Author's note: Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome to another chapter of Instant Pain. I'm so glad to see so many of you have been enjoying the story. Now, before we begin, I just want to advertise a poll on my account. Those of you who follow me know that I had a poll up asking about several story ideas. That poll has concluded and the top three will now battle it out in a new poll. If you're interested, please vote either through the poll on or through the straw-poll (follow the instructions on my profile).

Other than that, I don't have anything to say, so let's get right to the story. Review and enjoy :-).

0000

"Constant repetition carries conviction"- Robert Collier

0000

"That...was...amazing!" Tomura shouted in childlike glee upon being returned to the bar. He had every reason to be happy. Sure, All Might hadn't died, but he'd been thoroughly humiliated. His weakness was exposed and he had learned that All Might was an even bigger fraud than he thought. He was just an ordinary person who was lucky enough to be able to play hero for a short amount of time until his quirk stopped functioning. When faced with a challenge he couldn't hit, he completely collapsed. Even better was that he didn't have to use the Nomu, meaning it could be used later for another attack or plan. While he was confident it could defeat All Might, there was always that small chance that the 'Symbol of Peace' could pull off a miracle and beat it somehow. He wasn't the highest ranking hero in the world for no reason. "Holy crap, did you see All Might's face?! I don't think I'll ever forget it!"

"I'm glad you're pleased Tomura," Kurogiri said as his boss began cracking to himself. Unlike the young adult, the mist-man had little faith that his plan would work. The only reason why he followed Tomura's orders was because he was ordered to watch over the boy by his master. He wasn't expecting there to be a capable villain from the group of thugs Tomera recruited, so imagine how astounded he was when it turned out one managed to excel All Might in strength. Such was certainly a surprise, but not an unwelcome one.

"Pleased? Kurogiri, I'm far more than just pleased. I'm ecstatic!"

"That's good. I thought you'd be upset that I hijacked your moment." Exiting the portal, Izuku couldn't help but smile. Everything went perfectly on his end. He did what he wanted to do and left. Izuku knew his old self would be disgusted with what he'd just done. A kid was dead, several more were probably traumatized, and All Might's secret was exposed. He had done all of that with no remorse, hell, he should be traumatized seeing as this was the first time he killed someone. However, even if he tried, he couldn't make himself feel bad. He wasn't the same Izuku he was nine months ago. He was a new man with a new purpose, one which requires him to travel down a bloody path. Ejiro's death was tragic, yes, but it was necessary and more will follow. He's fully accepted all of this, and it was this acceptance that was making him feel great at the moment. He was succeeding in his mission.

Tomura smiled at the younger villain. "I would've, but you put on such a great show! Fuck, I don't think All Might's death would've been nearly as satisfying."

"Yeah. There's nothing better than seeing a phony being exposed."

"Right?!" Tomura threw out another sinister laugh. Upon calming down, he turned towards Izuku. "So Zoom, how would you like to join 'The League of Villains'?"

Upon seeing the boy in action, Tomura knew he had to try recruiting him. Not only did he crush All Might, but two seemed to share the same hatred for the Hero Society.

"I'm honored, but I'll have to decline," Izulu replied, causing Tomura's mood to dampen. Before the older villain could say anything, Izuku began explaining himself. "We have different goals. You wish to destroy, I wish to teach. We have our own legacies to make. However, our goals do interlace with one-another, so if you ever need help, I am willing to do team-ups if we both can benefit from it. I hope that's a fair compromise."

"..." Tomura stood silent, worrying Kurogiri. Tomura was a rowdy individual, so whenever he was silent, it meant that something bad was about to happen. However, the boy gave Izuku a sinister yet happy smile. "Team-ups, huh? Well, I wouldn't be opposed to having an non-playable ally at times, especially one as broken as you. And you're right, our quests are different!" Tomura was able to recognize this about them. Izuku was more interested in 'fixing' the Hero Society while Tomura was more interested in removing it as a whole. It would be better if they carried out their plans alone.

"I'm glad you understand." Izuku really did. Tomura was a great ally to have on his side, the boy sensing immense potential in him. Once he finds his foot in villainy, Izuku believes Tomura would be a great bane to all who oppose him. It also helped that he felt the two covered different grounds in regards to villainy. The way Izuku saw it, he was the villain meant to steer everyone down the correct path while Tomura was meant to be the villain that would force the heroes to use their new knowledge to try defeating him. As he learned, sometimes a villain is necessary to make the heroes grow.

Quickly glancing at the bar's clock, Izuku noticed it was getting late and that it was best he returned home. "Sadly, I need to go, but give me your contact info so we can partner up again sometime."

"Of course." Signaling for Kurogiri to pass him a pen and paper, Tomura began writing down his contact information. Upon finishing, Tomura handed Izuku the paper.

"Thank you. I can see us becoming great friends. Sorry that I can't stay longer, but I have a secret identity I have to keep. Bye for now Tomura."

*ZIP*

Quicker than Tomura or Kurogiri could process, Izuku left the bar.

"So cool."

"Tomura, we have an incoming call from All For One," Kurogiri informed the boy, the mist-man's phone buzzing.

All of Tomura's attention immediately went towards Kurogiri. "Well, answer it! It's not polite to keep Sensei waiting!"

Accepting the call, the flatscreen TV in the bar suddenly turned on, the image of a masked individual being displayed.

"Sensei! It's great to see you!"

"Likewise," All For One said. He was the 'Symbol of Evil' and All Might's arch-nemesis. Having been alive for centuries, it was believed that he had perished in a battle against All Might. However, he had survived and had managed to wound the 'Symbol of Peace' significantly. He himself was severely wounded in return, needing a special mask to survive. Hiding in the shadows, he found a new goal, to make Tomura the greatest villain he can be. After all, he cared for the boy as evident by the fact that despite the immense authority seeping through his voice, a hint of fondness could be found in the way the otherwise apathetic man addressed his pupil. "You seem to be in a good mood. Did you succeed in your mission?"

"Nope," Tomura said with a smile, confusing the villain. All For One understood his protégé had severe anger issues, so seeing him so happy after failing to kill All Might was odd. Glancing around the bar, the man noticed how nothing was destroyed. Typically destruction followed an upset Tomura so with everything intact, it looks like the boy was fine. "But something better happened!"

"Oh?" All For One was intrigued. Tomura hated All Might to the point where he'd fantasize about killing the hero personally, so to hear that he experienced something greater than achieving his dream was certainly newsworthy.

"Yes Sensei. I discovered you were right! All Might is weakened!" Tomura informed his teacher. "And I didn't even have to have the Nomu fight him! A party member did so instead." Another giddy laugh escaped the man. "When I was out recruiting some for the mission, I was only looking for enough cannon fodder to keep the other heroes busy. I didn't know I'd accidentally recruit an overleveled character. Sensei, you should've seen him! You should've seen how he defeated All Might!"

