"Alright class, I know some of you are disappointed with your results in the sports festival, that's good."
Everyone in class 1-B looked at their teacher confused as to why he would tell them it's good to be disappointed.
"I don't mean for you to wallow in self pity, but instead push yourself harder. Use those emotions to improve yourself so you can be better next time."
A resounding "yes sir" rang through class. His short speech had lifted a few of the sour moods in the class.
"Now, who came up with the plan to hold back in the first event?"
Again everyone in class looked at him confused; however this time it was because no one had talked about the plan they came up with. Seeing their confusion Vlad Kind sighed.
"Did you seriously think the teachers wouldn't see what was going on? You all used your quirks as little as possible and held towards the middle of the pack."
Monama laughed arrogantly as he flipped his hair. "It was a pretty ingenious plan wasn't it? We sat back and watched them all to gain a better understanding of what their quirks were. Then we were able to figure out how to take them out in the second round."
"And how exactly did that work out for you?"
Monama stopped laughing as he looked around the room annoyed.
"Only one of you made it through the second round without the need of people backing out. Even the two general studies students made it through and do you know why?"
The class remained silent, they all knew the answer but didn't want to say it. Kendo clenched her first as she thought about all the things she could have done to get further. She hated herself for going along with Monama's paln and for spacing out after she was frozen in place by Todoroki's ice.
"The reason is because they didn't settle for good enough. They all fought tooth and nail to be number one. The reason class 1-A was able to recover during the cavalry battle was because they learned first hand what happens if they hold back. The sports festival isn't just for you all to see who's the best in your grade, it's so other pros can see what you're capable of doing. Since you all chose to hold back, these are the results you get."
Vlad Kind motioned to the white board as he clicked his remote. On it appeared a list of all students in 1-B with numbers next to them. At first they thought they were grades, but that was until they noticed a few of the numbers were over a hundred.
"You all will be doing a week-long internship with pros soon and these are the offers you all received. Ibarra received the most with two hundred and eighty three, while the majority of you received none. Just in case you were curious, class 1-A had two students in the thousands range."
Everyone's heads dropped hearing that number, they didn't need to hear who it was because they already had an idea of who it was. Kendo knew there was a gap between her and Bakugo and Todoroki, but hearing that they received at least a thousand offers compared to her measly five was demoralizing to say the least.
"Now, for those that didn't receive an offer: you'll still be attending an internship. The school has pre-approved places that are always looking to help the new generation, so you'll be choosing from them. You have until Friday to turn in your forms. Are there any questions?"
The class remained silent.
"Alright, tomorrow Midnight will be joining to help you all pick hero names so start thinking of some tonight. Class dismissed."
Sounds of chairs moving filled the room as everyone began to pack up. Kendo could only sigh as she went to the front to hand out the lists of internship offers. She had already known the offer numbers before class since she was asked to put the packets together beforehand. Slowly everyone came and grabbed the packet with their names on it. After everything was passed out she was left with her packet and list of extra offers, the only notable offer was from Uwabami.
As she collected her things the door to the classroom opened up. She didn't think much of it since she figured it was just one of her classmates who forgot something, but that wasn't the case this time, standing in the doorway was Midnight.
"Hey, Ms. Midnight, did you need anything?"
She nodded with a soft smile. "I actually needed to talk with you. Would you mind coming to my office?"
"Oh, of course."
Kendo quickly packed her things before following the teacher. Since classes had just ended for the day the hallways were still full of students, which made the walk a little embarrassing. Before long the two of them reached a room that Midnight had to enter a code to enter, inside were two couches facing each other with a small table in between them. Midnight silently motioned for Kendo to take a seat. The two of them sat facing each other silently for a moment before Midnight let out a deep sigh.
"Well, Ms. Kendo, do you know why I asked you to come here today?"
Kendo shook her head. "No ma'am."
Midnight smiled sweetly. "Well there are a few reasons, but the main one is about that boyfriend of yours."
Kendo's eyes widened in shock. "I don't see how that is any of your business!"
"Relax, I just wanted to see how things are going between the two of you. I'm sure things have been crazy since you are a hero in training after all."
Kendo took a deep breath as she calmed herself. "Everything is fine, but I don't see how it's your business."
"It isn't really, but I'm also one of the student counselors so it technically could fall under my responsibility if it causes issues in the future."
Kendo raised an eyebrow at Midnight, still skeptical. "How so?"
"It's simple, relationships are stressful at the best of times. All that stress either piles up until it bursts or gets worked out. I just wanted you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to in confidence I'm here, ok."
"Alright… So how did you know I was in a relationship?"
