This story take place after another story, The Only Hero, and contains major spoilers for it, as well as likely not making much sense without it. Please don't read this without having read it.

s/13802677/1/The-Only-Hero

Hitoshi Shinso stared at his clock, from his position on top of his bedsheets.

12:01

"Damn it…" He let out a muttered curse as he tossed and turned in bed. He had always been a shitty sleeper, but he usually had medication to deal with that shit. But now, four months after the Rapture, supply lines were still a mess. Understandably, his insomnia meds took a back seat to actual life saving medication, so he'd just have to power through in the meantime.

Besides, there was so many productive things he could do waiting for himself to finally pass out. He could work out. He could study, he could…

Go for a night walk and bemoan his fate.

Hitoshi grabbed a thick coat to deal with the breeze and slowly opened his room window, sneaking out onto the fire escape of the apartment building his family lived in. They only lived on the second floor, meaning he could get down easily with even his mediocre acrobatic skills. His feet landed on the pavement below, and he began to walk the alleys of his neighborhood.

While his parents have told him off for sneaking out in the middle of the night before, there was only so many things he could do than stuff his face in his phone. Besides, their district was pretty safe. He'd never ran into anyone on these strolls, so he'd made a habit of doing these tours of the city whenever his insomnia was a killer.

After a few blocks, he found himself in some back alley between two buildings. Normally, it was unremarkable. The only thing noticeable was the wide stairs on one side of the alley and a vending machine on the other. But this time was different because there was another person walking towards him.

The persons face looked about his age, but the boy was clearly much smaller than him, barely reaching above his knees. He clearly had some sort of Mutation Quirk, judging by his hair seemingly being made of big purple balls. The other teenager's face had an unhappy look that Hitoshi had worn many times before.

'Shit!' Hitoshi cursed mentally. They were both so in their own worlds that he had nearly tripped over the smaller man. He jumped back, and the sudden movement seemed to snap the others attention to him.

They both finally locked eyes and stared at each other owlishly.

"Um…" Hitoshi raised a hand, waving awkwardly. "What's up?"

Hitoshi sat down next to his new acquaintance on the steps within the alley, handing a can of drink from the vending machine on the other side of it to him.

"Here." he said, hopefully not too rudely.

"T-Thanks." The other boy took the drink. They both cracked them open, but he looked down at the can a moment before sipping. "Wait, this doesn't have caffeine in it, does it?"

"It's almost 1AM, who cares at this point?" He rolled his eyes before gulping it down.

"… Fair enough." The smaller one shrugged, following suit. After finishing his sip, he turned to Hitoshi. "So, uhh, my name's Mineta Minoru. Thanks again for the drink."

"Shinso Hitoshi." He answered, glancing over at Mineta. "And don't mention it. Just consider it me celebrating finally meeting a likeminded soul out at here." And also, because he felt a bit of pity for seeing someone with the same depressed look on his face. But Hitoshi wouldn't say that out loud. He wasn't that much of an asshole… right? "So, what has you out here wandering in the night?"

"It's… It's stupid." Mineta looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"We're teenagers. Everything we think is stupid, according to some." Hitoshi attempted to lighten the mood. "C'mon, I won't judge."

"Well, I… want to take the U.A. Hero Course Entrance Exam." Mineta revealed.

'…Oh.'

"Is that so?" Hitoshi said slowly. "What's stupid about that? Who doesn't want to go to U.A.'s Hero Course?"

"Yeah but, I don't even know if it's worth wasting my time with a Quirk like mine. Besides, I want to be a Hero for stupid reasons. There's no reason they'd let someone as lame as me in." Mineta let out a sigh.

"Can't be any worse than mine." Hitoshi grumbled.

"What was that?" Mineta asked.

"Nothing." Hitoshi cleared his throat. "So, what's your Quirk, anyways?"

"Oh, it's called Pop Off." Mineta reached up to his head and pulled one of the purple balls off his head, which was quickly replaced by another. He tossed the sphere across the alley onto the wall on the opposite side. The purple ball stuck on contact, not falling to the floor as gravity would usually dictate. "The balls on my head can stick to whatever they touch. The time they remain sticky can range up to almost a full day."

Mineta then pulled off another purple ball and tossed it at the already stuck one. The second ball bounced off it like a spring and ricocheted back to hit the wall above them.

"And the balls themselves bounce off each other. They also bounce off me, so they can do a lot of little tricks." Mineta explained, before deflating. "But it isn't all that flashy. It can't blow up any robots during the Entrance Exam. And look at me! I'm sure even you would probably be able to do better than me, no matter your Quirk!"

"You'd be surprised." Hitoshi admitted.

"Oh really? What is it then?" Mineta said, giving him an unconvinced look.

"You really want to know?" Hitoshi questioned.

"Yeah-" Mineta's eyes glazed over as he lost control of his body, stopping his affirmation as he sat blankly.

"Get up and walk in a circle, then sit back down." Hitoshi commanded.

