Izuku Midoriya had just returned home after a long day of training for the sports festival after he had left school for the day. Unlike his classmates most of his training was done on the beach he had cleaned not long ago while preparing for the U.A. entrance exam.
Now he was back home and just in time as his mom had just finished making dinner, his favorite food, katsudon.
"Welcome home Izuku, dinners ready!" Inko greeted as she made her way toward him with his dinner.
"Oh, hi mom." Izuku greeted as he walked toward her and took his plate of katsudon. "Thanks mom."
"No problem sweetie, how was school?" Inko asked.
"It was good, we got a foreign exchange student today actually." Izuku responded.
"Really? Oh where are they from? The Philippines? China? Russia? Brazil?" Inko asked excitedly.
"No, she's from America." Izuku replied.
"Oh, well that's nice I suppose. What part of America is she from?"
"Oh, she was born in Arizona, but she traveled around the US for a majority of her life."
"That sounds nice, she must've seen all kinds of places while traveling." Inko commented.
"Yeah, she's been all over from New Mexico to Texas." Izuku added as he smiled thinking back to what Terra had told him and his other classmates.
"Well, I'm glad you're making friends Izuku." Inko said as she smiled.
"Yeah she also has a strong quirk from the sound of it, none of us have seen it in action yet though, I think she is saving the true nature of her quirk until the sports festival but it essentially an earth manipulation quirk, though I am not sure to what extent, if she can control all the different things she said she could than she could be one of the strongest ground related quirk users, even better than Cementoss and Pixiebob from the wild wild pussy cats." Izuku had trailed off into a mumbling rant as Inko just giggled as she watched her son mumble about the girl's quirk.
Izuku's mumbling was interrupted by his mom. "Izuku dear, don't let your food get cold."
"O-oh right." Izuku said as he grabbed his plate and sat on the couch, he hoped he could find a battle between some heroes and villains on the news which was much more common now due to the increased crime rate that sprung up from All Might's defeat.
However when he flipped to the news as he began to eat he was greeted by something else on the TV.
"As of now it is estimated that over five hundred thousand children have gone missing on an international scale though experts believe this number could potentially be much higher especially with evidence that suggests that Hive Academy has been recruiting from third world countries as well."
"Along with the five hundred thousand missing children heroes and police who have attempted to conduct raids have also either gone missing or have been found dead, as of now it is estimated that roughly eight thousand heroes and law enforcement officials have gone missing on an international scale. The United Nations have declared Hive Academy an international terrorist organization and have begun taking steps to ensure the capture of the people behind this organization and to recover both the missing children and the missing heroes and law enforcement officials. Citizens are advised to point out any suspicious behavior among teenagers who they believe may have interest in joining Hive Academy. It is also advised that if you spot any members of the schools top class Alpha-1 that you report them to your local authorities or local hero agency immediately."
Izuku and Inko's eyes went wide with dread, five hundred thousand children, and eight thousand heroes and law enforcement personnel. Not only had the heroes seemingly made no progress but they had been losing people, quite literally.
"Five hundred thousand children? Oh God." Inko said as she covered her mouth with tears falling from her eyes.
It not only hurt her to see that the people who had hurt her son were taking so many children but it hurt her as a mother to see so many children join such a dangerous organization, she could only imagine what their parents were going through or what led these kids to choose such a path but the thought of it all still broke her heart.
Izuku looked toward his mom with sadness, before he clenched his fist and his expression became one of seriousness and determination.
"Mom, we will get through this, they won't get away with this, the heroes will find a way to stop them."
Inko looked at her son before he gave her a reassuring smile, she wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged her son, he was growing so fast and as far as she was concerned, he was her little hero.
In the dark night of Hosu city the moon shone down on the city, bringing its light down to the city below, illuminating the darker areas of the city with its light.
Atop a building in the city stood a man covered in red and white rags with a red bandana on his head and white rags covering his face almost like a domino mask with only his eyes visible, on his chest he wore a vest which carried two blades on either side, along with this he had what looked to be a katana holstered on his back.
The man stood on the roof, watching the streets below like a predator scanning its surroundings for prey.
The man was so focused on the streets below he almost failed to notice the presence that emerged from the shadows behind him.
