Chapter 16: Into the Fox's Den

-Hosu City-

"Like I said, Stain. As long as I'm in the Fox's Den, you're never going to be able to touch me, or my friends, let alone kill us." Izuku said as his defense technique was up while he swung his staff around.

"Not a bad technique, kid. Not everyone invests time in those." The Hero Killer remarked as he tried to find a gap in the defense.

"Let's just say that I've had a lot of time on my hands." The Fox Sin said. "Hey, Todoroki." He whispered to his two toned friend.

"What is it?" The boy asked.

"I need you to do me a favor and keep an eye on my back. Make sure he can't get behind me." He replied.

"Got it." The dual element user nodded. Stain squinted at the kids, having a feeling that they were planning something. This was proven right when Shoto sent a barrage of ice at him, which he dodged.

However when he went in to strike the boys down, his knives collided with the air barrier that Izuku was creating and shattered on impact. He cursed and quickly lept back before drawing two more knives.

'That kid wasn't bluffing. I can't get close enough to cut them.' Stain thought. 'But every defense has a weakness.' He noted before he looked at Todoroki. 'He wanted that kid to stay back, maybe there's a weak spot at that angle?' He wondered. Deciding to test that theory, he ran at them, dodging some ice sent his way. He then lept behind the sphere and thrusted his knives forward.

"Midoriya, look out!" Todoroki yelled, but it was too late, Stain had already driven his knives directly into the boy's back, sending him to the ground and dropping his staff.

"Agh! Son of a bitch that hurts! And not in a good way!" The immortal cursed, trying to force the serial killer off of him while pulling the knives out of the exposed part of his back.

Iida meanwhile watched all the carnage unfold in front of him and felt his guilt, pain, grief, and anger and regret swarm around his head at ninety miles an hour. If he hadn't been so blinded by his desire for revenge, none of this would have happened.

'I'm such a fool. I let my desire for revenge blind me to everything else.' He thought sadly. 'Stain, you were right. I'm far from being a hero, I'm too immature… But still.' He thought as he struggled to get back up. 'I can't just sit back, and watch my friends die!'

Back with Izuku and Shoto, Stain had maneuvered away from the latter's fire attacks and Izuku's Fox Hunt moves before slicing apart the boys weapon with a strongly thrown serrated knife and then drove his jagged edged sword through the immortal's chest.

"Midoriya!" The two toned teen yelled in worry. Izuku stood there in shock as Stain had him pinned to a wall, and noticed that the black eye he had given the man was gone.

"I see you've taken notice of my current condition." Stain said as his lumpy tongue dragged out of his mouth. "You're blood's healing properties really are something else, kid. I'll give you that." He added as he tasted the boy's blood again. "Now onto the next—!" He started to say as Izuku froze, but suddenly stopped mid sentence when he was suddenly kicked in the stomach by Iida with a Recipro Burst.

"Stay away from him you bastard!" The teen yelled furiously as he delivered another kick, sending the serial killer skidding back.

'He's fast!' Stain thought as he grit his teeth. As Iida landed quickly, he tried to help Izuku get free.

"Midoriya, Todoroki. This issue has nothing to do with you and I apologize for getting you dragged into it." He said as he removed the sword from the green haired boy's chest.

"Don't apologise. It was either we get involved or let you die." Izuku told him.

"Exactly. We chose this." Todoroki nodded.

"Regardless, this is my mess, so I refuse to let you both shed anymore blood for me." The class Rep continued. This particular statement made Stain go rigid in anger.

"Do you actually think your true nature could change in a few minutes? How pathetic, someone should teach you a lesson." He growled.

"Try it, asshole." Izuku growled.

"Don't listen to this fundamentalist lunatic's nonsense, Iida." Todoroki added.

"No, he's completely correct." Iida said. "Even so, I can't back down, not now." He added before Stain charged at him in a blind rage.

