A/N: Guess who's back, back again? Fresh out of dropping the Uraraka name bombshell into last chapter and enjoying your reactions, I thought it would be only right to have slightly less action, to go back to Izuku and Tenko, and even Himiko too. She's the real star this week.
It's only been a few months into writing this story and already I've fallen in love with this universe. That's in no small part thanks to your reactions to it. You all make me very grateful.
On with the show!
(***)
"Dammit Zu, wait up!"
He ran.
Heart pounding in his chest, deep gasping breaths drawn as he sprinted harder than ever, Izuku turned the corner at the end of the road and saw the final stretch to get home. He had passed the old apartment block they had called home before Incident Zero in a blast of dust and air as he pushed himself to the limit of how fast he could run, and now he saw it, their home, the one decently-maintained house in the neighbourhood.
"Come on Tenko!"
Tenko had been training with Izuku since they were younger, but the taller and lanky boy would never come first in any distance running or sprints. Izuku ran with nervous energy and excitement to fuel his eager personality, and his natural fitness; behind him at some distance, Tenko stumbled along like a newborn giraffe and failed miserably to keep up in any way. "Slow down! I don't have the stamina points you do!"
"There's no time!" He looked up and saw his mother's car, which had just pulled onto the drive, and saw her getting out of the car. "MOM!"
Inko Midoriya, fresh out of a long day of work, shook herself at the sight of her marauding son, and had the foresight to dash to the front door, unlock it and jump out of the way as he piled through. "Izuku, honey! What is-"
He dove for the mat at the sight of the envelope and grabbed it up. "Please, come on, after everything-"
"Izuku, what the-" Inko paused as Tenko puffed to the front door, nearly tripping over the sidewalk as he ran up the drive. "Tenko what's happened?"
"UA..." Tenko was nearly wheezing he was that out of breath. "Letters... out today. If we're accepted for the Entrance Exam-"
He was interrupted by Izuku thrusting a white envelope in his face. "THERE'S ONE FOR YOU-"
"Calm down, Izuku!" Tenko snatched the envelope with a gloved hand and shook his head at the younger boy's antics. "Running won't change what's in them-"
Izuku had disappeared in a green whirlwind at this point, slamming himself down onto the sofa in the lounge and finally coming to as he stared at the envelope in his hand. Every emotion that he could feel ran through his body at the sight of it- fear he wasn't good enough to cut it, hope that after so long he would be able to achieve the dream he never thought he could after he was diagnosed Quirkless, worry that one of he or Tenko may get into the exam without the other. This was what he had built up to.
UA remained the pinnacle of Hero education even in a world ravaged by the Hero Commission's moves to grab power, even as private Hero Agencies taking on their own apprentices robbed them of the best talent. The school had become its own Agency under Principal Nezu effectively, a loophole lawyers were still arguing over in the highest courts of Japan, and although its budget had been cut below its past levels, although the student intake had been sized down and they had got stricter for recruitment (only inviting eighty students to their exams a year, from which half would earn a place as one of their Hero students), it was still the place to be. It was still the alma mater of All Might, of Endeavor, of the best and strongest Heroes to ever grace the streets of Japan. It was the ultimate goal.
Now, after putting in applications and praying to any god that would listen, after countless sleepless nights and restless days awaiting news, the envelope was here. Izuku couldn't wait any longer. No matter how painful it would be if he didn't make it, he had to know.
Come, Izuku. Destiny awaits.
He tore the envelope with speed and reverently lifted the letter out, scanning through the contents. He wouldn't say anything until his best friend did, though. "Tenko..."
With a rip of the envelope as he slid into a chair, Tenko stared at the letter for what seemed like an age. "... Huh. How about that."
"You..." Izuku couldn't read his shaggy-haired friend. "Are you-"
"Heh." Tenko swept a hand through his hair and smiled manically. "Guess I unlocked the next level. Did you-"
Izuku's smile finally broke out and the tears he had been holding back burst like a dam. "I MADE IT TOO!"
"HELL YEAH!" Tenko wasn't normally the most excitable person, or the friendliest, or the most willing to engage with anything affectionate whatsoever, but with news like this, even his emotional walls were broken enough to grab Izuku into a bear hug with his lanky arms and pull him close. "WE DID IT ZU!"
