Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 12:

"Zach Sazaki," Grappler called out. He was a tall man of almost eight feet, wearing a tight reddish-brown, sleeveless muscle shirt, and loose black pants. He had his huge muscular arms crossed in front of his body under his chest that was also pushing out into his muscle shirt. Over his hands were red boxing gloves, or at least they looked like that when his arms were crossed and hands closed. If he turned his hands over and moved his fingers, the fingers of the glove moved around in the same way. He had on a red piece of headgear that looked like something a boxer would wear, but his had a visor that was currently pulled up over his forehead just beneath the start of his spiky blue hair.

"Yes sir!" Zach replied respectfully as he stood in front of the man more than half his body taller than him, and at least three times as heavy.

Grappler looked behind the boy at the three sidekicks currently in the room with them. They were in a dojo on one of the floor's of Grappler's agency building, just above the floor where Grappler had introduced the intern to the other staff members. "I saw you during that first fight at the Sports Festival. You think you know how to fight, huh?" Grappler stepped forward and brought his crossed arms down to put his hands on his sides. "You don't know the first thing," Grappler said, grinning down at the boy who looked up at him wide-eyed.

"You knocked him out in one blow," one of the martial arts' sidekicks behind Zach began. Zach looked back at his 'senpai' at the industry, and the guy wearing what looked like football paddings yet designed into hero gear continued, "But you charged him too recklessly. It's good to get the drop on someone, especially if they were blabbing like your opponent was-"

"But that could have easily been a trap," another hero sidekick on the left of the guy right behind Zach said. He was a thinner man than the others and wore a white gi, and he had a sword at his side attached to the black belt around his waist. "What if he had been speaking to you to reveal his own weakness? Villains do this on occasion as well."

"The dumb ones at least!" The largest guy in the room, a burly figure almost ten feet tall and half that as wide at the shoulders called out. He was smiling broadly, and his face looked weird like it was made for him to be able to smile with the entire bottom half of it. "But you still should have checked him out first, then look for his weakness-"

"Actually, everyone," Zach began. He felt like they might have had this whole thing planned out, and he felt kind of bad interrupting it, but he did not want them to go on making these assumptions any further. "I found out what his Quirk was beforehand. He had a sort-of Brainwashing. If I had answered him, he would have been able to control my body." The sidekicks behind Zach all stared at him in surprise, and the man in the white gi mentioned how that was a very rare Quirk.

Grappler hummed though as he looked down at the boy who faced him again. "Doing recon on your opponents is a good move. But I just liked that punch," he said, clenching his own fists and lifting them in front of him which made the boy before him take a step back with wide eyes as Grappler got ready to demonstrate in front of him. "I felt like if you had more fights in the tournament, we would have been able to see more, but all I needed was one look to tell. You've trained."

"With the best," Zach said, shaking his head while grinning wide, as he could hardly believe this was happening.

"Heh, well you haven't trained with me yet," Grappler said.

Oh man! I want to tell him, but I also feel like that'd be really embarrassing! The person Zach was talking about training with already, since he had been shouting at Zach to 'Punch!' 'Kick!' and 'Go for a twenty minute warm-up jog!' for seven years, was the same man in front of him now.

"I'm going to show you all the moves," Grappler said. "Alright, first of all, show me your stance." The pro hero looked at the stance the boy got in, then he chuckled and said, "I meant the cheetah stance-" Zach spun and lifted his hands in a different way. Grappler called out another stance, then realizing that the boy might have been a little more skilled than he had thought, (and hoped), he decided to get straight into the more advanced stuff. "Alright, roundhouse into a…

"High knee, feint right kick…

"Bear hug suplex set-up…"

"Sweep the knee…"

Grappler looked over the boy's head as he had him start up a combo of combos, and he looked at his sidekicks who were all just gawking at the kid's back as he had not once needed an explanation or a demonstration yet. "That was a good warm-up," Grappler said, stopping Zach in the middle of his high-speed combo and making the boy look up in surprise that this was still just the warm-up. They had been at this for thirty minutes now.

That's pro heroes for you. Working us to the bone. Zach nodded to show he was ready for whatever the next challenge the Boxing Hero had for him.

Grappler hummed to himself, then he said, "I expected us to be here longer, but get your costume on. Let's go on patrol."

