Chapter 22: A Breaking Hero

Chapter Text

Class 1-A chattered amongst themselves excitedly as they waited on the train platform. All of them carrying around a metal briefcase with a number on it plus their backpack and duffel bags. All except for one.

"I can't believe you're interning with Thirteen!" Uraraka gaped, "How did you manage that?"

Shimura lightly scratched at his neck, "I don't know. I was going through the list of offers and saw their name. I didn't even think teachers could do that sort of thing, but it makes a lot of sense."

"I guess, but we learn from them every day. Wouldn't that just be like extra lessons?"

"Well, yes, but they teach normal school subjects. Outside of Foundational Heroics, we only really learn how to be heroes from Aizawa-sensei and All Might. All of the teachers are pro heroes, so why wouldn't they be able to take us on for internships?"

"Huh, I never thought of that before. Maybe I could've asked Aiz-"

"Absolutely not," Aizawa immediately shut down, "If you ever see me take on a student for a work study or internship, assume it's because I have a gun to my head."

Uraraka looked at Aizawa with worry, "Figuratively, right?"

"Everybody, listen up!" Aizawa addressed his class, glossing over Uraraka, "You lot will be attending a week-long internship with the pro hero of your choice. I can't speak for each individual hero, but the expectation is that you will only be tagging along with them, purely for supervision. Outside of paperwork, you should not be actively assisting them in the field unless the hero gives explicit permission to you."

He stared down at his class, his gaze lingering on the more trouble-prone students, "Remember, you are all representing UA, but you are also putting yourself out there in the public eye. It isn't common, but it's also not unheard of for students to make a name for themselves during this time. This does not mean you should jump at the chance should it arise. Now get going. I will not have your first impressions be ruined because of your inability to follow a schedule."

Everyone said goodbye to each other as they made their way to their respective trains. Shimura looked around for Iida, hoping to catch him before he got too far. Seeing him briskly walking to his train, he ran after him.

"Iida-kun!" he called out.

Hearing his name, Iida paused before performing a proper about-face, "Shimura-kun, I would love to chat but Aizawa-sensei said we must be on our way."

"I'll be quick," Iida looked conflicted, but nodded anyway. Now that he had Iida's attention, Shimura was at a slight loss of words. He could still see pain in his eyes, but it was giving way to a burning anger, "I just wanted to say that you can always call me if you want to talk. Doesn't have to be anything important, just calling to say hi or something, I don't know."

Iida looked beside himself. Shimura could see him mentally debating, the anger in his eyes momentarily fading to sadness before it was roughly shoved back aside, "I appreciate the sentiment Shimura-kun, but I highly doubt we will have a lot of time for ourselves during the internships. I'll be sure to catch up with you when we return. If there is nothing else, then I must be on my way. If we aren't fifteen minutes early to the expected time, then we are late."

Iida turned back around before Shimura could reply, leaving him to dumbly scratch at his neck. Shimura hung his head in disappointment. He knew that he should've done more before, but every attempt he made at reaching out to Iida, he was met with a brick wall. This interaction was only marginally better than all previous attempts.

"You can't help someone if they don't want it," Aizawa spoke up from besides him. "All you can do is to be there for them when they need it the most."

Shimura nodded sadly, "I just think I should've done more. He's my friend."

Aizawa shrugged non-committedly, "Like I said, you can only do so much. Now come on, let's get you back. Thirteen's been too excited since you chose to go with them, and I need you to put a damper on it."

"Harsh."

"Deal with it."

The ride back to UA was uneventful. The shuttle they took to the station was empty and devoid of the liveliness it had when the class was still on it. Aizawa didn't speak once to initiate any small talk, he had never been very good at it, and always preferred to stay in silence. Shimura didn't mind it either since he too wasn't good at holding a conversation.

Shimura sat in the passenger seat, his forehead resting against the window as he watched the city go by. Admittedly, he was ecstatic about his internship, but he couldn't bring his body to reflect it when all he could think about was how he had somehow failed his friend. He could see the pain and conflict Iida was going through. It was right there, and Shimura knew all he had to do was push a little more before finally getting through the walls Iida put up. Whenever he saw the chance, he let it slip away, too scared of accidentally pushing him away instead. Shimura huffed in frustration.