All Izuku could do in the time-honoured Midoriya family tradition was cry tears of joy for a good minute, soaking Tenko's black hoodie and wailing in happiness. Years and years of frustration, of other people trampling on his dreams, of the worry that he would never be able to fulfil what he had always wanted to do, had all finally been overcome by this news. Sure, he would still have to get through the UA Entrance Exam, a test fabled among the youth of Japan as being a Herculean labour that changed from year to year, but this was the first step on the path towards being a Hero.
The first step to changing the world, like All Might did before him.
As Tenko let go of the hug and charged off, shouting that he needed to speak to Setsuna and see if she got in, his mother slid onto the sofa beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder to give him a hug, eyes glistening with tears and a look of pride. "Izuku, this is amazing."
"I'm gonna go to UA, mom." He looked at her with a sniff as he wiped his own tears. "Like I always said."
"And with Tenko too..." Inko gave him a warm smile and a bump on the shoulder. "You two are gonna be unstoppable."
You've got that right.
"I-I hope so." Izuku smiled at his mom. "Thank you for believing in me and letting us train all that time. I... I know things were tough when I didn't have my Quirk, but-"
"But you got through it, like you always do, with the smile on your face." She ruffled his messy hair. "I couldn't be prouder of you."
"Thank you-"
"And hey, look!" She had snatched up his letter and was pouring over it. "Kamui Woods sent a recommendation for you? I didn't think he'd do that after so long since that thing at the train station-"
"I know!" Izuku's fanboy came out. "He's a former UA student and I didn't expect he would reach out to UA personally! I mean he must be so busy-"
"I'd hate to interrupt," Tenko said from the doorway, as he interrupted anyway, "but I've just spoke to Setsuna."
"And?" Izuku's head whipped around as if on an elastic band, eager for the update.
Tenko smirked, and waved the mobile phone as if it were a trophy. "She's in too."
"Yay!" Inko cheered, squeezing Izuku's shoulder tighter as she celebrated. "All three of you get to do the exam together, that's amazing!"
"Hell yeah!" Tenko nudged Izuku with a toe as he sat there digesting the news. "A full party ready to go. UA isn't going to ready for us, Izuku."
"That's the spirit!" Inko balled her fists and stared at her son with more proud tears. "You two are going to do great! How can they not take you when they see everything you're capable of?!"
Everything?
Ah. That was the issue. He couldn't show them that. He couldn't show everything.
"Um..." Izuku trailed off, aware how cold he suddenly felt at the thought of what could happen if he did in fact show UA everything he was capable of. "I... I don't think we can do that, mom."
"What do you..." Inko trailed off as she realised what he meant. "Oh Izu, I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"I-I know." Izuku clenched a fist, his good mood at the amazing news from UA evaporating as he dwelled on it more. "It's just... I can't show everything my Quirk does, can I? Or they'll all come after me-"
"Izuku..." Tenko looked concerned too. "Just because you can take a Quirk, doesn't mean you can't be a Hero. It's like we said about my Quirk, like... Decay is something you'd expect a villain to have-"
"But you have Decay under control..." Izuku interrupted, as he looked at Tenko's gloves which he had made all those years ago, to help him cover his fingertips and control Decay. "I... I don't think I have mine under control at all."
"Is this because of that Yakuza's Quirk?" Inko asked. "Because I know you've been working hard with Setsuna to include that in your style with your Air Force Quirk and I'm sure-"
"It's not that, mom." Izuku closed his eyes and stood up, standing away from the sofa. He hadn't told them about his worst suspicions after that confrontation after the confrontation with the Yakuza a week before, where Himiko and Setsuna had bailed him out and saved him and Tenko from Shark Head and his cronies. His mother had gone straight to the Police, who had swarmed the warehouse and found no sign of Shark Head or the gang that attacked them, as if they had never existed; thankfully they had been completely left alone by anyone from the Shie Hassaikai since the scuffle, and it was as if the Yakuza had retreated, or forgotten they'd existed. Maybe Shark Head had been told not to come after school kids from higher within the Hassaikai?