Now this was news to All For One. It was commonly accepted that All Might was 'undefeatable', rivaled only by himself in strength, so to hear that someone else beat All Might in a fight was huge. "He did?"

"Yes! He swept him. It wasn't even close. Sensei, he sent All Might flying twice with first a slap and then a snap of his fingers! It was so cool! When All Might got back up for round three, he punched him in his left gut and exposed a weak spot."

If All For One wasn't interested before, he was now. From what Tomura was saying, this villain beat All Might without breaking a sweat. Whoever this villain was, he was dangerous, far more dangerous than what mankind believed was possible. He even knew All Might's weak area, one of the most well kept secrets in the world. "Did you find out who did so?"

"He calls himself Zoom," Tomura stated. "He never took off his mask or gave me his real name. I think he has some speed based quirk since he was faster than All Might and took a kid without Kurogiri noticing."

"It is true," Kurogiri informed his master. "The child was in front of me and Zoom took him before I could teleport him away. I did not see him do so. One minute the child was there, the next he was not. The child was killed if you wish to know his fate. Zoom seemed to wish to prove that All Might could fail by killing one of his students."

"Interesting…" A claim that someone is faster than All Might is nothing to take lightly. The very few people who are faster than All Might were only beat him in terms of maximum movement speed. When it comes to reactionary speed, the number one hero currently is the fastest known person, allowing him to strike and defeat those who have a faster movement speed than him. For Zoom to move as fast as Tomura said he did, he must have an extremely impressive quirk. Either that or he managed to master the (in his eyes, underrated) field of science and discovered the means of increasing his speed without a quirk. Either way, All For One was immensely intrigued by this new villain.

"I invited him to the League of Villains, but he declined," Tomura said with a shrug. "But he said he was willing to ally himself with us."

"Is that so?" All For One smiled under his mask. It seems that the two will be meeting soon, a meeting the man was more than looking forward to having. He was also happy to see Tomura making new allies, especially one whom he would have a position of power over. His student typically didn't play nice with others. "That's good. Allies are important to have, even when those allies are not part of your organization. It's an important lesson you must learn and I praise the fact you are handling such a lesson maturely."

"Thank you sensei."

"Not a problem." If anyone could see his mouth, they would notice that All For One began smiling even more, perhaps the most he's ever smiled in over a hundred years. "Now, take the day off and celebrate the fall of All Might. It's not everyday that one can claim they watched the defeat of the 'Symbol of Peace' after all."

0000

Inko Midoriya was worried. It has been two hours since Izuku was supposed to arrive home from school and he had yet to do so. Even worse was that she received a phone call thirty minutes ago letting her know that he hadn't even shown up to school. It wasn't like Izuku to skip school, so she was naturally afraid for his safety.

She was about to call the police to launch an investigation for his whereabouts when she heard someone ring the doorbell.

*DING DONG*

Opening the door, she noticed her son was standing outside, his clothes bagged up and several bruises on his face. His backpack was also missing.

"IZUKU!" Tears forming around her eyes, Inko grabbed her baby boy and hugged him closely. "What happened?!"

"I got kidnapped by a villain while walking to school," Izuku said, fear evident in his voice. "A hero saved me and some others."

"Oh thank goodness!" The two tightened their hug, Inko not knowing her son was lying to her. Izuku knew that she wouldn't check the validity of his claims if he said he was kidnapped, so such was the perfect cover-up story to tell her. He even punched himself a few times and destroyed his phone and backpack to make the story more believable. While he did feel somewhat bad at first that his mother would be forced to buy him replacements for the stuff he 'lost', it all went away once he went to the USJ. His family was decently well off, and even if they weren't, his goal was worth more to him than any amount of money. As for what he did with his costume, he simply dropped it off at his place before he presented himself to his mother, moving so fast that no one would have noticed. He actually managed to collect the footage from the cameras he hid at the USJ during this time and began uploading them to the web while also delivering copies to various news stations. When did he set up said cameras in the first place? Right before he went off to fight Ejiro. He had the ability to run around the world at speeds possibly faster than that of light, so such a task was not a problem for him.

"C'mon, let's make you some katsudon," Inko said, leading her son inside, unaware of the atrocities he's committed.

0000

It didn't take long for All Might's true form to make it to the news. Videos of Zoom and All Might's battle had circulated around the web before major news sites began to report on the historical event. Being spread alongside this were Zoom's words. Everything from All Might's failure to rescue Katsuki from the Sludge Villain to Zoom's desire to fix the Hero Society were caught on camera.

The events began to divide the public into four groups. The first one insisted that All Might's weakness didn't make him less of a 'Symbol of Peace' and that the Hero Society was fine. The second group disliked the fact All Might lied to them, but were still willing to accept him as a hero. Like the first group, they saw nothing wrong with the Hero Society. The third group denounced All Might's status as a 'Symbol of Peace' and understood what Izuku meant about the Hero Society being flawed, but showed an immense amount of distaste for how Zoom decided to spread such a message. He did kill a child after all. The final group were those who sympathised with Zoom, denouncing All Might and the hero society as a whole while encouraging his actions. Naturally, the first and third group were the largest groups, with the second group following relatively close behind. The last group was an extreme minority as Zoom was not only a villain, but a murderer.

Speaking of Zoom, the villain has become the most talked about subject in the world. Zoom's fame seemingly happened overnight, especially seeing as how reports of All Might's defeat came mere hours after it had occurred, though such was to be expected. All Might was a pillar of hope and strength, a god amongst men, and Zoom crushed him without any effort. That alongside his motives and theories about his quirk made him infamous quickly.

Zoom caused so much ruckus in such a short amount of time, making it difficult for people to manage the chaos he's brought. Unknown to the world, they wouldn't have much time to pick up the pieces as Zoom would strike again three weeks later…

0000

With everything that happened at the USJ, U.A closed the school for an entire week to allow their students to recover. Naturally, they knew a week wouldn't be enough, especially for 1-A who saw one of their comrades perish in a gruesome manner, but it was still something. The adults themselves, all of them being pro-heroes, still had to work though, them being meant to undergo damage control.

"It's unfortunate we have to have this meeting, but it must be done," Nezu, the rat/bear/dog hybrid principal of U.A said to his colleagues. The meeting consisted of Present Mic, All Might, Midnight, Vlad King, Power Loader, Cementoss, and Hound Dog; all of whom were both heroes and teachers at U.A. Eraserhead was there as well, but he was wheelchair bound due to his encounter with the Nomu. "I assume you all know why you're here, correct?"

"How can we not?" Present Mic replied, the usually upbeat hero's mood being dampened.

Nezu gave him a solemn nod. "Well, let's get this meeting started, shall we? First off, we must discuss Zoom. We have no records on the villain, suggesting that he decided to use the attack at the USJ as the moment to kickstart his villainous career. As a villain, Zoom looks to be the type eager for attention, based on the fact he monologues. His motive seems to be a hatred for the Hero-Society, seeing flaws in it that he wishes to fix. However, he desires to do so through violence and trauma, claiming that experiencing such phenomena is the only way heroes can be 'fixed'." Nezu then turned to All Might. "Did I miss anything?

