The Hero Killer

Hosu city stood dark and quiet, yet not quite still. The night sky kept the vast city stuck in an allure of darkness that hid the most heinous of villains in its shadows. In one such shadow, in one dark alley of the city, stood the Hero Killer: Stain. The man had been searching, looking for someone or something, who had been on a purge, littering bodies around wherever they went. Sometimes they were dead, other times they weren't. The strange part was the cuts that covered the bodies were purposefully done to cause the most amount of bleeding possible. However, on his search, he ran into someone.

Someone…dark…

"What is this?" Stain grunted, his crazed red eyes gazing at the stranger that had come before him. He looked at the newcomer, wearing dark clothes to hide in the shadows, though the hand on his face was…menacing. Stain could tell that it was a real hand, decaying, thin, pale, but it was real, it had once belonged to someone, and that was… strange.

The man that stood before him stepped forward, only to pause as a knife flew past him. "If you value your life, you'll stay right where you are." Stain threatened, raising his blade and pointing it at the mysterious newcomer.

Tomura Shigaraki could only click his tongue in annoyment, but he knew this is what he had to do. To make the League of Villains stronger, they needed more men, more fighters, and having Stain join them, well he would be an invaluable asset. One that could act as a lieutenant or a second in command. "Kurogiri…"

At the muttering of those words, another portal opened underneath Stain, he had tried to jump but he found his feet sinking into the ground. Flipping his sword in his hands to stab the ground and stay where he was, he cursed when his blade didn't touch the ground, instead sinking with him as the portal expanded and took him whole.

Tomura smirked as he kicked the body that stood in the alley, "How depressing, such a sad sight." The villain could barely get the words out before laughing, "So much for this hero society." With that, Shigaraki made his way back to the portal, walking through with a satisfied smirk on his face.

The portal closed, leaving the alley empty with only a dead man laying in a heap on the ground.

Only for a blonde head to poke its way out from the dumpster that stood nearby, looking in alarm at what she had just seen, or rather heard. She shook in worry and sunk back into the container of trash, "Oh that's not good… not good at all…" Himiko Toga muttered to only herself and the person she had murdered earlier.

The blank hospital walls were getting annoying.

A step down a corridor, looking for the room, that damned room.

He remembered it, seeing his brother, the great Ingeniun… on life support…

A touch was going to crack from how hard he clenched his jaw.

Long strides, down a new hall.

But he couldn't find the damn room!

All because of some crazed lunatic.

A lunatic that… was right there… in front of him.

Tenya Iida could only freeze, within the hall, blinking lights hiding the man's face from view, all he could see was a smile and crimson eyes. He froze in place, glancing back to see that the way he had come from disappeared, now replaced by a wall. With a quite loud gulp, he turned back to Stain, only to see him gone.

The lights flickered once more before completely shutting down, the night sky from outside providing very little light for the hospital.

He took a step, a cautious plant of his foot.

"TENYA!"

A yell cut through the blank and dark halls, reverberating around him, and despite his fear, Tenya took off running down a hall. After all, that was his brother's voice. And he would be damned if he let anything happen to his dear older brother. So he ran and ran, finding dead ends, winding halls, and not finding the damned hospital room! He couldn't remember when, but at some point he had started using his quirk.

The only thing he knew was that he was trusting his legs to carry him, to propel him forward.

Turning, straights, jumping over pieces of furniture, he didn't know how long he had been going for, he just knew that his legs felt like lead. Picking up his leg one last time, he turned down one last hall, seeing an open door, the only shine of light visible in the entire hospital coming from the open door, golden angelic light birthing from within the room. "TENSEI, I'M COMING!" Tenya yelled, forcing and willing his legs to move.

Getting to the door felt like it took ages, in reality it only took a few seconds, but with his heart beating in his ears, his anxiety taking him whole, and his mouth going completely dry, it felt like so much longer. He had never heard his brother scream with such fright in his life. "TENYA!" With a yell that made the younger Iida brother fear for his life, he threw the door open.

Standing, in the room, was Stain, holding his brother up by the throat. The Turbo Hero flailed in the grip of the person that paralyed him, his legs not moving as he hung in the air. Desperately, Tensei tried to claw at the arm holding him up, but it did nothing, all he could do was stare at his young brother in horror.

The twisted face of Stain slowly turned to the younger Iida, his sickly smile growing as he tightened his hold on Tensei, with a sick CRUNCH, Stain's grin grew. "You're… NEXT!"

"GAHH!" Tenya flailed in his bed, jumping up in fright. Cold sweat dripped down his body, his breathing rapid as he looked around his room at Manual's agency. The cool moon light of the night invaded his room from the window, barely allowing him to see as he looked over his body, seeing he was alright. He folded in on himself and held his head in his arms, "Tensei….!"

He couldn't get over these dreams, seeing visions of Stain in every single one, his poor older brother being at the man's mercy. It made his blood boil, and he felt rage like he had never felt before. Stain would pay, one way or another, and it would be at his hands!

Despite the fact that he knew he was outmatched, the boy didn't care, he would bring Stain to justice, for his older brother!

Shoto Todoroki was a boy of many things, perhaps you could call them talents, but he wouldn't say so. Being trained from the age of five left a mark on him, expert mastery of his quirk was one of those things. Yet, as time had passed, and he resented his father more and more for the things he had done to his family, the more he let his fire lay to waste, not bothering to cultivate it into the calm but fierce inferno it could become.

So, looking at all the notes Midoriya had made left Shoto wondering.

"Can I really do all these things..?" Right now? Currently? At this moment? No. He knew that. After all, his skill with his fire was equivalent to that of a middle schooler without quirk counseling. Curse him.

But yet. "With some training… I can do this." The emotionless teen said as he scrolled through the online notes that had been forwarded to him. It certainly was intriguing, looking at all the things that Midoriya had made. Even mentioning that if he had reached his level of mastery with his molding of fire as he did with ice he would essentially be able to use it as a sniper.

