Chapter 24 – Internships Begin
"Approved." Aizawa handed Iida the approved Internship Form that the bespectacled student had turned in the previous day.
"Thank you, sir." Iida gave a short bow as he accepted the form with a smile. Looking at the Hero Agency name again, Iida couldn't help but be happy. 'I can't wait to learn under you professionally, Tensei!' He was excited to be interning with his elder brother.
The seemingly miraculous recovery of Ingenium after the attack of the Hero Killer: Stain had made headlines. The Turbo Hero had given a small statement to the media and announced that he and his Agency would be back to their patrols soon. The public had cheered in relief that such a notable and respected Hero wouldn't be forced into early retirement.
For discretion, Izuku's name had been completely kept out of the limelight. The student didn't need to be hounded by the media for his involvement. The hospital certainly wasn't going to give out patient information like that. Likewise, the Iida Family were like iron in their refusal to speak about anything other than their eldest son's return to Hero work.
During the morning break, several of the members of Class 1-A were chatting about their choices for the upcoming Internships. Some had already decided which Agencies that they'd be going with, while others were still trying to choose.
"Hey guys, which Hero Agencies are you gonna intern with?" Mina questioned the group at large with a curious look. "I'm still having some trouble deciding."
"I'm going with Edgeshot." Camie smiled at her pink friend with a peace sign. "How can I turn down a chance to work with the Number Five Pro Hero, right?"
"I'm choosing Edgeshot as well," Momo smiled brightly at the group, once again making everyone call her cute internally. "I never suspected that I'd get an offer from such a high-ranking Pro Hero! It'll be an honor and a privilege to learn from him."
"We'll be together for the whole week, Yaomomo!" Camie grinned at her fellow Izuku lover. "We'll have to learn all sorts of Ninja Tricks while we're there." She put her hands together into a hand seal with a wink.
"I'm going with Gunhead." Ochako informed the group with a resolute nod. "I got an offer from him and I realized that I could really use more work on my hand-to-hand combat. Momo's weapons and other creations were really hard to try and overcome during our match. Plus, more options will make me more useful in the field."
"You go, Ocha-chan!" Camie giggled at the brunette. "We can spar after our internships and see how much you've improved!"
"You're on!" Ochako had a brief flare of her determined and competitive aura surrounding her for an instant before she returned to her usual smiles again.
"Don't be surprised if I pull off some ninja skills!" Camie laughed, making some of the other girls laugh with her.
"I was surprised to find the offer, but I'm going with Hawks." Tokoyami spoke up next and almost everyone at the table whipped around to look at the bird-headed teen.
"Hawks?!" Several of them exclaimed all at once.
"Yes, I was surprised, as I said." Tokoyami blinked at the large reaction. "I'm sure I'll learn a lot from a Hero that has climbed the Rankings so quickly."
"He's also really hot!" Toru giggled and Mina was quick to join her. Both of the girls acting like the teenagers they were.
"I'm heading for Fourth Kind's Agency!" Kirishima was next with a grin. "He's a tough Hero that really focuses on keeping crime down and doing public works. It's gonna be awesome!"
"What Agencies are you looking at Tsu?" Ochako questioned her verdette friend…girlfriend? That thought made her perma-blushing cheeks go a little rosier than normal.
"I've decided to go with Selkie's Agency." Tsuyu replied with a bright smile. "He's one of the top water rescue Heroes and works closely with the Coast Guard and stuff. I'm sure I'll be learning a lot while I'm there."
"That sounds perfect for you, Tsu-chan!" Mina high-fived the frog-like girl getting a cute 'kero' from Tsuyu.
"Who're you planning to intern with, Midoriya?" Toru asked the winner of the Sports Festival excitedly.
"Oh…I got an offer from Endeavor, so I'm going to be interning at his Agency." Izuku replied and most of the table went silent in shock. "I'm sure a Hero like him will have plenty to teach me about all the aspects of Hero work, from the field, to the office work, and everything in-between. I do have a Fire Quirk that I'd like to get some tips on while I'm there too."