Mineta's body did so, standing up and walking in a small circle around the alleyway before sitting back down next to Hitoshi. Hitoshi released his hold, and Mineta's eyes focused back as he looked back over to him in surprise.

"Did you just-?" Mineta looked himself over and then back up to Hitoshi.

"It's called Brainwashing, in case it wasn't obvious." Hitoshi explained, glancing away nervously. "I can give simple commands to someone if they respond to me. It's a bit…"

'Fucked up? Like a Villain's? Completely immoral?' He quickly went through the list of the various things people had called his Quirk.

"Really damn useful." Mineta said, and Hitoshi couldn't help but whip his head back to stare at him. "A-Although, I guess it doesn't work on robots, huh?"

"Nope." Hitoshi admitted. "My chances at getting through are probably worse than yours. At least your Quirk can stop them from moving. I'll probably just get punched in the face trying to tell a knock-knock joke to one of them."

"Damn, that… sucks." Mineta eventually said, looking down at the floor. He quickly glanced back up. "Wait. Can't you just apply to another Hero School? There's plenty of other schools across the country that use other ways of judging than fighting robots."

The smaller boy was correct. There were probably hundreds of Hero Courses across various schools in the country. And most of them didn't use robots. In fact U.A. was probably the only one that did. There was bonuses to being the largest Hero School in the country, like discounts on decommissioned military drones to rework into training dummies. And with the number of students in the Support Department, they basically had an army of workers to repair them. No other school had the means to use such testing means. But that also had its own downsides.

"Unfortunately, most other Hero Course's are usually picky about who they can take in, due to their limited size." Hitoshi began to explain, a biting tone creeping into his voice. "That means that they tend to only take in those that they see obvious potential in. And a kid with an 'obviously villainous' Quirk is just a PR disaster waiting to happen, so they all just turn me away at the gates."

Mineta looked horrified at him. "Isn't that… discriminatory?"

"Laws about discrimination when it comes to Quirks are practically non-existent. I'm sure you've seen the shit that Mutant's get, especially the big animal ones like Gang Orca's. Besides, Hero Course's are all about raising people to fight Quirk users with their own Quirk. If the people in charge of the course say that your Quirk isn't good enough for Hero Work, then that's good enough in the books to not be liable for anything."

And he had been turned away. Multiple times. Sure, some were at least nicer about it, but most simply took one look at his Quirk and showed him the door. He was pretty sure one of the teachers at that Chiba school stalked him to the train station as well, just to make sure he didn't 'try anything'.

Despite it being unfair to Quirks like his in particular, U.A.'s Entrance Exam really was one of the most unbiased in the country. No teacher interviews. No personal preferences. Just some questions, an essay, and punching of robots. Do better at that than the rest applying, and you get in.

"Man, that's fucked up." Mineta said, letting out a sigh. "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you even still trying?"

"Spite, mostly." Hitoshi said immediately. "Don't get me wrong, I've always been pretty interested in Heroics, but after getting called a Villain most of my life I have this burning desire to prove them all wrong."

"Wow. I'm impressed you have the motivation to keep going." Mineta said, now taking his own turn to look away shyly. "Honestly, my reason for wanting to be a Hero is pretty pathetic compared to all that."

"You mentioned that before. What exactly is it?" Hitoshi asked. "I promise not to judge. Besides, who am I going to tell if I do, my cat?"

There was a small snicker from Mineta, and he took a calming breath. "Alright, fine. I want to become a Hero so I can get girls."

"Get… girls?" Hitoshi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah man!" Mineta said worriedly, gesturing at himself. "Look at me! No girl's going to be interested in someone like me! Getting big as a Hero is the only way that I'll be able to hit on women and not get laughed off!"

There was a silence as the two stared at each other. After a couple of seconds, Hitoshi just shrugged. "I guess that makes sense."

"Wait, that's it?!" Mineta's face was morphed in confusion. "Not going to call me pathetic or a creep or anything like that?"

"I mean, you want to be a Hero to be recognized positively. It's not too different from what I want. Just instead of showing that your Quirk isn't bad, you just want to show that you're… cool to girls?" Hitoshi finished lamely.

"Shinso… you really are the coolest." Mineta slowly said.

"Come on, I'm really not." Hitoshi said with a laugh. "Besides, what good is what I want if we can't get it anyway…"

"Oh, right…" Mineta sighed, and Hitoshi felt like smacking himself.

He kept bringing down the mood no matter what he did. It was bad enough when he was moping by himself, but now he was bringing down the mood of others as well. Maybe he should just go now. Prevent himself from stuffing his foot into his mouth.

Hitoshi set a hand down to get up but froze as a sudden shriek echoed out in the night.

"W-What the fuck?!" Hitoshi nearly jumped out of his skin as a woman's cry called out from another alley nearby. He had never seen any crime out here before. What should he do?

"T-That scream… I-I think I recognize that voice. I think it's…" Mineta suddenly stood up, his drink falling to the ground and spilling. "Shit! Come on!"

"Wait! Fuck…" Hitoshi cursed as his new friend ran off towards the sound of the voice, quickly shooting up and sprinting after him.