UA's four main buildings eventually came into view beyond the wall, its glass panels shining like a beacon as it reflected the sun. Aizawa followed the path to the side of the campus, passing by the main building and various storehouses. He pulled up outside of a garage door, easily big enough to house a small plane. They waited as the door slowly opened, revealing rows of vehicles, both school-issued and personal.

"Thirteen still has classes to teach, so you've got the rest of the school day to yourself," Aizawa explained as they walked to the dorms together. "Normally I would suggest you catch up on your homework or training, but for now, just don't cause trouble for your fellow students and teachers."

Aizawa opened the door to 1-A's dorm and stalked off to his room without another word, stopping only briefly in the kitchen to grab a jelly pouch from his locked stash.

Shimura stood in the threshold, surrounded by the utter quietness of the dorm, unsure of what to do. His friends were gone and there was no way he'd do any homework if he was given a free day. He stayed there, dumbly swinging his head back and forth across the common room searching for inspiration when he heard the audible slam of Aizawa's door.

Still debating what to do, he didn't have to wait long before a knock sounded at the door. Confused, he opened the door revealing All Might in his smaller form.

"Uncle Tos-!" Shimura started before cutting himself off, "Yagi-san, what're you doing here?"

Yagi chuckled as he waved his hand, "No need for the formality, Tenko, my boy. Would you care to join me for a walk?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure give me a sec," Shimura closed the door on Yagi. It reopened moments later with Shimura stuffing his pocket with his personal effects he didn't bring with him to the station, "Alright, let's go!"

The pair walked towards one of the many paths that line UA's property. Because the school was surrounded by a small forest, there were a plethora to choose from, and no worry of being too crowded. They walked around in silence for a spell, just enjoying each other's company and the scenery around them.

The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze, overall, a perfect spring day.

They continued in silence before Yagi broke it, "How have you been, my boy? I meant to check in with you after the Sports Festival, but I couldn't find the time. I'm sorry for that."

"I've uh- I've been better if I'm being honest." Shimura scratched timidly at his neck, briefly remembering his encounter with that girl, "Things just seem to keep piling up and it feels like it's all circling around me. But you don't need to apologize, I know how busy you can get."

Yagi paused in his step. He was fully prepared to have to coax Shimura into sharing, so when he heard his reply, he was thrown through a loop, "My boy, you know that's no excuse. A hero saves hearts as well as bodies, right? If I can't save the hearts of those closest to me, then I must be a lousy hero."

Shimura immediately turned around, pointing a finger at Yagi, "Don't you say that! You're the best hero there ever was. You've saved the hearts of plenty."

"The hearts of plenty, not the hearts of everyone," Yagi somberly corrected. "But that was meant to be a joke – looks like I'm a lousy excuse for a comedian as well." He gave a self-deprecating laugh, "On a more serious note, do you want to talk about it?"

The argument Shimura had died in his throat, instead he turned back around and started walking again. He picked up his pace as he started looking for a bench. He grumbled to himself, "That's just not fair."

Seeing that Shimura wasn't stopping, Yagi walked after him, "Hey, wait. Tenko, come back here!" Yagi didn't want to buff up to catch up to Shimura, especially because of something so trivial, so he broke into a light jog.

A bench came into view around the path's bend. Shimura made a beeline for it and sat down, Yagi a few steps behind.

Slightly panting, Yagi sat himself down next to Shimura, "I'm sorry if I upset you, my boy. I meant to make this talk more upbeat, but I guess we both have a few things to get off our chests."

Shimura shrugged apathetically, "No, I'm sorry for running off. It's just, a lot is happening in such a short time frame, that I barely have any time to process anything." He let out a humorless laugh, "I was just barely getting over the USJ and then the Festival came up, and then I stupidly challenged a villain that's out to get me on live TV. Then in the same day, some chick finds me and says that the same villain is expecting me. Like he's expecting me to change sides and join him.

"And then Iida's brother got attacked by the Hero Killer, and since finding out, Iida's been all cagey and it's really getting on my nerves. I'm trying to be a good friend, but every time I try talking to him about it, he shuts me out. Then the internships come up and Iida goes and chooses a hero that offers him nothing solely because he operates in Hosu where his brother was attacked, and now he's off on a train with a stupid vendetta in his head and I can't do anything about it! Fuck! It's so unfair. Why my class?" He gave a choked sob, his voice falling quiet, "Why me?"