"That does make sense, I guess." Kaminari nodded thoughtfully. "The fact that you practically dominated the Sports Festival would definitely get you noticed by the Number Two Hero."
"I think you've made an excellent choice, Izukun." Momo smiled warmly at her boyfriend.
"Thank you, Momo-chan." Izuku returned her smile. Camie grinned and gently scooted Momo closer to Izuku. On Izuku's side, Tsuyu saw what Camie was doing and pushed Izuku closer with a smile. The two cinnamon rolls blushed as they were now side-by-side and touching each other in front of everyone.
"Cute~" Toru and Mina cooed at the adorable sight.
-Train Station near U.A.-
"You've all got your costumes, right?" Aizawa questioned his class as they stood in the station entryway. "Wearing them in public is strictly prohibited, but don't drop them."
"Yeah!" Mina raised her case over her head with a bright smile.
"It's 'Yes, sir.' Ashido, don't forget that." Aizawa stared flatly at the pinkette.
"Yes, sir." Mina pouted at the dampening of her enthusiasm.
"All of you be on your best behavior!" Aizawa briefly activated his Quirk and all twenty students straightened up. "Now go." He motioned towards the platforms and watched as the teens split up.
-Train Platform-
"I'll see you in a week, Izukun." Camie smiled brightly at her boyfriend before hugging him.
"I'll make sure to stay in touch, Camie-chan." Izuku promised as he hugged her back.
"Let us know how everything is going at the end of the day." Ochako was the next to get a hug which she practically melted into with a smile. All of their group agreed that it was a good idea and would help them relax in the evenings.
"I know it's only a week, but I'll miss you, Izukun." Tsuyu snuggled into her boyfriend's embrace happily.
"I'll miss you too, Tsu-chan." Izuku gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Let's do our best on our internships, Izuku." Momo smiled beautifully at him before they embraced each other. The ravenette was quick to bury her face into his shoulder to hide her red cheeks. She still recalled all the teasing her mother had put her through after the Sports Festival.
"It's time to go, Yaomomo!" Camie called out a moment later, seeing the time and that their train would be there soon. "We have ninja stuff to learn!" She declared as she pressed herself into Izuku's back. "We're gonna be sexy kunoichi for Izukun when we get back~" She purred, teasing both of them at the same time.
"I'm still not sure if that's really what he'll be teaching us." Momo replied as she and Izuku separated with tomato red faces. Camie laughed brightly as she took Momo's hand and they walked to their train together.
"Love those girls." Izuku smiled as he waved to the four while they headed for their trains. He had to go and catch his own train soon too. It wouldn't do to be late to his first day of his first internship.
"Midoriya," Todoroki greeted his classmate coolly when the two saw each other in the same train car.
"Todoroki?" Izuku blinked at seeing the dual-toned teen heading the same way as him. "I didn't know you were heading the same direction as me. Who did you choose to intern with?"
"My father, the same as you." Todoroki informed him with a subdued air. "I've gotten some advice since we started the school year. After the Sports Festival…I've realized that I need to make some changes to my outlook on things. It's time that I start being the Hero that I want to be." He wouldn't tell the green-haired Class Representative about his ongoing sessions with Hound Dog, that was private, but he had decided to take the counselor's words to heart.
"Then I'm looking forward to working with you this week, Todoroki." Izuku smiled at his classmate.
"Looking forward to working with you as well, Midoriya." Todoroki replied, the barest hint of a smile on his face. Maybe this next week spent at his father's Agency wouldn't be too bad?
-Endeavor Hero Agency-
"Hurry up!" Endeavor barked at his Sidekicks as they rushed to get the Agency settled for the arrival of the two interns. "We're hosting interns for the first time in a while; this place needs to be spotless!" He was even cleaning and organizing things to make the best first impression on his son and the Midoriya boy.
"It's kinda odd that the Boss wants everything even more ship-shape than usual, huh?" One Sidekick whispered to another.
"Yeah, it kinda is." The other agreed with a nod.
"I think it's because one of our interns is his youngest son, he wants to make a perfect impression." Burnin' snickered behind her hand.
