The sun was now setting in Shibuya as Kyouka laid on one of the couches in the agency and kicked off her boots, feeling completely beat for the day.

It was the second day of her internship and it was just as hardworking as it was yesterday.

Since beginning her internship, she has assisted in searching for missing cats and dogs, helped the elderly walk across the intersection, picked up litter in the streets, and helped chase after a couple of pickpockets. Well, it wasn't really much helping as much as it was following Crust while he chased after them.

But even when she and Crust weren't helping other people, they were running around the city throughout the entirety of their patrol, only taking small breaks every so often for a drink of water and one 10 minute break for a quick lunch.

Now her legs were sore as hell and her feet were absolutely killing her.

God, what she wouldn't do for a nice massage right about now. It makes her wonder if Izuku would be any good at giving massages. She would definitely love to be the judge of that whenever the opportunity arises. She would bet all of her money that he would be amazing at them.

But alas, no option for any massages were available to her right now, so she had to deal with her dying feet.

Her boots were definitely not made with much running in mind. While she was at the development studio asking for the modifications to her costume, she asked if it's possible for her boots to be compacted so they could be more flexible and maneuverable so her feet won't be tortured as much.

Unfortunately, Power Loader informed her that she would have to sacrifice power in her speakers for that to happen. So that plan had to be thrown away. She'll take power over comfortableness anytime if it means she can protect Izuku better that way.

For now, she'll just enjoy the time she has to relax her legs and feet, but it wasn't going to last as long as she would like.

Unfortunately, she's only on a break right now and she'll be heading out to patrol again in about an hour. At least nighttime patrols weren't as exhausting, not lasting as long as daytime patrols and not taking place under the sun.

Even though it was all exhausting, Kyouka would be lying if she said that she didn't feel a little proud of her actions. Every man, woman, and child she's helped out today has given her a smile whenever she helped them out and it felt nice.

But so far, there was no one sweeter than that little girl she helped out yesterday. But who knows? That could change this week or anytime during her hero career. Maybe it's purely recency bias.

Kyouka then pulled out her phone and tried calling Izuku, but wouldn't get an answer. 'Dammit, I really wanted to hear his voice this time. This sucks.' She threw her hood on, covering her eyes with it. 'Maybe I can take a nap here and at least dream about him…'

She tried calling him yesterday as well after her patrol with Crust was finished, but she didn't get an answer just like today.

He texted her the next morning, apologizing ten times at the fact that he didn't answer her call and explained that Gran Torino trained him almost the entire day and that when she called him, he was too exhausted to pick up his phone.

Of course, she understood very well and didn't hold it against him, but it didn't make her feel better at the fact that she was missing him like crazy right now.

Kyouka began to slowly close her eyes, ready for that nap until hearing the doors of the agency loudly fling open, causing the girl to slightly jump.

"Angelbeat?!"

Kyouka reluctantly raised her hand, recognizing that voice as Crust's as she silently prayed that he wouldn't end her break early.

Crust walked over to the couch and smiled. "Ha! You look like you've had a tough day, huh?!"

"Yeah. You could say that. But it was a tough day yesterday too, and it'll most likely be this way for the whole week…" Kyouka grumbled, pulling her hood down to try to cover her face.

"Would you mind moving your legs so I may take a seat?" Crust asked, seeing Kyouka's legs over the other side of the couch.

Kyouka responded by turning her body to the side, telling the hero that she doesn't plan on moving her legs anytime soon.

"That's alright. I can sit down comfortably right here." Crust said, sitting on the floor and crossing his legs. "Is it fine if we talk?"

Kyouka sighed and turned back on her back. "Sure, why not? Just whatever you do, don't make me stand up please."

Crust chuckled, shaking his head. "I promise I won't. You can stay right where you are for now."

"So, why do you wanna talk all of the sudden? Is it serious?"

"It is. This is something I must discuss with you as a Pro Hero who has a young student interning under them." Crust cleared his throat. "As heroes, we must always be willing to put everything on the line to save the lives of everyone we possibly can. You know this, correct?"

Kyouka nodded, staying silent.

