CHAPTER 15:

MEETINGS AND LESSONS

It seems to be a trope that mentors are never what they seem. Certainly, it was the case when I met Janos Audron. I had half-expected a monster, even when I realised that the Sarafan's propaganda was just that: propaganda. True, he never did manage to teach me much, and yet, he alone amongst those who shaped my destiny did so without any intent at manipulation or hidden agenda.

It's certainly a cliché here on this world, particularly in fiction. Yoda from Star Wars, Muten Roshi from Dragonball, Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid, and so on. The eccentricities, affected or not, put prospective students and foes alike off-guard.

Sorahiko Torino, better known as Gran Torino, played the senile fool when it suited him. I was reminded of tales Kain regaled me of Mobius, when he was still playing at being the mysterious Oracle, an impression partly borne out by my own initial meeting with him. Torino, thankfully, was considerably more benign than that silver-tongued snake, though Mobius would set the bar pretty low in that regard. He was a good man who, even in his advanced years, sought not only to teach the next generation of Pro-Heroes, but could fight off even the toughest Villains…

"Yeesh, what a dump," Himiko remarked as they walked up to the dilapidated apartment building where they were to meet their mentor. "You'd think he'd be able to live somewhere better if he was as good a Pro-Hero as you say, Izuku."

Izuku shrugged. "Maybe he's lived here for a long time. And maybe he's a bit of a miser?"

"Hey, I'm not saying he should buy a mansion or something, but surely a better place than this?"

"Who knows what his reasoning is, Himiko."

Himiko chuckled. "Well, maybe you should get used to calling me Sanguine now, Izuku," she all but purred.

Izuku tried not to glance too long at her. Himiko, due to the way her Quirk worked, had two different Pro-Hero costumes. This was the one she wore for normal patrolling purposes and the like. It had a special backpack attached to a special pump that could extract a set amount of blood from a special phlebotomy device attached to it, for later use. It could also double as a means to give emergency blood transfusions on-site, albeit with reservoirs of blood for that purpose. The device had been developed by Mei Hatsume, apparently.

Himiko's costume proper consisted of black trousers and a red top. It was meant to be easy to move around in, so Himiko could use her signature fighting style, either armed with knives, tonfa batons (something Vlad King and Janos suggested), or unarmed. She wore a red visor, like Vlad King's, to complete the look.

It looked good on her. Better than a school uniform with a beige cardigan, which was Hitoshi's facetious suggestion. Okay, it would have looked good on her anyway, but it didn't have the feeling of a Pro-Hero.

The second one was a simple crimson spandex bodysuit, for use when she needed to use her Quirk. In order to copy clothing with her Quirk, she needed to have as little on her as possible, so a spandex bodysuit was best for her. That way, if she had to drop her transformation, she wasn't naked.

They made their way to the building, and then to the apartment Toshinori told them about. They knocked on the door. No response was forthcoming, so Izuku opened the door gingerly, only to find a diminutive figure sprawled on the ground, a red stain oozing from beneath, with a long ropey trail of what looked like intestines snaking out from beneath the figure in the darkened apartment. Before he panicked, though, Himiko sniffed, before she scowled. "Stop faking it, old-timer. I know the beautiful smell of blood anywhere…and tomato sauce doesn't fool me one bit."

The old man, a grizzled one wearing a domino mask and a grey beard, looked up with a smile. "Yep, I'm alive. Sorry, it was an accident." He got gingerly to his feet, revealing a walking stick. "Umm, who are you two? Toshinori? Did you dye your hair or something? And who's this lovely girl you have with you? Got a girlfriend at last?"

Izuku didn't know what to say to that, but Himiko had no such qualms. "Oi, look, old-timer. Toshinori was the one who sent us, and he wouldn't have sent us to his old teacher if he actually was senile. I doubt you could be a Pro-Hero and actually be senile. So cut the Yoda act and get to the point."

Izuku cringed at Himiko's rather blunt and probably rude demand, but before he could say anything, the old man laughed. "Canny girl, aren't you? Disrespectful to your elders, and you spoiled my fun, but, well…that's the thing with Japanese society, so obsessed with hierarchies and superficial politeness. The boy was figuring out how to say he saw through my act, but you cut right through it. Still…let's see if you can back up your talk."