All Might, now in his non-quirked form, shook his head. "No. It's like you said, he expressed an immense hatred for heroes and the Hero-Society of today and was both willing to take young Kirishima's life as a means of inflicting trauma and reveal my weakness to everyone. He genuinely believes that trauma teaches people."

"He's a nut job if he thinks that killing people's appropriate for a lesson," Vlad King loudly grumbled, disturbed by the new villain.

Hound Dog nodded in agreement. "He is, but don't let that take away from the fact that Zoom's also smart. He found out All Night's secret after all."

"Couldn't he have found out from that other villain, Tomura Shigaraki?" Power Loader asked. "From what we know, Shigaraki was the one who planned the attack. That thing he called a Nomu was supposedly equipped to deal with All Might to begin with."

"Zoom already knew of my weakness beforehand," All Might explained. "He showed it to Shigaraki for the first time during the USJ catastrophe."

"The Nomu had multiple quirks," Eraserhead added. "Super strength, shock absorption and regeneration from what I remember him telling me. It's possible that Shigaraki thought it would be strong enough to beat All Might."

"It is because of this that we are looking into Shigaraki as we speak. He appears to be dangerous himself, especially if he's able to create more of those Nomus, which is why he's been listed as an S rank villain. However, from what we know, neither Zoom or Shigaraki are a team, rather, they are allies. They also have expressed different goals. Shigaraki wanted to kill All Might. Zoom wanted to humiliate him so he could teach one of his 'lessons'."

The 18+ pro-hero and U.A teacher Midnight frowned. "What could have caused him to hate the Hero Society this much?"

"The Hero Society has many flaws," Eraserhead responded. "It's possible that Zoom noticed this and decided to do something about it. He must've targeted All Might specifically due to him being 'The Symbol of Peace'. The world saw All Might as the pillar holding up the Hero Society. Now that he's been beaten, the pillar's been destroyed and now everyone is panicking."

"The 'Symbol of Peace' model was supposed to be temporary," All Might stated, staring down in shame. "I was only supposed to motivate others to rise up while fighting villains myself. Instead, I let it continue for much longer than what was healthy. People began seeing All Might as more than a hero and Zoom must've disliked that. He probably thought that no one should be held that high." The man clenched his bony hand. "I messed up. I should've done more to prevent this from happening."

"While it is true that you allowed the 'Symbol of Peace' model to survive longer than it needed to, there was no way you could have known that something like this would've happened," Nezu said. "I know you only wished to help people. You'll have to explain this to them during your press conference however so they understand why you hid your injury."

All Might slowly nodded in understanding. The press conference Nezu was referring to was one where the hero would have to address the worries of the public regarding the emergence of Zoom.

Nezu continued to speak. "The Hero Public Safety Administration has begun shifting most of their attention to finding him. As of now, no one knows anything about him, including his true identity and quirk. The only lead we have is that it grants him the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Naturally, finding him is not only Japan's top priority, but a priority worldwide. His assigned villain ranking also reflects this. Due to his actions, strength, and intellect, the Hero Public Safety Administration has ranked Zoom as an SS rank villain. Even with only one known incident, they believe this is an accurate representation of his danger level. This makes him the second SS ranked villain to ever exist, the first being All For One. He also seems to have found an audience, making him all the more dangerous."

No one had any objection to Zoom's ranking. He accomplished what was once thought to be impossible, so he deserved to be ranked so highly.

The principal paused to see if anyone else wanted to speak. Seeing as no one else had anything to say, Nezu resumed the meeting. "Finally, I'll begin discussing what we will be doing moving forwards. First off, U.A will be building dorms which will hopefully be completed next month. Cementoss is overseeing their construction."

Cementoss nodded in confirmation.

"The students have already been directly targeted by Zoom once. The dorm systems will help keep them. Other hero schools will be following us in this regard. Secondly, we will continue to have the Sports Festival."

"Is that really a good idea?" Hound Dog asked Nezu. Several of the other teachers shot Nezu a look stating that they agreed with their colleague.

"Despite all that has happened, we must remain strong," Nezu stated. "The Sports Festival is meant to be a sign of solidarity between the current heroes and upcoming heroes, a message that heroes are willing to do whatever it takes to keep people safe. If we were to not host it this year, it would reflect poorly of us. U.A will be upping our security measures drastically though, making sure we have a lot of capable heroes watching over the premises. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads, having nothing more to contribute.

"Very well then. I believe this meeting is over. Let us prepare for what's to come."

0000

Katsuki was enraged. Those who've met the boy might ask why this even mattered. The explosive blonde was always mad at something. This time however, the sheer anger he was feeling was beyond anything he's ever felt.

The source? Everything that went down at the USJ.

It wasn't a secret that Katsuki desired to be a hero to prove he was the best. To him, being the best meant being on top and what was a greater display of his skills than being the highest ranking hero in the world?

Like most people, All Might was someone he admired. He was everything Katsuki saw himself as; undefeatable, powerful, and intimidating. He was proof that heroes were the victors in life while the villains were helpless to fight back. Katsuki wished to soar as high as All Might and that meant taking his spot. He wanted to steal All Might's throne and claim it for himself.

Then Zoom came along. Now, Katsuki cared little about the crap he was spilling about 'reformation' or whatever, but everything he said about All Might, everything he did to the hero, would be engraved in his mind forever. He battled All Might and defeated him. He made All Might, a symbol of strength, look weak. No, that's wrong. He proved All Might was weak. Undeserving of his throne. The man could only be a hero for a limited amount of time before turning into a skeleton. What kind of number one hero was he?

Even worse, All Might had left him to die. His weakness left him to die. If he was truly indestructible like Katsuki thought he was, he would've used his quirk and saved him. Instead, he watched helplessly as he nearly suffocated to death. Kamui Woods, an upcoming hero, showed more strength than him by overcoming his own weakness to save him. How could All Might even dare call himself a hero after that? How many people has he left to die because of his weakness? It was logical to conclude that Ejiro and him weren't the only ones All Might allowed to die.

Heroes were meant to be undefeatable, the highest honor bestowed upon the strong. All Might didn't deserve to be called one. Heroes needed to be powerful all the time. His former idol wasn't.

In Katsuki's mind, it was All Might's patheticness that allowed Zoom, a villain, to take the throne he's been gunning for all his life. As such, Katsuki couldn't forgive him.

"Fuck All Might! I'll kill that bastard myself!"

This was the new goal Katsuki Bakugou would pursue. He aimed to be a hero to prove he was the strongest person alive. Now he would prove he was by being the one to defeat Zoom…

If only he knew who Zoom really was…

0000

All Might sighed. He was about to address the world in regards to Zoom. Admittedly, he was a bit nervous as this was his first time talking to others after a defeat, but he hoped by remaining honest that he would win over the public.

