After three weekends on writing courses it is nice to relax again, and send out another chapter for AFS of course. Now if the sun just didn't go away after 3pm things might be a little brighter. Then again this chapter happens all in darkness too.

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Comments:

Psy-Kick: It might be a bit shaky ground but both see issues with the heroes.

GgeorGge: Wait no more.

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Proofread by 3DPhantom


Chapter 62. Learning From a Killer


Izuku pulled Shirokuro's jacket on and picked yet new armguards. They had been his first idea to replace the Dragon Blade shield for Shirokuro, but he had opted to go with the lighter and more hidden ones under the sleeves.

That was before it barely held up against a single slash of a sword, pressing painfully on his arm until he had changed clothes. Adding an extra layer on top of that was worth the weight for what he was about to do. He'd rather not leave an arm behind, even if it would regrow.

And the weight would improve his training. Izuku could imagine Eijiro declaring that loudly right before asking if he could get something like them but heavier. Izuku huffed with a smile. Perhaps he could get arm weights for each of them. The smile lasted until he took Shirokuro's helmet. The black wall descended between him and the world.

Shirokuro looked at everything through the tint of lenses and optics. The image was at least as sharp as with bare eyes, but more distant, like he was observing things through a window. Perhaps that was easier. He stepped up to Kurogiri.

"I am ready."

"I shall send you where you requested," Kurogiri said. "Be careful young Shigaraki and..."

The Nomu was suddenly quiet. The mist around his head twisted and twirled.

"What?" Shirokuro asked.

"Do not forget who you are."

Shirokuro looked at the Nomu for a long, quiet moment.

"Maybe," Shirokuro said quietly, "once I figure it out myself."

The Nomu did not comment any more and opened the warp gate. As Shirokuro stepped through he once again found himself alone on a roof, but not the one he had met Stain on the previous night. This time he immediately dropped to a low crouch, hiding behind the edge of the roof as he peeked over it to observe the roof where he was supposed to meet the killer.

What if Izuku had sneaked out to Hosu alone, worried for Tenya, and blasted the hero killer with the advantage of surprise? That could still be an option; risky, but he only needed one hit and to change clothes quickly.

Shirokuro shook his head to clear his thoughts. That was Izuku talking and the half of Izuku he was afraid of. Shirokuro could not afford to let that distract himself from his mission. There was too much to learn to let that get in the way.

The clock was past midnight, and the nearby roof below was still empty. Was Stain even coming? Shirokuro started scanning the surrounding roofs. Perhaps the killer was being careful like him, but something felt strange. He had a strange tingling. Was he being watched?

Shirokuro stopped breathing for a few seconds, leaving nothing to disrupt his senses. The feeling got stronger. What was it? Fabric chafed against itself somewhere. Steel whistled through the air. Shirokuro snapped to the side, leaning and crouching just enough for the knife to fly past. Shirokuro's eyes widened as the image of the flying knife got seared into his eyes.

He spun around, arm up, ready to block a sword strike, but one did not come. Stain stood a few meters away, frowning.

"I liked that knife," Stain said as there was a high-pitched cling somewhere behind Shirokuro.

"Then why did you throw it?" Shirokuro responded, struggling to keep his voice calm. "Did you ask me back here just to kill- try to kill me?"

"No, I asked you to that roof," Stain pointed behind Shirokuro, "and if you were as capable as I hoped, you would have the knife now. I did not throw it that fast. You won't survive long like this even with your quirks."

He pulled out another knife. Shirokuro tensed, but the killer flipped it around, holding the blade and offering it to Shirokuro who accepted it carefully. Stain turned around and walked towards the opposite side of the roof. He spoke as he walked.

"Throw it."

Shirokuro looked at the blade.

"At you?"

"Throw it," Stain commanded harsher. Shirokuro held the blade like he remembered seeing online somewhere. Throwing knives was one thing that had not been a part of his battle training. He compensated by swinging his arm harder. The blade left his fingers at an angle and he could immediately see it was not going to hit Stain. He was not sure if he was relieved for that or not.

Stain spun to the side and his arm swung out even faster than Shirokuro's when he had thrown the knife. His fingers closed around the handle before it could fly past, stopping the weapon instantly. He spun around, arm raised, ready to throw the weapon back. It was enough to make Shirokuro flinch, but Stain stopped mid motion and slowly lowered his arm.