It was all so interesting, and yet it made Shoto disappointed in himself. For being so rebellious for so long, for rejecting that part of himself. He couldn't help but remember Midoriya's words to him at the Sports Festival.

IT'S YOUR POWER, NOT HIS!

It was his power, and his new…friend..? Acquaintance? Whatever Midoriya was, had to literally beat that fact into his thick skull.

Though, there was one thing Todoroki knew for a fact, getting to the point where he could use all of these abilities would take a lot of hard work. And he was ready to work as hard as he needed to to get to that point. "Plus Ultra…" The boy muttered as he got up and turned his laptop that he was using to look at the notes off, he stretched before looking to his door, hearing the loud footsteps of his father coming his way. "I will be a hero, my own hero." And there was no damn way he would let his old man take that away from him.

Izuku grunted as he punched a big bag filled with sand. He had been doing so for an hour or so and his fists were beyond sore at this point. Essentially all he could do was focus on this as he readied for another night of patrolling, his nervousness and anxiety growing with each night that passed. He could only practice the blows that Eraserhead had taught him, over and over, committing the moves to memory. Making sure that his muscles knew exactly how to throw these punches.

Eraserhead had shown him that his fighting style was far from decent, the way he fought was unrefined, he had speed and power, but not the control and accuracy to make the most effective use of it. Eraserhead didn't waste a single movement when fighting, Izuku knew he wouldn't get there overnight, but one day he knew he could.

With a final grunt, he threw his fist forward, a small shockwave shaking the punching bag as it broke off of the hook it was attached to, falling to the ground. Izuku drew deep and greedy breaths, staring at the bag on the floor. Finally coming to a realization, "I didn't even use my quirk for that…" He knew he had gotten a lot stronger even without his quirk, but this much?

"You've gotta control it."

Startled, Izuku whipped around to see Aizawa, the man holding Izuku's costume case. "Your strength, you gotta be able to measure it, to make sure you never go too far, worst case scenario, you accidentally kill someone." The underground hero handed the boy his case, "Get this on, we'll be leaving soon." Izuku gulped and grabbed it as Eraserhead left.

The words stuck with Izuku, reminding him of his first training session with Vlad King where the blood hero said much of the same. Izuku always knew to hold back with One For All, only pushing it if he knew it wouldn't hurt whoever he was facing too much, but having to hold himself back as well, his own body, that was new.

Leaving the training area to head back to his room, the successor of All Might could only think about everything that had come in his time with Eraserhead.

"Wow you can float just like me! How do you do it? Is your quirk like mine? Why are your hands like that? What class are you in? Have we met before? Why do you do your hair so short? Why do you look so tired?" Reiko was not an angry person, after all she endured a lot in middle school due to her appearance, yet this one person was getting her really close to crossing that line.

"Nejire, stop pestering the girl, we have to get ready for patrol." Ryukyu chastised with a small smile as the three of them entered the locker room-esk quarters that were contained within her agency. However, it looked much higher class. The lockers were giant, with a walk-in area for each person to change into their uniforms.

Reiko was very intrigued by all of it the first time she came and it took a lot of adjustments and getting used to, yet here she was, completely not focusing on it and instead sighing in relief as Nejire, Ryukyu's own personal student, one of UA's Big Three, a third year, finally stopped her pestering.

"Thank you, Ryukyu-sensei."

Her teacher looked at her and shot her a smile, "Don't mention it, get changed, we'll be heading to Hosu when we're all ready."

Reiko could only wonder why, due to the late time and how out of the way Hosu was from them, however she didn't ask and instead just started getting changed. Unlike her dear friend Izu–er Midoriya, her costume had remained unchanged since the USJ. She hadn't seen any reason to change it, though she probably would when the seasons got colder.

Unlike her costume which was a cloth made dress, Nejire's costume was a very thin body suit, seemingly made of latex or spandex, which left nothing to the imagination. She could never imagine doing something like that.

Ryukyu's costume seemed to be a combination, the cloth was thin but durable and she had it in a dress shape. Though, that did leave her wondering what material the piece was made from, since it stretched with her when she transformed into her dragon form.

Finally, finishing getting dressed, Reiko readied herself for a patrol, she hadn't done many in her stay at Ryukyu's agency, and they hadn't been for that long. However, she focused more on improving her quirk, something that they had been lacking in at UA. Perhaps that is something they will visit at a later date?

"Alright, Emily, Nejire-chan, gather, we'll be flying to Hosu so get ready for a long ride."

"What are we going to Hosu for? Ooh ooh, are we gonna look for that evil guy?!" Nejire asked, ever bubbly, as she began to float using her quirk.

The question did certainly peak the ghost girl's interest. "Whom is Nejore referring to when she mentions an "evil guy" Ryukyu-sensei?" Reiko asked.

Their teacher paused in her steps, turning around to address the two of them, for once she didn't have a nice smile on her face like she usually did, instead a small frown, but Reiko could see the rage hidden in her eyes, the fury, fury that was unbridled. It was frightening, "Stain…" She bit out.

The Hero Killer could only stare at the two in front of him in disgust, after having been transported here, to some rundown bar, against his will, he was given a proposal by the two of them. "You want me to join your so called "League of Villains..?"" He bit out with great vitriol.

"Yes, it's a great offer, you help us hit the mainstream and your message gets out to more people!" Shigaraki smiled an odd smile, throwing his arms wide.

Stain narrowed his eyes at these… bastards. "What is your goal? Why do you do the things you do?" What was their conviction for the things that they do? He couldn't help but think of everything about this so-called League of Villains. Trying to pull them apart, what was their end game?