"I had a brief interaction with him before the entrance exam, he said he planned to confess after the exam. Unfortunately, Principal Nezu had me leave before I could get any details from him."
"Uh-huh, and how did you know it went well?"
"Woman's intuition, also I saw you two together after the sports festival."
Kendo sighed as she looked to the ground. "That explains why you waited till now to bring this up."
Midnight laughed softly. "You really are quite clever, aren't you?"
Kendo blushed slightly at the praise. "So, is that all you wanted to say?"
Midnight shook her head. "I know you just received them, but have you had a chance to look over your internship offers?"
Kendo nodded. "More or less. I helped out the packets together for Mr. Vlad, so I've seen my extra offer and have a good idea of the offers everyone got."
Midnight gave an approving nod. "Good, think carefully about who you pick. You don't want to regret who you go with, but I'm sure you'll learn something important no matter who you pick."
Kendo smiled. "Thank you, I'll make sure to think about it."
"Very good, now back to that boyfriend of yours, how far have you two gone?"
"Alright, I'm just gonna leave now. Thanks for the advice, Ms. Midnight."
Kendo quickly left the room, leaving Midnight sitting alone. Letting out a deep sigh, Midnight leaned back into the couch. "She'll be back soon enough, that boy is so full of secrets that you can practically smell them."
A few hours later Kendo was lying in her bed flipping through all of the potential offers. She had marked a few that sounded interesting, but everytime she found something interesting her mind went back to Uwabami. Having had enough, she pulled out her phone and called the one person she knew could help her with her choice.
"Sorry, I can't answer the phone now."
"Dammit Amajiki, why do you have to be busy today?"
With a deep sigh Kendo went back to her phone to call the next best option.
"Hey Itsuka, what's up?"
"Oh you know, just trying to decide who I should do an internship with."
"Uh-huh, I'm guessing Amajiki didn't answer so I'm the next best option."
"It's so much easier that I don't have to explain these things to you Izuku."
A sigh came from the other end of the phone. "Alright, what do you need help with?"
Kendo pulled away from her phone momentarily and looked at it confused. "You know you don't have to help if you don't want to."
"No, no, no, I want to help, it's just things have been a little busy lately."
"Seriously Izuku, if you don't have time you don't have to help."
"Itsuka, I want to help."
Kendo smiled softly as she picked up her list of potential agencies. "Ok, so we were scouted by pros during the sports festival and some offered us internships spots. I got a couple offers, the most notable was Uwabami. She doesn't really fit my style, but I keep getting drawn back to her for some reason."
"Well, I agree I don't think your styles would match very much, but I think it would be good for you to go with her."
"… Please don't tell me it's because it's the first name I listed off."
"It's not, I think it would be better to go somewhere you're not comfortable with early on. Just think, you can see and experience a different side of hero life before you get stuck in your ideas of what is better."
"I guess so, but she's more of a tv personality than a hero."
"She specializes in search and rescue. Those cases are few and far between and honestly that's a good thing. The less large-scale attacks the better."
"Well when you put it like that it makes sense. I just feel like my time could be better spent learning fighting techniques."
"You have three years to learn that, but imagine how helpful it will be learning to deal with the media from someone who is always surrounded by the media. Honestly this might be the best time to learn when you're still unknown rather than a third year about to go pro."
Kendo nervously twirled her bangs as she stared at the forms in front of her. "You really think so?"
"Yeah, as long as she doesn't take you to Hosu."
Kendo put the paper down as she rolled onto her back. "The Hero Killer attacks…"
"Yeah, I'm certain he's gonna strike there again."
"Yeah, I heard on the news he has a pattern."
"That's right, and he hasn't hit his mark yet so it's only a matter of time."
Kendo nodded as she stared at her roof. "I hope they catch him soon."
"I'm sure they will, as long as he sticks to his pattern."
"I don't understand what could make someone do that. Was his life really that bad?"
"Who knows, he probably thinks he's doing the right thing even if the world thinks it's wrong."
"Even so, how can he sleep at night knowing he's hurting and killing people that are just trying to help the world?"
"Restlessly. He's probably haunted by the screams of those he's hurt, but his conviction to see it through till the end presses him forward."
"Izuku-"
"Hey enough with this downer talk. Tell me who else you were thinking about and we can make a choice."
Kendo held her hand against her chest as an uneasy look spread across her face. Midoriya's words had stuck with her, they felt so personal, and it worried her.
"Alright, next was Gunhead."
"So, did the meeting go well?"
"I'd say so. I must applaud you though Phoenix, you single handedly accelerated this plan by years."
