Angel: Can Izuka heal herself? No, if she had that ability, she would've done it sooner. She still needs Recovery Girl to help heal her. Already there's so few healers in the world from this anime. I think in total from the 7 seasons and the 4 movies there's only 3 we've seen…? And even so, I don't think Izuka would be one because I don't know how that would work.
She does get new powers as time goes on, but I try to pace them out so that it's shown she's still learning. Izuku in a sense is the same way. As for the DNA subplot, it will come back up a few times, but it's not frequently. So it's basically like the slow burn with her romance.
Already we're almost at 300 reviews at only like a quarter of this story being uploaded, thank you so very much to those leaving comments. I hope that this story dethrones the one with the biggest amount of comments, which is my TMNT 2003 story from 2016 (which still baffles me that it has 813 reviews currently, Owl House didn't even beat that at 679). It's not that I hate the story, but I personally feel like that story and Owl House with their amount of reviews should be swapped. But hey, I can't speak for what the people want and hopefully I didn't sound too ungrateful with that confession. If people still love that story enough for it to get that many comments, more power to them. If you guys want to, feel free to tell me what your favorite aspect of this story is so far, I'm curious!
" Say whatever you want to about me!" Tenya cried out in despair, wanting to say this before his life was ended. "You're still just a criminal who hurt my brother!"
Stain gave a satisfied sound as he held his weapon up to his lips. "And that's why you'll die tonight," He then licked Tenya's blood, and it was like he was completely paralyzed. Which, he was before, but now it was a genuine feeling of being stuck in place.
'My body...won't move!'
Stain spun his clean blade into his hand, raising it above Tenya and about to kill him. "Goodbye, child. May your death bring about a better world."
"I won't forgive you! I'm going to kill you!" Tenya declared before Izuku punched Stain right in the face.
"SMASH!" He gritted his teeth as he got the villain away from his friend. He stopped sparking and then glanced back, not even facing the boy. "Don't worry, Ida. I'm gonna save you!" He narrowed his eyes towards Stain.
"I was almost too late to stop this guy," Shoto revealed himself, half his body on fire.
"And maybe give me a heads up if you're gonna be fighting villains on your own," Izuka narrowed her eyes while reloading herself, slowly reaching up her arms to prepare her aim. She held back the string from her moon bow.
"Todoroki? Mido...?" Tenya murmured in shock to see the duo.
"We can protect them!" Shoto declared as Izuku stood up.
"Let's work together!" Izuka nodded in agreement while clenching her uninjured fist. She gritted her teeth while fighting off the pain from her injured hand.
"Just stop it!" Tenya cried out as Izuku dashed forward. His sister eyed his movements closely. "Why are you doing this?" Izuka fired off her shooting star. Shoto's arm grew flames. "His fight is with me!" Shoto got stabbed with two knives in the arm. Before Izuka could fire again, a knife went through her hand and she groaned in pain. She held her wrist as she dropped her bow, stumbling a bit. Her injured hand was shaking as blood dripped from it.
Stain then cut Izuku's leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Stain landed right in front of Izuka to cut at her forehead. She fell to the side with a grunt. "I inherited my older brother's name." Before Stain could further harm Izuku, Shoto knocked him away with a fire blast. "I'm the one who should stop him! The Hero Killer is mine!"
Stain gave a quick lick at his blade, causing both twins to be paralyzed. "I'm sorry, Todoroki..." He grunted in pain, holding his side.
"You have to run," Tenya spoke up with tears prickling his eyes. Shoto looked back at him. "I can't...watch this..."
"You wanna make your brother proud?!" Shoto shouted, causing Tenya's eyes to shake.
"Ida-San...I understand why you did it," Izuka held her side as she spoke.
Tenya had sweat dripping down his face when he remembered the first time he brought up his family to his friends. "Are the three of you familiar with the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?"
"I know all about him!" Izuku piped up with a small blush over his cheeks in awe. "He's a super-popular pro with 65 sidekicks working alongside him at his Tokyo agency!"
"He's my elder brother!" Tenya stood proudly with his hands on his hips.
"W-Wow..." Izuka gave a small chuckle.
"Ingenium is an unmatched commander who honors the hero code. As the second oldest Ida son, I strive to be just like him."
Tenya slowly narrowed his eyes as he felt like he wasn't doing his brother justice.
Shoto gritted his teeth, without looking back at his classmate. He was a bit frustrated that Tenya felt like all he could do was to get revenge. And yet he couldn't even get up to fight for what he wanted, even though it wasn't ideal. Ida... He then sent more ice towards Stain. "Stand up and be Ingenium!"
Stain jumped up and growled while cutting the ice once again. "Become the hero he wanted you to be!" He clenched his fists, fire coming from his arm.
"Ida-San, he'd want you to survive! Don't you remember how proud you were when you talked about him?" Izuka called out, shaking a little and squeezing her eyes shut. "He probably wanted you to take his hero name, right? That's why you went with your real name in class!" He gasped at her deduction, since he hadn't disclosed the reason to anyone. But it was because of being Izuku's sister that she felt like she knew what he was going through.
