Green Tea Rescue

by ss3dj

When Midoriya Izuku was 4 his quirk finally manifested. The doctor named it psychokinesis, but his friend Bakugou Katsuki called it worthless. For the next 10 years, Izuku would grow up bullied and isolated. Then, when a new student named Uraraka Ochako transfers into his class the last year of jr high, everything changes. Rated M for eventual themes.

31. Blood and Fire

The world was breaking. Streets cracked and steel sheared. The remains of a large bridge lay scattered along the ground. A masked man screamed as flesh and bone, rock and metal were forced into his body by his own hand. Turning the man into a monster. His scream of rage twisted as he clawed his way forward. Leaving nothing but destruction in his wake. He moved towards a goal. Towards something he would do anything to once again have in his possession. A man possessed that cared for nothing else.

Only two people were in his way. Two people that were as good as dead. A young man, body ripped and stained red stood defiantly. Green hair matted to his face by blood and dust. Putting himself in front of the monster in hopes to, if not win against, then at least save the one behind him. But the monster was too large, and the young man too injured. He was not able to do anything as the monster rushed over him. The one behind him, a women who looked so much like the young man, clutched pitifully to her chest a-

With a groan, Sir Nighteye leaned back into his chair and removed his glasses. He rubbed his eyes as he focused on nothing in this dimly lit office. No matter how much he replayed the vision he saw, he could not make the sequence of events any more clear, or see beyond what had been cut off when All Might stepped in and ended his Quirk's effect. Even so, after two days the vision was still fresh in his mind.

When he had used his Quirk on Izuku, he knew he was being cruel. To etch in stone the boy's fate was not something to do lightly. But drastic times called for drastic measures. He had hoped to find a justification to say why giving him One for All was a mistake. Maybe if he didn't see the power get handed down he could twist fate, just a bit. Saving the boy and ensuring that One for All and All Might's legacy would endure.

Instead, his vision had been dragged to an event that turned his stomach. There was no mistaking that he had watched Izuku die. He hadn't meant to see this. Hadn't wanted this, and yet his vision had been fast forwarded to it. Sometime - not too long in the future judging by the fact that Izuku still looked like he was in his first year - Izuku was going to come face to face with Yakuza leader Kai Chisaki and would die in the encounter. Even demormed and monstrous, Sir Nighteye recognized the man. How he had become like that, Sir Nighteye was not sure. Perhaps there were aspects to the villains Quirk he didn't know about yet.

The last person in the vision had taken Sir Nighteye no time at all to figure out once he had returned to his office. Inko Midoriya, the boy's mother. The events leading up to this, Sir Nighteye couldn't even begin to guess. Why was Izuku fighting a villain he himself had been tracking and investigating for some time now? Why was his mother there and what had she been holding?

Whatever it was, Overhaul wanted it. The screaming over all the destruction was haunting. 'Mine! Mine! MINE!'

Events were now in motion and Sir Nighteye had to get ahead of them. Whether he liked it or not - and he didn't like it - he had knowledge he had to use. Somehow, Izuku and Overhaul were connected. Overhaul had lost something or, at some point, Izuku would take something from him. Sir Nighteye just couldn't guess what this something was. Part of him wished he could have been able to see the end of the vision a little better, or had a better look at what Inko had been clutching to her chest. But at the same time, he at least didn't have to also see the poor woman die as well.

Still, nothing could change things now, so he was left with only one option but to move forward.

After leaving Gran Torino's apartment, Sir Nighteye immediately returned to his office and summoned Bubble Girl and Centipeder. His orders were clear, "Something fundamental has changed with Chisaki Kai and the Yakuza organization. We must find out what it is."

After two days, Sir Nighteye finally had a report in his hand. It wasn't much, and it left him with more questions than answers, but it proved something was up. The Yakuza had recently become very stingy with its contacts. There had been rumors of a drug getting handed out to street level thugs that was a difference-maker and could help level the playing field against heroes but so far nothing had come from that. At the very least he knew they weren't dealing in the Trigger drug. But now those contacts had dried up, and only high-level members of the criminal world were getting access to whatever they were selling.

It would seem they had lost a supply or supplier of this mystery item. This loss might also explain some unusual activity by some of the known Yakuza contacts. They were looking for something. The exact details were unknown but even if this wasn't much, it was a start.

---

If there was a hell, this would be it in all its excruciating boredom, Himiko thought to herself as she slurped down the remainder of her instant noodle dinner. Throughout the day and now dusk, she had spent her whole time either dealing with Tenya, who was just itching for a chance to get himself killed, or 'learning' rudimentary hero crap, and she was ready to kill herself from boredom. It wasn't that the lessons Manual was teaching were technically wrong, but things like 'be sure to keep aware of your surroundings while walking the street' was shit she had learned in her first week of living on the street.

At the very least, now they had finished their quick dinner of gourmet streetstand noodles, and the sun was going down. The day was almost over and Himiko could retire to her room and work off some stress.

Really should have swiped some of Midnight's toys when I was getting her card number. Would make these nights way more fun. God, this wouldn't suck so much if I had at least something else to do. World, want to throw me a bone here?

"HELP! THOSE MEN STOLE MY PURSE!"

While Manual and Iida's head snapped over to see a woman screaming and waving her arms, Himiko blinked and glanced up at the sky. ...Okay that works. Now how about sending me a horny, naked Izuku?

Himiko swore the next few moments were dead silent.

Well fuck you, too.

While Himiko cursed that she wasted her one apparent wish from the world, she still followed after Manual and Tenya as they rushed over to the hysterical woman.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Manual asked while Tenya and Himiko glanced down the street, catching sight of two cheap looking thugs rushing down the busy sidewalks.

"Those two just stole my purse right off my arm! Please, they went down that way!"

Manual followed where the woman was pointing with his gaze, "Ingenium can you reach them?"

"Sir! I can catch them!"

"Okay, you have permission to chase and detain them. However, if they are armed or pose a threat to the surrounding civilians do not engage!"

With a roar from his engines, Tenya rocketed away, hugging the street to avoid all the people on the sidewalk.

"Okay, Carmilla. I want you to stay with…" Manual blinked when he turned and didn't find Himiko anywhere.

Whipping his head around, Manual tried to see if he could see where Himiko had vanished to. A tug at his arm pulled his attention back towards the woman. "Please, you'll get it back right. I had my cards in there. What if they steal everything from my accounts?"

"Ah, don't worry. My interns and I are on the job. And even if they manage to escape I can help you cancel those cards before anything bad happe-"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Manual froze while the other woman gasped. Down the street a blood curdling scream echoed over the nose of the street. It was a man's scream but it sounded nothing like Tenya. Still, Manual knew he couldn't stay where he was, "Ma'am I will be right back!"

---

Sticking to the road, Tenya was able to catch up to the pair in no time flat, "Halt you two!"

"Get bent, hero!" Screamed one man, the purse clutched in his hand. He was an ogre of a man, with green skin and all, his round belly jiggling as he ran. That he had the breath free to say anything was a miracle with how hard he was breathing. Tenya rushed ahead and turned on his heel. Kicking out his leg, he punted the ogre's legs out from under him, sending him flailing to the ground and landing with a thud. Groaning, he made no move to get up.

His partner in crime, a lanky man, whirled around, his fingers on his hands curled and tipped with short bird-like talons, "You ain't tak'n me in!"

Pulling his hand back, he swung around wildly, though his movements were slow and very unpolished; less like a fighter and more like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Tenya was already moving back away, far out of range. While the man didn't pose a threat to Tenya, there were many people around, cameras out, that might accidentally get hit with him swinging around so widely.

"Yeah that's right! I'm a monster! A real villain! You better run!"

"Pfft, a villain? Seriously? That's a great joke. So what do you say you quit now and not get your ass handed to you. Or don't, cause I'd love a chance to let off some steam."

The man's eyes went wide, hearing a female voice right behind him. Growling out in anger, he twisted around and found Himiko looking up at him. She had her mask pulled down so he could see her condesidening smile, "You little bitch!"

He swung at her head, but Himiko had plenty of time to hold up an arm to block so his attack only did nothing to her and only hit her bracer.

Her bladed bracer.

The man's roar stopped and he looked down at his hand. Himiko blinked and made a soft tsking sound, "Oooh, thats gonna hurt in a couple of-"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The man screamed clutching at his fingerless hand.

"Yup, there it is."

"Toga!" Tenya's hands chopped in the air as for a moment, his regular personality peaking through from behind the rage that had been clouding him, "What did you do!?"

"I… blocked," Himiko said.

Pointing down at the still screaming thief, Tenya exclaimed, "How does that explain any-" Himiko raised up her bracers and Tenya paused, "...oh."

"Ingenium! Carmilla! Are you two… What happened!?"

Manual looked at the two thieves, at the scattered fingers, and then back at the two.

"I blocked," Himiko said.

"She blocked," Tenya repeated.

Manual just looked confused. "How does that explain any-"

Himiko was lifting up her bracers again and Tenya was pointing at them when the thief screamed, "SOMEONE CALL ME AN AMBULANCE!"

---

"AHHHHHHH!"

"RUNT! Will you STOP screaming in my EAR! We're here!"

Miruko, with Ochako strapped to her back, landed in the middle of the street as several onlookers gapped in shock. After confirming that they were indeed on solid ground, Ocahko quickly grabbed at the straps holding her and released herself. She fell to the ground and pressed her visor into the concrete, "Oh, sweet ground. I'll never leave you again."

Miruko rolled her eyes, "Will you get up."

"No. I live here now."

Reaching down, Miruko yanked Ochako back up. "Grow up. You agreed to ride on my back so we could get here faster."

Ochako glowered at Miruko. "And I'm sure all those flips you did were totally necessary." The shit eating grin on the hero's face told Ochako all she needed to know. "You are evil."

"Yeah, and no one cares. Now, let's go. Hawks and his team are nearby."

Grumbling, Ochako followed after Miruko, both walking down the street. Ochako looked up at the buildings around her, "So… Stain is here."

Miruko glanced back at her and lightly tapped Ochako on her visor, "You are here to watch and learn. I don't want you even thinking about the Hero Killer. Got it?"

"I'm not crazy, you know. I just hope I'm there to see it when he gets taken down."

Miruko smirked and pointed a thumb to herself. "Well stick with me and I'm sure you'll see it."

They walked around for a short time before finding a huge crowd of people. Miruko pushed past everyone, with Ochako sticking close by not to get separated.

I know Hawks is pretty popular but this is kinda crazy.

Making it to the center of the crowd, the two found Hawks and his team of sidekicks, along with Endeavor and his team. Hawks, who had been talking happily with Endeavor while the man just stood silently, turned and waved, "Ah, Miruko, glad you're here."

"What's old, tall, and brooding doing here?"

Endeavor huffed but Hawks just laughed, "We ran into each other by chance. I was just explaining to him some of the benefits to join us in our search."

Miruko looked up at Endeavor as the man said nothing, "Did you now? He gets help from our Quirks, which specialize in searches, but what do we get? I don't need him or his fire to win my fights."

While the pros continued to talk, Ochako looked around and saw Fumikage and Shouto off to the side. Waving at them, she made her way over, pretty sure the saber rattling and such from the heroes was nothing she needed to hear, "Hey Tokoyami, good to see you again. Hey Todoroki."

"Good evening, Uraraka."

"Hello Uraraka. How is your training with Miruko?" Shouto asked.

Ochako laughed nervously while scratching the back of her head, "Oh it's been… interesting. But," Ochako flexed an arm with a smirk, "nothing I can't handle."

Ochako thought she saw Fumikage's shadow flicker, staring at it for a split second, and immediately the flickering stopped. Turning her attention back to Shouto, she looked him over. "New costume?"

Shouto's original white shirt and pants were gone, replaced with a blue jacket with the sleeves bunched up around his elbows and matching blue pants. The biggest difference was that the ice he wore over his whole left side was gone. Which, now that she thought about it, she wasn't ever sure if it was real ice or not.

Shouto looked down at himself, "My old costume wasn't… fire proof."

"Well, it's definitely a good look for you."

"At least you don't have that silly ice all over you."

"DARK SHADOW!"

I mean, if you just want to come out and say it, Ochako thought. "So," Ochako continued, "does this mean you're using your fire now?"

Shouto nodded, "Yes. I need to learn to properly use it. I'll only get that from experience."

"And learning from your father?"

Shouto was silent as he glanced over at Endeavor, "Yes. Despite… many issues, Endeavor reached his spot as the number two hero for a reason. My time with him has been… useful."

"Well, good on you. And hey, without all that ice you should be able to actually move around a lot better now and not be such a stationary target. That almost cost you in our match. You just stand'n there."

Shouto gave a small hum of agreement. Fumikage scratched his beak, "Wait? Was that real ice? I thought it was just part of your old costume."

Ochako frowned, "Wait, huh?"

"I mean it made his left eye glow red. It couldn't be real ice if it did that."

Both Ochako and Fumikage looked at each other then turned to Shouto, waiting for an answer.

"Well, you see…"

---

After collecting all the finger pieces and being completely unnecessarily cheerful as the two were loaded up, Himiko now waited next to Tenya while Manual finished taking some statements and for nearby police to show up. While this kind of thing went against Himiko's instincts - she had made it a point to avoid police - she could also see that she wasn't the only one happy with having to stay put. Tapping the water bottle she had been given, Himiko looked over at Tenya.

Tenya was a twitching mess. His head was on a swivel, looking around all the time; sometimes at Manual, sometimes at Himiko, and sometimes out to the city. Whenever he looked out that way, his metal boots began to tap the concrete, making it very obvious to anyone paying attention that he was ready to bolt if he saw an opening.

"I swear to god Tenya. If you try and make a break for it so you can go hunt for Mr. Stain now, when we're this close to turning in for the night, I'm just going to stab you."

Tenya's head snapped around to look at Himiko, "W-what!?"

"I'll go for your hamstring too. Because you're being a real bitch right now."

"Y-you! You'd attack me, just like that? Aren't we supposed to be friends?"

"The only reason I'm here, putting up with your bullshit, is because you're my friend, you idiot. But even I have my limits. You run, I cut you. Because you know what, I'd rather deal with the teacher's bullshit about how stabbing people that aren't villains is wrong then find you sliced open and lying in a pool of your own blood and guts, dead."

"Do you really expect me to do nothing? Stain hurt my brother. I can't- I won't just stand by while he escapes. He has to pay."

"And you're the one thats going to do it? That's going to take him down?"

"Yes." The resolve in Tenya's voice would have been admirable if it wasn't coated in hate and anger.

"Okay, time for a reality check. Your brother was beaten by Mr. Stain. Your brother was-" Himiko could hear Tenya grinding his teeth at that but she ignored it, "Was a professional hero, not a student like you. He was stronger and had more experience and he still lost. You won't last a second. So guess what, I'm not going to let that happen, and if I have to stab you to stop you, then that's your fault - teachers and their moral lessons be damned."

When Tenya didn't respond right away, Himiko hoped that was the end of the conversation. At least for the night.

"I wonder how Midoriya would react if he learns you attacked me."

...Wait wha?

"I doubt," Tenya continued coldly, "that he'll return your affections after that. It's clear you have feelings for him. That would be an unfortunate outcome for you, don't you think?"

...Did this bitch really just try and pull the Izuku card on me!? This selfish stupid mother fu… Himiko let her thoughts trail off, reminding herself that the person in front of her wasn't really Tenya. The real Tenya wouldn't try to pull a stunt like this. That anger and hate inside of him was warping him. The longer it lasted, the more desperate he would become to escape, so he would try more and more crazy and out of character methods to get his way.

"You're really going to try and throw Izuku into my face to get me to let you go? All that tells me is that you are not in your right mind right now. Even more reason to make sure you stay here," Himiko said with certainty, "And besides, I wonder what he would say if he learned you ran off to get revenge? Would he still want to be your friend?"

When Himiko heard Tenya take a sharp breath from inside his helmet, she knew she had made her point. And the fact that it hit home for Tenya proved he wasn't totally consumed just yet. He still cared enough to worry what their friend would say once he learned of his actions. So now, as things stood, they were at an impasse. Which was pretty much where they had been since day one. With things back to normal, Himiko decided she was thirsty and was about to open her water bottle when Tenya decided to drop a bomb and ruin her whole night. It reminded her that Tenya, even if he was acting like an idiot, was still Tenya, and Tenya was smart.