Remaining in his skinny form, All Might stepped on stage, taking a good look at his audience. Everyone looked eager to hear what he had to say, with some looking nervous. He couldn't blame them seeing as someone like Zoom was running about.

Deciding it was best to get the show on the road, All Might began to speak. "Hello everyone, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Toshinori Yagi and I am All Might. I know that this may come as a shock to some of you, but this is how I truly look. It is only because of my quirk that I look like how I'm known to look. Today, I'm here to tell you something about myself that I've kept secret for a while. My time is running out. During a battle with a ferocious villain, I was wounded, limiting how long I could keep my quirk active for. I initially became the 'Symbol of Peace' because Japan was in a rough state back when I wasn't a hero and I wanted to do something about it. I aimed to be someone people could look up to and to encourage others to become heroes in their own right. The 'Symbol of Peace' was only meant to be an idea and not a person. It is unfortunate that this was the way I needed to let you all know this. However, with the emergence of Zoom, I thought it would be best to do so. Zoom has hurt people and I refuse to let him continue doing so. As such, I ask that you all not only support me in stopping him, but that you also believe in the other heroes actively hunting him. I shouldn't have to ask you to do so, but I think that stopping Zoom is the least I can do to redeem myself. I promise you all that I will not rest until justice has been served. Thank you. And remember to always go-" All Might buffed up as a means of increasing his presence- "PLUS ULTRA!"

Cheers and the sounds of clapping began echoing from the place All Might was speaking at. Despite this, the hero found it worrying that it only seemed to be half as loud as usual. To him, it meant that a significant number of people have already lost hope in heroes…

0000

Endeavor, the number two ranked hero, sneered as he watched All Might's press-conference. Everyone who knew the hero personally knew he had a one-sided rivalry with the man, his goal being to take All Might's position as the top hero of the world.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong," Endeavor growled as he stared at the weakened form of All Might. The All Might he knew was an imposing figure, but the man right now looked ready to snap in half if the wind was to change direction. "But you're actually weak."

Endeavor couldn't believe he spent his whole life chasing after All Might's spot. He couldn't believe that he had to. In the man's eyes, he was now far stronger than the 'Symbol of Peace'. Whereas All Might could only use his quirk for a few hours, Endeavor had no such limit.

"Looks like I'm about to become the number one hero," the man smirked to himself. Initially, he was willing to pass that honor off to the son he groomed for such a purpose, him counting it as a win in his book, but now he had a change.

Too bad the man didn't really know what it was that made All Might the highest ranking hero in the first place. Like Katsuki, he was more interested in acquiring power rather than everything else being a hero entitled…

0000

*TWIP!*

"So he was a fake too…"

*TWACK!*

"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?!"

Inside of an abandoned apartment building, a man was throwing knives at a poster of All Might. The man's name? Chizome Akaguro, but he was best known as the S rank villain Stain: The Hero Killer. As his name suggests, Stain's claim to fame was him murdering several pro-heroes. Currently, the Hero Killer has killed seventeen heroes and crippled twenty-two others.

Why did he kill and cripple so many heroes? It was because he hated heroes. To him, heroes were fake, just wannabe celebrities. None of them were truly genuine, and that infuriated him. The title of 'hero' was one that was tainted by people who cared more about money and fame than saving others and Stain desired to return it to its former glory, which by itself is a noble goal.

What was not noble was how he went about doing so, which involved killing heroes he saw as fake. Naturally, this was all of them, all except one.

All Might was the only hero he saw as genuine. The man desired to help the world, the fame not being something he focused on. As such, Stain swore that he would only allow himself to be captured by him. All other heroes would perish trying to fight him.

*TWIP!*

"YOU WERE A LIAR JUST LIKE THEM!"

*TWACK!*

Sadly, that all changed when he saw news reports about his idol.

'Let's not forget your pitiful display when that Sludge Villain was engulfing that poor boy. You left him to die because you were without your power, even when the villain had such a glaring weakness that a genius like you should've worked out.'

Those words uttered by Zoom shot Stain right through the heart. All Might was willing to let a child die due to his lack of power. A real hero, Stain believed, would've rushed in with no hesitation. Quirk or not, a true hero was always willing to do the right thing. The fact that All Might stood back when he couldn't use his quirk told Stain that his former idol wasn't a genuine hero.

*TWIP!*

"YOU'RE ONLY WHO YOU ARE BECAUSE OF YOUR QUIRK!"

*TWACK!*

Stain felt stupid, stupid for worshipping a false hero while preaching for their removal. Gathering his knives, the man sat down and stared out the window, done with his poster.

"There are no true heroes."

'Who am I? I'm someone who's seen how your actions have hurt people. I'm the one who's witnessed the flaws of this world which you hide from the publicI am the cure to the disease known as heroes. I am the prophet that'll lead everyone to the light. I am Zoom.'

Glancing to his left, Stain focused his attention onto a picture of Zoom. "You knew this, didn't you?"

Replacing All Might as his idol was Zoom. Zoom was the one who revealed All Might's lies and the one who shared a similar goal to him. In addition, Zoom held conviction, something which Stain found to be important. For Stain, power wielded without conviction was a sin, hence another reason why he hated the heroes of today. Zoom however held the conviction necessary to fight for a cause, said cause being the reworking of society.

'If you don't know what it's like to be the people you're saving, then can you really call yourself a hero? Don't worry though, I will make sure all of you grow, I promise.'

"I can't wait to see what you'll do next," Stain said to himself. "The heroes need you. Perhaps we'll meet one day. Until then, I'll keep doing my part in making sure the fakes stop flourishing."

Filled with motivation, the Hero Killer left his apartment, eager to find his next victim.

0000

"Hey Ashido, I realized something. It's ok to be afraid. Everyone feels it sometimes. However, people will die if I let it stop me. I don't want to live my life regretting what I could've done, so I'll push forward no matter what! I'll be the manliest hero to ever exist, watch me!"

"I don't know where this energy came from, but keep it up and you'll be a great hero. I'll be cheering for you!"

'You finally found your spirit, but you never got to use it. Why? Why did you have to die?'

Out of everyone in 1-A, it was Mina Ashido who was most affected by Ejiro's death. Such is to be expected seeing as the two were childhood friends. Growing up together, the two shared the dream of becoming a hero. There was a problem however; back then Ejiro wasn't the confident and rowdy individual he was during his time at U.A. Instead, he was a shy and timid boy who often found himself on the receiving end of bullying. This contrasted with Mina's free-spirited nature, her being the type of person to chase off bullies.

"How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?"

"Deal with bullies. Aren't you scared?"

"Yeah, I am, but I still do it. I don't know how to explain it. It's like my legs moved on their own."

"I wish I was more like you…"

"You don't need to. You're great as you are. You just need more confidence in yourself."

Such was a conversation they would have often, but his confidence never seemed to rise. It didn't help that he also felt poorly about his quirk.

"Hey, your quirk's useful! You can take hits that others can't."