"In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of being a hero is the atmosphere you deliver. When you show up, it should bring relief to the people around you. They shouldn't have to worry about their safety or wonder if they'll make it out alive or not. The only things that should be on people's minds are that they will be okay and that nothing will ever hurt them." Crust explained. "Think of All Might. His mere presence as the Symbol of Peace makes the entire country feel like they're safe and that there will always be hope. It also simultaneously scares off anyone who wishes to commit any criminal deeds. Of course, that isn't going to stop every potential criminal, but it does more than enough for this country. He's a fantastic hero and an even greater man for accomplishing such a feat."

"Yup. He's the number one hero for a reason…"

'What is he trying to get at here? Just trying to tell me how awesome All Might is? I hear that a lot from Izuku and it's much more interesting coming from him. Maybe I can take a nap if he doesn't try asking me any questions.' Kyouka closed her eyes again, ready for another try on that nap.

"Do you remember yesterday when you rescued Snowball from that tree? Do you remember what method you used to bring her down?"

Kyouka's eyes shot open as her eyebrows furrowed. 'Dammit. I seriously jinx myself way too much.'

"Yeah, I do. I convinced her to come down because you told me to."

"Do you know why I had you use that method?"

"Uh… Because you didn't want to be a bother to the fire station or any tool shops?"

"Not at all. Sometimes your presence isn't enough. Remember that Kozue, Snowball's owner, was right there and yet Snowball still wouldn't come down. That is because fear took over Snowball's mind while she was on that tree. It was your words that put her mind to ease." Crust said with a proud smile. "You know, it's the exact same for people too sometimes. For example, let's say a woman is in a burning building and she can easily escape if she climbs down the fire escape. But, she is too petrified with fear to do it and can only stand still while the building around her burns down, resulting in her death if she doesn't take action." The hero then looked down at his lap. "In our line of work, there's a chance you will see innocents lose their lives. When I was starting out as a hero, I was inexperienced and that hypothetical story I told you about that woman actually happened. However, I couldn't put her mind to ease as I tripped over my words and I accidentally activated my quirk from the stress I was feeling. But the woman panicked at seeing shields sprout out of my arms and stepped back before accidentally falling down a hole behind her into the fire. Luckily, I used my shields to cover myself and ran into the building to grab onto her before running out of the building with her. It was surely a close one."

'I was totally expecting something tragic, considering how he mentioned that heroes will see innocents lose their lives! What kind of bait is that?! Oh… I probably shouldn't act so disappointed that that story isn't a tragic one, huh?

"Unfortunately, the woman suffered some broken bones and burns from the fall she took and was stuck in the hospital for quite a while. I'm grateful she didn't get furious with me for messing up, but at the same time, I feel like I deserved some reprimanding for my clumsy work. She still could've easily died that day if I hadn't done some quick thinking and ran into that building. It still was my mistake though, and I swear that I'll never be so foolish again."

"But what matters is that she didn't die, right? Now you're a better hero for it and showing me the ways of talking to a victim who's petrified with fear so I can handle a more serious situation like that in the future." Kyouka consoled the hero, peeking under her hood before covering her eyes again.

"You catch on quick, Angelbeat." Crust chuckled. "But you do have a point when you say I'm a better hero for it. I like to believe my mistakes helped me grow. You know, I remember when I was a young lad, my family and I were at a convenience store together as it was being robbed. There was one man holding up the employee and another watching us to make sure we didn't call the police or take action. I was scared out of my mind and believed that I was going to die right there. That was until a hero came into the store and took out the two men with ease. This hero went by the name of Twister. He was a very obscure hero, even for his time and sadly I doubt he's remembered by many people these days. But to me, he will always be remembered and cherished. Fun fact, my costume's color scheme is the same as his."

"Let me guess, his heroic actions inspired you to become a hero?"

"No… That wasn't it. I had already decided I wanted to be a hero by then." Crust responded before continuing with his story. "Unbeknownst to Twister, there was a third man in the back room and Twister got a large hole blown right through his stomach from that criminal's quirk. That criminal then ended up running out of the store, most likely afraid of the police or another hero showing up." He gave a somber smile, looking at his hand. "And as Twister laid on the floor, bleeding out, I held his hand and I was confused by the expression on his face. He was smiling. At the time, I didn't fully understand his smile. It made no sense why someone would be smiling when they're moments away from death. But now… Now I do. Twister had zero regrets about his actions and was just happy that he could save us. That man is the embodiment of how a hero should act if they're at death's door. Smiling at the fact that they saved a single person at the very least."

