Hospitals, it was the one place that Takahashi has a weird history with. He was never the one hospitalized, but those around him that were. And it was true even to this day. He sighed when the door opened. He looked to see Midnight. Not in her costume, but in simple casual wear.

"No costume?"

"I had the night off." Midnight said. "It's late, you know."

"I owe you a drink, then." Takahashi said. Midnight's eyes seemed to gleam at that. "The boy was entrusted with my care and yet I let this happen."

"We're teachers. Heroes as well. The job is something we can't control and I think you understand that more than anything. So what exactly do you need me for?"

"Well-" Suddenly his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and knew he had to take it. "Watch over Bakugou and let me know what the doctor says. I'll talk in a minute."

Nemuri opened her mouth to object, but he looked serious. "Fine. Consider dinner included."

"Sure." Takahashi said as he went to answer.

Nemuri watched over Bakugou as Takahashi took the call. "Tsukauchi. You got my voicemail."

"Yeah, I did. I really got stuck with coordinating the police in Hosu."

"I noticed. Hosu's in bad shape. Good thing there were heroes on the scene to take on the Nomus." Takahashi dropped to a lower tone. "Did you uncover who attacked my home?"

"Barely." Tsukauchi pulled up a file. "A man by the name of Gojo Sakurai. He was a former employee of I-Island's David Shield before being exposed in a money laundering scandal. He was in Japan around the time so he wasn't thrown in the Island's jail and instead was placed in the mainland prison. He was released on good behavior before moving to Tokyo. He has a quirk that gives him steady hands and was last scene dealing with some of the gangs in Musutafu."

"And then…?"

"A couple weeks later, his landlord reported him missing with his last trip being to Musutafu. We didn't know where he was until he attacked your home." Tsukauchi put down the file. "You've ever met him?"

"No. That's the issue. My home is on the outskirts of the town. You'd have to go out of your way to find it."

"There's also the manner of his death. I don't like to place blame, but Bakugou-"

"Did not kill him. The boy's explosions would leave larger chunks behind for your people to examine. The only thing left of Sakurai was dust and blood." Takahashi said. "I think our target went after me."

Tsukauchi sighed. "It's not the craziest idea. We can conclude that many missing members of the gangs are either dead or in hiding. If Sakurai was working for Rose Flame then we'd have to-"

"Rose Flame?"

"...the guys were tired of saying man in pink. He burned our suspects to dust and he has a pink aesthetic going on. It's the best we could come up with." Tsukauchi said. "Though that also brings the subject to you."

"Me?"

"Alta. That was the name he called you by and from the looks of it, you knew what it was."

"What're you getting at?"

"Do you know him?"

Takahashi blinked. "Are you serious?"

"I know when people are lying. It's my quirk. I didn't mention it since I respect All Might's opinion of you. However, if you're lying to me again, I will hold you in a court of law." Takahashi flinched.

"...fine."

"Alta. Why that name?"

"It was my first name." Truth.

"Do you know the man we're after?"

"No." Truth.

Tsukauchi sighed. "You don't sound like you're lying. But still, how could you not know someone else out there had abilities similar to yours?"

"...I don't know." Truth.

Tsukauchi cracked his neck. "You're consistent. And you're honest. I guess I can't fault you on that. Now, I want to know about..."

The call was silent.

"Tsukauchi."

"...Did you know Midoriya was in Hosu?"

Takahashi's heart almost stopped. His eyes darted to the TV and he saw the destruction left behind. "What do you mean Hosu! Gran Torino doesn't live anywhere near that city."

"We just got reports from numerous citizens and heroes of Midoriya's appearance. He was in three places tonight. Around 9:35, Midoriya was spotted holding back one of the Nomus from attacking civilians. The next was with the snake hero Uwabami, he helped save people. The final report has him...taking on Stain with other students from U.A."

Takahashi almost dropped the phone. "Is he safe?"

"Yes, he is. He's at the hospital at this very moment." Takahashi sighed in relief. "However that's not what has me on edge. During the battle, most if not all Nomus were wiped out by Endeavor and Miruko was attacked by a man. Wielding pink energy."

Takahashi's face tightened as he kept watching the Hosu footage.

"I'm going to Hosu." Takahashi hung up and walked back out in the hallway.

Nemuri and the doctor were talking when Takahashi came in. "Nemuri, Doctor, I need Bakugou ready to go in the morning."

"Ready? Sir, I'm sorry but the damage is quite extensive. We haven't even begun to-" Takahashi walked past the doctor. "Wait, what are you-"

Nemuri put her hand up to stop the doctor when Takahashi put a hand on Bakugou. His chakra flowed into the blonde and mingled with his newly unlocked energy. Bakugou's body began to glow brightly as Takahashi's eyes were almost pure blue and white.

"Wait, stop! Sir, I don't think your quirk can-!" The doctor went quiet as Takahashi pulled back and crossed his arms.