The man slowly turned around only to be faced with another man who wore all black apart from a very detailed bronze mask that appeared to be that of a tiger, along with this he had bronze bandages around his lower arms, on his hand were gloves which seem to protrude claw like blades from them, he also bore a belt which sported a tiger emblem on the front of it, a hood covered the top of his head as well.
There was a moment of tense silence before the man covered in rags quickly drew his sword and pointed it at the face of the man with the tiger mask.
The man with the mask didn't so much as flinch at the threatening gesture as the man in rags spoke.
"And just who the hell are you? A hero who has come to his own slaughter?" He asked.
"I assure you I'm not a hero, nor did I come here to fight you." The man with the tiger mask answered .
"Then what have you come to me for?"
"Tell me hero killer, what do you fight for? What drives you to go out every night and hunt heroes? Sport? Vengeance? Or is it something else?" The man in the Tiger mask asked.
"Heroes? The people I kill aren't heroes, the word hero has lost all meaning in this society, the fakes who call themselves heroes only for money or fame must be purged."
"Now answer my question, who are you?" The man in rags asked as he pointed his sword closer to the other man's face.
"Bronze Tiger. And don't bother introducing yourself, I already know who you are, Chizome Akaguro, but these days you seem to go by Stain, correct?" Bronze Tiger asked as he stared at the man not phased by the sword in his face.
Stain seemed taken aback by Bronze Tiger's words, how did he know his real name? He could tell the man wasn't a hero or a cop, so who was he?
"I have observed you for quite some time, you have demonstrated a great ability to both kill and cripple your targets, however all your targets have been rather low ranking heroes, small fry in the grand scheme of things."
"Don't you dare diminish my efforts! I am working to reclaim the title of hero from fakes and my work sends a message!" Stain shouted as he became frustrated by the words of Bronze Tiger.
"Hero, villain, its all black and white, you need to begin looking at things from a different angle if you want your goals to be fulfilled, you dislike hero society for its current state due to the greed, the arrogance, the pride of these heroes, but you seem to be fond of a particular self proclaimed symbol of peace. I was watching you when those Hive kids beat All Might down, I saw that look in your eyes, you worship that man like everyone else in this society, not only do you worship him but you clearly fail to see how his defeat shows the true nature of the heroes, look at how they are now, a good number of them quit outright when All Might fell, they struggle to keep the crime under wraps and I will be the first to tell you it only gets worse for them from here."
Stain went wide eyed at that, however before he could give a rebuttal Bronze Tiger continued.
"You said you believe the heroes of this world are fake yet you have an affinity for All Might, a man who lied about himself in order to keep up appearances and he acted on behalf of the hero public safety commission and the Japanese Government, does that sound like a true hero to you? Because to me it sounds like a government puppet."
"Enough! I will not tolerate such blasphemy! All Might is a true hero! He's not like those other fakes! He is the only one who is truly worthy!" Stain shouted in anger.
"I guess you are right about one thing, he's not like the others. Unlike them he acts as the front man, the mascot to modern heroism, he's the hero they display the most because once you move past him you see this hero driven world for what it truly is, you truly see the hubris, the greed, the corruption. With All Might out of the picture the true colors of this hero society will begin to manifest, you can already see it, heroes quitting, heroes beginning to buckle under the pressure of the scrutiny the public and the media have put on them. Sooner or later the foundation will no longer be able to hold, and the dam will burst wide open, and when it does everyone will see the truth about these heroes."
"Even the future heroes who he sacrificed himself for merely stood there, not one displayed the actions of a true hero, instead they chose to value their own lives and prioritize their own safety, many are there solely for fame and fortune. Both the current and future heroes are the same. All Might only served as a cover."
Stain took a moment to process what Bronze Tiger had said, he had to admit that in some ways he was right, with All Might gone the heroes now seemed to be buckling under the pressure and it may be only a matter of time until they reach their brink.
"Just what is it that you want? Did you follow me all this time just to wait until now to chit chat with me about my motivations?" Stain asked as his gaze narrowed.
"No, I came here to recruit you, I am a part of a group known as the league of shadows." Bronze Tiger answered simply.
"What is this league of shadows? And why should I join the likes of you?" Stain asked.