With that, the old man straightened. Although still short and diminutive, his attitude had changed. Despite his height and stature, his form now screamed power and assuredness. "I'm sure Toshinori has already told you who I am. I am Sorahiko Torino, better known as Gran Torino. You two are?"

"I am Izuku Midoriya, Pro-Hero name Sarafan."

"And I'm Himiko Toga, Pro-Hero name Sanguine."

Gran Torino nodded, even as he gathered up the sausages and put them into a bin. "Don't worry, these were expired," he explained. "The damn butcher gave me too many. Nice names, by the way. Toshinori told me about you two already, along with the Shinso boy. Apparently that young pup Eraserhead's training him. I'm also told you know about One for All, and All for One, thanks to both Toshinori and Janos. I saw the UA Sports Festival on TV too. A good showing, but I hope you two haven't let it go to your heads."

"Hey, I know I got lucky with the draw," Himiko said. Izuku nodded in agreement.

"Good. I'm not demeaning your skills, but you're still at the very start of your journey to become Pro-Heroes. Janos doubtlessly taught you well, better than Toshinori ever would. For all his virtues, he's not a good teacher. I'm glad Sir Nighteye is teaching his successor…well, the one with One for All. I've been helping with Togata's training. Besides Toshinori, I am probably the most knowledgeable person alive about One for All, as I was Nana Shimura's partner…well, the most knowledgeable besides All for One, assuming he's still alive."

"So, what will you be teaching us?" Izuku asked.

"Mostly combat. You two did acquit yourselves well at the Sports Festival, but part of that was luck of the draw, and you can't rely on luck in the field. It'll get you killed. So too will complacency. Janos may have taught you well in general, but you showed you were out of your depth at times, especially when you couldn't use your abilities in time to incapacitate an opponent, as your matches against Iida showed. Still, your match against the Bakugou boy showed how you fight when you're being pragmatic, Midoriya. That, and against an opponent you know well. But it's rare you'll have an opportunity to analyse your opponent in the heat of battle, Midoriya. I'm sure Janos has taught you this already. Combat training aside, I'm also going to teach you some of the more practical elements of Pro-Hero work. Strategy will be part of it, but I'll be going over laws and legislation that are relevant. They may seem boring…well, hell, they ARE boring, but knowing these may save you half the trouble. I know Janos has educated you on some broad points of Pro-Hero and Quirk usage laws, but I've been around longer than he has. Well, on this world, anyway…"

Janos Audron folded his arms, and looked at Tenya Iida. "So, you decided to join the Fallen for your internship. May I ask why?"

"…A few reasons," the glasses-wearing teen admitted. He had joined Janos in the office of the Fallen's headquarters, the warehouse. Eri was sitting on another lounge, scribbling in a notebook with pencils. "The first was that Midoriya suggested I come to you for counselling after what happened to my brother. He and Raziel were worried about what I may do…and I'm afraid they may be right. The second is that I heard from my brother you were involved in investigating Stain. If nothing else, I want to know that something is being done, that I can contribute something meaningful, even if you keep me away from confronting Stain personally. And thirdly…your training paid considerable dividends for Midoriya and Toga, as well as Shinso."

Janos considered this, gazing into the earnest student's eyes, before nodding. "I see. So you are willing to put your desire for vengeance aside, or at least temper it. That is good. Your brother would not want you squandering your life to avenge him. He cares for you. Death in the pursuit of duty is a very real danger of a Pro-Hero. You doubtlessly heard of the murder of the Water Hose duo while fighting the Villain known as Muscular, leaving their child behind as an orphan. I have been trying to reach out to that child at the request of Mandalay of the Wild-Wild Pussycats, to mixed success. But to throw your life away in the pursuit of vengeance is a fool's errand, Tenya Iida. I have seen too many do so. Once we are ready, we will be heading to Hosu. But when we are there, you are to obey my orders, or else those of either Jin or Iguchi."

"Yes, sir," Tenya said quietly.

"That includes an order to retreat, especially if civilians or comrades need…what do they call it? A medevac." Janos moved over to his desk, and began looking through a number of files. "There's a few things I have managed to discern. I strongly suspect Stain to formerly be Stendahl, a Vigilante of considerable note who was tied up in the Trigger fiasco not so long ago. Quirk is unknown, but on interviewing survivors, the general consensus is that it involves paralysing foes by ingesting some of their blood. This may be mistaken, but it's better to be prepared. More concerning is that he has considerable physical ability. He is strong, fast, and has high situational awareness. It was how he got the better of Ingenium, despite your brother surprising him while mutilating the Detnerat employee."

