Mina watched Arata rush around, giggling to himself as he sifted through some of his primary school work. His laugh was contagious before he rushed over with a graded paper in hand. Her little brother had pink skin and hair like she did, but that pink on his skin was broken up by splotches of glue-gray like their Dad. And, unlike her, he kept the whites of his eyes while his irises shined in amber. "Look, look!" It was an assignment about writing kanji and their meanings. "100%!" he beamed.

"I see that!" She took the paper from his hands. "Wow!" She giggled, "You're so smart!"

Arata put his fists on his hips. "Yep! I'm one of the best students in my class!"

"Whoa! Really?!" she gasped dramatically.

He grinned, "Yeah!"

As he bounced on his feet, she stood. "You… must be a genius!"

"I'm smarterest ever!" he laughed.

"Yeah!"

Her mother's voice came from the opened door of his bedroom. "Mina, Arata."

Arata rushed towards her feet. "Mom!"

Minako placed a hand on her son's head. "Your father's trying to sleep. Please?"

"Oh!" Arata turned to his sister, shushing her.

"O-Oh, me? Sorry, my bad," she giggled.

Minako's hand patted her son's head. "Arata, go wash up. Our guest should be here soon."

"Ok, Mom," he said, walking off to the restroom.

Mina walked over to her Mom. "He's a total ball of energy…"

"He certainly can be," she said. Minako turned to her as concern crossed her usually firm neutrality. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm really fine, Mom." She started swinging her hips and pumping her fists. "I'll be dancing like normal before you know it!"

"Right, of course," she said before slowly, almost silently pulling Mina into a hug.

"O-Oh?" Mina blinked, "Ooh, we're hugging?"

Minako sighed in relief. "I'm glad, truly."

Her hands wrapped around her mother, patting her back. "I'm happy to be back."

They parted and Minako took her daughter's hand. "Come, let's… talk before your Principal gets here."

"Okay…" Mother led daughter to their living where they sat on the couch.

Minako patted her daughter's knee. "So, you stayed over at a friend's place for your internship."

"Y-Yeah?"

"You didn't tell me it was a boy."

Mina's voice turned high. "I didn't?" Her face contorted as her shoulders rose. "I thought I did…"

"He was the other one who got injured, correct?" She thought for a moment. "Midoriya… The same as the boy who attacked that other boy?"

Mina corrected, "W-Well, I wouldn't have said it like that, but y-yeah…"

"Okay…" said Minako. "Why?"

"Um… he and my other friend were fighting and they weren't telling me why because they were being stupid and I wanted to fix it."

Minako's face contorted, "So, you moved in for a week?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

She nodded before asking, "In what way?"

"It was, uh… ah—opp—opera-tune?" offered Mina.

"Opportunistic."

She snapped her fingers. "That's the word."

"Okay…" Minako took a deep breath. "And this wasn't some… romantic endeavor, correct?"

Mina's eyes practically popped out of her skull. "H-Huh!?" She vehemently shook her head. "N-No! No, no, no, no, no!" She waved her hands for emphasis, forcing a laugh. "It—It wasn't like that at all!"

Minako let out the breath she held. "Oh, thank heavens…" She shook her head. "I wasn't ready for that conversation and your father certainly isn't." She offered, "How is he?"

"Uh, last I heard from him, he's doing pretty okay – still in therapy, though," said Mina.

"Hm… That's good." Minako dusted herself off as she stood. "I'm sure we'll be able to put all of this behind us."

"Wha…" She followed her Mom onto their feet. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hm?" She waved the question off. "Don't worry about it, dear."

"M-Mom, that—that isn't funny." She shook her head. "What're you talking about?"

Minako sighed, "Sweetie, you ended up in the hospital." She stepped toward her. "You have a permanent scar on your back. I…" She questioned, "Is it not obvious?"

"W-What? No. What're you talking about?"

Her mother cleared her throat. "You weren't involved in the Hero Killer scare near your school, so I was willing to look the other way but…" She shook her head. "This school clearly can't protect you or train you. And neither can these 'Heroes', apparently."

Mina recoiled, "How—How can you say that? He was attacked!"

Minako scolded her sternly. "Don't raise your voice." Her jaw tightened, "This is for you."

"F-For me?" She gestured to herself. "How can it be for me? It—It isn't what I want."

"Want and need are two very different things," she corrected. "Mina, we could've lost you. Do you understand?" Her hand took her daughter's shoulder. "Can you imagine what that would've been like for me? Your father? Your brother?"

Mina swallowed, "B-But, you didn't lose me." She pushed out. "I can still do this."