"I suspected before. You have not been doing this for long."

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I won't give you any information that easily," Shirokuro said.

"You don't need to. I can tell you are young and how you move in battle shows inexperience. You have more skill than you should have, but some things only change after enough real battles. No amount of training, quirks or… other changes can hide that."

Shirokuro relaxed, just a little bit, as the killer was talking seemingly calm. Muscles in Stain's arm tensed. The arm wasn't hanging relaxed anymore.

Shirokuro jolted to the side, this time raising his arm. The knife flew into his armguard with a clang. It was a miracle Shirokuro had not activated Dragon Blade as a shield, but at least the weight reminding him not to had done its job. It also slowed him down a bit as he scrambled to catch the knife that spun into the air from impact. He caught it just in time before it hit the floor. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to try new equipment for the first time when facing a serial killer.

At least he managed to do it all without looking away from the killer.

"At least you did not lose this one."

"I…" Shirokuro almost spoke but paused to listen. "I did not lose anything."

He held his free hand next to himself half-closed like he was about to grab something. A tiny warp gate appeared over the hand and the first knife dropped down handle-first. Shirokuro's hand closed around it and now he was dual wielding. At least it felt a little familiar even if the blades weren't on fire. Holding the weapons in his hand was nevertheless a bit awkward and Stain's stare did not help with that.

Him pulling out a Katana wasn't any more helpful.

"Show me something interesting, Shigaraki. Show me what you can do without relying on quirks. Relying on them will hold back your skills. Those are your only true chance to survive."

The bootcamp serial killer was about to start.

So, this was how Hitoshi felt when coming to Izuku's place, minus the serial killer of course. Izuku was just a one-time killer, for now.

Stain charged. Shirokuro didn't want to repeat the previous night's mistakes by giving the killer initiative, so he also attacked. He dodged and blocked the first three attacks, not being any more successful with his own, but then his attempt at blocking led to a katana blade sliding into the crook of his elbow.

Even though the fabric itself was protective, the strike stung and Shirokuro could feel warm wetness against his arm. Stain pulled the blade back and looked at it, licking his lips.

"You are lucky I held back or I would have taken your arm."

"Yeah, well," Shirokuro said, "you wouldn't be the first one to do that. Some of my… training opponents could pulverise both our bones if they didn't hold back."

"You will never achieve your full potential by only training with those Nomu creatures."

"They aren't the only ones I have trained with, but they have the most difficulty holding back. That part about bones was not theoretical, and believe me, it hurts more than your sword."

"Good, then maybe you'll get through tonight without whining."

There was no time to respond before Shirokuro found himself fighting for his life, possibly literally. That had not been his last wound of the night, but to Stain's credit Shirokuro did not need to regrow any limbs and after a while he did in fact guide Shirokuro on how to present more of a challenge.

All in all it was rather humbling. Shirokuro had quirks that could potentially have taken out the killer, like when catching him off guard with his venom, but without all that it was hard enough to give the man a momentary challenge. This had to be how Eijiro felt sparring without using his quirk, when he could actually feel his opponent's punches. Only Shirokuro's regeneration would allow him to survive the night without a scratch.

That only applied to his body though. His costume, despite its strong material, would need some sewing, right after a good wash. Even though none of the cuts were too deep his arms and hands especially were bloodstained enough that he was the one who looked more like a killer out of the two.

Stain found errors and weaknesses in Shirokuro's technique even his father had not pointed out, expressing their presence with sneers. Many of those comments referred to inexperience, which Shirokuro interpreted as a positive thing.

Then there were his comments about holding and treating the blades strangely.

They kept going for hours, only stopping for long enough to step away every time Stain 'killed' Shirokuro. After all that the man only seemed barely tired and had yet to give an explanation as to why he was doing any of this.

Finally, Stain turned away and started wiping his sword. Shirokuro had much less to clean, though not nothing, and the cut on Stain's arm was the only one still visible. The man climbed on top of an air conditioning unit to sit down. Shirokuro leaned on his knees, catching his breath, eyes fixed on the man who seemed to stare at empty air.

