"Ok, that should be enough time for you guys to get ready. By the way, I encourage you all to ask your teachers questions while you watch this, from now on I have no restrictions to what I can say, so don't worry I'll fact check!" Other than a bit of annoyance and confusion from me calling out the adults the episode continued without issue.
'Why did that guy look like Nomu? Maybe they're related?' Izuku thought as he charged up Full Cowling and ran towards the scene.
"I still can't believe you got that good at using this form in a day. You're ridiculously talented when it comes to quirk usage Izuku-kun." Todoroki complimented, a bit jealous of his friends progress. It took him years of brutal training before he could use his quirk proficiently! Even Mirio was in silent agreement as he saw the green quirk inheritors' growth rate.
"T-thanks Todoroki-kun! That means a lot coming from you.." All things considered Todoroki was probably the strongest in their class so that kind of compliment from him carried weight.
The screen shifted to Gran Torino fighting the Nomu in the street. "I haven't fought like this in years. He's attacking randomly, almost mindlessly.." Gran Torino said before a big flame engulfed the Nomu.
"Endeavor!" A bunch of people exclaimed in surprise, if he was there then who was going to save Iida? Endeavor wasn't known for his speed and Iida was seconds away from getting stabbed!
"Sorry old timer. I'm afraid I don't know you. But I can handle things from here on out." Endeavor said as he walked onto the scene. The civilians asked why he was there. "Isn't it obvious? I came because I'm a hero." Endeavor replied with an arrogant tone, and a smirk.
"As much as I hate the man, I can't deny that. He's good at his job at the very least." Todoroki begrudgingly admitted. He was 2nd place for a reason, his work ethic could be admired if nothing else.
Back with Izuku he could be seen looking for any opportunity to help out. 'If that guy has the same insane power as the Nomu All Might fought, then it won't be just Gran Torino in danger, but the whole city. That includes Iida! Crap, what do I do? Think, how do I be the best possible hero right now?' Izuku thought, trying not to panic.
He ran to the panic and saw a bunch of pros fighting other Nomus. He looked and saw Manual. 'That's Manual, the normal hero! Iida's interning with him! But where is he? I can't believe he'd run off alone with such a huge disaster right in front of him. Hosu City. Guys who look like Nomu. Iida...Hosu...where the Hero Killer attacked. Don't tell me.' Izuku thought before he ran off, dozens of scenarios running through his mind, each worse than the last.
"You figured that out so quickly? Damn I knew you were smart but not that smart. Just pulled a Sherlock out of nowhere!" Awase couldn't help but comment, that kind of analytical thinking was impressive, and undeniably essential for a hero.
"The Nomu make such great playthings!" Tomura commented, his butler asked whether he would join in. "Don't be stupid. I'm still injured, that's why I brought those pets with us." Tomura answered. A flashback started playing.
"Master, how many Nomu are completed?" Tomura asked his mentor who replied right away.
"I have finished the behavior of 6." All For One answered, knowing where this was going.
"*gulp, he can make those that easily! It hasn't even been a month since the USJ!" Mineta exclaimed, shaking a bit at the thought of an army of Nomu.
"It's definitely worrying. At least these aren't as strong as the original, though not by much those pro's seem to be having trouble against them." Midnight jumped in, while they weren't absolute monsters like the USJ Nomu, they were nothing to scoff at.
"Give them to me. I don't like that stupid Hero Killer, and it's my right to destroy anything I don't like right? Master?!" Shigaraki asked, tone growing increasingly manic.
"So he's been spoiled rotten? Makes sense, it's always easier to control someone that you make dependant on you." Yagi said bitterly, it sounded just like his old nemesis.
"Very well. However you may only have 3. Try to use this as a learning experience." All For One said as the flashback ended.
"Once this night is over, the world will have forgotten you ever existed, Hero Killer!" Tomura laughed maniacally. Oh the irony, a good deal of people had a chuckle at that.
The screen changed to Iida confronting Stain again seconds before the last episode ended. "Then so be it...die." Stain said.
"FOR TENSEI!" Iida shouted as he aimed a kick at Stain only for him to dodge.