"Why do you call him that, by the way?"

Himiko popped the lid off her water bottle and took a swing, answering Tenya with an uninterested, "Hmm?"

"Stain. You keep calling him 'Mr.' Why?"

HImiko stopped what she was doing and pulled from her experiences of being calm in dangerous situations to keep herself from looking startled by the question. Inside though, she felt herself recoil like she had been punched in the face. Taking a few more deliberately slow sips from her water bottle, to give herself time to not sound panicked, she looked Tenya dead in the eye and said, "Have I?"

"Yes. You have. And not just now. When we...talked in your apartment you also called him Mr. Stain. I thought it was a slip or something. But you just used it several times just now." Himiko swore under her breath while Tenya continued, "So I want to know why. You use everyone's first names without a care for common etiquette and you talk so flippantly with the teachers. Why does Stain get the honor of your respect?"

Himiko replayed the last few minutes in her head as well as their talk previously and clicked her tongue in annoyance. She was caught, so she was faced with a dilemma. Flat out lying was out. As much as Tenya was annoying her with his dumb revenge plot, he was smart and she wasn't sure a lie she came up with on the spot would pass his litmus test. And trying to deny she had said anything wouldn't work either and might make him dig even deeper to figure out what was going on. So Himiko chose to fall back on an old, reliable lie she used around Izuku and Ochako whenever her past got brought up.

A lie of omission

"Because I know more about him than pretty much any pro hero."

"You know...?"

"Spent the last couple of years living on the streets, remember?" Tenya nodded. "And the time I spent learning how not to get killed, I learned about other people that live on the streets too. People that did more than just not die. You see, I fought and clawed my way up to a point where I wouldn't get eaten alive. I'd be dead if I stayed a little fish. But here's the thing, there's always a bigger fish. You hear about them everywhere. From people bragging they saw them, to those who were lucky to have escaped with their lives. Even the dead tell a pretty good story."

Tenya looked at Himiko as she talked. The longer she spoke, the colder her eyes became. The chaotic fire that burned inside them was dulled for a few moments, and he felt a chill run down his spin.

"I've seen first hand what Mr. Stain can do. I've seen bodies left in the back alleys, cut down with only a single precise strike. I've also seen the pieces left of those that weren't lucky enough for a quick death. You need to understand this, Tenya: there are a lot of people that hold Mr. Stain in very high regard. People that revere him. A lot of these people aren't even villains, either. Just people that have been left behind and forgotten. You grew up looking up to heroes, being around people that looked up to heroes. Me? I grew up never seeing a real hero until Izuku. I've spent years around people that see Mr. Stain as a prophet because he is culling all the fakes that pollute this world. So yes, I respect him, because he's done more than enough to earn that respect."

Tenya nodded slowly, "I… see. I suppose given your… unique situation growing up, it makes sense that you'd hold a similar view on Stain. Was this the same view the man you were staying with had as well? I remember you saying he didn't hold heroes, save All Might, in very high regard."

"...Yeah..." Pausing to collect herself, Himiko looked up at Tenya, "Look, the 'why' of his actions doesn't matter. I don't... care, and honestly right now, neither should you. What I need you to get is what matters to me. It's the how. Mr. Stain is dangerous, I've seen it. You can hate him all you want, but you have to respect what he's capable of. And right now, the way you're talking and acting, you don't. That is going to get you killed."

Tenya remained quiet and Himiko wished he wasn't wearing his helmet. At least that way she could get a better read on him to know if her explanation was enough to throw off any of his suspicions and if she drove home her point. However, before she had a chance to try and work out how successful she had been, Manual called out to the two, "Ah, you two. Come over here. This will be a good learning opportunity for you to see how Pro Heroes and the police work together to close out an incident."

Greaaaat. Get to see more bureaucracy in action. Lets sum it up, the hero does all the work and the police say 'good job' and act so thankful to get the heroes' sloppy seconds… oh fuck me.

Himiko's inner complaints came to a halt when she saw the police officers that Manual was with. Well, the single detective and two prison guards from the most notorious prison on the face of the earth. Of all the people to run into, it's the fucking lie detector and some Tartarus shit heads.

As Himiko and Tenya walked over, the three officers with Manual and the men turned to greet them only to freeze in their tracks. Detective Tsukauchi's eyes went wide, "T-Toga!? How are you here!?"

While Detective Tsukauchi stood in shock at seeing Himiko, the two guards - Briareos and Gyges, the (in)famous guards of Tartarus' front gate, wearing their horned masks instead of the more common Tartarus uniform and each with a terrifying amount of arms - reacted instantly and pulled their assault rifles up to level them directly at Himiko, "Hands up freak!"

"Boy! Move away immediately!"

The previous mood was blasted away, as Himiko glared back at the two, eyes now reflecting a dangerous light while she deliberately ignored the orders given to her. Manual was left stunned at the sudden shift while Tenya, initially frozen in place, immediately took several steps to put himself between the officers and Himiko.

Manual quickly recovered and moved to defuse the situation, "Whoa, WHOA! Everyone, please, calm down! You're pointing your weapons at my intern!"

Briareos, the larger of the two guards and with the most arms, pushed Manual to the side while Gyges did the same to Tenya, knocking him to the ground. Briareos made a point of aiming his rifle right at Himiko, pressing the barrel of the rifle into her forehead. "I will not tell you again. Hands. Up. Or your head gets splattered onto the pavement."

Himiko didn't back down, "You think you're fast enough to pull that trigger before I slice off that hand?"

A nearby fire hydrant exploded off the ground as Manual took control of the water and aimed it at the brothers, while Tenya's engines began to roar as he readied himself to attack. Detective Tsukauchi, alarmed at how quickly the situation had devolved screamed, "Briareos! Gyges! Stand down! That is an order!"

Briareos turned and glared at Tsukauchi, "You know what this thing is, Detective. We cannot afford to be hesitant with it now. Clearly the agreement has been broken, so we must move now! This is now a Tartarus matter and outside your jurisdiction!"

"Briareos, we don't know what is going on! Until we do, you and your brother will control yourselves! This matter is between the police force, Hero Commission and U.A. Only once we know for sure what is going on, then will it be handed over to you. If that's even necessary." Turning towards Manual, Tsukauchi pleaded, "Manual, sir, please - I need you and Iida to stand down as well."

There was silence as everyone stood perfectly still. The only noise and movement was from a growing crowd of onlookers wondering what was happening. Phones out, taking photos and videos. Himiko cleared her throat, "I'd like to add that when you looked away, I could have easily cut off like, six of your ten hands. I'm being very polite. I'm being very polite letting you keep all your limbs right now. I am very pissed at you."

Slowly, with everyone keeping their eyes on everyone else, the four lowered their weapons and fell back into two groups, with the brothers standing behind Detective Tsukauchi. Tenya stepped in front of Himiko again and Manual stood in front of both of them. Then Himiko rolled her eyes and pushed forward, grumbling about not hiding behind anyone.

With the situation now just at a simmer instead of a rolling boil, Tsukauchi took the initiative, "Toga, I need you to tell me why you are here."

Crossing her arms, which put her hands very close to the handles of the large combat knives on her sides, Himiko stared down the detective. "Disregarding the fact that I don't owe you or the fuck goblins there any kind of explanation," Gyges growled past his helmet, "I'm here for my internship."

"Your… internship?"

"That's right. I'm here for the week, studying under the… excellent and exhilarating hero, Manual."

"You're interning here? Now?" The disbelief in Tsukauchi was obvious to everyone.

Manual frowned at the detective's direction, "I can confirm she is my intern for the week. I have her approved application back in my office."

Tsukauchi shook his head, "I believe that you think she is but… this simply can't be."

"Midnight handed me a list of names. I picked Manual and gave her the list back. All of it was approved."

"Midnight? You mean she gave you… and it was approved!?"

Himiko shrugged, "Call her."

A deep frown creased Tsukauchi's face, "I intend to. Toga, until I have confirmation about this, I'd like you to accompany me to-"

"Fuck no."

"Toga, you're not being detained. I just-"

"I said. Fuck. No. I have permission to be here. I haven't broken a single rule to be here. You and the walking handjobs over there put a fucking gun to my head. So there is no way I'm going anywhere with you.

Briareos took a step forward but Tsukauchi put out his hand, stopping him. Turning back towards Himiko, he tried to remain calm, but everyone could tell he was stressed about the whole situation, "Toga, I am asking you to accompany me so I can figure this all out. I'm asking you to do this of your own free will. If you do, I can assure you that it will be considered as we deal with the consequences of you being here," Himiko snarled but Tsukauchi powered over her, "If you do not, I will be forced to take you into protective custody. If you resist me, that will be seen as an attack on an officer and then I will be forced to consider the arrangement voided. That means that these two will have jurisdiction in handling you."

With her teeth bared, Himiko spat out her reply, "You've been itching for this chance. Back me into a corner and then say your hand was forced."

"I'm not trying to trap you. I'm trying to solve this without anyone getting hurt."

Himiko scoffed, "Really? I told you no and your hand went to your gun and it looks like it's just itching to shoot me."

Tsukauchi blinked, then glanced down. He was surprised that at some point when they had started talking he had indeed moved his hand to his sidearm and had unclipped the strap keeping it in its holster. Startled and more than a little ashamed at himself, he took his hand off the gun, "I…"

"I'm sorry," Manual cut in, "but can someone tell me what is going on here?! This whole situation from the start has been alarming. Toga has been an expeliary intern and the use of force by Tartarus and your threats, Detective, are far out of line! You're treating Toga here, a student of U.A. - a child - like a criminal… No more like she's a-"

"Like she's a villain," Tenya finished to himself.

Himiko winced, but didn't turn back to look at the two. She also couldn't think of anything to say. And honestly at this point, silence was her best hope now.

"It's because it is a vi-"

"Gyges, enough!" Tsukauchi cut in, "Until we learn or are told otherwise we will move forward under the assumption that all court orders are still in place. I am sorry Manual, but this… situation is under heavy regulation. An internal affair with multiple orders from the Commission and court-placed gag orders."

"..."

Manual frowned deeply while Gyges stood in silence. This was enough for Tsukauchi. Before he could say anything else though Tenya stepped forward, his attention squarely on the two brothers. "This whole time you two have been referring to Toga as 'it' and 'thing'. I demand you stop this at once. She is a person, a fellow student of the prestigious U.A. and… she is my friend. I will not simply stand by and allow you to continue this insulting and degrading behavior. Why would two professionals stoop to such lows?"

Tsukauchi shook his head, "I agree that this has not been handled properly by anyone," Himiko grumbled a 'seriously' under her breath, "So we must move to correct this. Before anyone says, or does, something that will have real consequences and," looking to his side at the now large crowd of people, "before we make any more of a scene. Manual, as you are currently in charge of Toga, please convince her to disarm and come with us. If you wish to come with us as well, you are more than welcome to, but Toga must come with me until I get answers."

"Disarm!? Go fu-!"

Manula put a hand on Himiko's shoulder, "Toga please. I do not understand what is going on. The actions these men have takens, the language and terms they have used against you is inexcusable. You are well within your right to be angry. However, if it's as you say and you have done nothing wrong, I ask that you please do as the officer says for now. It sounds like the alternative… will be far less pleasant. It's not fair, but sometimes we heroes have to take these things on the chin. I promise you though, I will not let them take this any further than they have. I will go with you, and once they have confirmed you are allowed to be here, we will leave." Turning to face Tsukauchi he added, "And I will not allow them to take any kind of action against you after that."

While Himiko stood in silence, thinking over everything, Tenya was left off to the side replaying everything that had just happened.

I wish I understood what was going on. I'm sure this has something to do with why Toga is a ward of U.A. and why she's living there. She's always been coy over the reason, though it has to be connected to her mistreatment at the hands of her parents. But if there are court orders and agreements with the Hero Commission to keep the reason quiet… What is Toga involved in?

But that doesn't explain the officers behavior. They're… they're afraid of her. They were ready to kill her. Why? The way she's talked about living on the streets, I always assumed she was forced to commit some minor crimes to survive. Stealing food, or fighting perhaps, that would explain how she's so unnaturally experienced in combat and stealth, but nothing more than petty misdemeanors at worst. This kind of reaction… there's no other way to describe it other than they're treating her like a villain. But what could she have done to be treated like this?

The seconds dragged on while the group stood in silence, all waiting for Himiko's answer. The Tartarus guards clutched their weapons tightly, ready to act if she did anything other than agree. Tsukauchi did his best to keep himself calm and not take any other actions that might insight further violence. Manual was keeping an eye on the three, still very aware that the crowd around them was getting bigger and bigger. He also had a feeling he was going to be getting an unpleasant call tomorrow from the Hero Commission, since they were not going to like this whole situation getting recorded and posted online at least fifty different times.

Himiko sighed, a long heavy sound, as she tried to expel all the stress inside her body. While this whole shit show was going to be a major pain in her ass, she could at least use it to her advantage in at least one way, "I have one condition."

The Tartarus brothers tensed up but a glare from Tsukauchi kept them from saying or doing anything, "What is it, Toga?"

"I would feel a lot better if my dear friend Tenya came with me." Himiko could at least use these extra eyes to keep Tenya from running off for the rest of the night.

Manual nodded, relieved that Himiko's request was a reasonable one, "I'm sure that Iida would be happy to keep you company while we get this all sorted." No one, besides Himiko, noticed Tenya go stiff as he immediately realized what Himiko had done. Manual turned towards Tsukauchi, "This shouldn't be an issue. Right?"

"Of course not. That won't be a problem at all."

With that all squared away and the situation now on the cusp of being fully diffused, everyone looked down at Himiko. She rolled her eyes and reached up to her knife holsters, "Just so you know. When this is all over, I want you to be the one to hand me my knives back. And you're going to do it in front of all your police officer friends too-!"

BOOM!

One instant everyone was on their feet. A few blocks down the street, a blast ripped open the side of a building sending fire, glass, steel and concrete in every direction and knocking the group and all the bystanders to the ground. Dazed, with a ringing in her ears that did a great job of drowning out the panicked screams of the civilians, Himiko struggled to get up to even her hands and knees. Fire fell from the sky, spreading throughout the street and turning it into a hellscape. Around her Himiko could make out some people still prone on the ground. Some curled up too scared to move, some lay prone and motionless; if they were dead or just knocked out, she couldn't tell. Tenya was on one knee, shaking his head, while Manual used the side of a building to help himself stand up. The two brothers both had a hold on Tsukauchi's arms and were pulling him to his feet.

With the fire bathing the street in red and orange light, and thick black smoke billowing out into the air, Himiko struggled to find anything that could explain what had just happened - at least at first. From the hole in the building, where the fire was at its worst, a dark shape emerged from the flames. His form was hidden at first but once he stepped out into the street, Himiko felt her stomach drop. A giant stood among the wreckage towering over everyone. His black skin was pulled taut over his body's bulging muscles. Deep red scars marred his arms and atop of everything sat a head with an eyeless face and exposed brain.

A monster stood before everyone and as the world crawled to a stand still, Himiko felt compelled to say it's name, "Nomu!"

---

"Hey, by the way Todoroki, you give'n anymore thought to a hero name?"

The three were still waiting for the professionals to sort their shit out. So Ochako, growing antsy standing next to probably her two quietest classmates, was trying to pass the time. Shouto shook his head, "No. I'm still… figuring myself out. Once I have a better idea of who I am and who I want to be, I think I'll know what name I want."

"Oh, I guess that makes sens-"

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Screams. People were suddenly screaming. Ochako looked around in alarm. She couldn't see why the crowd was starting to panic - then she looked up. A bus was sailing through the air right over them. Twisting and turning with people getting thrown out of it. Frozen in shock, Ochako could only watch as the people plummeted towards the ground, the fall too high for any chance that they would survive.

"Fierce Wings GO!"

Ochako's eyes went wide as she watched red feathers race into the sky, snagging onto the falling people while even more went into the bus and pulled the rest of the civilians inside out and to safety. As the now empty bus fell closer to the ground, Miruko launched up and kicked it, cratering its side and sending it off to the side, safely away from the crowd.

