Iida had been at it for about two days in Hozu with the hero he was under for his internship. The designated hero went by the alias Manual. His reputation wasn't one of notoriety; it still didn't stop the man in doing his due diligence and being a well rounded individual that served his city. A rather average ability to control water allowed him to get by with providing hero support and protection to combat the average mugger and villain out and about.
"Still, I'm glad that the little brother of Ingenium chose to spend his internship with me and my own. Things are a little crazy with what happened; but usually the area is quite stable and has most of us waiting on call for the most part."
It was a little lost on Iida as he was half listening and scanning the area around him as he went along with the hero during his patrol. His desire to find clues and locate the villain who put his brother in traction was only getting worse by the day and had him thinking about it nonstop. Desire for retribution was morphing into outright revenge as Iida kept letting his grief get the best of him.
"Oh, look! We should get some lunch. That truck looks good."
Manual had pointed out the rather unique looking oversized van that was selling Thai curry and noodles. Of course, Iida immediately knew who it was that owned the van and was selling exotic dishes that had no right of being so good. At first he was going to protest for more time to patrol the streets when a thought popped into his head just then. Izuku had revealed that Haru's past had loaned him an excessive amount of experience when dealing with all sorts of dangerous scenarios from other quirk users. Out of respect, Tenya kept his nose out of the older man's business and left him be. Now, he was seeing a need for some of that knowledge.
He knew that Haru at least had a hand in training Katsuki; Midoriya disclosed to him in passing that they both knew him from childhood and he was only one of the three he trained before the start of the UA Sports Festival. Mina and Katsuki all performed marvelously and Katsuki demonstrated movement and reaction speed unlike anything he's seen from a student in training. Iida realized that this man may be able to lend him something that could give him a leg up in his mission to find and hunt down Stain.
"Excuse me? Is anybody here?"
"Yes, here! How can I- Iida! What a surprise. What are you doing here in Hozu?"
Haru had been returning his freshly washed cooking wear into the heated drying cupboard while pulling out a fresh and dry replacement for those very utensils. The surprise in his face and demeanor had been genuine as he had expected Iida to be somewhere more active than this little community that usually had sparse activity. He was certain that Iida was told that his brother would be making a full recovery and would be approved for active duty right after. Seeing him here made him wary of how Iida seemed to be uncharacteristically mellowed out and quiet in comparison to his usual excitable demeanor.
"Yes. I, uh; thought that being somewhere a little quieter would allow me the opportunity to… To get more perspective in everyday tasks that take place during the time in between encountering villains…"
There was no way Haru was going to buy into such a shallow and robotic response to his question. Nobody who acted like Iida would have been content with such a quiet and mundane post with nothing but patrols and boring reports awaiting him. Being here in Hozu for Haru was simply him looking into a very personal matter regarding the individual Iida was eager to encounter. Iida being here made it clear he needed to be slightly more involved than he already was and just clean up shop before something really bad happened.
Manual had deservingly been curious as to how these two knew each other. The older of the two confessed to being a regular catering spot for UA Academy and knew a few of Iida's friends from before they attended. A pleasant enough conversation with mostly just Manual and Haru occurred while the teenage trainee remained silent while waiting for his opportunity to ask his question. Hozu wasn't a backwater area, but some litter had accumulated and Haru didn't want their didn't experience to suffer from any sort of reluctance on his part.
"Excuse me; would you give me a second? Let me take care of the mess for you two."
"Oh, thanks! Appreciate the courtesy, Nakamura san."
From out the back of the van, armed with a dustpan and broom, came Haru to the rescue. It was an easy enough task for him and just as quickly as it started, the street was properly cleared of all debris. Haru rounded to the nearest trashcan and disposed of the garbage in the bin. Following him from behind was Iida, who left his half eaten plate of rice and curry behind along with his helmet to impose his question to Haru.
"Yes, Iida? What is it?"
Clenching his fists, Tenya nervously probed the grounds of discussion with apprehension in his voice over being so invasive.
"N-Nakamura-san; you know how to fight… Right?"
The question that Iida was trying to ask was something Haru was starting to dread. He was still scooping out garbage with the broom from the crowded dustpan as he responded casually.