Kyouka swallowed, not sure how to respond to this story as she fidgeted around with her fingers.

"So, he may not have inspired me to become a hero, but he certainly inspired me to become the kind of hero I am today. Now, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure a single life isn't lost when I'm around. And if that ends up being the end of me, then I will gladly accept my fate with a smile." Crust said, clenching his fist and smiling widely. "Tell me, do you have someone you see as an inspiration as I did?"

Kyouka nodded and pulled up her hood, looking at Crust. "I do… He's the reason I wanted to be a hero in the first place. He's not a hero yet. He's my best friend. Actually, he was going to come here with me for his internship. But… something came up and he had to intern under a different hero agency. And to come clean, I wasn't stoked about coming here when I learned he wasn't coming too. I kind of just wanted to get this whole internship over and done with at first. Of course, I still miss him and would love it if we were together right now, but I want to take this internship more seriously than I had originally intended to. I want to become a great hero who can protect him if he ever needs it."

"Ah, are you talking about that Izuku fellow you mentioned to Kozue yesterday?"

"Was it that easy to guess?"

"I merely noticed that you have the same look in your eyes as you did when you were talking about him. It's one filled with admiration to the highest degree."

"Yeah, you would've loved having him here. He has the heart of a true hero. He always puts others before himself, he'll try to save every single person he can even if it seems impossible, he'll never hurt those close to him, and he'll do everything in his power to reach his goal of becoming the number one hero someday, including breaking his own body." Kyouka shared with the hero with a smile on her face.

"I know for certainty that I would've loved to have Izuku Midoriya here. I was so absorbed in his performance while watching him at the Sports Festival. You could tell from a mile away how much passion that boy has. He may not have won his fight against Todoroki, but I see the vast potential in him and so did a lot of other heroes I'm sure." Crust said before pointing at Kyouka. "That's the same reason I sent you an offer as well. You were up against opponents who, on paper, should be much stronger and outmatch you. Even against Bakugo, someone who displayed an immense amount of power, you still didn't give up for a second and kept fighting until the bitter end. I was there in the audience and I could hear people around me saying that you didn't stand a chance and that you would go down in less than 10 seconds against him. But you came the closest to beating him out of anyone. I did send him an offer as well, but I probably would've made things a little awkward if I praised you for almost beating him right in front of him, huh?"

'Yeah, but that wouldn't be the only reason it'd be awkward. Thank god he didn't take Crust's offer. Spending a week with him sounds like absolute hell.' Kyouka grimaced, imagining all the yelling from Bakugo and she would have to deal with it throughout her entire internship. At that point, she'd probably quit on the spot and spend the entire week at home, maybe making up some serious sickness as an excuse.

"Thanks a lot, Crust. That means a lot to me. I'll definitely pass that on to Izuku and I'm 100% sure it'll mean a lot more to him and he'll be honored to hear that a hero in the top 10 said that about him."

"But I have to ask... are you and Midoriya somewhat of an item? I know I shouldn't be saying this as a Pro Hero, but the two of you were super adorable together during the festival. Starting from when you were on his back for the obstacle race, when the two of you instantly teamed up with each other for the cavalry battle, and how you two cheered each other on during your respective battles."

Kyouka instantly covered her face with her hood, trying to hide her now flustered face. "Don't say embarrassing crap like that! Isn't a Pro Hero supposed to be all professional and stuff towards students?! Bringing up a student's personal life isn't very professional and not to mention inappropriate! You should be very ashamed of yourself!"

Crust could easily tell what face she was making under that hood as he laughed. "No worries. I won't pry any further."

Kyouka sighed as she gripped her hood before quietly mumbling to herself. "You better not. Or else you might end up going blind and/or deaf."

"Wow, that talk has gotten me all energized now! Let's end this break early and start patrolling again! Nothing wrong with a nice head start!" Crust exclaimed, standing up and pointing at the door. "Let us head out at once, Angelbeat!"

Kyouka sat up and looked at Crust with disbelief. "Say what?! But my break has barely begun! My legs and feet are still in pain, you know!"

"You can run off the pain, no problem!"

"That's not how pain relief works!"

"Alright then, I'll make things a little easier for you." Crust then effortlessly picked up Kyouka and threw her over his shoulder. "Aha! Now we can go on patrol and give your legs and feet a break simultaneously! But don't you think this will last long! I can't baby you forever!"

