Hey guys ! So ... apparently a great majority didn't like the last chapter at all ... fine, here is a 10 000 words long chapter as an apology. I won't linger on Stain's arc and no I won't do anything related to Stain training Izuku that's probably the most OOC idea I have ever seen (for this arc at least).
Also for those who keeps complaining about the pairing, if you are not satisfied just go read something else, it's so simple.
Finally I would like to make a shoutout to Shoujo-hime1412 (or Victini1412 on the discord) for being the Beta Reader of this chapter, she has done a truly amazing work and if the chapter is kinda great it's all thanks to her !
Another shoutout to Krombopulos-Will for his amazing story "A room full of your posters"
Now read this and give me some sweet reviews ! Let's reach 1000 followers finally !
"Adapt the height of your fist to your opponents, do not let too much space between your feets, and to not place them too close from each others either and blablabla-..."
At some point Izuku stopped listening, he already knew all of this, it only took about two weeks for Sensei to teach him decades of experience. Gran Torino was just speaking in the air while he was "adjusting" Izuku's body to the right position.
He probably even noticed that Izuku already had a near perfection stance. As time passed the old man simply concluded that this lesson was probably not helpful.
"... Anyway, we won't be spending the day here, we will take the tram in order to reach the downtown area. How about you do your first patrol?"
"R-Really?!"Exclaimed Izuku at the thought of finally being able to be on the field.
"Calm down would you? It's not as simple as it looks, I have to first establish a few rules ... but let's forget this part for now, I'm hungry" Even though they only trained for about an hour.
"... Gran Torino wait!" As the old man was going back inside the apartment Izuku stopped him "Can I bring my helmet? I know you warned me about what it represented but ... I think it really defines what kind of hero I want to be. I don't care that a villain used to wear something similar, this is who I want to be."
Gran Torino stared angrily at his temporary student but he ended up accepting the fact that Izuku would not obey without putting up a fight and sighed "Fine ... but don't say that I didn't warned you, and don't you dare complain about anything bothering you after that!"
Oh, he would ?definitely ? not complain, this was the single most important aspect of his costume that he cherished the most. Beside he wasn't the only hero wearing scary masks' or having a scary face ... but yes perhaps he should try to use a lighter shade of green.
Izuku was about to go back to the room Gran Torino had offered him when his phone rung, He didn't recognize the number but decided to answer just in case it was Sensei.
"Hello?"
"Are you having fun? I mean... Hosu is a boring place" A familiar voice, belonging to Tomura Shigaraki came through the phone. Izuku immediately mentally noted the phone number.
"Why are you calling me?" He tried to sound as neutral as possible, if there was one thing that the leader of the League seemed to enjoy above all it was control.
"Straight to the point I see, I like that, I just wanted to tell you I listened to your advice" Izuku didn't understand ... what advice? "Yes, you are clearly not the kind of people I can recruit ... so I decided to change my plans"
"I don't understand! Answer me! What do you want?!" Izuku looked around him, Tomura and Kurogiri might be watching so he decided to move inside the building.
The Leader simply chuckled "As I said I just wanted to tell you I listened to your advice ... oh and I also wanted to see how you would react. I don't give up you know. You are very interesting ...yes, you will make a fine opponent, I wonder how you will play in the next step?"
"You-!" Tomura hung up "Damn it ..." Izuku thought again about his quick meeting in the League's base ... they had- well Kurogiri had access to his phone for a short moment, he would have to change it later, who knows what else the bartender could have done apart from obtaining his number.
Something was about to happen ... but why would Tomura somehow announce his next move to him?
Two hours later.
Gran Torino had been trying to sleep since he got onto the tram with Izuku ... but sleeping next to someone harboring the symbol of the scariest villain who ever lived, happened to be more difficult than he thought. Why would Izuku even ?want to ? wear such a thing? It wasn't necessarily heavy, but it was probably still very uncomfortable.
Izuku didn't want to let people around him notice that something was disturbing him ... especially Gran Torino. Something was going to happen, but he didn't know when or where. It frustrated him that he would probably not be able to do anything.
Tomura knew that Izuku was in Hosu ... why else would he let him know that he has access to this kind of information? To tell him that he will make his next move here? It was currently 3 PM, they would reach their destination in about ten minutes. If Tomura wanted to do something with his current resources he would do it later that day ... Around nighttime, yes.
If he could warn the police and the heroes but- Then how would he explain how Tomura had access to his phone number? He wasn't even supposed to be having this internship... Good thing he brought his helmet just in case.
"... Gran Torino tell me ... usually what do you do when you are out patrolling ?"
"Hum? Well ... it depends, most of the time Hosu is a quiet place, and I rarely patrol in the streets. I don't really like racing for autographs and photos, but as neither of us is going viral as far as I know-" Gran Torino could feel Izuku's sigh through his helmet "what's with this reactio-?! ... oh" he came to realize that Izuku had indeed a very special reputation since his performance at the sport festival "Never mind, this thing suits you ... no really you know a lot of heroes uses mask! Even this spiderman guy wears a paper bag or something like that"
"It's okay... honestly I don't like autographs and group photos either. So yeah... saving cats stuck in trees?"
"Hahaha don't worry most of the time it's about giving information to people or preventing small "criminal" activities... but yes I ended up helping about a hundred cats stuck in trees in my life that's not simply an urban legend"
"Attention passengers, we will reach Hosu Deida Square in the next minute, please retrieve all your belongings and prepare to exit the tram-"
"Well looks like we are here, comon kid let's go"
Izuku smiled under his helmet and nodded, he was about to take is first steps into the hero world.
Two years ago.
Izuku and All for One were watching a movie about a group of young people who could turn into superheroes and use some sort of giant robots to fight monsters.