"I am Ingenium, and I will defeat you! That I promise!" He then shed tears for how he was debating if he could even live up to the name, let alone a hero... Can I call myself a hero...? My friends are protecting me. They're bleeding for me. He took a quick look at their injuries, and how much he didn't want them to suffer because of him anymore... He then looked towards Native, who had fallen unconscious at this point.
"Shouldn't you be worried about saving that guy?"
Shoto sent another fire attack, a huge one, and Stain jumped over it like it was nothing. Stain the Hero Killer. I took my brother's name so that I could teach this villain a lesson. But I was so consumed with revenge, that I forgot about what really mattered. I was too focused on myself to help anyone else. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling ashamed that he went down this route. Stain still needed to be stopped regardless if he sought him out personally, but...things didn't have to be this way. He didn't have to end up getting killed to avenge his brother...
"You wanna be a hero too, Tenya?" Tensei smiled at his little brother.
"Yes! Like you! A cool one!" He spoke up eagerly while waving a hand.
"With robot arms?" Tensei asked in amusement. The little boy then looked up at him.
"There's something I wanted to ask you, big brother. What drives you? Why did you choose to become a pro hero in the first place?" He questioned his big brother eagerly.
"Hm," He gave a sound of thought as he turned around. A panel opened up and he placed a part of his costume inside. "Well, our grandfather and parents were all heroes. So everyone kind of expected I would be one too. Staying in the family business and all that. Plus, it made sense to me," He held out his hand for his helmet, which Tenya handed to him. "I think the coolest people in the world are those who do things for others. I wanted to be the kind of guy who helps people in trouble."
"Hm?" Tenya tilted his head in confusion, as there were plenty of jobs that would fill in that goal for him. "Then why not work as a police officer or something?"
"Aren't you listening to me?" Tensei looked back, a bit annoyed. "Think of what I'm saying," He then chuckled while patting his little brother on the head. "You take things at face value a little too much. But you're a hard worker, and definitely smarter and more athletic than me back when I was a kid. Wait a second...that's my secret," He looked away in thought, and then smiled down at Tenya. "Knowing you look up to me makes me better. I have to be sure I make you proud," He then laughed in a humble way.
"Both of you are nothing but fakes," Stain's sneer rung in his head. His hand twitched as he tried with all of his might to move.
Stain landed on some ice while jumping to avoid Shoto's fire once again. You spoke the truth...Hero Killer.
"Watch your right!" Izuku called out in warning just as Stain swooped in.
Those three are different from me.
Stain landed on an ice pillar but then jumped right when Shoto fired and melted the ice. Izuka twitched a single finger from her uninjured hand and flicked a shooting star from behind. Stain held up his blade to send it firing back. She yelped as she braced herself, a star shield appearing right in front of her to absorb the projectile. Tenya gritted his teeth, fresh tears in his eyes. I'm immature. I can't hold a candle to them...but still... He was able to make his hand into a fist, as the effects from Stain's Quirk were starting to wear off.
Stain jumped across Shoto's ice, and the boy fired a huge fire attack. Stain moved away so that it barely missed him. "Ice and fire."
Shoto glared at the man. Just try and dodge this, villain! He dropped his fire and then sent ice Stain's way. He ran between the path while heading for Shoto.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you, you rely on your Quirk too much?" He wondered as Izuku's eyes widened in horror. "Makes you a careless fighter!" The twins gasped in disbelief as Stain grabbed Shoto just as he fired with his flames.
He's a monster!
"TODOROKI!" The twins shouted in unison, Izuka's lip quivering a little in worry.
We have to keep holding on, if we don't, then they'll die...! Izuka looked up in terror towards Native and Tenya. She then blinked in shock to see Tenya slowly getting onto his knees.
If I don't stand up right now...I'll never be able to be as good as them. His engines started to spark, fire in his eyes. I'll never...live up to my brother's name!
Stain saw this as well from Tenya, narrowing his eyes. Damn it. My Quirk timed out.
Tenya then headed over in a flash. "Recipro...BURST!" He screamed as he used his leg to save Todoroki, by cutting Stain's blade in half! He then spun around to knock his leg into Stain's arms. The Hero Killer held back as much as he could, only for Tenya to swing down hard to send him flying backwards.
He's fast! He was almost just as fast as Stain was blocking Shoto's attacks...
"Ida!" Izuku gave a worried look.
"Thank goodness you're alright!" Izuka sent him a relieved smile.
"You're free, too?" Shoto stared at Tenya, a bit shocked as well before focusing his attention on Stain. "Guess his Quirk isn't as great as I thought it was."
"Todoroki...Midoriya...Mido..." Tenya spoke up, hanging his head. "This has nothing to do with you. I apologize."
"Come on," Izuku gave him a small frown. "Not this again."
Izuka held up a hand. "Ida-San, you don't have to keep insisting-"
"I'm okay," He interrupted and the girl blinked in surprise as he lifted up his head. He glared in hatred, but he wasn't going to act solely out of pure spite anymore. Now...he was going to do it to protect the three of them. "And I won't let the three of you shed any more blood for me!"