"H-Hey put me down! I look so stupid! I can't go out patrolling in public like this!"

Crust ran out the door, feeling Kyouka smacking his back. "You're free to get down whenever you like while we're patrolling! But you'll have to pick one! No third option!"

"Oh, that is freaking cruel…"

Kyouka knew that she had the choice whether to mentally suffer from people seeing her being carried like this or physically suffer from using her legs and feet even more than she was supposed to. Either way, she was not going to have a good time tonight and it made her wonder what kind of cruel god would punish her like this.

The Next Day

Kyouka was currently out on her nighttime patrol, accompanied by Crust like usual along with a few of his sidekicks.

"You've done outstanding work today, gentlemen! I'll treat you all to a nice barbecue when our patrolling is done for the night! How does that sound?!"

All of the sidekicks raised their fists into the air at this as they smiled. "Thank you, Crust! You're the best!"

The sidekicks continued to cheer and thank Crust as they all surrounded the hero who was now laughing.

However, one person was silent throughout this whole ordeal, and that was Kyouka who was checking her phone every other minute and not listening to anyone around her.

Not long ago, Izuku had texted her that Gran Torino was taking him to Shibuya for some on the field hero work.

She had to resist jumping and cheering for joy when she read that, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Crust and any other person who was around her at the time.

Kyouka had thought she would go through this entire week without seeing Izuku once and she recently became worried that she wouldn't be able to talk to him with all the training he's currently going through and the patrols she and Crust go on. But now that fear of not seeing or talking to Izuku has completely vanished, now that he's coming to Shibuya.

Even if he's extremely busy and she could see him for just a second and then only be able to say hi to him, that would be more than enough for her for the week. Ideally of course, she'd love to actually talk to him, then maybe Crust and Gran Torino can have a temporary partnership for tonight so it would be like her and Izuku would be interning together.

She also wanted to see how his new costume looked after his first one got messed up during his fight against Bakugo a couple weeks back. When he texted her that his original costume got updated by the support company, she was a little sad since she would kinda miss how cute the old one was. But she knew that his new one would look amazing, especially since he's wearing it.

Of course, she could've easily asked for a picture or video called him to see it, but seeing it in person for the first time would be a much better and memorable experience. And maybe there's a chance he can compliment the minor modifications she made to her costume. Admittedly she was a little tempted to add bunny ears to her hood similar to Izuku, but she thought that would be a little much and that she wouldn't be able to make it look as good as he does. Plus, it's much better if those bunny ears stay iconic to him if anything.

Kyouka suddenly felt her phone vibrate as her attention snapped to it. "Izuku?"

She saw it was a message from her hero and her face instantly brightened up. She expected to see him texting her that he's at the station right now or that he would be arriving soon and she was fully prepared to meet him there.

However, she didn't get any message of those sorts and saw that he only sent his location. Unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, then he's in Hosu City in some random alleyway.

But that made no sense. He should be on the train right now, passing Hosu City to get to Shibuya.

What could possibly be so eventful in Hosu City that would make Izuku and Gran Torino go there instead of Shibuya? The city has a fairly low crime rate and Izuku wouldn't be able to get as much experience there compared to Shibuya or any other big city in Japan.

Wait, Hosu City… Where the Hero Killer was last spotted, attacking Iida's brother, Ingenium. And Ingenium's body was reported to be found in an alleyway so that's probably where the Hero Killer usually attacks his victims.

The dots began to slowly connect in her head bit by bit as her eyes slowly widened in fear and her heartbeat began to speed up.

'No… No, no, no, no, no! Not Izuku! He can't be alone with that psychopath!' Kyouka's breathing got heavy as she stared at the location and strongly tightened her grip on her phone, creating a small crack on the screen.

The possibilities of what could be happening to Izuku right now were flowing into her mind.

An image flashed in her head of Izuku laying on the ground and bleeding out as a shadowy, menacing figure wearing a tattered red scarf stood above his body while holding onto a sword that was covered and dripping with blood. The image made her stomach feel like it was twisting in knots as she placed her hands on it.

Kyouka then smacked her head, trying to erase that image as her face looked absolutely horrified. She was about to smack her head again before it was caught by a large hand.

"Angelbeat, what's the matter? Why are you hitting yourself while looking so scared? Talk to me."

