Izuku stirred, turning while scrunching his eyes. Nightmares plugged his mind. Of his mother. Of Kacchan. Of the mugger who turned his life upside down. He sat up looking around. He could barely see, the room was so dark, the walls were rotten from age, on the floor insects were crawling around.
He tried to remember, tried to get his bearings. He remembers the strange man, Stendhal, Who saved him from a foolish mistake. Really, who did he think he was? Someone with powers? He was quirkless, fighting head-on was stupid, a mistake that could have been proven fatal.
He got out of the futon, but a sudden pain on his arm jolted him. His right arm seemed ok, even if he remembers clearly that Stendhal snapped it. How was it possible? A quirk? Stendhal's quirk? How did it work? Why did he help Izuku? What was his plan?
"Oi kid" a cold voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Izuku looked to his left, Stendhal was leaning against a wall, his arms folded in front of his chest. He wasn't wearing a mask this time. Black hair pulled into a high ponytail, sunken cheeks, which gave him a strange look, like a vampire from those old stories. His skin was pallid, pale like snow. But his eyes. Red like blood. Even if it was dark, Stendhal managed to cast a presence, a presence so bright yet so dark.
Izuku gulped. "H-hello. Um, how long were you there?"
Stendhal scoffed, unimpressed. "Long enough to hear you mumbling all those questions. By the way the answers are: a quirk, yes how impressive (note the high level of sarcasm), no, no idea, and the last remaining are none of your business."
Izuku nodded, not really minding the impatient tone. "Sorry, I tend to mumble out my thoughts."
The man looked at him " which is a really stupid weakness, in a fight you don't have time to mumble out or think properly. You must be quick, both to think and throw a punch. Not that you really can throw a punch, you look like a twig. Something I will have to rectify."
Izuku looked confused. "Rectify? What do you mean?".
Stendhal looked at him impassively. "Training. But first I have a question for you".
Izuku was shocked to the core. He couldn't imagine training with such a man. But why? Why would he train him? A dark part of his mind whispered that he wasn't worth the effort, this man has other things to do, more important surely."Why? Why do you want to trai-" "What Is a Hero?".
Izuku looked at Stendhal. Pondered his question."What?".
Stendhal looked at him emotionlessly. "What Is a Hero? Answer me". He unsheathed his sword.
Izuku gulped. He pondered. "A Hero Is…someone who fights, not for himself, but for others. He feels fear, but knows that innocent people may be in danger and he fights that fear to..drive the darkness away. That for me is a Hero".
Two minutes of tension passed, Izuku was sweating, Stendhal was impassive. Until, finally, movement. Stendhal sheathed his sword. Looked at Izuku and said, " We begin in two hours, prepare yourself." And walked away.
Izuku looked confused. But he knew one thing. This wasn't going to be easy.
*Time skip. Three weeks later*
Izuku was panting. He cleaned himself from the sweat. He was really fatigued.
Training with Stendhal…was difficult to say the least. The man was impatient and sometimes cruel. Pushing Izuku to the limit every day.
Push ups, mile runs, squats, climbing and parkour were key factors this past few weeks. And every day, after the workout, when Izuku was most tired, they finished off with sparring.
Izuku was not spared, he couldn't count the times he ended up on the floor or thrown against a wall. Grabbed and punched after every training session. Stendhal ingrained in him a sense of survival. The man did not hold back. Every punch was meticulous, precise and powerful. Izuku really had to think quickly, or else he would be unconscious..or worse.
A rough voice ended his quick pause.
"Again".
Still panting, Izuku readied himself into a fighting stance and began sparring with Stendhal.
*Time skip. Two months later*
Izuku parried another strike from his opponent. His right arm and bicep blocked a powerful kick that would have rendered him unconscious had he not blocked it.
He took a few steps back to regain himself. Two months passed. It didn't feel like it, to Izuku. It felt like years, gruesome, painful years. Sten-Chizome. Chizome, the man finally revealed his real name. It felt like a secret to be preserved. Well, it is..if Izuku revealed it…well he could say goodbye to his head.
Months passed and his training was finally coming to fruition. He could run faster, his punches and kicks had far more power and he didn't look like a twig anymore.
Apart from his physical training, Chizome engraved in his head how to really use his head. His analytical thinking. Strategies were half of the battle, as Chizome said. If he could figure out an opponent, his moves and his thinking ahead, Izuku would already have an upperhand. But only strategies don't win a war, like only muscles can. A warrior needs both, combined, then he really can become unstoppable.
Izuku panted some more, before resuming training.
*Final Time skip. Two years later*
Izuku was putting on his gear. Already two years. He couldn't really believe it. Two years he spent with Chizome, training in painful and excruciating ways. He had black cargo pants. Black, tight and fitted combat jacket full of holsters and pockets for knives and gadget, and a bit of kevlar armor. He used a balaclava and a hood to cover his. It was practical, sure, but..it still lacked something. Something that made him different. Anyway. In these two years Chizome finally brang Izuku with him, taking down some crooked criminals, muggers, rapists and drug dealers.
His teacher usually left him on his own in those circumstances, you know..learning on the job, but tonight was different. Chizome decided that tonight he was going to show Izuku how to really purge and clean this society. He wasn't blind, he knew Chizome's views about heroes. Hell, the man went on a rant about it the moment he sees a hero he doesn't approve of on the television.
He finally put on the final piece of his gear, a forearm protector, as Chizome entered the room. His rough voice is already full of hatred.
"You ready brat? We don't have time to waste."
Abrupt and to the point. Izuku turned, looking his teacher in the eyes. "Ready". Chizome didn't seem to acknowledge his words, just turning around and jumping off the window.
Izuku only had one thought. Here we go. And followed Chizome in the darkness.
