(Or The Case of Dream Catching)

In loving memory of Autumn.

I miss and love you dearly.

Izuku looks down at the little girl who looks nervously up at him. She is holding on to the hem of his shirt, shyly glancing at him and then to the ground with golden eyes. She has short silver hair that goes past her chin, curling inward, and her skin is pale. She is dressed in a white shirt with a dark blue heart in the middle, and she wears a skirt that goes above her knees and a pair of shoes the same shade of blue. Izuku patiently waits for her to speak, drying his hands with a paper towel. He had just taken a five minute break to use the unisex restroom and redo his hair (he was in a rush earlier, and his ponytail was annoyingly not centered like he prefers), when he felt a small tug on his shirt.

The girl takes a deep breath, "A-are you the de-detective who finds lost animals? The-the one who found Hina's dog?"

"I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a detective," Izuku smiles, "but yeah, I try and find lost pets for people. Are you missing one?"

"Yes!" The girl exclaims, nodding her head before she realizes how loud she was. Her face turns red, a bright color on such a pale face (Izuku suspects her quirk may have to do with ice or cold temperatures). She drops her grip on Izuku's shirt and fiddles with her fingers instead. "My-my cat, Aki, is mi-missing. He-he―the last time I saw him wa-was last Thur-Thursday." Her voice turns thick with worry, and her eyes become watery. It is obvious that Aki's disappearance is affecting her.

Izuku crouches down so he can look her in the eyes, and he gives the best comforting expression he can. "Hey, hey, it's okay. Is it okay if I lift you up to put you on the counter? You can calm down and clean yourself up." She nods, and Izuku realizes that he doesn't have her name. While bringing her into his arms and placing her down on the counter by the sinks, he asks her. "First off, what's your name? Mine's Izuku."

"Na-Natsuki." She answers, rubbing her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Natsuki." He tries to take on a light tone, one that he uses mostly on children, while getting a paper towel. "Y'know, Aki isn't what you typically name a male cat?"

Natsuki giggles a bit, and takes the paper towel when Izuku hands it to her. "We-we thought he was a girl at first." She wipes her eyes, sniffing. "I'm not sure why though, but I'm the one who named him."

"It's great name regardless. Now, I need some information about Aki, like what color is his fur, his size, if he's a long-haired cat or a short-haired one. Things like that. A picture would be great if you have one."

"Aki is an orange and white cat, and, um, his fur is long and fluffy. We've only had him for less than two years, since he was a kitten, but he's around the size of our other cat, Yuri. She's really heavy, a-and sometimes it's hard to pick her up." Natsuki looks to the side, thinking, before her face brightens. She reaches into the pocket of her skirt, pulling out a folded paper. "I-I asked my mom if she could get me a paper version of a picture of Aki. I tho-thought that it might help you." She looks down, almost like she thought Izuku would belittle her for trying to help.

Izuku grins. "Smart girl," he praises, and Natsuki flourishes, a pink flush making its place on her face again. He takes the picture and unfolds it, allowing him to see the picture of an orange feline with a beautiful blond tail. "I'm gonna keep this if that's okay with you." She nods. "Okay, I'll try to find Aki for you. I can't promise that I will, but I do promise that I'll try all that I can." Natsuki looks visibly happy and full of relief, and she shoves her hand in her pocket again, bringing out a fist of coins. Izuku intervenes before she holds it out to him, "Hey, don't worry about payment. It's on the house." She goes to protest but stops when she sees the look on his face. She nods, putting the money back into her pocket.

"Okay," Izuku helps the girl get down, lifting her by her armpits and setting her on to the tiled floor. "Now, how about you go back to your guardian? I'm sure they're getting worried by now."

Natsuki nods, "Thank you." She scampers out of the restroom, most likely heading to where her guardian is.

Izuku looks back down at the picture of Aki, making sure to commit the orange and white fur and amber eyes to memory. For some strange reason, he feels an urge to help Natsuki, one that is different than his past clients. He has been feeling off since the Sports Festival, three days ago, and Aizawa's words ("A quirk is not needed to become a Hero.") keep coming to mind when he isn't busy; he had no idea why.

He flips the picture around and finds a phone number, labeled Mom's. He huffs in amusement and impressment, folding up the picture to fit in his pocket, and repeats to himself, "Smart girl."

"Hey," Izuku greets Shinsou, heading to his desk.

Shinsou replies, tired eyes looking up from the papers on his desk for a quick second before returning, "Yo."

Izuku puts his old bag down and sits in his seat, brushing a slightly wet lock of green hair behind his ear. Rain claimed the week, from the day before, to now, on Thursday, and there is more to be expected tomorrow. It is almost like the gray sky is mourning.

As Shinsou finishes up his internship application for next week, Izuku checks out his schedule on his phone. Since his training with Aizawa is over, seeing as how the Sports Festival has passed, he made plans to continue his normal work shifts. He called in on Tuesday, and now the rest of his week, and the so-many-ones after it, were sealed, at least in his mind and calendar. He makes notes to ensure that he has time to search for Natsuki's cat (the kitty's picture is in his wallet), and eventually homeroom starts with Present Mic striding inside with the bell. The green-haired teen puts away his phone and listens to the excited speech produced by the blond Pro keeping his class.

Homeroom passes by, as does the classes after it. The day seems to go by in daze, and Izuku believes that he hasn't retained any information that his teachers taught. He is stuck in his head with his thoughts, and he unusually keeps to himself, his sentences being short when Shinsou spoke to him. Shinsou quickly notices his distant behavior, and instead of bluntly asking what was on his mind, he decides to wait for Izuku to tell him himself, that is if he wanted to. He isn't going to push unless he felt he really needs to.

Eventually, the rain and the school day ends, and Izuku looks around for Aki after changing out of his uniform. He looks in his usual locations, mostly alleyways and parks, but comes up completely empty. He goes back to his apartment and changes into his other uniform, heading into his work-shift with still a cloudy mind. Again, Aizawa's words circulates, despite his mental protest that denies them obstinately, and the thought of Natsuki and Aki just won't leave. The topics alternate with each other, switching back-and-forth, back-and-forth. Unfortunately, the manager, Yamazaki Ayumu, is supervising the evening shifts the rest of that week, so Izuku's muddled brain is not welcomed. He does his best to not make it obvious that he is absent-minded, but there are a few times where Yamazaki has to scold him, such as when he accidentally burns some of the food, or when he got an order wrong twice (both Yamazaki and the customer weren't exactly happy with that).

A headache joins the party, and Izuku keeps hoping that he won't get a pay-cut or worse. When his shift ends, and the other guy comes in to replace him, he forces up the courage and motivation to head over to Yamazaki and have a chat with them. Yamazaki looks in his direction when they see him come over.

"Midoriya. Rough evening?"

Izuku sighs, eyes heavy. "More like rough week. I'm sorry, for all the stuff that happened today. I'm just really busy with school and―"

"U.A., right? I get it," they reassure, giving a polite smile before shortly dropping it. "However, I afraid I can't let this slide. It's almost summer, and there are many applicants hoping to get a part-time job here."