Kyouka looked up to see that it was Crust grabbing onto her hand. Her eyes were quivering as she kept them on the hero for a few seconds before suddenly exploding into a panic. "Crust! Please, this is an emergency! We have to go to Hosu City! Right now! We don't have a choice in the matter! If we don't then he'll die! He'll die! I won't let that happen to him!"

Crust was completely bewildered by this sudden behavior from the girl as he placed his other hand on her shoulder. "Please calm down and explain yourself. Why Hosu City, what is going on, and who will die?"

"There's no time to be calm and explain! We have to go! We can't waste any time!" Kyouka then tried to pry Crust's hand off of her as if her life depended on it. "Let go of me, dammit! If you're not coming with, then I'll go on my own! I don't give a shit!"

"You're not thinking clearly right now. If you were then you would use your quirk on my hand to make me let go of you. Please, take a deep breath and compose yourself. Being this panicked isn't going to do any good." Crust stated with a stern voice, gently tightening his grip on Kyouka, but avoided hurting the girl at all.

Kyouka ignored everything Crust said to her as the image of Izuku she had before flashed in her head again, causing her to try to pull away from the hero even harder than before and starting to hurt her own arm. "Let go! Let go! I swear, I'll-"

"Angelbeat! Calm yourself! Now!" Crust shouted as loud as he could, the entire block clearly hearing him as everyone's attention was now on him, including Kyouka who placed her free hand on one of her ears.

Kyouka's eyes stopped quivering as her breathing slowly returned back to normal before blinking a little. "C-Calm… You're right, I have to be calm." Kyouka took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you like that, but that doesn't change that we still have to go to Hosu City. I'm begging you, Crust, can we start heading to the station? I promise I'll explain myself. We can't waste much time. Izuku could be in serious danger."

Crust looked into the girl's eyes and could tell she was serious before nodding with a gentle smile as he let go of her arm. "Yeah, we'll start going right now." He turned towards his sidekicks. "All of you stay here in case of an emergency. Call upon your fellow sidekicks who are off duty or another Pro Hero in the area if you must. I'm going with her. I promise we'll have that barbecue tomorrow."

"No problem, Crust! We'll take care of the city while you're gone!"

Crust looked at Kyouka and suddenly started to run towards the station. "What are you waiting for?! Your dear friend is in trouble! We must run! Hosu City isn't too far from here, but we must not let a moment go to waste!"

Kyouka smiled before running as well, catching up to the hero. "Thank you, Crust. I'm grateful that you're even coming."

"Why wouldn't I? If there is even a 0.1% chance that someone could be in danger, it is my duty to do whatever I can to help. Now, may you give a brief explanation of the summary?"

Kyouka nodded. "Izuku sent me a strange message that contained just his location." She pulled out her phone and showed Crust the message. "That isn't like him at all. He would've either apologized for accidentally sending it or at least explained his reasoning. So that must mean he was in a bind and could only manage to send his location. He must've sent it in hope that someone would come to help him. He should be with Gran Torino, but maybe they got separated or Gran Torino got seriously injured. And… I have a suspicion that he might be facing the Hero Killer."

Crust widened his eyes. "The Hero Killer: Stain? Hm, this kind of area does seem like one where you could get away with attacking someone with no witnesses. It explains how he always attacks his victims one at a time and never in a group. If that's the case then this situation is truly horrendous. He's killed and injured so many heroes. I hope Midoriya is running away or trying to find a pro to take care of this villain."

"I hope so too…" Kyouka mumbled, biting her lip.

'But if there's someone that the Hero Killer is attacking and is about to kill, there's no way Izuku would run away… He's going to stay and fight Stain to try to save a life and have no concern for his own life. Stay alive, Izuku. I'll be there soon.'

Kyouka and Crust made it to Hosu City and they were both running down the streets with Kyouka leading the way while looking at her phone, trying to get to the location Izuku sent her.

"Remember, if we run into any danger, just stay behind me and don't wander off." Crust ordered as he looked around the area. "But are you sure we're getting there? This area is so empty and quiet compared to the rest of the commotion that was happening earlier."

On their way there, there was live news coverage of large fires all around the city that were being put out by heroes, but that wasn't the main issue to her. There was footage of those two guys from the USJ, Kurogiri, and Shigaraki.