"Damn this never gets old ... each year they found a way to make it seems 'new' I guess today it wouldn't work"
"Because of quirks?"
"Mainly, what's the point of making a fiction universe were everyone else is weaker than the actual population? What's the point if people can't be inspired by the characters, they are looking at? ... Actually, good questions, what is your costume going to looks like ? You want to become a hero, so I guess it's- ... urg ... "important" for your career ?"
Sensei sounded disgusted, he always was when they ended up talking about heroes, but he always tried to hide it and sound neutral or bored.
"I'm not sure yet ... I haven't even started to think about it, some student in my class have made sketches but they won't let me look at them"
"Out of awkwardness ? Hahaha ... that's-"
"What would be the point of getting a comment from someone quirkless?" Izuku echoed Sensei's statement about the movie.
"... How about we make it together? I could give you a few tips, I thought about using one myself you see, but it was a long time ago"
Izuku could not hold in his laugh, All for One, out of all people on earth he would wear a costume despite his hatred toward anything related to heroes? "Hahaha, you must be kidding me, right?"
"Well... actually no, I'm always wearing fancy clothes as you must have noticed but- ... well all my quirks aren't really compatible with it, so it almost always ends up being destroyed if I have to fight."
"Oh ... that makes sense, so you never found anything suitable ?"
"That's the thing when you have the most powerful quirk in the world, you can't always control your strength"
When Izuku went back to the reality he was walking in the streets with Gran Torino, off to a great start... he had been sleeping on his first patrol as an apprentice pro hero.
"Hey kid is something wrong ? You have been awfully quiet since we got out of the tram" the pro hero noticed.
"I-it's nothing, I was just ... thinking"
"Thinking ? ... about what ?" Izuku tried to act as if he didn't hear the last question but Gran Torino kept glancing at him, so he had to figure out yet another lie.
"I was thinking about my hero name ... I haven't picked it yet"
"Oh, you should have already thought of that , if I'm not mistaken you kids are supposed to pick one right before the internships, this should also include all of the paperwork and that sort of detail...you do not even a small idea ?"
"I have no clue ... I will find something which suits me later I gue-" An explosion occurred right next to the duo; it came from a grocery "let's go !" Izuku didn't waste any time and ran directly toward the shop.
Gran Torino didn't really know if he should ask Izuku to stay behind him as it was his first time on the field, and his lack of experience might put him as well as other people in danger. But considering the situation the emergency had to pass before anything else.
There was a lot of smoke coming from inside, white smoke, not black so technically it must indicate that there isn't any serious fire. Izuku also examined the stability of the building, nothing seemed damaged so he could get inside without taking any more risk.
The old man saw his student looking at the building, he knew exactly what the young hero was doing, and he had to admit he was very impressed.
"Gran Torino, there might be a fire, can you call-" before Izuku could finish the pro was already on his phone calling the firemen.
"I'm on it ! Finish the job ! You are wasting time !"
Izuku nodded and went inside the shop, his helmet helped a lot, he could feel the heat throughout his costume but thanks to the helmet the smoke was one less problem to deal with as he was looking for people.
"Anyone here ? Rescue is here !" He kept yelling trying to obtain a response, the entrance was empty so he decided to go check the back where the smoke seemed to come from.
"Help !" A first answer, the smoke became denser and the heat increased, a woman was stocked under large metallic crate ... a vault ? She was stuck under a small vault, he would ask about this later.
Izuku carefully lifted the vault and threw it away to help the woman.
"Is there anyone else inside ?" He asked, the woman was coughing a lot, probably because of the smoke, yet she managed to answer no with her head.
Another explosion, now despite his costume protecting him Izuku felt very uncomfortable from the heat , he then hurried outside with the women in his arms as she wasn't protected at all compared to him.
Gran Torino helped Izuku as soon as he was out of the shop, yet that didn't stop him from yelling at his student for running inside without any warning "Even if this is indeed a case of emergency do not ever do that again! I'm the one supposed to take the risks not you ! You are still young, and I do not want to be responsible if something REALLY bad happens to you !"
"Sorry" Izuku helped the woman to sit somewhere and started inspecting her body for any sign of injury, she seemed mostly fine "I didn't see any sign of fire but-"
One last explosion, this time the building couldn't hold on anymore and completely collapsed, the woman watched in disbelief as she started crying "N-no"
Izuku ... despite the fact that he saved a life ... he felt sick, because saving a life doesn't mean you really helped someone. What did she lose ? Her job ? Her home ? Maybe even more ... Izuku failed to save the rest, he couldn't .
Gran Torino watched the building burn, the firemen arrived at the same time as the police and the media ... all too late. The pro sighed and was about to ask Izuku to come with him, they had nothing to do here at this point excepted giving a report to the police.
"Kid let's-" he noticed Izuku's facial expression, it meant deception , no, in fact it screamed failure. The old man couldn't really hold it against him, he had felt this too when he was still a hero in training ... it was such a long time ago, things don't change from a generation to another "hey ... HEY ! KID, SNAP OUT OF IT !"
Izuku went back to reality once again, the firemen were trying to control the crowd along with the police, the building was just a pile of dust even they had to admit defeat, he turned around toward Gran Torino "Y-yeah sorry, what is it ?"
"... You did great, I don't think anyone would have been as fast as you to react. You aced your first surprise intervention, but we aren't done yet, as you were the one inside the building you will have to make an actual report to the police, come on let's go"
Izuku followed the pro, they quickly identified who was in charge, a tall woman wearing a bullet proof west who was yelling about two orders per second either to the policemen currently present or throughout a radio.
"Hey, isn't that Grandad Torino ! It has been a while ! What the hell happened here ?"