After all, he wasn't completely clueless, he had seen multiple new sources covering the attack on the USJ, with the League being behind the attack. Yet, the only reason ever noted was that they wanted to kill All Might. Which made Stain's blood boil. All Might was one of the only true hero's of this society, he stood at the top, and he was the model for everyone to abide by and follow, and these disgusting sewer rats wanted to kill the Number One Hero?!

"All Might, the pillar that holds up this terrible society, must be dealt with." Shigaraki claimed, acting relaxed despite being in the presence of one of the most dangerous men of his time.

"Such filth!" Stain yelled, pulling a sword from his sheath, "What is the meaning of killing if there is no conviction behind it! No message to spread!"

Kurogiri narrowed his eyes, remembering what his master had told him, to not step in, to leave it to Shigaraki, that the boy needed to mature. Yet, he still felt the temperature in the room drop by several degrees. 'Do not step in… listen to what the master said…'

Stain moved faster than either could expect, one of his many daggers pierced Kurogiri's arm, the shadow man winced before Stain leaped at him from across the bar, yanking the blade out and dragging it across his tongue. Kurogiri flinched before locking into place. "W-What?!"

Shigaraki leaped for Stain, but the Hero Killer jumped away before throwing more daggers and lodging them into Shigaraki's body, "G-Gah! I just got those gun wounds healed!" Though Stain didn't care, he pulled on a string attached to the daggers and pulled, all of them being yanked out of Shigaraki's body, he grabbed one midair and licked that blade as well.

The leader of the League couldn't even curse as his body crumbled on himself.

The Hero Killer stood triumphant, ready to cull the two pieces of trash in front of him.

"KUROGIRI!"

Just as Stain jumped at the man child in front of him, a portal opened, and he tumbled out into the streets of Hosu once more, the moon of the night sky illuminating the city and allowing Stain to see the broken society below him. "My mission must continue, my message must be spread, the heroes of this age must be culled!"

Stain drew one of his katanas and pointed it skyward, "I swear on my life and conviction, a new age of heroes will rise by my hand!" One that wouldn't allow such trash as the League of Villains to even think about existing.

"Alright, it's getting dark so how about we start heading back to the agency?" Manual said with a smile, doing a bit of stretching as his soreness was starting to catch up with him.

Iida glanced at the pro he was interning with, not saying anything and not giving any emotions away with his helmet on masking his face. They had been out for a while, and it was finally just about getting dark. That pissed him off to no end. "Yes sir, I'm pretty tired too, I must admit." He lied through his teeth, he was so angry that they hadn't seen a single sign of Stain at all, and it had already been a couple of days. So why wasn't he showing his disgusting face?

Throughout the few days they had been patrolling, Iida would catch small glimpses of things in alleys, report to Manual that he thought he saw something, and then run after whatever it was. Most of the time it wasn't even a criminal, sometimes it was an animal, sometimes it wasn't even anything, just his mind playing tricks on him.

He had long since come to realize that Stain probably operated mostly at night, using the shadows that the time provided to hide in. Like the dirty snake he was.

Iida had to shake his head as he realized that the both of them had begun walking back, still keeping an eye out for any trouble that might arise in the dark of Hosu though. Iida was hoping that in the final moments they would find Stain, yet as they inched closer and closer to the agency, the possibility of that seemed to shrink more and more.

His fist clenched and he felt so much rage course through his veins, it wasn't right, Stain had to be brought to justice! 'This isn't fair, where is he hiding?!'Step by step, the agency was within sight. 'Tensei…!'

CRASH!

Iida barely had a second to cover himself before a figure crashed into their agency, "Ah!" Manual flinched as the figure grabbed onto the surrounding rubble and pulled itself out. Iida's mind flashed back to a memory he would rather forget, the thing that he had seen at the USJ, an exposed brain, with the upper half of the face missing, the bottom jaw holding the brain in place, rotting decaying teeth, no eyes, and massive amount of scarring covering extremely muscular black skin. "Nomu…." Iida could only mutter in fear.

Before he could even react, Manual yelled, "Iida, go!" The pro shoved his student away before dodging a punch as the Nomu leaped for him.

Manual cursed as he got to his feet, seeing the faceless thing turned to him. "What the hell are you!?" He didn't get a response, only a screech, as the monster leapt for him again.

Everyone had seen it, all the news stations covered what happened at the USJ for an entire week, and they certainly didn't skip over the freak that was "Nomu." At the time, Manual certainly was discomforted, but now? Having the thing in front of him? He was downright terrified. It didn't react to his calls, nothing registered with the damn thing! Was it even human?!

He could only dodge once again before glancing to where his student had been, "Iida-" Manual paused, not seeing him there, not seeing a single sign of him at all throughout the street. "Damn it!" He yelled as Nomu readied himself to strike once more. "I'm not going to go down without a fight!"

"FLASHFIRE FIST" A yell cut through the city and a torrent of blazing fire crashed into the Nomu as Manual paused in horror and awe. He could barely move his head as he saw Endeavor in the flesh stalking towards him. The man only clicked his tongue in annoyance, Manual didn't know why until he heard the screech of the creature once more.

"It's still alive?!" He yelled in horror.

The Number Two hero stepped forward, the clunking off his boots shaking the ground as he and the Nomu seemingly sized each other up, "Not for long." Endeavor growled out as he approached it.

While the Number Two hero went to deal with the bio-engineered freak that was Nomu, Manual was left with other problems. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO, IIDA!?"

Izuku and Aizawa bounded across buildings, looking for any signs of activity, so far they had seen nothing, but still they were both on edge. The city was… quieter than usual, and that silence was louder than anything else they possibly could have heard. They moved faster, looking for any signs of alarm. It turns out that they didn't need to look, the trouble would come to them.

"WRYYYYYYYYYY!"

"The hell is that?!" Aizawa yelled, pausing on the rooftop and gazing into the sky and seeing that far away was a man, or something resembling a man, soaring throughout the sky, giant wings allowing it to do so. After the yell, hell broke loose down on the streets, screaming and shouting as masses of people woke up in alarm from the noise, blocks away, the two could see fire sprouting from buildings and they wasted no time before sprinting over.