'Shit.' Izuku bites his lip, brows knitting together in worry, "Is... is there anything I can do to make it up to you? I really need this job."

Yamazaki stays quiet for a second, thinking, before their eyes take a glow. "You do know how the building and the others around it are facing an internet issue that most likely won't be fixed until over a week from now, correct?" Izuku nods, remembering how he was briefed by Akari. "Next week just happens to be same week we need to send reports to another Plus Ultra Food building in Hosu. I'll be willing to dismiss your minor mistakes if you hand-deliver the paper documents by Tuesday, next week. I'll be willing to get you a note to give to the school for your absence if needed."

"I'll do it." Izuku holds back his sigh of relief, keeping it for after he leaves.

"Good." Yamazaki nods. "The papers should be finished by tomorrow, you should get them then." They then turn away, going back to their supervising, while Izuku sped-walks out of the building. Once he could feel the fresh warm air, he lets out one of the hugest sighs of relief he's ever had. He lazily, but carefully, pulls the scrunchy Shinsou had given him out of his hair (he had said that his mother saw that he used rubber bands for his curly hair during the Sports Festival and shoved a bunch of colorful scrunchies into her son's hands to give to him), and he rubs his eyes.

He walks down the sidewalk, exhaustion weighing heavy on his shoulders. He makes his way to the station, where he arrives a bit early and waits a few minutes for his train to come. He decides to be selfish and flop down on one of the seats instead of standing, body slow and mind's whirling slowing down. Every now and then, he pinches his arm and bounces his leg to keep from dozing off, not bothering to bring out his phone to entertain himself.

Eventually, the train makes it to the station and he lethargically stands and gets off, making sure he has all his stuff on him. He walks out of the building and makes his way to his apartment, yawning multiple times on the way. Once he's there, he opens the door and kicks off his shoes, not bothering to leave them in a neat form. He's already pulling off his blue shirt by the time he's walking into his room, tossing it into his basket of dirty laundry. He grabs some clothing to sleep in from his closet and drawer, purposely choosing the ones that will comfort him the most. Then, he goes straight into his tiny bathroom to start the shower and let the water warm up a bit. By the time steam is rising from the constant stream, he's already fully undressed and getting in.

At first, he just stands there, letting the warm water soothe his body into relaxation, before he starts washing himself. When he brushes a hand against his hair, he feels the slightly greasy texture of it and quickly decides to wash it. After his washing routine, he finishes up his shower and turns off the water. He reaches outside of the shower to grab a towel and dries himself off. Once he's gotten the majority of moisture off his bare skin, he steps out on to the thin mat he has on the floor. He makes sure his body is completely dry before slipping on his pajamas. He places a smaller towel over his shoulder to make sure his dripping hair doesn't get his shirt wet. He grabs his comb and starts going through his slightly wavy locks, trying his best to gently detangle any knots in his hair without breakage. Unfortunately, there are green strands that end up in the teeth of the comb, but luckily it doesn't take long to finish up. Even though his hair looks like a complete mess, he does all he can to make sure it doesn't actually become one.

Soon, he's flopping on to his bed, crawling under his comforter. He curls up, feeling warm and clean, his hair in a neat and damp braid. He shuts his eyes and breathes...

Izuku flips on to his right side with a frustrated sigh. He doesn't even want to look at time, knowing that it's only getting closer and closer to his alarm, and keeping his eyes shut and controlling his breathing, using the 4-7-8 method, to relax his body is all he knows to do. He only has one more tea bag, which he wants to save for before he leaves for school, and even if he does want to drink it now, it would only energize him with the caffeine within it, not get him to sleep.

With another sigh, he tries the other side again, pulling up his comforter to cover up to his shoulders. For a long moment, he lays there, trying to keep his mind clear and body relaxed, trying to fall asleep. However, sleep does not claim him, and all he feels is drained and bitter. His brain can't keep quiet for too long, and soon he's thinking without meaning to.

Thoughts of past week come back to him, all the things he'd been lost in thought over today, the mental arguments he had with himself. He thought he had killed the dream, the hope of becoming a Hero, but the indecisiveness proves that he is wrong. He doesn't know why it is so hard to want to become something else, to think more realistically. He hadn't felt this way ever since he moved in with his foster family, ever since his mom died, ever since things in his life completely changed. He hates feeling this way again. Hates it.

He hates how he knows there isn't a quick way to get rid of these feelings, and that they aren't going to be going away anytime soon.

Izuku slides down in his chair, averting his eyes from Shinsou's empty desk. A background thought of, 'It's kinda weird not talking to someone...,' pass in his mind before he blows a stream of air through his mouth, lifting any stray hairs that fall in his face, and denies, 'Actually, it's not. This friendship with Shinsou has me spoiled. Gonna have to get used to being alone again.' He ignores how his heart is a bit heavier than it was a minute before.

He instead thinks about his trip on Wednesday, how tired he's most likely going to be as the rule of trips is to always be exhausted by the time someone gets back home. He's going to spend his day dealing with school, seeing as how he doesn't want to spend a sick day on going to Hosu instead of actually being sick or mentally dead, and then going on a long train ride to Hosu―on a school night, of course― and find the Plus Ultra Food place that's there. Then, he delivers the documents that can't be sent through email as the internet is still down for some reason (Izuku doesn't know why the bigshot trying to send the stuff doesn't do it from home, but considering this is getting him back on Ayumu's good side, he doesn't want to ask) and then get to the train station again to get back to Musutafu.

Thinking about it is almost giving him a headache. Almost. If he doesn't smoothly deliver everything and get back home without any obstacles or distractions, he might scream. Or cry. Or both. Probably both.

Izuku takes a long sip of his water as he pulls up a GPS to find Hosu's Plus Ultra Food restaurant, leaning against a railing. The sun, starting to set, casts it rays that are starting to die on to his back, as he purposely chose to face away to avoid getting blinded. He's still in his U.A. uniform, something he wish he had time to amend before leaving but there wasn't time to change before the train left, and his yellow backpack holds his school work and the documents he's here to deliver. With a groan, he narrows his eyes in annoyance as he reads the thirty-minute mark on the screen. He's tempted to get another ride but he doesn't want to spend too much money on a fare or ticket, so he resigns to his fate of walking.

He places his water bottle in his bag and starts his journey through the city, occasionally glancing down at his phone for directions. He takes multiple turns and crosses quite a few streets before finally making it to the restaurant, the building being sandwiched by two different stores. He quickly goes in and drops off the papers to one of the workers, who said they would give them to their manager, and leaves, the moon already being strung in the sky. He knows he received some looks of recognition―he has throughout the whole week due to the Sports Festival―and he wishes they would stop. He is just glad people haven't tried to talk to him yet.

He lets out a sigh as he makes his way down a street before startling as he hears a giant crash and explosion. A flood of people come rushing into his direction, everyone looking scared and panicked, and he can't stop himself from running forward to see what happened. He freezes in his tracks once he reaches past the corner of a building, eyes widening in shock.