"Hara Sumire, so you finally got promoted" Gran Torino turned his head around and muttered something to Izuku "She is too much of a tomboy for her own sake, if you want my point of view" he coughed a bit and went to back to the main subject "If you want a report ask the kid"
The officer looked up; she was a bit surprised at first because of the helmet "U-uh sure ... so uh ... kid yeah, how about you explain the whole situation"
Izuku nodded "Me and Gran Torino were on patrol when we witnessed an explosion, inside this building, I quickly ran inside as I saw a lot of smoke, and inside I found one woman who is currently being taken care of by the firemen, I didn't manage to see the source of the fire, but I noticed a vault which had been forced open. According to the woman there wasn't anyone else inside the building while I was still inside another explosion occurred so I hurried outside, and then after a moment one last explosion made the building collapse ... and that's all I can report" Izuku was waiting for a reply from the officer but instead she just stood in front of him rather speechless.
"Y-yeah ... we-we will interrogate her later about the vault, for now we can't really classify this as domestic accident and-" suddenly the radio inside the police car made a lot of noise, Hara went inside the car to find out what was happening.
Izuku and Gran Torino exchanged a short glance before the officer hurried back to them.
"We have a hostage situation RIGHT next to us ! We need reinforcement ! You two get inside the car !"
The old man sat at the passenger seat "You heard the officer kid ! Move !" Izuku went in the back of the car, talk about a first impression.
Two years ago.
"How is it to run a criminal empire ?"
Yet another unanswerable question from his most stubborn student ... ohhh how he liked a bit of challenge.
"It's not simply hard it's literally hell. See this as ... yes, a very complex game of economic simulation set on maximum difficulty without any pauses or saves."
"Oh ... but you aren't at any human standards, right ?"
"Correct, so I can keep up ... kind of. I don't have any quirk which enhances my brain abilities you know ? And I'm glad I do otherwise I would probably be as smart as a m at the moment "
"... If it's so hard, why did you even decide to do it ? With all your power you could do anything else"
Sensei chuckled "Why do you want to be a hero ? Because you want to save people with the other Rambo's smile ? Because you want to prove something to the world ? Or simply because you felt like it ? With your brain Izuku you could be so much more ... Prime minister, the best scientist in the world, astronaut ... yet you decide to be one of those cosplayers running around in the streets trying to be on TV or to sell some cornflakes ... See ? The answer isn't simple"
"... Then what's your goal ? Do you even have any ?"
"My goal ? ... of course I have one ... or rather had one" Sensei didn't add anything, Izuku could actually hear him snoring under his helmet. He would have found this funny if All for One didn't have about five different tubes connected to his head and arms at the moment.
"I hope I will never end up like you ... yet I want to be as strong as you ! And I will"
"We are almost here ! Listen, we think the shop was attacked by a villain, and this same villain is currently holding an old man hostage using his quirk, it's something about sticky explosives or something" the officer was doing her best to drive across the streets as fast and safe as possible.
"Sticky explosive ? ... I have done a lot of quirk analysis; I might be able to help you" Izuku offered his help even though the officer didn't seem to be disposed to listen to him at the moment.
"You guys are the only one available at the moment ! I hope you have a plan gramps !"
"Gramps ?" Izuku quoted and whispered at Gran Torino "Just what kind of relationship do you have with her ?"
"Too hard to explain ... none of us is specialized for this kind of situation" the pro hero rubbed his chin "Kid how good are you in those analysis ?"
Izuku chuckled "I aced every test this year."
The car stopped, everyone got out and the officer quickly brought Izuku and Gran Torino toward the scene. About a dozen of cops were pointing their weapons at a single tall man wearing a red carnival mask and holding an old man by the neck.
The said old man had some weird white paste attached to different parts of his body.
"I SAID I WANT MY MONEY NOW, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS NOT UNDERSTANDING IN THIS SENTENCE ?" yelled the villain "I TOLD YOU ! IF I DON'T GET ANYTHING THE GRAMPS HERE GOES BOOM !"
The villain didn't really have to yell since there was only ten meters separating him from the police forces.
"He doesn't look scared, nor angry ... just impatient" stated Izuku.
Gran Torino agreed "Can you tell us anything about his quirk ?"
"If he is indeed responsible for the destruction of the shop then he is telling the truth, he must really have the ability to detonate this white paste from a distance, that would explain why there were separate explosions ... do you mind if I negotiate with him ? This will give us some time, and he might do something stupid"
"What ?!" Yelled back the officer surprised and triggered by such an absurdity "I'm not letting a kid-"
"Let him handle this Hara" ordered Gran Torino earning a worried look from the officer.
"... Fine, you have five minute"
"I only need one" Izuku noticed something around the officer's belt "What is this ?"
"This ? A smoke grenade ... why ?"
"How much time can I keep it in my hand before it explodes ?"
"... For about a minute at most-and why are you even-" Right as the officer was losing her composure Izuku snatched the grenade from her belt and walked across the police barrage holding the grenade in his back with his arms crossed behind him, he didn't like to imitate Sensei's demarche but Iwuku had to admit that he had managed to caught the villain's attention.
The villain immediately noticed Izuku, his facial expression let him know that the villain was either really scared by Izuku's costume or that he was considering the eventuality of a very strange joke.
"DO-DO NOT TAKE A STEP CLOSER ! OR HE GOES BOOM !"
"Yeah actually I'm here to negotiate so you can breathe, but before we start, I would like to point out a few things, first you are completely surrounded, if you didn't notice yet. Second, reinforcement, will be here soon, and if you try to lay even a finger on this person you are gonna receive harsh treatment-"
"DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE ? I ASKED YOU TO-"
"OH YOU SHOULD CARE" Izuku temporarily raised his voice to interrupt the villain "And for the big finale, what do you think will happen if you make this person "go boom" right now?"