Chance would be a fine thing.
He steeled himself, not looking at his mother or his best friend. "I... think I took another."
"Wait..." Tenko frowned. "When and how? We've been hanging out every day and the only bit of bullshit chaos we've dealt with was the fight with the Yakuza-"
Show him. Freeze.
Izuku turned on his heels and visualised how it had been used before, and to his absolute horror his worst outcomes became realised. The black and red lightning, so familiar as a side product to his Quirk, crackled, but this time he felt it run across his cheekbones and eyebrows, rather than his arms. With a throbbing feeling as if his eyeballs had suddenly caught fire, a white flash bloomed, and Tenko was completely immobilised in front of him mid-sentence, the only thing that could move being his eyes which widened in horror.
"Izuku!" His mother leapt out of her skin in shock at the white flash, but couldn't help but stare at what he had done. "A new Quirk? You can freeze-"
Enough. He forced himself to blink and tear his eyes away, and he shuddered as he heard Tenko gasp. It was as he feared. "Tenko, you remember that guy?"
"Freezeframe..." Tenko shook his head as if uncertain he was able to move it at all. "When he was unconscious-"
"I must have touched him. I don't even remember it. And now..." Izuku hung his head. "Now his power's mine too. I took it."
"And I thought I had enough of paralysis..." Tenko smiled ruefully. "Don't tell me you have burn or poison effects stored up in that head of yours too?"
"I don't even know..." Izuku collapsed back on the sofa in a heap, ignoring the headache that threatened to spread from using that Quirk for the first time. "And that's what scares me. I... just don't know the limit to my Quirk, or what other surprises I have coming. First Air Force, then that Steal Quirk, then the way I saw Tenko's past, and now... now that guy's Quirk."
"I just..." He paused, trying not to wobble as he spoke. "Steal could be hidden with Air Force as another ability I have, but what do I do about this? What do I do if my Quirk suddenly gives me wings or the ability to spit fire like dad used to-"
"Izuku..." Inko looked pained at the mention of Hisashi, but her son was oblivious.
"-Or what if it does weirder stuff than that, if it suddenly turns me invisible or lets loose explosions from nowhere? How can I hope to keep up pretending that Air Force is my only Quirk when we get to UA, if my Quirk goes haywire and takes something off another student, if I do something I can't explain away?"
"But your Quirk has only done that once with that memory reading," Tenko argued, picking at a loose bit of paint on the doorframe to Inko's chagrin. "Who's to say it will do that again at UA-"
"Who's to say it won't?" Izuku couldn't shake his own negative thoughts at this point. "I could end up hurting a class mate, and what would they all think if they see it? The power to take Quirks? It doesn't feel right when I take the Quirk of a Yakuza-"
"Better that power is in your hands and can be used for good," began Tenko, "than in his to be used for evil-"
"But do other people think this? Will other people just think I'm a monster for what I could do?" Izuku's voice was nearly a whisper because of the panic that crept in. "They'll think I'm a villain-"
"Izuku, please."
His panicked ramblings were shaken by the firm tone from his mother, able to cut through his fears in the blink of an eye. "M-Mom-"
"Izuku, I'm going to say something which I should have said as a mother years and years ago, and which I should have said when you were first diagnosed Quirkless all those years ago." She rested her hand on his knee to calm him, and looked up at him with eyes which, surprisingly, held no tears. "What makes a hero isn't their Quirk, Izuku. It's their heart."
"Back then, all I could say was sorry because of all the people who said you couldn't be a hero. When really you always had it in you to be a hero to so many people." Inko squeezed her hand. "You're my son, and you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. You'd run headfirst into danger against the odds and against the advice of anyone if you thought there was even half a chance that you could do good, that you could help someone, that you could save a life."
"If you don't see that, then I'll remind you every day I can, because I should have been telling you this for all those years even before you got that gift of a Quirk. Izuku, UA are going to see you have a gift and a heart of gold, and that you can become the sort of Hero we all need at the moment. And who knows if something happens with your Quirk, by accident or otherwise, that means people see just how powerful it can be. If they know you, if they see you like we do..." She lifted her hand and poked him in the chest, and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. "Then they will see how hard you want to work to help people, and they'll feel safe to trust you no matter what happens."