Shirokuro mentally slapped himself. This was a unique chance, and he was wasting it just staring. If he wasn't going to kill the man, he should at least learn more. He climbed on the other end of the air-conditioning unit, not far enough to be out of sword's reach though.

"So," he started, "why are you still here, in Hosu I mean? Word of you crippling Ingenium is everywhere, and anyone interested knows where to look for you. To tell the truth it was surprisingly easy."

Stain turned his head to glare. Shirokuro again felt like he was being hit by the Killing Intent quirk.

"And what do you want to know for?"

Shirokuro swallowed under the protection of his helmet. "I am not trying to expose you to the heroes."

Stain huffed. "If I thought you did, you would no longer live. It does not answer my question."

"I am curious," Shirokuro said. "I am still trying to understand your… conviction. Both of us agree many of the heroes out here are not real heroes, but I still don't even know what you consider a real hero to be, or what you hope to achieve with your killing. There is clearly more than simply killing, at least you think there is."

"I purge fake heroes. Perhaps once you have more time to witness their actions you will learn to do what is needed."

"And what is a…" Shirokuro started, but Stain stood up.

"If you think you have the will to change anything, follow. If not, we will not see again."

He jumped back down to the roof. Shirokuro wanted to complain about the promises that had been made, but quietly dropped down himself. He hung the knives he had gotten from Stain on his belt.

"Keep up."

He jumped over the edge of the roof. Shirokuro rushed after him, unwilling to let the man disappear like the previous night. He found Stain two stories down handing from a windowsill, dropping down another story, then pushing against the wall to jump on the next roof and keep going. Stain didn't even look back to make sure Shirokuro kept up.

Shirokuro dropped down, barely caught the windowsill, and jumped towards the next roof from one story higher. He landed rolling and didn't even need to regenerate anything. If he did, he would have been too late to chase after Stain. On flat roofs he kept up with the man fine enough, but despite his own agility traversing between the buildings, the distance kept extending between them. It had not been a part of his training. He mentally took notes to adjust his and others' future training to address the issue.

Eventually Stain stopped on a low building looking over two crossing alleys. He gestured Shirokuro to stay low and quiet once he caught up to the man. Stain checked the alleys, they were empty, then moved to the side overlooking a proper street.

"Keep an eye out for a hero."

"Someone specific?"

"Long Arm of the Law, usually people call him Long Arm. His quirk…"

"Strech," Shirokuro interrupted. "His body parts can stretch temporarily at high speed, though they don't bend any differently to everyone else."

"You are well informed."

"I investigated heroes in this area to find you," Shirokuro said quickly. "Didn't have time to find much detail on Long Arm beyond what is easily available online. Worst I found was that material on him tended to be more about modelling than actual hero work. He hasn't been involved in anything major in a long time."

"Fake hero who cares more about himself than saving people. He needs to be purged."

"So what has he done to deserve death?"

"You already said it. He seeks personal benefit, not selfless help as he should."

Stain stepped closer to the roof's edge. Shirokuro raised his eyebrows under his helmet but held back the most aggressive questions and forced himself to breathe first.

"That is all you know?"

"It is all I need to know."

Shirokuro stared at the man, but could he really blame Stain? It wasn't like he didn't largely agree with the man's description. He just wasn't as bloodthirsty, right?

"Long Arm doesn't like to spend too much time working, but wants people to think he does, so he makes regular patrols at different times on different nights, but he is predictable and only cares about places where he can be seen, like the busy crossroad there," he pointed at the street, "and a railway station that way."

He pointed at the opposite direction that the alley led to.

"He takes a shortcut through this alley to not waste time. Should not be long now."

They stood there waiting. Stain remained crouched, still like a statue, eyes locked on the street. He seemed the dictionary definition of patient, but Shirokuro had learned to read tiny movements in people's bodies in battle, especially using Calm Mind as he did now briefly. Tension on the man's face grew second by second. He might have been able to act patient, but internally he was itching for violence, and Shirokuro feared what would happen if those two facts clashed for too long. He moved quietly several steps, or several sword's lengths away from the man, not dropping his guard even as he partially turned his back to the man to look further up the street.

