Chapter 18

"There we go," Gon said as he landed on his feet after knocking Stain out.

"Uh…we should take his weapons off and then tie him up," Midoriya suggested. Todoroki nodded while Iida stared down where Stain lay unconscious.

Gon and Todoroki took the knives and swords off from the villain. Midoriya and Iida stumbled over to Native who could finally move. The injured Pro Hero pushed onto his feet and watched the scene in front of him.

"Native, are you okay?" Midoriya asked.

The hero smiled at the two teens. "Yes, I am injured, but it's fine. You guys took down the Hero Killer…that's very dangerous for students to do, but I would not be alive it if were not for your intervention."

Gon and Todoroki finished typing Stain. Native took Midoriya on his shoulders because of his injured leg which did not let the boy walk properly.

The four student plus Native heard footsteps pounding their way. A group of heroes including Gran Torino showed up and saw Stain laying on the ground, tied up in rope with his weapons placed far out of his reach to be sure they were as safe as they could be.

"Kid! I thought I told you to stay on the train!" Gran Torino yelled first thing at Midoriya. The teen's eyes went wide, but he could not even put together a full sentence in defense of his actions.

"That's the Hero Killer, isn't it?" the female hero Gon saved interrupted.

"Tenya! I was so worried! How could you…" the hero with a fish-fin helmet trailed off and saw his intern bleeding with Stain on the ground a bit behind.

"I'm sorry, Manual," Iida said to the hero with his head bowed down. "I let you down. I did a very unheroic thing by trying for revenge. But I understand my mistake and will take any punishment you deem necessary."

Manual shook his head. "It might not be me giving punishment…you went for revenge on Stain, and you got hurt. Fighting a villain without a license…this whole situation might have legal penalties. For you all." Midoriya and Todoroki looked down to the ground, while Gon's lips curved down slightly.

"I'm just glad you're not too roughed up," Gran Torino told Midoriya.

Another hero noticed Gon standing further down the alley. "It's you! You were with Endeavor! You got here this quickly?"

Gon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah I just ran here as fast as I could…" he lied so that he did not have to say he flew over.

"Let's take the Hero Killer out," Manual suggested. He and another hero pulled Stain out with the ropes that were left dangling around his body.

Iida stepped up to Gon, Midoriya, and Todoroki. "All three of you…Midoriya, Todoroki, and Gon." The tallest teen of them all bowed his head, and tears dropped out of his eyes. "I'm sorry for what happened."

"I'm sorry too," Midoriya admitted with a sad look on his face. "Even though we're friends, I couldn't do enough to get you out from this. Not fast enough."

The heroes that came had just called the police when Gran Torino heard the flapping of wings behind him. "Get down!" he shouted.

The flying Nomu from earlier that Endeavor struck swooped down and grabbed Midoriya away from Native. "Kid!" Gran Torino shouted and prepared to jump up at the same time Iida and Todoroki shouted, "Midoriya!"

Blood from Endeavor's previous attack splashed down onto the female hero. "Did it already get attacked before…?" she wondered in fear becuase Midoriya got taken but was also weirded out by having this monster's blood on her face.

Stain came back to consciousness and pulled a knife from under his sleeve and cut his restraints. He moved so quickly nobody reacted to stop him. He licked the blood on the woman's face, and the Nomu was paralyzed and began to fall because it could no longer fly. Stain rushed forward and stabbed the Nomu on its face with some blood splashing out. The combined weight of Stain, Midoriya, and the Nomu roughly fell to the ground and skid along the road.

"This society overgrown with fake heroes and the criminals who idly wave their power around…should all be purged!" Stain's voice boomed next to Midoriya and even the heroes and other students standing a bit away. He pulled his knife out from the dead Nomu, and blood fell in a small area on the street. "This is all to create a more just society."

Saliva was falling out of Stain's mouth. Midoriya could see that Stain looked way more dangerous right now, and he feared for his life next to the serial killer even though he had just saved him.