One piece of Stain's blade landed nearby. He had an injury himself, blood dropping from his hand. "It's no use trying to pretend you're a hero now. A person's true nature doesn't change in just a few minutes. You'll never be anything but a fraud who prioritizes his own desires," Stain glared in disgust towards Tenya specifically, no longer seeing him as a child. "You're the sickness that's infected society and ruined the name hero. Someone must teach you a lesson."
"You're a fundamentalist lunatic," Shoto sneered right back at him. "Ida, don't listen to this murderer's nonsense."
"No. He's completely correct," Tenya stated in a somber tone. Izuka looked up with a gasp, her eyes saddening at how he was taking this to heart. "I have no right to call myself a hero...at all." Izuku gasped as well as he saw blood trickle down from Tenya's arm. "Even so...there's no way I can back down," He gritted his teeth while clenching his fist tight. "If I give up now, then the name Ingenium will die!"
"Pathetic," Stain dismissed, his eyes glowing red and lunged forward. Shoto pushed Tenya out of the way to attack him with fire.
"Idiots!" Native called out to the twins and Shoto. "The hero killer is only after me and that kid in the white armor. Stop fighting back—just get out of here!"
"I don't think he'd let me run even if I wanted to," Shoto retorted back; and also, he wasn't the type to run away. "Something clearly changed in him just now," Stain had jumped to the wall, using a knife to keep him in place. "He seems rattled." He leaped and Shoto slid his right foot. Stain jumped along the ice. His Quirk alone isn't especially powerful. The issue of blood type makes it unpredictable and it doesn't last long. Plus, he has to get in close if he wants to use it. It must be difficult for him to take on multiple opponents at once.
The twins were still recovering as they watched Shoto use his flames. He turned around to see Stain in front of him. He's desperate, trying to kill Ida and this other hero before the pros show up. Such tenacity.
Stain let out a growl at things not going his way. Tenya watched briefly and then glanced down at his engines. Small puffs of air came out, but it wasn't enough to be helpful. Crap. My engines are shot. Did I break the radiator with that kick? He then gasped as he got an idea, looking up at his classmate. "Hey, Todoroki. Can you regulate your temperatures?"
"Not well with my left, but yes, I can."
"Mido, what about you?" He glanced over his shoulder as she held her wrist with the injured hand.
"I can only use one hand, but yes," She looked up at him.
"You gotta freeze my leg for me, without plugging the exhaust! And then Mido needs to give me a flame boost!" Tenya explained, confusing the both of them.
"You're in the way," Stain jumped up and threw a blade towards Shoto. Tenya jumped and got stabbed in the arm for his friend.
"No, Ida!" Izuku screamed at this, and then looked down.
"Why won't you stay down?!" Stain threw another blade, this time getting him in the arm again hard enough to knock him onto the ground. Shoto looked down at him in concern.
"Ida-"
"Just do it, hurry!" He urged the boy, looking towards the ice. "Mido, I need you here now! I know you can get up!"
She narrowed her eyes and touched the ground, yellow appearing underneath her hand. She then fired at the ground to give herself a boost above all of the ice, landing next to Shoto. Izuku got himself onto his feet.
"I can move!" He breathed out, his bloodied leg shaking as it was too injured to use. "My leg's no good. But...that's okay," His power came back just as Shoto froze Tenya's leg. Izuka held out her uninjured hand as her flame from her Comet Punch appeared.
"Just tell me when," She told Tenya and he nodded sharply.
"It's done!" Shoto reported while sending out more fire. Tenya reached out to the blade in his arm and grabbed it with his teeth.
Thank you...Todoroki.
He managed to pull it out just as Stain was heading for Izuka after noticing her flame. She turned around sharply, but Shoto sent a bigger fire blast at the villain to get him away from her. I will fight...with or without my arms. The blade spun around near his hand as he looked back. "Recipro...Extend!" The ice from his exhaust blew off. "Mido, now!"
"COMET..." Izuka recoiled her arm back towards his legs, her flame appearing. "PUNCH!" She then punched the engine hard as Tenya jumped up into the air. Once he did, she recoiled back in pain since her hand hurt now. She fell back into Shoto's arms as he held her steady.
One for All... Izuku leaped into the air. Full Cowling! Izuku sparked with green energy.
If I just... Tenya flew up to the sky. Izuku stepped onto some ice, blood spurting from his injury. He forced himself through the pain, however.
If I just... He then leaped up so strong he broke some of the ice, heading towards Stain. He looked at Izuku and Tenya flying towards him.
"Go, guys..." Shoto looked up, Izuka staring at them encouragingly as blood trickled from her hands.
"I know you can beat him..." She whispered in anticipation.
Use my leg... Tenya lifted up his left leg as Izuku recoiled back his left arm.
Use my arm...
Stain's eyes widened as Izuku was in his field of vision. That's all I need to beat this guy! Both Izuku and Tenya thought in unison as the latter kicked Stain. Izuku punched him hard in the face to send the villain flying.
Minutes earlier...
