Chapter Ten:

The instant Izuku got close to Stain, he unleashed a blast of gas directly at the villain's face. The new setting on his belt allowed him to use a concentrated dosage that wouldn't affect the two heroes in the alleyway.

Stain's smaller knife shot upward, whooshing near enough to clip off a strand of green hair.

Izuku landed in a crouch in front of Tenya. Dammit, Stain was immune to poison. Since Stain was able to paralyze people, Izuku had anticipated that could be a mutation of his power and been ready to dodge. But this did complicate matters. Should Izuku grab Tenya and run?

An unfamiliar hero lay slumped on the ground further into the alleyway. Was that Native? There was no way to carry two people.

Izuku really, really didn't have the bandwidth to save total strangers. But it was too late for recruiting Stain. He'd lost that chance when he'd decided to be a hero. He might as well play out this tragedy to the bitter end and try to save Native too.

Tenya shouted, "Midoriya, don't interfere. This has nothing to do with you."

In a dark voice, Stain hissed, "A friend shows up and says 'I'm here to save you.' A good line for sure. But it's my duty to kill these two. And if we're forced to fight, then naturally the weaker of us will be culled."

Izuku's tolerance for bullshit, already strained to the breaking point by the Todoroki family dinner, snapped. "Okay, fine. He doesn't want me to save him, I'm out of here. Have fun murdering."

Native whispered, "I could use help, actually. Could you call the pros?"

"How interesting." Stain gestured at the light coming from the street, inviting Izuku to leave.

Izuku turned and pretended to depart, then pivoted and kicked Stain in the stomach.

Or tried to. Stain was already moving, blocking the kick with a blade. His other sword swooped at Izuku's neck.

Bending over backward, Izuku nearly fell over as the sword arched over him. He put one hand on the ground to spin away. Landing in a crouch, he panted. Stain had clearly either seen through his lie or had been testing him. Oh, well, Izuku hadn't expected it to be that easy. Nothing in his life ever was.

"A boring trick, but least you're not naïve," Stain growled. He hadn't recognized Izuku as the villain boy from the bar. That was good—if Izuku survived this and arrested Stain then he didn't want his secret to be revealed in such a stupid fashion.

As Stain fell upon him, Izuku weaved and dodged. He couldn't use his laser carelessly in close quarters. He had a high risk of hitting one of the two victims or knocking a wall down. Plus, Izuku had a limited number of shots before the stomach pain would put him out of action and he couldn't waste even one of them.

Tears streaming down his cheeks, Tenya shouted, "I meant it! Go away!"

Izuku shouted back, "Shut up or tell me something useful about how Stain paralyzed you."

Tenya's tone turned uncertain. "I think…he licked my blood."

Spittle flying from his mouth, Stain lunged with both blades.

Ah, so that explained why Stain didn't seem to care if the cut was shallow or not as long as he drew blood. It would be risky, but Izuku could use this to lure his enemy into a trap.

Dodging one blade, Izuku deliberately let the other draw a thin line on his cheek. As Stain leapt forward to lick the blood, Izuku hit him with a laser to the face.

Stain was blasted backward, slamming into the wall. Izuku panted, clutching his aching stomach. He'd used the new enhanced power setting, which also came with even more pain.

Native cheered. "Kid, you're amazing, I think you got him—oh."

Shaking dirt off his shoulders, Stain rose. For the first time in the fight, Izuku's heart clenched. Stain had taken a direct hit from Izuku's strongest attack, and it hadn't worked. Just how tough was this bastard?

Stain snarled, "The only hero who can kill me is All Might!"

"I could call All Might here if you want to fight him," Izuku groaned, dodging a thrown knife. "No? No takers? Guess you're stuck with me, then."

Izuku leapt sideways to avoid another knife, calculating a trajectory. He had only one shot at this. He fired blue.

The laser bounced off Stain's blade, aiming to hit his face on the rebound.