Everyone's breath hitched and their heart rates shot up. The tone Stain used was very cold and dangerous, and they did not want to interfere to try and get Midoriya back.

"Why are you all standing here? The villain must've come this way!" a new voice entered the area. The students and heroes turned around and saw Endeavor, and some of the heroes calmed down a bit after seeing the presence of the second strongest hero in the country. "Oh…" he said gravely once he noticed a beat-up looking Stain.

Stain's eyes moved to their corners. "Endeavor," he spoke in a ragged tone that sounded like he was ready to kill the hero.

Endeavor bent his knees and lit up his fist. He was ready to fire his attack. "Hero Killer!"

Gran Torino's eyes opened wide because he noticed that Endeavor did not see Midoriya laying right behind the villain. "Wait, Todoroki! My intern is right behind him!"

Endeavor's fire died down. "Huh?" He looked further behind Stain and could see a boy dressed in a green hero costume. He stood up straight again.

Intense bloodlust filled the air around the area. Everyone was frozen in place, and the only person who took a step was Stain himself. "You fakes…come and try to get me! The only one I'll let kill me is the true hero…All Might!" Stain's bloodlust exploded and crashed down on everyone. Even Gon had to admit it was a bit scary, and he had been in front of monsters such as Hisoka, the Phantom Troupe, and the Chimera Ants. The bloodlust was suffocating for those around the Hero Killer.

Stain took another step forward and raised his knife. Then, he sprinted at Endeavor, raising his knife even higher to go for the kill. As much as his brain was screaming for him to move, even Endeavor could not move under the suffocating bloodlust. But there was one person who could.

Gon intercepted the hand Stain was using to hold the knife and pushed his hand back. "Fake heroes or not, they still save people," he growled at the villain, completely unafraid of the serial killer. "So they are still good people!"

Stain's eyes darted from Endeavor to Gon. His eyes burned into Gon's like he was trying to stare into his soul. "That's a dangerous mentality to have," Stain growled back and pushed his hand forward. Gon pushed it back, and now they were playing tug-of-war. "You're a fake hero yourself if you only came because another fake hero told you to look after your friend."

"That's fine, I don't think I'm a true hero either," Gon whispered in response.

Stain's bloodlust faded, and people were not frozen anymore. Endeavor came back to his senses and saw his intern holding Stain back. He composed himself as befitting of the Number 2 Hero. "Rock Fist! Move back!" he shouted out. Gon obliged and jumped over to his left because Endeavor was slightly to his right behind him. A blast of orange fire engulfed Stain and knocked him unconscious. The villain fell to the ground with visible burn marks.

"That was…anti-climactic," Manual remarked after a few moments of silence where everyone took deep breaths and stared at Stain to see if he would get back up. Endeavor had another attack ready just in case it was an act.

"Good thing it was, or that could have gone much worse," Gran Torino responded and gave Manual a scornful glance for the comment. The yellow hero turned to Gon. "That was a reckless thing to do, to jump in like that."

"None of you moved, so someone had to stop Stain," Gon countered stubbornly.

"Which brings up a good point," Endeavor started and moved closer to the main group where his two interns were. "How were you able to move?"

"Stain released really strong and frightening bloodlust," a hero mentioned, getting shivers down his spine just thinking back to a few moments ago. "I couldn't move at all." He glanced to Gon where everyone else was giving him attention too.

Fortunately, sirens were heard in the distance and quickly became even closer. The police had arrived. Endeavor gave Gon one last look before turning around and dealing with the police officers who began getting out of their cars. Gon sweatdropped at the look because he knew he would get questioned on it later in the agency. But for now, he was in the clear.

The wounded were checked over and taken to the hospital. Gon was checked over and even though he claimed he had no injuries, he was still sent with Native and the three students "just to be sure". Gon was certain he had not received so much as a scratch.

At the hospital, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki were treated for their wounds and were told that they needed to stay for at least a day even though they had already been there for the night. Gon decided he would stick around for the day as well, and Endeavor allowed him to. He let Gon off the hook about intercepting Stain and the Nomu…for now.