"Oh…" The first Sidekick seemed to understand quickly.
"Who knew Endeavor was so interested in his kid's approval?" The second Sidekick chuckled.
"Right?" Burnin' laughed at the situation.
"If you have time to chat, then you have time to clean." Endeavor's deep voice spoke up from behind the three Sidekicks, making them all start to sweat.
"Yes sir!" All three snapped off a salute before rushing off to get more done.
"Tsk," Endeavor scoffed at his talkative Sidekicks before heading for his office. He'd do whatever it took to get his son to understand that the path of a Hero was a hard one. It wasn't something that you could half-ass and expect to succeed. "I may not have been the best father…but I'll be damned if I let you go down the same path I did, Shoto." He looked briefly at an old picture of his family he kept safely in one of the drawers of his desk. Every time he saw it, especially in the last year, he realized what a fool he'd been for so long.
-League of Villains Hideout-
"I see…you're the ones that assaulted U.A., right?" A man with rather long black hair, that he wore in a messy fashion, stated as he looked at the two men before him. He wore a dark combat suit, plated with metal armor across his body to holster his various weapons. The torso was sleeveless, so he wrapped his arms in bandages, all the way from just below his shoulders to his wrists. He also wore long black wristbands and a watch on his left arm. His knees were protected with metal pads, and the outfit was completed by black boots with steel armor plating. He would be most recognizable by his signature blood-red scarf and matching headband, as well as the tattered cloth he wore around his face as a mask. This was the Hero Killer: Stain.
The Villain had been practically snatched from Hosu City by the swirling black portal that the man behind the bar no doubt controlled. Stain wasn't in a hurry with his self-imposed task of purging the fake heroes from the world; but he wasn't pleased by the sudden forced meeting. The bar that the portal had brought him too looked a mix between functional and rundown. Given that it was a Villain hideout, it was probably falsely listed as vacant.
"And you want me to join your little gang?" Stain looked at the younger man with the hand covering his face like a mask. He didn't look like much of a leader.
"Yeah, exactly." Shigaraki Tomura replied nonchalantly. "When it comes to being evil, you're a pro."
"And what're you after?" Stain questioned flatly.
"Well, we want to kill All Might, eventually." Shigaraki mentioned the goal as if it was merely an errand to be run. "But I also want to destroy everything that I don't like." He held up a picture of Midoriya Izuku from the Sports Festival with just his thumb and index finger. The way he kept the rest of his fingers splayed out gave away that his Quirk required all five fingers to the experienced Stain. "Like this brat, for example…everything."
"It's ridiculous that you almost had my interest for a second." Stain sighed heavily at the other Villain. "You're…hah…the type that I hate the most." He glared at the light-blue haired man.
"Huh?" Shigaraki looked at Stain confused.
"As if I'd team up with some temper tantrum throwing child." Stain took hold of two of his large knives. "Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless."
'Shigaraki Tomura knows of nothing but the impulse to destroy. I thought inviting this man here would help him grow…but it appears that I was wrong.' Kurogiri thought as he saw how quickly the meeting was deteriorating. "Sensei, should I stop them?" He directed the question to a screen that showed nothing, but was clearly turned on.
"No, this is fine." The voice that came through the speakers assured the Warp Gate user. "There's no sense in simply telling someone an answer. He must be taught to reach those conclusions himself. We must help him mature." There was a dark chuckle for a brief moment. "That's what 'education' really means."
Stain nearly blurred as he moved. Kurogiri felt one of the large knives slice into his left arm. The next instant and he lost all ability to move. Only leaning partially over the bar top was keeping him upright. In the next second Shigaraki was knocked off his bar stool and to the floor. One of the large serrated knives was stabbing into his right shoulder while the other was poised at his neck.
"To truly accomplish anything…one needs will…and conviction." Stain glared into the eyes of the other Villain. "Those without it…the weak ones…they'll be weeded out. It's only natural." He moved the free knife towards Shigaraki's neck. "That's why you're about to die."
"Ow…so strong…" Shigaraki commented without a care. "Kurogiri, send him away!"