"What do you mean by tha-" the villain just realised he had been threatening to detonate a literal bomb at less than one meter away from him since the police arrived. This revelation made the villain panic and he happened to lose his grip on the old man's neck who immediately used this momentum to run away from the villain.
Izuku let his finger go off the grenade and threw in at the villain's face, with his left hand he powered All for One and-
The policemen, the officer and Gran Torino couldn't see anything but when they heard a very loud scream which didn't belong to either Izuku or the civilian they knew something terrible just happened.
As the smoke cleared the villain now had his face planted in the ground and Izuku blocking the villain's hands against his back and with his right fist Izuku was ready to land a punch if the villain ever decides to try something stupid in his current state.
"HE IS UNCONSCIOUS ! Remove the paste now he won't be able to make it explode !" Izuku stated.
The officer Hara was speechless and so were the other policemen.
"Didn't you hear the kid ?!" Gran Torino seemed to be the only one not impacted by Izuku's performance and had to scream a bit at the police forces to make them move. Two of them ended up helping the civilian to remove the paste but soon enough it melted away just like a cube of ice.
"Handcuff him !" Ordered the officer.
Izuku moved away from the villain's body but not before returning his quirk, he couldn't take the risk of triggering the explosion by beating the villain unconscious, beside such a quirk would probably be safer in someone else's hands right?
Yet ... Izuku felt wrong, he just saved someone yes, but he could hear the cops around him whispering.
"Did- ... did he just walked here and-"
"What kind of training do they get at U.A. ?"
"How old is- ... wait gramps called him kid, so he really is a student ?"
He was being praised ... in an odd way but he was still praised. Izuku should be feeling some satisfaction for this accomplishment but instead he just felt ... bored ?
"You could be so much more ..." He remembered what Sensei told him, at this moment he was trying to understand what All for One meant and he felt like he was close from the answer.
*SLAP*
"Don't you dare do that ever AGAIN ! Kid this was serious ! There was a hostage !" Frustration hit him in the person of Gran Torino, yet Izuku had to admit that he was probably the only person here smart enough to consider that indeed Izuku may have slightly risked sacrificing a life so the villain could be defeated.
"I had the situation under contr-"
"Yes, yes I saw that ! But next time can you do things the usual way ?"
"Should I have asked him to be a good boy and surrender ? That the police would give him a tap on the shoulder and let him go ?"
"... WHY YES OF COURSE !" Izuku ended up receiving Gran Torino's cane in his helmet and he could swear that it really hurt even with this sort of protection.
It took about a minute before the duo realized that civilians and cops were staring at them.
"Ah I'm getting too old for this ... come on, we earned a break, waffles time"
"Again ?"
"There is always a time for waffles"
Half an hour later at Gun Head's agency.
Ochaco was on a break. Tomorrow she was supposed to go on patrol for her first time, so Gun Head simply asked her to rest as much as she could. That way she wouldn't be handicapped by the exhaustion.
She had to admit that Gun Head had a rather "straight to the point" way of teaching things. She was casually chatting with other heroes or employees inside the break area when she saw something familiar on TV.
A journalist was talking about the internships with the students of U.A. in Hosu when she caught a few frames with the very recognizable costume of one of her classmates.
"Izuku ?" She left a conversation without warning to take a closer look, a few of the other people present followed her.
"This year I can definitely tell you that U.A. is giving us a diamond generation of future heroes ! Just look at this young uh ... boy ? Anyway, this young student managed to diffuse a hostage situation in less than a minute without even using his quirk ! No one was harmed ... well excepted the villain of course."
The image changed to show a picture of the said villain with a broken nose and a ... burn mark ? On his forehead.
"Damn ! Hey Uraraka, you know him ?" Asked Gun Head who appeared out of nowhere.
"Y-yeah, he is in my class."
"Wow he must be damn strong if he doesn't even have to use his quirk !"
"That's- ... that's because he doesn't have one" she tried to smile as she revealed why Izuku didn't use a quirk, for once she hoped that the pros would have a different reaction but instead everyone just seemed ... down right speechless.
They stared at Ochaco as if she had just detonated a bomb.
"W-wait- what is he doing here the-" someone was about to ask a question, but Gun Head raised his voice to interrupt them.
"Well isn't the last generation full of surprise ? I will definitely think about inviting him here, this villain guy was pretty built up so your friend must have a good punch ! Hahaha ..." a few people laughed alongside him and so did Ochaco even if she noticed some pros leaving the room and whispering to each others.
Around the same time.
Gran Torino had invited or rather offered Izuku to get a bunch of waffles with him, apparently the old pro hero had some sort of "special" reduction in price for all the plates in this one restaurant.
"A well-deserved reward ! ... even if I have to admit you did most of the job today ... but I'm curious, just how-" Gran Torino sighed as he tried to find the right words, but it was hard when he was still staring at a black skull "Could you take this off for just a minute ?!"
"S-sorry"
"Kid is there anything bothering you ?"
If Izuku wanted to tell everything he would say that yes there were a few problems, first the League of villains, then Eri, then the medias, then the civilians, and then All for One ... well technically visiting the lord of crime almost every day has always been a problem but at the moment Izuku couldn't handle to deal with all those things at the same time.
"N-no I'm fine re-" his phone rang ... it was Ochaco "oh-oh do you mind if I-?"
"It better be important ! Now go and don't take too much time !" Izuku stood up and went outside "The waffles are going to be cold at thi-" he didn't hear the end and it didn't sound important anyway.
"Hello ?"
"Izuku ! I saw you on TV ! You were amazing ! But- ... I thought you weren't allowed to take an internship"
"Well uh ... the principal made an exception. Trust me no one is supposed to be aware of this, and I guess the helmet helps a lot right ? ... say-I-I do not look too scary, do I ?"