People ran away in every direction. Ochako snapped out of her daze and looked around, not sure what to do, "What's going on?!"

SCREEEEECH!

A horrible sound ripped at her ears. Looking up, Ochako's jaw dropped., No. No that can't be!

With limbs at least twice as long as they should be, skin that was a sickly pale yellow, an exposed brain and wings that kept it aloft: a Nomu flew overhead screeching in challenge.

"A NOMU?!"

Hawks, his feathers reattached, soared into the air as the Nomu twisted and rocketed away.

"Guys! Follow after me and make sure to take care of anyone that gets in that thing's path!" Not waiting for his team to answer, Hawks chased after the winged Nomu.

"Tsukuyomi! Let's go!" Called out one of Hawks' sidekicks. Fumikage, after wishing Ochako and Shouto a quick good luck, raced away with the team.

"Miruko!" Ochako called out, "What should we be-"

"RUNT, MOVE!"

Miruko launched herself and tackled Ochako and Shouto out of the way, just as another Nomu slammed into the ground where they had been standing. The white Nomu turned its head towards the running people and Ochako felt a horrible feeling twist her stomach, "It's going for the people!"

"THE HELL IT IS!" Miruko let both Ochako and Shouto go, then she launched herself at the Nomu, slamming into it and kicking it down the road. Endeavor was about to unleash a blast of fire at it when an explosion several blocks away ripped through the air. Startled, everyone turned to the smoke and orange glowing sky. Endeavor frowned, "It's an attack? Miruko, can you deal with this one while I investigate that?!"

The White Nomu recovered and leapt away. Miruko growled in annoyance, "The hell you do! Yeah this bitch is mine! You go!" Glancing back at Ochako, Miruko paused and looked sternly at her. After a split second of consideration she pointed right at her, "RUNT! You stay with your classmate where it's safe! Don't you fucking dare get involved with these things!"

"W-Wait!? You're just leaving me… and she's gone. SERIOUSLY?!"

Shouto put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her attention back to the task at hand, "She must think you'll be safer with us. Unless you think you'd be able to keep up with her?"

Ochako growled but couldn't argue with the points.

"SHOUTO! And… girl. Let's go!"

Endeavor started running for the explosion while Shouto and Ochako followed after him.

---

Tomura smiled with glee behind the hand covering his face, "These Nomu are great. They'll have this city burning in no time."

From his side, Kurogiri looked over at Tomura, "I am glad you decided to listen to Master and not participate in the battle."

"I'm injured now, so of course I won't. Besides, watching destruction can be just as much fun as causing it. It's why I asked for these guys. They may not be as strong as the one we brought to the USJ, but three of them attacking at once will spread the destruction just fine."

Kurogiri nodded, "And you still wish to include Stain in the destruction?"

Tomura spat out his words, "I hate that guy and I'm allowed to destroy what I hate. Sensei said so... but I'll do more than just kill him. He thinks he's so important because he's always in the news. But after this, everyone will have forgotten about him. He'll be nothing next to me. Goals, ideals; I'll destroy all of that worthless junk."

"I understand your dislike for him, but I hope you won't dismiss him or his methods completely."

"Oh?" Tomura scratched at his neck, "The way he talks, he sounds more like a guy leading a grassroots movement."

"Perhaps, but I've looked into the crime rates of the cities he's been in."

"I'm sure they skyrocketed with all the heroes he killed. Big deal."

"No, in fact they dropped."

"Eh?"

"The theory is that as their comrades are struck down, the remaining heroes end up working harder to reinstill trust in their communities. In thinning the heroes' ranks and getting rid of the 'fakes,' as he puts it, he's leaving ones that more closely align with his definition."

Tomura let his hand move from his neck to the stab wound on his shoulder, "He said we both want to destroy this society but why we're doing it is completely different. It's impossible for us to get along. He wants perfect heroes. I want them all dead… But none of that even matters now. He stabbed me, so I want to kill him. End of story."

---

"Nomu!"

The word left Himiko's mouth, and the world suddenly, violently, jolted back to life. Gunfire roared as the Tartarus guards unloaded their assault rifles into the monster. Tsukauchi, radio in hand, was screaming for backup and relaying the Nomu's position.

"Detective, please confirm!"

"Nomu! I repeat! A Nomu is here! Almost exactly the same as the one apprehended from the USJ attack!"

With Tenya's help, Himiko was on her feet with eyes on the monster, and what she saw shocked her, "Holy crap, the bullets are hurting it?!"

Tsukauchi and Tenya snapped their head up and watched as the bullets fired did rip through the giant, but just as soon as any damage was done, the wounds closed up.

"It doesn't have the same Shock Absorption Quirk the one All Might fought had, but it has healing," Tsukauchi observed with some relief in his voice. Even Himiko started to think things weren't as bad as they could be.

"Detective! Please confirm what you just said!"

The panicked voice from the radio made Himiko frown. There was something in the way that the person on the radio had asked that had her instincts on edge. Plus she swore she was forgetting something very important.

"I repeat, there is a Nomu here. Follow the smoke and fire!"

More voices started coming in over the radio and Himiko felt herself get even more tense. There was way too much panic going on. Already, she could see more heroes arriving on the scene. Granted they were getting tossed around by the black giant but at least there were people on site.

"The whole block is on fire-"

"We need back up!"

"Another explosion-!"

"Wait, did they just say another explosion?" Manual said in alarm as the group listened to multiple panicked voices.

"Dispatch, what is going on!?"

"Detective, confirm visual appearance of the Nomu."

"The fuck?" Himiko shook her head and with a growl, grabbed the radio out of Tsukauchi's hand. Ignoring that he and Manual tried to get it back, Himiko screamed into it, "It's big and black with a fucking exposed brain! What else do you want!?"

Ripping the radio back, Tsukauchi was about to tell Himiko off when the dispater replied, "Who was that?"

Deciding to deal with her later, Tsukauchi went back to his radio, "Nevermind! The description is a match though."

"...Dammit. Then that black Nomu is the third confirmed one in Hosu City."

"...Oh fuck."

"We have sightings of one white Nomu, one winged Nomu, and the black one you are engaging."

Himiko tore her eyes away from the radio and looked out towards the city, whistling as she saw that several blocks away on either side of them, there were twin black pillars of smoke reaching up to the night sky, "Holy shit the League is attacking the city." A sadistic smile crossed Himiko's face as she pulled out a knife and twirled it in between her fingers, "Guess you won't be going to the police station with me tonight, Tenya. But look on the bright side: I get to stab something and you get to kick something."

The silence that greeted her was deafening over the roar of the battle.

"Tenya?"

Himiko turned around, and found herself alone. Off in the distance, a block away, she could see soft whiffs of exhaust smoke wrapping around a corner before they were blown away. It took only a few seconds for what had just happened to click in her mind.

He just ran off when I wasn't looking...

Himiko stood, anchored in place by several emotions and feelings. She was shocked, dumbfounded, horrified and enraged. With so many different things racing around her head, they kept her from acting, so she picked one and focused on that to help her finally move.

It was rage.

THAT FOUR EYED BASTARD! I'M GOING TO CASTRATE HIM!

With that decided, and before anyone else looked her way, Himiko vanished from the scene - cursing Tenya and his stupidity, and cursing his stupid running Quirk.

---

Racing down the road, Tenya felt his stomach twist. Guilt gnawed at him with every step. If not for his burning desire to see his brother's attacker brought to justice, his guilt would have been crippling. But he kept running, fueled on by his desire and conviction. This was his best chance to find Stain and he could not afford to waste it. Himiko had forced his hand, after all. Staring down the barrel of a gun, and treated in such an inhumane way, she still insisted on making sure he was where she could see him. It became clear to him at that moment that if he was going to do anything, he was going to have to do something drastic or hope for an opportunity when he was free of Himiko's constant watch.

The sudden attack of the Nomu provided that opportunity.

With heroes on the scene and Himiko's eyes off him, Tenya saw his window and took it. So now he was free, and was finally able to start his search. And in a strange twist of fate, the attack happening in the city gave Tenya a better picture of where he was going to look. He had already decided to check alleys and areas that were out of sight from the general populace, but now he was also working away from the attacks.

Stain wouldn't want to be near an area that has that much attention… but heroes will be rushing towards them en masse. And if one takes an alley or was slower than the rest-

"Hey, do you know where Native is?"

Passing by a group of heroes, Tenya caught part of their conversation and slowed down.

"He was lagging behind. He said he'd catch up and was going to take a short cut back there."

The hero motioned down the dark street behind them, "If he got lost that's his own fault. We can't wait for him any longer."

When the group was out of sight, Tenya turned and started running down the direction they had come from. A straggler would make the perfect target. Focused on getting to the emergency, they wouldn't be expecting an ambush. Finding the alley they spoke of, Tenya boosted down. Eyes scanning the dark tunnel until he saw it: a hero pressed up against the side of a building, held up by his throat as another man raised a sword to cut him down.

STAIN!

Tenya's engines roared as he launched himself at Stain. Pulling a leg back he prepared to slam his foot right into the Hero Killer's head but at the last second, Stain turned. Swinging his sword, the blade cut through Tenya's helmet, knocking it off, and sent Tenya tumbling to the ground. Landing on the ground hard, Tenya gasped for breath while Stain looked down at him, "A child… wearing a costume. I don't know what you're supposed to be but you should leave this place. This isn't somewhere a child should be."

"You're Stain, aren't you. The Hero Killer. I came to this city hoping to find you. And now that you're in front of me, I won't let you escape," Tenya growled out his words. Eyes blazing with fire and hate as he looked at Stain, "After what you did to my brother. I'm going to make you pay."

Stain frowned, "Choose what you do next carefully, boy. Your eyes tell me everything I need to know, and your words dig your own grave. I will kill whoever I must. Even if that means children. Leave now, before I decide your fate."

"You… You don't have the right to talk about fate when I've already sealed yours. Listen to me, you monster. I am the younger brother of the finest hero. The hero you cut down and left for dead. Because of you, my brother will never walk again. I am here in his stead to put an end to you once and for all. My name is Ingenium and I swear, I am going to kill you!"

Stain dropped Native to the ground and turned his full attention towards Tenya, "Is that so? Then your fate is sealed boy."

Tenya launched at Stain only for the Hero Killer to leap up into the air over him. Slamming his feet into the ground, Tenya twisted around, getting ready to try and attack again. Tenya gasped as Stain swung his sword out, interrupting him. Tenya dropped to the ground, dodging the sword by inches. He tried to hurry back to his feet, but Stain was already on the move. Pulling out one of his combat knives, Stain drove it through Tenya's arm and into the ground, pinning him down. While Tenya screamed, with a flick of his wrist, Stain used his sword to slice Tenya across his shoulder, pressing his boot down on Tenya's head.

"You and your brother are both fakes. That's why you're both weak and that's why you failed."

Tenya growled past the pain, "Shut up! You don't know anything about him or what it means to be a hero. You're just a killer!"

Stain glared down at Tenya before pointing over at Native, "A hero would have been more concerned about the victim than the culprit. You didn't care about him at all, too consumed by your own selfish desires. You have power, but you used it to your own ends. You let hate drive your every action the moment you got here. The first thing, the very first thing you should have done as you raced in here was try and save him, but you didn't. Your every action made you anything but a hero." Bringing his sword up to his mouth Stain licked the blade, and Tenya suddenly couldn't move, "And that is why you have to die."

Tenya fought to move his body, while at the same time trying not to listen to a word Stain said. He couldn't bring himself to think that Stain was right. A hero would have tried to save Native.

"Shut up! Shut… up…"

Stain looked down at the defeated Tenya and raised his sword up to deliver the killing blow, seeing no reason to prolong his pain, "Goodbye child. You will become more tinder for the fire that will destroy this society."

Tenya closed his eyes as the blade came down, but the pain never happened. He waited and waited, but nothing happened. He could still feel the searing pain in his arm from the knife driven into it. The dull ache from the cut he had taken. So he wasn't dead, but nothing else. Cautiously, Tenya opened his eyes, and saw the Stain still standing over him, his sword stopped in mid swing, a foot or so away from his neck.

Stain himself though was different. His determined and angry scowl was now gone. He looked cautious but indifferent - maybe even annoyed. He was aware of something that escaped Tenya. Withdrawing his sword, Stain took his eyes off Tenya and peered deep into the dark shadows of the alley. Then with a scoff, pointed his sword into it, "Come out. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to hide the stench of all the blood you've drenched yourself in. Come out and stop wasting my time Toga."

Tenya's eyes went wide, "W-what!?"

That can't be right! She can't be here! She couldn't have foll-

"Gosh, Mr. Stain, you don't have to go and spoil the fun like that," the chirpy tone in Himiko's voice seemed to echo in the darkness, "After all, it's been so long."

From the black shadows, Himiko appeared, her body flowing through the darkness unnervingly naturally. It was her domain, the shadows. It's where she could do the most damage without ever being noticed - normally, at least. Stain though had picked her out instantly, though if she was upset or disturbed by that, Tenya couldn't tell by looking at her.

And look at her, Tenya did. With her out of the shadows, Tenya wanted to scream at her to run. This had nothing to do with her. However, all words died in his throat as he looked at her - looked at her and Stain. He had been too preoccupied in his attack to notice it, but now that it was right in front of him he couldn't not see it.

The colors of the costume.

The knives and where they were holstered.

The mask.

It was all the same. Himiko may have added a few of her own personal flares to it, added gear that assisted her Quirk, but there was no mistaking it. Their costumes were the same.

"And I resent the stench remark. One, because blood never smells bad and two, I happen to shower regularly and U.A. gives me these really nice soaps too. Makes me all nice and fresh," Himiko finished with a flaunt, putting her hands on her hips and looking playfully offended at the idea she smelled.

"You can't hide the killer's aura that surrounds you. With that, you'll never be able to hide from me," Stain stated simply. Eyeing her closely and never dropping his sword.

Himiko rolled her eyes and waved him off, "Yeah, yeah. 'Control yourself Toga.' 'Restrain yourself.' Blah blah blaaah. Let's face facts: I'm a monster, and monsters don't do 'restraint.'" Himiko made sure to make as many air quotes as she could while she talked. As she did, she kept walking forward, closer to the pair. Her eyes fell on Tenya briefly before she looked over at the wounded Native, "Still doing your thing, huh? Going after all the fakes to tear down our society to save it."

"All that matters is the mission."

Himiko's smile soured before she fixed it, "Yeah. Don't I know it."

With each step, she brought herself closer to two. With a flick of his wrist, Stain moved the tip of his sword so that it lined up with her chest, just where her heart would be. Himiko finally stopped and looked down at the blade, "Why, Mr. Stain, you know I'd wanted you to stick it in me for sooooo long, but here? In a back alley? And without any foreplay, you're just gonna jam it in? Not very romantic, don't you think? Buuuut, it was in a dark alley like this my heart was stolen from you. Do you want to try and win it back?"

Tenya was at a complete loss. Forgetting the fact that his friend had somehow followed him and was now in danger, and that said friend was dressed up like Stain and the two seemed to be familiar with each other, now Himiko was flirting with him. What's more, there was a tone in Himiko's voice that he had never heard before, even when she teased and toyed with Izuku or became angry with Katsuki.

Her voice was like a song, a raunchy inappropriate, sometimes cruel song, but it always carried the same cheerful tune as well. Now though, that song in her voice had too many distorted notes. It was almost unhinged. It was terrifying. He had heard from Ochako and Tsuyu about the time when the villains attacked, how Himiko had become someone completely different in that moment. Like something dark beneath the surface had leaked out. Tenya wondered if this was like that, if he was seeing something Himiko kept locked inside coming out.

Stain didn't seem to care about Himiko's taunt, "Still living inside your own delusions. Tell me Toga, what were you thinking draping yourself in my trappings? Was I supposed to feel pride? Joy? Looking at you only fills me with disgust."

Himiko pouted, "Aw, that's mean."

"But I suppose I do have to thank you for one thing, Toga," Himiko's eyebrows raised at that, "When I learned you were being trained as a hero it laid bare just how corrupt and sick this world is. That even a world of fakes would let a monster like you pretend to be one of them. It only shows how far gone this world has fallen. You make me sick, but you've also proved me right. To save the people from these fakes, I will drown this society in their false idols' blood. Every fake will die."