He had no words that could properly convey the emotions he was feeling, so he settled for tears and wailing into a hug with his mother, glad more than ever she was there to pick him up at his lowest. "T-Thank you-"
"We both feel it, Izuku," she said, rubbing his back. "Tenko does too, and we aren't alone. Setsuna, Himiko, heck, even Kamui Woods who gave you a reference for UA-"
"Your mom said heck, Izuku," Tenko said, good-humour in his sarcasm. "If she's this riled up you can trust she means everything she's saying. And I agree with her on everything. You're the reason I'm actually willing to train up in a hero class, after all."
"I'm lucky to h-have you both," he sniffed, through a snotty nose and tears caused by how overwhelmed he got at the words he had been craving from his mother for years. "T-Thank you-"
"Say, I think it's time, don't you?"
"Huh?" Izuku looked up at Tenko as he asked that of his mother. "Wha-"
"It's time. You know where it is," Inko agreed warmly.
"What's going-"
"I know something that will cheer you up." Tenko started abruptly and Izuku barely caught a little look between him and Inko. "Stay there, Izu."
Izuku looked questioningly at his mother as Tenko stepped out of the doorframe to the lounge and disappeared at speed, but was only met by a very blank look from Inko. He knew exactly the sort of look it was from growing up with her, the look of knowing exactly what was going on and doing a terrible job of being clueless about it- he called it the 'who, me?' look. "M-Mom, what's-"
"I'm sure Tenko will explain, dear," she replied, with what Izuku could only describe as one of the worst poker faces he'd ever seen. What were they planning?
The question was answered almost immediately as Tenko reappeared in the doorway holding a white box, wrapped with a ribbon of all things. "Yeah don't ask about wrapping it. I don't do paper and that shit."
"What is this-"
Tenko fidgeted awkwardly as he set it down in front of Izuku. "So my Quirk breaks a lot of stuff. I figured if you got accepted to UA I would actually make something, and got a present." He jerked a thumb at Inko. "Okay, so your mom made about eighty percent of it, but-"
"Give yourself more credit," Inko said with a chuckle, shaking her head. "You did a lot, Tenko."
Izuku was a little lost. "B-B-But I didn't get you anything-"
"You don't have to genius! You gave me a proper roof over my head for the last year or so and gave me a best friend." Tenko's smile, when it wasn't sarcastic or a manic grin, was nervous and faint. "This is my way of celebrating with you and saying thanks. Gotta make sure you're well geared for the levels ahead."
Whatever Izuku had been expecting, it had not been what he pulled out of the box and held up in front of him. "Oh my..."
They had made him a costume. A homemade hero costume ready to take to UA. His eyes were drawn to the jumpsuit, completely black from head to toe but for the lines running up and down the side of it, and over the sides of his arms and legs. Here the thick white lines were surrounded on each side by what appeared to be red lightning, a dark red fabric woven in as if his arms and legs were already wreathed in the lightning generated by his Quirk. To top it all off, they had included a brand new pair of his signature red boots, with a black lightning bolt on the instep and on the outside of the boot.
"Oh my goodness!" Izuku was blown away. "When did you-"
"Last week. Remember that test I pretended to revise for?" Tenko smirked. "You're too trusting."
"Do you like the colours?" Inko asked, almost a little nervous. "I was going to make it green but-"
"But then we both thought black and red for your Quirk would be pretty damn cool," Tenko finished. "Do you like it?"
"I love it..." He did the only thing that he could, which was grab both of them and pull them in for a tighter hug, somehow keeping his composure enough to not cry at their kindness. "Thank you so much, both of you!"
"Now you're gonna look the part as a hero too, Izuku..." Tenko raised his eyebrows. "UA won't be ready for you."
"Can I try it on?"
"Oh definitely!" Inko cried, clapping. "Let me grab my camera and then we can take pictures for Setsuna with it on! My baby's going to look like such an amazing hero!"
"Go now, before your mom breaks," Tenko snarked, almost pushing him towards the door. "Then we can talk about getting to this exam!"
"R-Right, on it!"