"Deku, this might not be Stain, but still take it just as seriously!"

"Yes, Eraserhead-sensei!" The two did one final leap before jumping off the building, landing on the streets of Hosu. "Eraserhead, if I encounter anything, am I allowed to engage in combat?!" Deku asked as the two ran side by side, entering more damaged streets.

Hero students typically weren't allowed to engage in combat, it was something Izuku had learned when researching about internships, however, there were a couple case scenarios when they were allowed to engage in combat. In self defense due to their life being on the line, or if their instructor gave them express permission to.

The Erasure hero had to pause for a second, truly losing himself in thought as he mulled it over, he grit his teeth and cursed himself, "I give you express permission to engage in combat under the condition that your primary objective is to protect the civilians, do not go looking for a fight!" He didn't need any more problems tonight.

"In that case! I'll go look for Iida-kun!" Izuku yelled, Iida was technically a civilian since he wasn't a hero.

Aizawa could only grit his teeth, Iida was probably looking for Stain in all the confusion, but still, would it be suicide for Deku to go follow him? The kid was fast, and could cover ground much faster than Aizawa could, but… curse him, "Fine, I'll allow it! Just be careful damn it!"

Izuku regarded his mentor with a grin before throwing his mask over his face, his eyes clouded in black as only his green pupils were visible, and putting his respirator on. 'One For All Full Cowling: 15%' The lightning that danced on his skin increased in magnitude and with a single step Izuku burst off the ground and landed on a roof, "I'm coming for you Iida-kun!"

Skidding to a halt, Aizawa had to admit, he was amazed at the kid's raw power, but power needed to be backed up by technique, and his technique was still developing. "I can't lose someone else, don't do anything too risky, problem child." He muttered to himself before pivoting and running to where the majority of the chaos seemed to be concentrated.

If Iida really was looking for the Hero Killer, then they'd be in deep shit, but Aizawa would look for Manual first, if Iida wasn't there then he'd join in the search for his most rule-abiding student. "Good luck, future heroes!"

He couldn't waste a single second, he had to find him.

A left down an alley.

There was too much ground to cover though.

Straight and then a sharp right.

But he knew he couldn't stop.

He kept going and going, even though his legs felt like lead.

And then he heard it.

"PLEASE, DON'T, PLEASE!" A cry of help, and a sickening slash. 'THERE!' Iida did a sharp pivot and took down another alley, the bricks of the walls passing by in a blur, his vision focusing on a single goal, everything else following away as he grit his teeth. 'FOR TENSEI!'

The youngest Iida burst onto the scene, seeing a tall man dressed in dark drag clothes standing over a man in browns, Iida didn't even pay attention to the victim, only focusing on the man in front of him. "STAIN!" With a leg raised, Iida flew with a kick aimed for the hero killer's mid section.

Only to hit air.

"What a disgusting sight!"

CLINK!

"Guh!" Iida grunted as a slash hit his helmet, cutting through it with ease and exposing his eye, shaking with rage and fury, shrinking as through the hole in metal it saw the crazed figure, with robes of black, the red scarf, the lack of nose, the burning red eyes, the man that was known as the Hero Killer, the man known as Stain.

This was the first time he had seen the man, photos and videos were scarce, usually blurry, they knew the basic shape and outline of the man, but now, but here, Iida knew the man's face. It was etched into his memory. Long lines, indicating his age and stress, the lack of nose and the slits that allowed him to breath, his ragged teeth, the long unkempt hair, the long lanky limbs, that was Stain.

The hero in training found his footing before quickly rushing the man again, the sound of his engine burning echoing throughout the alley. His kicks swiped, trying desperately to land on Stain, yet none did. Stain was much too agile, and Iida's eyes held desperation and pleading as one of Stain's katanas struck forward.

Quickly throwing his arms up, Iida blocked, the blade entering his armor. Stain frowned at the boy, inching his face closer to him as he tried to press his sword farther into Iida's armor. "Such a disgusting little fake!"

Iida wanted to yell, to scream, to hurt Stain, but all he could do was grit his teeth as the blade came closer. "You remind me of that other one I encountered not too long ago." Stain continued, his frown turning into a smile, "What was his name again?"

Tenya felt his blood boil as Stain continued to talk. "His name was Ingenium, he was an amazing hero and big brother, and you–" His voice got stuck in his throat as he felt tears sprout in his eyes, "-you took away what he loved most, you bastard!" His engines roared and he soared a kick that hit Stain in the gut and sent him flying.

Despite landing a solid blow, when Stain landed on his feet, he was still smiling, "You're really not observant , are you?"

"What are you talking about?!" Iida yelled.

Stain's sit smile only grew and a snake-like tongue came out of his mouth, saliva dripping from it. The appendage grossed Iida out to no end, but he stood transfixed as Stain lifted a small dagger to his tongue, one dripping with a bit of blood. "What are you–" Iida felt his body seize as the tongue touched the blade, his body fell slack and he hit the ground with a loud thud. "W-What?!" He yelled from the floor.

Metal clunked on stone, as Stain took long, overexaggerated steps over to Iida's prone form, "You didn't even try to save the other fake." Stain chided him, Iida barely being able to look up, seeing disgust in the man's eyes, as Stain squatted down to his level "You're no hero, you don't deserve the title of being a hero, now perish your filth."

The long Katana hovered over him as Stain returned to his full height hovered over Iida, and Stain's eyes narrowed, "The world will be better off without you."

He couldn't watch, he couldn't think that this was actually happening, he shut his eyes in fear and waited for the dreaded moment, for the sound of his flesh being pierced, for the pain to shoot through him as he screamed and cried, begging for his older brother to save him. But the pain never came, and Iida was left wondering if he had already died, but as he cracked an eye open, and looked up towards Stain, he saw something dark wrapped around the man's body, coiling around his arm, keeping it locked in place.

