To Become a Hero

by jfpentsil

[Sexual of (To Save the World)] With Korosensei dead and the world saved, Midoriya, Shinsou and the rest of E-class just want to move on with their lives. However, with the media and public in constant fear of the child assassins who stopped the world’s Number One Villain, they find they don’t really get that option. Now they must balance the life of a student and an agent.

7. 7

Chapter 7: To Win for Him

"Good afternoon, Tokyo. We are currently at the noonday lunch break here at the U.A. Sports Festival, and I am here with Agents President and Myth, the PR Heads of the Emergency National Defense. Agents, there are a lot of questions out there about what exactly END is doing here."

Isogai blinked. "Well, as we released in a statement last week, after the numerous threats made to U.A. High School in recent weeks, Principal Nedzu asked us to provide a security detail for this event. You will also get to see us participate in a half-time game for the first-year competition in a little bit."

The reporter laughed condescendingly. "Yes, yes, but what are you doing here, at the festival, exactly? There are lots of reports of you actively cheering on the first-year underdog group from 1-C. Care to explain that?"

"Our displays of support for 1-C is simply that — displays of support. As you may know, Kunugigaoka was based on a system of academic oppression where 3-E was set up to fail, yet we rose above it," Kataoka explained. "We see a lot of ourselves in 1-C, so when we saw them performing well, we couldn't help but cheer."

"So you're saying you didn't have a preconceived bias or opinion for 1-C?"

"We did not. Our only biases were for our competing teammates."

The camera zoomed in on Isogai and Kataoka 'Team 1-C' shirts and back to the dumbfounded reporter.

"Are you sure—"

"President! Myth! We're supposed to go on in 10 minutes!" Kurahashi shouted, running up to her fellow agents. Next to her, Takebayashi silently held up a sign that read: 'Hero course students eat soup with chopsticks. Go 1-C (and Jolly Green)!'

The agents left, and the reporter turned back to the camera. "I...I honestly don't know what to say."

-.-.-.-

During the noonday break, instead of celebrating with 3-E like he was hoping, Izuku got kidnapped by Todoroki.

He really doesn't know how it happened. He was planning on meeting up with Yagi to discuss any possible prospects they saw, and the next thing he knew, he's cornered in the hallway by his stoic classmate.

Why does this sort of thing always happen to me?

"I don't use my left side in a fight. It was your friend that made me break my promise to myself," Todoroki began, and if this was an issue with Shinsou, then why wasn't he here? "But that's not what's been bothering me."

Huh?

Todoroki scowled. "Your quirk. It seems like it's always shrouded in mystery. At first, I thought you didn't want to talk about it, and kept it a secret to have the upper hand, but after the USJ attack, I realized something. END seems to know a lot about your quirk, and they are keeping the secret about it too."

Midoriya was starting to panic, and he knew he couldn't hide it. What does Todoroki know?

"Seeing it up close today, it was only confirmed to me. So, I must ask: Are you supposed to be the Tentacle's successor or something?"

...HUH?!

"W-What, n-no, not at all, I promise it's not supposed to be like that, it's just a coincidence and — blah..."

Izuku started panicking so much, he accidentally activated his quirk, making him spit up a mouthful of blood. Todoroki frowned but had the decency not to comment about it.

"Your wording is interesting. What's it supposed to be like?" he asked, and Midoriya panicked again because, well, what is he supposed to say?

While I technically was given a portion of Korosensei's speed to become a hero in his honor that doesn't really mean I'm going to be his successor because I want to be a hero and let everyone know that, not pretend to be a villain when I'm actually a hero like Korosensei was. So while I want to carry on his legacy I don't actually want to succeed his title. I want to be a symbol of peace, not terror, I swear.

Yeah. That would go over really well.

"I ask this because, as you know, my father, Endeavor, hated the Tentacle more than anyone else in the world. He thinks the existence of END is a blemish on society that should be taken out by any means necessary; I'm sure the fact that you and your old classmate beat me has him even more pissed off. At this point, taking out the person heavily correlated with his greatest enemy besides All-Might would be the only thing that could appease him."

"W-Wait, Todoroki. Why are you saying this?"

The red-and-white-haired boy paused, his harsh eyes landing on Midoriya. "Have you ever heard of quirk marriages, Midoriya?"

He has. They were common in the early times of quirks, with people being forced into relationships to create even stronger quirks. He also recalled Karma mentioning how his biological parents, Todoroki's parents, were in a quirk marriage, and that's why Karma was given up by his mother. Because his brother had the quirk that was needed.

"My father is a scumbag. He bought my mother's relatives to get his hands on her quirk and create me," Todoroki said, confirming Izuku's worst fears. He gestured to the scar on his eye. "My mother couldn't stand even looking at my left side and poured boiling water on my face."

Izuku flinched, and he felt like his heart was beating out of his chest. Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes stared into his soul. "This is why I must beat you, and take first place without his power. To show the world that I reject every part of him, and can beat even his greatest enemies without it."

Izuku clenched at his chest. In a weird way, Todoroki's mindset resembled so much of 3-E before Korosensei. The deep hatred of his quirk. The determination to do without it.

"Todoroki," he said. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn't even know where to start. "We all have scars."

Todoroki's eyes narrowed at Izuku's chest. "What—"

"Oh, there you are, Agent Quirk."

And just when he didn't think this situation could get any worse, it did.

Karma rounded the corner, smirking to hide the darkness in his soul. His hands were in his pockets, seemingly casual, but every muscle was tense and ready to fight.

And Izuku knew that Karma heard everything. And his friend was pissed.

"Everyone's looking for you. END is supposed to go on for recreational activities in ten minutes, and Nedzu gave permission for you and Agent Control to tag along." Then, obviously being spiteful, Karma turned to Todoroki and gasped. "Oh, First, I didn't expect you to be here. Well, I guess it's not First anymore, huh? Looks like Second is fitting you much better this Sports Festival. But I guess that's what happens when you're only putting in half the effort."

Todoroki clenched his fists, and Izuku just wanted to disappear. This was worse than Nagisa and Karma's confrontation during the class Civil War.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that insensitive of me? I mean, it's blatantly obvious to anyone watching that you have some kind of beef with your father. What, are your daddy issues so bad you don't want to use the quirk he gave you?"

"Karma!" Izuku hissed, because while he can't control Karma like Nagisa can, he's not going to let him be a total asshole.

Todoroki was shaking. "And what would you know about my father?"

Karma's face turned hard, his smile cold and unforgiving. "You're right. I guess I've never had the pleasure to formally meet the man. All I've done is shove hot sauce up his nose."