Now facing away from Stain, Shirokuro opened the slit in front of his helmet and zoomed down to the street. For a while all he could do was test how well he could focus on individual faces, but then he spotted it. The approaching hero was easy to notice from the group of people that gathered around him, but for a moment Shirokuro could only see the tall man's head properly behind the people until one of them moved briefly aside, revealing the man.

He looked just like images Shirokuro found when searching his name online, though the red skin-tight short-sleeved costume hid more than whatever he wore in most of those images.

He was large and muscular even for a hero, though more balanced and not such a boulder-like giant like All Might or Endeavour. He waved to the people, then tensed his arm to flex his bicep in front of a young woman who touched it after the 'hero' said something to her. His other arm was behind them, but still down around her hip level. The woman suddenly jolted and glanced down.

"Found the reason he is late," Shirokuro said and pointed at the distant group. Stain stepped closer.

"Could be him. These fake heroes care more about fans than victims, especially this one."

"I can see that. Seems he is finally getting away from them. I think he realized he is late for his patrol. He is walking faster this way."

Stain was quiet for a few seconds.

"You can see him?"

Shirokuro wordlessly pointed in the direction again. The man would have only been a red dot to Stain's eyes, but he had finally left the crowd so spotting the man wouldn't be impossible. Shirokuro took a glance at the killer whose frown deepened once he spotted the approaching man.

"If he is in a hurry that makes this easier," Stain said and turned away. "Do not get in my way or you will join him."

He vaulted over the roof's edge at the corner over the alleys. Shirokuro kept discreetly monitoring the approaching man; a man approaching his death. Shirokuro swallowed a lump in his throat. He would be one of the last two people to see this man alive. If it was All Might or Endeavour or even someone he knew to be like Native, Shirokuro could have stomached what was coming, but for Long Arm, all he knew was that the man did not focus on his hero work or do anything notable in it. He wasted the position, but killing for that was a bit much.

Long Arm soon arrived by Shirokuro's building, walking rapidly on legs that now seemed a bit too long proportionally. Shirokuro also noted he did not seem to pay much attention to what happened around him. One could have asked what was the point of him being there.

Just like Stain predicted, Long Arm turned to the alley as a shortcut as soon as he had passed the busier intersection with a lot of people to witness him. Like most he never looked up. Shirokuro had to constantly remind himself to not fall for overconfidence and becoming careless. He reached the crossing of the alleys and stopped. There was another form obstructed by some fabric and partially covered by a garbage can from the 'hero's' point of view. The set up was way too familiar. Part of Shirokuro hoped the hero would be better than that, but he got paid the same way Native did so…

Long Arm pointed at the disguised Stain who withdrew further behind the can as if he was scared. Long Arm turned fully towards him and raised his arm as if for a punch. His fist shot forward until it was fully extended, then kept going as his arm kept stretching towards Stain just as fast as the normal punch from the muscular man.

If it had really been some poor person sheltering in that alley…

Stain moved so quickly that even with night vision equipment Shirokuro had difficulty perceiving it from this distance. Suddenly his body was not in the way of the strike as a knife stuck up. Long Arm pulled his arm back in surprise, but it didn't even have time to shrink into its normal length before Stain brought the blade in front of his mouth.

As useful as his quirk could be, Shirokuro definitely categorized it under the not-for-me folder. The 'hero' collapsed on the ground with all the training to build those muscle wasted with a single moment of carelessness from brains that most likely lacked the same amount of training.

Stain walked closer, his sword ready, speaking. Shirokuro could not hear it. Was he really going to just watch a murder, even if there seemed to be somewhat valid reasons for it? What did Stain even say to the man who would soon be a martyr used to depict images of what a hero should look like?

Shirokuro vaulted over the roof's edge and landed on a fire ladder which he slid down not much slower than falling. His feet touched the ground mere seconds later behind Stain. Long Arm twitched, barely able to see in Shirokuro's direction. He struggled just to speak.

"Help. It's Stain. Help me."

Shirokuro frowned. The so-called hero didn't even know who he was. He could have been just a poor person sheltering on an alley like who Long Arm had likely just thought he was attacking. Yet he was asking Shirokuro to challenge a serial killer rather than run away and perhaps get proper help. Stain only tilted his head enough to see Shirokuro with one eye.

"I told you to not get in my way."