"I don't…" She turned away, walking towards the kitchen. "I don't doubt your ambition."

"W-Why…?" Mina blinked before asking, "Does Dad know?"

Minako stood still. "…" She turned her head. "I'm sure he would agree."

Mina shook her head. "He wouldn't and you know it." She almost laughed, "That's—That's probably you're thinking about it now – when he's asleep."

Her mother turned, almost scowling, "Don't pit us against each other, Mina."

"You pitted your—"

"Mom, I'm done!" called Arata as he rushed into his bedroom.

Mina and her mother went silent as her brother called for either of them.

Eventually, Minako called out, "We're out here, Arata."

"Oh." The boy walked out to meet them. "Are we gonna watch TV?"

"I need to finish up in the kitchen," said Minako, "-but I'm sure your sister can watch something with you."

"Ooh, ooh!" Arata beamed at his sister. "Can we watch Honkai?"

Mina subtly glared at her mother before switching to a dramatic gasp as she turned to her brother. "Honkai?" She did her best to smile in spite of the discomfort in her heart. "That's still on TV? I can't believe it!"

"It is! It is!" He hopped up and down before rushing for the remote. "Let's watch it!"

"Arata." Minako brought a finger to her lips, which caused Arata to swiftly shush his sister who just… kept smiling.

-XXX-

"I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY!" cried Shinso Sora, hugging her son. Despite the fact she wasn't as tall as him, everyday it was made clear that she was certainly stronger than him as she swung him back and forth in the air. "I WAS SO WORRIED!" Her face was buried in his stomach, shielding her purple-colored eyes and effectively wiping her tears away with his shirt. His arms wrapped around her head to steady himself, brushing against her gravity-defying bob.

"I-I'm sorry for w-worrying you!" coughed out Hitoshi.

Katashi chuckled from the couch. "Better you than me, kid."

Sora's voice was muffled by Hitoshi's torso. "What're you doing down there, Kat?"

"Huh?"

She turned her head slightly, letting her voice echo into the living room. "You better come over here to greet your son."

Katashi blinked, "But…. I—I brought him here."

"Come over here, Kat."

"But—"

Hitoshi was certain his Mom shifted her head enough to glare at his Dad, growling out. "Get over here and hug ya boy, Kat."

Believe it or not, it was an awkward hug, but because of his Mom, he was taller than his Dad. "A novel experience…" To him, it was worth it.

"I believe those morons attacked you," she spat after releasing her boys. "Pieces of shit…"

"They'll find them, Sora," assured Katashi.

"They better." She started to stomp away. "They better find them before I do!"

If Hitoshi didn't know his mother's Quirk was the ability to influence the brain's motor cortex, he probably would've thought she had some sort of dragon Quirk. "If anyone else was looking at her, they'd probably assume she was about to breathe fire…"

"Honey, you're just hungry," said Katashi, following her into the kitchen while holding up his hands to calm her. "You need to eat."

"This isn't just hang-ger!" Sora's voice bellowed from the kitchen. "This is righteous FURY!"

"Yes, of course," said Katashi. "You want sushi? I can order us some sushi?"

"Yes, I want sushi."

"Hitoshi, get the menu from the Gardens in my desk!"

"Okay!" He chuckled, shaking his head, as he walked deeper into their house. "Give me a sec!"

-XXX-

"So, this… Dabi and Compress were working for the Hero Killer," muttered Hashida before delivering a grilled piece of beef into his mouth. "Are we sure about that?" He and Tensei were in a restaurant down the road from the Musutafu City Police Station.

"Pretty sure," said Tensei. "Someone who matches the description of the Hero Killer was seen during Dabi's attack – hell, that someone is the only reason we know this guy's name."

"The villain ain't talking?"

"No. He's scaring the hell out of the officers." He emphasized, "Dead quiet with a powerful Quirk and bright-blue eyes that follow you wherever you go."

"And, we don't have his full name anywhere?" Hashida asked.

"DNA will take another week or so," answered Tensei. "And the man doesn't have fingerprints."

Hashida whistled, "It's rough, having a Quirk like that."

"If only he found some other outlet for it," sighed Tensei.

"If only."

Between bites, Tensei asked, "What about Mr. Compress?"

"No fingerprints other than the listed police officers were found in the Operations Center. Which makes sense, pretty sure this guy had gloves on the whole time."

"DNA?"

"What do you think?"

"Another week…" After a moment of silent eating, Tensei shook his head. "I don't get it… What is it about the Hero Killer that is appealing to these two? Hell, what does Stain see in them?"

"They have pretty powerful Quirks?" was offered.