"Indeed. I'm guessing that watching Izuku or Bakugou has got you curious? What is it that you want to know? Footwork? Martial arts?"
"... H-have you ever… Fought against someone… Using a weapon against you?"
Haru finished emptying the bin of his dust pan when he froze and stood there in absolute silence. Behind him, Iida was starting to get nervous with what he just said to Nakamura. It was a short lived silence as Haru lowered his cleaning supplies to the side; although he didn't turn around and stood in the same spot while looking away from Iida.
"... Nakamura-sa-"
"Why would you want to know something like that now?"
The gig was clearly up for the youngest Tenya. Iida knew of Haru's penchant of somehow knowing certain odd tidbits of information and would often be caught off guard whenever he spoke to the man offering advice on things he was certain that were unknown to the man. Getting advice from Haru was still quite the aid in his issues, so these events were not unwelcome at least. Based on Haru's reaction; the junior hero was smart enough to guess that Iida wasn't here for the exact reason he said.
"It seemed appropriate. Being out here in the open could invite danger from villains and I was wondering-"
"You're lacking coordination and control of your own speed; what good would me giving you something you can't use do?"
This was getting harder for Iida to convince Haru to just teach him the knowledge of what he would need to go up against Stain. Now the man was saying the advice was simply unusable for him because of his ineptitude? Biting his tongue to contain his frustration was the best he could do as he further dug for the information.
"I just need this to make sure I don't get… Look, I just need it! Please, I'm be-"
Without even registering that Haru had moved, the man had spun around and had the tip of his broomhandle pointed at the young teen's nose with his right hand clasping the neck of the broomhead. Around the both of them was a light gust of wind that brushed aside some of Iida's hair from his forehead. It was like the air forgot to move when Haru did.
"Do not… Beg me, Iida… It's unbecoming behavior; especially from someone who knows better… Like you."
So much of this made Tenya feel emotionally cornered. There was a maelstrom of pain and hatred that had no way of getting out and he was only getting pulled deeper and deeper. HIs need to confront the problem and solve it was making him go crazy with how helpless he felt against it. Even Haru could see that it was in Iida's nature to try and seek out the problems that weighed heavily on him. Still, he needed Iida to understand more than his side of the issue.
"You asking me how to go up against somebody who wants to do some serious damage is like me teaching you how to hunt before I teach you how to handle a weapon. Do you understand?"
The metaphor was a little lost on him. Haru was patient enough to make it a bit more obvious.
"You're putting the responsibility of being in an inherently dangerous situation on me! I give you the lesson before you're ready, and you'll be the one to pay the price for my short sightedness and your impatience. Understood?"
That wasn't how Iida thought of it. It was now clear to him that this was asking too much from the older man. It was selfish of him to demand something from Haru without thinking about how the other person would react to seeing someone they taught out of concern for their safety turn up dead or injured out of ignorance for the level of danger they approached.
"Do you want to know what the number one killer of heroes is? Go ahead, guess."
"... Is it more powe-"
"It's overconfidence!"
He hadn't been yelling at Iida, but raising his voice and being stern was something Haru saw as a need to get through Iida's stubbornness to make him understand how in over his head Tenya was.
"People who think they're in for an easy fight or think that there's no contest of skill or strength inevitably bite it when they overlook something or drop their guard for a second, Iida. That's all it takes; a second…"
With that said, Haru lowered the broom and began to walk past Iida and back towards the curious Manual who just caught the last bit of their interaction. There was another bit of advice given to the frustrated hero in training by Haru as he passed by.
"Don't you ever put me in a position where I'm the one responsible for a decision you shouldn't have made in the first place."
Things should have ended there. Had Iida conceded where he needed to while understanding how out of his depth he was; things would have ended there. It wasn't in Iida to stop his pursuit of revenge for his brother then and there. The pain of having all these emotions sitting in his stomach was like holding in vomit nonstop for him. His brother deserved better.
"Haru-san!"
The few people walking by and Manual looked curiously at Iida while Haru kept still for a moment to hear what Iida had to say.
"It doesn't matter what you say; what I do isn't for gain. I… I'm just… I'm stuck."