Shirokuro tugged on Calm Mind and bit his teeth together, feeling the dread of death from the single stare. Long Arm's face dropped in realization from the words as Shirokuro walked closer and became somewhat visible in the darkness.

"I have not, but I told you that simply killing them won't help. No one is going to see the true issues of heroes simply because you deemed them not good enough for your standards. You should at least get him to confess what he has done first.

"I do not need confessions. I already know enough about this fake prioritizing his own gain over others, even exploiting those he should help. I know you saw it."

"I did yes, but no one else did. At least give me a moment. You won't lose anything and might learn more about your target."

Stain huffed and stepped aside just enough. Shirokuro forced his back straight and posture confident as he stepped in front of and over the doomed man on the ground.

"You attacked a random person you saw on the alley. Why?"

"He's Stain, the hero killer. Can't you see that?"

"I can. You did not, not before you already attacked him," Shirokuro said and started releasing Killing Intent. With his appearance, the blood around the tears in his costume, would give it extra effect in front of the incapacitated man.

"I… I saw the sword."

"No he did not," Stain muttered, his growing impatience only thinly veiled in his tone.

"I have to believe the killer on this," Shirokuro said and crouched in front of Long Arm so he could see the man's face and the man could see his helmet. "So why?"

He gave the man a chance, he really did, waiting for a long moment to let him confess.

"Did you think you could get an easy payday and bump in your statistics by arresting some poor guy on some false accusation?"

"No!" The man said, eyes already wide in fear. Shirokuro held one of Stain's knives in front of himself, balanced on a finger, making the blade clearly visible where it glinted in the night-time light filtering through the alleyway.

"Really, because it seems to be a common way for… lesser heroes to make a living around here. I guess you don't have time to find real criminals with all the modelling and fame taking your attention. Being a hero is really just a publicity stunt, a way to be favoured over those who chose to only do the other things instead of taking the privileges of a hero from someone more deserving, isn't it?"

"N…" Shirokuro moved his finger and let the knife point at the man. "Yes, modelling agencies love having heroes listed and people love the 'body of a hero.' Whatever training I have to do to be a hero, I can just use that for modelling."

"And getting women."

"Wha… well yes, women love heroes and my body."

"Anything else? They just love you for what you are, however you act?"

"Of… of course. I'm what every woman dreams of. What else would they do than love it when I give them the opportunity? Not like anyone would believe a random street chick if they claimed otherwise."

He muttered the last phrase, but in his terror-induced talk failed to consider what he was saying. Not until the last word that was. Shirokuro was already squeezing the handle of the knife. The so-called hero must have sensed his reaction as a bloodlust through the quirk. The man was trembling despite the paralysis.

"No, I mean…"

"Exactly what you said. You use your position to get away with harassing women, if not worse."

"No, no…"

"You can't fool us like other people. The only thing you can do is to admit what you have done. I can't hold back the guy with swords. I can try to convince him one more time if I can show you will suffer justice. Otherwise, he will absolutely kill you and there is nothing I can do... or rather, nothing I would do."

"Okay, okay. I like women, especially pretty ones, and I usually get them. Sometimes they don't stay as excited as when they first see me, but women are like that. They get everything they could have wished for and then suddenly don't want it right when I'm starting to enjoy myself."

"So you… force yourself on them," Shirokuro said, uncertain if he should feel disgusted or be glad that Stain did not go after someone who just didn't focus on his job enough.

"No, I mean they do actually like it," the man said quickly. "Not like most of them could ever get someone like me otherwise. Women just can't be clear and enjoy that chance without playing games with men. They might call it a crime but so what? What's right or wrong shouldn't be based on some fickle women's games. Good thing on the street they… the women stay quiet about their hang-ups afterwards, not that most people would believe them."

"Most?" Shirokuro asked. "What happened to the rest?"

"I… I had to arrest one, two, that were really going to talk."

"So, everyone thought anything they said was lies in an attempt to get released," Shirokuro said. "I have heard enough… and so will everyone else. You'll get to be the figurehead of false heroes, at least until I can catch bigger fish."

Shirokuro turned around and took a step towards Stain, refocusing his attention from the false hero to the killer. He didn't have much hope, but he still had to try.

"I recorded everything. We can expose him to everyone, and for much more than wasting time he could be using to help people."

Stain stepped past Shirokuro.