"What the hell..."" He watches as the... the things throw Pro Heroes back, a large fire reaching to the sky and overtaking a bus. He quickly concludes that the bus was turned on to its side within the attack and erupted into flames. "What is this?"

There are two things―Izuku doesn't even know what to call them―both with their brains exposed. The didn't look human, nor do they seem to just have a complicated mutant quirk as they both looked way too similar to be a coincidence.

"Manual! Put out the fire!"

"Right!"

Izuku's attention is drawn over to a Hero shouting at another, a huge stream of water shooting from a forcefully broken fire hydrant. The Hero, (Manual, his mind offers) hesitantly runs over to the source of water, looking over his shoulder and shouting, "Why did you choose a time like this to go off somewhere, Tenya?!"

Izuku's eyes widen. 'Right, internships! He probably had a Hero student with him!' He also thinks back to the article he had read over the weekend about Ingenium being the one who was attacked by Stain, and a random thought pops into his head. 'Could they have ran off to―'

"Hey, you're in the way! Get back!"

Izuku stumbles back, stammering a hasty apology to the Hero in front of him. She takes a defensive position in front of him, ready to protect him. "We'll hold him back here! Follow the police's evacuation instructions!"

"Ri-right!" He takes another few steps back, watching as the Pros fight again the things, before finally turning and running off to where he came from. However, instead of continuing down the street he had walked down not too long ago, he goes does another, one he hasn't been through. He doesn't know why he is peering down every alleyway he runs past, straining his eyes and ears for anymore strange sights or noises.

His lungs start to ache, sweat beading on his face, and his bag annoying bouncing with every step he takes. Despite feel physical strain, he keeps running as fast as he can, and he still doesn't even know why he's even bothering to try and find a Hero student who could possibly be trying to fight a murderer.

"... up... up!"

'What a great sign.'

Izuku forces himself to speed up, his legs burning. He frantically looks through the openings of alleys before he stops, finally seeing two dark figures, one on the ground and the other standing before it, holding something. The moonlight reflecting off the object bring the realization that it's a sword, and his heart stops. He digs his phone out of his pocket, already taking steps to the alley, and hastily pulls up the first contact he sees, sending them his location.

"No matter what you say, you are the criminal who hurt my brother!"

"Hey!"

The figure―Stain halts his movement, stopping himself from bringing down his blade. Izuku swears his heart stops for a second time as the other looks at him. He brings on an air of faux bravery and makes his nerves steely. He grins, though it's horribly strained. "Pretty sure this isn't legal, so you might wanna not do that."

It gets harder to keep the fake smile when he sees a puddle of blood stemming from the teenager on the ground. He can't tell where exactly he was stabbed, but that amount of blood on the ground can't come from a simple cut or scratch. Stain had already stabbed him, and now he's ready to go for the kill, except Izuku couldn't stop his damn feet from running and looking down a ton of alleys until he found them. He can only hope he'll make it out alive; there's no way he's going to escape this without getting hurt.

"This has nothing to do with you! Go away!" The guy whose head is below Stain's boot shouts, and Izuku can't help but feel slightly irked.

"I'm going to say you're not in your right mind, because who the hell would tell someone to go away when they're about to be killed?" Izuku grumbles while scowling, catching in the corner of his eye as Stain studies his appearance.

"U.A... another fake hero?"

Izuku is quick to deny that, shaking his head as he walks forward, keeping his hands visible and nonthreatening. "Quite the opposite, I threw that dream away a long time ago. However, I'm still a law-abiding citizen who knows what's illegal and what's not. And as I said earlier, I'm pretty sure what you're doing is quite illegal, Hero Killer."

"I'm only doing what's right," Stain says, raising his chin a bit higher. He pins a glare on Izuku, and Izuku can't help but feel his heart stop. "I don't kill needlessly, but try to get in my way and I will strike you down."

"Right, uh..." All Izuku can think is to stall, stall until whoever he texted would hopefully come to help to send help. Preferably the latter, seeing as how his only contacts are his coworkers and people his age. He also has Aizawa's contact, the only Pro Hero he has, but he deleted the short conversation they had so Izuku wouldn't think of what he said every time he went to text someone, which means there's a low chance he chose him. Time to try and use his old rambling habit to use. "I-I just been wondering, uh, about, um..."

"I don't have time for this," Stain scoffs, turning his head back to the teen on the ground. He gets ready to bring down his blade for the killing blow, and Izuku panics.

"Wait!" Izuku shouts and holds up a hand, hastily taking a step forward. "Co-could you tell me why exactly you're gonna kill him? He's not even a Pro yet..."

"He's already been influenced by those adults playing Hero in costumes. There's no hope for him."

Izuku shakes his head, and he wishes he had put his hair up when wavy strands hit his face. "He's still learning, isn't he? There's still time―"

"Don't you get it? I'm the one who's going to kill him for taking everything away from my brother! This doesn't have anything to do with you, so get away! Before you get killed!"

Izuku sends another glare at the male, his clenched fists shaking. If he had any sense of preservation, he would listen and take off in the direction he came from, follow the police's orders of evacuation, eventually get back on a train to Musutafu, and think, 'Yeah, some kid my age died all alone in an alleyway, but who was I to try and fight the Hero Killer: Stain? I'm a weak quirkless nobody after all. No sense in dying for someone I don't know.' However, from the moment he was born, he has never thought once that he has had even the smallest sense of preservation. All he focused on was becoming a Hero like All Might.

"Your friend," 'I have no idea who the hell this guy is, only that is brother is Ingenium,' "came to save you. That's a great line, isn't?" Stain sneers down at the guy that Izuku is now dubbing Idiot #2. Obviously, he's Idiot #1. "But I have a duty to kill you. So," Stain looks over at Izuku, and a surge of fear erupts into Izuku's entire being, "what will you do?"

'Oh, you fucking asshole. You know there's nothing I can do that I wouldn't have already.' Izuku gulps, shakily narrowing his eyes as he searches his brain for anything. 'Clearly, this stalling thing isn't working―he doesn't want to waste time talking to me. It's not like I can fight. Aizawa-sensei didn't have much time to teach me or Shinsou much. Damn it, damn it! What do I do? What do I do?!' He brings his hand to grip at his backpack's straps, digging his short nail into the material, before an idea come to him. It's a stupid idea, of course, but it's all he has.

He nervously clears his throat, "Can I, uh, take this off? I've been wearing it for a few hours now and it's starting to hurt my shoulders. Can't think while in pain, y'know? Bad tolerance," he lets out a humorless chuckle. He doesn't get an answer. "I'm just gonna..."

Izuku slips off the right side first, something he is normally for him to do since his right side is more dominant for him. As he brings his left hand to pull off the left strap, he attempts to take a subtle step forward. He also grabs the strap his right hand, so he is using both, and he says a little prayer to someone or something (his mom, maybe?), before tossing the bag at the man with the sword in hand and running forward.