"Midoriya," Gon said to the curly green haired teen he was sitting in the same room as. Todoroki and Iida were also in the same room, and they looked up at the spiky haired boy because he was the first person to talk in the room for quite some time. "Why did Stain save you?"

The other teen paused for several seconds. Gon could almost see the gears grinding in his head to think about the answer to that question. Midoriya finally replied, "Stain believes true heroes are the ones who save people because they want to. He thinks heroes shouldn't have selfish motives like fame and money."

"So he thinks you're a true hero?" Gon followed up curiously. I know I don't know Midoriya very well, but I wonder what makes him so special.

Midoriya hesitated before nodding. "I guess so. When I first came into the alley to find Iida, I said some of All Might's lines. I think Stain liked that, because I remember him saying he likes me and that I'm a real hero."

"Which of All Might's lines did you say?" Gon had to ask.

"Um…I said…what was it…?" Midoriya paused and thought back to when he first found Iida.

"You said that it is a hero's job to interfere when they don't need to," Iida recalled, having heard those words himself followed by Stain's response.

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah! That was it. 'Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero.' That's what I said." He paused for a moment and looked down at the stretcher he was sitting in. He lifted his eyes back up at Gon's big eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Gon shrugged and turned around toward where Iida and Todoroki were sitting in their stretchers. "Just curious. I was the last one to get there, so I don't know what happened before, and why you got saved."

"Gon," Todoroki said and got the attention of the other three boys. "Didn't Stain call you a fake hero?"

The Class B student gave a toothy grin, but when nobody smiled back, he sighed. "I have a tendency of caring about the people I know a lot more than other people. So," he gestured towards Iida. "I came to see if Todoroki was alright. Not necessarily because I thought other people might be in trouble."

"That's not how a hero is supposed to act…" Iida muttered and looked down at his legs covered under a thin white sheet. "But I have no right to talk about that. Considering how unheroic I was…"

"Iida, you were brave to stand up to the Hero Killer, but…yeah, I agree," Todoroki finally said, and Gon and Midoriya cracked a smile. "Going for revenge wasn't the right idea."

Midoriya looked back up at the other green haired teen. "Gon, if you care more about your friends…I mean, obviously, anyone would care more about people they know than strangers. But being a hero is about saving as many people as you can. That's the right thing to do. You shouldn't pick and choose."

Gon stared down at Midoriya, not in an angry way, but in a considerate way. "Stain saved you. Does that make him good?"

"Of course not!" Iida shouted out like it was completely obvious to him. "That may have been a good action, but he has hurt countless other people!"

"But he hurt the Nomu to save Midoriya," Gon frowned and turned around to watch Iida's reaction.

"Ah…well…" Iida was faltering and losing his thoughts. "The Nomu is also a villain because of the damage I'm sure it must have caused earlier." He managed to save his sentence, and he realized it made sense, even though it raised some new questions.

"So does that make it a 'good' action? Or a 'right' action?" he asked curiously. When he was given skeptical looks from Iida and Todoroki, he clarified, "I'm being serious. I'm not sure." The two teens relaxed a bit and lost their skepticism after that remark.

"It's all perspective," Midoriya answered the question thoughtfully, staring at Gon's back and thinking hard. "For us, it was a good thing that Stain saved me. Who knows what the Nomu would've done to me?" Gon turned his head around and saw Midoriya's intense gaze burning into him. "But, looking at things neutrally, he hurt a villain to save me. That, might not be 'right', but I am grateful."

"What do you think, Gon? Was Stain's action good?" Todoroki asked. He had the feeling Gon might have some morality issues…which was not far from the truth.

Gon rubbed the back of his head and turned around to face his fellow intern. "Well, I'm happy he helped Midoriya. But to be honest, he doesn't seem like a bad person. He just has his own rules he wants to follow. I think he's good for saving Midoriya."

"Do you not care about all the other horrible things Stain did?" Iida asked with a stern look.

