Chapter Thirtyfour - The Red Thread of Fate

During their third day of Hero internships, Hosu City was bustling with activity, despite the recent terrors being inflicted by the Hero Killer. This sense of calm was brought about by the Heroes who patrolled the city and kept everyone reminded that they were safe.

However, one boy in particular was on-edge, looking for his target, knowing he was due to show up soon enough.

Iida had taken an internship with Normal Hero: Manual, a Hero whose costume had slight fish-like qualities, and his Quirk allowed him to manipulate water. He had better offers but refused them all, for reasons unknown to his teachers.

"Despite the recent troubles, you can see how everybody is at ease," Manual stated. "This is what makes Hero patrols so important, especially in the darkest of times.

"Right," Iida responded simply. He was slightly behind the Hero, his eyes peeled not for signs of danger, but for the one man he was searching for.

Thanks to Iida's costume involving a full helmet, much like his brother's costume, nobody could see the dark intent on the boy's face. His resolve to bring down the Hero Killer had overtaken him, and the fact that Stain hadn't struck in several days had him on edge.

Come out Hero Killer… I'll destroy you with these hands!

While lost in his dark thoughts, he heard a noise and then a familiar voice call out to him.

"Iida?"

He stopped and turned around, surprised by who was approaching him.

"Midoriya…? Bakugo?" Iida looked at the green-haired boy, clad in an unfamiliar costume, with Bakugo behind him looking like he didn't want to be there, his hair all neat and combed to one side. "Are you both here on Internships as well?"

"Yep! We've been studying under Best Jeanist," Izuku stated excitedly.

As if on cue, Best Jeanist came up from behind them, many people around cheering him on. Manual smiled widely and approached them.

"Oh, Best Jeanist! It's rare to see you out this way," Manual spoke.

"Sorry for intruding, but I figured these two deserved a walk around," Best Jeanist spoke.

"The hell are we? Dogs?!" Bakugo growled angrily.

Manual laughed. "Don't apologize, there's no territory squabbling amongst Heroes!"

As the two Pro Heroes talked, Iida clutched his hands tightly, his expression very conflicted inside of his helmet.

Why are you all here? This is my duty…

"Iida, are you alright?" Izuku looked at the boy worriedly.

"Y-Yes, probably just some nerves," Iida responded, trying to act casual. "I'm surprised you recognized me, you haven't seen my costume before have you?"

Izuku smiled. "Well part of our studies in the Support course was costume design," he explained. "So we've seen all of your costumes— But also, yours looks a lot like Ingenium!"

The boy instantly regretted what he said, waving his hands nervously.

"O-Oh I'm sorry… How is your brother doing? I-I was confused about why you left the Festival so I asked some people," Izuku stated, rubbing the back of his head. "And it's been all over TV…"

"He's… not doing well," Iida admitted. "I'm hoping this internship can help get it off my mind."

Izuku could sense the pain in the boy's voice, but couldn't yet piece together what was going on in his head. Nearby, Bakugo was picking up on the boy's angst, but he played it off as though he weren't interested.

"But Midoriya, I must say, your costume is very neat," Iida stated, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, thanks! I created the design but Mei created it for me… She always made me test her bab— her creations, so I guess she had my size and everything," Izuku said with a nervous chuckle.

"We're not here to disturb their patrol you two," Best Jeanist said. Izuku and Bakugo turned to him. "Come on, we should return."

As the Hero began to walk off, Bakugo grumbled things under his breath about being brought along for a 'shopping trip'.

"R-Right… Well Iida, good luck!"

Iida nodded. "You both as well."

As he watched Izuku head off with the other two, Iida let out a slight sigh of relief.

I can't let anyone get mixed up in this.

It was starting to get dark outside when Best Jeanist and his two interns made it to the train station. Once there, Bakugo was the one who stopped on the steps leading up to the platform, making the other two turn to him.

"Since nobody is sayin' anything, I will— Are really that fuckin' stupid," Bakugo muttered angrily, glaring at Best Jeanist.