"W-What is this?!" Stain choked out, trying to pull and get out of this trap.

"It's a carbon fiber and special metal alloy, you're not getting out of it." Iida's eyes widened in shock, looking past Stain, a man stood, grunting in exertion, as he held on tight, yellow goggles, long dark hair, and black clothes, stood Aizawa. "By the time we get out of this Iida, you'll have detention until you graduate."

Eraserhead had made it, and he'd be damned if he let his student down.

Izuku sprinted through the streets, not slowing down but making sure to check every corner of each and every alley. He couldn't let Iida down. His cowl billowed in the wind, his legs moved quick, leaving small cracks in the ground as he bounded through the city. "Come on!" He changed to himself as the sound of crackling echoed through alleys.

Iida might have been a little rough around the edges, and he might have been rude a lot of the time, but he was still someone that Izuku respected, he had made it into UA, and that alone was enough to earn Izuku's respect. There was also what he did at the USJ, which allowed the teachers to get there so soon, there was also the fact that he got so far in the Sports Festival, he had a future, he had so much he could do, and Izuku was not going to let him waste it.

"COME ON!"

His pace picked up, his speed increasing even more as he bounded on walls, jumping off of them to cover more ground easier. Just like Gran Torino would do. He began to get tunnel vision and he couldn't focus, and couldn't see, as he crashed into a figure in an alley.

"AHH!"

"-UFF!"

Two voices yelled as they both went tumbling, Izuku quickly situated himself, grabbing whoever he had hit and holding them close to his chest as he hit the ground and began skidding across the concrete floor. "GUH!" Izuku coughed as he hit a wall and fell to the ground. "That hurt…"

"Yeah, it did!" He heard a feminine voice yell before he got hit in the gut as the girl kicked herself off of him.

The hero in training blinked his eyes open, and a couple feet away saw Himiko Toga standing with a knife trained on him. "A-Ah, I'm sorry!" Izuku immediately cut One For All, the lightning dying away immediately. The action perplexed Toga, "I didn't mean to run into you, Miss!"

The cat-like girl tilted her head, raised a brow, and dropped her arm, "Hmph." She pouted, walking around him, "You're a strange one, cutie, do I know you? You look familiar…" She squinted her eyes.

Izuku perked up in confusion before blinking in realization and quickly lowering his hood and pulling off his respirator. "Y-Yes!" He stammered, raising his hands to seem non-threatening. "We met the other night, my name is Izuku Midoriya, but you can call me Deku!"

Himiko placed a finger on her cheek, her cheshire smile growing, "Okay, Useless-kun!"

Izuku couldn't help but feel a tad damaged at her words, though he didn't show it. "Your name… is Himiko Toga, right?" He asked as he slowly got up, noticing how her smile grew just a tad.

"What are you, a stalker? OOH, you're stalking me?! I usually do that, it's fun being on the other side for once!" The ash blond smiled with a wide, creepy, and unnerving smile that stretched like a creature from wonderland.

"W-What? N-No! I'm not a stalker!" Izuku defended himself, "I just did a bit of research…" He mumbled as he scratched his cheek.

"What was that?"

"NOTHING!"

The two stared at each other, Izuku with trepidation, and Himiko with curiosity.

Deku knew he needed to get going, each moment he wasted not moving was another that Iida could be closer to death, yet he also wanted to talk to Toga, to do something, to try something, to save her. But he didn't know what he could do.

Besides their brief conversation, he didn't know anything about her, yes he knew facts about her, but he didn't know her as a person.

"So, whatcha doing here cutie?" Himiko asked suddenly, throwing Izuku for a loop as he looked at her.

He couldn't help but gulp, noticing how dry his mouth was at that moment, and when he opened his mouth the words came out with a stutter, "I-I'm looking for a f-friend.." Why did it come back? Why now? Maybe because he was confronted with a killer? This was his first confrontation with death in a while, "He's in danger… and I want to save him…"

"Like you wanna save me?" The quizzical blonde asked. Izuku paused before nodding. "Even though you're scared of me?"

The young hero couldn't help but gulp as he gazed at the girl in front of him, he swallowed all of his fear, all of his nervousness and anxiety, before uttering the simple word, "Yes."

Aizawa was getting more than a little pissed, and he had to admit that Stain was very skilled, maybe even more so than himself. And it was getting on his nerves.

He flipped back as Stain sent a horizontal slash his way, he had been able to stay out of Stain's range for so long but he had gotten close to getting caught a few times. Yet, he couldn't get close to Stain, the man's instincts were off the charts.

The Hero Killer snarled at Aizawa, sending a barrage of slashes his way, and though it looked rapid and wild, each blow was carefully calculated, and Aizawa had to be extremely careful not to get hit.

Stain pulled his blade back once more and sent it forward for another strike, Aizawa this time wrapped his capture scarf around it, yet Stain just grinned, pulled his sword back, grabbed the scarf, and pulled.

Aizawa cursed, as he was yanked forward, despite how thin Stain looked, the man had a lot of muscle. He quickly pulled out his emergency knife and lifted it to meet Stain's blade. "He's just a kid!" Eraserhead yelled in desperation as he keeled on the force that Stain produced.

The Hero Killer didn't care for what the pro had to say however, "He wanted revenge! Is that what should make a hero?! No! I should kill him now so he can't taint the profession of heroism in the future!"

Their ideals clashed as their blades unlinked and they backed away. Aizawa had to admit that Stain was a lot more skilled than he thought previously, definitely more than himself.

It didn't help that his quirk seemed to be useless against Stain.

Iida himself had to just sit and watch as Stain and his mentor battled it out, praying that his teacher managed to pull through once more. Just sat like he did at the USJ at the start of the year.

But as they continued, as Stain and Aizawa clashed more and more, something was evident, immensely clear.