"...Every fake," Himiko's eyes fell to Tenya who looked up at her, in pain and afraid.

Stain glanced down at Tenya before he turned his attention back to Himiko, "If they are too far corrupted like this boy. Then yes, even children will be sacrificed."

Himiko sighed and dropped her head, breaking eye contact with Stain, "You know what? You're right."

There was no cheerful tune in Himiko's voice anymore. No illusion of laughter, or kindness. No joy or even the slightest hint of humanity. To Tenya, she didn't even look like the Himiko he knew. She hadn't used her Quirk to transform, she was still Himiko Toga, but the way she sounded and carried herself now, she might as well have been a completely new person.

"About me at least. The heroes, they keep looking for something inside of me that isn't there. I can pretend of course. I can pretend I have compassion. I can fake kindness. I can create an illusion of humanity for them to feel like they're saving me. I can even fool myself sometimes, I'm just that good of a liar. But I know, and I think they know it too even if some… don't want to admit it. I know what I am. I'm a monster. I drink blood because I love the taste and cut people open to see how pretty they look covered in their own gore. The sound of a fresh cut, the warm splash when you hit that artery, the look in a person's eyes as the life behind it fades away, I love it all. I'm a psychopath, a twisted, fucked up monster that by some warped string of luck, met a naive little boy that stole my heart. And because of that I walked right into the hands of the heroes. To be with that sweet boy, I'll let myself play the hero's games and become their monster. I know how this game is going to end, they'll point and I'll kill. They'll throw me to the wolves and I'll tear the whole pack apart. I'll be nothing more than a tool by the end. But that's fine, because for now I get to be with a special boy, and be part of his special world. I get to play at being a hero, a classmate and…" Himiko's eyes glanced down at Tenya, "a friend. You see, this idiot who just wouldn't listen is my friend. This absolute moron that you've hurt is my friend. And now, I'm going to save him."

"Ho-"

CLANG!

The sharp sound of metal against metal rang throughout the alley. Himko snapped her left hand up and caught Stain's sword between the twin blades on the back of her hand. Twisting her hand and swinging her arm away, she pulled the sword away from her heart. At the same time, her right hand swung by her hip, grabbing a throwing knife from it's holster. She threw the knife with a flick of her wrist right into Stain's chest.

Stain yanked his sword back and lept backwards as Himiko attacked. Deflecting Himiko's knife with his sword, he sailed away. The metal spikes on his boots sparking as he grinded to a stop, several paces behind Tenya. Himiko threw several more knives as she launched herself forward, covering the distance between herself and Tenya. While Stain dodged and deflected, Himiko skidded to a stop and grabbed onto Tenya's back as grey sludge exploded from her body. Her arms and legs grew large and overly muscular and a deep black began spreading over the limbs. As fast as she could she began transforming into the giant Nomu, but the time she had bought pushing Stain back wasn't enough.

"Toga, look out!" Tenya yelled, though he hadn't needed to; Himiko had never taken her eyes off Stain. She swore as he sliced at her, his sword easily cutting through her fake flesh, turning it into useless grey sludge again and forcing her to let go of Tenya and backpedal as quickly as she could. The rest of her transformation fell to the ground as she ducked, swerved and scrambled to get away from Stain's counter attack.

Back to their original places, Himiko quickly glanced over her body. While Stain he cut through her forming transformation, he hadn't cut her actual body. Stain also checked his sword, but did not find any blood on the blade, "Trying to save the boy? Naive of you to assume I would allow that."

Himiko rolled her eyes and reached up to her side, pulling out two of her large combat knives. As she did, her eyes fell back to Tenya briefly and she cursed that his costume was a suit of armor. Carrying him in that meant she had only one transformation that could do the trick, and of course it was the one that took the longest to put on. The Nomu's strength would have given her everything she needed to pick Tenya up and leap away but it's added bulk increased the time it took her transformation to properly form. And none of her other forms were going to be of any use, even if she had time to transform into them. Stain would just cut through them. For this fight, she needed her weapons, and she needed her body.

"Toga!" Tenya called out, "Run! Just-"

"Tenya, shut up! You don't have talking privileges anymore!" With that scream, Himiko charged right into Stain, blade flashing as they picked up the miniscule light.

From the ground, Tenya was left dumbstruck as he watched. A popular cliche and trope when watching two skilled fighters or even martial artists battle each other was to compare their movements to a dance. Each one moving with the other. Give and take, push and pull. Their skills were brought to bear in a way that was mesmerizing. This fight wasn't like that at all. He wasn't watching two dancers twist and twirl around each other. He was watching two high-powered blenders scream to life and slam into each other in a shower of sparks and razor splinters.

Stain rained down blows with his sword, from above, the sides and below, while Himiko used her knives to deflect and block. Himiko needed to close the space between them if she wanted a good shot at Stain, but he was making it very hard for her. His sword gave him reach and power. Power which he used when he grabbed the hilt with both hands and brought his sword down, while Himiko brought her twin combat knives up, crossing them and catching the sword with a loud ringing of metal-on-metal. The force of the hammer blow made Himiko's arms shake under the strain. Even with her blocking it, the blade of the sword got way too close to Himiko's head for her liking.

Letting go with one hand, Stain reached out and grabbed one of Himiko's wrists and pulled her to the side, throwing her off balance. With Himiko stumbling, Stain twisted his wrist and turned his blade to the side, swinging across his body to cut Himiko down. Himiko, instead of fighting to stay up, let herself fall, hitting the ground as Stain's sword passed over her. Stain didn't let up his attack and pulled a leg back, then drove the steel spikes on the front of his boot into Himiko with a kick. Himiko got a bracer in front of her body in time to prevent herself from getting punctured, but with a cost. With a crisp crack, the blades on her arm shattered and she was sent tumbling across the ground.

Leaping to her feet, Himiko hissed in surprise as Stain launched one of his large knives at her as he ran after her. Only just sidestepping the knife, Himiko reached up and pulled one of her syringes out, then threw it at Stain, letting the tubing run through her fingers as it sailed through the air. Stain sidestepped, and the moment he did Himiko snatched the tubing and yanked it to the side, changing the direction of the needle and arcing it towards Stain's exposed side.

Stain's hand shot up and caught the syringe, "You're cheap tricks aren't going to save your life, Toga."

Hand still gripping the tubing, Himiko flicked her wrist and sent a wave through the line, causing it to wrap around Stain's wrist. Yanking down with her hand, Himiko raised her foot up above the line and stamped down, pulling the line and Stain's arm down with it. With Stain dragged down, Himiko launched herself at him, her knife raised in the air to drive it home. But Stain recovered, slicing himself free with his sword before swiping at Himiko's head. His freed hand went to his side as he pressed his attack, bringing his sword down hard on Himiko's defenses and making Himiko backpadel.

Sparks flew as Stain shattered one of Himiko's knives and then knocked the other out of her hand. Himiko needed to get some space quickly, so she took another step back, except her foot didn't hit the ground like she planned. Instead of the ground, her foot landed on the hilt of the knife Stain had thrown at her, stuck into the concrete. Eyes widening, Himiko didn't know if the knife had been a trap set by Stain or just bad luck. It didn't really matter in the end. Tripping over the knife, Himiko stumbled back while Stain advanced and swung his sword down. Desperately, Himiko punched at the blade with her remaining gauntlet and bracer, the curved blades catching the sword.

However, while she had been able to stop Stain's first attack, his sword, she saw too late he was following it up with a second. In his other hand Stain held a knife that he swung upward. Himiko tried to move backward and twist herself but she was still unbalanced. She was able to get her body away but she wasn't able to pull her head back far enough. The knife tip hit her right cheek and then sliced all the way up to her eyebrow.

Cutting through her masks.

Cutting through her skin, flesh and bone.

Cutting right through Himiko's eye.

"TOGA!"

---

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"I want McDonald's."

"You ate before we left."

"That was in the afternoon, the sun's gone down, Toshinori."

Izuku groaned and sunk deeper into his seat. For whatever reason, Gran Torino had decided that he was going to play the role of a child in the back seat of All Night's truck. A role he had embraced enthusiastically for the last thirty minutes.

"If we had taken the train we'd be there by now."

All Might rubbed his brow, "We don't want to attract attention. This gets us into the city under the press's nose."

Gran Torino rolled his eyes, "Then you should have listened to me and just worn a trench coat over your costume."

"You and Young Midoriya, who everyone knows is training under me this week, are in full costume. Me in an oversized coat that doesn't hide my oversized costume would have attracted way too many questions."

"So driving around in the coat is better?"

All Might pulled at his collar, "I'll be able to quickly change with this, at least."

Gran Torino shook his head, "I swear you put too much thought into the most useless crap."

All Might laughed, "I suppose so."

Afterwards, for the next few seconds the three sat in silence. Which Izuku hoped meant whatever game the two had been playing was finally over.

"I want McDonald's."

Izuku covered his face with his hands, "Let's just get him a Happy Meal already. He's short enough they might even give him a toy to play with."

Promptly, Izuku realized he had said the thing he meant to think out loud. All Might started laughing up a storm while Izuku could feel the glare directed at him from behind his seat.

"Hey, kid. Ever have the back of your seat kicked by someone with jets on the bottom of their feet?"

Gulp.

Deciding that it might be a good idea to not say anything else, Izuku went back to looking out the window. The drive had been a couple of hours but fortunately Izuku had been distracted with his own thoughts about One for All and what was going to happen to him going forward. Now that he was in Hosu City proper, his thoughts drifted to Stain and it put him on edge. Izuku knew he wasn't going to be taking part in the search and was just there to watch All Might work. Even All Might wasn't really part of the heroes searching the city for the villain mostly there for moral support because of his limited time. So the odds of anything happening tonight were slim. None of that helped his nerves.

He was tempted to give Ochako a text, but quickly thought better of it. If she asked what was making him so jumpy, he'd have to say he was with All Might in Hosu City and that would mean Stain would get brought up. And he knew somehow, someway, Ochako would come to the conclusion that he would be going after the Hero Killer. Which just opened up a whole can of worms that he did not want to deal with since he doubted she would listen to him if he said he wasn't going to go after the villain. Ochako somehow now had it stuck in her head that he had a habit of leaping into dangerous situations.

Which was just ridiculous but that was an issue for another day.

"Hmm, maybe we should grab something to eat before we get to work," All Might said

"Finally. About time you listened to m-!"

BOOM!

Down the street the three could see fire and smoke rising up into the sky. All Might gripped the steering wheel and slammed down his foot on the gas, racing in between cars to get right up to the corner where the explosion happened. Then slamming on the brakes and twisting the steering wheel All Might pulled the truck to the curb with a screech before coming to a sudden stop. Just around the corner of the building, fire and smoke spread and people were running, terrified and panicked.

"Wha!? What's going on?!" Izuku screamed in alarm. However, while he sat in shock, All Might had already buffed up and was getting out of the car. As Gran Torino rocketed out, Izuku snapped back to reality and quickly followed after them.

"Young Midoriya! Stay in the truck!"

Izuku shook his head as he looked up at All Might, "There might be people hurt! I can at least help them! I don't have to use my Quirk for that!"

All Might grit his teeth frozen in place over his decision. Gran Torino slapped his side, 'We need to move!"

All Might looked at Izuku then waved him on with him. They rushed through the crowds of people, but then a new sound ripped through the air.

Gunfire.

All Might grit his teeth; whatever was around the corner was not going to be good. When they turned the corner though, he knew he was right. He also wished he had made Izuku stay in the truck. There, standing in the middle of the fire was a giant black monster.

A Nomu.

Around it, several other heroes were doing their best to fight it off, but the monster was tossing them around with ease. Izuku paled and memories of the USJ attack flashed before his eyes, before he shook his head and focused on the task at hand. While All Might readied to rush into the battle, he first looked down at Izuku, "Young Midoriya, there are officers over there. You stay with them. Do you hear me?"

"I-"

"They should be about to help evacuate the area of anyone that hasn't gotten away. You help who you can but under no circumstances do you engage the Nomu! And do not use your Quirk!"

---

"TOGA!"

While Tenya screamed in horror, Himiko didn't have time to worry about that. She didn't even really hear him. She knew her eye was gone. The pain she felt - a deep horrible pain - told her everything she needed to know. If she could force her ruined eyelids open, which her body was not letting her do, she knew her limited field of vision wouldn't suddenly get better. Stain's knife hadn't just grazed her, it had sunk into her and cut through flesh and bone. Her eye socket had been cut too. When a bone gets hurt, that's a whole new level of pain.

The pain was real.

The shock was real.

The horror was real.

She was blind in her right eye now, but none of that mattered more than one simple fact.

She was bleeding and her blood was on Stain's knife.

Himiko didn't scream. Didn't clutch at her ruined eye because she knew she didn't have the time to worry about it. Stain was bringing the knife up to his mouth and while she was in a bad place now, if she got paralized by him licking her blood off that knife she was beyond screwed.

Even as unbalanced as she was, Himiko threw her leg up as hard as she could and kicked the knife out of Stain's hand. The knife went sailing off into the dark alley as Himiko landed on her back. Normally the impact wouldn't have bothered her too much, but the injury to her face seemed to amplify even the most basic bump into an excruciating pain that left her dazed. With half her vision black, and the other half now blurry, she had to rely on her instincts. And they were screaming at her to move. Now!

Himiko rolled just as Stain stabbed down at her with his sword. Scrambling to her feet, Himiko pulled out more knives to defend herself, but Stain was on the attack. As he pushed forward Himiko was pushed further and further back, getting disarmed with every swing of his sword. Her knives clattered as they were knocked from her hands, ringing as they hit the concrete. She was keeping herself from getting cut down, but she was quickly losing her options. Another hard slash sliced through the syringes, leaving her with almost no weapons.

I just need to get some distance. Get some space and then i'll-!

Thud!

Himiko's back hit a wall. Stain had driven her back to the point she had nowhere else left to go. The section of the building behind her was flat concrete; no fire escapes to climb, or even windows to jump through. The building was behind her, cutting off any escape and Stain was in front, ready to kill. Even half blind, Himiko could see what was coming.

"It's over, Toga. Perish along with the rest of the fakes in this world."

Stain swung his sword for Himiko's neck, and she closed her eye, not wanting to watch what came next.

In her last moments, she tried to think of her friends, and tried to remember the brief time she had with them. She even thought of Midnight and the teachers. Each and every one a pain in her ass, Midnight especially, but they had seen something in her. Real or not, she and the rest had tried to help her. She was grateful for that. She thought of Tenya, and hoped - really truly hoped - that all the time Stain had spent with her had given him enough time for the paralysis to wear off so he could escape. He was a pain and she could blame him for what was about to happen, but she didn't. She didn't blame him for anything. She thought of Izuku, and the first time she met him in an alley like this so many months ago. For her it was the first time she had met a real hero, who had shown a kindness she still couldn't understand. Izuku, who had reached out his hand to save her and had stolen her heart. That she was going to return his kindness not with her love but with her death broke her heart.

I'm sorry Izuku. I tried, but I'm not a hero like you. Just a monster playing pretend.

Himiko's last breath dragged on as she wanted for the cut.

Then she took another.

Another.

And another.

...Why the fuck am I not dead yet?

Cracking her eye open, her curiosity overcame her acceptance of death.

Stain was still there. His sword mer inches away from her neck. Yet he hadn't killed her. Why? There was no reason for him to have stopped. It didn't make sense. If only she could get a better look at him. Maybe she could get a read on him, figure out what was going on. Was this a joke? A sick final act to prolong her death? She wished she could see him better, her vision wasn't as hazy now, but that damned green light around the sword was making it impossible to see things clearly…

Wait…? Green…? Glow...?

Himiko's head snapped down to look at the sword, Stain no longer holding any interest in her. Her eye went wide as she stared in shock at what she saw: Stain's sword was glowing green. His hands held the hilt very tightly, showing he was struggling against his own weapon - like it was being pushed or pulled away and he was doing everything he could to hold on.

Then she heard a voice that up until a few seconds ago, she didn't think she'd ever hear again.

No…

"GET!"

No no no no no!

