Chapter Twenty-Five: Try it out
It was now the third day of Internships, and while Izuku was training under the retired hero, Gran Torino. Kyouka on the other hand had other plans… She had decided to train under one of their teachers, surprisingly.
"GET UP, LISTENER! IT'S TIME TO PATROL!" Present Mic's booming voice shouted through the door, causing Kyouka to jolt awake and groan. This was the third day this had happened and she still wasn't used to the man's voice; it was almost as if she'd be deaf by the end of this for Christ's sake.
"SHUT IT, MIC! I HAVE SENSITIVE HEARING, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT!" She shouts back, causing the blonde haired man to realize what he was doing, and mumbled an apology.
"Er, it's a force of habit. Sorry, Listener." He said as Kyouka exited the room she was staying in, glaring at the man as she passed by him. "Anyways, today we're going on patrol. I want you to get some field experience, young listener!"
Kyouka smiled, "Finally! I've been wanting to go on patrol since I've gotten here! All we've done is talk about the ins-and-outs as well as the side jobs!"
"Those are also important parts of the job! But I understand your excitement, let's get to it! Get your costume on and meet me downstairs in a few, we'll get breakfast along the way because…" Present Mic started, before grinning and pointing out of a nearby window to the Tokyo Skytree.
"Today we're heading out into Tokyo!"
Back with Izuku, however, he was laid out on the ground, beaten and gasping for air after another intense sparring session with Gran Torino. The man was relentless with his training, but at least Izuku was gaining better control of 8%, and on top of that he was creating his own style stemming from Gran Torinos.
"Hmm… If you keep fighting against nothing but my old tactics, you'll develop some bad habits. I think it's about time for phase two…" Gran Torino said, cupping his chin as he grinned a bit sadistically. Izuku gulped out of pure fear for what the man had in store. "Time for the actual internship!"
"YOU MEAN THIS WASN'T!?" The greenette questioned as his body ached at his sudden movement. Gran Torino laughed before pointing to Izuku's costume case.
"Hehehe! Put that on quickly, because we're gonna be heading out to Shinjuku. Crime around here is next to nothing, so we need to patrol a denser populated area." Gran Torino instructed, causing Izuku to flinch slightly. They'd be passing by Hosu if that was the case, and… Iida would be nearby.
'Maybe I'll get in touch with him…' Izuku thought as he put his hero costume on for his patrol. As he finished and went outside, Gran Torino was already waving down a cab for them that had just pulled up. "Ah, we're getting there via bullet train, right?"
"Yep. Prepare yourself for the trip."
The two men sat on the train, Izuku pulling out his phone and texting both Iida and Kyouka, getting a response from Kyouka but not Iida, only to realize how late it'd be when they got to Shinjuku.
"Is it okay that we're getting in at night?" Izuku questioned, concerned for how late it was. Gran Torino smiled like the funny little man he was and nodded.
"Night's perfect! There're sure to be more incidents now. It'll be fun!" He replied, smiling goofily as he sat comfortably in his train seat. Izuku smiled and nodded along nervously. They definitely had different meanings of what "fun" even was.
The greenette sighed before he read and smiled at Kyouka's text. It seemed she was having fun interning under Present Mic, aside from his loud voice, it was a lot of fun for her. However, his lack of response from Iida was concerning.
Suddenly there was a loud boom, and the train came to a sudden stop. The intercom stated that they'd be making an emergency stop as everyone on board jerked forward with the sudden halt of the train, along with a hero crashing through the train.
"Who is this guy!?" The hero questioned, wiping blood from his mouth before a sudden creature stepped through the hole that the hero came through. Izuku's eyes widened and his heart started beating as he saw what exactly the creature was. A Nomu. One of those things was wreaking havoc in Hosu!
"Stay there, kid!" Gran Torino instructed as he suddenly blasted off and shoved the creature out of the building, crashing down into some random location beneath the city. Izuku ran to the same hole that Gran Torino had shot out of, out of sheer panic of what to do.
"GRAN TORINO!" He called, pleading for some form of instruction at all. The man had already shot out of sight, but Izuku couldn't help but feel the fear causing him to shake in his boots. "GRAN TORINO!"
The greenette looked amongst the chaos spreading through the city before one single thought passed through his mind, and he felt his heart sink in worry. This was Hosu.
'Iida!'
The blue haired boy felt bad as he deserted his mentor. He knew the consequences of his actions, but he needed to do this to get revenge for what Stain had done to his elder brother.