"Uh…" Gon sweatdropped. I should just end this conversation before they think I'm heartless. "I don't know, because I don't know the people he's affected." Great, that was not what I was supposed to say.

Iida looked offended, and even Todoroki was surprised. Iida was about to fire off some harsh words, but the door was hit by three knocks and opened. Gran Torino and Manual stepped in along with a tall man with the head of a dog.

"Gran Torino," Midoriya greeted at the same time Iida greeted Manual.

"Kids, this is Kenji Tsuragamae," Gran Torino said. The old hero's eyes were narrowed and stern, and his expression was serious, so the teens knew something was up. "He is the Chief of the Police Force."

"So you are the U.A. students who took down Stain," Tsuragamae said. "Well, speaking of Stain, he is receiving treatment for his injuries," he informed. He continued his next sentences in a slower voice. "Anyways, when Quirks first became common amongst people, the hero profession was created to avoid unregulated Quirk usage where people did not fully know how to use their powers. People have the power to harm others with their Quirks. Being hero students, you should know that using your powers to hurt someone without official permission is a violation of the laws. You and your heroes, Gran Torino, Manual, and Endeavor, should receive a punishment." Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki had sorrowful expressions on their faces, but since no one talked, the Chief continued.

He turned towards Gon. "You are Gon Freecss, correct?" The teen nodded. "Endeavor did say that you should go find his son, his other intern, and make sure he is okay. But I heard you also used your Quirk to stop a dangerous villain before you went to find your fellow intern." Gon gulped because he knew where the Chief was going with this.

"Were we supposed to let people die?!" Todoroki challenged in an angry voice that the others had never heard from the usually calm boy. The three students spun their heads around to their peer. "Native would've died if Iida hadn't been there, and both of them would've died if Midoriya didn't get there on time! We should've followed the laws and let people die?"

"Todoroki…" both Iida and Midoriya whispered at the same time.

"Is it alright to break the laws if nothing goes wrong?" Tsuragamae countered. "What if something did go wrong? What if the Hero Killer got one of you? You endangered yourselves. Pro Heroes accept that their job is dangerous, and that they may die on the job."

"It's a hero's job to save people, isn't it?" Todoroki asked back and ground his teeth in anger afterwards.

"Ahem," Gon cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. Silence. Gon looked up at the Chief and stared right into his eyes. "You asked if it's okay for us to break the laws if nothing bad happens. I think you need to look at what the end result was. We saved people, so wouldn't the result be the same if a Pro were to do what we did?"

The Chief looked at Gon with an ambiguous look like he wanted to go down this conversation, but he also wondered how Gon could not know the answer to his question. Instead, Gran Torino interrupted. "He hasn't finished everything he wants to say. Let him finish."

Tsuragamae nodded. "Everything I said was the official opinion of the police force. However, you have a choice. You can be publicly acknowledged for what you did and get punished, or you can let someone else take the credit for defeating the Hero Killer. Stain had several burns on his body, so his defeat can be accredited to Endeavor as he was also on the scene."

Gon, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki went silent for a few moments until Iida spoke up. "Thank you for the choice, Chief Tsuragamae. I think it's safe to say, we don't need the credit."

The Chief nodded. "You are all promising young heroes. I would dislike harming your future career. While the public may never know about your efforts, as a protector of the peace myself, I would like to thank you for your efforts." He bowed his head to the students. "As for your question," Tsuragamae shot a look at Gon. "Pro Heroes are trained for the tough situations they have to deal with. That is what the hero license is proof of."

"I don't see anything wrong with it if the result is the same," Gon replied stubbornly. "Pro Heroes can't be everywhere for everything, so sometimes others should step up. At the least, maybe more education on Quirk usage for others who aren't heroes could be a step in that direction." As Gon talked, he noticed the very fundamentally different principles between this world and his own. Back home, groups like the Phantom Troupe aren't going to get arrested even though they commit crimes. They're too powerful. They can beat the police, and mostly anyone that comes after them. Here, people are more even in power, and villains can be beaten by heroes. This world would be slightly more like ours if they have Quirk training lessons for citizens because powerful villains could come out of that. We'd still be very different, though.