As they ran down a couple more alleyways, they heard a scuffle around the next corner. Mineta reached it first somehow despite his stature and peaked around the corner. Only a second later, he leaned back, face pale and frozen. Hitoshi also decided to look and found himself doing the same.

He slowly tried to peak out again, doing his best to remain quiet, and took in what was in the alley.

A way down the alley was Midnight, the R-Rated Hero. She was instantly recognizable, even from her position on her back, lying in the middle of the alley. The reason why was obvious, as there was another in the alley, standing threateningly over her with a chipped katana.

The Hero Killer, Stain.

"I have finally managed to find you, you witch. Your perverse nature ruins the honorable field you claim to stand for, and for that, I will finally judge you." The terrifying man pointed the blade towards Midnight's neck, snarling as he glared down at her.

"Fuck off, you creep. I need this outfit to use my Quirk." Midnight shot back. She did not appear to have any major injuries beyond a couple cuts and was not tied down anywhere, yet she didn't make a single move as Stain moved the edge of the blade ever closer.

"Excuses." Stain spat out. "You do not only use such a perverted costume, but parade around with the self-same attitude. You do not deserve to be a Hero, much less a teacher to them. I will end you before you can further corrupt others down your warped view of Heroics!"

"What would you know about teaching Heroics!" Midnight growled, her eyes glancing around panicky, yet the rest of her body was still. "Damn it! Why can't I move?"

"Enough. It's time for your judgment." Stain withdrew his katana, raising it back to swing down at Midnights neck. He held it there as he stared into her fearful eyes with his own crazed ones. "Die, fake."

The blade began to swing down and…

"Stop!"

Hitoshi wasn't sure whether him or Mineta had spoken first. But what he did know is that they both spoke up, jumping out from around the corner. Stain's blade froze as his bloodshot eyes shot up to look at the two teenagers. He stared at them calculatingly, before eventually letting out a huff.

"You children are brave for trying to save this one. But she is a fake not worth your dedication." Stain said calmly, not breaking eye contact with them as he raised his blade. "Leave now while I purge this fake, and I will pretend this interruption never happened."

"F-F-Forget it!" Mineta said somehow through his entire body shaking. But there was an odd motivation to him. "I won't let you kill my favorite Hero! I won't let the world be deprived of her sexiness!"

'Ah, there it is.' Facing off against a serial killer was the only thing that prevented Hitoshi from rolling his eyes out of his head. Instead, he kept staring forward as Stain scoffed at Mineta.

"Bah! You've already been corrupted by this fake's ideology. How disappointing." Stain turned to look at Hitoshi. "And what of you? Have you also been led astray by these fake Heroes?"

Hitoshi narrowed his eyes. This was his only chance, so he better make it count. Let's see, what did he know about the Hero Killer? He was obsessed with killing 'fake Heroes' and upset at any that didn't live up to whatever his insane standard was. So, insulting that standard seemed the best way to get a rise out of Stain, and there was only one Hero who must fit his manic minds status of perfection.

"I don't know, I've never been especially a fan of mainstream Heroes." Hitoshi said, trying to push down the fear and shoot the cockiest smirk at Stain he could muster. "Especially that All Might guy. Can't stand his stupid smile and constant shouting. He's definitely a fake, right?"

Stain's eyes widened like he had been slapped, and he let out a primal sound that would send fear down the spines of any who heard it. Hitoshi was pretty sure he leaked a little under the glare he was now receiving.

"How dare you!" Stain growled. "All Might is the only true Hero! He's-"

The murderer's raving cut off as his angry complexion faded to a blank stare.

"Did you just-?!" Mineta looked at him in surprise.

"Yes. Now shout up and don't ruin my concentration." Hitoshi said through clenched teeth. There was the familiar buzz in his head from activating Brainwashing. He didn't know how long his limit was, so he had to be quick. He strode over to Stain and held out his hand. "Give me your sword." Stain wordlessly handed the poorly maintained blade over. Hitoshi looked down at it, then around the alley. "Okay… Now what."

"What are you two kids doing? You need to get out of here!" Midnight cried up at them.

"A bit late for that." Hitoshi mumbled under his breath as Mineta came up behind him to check on Midnight. His eyes caught her whip lying on the ground and he quickly grabbed it and began to wrap it around Stain. "This should work."

"Uh, why are you tying him up. Isn't he under your control?" Mineta asked as he struggled to pick Midnight up. The boy unfortunately lacked the body strength to move a full-grown adult.

"Yeah, but I don't know for how long. And not if he gets hit too hard. Might as well give us a head start just in case." Hitoshi explained as he wrapped Midnight's whip around Stains arms and upper legs. He finished it off by attempting to knot the two ends together, in an admittedly poor attempt. But he was a in a bit of a rush, so who cares. "Mineta, throw some of those balls against the wall."

"G-Got it!" Mineta said quickly, thankfully not asking to many questions. He tossed a half dozen of his purple balls against the side of the alley at various heights.