"Check him now."

The doctor began checking Bakugou as Takahashi turned to Nemuri. "Can you watch over him for the night. When you can, bring him to Hosu."

"An escort mission? I can do that." The teacher gave a concerned look to her friend. "Are you ok? You really rushed in and healed him. You could've done that earlier if you..."

She took a moment and saw his hands shaking and the extra sweat on his brow. "There's things I need Bakugou to know if things are going where I think they are. That means cutting his recovery time to something more convenient."

Takahashi leaned forward and Nemuri caught him. She looked at the doctor who gave an 'Ok' symbol. "And I need to head to Hosu."

"Trains are down."

"I'll drive." He got up and walked out. "Please ensure Bakugou arrives in Hosu by morning."

"You got it." Midnight said. He smiled and walked out.

In Hosu

"Can you get up?" Iida said.

Izuku kept looking at the sky and shook his head. Everyone chuckled as Kendo expanded her hand. Picking him up, Kendo pulled him onto her side.

"Well come on. Feel free to lean on me, A." Kendo said. Izuku leaned in and put his head in the crook of her neck. Kendo blushed a bit to feel his tired breath against her neck, but she was distracted by other things.

Momo and Todoroki were tying up Stain as Iida walked out of the alleyway. He looked around his eyes lit up when he saw other heroes already approaching them. "Guys, the pros are here!"

The students walked out with their injured and their prize.

"There they are! It's the first year!"

"Is that-?"

"Holy crap, that kid!"

Kendo and Momo heard a few loud stomps and looked up to see Miruko, carrying Uwabami bridal style. Todoroki looked up and saw his father's light. He sighed as he and Iida dragged Stain out.

The other pros were taking care of Native as the hero was still unconscious. Izuku was blinking in and out as he heard the people clamor around him. Then...a boot to the face.

"BRAT!" Gran Torino screamed. Kendo yelped and almost dropped Izuku. "What the hell happened to you!"

He got off Izuku's face as the boy tried to say something, but only slurred words were coming out.

"Sir, Izuku's exhausted himself. Please, I understand lecturing him but this isn't the time!" Momo almost shouted.

Gran Torino looked at Momo and scanned her. "You. You're one of his classmates. Well I can lecture him since I found out he derailed a damn train."

"Eh." The entire group said with three dots over all of them. They turned to Izuku, whose head was pointed the other way.

"Hey!" A loud booming voice approached the group. "You kids have got some nerve keeping us...is that Stain?"

Miruko finally took a moment to see their haul. Stain was wrapped in wrap and everyone here seemed to get their licks in with the criminal. However she turned to the girls. "You...you really got him!"

Todoroki grabbed Midoriya from Kendo as the girls were pulled in. "Haha! Uwabami, look! The girls kicked the Hero Killer's ass!"

"I can assure you, it was a team effort." Momo said.

Miruko didn't care and held them tighter. "I was hoping that my week training you was a bust! Though I can see you getting help from Ingenium and Endeavor's brat and…?"

Izuku lifted his head to look at the rabbit hero as she looked at him. "Green fire kid!"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, so this is the guy that you two were all riled up about."

Momo and Kendo turned red. "Whoa, whoa, it's not like that!"

"He's an inspiration, nothing more!"

Miruko leaned in close. Izuku gave a weak smile before clinging to consciousness. "This kid's the most injured. Until I see you in action in person, I won't get the hype."

Endeavor landed. "Shoto. I take it you defeated the hero killer? That's my boy."

Shoto didn't scoff, but he looked away. "It was a team effort. I couldn't do as much as I wanted."

"No need to humble yourself Shoto. I'm certain you did exceptionally well and carried your teammates."

"What the hell did you say?!" The Number Two turned and saw his bunny ally walk toward him. "Hell no, you just did not dismiss my girls."

"Miruko." Uwabami said. Kendo and Momo looked at each other as Iida was grabbed by the ear by Manuel.

"I'm sure the women did fine, but Shoto-"

"Ok, listen you fire crotch, I don't give shit about your brat. You ain't dismissing my girls for your peppermint sapling."

"Dang." Izuku groaned as Gran Torino and Todoroki were helping him. "Should I take notes?"

"I'll freeze you solid if you call me that." Todoroki said.

"Please, I will not dismiss good heroes, but I know my Shoto is a cut above the rest." Endeavor said. Miruko took one more step closer. You think with her height being smaller than Deku's she'd not stand a chance, but she did.

The bunny held a presence that made her stand equal to her other heroes. No one noticed a spark go off in Stain's eyes as he heard the two argue.

"You...all keep arguing. Squabbling."

The two heroes stopped and looked at the tied up villain. Stain gritted his teeth as his eyes, glazed and disoriented, snapped open and faced the two.