As expected, the man slices the bag in two with his blade before it can reach him, but Izuku keeps running until he is forcibly running into Stain's abdomen, pushing the other back with a grunt. Then Izuku feels an abrupt pain in his side and he loses mobility not even a full second later. Stain carelessly lets him fall to the ground, not noticing something in Izuku's clenched fist, and lets out an amused huff. Izuku tries to move his limbs but scowls when they won't budge. He can feel his side flare in pain, as well as his uniform start to wet with what he assumes is blood. There's also a burn sensation on his left hand where a long cut starting to bleed on to his sleeve and the knife he impulsively stole out of Stain's back pocket.

"People who are all talk are a dime a dozen," Stain strides away, presumably back over to Idiot #2, not even giving Izuku an passing glance, "but since you tried to help this fake despite not training to become a Hero, you are worth letting live, even if you did get in way."

Izuku tries to strain his eyes back, not being able to turn his head to look over and see what was happening. He wasn't even sure he wanted to watch, especially since he can't get up. There's no way Idiot #2 isn't going to die―neither of them can move, and the Hero that Izuku has finally noticed, slumped against the wall, can't move either. It seems like whoever Izuku texted isn't going to come, and he's going to life his life, knowing all he did was listen to another teenager get killed for his emotional decision. He growls, shouting, "Wait! Damn it!" He can hear Stain's footsteps halt, and Idiot #2's breath gets caught in his throat. "Stop it!"

Izuku lays there waiting, feeling like throwing up, when there's a sudden rise of temperature, as well as an orange light. Stain appears in his vision again, having jumped over him to most likely avoid the attack. Izuku hopes he doesn't get the idea to take him hostage anytime soon.

"One after another..." Stain grumbles. "There are a lot of people getting in my way today."

"Midoriya. You need to give more details in times like this. You made me late."

Idiot #2 incredulously says, "Todoroki, you too?"

"Todoroki!" Izuku still can't look over but he feels a small sense of relief of hearing the boy he talked to at the Sport Festival. Then he realizes why the temperature's hot and the alleyway is lit up in orange. "You're using your left side...?"

"It took me a few seconds to figure out what you meant since you sent just your location info. We haven't known each other long, but you don't seem to be one to send that for no reason." Todoroki states before the orange light and heat disappears, and Izuku sees a huge path of ice form on the ground beside him, making Stain jump up to keep away from it. Then, he's being lifted up by ice, and he can see in the corner of his eye the injured Hero also rising up. "You meant that you were in trouble and to call for help, right?"

Izuku hears footsteps again, and seeing how Stain is still in the air, it's most likely Todoroki running forward.

"Don't worry. The Pros will also get here in a few minutes."

There's another fiery attack, and Izuku goes sliding down the ramp of melting ice, shutting his eyes to avoid tearing up from how hot the flames are. He does his best to make sure he doesn't lose his stolen weapon despite not being able to move. He had flipped the knife when he snatched it and pushed it into his sleeve, which is why the stinging cut was there. His loose fist held the hilt. Soon, he's on the ground beside Idiot #2 and the Hero. Since he went backwards, he can finally see what the hell is happening, watching as Todoroki stands in front of them, wielding his fire.

"I won't let you kill these guys, Hero Killer."

Izuku manages to lift his chin up slightly so he can talk. "Todoroki, don't let this guy get a hold of any blood! I don't know how he controls his opponents with it, but it seems to always be some time after he injures someone. It doesn't take much either!"

"He sucks blood to keep people from moving." 'Are you lowkey trying to call him a vampire?' Izuku exhales anxiously, grimacing from the pain in his side. "That's why he uses blades, huh? I can keep my distance and―" Just as Todoroki readies himself into position, a knife is thrown at him, cutting his cheek as he barely dodges it.

"You have good friends, Ingenium!" Stain states as he jumps forward, swinging another knife at Todoroki.

Todoroki produces a wall of ice to block the blade, taking a step back before looking up and seeing Stain's katana falling from above. Izuku's eyes widen as he watched Stain grab Todoroki's collar, pulling him forward to reach the cut he made on his cheek with his long tongue. However, Todoroki releases a bout of flames, making Stain jump back to avoid getting burned. Izuku watches at Todoroki continues to battle Stain, all while getting slightly frustrated that he still isn't able to get up yet. 'At least we can all assume that Stain needs to ingest blood orally for his quirk to have effect. How disgusting...'

"Why are you two..." Izuku looks over to his left at Idiot #2 as he starts to speak. "Why...? Please stop!" Izuku releases another exhale, getting even more irritated. "I've inherited my brother's name. I have to do it... That guy's mine!"

Todoroki interrupts while using his left side, not even bothering to look back, "You inherited it? That's strange." He crouches down, placing his right hand on the ground and creating large jagged pieces of ice, making Stain continuously jump upward to avoid them. "The Ingenium I saw before didn't have that look on his face though. You've got a lot going on behind the scenes in your family too, huh?"

As Idiot #2's breath gets caught, Izuku winces in pain, having somehow jostled the wound in his side. He instinctively tries to bring a hand down to put pressure, obviously getting stopped by the paralyzation Stain has them under, but his hands twitch a bit more than he expects them too, making him light up with hope. Slowly but surely, he is able to move his hands and arms, and he turns his body slowly, his ability to move finally restored but the gash in his side protesting. He does try to push himself up just yet, not wanting Stain to notice or to take Todoroki's attention off of the killer. He's the only one here who has nothing to do with the Hero Course; he's a citizen who has only a stolen knife and a bunch of his school work cut in half. He's lucky that the paperwork he had to deliver wasn't still in there, though he isn't completely sure whether he'll be able to go to his next shift or be carried out of this alleyway in a body-bag. He also isn't sure if the school will replace everything and hold on any deadlines, considering all his work is getting stepped on and ripped. That's just another headache though, that is, if he gets out of this alive and slightly traumatized.

He tears a sleeve of his uniform to make a makeshift-bandage, hastily wrapping it tightly around his injured hand, ignoring the signals of pain it brings, before taking the knife with a tight grip in his other hand. He looks at the blade, thinking for a moment, before tearing another, larger, piece of his sleeve so he can cover the sharpness and stuff it into his pocket while avoiding it going through his clothing and into his skin. Before he can put it to use, his attention is drawn back to fight again when the recognizable sound of ice breaking fills his ears. He looks back over in time to see Todoroki bring out his flames again, only for his left arm to get punctured by two throwing knives, making him lose focus and look down to swiftly access the damage.

Izuku's eyes widen as he sees Stain getting closer, gracefully falling from the sky to pierce the Hero still on the ground. Without thinking, he pushes himself up, ignoring the screaming coming from wound, and hastily takes aim. With a slight moment of hesitation, he throws the knife before running to the Hero, only with the stupid thought of, 'Wonder if they have wifi in the afterlife,' running through his mind. He dives on to the Hero before a sudden sensation on his neck makes him shout in agony.

"Midoriya!"

Izuku's vision goes dark, his body going numb with shock, before he feels a slightly cold object press against his throat. He blinks but for some reason his vision is still spotted with black, and he feels himself let out a confused sound. He hates the way he feels like he's out of his body, and he attempts to remember what happened just a moment before.

"..ori...!"

