Izuku soon found that his conversations with Dr. Meiji fell into the same pattern most of the time. It was nice communicating with him in person rather than solely over email.

But no matter the topic, the two would talk so animatedly and extensively that their analysis was so complex and involved that they barely understood it, let alone anyone else. During one of their sessions, a grad student had walked into Meiji's office with a question. He had only listened for a few seconds, eyes wide until he scuttled away, claiming that he would be back later.

Dr. Meiji noticed this as well. He was deep in thought one morning when he said, "Midoriya, I have a new challenge for you. I want you to start doing a brief analysis on the people close to you. Your strength lies in the way that you can discern so much about a person from idle observation, but that's not always practical. If you're helping a hero or the police force, they won't always have time to read a twenty page analysis. Your challenge is to make these no longer than a single page, but with all of the most important information."

Izuku thought it over a minute before nodding. "That makes sense."

The professor smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "I have a class soon, and you've got patrol this evening with the police, don't you? You don't want to be late."

They parted ways, and Izuku only paused at his room long enough to grab his EMT pack before running out to the waiting police car. It wasn't really necessary for patrol, but Izuku liked to carry it, it gave him peace of mind knowing that he was better prepared to help someone should the need arise. Between the EMT pack and the Don't Rape Me kit, Izuku felt prepared for whatever may come. He had no idea how wrong he was.

The officers waiting for him were ones he'd met before: Mao was in his mid-twenties with a quirk that made his teeth razor-sharp, and his partner Ashia was cool-headed with a stamina enhancement quirk. Ashia reminded Izuku a little bit of Kondo, but his glare didn't have nearly the same impact as hers did.

The two greeted Izuku as he climbed into the car, genuinely happy to see him. Ashia said, "You get to pick where we're patrolling tonight. We're extraneous, so we can patrol anywhere within our zone."

Izuku thought of the news he'd been analyzing that very morning - he was sure the Hero Killer, Stain was still in Hosu. The man likely didn't fight well against groups of people, so it would probably be safe enough to go…

"Can we patrol this area of town?" Izuku asked, pointing to a specific area on the paper map Mao held.

"It's a pretty quiet area, but whatever you want, Midoriya," Mao said.

For whatever reason Izuku felt a deep sense of foreboding, but it also came with the sense that someone needed his help. To distract himself, Izuku instead thought about his EMT pack - it would be too cumbersome to carry when he became a fully-fledged police officer, but if he could compress it to, say, a fanny pack…

Mao broke him from his ponderings. "We know how much you like heroes, so if you wanted to see him, we could probably catch Native on his patrol. This is his part of town."

"I would love to meet him! I have some questions about his quirk."

Smiling fondly at the boy's excitement, Mao told Ashia to pull over. The three piled out of the car. They had been together for patrols the past few days, and the officers were growing ever fonder of the kid. Both found themselves shaking their heads at Izuku's insistence to bring his EMT pack.

Mao raised an eyebrow. "I appreciate how prepared you're trying to be, Midoriya, but it seems just as excessive tonight as it has the other nights."

"Well I can't do much to help with police work until I finish at the Academy, so I'll help this way," Izuku said brightly.

Making sure his equipment was in place, Ashia said, "I was doubtful when I heard Tsukauchi's plan to make a teenager an officer, but now I see his reasoning. We're glad to have you, Midoriya."

Izuku stammered an awkward thanks, but all three froze at the sound of a pained groan. Luckily the police had been marginally successful in training Izuku not to run into potentially dangerous situations - instead it was a brisk walk. The kid very nearly managed to leave Mao and Ashia in his dust.

"Call for backup," Izuku commanded before disappearing around the corner.

"Should we?" Mao asked hesitantly.

"Do what the kid says. I'm going to follow, you stay here unless you're needed. If it gets bad, pull Midoriya out. I don't want to explain to Tsukauchi how we let his son get murdered."

Izuku had immediately made his way to Native as quietly as possible. The whole scene was a mess. Just as he had thought, here was the Hero Killer Stain, but someone had distracted him from his prey. While Native slowly bled out in the alleyway, Stain was busy injuring someone in silver armor. Izuku was fairly sure he had seen that same armor on one of the Class 1-A students after the USJ incident, and the boy's resemblance to Ingenium was undeniable. So this was a revenge mission.

But now was not the time to analyze motives and quirks, Izuku had to see to Native's injuries. The hero was conscious, but paralyzed from Stain's quirk. Native hissed for him to leave, get pros, but if his injuries weren't seen to immediately, Native would likely be permanently paralyzed like Ingenium, He needed an ambulance, now. Izuku felt slightly guilty doing this, but he stuffed a wad of gauze into the man's mouth to hopefully shut him up.

He felt when the hero killer's eyes fell on him. Chills ran down Izuku's spine, and his heart sank when he saw that the hero student was unmoving on the ground. His helmet was off, and Izuku recognized him from the Sports Festival. Now the resemblance to Ingenium was undeniable, the two were likely brothers.

But Stain's eyes were on Izuku, and his sword dripped blood onto the pavement - the same blood that the hero student was loosing too quickly.

