"You had a meeting with the hero killer Stain?" Midoriya exclaimed, surprised.
"Yes, though sadly, I'm sure you can tell what the outcome to that meeting was like." Kurogiri gestured over to Shigaraki.
Shigaraki was pacing around the room, scratching at his neck. The man was mumbling something about Stain being a good-for-nothing who knew nothing about good ideals. Though, he did not fully agree with Shigaraki's ideals, aligning himself more with Stain's goals, he still helped the other because of how much he had helped him. Even if they were not able to get Stain to join them, the league did have new members join after hearing news of the hero killer. He personally knew two members who had joined because of him, Toga and Spinner. There were a lot more that had joined, but he never met anyone who was not inside the close circle.
If this was Midoriya's first time being around Shigaraki when he was like this, then he would be worried. But he knew moments like this never lasted. These moments were just bursts of anxiety or ranting. But still, the sound of the man scratching at his skin while muttering would get really annoying. Midoriya only took a few steps closer, though not because he was worried over his safety, he could probably incapacitate the other if needed. It was just out of polite manners; it would be rude to shout at the other from across the bar.
"Hey, we don't need stain anyways. He is already bringing a lot of members into the league just by existing. Once He gets even more popular, we should get even more people asking to join."
Shigaraki's scratching stopped for a moment as he listened to the boy speak. Then the movements continued again, "Yes, but he has humiliated me. It has caused me quite the unpleasant feeling."
Midoriya lightly laughed, "You'll get over that. Stain and I share the same goals, maybe I can get him to reconsider the offer to join."
Shigaraki lightly gritted his teeth before finding a seat on one of the stools at the bar, "Tch. Sure, but do that in your own time. I won't go out of my way to set up another meeting with him."
Midoriya nodded his head. He would be able to do that on his own. He hoped it wouldn't be hard to find the hero killer. He had no idea what he looked like, how the man's silhouette was shaped. Luckily for him, he knew a certain someone who knew what the man looked like and was already looking for him. All he would have to do is shadow that person until they found Stain for him.
Midoriya wondered how many days he would have to follow Iida around. He knew that Iida's older brother, Ingenium had been attacked by stain. The hero was still alive, but he would no longer be a hero. He knew that his classmate ended up interning with a hero that was stationed in the area of the recent pro hero attacks. The boy had been quiet recently. He was probably trying to get his revenge. Which meant, he could let the other go and find the hero killer for him.
With his own internship as well as occasional meetings with the league, he had not spent much time following the other. He was not worried about Iida running into stain in the time that he was not there. Because if the other had run into him, he probably would not have made it out alive. Luckily for him, he did not have any intern today.
Midoriya had spent about half an hour shadowing Iida. His classmate happened to be doing patrols by himself. He thought that this would follow along the lines of each night he followed the other, he would end up getting nothing. It was always the same boring old night; he was surprised that the other had never noticed that someone was following him.
Midoriya let out a dismissive yawn, about to call it a day. Considering how many days they have spent trying to find Stain, he wondered if the guy just left for another location to consider his work. He had been spotted in this location, so it would make sense as to why the other would leave. There was heavier patrolling, so he probably did not want to get caught so soon.
Midoriya quickly froze and hid behind a nearby wall. The air suddenly felt tense as he watched Iida's silhouette disappear into the alleyway ahead of him. The air seemed to tense up as he approached, the hair on his arm stood up as his chest grew heavier. Something was off and wrong, and he could not just expose himself so soon.
The blind boy stayed stuck to the wall as he listened in on what was happening. In times like this, he wished he had his headset so he could use the heat sinking setting on it and track the positions of the bodies. But he refrained from using his head set too often. He did not want to become too dependent on it, because there us always a chance that it could break, get hacked, or stolen by the enemy. Which is why he only choosing to rely on the minds eye quirk, even if it only allowed him to see silhouettes of objects and people.
Despite Midoriya's enhanced hearing, he was having issues pinning down exactly what was being discussed in the alleyway. He had to strain his ears just to hear murmurs and bits of sentences. It was not enough to piece together a conversation, but he could tell that things were not going very well. He thought things would continue like this until he heard Iida speak.
"Are you saying that I'm not even a target? Then listen, criminal! I am the younger brother of a hero that you attacked."