"Fake heroes squabbling over their prodigies' accomplishments like every other fake."

"The hell are you calling a fake?" Miruko said. Her blood was pumping as she saw Stain strain against the ropes.

"Hero Killer!" Endeavor shouted.

Uwabami and Manuel had the other heroes get into formation.

"Endeavor. Miruko. Uwabami." Stain growled. "Selfish, blood hunger, narcissistic pawns."

The Hero Killer took one step and his killer intent flooded the streets. Everyone was caught off guard as he took a step towards them.

"I'm surrounded by fakes. False lords of society, you've eaten well. You've taken every scrape of the word hero and twisted it to fit your needs and line your pockets." Stain took one more step. Momo and Kendo couldn't move.

Miruko grinned, but it was shaky. She never felt a villain give off this vibe in her entire career. Stain stared at her.

"You let in people like her, a blood knight, stand above others. Above true heroes!" Stain grinned as he clapped his hands together. Pink sparks flew off his hands as he manically grinned. "I'll tear apart this rotten society, weed out the fakes to find true heroes! LIKE ALL MIGHT AND THE BOY!"

Izuku's head snapped up as he felt his senses flare. "You've got to be kidding me. He's still not down?!"

"Midoriya!" Todoroki said.

Stain's fingers were twitching as his eyes were flickering. Whispers were being placed in his ear as he raised his arms. A swell of wind picked up and everyone watched in horror as Stain lit up.

Then stopped.

His eyes were glazed as his hands slowly fell to his side. Stain no longer moved.

The heroes waited with bated breath before Miruko rushed in. She stopped short of tackling him to grab his wrists. Pulling him close, she raised her fist and...stopped.

"He's down. His breathing's shallow."

Everyone sighed as Miruko held Stain down for the police to grab him. Placing their strongest cuffs, the Hero Killer was finally in their custody. No one even saw the little camera above them as Stain's accomplice caught the entire speech. Grinning, he sunk into the shadows.

Midoriya sighed and passed out in Shoto's arms. "Midoriya!"

Gran Torino tapped his head. "He's out cold. Guess tonight finally drained him."

Everyone looked at the Hero Killer as he was dragged away. Miruko turned to her girls before looking at Izuku.

"The boy, huh?" She muttered. Uwabami led everyone to the vehicles as people were finally able to secure Hosu. No one else saw a certain league member disappear into the purple fog.

The City of Hosu: Secure.

Nomus defeated- Seven

Villains Caught- One

Villains Escaped- One

Collateral- High

Casualties- ?

A Few Hours Later

The van drove on the empty road with two police escorts. With the Nomu's wrecking most of the routes, the back roads had to be taken. Stain was barely breathing with all of his injuries while the team watched him like a hawk. No one just scares the Number Two and Six and rides quietly.

Stain barely cracked open his eye as he examined the numerous armored cops around him.

The driver sighed as they kept their eyes open. "All of the Nomus were defeated, correct?"

"Yeah. I heard the Number Two and Six made a little competition on who can take out the most."

"Heroes. They always gotta show off. I mean Miruko and Endeavor? Talk about two who can wreck the city even more."

"Yeah, but...did you hear about the other threat? The one who fought Two and Six?" His co-driver shook his head. "So apparently there was a villain that challenged the two and kept pace with them. After a few minutes, he just disappeared."

"Disappeared? Like that?" The driver snapped his fingers. "Wow. Well-"

KRSH!

Suddenly the police car in front of them was crushed with the police car behind them. The driver hit the brakes and startled the other men.

"What the hell!" The driver yelled. "Do you see...hey, are you alright?"

His co-driver was staring at the wreckage with a blank look on his face before pulling out his gun and blasting the driver's head open. His brains and blood splattered against the window.

"Hey, what was that! Are we under attack!"

The co-driver said nothing and put the barrel beneath his chin and pulled the trigger.

Stain winced at the noise as he felt something crawling in. The rest of the men scrambled to open the door when they heard a crunch. Outside, the door was sealed. One of the officers tried pushing the door while another kicked it. Stain saw something pink roll through the cracks and he began to struggle.

"Stain, my friend. You should relax. I'm here for you." A gentle voice cooed.

Suddenly the light turned into a spear and stabbed through the helmet of the one kicking.

"AH! WHAT THE HELL!"

It wriggled through the body before exiting out the stomach and splattering on the wall. The four areas of the truck were lit up in bright pink. All the men screamed when numerous spikes erupted from the wall.

Through the eyes, the chest, even ears, none of the officers were safe. The entire inside was almost covered in red as Stain looked on in abject horror. In the pool of blood, the middle began to swirl as a figure rose.

Vali waved his hand and the blood left no mark as it returned to the ground.

"Mm, the fight with Endeavor and Miruko was quite the warm up. To be quite honest, I never had a real fight in ages. Today's top heroes mean very little, I doubt even All Might himself could give me the fight I want."