Tsuragamae blinked his eyes a few times in silence and studied Gon. He was digesting the suggestion Gon gave, but ultimately did not say anything to the suggestion because it was not his decision to make. "Well, that was all I had to say. Good luck in your future as you strive to become heroes the public can admire." He bowed again and exited the room.

Gran Torino flashed his eyes at Midoriya for a quick second. "Well, you can stay here and rest up. You," he said and turned to Gon. "Endeavor wants you back. He was just busy with something, but he'll drop by this room soon. Get ready."

Gon nodded and gulped. He knew what Endeavor might say, and what was to come.


Nearly an hour later, Endeavor arrived at the hospital room. He told Shoto to recover and come back to the agency, and then he told Gon to follow Endeavor himself.

The taxi ride to the Endeavor Agency was silent. Gon sat in the back while Endeavor was in the passenger seat. Once they reached Endeavor's office on the top floor, the hero looked Gon in the eyes. "I saw that you moved to help that hero back in Hosu City. Thank you for that, but how did you muster such speed?"

Gon internally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Endeavor would say he should not have saved the hero, but it seems the Flame Hero understood why he did it. "I kind of charged up my Quirk to burst off. I was getting ready for a couple seconds, and then ran."

Endeavor raised his eyebrows. Sounds like a reasonable explanation. That speed was incredible from what I heard from the other heroes at the scene. Maybe he just is that fast. "Well, that answers that. But, now, why did you intercept Stain near the alley? That was extremely dangerous."

"None of you were moving, and I could," Gon answered defensively for the second time even though he had already been asked that.

"Why were you able to move, though? How was it that you were able to move and I was not?" Endeavor questioned further. That was what really bothered him. The fact that Gon, a 15 year-old child, could move under Stain's intense bloodlust while Endeavor, an experienced hero and one of the strongest in Japan, had froze in place.

I don't know how to answer that… Gon thought rapidly in his mind to avoid having a big delay and making Endeavor suspicious. "Uh…I've felt the bloodlust of many other villains before. When they attack and stuff. If you noticed, I wasn't able to move immediately, but only after I was a little used to it. It took some adapting." Gon was not technically lying. He had faced the bloodlust and hostile Nen from Hisoka and the Chimera Ants, so he was relatively used to it.

Endeavor glared at him with an unreadable expression. "I find that hard to believe, but I do not know your past. Did villains attack you or your family before?" he asked curiously, and Gon sweatdropped because he had to come up with a story for that.

"Not really my family, but…they were often nearby, and so was I," Gon responded.

The hero nodded, but there was a look in his eyes as he continued staring at Gon that told the boy he did not believe everything. "I still find it hard to believe that you could be so resistant to bloodlust at such a young age just by being in the presence of other villains who have shown bloodlust. Especially, bloodlust from a villain as powerful at Stain." He paused for a moment, and Gon stood completely still. "Although, if you are lying, I do wonder what the real reason is. You seem like an honest and simple kid."

An idea came into the green haired teen's head as Endeavor was speaking. "Well, it was just villains attacking. I've been in their presence a lot of times." Technically, he had been in the presence of 'villains'…just not in this world. By this world's categorization, there are many people in his world who would be considered villains. "That's really all it is," Gon added.

"Sure. It's still…puzzling, that I could not resist it and you could, but oh well," Endeavor mentioned gruffly. Gon could hear the jealousy in the hero's voice. "By the way, I'm curious to know who the villains were. A villain with killing intent as strong as Stain's has to be a strong villain. I'm sure I know their name, especially if they were active in the 15 years you've been alive."

"Uh…" Gon began sweating because he did not know what to say. "Hisoka and Pitou," he blurted out in a rush, getting Endeavor to raise his eyebrows. Gon did not know any villains in the history of Japan to cover this with.

