He was confident that he could take literally anyone but his brother in hand to hand combat, and his fight-IQ was nigh unbeatable, but there wasn't much he could do if the villain was just so much stronger than him…

That Nomu at the USJ could have killed him with the first attack if it actually thought for itself and didn't rush in mindlessly. If it had technique or even a working conscience, he would have taken Izuku's head clean off with one punch, no matter the amount of thickness his scales had. He only survived that class via pure luck and his fire, and if Prism didn't intervene, his quirk could have been exposed early.

Since the USJ incident, he had become more aware of his power and its limitations. He was less likely to jump into fights he knew he couldn't win and now opted for a more logical approach, mainly because acting emotional against the Nomu and those nameless villains cost him so much…

If he went in with that attitude against an opponent of Nomu's strength with actual brain power, he wouldn't stand a chance…

First, he needed to track down Iida and force him to evacuate, and then he could focus on avoiding this woman hunting him…

Anything else would be an afterthought…

"Say...Nishiki? What's that thing in the sky? You see it too right? That flying thing…"

Izuku turned to the group of people on the other side of the train in curiosity, but he then got a bad feeling in his chest… 'This ominous air…'

He slowly walked to the other side, immune to the sudden swaying of the vehicle.

But then...he saw it…

Out of the corner of his emerald eyes, he caught sight of a winged beast flying towards the carriage at high speeds…

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" He suddenly roared as he manifested scales on his arm.

*Crrrraaassshhhhhhhh*

The beast collided with the metal vehicle and shot straight through the side of it, like a torpedo hitting a submarine, and growled as it stood up.

Its claw was mere millimeters from a passenger and his fear was unquestionable as he squirmed around on the floor, panting and wheezing in terror. But then, he noticed the claw being grabbed by a human hand…

"A-A hero!?" he squeaked, but his complexion paled even further from what greeted his eyes…

Izuku crushed the claw in his hand with minimal effort and glared at the beast. "You're a Nomu…"

"H-He's actually here! That kid just saved a man!"

"F-Fuck… Am I actually seeing this!?"

"This has to be an act! Surely this is false."

The Nomu screeched as Izuku suddenly grabbed its brain… "disgusting little roach… Freaks like you need to be exterminated…"

The crowd of people shielded their eyes as Izuku's arm lit up in a blaze of black and green, and the Nomu couldn't usher a single hiss as its head was burned into nothingness…

A Nomu, designed to handle even top hunters was killed in seconds by a high-schooler…

Simply unbelievable…

"All of you!" Izuku savagely tossed the scorched body of the Nomu out of the hole in the train and stared everyone down, deactivating the flames on his arm to put them at ease. "Call whoever is available to help you evacuate the vehicle! I'm heading down to the city to lure them into the open! Focus on getting out of here rather than what just happened!"

He didn't wait for a response and just jumped from the train's gaping hole and travelled across several streets with just that one boost while attracting most of the other winged Nomu that were about to attack the train…

Midoriya used his fire to form an arrow that shot through a Nomu's wing, causing it to crash into a building, and using the time he had to spare, he grabbed the briefcase that held his hero costume. He pressed the small black button on the side of the case and out popped the costume, which he was able to easily fit around himself before he hit the ground, thanks to its ability to self-attach itself to Izuku's body…

Now that he'd landed on one of the smaller buildings; he placed the briefcase down on the side and memorised its location, and after making all of the necessary preparations, he brushed his cape behind him and set off...for his first outing as a hero...

But as soon as he left, one member of the train collapsed to his knees from disbelief; tears running down his face as he was struck by some sort of emotion… "H-He saved us… He saved us all…"

---

Good evening fanbase, and thank you for reading tonight's chapter!

I really thought that this one would be really short as a small buildup to Stain, but I really went in on this one to make it as good as possible. I'm sorry if the Bakugou section of the chapter was a little sloppy, but like with YOUNG MIDORIYA SHOUNEN and Andre's confrontation, it was very hard to write for me personally. I did reread the whole thing time and time again, and this was the best outcome, so I apologise if you are disappointed.

Next chapter, we will see the conflict with Stain, Iida and YOUNG MIDORIYA SHOUNEN, but with a little twist, and we will also see the other events going down in Hosu; specifically what Minoru and Bakugou get up to after he beats the sweaty boy's ass.

I always wanted Horikoshi to give Katsuki at least a little punishment for how he treated Izuku, and it annoyed me when Izuku was always so accepting of it instead of staying away or at least disliking his former bully. That's why I have sort of reversed the roles, and this is now the beginning of SWEATY BOI'S redemption, where he will finally learn that he isn't the Green Ninja and can't have the Elder wand.