Zach's eyes opened wide. Patrol! Already… Oh man, what if we're the ones who run into Stain? He started looking a little nervous, and Grappler frowned at the sight of the kid's expression.

"What's making you hesitate?" The martial arts' master and pro hero questioned. Zach opened his mouth, but he was worried that if he brought up Stain, it would seem like he came to the city just to find him. I just figured it out, but, I shouldn't mention anything. Grappler could see more hesitation and jumbled thoughts in the student's head, and he said, "Is it the same thing that made you back out of the Sports Festival?"

Zach stopped thinking about Stain and his focus became fully on himself and Grappler. "No," he said, in a serious tone to show he meant it that these two things had nothing to do with each other. "I'm not hesitating. Let's go."

"One thing before we do," Grappler said. He looked down at Zach's right hand, and he said, "Before I take you out on the street, know this. I am responsible for you out there."

"I won't use my Quirk," Zach said before the man could tell him not to.

"Why?" Grappler asked.

Does, he not know? "Because, it's dangerous," Zach replied. The men in the room all looked at him seriously, and they all thought on the USJ incident. It was the reason Zach backed out of the Sports Festival, which was what Grappler had been trying to hint at before. "So, that's why I'm training hard in martial arts. I think if my body's strong enough, and my skills are good enough, I can be a great hero even without using my Quirk."

"And that Quirk would be?" Grappler questioned. Zach hesitated and he closed his mouth again. After saying something so full of determination and spirit to a hero of his, he had hoped for a different reaction. But he had not answered the hero's question with his long-winded response.

"It's," Zach started. He looked over his shoulder, then back at Grappler. I don't know any of them very well. They're heroes, but they're still people. People get scared. "It's a secret," Zach said, looking up into Grappler's eyes apologetically. "But I can't use it against villains. And it wouldn't help with anything else, so there is nothing I can do about it."

"Training Quirks, is as important as training the body," Grappler said. Zach's eyes widened as the Boxing Hero took a step towards him. "To be afraid of one's own Quirk, is a dangerous thing. Hiding it away, and denying its power, are good ways to make it so you never learn how to control your Quirk."

"I can't, control it-" Zach began.

"Have you ever really tried?" Grappler wondered.

"Yes," Zach said. "But it just kills," he continued, his voice getting louder and more distressed. "I tried. I tried a bunch of times. But every time I tried to use it weaker, or just barely touch… it doesn't make a difference." He gasped the last part out, then he took a few breaths to calm himself, not wanting to lose it in front of his hero. He took a deep breath in and then let it out, then he looked back into Grappler's eyes with a serious expression. "My Quirk can only kill. I tried using it in other ways, tried making it weaker, but nothing worked. All I wound up doing was killing a few literal guinea pigs, and I hated it too much to keep trying."

Grappler sighed and he scratched his chin a few times while looking down at the boy. Can he really, become a hero? A Quirkless hero doesn't really exist. Two of the guys in here, plus myself, have simple strength enhancers, but even that is a huge natural advantage against someone without anything. Well, I'm guessing by the end of the week I'll have my answer. This kid can be as determined, as well-versed a fighter as a kid can be, but we'll see if he's hero material. "Well, what are you still doing in those clothes?" Grappler called out. "I thought I said get in your costume! You've got a minute kid!"

Zach sprinted off the get his hero uniform on, panicking that he had forgotten, yet forgetting that it was Grappler who told him to wait anyway.

Zach spent the day patrolling the city along with Grappler and three of his sidekicks. Linebacker, Old-Fashioned Hero: Samurai, and Big Supreme all gave Zach pointers while they walked around, telling him about the purpose of wearing their costumes out in public and letting the public see them. They told him how their actions keep villains from popping up all day, and all night as well as their patrols continue. Zach wound up alternating shifts with the sidekicks, with Grappler telling him that he needed to see both their day and night activities. It was only the first day, but when he got back to the agency at four a.m, Zach was exhausted.

He passed out, only to be woken up at nine for morning training. He was shocked by the huge breakfast they had made for him, but Grappler yelled while they ate together that pro heroes needed their energy for the long days and important jobs they had. Zach had to shake off his feeling of fatigue from the long day before, as he agreed with his hero and did not want them to think he was slacking off or being lazy. They started training again, but it was more hands-on than when he arrived the day before. Zach admitted to Grappler that all he had learned was through Grappler's own videos when the hero caught him using a counter that he had invented. Grappler told him that those videos were not meant to train heroes, but as self-defense courses that just made him some advertising money to keep up upkeep when villain activity was low.