"Uhhhhh..." Ochaco wondered what she should tell him considering Izuku might overtake her comment and do something stupid "You should try to add a cloak ! Or a cape I mean"
Now Izuku wondered if he should go through the fifty reasons about why a cloak and / or a cape, as Ochaco told him, are the most dangerous thing you can add on a costume but instead he simply replied "Y-yeah I'll drop a word to the support department, how is your internship going ?"
"Just great ! I'm training with Gun Head ! When I'll be back at U.A. I'm sure I'll be as strong as you ! Even stronger, if I work hard enough !"
"A perfect choice and I hope it will really help you-" Izuku noticed Gran Torino glaring at him "Uh-S-sorry I think there is something freezi-I meanburningyessorryhaveaniceday-" Izuku hung up and ran back inside the restaurant as fast as possible.
Gun Head's agency, right after.
Ochaco stared at the phone with her eyes wide open, did she interrupt something really important ? Perhaps she just put some people in danger by making Izuku answer ?
"Oh my oh my Oh my ..." she started blushing really hard at the thought of seeing her classmate with a cape on his costume and holding his helmet in a very cool way, if only she could be with him right now "N-no why am I-?"
Suddenly Gun Head whispered something into her ear "Is he your boyfriend ?"
"N-NO IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK !" Ochaco couldn't hold back her blush and started floating around the dojo.
"Uh ... h-hey I didn't mean to bother you ! Get down you are gonna hit the fan ! SOMEBODY CATCH HER !"
Back inside the restaurant
The waffles were still warn, though there was only one for Izuku's one left.
"So, who called you ? Not Nezu hopefully, I don't want to get in trouble because of you"
"N-no it was a friend don't worry" Izuku was about to take a bit of his waffle when Gran Torino smirked.
"How is your girlfriend ?" Izuku ended up missing the fork and fumbling with it.
"W-what ho-how did you-?"
"Please kid, it was 50/50 ... kind of, unless it's a boyfriend, in that case I'm not-"
"N-No it's-it's my girl friend-Wait no-no I mean it's my friendbutsheisagirland-" Izuku received yet again Gran Torino's cane on his forehead.
"Could you articulate when you speak ?! How do you hope to be a hero if you can't even speak properly !" Both of them regained their composure "Anyway, I got it, your friend is a girl ... I was just asking if you had a crush on her?"
Izuku kept a neutral expression and turned around toward his helmet, he picked it up and placed it on his head, then let out the biggest blush he ever had.
"Can you stop hiding ?"
"N-no ..."
"Oh please, I had a crush too you know ! ... wanna know who ?"
"... why would you tell me ?"
"Well that's whole point of being a team, you share secrets with your partner, and he does the same"
"... who ?"
"Hahaha, well, you already met her I suppose, Recovery Girl"
"No way ! You had a relationship with her ?" Now that Izuku was comparing their age it somehow made sense ... they both had the same personality too in a way.
"We had ... for a moment, you see kid that's the thing with our job, work goes before everything, and we didn't have much time to develop anything. Look at me now, I'm grumpy old man who lives in a decaying building with only waffles to keep up his miserable existence"
"Aren't you over exaggerati-"
"SHUT UP I'M TRYING TO MAKE IT INTERESTING ! ... so, we hum ... did do things together but-" the old man sighed "I think I was just too busy at this moment, I knew she wanted to start something, and so did I. I suppose our activities didn't go unnoticed, and we had more and more pressure over us, the government doesn't support this sort of relationship unless it might support the hero system"
"What do you mean by support ?"
"Do I have to explain the birds and the be-"
"I got it no need to go this far thank you ... but you still see each others from time to time right ?"
"We do yes, but let's not go further on this subject alright ? Now your turn, do you indeed have a crush on your friend yes or no ?"
"... Is it important if I do ?"
"Oh not really, I just want to know more about you, and perhaps give some advice."
"Uh ... advice ? I-I'm doing fine on my own thank you"
"So you haven't confessed yet, bad move, if you want to make sure she won't float away from you-" Gran Torino didn't realize Ochaco could REALLY do that at the moment "-You should consider telling her how you feel as soon as possible"
"And what if she doesn't feel the same way ?"
"Why wouldn't she ? Do you suspect she has a crush on you ?"
"... okay I have to admit her poker face isn't that good, but still I-I'm not sure I should just be so honest with her"
"You will have to be blunt one day or another, trust me, the next time you see her, you take a deep breath and you tell her how you feel ! ... and no baby babbling alright ?!"
"Y-yes !" Actually, Izuku had no intention to do that at all, it would probably have a worse result than revealing his quirk to the world if he had to find an example ...
Yet, that would be a great moment if Ochaco-
"Izuku ? Is that you ?" The door of the restaurant just opened, Izuku wasn't paying attention, but while he and Gran Torino were talking about their relationship with their "coworkers" a certain student of U.A. wearing a white armor happened to be walking in front of restaurant and noticed him.
Izuku didn't even have the time to look behind him, Tenya was already next to him "I heard about your exploits ! At first, I thought it was someone else wearing a scary helmet, but no it's really you ! ... why are you wearing it now though ?"
He quickly took off his helmet, hopefully he had managed to lose his blush at this point "Oopsy, it's good to see you Tenya"
"I thought you weren't allowed to take an internship ?"
"It's- ... complicated, anyway, if I'm here today it's all thank to Gran Torino" Izuku presented the pro hero to Tenya who bowed respectfully.
"Thank you sir for helping Izuku, he didn't deserve to be punished in such a way for his actions during the sports festival"
Gran Torino had been smiling since Tenya entered, but now Izuku realized the old pro hero wasn't really listening, instead he was stuck into another of his senile periods ... this was starting to become awkward, and after a few seconds he simply asked "uh ... what punishment ?"