Acting fast, Todoroki sent a fire blast at the madman, who dodged before leaping at them. The scarred boy was quick to send done ice his way. He cut through it, of course, but was given a surprise right hook from Izuku right as he cut the ice down.

"Gotcha, bitch!" The Fox Sin cackled as the slasher was knocked on his back. "Iida, let's end this psycho." He told his friend.

"Right." Iida nodded. "Todoroki, can you regulate your temperatures at all?" He asked the two toned hero.

"Not well with my left, but I can with my right." Shoto nodded as Iida blocked a knife meant for him with his arm.

"Then freeze my engines!" The blue haired teen ordered, much to his friend's bafflement.

"What?" He asked.

"I need you to freeze my engines without covering the exhaust pipes!" Iida reiterated. Shoto nodded, understanding what he had planned and did so while Izuku was fighting Stain.

"Snatch!" The boy yelled as he stole some of the man's speed and started pounding him with 10% Detroit Smashes back to back. "And here it comes, 15% Detroit SMASH!" He yelled as he sent an uppercut to Stain's chin, sending him flying but also allowing him to get up high.

"Die!" The man yelled as he leapt down, blades ready. Iida slowly stood up and readied another Recipro Burst, while Izuku started charging up his 5% Full Cowling to 8% and both boys jumped into the air.

'If I can just use my leg…' Iida thought as he closed in on his target.

'If I can just use my fist…' Izuku thought as he got closer.

'I can beat him!' The two boys thought in unison as they both landed they're blows on Stain. As they started to fall, Izuku winced as he felt a stress fracture appear on his arm.

'Crap! I went over my 15% power cap!' He thought before Stain tried to attack again, only for Iida to kick him and for Shoto to blast him with fire. Just before Izuku and Iida could hit the ground, the scarred teen quickly made an ice slide for them.

"Ooooh… Thanks Todoroki, I owe you one." Izuku groaned as he felt his body start to give out. "Oh, my body feels so heavy…" He groaned.

"I think the Hero Killer is out cold." Shoto noted.

"Thank god!" The Fox Sin sighed in relief.

"We should… tie him up." Iida noted.

"And take his weapons while we're at it." Izuku added.

"Right." Shoto nodded as he turned to the still injured Native. "You okay, Native?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'll live. Thanks to you three." He nodded gratefully. He then helped Izuku up. "Here, let me help."

"Thanks…" The boy said tiredly.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile in another section of the city, Gran Torino was still fighting the Nomu, who just started chasing some bystanders. 'It's attacking at random!' The man thought. "Stop it you stupid beast!" He yelled before the Nomu was suddenly engulfed in flames. "What the-!" The retired hero said in surprise.

"I was searching for the elusive Hero Killer, but I guess this thing will have to do." Endeavor said as he walked towards them. "Good job old timer, I'm afraid I don't know you." He noted.

Gran Torino however, knew who he was. 'Enji Todoroki. I remember when he and Toshinori were in my class back when they were kids. Always had a rivalry, those two.' He thought.

The Nomu meanwhile seemed to be minimally injured by the blast. "That was just a low temperature warning shot, but it usually KOs my opponents." Endeavor said as the green creature started to twitch.

It then sent flames right back at Endeavor, who blocked it. "So your power is absorbing and releasing, not very impressive since you still took damage." The man said as the Nomu started twitching again.

"Careful! I think he has more than one quirk!" Gran Torino exclaimed as the creature prepared to lunge, bulking up its muscle mass and launched itself into the air. However before it could attack, the old man blasted behind it and kicked it into the road. "Looks like I damaged the road." He noted.

"Not bad, old man." Endeavor said. "Now, there's an address I'd like you to check for me." He added before looking off towards where the other two Nomu were. "I am Endeavor, I will handle this personally." He said.

"What's the address?" The old man inquired.

"1409 Echo Street." The hero replied as he ran off.

(Elsewhere)

Back with the others Izuku was still trying to regain his strength and couldn't help but let his thoughts drift towards Ochako. 'I need to tell her how I feel. If I don't, I may not get the chance to.' He thought to himself as Shoto sat next to him.