"Because while our beliefs may differ in some ways, our goals still remain the same, the dismantlement of this hero society. Your way of doing things will only get you so far, while yes you eliminate heroes, the heroes you eliminated were small fry in the grand scheme of things, of course the big fish are too busy scrambling with larger issues like Hive Academy, but it will only be so long before you inevitably gain their attention."
"Just what are you getting at?" Stain asked with a hint of venom in his voice before Bronze Tiger answered.
"I'm saying your way of doing things will inevitably get you captured or killed, sure there's a chance your message might reach the public, people will talk about you for a few days, maybe a week if you're lucky, hell you might even inspire a handful of people, but most will forget about you just as quickly as they learned about you, with your current skills, you will not be able to withstand a battle against a high ranking hero let alone multiple, your current way won't work forever."
"As I said I have observed you and while you are skilled you always fight one on one, if you were to be cornered by a squad of five or more heroes what would you do? Do you really believe you could beat five heroes and escape successfully?" Bronze Tiger asked.
"If you have watched me for as long as you say you have then you know my methods you know that what I do works, I don't give them the opportunity to trap me." Stain spat out, becoming more frustrated at his skills being diminished.
"Really? Because I saw a wide range of ways you could have been trapped during your various hunts, you are sloppier than you think, however if you joined the league of shadows you could be better trained, you are skilled with a blade but if you were to learn actual fighting skills and martial arts you would be an even bigger threat, you also should not waste your talents only killing small time heroes, while its something it will not do long term damage to hero society."
"The truth is that you have been going about this the wrong way, you have wasted your skills punching downward when in reality you should be punching upward." Bronze Tiger remarked
"What do you mean?" Stain asked.
"I'm saying we have a more effective way of destroying hero society, we at the league of shadows act as assassins, our jobs often vary, but one of our main jobs often entails killing high profile individuals in the hero world besides heroes themselves, executives of support companies, CEO's, Journalists who are hero loyalists, scientists, even government officials depending on the circumstance, and we conduct our operations world wide." Bronze Tiger said which seemed to gain the interest of the hero killer.
"I see, so this league of shadows does seem interested in destroying the present, and you do not strike me as a simple criminal chasing a simple dream, but answer me this."
"What is the mission of the league of shadows? you call yourselves assassins but what meaning is there to killing if you don't have real convictions?" Stain asked as he gazed at Bronze Tiger awaiting his answer.
"Our goal is simple, we serve to correct the problems of our world by any means necessary. And the problem of hero society is a rather big one, everyone in the league of shadows is there to make a change in our world, and if you were to join you could make a bigger change alongside us than you ever could alone, you will grow as a fighter, as a swordsmen, and you will help to bring about great change."
There was a moment of silence before Stain stopped aiming his sword in the face of Bronze Tiger and holstered it on his back.
"Very well, I accept your offer." Was all Stain said.
"Good, we will start sending you on missions, since you are more experienced than most in many ways we don't need to beat around the bush with you, of course you will be trained in between missions over the coming months, you will have to travel with a partner for your early missions, but after some time you will be able to take missions on your own, of course there will be some missions that require you to travel in groups, the boss may even want you for a few missions given your unique abilities."
"Boss? I assume they are the leader of the league of shadows?" Stain asked.
"She is one of the bosses but technically not the head, the founder is not around at the moment and nor is the current head of the league, however the Woman under him, Lady Shiva, acts as our boss and is the highest ranking member behind the head of the league of shadows."
Stain merely nodded and gave a hum of approval, he found it interesting yet suspicious of how deep the chain of command seemed to go, though he chose not to voice any of his concerns instead opting to see this organization for himself in order to further gauge them, however there was one thing he had to say before going any further with this organization.
"I do have one request before joining the league of shadows." Stain declared.
"And what would that be?" Bronze Tiger asked.
"I want to continue purging heroes, I may be aiming for bigger fish now but that doesn't mean they deserve to be spared." Stain said as he licked his lips.
"Very well, though I urge you not to get captured, due to the intel you will have when entering our organization, if you are captured we will silence you to prevent the leak of any sensitive information." Bronze Tiger replied.
Stain was quiet for a moment before finally speaking. "Your terms are acceptable."
"Very well, let's not waste anymore time, there's a lot of work to be done, Shade, get us out of here." Bronze Tiger demanded as Shade appeared from out of the shadows which took stain a bit by surprise.