"Word to the wise, never attack someone in a straight line, unless you can move faster than the human body can react they will most likely predict it." Yagi gave his words of wisdom, he made the same mistake early in his career, back when his speed wasn't so overwhelming.
"Ingenium. So you're brothers. I let him live so he could spread the good word. Word of me." Stain kicked Iida with his spiked boot.
"...How did he say all of that in mid-air?" Momo commented, though by this point she knew it was an effort in futility. I just patted her on the shoulder, it was tough becoming self aware, especially when physics kept breaking on you.
"You're a weakling, just like he was." Stain said as he stabbed Iida in the shoulder. "You aren't heroes. You have no right to be called that. Both of you are nothing but fakes."
"Shut up, villain! You damaged his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down. He's never gonna be able to work as a pro hero again! My brother was incredible. A caring person who saved many lives. Someone people looked up to. You had no right to take that all away from him!" Iida yelled, crying as he remembered how his admiration for his brother started.
"Tensei, I'm so proud of you. You've become independent at a very young age with many sidekicks following you. That's no easy feat in these times." His dad said, proud of his son's accomplishment.
"They're not followers. It's the opposite, dad. They support me because I'm not great on my own. They're just looking out for me. I can't do anything without them. Of course I'm working hard to return the favor. I'm not super talented or anything, but if I'm gonna call myself a hero then I have to live up to that title and help people." Tensei said, making young Tenya smile.
"Humble, a respectable trait though there is such a thing as overdoing it." Yagi complimented before staring at Izuku.
"Young Iida looks totally adorable by the way!" Mina exclaimed to the agreement of the other girls. A running trend among the boys that their shota equivalents were adorable. "...Ara ara Izuku-kun."
"No. Just no." Izuku put his foot down at that, he was already outgunned as it was, he wouldn't allow the Onee-chans to take over!
"He's my hero. My older brother inspired my dream that one day I could be a pro too! I won't forgive you! I'll kill you!" Iida yelled, though he knew he had no chance.
"Shouldn't you be worried about saving that guy?" Stain asked pointing to Native. "You're so busy with your grudge, you forgot about him. You plan on using your quirk only for yourself. Completely blinded by a selfish desire for revenge. You're about as far away from being a hero as I can imagine. And that's why you'll die tonight." Stain said as he licked Iida's blood, paralyzing him.
"Goodbye child. May your death bring upon a better world." Stain said.
"Damn it! Not like this!" Iida thought as Stain's sword was leveled on his back. "Knowing you look up to me makes me better! I have to be sure I make you proud!" Iida remembered his brother's words.
"Say whatever you want about me! You're still just a criminal who hurt my brother!" Iida yelled in defiance, not wanting to give Stain the satisfaction of seeing him break.
"Even though Iida-kun's right here this is still so nerve racking!" Ochako exclaimed, barely able to keep watching.
Just as Stain was about to lower his blade Izuku suddenly came leaping in a flash of green lightning.
"N-NANI!" Everyone but Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida gasped, and even Todoroki was slightly surprised by how lucky it was that Izuku found them just in time.
'Smash!' Izuku thought as he punched Stain in the face, who somehow took it
"Y-You punched Stain in the face?!" Kirishima yelled in disbelief, admiring the perfect hit. Bakugo's jaw was dropped, why did the nerd get to punch the asshole and not him! The jealousy was palpable. Oh, there was also the fact that he was lied to but that was unimportant compared to the first.
"Y-yeah." Izuku chuckled nervously. It really wasn't all that impressive, he had the element of surprise and it wasn't like Stain had a speed quirk.
"Who's there? Midoriya, how?" Iida questioned.
"Don't you worry Iida! I'm gonna save you!" Izuku gave a reassuring smile.
"Yeah ok, but how did he get there?! Hosu's a huge city, how did he find you in all that chaos?" Kaminari asked, very confused. I just pointed at the screen which flashed back to Izuku's run.
'I don't exactly have any proof, but I can't just stand by. Since Iida's not with the panic, he might've stumbled upon the guy who hurt his brother himself.' Izuku thought as he saw them and immediately punched Stain.
'It's him. The one from Shigaraki's picture.' Stain thought recognizing him instantly.
"In order to find you, I had to search far away from the panic, in the back alleys of Hosu City, Stain's most common ambush spot and in places with clear dead ends!" Izuku exclaimed, knowingly providing exposition for the audience.