"I know, but I think there's definitely people who can take hits better than me who have flashy quirks."

No matter how much Mina tried to encourage her friend, he would still think poorly of himself. However, the boy would soon find his spirit…

Ejiro watched as two of his classmates were being harassed by a villain of immense stature. He wanted to rush in and help them, but his legs wouldn't move. He could tell that the villain could rip him in half, even if he were to use his quirk.

'Why?'

He desperately begged his body to move, to do anything besides shake in place, but his mental pleas fell upon deaf ears.

'Why am I such a coward?!'

Those two girls were going to die, the villain becoming more agitated, and he was just going to watch them do so.

'I can't do anything!' He can feel the rapid beating of his heart, his vision fading. It was then that he came to a realization. 'I can't be a hero. I can't save anyone!'

While he was standing around, the villain became more aggressive, that is, until a certain voice cut in.

"HEY!"

His eyes focusing back at the scene, he saw that Mina had arrived, standing in between the villain and their classmates.

'What is she doing? She's going to get killed!'

Thankfully, that never happened. With a few words, she managed to get the villain to back off, him being satisfied with whatever it was she told him. Seeing as everyone was alright, Ejiro let loose a sigh of relief.

'Mina's so cool,' the boy thought to himself. Even though the villain could've easily ended her, she still rushed in to help her classmates. The boy's mood then dampened as he remembered his pitiful display of weakness. 'She's a real hero. I'm not.'

Sighing to himself, the boy began walking home, a dead dream lingering behind.

Naturally, his story didn't end there. If it did, then he wouldn't have gone to U.A.

Having returned home, Ejiro locked himself in his room, angry at himself.

"Why didn't I do anything?!"

Sitting in his own self-pity, the boy eventually picked up a book and threw it at his bookshelf in anger. Doing so caused a hologram to fall to the ground and activate. Once it did, an interview held with the hero Crimson Riot began to play.

'I don't remember having this,' Ejiro thought to himself as he began watching the interview with curiosity.

"People know you as a daredevil and reckless," the reporter interviewing the hero said. "You're sometimes known as the hero without fear. Can you tell us how you've reached such a point?"

"Well, the truth is that even with my reputation, I do feel fear when putting my life on the line," Crimson Riot replied.

"You do?" This was news to Ejiro. He has heard tales of the hero's bravery, so hearing that he actually felt fear was surprising to him.

"Everyone does, and if you say you don't, then you're lying to yourself. However, what I fear more is the look of a dying person's face. There was a time in my life where I failed to save someone. That day, I swore that I'd never make that mistake again."

The reporter nodded in understanding before asking another question. "Besides being known as a daredevil, you're also known for your use of the phrase 'manly spirit'. What does that mean exactly?"

"A manly spirit is something someone carries in their soul," Crimson Riot explained. "It's the desire to live a life without regret. Going back to feeling fear, everyone feels it. What makes someone manly and what doesn't is whether they let fear consume them or if they still run in to save people, despite the fact they could die. As a hero, I'd rather die than have to see the faces of someone I failed to save."

The hologram then turned off.

"Manly spirit, huh?" Ejiro mumbled to himself. Taking everything the hero said to heart, the boy found himself feeling a rush of motivation. It was like Crimson Riot said, it was fine to feel fear, but a true hero rushes in with no regrets. That was the type of person he wanted to be. "I don't want to live with regret anymore." Standing up, the boy began shouting. "I can be a hero! I will be a hero!" Ejiro then hardened his skin. "I might not be able to shoot fire or lift a building, but I can be the shield that rushes in to protect people!"

With a new flame ignited, Ejiro began putting what he learnt to use. Dying his hair red to match his newfound idol's, the boy began taking boxing lessons to learn how to fight. With some research, he learned that the fighting style meshed well with quirks like his, hence why he wanted to learn it over other fighting styles.

Meanwhile, Mina did her best to support her friend's newfound spirit and had planned to do so once they had gotten into U.A. Sadly, a week into her time at U.A, Zoom took the life of her close friend.

Naturally, Ejiro's death hit her hard. During the week she was given off, Mina never left her room, the only time being during his funeral that was held five days after his death. Both her parents and her brother had tried getting her to go outside, but the girl proved to be stubborn, instead allowing depression to consume her.

At the time, it seemd that Mina would never leave her room. However, she would soon find the motivation to move again. The day before she had to return to school, she had been looking through some of her old text messages with Ejiro when one managed to catch her eye.

"Crimson Riot's so manly," was all the message said, but attached to it was the interview he would always reference as the reason for his shift in attitude. While she had seen the interview when he first sent it, she had also been doing homework, so she didn't really pay much attention to it during the first viewing. Clicking the link, she decided to watch it again, knowing how much it meant to him.

Doing so ended up being an eye-opener for her. While she knew what kind of hero Ejiro wanted to be, she didn't realize how much of an effect Crimson Riot had on his dream.

"A manly spirit is something someone carries in their soul. It's the desire to live a life without regret."

When she heard that phrase come from Crimson Riot's mouth, Mina felt a flame ignite in her heart. Ejiro wanted to be a hero who never gave up, who was always willing to rush in and save people. While he was no longer here, she refused to let his dream die.

"Kirishima, I won't let your death be in vain. I'll become a hero you'll be proud of. I won't let what happened to you happen to anyone else…"

That day, Mina swore to train harder so she could be a hero worthy of carrying Ejiro's legacy. She felt she owed him that much. Her motivation would only increase when she returned to school. Being informed about the Sport's Festival from a near fully recovered Eraserhead, the girl began to train her butt off, utilizing the school's various resources to her advantage.

"Sensei, I want to learn how to fight better," Mina told her teacher.

Such came as a surprise to him. While he did see potential in Mina in becoming a hero, she never seemed to take her work seriously. However, he noticed that there was a spark in her eyes, one that said that she was willing to do whatever it took to improve.

"I'd normally offer to train you myself," Eraserhead stated. While some might see him as the type who wouldn't bother doing so, he was willing to make the exception for those who really seemed like they were willing to put forth the effort to improve. One look at his student was all that he needed to see that this was the case with her. "But I'm still recovering. For now, I'll create a workout plan for you that should help you learn some hand-to-hand combat skills and how to utilize your quirk better. I'm using up time I could be using for something else to help you, so you better follow through with this."

"I will sensei."

True to her word, upon receiving the program, Mina immediately went to work, making sure to give the workouts everything she had.

"No regrets," the girl mumbled to herself as she practiced some fighting techniques against a dummy that belonged to U.A's gym. In three weeks, her handling of her quirk and her fighting skills have increased dramatically, utilizing the gym everyday and sticking to Eraserhead's plan. She even began trying to improve herself academically, an area which was a weak point for the girl. While progress was much slower on this front, it was still happening.

