Hello, all. Welcome back to another chapter of A Hero's Creed. I've had this chapter planned out for a... long while. I wonder what that says about my mental state? You will understand when you finish. I'm not sorry.

Booksavior69: I did try to hit all the highlights. I'm glad you noticed.

Coach Blahk: Oh no, he's dead! He was my best friend... Well, I didn't like 'im, really. Anyway, not every criminal is a Templar, this group just offed the wrong kid.

Gamelover41592: Yes... teamwork...

kashriramji: Will do!

LEGOBRICK13: Oh, there will be blood. I'm not sorry. Also, what was that dark energy that leaked out of your review and seeped into my keyboard? That wasn't evil and malevolance, was it? I sure hope not.

maxperseus130: So tell me, is this what you wanted? Are you not entertained?!

Monkey D. Conan: You thought that was dark? Oh, my loyal reader, you don't know the horrible, dark, evil recesses of my mind that only come out to play with a keyboard and fictional characters. We're just scratching the surface.

Monster King: Here you go!

Movieboy66: Well, here's the start of Izuku's quest. Too bad it won't be all sunshine and rainbows.

Ranger McAleer: We will have leaps of faith, but they will be rare. Not a lot of conveniently-placed carts of hay or flowers in the modern age, really. And has there ever been a version of Izuku Midoriya to not get in trouble?

Shadowwolf1997: I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter, but every up must have a down. And where there is light, it only makes the darkness darker. As for Bakugo, you will see that in the next chapter, next year.

stevenpiskunov2: You have only glimpsed the darkness I am willing to wring upon these characters! You have only tasted the dark; I have pondered it, molded my narration by it. I AM THE DARK! See the fruition of my plans!

zakan: Thank you.

Zonzus: I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'd been planning that chapter for a while, and the same can be said for this one, though I don't know if you'll like this one quite as much... Let's just say I'm really earning that M-rating.

Guest: I will try!

Chapter 56:

Unsanctioned

Izuku was eating dinner when the text from Samedare reached him. It was a link to a news report, the boy's captioned "Thought you'd want to know" prompting Izuku to click on it then and there. The link opened a page showing a man with dirty blond hair and two horns, the left one of which was broken near the base.

"Good evening," he said as he straightened the papers in his hands, letting Izuku know when this segment had come out. "I'm Daikaku Miyagi for NEWs News. Breaking today: vigilante activity left a grim scene in Aichi Prefecture last night. Paramedics were called to the docks to find a warehouse slaughtered and captives freed. Police were on the scene momentarily and the numbers have only just been released and victims identified. In total, 17 people were murdered and 13 women rescued out of 15. One captive was pronounced dead at the scene and another was declared braindead in the hospital later that night. Other captives say neither vigilante is responsible for those captives' deaths.

"Most of the deaths were identified as employees of the dating company HeartSeed in whose name the warehouse was registered, among them being the company's founder Hanasu Teian who was found stabbed to death in her office." A picture of Teian appeared on the screen, soon to be joined by another familiar face. "The other victim of note was Ketsubutsu second-year Hero student Yo Shindo, found naked and stabbed in the underground lair where the female captives were being kept. This is the second Ketsubutsu Hero student found dead in the past month, the first being Koshusuru Gammu, a first-year. Authorities now believe their deaths may be connected, but the investigation has only begun and answers will have to wait. We have reached out to the school for comment and have not yet heard back. Most of the women's identities have been classified in the hopes they may return to society in due time, but one agreed to an interview with our on-site reporters. Let's see what she had to say."

The screen changed to the redheaded woman Izuku recognized, her body wrapped in both the sheets he'd given her and another blanket from the paramedics. She was holding a steaming mug of something and resting on the bumper of an ambulance. Next to her was a female reporter with blue skin, a microphone on her hand. The bar that the bottom of the screen said 'Akane Yua: rescued victim'.

"There were two of them," she said, apparently answering a question. "I never saw their faces, but they weren't pro Heroes. I mean, I watched one kill three unconscious people. Still, I can't help but be grateful to them." Tears beaded at the corners of her eyes. "If… If it wasn't… If they hadn't come when they did, we'd still be…" She sniffed, recollecting herself with a shake of her head.

"If they were watching, is there anything you'd want to tell them?" the reported asked.

"It'd tell them thank you," Yua answered. "Maybe they're killers and that's wrong, but they saved me. They aren't Heroes, but I know they're mine. I'll never forget what they've done for me."