"Clever, I guess the speed from Full Cowling helped out with that search, talk about good timing for a power up!" Present Mic exclaimed, getting amped up for the fight to come. Most of the heroes realized that Endeavor wasn't showing up at this point.
"Let's head toward the street. We have to get help from the pros." Izuku said, but Iida couldn't follow through.
"I can't move my body. It must be his quirk. Since he cut me, I've been paralyzed." Iida replied.
"That's the kind of quirk people said the Hero Killer might have." Izuku muttred, mind racing. 'Wait, there's someone else! If it had just been Iida, I could've picked him up and carried him away myself.' Izuku thought, preparing himself for the inevitable fight.
"Don't get involved. This doesn't have anything to do with you!" Iida said, trying to stop his friend from fighting a hopeless battle.
"You showed up to save your friend's life. You even made a big entrance. But I have a duty to kill him and this so called pro. When your friend chose to fight me, it guaranteed that the weaker of us would be culled." Stain glared, making Izuku shudder. He remembered what All Might said about criminals and their excuses.
'He's different from the villains that attacked us before. Those are the eyes of a fanatic.' Izuku thought as he sent his location out.
"So he did call for help. I bet that's how Endeavor showed up in time. He and Todoroki must've gone there together." Sato guessed, though he was only half right.
'Even though it was just a guess, and I didn't have any proof, I should've made sure that a pro came with me to find him.' Izuku scolded himself.
"No, you made a judgement call. A good one, by the way. The whole city was in a state of emergency and all the pros were busy. If you had tried to convince a pro, you would've been too late." I added my two cents. Sometimes quick action is necessary, besides most heroes wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed.
"Stand down! Run away! I told you, this has nothing to do with you!" Iida pleaded.
"If you really believe that, then why are you trying to become a hero in the first place?! There are plenty of things I'd like to say, but they'll have to wait. All Might was right, though. Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero!" Izuku put up his fists ready to fight, surprising Stain.
"While All Might is the symbol that always smiles, Izuku-san is more of a symbol that makes others around him smile no matter what happens. He gives people hope." Mirio spoke up, proud of his Kouhai's speech.
"Good." Stain said smiling as Izuku charged at him. 'Gotta get past the sword!' Izuku thought as he approached him swiftly.
"Why would you choose to fight close range? What about your wind attacks? You can do that with 5% too." Kaminari asked, though he was only partially right..
"My 5% smashes barely create enough air pressure to knock over light objects. Plus they lose a lot of force the farther they travel, close range was my only option back there." He explained, besides with Stain's mid range weapons getting in close cost him the use of his sword.
'Trying to get in close so I can't strike him. Smart move.' Stain thought, slightly impressed with his opponent.
"No! If you get cut!" Iida yelled. Izuku ducked under the sword and got underneath Stain. He tried to strike him but Izuku was now above him. "5% Detroit SMASH!" Izuku yelled as he punched Stain in the back of the head.
The watchers all had their jaws dropped, especially Bakugo. 'Deku! That damn copycat! I'll get that rematch if it's the last thing I do!' He swore, needing to see how far his rival(though he'd never call him that) had come.
"Man, this guy is ridiculously durable! He just took a powered up punch to the back of the skull like it was nothing!" Kirishima exclaimed, even he would have a tough time taking hits like that.
'Those movements. He's flying around like Bakugo does.' Iida thought in awe, just what kind of training Izuku have over these two days!
'Did I get him? Did Full Cowling work? Yes, I really can fight!' Izuku thought, ecstatic with his new abilities. Too bad he didn't notice Stain smile as he licked a small drop of blood, paralyzing the young hero. 'One graze is all it took?' 'It's..the blood!' He thought in startled realization.
"You're not powerful enough. You just exploited my blind spot and left my field of vision. But I saw through your plan. There are countless false heroes around here who are all talk, but I think you're worthy of staying alive. You're different from these two." Stain walked towards his victims.
"So he acknowledged you.. It's probably rather high praise from someone with such very high, if warped standards." The usually quite Bondo spoke, also impressed by his schoolmates' accomplishment.