As Izuku left the lounge and approached the stairs, he passed by the full-length mirror which Inko kept in the hall, before doubling back at the sight of him holding his costume in his hands. For a brief moment he paused, and held the costume against himself, marvelling at how clean and professional the lines were and how genuinely cool it looked with the red lightning. He was lucky to have his mother and Tenko.
Now he was ready. Now he was due to go to UA within a week, to go to the Entrance Exam and announce to UA like All Might that he was here. Now he had people backing him up and no matter what worries he had about his Quirk, he felt safe that those same people would look after him and trust in his desire to do the best he could as a Hero. And now, with UA within touching distance, he had a Hero costume that made him look ready to save people at a moment's notice, and beat even the toughest villains. He couldn't wait to get started.
Ready to take on the world, Izuku?
Oh yes he was.
(***)
"I'm hooooome!"
Himiko Toga, swinging her way through the door without a care in the world, sang out as she shut the door behind her and let her hair down from its buns. She had been far too stealthy for far too long as they had sent her out to do the little errand run, and now she didn't feel she should be quiet any longer. It had been enough of a pain in the backside to restrain herself until this point.
Mister Stainy and Big Bro Shuichi had been out scouting on another lead they had, about some bigshot Hero in Tokyo using their position to scout out money for commercials and neglect their Hero duties in favour of chasing sponsorship. Apparently people hadn't learned from how Uwabami had been taken out of the game for her greed, and still wanted to make money more than they wanted to save lives, and so Spinner had driven the boss to check out the neighbourhood. While they were out, she had been left to attend to business. The yakuza wouldn't be stopped without the evidence she had been sent to gather, after all.
Striding through the house they had acquired and into the lounge, she dropped the fruits of her labour onto the little wooden coffee table Spinner had acquired from a junk heap with a flourish. "Ta da! One order of Yakuza Trigger from the Shie Hassaikai, coming right up!"
Stain, hunched over in casual clothes and his signature red scarf, didn't look at her as he cleaned a knife in his lap, casting his eye over the blue syringes of the awful substance flooding the streets of Japan with a cursory nod. "Good. Is their warehouse nearby to us?"
"About two streets from the station across town, in one of the warehouses to the south. I think their main hideout isn't far from there either!"
"Hmm." Stain nodded, still not looking up as he stored the knife by the side of the chair. "Then they're a good target. We'll act soon."
"Hey hey, what's with the atmosphere?" Himiko could be oblivious and carefree even by her own admission, but even she could tell that there was something up. Stain sounded a little terse and abrupt, and Spinner hadn't even spoken to her. "What happened?"
"Look on the table," Spinner said, finally. "You see what else is there?"
She looked, actually taking it in, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of an opened envelope, addressed to her. "No way..."
"Himiko, wanna talk to us about this?"
She reached for the envelope, and her eyes narrowed as she realised that it was empty. "Where is it?"
"I opened it! I had to check-"
"Why are you opening my mail-"
"Because you shouldn't have any mail coming here at all!" Spinner hissed, waving a piece of paper that was clearly the letter from her envelope. "That's why I opened it, because the only shit we should be getting here should be the bills! And then I looked at who it came from and-"
She snatched it from his grasp- she was used to having far superior reflexes to the older boy- and ignoring his squawk of indignation, her eyes poured over the letter, the distinctive logo in the header at the top for the organisation known across Japan and the world. She hadn't expected it at all, knowing full well that one of her reckless whims and impulsive thoughts based on what Izuku has said to her had taken hold when she wrote to them, and she wasn't ready for what she had in front of her.
They had accepted her. Her, of all people. She could actually do it.
She could make him proud.
"Explain."
Himiko shivered as reality hit her, and she remembered the two others in the room with her. She had never heard that tone coming from Mister Stainy, a voice so flat and so emotionless and yet so threatening at the same time. It was as if the tranquility and level tone was only the surface of a dormant volcano, under which a whole horde of feelings were brewing up to explode like lava. It was scary. "Ummmm... yeah. I guess I need to, aha?"
"Himiko..." Spinner was shaking. "Please tell me this is some kind of joke-"
"It's n-not." She gulped, and tried to smile at them as if to say there was no threat. "... It's a letter from UA. They... they invited me to their Entrance Exam next week."