"Perfect, thanks." Hitoshi turned back to Stain and pointed at the spheres. "Hey Dumbass. Go walk into those for me."

With careful steps due to being tied up, Stain walked over to the alley wall and walked directly into the purple balls. There were one stuck to each leg, as well as his arms. A couple were stuck to his upper and lower chest, and one was stuck directly to his forehead.

"Alright, now lets gat the hell out of here." Hitoshi said, reaching down and putting one of Midnight's arms around him as he pulled her up and began walking out of the alley, one arm attempting to hold the limp Hero up and holding Stain's sword in the other. It wasn't exactly quick though, and he looked over at her questioningly. "I assume there's a reason you can't move?"

"H-He cut me. I somehow stopped moving after that. I think it has to do with blood." Midnight said looking at him pleadingly. "Please, you two should just leave. I can't have you kids getting hurt on my consciousness."

"Sorry, but I've kinda gotten to involved to give out now." Hitoshi said, and Mineta gave a nod in agreement as he glanced behind him at the still-unmoving Hero Killer. They quickly (or as quickly as they could) attempted to get as far as they could from the murderer. Eventually, he realized something. "Shit. I suppose one of us should call the cops and Heroes."

"I don't have my phone on me." Mineta admitted.

"Neither do I." Hitoshi remembered, having left it on the nightstand in frustration before leaving.

"Don't worry, boys. I pressed my panic button. Every Hero in the prefecture should be at our location soon." Midnight said, clearly not as confident as one would expect at saying such line.

"That's great, right?" Mineta asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think there are many Heroes patrolling a district as crime-free as this in the middle of the night." Hitoshi answered.

He had rarely seen a Hero during his nightly walks. They were usually just a daytime Hero or two getting in some overtime patrol hours. But with how few crimes actually happened at this hour around here, most didn't see the 'value' in patrolling during the night. It allowed for great privacy during his strolls, but the downside was now obvious in hindsight.

And as if things couldn't get worse, the buzz in his head from Brainwashing suddenly cut off.

"We need to pick up the pace. Brainwashing wore off." Hitoshi said, and Mineta began to noticeably panic next to him. They had only made it a block or two, and there weren't many twists and turns to lose him in if he got free.

"How?!" Mineta cried out from behind him.

"The pain from one of his recent injuries might have been enough to snap him out of it." Hitoshi suggested, trying to pick up the pace. Honestly, it could have been anything. Maybe he hit a time limit, or a distance limit? There had never really been a chance to test the limits of his Quirk. He glanced behind himself. "Don't worry. We trapped him, remember? There's no way he'd be able to get out of it so…"

He trailed off as he looked down the way they came, and Mineta turned to follow his gaze, only to let out a squeal.

There stood the Hero Killer, an even more crazed look than before. He held a knife in each hand, both dripping with blood. It was easy to see why, as there were bloody patches on his body where they had been in contact with Mineta's purple balls. Trails of blood leaked down from the wound on his forehead, leaving tears of blood running along his face, staining his scowl red.

"This guy's fucking nuts!" Mineta cried out.

Stain suddenly began to rush towards them, and Hitoshi let out a curse, attempting to call out to him and activate Brainwashing. "You really think that-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Stain threw both knifes as he rushed forward, aimed directly at him.

'No.' He quickly realized. They weren't aimed at him, but at the back of the Hero he was carrying.

Before he could move, Mineta managed to toss two of his balls towards the oncoming projectiles. Either through skill or luck, one set of the projectiles connected with each other. The spinning knife hit the ball, and instead of cutting it, stuck to it as the two got knocked harmlessly off course. Unfortunately, the second ball barely missed its mark, and Mineta wouldn't be able to throw again before it reached its mark.

Hitoshi wouldn't be able to drop her to the ground fast enough, with how he was holding her. And she was too heavy to move quickly enough out of the way. But he had already turned his body to look behind himself when Stain showed up, so it was easy enough to keep turning until he had pivoted his side in between Midnight and the knife.

"Guh-!" Hitoshi let out a grunt as he felt the knife land. He didn't need to look down to know that, and he felt an agonizing sensation shoot through his left side. Getting stabbed was definitely not on the list of things he had in mind when he snuck out tonight, but here he was.

The Hero Killer's approach didn't slow, and he continued toward his target in a silent fury. He drew two more knifes from the sheaths at the sides of his chest and brought them up in a reverse grip as he closed the distance. Mineta tried to put himself between Hitoshi and the maniac, throwing two more balls at him. Stain juked both easily and swung a foot forward into the smaller boy.

"Oof!" Mineta went flying down the alley behind Hitoshi as Stain's armored (and spiked) boot completed its arc.

"Mineta!" Hitoshi wanted to turn to check his friend but didn't have the time as Stain reached him. He dropped Midnight behind him and brought both hands to grip the katana he had taken from the Hero Killer. Each movement caused stars to appear in his vision, but he tried to stay strong. He just had to hold out until someone showed up, right?