Someone who had the sort of honesty that Iida had was often someone who was at a loss when something emotionally traumatizing came along and shook things up inside like a storm. Haru had hoped that Iida had the sensibility to find patience in processing and working through his emotions. To see that there was a way through his misery and confusion without having to find something to treat and fix to satisfy his dissatisfaction. He could see that the kid just didn't have it in him to settle and see through what was immediately blocking his vision.
"It's so much… And I… I don't think that it… That I can just-"
"Stop."
Haru couldn't stomach another word of Iida trying to say something to express his jumbled mess of emotions. There was no doubt that no matter what Haru said to try and convince the boy; he was sure that Iida would be back on the hunt tomorrow. All of Iida's jumbled words were a waste of breath that were only there to sort through something that was beyond them. A reluctant sigh was all Haru could offer as his last sign of protest to what he was about to do next.
"... Just… Give me a couple minutes; would ya?"
While Iida stood like a deer in headlights, Haru approached Manual and broke into conversation while giving the hero what looked like a black business card and signing it while speaking with him. In not much time at all, both adults approached the patiently waiting Iida while Haru was carrying his helmet.
"I must say; you have a good teacher in Nakamura-san here, Tenya. He's a generous man, so be sure to listen well before the end of the night. Just be sure to return before tomorrow morning for our next patrol!"
Amazingly the hero walked away and left Iida alone with Haru on the streets. The boy was speechless as to how Haru managed to convince the hero to let him train under him. Although, what did catch Iida's attention was how Manual said tomorrow morning. Why not tonight or during sundown?
"Iida, come."
What was a smile with charm and good nature flipped to a solemn and disappointed expression. No questions were asked as the duo retrieved a bag of things like water bottles and quick food items before Haru closed and locked up his van from the outside. They traveled in silence with Haru carrying the broom handle unscrewed from the broomhead. What was in store for Iida was an exercise in being cautious for what it is you're asking for from people who are reluctant to give that very thing in the first place.
Elsewhere
Inside of an unknown bar only open for business for a few individuals was the killer Stain. His generous hosts brought the mentally unstable killer to their primary base of operations and allowed him to gain his bearings before Stain started off the dialogue.
"So, you're the guys who were responsible for the UA raid? Heard that little stunt went belly up."
That little jab at the amount of dead villains resulting from their failed operation made Shigaraki irritated enough to start scratching at his neck again.
"Why would I wanna join a bunch of failures? Who's to say I won't end up like the others?"
Shigaraki spared the indignity and moved onto the proposal he had for the rumored killer. Photos of the UA students were fished out of his pockets while he explained the league's goal to off All Might and end the reign of heroism over the world. What was first thought to be a likely ally was in fact another crazed killer as Stain clarified briefly that the league looking for his assistance had a slight misunderstanding to his purpose of his murders. His sword and remaining knife that wasn't shot like it's matching partner were quickly drawn and used on Kurogiri and Shigaraki.
His speed far exceeded their own in a display of physical power that eventually left Kurogiri paralysed and leaning against the interior bar counter to keep himself upright. Underneath Stain was Shigaraki with a jagged sword and long knife with teeth in it's edge pinning him to the floorboards.
"It hurts! Kurogiri; send him back!"
Asking for assistance from the shadow portal user was nothing short of useless. Stain already had a taste of Kurogiri's blood and had rendered him unable to create any portals whatsoever.
"You all lack conviction. An ideal. A creed to follow. Without these; you will only die and fade away like everything else."
Stain began to rant about how his mission wasn't to combat heroism; but to restore the ideology by eliminating those he believed that were only posing as heroes to profit and abandon those who were in need of true heroes. One of the blades had accidentally brushed up against the severed hand clasping Shigaraki's face; specifically, the remaining long sawtooth knife. Having a jagged sword buried in his right shoulder didn't dissuade the immature villain in gripping the blade and even cutting his palm on the blade itself. Like it was turning into sand; the weapon crumbled and fell onto the floor like dust.
"Creeds? Conviction? None of that scales to what we want. All Might is a means to an end; I just wanna see society crumble under its own weight of hypocrisy and bullshit!"