"I have never heard of these villains…are you perhaps from a different country?" Endeavor questioned more. The hero did not know how much stress this was causing on Gon because he did not want to mention to anyone else that he was from a different world.

"Yeah, I'm from a different country…" Gon muttered weakly and did not even look at the hero.

Endeavor knew something was up. He knew Gon was lying, but he did not know what for. He would only lie if there was something to hide, he reasoned. I will get to it. "Which country are you from?"

"Whale Island," Gon whispered. His mind was working as hard as it could to think of something to salvage the situation without revealing that Whale Island was probably not on this world's map. I hope Whale Island exists here…

"Where is Whale Island?" Endeavor wondered aloud.

Gon stopped sweating and stared up at Endeavor. "Sorry, Endeavor. I can't think of a lie to keep this going, but please don't tell this to anyone. Whale Island is not in this world, as far as I know."

Endeavor's eyes widened at the bizarre implication Gon's statement had. I certainly wasn't expecting that…


It was nighttime, and Killua was ready to make his way over to the usual meeting spot where Giran and Kurogiri would be waiting. His goal was to go to Stain's Followers' hideout and convince them to join the League of Villains. If I do that, that completes the first task All For One wanted from me, Killua thought as he checked the time on his phone. He was waiting for the time to be exactly 2:40 AM before he left. There were only a couple of minutes until then.

The two minutes passed, and Killua began opening the window the same way he had done two nights ago to get out. He had his usual villain-meeting clothes on and his mask ready in his hand to put on his face. "Where are you going?" a voice asked suddenly.

The teen's eyes bulged and his heart rate shot up. He shoved the mask in the pocket of his black hoodie. He narrowed his eyes and turned his head around. Edgeshot was standing at the door, which Killua had not closed in the past few hours. "Just thinking of going for a run. I'm not too tired, surprisingly."

"If you wanted to do that, why would you leave through the window?" Edgeshot asked.

Killua turned back to the window and then faced Edgeshot again. He shrugged. "Thought you might have alarms set for the front door. I didn't want to wake you up, if that was the case."

Edgeshot's eyes narrowed, but in the darkness of the room, Killua did not see that. "This is an interesting time to go for a run, but go on. I will not stop you."

Why does everyone have to be so suspicious of me? Killua thought. He nodded to the hero and climbed through the window and jumped down to ground level. Or, more likely, the things I'm doing are really suspicious to people here. He walked out to the sidewalk slowly and focused more on what he felt behind him. Edgeshot's watching. I need to go left to get the meeting area, but that meeting area is the same place where my tracker saw me last time. If that's Edgeshot, he'll know where I'm going. Going left doesn't mean I'm going to the meeting place, thought, but he might still think that. I'll go right.

Killua turned right and started jogging down the empty sidewalk. No cars were on the road either. From the open window, Edgeshot's eyes followed his intern until he could no longer see the boy. He folded his body and snaked out from the open window and closed it behind him. He jumped to the top of the building to gain extra height and see farther.

In that moment Killua no longer felt Edgeshot's eyes on him, he knew he was out of the Pro's sight. Now! He sprinted around the first corner he saw and hastily put his mask on his face. He opened a map on his villain phone while still running, using his peripheral vision to avoid running into anything. He entered the address where he was supposed to go, and the app highlighted his new route.

The hero who was watching Killua found the boy to be out of sight once he got to the roof of his building. Edgeshot narrowed his eyes because based on Killua's speed while he was watching, the silver haired teen should not have disappeared so quickly. The nearest turn to another street was still a bit away from when Killua left his view, so that could only mean his intern began running faster in the short timeframe it took Edgeshot to get to the roof.

Edgeshot can change his body's thinness lightning fast, Killua thought as he ran to his destination. Probably faster than I can move. But I doubt he can move as fast as I can sprint. With that in mind, Killua ran a bit faster to stay ahead of Edgeshot's predictions.