"I can't move, the Hero Killer's Quirk probably." Kurogiri informed the one he was meant to watch over.
"The word 'Hero' has lost its original meaning." Stain glared distastefully at Shigaraki. "In this corrupt society, filled with fakes and shams!" He nearly spit as his tone became harsher. "Criminals that aimlessly throw their weight around too." He edged the knife ever-closer to the other man's neck. "You're all targets of my purge!" The knife nicked the hand covering Shigaraki's face.
"Hey, hey, hold on…" Shigaraki grabbed the blade with his right hand, uncaring of how he was making the knife stabbed into his right shoulder move, causing him more injury. "Not this hand…not this one." His tone had changed, becoming detached for lack of a better term. "I'll kill you." The steel blade began to corrode and break apart under the power of his Quirk.
"Hm?" Stain's eyes narrowed at seeing what power the Villain wielded.
"You sure talk a lot…conviction, huh?" Shigaraki spoke with a hint of mania in his voice. "Nah, I've got nothing so grand as convictions." The blade fell apart into dust in his grip. "But if I have to say what drives me…I'd say it's All Might." His eyes went wide as a demented smile appeared on his face. "That piece of garbage! And the society that worships him! I want to turn them all into dust…that's my conviction!"
Stain leapt away as Shigaraki tried to grab him, roughly yanking out the knife in his shoulder to debilitate the arm.
"My wounds from last time had just healed…" Shigaraki's right arm hung limply while he scratched at his neck with his left hand. "We don't have a healer in our party, you, see? So, how about you take some responsibility for what you've done?"
"You first…" Stain retorted as he sheathed his still intact knife. "Our respective goals couldn't be further apart…but…" A dark smile, practically baring his teeth at the other man, spread across the Hero Killer's face. "Destroying the status quo. That's the one ambition we have in common."
"Get lost! Just go home and die!" Shigaraki's tone had returned to normal. "I'm the type that you hate the most…or whatever."
"I was just testing your sincerity." Stain informed the younger Villain. "People show their true colors when death is staring them in the face." His sharp gaze showed that he was analyzing Shigaraki. "You are an odd one, but…your will…I can see the seed of some warped conviction within you." He glanced over at the Villain behind the bar, noticing that he could move again. "I wonder what that seed will yield…?"
"Shut up…" Shigaraki sneered at the older man.
"I'll deal with you properly, once I've seen that through." Stain declared to both of the Villains in front of him. "It might not be too late…"
"Deal with me…?" Shigaraki gently touched his injured shoulder. "Can't say that I really want this crazy guy as a member of our party."
"Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri spoke up, getting his attention. "He'll add some much-needed firepower to our efforts. Our negotiations were successful."
"We're done here." Stain refuted the Warp gate user's words. "Send me back to Hosu. There's still something I have to take care of there." He stuck out his longer than normal tongue. "Some of my work has even been undone."
-Edgeshot Hero Agency-
"This is gonna be so lit." Camie was super excited as she and Momo rode the elevator up to Edgeshot's office. She was holding the briefcase that contained her costume in her right hand.
"We'll have to do our absolute best to learn all that we can while we're here." Momo nodded resolutely, holding her own briefcase with both hands.
Right as the elevator doors opened the pair was met by a barrage of shuriken coming at them. Camie and Momo threw themselves to either side of the elevator to dodge. Camie slammed her hand on the 'Door Close' button while Momo created a flashbang and tossed it into the room. Both girls covered their ears as the stunning device went off.
"The buttons aren't working!" Camie informed Momo and the two shared a look. With a deep breath, Camie exhaled a large cloud of her chromatic mist. Suddenly a dozen Momo's and Camie's rushed out of the elevator all at once.
Something fast and thin struck each and every copy in mere seconds. The illusions scattered back into mist, but they'd served their purpose. A red capture net flew from the mist, seemingly appearing out of nowhere thanks to the illusionary properties of Camie's Quirk. The target was a cloaked individual near the windows. The person easily dodged the net and launched another thin whip-like string through the mist, this time at knee-level.
"Gotcha!" Camie called out as the thin string wrapped around something far heavier than either of the girls.