"Stain is too mission-oriented…" He leaned back in his seat. "You should've heard him talk… He isn't some villain. He's a fanatic."

Hashida shrugged, "They must've appealed to his mission then, at least, goal-wise."

"And these targets… By what the Hero Killer said that night, it made this attack seem like a hazing of some kind."

"A mission-oriented criminal recruiting…" He sighed, "That isn't going to be the last we hear of him or his lot…" He blinked, "But, then again… It does seem like he betrayed one of them, letting him get captured." He asked, "Did the police figure out how that happened yet?"

"There was a theory floating around that it was a vigilante, but…" Tensei trailed off.

"You don't agree."

"The Hero Killer was there that night. Dabi was escaping, probably to Stain. And, some random vigilante managed to intercept and the Hero Killer did nothing about it?" He questioned, "What if it was the Hero Killer himself? What if Dabi failed his… initiation?"

"For not killing Woods?" Hashida's face contorted. "But, wouldn't Stain just kill him?"

"I guess he would…" He shook his head. "What benefit would there be in keeping him alive?"

Hashida considered it for a moment before nodding to himself. "A fall guy…" He leaned forward. "Police cut the canvas off when Dabi was in custody, right?"

"Yeah… They had to focus on transporting him before he woke up," answered Tensei.

"He was bait for Stain to escape." He blew air before shaking his head. "This guy's a real piece of work…"

After finishing their last set of grilled meat, Tensei asked, "And, then, What is it about his targets…?" He drank from his glass. "I mean… What do Woods and I have in common? Or with Native?"

"Well, he doesn't think any of you are Heroes."

He nodded, "False Heroes."

"What a crock of shit…"

Tensei smiled at that before saying, "What's truly strange is that he doesn't broadcast his message loudly. He doesn't call a news station and tell them about the next body."

"Instead, he lets half-dead Heroes do the preaching…"

Tensei's jaw clenched, "We have to catch this villain…"

"Once the police have a lead, I'm sure they'll call us," assured Hashida.

Tensei muttered, "Here's hoping that's before another body hits the street."

-XXX-

Izuku pulled one of his old shirts over his head, slowly. Bandages wrapped around his torso and limbs, restricting his movement slightly. The underside of them was coated in a moist gel meant to sooth the inflamed portions of his skin. "Gross…", he thought as he leaned against the side of his hospital bed. He looked down at his bandaged arms, flexing his hands. In spite of his recovery, that stinging ache never quite left his body. Though, it was certainly duller than before – like the quiet hum of an electronic device.

Then, there was a knock on the door. "All done?"

"Yes," he answered before the door was opened.

Inko stepped into the room before shutting the door behind her. "How does it feel? I tried to get you the loosest shirt from your closet."

"I'll…" Izuku sighed, "I'll get used to it." After a deep breath, he lifted himself onto his bed and sat on its edge. "Did Dr. Shuzenji say what this was about?"

"We're meeting with her sponsor," she answered. "They're already handling the hospital bill. I didn't feel like it'd be right to refuse."

"She didn't say who?"

"She said it would be best to keep it quiet."

He hummed, "Hm…"

"How're you feeling, really?" Inko asked.

"Probably noticed the breathing…" Izuku straightened his back. "I'm really looking forward to when my skin stops being so sensitive." He fidgeted with his fingers. "It's just… so constant." To his eyes, there was the barest hint of a shake to his hands before balling them into fists. "But, I'll get through it," he assured. "What about you?"

"I wish I didn't have to work…" With her fingers, she started to brush the longer locks of hair atop of his head. "I can't stand the thought of you being here alone."

"I'm not alone, Mom," he offered.

She fought a sigh. "I know you have the staff and Dr. Shuzenji… and all of your visitors, but…" she trailed off. "I should be here."

"You can't be everywhere…"

"No… I can't." She shook her head as she leaned on the bed's side. "I really can't…" Her head lowered.

"Mom?"

Inko lifted her head, saying, "I want you to tell me about this Field Support program."

Izuku blinked for a moment or two. "Uh… okay." He refrained from the 'history' lesson aspect and kept the matter simple.

"So, you're a sidekick then in all but the name?"

His face contorted, "With more responsibility, technically?"

"That hardly seems fair…" She crossed her arms as she stepped away from the bed. "Did anyone else sign up for this program?"

"That I know of. I was the only one in my class."

"Did they give you any training?" Inko questioned.

Izuku nodded, "I attended a few of the Hero Course's sparring classes before the internship. Before that, I stayed after school and Shinso helped me."

"Just before the internship?" she echoed.

