"Hello, Izuku." Stain whispered.

Stain's breath reeked of blood and raw meat. He was wearing a fake nose that could fool a casual onlooker and the rest of his face was covered by a hood. The lost fingers were replaced with expensive prosthetics. They felt cold on Izuku's skin.

"… Stain."

The fingers around his throat squeezed tighter and he felt something sharp stick into his back.

"If you even think about activating your Quirk, I'll kill you. Call for help, I'll kill you. Try to run, I'll kill you. Nod if you understand."

The people around them rushed past them, too busy to notice what was happening. He had to think. He had to stay calm and think. That was his only hope. Eventually someone would notice and call for help. They had to. If not, he would…

Izuku nodded.

"Good. Let's sit down." Stan said.

Stain dragged him to a small vacant bench. There was a sharp pain in Izuku's side and in a practiced motion Stain brought a small knife to his lips and licked off the blood. Izuku's body locked up and Stain leaned him against the wall to give the illusion he was just resting. Even his tongue was numb and made it hard to speak. Stain eased his grip on Izuku's neck, but never took his arm off his shoulder.

"… what… do you… want?"

"What I always want. To kill fakers. Are you a faker? Or a hero? I've been wondering that ever since you took my fingers." Stain said.

"… you tried to… hurt Himiko."

"I tried to kill Himiko. Hurting her was simple necessity. Do you know why I tried to do that? How well do you know your girlfriend? Do I know her better than you?"

A mocking tone had crept into Stain's voice. Bakugou had used it often. Anger flared in Izuku's chest. He was not the useless Deku anymore. Who did Stain think he was? Making him feel small and helpless again? Did Stain want him to crawl? To beg? He'd never crawl and beg. Never again! Even if it killed him, he'd never be Deku again.

"… what reason does a villain need… to kill people?" Izuku said.

"Everyone has their reasons and I'm no villain."

"You're… with the League of Villains. You sent Tomura…"

"The League is just another tool in my war. A tool that has almost lost its uses. Their time will come soon. And you would not believe the bitching and moaning I had to put up with when you broke Tomura's teeth and ribs. You should have done us all a favor and killed the little shit." Stain said.

Stain bared his teeth into something Izuku suspected was meant to be a smile. His eyes shone like a mad dog's.

"And even if I was a villain, do you think that makes you a hero? Would a hero stay quiet about me to protect his girl? Would a hero break his classmates hand?"

Please Himiko. Don't come. Stay away, Izuku begged in his mind.

"You can't be a hero without resolve. I proved mine by cutting off my nose. Loss makes us stronger. If something happened to your girl, would that make you a true hero?"

Something snapped and Izuku struggled against the paralysis to turn his head enough to look Stain in the eyes. He hoped one look could tell how much he despised Stain. Hated him. He didn't wish Stain just to be dead, but that he had never been born. One question from Stain was worse than everything Bakugou had put him through over the years.

"… touch her and I'll kill you."

Stain's grip around Izuku's throat grew tighter.

"Is that any way for a hero to talk? Do you want to be a hero to make yourself look good? To crush other with impunity? Like Endeavor?" Stain said.

It was insane, but for a moment shame overpowered Izuku's anger. He remembered the way Endeavor had looked at him. That sneer of cold command even the flames covering his face couldn't hide. He remembered his arrogance that made him believe he could bribe someone without consequences to break his son's hand. And why not? He'd never faced any before. He remembered every cruelty he had suffered in Bakugou's hands. He'd been weak. Helpless. Bakugou had known it too. The idea that he had complete power over someone had been intoxicating to Bakugou.

Izuku remembered the moment he had been no better than Endeavor or Bakugou.

That… shameful joy he had felt when he broke Bakugou's hand. Hearing the bones snap. Seeing the fear in Bakugou's face… the knowledge he could do anything and there was nothing… nothing Bakugou could do about it. He had never felt so powerful. So alive. He'd tried to lie to himself that it had been all One for All's doing, but… the same monster that lived in Endeavor and Bakugou lurked in Izuku as well. One for All had just… convinced him to let it out.

Stain was insane, but… even lunatics could be right. Izuku wondered if he was crazy too if he shared common ground with a serial killer. But if he had something in common with Stain, he could understand him. And if he could understand him, he could say just the right things to get the mad man off his back.

"… I pity you." Izuku said.

"Oh? How so, faker?"

"I… could have become like you, but… I have mom… and Himiko. And All Might too. They all saved me. You… I guess you have no one like that. You were alone… and no one came to help you."

For the briefest moment Izuku saw a glimpse of humanity in Stain. For a moment Stain looked like One for All. A lonely, broken man in terrible pain.

"All Might… saved you too?" Stain said.

"… me too?"

Stain's grip around Izuku's throat loosened.

"I grew up… in a terrible place until one day I ran. I lived on the streets and fought for scraps. Like an animal. Then I met someone stronger than me. A villain who preyed on children. In the worst possible way. He would have killed me if not for All Might."

Stain looked at the people passing them by.

"The world could be a beautiful place with someone like All Might, but… it's not. Why? Why? Why? I thought I could save the world by cutting out all the ugliness, but… I was just fighting the symptoms. The cancer remained."

The monster inside Stain buried the man again.

"Then I understood. How could people see how great All Might is when he is surrounded by all these fakers? They sully everything he does. They use his fame to cover their crimes. They don't try to inspire others but push them down. They'd keep the world like this forever. Not even All Might can fight them. If they were gone… all could see him clearly and follow him. Terrible things would never be done to children."

"… All Might wouldn't want you to… kill people." Izuku said.

"Sometimes the world needs butchers more than heroes. This way All Might's hands stay clean." Stain said and stood up: "You've given me something to think about. I'm putting your judgement on hold. Next time you'll show me if you're a hero or a faker."