Aizawa was slowing down.

'Crap!' The pro held his breath as blows continued to be traded, 'Even though I'm fully healed, I haven't completely rehabilitated yet!' He hadn't had enough time to train back to full condition, he wasn't at his peak condition, and he was falling behind now.

Stain didn't waste a moment and tried to capitalize on it immediately.

And that put Aizawa on the back foot.

The forces behind the blows were so much stronger now, and Aizawa had to take steps back to dodge the simplest of blows. That only fueled Stain to try even harder. "You're slowing down, hero!" The Hero Killer bit out. "You should just give up!"

Aizawa only grit his teeth, "I'm a hero, giving up isn't part of the job!" He went for a low sweep, only for Stain to jump high, pulling his katana up and preparing to strike as he fell, Aizawa cursed and pushed off the ground, rolling back as the blade took part of his shirt.

"Tch" The man clicked his tongue and grabbed his arm, pulling it back and observing blood on his hand. "Damn, he got me…"

"That I did." Aizawa looked up at Stain's words, seeing the man's tongue whirling like a snake as he brought his blade up to his mouth. The action left Aizawa perplexed as he licked the blood off his blade.

Before he could ask why Stain would do something so strange, Aizawa jerked forward before falling, his own body out of his control. 'DAMN IT' He yelled at himself, 'So that's his game, he can paralyze people!' The pro grit his teeth as he slammed into the floor.

Stain grinned as he walked forward, getting ready to purge some fakes. "You posed an adequate fight, and for fighting to protect another, I will let you live." This Eraserhead had gained his respect, so he would give him a chance to survive and spread the message of Stain.

But what he didn't expect was for the man to rise up and send a punch across his face, sending him sprawling back.

"W-What?!" He yelled as he got back to his feet.

Eraserhead's hair was floating as he grabbed his capture scarf. "Now you know why they call me the Erasure Hero!" He scowled at the Hero Killer, "I'm taking you in." It wasn't a statement, it was a promise, 'I swear on Tensei's life, I will do this…'

To his surprise, Stain began laughing, almost cackling, "That was a very neat trick, Eraserhead! I acknowledge you as a true hero!" He exclaimed with what seemed like glee to Aizawa, "But I will not let you end my purge of these fakes, an example must be made of them, so true heroes can rise in their place!"

Eraserhead cursed, his red eyes burning under his golden goggles. He beckoned Stain to come at him, 'I don't have much time… I have to make the most of the moments I have, and minimize my time blinking.'

"You really are amazing, Eraserhead, but you've interfered too much, and for that you will be culled!" Stain grinned savagely and leaped towards Eraserhead.

"We'll see about that!"

Reiko couldn't help but feel nervous as they flew to Hosu. The wind was chilly as they made their way there, and it sent shivers down her spine that wouldn't go away no matter what she did. "What is this odd feeling reverberating through my mind and body…"

She hadn't been able to shake it, even with Nejire's pestering, it still lingered in the back of her head, and that worried her.

She had only felt this feeling of worry a few times in her life, on some major tests back before she joined UA, at the Entrance Exam, and whenever Izuku was involved with something dangerous.

She hoped it wasn't that last one.

"Ryukyu-sensei, how long until we arrived?" She asked through a communicator placed in her mask.

The dragon hero responded by speaking aloud, "Fifteen minutes at most, but we could cut that time in half if we hurry."

Reiko nodded, "Then, I ask for permission to speed along so we may arrive at Hosu faster."

Ryukyu glanced at her intern before nodding, in her deep draconic voice saying, "Permission granted, we shall all hurry."

"Thank you!"

Nejire grinned at the two, floating in front of them, "Ooh ooh! Is it a race then! I love races!" She grinned and pushed her power up and blasted ahead. Reiko frowned before pushing her quirk on the object she was using to fly, essentially riding it like a hoverboard.

She could float herself, but it was much too strenuous to completely fly, though hopefully with enough training she could get to that point.

'I do hope that this terrible feeling is just due to something bad I ate and not what I presume it is…'

The city was covered in fire as the pros fought, some buildings having giant holes inside of them, others showing signs of crumbling, the light lit up the sky as the pros did their best to defeat the so-called Nomu and protect the citizens of the city.

Shoto had been sidelined due to his role as just an intern, not being allowed to engage in combat with villains, instead he was tasked with helping civilians, not fighting the creatures that had come out of nowhere and had begun wreaking havoc on Hosu, and it was pissing him off to no end.

He was a hero in training, he was meant to fight, that's what being a hero was all about wasn't it?

"Hey kid!"

At the call, Shoto turned around to see a pro beckoning him to come, he had to oblige. "What is it?" He asked quickly as he ran to them.

The man, he looked to be wearing a fish helmet of some sort, that was a tad familiar, ran towards a building that appeared to be smashed into, "This building, the Nomu hit it earlier, a fire sparked and I managed to put that out but I'm worried about the integrity, there are people in there and all the surrounding building could be seriously damaged if we don't do something about it!"

Shoto immediately knew what to do, "I'm on it!" He created an ice platform for him to skate on and quickly made his way to the building, grinding to a halt in front of it.

The boy sighed and closed his eyes, kneeling and touching the ground with his right hand, 'Leave the people inside alone, just the ground, reinforce the pillars, if there's a gap in the support system then fill it in, be strong, don't crack…' He breathed out and mist came out of his mouth as his eyes shot open, his gray eye baring into the building.

A sound cut through the city, like glass cracking, as ice exploded out from Shoto's hand, crawling up and into the building, making new pillars, creating walls and beams, the entire building was coated in a layer of ice that managed to hold up the entire thing.

The pro grinned at Shoto's actions as he finally caught up, "Thanks hero! Now, let's make sure everyone gets out, I'm Manual by the way."