The screen switched back to the news anchor, the previous video pausing and shrinking to the top left corner of the screen. "With 19 dead, this incident calls for reconsideration of a number of laws pertaining to vigilantism and online dating, but not all details about this have been unearthed and the investigation is still underway. It also begs the question of who these vigilantes were. Based on descriptions, they may have been inspired by the Hero Killer who has been inactive for the last few months. If this is so, could more vigilantes appear with equally-lethal methods? We will bring you updates to the story as details appear. In other news—"

The video ended there, the replay button filling the darkened screen. A tear fell to the phone, causing Izuku to realize he was starting to cry. He pulled back, unable to stop the waterworks but at least ensuring his phone didn't get damaged. Not wanting to damage anything else, even if the old hotel was past its prime anyway, Izuku went to the window and stuck his head out, letting the tears flow.

Rumi had returned by the time he finished, the dark-skinned woman questioning him with her eyes. He flushed, having hoped she wouldn't have seen him in such a state while she reported to Mentor.

"Have a good cry, runt?" she teased.

"Shut up," he muttered. "Samedare sent me the news about HeartSeed. Yua thanked us."

"Alright then." Rumi brushed it off, dropping onto the couch where she cracked open a beer, gesturing to a cooler sitting on the table. "Grab one and let's celebrate."

"Master, I'm underage."

"Ahaha!" Rumi laughed, her ears flopping backward. "You'll kill people but you care about drinking laws? Come on. To a mission well-done!"

Izuku shook his head but the rabbit-woman's attitude was infectious. Silently swearing that this was just another thing his mother didn't need to know about, Izuku grabbed his own beer, cracked it open, and cheered with his current sensei.

"Kanpai!"

He nearly spit up his first sip, Rumi laughing at his disgusted expression. Three drinks and two of Rumi's stories later, both were feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"And…" Izuku chuckled, his cheeks red. "A-And I said…" He giggled. "And I said, now that's a katana!"

Rumi folded in on herself, laughing without a care. Izuku raised the can in his hand to his lips only to get nothing more than a single drop. He blinked at it, comprehending too slowly that it was empty. With a shrug, he threw it toward the trashcan on the other side where it bounced on the lip, barely making it in. He threw his hands up, proud for some reason he couldn't name.

"Hey, runt," Rumi hiccupped. "Listen, I've been thinking—"

"No, I won't put bunny ears on my Hero costume."

"Okay, I asked that one time," the pro grumbled. "And, for the record, I think it would be *hic* cute. You know, teacher and student with matching ears, even if yours are fake."

"I'm not putting bunny ears on my hood." He opened another beer, too buzzed at this point to care about the legalities. As Rumi had mentioned before, he was already a killer. What was a little underage drinking?

"Fine. That's not what I was thinking about anyway. I think it's *hic* about time I settle down and start an agency."

"PFFFT!" Izuku coughed, trying to clear his throat after his drink went down the wrong way. "Wh-What? You? Settle down? Agency?"

"It's not that crazy, is it?" Rumi asked. She fell backward, stretching herself over the couch. "I mean *hic* I've got more money than I could ever spend and a life that could kill me at any moment. I can't just, I don't know, will it all to the Bro— *hic* Brotherhood. That much money, it's not just the Templars that would wonder where it all went. If I start an agency, though, I can start programs and funnel it and *hic* whatever. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about agencies. I mean, where should it be? Who do I contract for the building? Should it look normal or wild? What do I even call it?" She grabbed at her ears with her free hand, spilling a little of her beer. "Dammit. I knew it was a *hic* a stupid idea."

"I don't think so," Izuku commented, the woman turning to look at him. He sipped his drink, staring at the ceiling. "It's a really good point about your fortune. You could do a lot of good with it, but only by owning the programs could we ensure Templars don't sink their teeth into it. Heh. You could call the building The Warren. You know, like a rabbit's den."

"That's a better name than Edgeshot Tower!" Rumi laughed. "Oh, I could fill it with all these cool things like secret doors and booby traps." She giggled. "Heh, traps… I just need to find a contractor I can trust. You know any?"

"…Actually," the student hummed. Rumi blinked. "One of my classmate's parents own a construction company out of Mie. They haven't gotten much business since they're small, so major projects can take a while compared to larger groups, but that means they can't be affiliated with Templars. Plus —and I hate to think this is a positive— they need a big contract. They'd be willing to agree to some pretty crazy stuff. Like NDA, memory-erase-y stuff. You could bury it in the contract, but I think saying a Hero Agency needs its own secrets may be reasoning enough for the kind of money you can offer."