Izuku was surprised by this, looking to Best Jeanist, who looked a bit melancholic at that moment.

"Huh…?"

Best Jeanist turned his back to Bakugo. "You must put faith in your fellow Heroes, this field of work isn't all about a single person."

"The hell do you mean? Four-eyes is here where that Hero Killer is right? Ain't that suspicious," Bakugo spat.

The Hero Killer… Izuku remembered that the reports all came from Hosu City. His eyes widened a bit as he pieces it together in his mind, remembering the pained voice of Iida. From his encounters with Iida, he seemed friendly and dependable, not the kind of person who would break the law and hunt down a villain alone.

Best Jeanist sighed. "To defy Manual's discretion is to say he is not worthy of being a Pro Hero," the man spoke. "Do you wish to go yell blindly at him and that boy? What will that accomplish?"

"Tch…" Bakugo looked away, gritting his teeth.

"Though your feelings aren't misplaced. I'm just surprised you were able to notice," Best Jeanist stated, before looking over to Izuku. "You didn't know, did you?"

Izuku opened his mouth to speak but then shook his head.

"If that boy has any sense, he won't do anything foolish… And you both as well," the Hero said. "You recall yesterday's lesson, correct?"

The Day Before…

For their second day of their internship, Best Jeanist tried twice more to bring Izuku and Bakugo closer to understanding each other— Naturally, both attempts went horribly and had to be scrapped.

"Perhaps I should have gone with my original instincts," Best Jeanist spoke, recalling how he had called them hopeless from the start. Izuku and Bakugo stood before him, scuffed up from an unfortunate tussle they had while on a patrol where Best Jeanist connected threads to them as a team-building exercise.

"If you didn't let this nerd drag me down I'd be alright," Bakugo scowled.

"I-It's not all about you, Kacchan!"

"Call me that stupid name again and I—" Bakugo and Izuku leaned in to glare at each other, so Best Jeanist clasped his hands, making their clothes start to constrict them.

With a sigh, Best Jeanist ran a comb through his hair and leaned back in his chair.

"I think I will take a different approach, something more simple," he spoke. With the snap of his finger, the other Heroes of his agency came quickly. "You both appear to do well in academics, perhaps something like that is more up your alley."

"Eh? What, now we gotta do some equations or something," Bakugo questioned.

They watched as the others of the agency suddenly fell to the ground, all of them writhing in pain and groaning.

"W-What's happening?" Izuku nervously looked around at them and Best Jeanist.

"An exercise for your minds. One of these guys is a villain who injured the others and is pretending to be hurt as well," Best Jeanist stated. "What do you do first in this situation?"

Izuku put a hand to his chin, looking at the people pretending to writhe around, each saying things about their injuries, none of them seeming to stick out much. I don't really get it—

One of the men said, "Ow! My back! I think it's broken!"

Bakugo walked over and suddenly stomped on his back furiously. "Oh yeah? You sure you aren't faking it?"

"Gaah— Stop it!"

Best Jeanist sighed, pulling Bakugo back with a thread. "Wrong answer. Midoriya?"

Izuku watched for a few moments, eventually pointing at a tall brown-haired man who seemed particularly bad at acting.

"That guy?"

"Wrong," Best Jeanist said.

"Then who—"

"It doesn't matter, you made your choices and now must live with the consequences," Best Jeanist stated.

The other Heroes all got up, laughing about the two boys and their confusion before heading about their business again.

"Your first thoughts were to weed out a villain before helping those who were injured," Best Jeanist explained. "Whether this was the correct choice is up to interpretation, but you both would have to live with that choice." He pointed to them both. "There are no second chances in a real situation, and no time for bickering. You must put faith in your actions and your fellow Heroes"

Izuku looked down, feeling a bit guilty. He's right… I don't know how I can make a choice like that yet. And Kacchan and I will never agree to anything...

He thought back to rushing in blindly to attack Kurogiri, and how Paper Mache had to save him. His rash actions he's taken thus far could've gone wrong but mostly worked out for him— But for how long?