"Is everything okay, Midoriya?" The boy asked, noticing his friend's conflicted look.

"Just trying to build up the courage to tell Ochako something important." The immortal replied with a sigh.

"You mean how you feel about her?" Iida asked as he too sat down, the two recalling their conversation about the topic on Twitter.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it." The Fox Sin nodded. As the two continued to rest, more pro heroes arrived. "Oh look, the help's arrived, I was beginning to think they forgot about us." He sighed.

"Kids? Here?" One of them asked.

"Those injuries look really bad." Another noted.

"I'll get an ambulance." Another added as he left.

"Yeah, call an ambulance! But not for me!" Izuku called.

"Oh, now I recognize you! You're that immortal kid!" Another of the heroes noted.

"Wait, is that… The Hero Killer?!" A female hero gasped in shock as she noticed Stain.

"And he's out cold too!" Izuku grinned before he fell over, still not recovered. "Ow." He grunted. However as they started trying to help him up, the flying Nomu that Izuku saw earlier came flying towards them. "INCOMING!" He yelled before he was snatched by the airborne beast, which apparently had one eye missing and was bleeding from it.

The others looked on in shock as some of the Nomu's blood landed on the heroine's cheek. As they stood there, they failed to notice Stain cut himself free and licked the Nomu blood that landed on said heroine's cheek, paralyzing its owner and causing it to plummet to the ground.

"Oh for the love of—." The teen groaned as his face skid across the road as Stain stabbed his knife into the creature's brain. As the man rose up, Izuku's face quickly healed and he prepared himself to subdue the villain.

"Just when I thought this was over…" One of the heroes groaned. It was then that 5Gran Torino showed up.

"What's going…?" The man asked before seeing Izuku. "Kid, what are you doing here?!" He yelled as Endeavor arrived next.

"Why are you all just standing here? Didn't—Wait." The redhead said before he saw the dead villain, Stain and Izuku. "Don't tell me that man is…?" He started to say as Stain faced him.

"Yep. It's the Hero Killer." Shoto nodded in confirmation.

"Endeavor." Stain growled as he turned around, his mask falling off his face, revealing that his nose was completely removed. "You false hero!" He yelled. Everyone tensed as they got into defensive stances. "I'll make all of this right! Now, these streets must run with the blood of the hypocrites! Hero! I will reclaim that word! COME ON! JUST TRY AND STOP ME, YOU FAKES!" He yelled insanely. "There's only one man I'll let kill me, he is a true hero, ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY!" He bellowed. Everyone felt their blood freeze as they saw the insane fanaticism in the man's eyes.

Izuku meanwhile felt himself die of a heart attack and snapped back to reality right as Stain dropped his knife, the man's eyes completely blank as he stood there. "... Fuck me." The Fox Sin said as he fainted.

(Later)

In the Hosu city hospital, the boys had been resting from the ordeal of the night prior. The doctors were particularly concerned about Izuku since he had literally died of a heart attack when he was brought to them, even if he revived himself.

"You sleep at all, Midoriya?" Shoto asked.

"Not really. How could I after all… That." The green haired boy replied with a shrug.

"Fair point." The two toned teen sighed.

"All in all I'd say it's pretty crazy we all made it out of there in one piece." Izuku noted. "That guy, he was nuts. A couple more minutes and I would've been made helpless to save you guys from over using my quirk." He added.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." His friend nodded. It was around this time that Gran Torino and Manual arrived at their rooms.

"Hey guys." The immortal said with a two finger salute.

"Idiot, right now, I want to do nothing but yell at you for hours on end… But, you three have a visitor." The old man said before someone else entered. This someone was presumably a forty year old man who had a dog's head, and was dressed in a suit. "This is Kenji Soragame, the Hosu chief of police." The old hero explained.

"The chief?!" The boys gasped in shock, all quickly getting up.