The tension dissipated, and Todoroki blinked. "That was you—"

"Hey, dumbasses!" Terasaka barked, marching over to them. "Are you deaf? We've been trying to reach you on the comms for the past five minutes. It's time to go!"

Terasaka, the oblivious lion he is, didn't even seem to notice Todoroki, grabbing Karma and Izuku by the necks and dragging them away. For once, Izuku was actually grateful for the delinquent lion boy.

But even as they exited, Karma wouldn't stop glaring at Todoroki, and he knew this mess wasn't over yet.

-.-.-.-

For END's portion of the festival, Nedzu suggested they go the traditional route and pay homage to the giant sports event that preceded the time of quirks — the Olympics.

"What is this even for?" Kanzaki asked, picking up a long plastic pole.

Ritsu was keeping an eye on the festival while END acted as halftime entertainment for the Sports Festival, and Izuku was increasingly realizing that the entertainment will more likely be caused by 3-E's complete cluelessness for traditional sports than actual skill.

Hey, in their defense, they were banned from participating in sports at Kunugigaoka, okay?

An array of fields and events were laid out for them. Izuku recognized some of the more obvious ones, like the targets for shooting and archery, or the mats for martial arts fighting. But not all the random bars and poles and foam mats and trampolines (he thinks some of them are for gymnastics, but he isn't sure. Does track and field use mats and poles too?)

Of course, E-class has never been one for doing things the traditional way. Chiba and Hayami moved first, having a shoot off that kept intensifying with each shot. By the third round, they had to hang upside down on one of the gymnastic bars and shoot. They both made bullseyes.

Kimura and Okano, still locked in some weird competition, instantly started trying to outdo each other on the gymnastics vault, and honestly, it's hard to choose a winner. While Kimura sticks every landing perfectly, Okano can contort her body to do some insane flips midair.

Isogai and Maehara, who have always been some of the top knife combat fighters, decided to adapt their fighting style with fencing. It's a little sloppy, the weapon much larger than what they're used to working with, and they're definitely breaking some rules, but at least they look cool doing it. Next to them, Terasaka was challenging everyone and anyone to wrestling, and while he beat all of his squad members with ease, he ultimately got his ass handed to him (surprisingly) by Hara.

Izuku made a mental note not to piss her off anytime soon.

After some internet searches by Itona, they figured out the pole Kanzaki picked up was for pole vaulting — a sport where you run and try to use a pole to launch you over an even taller, horizontal pole.

And, with E-class being E-class, the competition naturally escalated from 'Who can vault the highest' to 'Who can do the most tricks while also vaulting the highest?'

Currently Karma, Nakamura, Kataoka, and Nagisa were tied for the top, matching each other's moves easily. Shinsou and Izuku, who needed to rest before the round-robin tournament began, were appointed as judges.

Kataoka cleanly executed an astounding feat of flipping all the way to the pole instead of running with it, picking it up without breaking momentum, and flipping continuously the entire time she vaulted. Izuku wondered if his classmates were even human while the crowd absolutely lost their shit.

"Very fancy, but she didn't vault as high as the others with that trick," Shinsou mused.

"Yes, but she also did about twice the amount of tricks, starting with them so early," commented Izuku before writing down his final score.

In the end, Nagisa won that competition by vaulting off the ground and balancing the pole on its tip while he did a handstand for nearly a minute. Izuku thought only Hayami was capable of having such insane balance, but clearly he was mistaken.

"Wow, this is so much fun! We should do it more often!" Yada declared during the middle of their quirk-infused volleyball game, which had become 'Sabotage Sugino' because his quirk gave him such an unfair advantage.

"Yeah! This is waaaaay better than the other PR events!" Kurahashi agreed. Izuku, acting as referee, glanced back at the crowd, which looked a mix of stunned, horrified, and awed by their performance. Well, at least some people looked less terrified of them now.

"Sugino! Stop spiking the volleyball hundreds of kilometers per hour! It's not fair!"

"Sorry!"

Izuku sighed.

-.-.-.-

Time for the round-robin matchups came, and Izuku came to the sickening realization that there's a very good chance he'll end up fighting Shinsou, and what will happen if it's in the first round, Izuku doesn't want to get knocked out so early but Shinsou has to do well to move up and—

"You're thinking very loudly again, Jolly Green," Shinsou muttered, and Izuku snapped to attention.

"O-Oh, sorry!"

Sakurai (who looked more and more panicked the longer the festival progressed) turned to his fellow 1-C classmates and Izuku. "G-G-Guys, I think I should-d-d sit ou-out of the finals."

The trio blinked in unison. "But why, Sakurai-kun? We worked so hard to get here, we can't give up now!" Michimiya protested.

"But everyone e-else is so s-s-s-s-strong, and I'm—"

"Going to give them a fight, because you worked your ass off for this, Sakurai," Shinsou cut in. "Look around — look at how many people aren't advancing while you are. That's not a fluke, Sakurai."

Izuku nodded. "Without you, there's no way any of us would be advancing today. We got here, we made history, and you're a part of that. You can't give up your spot just yet!"

Sakurai teared up, visibly shaken but touched, and Michimiya wrapped him up in a big hug. "Just you watch, Sakurai. You're gonna be amazing."

-.-.-.-

The bracket paired them up at random. To Izuku's great relief, he's not paired with Shinsou in the first round. Instead, he's up against Shouji, while Shinsou is against Kaminari. And since they're in different brackets, they wouldn't meet until the third round.

"Thank goodness," Izuku muttered. He really doesn't want to fight Hitoshi, and statistically speaking someone else would knock them out before they ever reached each other.

"Lame! You guys better make it to round three together!" Okajima complained over the comms.

"Yeah, and when you do, make it real flashy for the camera. You gotta make up for not playing in any of the Olympic games!" added Mimura.

Izuku rolled his eyes and focused on the rest of the brackets. In the first bracket along with Izuku was Todoroki against Sero. Great, that's just great. He might have to fight Todoroki next round. Even if he really wanted to fight against Shinsou in the third round, it'd take a miracle for him to get there.

Meanwhile, in the second bracket with Shinsou, Iida had to fight Asui. In the third, it was Bakugou versus Uraraka (while he felt bad for the girl, at least it wasn't anyone from 1-C fighting Kaachan), and Kirishima against Michimiya. The pink eyeball girl looked absolutely terrified, like she was wishing she dropped out when Sakurai mentioned it.

"Kirishima's strong, but he's also really nice, I promise!" Izuku tried to assure her. Granted, being nice didn't matter much in a high-stakes competition. But it's better than going up against Bakugou 'Die, Extra!' Katsuki.

In the final bracket, Tokoyami was paired with Yaoyorozu, and finally Ashido was up against Sakurai.