"I already told you."

"To not get in your way."

Shirokuro sighed and did not turn around to watch as Stain's steps stopped and Long Arm gasped.

"No, no, no… Someone help me!"

His shouts of help soon turned into screams of pain and suddenly ended in a wet gargle. Shirokuro had the presence of mind to send a signal to prepare a fast get-away, though that might only have been a distraction to help keep his dinner down.

"Time to go," Stain said behind him.

"I know," Shirokuro responded and pointed at a warp gate that swirled into existence next to him. He half turned in front of it, offering an escape route to the killer but making sure he looked high enough to not see what was on the ground. Stain stared at him and the warp gate for a few seconds, then approached.

"You first."

That was one demand Shirokuro was more than willing to follow, but he made the mistake of glancing back once when his foot was already in the mist. There was so much blood in a puddle expanding from Long Arm's neck as he laid lifeless, face-down on the asphalt.

The warp gate led back to the top of the tallest building in the area where Shirokuro had started his search the previous night. He turned around, hoping Stain had not tricked him. For a few seconds things seemed concerning, but then a foot came through the gate, followed by rest of the man, sword still in his hand and dripping blood on the roof.

"You have big ideas, but you lack the will to achieve them," the killer said right away.

"No," Shirokuro responded after collecting his remaining bravery. "My will is to find and expose the truth, not to simply kill people that might or might not deserve it."

"You think he did not deserve to die."

"From what I heard… perhaps… more than many others. Neither of us knew it before."

"I knew enough."

"Well…" Shirokuro hesitated. "You clearly don't need to know much to kill someone. You claim to do it for a real conviction, but I'm starting to doubt that."

Stain stepped closer. Shirokuro could feel a shiver go through his body, but something pushed him to continue talking, maybe since this might have been his last chance to do so.

"Seems you go around finding any hero to declare them fake for any reason. If your conviction was real, you would care more about who you go after. Long Arm turned out to be a rotten fake hero, but who was your last victim? Ingenium. What did that achieve? I could understand if you had killed Native or went after someone like Endeavour. At the very least then they personally could not keep doing what they have done."

"He was a fake hero like all of the rest."

"Is that so? Then why? What did he do?"

"Why do you care about that fake so much?" Stain asked.

He stared at Shirokuro for a moment, but Shirokuro did not move, standing like he was responding to the stare. In truth he was frozen still, afraid now also for being possibly exposed.

"He only helps people for pay like the others, and comes from family that has gained its riches the same way. They do not act for the sake of others alone."

"Really, that's all it took to go after him?"

Shirokuro forced his voice calm, but Izuku's switch was itching from all the consequences of the killer's previous actions.

"I did not go after him," Stain finally said, turning away from Shirokuro to look over the city. "Even if he is a fake, there are many worse ones I need to purge first. He came after me. I don't allow people to stand in my way."

"Is that why you let him live?"

"He can spread my message," Stain tilted his head to look back at Shirokuro, "Even if I cannot reach every fake, they should at least think I will and know why."

Maybe he did think about what he was doing, in his own grim way. Stain looked at the city again.

"Not many would dare to talk back at a serial killer, not even with your powers. Your conviction might be different, but it is strong. You can meet me in the same place next midnight if you are still up to challenging yourself."

He stepped to the edge of the roof.

"Wait," Shirokuro said and pulled out the knives he had gotten from the killer. "Remember to take them back."

Stain frowned at him for a moment, but his face soon bent into a smirk.

"Keep them. You need much more training with them. I want to see what you can do."

Then he was gone. Shirokuro was left standing on the roof. He raised his hand to look at the blades in his hand, the blades that had belonged to Stain. That had been used by Stain, possibly on Tenya's brother. The darkness that had encased him could have come from these blades.

Even if Tensei had not felt their cold metal, someone had. With Stain's body count there was no way Shirokuro was not holding murder weapons right now.

The sound of a sword sinking into Long Arm's body in the last seconds of the man's life right next to Shirokuro. The sound had been almost as bad as Izuku's Dragon Blade sizzling into a body.