"AWAY!"

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

"FROM!"

FUCK NO FUCK FUCK FUCK NO!

"HER!"

Himiko whipped her head around and saw him. Bathed in green light and looking like a hero from a comic, Izuku stood several yards away, his hand reached out as he used his Quirk to stop the sword from killing her.

Her hero was there for her again, "IZUKU, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

---

Izuku, doing exactly as All Might told him, circled wide around the battlefield and rushed to the police officers' side.

"Wait, Detective Tsukauchi?!"

Tsukauchi turned and blinked in surprise, "Midoriya?! Weren't you with-?"

CRACK!

All Might leapt into action and threw a punch right into the Nomu's jaws, knocking it down the road.

"-All Might!?"

"Yes sir!" Izuku confirmed with a smile, though he didn't really need to as the other heroes on site began to cheer as All Might took over the fight.

Tsukauchi sighed, "I'll get word out over the radio, then. With all the chaos going on, we could use the news that All Might is in the city."

"Chaos?"

Tsukauchi frowned, "Yes. There are two other Nomu in the city right now."

Izuku felt cold hearing that - that there was another Nomu was bad enough but to hear that there were three more. Again, the memories of the USJ attack crept up into his mind. Izuku kept pushing them down. He couldn't let himself get distracted. He had to do something while he was here, even if it was just evacuating anyone left. He was about to ask if there was anything he could do when he heard someone scream over the fight.

"IIDA! IIDA, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Izuku stopped and turned, eyes falling on a hero in blue looking around frantically.

Thats… Manual. He's the hero that Iida was interning with, I think. Iida ran off?

"IIDA! TOGA!"

Toga!? She's here too?! But why would they run? Toga isn't afraid of anything and Iida, he'd never abandon a situation like… this…

Izuku felt his world come to a stop. The look in his friends eyes the day at the train station and now learning that he was in Hosu City.

Iida's here. He's in Hosu, the same city as the… Hero Killer!

Tsukauchi whipped around, "Wait, Toga's gone?!"

"They were both here a second ago I swear. Darn it, where are they?!"

Izuku wasn't listening to them anymore. His mind was racing and he didn't like where it was leading him. However, that didn't stop his body from reacting and forcing him to run. His instincts screamed at him that his friends were in danger even as his mind raced to keep up. He had to be overthinking it. He had to be. He had no proof but he just couldn't stop. In the same city that the Hero Killer had appeared there were now Nomu's running wild. It couldn't be a coincidence, which would mean they were connected somehow.

Could the Nomu be here to help him escape?! The city has been filled to the brim with heroes so this attack might be a distraction. And Iida, wasn't at the attack even though Manual was. For him to run off like that it must mean he went looking for Stain! Maybe that's why he came here to begin with! Toga must have followed after him. I don't think she would just let a friend go and do something like this. Friends are important to her.

Racing through the streets, Izuku tried to think. All the attacks in Hosu had been in back alleys, so working back from the attack site he turned and ducked into the first alley he found. He knew he wasn't supposed to use his Quirk but if he found his friends before they got into trouble it would be fine.

Clank!

Clang!

Clank!

A noise reached Izuku's ears that echoed off the building walls. He was close enough to the fight that he could finally hear it: it was a sharp noise, metal-on-metal. It reminded Izuku of the sounds a movie would play during a sword fight, when the blades clashed against each other.

Toga… carries a lot of blades and Stain is supposed to be armed with a sword…

Spinning on his heel, Izuku ran, following the sounds to their source.

---

"IZUKU, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Tenya from the ground echoed Himiko's shock and horror, "Midoriya?! No, you need to run away! Get away now!"

Stain, keeping a firm grip on his sword, turned to see who this new person was. Another child, if Himiko and Tenya know him, thought Stain. However, when he looked, he was momentarily surprised. The name hadn't been familiar but he knew the face.

"The boy chosen by All Might, huh?"

Izuku had been so focused on stopping Stain's sword that he hadn't noticed how bad things were. Now that he had the chance, he felt his insides twist. He saw Tenya lying on the ground with a knife sticking out of his arm. And when Himiko turned to yell at him, Izuku finally saw the deep cut that ran down her face. Horror and rage intermixed as Izuku pulled the heaviest thing he could see, a dumpster, and hurled it at Stain.

Stain pulled on his sword and was able to break it free of Izuku's hold just in time to leap up and bounce off the rocketing dumpster. Before he touched back down, Izuku refocused his Quirk on him and shoved. In a bright flash of green, Stain was launched backwards several yards. Twisting in the air, he was just able to land on his feet, digging the steel spikes on his boots into the ground to come to a stop and leaving long gashes in the concrete.

Himiko, now no longer in danger of getting killed, pushed herself off the wall and rushed over to Izuku, "Izuku, you can't be here! You-!"

"Toga, you're hurt!" Izuku, ignoring Himiko's words, focused on her injury. Reaching for a pouch on his belt, he immediately began looking for his first aid but Himiko slapped his hands away.

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself! You need to leave now!"

Izuku blinked, at a loss, "Wha?"

"YOU BOTH DO!" Tenya screamed, "Please! I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me!"

"Izuku, that's fucking Mr. Stain! He will rip you apart! Get out of here now!"

"Run!"

"It's too dangerous!"

"This has nothing to do with you!"

"You don't need to be here! Leave!"

Tenya and Himiko's loud objections startled Izuku, but not for long. After all, nothing they were saying made sense. It was too dumb, "I'm not going anywhere! You expect me to just leave when my friends are hurt and in danger?!"

Both injured parties were stunned to silence and taking his chance, Izuku pulled out a fresh folded up pressure bandage. Gently, Izuku cupped Himiko's left cheek with one hand and as carefully as he could pressed the bandage against Himiko's cut eye with his other hand, "I will never abandon my friends, no matter what."

Himiko, to her credit, didn't start to gush over how Izuku was touching her. That didn't mean that Izuku's kindness wasn't affecting her at all. She was pretty sure her heart had skipped a couple of beats.

"Midoriya, please. This is my fight. My business. It was my brother Stain hurt. You have nothing to do with this," Tenya continued to plead from the ground.

Taking Himiko's hand, he pressed it against the bandage. Then he turned, walking calmly until he put himself between Tenya and Stain - who had been watching Izuku closely.

"Iida, I told you: if things get to be too much, don't forget you have your friends. And besides, even if you say this isn't my business, Heroes stick their noses into other peoples business all the time to save them. At least, that's what All Might says. So please don't worry about all of that - either of you. Because I'm here now, and I'm not going to leave no matter what you say."

Tenya was left speechless, while Himiko felt her heart thunder in her chest. The uplifting moment though was soured when Stan started to chuckle, "I see. I see now."

Izuku looked up and stared Stain down. The villain now had a wide, twisted grin and was nodding to himself, "It's not just your strength, is it? I can see now why you have both their attention. Why All Might took you under his wing and why Shigaraki wants you dead. Impressive."

Shigaraki?! So he is working with the League?

"You're saying all the right things. 'I came to save you,' it has a good ring to it. However, you're naive. My purpose in this world is to kill the fakes that call themselves 'heroes.' That means these three here? They have to die. You child," Izuku gulped when Stain's eyes zeroed in on him. The madness behind them making his red eyes practically glow with murderous intent, "if you choose to interfere then know this: if you are weak, then you'll be slaughtered like the rest of the trash. So tell me boy, what will you do?"

Izuku felt his blood go cold as a chill spread throughout his body. He had faced the villains at the USJ, stared up into the uncaring face of a monster before it almost killed him. He had even thrown himself at the League of Villains leader, but there was something different about Stain. What scared Izuku - what truly scared him - was that the intensity and dedication to a cause he felt from Stain, they reminded him of how All Might talked about being a hero. But it was those experiences - it was those moments of staring death in the face - that kept Izuku from freezing up. He was scared, but not scared enough not to do what he did best: plan and think.

Iida hasn't moved from that spot since I got here. Stain must have him held by his Quirk. If it was just him I might be able to carry him while we make a run for it but… Izuku glanced over at the slumped hero Native. He could see he was breathing, but he was unconscious and losing blood. I don't know if I can carry both of them while keeping them from becoming targets. He has all those knives like Toga has...Trying to stop them if he throws them, or move them away if Stain tries to attack them… Plus, I'm under a time limit. If One for All kicks in during the fight I have no idea what will happen… No. That doesn't matter. Focus on what you do know. I can't carry both, and if Toga tries to carry one of them, she'll be a sitting duck. Running isn't an option but a fight...

Turning himself to the side, Izuku reached into his belt and pulled out his phone. With his body turned and with his cape obscuring Stain view he began typing on his phone. Behind him, Himiko saw what he was doing, and he hoped she would understand. They didn't have to win the fight, they just had to buy some time until help arrived.

"Midoriya, please…"

Izuku shook his head, "Iida, when this is over. You and I are going to have to talk because I have a lot to say to you… but for now I'll leave it for later."

With his phone slipped back into his pocket, his quick mass text sent, Izuku took up a fighting stance, "Stain. I'm not running away. You're not going to hurt anyone else."

"Don't let him cut you," Himiko said as she walked up behind Izuku. With the bandage now tied around her head, she was ready for round two, "If he licks your blood, you'll be paralyzed."

Izuku blinked, wondering how she knew that before glancing at her, eyeing the blood soaked into her costume and drying on her cheek and neck, "Then shouldn't you-"

"He likes to lick it off his sword or knife. I kicked the one he used to cut me away so he'll have to lick me up close," Himiko flipped a knife in her hand, "And if he tries I'm going to gut him." Leaning in, Himiko whispered, "His Quirk has a max time limit of eight minuets. Blood types play a part so Tenya might be able to get up soon. Once he's up…"

"We grab the other hero and we run," Izuku said as his Quirk flared to life.

Himiko screamed as she dashed forward, knives pointed right for Stain's chest. Stain rushed forward as well, sword pulled back and ready to cut Himiko down, when his movements came to a jolted halt. Izuku had grabbed his sword again. With his attack halted, Himiko darted in. Stain immediately let go of his sword and switched to his knives, startling Izuku with how quickly he changed his tactics.

Steel met steel in a shower of sparks as Stain deflected Himiko's attack. Out of the corners of his eye he saw the two knives he held suddenly glow green, along with the knives he still had hanging on his side. Izuku yanked those away but was shocked when he didn't feel any resistance from the ones Stain had been holding. Stain, simply let go of both, launching his empty hands out and grabbing the knives Himiko was holding, ripping them free.

Himiko brought up her bracer to block the first swing from Stain, which shattered the remaining blades she had on her arm. The force of the blow made Himiko start to backpedal but Stain stayed with her, ready to drive the knives right through her.

Izuku didn't give him the chance. Closing the gap, Izuku leapt forward and drove his fist right into Stain's face. Stain stumbled back while Izuku hit the ground and rolled back to his feet. Stain, however, was already righted and on the attack.

"Not enough!"

From all over the alley Izuku pulled trash, bins - anything and everything - and hurled it at Stain to slow him down. The Hero Killer wasn't slowed. He easily dodged or cut through everything in his path. Leaping around, knives a whirlwind of death, he broke through the debris field and was practically on top of Izuku. Only a few short feet separated them now - more than close enough for Stain to cut Izuku down. Izuku focused on the knives, but Stain tightened his grip and wrenched them free before Izuku could do anything. Izuku kept backing up but Stain was just too fast. His arms were a blur and were going to strike before Izuku could retreat away.

"LIKE HELL!"

Himiko may not have had her blades, but she would be damned before she let Stain hurt Izuku. Her syringes may have been destroyed but the lines of clear tubing were still perfectly good to act as a snare. The clear tubing wrapped around Stain's upper arms and chest which Himiko pulled tight, using her foot against his back to give herself extra leverage, "IZUKU, HIT HIM!"

Izuku didn't have to be told twice.

Reaching into multiple pouches on his belt, Izuku pulled out handfuls of marble sized ball bearings. Each round piece of steel glowed as he focused on them, quickly turning into little green suns as he put all he could into his next attack.

"DELAWARE! SMA-!"

Izuku's scream was cut short, strangled in his throat by a pain he had never felt before. A pain so intense, he would have thought his head had been split in two. He had had bad headaches before from overusing his Quirk. This though, this put everything before to shame. Izuku's aura crackled then flashed. For an instant the whole alley was filled with bright green light before it was snuffed out. Blood sprayed from his nose and all the air was driven out of his lungs, as his body convulsed from the sudden pain and dropped to the ground. Breath haggard and body twitching, Izuku's mind was lost in a fog of pain, lost to the rest of the world.

For a brief moment, no one reacted, too startled and confused as to what had just happened. Himiko, face sprayed with blood droplets, looked down at Izuku's twitching form, "Izu-!?"

WAM!

Stain recovered first and drove his heel into Himiko's stomach, knocking her backwards to the ground and freeing himself. Cutting away the last few tubs holding him, Stain looked down at Izuku, watching him carefully and unsure of what was going on. One second, he was about to be on the wrong end of a devastating attack. Now? Now he was looking down at Izuku as the boy held his head and writhed in obvious, excruciating pain, the cause of which escaped Stain completely.

"MR. STAIN, WHAT DID YOU DO TO IZUKU?!"

The panic and terror in Himiko's voice made him turn to look at Himiko. To see genuine fear in her eyes as she looked from Izuku to him was a surprise. It didn't change anything that needed to be done, but it was still a surprise to see that kind humanity coming from her, "This is not my doing, Toga."

Himiko snarled, "If you touch him I swear I'll rip you apart!" She was ready to keep screaming but she stopped, her eyes widening in horror. She wasn't the only one to have been sprayed with Izuku's blood. Stain was covered in it too, which he was very much aware of. With his thumb, Stain wiped some of the blood off his cheek and licked it off. Izuku's body immediately stopped convulsing as his Quirk took hold, paralyzing Izuku, but the pained expression on his face made it clear he was not doing any better.

Then Stain moved and that was all it took to send Himiko into a blind rage.

Screaming, Himiko launched herself at Stain, gray sludge engulfing her body as she attacked Stain again and again. Stain whirled around and drove both knives into the gray mass but it didn't stop Himiko from body slamming into him, driving them both past where Izuku lay. Stain yanked the knives back, ready to attack again, but leapt back as a malformed black arm slammed into the ground where he had been, shattering the concrete and exploding the arm into a gooey mess.

Attacking before her Nomu transformation was completed was stupid. Using it at all except for escaping was stupid. The damned monster was too naturally strong for her to hold it together whenever she attacked. But here and now, stupidity didn't matter to Himiko. She was getting Stain away from Izuku.

Even if it killed her.

Himiko kept up her attack, throwing her body at Stain even as he hacked away the transformation before it was finished. She was reforming the parts as fast as Stain damaged them, and the force and suicidal nature of her attack drove Stain back. The ground cracked underneath each of her swings, and her feet turned to goo while digging grooves into the concrete.

Stain lept backwards, rolling against the ground, giving himself a few seconds as Himiko pushed her mess of a form after him. She was focused on her goal: push Stain back. No matter what.

Push.

Stain.

Back.

She was so focused though, she didn't see what Stain had picked up as he rolled on the ground.

Himiko pulled her almost fully-formed Nomu legs in and jumped after Stain, fists raised high in the air to smash them down on his head. As she sailed through the air, Stain whipped around and drove his sword right through the center of the gray malformed Nomu mass.

He kept his sword up so that he suspended Himiko in the air, and slowly the gray sludge poured onto the ground, falling away from Himiko's body until only she was left and Stain could see he had hit his mark:

His sword pierced right through Himiko's chest and out her back.

Blood trickled out of Himiko's mouth as she looked down at herself. The sword has pierced her right underneath her sternum. Breathing was excruciating, with the sword easily going through a lung. While it missed her heart, that wasn't going to matter in the end. She knew her lung was slowly filling with blood and once he pulled the sword out she would either die by drowning in her own blood or she would just bleed out. No matter what, she was going to die. She knew it, and when she looked back up at Stain, she could see he knew it too.

"Before you die, Toga, I'll tell you this so you can begin your journey to hell with a peace of mind," Stain's face was neutral as he spoke, "While you and the other two fake heroes will die tonight. The boy," Stain looked down at Izuku, "I will let live. There is a spark there that is worth letting grow."