"In all seriousness, this is a best-case scenario for you," Shinsou pointed out to keep Sakurai from freaking out. "Ashido likes to make friends with everyone, so even if you lose, you might get a friend out of it?"

Sakurai still freaked out.

-.-.-.-

They were given time to prepare themselves for the matches. While Michimiya and Sakurai were swept away by 1-C, Shinsou and Izuku hunkered down in the END temporary headquarters Nedzu gave them.

"Okay, but realistically speaking, we know you're both going to win your first matches," Fuwa pointed out. "So what are you guys going to do if you both make it to the third round?"

Shinsou and Izuku stared at each other but didn't answer. They didn't know the answer.

"Welp," Hazama said, breaking the silence. "I bet on Midoriya."

...huh?

"Pffft," chortled Okajima. "Shinsou totally has this in the bag. One Kiss of Death and Midoriya is done for."

Shinsou sputtered. "I'm not kissing anyone on live TV."

"Yeah, I'm with Okajima. Shinsou has way more to fear if he loses," Maehara added, ignoring Shinsou's protests. "We all know Bitch-sensei will have his head if he lets her down so publically."

Mimura rolled his eyes. "By that logic, Lovro will have Midoriya's, and we all know Lovro is way scarier than Bitch-sensei."

"You're all wrong. Again." Nakamura smirked, eyeing her nails pettily. "I bet it will end with one of them pulling out a dirty little trick to get the upper hand, since they're so evenly matched when they fight fairly. Well, that, or they'll have to do a tiebreaker."

"Tiebreaker? Is that even a thing?"

"You always make the craziest bets, Nakamura."

"Yeah, but have I ever been wrong?"

"Why are you making bets on this?" Izuku cried. Wow, it's like Valentine's Day all over again.

-.-.-.-

Izuku decided to watch the first bracket fights with END. He didn't really feel like being around anyone else right now, especially 1-A. What if someone tries to kidnap him again?

And at least 3-E's commentary was entertaining.

"Seriously, Tape Elbows vs. Icy Hot? How is this fair?" Yoshida grumbled.

It really wasn't. Todoroki didn't even try holding back. Poor Sero barely got a single hit in before he became completely encased in a massive wall of ice.

"Wow, that was kind of overkill," noted Yada, and Sugaya nodded.

"The dude seemed totally pissed off. I wonder what happened to him."

Izuku tensed and glanced at Karma. The END commander's face was blank, but his eyes were ablaze. Dangerous.

No. Whatever happened between the two long-estranged twins was definitely not over.

-.-.-.-

The next round featured Iida against Asui. This match was much longer, and much more entertaining to watch. While Iida had the upper hand with speed, Asui was much more agile and had the advantage of long-distance attacks.

"She's going to win," Hayami declared, having just come back from her security shift. They agreed to rotate every match to keep things fair (and to keep them from getting bored again).

Takebayashi frowned. "Statistically speaking, actually—"

"She's going to win," Hayami repeated, giving no explanation, and no one dared challenge her again.

(Asui, ultimately, didn't win, but it was a close match. Iida just barely managed to knock her out of bounds mid-leap, and almost fell out of the ring in the process. No one said anything to Hayami. Everyone knows you never go against Hayami.)

-.-.-.-

And suddenly, it's Izuku's turn, and he feels overwhelmingly underprepared.

"What am I going to do?" he fretted. Shouji was so much bigger, and stronger, and versatile, and—

"Easy," Shinsou deadpanned. "Win."

And then, just like in the obstacle race, Shinsou kicked Midoriya in the back and forced him into the arena.

Shouji's and his match started with little fanfare. As soon as Present Mic declared start, the larger boy charged. Izuku easily dodged two punches and tried to swipe Shouji's feet out from under him, but he dodged.

In terms of brute strength, I'm no match for Shouji, Izuku pondered as he dodged another hit. Which means I just have to be faster and smarter.

It was just like Nagisa said before his match: "These hero students were trained to fight, but you, Midoriya. You were trained to kill. So take him down."

And because, like every good assassin, Izuku had a second blade, which meant we would win.

Izuku slid underneath Shouji's legs and popped up fast enough to kick the boy in the back. Shouji stumbled and whirled around, fists flying, and Izuku flipped to safety.

"I'm sorry, Midoriya," Shouji suddenly said. "But I need to win this. I need to show them all."

Izuku recalled their earlier conversation in the cafeteria about his tentacles. "Everyone else always said they looked like his. I want to show them they're wrong."

And suddenly, Izuku felt very, very sad. Because he understood. He knows what it's like to be judged for your quirk and abilities. He knows the feeling, the drive to prove yourself. He knows.

But he couldn't back down.

"I'm sorry, Shouji," he said and decided to go for the finishing move. He didn't have weapons on him, but it should still work.

Rushing at the taller boy, he kicked out, purposely going wide. Shouji leaned back, distracted by the attack, and that's when he brought out the instant-kill. He clapped his hands in Shouji's face, the crack like thunder, making Shouji lose balance. Izuku grabbed the massive tentacle arm and judo-flipped him out of bounds.

"Wow! And just like that, one of the biggest contestants gets KO'd by one of the smallest! And that attack, what was it? It's not a quirk, right?!"

"No," Eraserhead mumbled. "It's a move only known by the top assassins."

Izuku left the arena immediately, and he felt sick to his stomach. The crowd murmured, unsettled by the shocking technique. Of the open display of an assassin move in a hero tournament.

He hoped Lovro never saw this. The man would have his head for so publicly displaying his greatest move.

-.-.-.-

Shinsou managed to beat out Kaminari fairly easily, but he looked inexplicably embarrassed about it and refused to talk about it with anyone.

"Just, please, dont," he said after extreme pestering. Izuku would give it an hour before a close-up video of the fight was in the E-class group chat.

The tournament continued on. Uraraka put up a surprising fight against Bakugou but ultimately lost. Following them was Kirishima vs. Michimiya, and Izuku sat in the weird mixed crowd of E-class and 1-C that formed for this match, feeling genuinely nervous.

"She'll be fine," Shimizu said. "I checked Kirishima's thoughts earlier. He doesn't like the idea of fighting her either, so hopefully he'll be gentle?"

It's the only thing they could hope for, given how unbalanced the fight is.

It doesn't help that Michimiya was already crying when she stepped into the ring.

"Now, remember, you can surrender if you want," Midnight reminded them while staring at Michimiya, clearly concerned for her student. It's probably not a bad option right now.

The fight started, but neither of them moved. Kirishima clearly was stuck. If he fought her right now, he'd look like an asshole, and that's not really the impression you want to make with agencies. Plus Kirishima was such a nice guy, it would be against his morals to attack someone so cruelly.