Iida soon found said man, attacking another hero in an alleyway, hidden from the public eyes. The boy grit his teeth as he suddenly rushed the man, but Stain had precise reflexes, and knocked the boy's helmet off with a swing of his sword.
"A kid in a costume…" The man said in his raspy deep voice. "Who are you?" He questioned, staring the boy down. Iida had unfortunately fallen to the ground, but he was quick to glare down the man that nearly killed his brother. "Get out of here. This is no place for children."
"I've been pursuing you, Hero Killer Stain. Though I didn't expect us to meet so soon! I am-" Iida started, before being cut off by the man holding his sword right up to Iida's face.
"Your eyes… You're out for revenge. Watch your damned mouth or your age won't be enough to save you." Stain said, glaring directly at the bluenette at his mercy. Iida grit his teeth, beginning to struggle to bring himself to his feet.
"So I'm not enough of a threat to kill? Listen up, Criminal. I am the younger brother of a hero you attacked! And I've come to stop you in my brother's stead! So remember the name for the short time you have left!" Iida exclaimed, readying himself to attack the Hero Killer.
"I'M INGENIUM! THE HERO WHO'S GOING TO TAKE YOU DOWN!"
Izuku had taken off from the train, tracing the commotion to it's center and eventually finding the heroes that were preoccupied with two other Nomus! Suddenly he heard the voice of the Normal hero: Manual!
"Iida! Damnit… How could he run off at a time like this!?" The man questioned, concern running through him as his intern literally ran off on his own!
Izuku suddenly had a moment of clarity as he realized just what Iida was after this entire time. 'Hosu… Hosu City… Nomu's everywhere… Iida… His brother..! THE HERO KILLER!'
Izuku suddenly dashed away from the scene as the heroes fought for their lives, and the lives of the public, trying to take down all of these different Nomus. He needed to find Iida, for if he took on the hero killer on his own…
He would die.
And Izuku, being the hero that he was, would never let one of his friends die. If he could do anything to help someone, he would always choose to help them; that was his natural heroic code of conduct.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU SAY NOW..!" Izuku suddenly heard Iida's voice in an Alleyway, and activated 8% of One For All so he could leap over and save the boy. Due to Iida's voice alone, he could and would save his friend. He wouldn't let Iida die. "YOU'RE STILL THE CRIMINAL WHO HURT MY BROTHER!"
Izuku leapt from the street to the wall of the alleyway before finally punching the hero killer straight in the face as hard as he could manage, knocking the man back a few paces. "SMAAAAAAAAASH!" He cried out, before whipping his head over to Iida.
"Midoriya..!?" He questioned, before Izuku's intense gaze made the boy feel some odd feeling of safety. Truly, Izuku was everything a hero should be.
"I'm here to save you, Iida!" Izuku stated, turning his head back to the hero killer. It seemed he was right; Iida had found the Hero Killer and was out for revenge. He suddenly landed, sliding on the ground as the hero killer struggled to stand after such an attack. "Bingo."
"Midoriya!? But why..!?" Iida questioned, laying on the ground, immobile after the usage of the Hero Killers quirk. Izuku suddenly turned to Iida with a smirk on his face.
"Call it a hunch. I've heard of the trends of his victims." He said, before his smile fell and he turned back to the Hero Killer with his dark glare, and scowl. This was the man responsible for countless deaths and injuries to many pro heroes in the world. "I assume you can't move? You would've if you could've made a break for the main road. You're a quick thinker like me."
"Tch, don't praise me. This doesn't concern you, Midori-" Iida replied, before Izuku cut him off with his foot stomping right near his head.
"What kind of crap is that!? What would a hero do if you said something like that to them!? I've got a lot to say to you, but that comes later." Izuku said, pocketing his phone which nobody seemed to have noticed, before readying himself to fight and getting into a battle stance, turning his attention to the now grinning Hero Killer. "It's like All Might said… Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero!"
"Ahh… Good." The Hero Killer said, admiring the boy's determination and willpower to save others, just like All Might. The green-haired boy showed promise. It brought a smile to the Hero Killers face.
Izuku suddenly shot forward, closing the distance between the two of them to keep away from the Hero Killers long blade. Suddenly the man reached for a knife on his side, before Izuku slid underneath the man's legs and leapt into the air. As the Hero Killer whipped his knife around him, he no longer saw the boy. He seemingly vanished, before a sudden realization hit him.
As he quickly peered up, he saw Izuku's glaring face readying a fist to strike him head-on. The hit connected, and the man dropped to the floor with Izuku's second punch. Izuku landed, and stood waiting for any kind of motion, only for it to seem like the Hero Killer had fallen unconscious.