Mina was willing to go beyond her limits to become a hero Ejiro would be proud of and she was going to let the world know this during the Sports Festival. Her goal was to do exceptionally well, perhaps even win. She was going to be fighting not only for herself, but for Ejiro as well. If Ejiro couldn't make it to the Sports Festival, she'll make sure that he's there in spirit.

Unknown to her, an unwanted guest was going to interrupt this year's Sports Festival…

0000

While the world was burning around him, Izuku simply smiled as he watched a news report on him. Even though it has been a week since he wreaked havoc at the USJ, Zoom was still being discussed, which he was glad for as it meant more people would know about him and what he stood for.

Having dug through several online forums, he noticed how many people have expressed support for his ideals. Sure, most of these people denounced him as a lunatic, but that wasn't what he cared about. What he did care about was showing people how flawed the Hero Society was, and him exposing All Might seemed to do that. Posts on this topic created prior to him becoming Zoom have seen a surge in popularity due to his words. For once, discussions about the flaws of society were receiving the attention they all so deserved.

However, he still felt that things could be going better. When watching All Might's press-conference on television, he was disappointed with the lack of substance with his speech. To Izuku, he was only saying what he did as a means of damage control. All Might only addressed why he hid his wound from the public. He commended the hero for doing so, but he should've also spoken about his other cowardly actions, such as how he left Katsuki to die. He also should've given up his title of 'Symbol of Peace'. He didn't do any of that.

Besides his feelings about All Might's speech, everything was going well for Izuku. No one suspected he was Zoom and his work has produced the desired results. Simply put, he was happy. Sadly for him, said happiness would only last for so long.

"After much discussion, U.A has decided that the Sports Festival will continue as planned," Nezu said in a press meeting, one which was given after the report Izuku was watching concluded. "We understand times are tough at the moment, but it's exactly why U.A has made this decision. There are people out there who wish to undermine the heroes of today, one of them as you know being Zoom. We cannot falter, because if we do, we allow people like him to win. Such would be unacceptable. U.A is committed to fighting against people like him, so we will keep doing what we believe is necessary."

*CRACK*

The remote Izuku was holding in his hand completely shattered upon him squeezing it in anger.

"Fighting against people like me?" Izuku couldn't believe what he heard. Normally, he would advocate for such a mindset. A hero should never let a villain win, but a message should always be heard. "Do you know what you're fighting against? You're against fighting for change."

In his mind, this was the only answer for why Nezu said what he said. If the principal had said that U.A was willing to bring Izuku to justice, he would've praised them for their dedication. He was the villain after all and it was their job to catch him. However, the way Nezu phrased it suggested to the boy that they weren't going to take what he said to heart. Instead of bringing upon change to ensure that another villain like him shows up, they were suggesting that change wasn't necessary. In other words, they were defending the corrupt heroes.

"I should've known that U.A would respond this way," Izuku scoffed. "They taught All Might after all." Izuku ran a hand through his hair before standing up. "They didn't learn from last time that I won't allow things to stay the same. I think they need another lesson. But what should I do?" Izuku then began pacing around his house. He was initially going to wait a month to strike again, but Nezu forced his hand. "If knocking All Might off his high horse and killing Ejiro wasn't enough to get them to change, then what will?"

"We will be beefing up security significantly this year," Nezu continued to speak. "Not only will we have All Might on duty, but we will have many other heroes alongside him, including the rest of Japan's top ten heroes."

"The top ten, huh?" Pacing around his apartment, Izuku began speaking his thoughts out loud. "That won't be enough to stop me..." Izuku's eyes shined, an idea popping into his head. "They're trying to intimidate me through the use of force, but they can't stop me if I decided to kill someone…"

Stopping, Izuku ran to his room. Shuffling through his bookshelf, he grabbed one of his journals and began searching for the list where he ranked U.A's first year students by their levels of heroism they displayed in their lives.

"U.A needs to learn that actions have consequences," Izuku mumbled to himself, eying the second name on his list. "All Might's lies caused Ejiro to lose his life and U.A will be responsible for another."

A small laugh escaped Izuku's lips. Killing another student would not only show U.A and the heroes present that he couldn't be stopped, but it would also be a tragic event, a tragic event that could've been prevented if U.A had listened to him. U.A and the world was about to learn that brute force wouldn't be enough to stop him. The only thing that would ever make him quit is if society reaches a point where true heroes were the only type of heroes who thrived. Until then, he will continue his work.

Now, it should be noted that he didn't hate most of the heroes who were part of the top ten, in fact, he found some of them to be genuine heroes. However, there were some who either used their platform irresponsible or didn't deserve their position.

Then there was Endeavor, a man with enough skeletons in his closet to make a villain blush. Izuku already had plans to deal with him, but he would commence them later. For it to work, he needed to be patient.

Turning his attention back to his list, Izuku frowned. "You don't deserve what I'm about to do to you. You could've been a great hero." As if a flip was switched, Izuku suddenly began smiling. "But I need to teach U.A a lesson. You'll understand, won't you?" Another idea popped into his head as he thought of another way to punish U.A. Doing the same thing over and over again eventually loses its charm after all. "If it makes you feel any better, you won't be the only one dying this time..."

0000

The three weeks separating Zoom's attack and the U.A Sports Festival have come and gone. Now, it was time for U.A's Sports Festival to commence. Despite initial worry expressed by the public, U.A's stadium was filled with spectators eager to see the festival commence.

Nezu, keeping true to his word, hired all of the top ten heroes alongside several local heroes to serve as security. Said heroes were doing their jobs diligently, patrolling several areas

"Nezu, this is Edgeshot. No suspicious activity detected in the south," the number five hero Edgeshot said, speaking into an ear-piece as he observed the area he was assigned to protect.

"This is Ryukyu reporting, nothing suspicious at the entrance," the number ten hero reported from her post from the entrance.

From the snack booths, Best Jeanist carefully observed everyone who passed by him. "Best Jeanist here. Everything's clear here.

In the sky, the number three hero Hawks was keeping a birds-eye view of the stadium. "Hawks. Nothing from what I can see."

Endeavor grunted, watching from the western stands. "Nothing here either. I dare that bastard to try something.

"Good." Seeing as it was safe, Nezu continued forwards. "Then let us begin the Sports Festival."

0000

"They've really gone all out," Izuku whispered to himself. The boy was currently in his civilian clothes, watching Ryukyu guard the front entrance. Looking at the sky, he could see Hawks fluttering around, the hero's eyes trained on the area surrounding the stadium. "This is the most heroes I've seen in one area."

Glancing at the civilians, he noticed how they were carrying on with their lives, not a care in the world. They were all here to see a show, any other issues or feelings taking a backseat to the event.

"They look so peaceful… it almost makes me feel bad about what I'm about to do."

Even with all the heroes present, Izuku knew he couldn't be stopped. The fastest any hero alive could move was the speed of sound. Izuku could excel that without even thinking. No matter how vigilant they were, he was going to take them by surprise. The world was about to learn this today.