"Firing!" Momo declared and a loud bang went off as rubber pellets sprayed the side of the room the attacker was on.
The attacker was struck multiple times, but showed no reaction to the pellets. Instead, they moved forward in a blur to close the distance. Another thin string-like thing whipped out into the mist and this time Momo cried out as she was caught. The Creation Quirk user was pulled from the illusory mist at speed. She was followed by the cloud itself expanding and multiple copies of Camie rushing the attacker.
"Not, yet!" Momo's skin glowed beneath her uniform shirt, and a heavy ring of steel emerged, tearing apart her top in the process. The large weight forced the string-like object to loosen its hold on her and she dropped to the ground.
"Got you!" Camie slammed her knuckleduster-clad fist into the attacker's face while invisible. The body moved, but not in the way she expected. The person didn't react like a human body should to getting decked in the face with steel. Momo had created these for her while under cover and they should've left their attacker reeling.
The thin whip-like thing tried to pull back from the steel ring, only to find itself stuck with some type of adhesive. Momo formed another single-shot capture net gun and fired at their attacker. Camie skipped back and watched as the person was caught and knocked to the floor. Once again, the sound wasn't right and the illusionist quickly made her way to Momo's side to whisper her suspicions to the other girl.
"Very good, you've both exceeded my expectations." A voice from behind them praised as a blanket was draped over Momo's shoulders to cover her. Only her red bra was covering her chest at the moment.
Both girls whipped around to look at the person that had snuck up on them. He was a slim, muscular man that stood at roughly 170cm in height. He had gray hair shaped into three sharp points that covered the right side of his face and dark gray eyes. He wore a mask over his lower face, covering both his nose and mouth.
The man's hero costume adapted the appearance of a traditional ninja. With a blue mask that covered his mouth, tied at the back of his head with red yarn. A red shinobi shozoku beneath a blue robe, and both arms were covered in a thin, dark cloth that was tucked into his white forearm sleeves. There were red straps attached to his belt and his robe that extended downward. He also had a gold mask attached to his shoulder and sported a signature red scarf that featured a white patch attached to the front of it. The costume was completed with blue socks and yellow zori sandals.
"Edgeshot!" Camie and Momo exclaimed at seeing the Number Five Pro Hero for the first time in-person.
"Yes," Edgeshot nodded to his two interns. "I must say, you did well. Most panic when suddenly attacked. You two made the sensible decision to try and escape first, but when that option was unavailable, your tactics to subdue your attacker were excellent."
"That's a training dummy, isn't it?" Camie pointed to the downed 'attacker' in the corner.
"Indeed, it is." Edgeshot nodded as he moved his left hand from behind his back to show them the five thin strings that he'd transformed his fingers into with his Quirk. "My Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique) is one I don't often use in the field, but it's very good for training."
"Wait…you were holding us back with one hand?" Momo looked between the dummy and the Pro Hero's transformed hand.
"Yes, but by the end of this internship, I plan to make you both capable of dealing with two of my dummies." Edgeshot's visible eye closed and both girls realized that he was smiling. "Also, if I might have my thumb back?" He dragged the heavy steel ring closer as he returned the rest of his fingers to their normal shape. Only his thumb was left transformed and stuck to the adhesive on the metal ring.
"Of course," Momo produced a small bottle of the solvent from her palm and Camie was quick to apply it to the Pro's trapped digit.
"Are we going to learn neat ninja tricks like that?" Camie asked with a bright grin.
"We'll see." Edgeshot let out a small chuckle. "For now, I'll give you a quick tour of the office, you'll meet the staff that keeps the place running efficiently, and then you'll be shown to your room for the duration of your stay."
"We look forward to working with you, sir." Momo and Camie both bowed politely to the man. Momo holding the blanket closed over her almost topless form.
"I see a great amount of potential in you both." Edgeshot nodded to the two Heroes-in-training. "I will do my utmost to help you realize that potential and then hone it into real skill through experience."
"Yes, sir!" Both girls smiled as they followed the ninja-themed Hero. Their first stop was to recover their briefcases and then to a bathroom so that Momo could put on a spare shirt.