Although Zach was disappointed by the motives for why the videos were created, he told Grappler that if those were just self-defense tactics, then there must be a lot of fighting styles he does not know specifically made for taking down villains. The Boxing Hero had frowned at him, only to crack a grin as a voice called out that a villain had appeared. "Why don't I show you some of those techniques then?" Grappler said, then he shouted at Zach to get ready for action and follow him.

The two of them ran across town and came upon a scene where a couple of heroes had already arrived. Zach glanced around but did not see Iida or Manual at the scene. Then he refocused in awe as Grappler ran right between the two heroes using long range attacks to keep the out-of-control villain away from the civilians and lines of police setting up to protect them. Grappler sprinted through and did a straight-on charge at the villain. The helmet over his head with the visor on it had a display set up on the tinted green glass, telling him the villain's Quirk that had already been determined when his identity was discovered by the others who had arrived earlier. A voice in his helmet told him how the heroes took him down the first time, as they were able to ascertain his identity because he was a convicted felon who had been released on parole.

"You just couldn't resist," Grappler shouted as he slammed his arms up and caught the huge hairy ones the villain slammed down at him. Once he caught the arms of the twelve foot tall Gorilla Quirk guy's green-furred arms, he pulled them both to the left while swinging his right leg up, slamming it straight under the villain's armpit and dislocating an arm. The villain let out a roar while hitting the ground on Grappler's left and skidding across it.

Cheers shouted from the sides of the scene, and Zach stood there in shock at how quick it happened. The hero in front of him on his left wiped some sweat off his forehead, before saying, "That's Grappler for you. None of my attacks were doing a thing."

"I thought its skin was too rough, was about to shout at him something about it," the other hero near Zach said, scratching the back of his head. "Guess I was wrong."

Grappler ran over as the villain tried using its other arm to push itself up, and the strong hero grabbed the arm it was putting all its strength down on and tugged it behind the villain's back while planting a knee into his spine. He locked up the villain's arm in an arm-bar, then the villain roared in pain as it tried using its other arm only to find it impossible and very painful. The villain turned his head and bared his teeth while leaning up towards Grappler, then Grappler slammed the man's head down into the street while keeping the other in an arm-bar. "This time, I don't think you'll be getting parole. Villain, you're going back to jail!" Grappler pushed down on the villain's head harder as it struggled against him and was actually pushing back despite their position.

The cops knew it was their turn though, and they ran forward and up to the villain to cuff and chain him up. When the incident was over, Zach was amazed as Grappler started heading back towards him. The other heroes and civilians all around were cheering for him and the quick way he took down the villain, and Zach started smiling too and told the hero how amazing it was when he got to him. Zach thought about how at the USJ event he had been so indecisive. He did not know which villains to go after, did not know what to do when he was caught to the point that he panicked. But as he thought about how he was slow at making fast decisions in a time like this, Grappler instead brought up his fight with Shinso at the Sports Festival. He knew the best move was to end it quickly before he let anything slip, and Grappler said he threw a great punch on top of that.

The two of them headed towards the media for Grappler to speak to about the villain, and Zach hesitantly got behind Grappler as the media asked him questions. He suddenly wished his hero uniform had a helmet like Grappler's and like so many of his classmates had, because he noticed that the people who worked for the media were very quick to recognize who he was. After only two questions though, Grappler said that they had to go and they headed off. Zach quickly walked up to Grappler's right side as a reporter tried moving his way, really not wanting to be on the mainstream news stations as he knew this would be if he said a single word. He still clenched his teeth though as the reporter shouted the question at his back anyway, "Zach Sazaki! What is your Quirk?"

Is that all they really care about? What about the villain? Why not ask why I had to do it? Or, like, how it feels? Or something else! Zach hated how much speculation the news had made about his ability. They had stopped doing it as much when U.A. released a public statement that they never confirmed which student it was- but because they did not deny that it was Zach, which the media believed they would have if a student had been accused falsely, they kept on reporting that it was him. Zach told the school not to do anything else about it, as he figured the only way to get the situation to die down was if no one gave it any publicity or new information. It had already started fading before his identity came out, and here the media were trying to get new information to keep it a story. So don't tell them. Not that I was going to anyway, but an even better reason now… better, than trying not to get lynched?