"That's something I don't truly understand, Doctor Audron," Tenya said, frowning. "Why would Stain, someone who has a perverse mission to attack Pro-Heroes, attack a Detnerat worker?"

"That is an excellent question to ask, Iida, and one to which we can only suspect the answer. However, Rikiya Yotsubashi has a number of rumours surrounding him, and it is possible that Stain has a personal grudge against him, or another employee of Detnerat, or even the company itself."

This was actually a partial lie. Janos began to suspect that Detnerat could be a front for the Hylden. There were rumours that Yotsubashi were following in his father's footsteps as well, being a successor to Destro. But Stain's attack and message began to paint a dark picture in his mind, one that was little more than a notion, not even a hypothesis, and yet, if it were true, then the Hylden already had a position of power, a bridgehead for their invasion.

"In any case, I must caution you about a few things, aside from Stain. You have met Eri before, of course. Eri has a bit of a fear of strangers, and is still trying to learn how to control her Quirk. Mind your temper and aggression around her, please."

Tenya bowed. "Yes, Doctor Audron!"

"In addition, Shuichi Iguchi, you may have met before during your picnic after the USJ. But if you hadn't spoken much with him, remember that he doesn't think much of Pro-Heroes, particularly those from established lines. He was on decent enough terms with your brother, though, but try not to show offence should he speak unkindly of other Pro-Heroes. He has suffered considerably due to his Quirk."

"My brother spoke to me of your comrades, Dr Audron, including Bubaigawara. Your work is commendable, and while I cannot promise I will not show offence, I will try not to let it affect our working relationship."

"Good. Izuku also told me that you are now aware of the history of the Soul Reaver, as well as Izuku's awakening of it. Although Izuku killed in self-defence, too many would see it as murder, especially as he can absorb the souls and the Quirks of those thus slain. In some of those with long memories of the darkest hours of this country, that very ability may arouse fear. The Reaver is as much a burden as it is a privilege, and Izuku understands that. It is my hope that more of his friends and allies can be told of the history of the Soul Reaver. But it is not something to be used lightly. I hope that Izuku will never have to kill with it again, but it may be inevitable. If he does, I expect you and his friends to support him."

"That goes without saying, Dr Audron," Tenya said. And Janos sensed no deception from the earnest young man. Straitlaced and strict he may be, but he was at least willing to listen.

"Excellent. Now, let us go over preliminary patrols in Hosu…"

"So, this Shigaraki guy wants to recruit actual followers, as opposed to disposable mooks?" asked the scarred young man, parts of his skin looking stapled-on, though whether that was the burned parts of his body or his pristine ones, Giran couldn't tell.

"He's been reaching out feelers. He wants the best for his new iteration of the League of Villains," the aged broker said. "Shigaraki himself is a manchild, but he's being backed by someone powerful. Someone whom I suspect to be both influential and sharp, so if the likes of him is backing Shigaraki, well, Shigaraki must have potential."

"I see. Do you think he can get me what I want?"

"Eventually. I think they're playing a long game, but the Flames of the Hylden will definitely be their target."

"Good. Though Endeavour's pet project seems to be rebelling against him. I saw him at the USJ Sports Festival. Along with the Midoriya kid, the bearer of the Soul Reaver. The thing those bastards fear most, aside from Kain. Heh…well, this might be interesting…"

CHAPTER 15 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it, for my first new chapter for any of my fics for the new year. Izuku and Himiko have met Gran Torino, and Tenya has joined Janos Audron…but what's this? Dabi knows about the Hylden?

Review-answering time! LoamyCoffee: It's implied in canon that Midnight was scared of the Alien films, or at least the Alien Queen from Aliens. I find her approval of Mina's canon name hilarious in hindsight, as 'Pinky', if I recall correctly, is the name of one of the demonic monsters from the Doom games.

As for how Iida is going to go through things, I think talking to Izuku and Raziel has helped matters. He still desires vengeance, but Raziel's words and life has struck a chord with him. He still wants to track Stain down, but any revenge he takes will be of a less lethal kind.

No numbered annotations this time.