(He is in an alley, wasn't he? But why? He should be walking back to the train station so he can get back to Musutafu, not in an alley in Hosu... Hosu... Isn't there a person in Hosu? Someone that's been on the new, a celebrity maybe?)

"Mi...ya!"

(No, no, it wasn't a celebrity. It was... it was a... a serial killer. Right, a serial killer, and... and... and he killed Heroes! That's right, it was a serial killer who was going around killing Heroes. How weird. Wait, wait, why was he in an alleyway again? He's in an alleyway in Hosu where there's a serial killer killing Heroes... Oh...)

"Can... hear...?"

(He did it again, didn't he? Man, Shinsou is gonna be so pissed.)

"Midoriya!"

"Hn?" Izuku sucks in a breath before chokily crying out, "Fuck!"

"Can you hear me?" Izuku opens his eyes, which he had screwed shut in pain, and looks up to see Todoroki releasing a large amount of flames, most likely to fend off Stain. The boy keeps peeking down at him, his mismatched eyes holding concern and anger.

Izuku lets out a short affirmation, his body cold, and he can feel the effects of lightheaded-ness from blood-loss. He can feel the burning hot sensation of blood dripping from his throat and feels a surge of panic rise before autopilot takes hold. He takes a shallow breath and notices the two throwing knives that were in Todoroki's arm on the ground. He slowly sounds out a word, not wanting to move his jaw. "Cauterize..."

Fortunately, Todoroki instantly understands what Izuku means, and his face takes on a look of alarm and dismay. "You want me to cauterize your wound? I've never done that before, I..." He takes another look at Izuku's newest wound. "It's not too deep, actually shallow, but there's still a lot of blood." Izuku ignores Todoroki's analysis and weakly points down at one of the discarded knives. Todoroki stares at him before sighing deeply and snatching up one of them. Still using his flames and keeping an eye on the serial killer jumping up the walls, he places the blade as far as he can without burning his right hand. He waits as long as he can before cutting off his flames and creating a huge wall of ice, hoping to stall Stain for a few seconds while he takes care of the matter at hand. Todoroki nervously looks back down at Izuku, brows furrowed, before gently turning the other's head and muttering, "I'm sorry, this is going to hurt."

The pain sends Izuku's vision to white, his heartbeat pounding intensely in his ears, and he thinks he loses consciousness for a few seconds before the horrible feeling of burning on his skin returns with a vengeance. The sickening sizzling and smell of his own flesh being melded together makes him feel ill, but he swallows down the acidic bile rising from his stomach to tries to focus on regaining movement. Stain must have used his quirk again and paralyzed him after cutting his neck. He lets out a low groan before taking the deepest breaths he can. He still feels lightheaded, maybe even worse, and all he wants to do is fall asleep. However, there was a battle going on right beside him, and he had to see it until he or it ends.

Sucking in another breath, he yells, "His quirk! It... It has a time limit!" His voice is slightly weak but it carries throughout the alley. He shuts his eyes, taking another second to breathe before thinking aloud. "It's probably not by order, consid... considering I was the-the last one. Blood type, maybe? Or-or the amount of people make it more―I mean, less, yeah, less effective. Or amount? I don't know. That's..." he groans when another surge of pain runs through his body. "That's all I can think of right now. Really hard to use brain right now."

"Blood type...? Mine is B..."

"I'm type A."

Izuku finally realizes that he had been moved off the Hero after hearing two different voices. "Wow, when did that happen? That's wild, I thought... thought-though, uh, I was still on that-that one guy. I think I've lost a bit too much blood." He deliriously giggles, bringing a hand to cover his mouth. "I'm so stupid. Wait..." He looks down at his hand, turning it around, clenching and unclenching it with confused eyes. "Oh, oh, I can move again. How... how long has it been?" He places his hand back down and uses his arm to push himself up a bit, pausing with a groan when both the wound in his side and neck flare in disagreement. After a moment of breathing, he cautiously continues his task, his body slow and weak. He looks over to the fight between Todoroki and Stain, taking note of how Todoroki was slightly struggling, seeing as how Stain keeps trying to get close to said Hero student or to the two paralyzed men on the ground.

'It would be easier if Todoroki didn't have to keep protecting them. I should try and drag them out of here, or at least more away.'

Izuku somehow stands on shaky legs, stumbling slightly. He moves over first to the Pro Hero, bending carefully down to grab the guy's arms. He starts pulling going backwards, grunting, "Sorry. This probably isn't the most comfortable trip or whatever, but I need to get you guys out of here so Todoroki can focus."

He notices how the man's eyes widen before flickering to his neck. "You got that because of me. I'm sorry, you... you two should run, leave me and that kid in white armor! It'd be better if you ran away!"

"Fuck no," Izuku shakes his head but quickly stops when there are signals of pain. "I... I might not be a Hero or anything, but I can't just leave, knowing that there's a murderer here. Now, shut up unless you have something useful to say."

Izuku drops the Hero's arms, having dragged him closer to the entryway of the alley. He decides that's good enough for now, and steps around the man, making his way back to get Idiot #2 and consequently back over to the flashing fight. As he crouches down next to Idiot #2, he instantly remembers how the teen's arm is already injured, and he groans quietly. He hastily tries to think of another way to carry him without making his wound worse. However, just as goes to grab him, Idiot #2 pleads, "Please stop... I'm... already..."

Todoroki, who is standing in front of them, hears him and shouts, "If you want us to stop, then stand up! The only words I can say to you are..." The half-and-half teen switches from his fire to his ice, creating huge pieces to block off Stain, but the Hero Killer cuts through them. "Look properly at what you want to be!"

He brings his arm back to use his flames again, while Izuku gives a short breathy chuckle, "How inspirational." He goes to try and drag the fallen teen but can't stop himself from falling on to the ground, black dots in his vision and his body feeble. "Crap..."

He tries to get back up again but can't, his body quivering too badly. He brings a hand to his abdomen, pressing it against the wound with a curse. His hand gets covered in warm blood, in his blood, and he blearily decides to take a small break, sucking in and exhaling as many breaths as he can with his head spinning. He opens his eyes, not realizing he had them closed, and watches as Stain rushes at Todoroki, dodging and slicing any ice that comes in his path.

"No one's ever told you? You're too focused on your quirk. You're being careless!"

Izuku's eyes widen, his mouth opening to yell, as Stain is able to get close enough to run past Todoroki, his sword coming down quickly despite Todoroki's flames. "Todoroki!"

"Recipro... burst!"

Izuku lets out a shocked sound, not realizing that Idiot #2 had gotten up and was using his quirk to speed over and kick away Stain's blade before it cuts Todoroki. He watches as Idiot #2 kicks again, forcing Stain to jump back to avoid it. "Holy shit! What the fuck are they feeding you guys?!"

"You got free?" Todoroki turns to Idiot #2. "That quirk isn't as great as I thought."

Idiot #2 stays hunched over, almost as if he's bowing. "Todoroki, Midoriya, this has nothing to do with you two, and I apologize." He straightens his posture, eyes narrowed. "That's why I can't allow you two to bleed more than this!"