Zach shivered but he just kept walking with his head up next to Grappler. The pro hero glanced down with only his eyes to see how the boy was doing, and he nodded in a satisfied way at how Zach was handling it. Better than running away at least, he thought, recalling how the boy had left the stage in the quarterfinals of the Sports Festival. Almost didn't send the offer because of that, but he's still just a kid. Millions of people staring at him, saying the same things, oof, Grappler opened his mouth, "In my helmet is a communicator connected to the agency. The information my visor picks up and the police communications we are granted access to are transferred straight to the agency. You mentioned that there were a lot more staff members than you thought I had from my low number of sidekicks, but all of them have important jobs. Interacting with the media, finding villains and jobs that are close enough for my sidekicks and I to reach in time to make a difference, and even in a fight. They search the internet as soon as the villain is located, learn everything about him to put on my visor and prepare me for…"

The student's mind shifted from his own dark thoughts on his Quirk to focusing on the present, and the future. Grappler mentioned to him that if he had a hero firm of his own one day, he would need to consider all these things and whether or not he can do them alone or needs to hire help. The hero laughed that he was not great with just about anything except for fighting, so without his support staff, he'd be "up a creek without a paddle." That really got Zach thinking about his future. If I had an agency, maybe I could have people with really amazing Quirks with me for when my skills aren't enough. But, if they have more powerful Quirks that can stop villains I can't, wouldn't they be the heroes, and me the sidekick? To get amazing people to follow me, with only my skills as a fighter, I'd need to be more than just an average hero. I'd have to be more than a great hero, but a remarkable one.

I never thought about being one of the top heroes. I mean, I've thought about it, but never considered it as a possibility. But what if it's the only way? If the only way to even become a hero at all, is to be one so amazing that I can get a bunch of other strong people to stay at my sides and help me? Could I do that? Could I inspire people like those at the top do? Like, All Might does? Zach clenched his fists at his sides. It's not a matter of "can" I do it. I'm going to do it. I'm not going to let my past get in the way of my dream. I won't let my Quirk stop me. Or what anyone else thinks. I'll be a hero, more amazing than any!

"What's going on?" Zach called out as both Linebacker and Samurai spun their heads the same direction with wide eyes. All three of them stared out into the city where a huge explosion just went off. The sky turned red over there and with its illumination, they were able to see the plumes of black smoke billowing out all over the sky.

"Let's go!" Linebacker yelled, and he started sprinting that way without waiting. Samurai turned to tell the kid to follow along, but Zach ran past the man in the white gi, an intense look on his face as his hands clenched at his sides.

Samurai watched as Zach ran past, then he looked down at the boy's right hand clenched in his black glove. "We were told by U.A. not to let him take his glove off. I'll ask him his Quirk when he gets here and make that decision myself. But if it really is something we can't work on, something too dangerous, then we don't let him get in fights with villains." Grappler-sensei, I will not let you down. "Lifebringer," Samurai called out, running towards the boy wearing an all white uniform like his except without the black belt. Zach turned his head as he was called by his hero name, trying not to smile as he heard it again directed towards him, as he was supposed to be focused on the fight ahead.

"When we get to the scene, your job is to get the civilians away from there. Do not engage in combat, understood?" Samurai asked, giving the boy a serious look. Zach looked back into his eyes and nodded his head, seeing that saying anything else would get the hero to tell him to return.

They kept running, but Zach frowned deeper as they ran towards the scene. We don't even know what the situation is yet. What if they do need my help? Well, we'll figure it out when we're there. I shouldn't try to fight villains as I am now. I'm still not strong enough- Linebacker had just reached the next intersection where a lot of red light from around it was flooding down, indicating they were close to the fires now. As soon as he turned his head though, Samurai and Zach skid to stops and their eyes opened huge. A figure came flying out around that next intersection and slammed into Linebacker, and both of them tumbled down the street and into the wall of a building across it on the corner.