Izuku was left sitting alone on the bench while Stain disappeared into the crowd. He had to move. He had to warn people before Stain got away. If only someone would notice him.

"Midoriya?"

Izuku managed to mile.

"… hi… Tsu."


Toga raced up the stairs to the police station.

I'm killing that noseless bastard! Ya here me Stain?! Ya just climbed on top of my shit-list, Toga thought.

Whatever kinship she had felt for a fellow survivor of Mrs. Ikari's orphanage was gone. Stain would regret pissing her off.

The receptionist told her where her Izuku-Izuku was being interrogated and that his other friends were already there. When she closed in on the interrogation room, she heard people talking.

"Wish I could say this is the worst way I've spent my Sunday." A bored sounding voice said.

"Same." Said another voice that reminded her of Dabi.

When she got to the right hallway she found Izuku-Izuku's mom surrounded by his classmates. Was this a trap? Or an opportunity? She had made an extensive list of Izuku-Izuku's classmates and their Quirks. The mall would have been a perfect place to get blood samples from all of them, but here…? Surrounded by cops and cameras? Prioritizing would be necessary. Todoroki and Tokoyami backed the most firepower, but the Frog Girl's Quirk would complement Toga's skill set the best. Although, Shinsou was hands down the most dangerous of them his Quirk also had the most obvious weaknesses.

"Toga!" Inko sobbed and pulled her into a hug: "I… I tried to call you, but I don't have your number! Why don't I have your number?!"

Toga patted Inko's back and looked at Izuku-Izuku's friends over Inko's shoulder.

"What happened?"

"I found… Izuku paralyzed at the mall. He… he said Stain had attacked him." Frog Girl said.

"We think that he's targeting U.A students and Midoriya is very well-known because… of the letter." Todoroki said.

Todoroki looked a lot like Dabi if you knew what to search for. Shinsou stepped up to her and Toga tensed up. She'd have to be careful. One word and Shinsou had her.

"So, you're Toga? Real after all. I always thought this was a girlfriend in Canada kind of situation. I guess I owe…" Shinsou said.

"Why are you always like this?! Izuku could have died!" Frog Girl shouted.

Inko started crying even harder and suddenly Shinsou looked like a man without a country. Inko hugged Toga tighter and after some hesitation Toga wrapped her arms around Inko. Was this how you hugged people? Mrs. Ikari's care had not prepared her for this.

"Tsu… this is hard for all of us. People say foolish things under stress." Tokoyami said.

"… yeah." Shinsou said and bowed his head to Inko: "I'm sorry, Mrs. Midoriya. That was stupid."

Inko wiped her eyes and let go of Toga.

"No. I understand. I'm just happy Izuku has such great friends."

The door opened and a police officer in an old-timey trench coat stepped out with Izuku-Izuku. The sight of the cop made Toga curse herself. It had been stupid coming here. If Izuku-Izuku had spilled the beans on how Stain knew him, Toga couldn't fight her way out. This was what you got, when you let your heart do the thinking. All she could do now was hope that Izuku-Izuku hadn't freaked out and confessed everything.

"Thank you for waiting." The officer said.

Inko grabbed Izuku-Izuku into a tight hug and both started crying. Jealousy stabbed Toga like a knife. One brush with Stain and Inko acted like the world had almost ended. What did it feel like to have a mother? No one cried for you in Mrs. Ikari's orphanage. No one dared. Crying was a weakness and weakness was punished with the Thinking room. Every time you were locked in there, you left a piece of yourself behind.

A hand was placed on Toga's shoulder. When she turned her head, she saw Frog Girl looking at her.

"You okay? You looked… ready to kill someone."

Toga forced a smile.

"Pissed enough to be. Thanks for finding Izuku-Izuku."

Frog Girl nodded.

"Call me Tsu."

Tsu? That was actually a better nickname than she had come up with.

"Will do."

The officer cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Midoriya. All Might asked me to relay you a message. He's sorry he couldn't be here, but Stain must be caught before he hurts someone else. He's proud of you. You did well keeping a cool head under the situation."

"... thanks, Tsukauchi." Izuku-Izuku said.

"Should we be worried if Stain is coming for U.A students?" Todoroki said.

"We'll introduce new safety protocols. You'll be informed." Tsukauchi said.

"Hopefully he'll come for me next. One word out of him and I'll walk the noseless asshole here myself." Shinsou said.

Izuku-Izuku pulled himself out of Inko's hug and took Toga's hand. Toga caught a glimpse of Tsu looking away. Poor Tsu. Izuku-Izuku could be a mean bastard without even trying or meaning to.

"… Himiko. Guys. Thanks… for being here for me." Izuku-Izuku said.

"You would do the same for us." Tokoyami said.

"He really would. He'd wrestle Stain for ya." Toga said.


After Mrs. Midoriya had taken Izuku and Toga away, Todoroki left the police station with his other friends. Friends. The idea that he had friends took some getting used to.

"Shinsou." Todoroki said.

"Yes, lover boy?"

"Toga is real, so you owe us some money."

"Didn't Tsu say the bet was off?" Shinsou said.

"Piss off, Shinsou. And you're calling me Asui until told otherwise." Tsu said.

"A true man honors his bets." Tokoyami said.

"You're starting to sound like Kirishima." Shinsou said and pulled out his wallet: "Some friends you are. Ganging up on innocent old me."

Shinsou doled out the cash and Todoroki smiled at the crumbled bill.

"What do you even need that for? The last time I checked you were loaded, lover boy." Shinsou said.

"You can't put a price on satisfaction." Todoroki said and then noticed a small cut on his hand.

When had that happened? It wasn't deep, but there had been quite a bit of bleeding before the gash had dried up.

Weird, Todoroki thought.