Midoriya had felt a spike of fear with the loud crash and when Stain stopped to turn. He suddenly felt what he felt when he was first blinded by Bakugo. Confusion and fear, but a surprising lack of pain. The pain was missing, but that could be rearranged quickly with whatever faced them on the other side of the alleyway. He put all his efforts into fighting off whatever paralysis that had him frozen. He did not focus on moving any of his limbs, he focused all his energy on opening his eyes.
"What is it? What is happening?" It was already hard enough to speak.
"Not sure kid." Stain grunted a response as he quickly turned away to run the other direction, "Though this thing looks like it has a large exposed brain for a face."
Midoriya could feel the thrum of adrenaline course through his veins mixed with Stain's rushed footsteps and their rapid heartbeats. That description was something that sounded familiar. he remembered when he was first being introduced to the Nomus. For some reason he did not know, the Nomus were quite fond of him. He did not know what exactly the Nomus were either. But he had been given a description of what they look like so he could have more than just a silhouette.
"Nomu." His voice was just above a whisper.
"Speak up kid." Stain's voice was on edge. He did not even bother to look down at the other, too busy maneuvering around the back alleyway to get away from the Nomu, who was too large and struggling to get through.
"It's a Nomu. I'm not exactly sure how they are made, but they are manufactured by the League."
Stain let out an irritated growl, "The league is such a pain."
That was when it clicked it Midoriya. He felt so naïve and stupid for ever thinking he could convince the Hero Killer to join the league. Stain was not one to waver in his beliefs or align himself with those who shared different ideals. The man would never be able to work for them or with them, not when their leader held a goal and an ideal that the other completely disagreed with. He had been a fool for ever hoping or thinking that he would be able to sway the Hero Killer, all because they shared the same ideals. He was just a silly little high school boy who was hellbent on revenge and reformation, to think that they could ever be friends. He was still just a child, a kid.
Though despite this realization, he had no time to think upon it. They were far too focused on the Nomu who was hot on their trail. He could take time to contemplate on his childish naivety later.
"Shit!" Stain yelled, "The thing caught up."
As soon as Stain had said that, he felt his body being thrown. He hit the ground with a yelp then heard something far more concerning. There was a slam against a nearby wall and a pained yell from a familiar voice. He felt his heart speed up, he could not do anything. He was paralyzed and he could not see. He was completely useless and helpless.
Stain had tossed Midoriya to the side, so when he got hit by the Nomu, he would not get hurt as well. His body slammed into the wall and the Nomu was quick to jump back on him for another hit. The hero killer managed to cut through the Nomu's tough skin when he went to punch him. His sword went straight through that manufactured bastard's fist. As the thing pulled out, the sword left his fist with a spray of blood. Stain stuck out his tongue as the blood rained down into his mouth. Though his eyes widened with surprise when the Nomu did not freeze.
"Shit, this thing has multiple blood types... that or it has no blood type at all. It is manufactured after all." His voice was rushed. He was unsure if he would be able to defeat the new enemy.
Midoriya was not sure how long it had been since he had been paralyzed, but he had started to feel the effects wear off. He knew that since this was a Nomu, it would not respond to the pain. It was like the thing had this override system that allowed it to shut pain out. So, his quirk would not work on the Nomu. That was fine because he had another idea on how to stop it.
Midoriya could feel his muscles tense and relax as he tries to move his body. To his relief, his body was beginning to respond this time. He knew it was working this time because the effects were wearing off. He worked to get himself onto his hands and knees. It had left him sweating, grunting, and sore. He still worked on pushing himself up onto his feet. It was unsteady and wobbly at first, like a baby taking their first steps. But he got onto his feet and took that step. His eyes were wide open now and his second step was steadier than the last.
The Nomu had noticed the movement and stopped its attack on Stain. It turned to meet what was approaching him once it took its third step towards him. It paused once it took in who or what was before him. As the smaller creation with a similar scent extended its hand, the Nomu lowered its head to sniff at it, like a cautious dog. And the Nomu was met with familiarity, but not just because he knew who the other was, but because they shared a liking. They were the same, yet different. They smelled the same, yet different. The Nomu quirked its head to the words the boy spoke.
"Go back to your master."
The Nomu moved to straighten up. He looked down the exit of the alleyway that he had come from. The people and fire raging everywhere. He began to walk towards the exit, back to where it came from. The league.
Midoriya had gained the Nomu's attention and just as he expected, it did not attack him. He had stuck his hand out to let it scent him, to take a moment to recognize who he was. And when the Nomu did this, the aggression in it faded away. So, once he had the Nomu's full attention, he gave it a command. And now he watched the thing walk back to the league. He was not sure why, but out of all the people in the league, he and Kurogiri had the most success when it came to commanding the Nomu's. They seemed to listen to their orders more than anyone else's.