Midoriya and Kai sat across from each other with a coffee table between them. While Midoriya sat with an impatient lean, Kai was calm and looking forward to the talk.
"So, did you two come to an agreement?"
Kai nodded slowly. "For now. They've agreed to give us the quirks we need for the tests, but we have to supply our own subjects."
Raising an eyebrow, Midoriya looked at him shocked. "Is that it?"
"Well there were a few stipulations. First we needed to have a test subject prepared before they give us the quirks. Second, they'll only give them to us if our first subject is a hero."
"Why does it have to be a hero?"
Kai sighed as he interlocked his fingers. "They said it was to help bring attention to their group, but I don't see how drawing that kind of attention is helpful. They also said that you had to be the one to capture them."
Midoriya rubbed his temples. "It's probably Shigaraki trying to send another message."
Kai peered at Midoriya from behind his plague mask. "Is that the 'leader' I wasn't allowed to meet?"
"Yeah, he feels as if he deserves everything and throws a tantrum if things don't go his way."
"…Lovely."
"You should thank me, since I told them not to bring him along."
"You don't like him, do you Phoenix?"
"No, but I'll tolerate him for now."
"You know, you could be done with him if you just did as I instructed."
Midoriya glared at Kai, his golden eyes made Midoriya sick. "So, are they going to help you extract Eri's quirk?"
Kai let out a deep sigh. "That's where negotiations began to break down. Once I told them the details of her quirk, they wanted to have a copy of her quirk as well. We went back and forth for a while trying to convince each other, but no progress was made. We decided it would be best to take some time to think things over and come back at a later date."
"So for now all we have is quirks to further the drug."
"Yes, but as of now this is still more beneficial to us in the long run."
"Alright, then I'll start looking into potential heroes."
"You have two weeks."
Midoriya sighed. "Fine. Do you need anything else or am I free to go?"
"That's all."
Midoriya stood up and made his way to the door. He stopped short as All for One's words echoed in his head again.
'Think about groups and people that are interested in quirks.'
Kai looked over confused when he didn't hear the door open. Usually Midoriya was quick to leave when their conversations were done.
"Did you need something, Phoenix?"
Midoriya shook his head. "I was just thinking. Hey, do you remember when we first met?"
"I remember you trying to kill me because of my eyes."
Midoriya laughed softly to himself. "That wasn't the only time."
"No, you tried daily for two months after that."
"I was traumatized, but you didn't hold it against me."
"We both were taken in by Pops, so I knew you must not have had an easy life. I was always getting into fights at first as well, so I couldn't judge."
"It's no secret that we don't get along the best, but you were the first person I could talk to here."
"You were always pestering me about my research when Ken would drop you off."
"Hey, it was a common interest."
Kai sighed as he thought about those days. "What exactly are you getting at Phoenix?"
"Nothing at all, I was just feeling a little nostalgic is all."
Kia's eyes narrowed on Midoriya as he turned he left the room. In the hallway Midoriya made his way through the underground maze. The sounds of echoing footsteps filled his head accompanying his thoughts.
'Why did Gramps agree to bring me in? Why was the old man close by the day my parents died? Was it really all a coincidence?"
Midoriya's head began to swirl with theories about why things turned out the way they did and what those actions would imply. While he may have only been grasping at straws the theories made sense… to much sense.
'A man with golden eyes destroyed my house and killed my parents. Kai has golden eyes and his quirk can easily destroy buildings. That being said, there are tons of quirks that can destroy buildings and gold is a fairly common eye color.
The man also had expendable help and Kai has that in spades, but any group interested in dads research would have that.
Obviously Kai is interested in quirks, but dad's research wouldn't have been of any use to him. If anything, Destro would have been interested in it, but he's been dead a long time now. All for One is interested in quirks and the doctor knew my dad, they could be stringing me along.'
Shaking his head, Midoriya broke himself from his train of thought. Overthinking was a slippery slope and he couldn't afford to lose his footing now, not when his goal was so close. He could practically see it, just a few more jobs and hopefully he'd finally get the answer he'd been searching for, for so long.
Midoriya was grateful for his mask, he could feel the Cheshire grin in his cheeks. Feeling the need to recompose himself he took a deep breath as he turned a corner on the streets. Sadly, he wasn't able to savor the sweet oxygen he had just taken in since it was forced out of him as he bumped into someone.
"Woah, sorry about that."
Looking up Midoriya saw two familiar faces, one he wasn't surprised to see, but the other caught him off guard. Standing in front of him was Bubble Girl and Togata, the boy he had met at the train station after the UA sports festival. The three of them started blankly at each other for a moment before realization set in as to what just happened.