He shrugged, "I don't think they expected a lot of fighting…"

She paced back and forth. "Hm… Clearly…" He started to grow antsy when she grew quiet, pacing back and forth in front of him.

"Mom?"

Inko turned to him, stepping forward. "If," she said. "If you had another internship, where would you go?"

"I…" He swallowed, clearing his throat. "I would like to… go back to Mount-Lady's agency?"

She hummed, "Hm… Why?"

"They…" As his head lowered, Izuku couldn't help the smile that grew across his face. "They asked me to."

"They seem to care about you quite a bit," she said.

"I know," he chuckled. "It's almost hard to believe…"

"Wh—" A rapping of knocks clacked against the door as the Midoriyas looked to it. "Stay there, Izuku," said Inko as she walked over to the door. "Dr. Shuzenji." she greeted as she opened the door.

"Ms. Midoriya," returned Dr. Shuzenji as she stepped into the room. She then nodded to Izuku in his bed. "Mr. Midoriya."

Izuku gasped internally. "She's in her Hero costume…! A giant syringe instead of a cane is such a clever way to keep the Heroic image intact…!" He blinked, focusing on the mix of white and black within the clear plastic. "Wait, is there something inside it…?"

Inko closed the door before walking over to his bedside. "Is the sponsor here or…?"

"He's here," answered Dr. Shuzenji as she reached for the plunger of her giant syringe and pulled it off with a pop.

The white thing climbing out of the syringe was actually a furry, stout creature. The mix of black that once confused Izuku was actually its clothes: a vest, pants, and shoes – finished with a white dress-shirt and red neck-tie. "Excuse me," he said in a somewhat high voice. "Thank you, Dr. Shuzenji." As a creature, he had an assortment of varying features of different animals – his most prominent being the head of a kind of mouse.

Inko blinked, "O-Oh!" as the creature dusted off his clothes.

Izuku choked on his spit, coughing out with the point of his finger. "Y-You're—You're Nezu!" He gasped, "The Nezu!"

"N-Nezu?"

"He—He's the principal of U.A!" cried Izuku. He switched to a whisper in her ear. "It—It's rumored that—that he's the first animal to ever develop a Quirk!" He grinned, "And, he's smarter than everyone in the world!"

"My, my…" chuckled Nezu. "I wouldn't say I'm the smartest in the world, but I do appreciate the compliment."

"You're the sponsor…?" muttered Inko.

Nezu bowed his head. "Yes, I am." He cleared his throat as he stepped towards the bed. "First, nothing said here will leave this room. For your privacy and my own."

"O-Okay…"

"That rumor you spoke of is true."

"And… he heard me…"

"I hardly remember it, but I was once a normal animal before I developed a Quirk." Nezu climbed a chair as his Mom quickly reached over to steady it. "When that was discovered…" His snout lowered, "I was experimented on for years…"

"But, with your Quirk, you were sentient… You're—You're a person!" cried Izuku.

"That hardly mattered to them." Nezu held up a paw. "Though, I only say this so you understand why I am such an avid sponsor to Dr. Shuzenji's work under the Nyborg Accords." He turned to his Mom. "So you understand my… devotion to this. To ensure that no one will ever endure what I once did."

Inko bowed her head slightly. "We are grateful f-for your candor…"

"But why visit in person?" he finished before chuckling and taking out a card from his pocket. "To offer this." With a shift of his thumb, the cards shifted; extended one to Izuku and the other to Inko.

They both took one and the once plain cards' surfaces shifted upon contact. Stripes of red, blue, white, and gold crossed the front and back of the cards. Then, the letters 'U' and 'A' flashed into place before the back of the card unveiled Nezu's name, email, and phone number.

"An offer that will last so long as you need it—for as long as I hold my station," continued Nezu. "For your protection and peace of mind, a place at my school in any Course you choose."

"Midoriya Izuku, I give you an open invitation to my school—to U.A. High School."

-XXX-

"Compress, how're the streets?" asked Chizome. "After laying a trap in a QCC in Hosu City and those thieves hiding in Musutafu, police will undoubtedly be monitoring the vacant ones heavily…" He, alongside Innsmouth, holed up in a motel room while Mr. Compress had returned to his maskless exploration. "I can't—We can't rely on them any more…"

He adjusted his face mask. "There doesn't seem to be much of a police presence – the benefit, I suppose, of crossing prefectures and open water." His gaze swiveled over the room. "Iguchi hasn't returned?"

"No," he replied.

"Did anyone ask any questions about the room?" questioned Innsmouth.