"Hosu Police! Put your weapon down, Hero Killer Stain." Ashia stalked into the alleyway, placing himself between Izuku and Stain, gun drawn.

"Ah, the public defenders that don't masquerade as heroes. I have no qualms with you, but I won't allow you to keep me from my prey," Stain said in a voice that sounded like the night itself.

The Hero Killer sprang forward, nimbly avoiding the bullet Ashia shot. While the man was partially distracted, Izuku finished bandaging Native as quickly as possible before scuttling over to the hero student, ripping open hi EMT pack.

"What are you doing? Get out of here, this isn't your fight," the boy wheezed.

"It shouldn't be yours either," Izuku hissed pressing gauze down onto the wound. He almost immediately felt blood soak through. "You're training to be a hero, aren't you? I thought heroes were agents of protection, not revenge."

"Midoriya, get out of here," came a strangled cry. Ashia was collapsed on the ground, blood slowly staining his shirt. Izuku frantically searched the alleyway; Stain was -

He managed to raise his EMT pack in front of him like a shield, a few daggers sinking into it. Stain was advancing, his sword glinting in the moonlight.

"Once his quirk wears off, press on that gauze," Izuku instructed the hero student before putting the Don't Rape Me whistle between his lips, blowing with the full capacity of his lungs.

"You test my patience, child!" Stain growled, lunging forward.

Izuku knew he couldn't even begin to match the man in martial arts. His technique really was a thing of beauty. He also knew that everyone who cared about him was going to hate this plan. But Stain's quirk required him to ingest his victim's blood, which meant that he had to get close to said victim for even a moment, which was when Izuku would strike.

The sword sliced through the EMT pack like it was nothing, but Izuku managed to avoid the blade. He was still kneeling near the hero student, and he threw the remnants of the pack at the hero killer.

"You behave like a true hero, child. But don't hold back, I'm curious to see what manner of quirk you have." Stain chuckled darkly before bringing his sword down in a wicked arc. Izuku cried out as it was buried in his thigh - but now was his time. One hand lashed out, desperately grabbing the blade and pulling, causing the hero killer to stumble closer.

Spitting out the whistle, Izuku said, "I don't have one," before using his other hand to whip out the taser, pressing it to the soft skin of the hero killer's neck. The sheer power of the thing jolted Izuku a bit, but he held it there probably longer than necessary until it was clear that the man wasn't getting up.

In the distance he heard sirens. Good. That was good. Where had his whistle landed? No matter. Taking a deep breath, Izuku howled, "MAO!"

The man came running, freezing for only a moment upon seeing all of the blood in the alleyway. He was clearly terrified that someone was dead, which Izuku understood, but he was also acutely aware of every second as it ticked by. "Mao, get cuffs on this man now. Use everything you can to restrain him. I don't know when he's going to wake up."

"Is that the Hero Killer Stain?" the younger officer choked.

"Get cuffs on him, now," Ashia growled from the ground.

"Right! And backup is coming, but there's some kind of chaos in another part of the city. We don't know how long it will take," Mao said, firmly handcuffing Stain. "Midoriya, you still have a sword in your thigh,"

"It's the only thing keeping me from passing out from blood loss," Izuku said calmly. "Thank goodness for adrenaline because I can't feel a thing."

The hero student slowly sat up, putting pressure on his wound like Izuku had instructed. Stain's quirk had released when the man passed out, but he was the only one fit enough to move. Mao was tending to Ashia's wounds now that Stain had a pair of handcuffs around his wrists and another around his ankles. But no one was going to die this night, Izuku was fairly confident in that.

"You're quirkless?" the boy asked, pale from blood loss. "Why would you run in like that?"

"I'm morally opposed to letting people die," Izuku said. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, by the way."

"Iida Tenya. I must give my sincerest apologies, Midoriya. You were correct in your estimation of me. I was acting out of revenge. It was you, not I that showed true heroism tonight."

"I think that's a bit much, but I appreciate the sentiment. Oh, the ambulances are almost here, perfect."

From the ground, Ashia groaned. "Mao, you're the one who has to explain this situation to Tsukauchi."

"What? Why me?" Mao yelped.

"You're the only one who didn't get stabbed," Ashia accused. "You can tell Tsuragamae first if you want, but you're calling Tsukauchi."

It was only moments later that a whole host of police officers and EMTs appeared. The first officer to get to Izuku looked down and swore. "Is that the Hero Killer Stain?"

"Please take him," Izuku said. Before he could observe or say anything more, a gaggle of medical personnel were transferring him to a stretcher.

The inside of the ambulance was sterile, and it felt familiar to him after his training, but his adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and the pain was what he would describe as all-consuming. He was pretty sure he asked someone to call his mom, and then he was at the hospital and people kept saying something about surgery.

Then, mercifully the world drifted away and the pain was gone. But it seemed no sooner than he had comfortably fallen asleep when someone was urging him awake, insistently shoving a spoon in his mouth.

"You need to wake up and eat," someone was saying, shoving the thick, butterscotch pudding into his mouth. Izuku's eyes fluttered open to see he was in a hospital room, his mom standing along with so many people… His head was fuzzy and thinking was just so hard.