Kirishima released his Hardening and took a cautious step forward. "Hey, Michimiya, I promise I'm not going to—"

He never got to finish his statement. The entire stadium descended into complete silence.

Because small, scared Michimiya just high-kicked Kirishima in the face.

Oh.

"HELL YEAH, MICHIMIYA!" cheered Yada, Nakamura, Fuwa, and Okano.

"She did it! Our technique really worked!" Kurahashi exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Bwahahahaha! How does it feel, sucker?!" Terasaka roared.

The kick didn't actually do much to Kirishima besides snap his head back, but he was clearly humiliated. And who wouldn't be? The crowd was abuzz, many howling with laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all. Blushing brightly, Kirishima Hardened his skin again and politely picked up Michimiya. The pink eyeballed girl tried to kick and punch, and even blew a few bubbles in Kirishima's face, but the boy wasn't phased at all.

"I'm so sorry," Kirishima said before gently placing Michimiya out of bounds. The girl pouted a little, but she clearly expected the outcome.

"Wow, thank goodness Kirishima's such a gentleman," Isogai observed. "Anyone else and they might have seriously tried to fight Michimiya after that."

Izuku instantly envisioned Bakugou's response to getting kicked in the face like that, and he shuddered. Thank goodness, indeed.

-.-.-.-

Following Tokoyami overwhelmingly (and shockingly) outmatching Yaoyorozu was Sakurai's match against Ashido.

Shinsou (and much of 1-C) looked like they were going to be sick.

Surprisingly, Sakurai seemed fairly composed when he stepped into the arena. While it's less likely Sakurai has some surprise trick up his sleeve like Michimiya, it at least looks like he'll be composed enough to put up a fight. Maybe.

Apparently, Izuku didn't know Sakurai that well. Either that, or the old one was replaced by an imposter.

The match started, and Ashido charged Sakurai by sliding on her acid. Sakurai didn't move at all — was he insane? — and simply held out his palms. They connected with Ashido's shoulders and...knocked her back?

Heh?!

Izuku started smacking Shinsou's shoulder excitedly. "I get it! He's eliminating Ashido's weight so it seems like he has super strength. Since Ashido is already sliding around on acid, it's even easier to push her around!"

It was so brilliant, Izuku couldn't contain it. Sakurai was a genius!

"Hmm, something tells me he got a pretty good pep-talk beforehand," Shinsou said, nodding to the side. Izuku turned and saw Nagisa and Nakamura high-five while Karma sat there smugly, and it made a lot more sense. But that didn't stop Izuku's heart from feeling warm.

Ashido clearly didn't understand what just happened — she likely didn't even bother finding out what Sakurai's quirk was. She charged again, using the same methods, and Sakurai simply pushed her back again. She came dangerously close to sliding out of bounds.

"What's this?! Looks like the upper hand in this match is sliding around!" commented Present Mic, while Eraserhead bluntly said, "Please stop."

Ashido was getting nervous. She shot acid at Sakurai, but the boy dodged it perfectly ("He's come so far!" Muramatsu whimpered). Ashido tried running at Sakurai normally, and that's when Sakurai pulled out the biggest shock of all, side-stepping Ashido's attack, grabbing her arm, and throwing her across the arena. By canceling out her weight, for Sakurai it was as easy as throwing a softball, and Ashido went sliding out of bounds.

And that's when everyone really lost it. Izuku started crying.

"Did you see that?! The underdog of all underdogs took out 1-A's Ashido Mina! How did this happen?!" Present Mic exclaimed.

Eraserhead huffed. "She went cocky. She didn't bother creating a strategy or finding out her opponent's capabilities and just assumed it would be an easy win. Given the strategic performance 1-C has pulled out the entire festival, I'm not surprised she lost."

"Nice commentary!"

"I'm just stating the obvious."

-.-.-.-

Before the second round, Izuku got kidnapped. Multiple times, actually.

The first was by Yagi, who wanted to congratulate Izuku on his performance.

"To be honest, I've been having a hard time looking at other students. The performance you and the other first-years have put on is amazing," the shrunken Pro-Hero commented, and Izuku tried not to tear up because All-Might just said he was impressed with him and that was a very valid reason to get emotional

The next was Kirishima, who also wanted to congratulate Izuku, but also lament his woes.

"It was so embarrassing, dude! I was worried the crowd would start booing me anytime I got near her. And now I have to fight against Bakugou! Why can't I just get one good round?"

Izuku politely comforted his friend because he understood the pain (he was going up against Todoroki next, for crying out loud), and the two parted ways as Kirishima left to comfort a moping Ashido.

He was on his way to his match against Todoroki when he got kidnapped a third time. Only this time it was by Endeavor which is, obviously, a billion times worse. The Pro-Hero stared Izuku down intensely, and for a while, they didn't say anything.

"It's despicable that Nedzu and the board let you compete," Endeavor finally said. "It's bad enough that you're at this school. Now you're just making a joke of it all."

Izuku blinked. "I-I, uh—"

"But I guess it's too late for that," Endeavor huffed. "I want you to know that my son will destroy you next round. That's what his training was for. He'll surpass All-Might one day, and if that beast was still around, he would be the hero to put a stop to the Tentacle. But I guess beating the brat with powers like the monster is good enough."

Endeavor started to walk away, and Izuku felt something inside himself snap. "Endeavor," he said, and the Pro-Hero froze. "I am not and will never be Korosensei." I could never be so great. "And Todoroki may be your son, but he isn't you."

Endeavor glared, and Izuku realized just how lucky Karma was. Who knows what kind of torture Todoroki suffered because of this man. From the looks of it, Karma's mother was his savior that day, not his abandoner.

Izuku walked away first, his blood boiling more and more intense the closer he got to the arena entrance. How dare this man call himself a hero? How much abuse did his family suffer because of him?

But most of all, what would a man like that do if he ever learned about Karma?

-.-.-.-

Standing in front of Todoroki, Izuku knew he'd have no choice but to use his quirk in this fight.

So by the time Todoroki (predictably) sent a wave of ice straight for him, Izuku was behind the ice boy and tackling him to the ground. He pinned Todoroki down and reared back for a punch, but by then his opponent was already firing another wall of ice.

He's quick too, Izuku noted, spitting out blood. If he wanted to take him out, he'd have to use his quirk for an extended period of time, but there's still no guarantee it would work. If he uses all of his energy and fails, he's doomed.

"We all know you have a time limit, Midoriya," Todoroki said. "And if this comes down to endurance, I know I'll win."

He sent another ice wave, and at this point it's getting near impossible to move in this stadium. So, Izuku ran around the ring at Mach-2, breaking the sound barrier and encasing them in the sonic boom that followed. Todoroki managed to not get blown away, but his ice walls completely shattered. Izuku made eye contact with Karma in the stands, and the red-haired boy pointed at his skin and smirked. Izuku looked and saw the patches of ice starting to form on Todoroki's skin.