Izuku's going to… live…?

There was nothing else she could do. Death was coming for her and there was nothing else for her to do except to accept it and hope that she would bleed out instead of drowning from her lungs filling with-!

A shadow flickered over Stain. He hadn't noticed, still looking down at Izuku. It could have been anything. A bird flying overhead, a cloud; so many different things could have made that shadow, none of which would save her or anyone else in the alley. Stain turned back to Himiko and lowered her so her feet touched the ground. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he prepared to pull his sword out of her chest. In less than a second, Himiko was going to die, but something drove her to reach up and grab the sword. Holding it in place. It wasn't like she would be able to put up much of a fight but for a few seconds she would make sure she would stay alive and Stain would be left focused on her. And not whatever that shadow might have been.

Toga gripped the sword tighter while Stain growled in annoyance. His grip on her shoulder tightened and he prepared to yank his sword free, when suddenly something pink dropped from the sky and slammed feet into Stain's face with a drop kick. Stain was driven back by the sudden attack, letting go of his sword in the process. Himiko, her legs unable to keep her up, tumbled to the ground but at the last moment she was pulled up into the air. Himiko's vision was darkening around the edges and the pain in her chest made it hard to focus but she could feel herself being held. Pressed against someone's body protectively.

A soft but firm body.

Looking up, Himiko focused on the face of her savior, wondering who else besides Izuku would take the risk of going into a dark alley for her sake. Who else besides Izuku would want to save someone like her? Then she saw who it was and Himiko felt her world flip on its head, "O-Ochako?"

Ochako, face twisted in a snarl screamed, "STAY AWAY FROM HER, YOU MONSTER!"

"Uraraka! Move, now!"

Himiko, clawing her way back to full consciousness, recognized the other voice as Shouto, while Ochako moved to the side and a blast of fire roared down the alley towards Stain. Stain recovered and lept to the side to avoid the attack.

"Tch, more children."

---

A chirp came from Ochako's belt at the same time as a muffled ring came from Shouto's. Ochako recognized it as the unique ringtone she had given Izuku's number. Normally, given the situation, she would have waited to answer it but the fact that Shouto was also getting a call made her curious. Pulling out her phone, Ochako glanced over the message.

It's just… GPS map coordinates? What?

Looking over at Shouto, Ochako showed him the message which Shouto mirrored from his phone, "It's here in Hosu. Are him and All Might in the city, too?"

Ochako's eyes snapped back down to the map, Deku's here?! But why just send this? Is he checking in on us? But he doesn't know we're here… And why not an actual message…? Unless he can't send one.

"Shouto! Girl! Don't look at your phones right no- HEY! Where are you going?! Shouto?!"

Ochako turned and rushed away as fast as she could, flat-out ignoring Endeavor's calls. Shouto followed after her but yelled back to his father, "An alleyway near 4-2-10 Ekou Street! I'll trust you to handle the main threat from here. Once you do, come to the address immediately! I'm sure you'll be able to resolve this crisis quickly! I think a friend of ours just sent out an SOS!"

Ochako ran, driving herself forward until Endeavor was long behind her. With each step she tried to figure out what the text meant. Checking the GPS against a live map of the city, it was somewhat close to one of the attacks but still far enough away that she was sure it didn't involve it. It was also away from the other two Nomu.

So what could have forced Izuku to send out a call for help like this? If it's not a Nomu then what else could it be?

A cold dread gripped Ochako's heart. The Nomu were the current threat, the obvious threat, but not the threat that brought heroes from around the country to this city.

---

Ochako looked down at Himiko, not able to hide the horror in her eyes, "Toga…"

Shouto rushed to Ochako's side, gritting his teeth as he saw Tenya lying on the ground and Native slumped against a wall, "Uraraka, give her to me!"

"Todoroki?" Ochako glanced over at Shouto while she also scanned over the alley, trying to assess the whole situation.

"I can cool her down to slow the bleeding! Hurry!"

Ochako passed Himiko over and finally got a good look at the alley behind them. A hero she didn't recognize was motionless against a wall. Tenya was on the ground for some reason, alive but distressed, "How… how are you here?"

As Shouto knelt down with her and put his right hand over Himiko's wound began to quickly cool her off, Ochako answered, "We got Deku's text. It was just GPS coordinates though… Where is…?" Ochako's voice died when she finally saw who she had come for: Izuku, lying face down on the ground, not moving, "D-deku?"

"He's alive!" Tenya called out, "But something happened to him. His Quirk… did something. Then Stain used his Quirk on him like us. We're paralized! It should wear off soon but we don't know when."

Shouto winced, "So we have four people who can't move… And even when they can, Midoriya looks completely out of it." Ochako looked at Izuku, seeing his face scrunched up in pain, dead to the rest of the world. Even if the effect was lifted on him, he was not in any shape to run. "And," Shouto continued, "I don't want to move Toga while she… while she's like this. So what do we do?"

"None of you are going anywhere. I will not leave until my task is done," Stain said, drawing his knives up, "and the fake heroes are dead."

Ochako's mind raced. Moving Himiko was out of the question, even if Ochako floated her, any kind of sudden jolt could be fatal. Even if they left Himiko, which was not an option, and she was able to float the rest she did not want to turn her back on this villain while she tried. That left her with only one choice, since running was not realistic for them now. Turning to face Stain, Ochako felt the horror and terror she had felt seeing her friends hurt evaporate as a blaze of rage filled her. This man had hurt the people close to her and he was going to pay, "Todoroki, if you stay with Toga, can you still attack?"

Shouto turned away from Himiko and looked down the alley at Stain, "Yes."

Crouching into her fighting stance, Ochako readied herself to fight, drawing on everything she learned under Miruko to pull out the rage inside of her. To use it to fuel her, to empower her. "Then cover me!" Ochako screamed as she launched herself at Stain.

Running at full speed, Ochako quickly closed the distance between them. Stain crouched, knives raised to cut Ochako down as he leapt at her. Ochako quickly pressed her fingers against herself and jumped up and over Stain's attack. A blast of fire followed her and Stain sidestepped out of the way, then turned to look over at Shouto, snarling. He took one step towards him, but that was all. Ochako's momentum carried her behind Stain, where she landed on the ground and attacked Stain's exposed back. Stain twisted around and slashed at Ochako. Ochako brought up a bracer just in time for Stain to bury his knife into the hardened pink plastic. Pulling the knife back, Stain was startled as not only was the knife stuck, but he ended up pulling Ochako off the ground.

Ochako had been held to the ground only by the gyro's in her suit and hadn't deactivated her Quirk. She was still weightless, so when Stain tried to pull his knife back, he had pulled Ochako into him. Using the closed distance to her advantage, Ochako reached out, her hand closing in on Stain's face to float him. Stain though had seen Ochako use her Quirk on herself as she had soared over him. He saw the distinct pads on her fingers, and moved his head out of the way, making sure she couldn't touch him.

Missing him with her hand, Ochako followed her attack up by driving her knee into his chest and swinging her arm to the side, slamming her bracer into the side of Stain's head before she kicked off his and sailed away and landed on the side of the nearby wall. Stain chased after her while Ochako raised up her arm and pointed her hand at him. Clenching her fist, she aimed down her bracer. The bracer that didn't just look like her mentor Gunhead's, but mimicked his Gatling Quirk. With a sharp crack, Ochako fired a rubber bullet right into Stain's chest.

With the solid hit, Ochako kicked off the wall and right for Stain. However, Stain was not stunned for anywhere near as long as Ochako had hoped or expected. With his free hand, Stain grabbed the knife handle sticking out of Ochako's bracer and used it to twist and slam Ochako down onto the ground. The impact made her hack and cough as air was knocked out of her. Raising his oher knife in the air, Stain sliced at Ochako. A pillar of ice crossed between them and the knife struck it instead of Ochako.

Ochako pointed her hand up and fired several more shots at Stain but the villain dodged them. With some distance between the two, Shouto sent another blast of fire down the alley but missed. Ochako did use the moment Stain's attention was off her to close the gap and slam into him. Up close she drove her palm into his chin then followed that strike with an elbow into his stomach. Stain swung his knife, which Ochako blocked with a bracer and gasped as a large chunk was cut off. Not letting herself be too distracted, Ochako pivoted on her heel and prepared to kick Stain but Shouto worried that Stain was too close to Ochako and sent out another pillar of ice between them. Stain used the ice as a platform and leapt away so Ochako's attack missed.

"Todoroki! Use more fire! The ice is just getting in my way!"

Shouto frowned, "But Uraraka, I don't want to burn you!"

Any other time she would be grateful for the concern but if she wanted to live, she was going to have to take the chance, "It's fine! Torch the whole alle -URK!"

Stain, while Ochako had been distracted, leapt at Ochako and drove the spikes on his boot into her visor. The metal spike pierced the clear material and with his new solid footing, Stain drove Ochako's head into the ground. Ochako' eyes watering from the strike, seethed up at Stain. Shouto, following Ochako's request, blasted the whole alley with fire. Stain ripped his boot free and jumped back.

Avoiding the worst of the blast. Ochako, now freshly singed as well, scrambled to her feet and chased after him. Her costume gave her some protection so she took full advantage of it. She let loose a series of punches, kicks and anything else she could think of as she fought, but Stain batted her away. The only reason he hadn't cut her yet was Shouto's fire giving her cover. But even with that extra protection Ochako was not able to get her fingers close to him.

As the fight went on, it was becoming more and more obvious to Ochako that the fire was giving her less and less protection. More and more gashes were appearing in her bracers. Pretty soon it wasn't going to be hardened plastic that got cut. One other terrifying thing Ochako began to notice as well: Stain fought in a way disturbingly similar to Himiko, except he wasn't holding back.

Driving her feet into the ground, Ochako got ready to launch herself at Stain again but then everything changed as Izuku's voice ripped through the alleyway.

"I SAID STOP IT!"

---

Owwww…

Second after excruciating second, the painful fog that clouded Izuku's mind began to lift. Before he couldn't even remember what he had been doing before collapsing. Now, as his mind slowly refocused, Izuku tried to collect himself.

I was… with All Might? No, that was earlier. He was taking me to… somewhere to do… something…

Izuku frowned at the vagueness of his memory. He wasn't sure why but he knew, he knew, he had to do better than that. And he had to do it quickly. Something had his heart racing, his breath huffing and puffing too fast for his body to even use the air. It wouldn't take much for him to have a panic attack.

Or maybe he already was having one.

Focus… Think it through. You were with All Might for… training but then left because…

A bright light blinded Izuku, cutting through his swirling vision and making him close his eyes before he was blasted in the face with a great heat.

Fire… fire… THE EXPLOSION! There was an attack. Nomu. A Nomu was attacking. All Might must have… told me to run. No, not run… I was supposed to stay back… Run… Run… I was running though… Why did I run away? I wouldn't have left like that unless… I was… looking… for…

The pain in Izuku's head hadn't lifted but the fog clouding it did, evaporated in an instant as everything came flooding back.

IIDA! STAIN! I came here because Iida was looking for Stain! I was fighting him when my Quirk… Wait! Wait! TOGA!

Izuku tried to move, but was shocked to discover he couldn't move his body at all.

No, no, no! He must have parayzled me when I was out! But what happened to-!

Another blast of light and heat hit Izuku in the face. While he couldn't turn his head, He was able to move his eyes. Looking up he stared dumbly at Shouto as the boy sent a blast of fire off into the distance.

Todoroki? But when did he get here? How did he get… My text?! He must have gotten my text. I mass sent it because I couldn't tell if I had selected All Might so I wanted to be safe but… I didn't expect this! I didn't mean to drag him here… Why is he kneeling? He doesn't seem hurt at least, and he must be attacking Stain with that fire, but he's distracted… Why?

The sound of a fight reached Izuku's ears and he winced, Toga must still be up and fighting. So Todoroki must be trying to avoid hitting her. But kneeling like that… why? Maybe he's protecting some-?

Shouto twisted around and slammed his right hand onto the ground, launching pillars of ice down the alleyway. When he did, Izuku finally saw why Shouto was kneeling like he was. Leaning up against the building, slumped to her side and covered in frost, Izuku finally got a good look at Himiko.

And the sword sticking out of her chest.

Izuku's world twisted in on itself as the sheer horror of what he was seeing crushed him. He had failed. He had failed and Himiko was paying the price. All Might had warned him against using his Quirk today and he had done it anyway. He had been so stupid to run off on his own, he should have grabbed another hero. All Might was fighting the Nomu but he could have pulled Gran Torino and told him what he was afraid of. Even if it had been a long shot at the time he should have said something. But no, he hadn't, and in the middle of a fight his Quirk had backfired so hard it had knocked him off his feet. Himiko must have protected him and now she was dying.

It's all my fault.

It was his fault he hadn't brought anyone with him so Tenya was going to die.

It was his fault he hadn't listened to All Might and tried to fight so Himiko was going to die.

It was his fault he hadn't been more careful with who got his text message so Shouto was going to die.

It's all my fault… I… I deserve to di-

"Todoroki! Use more fire! The ice is just getting in my way!"

Izuku's eyes snapped open.

No...

"But Uraraka, I don't want to burn you!"

No, no, no!

Horror. Sheer merciless horror filled Izuku. His heart froze and his world, all twisted up from seeing Himiko, was ripped out from under him.

"It's fine! Torch the whole alle -URK!"

Izuku stained his eyes upward, trying desperately to see who was fighting Stain. Desperate to see for himself that it wasn't Ochako. That he hadn't brought her here too. At the very edge of his vision she was a distinct pink boot skid across the ground.

It was Ochako.

She was here.

And she was fighting Stain.

Uraraka's going to die.

Please no.

Uraraka's going to die!

No, no, no.

Uraraka's going to-!

NO!

Even as the weight of his failure threatened to drag him down, Izuku fought back, clawing his way out of the dark abyss that tried to consume him. He couldn't die here. He wouldn't die here. He still had too much to do. He was not going to let his friend keep getting hurt in front of him.

He was not going to let Himiko die because of him. She was going to get to a doctor and she was going to be alright. She was going to be just fine and he was going to make sure he donated all the blood she could ever want and do everything he could to bring her back to her smiling and scarily exotic, friendly self. Tenya was going to be alright. He'd go back to being the stiff class rep he and everyone else called their friend. Even after the two had words like he had promised. He was not going to let Shouto leave without profusely apologizing for bringing him into such a dangerous situation.

And Ochako. There was not a power on this earth, heaven, or hell that was going to keep him from making damned sure that Ochako got out of this alive and well.

His heart screamed as emotions filled him. Raw, untamed emotion rushed in to replace the fear and horror that had once been there. They beat back his despair and replaced it with determination. He was going to save her. He was going to save them all. But while his heart and soul were ready to fight, his body would not listen. He was still under the effect of Stain's Quirk. His body couldn't do anything. But it was like he had told Katsuki back at the Sports Festival, My Quirk doesn't come from my body. It's from my mind!

Izuku looked deep within himself and reached for his power. He reached for the pool of power that All Might had taught him he had had after his year of training. He knew he would have to pull everything he had from it to win, but it would be enough. It had to be enough.

Izuku didn't find the pool.

He found an ocean.

A vast raging ocean, whipped up into a frenzy by a terrifying storm.

It was power, raw endless power, that Izuku had never felt before, never dreamed of before. To suddenly feel this left him stunned, but only for a moment. Now he knew why his Quirk had abruptly backfired. It all made sense.

One for All.

All Might had said he wasn't sure what One for All would do to him and his Quirk. All this power getting pushed through his head, which he wasn't prepared for. It was no wonder he got knocked out. But now he could feel it. He understood what he was going to have to deal with as he tried to pull all this power out.

So without hesitation, Izuku dived head first into the raging ocean that was One for All.

---

Himiko knew she was in trouble. She knew it. Not being able to feel her legs was a dead giveaway. So was the katana sticking out of her chest and back. The only thing she didn't know was if it was the sword that was causing it, or Shouto encapsulating her in ice to slow down her blood loss. If it was the ice, then she should be fine. If not, well, she didn't want to think about that right at the moment.