"Huh." Rumi shook her head side-to-side, making her big ears flop. "Yeah, maybe this could work. I heard through the grapevine you're good with a pen. Think you can make me some blueprints?"

"Well, different layouts would require more space—"

"That's not an issue, runt. I'm one of the Top Ten; I can afford just about anything. Hell, ol' Whale Face works out of an aquarium. Do you know how much it costs to keep one of those running even with his Hero work? Just give me a good plan, one for the official records and one for the actual building with all the doohickies."

"Doohickies?"

"You know what I mean, runt. Can you or can't?"

"I'll need… maybe a week?" Izuku decided. "It'd be less, but between training and patrols—"

"Yeah, I get it," Rumi waved off. "Just because we had a successful mission does not mean we get to take the next day off. That's the life that comes with being a pro Hero as a day job." She sighed, rubbing her head to ease the headache that was already settling in. "Much as we wish. Ugh, I need another drink."

"I'll cheer to that!"

-AHC-

Izuku swore off ever drinking again the next morning, a vow Rumi only laughed at. At least until her own hangover reared its ugly head to cut her mirth short. Other than a recovery period Izuku considered far too long —he never wanted to start a patrol with a hangover again, that was for sure— the next couple of day were normal. The news only had one more segment on HeartSeed before the daily exploits of pro Heroes overshadowed the story.

Unlike the news, Izuku did not move on. Samedare hacked into the police system once more, getting him the confidential names of the women he and Rumi had rescued so Izuku could crosscheck them with the ledger he'd stolen. Of the 15 there had been, 14 had X's by their listings while the 15th, the one who had been declared braindead, had an X'd out heart. She was the one who had gone missing after her divorce, with her ex-husband already under investigation.

'So the X's mean a kidnapping,' Izuku thought to himself in the dark of night, not wanting to mutter lest he wake Rumi and reveal he'd stolen Teian's records from her office and not reported it. His eyes drifted to those in the past, the ones they had been too late to save and were, by all likelihood, broken and disposed of. A quick internet search —from different sources, of course— had found all the missing posters of the victims, the start of a plan already forming in Izuku's head. And his first target would tell him what the circled X meant. Thinking about it reminded him of the conversation he had with Samedare about that.

"I did manage to dig up something about Shiba-sensei's history," he'd said after giving Izuku the names. "It seems she, her husband, and Joshi all went to high school together, but her husband Kibishi transferred in while she and Joshi had been in the same elementary and middle schools together. Family friends, it seems. Joshi and Kuroinu were on the soccer team together while Shiba-sensei was a cheerleader."

"I don't like the implications there."

"Neither do I," the younger boy agreed. "Seems Shiba-sensei made her choice, and Joshi didn't like it. She married Kibishi Kuroinu and had triplet girls. They're in their second year of middle school now while he's a PE teacher and soccer coach. And get this, Joshi's the one who ran the missing persons case for her."

Izuku decided to act that night. He waited until just before midnight, waiting until he could hear Rumi's quiet snores coming from the bedroom before unlatching the window. He sent a single glance back, reconsidering his plan, but shook his head. If he tried to explain to Master Usagiyama, she would stop him, telling him something about how their fight was with the Templars and those who attacked Assassins, not random sleazebags with too much money. Set in his plan, Izuku tightened his dark-green hoodie's drawstrings and leapt, landing in the soft-rubbish-filled dumpster placed perfectly below.

He popped into the den, but only long enough to grab his hidden blades, mask, and tactical belt before leaving through another portal, the same one he and Rumi had used to head to their self-chosen mission in Aichi since this one would take him to the same prefecture.

Thirty minutes of rooftop travel took Izuku to the first obstacle of his night, the gate surrounding Kusatta Joshi's neighborhood. Being a well-respected and well-paid police chief, the man lived in an area that was expensive, clean, and guarded. The only way in without a flying Quirk was through the entrance or exit gates. A man stood guard within a small room between them, waiting for anyone to approach from either direction, while periodically scanning the camera feeds over his shoulder. There was a glass window overlooking the street and open windows on either side toward the gates.