Before Stain could question Shade the shadows around them shift and swallow them before they disappear from the rooftop they had been on.
For the next week Class 1-A trained in preparation for the sports festival, the announcement that the sports festival would go on despite the attack that took place only a week prior was shocking. The media heavily criticized the school for such a brash move and a move that was considered by many foolish.
Some even went as far as to say that U.A. was only going through with it to pull more viewers and get higher ratings due to the attack gaining so much attention and putting the eyes of essentially the entire world on the school.
To some of the media it was seen as a way to perhaps get the children in better spirits, especially considering the attack caused students to leave the hero course in both the first and second year students rather it was because their parents got cold feet or they were scared off from the path of a hero.
Others in the media thought that this was U.A. High's way of exploiting the attack and those involved in order to gain more viewership and gain more money from the event. People also pointed out that the obvious increased security the sports festival would need would pull heroes away from their current duties which was seen as unideal given the current spike in crime Japan was facing.
In general the topic of the sports festival was a very controversial and divisive one amongst people all across the world.
Nonetheless the students continued to prepare for the festival, some trained in different ways, many trained at the school, others like Midoryia trained outside the school, Terra claimed that she had a spot for training which the school didn't seem to mind. To them she was probably training outside the school to not give much information on the sports festival to her other classmates, especially not knowing what challenges would await her in the sports festival. Other students like Momo and Shoto had trained at home as well in order to prepare for the sports festival.
Soon came the day of the sports festival, Izuku had said goodbye to his mom at the door as she wished him his best on the sports festival.
Izuku looked at his hand and clenched it into a fist, he wasn't sure what the day would bring but he would be sure to face it head on.
Shoto Todoroki had gotten up and was preparing to make his way to the arena where the sports festival would be held.
As he walked from his room to the door of his home to leave he was approached by his sister Fuyumi.
"Hey Shoto, I just wanted to wish you luck at the sports festival. I'll be sure to catch your matches."
"Wait won't you be busy with work?" Todoroki asked.
"Believe it or not, all the kids want to watch the sports festival and the school decided we would watch the sports festival during class." Fuyumi said with a smile.
"Oh, I see." Was all Todoroki could say.
It was then that both Fuyumi and Todoroki heard Footsteps approaching them.
Both of them turn to see who it is, immediately Todoroki narrowed his eyes slightly into a glare while Fuyumi kept her smile, despite that her Body language suggested that she was nervous and uncomfortable upon seeing who it was.
"Oh good morning dad." Fuyumi greeted.
"I have come to speak with Shoto, you are dismissed." Enji Todoroki also known as endeavor said as he glared down at her.
Fuyumi frowned under his gaze as she merely nodded her head and left the room, which Shoto didn't seem to take kindly to as his eyes narrowed even more.
The old man couldn't even be bothered to be kind to his own daughter, he didn't even so much as greet her, the man could care less about the daughter who he essentially viewed as a failure.
"Shoto, the sports festival is today, today the entire world will be watching your performance." Enji began.
"As my son, my prodigy, I expect you at your best during the festival. Due to what your school has been through recently the eyes of the entire world will be on this festival."
"And when you go out there you represent me. When people think of you they really think of me, and I can't have you making me look bad."
"I expect you to use your fire during this festival, I have tolerated you and this childish phase of yours."
Shotos face turned into a scowl but before he could speak Enji continued
"Your refusal to use your fire has cost not just you but those around you, you could have used your fire during the USJ attack but instead you allowed yourself to be captured. If you had used your fire you could have bested those two villains who beat you and you could have managed a proper escape, instead your insolence got you and your classmates captured and your teachers injured and one killed, and it put All Might out of commission for good, had you all escaped All Might would've been able to make a retreat until more heroes arrived."
"But because of you All Might is retired, Powerloader is dead, Japan is currently facing a widespread crime wave, and your school is under a microscope by the entire world. All of this could have been prevented if you hadn't been so foolish."
"And when you behave this way it not only hurts your classmates and teachers but it also reflects poorly on me as well, your actions at the USJ made me look bad and I will not have you tarnish my name any further, now get out of my sight."
Shoto glared at his father with a scowl on his face before he turned around and left without saying a word. The old man just couldn't help but berate him for not using his fire and trying to get him to use it.