Too many other things were going on. Shouto was trying to save her life while throwing fireballs that didn't end up hitting Ochako by mistake. Ochako was fighting for her life using every trick she had ever learned from her time before coming to U.A. and whatever it was she learned during her internship to keep herself alive. She was fighting like a woman possessed and it was keeping her alive, but only just. She had also been very lucky her bracers were so thick, or the knife sticking out of it would have been stuck in her actual arms, or she'd be missing the limbs all together.

Tenya was still on the ground, desperately telling everyone to run away, but that opportunity was long, long gone. Maybe Shouto could make a run for it. He might even be able to carry someone with him and escape with the time Ochako could buy, but that would mean everyone else would die. His fire was giving Ochako enough of an opportunity to fight back but once that stopped she would be killed. His ice was keeping Himiko alive but running away with her was all but impossible with her injury. He wouldn't be able to carry Tenya fast enough because of the armor he wore, so he would have to be left behind too. That left only one person that could be saved.

Izuku.

A part of Himiko wanted Shouto to do just that, forget everyone else and save Izuku. Even if Stain had said he would spare him, Himiko didn't want to take the chance of Stain changing his mind. Saving Izuku felt so right to her, the boy she loved had to make it out of here. At the same time, though, she didn't want her friends to die. She didn't want to die.

Everything was shit, and if she was being honest, odds were they were all going to die anyway, no matter what. With the attack happening in the city, there were no pros coming to save them this time. They were dead.

"Stop… it…"

Himiko blinked at the voice.

"No… More…"

It was Izuku's voice. Turning her head, she knew what she was going to see. Izuku, lying face down on the ground, watching horrified as Ochako did everything she could to survive.

That wasn't what she saw though. Izuku looked enraged, his face twisted into a snarl as he tried to force his body up, but she knew it wouldn't work. Himiko opened her mouth to tell him to calm down, that it was going to be okay - even if it was a lie - but stopped when something happened. Izuku's body began to shimmer as it was surrounded by the green glow of his Quirk, but as the glow grew brighter and brighter it began to change.

Across Izuku's body a deep red color seeped into his aura and spread out over him. As the color of his aura changed, so did Izuku's eyes. The vibrant green they normally were when he used his Quirk was now a glowing red, an angry color that along with his rage-filled face gave Izuku a feral look. His aura writhed and flickered like an inferno and the crest on his head began to spark and crackle. Then to Himiko's amazement, Izuku's body started to twitch.

Then he jolted.

Then he rose up, like a marionette having its strings pulled. His boot toes just barely scraped against the ground and his body hunched over, with one shoulder held higher than the other. His head, tilted to the side, glared straight down the alley. It took Himiko a second before she realized that Izuku was holding himself up by his costume with his Quirk.

That was the last rational thought she had about Izuku and his Quirk, because what happened next was beyond anything she could explain.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Izuku's voice ripped through the alley, filled with a power that none had heard since he had held down those villains at the USJ.

Ochako's head whipped around as her eyes went wide, "Deku?!"

Stain looked over as well, shocked to see Izuku already up, "How? It's too soo-!"

Stain stopped talking when Izuku glared right at him and his red aura began to spread as he used his Quirk to grab everything around him. Izuku focused on everything he could, acting on raw emotions and not thinking of the consequences. He expanded his reach out further and further until the road underneath him and the sides of the buildings glowed red. Only small patches around his friends remained free of his Quirk. They would be safe from what came next. Stain, on the other hand…

"DELAWARE!"

It hadn't registered with most of them what was about to happen. Except for Stain, as he rushed over to Ochako's side, aiming for the small patch of safety she was in. He only just made it behind her, but was still in the red.

"SMAAAAAAAASH!"

With a roar the whole alley shook and ripped apart. The sides of the buildings were torn off while the road was ripped from the ground as Izuku threw the whole alleyway at Stain.

Tenya watched from the ground with wide eyes while Shouto instinctively used his body to shield the wounded Himiko, but he didn't need to. No debris came close to them. While the world tore itself apart they were left completely unharmed. Ochako was also left completely unharmed while rock, concrete and everything else went rocketing by. She stared at Izuku in horrified awe, until she was startled when a hand grabbed her arm.

Turning, Ochako gasped as Stain grabbed onto her, his arm the only part of himself he had been able to move into her patch of unbroken alley. He was left dangling in midair as the road underneath him lifted up and rushed away from out under his own feet. Ochako was the only lifeline he had to keep himself from getting blown away. Now either he would pull himself to safety or they would both get carried away.

Tenya wouldn't let either of those things happen.

He could feel his body was able to move again. In that split instant he moved. He gripped the knife in his arm pinning him down, then screamed as he yanked it out. Tossing it aside, his engines roared to life.

"Recipro Burst!"

Exploding forward, Tenya quickly flew through the debris field and rocketed towards Ochako, dodging most of the attack and letting his armor take the rest. Tenya landed right next to Ochako, then pivoted on one leg to drive a kick into Stain's side, "Unhand my friend!"

Tenya's attack worked and Stain was driven back and swept up in Izuku's attack, carried away into the main road of the city with the rest of the alley chunks.

Izuku watched Stain get swept away and snarled. The Hero Killer leapt from one chunk of building and road to another, calling on years and years of experience to desperately keep himself from getting smashed and buried by Izuku's attack even as he got carried through the ripped open alley and out into the main road of the city.

Izuku was not going to stand by and let that continue, though. As the last of his attack passed him by, Izuku ripped the road he was on up and let it carry him after Stain. As Izuku flew through the air, he could feel his body begin to return to normal. Landing on the flying chunk, Izuku zeroed in on Stain and focused on one goal:

Driving his fist into this monster and ending this fight.

As he did, his aura began to fade, replaced with deep red lines of energy that began to criss-cross over his legs and right arm.

---

Stain hurled himself through the flying rubble, scrambling for dear life. He had been taken completely off guard by the power Izuku had. At this point continuing the fight was pointless. Izuku's attack had lit up the sky and the damage would attract heroes from around the city. Around him, he noticed the rubble began to stop glowing and begin to fall back to earth.

The boy's power must have run out!

The attack was ending, so now was the time to escape. All he had to do was make it out of the falling rubble. He was already at the edge. Only a few more leap and he would be free and -

DANGER!

Every instinct in Stain's body and mind screamed at him. Instincts he had grown over the years. Instincts that had kept him alive for longer than he should be. They were screaming at him that death was near. Looking up, Stain immediately knew why.

Izuku was over him, riding a large chunk of concrete down as he fell towards him. Crouched, his legs crackled with red energy as he got ready to spring forward, his right arm pulled back and fist clenched tight. The same red energy criss-crossed through the limb.

DEATH!

Izuku's costume around his legs, right arm and hand shredded as he kicked off the concrete. The force of his leap caused the concrete slab and all the debris falling behind him to explode into pieces, "DETROIT!"

DODGE!

Stain threw himself to the side, not caring if it was into falling rubble. The chunks of concrete were much safer than what was coming.

"SMAAAAAAASH!"

Izuku brought his fist down, and the empty street exploded.

---

"LOOK OUT! THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!"

A hero screamed as he dove for cover. A white, lanky Nomu slammed into the battlefield, his arms swatting heroes out of its way. All Might swore under his breath as he blocked a strike from the Black Nomu, "Of course one of the others shows up."

"I'll take care of this one! Focus on that black one," Gran Torino yelled as he jetted up into the air, then slammed himself down into the White Nomu's back. The ground underneath it cracked as it was crushed into the ground. Gran Torino smirked, "Not as tough as your frie-"

The White Nomu screamed and suddenly bulked up to over three times its original size. Gran Torino leapt away while the White Nomu opened its mouth and a mass of tendrils shot out to grab him.

Crap! Not good!

"HEY, NOT BAD OLD TIMER!" Gran Torino glanced up at the new voice as Miruko plummeted down from the sky, "BUT LET ME SHOW YOU A REAL KICK! LUNA FALL!"

Miruko drove her heel into the White Nomu's head, smashing it into the ground and creating a crater in the concrete as well as a gory mess of the White Nomu's head. After admiring her handiwork, Miruko turned to look at the Nomu locked in combat with All Might, "So that's mine dealt with and Hawks is after the flying one. I guess the black one is the last."

"I see, so All Might is already here," another new voice joined the group. This one, though, sounded much more annoyed than the other. Miruko and Gran Torino turned to watch Endeavor run onto the scene, not happy to find All Might there, "I won't let you hog the glory tonight, All Might."

Miruko rolled her eyes but stopped when she noticed that neither Shouto or Ochako was with him.

Where the hell are the kids? Did he drop them off somewher-!

BOOM!

The ground shook violently as the sound of an explosion ripped through the city. Several heroes dove for the ground while All Might threw the Black Nomu into the side of a building and looked in the direction of the blast. A huge dust cloud had been kicked up and was reaching high into the sky. A sick feeling grew in his gut.

"What in the world?"

Miruko frowned, "Another Nomu attack?"

"That winged one you said Hawks was going after?" Gran Torino asked.

Miruko shook her head, "It flew off in the other direction."

Endeavor looked at the rising dust cloud silently before his eyes widened, "That's the direction Shouto and the girl ran off to."

Miruko's ears twitched violently as she whirled around, "Wait? What?! What do you mean 'ran off?!' Where the fuck is Uraraka?"

"They got a text. The girl took off like a bat out of hell and Shouto followed after her. Said they had a friend in trouble."

"A text from a friend that made her…"

All Might and Gran Torino looked at each other then scanned the area in alarm. All Might's eyes went wide when he realized he couldn't see Izuku anywhere. Gran Torino, seeing the same thing, ripped out his phone, "…Crap. That call from earlier. It was from Midoriya. It's a GPS location that's…" Gran Torino looked back to the dust cloud, "Don't tell me the kid used..."

"Torino! Go now!"

Torino took off immediately while the other two heroes were startled by All Might's scream, "Miruko, please go as well! You too, Endeavor! They may be in grave danger!"

Endeavor frowned questingly at the panicked All Might but he got his answer as to why immediately, "The Nomu's aren't the only threat in the city!"

Miruko bounded away, her legs cracking the concrete with every kick as she propelled herself towards the dust cloud. Endeavor pulled up the rear of the group, running behind as fast as he could.

Damn it, runt! Miruko screamed in her head, Don't you fucking dare be dead! Should have just kept you strapped to my back the whole fucking night! Damn it, Damn it, DAMN IT!

---

Tomura frowned, "One of the Nomus just got killed. That bunny girl smashed its head like a watermelon. I know Sensei said these were weaker than the one before but what the hell. That was too-!"

BOOM!

The roof of the building Tomura and Shigaraki were standing on shook violently and both were thrown to the ground. After he was sure the building wasn't going to collapse, Tomura scrambled to his feet, "Hey. Hey, hey, hey!" Tomura screamed, "What the hell was that?!"

"I'm not sure," Kurogiri said looking down at the destroyed area, "But that was where Stain was."

Tomura clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Don't tell me the bastard went and got himself killed by a hero. I wanted to be the one to do it."

Grabbing the binoculars he had dropped, Tomura scanned the street. For several seconds he didn't say anything. He just kept looking. Then with his free hand, he started to scratch at his neck. Violently. The longer he looked the harder he scratched. Concerned, Kurogiri finally asked, "Shigaraki? What is it?"

"It's the brat."

"'Brat?'"

"The green fucking brat! He's in the center of all that fucking damage! What the hell, did he grab a power up item since the last time?"

Kurogiri took the binoculars from Tomura and looked, "You think the boy… did all that?"

"AHH! What the hell!? He must have some kind of cheat code!"

"There must be some explanation." Of course, Kurogiri didn't have one, unfortunately.

"He's right in the center of it. It must have been him… but he looked hurt. Whatever he did hurt himself a lot."

"I wonder where Stain is. I don't see him down there."

"I don't care about that bastard! I want that brat!" Tomura was ready to burst.

"Shall I take us down there?"

Tomura calmed down instantly, "Are you stupid? We go down there, it's going to be a fight for sure. And I'm injured… Hey. I have an idea."

---

"Oh my god," Ochako stared in absolute shock at the scene before her. What remained of the alley was a ripped open path out into what was left of a main city road, which was now little more than a huge crater. Buildings all around were missing glass from having all their windows shattered to dust and cars were blown far away or had been thrown into the closed and empty business buildings.

"Midoriya… did this?" Tenya, his helmet taken off and one hand applying pressure to his stab wound, looked at the scene before him, "He's never… this kind of power… He punched and then…"

Shouto, still kneeling next to Himiko, shook his head, "That kind of power… it's almost like All Might's."

Like… All Might's…

Ochako flinched. The pieces were there for her to put together to find an answer to exactly what had just happened but she was still in too much shock to be able to do it.

Himiko weakly looked at everything, then at everyone. Through chattering teeth she was barely able to whisper, "Where's… Izuku?"

Shouto heard and snapped his head up, "We need to find Midoriya!"

Find Deku...? DEKU!

Ochako snapped back to reality and bolted, "Deku!"

Running into the ruined street, Ochako scanned the area. Everything was broken and blown away. Piles of rubble from both of Izuku's attacks were collected at the base of the buildings. Ochako shuddered at the thought that Izuku might be buried there.

"Deku!" Ochako called out, hating how the silence made her voice echo.

"Midoriya! Answer us please!" Shouto scanned the area as well, head turning constantly as he tried to find his friend.

"U… ura… aka… Ii… da…"

The voice was faint, the two only able to hear it because of how disturbingly quiet the street was. They turned around and watched as a black and green gloved hand reached up from a large crater in the center and weakly gripped the edge of the broken road.

Ochako scrambled over, feeling relief wash over her, only for those feelings to be dashed when she reached the edge of the crater and reached down to help Izuku out.

Oh god.

Izuku had dragged himself up the crater sides, but how he was able to, Ochako had no idea. The image before her brought back the horrific memories she had of the USJ incident. Izuku was once again bashed and broken in such a horrible way. His legs were broken, twisted around at the knee on one leg and the shin on the other. The skin was a deep purple and pulled taut. His right arm was again absolutely destroyed, more a piece of meat than a body part, but it was his hand that was even worse. The skin was shredded around his fingers and knuckles. While the damage to his body was horrific, it was what she saw on his head and face that sent real fear into her heart. His nose was bleeding, a lot but it wasn't the only part of him that was. Blood dribbled out from his ears and the whites of his eyes were glossy and red, blood leaking from his eyes like bloody tears.

It's what Izuku did next that broke Ochako's heart. He looked over at Tenya, who was just as shocked at his injuries as her, then locked eyes with Ochako and sighed in relief, "You're… both okay… I'm so glad." Turning his head, he looked towards where Himiko was still being cooled off by Shouto, "We… we have to call an ambulance. Toga… she's… she's… She has to... get to a doctor."

"YES! Immediately!" Tenya said as he started desperately looking for his phone.

He's only worried about everyone else. He can barely speak, he's in so much pain but he doesn't care.

Kneeling, Ochako was able to get Izuku out of the hole easily enough and lay him down on the mostly flat road, but every hiss from him as she did might as well have been a scream. He was fighting his own pain so much, just for everyone else's sake. Ochako didn't even bother to hide the tears she had.

"I'm… sorry… Urar… aka. I didn't… mean for this…" Izuku took a shuddering breath. With every word he began to tense up as dread and fear replaced the adrenaline he had only moments before, "I wasn't able... to keep my promise… Again. I'm… I'm just… the worst frie-"

"No." Ochako was not going to let him finish that sentence. She could feel him getting upset, and in his condition that would only make things worse for him. She had to keep him calm. So Ochako folded her legs under her and gently rested his head on her lap as carefully as she could. She could see the damage to his body. She had no idea the kind of damage Izuku had suffered to his head. All she knew was that she had never seen him bleed from his ear and eyes as well as his nose. She knew it was bad, just not how bad. With his head nestled, Ochako began stroking his cheek and looked him right in the eye. She couldn't stop her tears and she couldn't make his pain go away, but she could open her heart and reject his fears, replacing them with all the kindness she had. "Deku, don't even think that. You're a good person. You're a good friend. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. So please, please don't talk about yourself like that. Okay? We'll… we'll talk and figure this all out. You're stuck with me, remember. I'm not leaving you. I'm with you, now and always."