Always wanted that prick to get some comeuppance, but that might just be me…

All For One is still at the same level of power as canon AFO, but I will be giving him some sort of buff like with All Might (not telling you what though, because that would ruin the surprise). He's gonna be a character we don't see a load of until later, because he will be operating from the shadows, just like he did before Kamino got trashed by ALL-O-MIGHTOOOO.

Tanya is inspired by Kanae Tawata from the Manhwa series Solo Leveling. Look her up on the SL wiki for an idea of what she looks like, and do that for the other characters I'm about to mention.

After the character's name, there will be the name of the character they're based on, and then the rank of said character in Solo Leveling so it's easier for you to find.

I'm pretty trash with discriptive writing (thanks Mrs Grenya, fucking whore) so you probably don't have a good idea of what these OC's look like. This is for all of you to know who you're reading about.

Disclaimer: I don't own Solo Leveling and these characters only share visual designs!

Andre = Baek-Yoon-Ho - S Rank Korean Hunter

Hoshino = Minoru Hoshino - S Rank Japanese Hunter

Carla = Akari Shimizu - S Rank Japanese Hunter

Akira = Sung-Jin-Woo (adult form + Red eyes instead of blue + dark red strands of hair) - S/National Rank Korean Hunter

Michael = Kirei Kotomine (From the Fate series! The only non SL character design I swear!) "Yorokobe Shounen…" or Mapo Tofu man if you only speak memes...

Rakuya Yamazaki (Prism) = Reiji Sugimoto - S rank Japanese Hunter

Vinheim Garron (Lancelot) = Goto Ryuji - S Rank Japanese Hunter

Kang-Tae-Shik (Orochi) = Kang-Tae-Shik - B Rank Korean Hunter

---

Sorry about that short list, but you all should probably know who these characters look like. It would be much simpler that way. Other characters that have yet to make an appearance or have their faces shown like Red Scale, the Fume and Ant heroes from America, and Akira's mysterious female assistant will be visualised once they are properly inserted into the story.

I chose Solo Leveling simply because almost every character looks like a fucking badass, and I don't want all the strong characters of my fic to look like tired high-school football bench warmers, so please consider that before saying I have "nO OrIgIoNaLiTy"

---

FEEDBACK! (Don't be discouraged to ask about the story or give your opinion on how things are going. If you have any ideas for future events, remember to notify me!)

StickyFingaz ~ 170,000 in one day? You must be one of Akira's men… Thanks for the kind words and I appreciate you reading!

Guest ~ weirdo-sama? Me? REEEEEEEEEE! But anyway, I quite like the list, though I have trouble understanding it. Probably my bastard dyslexia playing up and making my eyes have a seizure… All For One (dragon form)? I'm not sure what that came from, but I like the concept a lot!

Donovan2771 ~ That sounds pretty interesting and I might give it a go, but I'm not sure how a bunch of characters would react to it, since it's mostly just a memory (not much footage at all, which is why the younger generations support Izuku more). I will defo give it a try if I can manage to write it, and it will lead to a pretty big revelation about Izuku and how he got so powerful. Once again Donovan-sama, thanks a bunch for the continuous support, and let the light of YOUNG MIDORIYA SHOUNEN shine through you!

But seriously, cheers for the constant feedback about the chapters. It helped me to avoid some serious cringe while writing. *flashbacks of my old dxd fics…*

The last airbendr ~ How dare you be tired! YAMEROOOO! Thanks for the praise my G, and I hope you enjoy the things I have planned for SWEATY BOI and *Inhales in Endeavor*...SHOTOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Rovsan143 ~ I'm glad you find this fic good, but I would like to say that Akira and Michael are not lying about their power; just how much they actually possess. (spoiler: it's more than you think) Thank you for the spicy review!

MIKE202303 ~ Thank you for the support bruv!

Bio RL ~ That's an interesting take on their dynamic, and I think that's what I'm gonna go with. Izuku obsessing over the only people that ever encouraged him to be a hero will be a very fun thing to write. Care to tell me how you feel about the story as a whole or just this recent arc. Asking because I can't tell if you love or hate this fic ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)

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Sorry for the slightly longer wait on this chapter. Minoru and Bakugou's meeting somehow was the trickiest thing for me and gave me a big bad headache.

Hope you all enjoyed it, and stay tuned for the next chapter.

Schedule for releases is normally once a week, but not all the time. (random day)