And suddenly, Izuku had a feeling Todoroki wouldn't be able to last long in an endurance match either if he refused to use his fire side.

"I'm not so sure, Todoroki," he said, wiping blood from his mouth. "Because it looks like your time limit is almost up too — and you've yet to even touch me."

Todoroki gritted his teeth, but he seemed to take the words to heart, this time charging Izuku himself. It's a foolish move, however, to get too close to a hand-to-hand expert. The moment he was in reach, Izuku punched Todoroki in the stomach, followed by a rotating kick and another punch. Todoroki went skidding across the ground, just barely remaining in-bounds. This only seemed to anger the ice boy more, charging again but sending walls of ice at the same time; except they were smaller, slower. He won't be able to hold up much longer if he refuses to use his left side.

And while this should be a good thing, it just made Izuku even angrier.

Izuku used his speed to get through Todoroki's defenses, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him against a wall of ice. "Are you crazy? Use your fire already!"

Todoroki growled and pushed back. "What the hell? You don't know what you're talking about-"

"I do! I know better than anyone!" Thanks to Shiro, he knew all too well what it was like to have a power you hated pushed on to you. But thanks to Korosensei, he also knew what it was like to have a power gifted to you so you can do good. "It's your quirk, Todoroki! Yours!"

Because Izuku spent fourteen years of his life never having a quirk and suffering so much for it. And here Todoroki is, letting himself suffer because he hates half of his powers. It's not okay.

"You say the Tentacle is a monster, but do you want to know one of the first things he taught us?" Izuku said, throwing a stunned Todoroki to the ground. "He taught us to love our quirks! He taught us that our quirk doesn't define us, but what we do with it! So use it, Todoroki! Use it for yourself!"

Izuku went for another blow, but he was suddenly blasted back by an explosion of fire.

Finally.

"You'd really try and encourage your opponent like that?" Todoroki said. "Alright, then. I'll show you what I can do with my quirk."

The explosion that followed was even bigger than when Korosensei triggered his Absolute Defense Form. It blew straight through Cementoss and Midnight's attempts to stop their fight and nearly took out both heroes in the process. It was amazing. It was powerful.

And when the smoke cleared, Izuku, who avoided the explosion by running to stand right where Todoroki was, threw his stunned opponent out of bounds.

-.-.-.-

"What is this?!"

Endeavor's shout could be heard easily in the stunned silent stadium. Izuku looked at the Pro-Hero in the stands disdainfully.

"How could he possibly survive that? He must have cheated!" the Pro-Hero roared. "Aren't you going to do something about it?!"

When no one moved, Endeavor raised his flaming hands and moved towards the arena field. "Fine. Then I will—"

Before Endeavor could attack, a hand struck out and grabbed the fiery arm.

"Sorry, sir," Karma said. "But I think you need to cool it."

Izuku could feel the sudden chill on the field and watched as Endeavor's flames completely dissipated, unable to contain enough heat. Endeavor looked enraged and even slightly scared, but then again, this wasn't the first time he met Karma. The man was probably looking out for hot sauce packets now.

"How is he…?" Todoroki breathed, his eyes quick and calculating as he watched the exchange. Oh, if only he knew.

"Sir, please follow us," Nagisa said, and Izuku knew he was using his quirk because the Flame Hero actually followed without protest.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said. He was standing up, but his eyes wouldn't leave the spot Endeavor just was. "Who is that red-haired boy?"

Izuku tried to remain passive. "Agent Devil? He's the END commander and Alpha Unit captain."

"And his quirk?"

Izuku paused. Todoroki turned back to look at him, and Izuku could see the suspicion in his eyes.

"You'll have to ask him yourself."

-.-.-.-

Five Photos that Sum Up the Chaos that is END at the Sports Festival

1. This interview. Just. This.

[Photo: screenshot of the moment when END said they didn't plan on supporting 1-C yet they clearly did. Reporter looks ready to cry.]

2. Pole...vaulting...gymnastics?

[Photo: collage of END doing weird things while pole vaulting, featuring Nagisa's handstand, Nakamura using her feet only to vault, and strangest of all, Okajima eating a pork bun mid-vault.]

3. He may not be acting for END today but — the Cavalry Battle ending, people.

[Photo: Shinsou triumphantly showing off his ten million point headband, with audience faces in the background looking absolutely flabbergasted. In the far right, Nakamura is being handed a wad of money from Terasaka after winning another bet.]

4. Audience members or security?

[Photo: two photos, one showing END agents walking around and monitoring the area, and the other showing END in the stands cheering on 1-C and Midoriya, t-shirts and signs on full display.]

UPDATE: Um, well, they escorted an upset Endeavor from the stadium after his son lost.

[Photo: Endeavor being taken away by Nagisa and Karma while the stunned audience watched.]

5. Is this actually happening?

[Photo: a collage of photos of END during their Olympic game presentation. One of Chiba making a bullseye upside down on the gymnastic bars, through the volleyball net, and splitting an arrow in half. Another photo of Kimura and Yoshida endlessly racing around the arena, one of Okuda creating explosive ping-pong balls.]

-.-.-.-

Look. Hitoshi has a pretty good reason for avoiding talking about his match with Kaminari.

He didn't really have much of a gameplan going into the fight, mainly because he didn't know what to expect from his opponent. Kaminari seemed like a pretty talkative guy, so it'd be easy to brainwash him. But does he want to fight that way? It seemed pretty cheap, but then again, if Kaminari planned on electrocuting the crap out of him, he's not going to have much of a choice.

Which is why, when Present Mic told them to begin and Hitoshi literally just held up his fists, he was completely unprepared for Kaminari's reaction.

"Eep, don't hurt me!"

He said it so quietly, Hitoshi barely heard it, and Kaminari immediately slapped a hand over his mouth afterward — he's vaguely aware of Hitoshi's quirk, then. And usually, a reaction like this, of open fear and suspicion, would annoy him, but honestly, all Hitoshi could feel was...pity?

Does he really think I'm going to beat the crap out of him? Hitoshi wondered, but then remembered how Midoriya just ruthlessly destroyed Shouji, and it made a little sense. And okay, Hitoshi has a massive hero complex, so when he sees someone so terrified of fighting him, he's not going to just beat them up. That's Karma's thing.

But, still, Hitoshi wants to win, which leaves him with only one option.

But how to go about it?

"Look," Hitoshi started, and Kaminari flinched back, holding his mouth tighter, like he doesn't trust himself. Great, just great. He needs Kaminari to reply to him if he wants this match to finish painlessly, but how?