"You think the others got such a surprise welcome?" Camie asked Momo as the Creation user put on her new shirt.
"It's possible, perhaps most Pro Heroes test their interns this way?" Momo looked thoughtful. "We certainly didn't expect it."
"Ain't that the truth." Camie chuckled at the last few minutes. "Still, he held us both off with one hand, from a distance. I guess that's the number Five Pro Hero for you."
"We have a long way to go," Momo agreed as she finished buttoning her shirt. "But we should give it our all!"
"Hell yeah, sister!" Camie cheered and hugged Momo. The two left the room to continue the tour of the office a moment later.
Chapter 25 – Interns and Agencies
-Genius Hero Office ~ Tokyo-
"To be honest, I'm not a fan of yours." Best Jeanist spoke to his newest intern. The current Number Four Pro Hero was a tall, slim man with a rather long neck, and dark, heavily-lashed eyes which appeared to tilt slightly inwards. He had rather long blond hair which he had combed drastically to the left, covering his left eye. His hero costume consisted of a pair of jeans, a denim waistcoat with two large breast pockets, and a denim dress shirt with a very high collar which covered his face up to just below his nose. He wears two belts, one around his collar and one around his waist, and short dark brown boots with thick gray shafts and soles.
"Huh?" Bakugo barely resisted the urge to glare at the Pro Hero.
"I imagine that the only reason you chose my Agency…was because I'm one of the Top Five most popular Heroes, right?" Best Jeanist easily deduced why Bakugo had accepted his internship offer.
"But you're the one that sent the offer…" Bakugo was glaring now and he had a snarl forming at the dismissive tone.
"Yes! Because all I've had lately are little do-gooders." Best Jeanist pointed at Bakugo. "But you're the first in a long time who is a bit more ferocious." He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and made sure to sweep it to the left. "Part of my job as a Hero is to reform people like you." Best Jeanist took out a comb from his left breast pocket, holding it up while giving Bakugo a serious look. "Heroes and Villains are two sides of the same coin. I can see it in that glare of yours." Bakugo felt his eye twitch at the remark. "So, let's start by answering this, what is it that really makes someone a Hero?"
'I didn't come here to be lectured, damn it!' Bakugo raged in his mind at how the first day of his internship was going.
-Chivalrous Agency ~ Nagoya-
"Well, to put it bluntly, Heroes are paid by the government." Pro Hero Fourth Kind explained from behind his desk. He was a large, wide-set man with, as a result of his Quirk, four large arms. He had buzzed, grayish-brown hair and small but wide eyes with no eyebrows. His teeth were prominently straight, and he also had a stitched scar running diagonally over his left eye. His hero costume was a plain black suit (altered to include four sleeves for his arms) with a cyan-colored tie, three yellow diamonds patterned it down the center, and there was a thick gold ring on each of his twenty fingers. His jaw was also covered by a metal casing along with his neck. "That basically makes us government employees and civil servants. Only our legal ability to use our Quirks to subdue Villains sets us apart from the rest."
"Tetsutetsu?!" Kirishima smiled at the Steel Quirk user.
"Kirishima?!" Tetsutetsu smiled right back as both teens clapped their hands together.
"You listening?" Fourth Kind questioned as he stood up, towering over the two boys.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Fourth Kind!" Kirishima and Tetsutetsu stood at attention.
"I was allowed to take on two students this year, so I want you both to understand what this work is like and how the system functions." Fourth Kind used two of his arms to point at each of his interns individually.
-Yokohama Downtown ~ Streets-
"Basically, my job is to get a handle on crime, right?" Battle Hero Gun Head explained as he led Ochako on a standard patrol. He was a wide-set man with a muscular build and long, pale mint-green hair that spiked backwards, away from his head. His hero costume consisted of a white mask with four holes in a square formation, all of which resembled gun muzzles with slight barrel stems protruding from their sides, the only exception, for some reason, being the bottom left one, which instead just had the appearance of a regular circle. He wore a partial bodysuit of a dark grayish-cyan color, only covering the lower portion of his torso, his arms from the shoulders down and the palms of his hands. A padded combat vest sat over this, around the sides of his chest, and was kept in place by two straps that connected his mask and shoulders. He also sported plain brown pants and short black boots, as well as his signature revolver chamber-shaped silver bracers and the spikes on his knuckles. "When something bad happens, usually involving Villains, the police call me to help. Each district sends their requests in batches, okay?" Ochako nodded to show that she was paying attention.