A Nomu lunged its fist forward at Gran Torino. He used his engines underneath his feet to jump over it. He's fast, but not faster than me.
The Nomu then started crawling over to two citizens. "No! Stay away!" The man cried out while the woman hugged his arm. Gran Torino boosted over to them.
"Stop it, you stupid beast!" He screamed as he reached out his hand. Suddenly, a burst of flames appeared to cover the Nomu. Gran Torino yelped as it didn't come from him, and he used his feet to stop himself. He landed just as the Nomu was submerged in flames.
"Thanks, old timer," A familiar voice spoke up. "I'm afraid I don't know you..." Gran Torino looked towards the source wide-eyed to see Endeavor approaching. "But I can handle this from here on out."
"Whoa, look!" The man looked at the hero wide-eyed.
"Why is he in Hosu?" The woman asked in confusion. Endeavor usually worked on his own, and his office wasn't near Hosu.
Endeavor gave a small confident smirk for his supposed victory. "It's because...I'm a hero." As the smoke cleared to reveal the Nomu, the creature was actually unharmed. He let out a snarl towards the heroes. "That was only a low-temperature warning shot," The man murmured in thought. "But still, it always KO's my opponent."
Gran Torino gritted his teeth; he knew of the Nomu's abilities through other sources, they weren't this...free-willed unlike the one from the USJ. He also knew from those sources that Shigaraki would be nearby controlling them, but he was nowhere in sight. "Something's not right. This guy is..." A fiery explosion then occurred from the Nomu, causing the man to jump backwards. Endeavor absorbed it since it came from his own power.
"Your Quirk's absorption and release, but you still took damage from my flame, didn't you?" Endeavor guessed correctly with a small mocking smile. "Not a very impressive power." The Nomu's muscles then started to bulge, almost out of control.
"What's he doing?" Gran Torino wondered while falling backwards, flinching in alarm. "Watch it, Todoroki!" He gritted his teeth while witnessing the Nomu grow bigger in strength. "I think this guy's got multiple Quirks!"
The Nomu grew a lot bigger and then jumped up into the sky. "I see," Endeavor murmured as he watched. "So that's how it is."
Gran Torino slid to a stop, glancing behind him to see if any more citizens were around. Those two bystanders got away, right? He then let out a snarl. "Good."
Endeavor held up his hand, a flame coming from it. The Nomu opened his mouth wide, and tentacles came from his mouth. They went over to the hero, and before they could touch them, Gran Torino zipped past. He then went right through the tentacles like it was nothing. He then spun around, letting himself fall with his feet outstretched. He knocked the Nomu into the ground, having landed on his back. The creature groaned in pain as the sidewalk broke apart, and the creature was inches away from touching Endeavor.
"Didn't mean to damage the road. I might be more outta practice than I thought."
"Huh," Endeavor scoffed a bit. "Nice work. You're not bad, old man," He then doused his flame. He heard a noise and looked up ahead with Gran Torino. Smoke was coming from the distance behind a few buildings. "That must be where the rest of the heroes are gathered. It's been 2 or 3 minutes. They should've taken care of things by now."
"We need to tie this guy up," Gran Torino glanced up at the 2nd rated hero. "The cops will take care of him from there. Then we can help out."
Endeavor gave a small growl, as he was thinking about Shoto's whereabouts.
" Shoto! There's trouble ahead," Endeavor ran with one of his sidekicks and his son down the street. "I'll show you what it means to be a hero."
Shoto's phone then vibrated from his pocket. He gasped and came to a stop, wondering who was trying to reach out to him now of all times. Looking at his phone, it was the SOS message that Izuku sent out when Stain wasn't looking. 'Midoriya...'
"Dammit!" Endeavor shouted while gritting his teeth at his son for his lack of focus.
"All he sent was his location?" He murmured, not even listening to his father at this point, but after seeing just the location, he already knew that something was off. Izuku wasn't known for being mysterious, everything he did from what Shoto saw was for a reason.
"You should be watching me!" His father yelled and then Shoto ran off without another word. "HEY! Wait! Where the hell are you going?"
"An alleyway at 4-2-10 Ekou Street," Shoto reported while running in the opposite direction. "If you finish what you're doing or see extra pros, send them there. I'm leaving you here to take care of this trouble." Endeavor gave a look of confusion. "I'm sure you can handle it yourself."
If it wasn't because it was one of his classmates, he wouldn't be entrusting Endeavor with anything. But he could at least admit that his father wasn't a bad hero. He knew that his father was powerful, and that he would be able to handle the situation as soon as possible.
"Huh...?" Endeavor was baffled by this, wondering what was going on.
"My friend...might be in danger," He almost hesitated using that word given what happened during the Sports Festival. He then gasped as he realized that Izuka wasn't doing her internship in Hosu. "That reminds me, I need to alert his sister as well, she probably doesn't even know what's going on," He took out his phone and Endeavor blinked. He didn't even know Shoto had friends, let alone one of them being a girl. "Crap, I don't have her number…" He flinched and turned around to his father with hesitation. He was the only person who could get him Izuka's number, even though his father was the last person to ask. "I need you to contact All Might to get Izuka Midoriya's number!" He slid to a stop.