"With my techniques, however, I have no doubt people will forget themselves and fall for responding to you," Bitch-sensei's voice echoed in his head, but Hitoshi shoved it away. There's no way he's going to use the Kiss of Death on TV or any of her other techni—

...wait.

"Oh, fuck it," Hitoshi mumbled, because unless he wants to get electrocuted, he doesn't have any more options. This seemed like something Kaminari would fall for, anyways.

Straightening himself up with perfect posture, and smiling just coyly enough to distract his target, Hitoshi went for the kill.

"Hey, pretty boy, I swear I'm not going to hurt you."

A long pause. "P...Pretty boy?"

Kaminari's face was blushing brighter than a tomato when Hitoshi brainwashed him, and it stayed like that the entire time as he slowly walked out of bounds. And honestly, Hitoshi was equally embarrassed.

"Looks like you have been keeping secrets, Shinsou," Midnight cooed, her eyes gleaming. Hitoshi jolted and made a great escape for the tunnels.

Which is exactly where he was intercepted by Kaminari.

"Hey dude!" Kaminari started, and paused, like he expected Hitoshi to say something. He doesn't. "Well, I just wanted to say that your quirk is totally awesome."

Hitoshi stared. He honestly doesn't know what to say.

"A-Anyways, um, thanks for not, like, hurting me and all? Not that I didn't want to fight or anything, because I'm totally down for fighting, but like, you END agents are just so good at fighting, and Midoriya took out Shouji like he was nothing, and I could never — I mean, I can fight just fine, but you guys, you know, you guys can really, really...fight."

Wow, this is more painful than dealing with a mumbling Midoriya. "Uh, thanks? We trained hard to get to where we are."

Kaminari laughed. "I can tell!" He paused, his face scrunching up. "Well, so I've heard. Midoriya mentioned that you're one of the best fighters in END, which has to mean a lot because Midoriya is the best fighter I've ever seen, so I guess that's why I freaked out at the beginning of the match. You look pretty intimidating when you're serious."

How do you respond to this? "Um. I'm sorry."

Kaminari beamed, and it felt like the sun started shining. "No sweat, dude! I'm jealous — I wish I could be as cool as you. Actually, do you think you could give me a few tips in fighting sometime?"

Hitoshi blinked. "I guess..."

"Awesome! Here, just—" Kaminari pulled something out of his pocket, grabbed Hitoshi's hand and started writing on it. Even though the brainwasher could knock Kaminari out with his pinky, he felt inexplicably frozen. "—There! Now you have my number, so you can message me when you want to meet up."

Hitoshi looked down at the sloppily written chain of numbers on his palm. "...Is this in sharpie?"

"A-Ah, yeah, sorry about that, I didn't really think that one through."

The blond awkwardly scratched his head. Taking a deep breath for his sanity, Hitoshi lowered his hand and tried not to think about it. He definitely wasn't blushing right now. "It's fine. I'll...message you when I'm free."

Kaminari beamed again. Hitoshi wondered if he'd go blind if he kept staring. "Sweet! And hopefully we can fight again when you make it to the hero course!"

Kaminari probably wasn't aware, but Hitoshi noticed how he said 'when' instead of 'if,' and it meant a lot more than he expected. His smile was genuine.

"Thanks. I hope so too."

(And when the blond was gone, he very quickly rewrapped his bandages so they covered his palms too. There was no way he was letting E-class or, Korosensei forbid, Bitch-sensei see the random phone number. Because they're evil, and they'll make assumptions, and just no.)

-.-.-.-

Hitoshi didn't really have anything against Iida, but clearly the boy had something against him. He glared harshly the moment he laid eyes on the brainwasher. Well, this should be fun.

Before the match could start, Iida said, "You dishonored me during the Cavalry Battle when you blatantly disregarded my greatest move. I won't let you do it again."

Hitoshi arched an eyebrow. Was that so?

The moment they called start, Iida rushed him, and Hitoshi just barely managed to sidestep in time. Iida skidded to a stop and gritted his teeth.

"I will make you see me as a threat!" the normally composed class president declared before activating his Recripro Burst. He kicked at Hitoshi at rocket speeds, just narrowly managing to brush the brainwasher's side, and rounded up for a second one, but then he stopped. Iida's whole body tensed up, as if he were being brainwashed, but...

"I wasn't being insulting when I said I've fought faster opponents," Hitoshi said, now standing behind Iida and pressing harshly on the pressure point in his neck. "I was just telling the truth."

Before Iida could continue, Hitoshi hit another two pressure points, knocking his opponent unconscious. Present Mic announced him the winner, but Hitoshi was already walking away.

Because this meant both he and Midoriya advanced to the third round. They were going to fight in the festival.

-.-.-.-

Bakugou managed to defeat Kirishima, and Sakurai didn't stand a chance against Tokoyami — his quirk had no effect on Dark Shadow. He was knocked out of the ring in seconds, but the cheers he received from 1-C would make you think he won the whole tournament. Hitoshi and Midoriya didn't even bother watching Bakugou and Tokoyami's match for the third round. Instead, they spent the whole time stressing in the headquarter room and talking with Karasuma and Bitch-sensei.

"Would it even be smart to spar like we usually do?" asked Midoriya. "The whole reason END is here is for good publicity, and if Shinsou and I fight and scare the public away, it will all be for nothing."

"I wouldn't go that extreme," Bitch-sensei argued. "The public is clearly aware that you guys are freaks of nature. Besides, they just watched a kid knock someone out with a massive ice wall. Why would they be scared of you two sparing?"

"Because we're END?" Hitoshi suggested, making his ex-mentor scowl threateningly.

"There's also the concern of the enemy watching," Karasuma pointed out. "We've gotten lucky that they haven't tried to attack yet, but there's no doubt they're watching this, looking for weaknesses. We need—"

Their teacher was cut off by his phone ringing yet again — it's been doing that a lot lately, Hitoshi noted with narrowed eyes. He got a glimpse at the caller ID reading 'Sousaki Shino' and wondered if that was Karasuma's mystery cousin. He'd have to question Nakamura about it later, since the girl seemed to know all the gossip surrounding the situation.

While Karasuma stepped out of the room, Bitch-sensei turned to the students and sighed. "Well, I say you two fighting to the death will cover up our greatest weakness at least."

The duo jolted. "What?!"

"Oh, not literally to the death," she retorted, crossing her arms. "Think about it. END's greatest weakness is how much the students care for each other. You hurt one of us, you hurt all of us. If you two go all out, the enemy will see this as us showing that we won't hold back, even against one another. It'll reduce the risk of them exploiting us that way."