Meanwhile, Edgeshot leapt from roof to roof in hopes of finding the teen. He was well accustomed to the darkness and could see well, but there was no sign of spotting Killua. Something is fishy about what he is doing. He would not run off so quickly if weren't just "a run". He also knew exactly when to run and be out of my sight. I will find you, Killua. The area Edgeshot was currently searching was hopeless. Killua had already passed through this area, and the Number 5 Hero expected this but was making sure nonetheless.

The hero sprinted across the tops of buildings with silent footsteps that made minimal impact on landing. He had done this thousands of times during his career as a hero, and he knew nobody in the buildings below would know someone was on the roof. I need to stay high up so I have a larger field of vision. A tall office was coming up, and Edgeshot burst off the roof of the apartment building he was running across. He shot into the air and made it across to the top.

This city is too big, he could be anywhere at the speed he can move at, Edgeshot thought while glaring into the distance. Killua was nowhere to be found. Edgeshot pulled out his own phone and entered an address. As quickly as he could, he followed the route, using the tops of buildings to not waste time on turning roads when he could simply cut diagonally between any set of streets.

Several minutes later, Killua was nearing the meeting location where Giran and Kurogiri may be waiting for him. Since he had sped up, he was going to be there on time, regardless of the delays Edgeshot had caused. He slid his phone into his pocket because he knew the rest of the way there.

Killua felt eyes on him again. Can't turn around, but I think it's Edgeshot. He must've come to this place on the hunch that I'd be here…which means he's the tracker. For sure. The teen grit his teeth as he continued running without looking at who or what was behind him. This complicates things. Would I really kill Edgeshot? Maybe, if it gets to that. If it gets that annoying.

He was on the last stretch before he reached the pretty-much abandoned building that Giran used as his villain quarters. Edgeshot was following closely behind, but from on top of buildings. He watched Killua turn to a particular building. Edgeshot got close, on top of the same building which Killua was standing under. He peered down and saw his intern with a man in a suit and a smoky mass next to them. They were whispering some things Edgeshot could not hear, and then the smoky mass opened a portal, and they all disappeared inside it. Nobody was left in the alley.

The portal took the trio to a different part of the cities surrounding Tokyo. They had warped close to where the hideout of Stain's Followers was located. "So Giran, are you coming in with me?" Killua asked the man. Not going to tell them someone was following us, especially when it's Edgeshot. It'll just cause panic and distrust.

"Yeah, I don't think they'll bite if I'm there," Giran responded. "I have interacted with them before."

Kurogiri handed Killua a device. "Press the button on this if you quickly need an out." He held up an identical device himself.

Killua took the device and mulled over what Giran said. The teen had his own idea of what he wanted to do, but he did not think the villain broker was necessary for it. "Kurogiri, how many times can I press the button, and you'll hear it on your end?"

The villain was a little baffled over Killua's question, but he responded anyways. He figured Eel would have a good reason to ask. "It will sound for as long as its battery is charged."

Killua nodded as he had assumed that himself upon seeing the gadget. "And how frequently can I press it? Is it fast or slow?"

"I believe there is a few second delay between two sounds, approximately five seconds," Kurogiri responded.

Killua nodded again. "Cool. I'll take the device, but Giran, you can stay here." The man looked ready to protest, but Killua continued without letting him speak. "I have a plan I want to try. If I press the button once, that's me telling Giran to come. If I press it twice, then I need you, Kurogiri," Killua told him with a serious look on his face.

"Hold up, I think you'll want me," Giran lifted his hands and argued. "I've talked with a couple of them before. Dabi's one of their main guys, and let me tell you, he's a scary kid if he wants to be. Having the familiarity might be good for our purpose."

Killua raised an eyebrow from behind his mask when Giran called Dabi a kid. It did not seem like Dabi was a kid, but for someone older like Giran, Dabi was still a youngster. He turned to Kurogiri to get his opinion.

"I agree with Giran," Kurogiri stated when he saw the teen turn to him. "Eel, it is best to take Giran with you."

Killua mulled it over. I won't be able to follow my plan exactly as I wanted to, but I could still do it if Giran's there. No biggie.