They did parkour in the dark night, two silhouettes jumping from roof to roof, sliding and gliding on walls. They didn't talk to each other. They didn't need to.
Izuku stopped right beside Chizome. He was crouching on a rooftop looking down at a street. Izuku recognized a hero patrolling and looked at him in confusion. The hero in question was named Lantern, not too powerful, his hands could emit light, he used to stan villains mostly, and if he really concentrated he could emit light from his eyes at really hot temperatures, enough to cause second degree burns. Izuku didn't really understand why Lantern was there, since he usually patrollad during the day. But he shrugged. Certainly Chizome would explain why they would target him.
He turned to look at his teacher but he was already on the move. He heard grunts and the beginning of a fight and looked down, It seems Chizome already ambushed him. He sighed and followed.
As he landed he looked at the scene in front of him. Lantern was on the ground panting and hissing in pain. He seemed paralyzed, no doubt Chizome's quirk. He looked at his teacher and partner, as Izuku gathered his thoughts Chizome spoke up.
"You were too slow, next time be more efficient. Have you learned nothing?", he growled. He usually did, but this time he seemed more aggravated. Maybe the presence of the Hero? Izuku replied. "I know, I know, by the time I turned around you were already here. I Will be better. Anyway. How do we do this?"
Chizome was silent for a few seconds before looking at Hero on the ground. "As you already know, this is the hero:Lantern. And your first purge of this corrupted society" as he finished he took his sword out and offered the handle to Izuku.
Both the hero and the young man looked at the gesture with wide eyes. Izuku spoke up first. "Wait..What?! You want me to kill him?! You never said it was going this way!". Izuku looked at the handle in horror. Sure he hated heroes but..was his hatred so great that he would kill them? He.. didn't think so..otherwise..would he be better then villains? Sure, beating up villains seemed the most effective way to make them learn their lesson, and frankly speaking, Izuku thought that some did deserve to die. But heroes? Some were corrupted, yes, but..he thought they would..teach them? It seemed underwhelming to say, but at the least make them understand the real meaning of being a Hero..this..this was a bit too much.
As Izuku was thinking this, Chizome was still holding the hilt of the sword impatiently. The hero managed to speak up a bit, blood pouring a bit from his mouth, in a raspy and broken way he spoke up."P-purge? C-clean society? What d-do two villains know about cleaning s-society?".
Both Izuku and Chizome looked at the downed hero. Chizome spoke up in irritation. "What would a fake like you know about my mission" he began to growl, and he began to hold the hilt of the sword now. "Fakes like you need to be removed to make hero society real again".
Izuku looked at the two, conflicted, hearing about their convictions. Lantern spoke up, still paralyzed. "Sure, i m-may n-n-not be th-the most no-noble of heroes…but i-i help people.. What d-do y-you do? Y-you are just a hero killer…".
Izuku was starting to fidget and sweat a lot. This…this wasn't what he expected. He thought they would beat up at worst a Hero. Maybe he had been naive but…he needed that innocence. That last link juvenile thoughts. As Chizome branded the katana in his hand tightly, snarling. Izuku trembled, as his eyes widened. He took out a knife, screaming, he attacked Chizome, trying to stop him. Izuku swung his knife from downward, trying to disarm Chizome. At the last second, the Hero killer dodged it, but it was in vain as he was surprised that his protegee attacked him. Blood spurted everywhere as Chizome cried out in pain. Izuku got in front of the Hero trying to protect him.
It was in that moment that he felt a surge of bloodlust like no other. Chizome turned around, his face disfigured, as he now missed a nose. His eyes turned red from hate as he began to attack Izuku. The young man protected himself trying his best but of course he was no match for the veteran. A flurry of kicks and punches assaulted him from behind, on his left and right. He covered himself, parried and counterattacked but it was futile.
Two to three minutes passed, but it seemed like hours. The Hero behind Izuku seemed motionless, probably passed out or most likely dead from Blood loss. At this point Izuku was just trying to survive. He decided to use a smoke bomb from his utility belt. The smoke engulfed the small alley. Nonetheless, Chizome's voice echoed through the battlefield.
"You filthy traitor. To think I wasted so much time on you. So much energy and resources." His voice was full of anger and hatred. Izuku tried to pin-point his location. Hear his footsteps, the barest of vibration, the small hint of heavy breathing. Then he snapped his eyes and turned around in time to block a knife strike. Izuku and Chizome were locked in a stalemate. Then Izuku had a risky and stupid idea. He let his knife drop on his waiting left hand, meanwhile Chizome's surprised loss of resistance stabbed his knife on Izuku's arm. As Izuku grabbed the falling knife in his left hand, he stabbed his teacher in his gut and then he moved the knife to the right, opening a gush in Chizome's stomach. Overwhelmed and full of adrenaline he headbutted Chizome's on his face tight on his missing nose before kicking him away. With his teacher's knife still stuck in his arm, Izuku jumped the wall and found himself on the roof tops, crying and panting.
The voice of Chizome carries a terrifying promise to Izuku.
"I-i…I am going to kill you Izuku..YOU HEAR ME!? I AM GOING TO KILL YOU"
Catching up his breath, Chizome screamed.
"IZUKU MIDORIYA. YOU ARE GOING TO DIE…BY MY HAND".
Izuku was running away, the sound of his partner, and mentor screams echoing in his mind.
Author Note
yeah yeah….i am late..how could i forget this work blah blah blah… I know. I know, I just had a few personal problems. I am not going to promise more chapters. Sorry but sometimes i forget about it. Right now, as i am writing this, i am drunk. Well, more like tipsy but you get the point. So if you notice any mistakes, please let me know. Please review, just say something so i know this shit is relevant to somebody, Goodnight or Good Day to y'all.