Izuku's gaze hardened from his vantage point in a tree near the wall. He'd already tried climbing said wall without success, so he'd need to get through the guardroom without spilling innocent blood if he wanted into the neighborhood. Luckily, he had the tools and training to do so.

He reached up, pulling back his sleeve to fiddle with the hidden blade bracer on his left arm. His dart set, Izuku aimed and fired, the man twitching slightly as the sleep dart jabbed into his arm. Within moments, he slumped over in his chair, dead to the world. The next dart went into the camera Izuku could see, perched so it would watch inflow and outflow traffic from the outside.

Nodding to himself, the green-haired youth dropped from the tree and ran, dashing past the lit gate as quickly as possible before vaulting into the guardroom. The man didn't so much as twitch while Izuku took stock of the security. There was another camera he could not currently reach on the other side of the wall —a mirror to the one he'd broken— as well as four others through the neighborhood at strategic points. Izuku would need to break two of these before reaching his goal.

Resecuring his gloves, the boy pulled the dart from the guard and leaned out the window, firing it into the second camera. With the gates clear of surveillance, though he unplugged the monitors too, Izuku completed his initial infiltration of the colloquially-known to the locals as Kanemochi no Basho, the Place of the Rich.

A moment of consideration led to him deciding he needed to follow the street. Much as the destruction of two more cameras would leave a sort of trail, the houses were too far apart to reliably jump between and running thought the yards carried the chance of motion lights detecting him. Now, if he had Master Usagiyama's Rabbit or another Quirk—

Izuku shook the thought away. He did not have a Quirk and would need to rely on the old, old fashion ways to get this done. With a quiet sigh, Izuku left the guardroom and trudged into the neighborhood. The two cameras he needed to pass met similar fates to the ones before, leading Izuku outside his destination.

Kusatta Joshi's house was on the larger side of medium with a blending of eastern and western style. It appeared to be a two-story with off-white walls and a well-kept yard, two sakura trees obscuring much of the front of the house. Unlike what the Assassin Apprentice expected, there was no car in the driveway. Several windows looked out over the street, an area Izuku now avoided since the road was well-lit with streetlights. He'd considered removing those as well but decided that would just be rude and had the unlikely chance of giving away that something was amiss to anyone coming through at the late hour, slim chances beside.

If all went well, there would be no evidence of his passage on the street other than the cameras' destructions.

Needing to press onward, Izuku ran into the target's front yard and climbed the front of his house, searching for a window that opened. His first try —a hallway window— didn't work, but the master bedroom did. He flicked his wrist, shimmying the blade into the latch before pulling the glass open.

Surprisingly, Joshi was not in his bed, and evidently had not been in the room for a while. Likely, he was not home, which would explain the lack of a car. Deciding that meant he should have free reign of the house to look for evidence, Izuku activated his Eagle Vision and trudged into the hallway.

The house was spotless, the kind that can only come from a resident who was rarely there. The decorations were shiny, the silverware ordered and put away, and the furniture unwrinkled. Having grown up in a well-lived-in, well-loved apartment, the sterility of the place sent a shiver down Izuku's spine.

Then he saw it, a decoration on a hallway table on the lower floor. It appeared to be a golden recreation of the goddess Amaterasu, chains clamped around her wrists and ankles. Izuku turned it, hearing a click that caused a section of the floor ahead to hiss, opening. The hidden mechanism revealed a safe door large enough for a person to move through, a handprint sensor keeping it firmly shut. If Izuku wanted to know what it contained, Joshi would have to open it himself.

Leaving that for a later time, Izuku reset the hidden lever and continued his search. A dozen steps and an unlocked door took him into the target's office, a smaller room with a desk in the center, on which sat a remote of some sort, a couple books, and a laptop charging cable. Filing cabinets lined the walls except for a bookcase that didn't reach the ceiling across from the desk. There were no windows, but on the wall toward the back of the house was a large, framed picture of Kusatta Joshi with the Kuroinu family, said photo a couple years old by now based on the newness of the girls' middle school uniforms.

The target was a tall man with wavy, white-blue hair that fell to the small of his back, part of it sweeping to the side to rest on one half of his square-rimmed glasses. His eyes were black with red pupils, those being the only thing that really stood out about him.

Shiba Kuroinu was a pretty woman with minor canine heteromorphic features, those being the ears and tail of (fittingly) a Shiba Inu. Her hair was the same brown with cream-colored accents as her furry extremities and her figure was the kind some of his classmates would have drooled over, similar if a little stockier than the likes of Momo or Tsuyu. Her blue eyes were crinkled with joy as she rested a hand on the shoulder of the triplet closest to her.