The youngest Todoroki got up and began to regulate his temperature with his fire, glancing at the pro as he called Shoto a hero. 'I'm a hero… heroes help and protect people, they save people, it's not all about beating villains…' He returned his gaze to the building and his eyes solidified in determination, "Then I'll save everyone I can.." He muttered to himself.

"You ready?"

"Yes."

Shoto knew his goal, and he knew what his father would do. All Endeavor ever cared about was villains and bringing them in, even though those villains were of Endeavor's own convoluted definition.

Shoto wanted to be different, so as he climbed into the people and helped carry people out, he felt something inside of him spark. It was something in his chest, a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Not since… he would watch the news and see what All Might had done whatever day of the week, whoever the giant of a man had saved, had protected, he remembered that feeling, and he remembered watching it with… his mother.

"Hey you alright kid?" Manual asked as Shoto rubbed his face with his sleeve.

"Yes, the leftover smoke was just getting in my eyes." The dual eyed teen stated.

Manual just grinned, "Yeah, tell me about it, it's getting everywhere, just try not to breathe too much in."

"I won't." He felt good, better than he had in a while. "Once we're done with this building then let's get more pros and move to another one."

The water using pro behind him perked up and smiled, "Yeah, good idea! Say, what's your hero name?" Two different eyes looked back at him in thought before stating, "I haven't really made one yet, but you can just call me Shoto."

"Well then Shoto, thanks for the help!"

"You are welcome."

The wind was chilly this high late in the night, yet down below was hot with burning fire littering the city before them. "Kurogiri." Shigaraki Tomura breathed out as he stared at the little heroes below trying to destroy the Nomu's and save themselves.

"Yes, Young Tomura?" The butler made of mist asked as he stood beside and behind the one he was entrusted to look after.

Wind continued to brush past them, ruffling Tomura's hair and carrying Kurogiri's fog with it. The moment between them was silent as Tomura clenched a fist, "While we did deal with our little pest problem." Kurogiri obviously knew that was referring to Stain. "I don't feel as… satisfied as I thought I would be…"

He felt empty, or perhaps hollow was a better way to put it, yes he was causing destruction and showing that little shit Stain what being a villain truly meant.

The Hero Killer had gotten him thinking, "Why do we do what we do?"

Kurogiri's eye bulge, implying a raise of the brow, "What do you mean Young Tomura?"

His blue bangs drifted in the wind and the man leaned back, "What's our message? What's our end goal, I know that I want All Might dead, I know I want to bring down this retched hero society and everyone that supports it, but why?"

The butler stood still, sighing before walking next to his student, "That is something for you to discover Young Tomura, you must look inside yourself for the answer."

"Look inside myself, huh?" Tomura questioned aloud, "Sounds like a load of bullshit."

Kurogiri chuckled at the language, "Perhaps, but it's a least worth giving a shot is it not?" The man asked rhetorically.

Tomura didn't answer, instead basking in the chaos and destruction he had caused this night. Watching as heroes tried to get people out of crumbling buildings, as civilians ran for their lives, as filth continued to mingle down below him like ants.

He hated all those people.

A slash here

Another cut there

An attempted hit with the blunt side

A second secret knife

And yet, Izuku Midoriya was still cut free.

The boy long since admitted that Himiko Toga was skilled, especially for her age, she moved around like a ballerina, none of her moves were wasted. She was trained, a trained killer.

Her skills had earned Izuku's respect.

Yet even with that skill, Izuku still outpaced her with his quirk and combat experience. Izuku's instincts gave him just enough of an edge against her to dodge most of her blows, the ones he couldn't dodge were instead blocked with his gauntlets that were pretty thick so they weren't pierced by the blades.

"Why are we fighting?!" Izuku asked as he jumped back and got into a crouch.

Toga narrowed her eyes, "Because you wanna "save me!" You think there's something wrong with me!" She spat with anger, pointing a knife at him, "You heroes are all the same, hating me for living the way I want to live! For being myself!"

Izuku looked confused as he stood back up and walked forward, seeing the girl shaking as she pointed her knife at him, "You think that's how it is?"

"That's how it always is!" She yelled, running forward and jumping, wrapping her legs around his head and squeezing as she brought her knife down. Izuku rammed her into the alley wall, making her yelp in pain, before kneeling and making her fall off his shoulders.

The girl moaned in pain, "Are you okay?"

She blinked her eyes open and stared at the boy in front of her, how familiar that face looked, how different it was from everyone else she had met in her life, how warm it seemed. "Get away from me…" She got out.

Izuku frowned, "Do you want me to go?" He asked genuinely.

"Get away…"

His frown deepened as he reached into his back packet, pulling out nutrition bars, all the ones he had, and a notepad. He wrote something down before tearing it off and putting it on the ground, placing the bars on top to make sure the paper didn't fly away.

"This is my phone number, in case you ever change your mind. And these are nutrition bars that are pretty filling." He couldn't save someone that didn't want to be saved, for now this was all he could do.

Himiko looked at the items that were placed as Izuku got up, the boy smiled sadly at her, and she was… confused by that expression.

"I hope next time we meet it's not like this Miss Toga. Until then please stay safe." He walked away slowly, looking back at the girl as she stared at him with something akin to wonder or curiosity, "I'll always be a call away."

And in a burst of lightning he was gone.

The blood quirked teen continued to look perplexed as she grabbed one of the nutrition bars and tore the wrapper off, shoving the whole thing in her mouth. "It's so…. Good!" So much better than what she had been eating.

Maybe…

But still…

He's a hero

And heroes couldn't be trusted, they were all frauds, none of them were true, they all wanted to force her to live the way they wanted her to live, not how she wanted to live. But that look… it was so genuine…

Maybe…

Stain had only gotten faster and better as the fight had continued on, or perhaps Eraserhead was just getting that much slower. 'Crap!' Aizawa weaved his head back, barely dodging a knife that went by his nose, taking a few hairs off his beard.