"I wonder how he would judge the rest of us?" Kendo asked, though with the way he treated Iida they would probably not get a second glance from the madman.
"No don't! Stop it! Get away!" Izuku yelled before a stream of fire forced Stain to jump back.
"Someone else to get in my way. Today's been full of distractions." Stain said as the screen showed Todoroki.
"Where's Endeavor?" Toru asked, Todoroki answered, he was tired of hiding it. "My father never showed up. We had to fight him on our own." He said getting wide eyes from everyone. Wait but that meant three high school students managed to take down a high tier villain! The hell!
"Midoriya-san, you need to give more details in times like this. I was almost too late to stop this guy." Todoroki said with his left side blazing. "Your message took me a while to figure out. Next time try to send more than just your specific location. But you're not really one to send cryptic messages without a reason, are you? So I figured you were in trouble and asking for help. Everything's ok! The pro heroes will be here any minute!" Todoroki said as he shot another fire stream at Stain. He used his ice to get the others behind him.
"You're just what they said you were. But you won't be taking any more lives, Hero Killer." Todoroki declared, prepare to fight.
"Todoroki! You can't let that guy get your blood! I think he controls his enemy's actions by swallowing it! That's how he got us!" Izuku shouted out their opponent's quirk.
"He ingests blood to keep people from moving. That explains the blades. All I've gotta do is keep my distance." Todoroki said before a knife suddenly scratched his cheek.
"Never! Take your eyes off your opponent! No matter what, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" To my surprise my call for constant vigilance was mirrored by Pony. Yes! Reference recognized.
"You have good friends, Ingenium. Or you did!" Stain tried to cut him but he put up ice to block him. Todoroki noticed Stain look up though which made him do the same. 'His sword. He threw it at the same time as the knife!' Todoroki thought as Stain tried to lick his cheek after his successful distraction Todoroki he ignited himself just in time.
"He's good. Not particularly powerful but his fighting style is tricky!" Midnight pointed out, multi-step faints like that were difficult to pull off. It was just poor luck that Todoroki's reaction time was so fast.
"Just stop it! Why are you...doing this? His fight is with me! I inherited my brother's name. I'm the one that should stop him! The Hero Killer is mine!" Iida said, deeply frustrated with what happened.
"You're Ingenium now? Strange, the Ingenium I knew before never had that look on his face. You've got a dark side. Guess my family isn't the only one." Todoroki replied, honestly a bit surprised with what his usually calm class rep was saying.
"I'll admit it caught me off guard, it's always those you least expect." Icy hot admitted, if anything he expected this kind of crap from Bakugo.
"Be careful, Todoroki!" Izuku said while struggling, until suddenly he could shift his fingers.
"Wha-? How is he able to move now?" Kaminari asked the obvious question. "Time limit" Izuku answered quickly so I didn't have to pause the action.
"You blocked your own field of vision against an opponent who's faster than you. Rookie mistake." Stain said as he sliced through the ice.
"Come get me then!" Todoroki said as 2 knives suddenly pierced his arm, ok he literally asked for that one.
"Wow, he just took that without even a whimper, you are one tough guy Todoroki-san!" Satou complimented, though Todoroki shrugged it off while muttering 'pain resistance training' and 'I'm no Izuku' Then again it's hard to compare yourself with Mr. Broken bBones.
"You're good kid. Unlike him." Stain aimed a strike at Native but Izuku jumped up and stopped him, dragging him against the wall.
"I'm not sure why, but I'm able to move now!" Izuku exclaimed.
"So he has a time limit." Todoroki said, Native corrected him though.
"No, that kid should've been the last one to be freed. I still can't move a muscle." Native said weakly.
Stain hit Izuku back down. "Midoriya, dodge!" Todoroki ordered as he sent a wave of ice at Stain.
"He swallows a person's blood to freeze them. But I was the one freed first. I've got 3 different guesses why. His quirk could become less effective the more people he uses it on, the amount ingested could play into how long it works, or there could even be a difference based on a person's blood type." Izuku listed off.
"Midoriya-kun." Nezu started grabbing his attention. "Yes?" Izuku asked, unsure where this was going. "How would you like a job at U.A after you graduate?" The small mammal offered, getting a wide eyed stare and several jaw drops from the other students.