Spinner slumped on the sofa. "Where the hell did this come from?"
"It's because of the boy, isn't it? That Midoriya boy you appear to have grown attached to?"
Despite everything she bounced on her heels at Stain's question. "Yeah, Izuku kinda inspired this one-"
"Did I miss something?" Spinner threw his hands up in the air. "I know you like the guy and I know he does good notes on Heroes, but now you've applied to UA to go with him? Did I miss the part where you hate Heroes?"
"You didn't." She looked straight at Stain as she struggled to find the words. "But yeah, Izuku made me feel like this, y'know? He kinda inspired this whole thing to apply there. I thought... maybe he's on to something."
Stain looked at her, his deep eyes meeting her bright yellow gaze, and for a long couple of seconds which felt like an eternity she felt lost under his scrutiny, a stare that stripped her to the bone and yet gave nothing away as to how she was feeling. "... You are unfailingly honest, Himiko."
"... Is that a good thing?"
Stain chuckled, humourlessly. "I am impressed to a degree. I can tell you haven't tried to create an elaborate lie about all of this."
"I owe you guys the truth, don't I. I didn't expect to do this-"
"But then why didn't you say something before all this?!" Spinner cried, interrupting her. "Why did you apply on your own without saying a damn thing? Why didn't we know anything until we found it now-"
"Because I was afraid of this!"
Stain's eyebrows rose at her outburst and the emotion in it. "Afraid of what, Himiko?"
She took a deep breath and steadied herself. No matter how afraid of saying it she was, she had to say it now. "Do you... you both remember that day I was with Izuku and the other guys when the Yakuza attacked them?"
"I remember." Stain folded his arms in the chair. "I still remain curious as to why the boy has made enemies in the Shie Hassaikai."
"It's because he's good and he stands up to people like that without hesitation, no matter how afraid. I've seen him, sir, I've seen what he's like. He might be the first person who I've met who could actually be a true Hero!"
"But it's more than that, isn't it?" Stain leaned forward, the tired old armchair creaking. "It's clear you like him-"
"It's not just that!" Himiko had dropped the smile and bowed her head to the floor, so she couldn't meet Stain's eyes or look at Big Bro Shuichi. "Yeah I like the guy, he's cute, he's fun, but I wouldn't do this because of that!"
"Then what?" Spinner sounded lost. "What could he possibly do to get you, a girl who hates Heroes and lives with the Hero Killer, to want to go to UA-"
"He told me I could be one!"
Himiko shouted that, blurting it out to try to avoid the blush that crept to her cheeks as she yelled it, and after a long second of shaking she finally got herself under control. "He... he was in trouble. The Yakuza wanted to hurt him and his friend and so... I tried to stop them. I stood up to them."
"You... saved them?" Spinner asked, chewing each word with uncertainty.
"... Yeah. And after I did, it didn't matter to him that I'd had the knife you gave me on me, or that one asshole tried to use Trigger to attack me. He... told me I'd saved him. He told me I'd be a good Hero if I was that brave." Himiko looked up now, and tried not to flinch at the interest on Mister Stainy's face. "He's... the first person who's ever said that to me. He doesn't know anything about my Quirk, or what we do, and yet he thinks I'd be good enough to make it. He knows I don't like the Heroes."
"And yet?"
"And yet... he said maybe if I don't like them, I should show them what they should be." Himiko smiled faintly as she remembered the look on his face as she said it. "So I thought I could try."
Spinner bowed his head and didn't look at her, and she could sense his shame, practically taste it in the air. "I'm... sorry. I didn't know he'd said that to ya."
"Hmm."
Spinner turned to look at Stain after that interjection. "Boss?"
Stain looked up, and something flashed in his eyes which Himiko hadn't seen for a long time. "Heh. I think I like this boy."
"You're..." Himiko was uncertain. "You're not mad at me?"
"I'm not angry, no." Stain picked at a corner of the armchair. "You should have told me, but at the same time, I know why you didn't. You want to protect the boy."
"... He's just good, you know?"
"So it would seem." Stain seemed to come to a conclusion. "Very well. This could still be to our benefit."