Kyouka remembered how those two almost killed Izuku and had to force herself to calm down so she wouldn't freak out in the train to avoid. But of course, she couldn't ignore the paranoid thoughts in her head of the League of Villains attacking Izuku instead of the Hero killer. She was uncertain what exactly to be afraid of.

But that didn't matter in the end. She'll fight whoever she has to or do whatever she has to, to make sure Izuku's safe. All Might may not be here, but Crust is the number seven hero and she's confident he could do a lot to those villains.

And Izuku probably sent that message to her other classmates, so Iida might be helping him, considering his internship is in Hosu City. Hopefully other pros are with him right now and are either taking down the villains or taking hits for Izuku so he doesn't get injured.

"Okay, 4-2-10 Ekou Street is just around the corner and Izuku will be in an alleyway to our left." Kyouka informed, seeing that they're about to reach Izuku's location.

Crust ran ahead of Kyouka, extending out his arm. "Be cautious. We don't know what we can expect. If the situation becomes too dire, I want you to run away as fast as you can and find a hero or the police. Your safety and the safety of any other innocent life is my top priority."

Kyouka nodded with a serious expression on her face, prepared to see either the League of Villains or the Hero Killer. 'I'm here, Izuku. Sorry for making you wait this long.'

Kyouka and Crust turned the corner and stopped running as they saw caution tape surrounding a part of the block. And within the caution tape, there were policemen, Endeavor, and a small old man with a white and yellow costume.

"What's going on…?" Kyouka asked herself, not sure whether to feel scared or relieved that the situation seems to be resolved here.

'I don't see Izuku anywhere. Could that old man be Gran Torino? He doesn't look familiar to me, but the age seems to match since he was All Might's teacher. But if that's the case then Izuku should be with him right now. Fuck, I have to see him.'

Kyouka examined the area a little more and instantly felt intimidated as she saw a deranged-looking man with a tattered red scarf, heavily detained by the police. "I-Is that the Hero Killer?"

"He matches the description from the heroes who have survived his attacks, so it must be." Crust said before looking at Kyouka. "If you like, I can talk to the police and request info on Midoriya to see if he's okay?"

Kyouka simply nodded as Crust ducked under the caution tape and gave a bright smile to everyone, announcing his arrival.

Endeavor clearly looked annoyed and turned away, grumbling. "Why is this fool here?"

"Boy, there is going to be a lot of paperwork on my table tonight." A suited man with a beagle head grumbled as he held his head. "I'm already feeling the headaches. What am I going to do about this whole situation?"

Kyouka rubbed her arm, feeling impatient and nervous about what information Crust might get as she watched him now talking to the police.

She then noticed something behind Stain and gasped at what it was. It seemed to be a figure that was covered by a sheet with some blood being visible on the ground next to it. These sheets are usually used to cover up corpses and the Hero Killer seems to be just recently detained.

Could the corpse under the sheet be-No it couldn't be. If that old man really was Gran Torino, he would have a more sorrowful expression over Izuku being killed. But what if he's merely putting on a brave face?

Kyouka didn't give herself any time to think as she immediately ducked under the caution tape and ran towards the corpse, wanting to confirm if her fears were real or not.

She knew she could've easily waited for Crust to confirm for her, but her body and mind said otherwise as her eyes focused on the corpse.

"Young lady, stop! You can't trespass without proper jurisdiction!" A policeman shouted at her but was ignored.

She hoped it was anyone in the world but Izuku. It could be a Pro Hero, it could be one of her classmates, it could be All Might. She doesn't care. Just please... Not Izuku.

Kyouka got closer to the corpse as she clenched her fists, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she might see under that sheet. 'It's not Izuku. It's not Izuku. It's not Izuku. It's not fucking Izuku.'

Suddenly, that old man landed right in between her and the corpse as he outstretched his arms. "Don't touch the body! We have to make sure it gets returned completely intact for a proper autopsy. What is a kid like you doing here, anyways?"

'So this is Kyouka Jirou, eh? I should've known someone who's friends with that kid would be this foolish as well.'

"I-I just want to check out the corpse… Can I… Can I ask what's under that sheet?" Kyouka reluctantly asked, gulping. "Also, are you Gran Torino by any chance?"