Kibishi Kuroinu had the heteromorphic features of a black hound, which probably explained why Shiba chose him in the end. Their girls, in contrast, carried the black-and-white markings of huskies, all identical in their middle school uniforms—red button-ups under black vests.

No later than he'd studied the photo did lights shine through the front windows, a car pulling into the driveway. Panicking, Izuku climbed the bookcase and froze, trusting the shadows and height would keep him hidden. Sure, he could have assassinated Joshi as he entered, but he needed the man to lead him to Shiba, or whatever remained of her. He waited, only needing to be still for a couple minutes before the front door unlocked and slammed open.

"Stupid fuckin' vigies," Kusatta Joshi growled as he stepped into his house. The door slammed with too much force, the man stomping into the hall. "At least they killed that bitch instead of leaving her alive, but the clean-up…" He grabbed something and threw it—Izuku suspecting it was one of the decorative plates that had been on the wall based on the shattering sound. He stomped another couple steps before the hum of the hidden door being revealed sounded. "Bitch! Get the fuck up here!"

The response, if there was one, was too quiet for Izuku to hear. A woman gasped, presumably after reaching the hallway, before Joshi's footsteps started getting louder. The door opened, the owner of the house leading Shiba Kuroinu into the office, a hand fisting her hair. Time and captivity had not been kind to her, her arms and waist showing her malnourishment. She was dressed in the rags of what may have once been a skimpy maid outfit like one would see for a Halloween in an American college. The thin top barely covered her chest and the skirt was held up by the woman's sagging tail, showing she had not been permitted to wear underwear. A collar was secured around her neck, just tight enough that Izuku could hear the labor in her breaths, but she kept her left hand curled, ensuring her wedding ring didn't fall from her thin finger.

Joshi paused, studying the room for a moment before leading the woman to the desk. There, he sat in his chair and pulled the woman down, beginning to satisfy himself. Her face stayed blank, the kind of blank only seen by someone who had lost their hope but not their mind, shutting down in the vain desire that they might, one day, escape. Her eyes flicked to the picture, one tear leaking down a hollow cheek.

Izuku readied a dart, but the way Joshi had positioned the woman blocked any avenue of attack from his current placement, and to move would be to alert the man to his presence. Even as he watched, Joshi reached around, dragging his captive's top down to expose her. He stood, taking control as she could do nothing but whimper.

"You're boring me," Joshi warned slowly. He reached for the desk, pressing a button on the remote sitting there. His victim went rigid, her body convulsing as lights on her collar blinked. He let go. "Maybe you're tired of this? Perhaps it's time I find myself some new pets. Maybe… three of them? A matched set."

"N-No!" Shiba rasped, panting. "Please, no! Not my daughters!"

"Then you better keep entertaining me. I saw them just the other day, you know. You husband comes in every week, asking if we have any new leads." Joshi smacked her, the woman moaning in pain. "That stupid mutt. He's a loyal dog if nothing else. Your girls, though, they're filling out nicely, and if you don't want me to take them too, you need to show me why I don't need to."

Izuku clenched his teeth, his hands shaking as he witnessed such an act. More tears slid down Shiba's face as she started pushing back, putting in that effort Joshi demanded. He yanked, dragging her head back, before a pistol appeared over her shoulder, aimed directly at the top of the bookcase.

"I know you're there," Joshi said. "I can see you. Come down now or I'll shoot you dead."

'Shit!' Izuku thought. 'Shit! I should have jumped him at the door!" Every other plan he could have had flashed through Izuku's mind, each one better than the situation he found himself in. Should, should, should, and yet all for naught.

Izuku shifted slowly, careful to avoid any sudden moves as the corrupt police chief of Aichi followed him with the barrel. Shiba gasped, trying to cover herself as the hooded teen settled on his feet. The red in Joshi's eyes glowed, one sending out a ray that scanned Izuku. He shivered, the light tickling.

"Izuku Midoriya. Age 15. Quirkless. Hero student at UA? How the hell did you manage that?"

"H-How?" Izuku gasped against himself.