"You're gonna..." Spinner tilted his head, confused. "You're okay to let her go?"
Stain sighed, rubbed his forehead above his nose. "The world has too many fake Heroes, Heroes I can judge, Heroes who need to be taken care of. The mission hasn't changed... but there is merit in watching and waiting too."
He turned to look at Himiko. "One of my biggest fears for our mission is that it will never end. That no matter how many of the corrupt and greedy we cleanse, more will rise to take their place like weeds. If there is hope for a future of Heroes who actually hold ideals of a better world, of wanting to be true and pure, then I cannot act as judge and snuff out the lives of people who may redeem us all yet."
"So yes, Himiko, I will let you go." Stain held up a bony finger as she opened her mouth to speak. "Shiketsu High and UA are the powerhouses of Hero education. From what I've seen of Shiketsu's recent graduates, there is not much hope for true Heroes."
"But we know nothing of UA," Spinner continued, "because of how secretive they have become since Endeavor threatened them. Maybe... are you thinking we have a chance to learn from them, boss?"
"You want information?" Her eyes gleamed as she scrabbled for the opening. "I'll get whatever you want on UA-"
"Get through their exam. Do everything you can to give yourself a chance at getting in and when you do get in, observe, participate, train yourself. Keep our mission secret and keep yourself out of trouble, and don't risk exposing anything while you gather information. But yes, tell me more when you are there."
"You think she'll get in, Boss?"
"I know she will, Spinner. We trained her; she has more than enough ability to stand on her own feet there." Stain reached for the long sword behind the chair as if it were a comfort blanket. "I hope you find that UA is the last bastion of resistance among the youth, the last hope that true Heroes may be taught. If it is not... then you will pull out, and we will mobilise against all of them. Do you understand, Himiko?"
"I-I..." She swallowed, the weight of the threat not lost on her. "I do."
"Good." Stain dragged the sword's blade along the floor with a terrible sound until he was holding it out in front of the chair, pointed in her vague direction. "I want you to make me promises, though. Two of them."
"S-Sure." She cursed how she had picked up Izuku's stutter at times from hanging around with him. It betrayed her nerves.
"The first is simple. In time, when you feel he is open enough, bring the boy here. Tell him who you are and bring him to me." A faint smile crept across the skeletal face. "He might understand our mission, but even if he does not, I want to test his convictions. To see if he really is the hope you think he is."
"And the second?" Spinner asked, curious.
"The second is to not forget where you came from with us." Stain pointed the end of the blade at her now, unwavering. "You have helped us find the Yakuza and that disgusting Trigger factory. We will destroy it together and go after them. But... you come with me when we find Heroes. And since you were the one to find intelligence on her, the one to scout out her home here in Musutafu, who brought her to our attention..."
He flipped the sword in the blink of an eye, so that he was holding the cold steel of the blade and offering the handle to Himiko. "You are to be the one to end Mount Lady. She's your kill, after all the work you did to bring her to our attention."
She stared down at the handle of the sword offered to her, the sword she had seen stabbed through Slugger all those years ago, the sword that had severed the snakes of Uwabami, the sword that had been turned on numerous other heroes in the service of Mister Stainy. Every single day of training with Big Bro Shuichi and Mister Stainy, every trick he had taught her, every spatter of blood that sent a shiver down her spine and increased her stockpile to satisfy the inner voice that craved it for her Quirk...
And then she heard his voice. Izuku.
'Maybe you could show them what they should be too.'
"... I can't do that."
Stain let out a deep breath. "Interesting. You won't make that promise?"
"Can't and won't. If he sees something in me to be something better, then I can't be the one to do that." Himiko was aware how much she sounded like she was pleading. "You're the Hero Killer, I know. We go after bad people and do bad stuff sometimes, I know. But there's the line. I... haven't killed a Hero yet. And if I'm going to UA with Izuku and his friends, who want to be proper Heroes... I can't kill one. Not if there's any hope of me being like them."
"All my life I've wanted to live and love and be me. You guys have been the best, you've let me do that! And I still believe in what we do. I still wanna do it. I just... also wanna be a little selfish and do this too-"
"This guy really did a number on you, huh?" Spinner asked aloud.