"You...why are you here?" Stain gasped.

Vali chuckled as he put a finger on Stain's forehead. Stain's eyes rolled back as Vali tsked.

"To be honest, I was quite disappointed with your performance. Overwhelmed by children. Four of which you dealt with in close combat. I only expected Alta's pupil and Endeavor's son to give some trouble. It makes me think that you are not as special as I wished for you to be."

Stain started to choke and sputter as his veins were lit up with pink energy.

"Yet this..." He held up his phone with the video recording of Stain's declaration. "...is fuel to add to society's fire. I applaud you for your will and convictions, it will be very important in the future. As such, I will not kill you."

The bodies around them began to disintegrate as Vali smiled.

"Not yet anyways."

"Y-You're a monster." Stain muttered.

Vali blinked before he began to grin. It kept growing and growing until it seemed his face was split with that smile. He pulled Stain close to his eyes.

"What better test for society? For if true heroes like All Might exist, then surely one will stop me. Come with me, Stain. Let's find such a hero."

The entire truck soon exploded. The police cars soon followed. Every bit of blood and evidence of Vali's presence was erased. And in the smoke, the glow of Vali's eyes were the only thing to remain.

"Izuku Midoriya, I hope to personally meet you properly someday. Until then, remember my power."

Vali snapped his fingers before disappearing into the air.

Izuku's eyes snapped open as he felt a sharp pain in his senses. He sat up quickly and tried catching his breath. This was the routine apparently. Exhaust yourself with training or a battle and wake up in a cold sweat. Or maybe that was his undiagnosed PTSD. Either way, Izuku looked up and saw the evening moon still shining above him.

That flash of fear disappeared yet...

"Midoriya, are you alright?"

He turned to see Iida sitting up in his bed. The bandages wrapped around his side and arms looked fresh.

"If you're looking for Yayorozu and Kendo, they're in another room. So, how're you feeling?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you? You took the worst of it."

"...Midoriya, I heard you were in a train crash and a fire before fighting Stain. If anything, I think you'd be in worse condition."

"Physically for sure. None of you know how long this night's been. I meant mentally." Izuku tapped his temple. "You were pretty mad out there."

"Ah." Iida laid back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "It must've been quite unsightly to see me like that. I was so consumed with vengeance, I didn't even see the life in danger in front of me. All I saw was red."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"..."

Izuku sighed. "You don't have to, but I'm here if you want to."

"I've only wanted respect in my family." Iida started. Izuku sat up and turned to his friend. "My family for generations has held the ideals of heroism and performed exemplary throughout. My brother was the best of them. I was raised around heroes, I adored them, worshipped them."

Iida paused.

"I thought I was ready. I forced myself to mature to a point where I could handle the responsibilities of a hero. Follow the rules, obey my authority figures. All of that mental training was thrown to the wayside when I was given an actual trial in my life."

"Iida, it was your brother."

"I know!" Iida snapped. The two paused and looked at their third occupant. Todoroki didn't appear to be listening as he seemed to be sleeping. "I know it was my brother and I know he trusted me to handle things, but I couldn't. I used Manuel's trust to hunt for Stain, I ignored Native, and my recklessness put all my friends in more danger than necessary. Midoriya...I thought he killed you, I thought I led you to your death."

Izuku tried to smile. "I survived a Nomu crushing my back. I could survive a few knives."

Iida didn't smile and looked at his hands. "Momo, Kendo, Todoroki. Each of them only came in because of you. Your quick thinking, your abilities. You are the superior hero."

"Don't say that."

"Yaoyorozu called you, our Trump Card."

Iida looked up. Izuku was staring at him with a firm expression. Somehow in the dark of the night, his green eyes had a dull glow to them. In fact as far as he could remember of the night, his eyes were glowing the entire time.

"That doesn't mean anything to me. Superiority means that it was just myself and that it was more than enough. No, everyone did their part and managed to hold Stain. I did my part in battle, whittling him down to where we could really finish him off." He stared out the window.

"He's right Iida, we all did our part. Plus you did the best thing any of us could do." Todoroki was up. The two other boys were surprised to see their friend up. "You landed the final blow on Stain and didn't kill him."

"I...I did, didn't I?" Stain's eye could still pierce his soul, but that moment. That moment where he landed his kick to Stain's side and ended him. He quickly put away any thoughts of what could've happened if he added any more strength.

Iida only let a small smile break through as Izuku looked out the window. He stared intently.

"Are you thinking about what Stain did?"

"...in a way."

Todoroki leaned forward. "It's a little late to think about it. I mean do we agree on what the serial killer said?"

Iida and Midoriya looked at each other and shook their heads. Iida laid his head down while Midoriya took one last look outside.

Even as he felt his body crave sleep, he couldn't help but feel like someone's eyes were watching them.