"Heroes are there to beat the shit out of bad guys," Bakugo retorted suddenly. "You can deal with the injured afterwards."

"As I said, the choices made are up to the discretion of the Hero," Best Jeanist spoke. "As long as they are ready to face what happens after that moment."

Living with your choices huh...

"Don't fret too much however, this comes more with maturity, thus it will come to you soon enough," Best Jeanist finished, raising a hand, making a thread from his costume grab the briefcase holding Izuku's costume, moving it towards him.

Izuku grabbed the briefcase. "My costume…?"

"I can see that you both have at least a slight ability to learn, so put this on and we will begin something more practical," Best Jeanist spoke. "Tomorrow I must head into Hosu for errands, so there might not be much for us tomorrow."

"Hosu? Some of my class should be there," Izuku commented.

"Well you both will accompany me, mainly so I know you don't do anything unsightly," Best Jeanist told them.

"Yes sir," Izuku said politely, while Bakugo merely scowled at that.

Unfortunately, those of Class H in the Hosu area were very busy with their own work, so Izuku had mainly avoided disturbing them, besides a quick phone chat with Mei.

I'll focus on my own internship for now, and become the Hero they've helped drive me to become!

Now…

"Believe in your fellow Heroes, and be prepared to face consequences of yours and their actions," Best Jeanist reiterated from the previous day.

"Sounds like you just give up easily," Bakugo retorted.

"If that's what you gleam from that, then sure," Best Jeanist said with a sigh.

Crash! BOOMPF!

The three ran up the steps to the train station as a loud explosion could be heard. Across the city, smoke was rising and flames could be visible down below.

"Villains…?" Izuku gulped as another explosion occurred in another part of the city. "And over there…?"

Best Jeanist was eyeing something else now. He dropped the sacks he was holding and used his Quirk to unthread some of his costume sleeves, holding them and making a rope of sorts.

"Our trip has just been extended," the man spoke.

Izuku and Bakugo followed his gaze and saw that the train coming into the station wasn't slowing down, and had a big hole in the side of it with something inside causing a ruckus.

"You both are to follow the Heroes guidance to get to safety," Best Jeanist told them seriously. "Do not forget your place."

The Hero ran towards the edge of the station platform and expertly sent the thread rope towards the open hole in the train, catching onto it and going with it as the train flew by. Izuku and Bakugo ran up and watched him go, Best Jeanist swooping into the hole and confronting what was inside.

What's happening…? Some sort of mass villain attack?

To Izuku's surprise, he saw Bakugo grinning a bit. "Now this is more like it," the boy spoke.

"H-Hey, we can't do anything, it's against the law," Izuku told him, getting closer.

"You think I don't fuckin' know that?" Bakugo pushed Izuku away. "I'm going to check it out either way!"

"Kacchan—!" Izuku couldn't say anymore as Bakugo blasted away, using his Quirk to land on the street below easily and rushing off.

I know Kacchan's smart enough to not break the law, but… Izuku looked around at the pillars of smoke rising through the city. But I am worried about my friends that are here!

After a few moments of deliberation, Izuku put the metal piece of his suit that covered his mouth and ran towards the many steps leading up to the station and jumped, pressing the switch near the Flow unit on his back, hearing the smooth whisper of the device activating.

I haven't gotten to fully try it out yet…

Izuku had read the instructions Mei had left within the suitcase, but never had a chance to try it out as this was his first outing in the suit. He clicked his pinkie fingers inward and waited a moment before releasing them, making air blast out from his boots before he could land on the ground. As he shot forward through the air, Izuku was surprised at how good the suit felt thanks to its lightweight design and breathable fabric.

Good job Mei! I promise I won't ruin it!

Izuku slid on the ground and turned down the street he had seen Bakugo go down. His eyes were peeled for signs of where he had gone, but a flurry of explosions drove him through an alleyway and onto another street.

"Kacchan— Eh?"