Stain dodged the laser. Izuku collapsed to his knees, moaning in pain. Sweat dripped down from his hair into his eyes.

Raising his sword, Stain said, "You're still too weak."

"And you're a monologuer," Izuku said. The laser hit the light fixture overhead, knocking it down onto Stain's head—exactly as planned. "Thanks for staying in one place giving your speech long enough for that to work."

Stain hit the ground with a thud. Izuku picked up the broken light and hit the villain over the head again, just to be sure. "Does anyone have any rope to tie him up?" Izuku hadn't been quite as drained as he'd pretended from that last laser, but he still didn't want to chance Stain getting up yet again.

With a groan, Tenya stood up. They tied up Stain and carried the still paralyzed Native together.

As they stumbled out of the alleyway, Tenya said, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, Midoriya. I was blind and lost sight of everything in pursuit of revenge. You're a much better hero than me."

These words dredged up something old and ugly inside of Izuku. He flashed back to the pictures of his beaten mother strewn across a table and All for One's tempting offer. "I don't see what's so wrong about taking revenge. Who says a hero can't hate someone enough to want to kill him? Aren't there times when killing someone means saving future victims? Your actions saved Native from dying. You should be proud."

Native said, "Yeah, thank you both for that, but glasses kid was right the first time. Revenge is bad. Murder is very bad."

Izuku said, "I'm not any kind of great hero. I'd let you slit Stain's throat while he's unconscious, except I suppose that Native would object."

Native coughed. "Yes, I'm willing to lie that glasses kid only fought Stain to save me, but I draw the line at murdering an unconscious prisoner in front of me. Thank you for respecting my murder boundaries, green feral child."

In a baffled voice, Tenya said, "You're an interesting person, Midoriya."

Izuku winced, coming to his senses. "I'm suspicious about if you meant that as a compliment."

"It was a compliment, truly!"

"I don't suppose you would be willing to claim you defeated Stain by yourself?" Izuku glanced over his shoulder at the motionless villain. "I'd rather not be involved in any of this." For reasons besides the charge of vigilantism. All for One might be pissed.

Slowly, Tenya said, "Lying would be wrong…but you did save me…but I don't want to take your credit…oh, dear, are you worried because of the negative attention you got at the Sports Festival? I would never forgive myself if I caused you to be expelled because you got in even more trouble. I'll lie on your behalf."

Izuku had a feeling that Iida was a terrible liar, but he still considered it worth a try. "I really would be grateful. You can call the heroes after I leave."

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, the useless police arrived, drawn by the commotion—just in time to stop Izuku from quietly escaping. He'd been busted.

Sitting in the hospital bed next to Tenya, Izuku glumly asked, "How much trouble do you think we're in?"

Tenya hung his head. "I've disgraced my brother."

"Your brother will understand. I mean, I'm an only child, but I would kill for my mother. I expect it's the same for siblings."

Tenya stared at Izuku. "You're very interesting."

Izuku coughed and looked away. He felt jittery and on edge. Except for his stomach pain, he wasn't injured, but the doctor had insisted he stay for a medical exam anyway. He desperately wanted to be out of here, but he knew the police would want to talk to him. Police made him nervous. What if they asked questions about more than the Hero Killer? What if they wanted to talk to his mother?

Principal Nezu pushed open the door. "My, the students this year are a bunch of troublemakers. I had to call in a favor from an alumni with a speed quirk to get here so quickly."

Izuku gaped. "Principal? What are you doing here? Shouldn't the police come to interview us?"

Nezu pointed a paw. "Both of you are strictly forbidden to speak to the police without U.A.'s lawyer present. I made it clear to Police Chief Tsuragamae that I'd sue him if he went near you."

Izuku swallowed. "Does this mean…that everyone knows? About Stain?"

"It's all over the news." Nezu frowned. "The leak clearly came from inside the police. It's a troubling sign of potential corruption. However, in this case it might be good news, because it means that if Police Chief Tsuragamae tries to punish you then I can make it clear I'll be counter-suing for breach of privacy of minors. Pictures of you two at the scene of Stain's capture and later wearing hospital gowns were leaked to the media."