Shirokuro's legs were getting shaky. Everything got dark as he was encased in black mist until emerging in the dressing area of his training room. He grabbed his helmet and after struggling a bit pulled it off and threw it away only for the item to enter a small quick-to-emerge warp gate. He held his stomach and mouth. A strand of mist pulled open the bathroom door and Izuku got in right before vomiting.

After a moment of emptying his stomach he was left on his knees with just the taste of acid in his mouth. Hoping everything had come up that would come up, he got back on his feet and turned to face Kurogiri who stood right outside the door with a large glass of water in hand. He offered it to Izuku.

"Thank you," Izuku said quietly. "… Am I doing the right thing?"

"Meeting Stain is a risk, but you can learn much."

"Learn what, to kill people?"

"If you deem it necessary at some point to do so."

Izuku sighed with a shudder.

"I wanted to expose the rotten parts of society and keep a few people safe. How did I end up hanging out with a serial killer that would probably think they deserve to die? The internships are getting closer. What if Tenya finds Stain like his brother did?"

Izuku looked at the bloody cuts on his costume.

"He won't stand a chance if he does, and I'm taking others to look after him. If they are coming too, then there's even more at stake. They shouldn't trust me like this. I never deserved it. Not sure I have deserved anything."

He was falling into muttering, but not the usual normal, calm, analytical type. This was more like a panic attack. He soon started running out of breath, feeling pressure in his throat as he forgot to breathe.

In the end he breathily muttered with fear lacing his voice…

"What if everything I do is what gets them hurt?"

"Young Shigaraki," Kurogiri said uncharacteristically forcefully, "Izuku."

Izuku's head perked up. Kurogiri was holding a set of his clothes, dark coloured, but regular civilian clothes and a cap.

"We need to go somewhere. Please clean up and change quickly."

Kurogiri handed Izuku the clothes and turned away. Izuku was left in the doorway speechless.

It had almost sounded like Kurogiri had given him an order.

Izuku started cleaning up and soon joined the Nomu outside the room. He might not have deserved the trust he got from others, but did not hesitate when a warp gate opened in front of him.

"Stay low and quiet," was all Kurogiri said as Izuku stepped towards the gate.

"Should I have my helmet for this?"

"No, this is for Izuku, not Shirokuro. You must stay hidden."

Izuku nodded, not questioning the Nomu's judgement on the safety of what they were doing, and stepped through. He found himself standing on the flat roof of a large modern house and squinting in the darkness; the surroundings around him were familiar. He had lived in this area for more than a year now and it didn't take long for him to focus on the large house next to this one, the Ida home.

"Why are we here?" Izuku asked.

"When you get worried it is nearly impossible to calm you with words, at least for most individuals."

Kurogiri raised his arm to point at the house and a window on that house. There was a gap in the curtain. Izuku zoomed in but could not distinguish anything in the dark room. A black whirlpool formed right below the window and next to Izuku. After zooming back in he tilted his head and raised eyebrows at Kurogiri. He was trying to help but Izuku was terrified they could even do this to Tenya. Izuku stuck his head into the warp gate emerging right below Tenya's window so he could properly peek in.

It was still near impossible to distinguish any detail, but there was just enough ambient light to make out a human sized lump on top of the bed moving slowly with Tenya's breathing as he slept safe and comfortable. The whole situation felt wrong, but some pressure in his heart eased, just a bit. He pulled his head back and looked at Kurogiri.

"Thank you."

The Nomu did not say anything but seemed to twist into himself until only a warp gate remained. Izuku stepped through. Now he was looking at another house he recognized. With another peeping warp gate he got a glance at the two messes of hair, both of which had bright enough red that Izuku could almost distinguish the colour in the darkness. Both seemed to be sleeping peacefully without a care in the world. Izuku took a tour around the neighbouring buildings to take a look from every direction and make sure there were no reporters or other intruders, besides himself.

The next stop was at Hitoshi's apartment, but when Izuku peeked inside there was actual light. Hitoshi was awake and seemed to just be looking at his phone. Izuku sighed. Hitoshi turned his head. Izuku pulled his back through the warp gate as quickly as he could.

"Close it," he told Kurogiri who obeyed.

"The last location I have coordinates for is the young Tokoyami."

"No," Izuku said. "Dark Shadow will be on guard. It is too dangerous."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. Checking on Toshi was already risky enough, but… this really helped. I feel a little better. …Thank you."