Walking away from the entrance, Izuku made his way to a nearby cafe. Entering their bathroom, the boy used his powers to change into his costume. He then proceeded to glance at his reflection in the mirror, emerald green eyes staring into emerald green eyes.

"It's showtime."

0000

"HEY EVERYONE! WELCOME TO THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL! I'M YOUR HOST PRESENT MIC AND NEXT TO ME IS ERASERHEAD! WHO'S READY TO GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD?!"

The entire stadium erupted in applause as a result, pleasing the hero.

"LOVE YOUR ENTHUSIASM! HOW ABOUT YOU ERASER? EXCITED?"

Unlike the audience, Eraserhead only grunted in response.

"...OK THEN! LET'S GET STARTED BY INTRODUCING OUR HERO CLASSES! FIRST OFF IS ERASERHEAD'S OWN CLASS 1-A!"

Upon being called, the members of 1-A began walking into the stadium, the audience cheering for them. The festival being a test of their skills, the students all had looks of determination plastered on their faces, some more so than others.

Mina Ashido smiled as she walked forwards. She had trained three weeks for this moment and she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

'I'm going to put on a show,' the girl mentally told herself. She quickly glanced at the red bandana tied to her arm, a symbol of her fallen friend, and began pumping herself up. 'I'm doing this for the both of us, so wherever you are, you better be watching me!'

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugo was ready to roar. To him this was only a small obstacle in his journey to facing off against Zoom. As such, defeat was not an option.

"NEXT UP IS CLASS 1-B!"

Class 1-B entered the stadium, taking their places next to their rival class.

"Um, not to sound rude, but are you missing someone?" Momo Yaoyorozu of 1-A whispered to Itsuka Kendo of 1-B upon noticing that class 1-B was indeed one person short. Both girls were presidents of their respective classes and as such have interacted in the past.

"One of my classmates called in sick," Itsuka responded. "She seemed to be really out of it."

Momo nodded. "It must be really bad if she couldn't make it today. I hope she gets better."

Seeing both hero classes have arrived, Present Mic began introducing the other classes of U.A. "NOW LET'S WELCOME GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSES 1-C,1-D, AND 1-E."

The general education students took their places behind the two hero classes.

"HERE COMES SUPPORT COURSES 1-F, 1-G, AND 1-H!"

The support course students, some decked out with several pieces of equipment, stood behind the general education students.

"FINALLY, HERE'S BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CLASSES 1-I, 1-J, AND 1-K!"

With everyone in position, Present Mic began addressing the audience. "I WILL NOW TURN THE MIC OVER TO THE 18+ PRO HERO MIDNIGHT WHO WILL BE USHERING TODAY'S FESTIVAL!"

"Thank you Present Mic!" Midnight said. Immediately, people began whistling and drooling. A crack of her whip silenced everyone. "As per tradition, we will have the student with the highest score on the entrance exam give a speech before we reveal the first event. Please welcome Katsuki Bakugo of Class 1-A."

As people began applauding again, Katsuki made his way to the stadium Midnight was standing on, confidence oozing out of his body. Standing on the stage, the boy waited until the applause died down before glancing at his schoolmates. With a cocky sneer, he uttered a few words.

"I will win."

Ignoring the boos from his peers, the boy prepared to walk off the stadium, only for a blue streak to catch his eye. The next thing he knew, he and Midnight were back with the rest of Class 1-A.

"What the-"

"'I will win,' really?" A sinister voice mockingly asked, having stolen the microphone Katsuki had just used. Everyone present immediately froze, said voice being one they've heard before. Another blue streak occurred, stopping at the podium. Once it did, Zoom's form was revealed, showing everyone that despite the extra security, he had managed to find a way in. "No motivational speech, nothing about what makes a hero, is this really the best U.A can do?"

The atmosphere suddenly shifted, all the excitement and happiness everyone was feeling having fled in an instant. Instead, a cloud of despair began flooding the stadium, people fearing for their lives as they stared at the man who defeated All Might in the eyes. Some started crying as they held their loved ones, fearing that they were his next victims. Others prepared to rum

"No one leave, unless you want to die."

Those who were about to flee sat down immediately, the sheer authority in Zoom's voice causing them to comply. No one wanted to challenge him.

In regards to the students, everyone was petrified with fear. Even the likes of Katsuki and Mina were afraid.

"Fuck!" The light blonde cursed under his breath. Under normal circumstances, he would've launched forwards, but there was a problem. His family were in the audience watching him. He wasn't going to risk their lives. The same went for Mina. Despite her wanting to honor her friend, she knew going in would be dumb.

From his office, Nezu immediately began to inform the heroes of his presence. "We have a code red inside the stadium!"

These words were all that was needed to get the heroes into action.

Izuku blinked as he saw all of them getting ready to try taking him on. The movement of Hawks' feathers preparing to launch at him, the fibers of Best Jeanist's costume flaring up, the flames of Endeavor beginning to roar, and All Might's transformation were happening in slow motion for the boy.

"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Izuku informed them. Without creating a streak, the boy rushed into the audience, grabbed a random civilian, and held a claw towards her neck. Such was done before any of the heroes could even react. "If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I'm fast. I wonder how many people I can kill off before a hero gets to where I'm at…ten? Twenty? Either way, someone's blood will be shed. Now, will you let me speak? Or will I have to kill someone?"

The heroes stopped what they were doing, knowing full-well that they were currently in a hostage situation. Even the trigger happy Endeavor knew that if he were to attack wildly, it would end poorly.

Nezu understood the position he was in, and as such, he knew he had no choice but to listen to the villain. "Everyone, back down, but be ready for anything."

Seeing the heroes comply with his demands, Izuku smiled under his mask. "Good." He returned the civilian to their original spot before heading back to the podium, creating a streak as he moved. Glancing around, Izuku saw that everyone's eyes were on him, and it made him feel invigorated. Even those watching the Sports Festival from home were watching him. The world was watching him. Motivation flowing through his body, Izuku began to speak."Let me get to the point, I am Zoom, the person who's going to save the hero world. Today's hero world is corrupt and broken to its very core! Heroes and their popularity are determined by their quirks instead of how heroic they truly are!

Izuku then wildly pointed at All Might, the hero in his buffed up form. "Take your precious All Might as an example. He's only able to fight for three hours before his quirk stops working. When it does, he stops being a hero. A boy was about to die and all he did was stand back and wait for 'someone with a more suitable quirk' to step in."

The boy smirked as he saw Katsuki growl and All Might slouch in shame. "Is that a hero to you?! A true hero would've found a way past this weakness and would've tried saving him. All Might raises himself as an 'unbeatable Symbol of Peace', but we all know that's not true. He prided himself as the backbone of the hero world, as the person who would keep everyone safe, but such a system never should've existed in the first place. He got cocky thinking he could keep a fire going on his own. Well, I stomped out his flames, so what now?"