The boy slid to a halt, shocked at the sight on the street. People were fleeing from a tall, thin white creature whose head was mostly a brain with four eyes on it. It was very humanoid and was even wearing pants, but it obviously wasn't something normal.

Is that.. a person? Is their Quirk going on a rampage?

The creature screeched and noticed a woman hiding nearby. As it lurched towards her, Izuku's eyes widened and he froze up.

I can't act, I need to find a Pro Hero for this… He clenched his hands tightly, looking around. Someone? Anyone!

As he took a step forward, his mind being made up to step in, there was suddenly a massive blast of flames that blew the white creature away. Izuku looked over at the source, seeing the #2 Hero, Endeavor, flying down to the scene using flames as thrusters.

"T-Thank you! Thank you!" The woman ran off, terrified.

Izuku let out a breath of relief, thankful that someone had showed up before he did anything rash. The white creature had seemingly been unscathed, its skin starting to move around in unnatural ways.

What is that…? Izuku then looked to Endeavor and audibly gasped.

The Hero was looking at Izuku, not the creature, with a dark expression that made Izuku shiver. It was the sort of look that made him freeze in place, knowing he needed to choose his next actions wisely.

Suddenly the white creature screeched and flames exploded from it, firing a blast just as strong as Endeavor's from before right back at him. The Hero braced himself as the flames enveloped him, before moving a hand and dispelling them to the side.

"Play time's over, you run along before you can mess things up further," Endeavor commanded to Izuku, now focusing on the creature.

Izuku didn't need more than that to flee and leave it up to Endeavor. Whether the man was mad about Izuku defeating Todoroki or not, he had no idea— But the way he looked when he saw Izuku told it all:

Endeavor was pissed.

Izuku made his way down the street, eventually finding the familiar figure of Manual as he was utilizing a fire hydrant to spray down flames blocking the path of civilians.

Normal Hero: Manual! But… where's Iida at?

As Izuku approached, another Hero came into his path, using their Quirk to blow falling debris away from everyone safely.

"Hey kid, go with the others towards the evacuation zones," the Hero woman spoke.

"I'm trying to find my friends—"

Before Izuku could finish, a bus came flying at them from down the street. The Hero woman looked over towards the oncoming vehicle too late, so Izuku had to act.

Pushing the woman out of the way, he clicked his pinkie fingers in to blast out of the way as well, twirling through the air before sliding to a stop, taking a breath for a second as he watched the bus slam into a building and erupt into flames.

Where did that come from…?

There was a familiar screech, and Izuku looked to see another creature approaching them. This one was much more muscular with black skin and no visible eyes.

"T-Thanks kid, but we got it from here," the Hero stated.

"Hey," Manual said, running over to them. "You're Midoriya right? Have you seen Iida?"

"N-No, I—"

Suddenly the creature rushed in to attack them, with incredible speed. It smacked the woman Hero away with a powerful hit, then reached to strike Izuku. He was too late to react, but luckily Manual sent a blast of water from another nearby water hydrant, knocking the creature away enough for him to miss.

"You need to evacuate so we can work," Manual told him. "It's dangerous here!"

Izuku was worried but he saw that the woman from earlier was recovering from the attack. They're Pro Heroes, I need to put my faith in them and find Kacchan and Iida!

He ran off, his new suit to put a bigger spring into his step. From the instructions Mei had given him, the Flow unit of his suit would automatically send bursts of air when it detected his rapid movement, automatically giving him passive increases to his speed. At first it made it hard to run normally, and he skidded around a bit, but eventually he started to get used to it when he heard an explosion go off nearby and ran to go see what was happening.

Wait for me… Iida… Kacchan!

The Hero Killer, Stain, had been ready to claim his first victim of the night. The Pro Hero Native was taken by surprise in an alleyway while trying to rush to help the other Heroes fight the fires that had suddenly popped up, and was now slumped against the wall, his body paralyzed.

Before he could deliver the finishing blow over, Iida Tenya had suddenly rushed in at a blazing speed, using his Quirk to accelerate himself and try to slam his leg into Stain. However, the Hero Killer was quick to act, dodging and slamming Iida's head with his own leg, knocking his helmet off as he slammed into the ground.