Tenya gasped and clutched his blanket up to his neck like a Victorian maiden.

Izuku groaned and fell backward onto the bed. He'd be answering to All for One now. Since he already knew All for One had agents among the police, he'd expected as much, but it still came as a blow.

Nezu said, "This may be a good thing for you, Midoriya. As I warned you before, reputation is very important for heroes. After the Sports Festival, the media branded you as a selfish rule-breaker. But now that you're known for stopping the Hero Killer, you'll be seen as someone who breaks the rules to get stuff done. It might even be better for your image than if you'd obtained a legal achievement. This will cement you as a cool antihero. You'll get detractors, but you'll definitely attract fans too."

Except what if this angered All for One, who'd deliberately destroyed Izuku's heroic image? Izuku moaned again, covering his face with his hands.

Nezu said, "I know it might not have been your original plan, but there's a lot of marketability in a bad boy image. So far, there have been several articles decrying you for vigilantism, but the comments sections are swinging in your favor. A first year hero student taking down Stain looks cool. I give it only a matter of time before the first reporter publishes an opinion piece that you did the right thing. I'll hire someone to write it myself if I need to. The controversy will give you name recognition unprecedented for a first year. That can be dangerous, as you already know, but U.A. will help you use this to your advantage."

Imagining what his mother would think about him having a bad boy image, Izuku giggled hysterically.

Turning to Tenya, Nezu said, "I will need to cut a deal with Police Chief Tsuragamae to suspend you from school for a week in order to avoid legal consequences. He doesn't truly want to punish you—and he wants a lawsuit from U.A. even less, so I'll give him a little nudge to do the right thing. Since Native publicly praised you for saving his life, you were able to avoid being blamed for targeting Stain for revenge. Instead, you'll also get a mixture of criticism and praise for vigilantism."

Tenya sniffled. "I deserve more censure."

Izuku said, "Take the win. Since our original promise is null and void, here's a new one: don't tell anyone about your murder plan."

Nezu coughed into his paw. "I second that. Iida, if you draw criticism for your vengeance then you risk bringing more negative publicity down on Midoriya, too."

"I would never allow that." Tenya snapped to attention. "I will lie with all my power. I definitely have no personal grudge against Stain." His jaw clenched as he forced those words out.

Izuku and Nezu exchanged a glance of pure understanding that Tenya would not be allowed to speak to any reporters.

Nezu said, "I have every intention of continuing this conversation, but the doctor wants to examine you for any lingering effects from Stain's poison. And I have another task in this area. I'm looking for someone very important." With those mysterious words, Nezu departed.

Fortunately, Tenya left for an examination and Izuku was alone in the room when his phone buzzed with a text from Tomura. Even with no one to see, Izuku moved to cover up the message instinctively. He knew it would be less suspicious to answer it as normal instead of acting like a cheating boyfriend getting a text from his affair partner, but he hadn't been able to help the reflex.

Tomura texted, Player Two, weren't you going to recruit Stain? Now you arrested him?

Izuku texted back, He was pissing me off.

That's the spirit! We'll make a villain out of you yet! 💪 💪 💪 I told Sensei that I didn't want Stain on my team so I ordered you to beat him up.

Would that excuse work on All for One? It was certainly worth a try. Thank you, Tomura.

Tomura replied, As long as you're my comrade, you can destroy anything you'd like and I'll cover for you. It's just a shame that you didn't get to meet your mom. I'll send you another video the first chance I get.

In spite of himself, Izuku smiled. He liked Tomura even if he knew he probably couldn't afford to.

The smile faded off Izuku's face when he saw a new text from All for One. Congratulations on beating Stain! I got you a gift. Look at the table by your bed :)

Trembling, Izuku turned to look. There was a package with red sparkly paper and a bow. When had that appeared? This proved that All for One had agents in this hospital. He had people everywhere. Had that been a sarcastic congratulations? What if Izuku was about to see his mother's severed finger? With shaking hands, Izuku unwrapped the box.