"You have guts." Stain said, his eyes seeming to finally focus. He stood just outside of the range of Hitoshi's new sword. "Protecting and taking that blow for even a fake like her? Perhaps I was too quick to judge you two."

"Then maybe you'll be kind enough to let me go?" Hitoshi asked, with a sarcastic tone, as he already knew the answer. But it didn't matter what he answered with, as long as he did.

But Stain just narrowed his eyes and began to creep forward.

'Fuck. He's already figured out my Quirk.' Hitoshi realized, freezing slightly. The moment he did, Stain lunged forward, pouncing on the weakness easily. He didn't even see what Stain did, all he knew was in a second the katana had been knocked out of his hands and a knife was being swung up towards his face. He leaned back, feeling the tip scrape up his left cheek and- "Ah!"

Hitoshi stumbled back, tripping over the still-prone Midnight onto his back. He brought a hand up to the left side of his face, his eye stinging slightly. Did he lose an eye? No, it didn't feel that bad. But he couldn't see out of it with the blood from the cut. 'Wait, blood… Shit!' He looked up with his one free eye to see the Hero Killer standing over him, the knife that had cut Hitoshi raised to his face.

"You have impressed me enough to live tonight, boy. But I have a job to finish." Stain's tongue came out and licked Hitoshi's blood off the dagger then retreated into his mouth.

Hitoshi realized this must have been what paralyzed Midnight. Stain's Quirk paralyzed those he licked the blood of. Any second he would fall limp to the ground, and be helpless as the Hero Killer continued his murders… right?

"Hmm?" Stain raised an eyebrow as Hitoshi stared up at him, still in control of his body. He then stared in confusion and stepped back hesitantly as Hitoshi slowly got up, standing between him and Midnight again. He licked the blade again, only for nothing to happen. "Why is my Quirk not working?"

"Don't beat yourself up too much. I've heard that one in three men have performance issues." Hitoshi said with a smirk.

Stain snapped, tensing to lunge forward. But at the last second, he saw something above Hitoshi and jumped back just in time to avoid a grey scarf attempting to ensnare him. Hitoshi looked behind him and followed the scarfs as they retreated, finding two glowing red eyes perched in the fire escape above.

"Holy shit…" Hitoshi muttered. "You're… Eraserhead?"

"About time you got here, Shota." Midnight said warmly from behind Hitoshi.

"Sorry for taking so long, Nemuri." Eraserhead said as he dropped down to the ground. "I'm a bit new to this area of town."

"Why are you-!" Stain stopped himself, deciding that he had no more time to argue. He immediately tossed the two knifes in his hands at Midnight, before turning to run. One last attempt at his target before retreating.

"Again?!" Hitoshi grunted as he tried to move to protect Midnight again.

But the pain and numbness had begun to grow, and he couldn't move as the knives arced past him and towards the prone Hero. But right before the knives landed, there was a blur that shot down the alley. The knives had vanished, and Hitoshi looked back towards Stain to find a Hero blocking his escape with said knives in hand. Hitoshi recognized the costume, but that couldn't be. They were retired, right?

"Hey there, 'Stendahl'. Been a while." O'Clock said casually as he tossed the knifes aside. "I know I made fun of you for using a mask, but damn. Maybe you should go back to using one."

Stain's face transformed from confusion to understanding in an instance. "You-?!"

"Sorry, but you've crossed the line ages ago, so I'll be delivering my fists to your face immediately." O'Clock said more seriously. He turned into a blur again, and Stain suddenly fell back with a bloody face as O'clock reappeared, with his fists tinted red. Stain tried to raise a hand, only to have it fall to his side as he passed out. "Guess our rematch wasn't that fair, huh?"

Eraserhead walked over and checked on Mineta as O'Clock tied up Stain, properly this time.

Hitoshi stared in worry. "Is he okay?"

"Looks like he's just unconscious. Though those puncture wounds in his chest should get looked at immediately. They don't look deep enough to have hit anything major." Eraserhead thankfully. He then looked up to Hitoshi with the same analytical glare. "How about you-"

Eraserhead stopped himself mid-sentence, and Hitoshi was confused.

"Honestly, I don't feel much of anything right now. I was really in pain a moment ago though." Hitoshi reached his right hand down to his side where the pain had been, only to find something in the way. He looked down in confusion and remembered why he had been in pain. "Oh right. I got stabbed."

Hitoshi brought up his right hand he had moved to his side, seeing it covered in blood. He removed the other hand that was covering his left eye, only to see more blood out of the one eye he could currently look out of. All of a sudden, the adrenaline began to fade, and so did his vision as his legs lost strength.

"Kid!"

The last thing Hitoshi heard was Eraserhead calling out to him as O'Clock flashed over to his side to catch him.

"Eugh…"

Hitoshi let out a pained groan as he found consciousness returning to him. He struggled to open his eyes, finding that the left half of his vision appeared to be covered. He looked around with his limited vision, finding himself in some sort of infirmary.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake, young man." An elderly female voice said gently from in his blind spot.

He turned his head to see who it was, only to find an aged Hero sitting nearby. "You're Recovery Girl. Did you… heal me?"