Half an hour later.
A screen currently displaying the text "audio only" in the bar of the League. Tomura was almost ready, he just had a few extra requests in order to ensure his victory.
"I'm listening Tomura, what else do you need ?"
"Sensei, a few days ago I met a student from U.A."
Tomura wasn't necessarily expecting a reaction but he clearly heard something moving, a faint sound of tissue being rubbed against a surface.
"I apologize I'm not sure I heard the last part ... a student of U.A. ? Kurogiri didn't inform me about this, which one ?"
"Izuku Midoriya"
All for One resisted the urge to gasp. He was trying to figure out when Tomura had met Izuku, and why did his other student never mentioned this ... Eri's rescue, he had lost contact with him for a few hours ... but why did he omit to talk about this ?
"... yes, the quirkless one, so ... what happened ?"
"That's the thing Sensei, he isn't quirkless, and also, he killed someone and tried to run away, I'm sure we could use that against him to infiltrate All Might's class in a way !"
The situation was catastrophic.
"... Tomura for now you should only focus on your main operation, recruiting more paws for your next big score. Izuku Midoriya isn't a threat at the moment, you can think about this later."
"But Sensei-"
"I do not have much time now, what do you need ?"
"... I want a couple of extra Nomus, I intend to use them as a distraction while someone else deals with Stain"
"Who ? Kurogiri ? One of the Nomus ?"
Tomura smirked "it's a surprise, you will be proud of me, Sensei, I know it"
All for One decided to cut the feed and sighed, he had to take care of things by himself at this point.
A few waffles and some explanations later
"I didn't know they went so far ... rotten apples, I never liked those guys. They just like to show off with their "provocative" costumes and methods"
"Talking about this ... how did your council went Izuku ? Aizawa didn't tell us anything"
Izuku remembered how All for One directed most of the conversation without even being physically present, it made him smile ... but if he said anything to Tenya this might just make things even more complicated.
"It- ... went"
...
"It went ? That's- ... wait how is that even an answe-"
A phone rung, it belonged to Izuku, he took it out and immediately recognized the number "Sorry but THIS is an emergency" he ran outside the restaurant as if something was on fire leaving Gran Torino and Tenya alone.
"Hey, since you are his classmate do you mind telling me what's wrong with him ?" Asked the old pro once they were alone.
Tenya looked confused "Wrong ? Sir I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand your question, what do you call wrong with Midoriya ?"
"Well ... he dresses up like a villain, he is stubborn but not in the wrong way, he keeps muttering about someone called Eri when nothing important is happening, and finally he always looks scared... Do I need to make another recap ?"
Tenya couldn't deny that all of this was somehow true ... well except the part about "Eri" or whatever Gran Torino said but yes Izuku was different "I'm- ... well he has his own personality, honestly I never paid any kind of attention to those details but ... I know Izuku has been bullied, a lot actually. Ochaco, she is one of our comrades, told me everything during one of our lunch periods. Izuku is very discreet about this, I think he doesn't want to think about this at all now that he is at U.A."
"Bullying ... I'm not surprised, I know someone who had it the same way. Yet the kid is pretty strong, he looks unaffected by all of this, or perhaps he is just pretending to be fine ? I understand now why he became so angry when I- ..."
"... when you ?"
"N-never mind ... so you know anything else ?"
"Actually yes, apparently Izuku and Katsuki Bakugo were in the same school before they entered U.A."
"Katsuki Bakugo ... oh yes I remember now, he deserved that right hook back at the tournament ... wait they were in the same school ? Don't tell me he-"
"Yes, he was one of the people who used to bully Izuku and according to Ochaco he was even their leader"
"How did he get into U.A. ?!"
"He was second at the entrance exam and ... and also-" Tenya checked to see if Izuku was near them but he was still outside "Ochaco once told me that he and Izuku used to be friends, but I hardly believe this. I U.A. let him in just because somehow he had a very old relationship with Izuku then they are really misinformed."
Gran Torino sighed, the kid wasn't naturally strong, others made him resistant. He is a survivor... Now he had one last question.
"How the hell did Izuku even get into U.A. ?"
Tenya smiled "Well, I didn't believe it either, he had the best score at the entrance exam" Tenya rubbed the back of his head "And say I even went and started making comments about his weird attitude when he didn't do anything."
Outside
"Good ... now that I have the missing piece of the puzzle, do you mind explaining to me why you didn't say anything about what happened during the hours when you disappeared ?"
"... I forgot ... and also Eri was my main priority."
"Do not worry about her, she is fine trust me-"
"You visited my mother, didn't you ?"
"Invited" corrected All for One "I was invited, though we only talked about our lives, not about Eri. Look this isn't really bad if you simply forgot but it's still a bit late. I happened to catch something really interesting, the League is preparing something for tonight, and it's going to happen in Hosu"
"In Hosu ?" Izuku remembered his ... "conversation" with Tomura "... their leader has my phone number, he called me this morning, but I don't know what he hoped to accomplish"
"... Izuku we just had a whole conversation about keeping information for yourself and now-"
"Can we get back to the main problem?"
All for One breathed heavily, Izuku wasn't perfect, he just had to remember that over the years he accepted that fact "They are going to do something in Hosu tonight, that's all I know ... Izuku, do not stay here"
...
"What ? Sensei I can't just leave like this ! I'm doing an internship !-"
"Then pretend that your mother is very sick, Izuku, I believe they are targeting you for a reason or another Perhaps they think they can use your secrets to use you, but whatever atheir reasons you are in dang-"
"Sensei ... I'm a hero, I'm not stupid, but if I run away every time I encounter a problem I will never be able to progress. I won't leave Hosu, if the League is going to act here I'll be ready to help and- ... and if I have to I will go all out ..." Izuku received no answer "Can you do me a favor ? If something bad happens to me-will- ... will you protect my mother and Eri ?"