The reason both the twenty-eight year old sidekick and student intern felt their bodies tense up and sweat to cover their faces though, was that the man who crashed into Linebacker was none other than Grappler. The Boxing Hero: Grappler, staggered up to his feet off the wall of the building and he looked down at Linebacker, only to see his sidekick out cold from how hard he collided with him. The pro in charge of the agency looked over towards Samurai and Zach who called out his name, then he turned and ran back down the street he just came flying out of. "Samurai with me! Lifebringer, help the police evacuate the area!"

The hero stared at Zach with a hesitant look as he kept running down that road, Samurai running up to help him. What was that? Zach thought, seeing a strange look in the hero's eyes as he had looked over. What's going on here? Zach thought, hearing another explosion and looking up to see what caused it on such a high story of a building. He looked up, and he felt like his heart skipped a beat. High in the air he saw something flying out of an explosion on the side of a skyscraper, a hero held by his mouth in its long beak. The creature swooped down while dropping the hero, and another hero ran over and shot a jet of water high into the air that the one who was dropped landed on before getting lowered down. Zach barely noticed the hero getting saved though, because he was too busy staring at the top of the creature's head, the creepy eyes and the brain that was showing on the top of it.

Nomu, he thought, taking a step back as he remembered how strong the one at USJ was said to be. All Might fought it, and he said that the incident caused his time limit as a hero to shrink down. The heroes around here can't do anything against that! They're going to, Zach started running forward onto the next street where he spun to see if the other heroes needed his help. He froze and his heart started pounding as he looked down that road. Grappler got tossed up into the air, then Samurai's sword slammed into the leg of the creature in front of him, only for the weapon to push in and get stuck in its muscles. The large black Nomu more muscular than the one Zach saw flying up in the air slammed a fist down and hit Samurai on the side. The hero tried blocking with one arm, and Zach heard a crack before the sidekick he had just been patrolling the streets with got thrown aside so fast he smashed through a window on this side of the street before Zach was even able to turn his head. Samurai, is he-

Zach looked back at the Nomu, his hands trembling like his whole body in fear of the creature. Nomus? Plural?! Just one of these things is… is impossible to fight! This group of, I don't recognize any of… Zach spotted the same hero he saw drop from the sky, one of his arms over the shoulder of another hero who was running away to get the injured one out of there. Manual leaned down and lowered the injured hero, then he spun back towards the Nomu in the middle of the road surrounded by heroes who could do nothing to stop it. Manual grimaced then started shooting water towards the fires on the sides of the road to try and keep it contained, though he looked left and right while doing this as if looking for something.

He's, looking for Iida. Where would Iida be right now if not for here? Zach felt a buzz in his pocket while he heard police behind him shout about keeping the line and getting all civilians behind it. He looked back and saw cop cars lining up, and one of the cops shouted at him to help them clear out a building where some hiding civilians had called in from. A group of civilians trapped in this zone, near villains and out-of-control fires. Zach ran towards them and told them his hero name and how Grappler had told him to help out, and they split him up with a couple of cops to go search a different building than the one the rest of the police started heading into.

It's probably just Jenny, worried because she knows I'm in Hosu City, Zach thought. He ran into a building and shouted with the cops to see if anyone was there. They decided to sweep different floors to make it go faster, and Zach was to hit the fourth and seventh which was the top floor of the building. He told them he was fast, and he sprinted up the stairs taking three at a time without slowing down until he reached the fourth. He sprinted through the office yelling around for people, then he ran all the way up to the top floor to search as well. "Hey! You two!" Zach shouted towards some windows on the opposite side of the room as the stairwell door he got out of.

A couple of janitors turned towards him with nervous looks and wide eyes. One looked like a normal guy while the other had mops for arms, which Zach figured was pretty useful for his job. "Let's go! We're evacuating the building before the fires spread here."

"What about those monsters?" One of the janitors yelled as they ran towards him.

"We'll get you to safety far from them, now come on," Zach yelled motioning for the door in a fast way so they would pick up the pace. "Careful down the stairs, he mentioned, worried their panicked feelings would make them trip and fall.

"Thanks, hero," the guy with mop-arms said as he ran by and started running down the stairs. A huge smile spread over Zach's face for a second, then he heard a crash outside and remembered everything happening around him.