Endeavor blinked in disbelief from this request. He had no idea what was even going on. Not to mention, he couldn't believe the girl Shoto was talking about was Izuka herself. "Are you going to explain—"
"Just do it!"
Once Shoto got the number, he ran off while texting Izuka. "Shoto..." He murmured, as he couldn't help but question what his son was getting into. But he had to worry about that later.
"Leave him to my sidekicks," Endeavor instructed the old man. "They'll make sure the cops take him." Gran Torino looked up at him curiously. "There's an address that I need you to investigate for me. I am Endeavor. I can take care of the rest of this myself."
"Go, guys!" Shoto looked up, Izuka staring up at them in encouragement.
Izuku punched Stain hard while Tenya kicked him. They hit him so hard that they sent Stain flying. Izuku then flinched while gripping his right arm, having felt a sharp pain. Crap, did I use too much power? I don't think it's broken...is it?
They managed to land two attacks Shoto thought as the two boys flew backwards. Our turn! His left side lit with fire as Izuka jumped up into the air. Stain opened his eyes and then quickly grabbed his blade, swinging it at Tenya. He barely managed to dodge, a few strands flying from his hair.
"I will defeat you, Stain!" He declared to the villain in determination. "Because you are a criminal!"
"Don't let him get away!" Shoto shouted just as Izuka reached him, recoiling back her right arm with a yell as fire appeared to engulf it. Tenya swung his leg hard just as Izuka came up, and both of them managed to hit Stain in unison.
"And I am a hero!" He screamed as Stain fell towards the ground, blood coming from his mouth. He then got hit with Shoto's flames and he let out a painful gasp. The four all looked in shock that they managed to put strong hits against the villain. The three continued falling, with no way to land safely since they were all injured. The trio yelped as ice came underneath them, and they slid down it to hit their heads against the ice hard.
"Ahh...thank you, Todoroki-San...ow," Izuka rubbed the back of her head.
"Stand up! Keep fighting!" Shoto urged the three, all of them looking up in shock to see that Stain had landed on top of the ice. He wasn't moving either as they could only stare. Izuka panted a little as she couldn't believe everything that just happened.
"He's gotta be knocked out after all that..." Izuku murmured while standing up. "Right?"
"A villain like him? Doubtful," Izuka slowly got onto her feet, holding her injured hand. The blood around her hand had dried at this point, but it still hurt. "Although we all did fight our hardest. We made a good team," She glanced towards the three, Tenya and Izuku giving her small smiles. The girl returned the gesture.
Shoto let out a small sigh, looking at his classmates. "Then let's restrain him and get him to the street. Maybe we can find some rope."
"Yeah," Izuku stated, Tenya staring at the trio in shock. He couldn't believe what just happened...they fought against the Hero Killer together...and won. Not only that, his friends stood by his side not just to defeat him...but because they wanted to help their classmate change for the better. "And we should probably take all his weapons too."
"After that, our main priority should be to get to the hospital," Izuka looked over to Native. "That poor hero needs medical attention, and it's been delayed for him long enough. We all need to be looked at, really," She looked towards the knife wound in her hand, wincing a bit.
"Good idea, both of you," Shoto agreed with the twins.
Meanwhile, the Nomu were still attacking the city. One of them punched the ground, two heroes jumping up into the air. "He's too damn strong!" One of them shouted as they tossed small blades at the Nomu. They had no real reaction to the creature since they were just bouncing right off of it.
"Crap!"
"Everyone attack at once!" Another pro hero called out while running towards the Nomu, and then leaped in the air.
"Right!" The other pro heroes jumped to surround the creature. It let out a roar and then slammed the ground, creating a shockwave so powerful it knocked them all backwards. A bunch of sand appeared in the area, making it difficult to get eyes on the Nomu.
"Damn it. Can't see!"
"Where is he?!" Another hero called out while Manual looked around in a panic. He then saw a shadow between two heroes, gasping sharply.
"Watch out!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. The female hero flinched in confusion, failing to see the Nomu about to attack her from behind. The creature was about to swing when Endeavor came in, punching it away from her. Everyone braced themselves as the Nomu was sent flying. Manual gave a gasp of awe. "Endeavor!"
The hero glared as he watched the Nomu slid backwards to a stop, his arm going limp. It then lifted up its arm, as if it wasn't broken to begin with. "So, you can regenerate," Endeavor snarled at the creature. "Well, then..." He raced forward and the two enemies grabbed each other. "Let's see you come back from this!" He burned the Nomu's face, and the flames turned green to blue. Once it was over, the Nomu no longer had a head, his body falling backwards onto the ground. Endeavor smirked down at the creature. "Incinerated cells can't regenerate."
"Above you!" A hero shouted in warning, and he looked up to see the flying Nomu holding someone hostage.
"Any hero whose Quirk isn't suited for this, go help on Ekou Street in District Four," He glanced over his shoulder to two heroes.
"Another villain?"