The greenette swiftly ran over to Iida, moving him towards the other hero present, but unknowingly turning his back to the hero killed was a bad idea in of itself as the Hero Killer brought himself to his feet silently and threw knives, heading straight for Izuku Midoriya. As the knives reached closer and closer to the boy, there was a sudden crackling of ice before a wall of ice appeared behind Izuku, causing the greenette and the Hero Killer to whip their heads around only to come face to face with Endeavors prodigy child. Shouto Todoroki.
"One after another… So many interruptions today." The Hero Killer stated, groaning in annoyance as he looked on at the dual-haired boy, who was now hurling a mass of fire straight at him. Todoroki pocketed his phone as he looked up at the group around him.
"Midoriya. Learn to write more specific directions, I was almost too late." The dual-haired boy stated, exhaling a cloud of cold air after using his quirk. Stain scowled as he looked on at the heroes in training.
"One after another…" He mumbled, annoyed as someone's time would run out and he'd have more to deal with. Iida's eyes widened at the sight of their dual-quirked friend, Shouto Todoroki.
"I'm so glad you were able to understand the directions… And you're using your left side!" Izuku exclaimed, shock washing over him as the boy was actually using his fire quirk willingly. Todoroki sighed as he stood in his battle stance ready to fight Stain.
Stain on the other hand was wary, he knew how dangerous this could be as soon their time would be up and he'd have a whole lot more to deal with than just some bratty kids. He had his work cut out for him.
"Took me a few seconds to figure it out; that group text to everyone with nothing but your location." Todoroki stated as he readied himself to send another ice wall straight for the man in front of him, Izuku standing up right beside him and ready to fight as well. "But, sending a totally meaningless message isn't your style. So I figured you were in danger."
"I assume you alerted the pros too?" Izuku questioned, before activating 8% of One For All and readying himself for the fight. Todoroki nodded, humming in response as he sent out ice to attack Stain. The man leapt from the floor, only to be struck back down by Izuku who had jumped above him, and punched him straight into the ground.
The Hero Killer wasn't done however, and quickly brought himself up to his feet as a surge of fire came hurling towards him, forcing him to quickly leap into the air once more, spinning upwards as he saw Izuku land beneath him and jump back to the safety of Todoroki. He was lucky that Iida and the pro hero were behind them; they had the leverage in this fight.
"You're not killing them, nor us today, Stain!" Izuku stated, causing the man to scowl. "Don't let him draw blood, Todoroki. Pretty sure his quirk lets him paralyze you, according to Iida's state right now."
Suddenly two knives were thrown in between the boy's, with both of them narrowly dodging them and getting scratches on their faces. As they were distracted the hero killer suddenly rushed them, but Todoroki instinctively activated his ice to block the man's blade. Unfortunately for them, he had gotten in close, but Izuku quickly used a move that he learned from Gran Torino.
The boy leapt for the Hero Killer, and kicked him straight into the air before leaping up right above him and using the force of gravity to bring him back down to the ground with his foot straight on his chest, shooting them back to the ground and successfully cracking the man's rib cage.
Izuku glared at the man beneath his foot who began coughing erratically before leaping back to the safety of Todoroki's ice that could keep him at a distance. They knew that they needed to incapacitate him in order to secure him for the police to take him away.
"I told you didn't I?" Izuku stated, as the man gathered his breath. He struggled to stand, but soon was able to bring himself back to his feet. "You aren't going to be killing anyone."
"I'm tired of playing with children." Stain said, before suddenly appearing right in front of Izuku and Todoroki. The two of them flinched back at the man's sudden increase of speed.
'He's faster than before..!' Izuku thought as he and Todoroki ducked under the blade of the man. Todoroki suddenly made a wall of ice, only for it to be sliced by the Hero Killers Katana.
Stain then kicked the two of them apart, both straight into the walls of the alleyway before Todoroki caught sight of Iida crying and pleading with them to stop with his eyes. Todoroki scowled; Iida had no right to sit there and cry like this.
"IF YOU HAVE TIME TO SIT AND CRY, THEN YOU HAVE TIME TO STAND AND FIGHT! GET UP, INGENIUM!" Todoroki exclaimed, striking a chord within the paralyzed Ingenium. Iida soon felt his hands twitching and realized the effect of Stains quirk had run out. He too now had a fighting chance!
Iida shakily brought himself to his feet and activated his quirk, planning to use his signature move. "Recipro…"
The flames of his exhausts ignited, first starting off with a normal orange hue before suddenly igniting stronger into a bright blue light, and as the Hero Killer neared Todoroki the boy shot off at speeds unimaginable.