"Of course, I will make sure they do not lack of anything ... if you promise to come back alive hahaha, considering you actually manage to get yourself killed"
"Hehe, I'm tougher than I look ... then, you didn't mean I might get killed ?"
"No, not exactly I think they are going to use you at this point"
Inside the restaurant
Izuku entered inside the restaurant once again, while he was gone a third person joined Gran Torino, the pro hero Native.
"If you go out to answer this freaking phone a third time you are paying ! ... For everyone of course !" Announced Gran Torino.
Native stood up and rubbed the back of his head "Yeah ... talking about paying, Tenya we have to go now, I just received an alert for-" He checked his own phone once again "it says "suspicious activities around dentetsu ward, might need reinforcement" it came from Manual, he went to check it out himself but ... he isn't responding."
"He went alone ?"
"I don't know, he wouldn't do that since the city is on high alert, I did ask him if he was patrolling with someone but- ... he didn't answer at all and it that was ten minutes ago"
Native and Tenya exchanged a node "we apologise Gran Torino but we have to go now."
"Go on, it's not my problem, Izuku, we are leaving too, it will be enough for today" Gran Torino and Native each paid their own.
But something was wrong, Izuku's mind was currently linking all this information together in every possible way ... the League, Hosu, Stain, Tenya, Manual going missing ... he needed more time to figure it out ! But more than that he had to stay close from the center of Hosu or else he wouldn't be able to help.
"C-coul- I mean shouldn't we help Native and-"
"Kid this isn't related to us or any agency we might be affiliated to, we can't do much and I am very tired ... why do you even want to do extra hours ? That's the worst possible thing you could do as a hero ! Haven't you seen Eraser's state ?"
Damn it, the old pro won't let him stay ... Izuku made sure he picked up all his belongings and left the restaurant with Gran Torino. He looked behind him one last time, and Tenya and Native were running into a trap, it was so obvious.
Half an hour later
Izuki and Gran Torino were in the tram on their way back to the old building which served to that old pro as a house.
"I won't ask you again to drop the helmet since there is no need to hide that something is disturbing you. I simply KNOW IT ... now what's wrong ?"
"... something is going to happen"
...
"Kid, this is probably the best thing with heroes, they can tell when something is going to happen. You and might be right, so if you have an intuition tell me"
"Stain, Tenya, Manual ... Tenya's brother getting attacked by Stain, Stain is present here, Tenya is also present, something is gonna happen and it's all related to Stain"
"... THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING ! AND YOU COULDN'T SAY THAT EARLIER ?"
"Why do people keep yelling at me because I forgot crucial informati-?" Izuku froze, suddenly he felt a very strange accumulation of quirks coming in HIS direction.
He turned toward the accumulation which was now accelerating in their direction "EVERYONE GET ON THE GROUND NOW!" the other people in the train stared at him in confusion, but it was too late to act now, the top of the tram was reaped away.
A Nomu, the League had started their next move.
"What is that thing?!"
"Run run!"
The civilians were running around in the tram as if they could get out at this point, Izuku couldn't do much, the Nomu was out of his reach and if he used All for One now then Gran Torino and the civilians would see it.
The Nomu screamed so loud that everyone in the tram had to cover their ears out of fear of becoming deaf.
Izuku felt something grabbing him, then he couldn't feel the ground anymore, and before he could react the Nomu had grabbed him and was now flying away from the tram.
"KIIIIIiiii..." Gran Torino's voice faded away with the distance.
Izuku smiled despite the situation he was in, now he could use All for One. He found four quirks, less than the original Nomu but it would do... Now the first problem, he had no idea of what the quirks would do, second ... why was the Nomu even taking him ? Third, WHERE WAS HE EVEN BEING TAKEN ?"
It didn't matter, Izuku had yet another method to make the Nomu come down, this time he wouldn't hold back. He activated All for One at its maximum, and messed up as much as possible with the Nomu's quirks.
The creature screams out of ... pain if it was even physically and mentally able to feel it, it's body started to inflate and deflate randomly. The Nomu was losing speed but also crashing very quickly toward the ground.
Izuku managed to force the Nomu to let him go. For now the creature managed to keep a certain stability when it was flying, so Izuku decided to use its body as a shield, considering the League was using Nomu's to match All Mights strength Izuku supposed this one must had a shock absorption quirk.
This had better be to be the case otherwise he would be crushed against the pavement within the next few seconds.
Landing spot, a few minutes ago.
Shoto had managed to get away from his father, he might be on internship with him, but he had no reason to actually be working with him. Earlier he thought he had seen Tenya running somewhere with Native, if he was authorized to help he would have, but the law was the law so he would stay on the bench just this once ... He didn't even take the time to change.
He stopped for a moment, his mind became blank, he shouldn't be here, he had no reason or desire to have this trash training with his father ... his father, the screams, suddenly his scar hurt ... the screams, his scream ... his mother's scream ... the scream of a woman.
Wait ... a real scream ? He snapped out of his dream, the street suddenly became orange, a fire ? What happened ? People were running away all around him. Shoto was about to use his quirk, technically he could intervene, there was no villain invol-
Something walked throught the flames, a tall and very muscular figure ... the same creature from the USJ, yet different in appearance. Shoto wanted to burn it, he had to kill it NOW, but if this thing could match All Might's power then- no, he wouldn't break his promise... But, what if his promise ended up killing civilians ?
He ended up hesitating, the Nomu screeched, it was charging, even with ice Shoto wouldn't be able to shield himself.