"Just a bit. It takes your own stamina, so I only did enough to seal the wound and prevent you from bleeding out." Recovery Girl said matter-of-factly.

"Explains why I'm both in pain and tired as hell." Hitoshi muttered.

"No whining brat!" Recovery Girl said, clearly hearing him. "You're lucky you didn't bleed out. The only reason you didn't was because your jacket was thick enough to slow down the blade from entering too deep."

"And… what about my eye?" Hitoshi asked hesitantly.

"It should be almost healed already." Recovery Girl said, and he let out a heavy sigh. "It was just a minor corneal abrasion thankfully. I covered it just so you didn't disturb in your sleep it while it healed. There will be a small scar line from where the blade scratched your face, but it's faint enough that most won't see it unless their up close. Not much my Quirk can do about those unfortunately."

"No, that's more than enough. Thank you." Hitoshi said gratefully.

"Just doing my job, boy." Recovery Girl tutted. "By the way, your friend is all good now as well."

"Huh?" Hitoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you already forgot about me?"

Hitoshi turned his head the other way to see Mineta sitting upright on the bed next to him. Compared to Hitoshi, Mineta was in much better condition. He didn't even have any bandages wrapped around him. He rubbed his stomach where Stain had kicked him oddly, seemingly unable to look him in the eyes.

"Guess you ended up doing more work than me huh?" Mineta said sadly. "I feel like crap, not being able to stop him as much as you did. And you got all injured because of it…"

"Don't." Hitoshi interrupted him. "Don't talk yourself down like that. You were the one who ran off to help out first, remember? You even saved my life with that quick block. I doubt I'd have been as lucky to live with two knives in my side."

"Really?" Mineta asked as he glanced up.

"Yes really." Hitoshi affirmed. "After what I just saw, I doubt you have much to worry about getting into U.A.'s Hero Course."

"Oh? You two boys want to go to our school? That certainly explains your recklessness." Recover Girl said with a huff.

"Oh, go easy on them, Ms. Shuzenji." a familiar voice called out as the door to the infirmary opened, revealing Midnight in casual wear.

Mineta immediately straightened his posture, his previous fretting seeming to vanish at the site of the R-18+ Hero, replaced with an almost swooning look. While Hitoshi wasn't so easily swayed by the woman, seeing the usually costumed Hero in casual glasses, a ponytail, and an oversized sweater made him… pay attention.

Of course, his attention was immediately stolen by Eraserhead walking in behind her.

"I think she should be harder on them. Even if we are thankful to them, they still committed Vigilantism." Eraserhead grumbled, only to receive an elbow to his chest by Midnight.

"Are we in trouble?" Mineta asked, glancing around at the Heroes in the room.

"By the letter of the law, you two should be." Midnight admitted, letting out an uncomfortable sigh. "You two got involved in a fight with a Villain that had given you a chance to leave. Under most circumstances, you should have left and let the professionals deal with it, instead of using your Quirks unauthorized to attempt and detain a criminal."

Hitoshi immediately opened his mouth. "But-"

"However," Midnight immediately interrupted, raising a hand. "It was immensely clear that I would have lost my life if you two hadn't intervened. And it would be improper to just toss you in the slammer for trying to save my life."

Hitoshi noticed the squint Eraserhead gave his colleague, and Hitoshi couldn't help but mimic it. "Really? Last I checked the laws don't work with the nature of hindsight like that."

Midnight coughed awkwardly. "Well…"

"We may have also discussed the issue with the HPSC a bit." Eraserhead admitted, and both teenagers looked at him in confusion. He ignored their gazes as he continued to explain. "Nezu simply told them that arresting two young men for preventing a murder and helping stop a serial killer that they had failed to catch for more than a year might not look good for them."

"You… blackmailed the HSPC?!" Mineta eventually said incredulously.

"We negotiated with them." Eraserhead corrected. "The HSPC is built to uphold the morals of Heroics in this country, but sometimes they have trouble seeing things aren't always black and white and need a reminder when to loosen up a little. That said," his face suddenly morphed into a glare as he looked at the two of them. "This was only due to extremely extenuating circumstances, and the fact that you both have a clean record. Another act like this will have you punished like hell, got it?"

"Yes Sir!" They both immediately shouted.

"Alright, alright. Enough scaring the kids." Recovery Girl snorted. "I'd prefer if you don't give my patients a heart attack before their parents come to pick them up."

"Parents… oh shit, my parents!" Hitoshi immediately froze up, a fear eclipsing the one that Eraserhead had attempted to instill flooding him. "I'm so dead…"

"Tell me about it." Mineta said, equally fearful.

"Mineta's parents should be arriving shortly. Unfortunately, Shinso, yours will take a bit longer. You didn't have any ID on you, so we had to wait until Mineta woke up and told us your name." Recovery Girl explained. "I want to wait a bit longer to heal the rest of your injuries anyways."

"I guess that means you two will be leaving soon." Midnight said as she walked over between the two infirmary beds. "Is it true that you two are both going to be applying to U.A. next year?"