However, part of him couldn't help but agree, perhaps he was right, maybe if he had used his fire at the USJ attack things would have gone a lot differently than they ended up being. Even so the rather one sided conversation made his hatred for his father grow even more.
He was even more determined now, determined to show his dad that he didn't need his fire, that he could be just as strong with his ice if not stronger.
He had to keep his promise, he could NEVER, no matter what the situation, use his father's side of his quirk.
Midoriya had a quirk similar to All Might and a close relationship with him it seemed, he would beat Midoriya with his Ice alone and prove to his dad that he didn't need his fire.
Terra was making her way to the location she was supposed to head to only to receive a phone call.
Terra looked at her phone and her rather excited and somewhat nervous demeanor had diminished in an instant replaced with something that was a mix between anger and contempt before she answered.
"What do you want? Rose?"
"Aww why so upset? I only called to wish you well on your little sports festival. I hope you remembered the short stint of training I did with you on Santa Prisca in order to prepare you for the sports festival. I wish I could have done more with you but I have other duties besides babysitting you. I hope Lady Shiva's daughter was able to keep you good company in my absence?"
"Yeah well she is much quieter and much less of an annoyance so i'd argue she's an upgrade over you, besides you clearly have much more important things to deal with then 'babysitting'." Terra snarkley remarked.
"Remember Terra, I don't enjoy this anymore than you do but father insisted I train you for this in my spare time and if that's what father wants then it is what I will deliver, keep in mind father also expects you to make a fine showing in this festival. You have your tasks father and the other higher ups want you to complete and I have mine."
"Yeah whatever, just what do they have you doing besides 'babysitting' anyway?" Terra asked somewhat curious as to what else Rose was up to here.
"You'll know when the higher ups want you to know, for now just perform well at your little festival, I don't expect you to win if i'm being honest, you simply lack the dedication and competitiveness it would take to pull off a total victory, but you do have the training and skill I suppose." Rose said in a condescending tone before continuing.
"Just don't make a fool of myself, if you go out there looking like a idiot it not only makes you look bad but it makes me look bad because i'm the one in charge of you, and if I look bad father will be upset at me and I will not have father thinking of me in a negative light because of your sloppiness."
"Whatever, if you and the league of shadows are such good trainers then I should do fine right? Now if you would excuse me I have a sports festival I have to get to." Terra said as she hung up the phone before Rose could get another word out.
She truly hated Rose, while she wouldn't call the relationship between the two the worst it wasn't necessarily that which made her not like Rose, she didn't like Rose because all Rose cared about was making her dad happy and only saw Terra as a tool to get more in favor with her dad.
Of course Terra also was trying to get into her dad's good graces, after all she in many ways felt she owed him, but Rose's almost unhealthy obsession with pleasing her father by any means necessary made her hard to relate with. Rose had different reasons for wanting her fathers approval than she did, she actually wasn't even sure if Rose was aware of the nature of her and her father's relationship but she wouldn't make any move to give her any clue as to what it actually was.
She was annoyed that he had just made her his daughter's problem, the girl was basically insane, she literally cut her own eye out just to prove herself to her dad. Someone like that would do anything for approval and that made Rose dangerous, she would go to any length to achieve her fathers approval rather it was tolerating her or something far worse, in her eyes it simply didn't matter.
The Girls obsession led her to seeing Terra less as a person and more as a means to an end which she wasn't very good at hiding, the girl clearly didn't even like her but merely tolerated her for her fathers sake.
Terra thought about the current state of her situation as she made her way to the sports festival. Once she arrived she cleared her mind of all distractions and made her way to the arena. Terra then made her way through one of the private entrances to meet up with her other classmates.
Tenya Iida had woken up early for his big day today as it was the day of the sports festival.
He immediately got ready before going to eat breakfast, however on the way down sees his older brother, Tensei, also known as the pro hero Ingenium.
"Good morning Tensei." He greeted as he gave a warm smile.
"Morning Tenya, so today's your big day huh, how are you feeling?"
"I am looking forward to the sports festival, I will give it my all during the festival and demonstrate how much I have improved in my skills as a student of U.A." Iida declared while giving a hand chop motion to emphasize his point which made Tensei chuckle.
"Tenya, never change." Tensei told him with a smile
"Tensei, do you plan on going to the sports festival to watch my performance?" Tenya asked
Tensei frowned at that. "I'm sorry Tenya but I can't, I'm working a case and I won't be able to make it."