Suddenly, Izuku raised his arms. "I say we make a new one, but this time, we'll get everyone involved to make sure that it keeps burning. How? Before I tell you, let me reveal something that was standing in front of you the entire time, but was also hidden by the illusions of security All Might's created. Instead of the cozy safety All Might thinks he was bringing to you, he and his cowardly actions only served to spread a horrible message; only the powerful can be heroes. It doesn't matter what person you are, if your quirk lacks raw power or you don't have one, then you can't be a hero. I want to say that's not true!"

Izuku made sure to stare directly at the general education students, knowing that some of them were denied a chance to enter the hero course due to their quirks lacking offensive utility. "Anyone can be a hero if they have the heart and drive! Heroes don't need raw power to be effective. Just look at all the rescue and underground heroes. Most of them don't have combat-based quirks, but they're still able to get the job done, some even better than the flashy heroes that are admired. Sadly, the world's so adamant about making an 'unbeatable hero' that they haven't realized what a real hero is; someone who's willing to do everything in their power to save the innocent. Well, I'm about to change this! I will remind everyone what a true hero is, and let me tell you, there are a lot of fakes right now."

The boy changed his target to the heroes. For a split-second, Endeavor felt that Zoom was staring directly at him, peering into his soul. It was as if Zoom was telling him he knew everything there was to know about the number one hero. The look didn't last long, but it bothered him greatly. "Most of you powerful heroes see yourselves as Gods and live like Gods. You've spent your whole lives on Mount Olympus and never bothered to come back down to Earth to understand its inhabitants. You never cared to. Civilians are only numbers to you, something you use to build your reputations. There's a reason for this horrible behavior and it's because you've never suffered before. If you have, it wasn't enough.

A dry laugh escaped the boy's lips, immediately informing everyone about his lack of sanity. "Suffering and tragedy… these are the windows to understanding the importance of being a true hero. If you can rise from tragedy and still work to be a hero... then you are one of the people who deserve to be a hero. Those who've suffered are the ones who understand the needs and desires of those they are saving because they've experienced these needs and desires themselves! May I remind you that heroes serve the public, not the other way around! The false heroes dominating today's society don't understand this. They're just glorified celebrities. Remove their quirks and they're nothing. Remove the quirk from the oppressed and ridiculed and they'll still be willing to fight until their last breath, just like those who are quirkless. Ejiro Kirishima understood this, but sadly, I had to use him as a sacrifice just to teach All Might a lesson.

Izuku made sure to stare at the cameras directly, knowing full well that Nezu was watching. "To teach U.A a lesson! After all, it's not only the fault of current heroes that the amount of genuine heroes these days are so low. Hero schools are also responsible for the lack of good heroes. They're the places that produced the crappy heroes of today! Want to know something sad? U.A doesn't host psychological examinations, meaning that in this crowd of students, there might be an undercover villain or a psychopath that shouldn't be anywhere near people."

People began murmuring to themselves. Zoom may be a maniac, but he had a point. Why didn't U.A hold these types of exams?

The murmuring soon died, signaling for Izuku to continue his rant. "And guess what? There's a few students here who're what I just described."

Time seemingly slowed down for Katsuki as he found himself staring into the eyes of Zoom. Like Endeavor, the boy felt as if the villain was peering into his soul. It was as if the villain was talking about him directly. However, Zoom's eyes soon flickered onto someone else. Katsuki tried to follow where Zoom was looking, but he couldn't identify who held the villain's attention. Before he could try again, Zoom began to resume his speech. "U.A's doing a horrible job trying to keep people safe. Hah! And they dare think they can write me off, saying that they won't be shaken by me… Well, guess what U.A? You should be. You should've learned from the lesson I gave to All Might and everyone else who was at the USJ. But you willingly ignored it… that's no good."

The staff of U.A felt themselves shuddering. The tone Zoom used when about them held immense venom. He was clearly angry at them.

"...You know, perhaps a little punishment is in order…"

A streak of light appeared as Zoom seemingly left the podium, only for another one to follow once he returned in less than a second. It was then that the stadium erupted in noise. However, unlike the joyful sounds uttered before Zoom arrived, these were filled with fear and sadness. Such is to be expected after all, for Izuku was holding the body of a green haired girl, a slash mark present on her throat. It didn't take a genius to know that she was dead.

"Ah, Ibara Shiozaki, what a pure soul you were," Izuku said to the corpse, staring it directly in the eyes. "Sadly, your life needed to be cut short because the hero world needed to be punished for their negligence."

If everyone wasn't afraid, they would've noticed the oddity of this scene. Despite having killed her, the boy was talking to Ibara's corpse with an immense sense of longing and sadness. It was as if he'd known the girl all her life and was speaking to her at her funeral.

Placing the corpse down gently, Izuku clenched a fist before staring at the audience again. "Think of this as a hero failing to save a civilian, but in this case, U.A is the hero."

His head suddenly flung up, him now looking at the sky. "Do you get it now? Do you see what a hero is supposed to fight against? This is the power of pain! The power of learning! As I said numerous times, for someone to be a hero, they must know what it's like to suffer, and I will make sure you all understand this!" A fist slammed onto the podium, Izuku shifted his focus to the audience and heroes. "Only those who are able to understand what suffering is will understand the importance of preventing it. But don't worry, I'll help you understand. I'll help you be the best heroes you can be. That's a promise."

The boy suddenly went silent as he took time to observe everyone's reactions. Noticing that a majority of them were shaking and crying, the boy smiled as this was the desired effect he wanted to have on them today.

"Are you afraid?" He asked them. "Good. It means you're listening." Izuku glanced at his wrist, pretending to stare at a watch. "Now, I'm running out of time- not really- but before I leave, I just want to say one more thing." Izuku made eye contact with several people, all of whom knew he was staring at them. "All you fakes, you better keep being afraid. You created me and I will be your end. Maybe you'll be a better hero in the afterlife." He then focused on a different group, them also knowing Zoom was peeking at them. "For those who want to be heroes or are already genuine heroes, continue to be afraid for fear is a natural human emotion, but don't let it consume you. I WILL be testing you, and you don't want to fail." Finally, he made sure to stare at the people he hadn't already "For the innocent who will get caught in the crossfire, I'm sorry, but some sacrifices are necessary. The loss of your lives means more will be saved in the future. I'm finished here, so let's end this with a bang, shall we?"

Hearing this, Nezu's eyes widened, knowing something was about to happen. He immediately prepared to shout orders at the heroes.

"Everyone, be aler-"

*BOOM!*

Sadly, he was too late. Zoom suddenly bowed, and what followed were four explosions, all of which occurred in the audience. The sounds of screams began filling the stadium as several bodies shot upwards, trails of blood following. As people began to regain their barings, they heard Zoom say one last thing.

"As I said, I aim to teach you all how to be better heroes and one of the lessons you need to learn is that tragedy strikes when you least expect it to…"

0000

Author's note 2: Some of you might be confused with Ibara's sudden death. I had intentionally written it this way. Next chapter will detail the circumstances regarding her death. Why I picked her will also be revealed then as well.