As Iida started to get up, he paused as the Hero Killer held a blade up to his neck.

"A child in a suit…? Who are you?"

Iida gritted his teeth as he looked up at the person he hated most. Stain had a look of disdain at the boy, an ominous aura about him making Iida shiver slightly. But he had expected such a foe, mentally prepared for how tough it would be to avenge his brother.

"I am the younger brother of the Hero you attacked…" Iida slowly started to stand, not caring for the blade being held to him. "The younger brother of a most excellent older brother. I have come to stop you in his place!"

Iida remembered his brother's words when he had visited him in the hospital.

"Can you… take this name…?"

As Iida stood all the way up, he shouted, "Remember my name for as long as you live— Ingenium! It is the name of the Hero who shall defeat you!"

Stain narrowed his eyes. "I see… Die."

Iida fired up the engines on his left leg, delivering a swift upward kick in an instant. Stain dodged however, jumping into the air and producing a blade from his shoe, jabbing it into Iida's shoulder and pushing him face-down to the ground.

"Ingenium— I kept that man alive to spread the word about me," Stain spoke. As Iida glared up at him, the Hero Killer smirked slightly. "You're weak."

Stain flipped the sword around in his hand and slammed it down into Iida's arm, making the boy gasp loudly from the pain.

"You and your brother are both weak, because you're fake," Stain continued.

"Shut up.. villain," Iida struggled to say through the pain. "My brother is… an amazing Hero… Who gave me a dream!"

Iida remembered how amazed he was to see his brother in action, and how he was highly respected for being resourceful and a great leader. Now he had been paralyzed from the waist down, deemed likely to never be able to work as a Hero again, let alone walk.

"I won't forgive you…" Iida slowly closed the fist of his injured arm. "I'll kill you!"

"Save that guy first," Stain spoke, pointing towards Native, who was still struggling with being unable to move. "Reflect on yourself and save others. "Being taken in by hatred and using your powers for yourself… That is the furthest from what a Hero should be."

Stain ripped the blade from Iida's shoulder, making him gasp. He brought the bloodied steel to his mouth.

"And that's why you shall die."

Licking Iida's blood from the blade, the boy suddenly felt himself becoming paralyzed, shivering slightly as he was completely frozen in place.

"Goodbye, you're an offering to a more just world," Stain spoke as he readied the blade to plunge into Iida's back.

"Shut… up," Iida groaned in anger. "No matter what you say… You're the criminal who hurt my brother!"

"Hmph…" Stain began to thrust the blade downwards when an explosion suddenly rang out from nearby.

Stain looked down the alleyway just as Bakugo came flying through it towards him. Before he could react, the spiky-haired boy punched him hard in the face, sending him sliding back a surprisingly small distance. Bakugo followed it up by throwing his hands forward and creating an explosion, which forced Stain to jump back to avoid the brunt of it.

"Ba...kugo…" Iida looked up at the boy with teary eyes as he landed beside him.

"I figured you were out here doing some stupid shit," Bakugo spoke. "I used to think you were too much of a stiff to do somethin' like this."

"But… how did you—"

"I'm not fuckin' stupid. Apparently this Hero Killer guy shows up like a pansy far from everyone else," Bakugo spoke, grinning a bit as he saw the villain still standing as the smoke cleared. "After blasting around a bit I find you here, getting your shit kicked in."

Stain eyed Bakugo, recognizing him from the pictures that Shigaraki had shown him before.

He's one of the brats that guy was interested in, Stain thought.

"You just lay there like that, and I'll take care of this guy," Bakugo spoke, running and blasting himself forward.

"Bakugo… wait…!"

Iida's words were too late as his classmate flew in towards Stain. The man readied his sword, ready to counter attack, analyzing and readying the perfect movement to avoid Bakugo and slice him open.

There was a sharp shing! noise as his blade slashed through the air—

And some blood splattered along the nearby wall…

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: U.A Students vs. The Hero Killer