The room was silent. It was...actually a really good point. Karma even admitted it to Shigaraki — if you really want to piss E-class off, then target one of their own. They couldn't afford to let their enemies take advantage of that.

"Well," Hitoshi finally said, scratching the back of his neck. "We never did get to declare a winner of our bet last year. How about, instead of designing a hero costume, the winner picks hero names?"

Midoriya jolted. "Huh? Isn't that a pretty big thing to bet?"

"Yup. And in the spirit of the past, how about we do it with no quirks too. Unless you're too scared." He held out his hand and raised his eyebrows mockingly. "So, you on, Jolly Green?"

-.-.-.-

"Up next, we have perhaps the most anticipated match of the tournament. Taking first place in both rounds, we have Midoriya Izuku of 1-A versus the ringleader of the 1-C underdogs, Shinsou Hitoshi!"

The crowd roared, and Hitoshi stood across from Midoriya. Their faces were blank, betraying no emotion. But on the inside, Hitoshi was abuzz.

How's Green Shrubbery for a hero name, hmm?

Present Mic declared start, and Hitoshi felt everything slow down. He observed every twitch of Midoriya's muscles, the stutter of his breath, the rustle of the wind in his hair.

And then he struck.

He kicked out fast, and followed up with another judo spin kick. Midoriya dodged the first kick and blocked the second, pushing Hitoshi's attacks away. Hitoshi steadied himself defensively before Midoriya took over the offense, throwing multiple cross punches and a kick at Hitoshi's stomach, which he carefully dodged and knocked the punches away with a quick swipe by his feet. Midoriya tried to knock Hitoshi off balance but failed, and they both pulled away from each other, unharmed.

Looks like I need a different tactic.

This time, Hitoshi let Midoriya attack first before grabbing his feet and flipping him upside down. Midoriya was prepared for this, carefully rolling to stand back up, his fists already prepared to block hits by Hitoshi. Midoriya tried to sweep Hitoshi's feet out from under him, but the brainwasher jumped up and flip-rolled over Midoriya's crouched body to get behind him. He almost landed a kick to the back but was stopped.

"This is crazy! Midoriya and Shinsou are exchanging blows so fast, I can't even tell who's doing the most damage!"

"Neither," Eraserhead huffed, making Present Mic yelp. "They're yet to land a decent hit on each other."

"Are you saying they're holding back?!"

"No, I didn't say that. I said they haven't been able to land a hit. They clearly know each other's fighting styles as well as their own, which means they're predicting every move and blocking it before it comes."

"Huh?! Wow, folks, can you believe that?!"

Midoriya went for a mount, and Hitoshi easily shoved him off and pinned him to the ground. The crowd exclaimed, but Midoriya very quickly kicked at Hitoshi's face and maneuvered his way out of the hold. He tried to jump-spin kick Hitoshi in the back, but the brainwasher jumped away and knocked Midoriya's feet out from under him. Midoriya stumbled, but frustratingly, he still didn't go down.

"You certainly aren't making this easy, Jolly Green," Hitoshi muttered, parrying Midoriya's punches with his own.

"I can't lose! I want to pick my own hero name!"

"Oh yeah, what do you have in mind? Small Might?"

"Sh-Shut up!"

Their fight continued on like most of their spars do; seemingly endless, lots of attacks and little hits. It probably looked like a coordinated movie fight, not an actual spar. However, unlike other fights, there were no weapons to tip the favor in either direction (and Hitoshi absolutely refused to use the Kiss of Death).

Think, idiot, he could picture Asano lecturing. What other techniques led to you beating Midoriya before?

Easy. Using his capture rings.

And that's when Hitoshi got an idea.

Grabbing at a loose end of his bandages (who knew these would be so useful?), Hitoshi jumped behind Midoriya and wrapped it around his arms and torso, immobilizing his upper body. The green-haired boy lashed out, but Hitoshi dodged, and for the third time that Sports Festival, Hitoshi kicked Izuku in the back.

Was this his thing now? Apparently.

To Midoriya's credit, he actually managed to keep from falling out of the ring. But when he was focused on breaking out of the bandages, Hitoshi struck again, round-body kicking his best friend in the chest and finally pushing him out of bounds.

"Oh, thank Korosensei that worked," Hitoshi muttered, slouching from exhaustion but still holding out a hand to Midoriya. The green-haired boy was pouting, but gratefully accepted it.

"And it's his resourcefulness that scores Shinsou the win! I have to say, it looked a lot like something you would do, Eraserhead."

"Hmm."

Hitoshi and Midoriya snorted at the banter and walked side-by-side to the exit — something no other competitors did. It went to show that there were no hard feelings between them ever, no matter what was at stake. Because, when it came down to it, their bond went much deeper than a simple fight.

-.-.-.-

"Hitoshi?"

"Yeah?"

They were walking through the tunnels, headed back to the waiting area when Midoriya abruptly stopped. Hitoshi froze, worried his friend was more upset about losing the fight than originally assumed.

"What…" Izuku tilted his head. "What's that on your hand?"

Hitoshi felt his body go cold. When using the bandages to wrap up Midoriya, he unknowingly exposed the sharpie phone number on his palm. The brainwasher sweatdropped and shoved his hand in his pockets.

"Uh, nothing?"

"Really? Because it looked an awful lot like phone numffff-"

Hitoshi bounced, muffling his friend with his hand and pinning him to the ground. He only had a few moments of peace, however, before their comms crackled to life.

"Oh, Shitsou~" Bitch-sensei drawled. "Guess what Chiba just said he spotted with his quirk during the fight. You little dog, seducing your opponents; I'm so proud!"

Hitoshi groaned and slammed his head into Midoriya's chest, lamenting the betrayal (how could Chiba do this to him? He should've never beat the other boy in chess so much). His best friend patted his hair and turned off Hitoshi's comm so he wouldn't have to hear the teasing before his next match. Because Midoriya Izuku is a saint and too good to be Hitoshi's best friend.

"It's Kaminari's phone number, isn't it?"

He takes that back.

-.-.-.-

The final round was Hitoshi versus Bakugou.

It's as fun as it sounds.

"Poofy, nice to see you've made it this far," he mocked as they entered the ring together. Bakugou growled and looked ready to punch the brainwasher even though the fight hadn't started.

But here's the thing. Hitoshi was very tired. He just went head-to-head against his best friend in probably the greatest martial arts fight ever, and he really doesn't feel like fighting anymore. He mostly just wants to take a nap. And a pain pill.

That doesn't mean he's not going to win, though.

"Quite the match-up we have for our final round!" Present Mic declared. "Bakugou Katsuki, one of the most powerful students in the competition, versus Shinsou Hitoshi, easily the most resourceful and versatile fighter. Who will win?"