"Wow what! Seriously, you'd make him a teacher straight out of high school!" Present Mic asked in disbelief. Not knowing what to feel about having Izuku as a colleague in only a few years.
"Oh certainly not, he'd need some more experience before that. Though that being said, his talent for quirk analysis and his skills with creative thinking would make him a perfect fit for a new position I've been thinking of implemented lately. A quirk counsellor!" The rodent announced to everyone's surprise, I just laughed maniacally.
"You have no idea how common this is! Though having a class on quirks in general would be a great idea. You wouldn't believe how many people confuse the different quirk types, though that whole classification system could use some revisions in general." I pointed out. Seriously having just 3 categories for all quirks was ridiculous considering their variety.
"So you figured it out. Bravo, very impressive." Stain smiled as his quirk was narrated.
"It doesn't help us much to know how his quirk works though." Izuku said, standing next to Todoroki.
"I thought with both of us we could carry those two out of here, but it's no good. He's too fast. He can dodge ice and fire. I'd have to leave myself unguarded." Todoroki said, knowing that they weren't getting out of this so easily.
"No you've already lost way too much blood. I'll distract him while you support me from behind. Sound like a plan?" Izuku asked as he charged up Full Cowling.
"You want us to take a pretty big risk... Ok. We can protect them." Todoroki said as they both got ready to fight again.
"Seeing them talking like pros and working together really turns me on." Midnight said, though at this point nobody took her seriously. The other girls definitely developed a blush at the thought though. Seeing the two 'arguably' most attractive guys in class A fighting someone like Stain was pretty exciting to say the least.
"Two against one. This fight won't be easy." Stain said.
'Iida. I've been worried about you ever since your brother was attacked. I recognize the face of someone who's drowning in resentment. And I know just how narrow your field of vision can get when you long for justice.' He internally monologues while thinking back on his visit to his mother.
'That day, I told her about my life with father, and about who I have become. She cried and apologized. She forgave me, faster than I ever imagined. She told me to move forward, that nothing was holding me back, and that doing so would be her salvation.' The impromptu speech was starting to wet some eyes among the viewers.
'If I hadn't spoken to her, I never would've been able to choose my old man's agency for my internship. I couldn't bare being near him. I haven't forgiven him. I doubt I ever truly will. But I chose him, so that I could learn what it takes to be the number 2 hero, with my own eyes and ears. I had to know.' Todoroki thought as he kept blasting more fire at Stain.
"Oh, that's good.. He's not letting his emotions cloud his judgment." Yagi smiled at his student, he was a worthy rival for his successor.
"If the Hero Killer is following his pattern, then we'll know where he'll show up next, and we'll be there to stop him." Endeavor said in a flashback.
'My old man is a scumbag, but a scumbag with the judgement and instincts of a number 2 hero, and I can acknowledge that. It's so simple, but I still needed someone to show me. Just a few words, 2 short sentences.' Todoroki thought, internally thanking his new friend.
'No good! His fighting style has completely changed!' Izuku thought as he almost got slashed.
"You have to run. I can't...watch this." Iida cried at his own powerlessness.
"Oh no, stop crying! That's Midoriya's job!" Present Mic started to sob. "Hey!" The mentioned greenette called out. He hadn't cried in days!..Ok point taken.
"You want to make your brother proud?! Then stand up and be Ingenium! Become the hero he wanted you to be!" Todoroki's left side blazed.
'I am Ingenium, and I will defeat you! That, I promise!' Iida remembered what he said earlier before his fingers finally moved.
Aaand I'm ending the chapter here. Otherwise it would probably reach up to 8k+ words and I don't want to put my fingers through that. Plus we have the winter holidays coming up and I have commitments(against my will I admit, but still.) So I won't be able to upload much for the month.
BTW the poll is going very slowly, only about 15 people have voted so far and I know I have way more than that reading this story. Seriously your opinions matter to me, otherwise I wouldn't ask for your input, I'm fine with either choice but I want you guys to tell me your thoughts. Or maybe you want a third option? If so feel free to review and I'll consider it.
Anyways, that's all for now, see you all later! The next update should be for the Konosuba fic and then the final part of The Hosu Incident. After that I'll do the poll chapter. Have a nice day everyone!