"I'm ... sorr-"
Something crashed into the Nomu, Shoto was speechless because it was actually another one of those creatures. He didn't know if it was a miracle or if he was simply lucky ... one last figure smaller this time appeared in the middle of the flames.
"Shoto ?" The voice was muffled, the figure was approaching, he soon recognized the the helmet that the figure was wearing.
"Izuku ? H-how did you- A-are you alright ?" He ended up realizing that his friend just did a freefall on the back of a ... whatever this thing is ... so far neither of them were moving.
"I- ... I got caught by one of the No- I mean those things, and I managed to break free It then panicked and crashed here ... what a coincidence hehehe" talking about coincidence Izuku was starting to believe that somehow someone was manipulating all those events
That's not 4th wall breaking calm down ... wait, he is going to notice something.
Izuku noticed a crack in his helmet, hopefully it wasn't too bad "I got separated from the pro supervising me ... wait, have you seen Tenya ?"
"I-y-yeah I believe I saw him running with Native a few minutes ago"
"He is running into a trap, we have to help him before something happens"
"But what about the League ?!"
"Don't you understand ? Stain ... Hosu, this attack, it's a diversion ! They are trying to get rid of Stain"
"But why ? This doesn't make sence, their goal is to kill All Might ! Why would they attack Stain ? Unless ... he is covering them, he is too noisy people aren't talking about the League of Villains"
"Exactly" Izuku and Shoto ran around the city for a moment. Multiple fights started, but they didn't have the time to deal with this, beside Shoto's father seemed to be doing a pretty good job at annihilating the League's forces.
"Damn ... at this rate we won't be able to find him ... if only-" Izuku turned around when he heard a few bips, it originated from Shoto's phone "What is it ?"
"A distress call from Tenya, he is a few streets away from us !"
A few minutes earlier
Tenya and Native feared the worse, they managed to find someone who clearly saw Manual entering inside an alley and not coming back. Native had never been so invested in something from Tenya's point of view.
Once they arrived Native was the first one to enter the street "M-MANUAL !" Tenya had lost Native from his field of view, and right when he could see the inside of the alley, his teammate was collapsing on the ground with Manual ... resting ? Against the wall, he had a large blood trail originating from his neck.
"Native!" Tenya was about to run toward them but then Manual yelled something with the bit of strength he still had.
"No it's a trap!" Tenya saw something jumping from above, he activates his quirk in order to dodge even if it meant going even further into the street and inside the trap.
He was satisfied with his choice as he heard two metallic sounds toward his last position.
"Another one of them, did you come here to avenge your sibling, or did you simply come here to get all the fame ? You disgust me."
Stain ... the hero killer was standing right in front of him, and he was in a very bad position, Native was incapacitated for an unknown reason, and Manual was really hurt. He was alone ... but perhaps not completely alone, he had to keep Stain talking while he reached for something on his back.
"You are mistaken ! If I came to Hosu it was only to help my brother ! He ran away to save his live and fight another day, he felt ashamed, because that day he wasn't strong enough to stop Uluru he feared that this would happen again, and that this day he would put lives in danger. So, I decided to replace him in Hosu as much as I could, to show people that he isn't a coward ... why ? Why did you attack my brother ? He had never done anything; he is the most respectable hero I know ! You could have picked anyone else ! ... Endeavour ... I shouldn't be saying this but that's probably the first name which comes to my mind!"
The vigilante laughed as he picked back his swords "I don't care about your point of view especially if you are his brother, my judgment is absolute. I am the true justice ! I couldn't get your brother? Fine, I will get you and finish those two"
Tenya had finished to sending his position to Shoto, he would be here in a minute if he was still on patrol or at least he would call the pros, now all Tenya had to do was to hold on and eventually escape with Manual and Native ... but it was probably easier said than done.
"Now ... DIEEEEE!" Stain lunged at Tenya very quickly, Tenya was surprised by such a speed, even with his quirk it would be hard for him to be able to move so quickly in only a second.
His costume could protect him from most of the Hero Killer's attack but for sole reason he seemed to be aiming at specific areas. After a few tries Tenya used his quirk to kick the vigilante away, he thought he had managed to hit him hard enough as he seemed to have trouble recovering his composure, but instead Tenya realized he was laughing.
"What's so funny?!" He yelled feeling sick of the vigilante's attitude.
"D-don't let him ... d-drink b-blood" managed to say Manual ... but it was too late, Tenya saw the red dot on Stain's sword, and then he felt the cut on his leg.
"It's the end for you" a simple lick and Tenya couldn't feel his body anymore and met the same fate as Native "You should have run just like your brother, at least you would have lived too "fight another day" as you said, this moto is going to bring your death. "Be gone" Stain raised on of his sword above Tenya's head ready to impale him.
He let it fall but then something pushed him at the other end of the street, it was cold, very cold.
"Izuku! Grab Tenya!" Shoto and Izuku had arrived, Shoto started to construct a wall of ice between them and Stain while Izuku was running to grab Tenya.
"Don't worry" said Izuku had he dragged Tenya "The cavalry is here."
Three years ago.
"It's funny, I just thought about a difference between heroes and villains" Sensei just had some sort of Eureka and he looked very proud of him, Izuku had never seen him in such a state of ... satisfaction ? He would not go as far as using the word "euphoria" since the only physical reaction All for One had was to take a more "relaxed" composure on his massive chair ...
After thinking about this Izuku considered that Sensei might be putting an act of some sort.
"... Sooo ... what is it ?"
"Oh it's very simple, it's not even useful, but I'm proud of myself for figuring this detail. You see, pro heroes need witnesses, attention, people looking at them, cheering for them while villains do not need such things, at least no all villains"
"... in your case it's different then, you want to avoid potential witnesses"
"Absolutely, you could say ... All for One is stronger alone, this is getting ironic don't you think ?"