"No, please stay seated. Woof." The man said with a bark.

'Did he just…?' Izuku thought in slight disbelief.

"So, you three are the ones who took down the hero killer, yes?" The man asked.

"We are, sir." Iida nodded.

"As you may have learned, when quirks became the norm the police fought to maintain the status quo by placing strict regulations on the use of deadly quirks, woof." Kenji began. "That's where heroes came in, they could do the work we could with their quirks but were only able to do so due to the strict code of ethics that the early heroes chose to abide by. Meaning it would be impossible for the police board to condone the use of quirks to cause injury. Even if you were up against the hero killer, none of you had the authority to harm the villain."

He then turned to look at Izuku as the boys continued to look at him. "The same is especially severe in your case, Izuku Midoriya, given the… incident that occurred ten years ago that gave you your current power set." He told him. "As such, in this case, you and your instructors are sure to receive harsh punishment."

"Don't remind me of that cursed day." The immortal grunted. "And don't go saying that I was the cause of what happened either. I know that it wasn't that me jumping caused what happened, but the fact I had hesitated for a split second before jumping." He added. "If I was a second faster, none of that would have happened."

"And hold on, if Iida hadn't stepped in, Native would have been murdered. And if Midoriya hadn't stepped in, both of them would have died." Shoto added.

"So are you saying that it's okay to break the law as long as it goes your way?" The man questioned in a condescending tone that made Izuku growl, his sharp canines coming to bare.

"Are you telling us that we should've done nothing?! That we should've ran like cowards?!" He seethed, standing up. "Well excuse me, sir, but as I told my teachers and my friends: I lost someone close to me once because I hesitated to act, So I refuse to let that happen. Ever. Again." He growled.

"Midoriya's right. Isn't that a hero's job? To save people no matter the cost to themselves?" Todoroki added.

"This is why you're all not full fledged heroes yet. It's obvious that UA and your instructors have not been teaching you near enough. Such a shame." Kenji sighed. That set the two boys off.

"You damned mutt!" The two growled as they started walking towards him.

"Hold it, you two. You still need to hear him out to the end." Gran Torino told them.

"And why in the hell should we?" Izuku questioned.

"What I've said is simply the official position of the police. However, any punishment would only be necessary if this went public." The dog man explained, having ignored the boy's outbursts. "On the other hand, we could say Endeavor saved the day. Stain's burns would support the claim so there'd be no harm done. However if this went public, you would get recognition and praise but that wouldn't stop you from being reprimanded." He added. "But, I know where I stand. I don't want to damage any promising young careers, not for a mistake like this."

The three teens looked at one another, having a silent discussion. The choice seemed so simple. With that, Izuku spoke up.

"Being honest, I could care less about the praise or about this being known or not. I just cared about getting the job done." He stated. "But I have to ask, why are you treating this guy? Why won't you just let him die? Haven't enough people suffered because of him for you to just spit in their faces by letting him live?"

Kenji sighed. "I understand your point of view, but you must understand that if we simply killed every villain we deemed a threat, we would be no better than them."

Izuku nodded. "I… Can understand that."

"I know it's not fair, but, at least allow me as the chief of police to thank you for saving our city." The man said, bowing to the boys.

"Not a problem, sir." Iida nodded.

"You know, you could have started with that." Shoto stated.

"I'm just glad it's over." Izuku sighed.

(Elsewhere)

"Hey, Midoriya messaged me back. That thing he sent was during the action in Hosu, man am I glad I reported it!" Kirishima sighed as he tried to reply back.

"Ok, get off your phone before Fourth Kind sees you! We're gonna be late!" Tetsutetsu told him as he closed his locker.

"Hang on, I wanna reply." The redhead said before they were suddenly hit on the head again.

"What did I tell you two about punctuality?!" Fourth Kind yelled at the two of them.