"Tell you what, Eel. If you tell me what your plan is, and I think it's good enough," Giran began. "I'll let you go alone, if I believe in you that much."

Killua shook his head. "It's fine, let's get going."

They entered an old, unused and uninhabited building with cracked windows and moss growing out from within. The hallway they were in was dark, but Giran had brought a small flashlight for this purpose. "They'll be on the bottom floor, in the basement," the broker reminded from what they talked about over text earlier that day.

Killua nodded, and they continued down the dark hallway until they eventually reached the door that would lead them to the lowest floor, likely where Stain's Followers would be. "Think they're awake?" Killua asked as he tip-toed down the stairs. Giran was much too loud for his taste, but there was no sign of someone coming to stop them.

"They probably are," Giran whispered. "They do a lot at night, typically."

The pair made it down the stairs and saw a light that was turned on behind a door. "That's where they must be," Giran whispered again. There was no sound from behind the door, but the villain broker knocked on it. He looked confident, but Killua noted that the man was slightly shaking and sweating.

He's nervous, Killua concluded. The door opened to reveal the gecko-looking man with swords, Spinner.

"You again, huh," Spinner grumbled at Giran, recognizing the fellow villain immediately. He noticed Killua wearing the dark clothing and black mask to cover his face behind Giran. "And you brought a guest. I wonder what this is for." He gestured for them to step inside, and so they did.

The rest of the villains turned around to eye the newcomers. "Well, if it isn't Giran, and someone else…" a young man with scar tissue covering about half of his face sneered once he saw Killua. "What are you here for?"

"This is Eel, a member of the League of Villains," Giran explained why Killua was standing next to him, just as they had planned beforehand. "He would like to recruit you all to the League, but I will allow him to do the explaining."

"Yeah, well," Killua spoke up in front of the villains before they said anything. "I know you guys follow Stain's ideals, at least somewhat. He was taken down earlier yesterday, unfortunately. His ideals fit well with the League's. The League wants to destroy fake heroes as well. As the news mentioned, that's why they attacked U.A. a few weeks ago. They wanted to destroy the fake heroes that would be there." Killua knew that was not the real reason for the League's attack on U.A. In fact, the media had gotten it wrong with their numerous reports and articles.

"Today, when news that Stain was captured got out, the media channels thought Stain and the League were working together because of the combined destruction they caused," Killua continued. "Recently, Stain's Followers hasn't been as popular as the League. The League is what the media's talking about, so all the villains will join us. You guys can join us too."

He took a short break in his explanation before going on. "If you guys don't join us, well, real heroes will take you down eventually." In fact, if you decline me here, I'm sure you'll be taken down soon when Edgeshot attacks in a few days. He closed his eyes behind his mask and continued, "Fortunately, though, you can join the League, and both of our groups will be stronger."

He opened his soulless eyes the moment his sentence finished. Eyes widened and heart rates spiked. The atmosphere in the room became so heavy and suffocating as Killua's killing intent exploded and sucked out the breathable feeling in the air. Stain's Followers, even though they were all strong villains in their own right, trembled as they stared in fear at the monster before them. Giran, who was still next to Killua, was totally unprepared for this and felt like he was standing next to Death. His body was screaming for him to get away from the monster, but he could not move.

Killua spoke in a cold and icy tone that had the villains flinching. "Join us, and we can reach our goals, together."


Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this story, makes me feel good that people like it! Now Endeavor knows Gon is from a different world too - nothing about Killua, but poor Gon. He just couldn't keep up with what Endeavor's constant questions. He was bound to get caught.

I changed some small things around in the previous chapters to match this one. For one, when Killua was talking with Giran, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri about when to meet Stain's Followers, I said it would be the next night, but it's now two nights later. Also, during the meeting with Kamui Woods, Mount Lady, and Death Arms, I said Stain's Followers has 10 villains (I counted the Nomu as well, which I shouldn't have), so now I'm changing it to 9 in that chapter.

Catch you all in the next one!