Stain scoffs, the hand holding his broken katana bleeding. "It's no use trying to be reformed for appearance's sake. A person's essence does not change so easily. You will never be anything but a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires." The killer growl, crimson eyes wide and almost bloodshot. "You are a cancer to society that warps the idea of 'heroes.'" His eyes narrow, sending a figurative dagger at Idiot #2. "Someone must set you straight."

Izuku flips his body, getting on his knees as Todoroki steps forward. He is ready to crawl away if he has to so that the other two can focus on Stain and not him. "You're an anachronistic fundamentalist. Iida," wow, Izuku finally gets Idiot #2's name, "don't listen to the logic of a murderer."

"No, he's right. I have no right to call myself a hero..."

Izuku grimaces but doesn't disagree. Iida has brought three other people, who had nothing to do with his impulsive decision, into this, and every single person in this alley is injured, one way or another. The teen had only just now come around to realizing that Stain was not something he could deal with by himself. He should have focused on getting the Pro Hero out of here before doing anything else. However, Izuku cannot put the full blame on him; Iida let his emotions for his brother take over instead of thinking logically―he's just a teenager, and every teenager makes mistakes that they learn from. They just have to be given the chance to learn from them, one that Stain isn't willing to give.

"Even so, I cannot give in." Izuku watches as Iida's clenches his fist, blood dripping off of one of them from the stab wound on his arm. "If I give in, then Ingenium will die."

"Out of the question."

Stain goes forward, and Todoroki pushes Iida back with one hand, using the other to produce fire. The villain has shoved one of his katanas into the wall, perching on it momentarily to avoid the flames reaching up to him. Todoroki narrows his eyes, "Something clearly changed just now. He's flustered."

Izuku decides he has stayed on his knees for way too long and takes a quick before making an attempt to stand. He makes it on his feet, head spinning for a few seconds, and his frown deepens. There's way of escaping―Stain isn't leaving any openings for him to get away safely. He glares, mumbling, "Damn it."

Todoroki switches between his sides, Iida standing behind him, and Izuku feeling like he's in the way, especially since he can't do anything. There's a glint of light that catches his attention, and he looks down to see the second knife that was in Todoroki's arm not too long ago, stained slightly in red. He quickly picks it up, deciding to stuff it in his pocket like he wanted to do with the last knife he stole (this one was smaller though, so he isn't as worried about it stabbing him.

"Todoroki, can you regulate temperature?" Iida asks, and Izuku quickly realizes that the air going out of his engines has stopped. 'Something must of broke when he kicked Stain.'

"I'm not used to it with my left yet. Why?"

"Freeze my legs!" Todoroki looks over to Iida, still wielding his quirk. "Without plugging up the exhausts!"

Suddenly, Stain pops up, throwing another knife at Todoroki, shouting, "You're in the way!"

Before it can reach Todoroki, Iida shoves him out of the way, taking the knife into his arm. Stain throws another blade at him, "You too!"

It lands into his arm, bringing him to the ground. Todoroki extinguishes his flames, looking down Iida. "Iida!"

"Just do it! Hurry!"

Izuku stumbles over and drops to his knees, watching in the corner of his eyes as Todoroki freezes most of Iida's engine before going back to fending off Stain. He gives a weak smile to Iida, "I'll just... yeah..." He takes hold of the hilt of the knife, places a hand carefully on part of Iida's arm, and braces himself before pulling it out, cringing at the feeling. He quickly backs up, letting Iida stand and power up his quirk.

"Recipro... Extend!"

Izuku's eyes barely keep track of Iida as the teen shouts and jumps into the air. He does notice how he goes straight up to Stain, and with a half-baked plan, he pulls out the knife and runs a bit over to the side before taking aim and throwing the knife as hard as he can, dearly hoping he doesn't hit Iida. He watches with baited breath as Iida goes further up the wall, the knife also flying through the air. The knife gets there first somehow, and slices Stain's cheek, making him look to the side with his eyes to see if there was an opponent. That slightly second of lost focus allows Iida smashes his knee into Stain's abdomen.

Both Stain and Iida start to fall before Stain regains his senses and grabs his sword that falls with him, swiftly swinging it at Iida. Fortunately, it only cuts strands of hair, and Iida yells with conviction, "I will defeat you! This time, you, as a criminal―"

"Keep after him!" Todoroki shouts, his flames taking height as Iida swinging his leg into Stain again.

"And I, as a Hero!"

Todoroki's flames take to Stain before dying, leaving the serial killer with slight burns on his head. Todoroki uses his ice to catch Iida, bringing him back down, while Stain lands on a ledge, dangling limply. Iida lets out a groan as his head hits ice but quickly sits up as Todoroki warns, "Stand up! He's still..."

Izuku stares at Stain's limp body with wide eyes, his heart pounding in his chest, before he lets out a long breath. He shuffles over to Todoroki and Iida, not taking his eyes off of Stain. "He... he's probably knocked out after all that... right?" He scrunches up his nose, "Surely..."

"Then," Todoroki lets out any air he was holding, "let's restrain him and get out to the street. Is there anything to tie him up with?"

Izuku rubs the back of his head, pulling back his hair. "Pretty sure all my stuff is destroyed, so I got nothing except a feeling that I'm gonna have to use a lot of spending money on another bag." He sighs, "Anyway, you should take all his weapons off of him. Just in case, y'know?"

"Good idea," Todoroki nods. He cautiously uses his quirk to bring the villain down, waiting a moment for any movement, before going forward and gathering any weapons that the man has on him still. Iida goes to pick up the weapons that lay on the ground, placing them beside the ones Todoroki discovers

Izuku doesn't bother to stand anymore and sits on the ground, letting out a huge sigh before groaning in pain. "I really hope I don't get in trouble for getting involved with this." He looks down, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and lifting to assess the damage in his side. The wound isn't too deep, not to a life-threatening level, but it was still bleeding and screaming in pain. He might need stitches. "I'm not even in the Hero Course, so this could be really bad." He suddenly hears footsteps get closer, and he quickly looks up to see the Pro Hero walking over. "Oh. You can move?"

"Yeah," the Pro nods, smiling down at the teen. "I'm okay now. Are you...?"

"Uh..." Izuku blinks, his vision starting to spin. "I don't think things are supposed to spin like this, are they? Wait... who are you again?"

Soon, Izuku is on Native's back, the Pro carrying him out of the alley while Todoroki ties Stain with some rope he found in the dumpster. He lets out a sigh, slumping against the man's back. "Thank you..."

"That's my line," Native says, slightly sheepish. He carries Izuku, Iida and Todoroki following behind (while Todoroki drags a tied-up Stain), before apologizing to the whole group of boys. "I'm sorry. Even though I'm a Pro, I was just in the way."

Izuku exhaustedly denies his statement, "There wasn't anything you could do, at least not one-on-one with Stain's quirk. Asshole's too strong."

Todoroki also adds on, "Fighting three-on-one with the guy making mistakes himself, we still barely won. He was probably flustered and forgot about Midoriya's recovery time."