Inside the box was an out of print comic book that had been sitting on Izuku's online wish list for months. He'd never purchased it because it was too expensive. His heart beat even faster. How did All for One know he'd wanted this? Was it a coincidence? No, it would be delusional to write off something so convenient as chance. This proved that All for One had accessed Izuku's private information. Yet for someone so skilled at hacking, the ancient bastard still used emoticons as if he didn't know how to add emojis. It would have been funny to watch a grandpa trying to act hip except this centenarian could murder him as easily as blinking.

Another text from All for One appeared: Tomura made his first plausible lie to me. I'm proud of him. Normally he's a bit too straightforward for a villain, but now he's all grown up and lying for his first friend. In honor of my successor's growth, I'll pretend to believe him. Especially since this worked out for the best.

Izuku's heart rate skyrocketed. All for One knew. He'd probably received a report about everything said in this hospital. But All for One wasn't angry that Izuku had saved Tenya? What did the villain mean about this working out for the best? A chill ran down Izuku's spine at the notion that he might have somehow helped All for One's plans inadvertently. Even so, he knew he'd gotten off lucky. All for One had punished him for U.S.J. because that had been important, but apparently recruiting Stain hadn't been particularly important. With no idea which orders he could defy and which he couldn't, Izuku was walking a tightrope dangling over hell. At this rate, his blood pressure would kill him faster than the spy gig.

Exhaling, Izuku texted back, Thank you for the present. It's just what I wanted. In other words, message received.

Such a polite boy! Your mother raised you well. You're going to receive several interview offers, but don't accept any of them. At the moment, we're keeping your image mysterious. You're not that much better a liar than Tomura. If you blush and stammer on television, your dark hero image will collapse.

Izuku's eyebrows rose. All for One made it sound like he was controlling the media—which he probably was. All for One had agents in the police. He must be the reason that the real story of Stain's capture had leaked despite the police trying to cover it up. But what the hell did the villain want? Why ruin Izuku's reputation and then drag it in a completely different direction?

Izuku had no idea what was going on. He could only be relieved that the hammer of All for One's whimsical moods hadn't fallen on him this time.

From the hallway came the sound of laughter mixed with tears. Izuku cracked the door. Ochaco Uraraka hugged Tenya tightly. "I'm glad you're okay."

Izuku stepped back inside, intending to give them privacy. Ochaco spotted him. "Thank you for saving Iida. Can I have a word alone with you?" She tugged him away.

Once they were behind a vending machine, Ochaco bowed her head. "I'm sorry for what I said during the Sports Festival."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You don't need to apologize. It was true, and I deserved it."

Ochaco shook her head. "I don't think it was true at all. Someone who charged straight at Stain wouldn't be afraid to face Bakugo."

"There are different kinds of fear." Izuku would have rather fought Stain a hundred times than said those words to Kacchan.

Ochaco glanced at him from under her bangs. "Maybe it's not my place to say anything, but I think you should talk to Bakugo. Preferably before he explodes the entire school in a fit of rage."

With a very awkward laugh, Izuku said, "I'll keep that in mind."

As Nezu predicted, the first article supporting Izuku Midoriya's defeat of the Hero Killer was published online within the hour. Although Nezu didn't need to lift a paw to ensure it when the reporter already owed All for One a favor.

The controversy spread across every news station in Japan. A massive roundtable of scholars argued about heroism versus vigilantism. High schoolers started wearing pro and anti Izuku buttons as they took sides.

Izuku's voicemail and email was swamped by a deluge of interview requests and merchandise offers.

The video of the latest U.A. Sports Festival had fallen off the list of most viewed in Japan, but now millions of viewers went back to see it again. The old top comments largely just cursed out Izuku Midoriya. But the newest comment read: It's cool that he's strong, though. Within a couple hours, this had become the most liked comment.