Izuku hummed as Ochako's words helped soothe his fears. His body began to relax and he turned his head to the side, so that more of his cheek made contact with Ochako's hand. Ochako sighed in relief, happy that she was able to keep Izuku calm. "Everything is going to be okay. Iida will get in contact with someone and we'll get Toga and you to a hospital. Then tomorrow this will all be a distant memor-"

The rubble at the far end of the street rattled and shifted and everything came to a stop as everyone looked. A large chunk rumbled, then fell off the pile and tumbled to the street below. A hand reached out of the debris as Stain clawed himself free. Bloodied, battered and beaten horribly but still very much alive, Stain looked down at Izuku for a brief moment before he fell out of the hole he had dug and down to the ground. Then he laid unmoving on the cold, shattered concrete and asphalt.

Tenya, hand raised in mid-dial, looked shocked beyond words, "Didn't… didn't you hit him, Midoriya?"

Izuku, held protectively by Ochako, started to shake his head but stopped as the simple movement made him dizzy and sick, "He… jumped out of… the way. I hit the road… I saw him get thrown away…"

Ochako glanced down at Izuku's shredded hand and felt her stomach twist.

But if he had hit Stain directly…

The thought made her sick. She knew, despite the massive amount of damage, Izuku hadn't attacked Stain with the intent to kill. That just wasn't who Izuku was, but he could have killed him. It was a disturbing thought. Not that Stain would be dead but what that death would have done to Izuku.

At least we avoid that.

"We should tie him up…" Ochako started to say but trailed off as Tenya made his way over to where Stain lay. Tenya stood over Stain's body and suddenly Ochako wasn't sure that Stain ending up dead wasn't going to be an outcome tonight.

"Iida?"

Tenya stared down speaking softly but with a cold edge that sent a chill down Ochako's spine, "I came here to kill him, to make him pay for what he did to my brother."

Ochako had no words. In the back of her mind, she could hear Miruko's words of advice echoing.

When facing your enemy, don't hesitate.

Ochako could help but wonder, if she wasn't so focused on tending to Izuku, so focused on keeping him calm with kind words and gentle touches - if she was in a different mind set, like Tenya - what would she do, standing where he was?

"I…" Izuku started, "I… have some… capture gear…"

With his working left arm he tugged at a pouch on his harness but was too weak to open it. For a moment, no one moved or said anything. Tenya turned to look back at Izuku and Ochako, then glanced down the ruined alley at Shouto and Himiko, "I came here to get revenge… and look at what I wrought. Midoriya, you said you had gear to hold him?"

Ochako answered for him as both she and Izuku sighed in relief, "It's in a pouch here."

"Iida!" Shouto called, "Toga says… you want me to say all of that?" A curt shuddering nod from Himiko was his answer, "…Toga says… um… 'If you want to use your fucking brain for the first time in the past few days, make sure to search Mr. Stain for hidden knives when you tie him up.' He apparently likes to keep some small folding ones hidden in his wrist wrappings."

---

"RUUUUUUNT!"

Miruko crashed more so than landed into the destroyed street. Ears folded back, she was ready to fight her way to Ochako if she had to. She scanned the battlefield and almost did a double take when she saw Ochako, still sitting with Izuku's head in her lap, looking back at her in shock, "Miruko?!"

Runt's okay?!

Miruko's mind came to a clunky, shuddering halt as she tried to quickly reevaluate the situation.

Holes in visor. Costumes scorched up in places. Knife sticking out of her wrist things. Whole place is destroyed. That's the green kid and he looks like shit. Stain's tied up over there… Wait, WHAT?!

Miruko snapped her head around and and her jaw dropped, "What the fuck?! What the hell did you do, runt?!"

Ochako blinked up at Miruko, not expecting the sudden questions. Though in hindsight, she probably should have. So flummoxed was Ochako that she just said the first thing that popped into her head, "I didn't hesitate."

Miruko's eye twitched before she walked over, leaned down and grabbed Ochako's head between her hands to press her forehead against Ochako's, "Runt, I'm proud of you but we are going to have a looong talk later."

CRASH!

While Miruko made Ochako feel better and horrified at the same time, Gran Torino landed and made a beeline for Izuku, "Kid! Of all the stupid…! What did All Might and I tell you! And you… Is that Stain?!"

Izuku waved weakly with his left hand, "Hi… Gran Torino." Noticing Ochako's slightly confused look, he explained, "He's All Might's old teacher."

"Oh."

Gran Torino looked at Izuku's ruined limbs and shook his head, "Kid, how are you not screaming right now?"

"Um it... doesn't really... hurt?" Which was a lie. Honestly, on a scale of Nomu slaps, this was easily two of them. At least last time he had the advantage of having half his head caved in. Now he wasn't so lucky. Still, he wasn't going to admit he was in pain. No need to make them worry more than necessary.

Would be nice if I just blacked out right about now...

Ochako, Gran Torino and even Miruko looked down at Izuku in various stages of disbelief. Gran Torino then noticed the disturbing amount of blood dripping from Izuku's nose, eyes and ears, "Or maybe you got too much of your brain draining out of your head."

Before Izuku could come up with a response, the group was interrupted a third time.

"SHOUTOOOOOOOO!"

Endeavor rushed into the area, head turning every way as he looked for his son, "Shouto, where are… what in god's name happened here?! Is that Stain?!"

"Everyone, please!" Tenya walked over to the growing group of heroes, "I know you must have questions but we must focus on the real issues first!"

Tenya was in full-on class rep mode and for his friends it was a welcome sight to see, "There are several injured people here and I have been unable to contact anyone by phone. All the lines are busy, I assume because of the Nomu attacks. If you have ways of getting help, I implore you to use them. While myself, Uraraka, and Todoroki only suffered minor injuries, we have one professional hero, Native, who is injured and unconscious. Two students are in critical condition. Midoriya is severely injured with possible brain damage and Toga…" Tenya turned to look down the remains of the alley where Shouto was still kneeling next to Himiko to keep her cooled down, "…Toga is in critical condition. Todoroki has been able to slow the bleeding by cooling her down and having her enter an almost cryogenic state but she has suffered horrific internal injuries and… Stain cut out her eye."

The three pro heroes turned to follow Tenya's gaze. Miruko hissed at the sight, while Gran Torino swore under his breath. Endeavor's eyes went from Shouto, noting the slight build up of frost on his body, to Himiko and the frozen sword in her chest. He stomped over to the two, hand brought up to his ear to activate his little communicator, "Burnin, do you read me? Do you have a fix on my location… Yes the block where the last explosion went off. Good. Listen to me. I need medical teams, now. We have injured students. Two are in critical condition. I need trauma teams. One has a massive stab wound in her chest. It's through and through. Bleeding is being slowed by dropping her core body temperature but we can't rely on this for much longer. And send a security detail as well… Stain is in custody, make sure to send that out over the public lines too. That'll make everyone move faster. ETA? Good."

Endeavor took his hand off his head and glanced down, "They are less than five minutes out. Shouto, do you need me to heat you up?"

Shouto kept his face focused on Himiko, "No. I can hold out until then."

Endeavor grunted, "Fine."

"You're a very proficient hero," Shouto said after a few seconds, "Iida's been trying to get through for help ever since we tied Stain up. You got us help immediately."

Endeavor simply said, "There is a reason I got where I am, boy."

"I know."

Weakly, Himiko opened her eyes to look at the two and wished she had the strength to tell them off for having a nice father-son moment while she was laying in a ruined alley, getting turned into a popsicle to stop the sword in her chest from killing her.

---

While Gran Torino went with Tenya to make sure Stain's bindings were secure, Miruko walked down the alley to check on the other hero on site, Native. As she went, a soft bird chirped from her phone, a special ringtone she had given to an especially annoying hero, and made her groan. Pulling out the phone, she pressed it to her ear as she knelt down to check on Native and the bandages he had wrapped around his wounds, "This had better be good Hawks. Tell me you got the damned Nomu, already."

"It got away."

Miruko went rigid, "It what? How did you let that happen?"

"A black portal just opened up and swallowed it, then vanished."

Miruko rubbed her nose and groaned, "Great. And I guess you've been flying around the city looking for it. Look, we have a situation here. We got-"

"No, I mean it just happened."

"Huh? Wait, as in just now?"

"Yes. This explains how the Nomu were able to start an attack in the city without any warning. The League's Kurogiri must be in the city, too."

"So they cut their losses and pulled that one out? I killed mine and I'm sure All Might must have that other one taken care of."

The silence on Hawks end made the hairs on Miruko's ears stand up on end, "What is it?"

"It could be a retreat but… until we know for sure, I've got a bad feeling there's something else at play. Listen, I'm on my way to regroup with my team. Be on your guard.

Hawks hung up and Miruko put her phone away with a frown. Now her animal instincts were starting to scream at her and she suddenly didn't like how open and exposed their group was. Especially with so many injured, "...Shit."

Standing up, she was about to go grab Endeavor to give him an update when a scream ripped through the night air.

"IT'S A PORTAL!"

"NOMU!"

"MIDORIYA! URARAKA! LOOK OUT!"

---

The heroes had finally arrived, and medical teams were on the way. So Ochako felt, for the first time, that she could finally breathe. And with that new fresh breath, she spent it humming softly to Izuku to keep him calm and to try and help keep his mind off the pain he must be in.

Off to the side, Gran Torino put his phone away, "Just got word from All Might. He's dealt with the other Nomu and is going to be on his way."

"That's… good," Izuku said with a forced smile. While Ochako was doing a great job helping him, it was getting harder to ignore just how much pain he was in, both in his body and from the throbbing behind his eyes. Everything was blurry and he had been more than a little disturbed when Ochako had whipped his face clean of most of his blood. He was used to having to clean his nose. Eyes and ears? That was a new one.

"I think… I think I would like to go to sleep now…"

Gran Torino smiled, "Don't you worry. I'm sure the medics will have something to help take the edge off before Recovery Girl has a go at you."

"...Put me back in the hole please."

"Deku!" Ochako admonished Izuku curtly while Gran Torino laughed.

"At least… I'm going to close my eyes… That way I won't have to keep looking at the sky spin and go all dark."

"Yeah, your brain must be really fried, kid." Gran Torino looked up where Izuku was looking, "The sky aint… What the?"

When Gran Torino looked up, he was shocked to see the sky had gone dark and was twisted in on itself. Or at least it was in a specific spot. The moment Gran Torino realized what he was looking at, a pale, yellow, winged body had already shot out of it.

"IT'S A PORTAL!" Gran Torino yelled, getting everyone's attention.

Endeavor turned and sneered, "NOMU!"

Raising his hands, he let loose a blast of fire right at the Winged Nomu but missed as the monster twisted and entered a nose dive - right for Izuku and Ochako. Tenya saw it coming, "It's going for- MIDORIYA! URARAKA! LOOK OUT!"

Ochako, in that split second, froze in shock. She had just started to think they were safe, that the worst was over, and now a Nomu was plummeting right towards her. She couldn't move. But Izuku could.

Desperation and complete fear fueled him as he twisted around onto his stomach, clenching his teeth as he fought to keep himself from blacking out, and shoved Ochako away using his good left arm. Ochako tumbled backward only a few feet, but it was enough. The Nomu twisted around so that it's feet were pointed down and crashed into Izuku. One of its talons slammed into Izuku's good arm, breaking it with an audible snap.

The Nomu grabbed Izuku with its talons and spread its wings.

Miruko launched herself from the alley.

Gran Torino rocketed as he tried to cover the distance.

Tenya rushed, hand outreached as he tried to grab Izuku.

The three were fast, but too far away. The Nomu was already in the air by the time they made it to the spot it had landed. They had been too far but Ochako, snapped out of her daze from hearing Izuku scream, had only been a few feet away. Ochako leapt, putting all the strength she had into her legs, and propelled herself for the Nomu. She was just able to grab onto a leg as it took off.

She could hear the horrified shouts from everyone below, and maybe one or two 'don't burn the kids,' but she wasn't focused on any of that. All she cared about was not letting his monster take Izuku away. Hanging on for dear life, Ochako looked at Izuku, his face twisted in agony, then up to where the Nomu was flying. Right for the black portal it had flown out of.

"NO YOU DON'T!"

Ochako knew if they went through that portal, they were dead. Izuku would be dead and she would be damned before she let that happen. Pressing her fingers into the Nomu's leg and herself, Ochako ripped its gravity away. Using the effect of her gyros, Ochako swung her legs out and sent the three tumbling through the sky and sailing past the portal. Ochako didn't have a chance to feel good about her victory though. The Nomu screeched and began flapping its wings. While its gravity was gone and it was getting pulled around by Ochako, the Nomu was able to reorient itself and stay airborne.

Damn it! With those wings it doesn't matter if I take it's gravity or not. I need to try and grab one. That'll-

"URK!" Ochako's train of thought was violently cut off as the Nomu reached a long arm down and grabbed her by the neck. The Nomu ripped her off its leg, held her up at eye level, then brought its other hand up so that it could strangle her with both hands.

Izuku hung limply underneath and screamed for it to let her go. His arms and legs were broken and useless, making it impossible to strike the Nomu. His head hurt so much now that he couldn't focus, couldn't find the power to use his Psychokinesis. All he could do was watch as Ochako fought for her life, watch as Ochako tried to pull the Nomu's hands off her throat.

Watch and scream.

Scream.

Scream.

Scream.

And scream until his throat burned.

---

Ochako hacked and coughed as she dug her fingers between her neck and the Nomu's hands, pulling as hard as she could. The monster was strong. Maybe not like the one back at USJ, but it was strong. Ochako's muscles strained as she pulled. At the same time, she swung her legs up and kicked the Nomu right in the face.

I'm not going to lose!

She kicked it again, making it screech - whether in pain or anger, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, the Nomu was not going to let her do it again. As Ochako wound back for another kick, the Nomu extended its long arms out, still holding tight on her neck. Spittle and foam sprayed from Ochako's mouth as she desperately tried to take a breath, but it was next to impossible. She was able to prevent herself from having her neck snapped but the force on her neck was starting to make her vision go dark.

You're! Not! Taking! Deku!

Ochako thought about trying to fire one of her rubber bullets into the Nomu's face but she did not want to let go of its hands. She couldn't kick it's face but she swung up her legs to try and kick its arms. But the angle was bad, so she had almost no force behind her swinging kick. She swore the bones in her fingers were starting to break and the muscles in her arms were going to tear, but she didn't stop.

She wouldn't stop.

She could hear Izuku screaming below. As long as she was alive, she was not going to lose him. With air she didn't think she had in her lungs, Ocahko roared and pulled and was able to get the Nomu's grip to loosen enough so she could get one last breath. Then the hands snapped back around her neck as the Nomu screeched back at her.

Do something! Deku's counting on you! Do… something…

Her vision was getting too dark to see. She could feel herself slipping. Her strength was beginning to give. All she could do was stare back at the Nomu in defiance, even as it faded into blackness.

Blacker.

Black.

...

Light.

A bright light, unbelievable heat and a roar slammed into Ochako. The light was so bright that it pierced her darkening vision. The heat sizzled the sweat, blood and spit off her body while making her skin prickle. The roar was not a sound anything living could make, it was something more. It was elemental. Then the Nomu's hands loosened and Ochako ripped herself free and took a deep breath, wincing at the air burning in her lungs. But it was air. Opening her eyes, Ochako stared in wonder as a giant pillar of fire shot up into the sky, enveloping the Nomu save for its arms at the elbows.

Endeavor?! Todoroki?!

Her mind tried to come to terms with what she was seeing, tried to think who it was that had made it up to them and saved them, but neither of the fire users fit.

After all, neither could produce green fire.

Authors Notes:
Hey. Hi there. Been a while hasn't it. So remember how I said back at the start of this arc that things were going to heat up for Izuku. Well...can't get much hotter than fire. Am I right!?

If you kill me you don't get the next chapter. Just FYI.
ANYWAY! Yeah, this has been planned since day one of GTR and I can not tell you how excited I am to finally get to this point. Got so much planned out I hope you all will stick around for another 500k to see where it all leads!
As always if you have a comment (I'm sure there might be a few this time) or critique please feel free to post!
A big thanks to this chapter's beta reader LK713! They put in a lot of work.