"Yes, I am." Gran Torino sighed. "This info will be going public tomorrow anyways so I may as well tell you now. It's a murdered Nomu under that sheet. But you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

Before Kyouka could answer, Crust jogged over to the two of them. "I apologize, Gran Torino. I wasn't watching over her properly. I take full responsibility for her."

"Y-You don't have to apologize for me, Crust. I was too impatient and curious about the whole situation." Kyouka said while internally sighing in relief at hearing what's really under that sheet.

'It's not Izuku… Just some dead Nomu. But that still doesn't answer where he is. Did Crust get any info?'

"The police wouldn't give me many details, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you. What happened here?" Crust asked Gran Torino as if reading Kyouka's mind.

"Ah, the Hero Killer was attacking Native in a nearby alleyway and almost killed the hero. Thankfully, Endeavor defeated the Hero Killer, so there's nothing to worry about now." Gran Torino explained, pointing at the Flame Hero with his thumb.

Endeavor scoffed, crossing his arms, not looking too pleased with what Gran Torino just said. "Shoto was here with two of his classmates, Midoriya and Iida, and that Pro Hero. But they were all escorted to the hospital by Manual and his sidekicks. You just missed them."

"Hospital? Did the Hero Killer hurt Izuk-them?"

Gran Torino grit his teeth for a second before shaking his head. "Oh no, of course not. Those three weren't involved with the Hero Killer at all. All the injuries they sustained were purely from this Nomu, but I can promise you that none of the injuries are life-threatening. They arrived just when the Hero Killer was about to be defeated."

Something didn't seem right to Kyouka. Gran Torino says that Izuku and the others arrived when the Hero Killer was about to be defeated, but the Hero Killer looks like he was defeated only a few minutes ago. But Izuku sent his location a little while more than a few minutes ago.

It didn't seem like she would be able to get anything out of Gran Torino and definitely not Endeavor, so she would have to ask Izuku about that as soon as she has the chance.

Kyouka felt herself drop onto her knees, tears landing on the ground as she widened her eyes. "Guess my body is finally reacting to the fact that Izuku's alright. Dammit… My hair is going to end up turning white from all this stress."

Crust patted her head. "All that matters now is that the students and Native are safe and sound."

Kyouka looked up at Crust and smiled. "Yeah… That's all that matters."

"Let us return to Shibuya. We don't want to disrupt the police's work in any way." Crust said, starting to walk away.

Kyouka nodded and followed Crust as a relieved smile formed on her face.

'Thank god you're safe, Izuku.'

A/N

Chapter 48 is donzo! Okay, I procrastinated a freaking lot. Blame persona 5 royal. I get addicted to rpgs way too much these days. I hope Tales of Arise sucks so I won't get addicted to that too lol.

You know, I just realized that this is the first chapter since chapter 3 where Izuku hasn't made a physical appearance or had any dialogue.

I know some of you are disappointed that Kyouka didn't get to join in the fight against Stain, but I honestly couldn't find a way to have her be a part of that fight properly.

I kinda wish I expanded on Kyouka freaking out after getting that text from Izuku. It seemed a little too short to me, but I hope it's alright.

Now onto the reviews!

Ability King KK: Her hair will definitely have a white streak by the end of the story. (Not gonna lie, I actually want that, but I doubt I'll go through with it.)

PonchoFirewalker01: I wonder too… Maybe she'll be terrible to Eri. Kidding. Or am I?

bk201fan: I was going to have her make dog noises to scare the cat, but I saw a Makima meme and then I refused to use dog noises.

papaprep: All good. Just try to be careful in the future.

Lockheart25: Hell yeah it is. A little worried about the pacing for MVA, but excited nonetheless.

Bucio: Kyouka is really playing the long game and it might work out for her. Also, the current events of the manga and the arc before that is what I'm most excited and scared to write, but I have plenty of time to worry about that.

the only 95: ¿quién sabe? Tal vez Crust se enfrente a un destino diferente aquí. O tal vez sea lo mismo.

HighPaladinRath: Does that make Bakugo loud Sasuke?

Dragon storm: The whole agency would be destroyed. But it would be entertaining at least.

Z: She's gonna force her way in and All Might will either have to agree or suffer the consequences.

Draconis678: Dammit now I'm imagining that moon from ASDF Movie.

Well, that's it for the reviews!

That's the end of this chapter! Please feel free to leave a review!