"Me," Bakugou growled, almost subconsciously, and Hitoshi smirked.

"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself, Poofy."

The match officially started.

"Shut your fucking mouth!"

And then it ended.

-.-.-.-

"And just like that, Shinsou Hitoshi is the winner!" Present Mic declared. "Wow, after seeing his fight with Midoriya, I even forgot what his quirk was!"

Hitoshi released Bakugou from the brainwashing the moment he stepped out of bounds. Admittedly, that was a terrible idea.

"You...fucking...BASTARD!" Bakugou screamed, charging. "What, you're really not going to fight me like a man?! Stop being a fucking coward and fight me for real!"

Thankfully, Midnight subdued the boy before he could do any real damage. As she carried the unconscious Bakugou away, she stopped by Hitoshi and smiled.

"Something tells me you aren't going to be my student much longer," she said. "But even then, I'm still going to brag to the world about what you and your classmates accomplished. You've made me very proud."

Hitoshi grinned softly. "We hoped we would, Midnight-sensei."

Midnight sniffled. "Such fervor and youth!"

Hitoshi barely evaded her crushing boob hug in time.

-.-.-.-

If Hitoshi knew this would be the consequence for winning, he would have never competed in the first place.

"Wow, I can't believe the winner of the Sports Festival is one of us," Nakamura cooed, draping herself on his back. "Remember us, now that you're famous?"

"Hey Shinsou, can I get your autograph? I bet it's worth something now!" Sugaya asked.

Maehara laughed. "Hey, since we have the same mentor, mind sharing in the glory with your fellow Honeypots?"

"Would you be freaked out if I took your bandages and sold them on the Black Market for thousands of dollars?" asked Hazama.

Hitoshi blinked and held his bandaged arms close to his chest. "Um, yes?"

Thankfully, before E-class could pester him more, 1-C arrived.

"Shinsou!" called Oohira. "You crazy purple man, you actually did it!"

"You're our hero, Shinsou!" Yamaguchi declared.

Kunimi nodded. "I heard some kid talking earlier about how they weren't going to apply to U.A. because they didn't think they'd pass the hero entrance exam, but now they're going to go for General Education because of you! You're an inspiration."

Hitoshi was thoroughly blushing. "It was hardly just me. We all worked together to achieve this."

"But we couldn't have done it without you," Shimizu pointed out. "You believed in us, Shinsou. We'll never forget that."

It's because Korosensei believed in us first, Hitoshi wanted to answer, but he settled for a smile.

The Miya twins slapped his back at the same time. "And even though you're leaving us for the hero course, we'll still miss you back in 1-C."

Michimiya confidently marched forward. "And you better come visit."

Hitoshi immediately agreed because, well, he'd seen her kick. He didn't want a broken nose.

-.-.-.-

All-Might was the one who gave out the medals. Midoriya and Tokoyami both claimed third place, and Hitoshi noticed All-Might lean in and say something specific to Midoriya. That's...interesting. Since when were they acquainted?

Bakugou had to be physically restrained and encased in cement to receive his medal, still pissed off and trying to fight Hitoshi 'for real.' All-Might resorted to making Bakugou hold the medal with his mouth since he refused to get it put around his head.

"And finally," All-Might said, holding out the gold medal. "The first-place medal. And might I add, very well deserved."

Hitoshi graciously took the medal. And then, turning towards where END stood, he brandished the medal and held up his hand. To everyone else, it looked like he was making a C and referring to his class. Only E-class would know what it really was: a crescent moon.

Because this win was for Korosensei.

-.-.-.-

ULTIMATE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL RECAP

Didn't get a chance to tune in to the biggest tournament in Japan? From the shocking underdog stories, to END's takeover, to the insane quirks, to the stunning performance by the student who won it all, here's everything you need to know about this year's Sports Festival.

[Read more]

-.-.-.-

"We have a situation."

After the Sports Festival, everything seemed to be looking up for END. The public's opinion of them had skyrocketed ("We have memes, guys!" Kimura brandished), Shinsou finally proved his right to be in the hero course, and 1-C did them proud by breaking every record they could.

But then Karasuma called together the END captains and lieutenants, and everything began to fall apart.

"The Hero Killer?" Fuwa said, eyeing the documents.

"He goes by Stain, and already he's racked up a large number of victims," Karasuma explained. "The most recent was Pro-Hero Ingenium."

Kanzaki gaped. "Is he dead?"

"No, he survived, but barely. He won't be doing hero work ever again, though."

Hayami thumbed through the numerous reports. "Do we know where he's going to strike next?"

The screen behind Karasuma shifted, showing a geographical profile of all the places Stain had hit. "By Ritsu's calculations, we estimate Hosu City will be next."

Maehara gnawed his lip. "Well, if we know where he'll strike, I say we get boots on the ground and monitor the situation as much as we can; try to prevent something before it actually happens."

"I think that's a terrible idea," Karma snapped, and the Delta captain jolted back.

"Excuse me—"

"Think about it," Nakamura pointed out, apparently following Karma's mindset. "We know this guy has beef with Pros, sure, but what has been a bigger hot-button issue as of late, especially following the Sports Festival?"

There was silence, but Isogai was the one who actually said the answer they were all thinking. "Us."

Karma hummed. "Exactly. Us. And I bet you he's been watching extra close lately."

The group paused, letting that sink in. "So I guess the question is," Nagisa said. "What does the Hero Killer think of assassins?"

Bonus:

Todoroki exited the hospital and just tried to breathe. He went there originally to tell his mother he planned on becoming his own man and would start using his power to be the hero he always wanted to be, like Midoriya said. What was brought up was anything but.

"I hope you are happy, and that you save many people, Shouto," his mother said, patting his face. "I'm sure Haruji thinks so too."

It's not the first time she's said something like this — Shouto was well aware of his stillborn twin. How could he not when some of his earliest memories involved his father yelling at his mother for "Not keeping the other alive!" or telling Shouto "You're here because you've already defeated your greatest competition. You won, and you're here, and he's not."

No, Todoroki Shouto was well aware of Todoroki Haruji. But for some reason, it bothered him more than usual to hear that name.

"Mother…" he began. "There's something I need to ask you. About Haruji."

Todoroki Rei blinked. "What is it, Shouto?"

"You always talk about him like he's still alive. Why...Why do you do that?"

Because like his siblings, Todoroki always credited it to his mother's crumbling mental state, another harmless delusion. But no one actually bothered to ask.

His mother blinked at him so innocently. "Haruji is alive, Shouto. What are you talking about?"

And so Todoroki left the hospital, and the entire ride home he researched his suspicions. Page after page, article after article, and finally, finally, he found what he was looking for.

"Akabane Karma," Todoroki mumbled. "Who are you?"