Zach heard down the steps one of the cops call up that their floors were clear, and Zach called down that the top was empty too. He started heading down as the officers said they received word they were pushing back the police line another block. They waited until the janitors were far enough down, then the cop farther back towards Zach turned to him and said, "Nothing's working against those villains. The heroes are losing!"

Zach's breath sped up and he kept running down the steps, his eyes wide and shaking. What if I, am making a bad decision? I can't just go around killing villains, but, what if the heroes are getting hurt, or even killed out there? Zach's arms shook at his sides as he ran, and his right hand trembled as he tried clenching it into a fist. If I do something though, it won't just be a freak accident. I'll be the hero who kills villains. I'll be expelled. I'll be shunned by society. But, if it saves those heroes… isn't that still what a hero would do? It's just the society that would look down on me, but I'd really, be doing a good thing?

They reached the first floor and Zach watched as the cops and the two janitors ran ahead and out the building. He slowed down though, his hand sliding into his pocket to pull his phone out. Jenny. What did she say to me? What should I- Zach stared at his phone and he froze. There was no writing. No message. There were some responses from confused people in their class, but the boy who sent the message had not responded. He just texted out a location. A location in Hosu City.

Zach sprinted outside and he ran towards the cops who were evacuating large groups of heroes down the road. A look over his shoulder showed that the heroes were keeping the Nomus busy, and then Zach spotted something that made his eyes grow huge. "Endeavor," he whispered, right before the cops and civilians behind him cheered. "No time," he whispered, turning away from the hero he would have loved to see in action. He sprinted towards the cop cars and the officer who told him to evacuate the building with the others. The sergeant opened his mouth to say something, but Zach spoke fast, "Send people to this address." He did not stop after sprinting towards the cop, tossing him the phone and then running by while imagining the location he saw in his head.

"Why? What's going on there?" The cop asked, spinning and calling to the young hero.

I don't know! But with Endeavor here, I made the right move not going to try and kill the villains. But Endeavor's not over there, and I think Midoriya needs help. There's nothing I can say though to convince the cop that it's a priority. I don't have any proof after all. But, Midoriya wouldn't send something like that and not respond. He's in Hosu. Where is Iida? There's only one reason Iida wouldn't be here with Manual. Zach just sprinted away without answering the cop, hoping the man would just listen if he looked that serious about it. He hoped maybe his hero uniform would make the difference, and he held onto that hope as he sprinted down the road.

I recognized the location. I know how to get there from here. Zach sprinted without break. He had just ran up and down a seven story building after running to the scene of the incident, and now he was running as fast as ever across Hosu. He was starting to pant, but he breathed in and out through his nose and just pushed down his heels harder. Why didn't I do more? He thought, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists tighter at his sides. I told him I knew, but I just told him to think about it. I didn't want to get involved in someone else's business, because I hate it when people get involved in mine. When they snoop and pry, and I could tell it was that serious and personal a thing for him- but I, I just pretended that talking to him on the train was enough to help. If anything I probably made things worse, just made him, more frustrated.

Zach shook his head, then he cut left down a main road which he had seen on the picture Midoriya sent of his location. The alley is off of this road, just up ahead. He saw a flash of red light in that direction, coming out of the alley. Fire? Endeavor's here, did Todoroki… I thought he didn't like his dad or something. Might not be him. He figured Shoto Todoroki just came to his head because he had recently seen Endeavor, but when he finally reached the alley and turned down it, the first person he saw was the same boy he was just thinking of. Zach skid to a stop in his sprint as he spun down that alleyway, panting heavily and darting his eyes around. His eyes grew huge, but his heart rate was slowing down as he spotted the figure his classmate was dragging down the alley. They, beat the hero killer?! Zach thought, his bottom lip lowering as he looked around at them.

"Zach," Todoroki said as the boy sprinted out in front of them.

Iida lifted his head, as he had been looking down at his arm covered that was covered in his blood. He had also just been staring down at the floor, his mind filled with all the regret and guilt of coming here alone and getting his classmates hurt. He looked up hearing what Todoroki said, and his regret grew even more as he thought about the boy he expected to be frowning at him in a disappointed or angry way after he had even gone out of his way to warn him on the train. "Zach, I-" he began as he rose his gaze, going to apologize for ignoring him and pretending like Zach did not know what he was talking about. When he looked up though, his eyes opened wide at the sight of Zach letting out a deep breath of relief. Zach put his hands down on his knees and started panting heavier, as the realization that he did not have to run into a fight against a guy who murders heroes hit him all at once.