Midoriya could hear the anger grow in Iida's voice as the atmosphere tensed around them. He could hear citizen's screaming and the faint scent of smoke. Though all of it was in the back of his mind as he focused on the conversation and people in the alleyway.
Midoriya could tell that his classmate would attack soon, if not already, just by the tone in his voice. He carefully shuffled a few inches forward and peaked his head around the corner. He was not expecting to see a third silhouette laying on the ground, unconscious, immobile, or dead, he could not tell. But what he could see was a silhouette, kneeling and slowly rising to stand while another stood over him.
"The younger brother of a most excellent older brother. I have come to stop you in his place!"
It was hard to tell which figure was which, the forms melded together because one stood in front of the other. But luckily, he was able to recognize Iida, since he appeared larger and he had a distinctive hero costume.
"Remember my name for as long as you live! Ingenium is the name of the hero who will defeat you!"
Midoriya's eyes slightly widened at that claim. He quickly straightened up and took a steady step forward. He turned to face down the alleyway and focused on Iida's silhouette. He concentrated both of his quirks. He had not been noticed yet, the men in the alley too focused on one another.
As Iida moved in to attack, he froze as a choke of pain left his throat. The boy tried to fight the wave of immense pain that flooded through his body. It had become too much and his body collapsed as he passed out before the hero killer.
Midoriya had to incapacitate Iida. He knew that a first-year student, not even halfway done with a year of hero training, and barely had any experience, would ever stand a chance against Stain. A hero killer that had killed many pro heroes and injured countless more. He had to stop his classmate from basically ending his own life by challenging the other.
Midoriya walked forward with a bright smile on his face. Sure, the atmosphere must have been tense just a moment ago, but he was excited to finally meet his hero. He was trying to act cool at the moment, but his insides were all excited. He was still a fanboy at heart.
Stain had been surprised to see the student just pass out like that. His attention was immediately brought to the smiling boy who was now approaching him. He kept his eyes on the boy, not even glancing down at the two incapacitated bodies at his feet.
"Another brat?"
Stain had the look and tone of irritation. He tightened his grip onto the sword in his palm. He could not let his guard down, even if the person in front of him was just a kid. He had no idea what the other's quirk was, and he assumed that he was the one to just drop the other brat.
"Good evening Mr. Hero Killer, Stain."
The boy spoke with excitement, even his expression and body language held no malice. He slightly untensed but stayed cautious and sharp.
"Yeah, that's me."
Stain did not even know that the kids smile could get even wider than that. He truly looked excited. It was like a teenage girl seeing her favorite boy band in person for the first time. It was off setting to him; he was not used to and was not expecting such attention.
"I'm so glad that I can finally meet you! I'm really sorry about my classmate, he was just grief stricken after what happened with his brother and rushed in without thinking. He had no idea, but he would have completely lost to you."
Midoriya's smile slightly dropped to a frown, "Now that I think of it, Shigaraki would have probably preferred it if I let you kill him. He will be upset with me after hearing that I stepped into this."
The smile grew some more again, "But that will be okay if I am able to get you to join us."
Stain narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him. He looked familiar. He glanced down to the boy who called himself 'Ingenium' back up to the other. That was when it hit him. These kids were from UA. He had noticed them because of the sports festival. The boy in front of him was Izuku Midoriya.
He could remember the first time he had watched the boy fight. He had immediately taken a liking to him and the look in his eyes. He had been looking forward to seeing how the boy would grow, and what kind of hero he would become, despite his disability.
But that was when it hit Stain harder. That's right.
"You are Izuku Midoriya. You were the blind student in UA who placed second in the sport's festival. But I remember you from earlier than that. You were a supposed quirkless child before you were blinded then kidnapped. Everyone assumed that it was just some normal people looking for a ransom. But that did not make sense to me at first, since you live with a single mother and are not wealthy. But after hearing you say Shigaraki, I am starting to get the big picture."
Midoriya's gaze and smile became sharper, "Oh, you're pretty smart. Care to share what you pieced together?"
Stain noticed how the boy's expression became more predatory, "How you were blinded did not become public, but from the way you fought with Bakugo Katsuki and by looking at the scar on your face, I can assume that he is responsible. Am I right?"
All he got was a simple nod from Midoriya, and silence as if to tell him to continue speaking.