People in the hero business knew that even more than being charming or virtuous or even good at their jobs, heroes had to be strong.

All for One stood on top of a chair, adding a playing card to a house of cards built on the laboratory table.

Behind him, Dr. Garaki cleared his throat. "You're in my work space."

"Just one more minute," All for One said in a sing-song voice. "I'm having fun with my latest game."

Dr. Garaki sighed. "Do you mean the house of cards or the media frenzy you worked up?"

All for One spun around, clapping his hands with the glee of a child. "It always amuses me how quickly the public changes. A few cool pictures released at the right time—" He pushed over his own house of cards. "—and memories of yesterday's scandal are forgotten."

Dr. Garaki asked, "Didn't you want the spy to have a reputation as a villain? Why undo all your own work?"

"No, no, I never planned to let him stay an outcast forever. It will be harder for Midoriya to defy me the more he has to lose." All for One's maniac grin widened. "If I pushed him to the point where he tried to kill himself, he'd stop being useful. Luckily it looks like this one is more durable than that."

Shaking his head, Dr. Garaki said, "You never change." He stepped around his master to start sweeping away the fallen cards.

All for One flopped down in his chair. "I originally planned on saving little Izuku's big redemption moment for the next act of the play. But we can still carry out the same plan with Endeavor's agency. In fact, it might even work out better this way."

"Uh-huh," Dr. Garaki said, listening with half an ear as he picked up a few stray cards off the floor.

Spinning his wheely chair, All for One pointed dramatically. "A child gets falsely accused but still risks his life to save people. Everyone will be rushing to praise him loudly enough to drown out their former jeers. It's a great hero origin story."

Dr. Garaki raised an eyebrow. "You hate hero stories."

All for One smirked. "This pitiful play is aimed at a man who likes them. Maybe it will slide into the sweet soft spots of his heart like a dagger. Maybe not. I have backup plans, as always. I have many routes to victory. I could take over Tomura's body. Or perhaps I could take over Izuku's body instead and act out a play of defeating Tomura. I hate heroes, but I might tolerate an antihero image briefly as I infiltrate the HPSC from the inside. Perhaps I'll obtain something in our upcoming tussle with the yakuza that will allow me to heal my own body and rule with my handsome face. I might obtain One for All using Tomura's hatred, or this new plan with the little spy. Either way, my brother's quirk and Japan will belong to me."

Dr. Garaki sighed. "Still stuck on that quirk. Just because it belonged to your brother?"

All for One leaned back in his chair. In contrast to his loose posture, his hands clenched into fists. "The power in One for All is tempting as well. But you know how much I hate to lose. The last remnant of him will belong to me." The blazing, hungry greed in his voice sent chills down the doctor's spine, even after so many years together. Chills of fear, but also chills of excitement.

After the wave of positive publicity, Endeavor could no longer justify having Izuku sit in an office and do nothing all day. So Endeavor had reluctantly taken Izuku out on patrol, with the admonishment that any more vigilantism would get him sent straight back to the agency.

Izuku was happy not to commit any vigilantism, thank you very much. He wanted one normal, relaxing day.

Endeavor had once again reiterated that he had no interest in training Izuku, but he barked out instructions to Shouto. Then Shouto tried to hide behind Izuku, leaving Izuku awkwardly sandwiched between them and sweating from more than just all the flames.

Izuku finally got a break when Endeavor left to chase a purse snatcher. Izuku considered the number two hero fully capable of handling that situation on his own, while Izuku and Shouto rested on a park bench.

Shouto texted on his phone. "Fuyumi still hasn't found our big brother yet, but she says that all her contacts are looking."

Izuku felt uneasy. He still needed to track down Dabi himself, to make certain the villain wouldn't sell him out if caught. "Uh, your sister has contacts?"

"Fuyumi did a bit of vigilantism back in the day." Shouto dropped this scandal casually. "She knows people. Miruko has a huge crush on her."