"Geez, you guys scared me," he said while looking down and breathing hard. Thought they might have been dead. Thought they might have been almost dead, and needed me to step in. But if these guys couldn't handle it, I would have taken my glove off right away. He was panting from more than just running, as he thought of what would have happened had he turned down this alley and seen something else. Zach lifted his head to Midoriya who was being carried on Native's back, a hero who Zach actually recognized from the villain fight the day before who had been unable to do anything until Grappler arrived.

The pro hero carrying Midoriya saw the boy at the alley's end and he said, "You, were Grappler's sidekick right?"

Zach looked down at the hero in surprise, wondering if the guy really did not recognize him from anywhere else. "Yeah," Zach replied. "I gave the police this location. They should be here soon," he added, looking up towards Midoriya again over Native's shoulder. "Though you could have given some more information," he added, though it was mock annoyance in his voice.

"I told my father to send some pro heroes here too," Todoroki added while stepping out of the alley. Just after he said it, Gran Torino showed up and started yelling at Midoriya for not staying put on the train. This was then followed by a group of other heroes running down the sidewalk and mentioning how they had been sent over.

"I saw Endeavor back there," Zach said, and Todoroki looked left at him. Zach had sweat on his face though and a scared look as he stared back towards the side of the city where it must have still been engulfed in flames considering all the red in the sky. "You're dad really is awesome. But," Zach paused as he knew how he was going to finish that sentence. He turned to Iida who stood with his head bowed and to Midoriya who looked at him oddly on Native's shoulder. "There are Nomus in the city. Just like the one from USJ."

"The League of Villains?" Todoroki wondered, narrowing his gaze as he thought about it. Midoriya just thought back to the train he came to the city on with Gran Torino, when the Nomu smashed through the wall attacking a hero. The heroes around them all started talking about the Hero Killer they noticed the children had caught, and they mentioned calling the police only for Zach to say that he already gave them the address.

Zach looked around for Grappler among the heroes he had seen back at the fight earlier. He frowned as he did not see him among them, but there were other heroes from the fight he did not see either. They're probably still dealing with the Nomus, Zach thought, narrowing his eyes and staring back in the direction of the flames. He started running, but the short elderly hero who appeared and talked to Midoriya called out to him that Endeavor was taking care of it. Zach looked back towards Gran Torino, then over at the flaming sky in Hosu. But, I could stop this right now.

Zach held back though, because the more experienced hero told him to. He walked back over to talk to his classmates and then Iida walked towards them, ignoring the heroes telling him to stay put until an ambulance could deal with his injuries. Iida bowed to them, apologizing to Midoriya and Todoroki that he got hurt because of him, and that he caused this by letting his anger blind him. Zach sweatdropped that Iida needed to be doing this now, while he was worried about Grappler and the others from the agency. Midoriya replied though that he was sorry for not noticing how Iida felt, and Todoroki told him to lift his head as the class rep. Zach just frowned more though, I noticed how you felt. And I just said that as the class rep, you should know better. Damn, I did nothing to help him. I couldn't- no, there were things I could have done. Why didn't I look at my phone faster? Was it because we were in the middle of an incident like this-

"Everyone duck!" Gran Torino shouted.

Zach was shocked but he dropped down fast. He snapped his head up while he ducked though, as the shadow swooped down over him and reached its talons down, grabbing Midoriya and flying up into the air with him. "Midoriya!" He shouted, snapping back up and taking a step after the Nomu that came out of nowhere. Todoroki lifted his arm that covered in flames, Gran Torino bent down to prepare to shoot after him, then Zach saw the movement on his left. His eyes darted to the floor as someone moved faster than anyone else. His ropes were falling behind him, and Zach started to turn with his eyes getting wider as the man leapt up and licked across one of the heroes' faces, where blood from the injured Nomu had splashed as it grabbed Midoriya.

The flying Nomu lost its ability to move, while the Hero Killer raced between the others who all looked in in shock at his movements. He sprinted out of his ropes, holding a knife the heroes had missed while disarming his unconscious body. "This society overgrown with fake heroes…" he started yelling while jumping up at the falling villain. "And the criminals who wave their power around idly…" Stain stabbed his knife down into the head of the Nomu and slammed it into the floor, grabbing Midoriya with his other hand as they skid down the sidewalk. "Should all be purged."