"My Quirk: Scan lets me scan for clues and get information on people, comparing data to information on public servers I've connected to. Its basic scan is how I knew you were there." Izuku clenched his fists. Now he'd been seen and identified. "Now then, I think we're at an impasse, kid. You know my dirty little secret and I know yours. I could get rid of you now, but then UA might come sniffing around and I don't want that, so let's make a deal. If you swear to say nothing of this, I'll say nothing of you." He grinned a sick grin. "In fact, I'll sweeten the deal. You teenage boys are all horny little bastards, right? I'll let you have a go with this slut before you leave."

"Why do you even have her?" Izuku asked. "What did she do to deserve this?"

"What did she do?" Joshi echoed. "What didn't she do? I carefully crafted our story from the moment I understood romance. We were family friends, growing up together, playing together. It was the perfect recipe for a fairytale happy-ever-after. And then he showed up." The man threw Shiba aside, seemingly uncaring that it revealed himself. Izuku blinked, an idle part of his mind concluding why Shiba hadn't reacted much initially. Poor guy. On the floor, Shiba started trying to crawl away as quietly as she could, slowly. "That bastard mutt. I was better than him in every way that mattered. I was smarter, had better grades. I was more handsome. For godsake, he has the head of a fucking dog. I was wealthier. I could provide a stable home, nice luxuries, not having to live paycheck to paycheck. Even in sports we were an even match despite his mutations! What the hell did he have to offer that I didn't? And yet, despite all that, this stupid bitch chose that mutt over me."

He raised the button in his free hand, pressing it. Shiba jerked on the floor, her malnourished fingers clawing at the electric band around her neck. She yelped, whimpering through the pain.

"Stop it!" Izuku ordered. He ran to her, kneeling by her side without concern for the gun still pointed at them. "You're hurting her!"

"I've been hurting her for a year and a half," Joshi replied, cavalier about the whole thing. "It's only a taste of the pain and misery she's caused me, turning me down for my rival and then wanting to stay friends. I had to watch her glow on her wedding day, beam through her pregnancy, greet her girls when they came into this shit world. I had to fake happiness all these years as I watched that no-good, moronic, dog-headed, hydrant-humping asshole live the life I should've had! She should've chosen me!" He was panting with rage, his pistol shaking.

And then suddenly, Joshi went still. He breathed, eerily calm. He raised the remote for the shock collar.

"Kibishi Kuroinu took everything from me, so I'll take everything from him."

He pressed the button. Shiba convulsed, screaming as volt upon volt of electricity shot through her. Joshi watched with a twisted grin, his red eyes glowing. Ambient shocks went through Izuku as he tried to help in vain, his fingers going numb as he attempted to get her collar off. The woman managed, through sheer force of will, to grab his sleeve, pressing something that shocked him against his palm. His hand closed just before she pushed him away, the scent of burnt pork hitting him. Her neck was blackened, a single tear rolling down her face as she rolled onto her back, whispering her husband's name a final time.

"Oh dear," Joshi said, his voice blank. He released the button, but other than a couple twitches from any lingering electricity, there was no movement from Shiba Kuroinu. Her chest no longer moved. "I think I broke it. Oh well. You can still have a turn."

"No," Izuku gasped. He crawled to the woman, trying in vain to restart her heart with the CPR he knew. "Come back. Come back! Please! They need you!"

"There's no point," Joshi commented. "You might as well hurry it up and use her while she's still warm." Izuku shook, his hand clenched around the item she'd given him. It was a letter opener, a penknife shaped like a tiny katana and made of stainless steel. She must have grabbed it from the desk when Joshi noticed him. Compared to his hidden blades, it was nothing. "Well?" Joshi asked. "What are you waiting for? Or do I need to dispose of two bodies tonight?"

"You're a monster," Izuku whispered. He stood slowly, his eyes shadowed by his hood. He glanced up, one green eye glaring bloody murder through his domino mask. "I came here to kill you for your dealings with HeartSeed, but now it's much more personal."

"You?" the man laughed. "Kill me? I thought you were a Hero student of UA."

"Oh, I am," the boy replied. "During the day. At night, I'm an Assassin."

"Then die."

Smoke exploded from Izuku's feet where the smoke bomb he'd dropped landed. The verdet moved before the smoke had even started, two bullets whizzing over his head to land somewhere in the wall. Joshi only had time for his eyes to widen before Izuku tackled him, the gun flying out of his hand.

Izuku was so angry, all of his training had gone out the window. He straddled the corrupt chief, bringing the penknife down into his chest. Joshi gasped, his hands coming up to claw at Izuku's arms. He batted them away, bringing the tiny blade up to stab him again.