Throughout his rant, Shimura doubled his scratching, both hands leaving the skin around his neck red and raw. Yagi was at a loss. He knew that things hadn't been going smoothly but had no idea the extent at which it was affecting everyone, let alone the one he holds so close to his heart. Yagi's internal conflict hit a peak when he heard Shimura's comment, no doubt meant to be kept to himself.

"Am I really not meant to be a hero?"

Immediately Yagi grabbed Shimura and hugged him, one arm around his body while the other holding the back of his head. Shimura yelped in surprise as he felt the embrace, but quickly melted into it. It pained Yagi to hear Shimura, the grandson of the greatest hero Yagi had ever seen and had the privilege to learn from, doubt himself so heavily.

"Of course you're meant to be a hero," Yagi consoled. "You also don't need to take on everything by yourself. You have friends and people that will support you. Take it from a guy who's done most of his work alone. In my many years of being a hero, I've only had one sidekick by my side, but that was only for a few scant years. Everyone else that works for me is only there so that they can do paperwork while I run off again."

"How am I meant to be a hero?!" Shimura demanded, Yagi's second half completely lost on him. "My quirk has no off switch. If I touch anything with all five fingers, it disintegrates. If I touch anyone with all five fingers, they could die. My quirk is meant to destroy things, not to save people. Hell, at the USJ, my first instinct was to kill Shigaraki after he tried attacking us. And I wanted to try again after you fought with him! That's not what a hero does, but at the time it just felt so right."

Shimura was openly crying at this point, tears flowing down his face as he tried mopping them up with his uniform's sleeves, "I fight dirty. I'm not friendly with people I just meet. I hesitate to take that first step towards helping someone while others run ahead. Nothing about me or what I do is heroic."

Yagi was kneeling in front of Tenko now, both hands placed on his shoulders, "Tenko, look at me." Hearing the tone of his voice, Shimura sniffled one last time before shakily looking into Yagi's eyes, "You're scared. Believe me, I understand that feeling more than anyone. But you can't let that fear lead your life, you can't let it hold you down and break you, you can't begin to doubt yourself. Because if you do, then the villains will have truly won. Tell me, my boy, do you know what makes a hero?"

Shimura silently shook his head.

"Someone isn't a hero based on how popular they are, how strong their quirk is, not by how many criminals and villains they put away, not even how many people they save," Yagi shook his head as he dismissed the most common thoughts. "A hero is determined by how well they can pick themselves up after they've been beaten down again and again and still face the next challenge that comes their way; never stopping until the people they've promised to protect are saved.

"My master, your grandmother, once told me that a true hero saves not only their lives…" Yagi trailed off.

"… but also their spirits," Tenko continued, "So no matter how scary things get, give 'em a smile, as if to say, 'I'm a-okay.'"

Yagi smiled warmly, seeing the light return to Shimura's eyes, "Exactly. It's alright to be scared, Tenko. There isn't a hero out there that isn't. Just know that you're never alone." Yagi stood up tall, his hand stretched out for Shimura to take, "You're far too young to be worrying about these kinds of things, so for now, take a step back. Take the time to learn everything you can now from your teachers and friends so that you can be more prepared in the future. Let the adults handle Shigaraki, and Stain, and whoever else may rear their heads. It's our job to clear the path, it's your job to help guide everyone through it."

Dabi stood over the burning husk of a hero with a bored expression, his forearms smoking. He had been out hunting heroes for days with no luck. Between himself and Stain, the only heroes left in the city were no-namers and sidekicks, hardly worth the effort he was going through. Despite that he still hadn't had any run-ins with Stain.

He groaned in frustration as he tilted his head up to watch the smoke rise in the air, "Another hero down and still nothing. Stain should've been all over this one, so where is he?"

As if his prayers were answered, he felt a presence drop behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Unless your name is Stain, I suggest you move along." He raised a hand up, displaying a ball of blue fire, "I don't mind adding one more body to my ledger."

"Blue fire…" the figure rasped, Dabi's ears perking up on the grating voice, "At last we finally meet."

Dabi lazily half-turned, his hand still lit up, keeping his body a side profile as he looked at the new arrival. He smiled as he caught sight of the unmistakable hunched figure of Stain, his katana still sheathed on his back.

"It's not like I'm trying to hide myself. You could've approached me after the first one." Dabi replied, "I'm the one that should be saying that."

"That is because I keep it that way. You're obviously one of my more fanatic followers if you're going to such lengths just to find me."