"I don't know," He turned around, knowing that Shoto wouldn't run off towards the location if it wasn't important. "Just do it," He then jumped up, leaving them a bit confused. Endeavor ran forward and tossed a little fireball at the Nomu, who dashed off to the side. "He's quick! That's fine!" He leaped to a building, planting his foot on the wall. He left behind flaming footprints as he ran across the wall and jumped forward, reaching out his hand. The Nomu glanced back at the hero, who made a projectile made out of flames in his hand. He then threw it hard against the winged Nomu, who was distracted enough to let go of its hostage. Endeavor jumped up and caught the person in his arms, sliding to a stop thanks to his flames. The spot where he landed was still burning as he looked up furiously. "You won't get away."
Meanwhile, Izuku, Shoto, and Izuka had snatched what they thought to be all of Stain's weapons. "Native, can you move?" Izuku asked the hero, since he was the one paralyzed for the longest amount of time. Stain was nearby being tied up by Shoto with rope. Tenya kept watch on the villain.
"Yeah. I think I'm good as new now," Native picked up Izuku on his back despite his injury.
"You sure?" Izuku looked at him tiredly.
"H-he's right," Izuka stammered a little in worry, frowning. "You should still...seek medical attention," Talking to another pro hero aside from All Might was still anxious for her, or just anyone outside of class mostly.
"I saw you hurt your leg back there. At least let me do this for you," He gave a small smile.
Izuku let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much..."
"Yes, thank you..." Izuka gave a tired sigh of her own, closing her eyes.
"I should be thanking you," Native gave a humbled look as he walked off.
Shoto then stood up, holding the rope. "Huh...we're lucky someone threw this in the dumpster."
"Todoroki!" Tenya then spoke up. "I can drag him from here." He wanted to at least repay his classmates back a little bit for going through all of this trouble for him. Plus he knew that Shoto had some injuries and didn't want to make them worse for his classmate.
"Are you forgetting your arms are messed up?" The white/red haired boy retorted back to him. He then started to take Stain with him.
"I have to apologize," Native spoke up to the twins. Izuka looked up in confusion at the man as he looked humiliated and ashamed for what had happened. "I'm supposed to be a pro, but I was useless back there."
"No," Izuku disagreed with him. "I don't think any one person could take the Hero Killer on. Not with that weird Quirk of his. He's too strong."
"He had already hurt too many people. It's safe to say that it was gonna take more than one person or hero to stop him," Izuka narrowed her eyes a bit while glancing behind her towards Stain in disgust. "Especially if he used his Quirk to paralyze them for as long as he wants..."
"The four of us barely won against him, and even then, it was because of his own mistakes," Shoto pointed out to them. "He was getting riled up and desperate and forgot all about the Midoriyas' quick recovery time. Then he wasn't able to block Ida's last Recipro Burst, Midoriya's assault, or Mido's Comet Punch."
Speaking of Tenya, he was staying silent the whole time, contemplating his actions. If he hadn't sought out Stain, none of this would have even happened. And he only had himself to blame for it...
"That reminds me, sis," Izuka spoke up, getting her attention. "How'd you even get here so fast? Weren't you at Genius Office?"
"Uh!" She flinched as she realized how she left her own mentor and Katsuki behind. "Oh no, I completely forgot about that...umm, well, good news is that I learned a new power," She scratched her cheek sheepishly.
"Wait, you learned a new power?!" Izuku screeched as he and their classmates looked at her in shock. "That's amazing, you've gotta show me sometime! I wish I could've seen it in action."
"Yeah, but also, I must've made Mr. Best Jeanist really mad with the way I left after I got Todoroki-San's message..." She gave an anxious smile, pulling out her phone. And there were countless messages and calls from her mentor ever since she left wondering where she was and what exactly happened. Although she didn't get anything from Katsuki himself.
"I'll explain everything to them for you. I was the reason you even left in the first place because I contacted you," Shoto offered the girl without a second thought. A small way of thanking her for being kind to me during the Sports Festival.
"That'd be great, but I think it's better if I do it. Thank you though, Todoroki-San," Izuka smiled gratefully to him. Partially because trying to explain things to Katsuki from Shoto's perspective would only make things worse, so it was probably better that he heard it from her. But she was only hoping it was better that she told him.
"Well, let's get him to the police as fast as we can," Native looked down at Stain.
They then heard a gasp in the distance. "What are you doing here, boy?!" Izuku looked up and then gasped in surprise to see Gran Torino in the distance.
"Gran Torino!" He was silently relieved to see his teacher was okay, since he hadn't seen him for the past hour or so.
"Wait, that's your mentor?" Izuka blinked in shock as she wasn't expecting him to show up or be...well, the way he was. Especially given All Might's description of him, she was expecting someone just as strong as the number one hero.
"I was only-" Izuku then yelped as his mentor hit him in the face with his boot. Izuka covered her mouth in shock.
"I thought I told you to stay on the bullet train!" He scolded the boy as he landed in front of Native, looking up at the girl. "You must be his sister! Does he get that kind of stubbornness from you, huh?" He pointed up at her.