There was a conviction in the villain that Stain could understand. They eventually came to an understanding after Stain leapt off of Shigaraki and agreed to a temporary alliance. He was instructed to return to Hozu and cause mayhem once more by hunting the heroes there in excess while the League of Villains carved their own path of destruction in the city. A simple yet effective plan to shake up the public.
Elsewhere
Finally, after about thirty minutes of walking; Haru and Iida arrived at a park with an open soccer field and baseball diamond further in the distance. It was Iida's understanding that Haru was about to subject the boy to some pretty intense training to help him fight against someone like Stain. Haru left the bag full of refreshments on the sidelines and retrieved a few rocks and pebbles from a few of the nearby planters. Earlier assumptions were shot down when Haru approached the center of the field with Iida in tow.
"Iida?"
Immediately, Iida responded and stood to attention while fully clad in his hero gear.
"Yes!"
"When you fight someone with a weapon; what is the most critical element that requires the majority of your attention?"
Mindpower was completely committed to reviewing his experiences to find the ideal response.
"It's the combination of experience and physical response that dictates-"
The same broomstick Haru brought with him was swung like a sword and only stopped short before it came down on Iida's helmet. Between them was a good few meters that Iida was sure that the distance was well out of the range of him getting hit by the stick. Almost being proven wrong through less peaceful methods was a bit of a rude wakeup call for his expectations.
"No. It's spacing."
The answer was deceptively simple and was far from what he was expecting to learn about during his singular lesson with Haru. He was about to learn the hard way that this lesson was anything but simple or easy. Back to the center of the field; Haru broke it down for Iida as to what their training was going to entail.
"When you face someone with a weapon; only two things will happen…"
A cold stare met Iida's own and left the teen paralysed for a moment.
"You're walking away alive; or they're walking away alive."
Haru was going to teach Iida what it meant to try and rush headfirst into a deadly situation. Hours of pain and anguish would make Tenya come to terms with what sort of risk it was to be against someone who wanted to kill him through whatever means necessary.
The lesson proceeded with Haru explaining the concept of how important it was to not only understand your range of offense; but your opponent's as well. A weapon meant that the space that was once just a simple risk of getting hit or grabbed became something far more dangerous. Introducing such an element left people like Iida vulnerable since now his speed and it's effectiveness was reduced by a significant margin. Whatever argument's Iida presented to say he did have some sort of chance were tested and proven ineffective by Haru without hesitation.
"Stop fantasizing about being the winner and actually start winning! What good is your imagination if it's just gonna get you killed?!"
From when he was a child; the Ingenium name was a well known and respected hero name. Iida admired those who carried the name themselves and worshiped the legacy as his own personal creed to follow faithfully. Another attempt to fend off Haru lent him another painful tumble across the natural turf.
"What good is risking your life for a name if you can't even fend off some guy with a broomstick?!"
"Aaaaaaaa!"
He's had enough of Haru's constant jabs and provocations that were pointed at his family legacy. His brother was in the hospital; what else could he take from other people? It wasn't a fanciful counter or a masterful strike, but a simple bait and switch with the stick to trip up his footwork that sent Iida to the floor once again. He was pushing himself off the floor when Haru made another painful fact clear from his failure to evade and keep clear of Haru's attacks.
"That makes thirty two. How many more times do I have to kill you? Fifteen? A hundred?"
This was all just a joke to Haru. That thought drove Iida to endure through the remaining hours of training he had with Haru on that very night. The mistake he made on his part was underestimating how long Haru was able to keep up the exercise meant for Iida.
Five Thirty AM the Next Day
Dawn was approaching while Iida was heaving for oxygen in the field that was heavily damaged with deep gauges cutting through the grass and other ruined spots peppering the entire field. Hours upon hours of nonstop chasing and brutal physical chasing kept him up through the hours of the night. At some point, Iida abandoned the helmet to help get some air to his lungs while Haru kept coming after him with attack after attack.
One thing was for certain; It wasn't baseless when Haru said that Iida lacked the proper coordination to properly utilize anything taught to him. Hours upon hours of constantly being forced to move and run while only being given a handful of short breaks to rehydrate and refuel drained Iida like nothing else. Cold air and a lack of warm sunlight still couldn't cool off Iida's overheating body underneath all of his armor.