"Y-Yeah." Mineta nodded as Midnight approached them.

"Well then, I hope to see you in my class." Midnight said, leaning down and pecking them each once on the cheek. She then turned to leave, walking out the door. Before she left, she looked over her shoulder to give a wink and a wave. "See you later, boys."

Midnight then left, leaving both boys still. Hitoshi simply was surprised, but Mineta looked like he had nearly fainted. Eraserhead just sighed and shook his head. "That woman… nothing but trouble, I swear."

A few moments later, a small robot appeared in the doorway of the infirmary, the face of principal Nezu appearing on a screen on its chest. "Good morning, all. Mineta Minoru, your parents will be arriving shortly. Please allow this robot to escort you to the front gate. That is, as long as Recovery Girl has approved you for discharge."

"He's all fine." Recovery Girl said with a dismissive wave. "Get going kid. And stop drooling on my bed while you're at it."

"Huh? Oh, right!" Mineta snapped out of his dreamlike state, wiping his mouth with the hand that had been holding his cheek where Midnight's lips met. He hopped of the bed and began to run off, turning to Hitoshi one last time, his face with an incredible look of determination. "Alright then, we're going to both get into U.A.'s Hero Course, got it?"

"Got it." Hitoshi said, trying his best to give a thumbs up with the little strength he had. Mineta gave one back, then ran out to follow the robot to the front gates. Once Hitoshi was sure he was gone, he put his hand down and let out a defeated sigh.

"What's that sound for, you problem child." Eraserhead asked as he sat down on the bed across from Hitoshi, looking him in the eyes. "It makes your promise just now sound fake."

"Because it is." Hitoshi said, sighing again as he lied back in the infirmary bed and closed his eyes. Having his favorite Hero in front of him was great, but talking to him about this was tough enough when looking at him. "I've only really known Mineta for like fifteen minutes, but I can tell he's more talented than he thinks. I wasn't lying when I said he saved my life. He's going to get into U.A., especially after Midnight's motivation."

"And you're not going to?" Eraserhead asked.

Hitoshi cracked an eye open to glare at Eraserhead's blank stare. "Don't play dumb. I know you must have seen what my Quirk is. There's no way I'll be able to get a single point during the practical exam."

"There's always the option of transferring in. That's what I did." Eraserhead suggested.

"Yeah? Well, unlike you, my Quirk won't work well against anyone but an idiot after the first round of the duels." Hitoshi complained.

"So, you'll just give up? This coming from the one telling others not to sell themselves short. I'm a bit disappointed." Eraserhead said with a huff.

"I'm just being real. No other school will give me the chance!" Hitoshi finally said, raising his voice. "U.A. is the only school that will even let me take a Hero Course Exam, and I'm doomed to fail it!"

The two simply stared at each other as Hitoshi calmed back down. Eraserhead's tired stare eventually softened, and he nodded. "Well, you're not wrong. Your chances of passing the Entrance Exam are basically zero… if you take the regular one, that is."

"Huh?" Hitoshi quirked an eyebrow. "What other Exam is there?"

"The Recommendation Exam, obviously." Eraserhead answered.

"The Recommendation-? Is that a joke? Everyone knows a well-regarded Hero needs to sponsor you to even get a shot at entering the Recommendation Exam. What Hero would decide to do that for me?" Hitoshi said dejectedly as he stared at Eraserhead. But when all the Underground Hero did was raise his eyebrows slightly, he let out a choked noise. "Wait. No. You don't mean… you?"

"I'm willing to give you a chance." Eraserhead began to say. "I saw the way you stook your ground against the Hero Killer, and from what Nemuri you already have more than enough Heroic drive. But you wouldn't be able to pass the Recommendation Exam as you are now, even if you were let in."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hitoshi asked, somewhat insulted.

"It means you're built like a twig, kid. I'm surprised you were even able to get a block carrying Nemuri with what little upper body strength you have." Eraserhead said.

"Yeah well, I… tried to get in shape." Hitoshi admitted, getting a bit embarrassed.

"Let me guess. Your lack of optimism made your motivation go down the tank." Eraserhead guessed, clearly speaking from experience. Hitoshi nodded slowly, and Eraserhead put a hand to his chin. "Well, maybe this will help your motivation a little. If you impress me enough within seven months before the Recommendation Exam, then I'll personally deliver a letter of sponsorship to Nezu."

"Are you serious." Hitoshi asked, still in disbelief.

"Yeah. But it'll take a lot to impress me. My training will make last night feel like a cakewalk. You think you have what it takes?" Eraser head asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hitoshi stared back at Eraserhead, and pushed himself up with much effort as he came to a decision. "I don't care if you want me to go and fight the Hero Killer again. If you say it'll get me into U.A., then I'll fucking do it. Just watch me."

Eraserhead's tired expression finally cracked for a moment, his lips twitching up to a smirk. "That's more like it."

In the corner of her infirmary, Recovery Girl just rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Bah, men…"

~8 Months Later~

Hitoshi stood at the gates to U.A. High School, ready for his first day of school there along with many others. But unlike most of them, he would be doing so as a member of their prestigious Hero Course.

It had been a hellish half a year, training his ass off through Mr. Aizawa's crash course in Heroics. Weight training, parkour, stealth skills, all while being quizzed on some of the most arbitrary topics he had every heard. But somehow it worked, and he passed the Recommendation Exam. Although his sweeping win during the practical portion could mostly be contributed to his competition being so talkative. All he had to do was say "May the best man win" right before the bell, and he had five minions helping him to the finish line. He also got a giant migraine, but it was worth it to see the look on their face when he undid Brainwashing for them all after he made them all head back to the start after helping him.

There was actually worry for him that the reviewers might have thought he was messing around too much, but they instead applauded him for his equal amounts of 'cleverness and sportsmanship'.

He just thought it would be funny, but he'll take it. He focused back to the now, looking up at the U.A. main building. But a single step forward, and a familiar voice called out behind him.

"Hey, Shinso!" Hitoshi turned to see Mineta standing there behind him with a wide smile. "So, did you make it too? I didn't see you at the Exam, but I might have missed you…"

"Nah, I took the Recommendation Exam." he responded with a smirk. "But I sure kept my promise. Are you in 1-A?"

"You bet! I knew they'd put us in the same class!" Mineta said excitedly. "But Recommendation Exam? Really? How'd that happen?"

"Let's just say Eraserhead saw some potential in me after that night." Hitoshi said, before slouching. "And then decided to help me bring out that potential, ruthlessly and tirelessly."

"I can tell dude. You're absolutely jacked since the last time I saw you!" Mineta said.

"It's not that much…" He brought up one of his arms, rubbing it and feeling the muscles underneath. He had certainly bulked up though over the last few months. Not to the extent that someone with a focus on strength would be. But his entire body had been honed to be able to move quickly and effortlessly due to the parkour training.

"It's better than me. I definitely tried to get some gains myself, but I don't think my body's really built for it." Mineta said with a flex. There was a small difference since Hitoshi had last seen him, but it wasn't as large a difference as his own.

"Well, we all have our strengths. I'm sure you'll make do in other ways. You got this far, right?" He reminded Mineta. "So, let's go become Heroes already, so we can accomplish our dreams. We've got jerks to spite and girls to hit on."

"Oh, Shinso." Mineta shook his head, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms and smirked. "I'm glad you remembered my old goal, but I have a new one now. After that fateful night and meeting Midnight, I made a discovery and achieved enlightenment."

"Is… that so?" He raised an eye at his friend's sudden declaration.

"Yes." Mineta nodded, cracking an eye open to look up at Hitoshi and gesturing for him to come closer. "Do you wish to also receive the message of enlightenment?"

Hitoshi stared down at Mineta for a couple seconds, before shrugging and bending down. "Eh, sure."

"Wise choice." Mineta leaned over to stage whisper to him. "I was so focused on becoming a Hero because I knew that they were popular with women, but I didn't think about why that was. But then when Midnight kissed me, I realized. She did so not because I was a Hero, but because I acted Heroic!"

"There's a difference?" Hitoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Mineta hissed, continuing his message of enlightenment. "Take Endeavor for instance. He may be one of the best preforming Heroes in the country, but the number of women who are interested in him are much lower compared to other Heroes around him on the Billboard."

"That may have something to do with the allegations…" Hitoshi cut in again. "And that he was married before that."

"I'm talking about before all that came out!" Mineta countered. "Look, what I'm saying is that Endeavor may be good at his job, but he doesn't feel very Heroic doing it. But with the young guys like Hawks and Deku now, they take the time to actually put on a smile and make people feel safe. Or I assume Deku smiles under that mask… But you get the point."

"I'm afraid I'm not quite there yet." Hitoshi admitted.

Mineta sighed. "Alright then, let me dumb it down for you. I won't need to become a popular Hero so I can hit on girls. I just need to be as Heroic as I can be, and they will come to hit on me!"

"…" Hitoshi took a couple seconds to process what he had just heard. His friend's incredible enlightenment, that had changed his entire outlook on life essentially was… that women will be interested in him if he acted nicer. On one hand, he was a bit concerned that it took a life-threatening event for Mineta to reach this conclusion. But on the other, he had come to this conclusion eventually, and with great conviction. "You know what, you're right. That is rather enlightening."

"I knew you'd see the truth!" Mineta said excitedly as Hitoshi stood back up. "Now come on! Let's go become the best Heroes we can be, and we'll have tons of fangirls in no time!"

'Well, he's almost there.' Hitoshi said with a shake of his head as Mineta walked off.

As he walked forward to follow his friend, he couldn't help but smirk. He was going to become a great Hero and prove everyone wrong that said he couldn't. And like Mineta said in a roundabout way, maybe he'll even have people who look up to him while doing so.

'Well then, I guess it's time for my Hero Academia.'

Next Chapter: Shota Aizawa & Koichi Haimawari