"Huh?!" She blinked in utter shock. The girl then grunted towards Izuku a bit in annoyance. "Izuku..." Izuka said in a warning tone and he laughed awkwardly. She shouldn't be surprised that he ran off, but at the same time, he did end up helping save people from Stain...
"Who's this?" Shoto stared at the man in confusion.
"Gran Torino, the hero I'm interning with," Izuku answered while Gran Torino was still mad. "I don't get it. How'd you find us?"
"I was told to come here by someone else," Gran Torino glared at him, hands on his hips. "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm glad you're not dead, at least."
Izuku closed his eyes in relief that he was even still breathing after the recent fight. "Me too. And I'm sorry."
"I-I apologize too for him giving you trouble, Mr. Torino," Izuka stammered a little, gesturing to herself. "I'm Izuka, his older twin sister, a-and I take full responsibility for his actions. Trust me, he won't do it again," She glanced at him with a disapproving look and he sunk his head.
"Tch," He scoffed at this, looking at her up and down. "You look too short to be older."
"Ahhh..." She gave a devastated look, dropping her arms.
"Anyway, you don't need to keep the formalities with me, or apologize on his behalf. I'm also glad that you seem to keep a good eye on him, despite what he does. You can be really tough when you wanna be, huh? I like you already," Izuka blinked and then smiled proudly at the compliments.
"Oh! T-Thank you, sir. It's an honor to hear that from you," She rubbed the back of her neck bashfully.
Izuku did a double take, baffled that she made a good impression on him in just seconds. Gran Torino glanced between the twins. Jeez, this side of him reminds me so much of Toshinori. So does she when I was training Toshinori the first few times.
"Around the corner!" Someone called out, getting their attention.
"Who's that?" Izuku wondered as rushed footsteps were heard, belonging to some of the heroes Endeavor sent for them.
"Endeavor told us there was a request for help here, but..." They stopped in shock at the sight in front of them.
"Children?"
"Those injuries look bad. I'll call an ambulance right away," Another one noticed some of their injuries still had blood coming from them.
A third hero then gasped as he finally saw Stain. "Hey, look."
The female hero looked and then gasped sharply. "Is that...the Hero Killer?!"
"What?"
"I'll get the police on the line," One of them walked away to phone them.
"Can you walk?" Another questioned the twins.
"If you prop me up, then I think so."
"It's really my hand that got it the worst," Izuka held out her hand with the knife wound. "Oh, and my forehead," She pointed out to a slash mark on her forehead that wasn't bleeding, but still needed attention.
"Okay, and you?"
"Only minor injuries like her," Shoto reported back to the hero. "But Ida..."
Tenya walked past a hero in silence. "You're bleeding badly!" He pointed out, but was ignored. "The ambulance will be here soon, but until then..."
"You guys..." The boy spoke up to his classmates, who looked back at him. He then bowed his head apologetically to the three. "You were all hurt...because of me. I'm truly sorry," His voice broke a little as he wouldn't let them see that he had tears in his eyes. His mouth was also shaking. "I was just so angry. I couldn't...see anything else."
Izuku's eyes saddened as Izuka frowned deeply, hugging herself. "I'm sorry too, Ida. You were going through so much by yourself. But I couldn't tell anything was wrong. Even though I'm your friend. And...I've done this twice now. Once with Izuka...and now with you, when it shouldn't be like that at all," He sagged his shoulders and Izuka blinked at him rapidly. He could start to see what Gran Torino was talking about now...that he needed to let Izuka decide for herself what she wanted to do as a hero. Not be in it just to please him.
Tenya sniffed as Izuka stepped forward, patting his back gently. "Ida-San...I can see why you chose to do this. But that doesn't mean you should let yourself suffer in silence. I did the same before I went to UA. As someone who has gone through similar experiences, I should've been able to tell when a classmate is going through the same thing," She said in a soft voice.
"Hey, pull yourself together," Shoto spoke up next. "You're the class rep."
Tenya sniffed, using his arm to wipe at his eyes. "Right." Izuka gave a small smile, patting his head gently.
All things considered, our fight against the Hero Killer probably only took about ten minutes. But for the four of us...it felt like we were in that alley forever.
It wasn't the way anyone expected him to go down. But I think for the four of us...this was an experience that would help us define who we'd become as future heroes.
Suddenly something came in from the distance, Gran Torino flinching in alarm. "Get down!" He warned everyone, getting their attention as they didn't understand why. One of the heroes then saw the flying Nomu heading right towards them.
"Oh no!"
It then swooped down and snatched Izuku, much to the shock of his friends, sister, and mentor. "Hey, let go!" He shouted while the others looked up.
"Midoriya!" Both Tenya and Shoto shouted for him.
"Izuku!" Izuka yelled in concern. Blood was spurting from the flying Nomu, which dropped on some of them.
"It's bleeding! It must be trying to escape!"
Izuka then realized something and summoned her flying star, shocking all of them as she flew up a couple of feet. However, the strong wind was causing her to lose her balance and she was pushed backwards. She went flying off the star back towards the ground, Shoto grabbing her hand.