"I barely did anything," Izuku shakes his head. "If anything, I was mostly in the way. I couldn't find a time to move away so you didn't have to focus on keeping me alive."

"He wouldn't have been distracted enough to let Iida complete his last Reciproburst without you aiming that knife at him." Todoroki quickly contradicts. "If Iida couldn't have done that, I doubt we'd be done fighting by now."

Before Izuku can protest, Native stops at the end of the alleyway, turning to the two teens. "Now, let's quickly get him to the police―"

"It's around here! Endeavor told us there was a request for help here, but..."

Five Heroes stop in front of the group, all looking confused as they take in the injured teenagers and Hero.

"Children?"

"Those injuries look serious!"

Then, one of them finally takes notice of the villain Todoroki has tied up on a leash. "He-hey, this is..."

"Don't tell me... it's the hero killer?"

"What?"

"Call the police too!"

One of the Heroes step away, phone in hand, calling the police most likely. Izuku motions for Native to set him down, as he notices another Hero eyeing him (maybe they know each other?). A Hero in a yellow suit walks over to him and the other students, asking, "Can you walk?"

"Uh..." Izuku has to stop himself from stumbling. "Maybe...?"

The guy stares at him for a few seconds before looking to Todoroki. "And you?"

"I only received minor injuries, but Midoriya has a wound on his neck, and Iida is..." Todoroki trails off.

"The ambulance will be here soon! Until then..."

"You two..." Izuku and Todoroki turn back, finding Iida standing behind them with an ashamed expression. Suddenly, he bows. "You were injured because of me: I am truly sorry." Izuku breathes in through his nose, giving the other teen the attention he needs. "I couldn't... see anything... through my anger." Iida's voice is choked, and Izuku suspects he has tears in his eyes.

His own eyes soften, a small smile making the corners of his lips rise. Todoroki however acts as indifferent as he almost always is. "Pull yourself together. You're the class rep, right?"

Izuku has to hold back a surprised laugh, while Iida wipes his eyes with his arm, sniffing quietly. "Yeah."

"Hey," Todoroki holds out a phone, a few cracks running through the screen. "Is this yours, Midoriya?"

"Oh, wow," Izuku's eyes widen as he takes the damaged phone, looking it over. "I thought this died with the rest of my stuff." He curiously presses the home button, grinning as the screen lights up. He freezes when he sees the time. "It... that fight wasn't like an hour long?" He blanches. "What the actual hell? I-I mean it makes sense that it was short, but still..." He sighs, closing his tired eyes and turning off his phone, ignoring the few missed messages most likely from Shinsou or his coworkers. He just wants to go home.

"Get down!"

'What now?'

Everyone turns to the person who shouted, confused and on alert, before one turns back and looks up.

"A villain?!"

Izuku grunts, dazedly watching as he goes into the air, taking a few seconds before pain in his sides registers, bringing him out of it.

"Midoriya!"

He lets out a shout, feeling talons dig into his injury. He turns his head, ignoring the wound there and the flying strands of hair that go to block his vision, and sees pale-colored wings. His mind is instantly reminding him of his childhood, specifically when he would follow Bakugou and his friends around.

(There was a round kid... he would join in on the teasing... he also had wings... what was his name?)

'Tsubasa...?'

The thing (Tsubasa?) lets out a shriek as it suddenly stops moving, its wings ceasing it movement and its body sinking down. Izuku lets out a gasp as he sees a dark figure swiftly running from the small crowd, piercing red eyes seeming to shine dangerously.

"This society overgrown with fake heroes..."

Izuku's breath gets caught in his throat as he realizes the figure is Stain, freed from his binding, holding a knife and swinging it.

"... and the criminals who wave their power around idly..."

Before Izuku can think, the thing abruptly crashes the ground, sliding with the impact, creating a dust cloud that forces him to squeeze his eyes shut.

"... should all be purged."

Izuku opens his eyes as soon as he thinks the cloud has cleared, moving to sit up but something keeps himself from doing so. He quickly becomes aware that it's Stain's hand, and he keeps his eyes on where Stain crouches on top of his catch. Stain's eyes don't even seem to have pupils or irises anymore, Izuku can only see white sclera as Stain grins wildly, spit dribbling from his mouth.

"This is all..." He pulls his knife out, blood following due to the fast force. "... To create a more just society."

"He saved the boy?!"

"Idiot, he took a hostage!"

"He killed someone with no hesitation."

"Anyway, get ready to fight for now!"

There are loud footsteps.

"Why are you all standing around in a group? The villain should've escaped this way."

A new person is here, and from their voice, Izuku believes it's Endeavor. He doesn't think this will go well, not with Stain here. He flails his limbs a bit, struggling to get off the ground. He can feel beads of sweat dripping off his face, as well as warmth spreading from his sides, which he quickly deduces to be blood.

"How are things on your end?"

"Things got a little rough." Endeavor answers and then pauses. "But don't tell me that man is...?"

"Let..." Izuku sucks in a shallow breath, Stain holding it weight on top of him making it hard to breathe, "go...!" He just wants to go home, is that too much to ask? Take a long, hot shower, maybe actually cook something for once, before dropping on to his bed and possibly skipping tomorrow or the rest of the week. It's called self-care, thank you.

Izuku has to suppress a shiver from running down his spine when Stain utters with a hoarse voice, "Endeavor."

He can hear Endeavor shout, "Hero Killer!" and he really hopes that the Number Two Hero won't burn him alive. That doesn't sound fun at all. His eyes widen when he catches a glimpse of Stain's actual face, the cloth that was tied around it giving away and falling to the ground as the man stands up, a crazed look in his red eyes. He can't take his eyes off him even though he wants to look away.

Blood and spit drip from his face, it scrunching up in deadly glare. His eyes are wide open, and the feature, or rather lack of, that catches Izuku's attention the most is that he doesn't have a nose.

"You fake..."

Izuku's entire being turns into ice, freezing him into place. He can't breathe, swallow, move, or even think. All he can feel is intense, paralyzing fear.

"I must make things right..."

He can barely see from his position, but Stain takes a step forward, towards the group of people watching, towards Endeavor.

"Someone must be dyed in blood..."

This amount of dread, alarm, and apprehension is something Izuku has never felt before. There have been multiple occasions where he's been scared and/or anxious, but never to this degree.

He never wants to feel this amount ever again.

"I must take back what is means to be a hero!"

He can't even flinch back when Stain stomps his foot in place, shouting to anyone listening, daring to those who call themselves Heroes.

"Come! Try and get me, you fakes! The only one I'll let kill me is the true hero...

"All Might!"

The feeling abruptly ceases when the sound of a blade hits the pavement, and Izuku, trembling, realizes that Stain's declarations to the world have stopped, his whole entire body seeming to be stuck in place.

"He's..." Endeavor lets out a small breath, stating, "He's unconscious..."

It takes several seconds until Izuku can feel like he can breathe again.

"Ah, thank you."