And again and again and again and again and again. Joshi gurgled, his struggles weakening, but that didn't stop the enraged boy. This was only a taste of the pain and misery he'd brought to Shiba Kuroinu, only a piece of the pain her family would feel. He deserved so much worse that this.

"That's enough, Apprentice," a voice ordered, a gloved hand catching Izuku's wrist at its apex. Blood dripped from the fancy letter opener, falling over his hoodie. "37 is enough. He's dead."

Fresh tears rolled down Izuku's cheeks, the weapon falling from his grasp to bounce off his shoulder and clatter to the floor. He hadn't even noticed when the man's struggles had stopped, when his screams had ceased, when his life ended. Izuku turned slowly, meeting the emotionless gaze of Master Assassin Rumi Usagiyama.

"A-And Kuroinu… Is she…?"

"She's dead, too," Rumi confirmed. Izuku turned back to look at his latest kill. He was splayed out, blood leaking from the corners of his mouth and his face locked in a rictus of pain and fear. His tie, white button-up, and suit jacket were perforated with 37 stab wounds, each leaking red into the cloth and onto the floor. Izuku turned back.

"M-Master, I—"

Rumi's foot smashed into his face, the boy flying into the bookcase. He coughed, the impact driving the air from his lungs and knocking his domino mask loose, only for said mask to come off fully as he hit the ground. He reached for it, getting his fingers around it as his teacher's fingers wrapped around his throat, lifting him and shoving his back against the bookcase. Due to their heights, he could still barely touch the floor, but the fury in her eyes lessened nothing.

"This is your fault, Apprentice," she hissed, gesturing with her free hand at the scene behind her. "One success and suddenly you think you're an infalliable Assassin? That just because you killed Teian, every assassination will be that easy? You were too hasty. I was planning on letting the HeartSeed news blow over more before taking out Joshi two days from now. Because you acted recklessly, an innocent woman is dead." Izuku didn't have a response, prompting Rumi to forge ahead. "Did you think I was just going to let him go? Did you think after what he did to Gammu, I would let him live? He caused the death of one of ours. One of my runts."

"Then what about the others?" Izuku demanded, his empty hand tugging on the fingers around his neck as the other squeezed his mask. One of his eyes was already swelling from her kick, but his other glared, cold fury building in temperature. "What about Yashin?"

"Yashin?"

"Okina Yashin." The mask in his hand cracked under the force of his fingers. "She paid to have Akane Yua abducted and locked away in that hellhole."

"That's not—"

"Zurui Sagishi, removed Hana Shojiki for 167,489,000 yen."

"Apprentice—"

"Kagareta Fuchui, Okane Seicho, 198,580,000."

"Stop—"

"Donyoku—"

"Stop it!" Rumi shoved him back, the bookcase digging into his spine. "We exist to keep the Templars at bay. We strike those who strike us. We aren't here to police the morality of the entire world."

"Well maybe we should!" Izuku shoved her away, the venom in his voice catching her off guard. "Maybe someone has to!"

"Bite your tongue, boy," Rumi spat. "That's what the Templars claim to do."

"And that automatically makes the very idea evil?" Izuku shot back.

"We must stay our blades—"

"Don't you dare try to tell me that sack of shit was an innocent!" Izuku yelled, his voice cracking as he pointed at the homeowner's corpse. "Sure, he's on your list because he buried Gammu's tip, but he's not the only one who bought or sold a woman! You can't tell me it's fine for the rest of them to go free!"

"It is not our place to control the choices of the people."

"Control their—‽" Izuku was screaming by this point, his voice raw. "You damn hypocrite! We didn't control Gammu or Teian's choices, but still acted anyway! These are fuckwads who stole the lives and free will of women because they couldn't accept 'no' as an answer and planned to hide behind their money and influence! Templar or not, the people need to know that that shit won't go unpunished! The world needs to know that someone out there will bypass the slow arm of the law to catch those who would get away! For those with status, someone has to be judge, jury, and executioner!"

"And you think you're worthy of that role?" Rumi demanded.

"Why the fuck not?" the student growled. "I have the list and I've seen the names, Usagiyama." The pro Hero balked at his foregoing of using her title. "There are CEOs and pro Heroes on that list. Do you think the police or HPSC would let that get out? No! Someone has to show the public that it doesn't matter who you are, if you do something like this, you will pay the fucking goddamn price for it!"