"Not yet! I'm working on it though-"
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Spinner's flustered shout was interrupted by a low chuckle from the armchair. "Uh, Boss?"
"Well done." He smirked at Himiko. "Right answer."
"It was?"
"You're right, of course. If you want to fit in with proper Heroes, you cannot kill-"
"And if I did kill," she flashed a fanged smile at him, "then I wouldn't be a proper Hero. And you'd have to come get me!"
"Heh. With everything I've taught you, I wouldn't look forward to that." He looked to Spinner. "Shuichi, any thoughts?"
"This Izuku seems like the real deal if he's got Himiko thinking like this," Spinner replied, and Himiko stifled a laugh at how he stiffened when asked to comment by Stain- his reverence for the Hero Killer was in his bones. "If that's what UA has to offer, then she'll be in a good place. And if we have that connection, then maybe we can find people who can help bring our mission to an end."
"I agree." Stain tilted his head to one side as he looked her up and down. "You still want to come with us when we go for the Yakuza raid, I assume?"
"I can't wait." Her eyes flashed with a little of the fierce rage she felt when she saw Shark Head and his cronies freeze Izuku and Tenko. "They have it coming."
"Good." He nodded now, and she tried not to breath a giant sigh of relief as she could see he was satisfied. "Go. Go with my blessing. Go to their exams, do everything you can to get into UA, and learn. Learn for yourself to stand up as a proper Hero, learn for me whether there is hope for the future, and learn whether this boy Izuku Midoriya is everything you think he is. And when he trusts you, when you see the real him, bring him to me. If there is any hope he may believe in our cause, then he would be valuable indeed."
"You got it!" She smiled now, properly. "Thanks, sir. I'll do you proud."
"I don't doubt that, Himiko." He rose from the chair with a creak and pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, looking to Spinner now. "Change of plans for this week, Spinner."
"We aren't going after the drug den for the Hassaikai? When it's right there?" Spinner clenched a fist. "Man, I was looking forward to cutting them down to size."
"I know. But we wait for Himiko to settle with UA, to get through their exams and start, and then we strike. We have others to cleanse in the meantime."
Spinner grinned, and fiddled with his hoodie, scaly fingers toying with the knives that Himiko knew were in his pockets. "If you're saying what I think you're saying, I'm in. Let's go get a fake Hero."
"I knew you understood." Stain smirked, and hefted the sword over a bony shoulder as he turned towards the door. "Best of luck, Himiko. Tell me all about the Heroes when you see them."
"Of course!" She stuck her tongue out, unseen to Stain as his back was to her. "Tell me who you cut!"
"Oh this one will bleed plenty, I assure you." The morbid joy in his voice was as palpable as the aura of bloodlust she felt come off of him all those years ago, when he saved her from Slugger. He was excited for this one.
"We have a giant to slay."
(***)
Izuku Midoriya and Tenko Shimura. Aged: 15 and 17.
Himiko Toga. Aged: 15.
Shuichi Iguchi (Spinner), Chizome Akaguro (Hero Killer: Stain). Aged: 20 and 31.
(***)
A/N: Himiko Toga and Tenko Shimura at UA? Who could resist such a juicy prospect in such a dark world?
Himiko here is demonstrating her impulsive and reckless side which we see in the show and in manga (no spoilers, promise), in taking Izuku's words to heart and immediately applying to UA alongside him. She's a queen of chaos and there's plenty more planned, especially with her applying to UA too. And for anyone who might think these sorts of applicants wouldn't raise any red flags, watch this space. Next chapter has some of that in, some familiar faces and a new foe...
You continue to amaze me, all of you, with how engaged you have been with the story. The theories in reviews give me a lot of joy and a number of you PMing me to discuss certain things within this universe make it a very enjoyable project to work on because of how interesting those talks can get. Thank you so much for all the support so far.
If you've enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review, I love reading them and seeing how different people get so hyped about different things. If you haven't yet, please also consider leaving a fave and a follow; over 500 of you now follow this. Mad statistics for someone with the writing schedule of a house cat, so thank you.
Until next time, peace and love y'all.