A shock blanket is wrapped around his shoulders as Izuku is helped over to one of the ambulances, and he pulls his closer, still shaking from the even before. The EMTs had gathered up everyone who is injured and provided medical care to what they can help with outside of a hospital. They'll take those injured to the hospital in a few minutes after they ensure they have everyone they need to take, as well as to swiftly decide who's going in which ambulance since only two have arrived. The hospital is currently stretched thin on how many they can send due to the other attacks in the city, as well as the amount of people who have gotten hurt or need a check-up from smoke-inhalation.

Stain is going in his own, seeing as apparently he has broken ribs (probably from Iida's leg-attacks), shackled tightly and clothing searched thoroughly more than once, with Native tagging along since the other one is already pushing it with all three U.A. students. Izuku somehow has Iida beat in the amount of injuries (as well as loopiness―really it's just Izuku that's starting to go a little foggy upstairs), but he won't admit it, ignoring Todoroki's stare and Iida's pushing to lay down and rest.

He pulls out his phone, unlocks it, and goes to his conversation with Shinsou. Without reading any of the past messages (not that his mind to comprehend them―he's a bit too gone at the moment), he goes to the photo option and brings his arm out, putting the camera in selfie-mode. He can't stop the grimace when he sees his face; there's a bandage on his face from a cut he didn't know he had, as well as one over his throat, and his skin is lighter than usual, his Gucci eyebags looking a little darker. His hair is a frizzy mess, one he can't be bothered to fix right now, and it's pretty obvious that something happened, especially since there's quite a bit of blood on the collar of his white button-up shirt and gray blazer. He doesn't even wanna think about how much it's going to cost to get another one―hopefully, he will be able to play some pity points and get some stuff replaced for free.

He takes the picture, throwing up a peace sign with his bandaged hand and a huge sarcastic grin, and sending it with, "I might have done something stupid." With a deep sigh, he thinks back to his week, despite it only being half-way through, and wonders how it go to this point. When he can't find an answer then, he goes to the week before, going through his days until he finds the constant within it.

("I think you should reconsider your decision of not becoming a Pro-Hero.")

("I think you have potential, potential that you are going to waste by not trying.")

("There's nothing crueler than letting a dream end midway.")

'Goddamn it, Aizawa-sensei.'

He goes to his contacts and presses on one, choosing the call option. He puts the phone to his ear, listening to the dialing tone until it stops, alerting Izuku that the person has picked up.

"Problem Child?"

"I..." Izuku takes a deep breath before relenting. "Fuck it, I think I want to be a Hero."

And in the distance, he swears he can see a fluffy blond tail, swatting the air gracefully as if nothing happened, as if Izuku's life didn't just change right then and there.

31.4 pages · 10,996 words

June 28, 2021

Thank You for reading the Sports Festival Arc of The Case of Midoriya Izuku!

Please continue below...

It's been almost a year since Autumn went missing but that doesn't make this chapter mean any less than I intended it to.

Oh wow, I actually finished this. I can't, like seriously, I cannot believe it XD

And you guys stuck with me for ride. Thank you so much for that, so much. I didn't know where this was really going when I wrote the first chapter, nor did I think I was going to be able to actually make a series with that idea. I also didn't really think that a lot of people were going read it and enjoy, but I'm so surprised and happy that you all did. I have a little more to say about this series, but first I got some things to mention. (I actually made a list for once lol)

First of all, Ayumu is a very small side character, not really important to the story, but I wrote them as their pronouns being they/them, so if I messed up anywhere, please let me know! Also, I have a small question about that.

I had a sentence: "U.A., right? I get it," they reassure*, giving a polite smile before shortly dropping it." but I'm not 100% sure if I wrote it correctly. I put "They reassure," but if you replace they with he or she, it's grammatically "He/she reassures," so like? Should I put "They reassures?" Please do let me know if I need to fix that! I do not offend anyone, and I want to get myself better at writing characters like them since people like them need more recognition, even in passing in books. (though there definitely should be books with main characters like that-I'm sorry that there isn't enough. Hopefully there will be in the future.) You all are valid and human, and you deserve to be treated as such. I'm so sorry that there are people who believe different. Love you all ? ﾟﾒﾖ?

Secondly!

I wanna give thanks to everyone who gave really kind messages when Autumn went missing. They really helped me during the grieving process, and looking back at them makes me smile. Thank you so, so much.

This chapter is dedicated to Autumn, right? So I made correlations within the beginning of this chapter. Little Natsuki is I guess is me, while Aki is Autumn lol. The other cat Natsuki mentions was a little thing to our other cat, Gracie.

Aki can stand for Autumn, so blatant usage there lol. The story about Aki got his name is also the same for Autumn; my mom thought he was a female for some reason and told me such. I named him Autumn, and then later we all realized he was a guy lol.

Natsuki - Natsu = Summer, ki = Hope. Or so Behind the Name says lol. The last I saw Autumn was during the summer so, Natsuki. The hope thing is just an add-on.

I wanna also give thanks to my friend for drawing the title cover for me. I don't think she reads this, she's not really the reading type, but it means a lot that she did that for me.

Furthermore, we have a Discord! I did make a post about it (and tricked some people lol sorry about that), though not many people joined-ngl it's kinda dead but that's fine lol, still nice to have-so I thought why not talk about it again. This code: DXZkSrJkzs and it's a link that shouldn't expired. If it doesn't work, message me and I'll try sending it to you or something. Feel free to join and chat!

Also, I have made both a Spotify and YouTube music playlist for this arc! You can find them by searching up the fic's title (though for Spotify, search for iamlowkeycrying and go through my account). There will also be links to-great segue right-to the book with the masterlist and information! Though it does depend on which site you're reading it on-Fanfiction particularly doesn't like links. I'll try and remember to put the links in the comments for Wattpad. Hopefully you guys will enjoy at least some of the music I thought fit or made it's way into the fic in the form of lyrics. ?

The alternative chapter name, "The Case of Dream Catching," is based on Set It Off's Dream Catcher lol.

Anyway, the information book! I will be going back to the first chapter and talking about it so newer readers can check it out. It has trigger warnings, masterlist, and summaries for each arc-hahaha I bet you all thought this was the end of Izuku's reluctant journey of becoming a Hero, huh? You guys might wanna check out "I Remember an Old Saying..."

Now! Finally, time to recommend a fic!

Today's fic is:

speak it free by aloneintherain on ao3

Summary:

""I didn't have the same middle school experience as you," Shinsou says. "I didn't become rivals with my childhood friend."

Shinsou doesn't know who Kacchan really is to him. Izuku has spent so much time looking at Shinsou and relating to him, that he forgot that Shinsou wasn't looking back at him with that same recognition.

Izuku takes a deep breath, and starts, "Kacchan and I aren't really childhood friends. Not really."

Or: Shinsou finds out that Bakugou used to bully Midoriya."

I love love love fics where Shinsou finds out that Izuku was originally quirkless idk why lol.

If you have any suggestions, lay them on me! I would love to read some more bnha fics!

Thank you so much for reading this. I'm so glad so many people enjoyed this, and I hope to continue providing great writing for you all. Thank you!