"I wouldn't call myself fanatic," Dabi dropped his arm, letting the fire out. The alleyway fell into a heavier darkness, "just motivated. I've got a lot riding on this, so as payment, the least you can do is hear me out."

Stain harumphed at Dabi's abrasiveness, "If only to get you off my back, very well, but not here. If you fall behind and lose me, you will be joining the next hero you kill."

"A test, right? Whatever, lead the way."

Without further prompting, Stain ran at the nearest wall and walked up it a few steps before jumping across to the other building, zig zagging until he was on the roof. Dabi watched him go before shaking his head. He crouched down before jumping, jets of blue fire shooting out from his feet.

On the roof, Stain ran. He vaulted over vents and railings with practiced ease. As he reached the edge of the building, he didn't break his stride, instead he placed his foot on it and leapt. Dabi ran behind him near step-for-step, only using his fire to aid him in the jumps he couldn't make otherwise.

Stain took random turns, dropped into alleyways before reappearing on another roof blocks away. Dabi tried his best to hide it, but he was quickly running out of stamina, unused to the amount of running and using his quirk in quick succession. Stain must have caught on and increased his pace, the distance between the two growing with each step. Dabi's lungs were burning, and his legs were on fire.

He looked down quickly to ensure he wasn't actually engulfed in flames.

The momentary look away was enough for Stain to give Dabi the slip. Eyes widening in worry, Dabi ran up to the edge of the building he was currently on and stood on the ledge, looking down the alley and across to the other rooftops. He cursed when he couldn't find Stain anywhere.

"Shigaraki is gonna kill me," Dabi lamented.

"So that's what this is all about," Stain said from behind him. On instinct, Dabi unleashed a torrent of fire where he heard the voice come from. When the flames dispersed, he could see a scorch mark on the wall Stain must have been leaning against.

Dabi's vision was filled with gravel has he felt himself get yanked off the ledge. He immediately got back up and retreated so his back was against the ledge, still seated on the ground. He raised an arm up, ready to unleash more fire but felt his body tense and freeze.

"I would say I'm surprised, but I'm not," Stain said as he nonchalantly flipped his knife in his hand, "The girl found me first and not a day later I find you standing over my quarry. How many more dogs will your master unleash until I heed his call? Does he think me one of his pets as well?"

"No one's my master," Dabi growled. "No one holds my leash. I work with him, not for him."

Stain crouched down and placed his face in front of Dabi's, "Then why are you out here doing his bidding? You're not doing it to sate yourself." Stain brought his knife up and placed it against Dabi's throat. If he could, he would've shivered at the touch, "I should kill you now, deliver your head to him as a message. I've held up my end of the bargain just fine, it seems like he hasn't."

"But you won't."

"And why is that?"

Dabi hesitated before pulling complete nonsense out of nowhere, "Because you know you can't afford to make an enemy out of him too." Feeling the blade slowly release against his throat, internally he whooped with relief, "You must've felt it too, right? It's not just him you need to worry about. Shigaraki is dangerous, no question about it, but there's someone else involved too. Someone leagues above Shigaraki, controlling everything from the shadows."

The knife was now safely away from his throat, so he kept talking. What started off as a last-ditch effort to save his skin was actually starting to make a lot more sense, "Shigaraki is the face, but he's not the leader, the true one anyway."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I have no interest in whatever scheme Shigaraki or the mystery leader may be cooking up in their heads, but I know it won't be pretty. I'm only with him because I can't do shit on my own, and you've made it abundantly clear you work alone. He's the next best shot I've got at reaching my goal. You may not want to work with him, but you're smart enough to know that when the storm hits, it's best to be on the inside than out."

The timer on Dabi's paralysis reached its end. Feeling in control of himself again, Dabi dashed to the side and rolled to his feet. Stain didn't move to pursue. He looked at Dabi pensively, obviously weighing the choices laid out in front of him.

"Tell Shigaraki I will meet with him in three days' time. I will hear him out once more, but afterwards you will not contact me again."

Dabi nodded once before turning his back on Stain and walked away. A simple gesture, but one that conveys trust. A literal example of 'you don't stab my back, I won't stab yours.' Dabi reached the other end of the roof and felt no sharp pain. He stood on the ledge before looking back, seeing Stain was long gone. He smirked and jumped off the edge, his hands in his pockets.

Time to pay up, Shigaraki.