"You're slowing down!"

Eraser didn't give in to the chit chat, instead just continuing the battle no matter how tired he was. Everything started to blur, and his movements became repetitive, for the brief moments he blinked before reactivating his quirk, all he saw was Stain's abhorrent smile in the darkness.

And when he opened his eyes back up all he saw was those crazed crimson eyes.

"Die hero!" Stain grabbed three knives with one hand and through them at Aizawa, with little time to dodge, Eraserhead lifted his forearm in haste to make an attempt to block, cursing and holding his tongue as they pierced his blade.

Stain paused at the action before smiling, "That hurts, doesn't it, Eraserhead?"

The man grabbed the handle of one of the knives before pulling it out, "It doesn't matter if it does, a hero has to fight through any pain, no matter how overwhelming."

"Yes, yes! You have the conviction of a true hero!" Stain roared into the sky with laughter, before the sound slowly died out, "It would truly be a shame to remove the world of you, but if I must eliminate whatever is in my way to bring justice to this terrible world."

Eraserhead grit his teeth, "That's not peace, whatever world you envision could never be peace!" With that, he jumped forward to fight once more, not caring for the pain in his arm, or the thumping in his eyes, he had people to save, both Iida and the other pro behind him, no one was dying tonight.

Stain grinned, pulling his arm back, seeming yanking something, yet Aizawa didn't see anything.

"Gah!" A yell escaped his lips as he felt pain shoot through him from his side before a knife sound it's way to Stains' hand. Aizawa grabbed his wounded side with his undamaged arm, wincing as he felt the warmth of his blood pool on his hand.

"A simple knife attached to a string, quite the trick, isn't it?" Stain asked as he ran up, grabbing Eraserhead by the face. "I'll let you live to see the beauty and peace of my vision!" Stain turned Eraserhead around, getting the man in a headlock to keep him in place. "But you will also witness the fate of this boy, this seeker of revenge."

The pro had no energy left to scream as he felt a blade pierce his back, and he couldn't help but blink and feel the paralysis take over his body.

The Hero Killer threw Aizawa to the wayside, his eyes facing the wall, and his body not allowing him to turn to Stain and disable his quirk.

All he heard was the loud thumps of Stain's boots as the man approached Iida, the boy himself beginning to cry in desperation, trying to move or at least turn away as Stain got closer and closer. "Don't! Get away from me!" Iida yelled.

His attacker chuckled, "You're the one that came after me, if you didn't seek revenge then none of this would have happened." Stain spoke bitterly as he raised a katana.

Aizawa yelled, on the verge of begging, for Stain to let Iida go, that he was just a child, that he had time to change. Yet, he couldn't move, no matter what he did, and he couldn't even watch, only listen to what was going on. The clunk of those metal boots as Stain approached Tenya's prone form.

The youngest Iida could only grimace in the darkness as the blade hovered over him, the manic red eyes gazing at his prone form, the sadistic smile on those lips sending shivers down his paralyzed body. He had been scared before, as a child, but this… this was true unbridled fear coursing through his very bones. "Don't worry…." The sickly voice of Stain muttered, "I'll make it quick."

"IIDA!" Aizawa yelled in desperation.

All Tenya saw was the blade's edge coming right for him, before–

"DELAWARE SMASH!" In a burst of wind, Stain was sent skidding away, and while he was still in mid-air, a green blur of energy whisked through the sky and caught up to the soaring villain before decking Stain in the face, sending him flying even further away. The villain hit the ground and came to a halt as a figure in green took a defiant stance against the hero killer.

"W-What?" Iida gasped.

"Problem child!" Aizawa yelled.

The man wrapped in red and black grunted, forcing himself back onto his feet, a crazed red eye gazing at the child in hatred and disgust."What are you?!" Stain asked, spitting out the words in rage, as he raised one of his long katanas. "Another fake seeking fame and glory?" He narrowed his eyes in accusatory rage.

Izuku grimaced, raising his fists and standing with a smile, "With express permission from Pro Hero: Eraserhead, I – the Unyielding Hero: Deku– have been authorized to engage any enemy to protect UA student and hero in training– Tenya Iida!" Lightning danced off of his skin as One For All was pushed to its limit, "I won't let you lay a finger on him or my sensei!"

Stain's eyes narrowed in a questioning manner, "Why did you come to save this fake…?"

The crimson eyes that spoke of death bore into Izuku, sending fear shaking through his body, but he stood despite himself, "It's a hero's job to save those in need, to meddle even when they aren't asked to! What kind of hero would I be if I ran away right here and now?!"

His response only made the hero killer's constant frown set into a manic grin that was discomforting despite itself, "Maybe you are a true hero!" The man pulled his katana forward and leapt towards Izuku, the boy throwing his hood and respirator on and doing the same, refusing to back down when so many people were in danger. 'No matter what' He swore to himself, 'Everyone will make it out of this alive.'

END

Yay... I finally uploaded again... I'm sorry for taking so long, school and my new job leave me with little free time to do other things. But I decided to finish this up for all you guys instead of doing my Cal homework that my teacher gave me to do over break... so yeah that'll be a fun problem to deal with.

But on a side note, how did you guys like the chapter? I tried to stick Stain and Himiko as close to their canon portrayals as I could and I'm not sure how I did with that, so let me know.

Also, Shigaraki, his head is already turning at this point, he's already thinking about the reason behind his attacks, which took a lot longer in canon, so I'd like to see how that plays out.

We also have Reiko's and Shoto's side stories happening at the same time. How will they collide with Izuku's current story? Well you'll have to come back in half a year to find out...

I'll try to have the next chapter out before then, but with sports coming up in a month I honestly don't know when I'll have time to write, but I'll do my best to get it out soon.

I believe that's all I have to say, so I'll leave you guys with a question, want some Reiko and Izuku fluff next chapter?

Jay out!