"Sorry about that, I should have been looking where I was going."
Midoriya shook his head. "It's fine, I should have been looking as well."
Bubble Girl giggled to herself as she watched their interaction. "Oh wow, you seriously have bad luck when it comes to corners, don't you kid?"
Togata looked between the two of them, confused. "Uh, has this happened before."
Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, twice now."
Bubble Girl smiled as well. "It's kind of our thing."
Togata blinked rapidly, unsure what to think of this situation. "Well that's weird."
Midoriya scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, but it's not as weird as running into you, Togata."
Both Bubble Girls and Togata's jaws dropped after hearing his name. Feeling the urge to know more Bubble Girl was quick to ask questions. "Holy cow! You know him, Lemillion?"
Togata scratched his head as he tried to connect the dots. He knew the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger where exactly he had heard the voice before.
"Sorry, I'm drawing a blank."
Midoriya sighed as he removed his mask. "This should help jog your memory. We met after the UA sports festival."
Togata snapped his fingers as he rapidly nodded. "Oh right! You're Mr. Boyfriend, Midoriya right!? You know now that I think about it, I remember Tamaki telling me you spent time over here, but I didn't expect to run into you like this
Midoriya laughed nervously. "Yep, that's me."
Togata began to laugh as he placed a hand on his head. "Oh wow, talk about a small world. What are you doing all the way out here? I thought you were from Musutafu?"
"Well I technically was born there, but I actually live in Tokyo, but I spend a lot of time here taking care of my cousin."
Bubble Girl beamed as she interrupted the conversation. "Oh! How is she doing!?"
Midoriya smiled as he looked to the sky. "She's doing great, still shy, but getting better with people."
Togata nodded in approval. "Nothing's more important than family."
Midoriya nodded solemnly. "Yeah… you're right about that."
Bubble Girl and Togata looked at each other awkwardly as they felt the entire mood of the conversation turn uneasy. While neither were aware of why the mood changed, neither wanted it to stay that way. Having had enough, Bubble Girl decided to wrap things up.
"Well Midoriya, it was nice to finally get your name, but Lemillion and I need to get back on patrol before we get in trouble."
Midoriya quickly shook himself from his daze. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hold you two up."
Bubble shook her head. "No, don't worry about it at all. It's always fun running into people you've met before, but just remember-"
"Be careful with the mask and watch out for corners."
Bubble Girl stared at Togata for a moment with her jaw dropped before she turned away to him with her arms crossed. "Dang it, I wanted to say that."
Togata laughed again as he pushed Bubble Girl forward. "That was funny! Be careful Midoriya and I'll see you around!"
Midoriya sighed as the two of them turned another corner and vanished from sight. 'They're definitely still monitoring the compound.'
A few nights later, after Midoriya had taken Eri back to the compound, he was called in for a meeting with the League. He found himself sitting in his usual spot and everything looked the same; except for the fact that Kurogiri wasn't in the room.
Shigaraki was sitting at the bar tapping away impatiently, while he mumbled to himself.
"Come on, come on, come on."
Midoriya rolled his eyes. Shigaraki had been doing this for fifteen minutes straight. Having had enough, Midoriya let out a deep sigh.
"So, where exactly did you send Kurogiri? It's not like him to be late."
Shigaraki's tapping came to a stop as he looked over at Midoriya. "I told you, he had to go pick something up."
"And what exactly is this something? You called me in on my week off so it must be important."
"It is important, now shut up and wait."
"Does this have anything to do with you getting shot at the USJ?"
"NO!"
Shigaraki slammed his fist on the bar as he began to stand up, but he stopped when a familiar purple mist began to swirl.
"Apologies for the delay, it took more convincing than I had expected to get him to agree to come."
Midoriya raised an eye at Kurogiri. "Convince who to come?"
Kurogiri turned to Shigaraki confused. "Did you not explain to Phoenix what we're doing?"
"That doesn't matter right now. Just bring him in."
Kurogiri sighed as he opened another portal. Midoriya stared intently as he held a small flame in his hand. If he had learned anything since joining the Yakuza it was to always be ready for a fight, well that and cocoa butter works miracles.
Midoriya's eyes widened as he saw a man walk through the portal. A tall, muscular man adorned with various blades and a crimson red scarf stood before them. His eyes danced across the room taking in every little thing he saw. Midoriya recognized the man instantly, he was the only current villain that got as much media coverage as him, the Hero Killer: Stain.
Stains eyes narrowed on Midoriya and the flame in his hands. The sight of the flames caused him to instinctively reach for one of his many blades. The two of them locked eyes as if waiting for the other to make the first move.