Once the Nomu was halfway down the alleyway, Midoriya made his way to Stain to see if he was okay. he kneeled next to the other, who was slouched against the wall. Stain had felt a mixture of relief yet confusion.
"What the hell was that, kid?" Stain began to push himself up off the ground with a pained grunt.
"Well, good to know that you're okay."
Stain rolled his eyes, "I'll have to wait to recover before I start picking fights with hero's again..." he grumbled, "Now tell me what just happened there?"
Midoriya watched Stain wipe the blood off himself and brush the dirt off his clothing, "Well... I told you that the Nomu's were genetically engineered that were made by the League. They are kind of unstable and don't take too well with orders. Though so far, they only listen to me and Kurogiri. I don't know why though. Luckily it came in handy though!" He smiled.
Stain sighed, "Is that why they are keeping a kid around? Because you are able to control the Nomu?"
Midoriya shook his head, "Nope, and I'm not the only kid. There are a few others."
Stain pulled back with a distaste in his mouth and tone, "Really? They are so despicable to even bring children into this?"
"Well... they are there by choice."
"Doesn't matter, they should be turned away."
"But they don't have anywhere else to go. The League helps them, gives them support, allows them to be who they are, or helps them find out who they are."
"Oh, yeah? They probably bring them in with a false sense of security and brainwash them into some Stockholm Syndrome kind of thing and then the kids feel in debt to return the 'favor' and help the league out. Besides, you have a home and friends to return to."
Midoriya paused with a frown, "Well... I do have a home to return to... and maybe a few friends. Or I would like to call them my friends, but they don't really know the real me. That I'm working with the league and that I want to get rid of unworthy and false heroes. They would probably hate me."
Stain placed a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, "Listen, kid. You are still young; you have your whole life ahead of you. You shouldn't stain your hands with blood. You can still go back and live a normal life. I know you can become a great hero that everyone admires. And from there, you can work on changing the requirements of becoming a hero."
When Stain had put it that way, it sounded right. He would like to do that very much. He had never been violent by nature, though despite that, there was this painful prodding thought in his mind telling him to get his revenge on Bakugo. Though again, what better revenge than becoming the number one hero, the spot Bakugo had been so determined on getting. As much as he liked that idea, he couldn't.
The smaller boy frowned, "But I can't just leave the league... They gave me these quirks. They are unstable, so they must give me a serum that keeps the quirks from killing me."
Stain's eyes narrowed, "Seems like they are holding something over your head to keep you from leaving." he hummed, "They can't just give you a quirk, they had to get it from someone. There is a chance that you could have someone else's quirk."
That left an unsettling feeling in Midoriya's stomach that sewed a seed of doubt for the League. Was the League someone he could trust? Was there more that he did not know about? He did not like the sudden feeling of uncertainty.
"T-they wouldn't, right? They helped me..."
"I wouldn't put it passed them, the League is shrouded in mystery and dark secrets. Besides, they even genetically engineered whatever that thing was. An obedient soldier that would take out a lot of heroes, and apparently only listens to you and some other hotshot." He clicked his tongue, "The league is using you. They need you more than you need them. They need you to control the Nomu's and they need you as a pawn for their undercover UA plan to take out heroes and injure innocent kids."
Midoriya didn't really want to believe it and he would refuse to. Though even if he did refuse, there was still doubt.
"The process of taking quirks and giving them to someone else sounds familiar to me. I'm going to do some research on that. I'll let you know if I find something useful. As for now, stay wary of the League. Goodbye kid."
Stain made a quick escape through the back of the alleyway. Midoriya stood there before he turned his head down the other direction of the alleyway. Iida. They had almost forgotten about him. Luckily, he was off to the side, unharmed by the rampaging Nomu. He sighed with relief and walked to the other's side. He reached down to feel his pulse, it was slow but still there. He wondered if the other would wake up.
Midoriya decided that it would be for the best if he left Iida in the alleyway to wake up on his own. He would assume that the Hero Killer had knocked him out and escaped, leaving him alive because he did not want to kill a child.
He took the same exit as Stain. He wanted to travel through the back way and make it to a bus station unbothered by the current commotion that the pro heroes were now dealing with. They had been doing a good job about it too, the chaos had died down a little bit when compared to before. He had managed to get onto a bus, though it was crowded with all the evacuees.
Once he was dropped off at the station, he walked home. He would have to notify Shigaraki about his meeting with Stain and how it ended up as a failure. He did not feel like he should tell the other what they had talked about in the alley. That would stay to himself and he would contemplate about it later. For now, he would slip into his house and say his goodnight to his mother then go to bed