"Glad to see you're still alive."
In stark contrast to Iida was Haru. The man was still seemingly the same from before with just a bit of humidity on his brow for all the effort he put into making this lesson an extremely painful and exhausting experience for Iida. Where there used to be a harsh and antagonistic anger was an open and free spirited admiration of the rising sun.
"Take a look at that. So much beauty in only a few seconds of the day; so don't blink, or you might miss it."
Iida didn't know what it was that made Haru pick him up off the ground and sit upright towards the sunrise. He thought it was just a man who was a little mad just being another nutcase before laying his eyes on the sunrise. A single beam of light cracking over the horizon and introducing another day felt different for Iida somehow.
This sort of basic event was a daily occurrence as a result of the earth's rotation in orbit. Why it felt so much more important and brought him close to tears as he watched it happen in real time was lost on the naive teenager.
"... Iida, let me tell you something…"
His eyes broke away from the breathtaking sight to watch Haru as he dutifully planted his eyes on the sunrise. Eyes that looked ancient and worn to Tenya never broke contact with the birth of the new day.
"Your brother knew the risks of what it was he did. I can't see you as a hero if you can't accept the consequences of what being a hero is if you can't accept it happening to those who choose the same path as you…"
Choosing to be a hero was pointless if others who did the same got hurt? It was lost on Iida until Haru further explained his take on Iida's stance on the matter.
"Heroes like him are smart enough to know that being such a thing brings risk and danger into one's life. Why is it that you can't respect that?"
Further illustrating his frustration for the teen was the point he wanted to get across to Tenya. It was never about some flimsy honor code that society dictated he act upon to prevent a fifteen year old kid from being reckless with their life. Haru could see the sacrifice that his brother made better than he could.
"He fights so that people like you can see another day like this one. Don't you think he deserves better from his own brother?"
As frustrating as it was; there was nothing Iida could say that would disapprove of Haru's stance without making his own opinion invalid in comparison. Shame was just as powerful of a learning tool that people can gain wisdom from as the greatest of mentors from times past. For Tenya; so much of it was overfilling his chest as the sun he once thought was absolutely beautiful was unbearable to look upon.
"You're not a bad kid, Iida. The only thing I hope for you right now is that you see the importance of what heroes risk their lives for. Avenging the life of a brother who fought for your safety isn't one of those reasons…"
Despite being so physically drained to the point of physical illness and feeling worse than any other point of his life; this moment of realization was more important to Iida's journey to being a hero than anything else that came before now. Heroes are often seen as these selfless figures of justice that seek only the betterment of society as a whole. If such a hero existed; they were nothing but a joke and a flimsy excuse of a protector in the eyes of Haru.
Nobody who was a hero was immune to the pull of personal desire. Some were more noble than others when it came to the bottom line; when it came down to brass taxes, having noble aspirations usually translated to a reason that the hero they themselves wanted to sell in the broader strokes over being specific.
While Iida was busy chasing after a deadly assassin for a personal grudge; his brother fought such a dangerous criminal to prevent such a meeting from happening in the first place. As a hero, Ingenium senior did want to protect the innocent. As a person, none of it would have mattered if his family was to suffer in the crossfire of his battles.
"... What am I supposed to do? It's… It hurts… It hurts so much…"
"... I dunno. I can't speak for you, Iida. You're just gonna have to figure that out for yourself."
Nothing was clear cut for this sort of miserable scenario. Getting his revenge would only serve to endanger Iida when his brother risked his life to prevent such a thing. Ignoring the problem would only leave the teenager a burden of unresolved emotions that would fester into something far worse than what he felt now. None of it was clear enough for an exact answer.
"Just know that your brother took these risks for those who mattered most to him. Don't let his efforts go to waste."
It felt like a huge waste of time. Why did he go through all of this if all that happened was Iida realizing that he only fought to undo his brother's work this whole time? Perhaps such knowledge and wisdom was only obtainable after we've gotten so far in making such mistakes.
"... This sucks."
"... I know."