"No one seems to be wiser," answered Sako. "For all they know, I and my lizard-faced companion are the only two staying here." He then added, "Though, there is no telling when either of our neighboring rooms may become occupied."

"We'll need to keep moving, soon," said the smuggler. "The boat we used will be discovered eventually. Once they find out it came from Musutafu, it won't take a genius to put two and two together."

Chizome opened his burner phone after a text came in.

"Your recommendation?" offered Sako.

"We're halfway through Matsusaka City…" muttered Innsmouth. "We can probably get through and cross into the Nara Prefecture by tomorrow if we move tonight." He offered, "It's tourist season, so we could cross over into Osaka or further west, to Kyoto. Blend into the crowds."

Stain closed his phone as he turned to the pair. "We're going south, into Wakayama."

"What? Why?" questioned Innsmouth.

"Your target. He's in Esuha City."

"We're still on this… hazing tour?" questioned the smuggler incredulously. "One of our own already been captured. We need to lay low."

"We need to act," corrected Stain as he lofted over Innsmouth. "Dabi must be denounced. Our message, our goals clarified."

"And what are your goals, really?" questioned the vestige of Midoriya as he leaned on the window's sill. "Let's be honest, you really have no other thought beyond 'killing the unworthy', right?" He wasn't the bloody mess that he used to be; his body appeared more as a charred corpse in tatters of fabric and warped metal. "And denounce Dabi? What about yourself?"

His eyes shifted back to Innsmouth as he asked, "How're we supposed to denounce him?"

Stain looked away from the smuggler. "Compress, you have a… eye for showmanship. I suspect you may have an idea."

"One or two," hummed Sako. "I'll coordinate with Iguchi."

"Good." Stain stepped back from Innsmouth. "Iguchi is collecting information on your target. Once he returns, we leave for Nara."

"Alright, alright…" sighed the smuggler. "You're the boss." He shook his head. "Either way, we should get a vehicle."

After Stain shot a glance, Sako offered, "I'll go with you." He turned to the door. "Allow me a chance to head out and make sure the alley out the window is clear."

"Heard," acknowledged Innsmouth. "I'll wait for your knock." After Sako left, the smuggler turned to Stain. "I've had to go on the lamb in this prefecture before." He shrugged, "I know where we can swipe a vehicle without it being reported for a couple of days, at least. A month, at most."

"Where is that?" asked Stain.

"North of here, on the edge of the city, there's an airport," explained Innsmouth. "Now, the parking garage attached to the airport is heavily monitored, of course. But, there's another parking garage a bit down the road from there that offers month-long renting of spaces. Most of the levels have security cameras. All except the ground floor – that's supposed to be monitored by the security guards. If we time it right, we can steal a car at their shift change without being noticed."

Stain nodded, "Good," as a series of knocks tapped on their window. "Iguchi should be back before nightfall. Do the same."

The smuggler nodded, "See you in a bit," before climbing out of the window and shutting it behind him.

"He's questioning you quite a bit, isn't he?" observed Midoriya. "Think that means he could turn?" He smiled, clapping his hands together as wispy flames escaped from the gaps between his teeth. "Hopefully, he does, so you and Spinner can murder him together!"

"Only if it's necessary…" countered Chizome.

"Necessary…" His eyes rolled, "That little word of yours…" He spat, "None of this is necessary. It never was." He sat on one of the beds, charring the fabric underneath him. "You know you could actually be helping people. Instead, here you are, tending to weeds, but not bothering to pull out the roots…"

"The roots…?" muttered Chizome.

Midoriya crawled up his back, festering, whispering in his ear. "These Heroes… The media… They're not the cause. They're symptoms." Heat radiated over his shoulders, enveloping his back. "Symptoms of an underlying disease you're not treating. If you wish to reach your goal, you must rise higher than this."

"Heroes respond to payment… To quotas and sponsors…"

"You've failed, Chizome," growled the voice. "Forty have fallen by your own hand, and what do you have to show for it?" He spat, "A lower crime rate?" His charred fingers – the exposed bone dug into the flesh of his neck. "You've achieved nothing… You can't keep repeating the same strokes and expect a different picture."

Stain took a breath. "Our message, our goals need to be clarified – remade…" He opened his phone and called his second back. "Iguchi, I have new parameters for our target selection."

-\ XXX /-

AN: Do you know what the definition of insanity is?

In this crazy world, how do parents protect their children?

Why can't rat stay in syringe when syringe-shaped?

Valuable questions... Valuable questions indeed...

Thank you for reading, and please criticize away!

Update Window: March 23th - March 29th

Intended Due Date: March 25th