"BURST!" He exclaimed, kicking the Hero Killers blade, and snapping it into two. The kick was also strong enough to launch him back a few paces, reaching speeds that even Stain was impressed by. It seemed his resolve had changed.
"Iida!" Izuku exclaimed, smiling as his friend was able to move again. "Seems his quirk isn't so great after all!" He exclaimed, bringing himself to his feet as well. The three boys then turned their attention to the Hero Killer in front of them.
"This had nothing to do with either of you, so I'm sorry..." Iida stated, his hair shadowing his eyes as he apologized to his two classmates- No. His two friends. "That's why I swear I won't let you two lose any more blood here."
The hero killed scowled at the now mobile Ingenium. "It's no use pretending, boy. A person's true nature is not so easily changed." He exclaimed, as his eyes twinged with the deep hatred of false heroes. "You're a fake who prioritized his own selfish desires! A cancer on this society, warped by 'Heroes'. Someone needs to correct the system!"
"You're right." Iida said, shocking the two boys beside him. "I have no right to call myself a hero, but I still won't let you break me…" Iida then shifted his gaze right back up to the Hero Killers face, "Because if I break, then Ingenium really is dead.
"How foolish." The man exclaimed, rushing the three UA students. Todoroki stomped his foot on the ground, creating ice to make Stain back off. Iida quickly turned to his leg that had been damaged after that Recipro burst, before shifting his attention to Todoroki.
"Todoroki, freeze my leg without blocking the exhaust!" He instructed, causing the dual-haired boy to nod and quickly attempt to freeze the boy's leg. Stain, however, didn't like that and attempted to throw knives at the two of them. Izuku quickly shot forward and kicked the knives away with sheer windforce while glaring that intense signature glare right at Stain.
Izuku then looked between the walls and smirked. All it took was two jumps. Both Stain and Midoriya leapt into the air as Todoroki froze Iida's engine, allowing him to quickly ready himself for another Recipro Burst.
The two boy's readied themselves for the final blow against the Hero Killer, with Todoroki silently cheering them on. Izuku with a strike from above, and Iida with a kick straight to the man's abdomen.
"Detroit/Recipro…" The two boys cried, winding their arms and legs back to finish off the Hero Killer.
"SMASH/BURST!"
The three boys smiled as they finally believed that they had finally done him in, only for his eyes to open and he reached for one of his knives. Todoroki quickly took notice of the fact they at least stopped him in his tracks, and shot a powerful blaze straight for the man, hitting him dead on in the face, and successfully knocking him out for good.
The two boys in the air fell, and Todoroki quickly made an ice slide for them to make a safer landing. Quickly the three of them readied themselves to fight once more, only for Stains body to lay limp on a pile of Todoroki's ice.
"Thank god…" Izuku stated as he gripped onto his strained arms, Iida and Todoroki groaned in agreement.
"We need to get some rope to tie him up. If I used my ice, I'm pretty sure he would shatter himself when he woke up." Todoroki stated, causing the two other boys around them to nod in agreement. The trio, plus the pro hero that was there the entire time, soon exited the alleyway, with Stain having to be dragged along by Todoroki, as he was tied up and unconscious.
Suddenly Gran Torino appeared before them, and was shocked to see Izuku Midoriya standing right in front of him, exiting an alleyway, and having the Hero Killer in custody. What was this boy made out of?
"WHY'RE YOU HERE!? I TOLD YOU TO STAY IN YOUR SEAT!" The old man berated, kicking Izuku straight in the face as hard as he could. Izuku groaned in pain, but apologized nonetheless.
"S-Sorry, Gran Torino…" Izuku replied, causing the grumpy old man to huff in annoyance. At least the kid was alive and well, that was all that really mattered in the end.
Soon more pro heroes, and Endeavor's sidekicks arrived on the scene, calling for ambulances, and police to come and detain the villain that was the Hero Killer. But as everyone quickly relaxed and let their guard down, suddenly a flying Nomu appeared and latched onto Izuku...
And flew off.
AND THAT'S CHAPTER 25 OF STUCK IN THE MIDDLE!
Here we have the intense fight of Izuku, Iida, and Todoroki against the Hero Killer Stain! We also get a bit of insight to what Kyouka has been up to!
But Izuku seems to have been kidnapped, who will save him!? And what's Kyouka going to think about all of this happening!?
I hope you guys enjoy, and we'll find out in the next chapter! I'll see you all then!
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