"You just got out of surgery for your leg. How do you feel?" the person force-feeding him pudding asked.

Izuku attempted to force his mind to cooperate, but it was a struggle. He intended to answer the question, but when he opened his mouth, what came out was, "Do I get to keep the sword?"

"It's evidence fur now," Tsuragamae said with his usual gravity. "But we'll see."

"I should tell Stain thank you," Izuku mumbled, eyes unfocused. "He gave me a sword and called me a hero. I always wanted to be a hero."

"Why don't you become a hero?" Iida asked from the bed next to Izuku's. Huh, he hadn't noticed the hero student was there.

"He told me I couldn't, too dangerous for quirkless. He would know, he's a hero. Made me even sadder than what Kacchan said. But I'm happy now," Izuku mumbled, yawning. "The station is nice. Oh, wait, Chief Tsuraga… Tsurama… Chief? Is Iida going to be in trouble?"

"They have graciously extended mercy so long as we never tell anyone of my involvement," the student in question said.

"I'm glad you're not in trouble," Izuku said excitedly. "Mom! I missed you! Why are you crying?"

Unable to hold herself back anymore, Inko flung herself at her son. "Izuku, you're okay! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Izuku merely hummed, grateful for his mother's presence. Tsuramagae left, claiming he would be back later to get his statement.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"What time is it?"

Inko checked her watch. "Around two in the morning."

"You should be sleeping!"

"Oh, I'm fine, Izuku."

But Izuku could see how exhausted Inko was, and he was tired himself. "Go to my dorm room, you can sleep there. That way you can grab my stuff in the morning before we leave. Besides, Dr. Meiji will want to see me, so he can come here with you."

It took a lot more convincing, but finally Inko agreed to take a cab to the university, leaving Izuku alone with Iida. Izuku was drowsy, but his mind was fully functional once more. The painkillers were starting to wear off, but for now it was bearable.

"I sincerely apologize, Midoriya," Iida said, breaking the silence. "I was a selfish fool. I could only recognize the injustice done to my brother, and if it weren't for your intervention, I would likely be dead."

The two boys quietly conversed, while in the hallway, Inko happened upon one frazzled detective. She paused. "Tsukauchi?"

The man came screeching to a halt. "Inko! Is he okay?"

"He had to have surgery on his leg, but he's fine. He should make a full recovery," Inko said, glad to see the detective. She hesitated before continuing, "But he was saying some… concerning things when he was recovering from the anesthesia."

"Like what?"

"Like he should thank Stain because he called Izuku a hero. I hadn't heard anything about this before, but apparently Izuku had a pro hero tell him he couldn't be a hero, and it hurt worse than everything his bullies told him. Izuku hadn't told me anything about all of this, and I doubt he's going to remember telling me. It worries me, because before your station found him, heroes were Izuku's life. Everything was about finding a way to become one."

Tsukauchi's eyes were steel. "Do you know what hero told him this?"

Inko thought briefly back to when they moved and Izuku had donated the entirety of his All Might collection. It was highly unusual, but it was probably just Izuku trying to move on from his former dream. Besides, the day of the sludge villain there were a lot of heroes on scene, and there was no guarantee that it was any of them.

"No."

The detective nodded. "Thanks for telling me, Inko. Now go get some sleep."

"You too," she said with a wry smile.

Izuku and Iida were deep in conversation when the door slammed open and Detective Tsukauchi stormed in, the picture of fury in a trench coat. "Midoriya Izuku, I know you didn't just happen to be in the same area of Hosu as Stain. What on earth possessed you to intervene with nothing but two police officers and a fanny pack?"

"I also had my EMT pack?" Izuku said nervously.

Tsukauchi collapsed into a chair at his bedside. "We're getting you a gun. Really? The Hero Killer?"

"I'll tell someone my suspicions next time, I was just worried they wouldn't believe me or that we would get there too late," Izuku said.

"Well I don't think you have to worry about that in the future, there's already a whole host of police officers that want to steal you from me," Tsukauchi said. "Once Mao told me, somehow the entirety of Japan's police force found out that you were the one who took down Stain."

Izuku found himself blushing. "It's too much."

"You're well on your way to becoming Japan's favorite police officer, and you're not even officially one yet. But you need to trust in us, kid. We're here to help you, and if you don't start trusting us you're going to keep getting hurt like this."

"I'm sorry," Izuku said sincerely, ducking his head.

"Good, I better not be seeing you in the hospital anytime soon," Tsukauchi said seriously. "Now I am commandeering this armchair for a few hours, and in the morning, I'm going to pay Mao and Ashia a visit."

Izuku yawned. "Please don't kill them."

"I make no promises. Now go to sleep, Little Midoriya."

A/N: Y'all know the drill. Fight scenes are one of the things I'm least confident on, so constructive feedback is greatly appreciated. But any and all comments are welcome, I love hearing what you have to say! It's finals week for me, and then I have to move for the summer, so that means one of two things: either I'm going to take extra long for the next chapter, because I am a responsible adult who should be studying and packing, or the next chapter is going to be done in two days because procrastination. We shall see!