"I'm glad you could make it, Hero Killer, I hope the trip wasn't too rough."
Both Midoriya and Stain looked over at Shigaraki before looking back at each other confused. The flame in Midoriya's hand dissipated as he shrugged. Sensing that any hostility was gone he sighed as put away his blade.
"It was fine, a little unnerving since I didn't know where I'd end up, but overall it was fine."
"That's good to hear."
Stain narrowed his eye on Shigaraki. "I was told that you wanted to extend an offer to me."
Shigaraki nodded as he rested an elbow on the bar. "That's right, I want you to join the League of Villains."
Stain remained quiet for a moment as he continued to eye Shigaraki. "I'll admit, it is an intriguing offer."
Shigaraki gave a Cheshire grin. "I'm glad you can see a good opportunity when it's laid out in front of you."
"But I need to ask why?"
Shigaraki's smile faded as fast as it appeared. "What?"
"I want to know why you're seeking me out. You already have Phoenix and public recognition with the USJ Incident. So why do you need me?"
Shigaraki signed as he leaned into the bar. "It's simple, I need stronger members. At the USJ I went for quantity over quality and that failed to work. Having both you and Phoenix will help draw in stronger recruits, after that we'll be able to fulfill our mission."
"And what is this mission of yours?"
"To kill All Might."
"I see…"
Shigaraki nodded as he limply held out his hand. "So are you ready to join?"
"No."
Shigaraki's eyes narrowed on Stain as tension filled the room. "What was that?"
"I'm not joining your group. You have no beliefs, no purpose."
Shigaraki stood up, filled with anger. "I just told you we're going to kill All Might! That's our purpose!"
Stain drew one of his knives as he prepared himself for an attack. "And then what? What will you do after that?"
Shigaraki violently scratched his neck as he slowly approached Stain. "That doesn't matter. When All Might's gone we'll rule this society."
"That's nothing but a fool's dream."
"Shut up!"
The two lunged at one another, Stain with his blade and Shigaraki with his hand. As the two were about to make contact a purple mist separated them sending both of their outstretched limbs away from the other.
"That will be enough, there's no need to spill blood over a simple lack of agreement."
"Dammit, Kurogiri, let me kill him."
Kurogiri's purple mist enveloped Shigaraki as he tried to calm him down. "Please Shigaraki, try to remain calm. Just because we failed to reach an agreement now, that doesn't mean we won't have a chance later."
Shigaraki grumbled to himself as he pulled his arm out of Kurogiri's mist. "Fine, just get him out of my sight."
Stain sighed as he slowly withdrew his arm, but without sheathing his blade. "That's fine by me. Now if you'd be so kind as to return me, I still have work to do."
Kurogiri nodded as he opened up a portal behind Stain. Slowly the Hero Killer backed up to it, but before he crossed through he looked at Midoriya.
"I guess I misjudged you, Phoenix. I thought you and I were two sides of the same coin, but it turns out you've thrown your lot in with them."
Midoriya looked over at Stain with no ill will. "I have my reasons."
"I see. Well maybe I'll hear you out one day. Let's just hope it's not as my blades are biting into your neck."
"Only time will tell."
The portal behind Stain had closed immediately after he fully passed through it. The room fell silent as the tension slowly began to fade away.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, I want the Hero Killer dead! How dare he come in here and say I have no purpose! My goal is not some fool's dream, he has the fool's dream!"
"Stop complaining. He's not wrong."
Shigaraki's head snapped towards Midoriya. "You… you didn't even try to stop him from attacking me. You were going to let him try and kill me."
"I trusted Kurogiri's speed, he's gotten you out of tight situations before."
"You're just making excuses."
"Think what you want, it still doesn't change the fact that he's right."
"Why you-"
Midoriya's flames flared, creating a wave of heat that separated himself and Shigaraki. "Look, your goal of killing All Might won't solve anything in the long run, someone will just take his place. You should take some time to think about what you want and plan to do afterwards. The only reason I'm here is because I need information, it's not because of your 'ingenious' plan."
"I still want that guy dead."
Midoriya sighed before looking down at his phone to see multiple notifications from Kendo. "Of course you do. Well, I can guarantee that won't be happening anytime soon. He's probably expecting us to make a move, so he's going to be watching out for anything and everything."
Shigaraki slammed his fist on the bar. "Damn it."
Midoriya raised an eye as he stood up. "Well if there's no other surprises, I'd like to be sent back as well. I have a few loose ends to tie up back home."
"Fine. Get out."