"Miruko the Rabbit Hero?" Izuku choked. It was only slightly from fear. "Um. For the record, I don't know Dabi at all outside the quirk support group. I know nothing about his personal life. I have no idea where to find him." Izuku could only hope this story would cover his ass if Dabi was revealed as a villain. "I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."

"That's okay. I know you'd help me find my brother if you could." Shouto spoke so earnestly that Izuku withered with guilt.

"Excuse me?" a new voice asked. Two teenage girls dressed in Goth style walked over. "Can we have your autograph?"

At first, Izuku assumed that she must be talking to Shouto. But the girl extended the notepad to him. "Oh? Ah! Sure!" He hastily scribbled off a signature and hoped it was good enough.

"One for me, too," the other girl said. "I thought you were cool ever since the Sports Festival. Everyone was just bitter because you kicked their asses. What a bunch of losers."

"Thanks," Izuku mumbled. His ears reddened. In truth, his main emotion toward the Sports Festival was shame. He didn't feel comfortable being praised given how he'd won.

As soon as the girls were out of sight, Izuku collapsed backward on the bench with a sigh.

Shouto patted his shoulder. "You'll get used to it. That's part of the job of being a hero."

A mother pushing a stroller past on the sidewalk. She looked at Izuku, wrinkled her nose, and crossed to the other side of the street.

Shaking his head, Izuku said, "I'm a hero to some people, a rabid dog to others."

Shouto frowned. "That was rude. You're still early in your career. It might not be too late for you to build a more friendly image instead of going the dark hero route. Want me to talk to my dad's publicist? He keeps bugging me to do that, but I could ask for help on your behalf instead."

"You don't need to give in to your dad for me," Izuku said. He felt uneasy because he knew this publicity was all part of All for One's plan, and he disliked how easily the public had gotten swayed one way or another.

Shouto said, "The U.A. staff would help you, too."

Izuku's phone vibrated. Glancing down, he saw the contact listed as "uncle." He immediately paled. Hopefully Shouto hadn't noticed his reaction. Standing up, Izuku said, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"There's a coffee shop at the end of the street," Shouto said, his attention focused on his own phone.

Izuku escaped into an alleyway. Hiding being a trashcan out of extreme paranoia, he checked his message.

All for One said: New mission! Try to get closer to All Might when you return to U.A. Maximum braindead fanboy sucking up. I don't expect it to be easy but you'll get a reward if you do it. Tomura would call this an optional side quest.

Izuku gritted his teeth. If it was a side quest then maybe he could just ignore it? He had no desire to be used against his favorite hero. Though he ought to at least put on a pretense of trying. He texted back, I'll do my best.

Here's your main mission: kidnap a small child for me.

Izuku stared. The message did not make any more sense the second time reading it. Yes, it was evil, but pointlessly evil in a way that did not forward All for One's goals at all. This had to be a bad joke from a supervillain who loved screwing with him. Eventually, Izuku texted: ?!

The trash can fell over. A little girl with long white hair slammed into Izuku. Bandages covered her arms and legs. She whispered, "I'm sorry."

All for One texted: Yes, that child. Bring her to me :)

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: How All Might Found Out About Stain

Gran Torino: Hey, I just saw the news! That boy is even more interesting than you told me. It's a shame he turned down my internship.

All Might: I'm glad to hear that Midoriya is doing well at Endeavor's Agency.

Gran Torino: Maybe he'll accept an offer as my apprentice if he gets expelled.

All Might: IF HE GETS WHAT NOW?

Author's Note: Certain members of the League of Villains will not be recruited due to Stain not giving his big speech and other changes in the timeline, but please assume they are happier not being involved in this hot mess. Child protective services took Toga away from her parents and Spinner got therapy. Happy endings for everyone off-screen! Endless suffering for Izuku!

Yes, we're doing Eri's arc early for reasons later to be revealed. Screw the timeline, I'm a fanfic writer.