"Oh." Tenyas smile faltered for a second before going back to normal before continuing. "Well that is understandable, especially now with the current state of the country."
Tensei nodded as his smile returned. "Yes, but if I can I will be sure to at least check the highlights on social media, I know you will do good Tenya." Tensei reassured as he put his hand on his little brother's shoulder.
"However Tensei I must ask, what case are you working on? Is it involving Hive Academy?" Tenya asked as his expression grew into a worried one.
"Oh no, I'm not working on the Hive Academy case, that is a large scale case with several investigative and top ranking heroes, I'm not involved with the investigations, however it is possible they could call other heroes up if they need help with a raid or anything, however I haven't gotten any calls as of now."
Tenya became noticeably relieved upon learning his brother wasn't on the Hive case, he had heard about all the heroes who went missing or died out right on raids connected to the villain school, while he didn't doubt his brothers skills as a hero he would be lying if he said he wouldn't be worried about him partaking in one of the raids, it really made Tenya wonder just how the Pros would go about stopping Hive Academy.
"Oh, well if it isn't hive what type of case is it?" Tenya asked out of curiosity, he always asked about his brother's cases when he got a chance, not only were the cases or stories he told about cases interesting but it also provided insight into what he would face as a pro hero when he became one full time.
"Sorry Tenya but I'm afraid I can't tell you about this one, all I can tell you is that this is a big case in its own right, and it's important I solve this matter as soon as possible." Tensei declared.
"oh , I understand, if that is the case then I shall keep up no more of your time Tensei, besides I must hurry and eat so I can make my way to the sports festival for this is a day I cannot afford any tardiness of any kind." Tenya said as he did his signature robotic chop motion to emphasize his point.
"Farewell Tensei." Tenya said as he began to make his way downstairs, however as he was going downstairs his brother called out to him.
"Tenya!" Tensei called out as Tenya turned back to face him with a curious look.
"Good luck at the sports festival." was all Tensei said as he gave Tenya a thumbs up which made Tenya smile
Not only was he happy by his brother's encouragement he was also more determined to do his absolute best at the sports festival.
Tenya quickly ate before saying goodbye to his parents and heading off for the sports festival.
Tensei had made his way to his office and he had begun to go through his files, one of whom had the title 'Hero Killer' on it.
He began to look through the files, various reports, pictures of bloodied and mutilated bodies, and much more.
The files depicted the various movements of the hero killer now, however the hero killers moves had shifted, he began not only targeting heroes but other people connected to heroes, CEO's of support companies, Journalists who reported favorably toward heroes, high executives and more, what worried Tensei the most was similar cases were appearing in other country whic was starting to become cause for concern. Due to the focus on Hive Academy and the increased crime rate the pattern of these killings had gone unnoticed until recently.
Before this case he was working on the case of the villain who robbed the bank in Kamino ward, however when it was discovered that the villain was involved with Hive Academy following the now world famous USJ attack bigger pros took the case and he and his agency ended up taking this one.
Tensei considered working alongside other larger agencies on the case but with so many busy with other cases due to the large crime rate he thought it best to handle it himself, he was confident he and his sidekicks could get the job done.
However what worried him wasn't just the sudden change in targets but the fact that stain now seemingly wasn't working alone anymore, he had one or possibly multiple partners who all seemed to be working in coordination with each other.
The fact that the change in targets and the partners he possibly had gained seemed to have happened at the same time couldn't have been a coincidence. Stain was no longer just a hero killer and was no longer working alone.
Tensei was determined to get to the bottom of this, whatever this was, Tensei didn't like it one bit.
As Tensei continued to look through the files he could only think one thought.
'Where are you hero killer, and just what are you and your new friends after?'
Note: and here is chapter 11, another short one, sorry it took so long but my grandma came up from Florida to spend the week with us, sorry for the short chapter but I wanted to drop something before the month ended, next chapter will be the beginning of the sports festival.
And now stain has agreed to join the league of shadows, and he now has a partner working alongside him, who do you guys think it is?
Don't forget to like and review, I love seeing your thoughts and suggestions for the fic and your feedback is always appreciated, I will be sure to drop the next chapter as soon as possible.
Until next time.