"Sorry, sir!" The two boys replied apologetically.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with the Best Jeanist agency…

"Now, I know you all must've heard about the attack on Hosu with Stain and the league of villains. How this all stitches together. Well, I too am concerned, but we must not lose focus, people come apart at the seams when things like this happen." The man said. "But we must be calm as heroes. So, it'll be business as usual today. May your minds be as sharp as your jeans."

"Yes, Best Jeanist, sir!" The sidekicks chorused. Bakugo, meanwhile, looked like he was trying to hold himself together.

'I'm so ready to get out of here!' He thought almost miserably.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile at Mt. Lady's Agency, King was busy trying to file away Mt. Lady's paperwork for her before they went on patrol. "So, is there anywhere in particular you think we should patrol today? Ever since that Hosu incident, things have been pretty lively lately…" The boy said as he put the last files away.

"I'm not quite sure, yet." The woman shrugged. "Probably somewhere with low to moderate criminal activity." She mused.

"So low effort work. I can get behind that." The boy nodded as the two sat back on the couch to wait for a good time to patrol.

(Elsewhere)

At the Gunhead agency, Ochako was talking on the phone with Izuku. "Oh my gosh! So you guys were in the middle of the stuff at Hosu? That's so scary!" She gasped. "You weren't hurt were you?" She asked him.

"Sadly, I had a heart attack and actually died right there." The immortal replied with a sigh, causing the girl to nearly have a heart attack herself. "I've stared death in the face and seen the afterlife enough times to be numb to it, but what I saw from the hero killer… it was scarier than the idea of death ever was."

"When our internships are over, we're spending time together to forget about that. Got it?" Ochako declared seriously.

"I'd like that… Hey Ochako? There's something important I really need to tell you." He told her as Gunhead approached her on the girl's end of the phone.

"What is it?" She asked. Before her childhood friend could say anything, Gunhead spoke up.

"Hey, Uravity. We're about to start soon." He told her.

"Oh, coming! Sorry Deku, I need to go. We can talk about this later, bye." The girl whispered before hanging up, which caused her instructor to chuckle.

"Was that a boy?" He smiled under his mask.

"Shut up and let's go!" She shot back with a blush as she walked away, the man grinning as he shook his head. Oh how he loved seeing the kids grow as he worked with them.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile back at the hospital, Izuku sighed dejectedly, not being able to do what he had set out to. As he entered the room the other two boys were in, they seemed tense. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked.

"Iida's tests just came back." Todoroki said as he looked at said teen. "Both his hands were damaged, but the damage in his left hand could be permanent." He added.

"What?" Izuku asked in shock.

"It could be fixed with surgery, but… I think it should stay as it is, to remind me to become better." The class rep said. Izuku looked at him and then the two scars on his right hand, understanding what he meant.

"Yeah, I can get that." He nodded, though Shoto seemed to become conflicted for a moment.

"I feel kinda bad guys." He said as they looked at him. "Everytime I'm involved in something, someone's hand gets crushed. Am I cursed?" He asked himself, causing the other two boys to look at him with bewildered looks before they started laughing.

"Man Todoroki, I didn't know you had a sense of humor!" The immortal laughed.

"I'm not joking, guys. I think I'm actually cursed." The scarred boy told them. "I'm like the hand crusher or something."

"The hand crusher!" The two boys said as they howled in laughter.

It seemed that even after all that, the boys managed to find some levity in an otherwise tense situation.

Dragon Emperor0: Poor Todoroki, he's like Zuko. He literally cannot get past his own social awkwardness to save his life.

ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. Poor kid. I can relate to feeling cursed, though. Seriously, every bedroom I've stayed in for long periods has gotten dusty for some reason.

Dragon Emperor0: … That's because you need to dust at least once a week bro. Anyway, Izuku really can't catch a break can he? He was this close to finally telling Ochako how he felt after ten years of waiting, and it gets interrupted. WTF?

ThermalsniperN7: Dammit, Gunhead! Ya ruined a moment! Anyways, see you guys next time.