Shoot! Gran Torino gritted his teeth; one of two people who could fly couldn't even get past the wind now. If he takes him too high, I won't be able to reach him with my Quirk.
"We have to do something quick!" Izuka gritted her teeth, clenching her fists. She didn't even know there was a Nomu around, but since they belonged to Shigaraki, she wondered if this was done on purpose.
"You can't fly!" Shoto warned the girl before she could attempt to. "The wind's too unstable!"
"That's my brother!" She argued back just as Stain revealed another knife hidden. He then reached out his tongue and licked the blood from the hero's cheek. This caused the Nomu to start falling towards the floor, Izuku looking forward in shock.
"The word hero has lost all meaning in this society," Stain ran up to the two, having cut himself free. He then lunged forward, raising his arm. "The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase pretty dreams!" He then stabbed the Nomu in the head, sliding down to a stop with Izuku in tow. Izuku was now on the ground as the smoke cleared, panting. "You must all be purged."
Izuku gasped sharply, Izuka's mouth opening in shock towards the man. Native was shocked as well.
"That idiot's making a move. And he's so noisy," He muttered while looking up to the sky, keeping his hold on Native. "I'll dispose of him later."
Native then gave a horrified gasp at what Stain was capable of. If he hadn't been saved by the students, that could've been him...!
"What the...what the heck was that...?" Izuka murmured in utter confusion staring at Stain. Did he just...save Izuku? After we all had defeated him? Why...? Is he trying to kill us now because of what we've done?
Stain then let out a satisfied sigh, drool coming from his mouth. "Everything that I do..." He then pulled out his blade from the dead Nomu. He was still holding onto Izuku. "Is to create a stronger society." All of them stared in fear, wondering what was going through the villain's head.
"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell?!" Shigaraki protested as he had seen the whole thing with binoculars. He was still standing on top of the water tower with Kurogiri. "This is no fair! Why'd he have to go and kill that Nomu? And why are those twin brats here? I'm so mad, I don't even know what to say! This is a mess!" He then started scratching at his neck in his failed plan. "Why do things never go the way I want them to?"
"Did he just save that kid?" One of the heroes wondered.
"He took him hostage, idiot."
"He killed that guy with no hesitation," A third gritted his teeth.
"Everyone be on your guard," The female hero glared up ahead. "We've got a fight on our hands!" All of them prepared themselves.
"Why are you all standing like fools?" Another voice called out, turning around to see Endeavor. "The villain must have flown this way, right?" He stared up ahead.
"You took care of the rest?"
"Mostly, things got a little rough at the end," He then squinted up ahead as he recognized Stain. "Hold on. Don't tell me that man is..."
"Let...go!" Izuku grunted out, Stain ignoring him. He glanced over his shoulder and then narrowed his eyes at who just showed.
"Endeavor..." His mask started to slowly fall off.
Endeavor grinned and then ignited his hand with a flame. "Hero Killer!"
Gran Torino then froze a bit. "Wait, Todoroki!" He held out a hand to stop him.
"Huh?"
"He's right, the Hero Killer's got my brother! Don't fire!" Izuka turned to the hero in a panic. Stain then finally released Izuku, who slowly got up. He gritted his teeth up at Stain as the mask came off and he gasped.
"You false hero!" Stain sneered as the most terrifying thing about him were his eyes. Everyone immediately tensed up. "I'll make this right..." He slowly stepped up, while the tension was very high. "These streets must run with the blood of hypocrites!" No one could even respond to him, they just listened. "Hero! I will reclaim that word!" He then stomped down a foot, looking like a monster almost to them. "Come on! Just try and stop me, you fakes!" The man challenged them all; even Endeavor couldn't act. "There is only one man I'll let kill me! He is a true hero. All Might is worthy!"
One of the heroes fell back in terror, Izuka's heart hammering as she gasped. All of them let those words sink in, and it wasn't until a knife dropped that Gran Torino reacted first. The knife was the only sound heard, the man gritting his teeth. There was no life in Stain's eyes at all, even though he wasn't mortally wounded.
Endeavor let out a gasp. "I think...he's...out cold," He deduced, Shoto and Tenya falling to the ground next. Gran Torino let out a small sigh and Izuka gasped, running over to her brother. She then bent down to hug him, crying a little in fear of what she just heard. She was relieved now that he was out, but...she also worried for All Might's safety at the same time. And she was expressing how grateful she was that her brother didn't end up dead like she thought he would.
It wasn't until later that we heard what happened. A Quirk didn't stop the Hero Killer. Izuku didn't register his sister's embrace, he was still staring at Stain. One of his broken ribs pierced his lung. He hadn't managed to lick anyone's blood. But still, in that moment...none of us could bring ourselves to stand against him. Only the Hero Killer had any fight left.
Honestly, between him having Izuku right here and the words he said...I couldn't even move until the Hero Killer had stopped. And even then...could we really even fight him after all that he told us? Not even one of the top five...could bring himself to fight anymore. Izuka was shaking with her eyes squeezed shut, tears falling down her face.
I don't think we had any heart in it at that point...