"You were kidnapped while defenseless and, in the hospital, but I'm assuming that wanting a ransom was just a cover up and your rescue mission was just a set up. You actually joined the league of villains after they offered."
The predatory gaze left Midoriya's expression as he was just left with a normal wide smile as he nodded his head.
"Yup! I was glad for the offer. How someone like Bakugo could become a hero, it's unacceptable. I hate how many unsuited people become heroes; they need to be purged."
Stain could relate to that goal, he shared the same after all, "So, why did you accept their offer? Your goals conflict with Shigaraki's, you have a great quirk and can work on your own."
Midoriya hummed, "Well… I was quirkless. That was until Shigaraki gave me one, well two. They are still kind of unstable, so if I don't receive his help, he said that my quirks can kill me. I am also in debt to him after his help. Sure, he wants to kill all might. Even though I don't agree with that, I'm not going to help him when it comes to that part. They will fight and whatever the outcome is, I will feel the same."
Stain's eyes widened. The boy was quirkless, but there was a way to transfer quirks to them. He had not just one, but two quirks put inside of him. How would one even go about doing that? The pro hero on the ground began to move again, which meant that the time limit was up for him. But not only did he look to the body, but so did the boy.
"Wait? Aren't you blind?"
That was right, Midoriya was not wearing his head set and somehow knew they who was down the alleyway and seemed to get around with no problem at all. Was blind at all? With a closer look at the boy's eyes, he could tell that the boy was not able to see out of his eyes. They had a glazed over green color, he could not see a pupil. Which meant that the boy's eyes did not have the ability to see light, so he could not see anything that light would bounce off of, like a normal person.
Stain noticed that the kid was beginning to have a nosebleed. He frowned and looked down to see the pro hero unconscious. No, he was dead. The boy had just murdered a pro hero. A kid that everyone seemed to be a hero student, who was working with the league of villains, just killed a pro hero. Hell, the boy was probably partially responsible for what had happened at the USJ. That was all over the news.
"Yes, I am. But the quirk that I was given allows me to only see silhouettes of objects and people, objects and people have different outlines. Though it would be hard for me to tell two different objects apart if placed in front of one another, same goes for people. So, I know your form, but I have no idea what you look like. Though I can make a vague image in my head based off the reports. A red scarf and body covered in weapons."
Stain nodded and moved his hand in front of his chest, holding up two fingers, "I see, so if I held my hand in front of me like this, you would not be able to tell the number of fingers I am holding up?"
Midoriya nodded, "I can't tell."
Stain put away the sword in his hand and pulled another one out from his hip. If correct, the boy would not be able to tell that he was pointing the sword at him. He walked closer and Midoriya did not move. He continued to walk until the sword was touching the others chest.
Midoriya tensed up and went to take a step back. He had no idea as to why the other would point his sword at him. Now he was on edge because the hero killer knew his weakness and was using it against him. He had thought that the man wouldn't think of attacking him.
He felt a sharp pain on his chest as the sword swiftly cut into him and pulled away. He closed his eyes from the sudden shock of pain and went to feel the injury. It was not deep, but he had been bleeding. He went to put his arm down and breath a sigh of relief, until he realized that he was paralyzed. He could not move his body or open his eyes, which meant that he did not have the ability to see stain's silhouette, so he could not focus his other quirk on the other. He could activate it for just the general area, but that would take a lot of energy after he had already killed a hero and incapacitated Iida.
"W-What are you doing?"
Stain sheathed his sword and picked Midoriya up, "I'm taking you to my hide out. I can't have you knowing where it is. So, I used my quirk to paralyze you while your eyes were closed. We can't talk here, there is a raging fire near by and many citizens running around screaming. We might get caught by a near by hero, so we need to talk somewhere secluded."
That was right, Midoriya had almost forgotten about the scent of fire and the sounds of screaming, because he was too focused on Stain. But he still did not like knowing where he was going. He still was not sure if he could trust Stain yet. If the man wanted to kill him, he would have already done it once he was paralyzed. But there was a different way to go about it, like blindfolding him or warning him before using his quirk. Though, it was probably just Stain wanting his security.
Stain made his way through the back of the alleyway before there was a loud crash. He had stopped moving and turned his head around.
"What the hell is that thing?"