Izuku panted, his piece said. Rumi stared at him. There was a fire in his eyes, one that she'd seen honed into a blowtorch against the Templars in others, but Izuku's was wild and hungry, prepared to devour anything he saw against his mission.

It was the fire of a heroic spirit stained with blood.

"As a Master Assassin, I should knock you back down to Novice and send you back to remedial classes with the kits," she said, her voice far too calm. "An innocent died because of your choices, and you have to learn to live with that. Even so, I'm sure nothing I do could stop you from this self-chosen crusade and you seem to have memorized the list already."

"You would have to kill me," Izuku replied. "Then you can explain to Mentor, UA, and my mother why I'm dead."

Rumi and Izuku shared a staring contest, his fury against her emotionless gaze.

"…Fine," she finally said. "I can't stop you, so I better at least make sure you don't compromise us and hopefully learn your lesson. Before you go after any of those targets, you contact me, got it? I can sanction the mission and make sure this" —She gestured at the morbid scene behind her— "doesn't happen again. Are we clear?"

"I—"

"I said, are we clear, Apprentice?"

Izuku practically deflated, his sudden, second rush of adrenaline bleeding away. "…Yes, Master."

"Good. Now let's clear the evidence and get the hell out of here. I'll prep the house to burn. It'll destroy the bodies and the evidence."

"Wait," Izuku begged, Rumi pausing to turn back to him. "I did this to send a message. I was hoping Mrs. Kuroinu would have been able to do that herself, but…" He swallowed hard, looking down. "Well, her family deserves to know what happened to her. And I refuse to let that bastard be remembered as a good chief and a decent man."

"You realize that will bring undo attention to this."

"I know, but… please. I made a mistake here. I made a mistake. Let me try to redeem myself. Maybe not to her, but to myself."

"…Very well." Rumi decided. She'd seen how far someone who failed would go to try to fix it, often landing themselves in deeper trouble. "You cocked this up, you can deal with the fallout. I guess this has to do with that message you mentioned."

Izuku nodded. Rumi waved him off, letting him set things the way he wanted. He could be an excellent Assassin in time, but only if he didn't get more reckless in a foolish attempt to regain his honor or whatever. If this was how he forged his will into the blade of a proper Assassin, so be it. She would at least keep him alive.

The student hurried up the stairs, ripping the sheets off Joshi's bed before bringing them back down. He wrapped Shiba's body in them so only her face was uncovered, grabbed the penknife, and carried the poor woman outside, doublechecking that no one watched. Izuku laid her on the grass before using his hidden blade to carve a message into the earth. To finish, he pulled out Shiba's missing persons poster —to which he'd attached a price tag of 108,200,000 yen— and a HeartSeed pamphlet. Using the now-blood-encrusted murder weapon, he pinned the pamphlet and poster to the earth beside the corpse.

Everything set, Izuku knelt, closing her eyes gently.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I failed you. Because of me, your life was cut far too short. Because of me, your family will never get you back. I pray you will forgive me. I hope your family can, too, since I know I may never forgive myself. Please, Shiba Kuroinu, rest in peace now and forevermore."

"You done, runt?" Rumi questioned. She had siphoned the gas from Joshi's car and doused the bottom floor of the house with it, leading everything to the kitchen window. There she stood, holding a box of thick matches. "Get over here."

Izuku stood and joined her, the Master Assassin offering him the box. The student took a shaky breath and accepted, lighting one. At Rumi's nod, he tossed the match in the window and watched as the gas ignited.

"Let's go," Rumi said, leading Izuku to the street. He glanced back once more before they vanished into the night. The heat from the growing inferno stirred the air, sending the pink petals of the sakura through the air in a beauty unbecoming of the scene. He reread his carved message as growing firelight danced over the still woman's face.

I FAILED TO SAVE YOU.

MAY YOUR FAMILY AND STUDENTS FORGIVE ME.

I WILL NOT FAIL AGAIN.

This was the first of what would become known as "The Pricetag Killings" and would overshadow another event happening that same night.

End of Chapter 56

Well, that was depressing. Izuku had to learn a hard lesson after that first success went to his head. Not every mission will be a success, and not every time will it be because of something unforeseen. He messed up, plain and simple. Next chapter, we'll move on to Bakugo, then Tsuyu, then Momo, then the others. After all that, we'll return to UA and a bit more normalcy. Look forward to all that and more this coming year! Tell me what you think and:

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods