Stain

On the fifth day, Endeavour had declared that they would be joining him on his shift in Hosu city in the evening. Estelle was grumpy; she woke up early that day, drowning her sweat. The nightmares were becoming more frequent, and all she wanted to do was bash Endeavours head against the wall. Todoroki had checked on her in the middle of the night with concern at the noise. All Estelle did was apologise and shoo him off. She was glad he didn't bring it up again.

The three were currently moving around the city, helping civilians with small-time muggers and cases of a potential assault. They recognised something more was happening when they heard screaming down the street.

Quickly making their way to the scene, Endeavour shouted, "I'll show you what it means to be a hero!"

They were surprised to find a Nomu on a rampage. Endeavour immediately attacked to see his first attempt did not work. Estelle raised vines quicker than the eye to wrap around the beast to hold him in place for the hero's next attack. Endeavour took the opportunity and set him alight, casing the Nomu to fall unconscious.

The three moved and ran to the following site. Reports of various Nomu's had come out of the woodwork, leaving Hosu city in a frenzy. While they ran, Todoroki received an alert prompting him to stop in confusion with Estelle beside him.

Looking at him expectantly, he raised his phone for her to see the message from Midoriya. A location within the alleyways was sent. The two looked at each other in understanding before Todoroki spoke up to his father, "You go ahead, I have a friend that is in trouble. Send reinforcements to the location I've sent you as soon as you can!"

Not even waiting for an answer, Todoroki ran in the opposite direction whilst Endeavour, and Estelle watched.

"Shoto", the hero muttered before looking down at the girl in wonderment. "Are you not going with him?"

"I would, but there are two Nomu's heading right for us. I'll follow after we kick their asses."

Before the older man could respond, a Nomu heading towards him threw a punch, forcing him to dodge. Estelle went to attack the second, who followed after the first. Using her fire bending, she used a new technique from her internship and released a hotter wave of flames towards the violent being.

It screeched as if it were in pain and ran through the fire to throw a punch. Estelle raised an earth wall to block the blow, immediately causing it to fall into smithereens when the attack hit. She was completely unharmed and quickly tried to blink the dirt out of her eyes.

Using her air bending, Estelle wrapped her fist with a vast amount of condensed air and moved to throw her punch towards the monster. It had attempted to block, but it was futile due to the condensed air harshly releasing when her fist hit the Nomu.

The force of the blast caused it to fly back through the air and hit the ground. To ensure it wouldn't get up, Estelle went even hotter with her fire and released another wave, adding air to increase the burn. She usually wouldn't go this far to ensure it was down, but she couldn't stick around and leaving something like that alone would harm more civilians.

Turning around, Estelle saw that Endeavour was still battling his own Nomu. He turned to face the girl mid-fight, yelling, "Go to Shoto; he may need help!"

Estelle nodded and made her way to the location she saw on Todoroki's phone. She was glad that she had memorised the area.

Once she reached the alleyway, she was surprised to find Midoriya, Iida and another hero besides Todoroki. There was a villain in the midst of them; she realised that it was Stain.

Surveying the scene, she found that Iida and the hero were in some form of paralysis, and Midoriya was moving like he had just woken up. Todoroki stood in front of them all protectively as he faced Stain. Estelle stood behind the villain so he couldn't see her. Her fellow classmates looked on in surprise when she raised her finger in a shush sign.

Running up to the villain, Estelle attacked by wrapping her hand in condensed air again and throwing a punch. It landed, and Stain was thrown into the wall at the side. Slowly standing up, the villain stared maniacally at the girl who stood where he once did. Leaping up to attack with his sword, Estelle whipped a kunai out of her utility belt and blocked the attack.

"Oh, it looks like someone is skilled with a sword. Let's see how good you are!" Stain declared exuberantly and elevated his sword for another blow.

The two share a back and forth of strikes with their weapons. Stain slammed his sword down towards her head, Estelle blocked with her kunai. The villain pushed down on her kunai in hopes of breaking her stance, and Estelle slumped at the pressure. It was a battle of strength. Estelle became slightly desperate when the sword came closer to her face and began to slice into her hand, meaning he was winning. Using her free hand, Estelle grabbed a second kunai knife and slashed upwards.

He growled when a cut landed on his neck and stumbled.

"You're good", He noted before increasing the hunger in his moves.

"Thank you", Estelle responded while backflipping out of the way. The boys recovering behind them sweatdropped.

Estelle eyed her classmates and realised they were ready to get back into the fray. She moved back slightly to allow Todoroki to land his move forcing Stain to jump up. Midoriya and Iida rushed forward together, determined to bring the villain down and landed two consecutive strikes. Stain choked out blood in response to the brutal assault. Todoroki took the opportunity to land a final blow with a fireball, knocking him out cold.

Everyone sighed in relief while they gazed down at the unconscious anti-hero.

"We should clear him of any weapons and tie him up", Todoroki asserted.

"I can carry him!" Iida offered.

"Did you forget your arms are messed up?"

Once they checked him over, Estelle wrapped him in vines before using her air bending to lift him off the ground to follow the boys. Midoriya was pretty banged up and had to be carried by the useless hero out of the alleyway. When the heroes, police and ambulance arrived, Estelle was surprised to find an old hero kicking Midoriya in the face. She didn't stop her smirk at the sight while Midoriya apologised to the grandpa.

Iida bowed in front of the three teens, and he spoke with tears in his eyes, "You guys, you were all hurt because of me. I'm so sorry. I was just so angry I couldn't see anything else."

"I'm so sorry too, you were going through so much by yourself, but I couldn't tell anything was wrong even though I'm your friend," Midoriya responded sadly.

"Pull yourself together, your class rep", Todoroki reprimanded lightly.

"Right."

"Get down!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

Before they could register the stranger's words, a Nomu shot out of the sky and grabbed Midoriya. Stain moved at lightning speed, breaking out of the vines and running after the boy. The anti-hero effectively took down the Nomu with a single strike and stood over the UA student.

"You must all be purged. Everything that I do is to create a stronger society."

"Did he just save that kid?" Someone wondered out loud.

"Why are you all standing around like fools?" Endeavour asked, only now arriving at the scene. "Hold on, don't tell me..."

"Endeavour..." Stain snarled, "You false hero! I'll make this right; this street must run with the blood of hypocrites. Hero! I will reclaim that word. Come on, try to kill me, you fake! There's only one hero I'll let kill me, and that's All Might!"

Estelle grimaced as she watched Stain pass out where he stood. She was sure that he was injured severely. She was surprised he was even moving this much.

Estelle ran to him, ignoring the frozen crowd. She grabbed water from a nearby fountain and encompassed her hands with it. The water glowed green as it floated around her hands, and she raised it towards Stain's stomach area. The crowd watched on in disbelief at the fact the girl was healing him. She was rescuing the hero killer.

Estelle stared up at the hospital roof in boredom while she waited for the boys to wake up. By the time she had counted the tiles, she had heard the rustling of Midoriya waking up.

Realising that all of them were awake was a surprise to her since the room was silent. The beeping of a heart rate monitor could be heard from a distance.

"Good to see you awake, Midoriya", Todoroki deadpanned; Midoriya sweatdropped at the male since it didn't sound as good as it should have been. "Did you sleep?"

Midoriya sat up, looking at the tiled ceiling in contemplation. "No, not really."

"Yeah, me neither."

"Thinking about it now, what we did was pretty amazing. It's a miracle we are still alive."

"I agree", Todoroki responded bluntly.

"I was an easy target, with my leg being broken and all. Stain probably could have killed me if he really wanted to. Estelle, you held your own against him. With only a knife! I had no idea you were so skilled in that aspect."

"Thank you, Midoriya. I had learned swordsmanship a few years ago."

"It seems to me that he let us three live on purpose. I'm impressed by you, Iida. He was actually trying to murder you, but you stood tall," Todoroki finished, turning to Iida.

The conversation was disrupted when the old man who kicked Midoriya in the face last night wandered in with another hero. She smirked slightly at the image from last night. Todoroki tilted his head at her in curiosity.

"Oh, so the injured young ones are awake. You idiot Midoriya, I could yell at you for hours right now. But before I do, we have a visitor. This is Hosu's chief of police Kenji Tsuragamae."

Everyone stood up in greeting as a dog man in a suit walked into the hospital room. Midoriya was the only one to struggle.

"No, please stay seated. Woof."

'Woof?'

"So, you kids brought down the hero killer. Stain has sustained severe injuries and several broken bones. Thanks to Estelle here, she saved his life. He is currently under strict guard at the hospital."

Here's a lesson you should have already learned. When quirks came about, we decided to not use quirks as weapons. Heroes do what the police can't with a licence, of course. It's against the police to condone the use of unlicensed quirk use. The only reason heroes can use their abilities is because of the strict code of ethics the heroes choose to abide by."

That's why it's against the law to use your quirk unlicensed. Even if you are against the hero killer or not. You have no authority to harm him. That means you four and your supervisors - Endeavour, Manuel and Gran Torino are sure to receive a harsh punishment for gross use of your powers."

"Now wait a minute! If Iida hadn't jumped in, then Native would have been murdered. If it wasn't for Midoriya, then both of them would be dead. Estelle helped all of us! Nobody even realised that the hero killer was in Hosu! Are you saying that we should have let them die!" Todoroki jumped in with a growl. Estelle looked at the usually calm boy in surprise at his outburst.

"Calm down, Todoroki!" Midoriya cried while moving his hands in a calm down gesture.

Estelle snorted, "Pop off, queen."

Everyone ignored her.

"So, it's okay to break the law as long as it goes your way?" The chief of police asked.

"Isn't it a hero's job to save people!?" The furious male replied.

"It's safe to say UA and Endeavour haven't been teaching you near enough. What a shame." Estelle looked at the chief with narrowed eyes. To her, it seemed like he was prodding him further on purpose.

"You damn mutt!" Todoroki roared while he stormed towards the heroes and Tsuragamae. Gran Torino moved forward to stop him.

"Show them who's boss, queen."

Everyone ignored her. Midoriya was the only one who showed some form of reaction. His face morphed into an expression that could only be described as 'did I really just hear that?'

"Todoroki, you want to hear him out", Gran Torino assured. Todoroki moved back to his spot unhappily.

"What I just said was the official stance of the police department. But any punishment would only be necessary if this went public. If it did, then you'd probably be applauded by citizens everywhere. But then there's no way you could escape from being reprimanded. On the other hand, we could say Endeavour saved the day."

"Stain's burns would support this story completely, and we could pretend you weren't involved. Woof. Thankfully, there were very few witnesses. This could be the last you hear of any punishments. It would mean no one would know about you, though. You would receive no claim at all. I don't want to damage any promising young careers. Not from a mistake like this!"

Iida stepped forward to the hero Manuel and moved into a bow. "I am so sorry."

"It's alright! Just don't do it again!" Manuel asserted while he patted Iida's head.

Midoriya followed along with a bow. "And I apologise as well."

"Me too; we'll leave it to you." Todoroki followed slightly begrudgingly. Estelle couldn't help but smirk at his face; he looked like someone spat in his soba.

They all looked at Estelle expectantly. She answered back with her own confused expression before a light bulb flashed over her head. "Oh! I guess I'm sorry too." She finished with a slight bow.

Everyone sweatdropped and thought, 'No, you aren't.'

"I know it's not fair. You won't enjoy any fame or praise you would have received otherwise. But please, allow me, the chief of police, to thank you." He finished with a bow of his own.

Todoroki face finally changed to a startled look before he begrudgingly commented, "You know. You could have started with that."

"Todoroki", Midoriya started with a smile.

"Before I go. There is one last thing I need to cover. Estelle, you are seen on a video with Stain that is surfacing online. Healing him. Considering the law is that unlicensed heroes cannot harm, it doesn't say anything about recovery. So, you're in the clear. But the public opinion of you may change since the footage shows a future hero helping a killer."

"That is fine. I have no care for other people's opinions. I don't regret it. We are supposed to help all, not the few."

"That may be so, but others would have the opinion that he may be better off dead with the lives he has taken."

"Then how would he serve his time? Dying is the easy way out." Estelle responded. Kenji Tsuragamae raised his head in astonishment but smiled.

"I like the way you think. Would you like me to relay that statement if needed?"

"Of course."

Midoriya stepped back into the hospital room with a modest smile. "Hey! Iida! I just talked to Uraraka."

"Midoriya. Iida just got his test results back," Todoroki interrupted with a solemn expression. Estelle looked down at her pillow with a blank face.

"The damage in my left hand is permanent", Iida informed.

Midoriya's face dropped in horror. "What? Permanent?"

"My fingers and my palm are numb. The damage could be healed with nerve transplant surgery." Iida declared before continuing seriously, "I hate him, but I can't deny that he spoke the truth. Until I'm able to become a better hero, I will keep it as it is."

Midoriya looked down at his own hand. "I feel the same way. Let's get stronger. together."

They nodded at each other in determination when Todoroki spoke up, "I feel kind of bad..."

"But why?" They both questioned

"Whenever I'm involved, people's hands get messed up. Is something wrong with me? Am I cursed?"

"Todoroki, I didn't know you had a sense of humour," Midoriya commented as they laughed. Estelle couldn't help but chuckle quietly in the background.

"This isn't a joke; I'm like the hand crusher or something", Todoroki argued seriously.

"The hand crusher!" Midoriya called out as they laughed harder.

They all froze when laugher rang out behind them. The boys turned their heads and refreshed their brains when they saw the regularly indifferent girl trying to keep her laughter at bay. The tinkling sound of her humour rang out in the room. The boys looked at each other with small smiles at the sight.

'She looked stunning like that.'

They looked away when she calmed herself quickly, aware that she wouldn't be pleased being watched like that. They couldn't help but smile at each other and Estelle for the rest of the day. Just delighted she gave something genuine for once.

Estelle left with Todoroki that night due to her injuries being minor as well. They both made their way to Endeavours hero agency in comfortable silence.

"Thank you for coming to aid us", Todoroki piped up once they nearly reached their destination.

"It's alright. I'm glad I did, Todoroki."

"Shoto. Call me Shoto."

"Okay, Shoto."

He smiled at the girl, thrilled that she agreed.

'Does this make us friends?' He thought. He was too afraid to ask in case he was rejected. He probably would've been.