Zach felt chills down his body as he looked towards the Hero Killer's back. He saw Midoriya next to him look up at Stain's face only for an intense fear like Zach could not imagine to spread across it. "This is all," Stain's voice came out raspy but loud, terrifying and full of conviction, but mostly terrifying while he ripped the blade through the Nomu's head and made blood splash up in the air. "To create a more just society," Stain snarled, his body staggering up as his voice echoed around the street.

"He saved the boy?" One of the heroes behind Zach wondered in shock.

"Idiot, he took a hostage," another argued.

"He killed someone without hesitation," a third said, sweating badly at the look of the villain.

"Anyway, get ready to fight now," the only female hero in the group said.

"Why are you all standing around in a group?" The group turned at the sound of that voice approaching down the street, and Zach felt hope fill him at the sight of the man with flames sticking out of his head and all over his body. "The villain should've escaped this way," Endeavor added.

"H-How are things on your end?" One of the heroes who had been fighting with Endeavor before asked.

Endeavor's attention had switched though and he started, "Things got a little rough, but don't tell me, that man is…"

The villain bent down with one hand on Midoriya turned his head and looked through the white cloth over his face. He was breathing heavily and had spit sliding out of his mouth. He was burnt up and his body looked broken, but he hissed in his raspy and terrifying voice while looking back down the street, "Endeavor."

"Hero Killer!" Endeavor shouted with a grin, pulling a fist back and covering it in flames.

As Gran Torino shouted at Endeavor to wait because of Midoriya, Zach felt his blood run cold, as the white cloth tied around Stain's face fell off. Stain turned his body and looked back towards the heroes. "You fake-" Zach took a step back, feeling a pressure like nothing he had ever felt before pressing down on him. The villain looked shadowed by the night, his eyes looked red, and he staggered a step towards them while speaking in a tone that made every person there fill with fear. "I must make things right."He took another step, "Someone must be dyed in blood."

"I must take back what it means to be a hero!" His body exuded the most bloodthirsty aura. It felt like his anger was tangible in the air and burning at their bodies. When he stomped another foot forward, Zach could swear the city shook around them. His left hand trembled as it moved to his right, grabbing his glove and sliding it. "Come! Try and get me, you fakes!" In the corner of his eyes he saw Endeavor take a step back. The old hero who Midoriya had been interning with, Gran Torino, too. His classmates were frozen in place, and he could not tear his eyes off of Stain even as he brought his glove to his fingertips.

"The only one I'll let kill me is the true hero… ALL MIGHT!" Zach swore he saw a giant black monster fill the air around Stain and cover the entire street. His bloodthirsty aura rushed down the street so hard that the heroes let out whimpers and one even fell backwards. Clink! Stain's knife hit the floor. Zach's eyes opened huge and he shot his eyes down, seeing he dropped his glove when Stain made that final roar. He lifted his gaze back up, and he stared in shock at the villain they were all so terrified of. His eyes had rolled back and he was standing there motionless.

"He's, unconscious," Endeavor said.

Zach dropped to his knees and grabbed his glove. He tried sliding it back on his right hand as fast as he could, while Todoroki fell on his butt next to him and Iida dropped to his knees too. He looked back up before he had finished getting his glove on though, staring at Stain in shock. What was that? Everyone felt it. Everyone, was terrified. Zach's hands were trembling, and his right hand was so sweaty he was having trouble getting it into his glove. He looked down to focus and managed to get it back in there, then he looked towards Stain again while Endeavor and Gran Torino headed towards him. That guy at USJ, he was nothing. That was, a real villain. Real villains are… monsters. Zach's hands were still trembling, and he grabbed his knees tightly with them. "He killed someone without hesitation…" What one of the heroes behind him said about Stain a minute ago echoed in his head, and his eyes refocused down on his right hand. I didn't even think, about taking it off this time. I just did it- without hesitating. His eyes rose again towards Stain and he bit down hard, closing his eyes and bowing his head while grabbing his knees even tighter. Monsters…

A/N Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Leave a review below telling me what you think.