'The way he talks is kinda cute.' Ochako thought with a small grin. She could see Gun Head and Camie getting along well.
"After the incident is resolved, I write up a nice report describing how much help I was at catching Villains and saving people." Gun Head continued once he knew Ochako was keeping up. "The government office does their own investigation to corroborate my report, and then deposits money into my Agency's bank account, okay?"
"I get it." Ochako confirmed with a smile.
"It's mostly on commission." Gun Head chuckled as they walked along, several people waving to the Pro Hero. "Once the money is in the Agency account, that's how I pay my Sidekicks and office team, and after everyone is paid, including me, the rest stays in the Agency account in case it's needed later."
-Endeavor Agency-
"While you two are here, I plan to teach you as much about this industry as possible." Endeavor spoke plainly as Izuku and Todoroki stood before the Number Two Pro Hero's desk. "I've gotten a decent grasp of your abilities from the Sports Festival, but we'll be going over your physical skills a bit later anyway, understood?"
"Yes, sir." Izuku replied promptly.
"Yes." Todoroki's tone was notably more subdued and Izuku saw how father and son looked at one another. It was like a chasm existed between them.
"For now, however, you'll be learning the crucial part of this job that most Heroes end up having trouble with the government over." Endeavor picked up a stack of papers and slapped them down onto his desk. "The paperwork." Izuku nearly face-faulted at the sudden loss of tension. "It's not glamorous, but it's absolutely necessary for any Pro Hero, and even more so for a Hero that has their own Agency. You have to know the Law to uphold it, to serve the people and protect them from Villains and disasters means knowing what you legally can and can't do in the field. Reports, forms, requests, and all manner of other paperwork can and will come to you as a Pro Hero. So, we'll start with this before we move on to patrols and field work, understood?"
"Yes, sir." Izuku and Todoroki both nodded this time.
Enji and Shoto shared a look again, but this time, it was as if each of them had thrown a rope to the other across the chasm. A small step towards bridging the gap, but an important one. The first step had been made now, and both of them knew it was up to them to try and repair their strained familial relationship.
-Fukuoka ~ Port-
"Kero." Tsuyu smiled at finally being done with cleaning the ship deck. This was not what she'd expected her internship to entail.
"Froppy!" A young woman called out and Tsuyu turned to face her.
"Sirius." Tsuyu returned the smile the Sidekick gave her.
Sirius was a young woman with sharp blue eyes, sloping inwards, and short, shoulder-length light blue hair which she wore side swept to the right. Her hero costume consisted of a sleeveless white sailor uniform with a dark blue, double-trimmed collar and a short three-piece skirt which was buttoned together on either side. She wore a loosely-tied red scarf and blue gloves with white striped wrist guards, and on her feet were thigh-high boots with wavy lines running down them from thigh to toe. She sported a flat hat with a ribbon around the base and two large communication devices on her ears (which were shaped like large, blue fins) to aid with the use of her Quirk.
"Let's take a break now that you're done." Sirius held up two aluminum cans with a grin. Tsuyu happily accepted one as the two girls moved to sit down on the nearby stairs. "It's boring just cleaning the deck and going through physical training drills, isn't it?" Sirius asked with a knowing smile at the Frog Form user.
"A little…" Tsuyu admitted with a nod.
"It was the same when I did my internship." Sirius mentioned as she looked out over the side of the ship and towards the sea. "I was confused by the image I had of what a Hero was when I was a kid and the reality of what the job entailed." She rested her cheek on her hand with a small sigh. "I expected something a lot showier, but in reality, it's a daily grind of training and patrols and cleaning." Her look soured a bit as she recounted more of her memories. "On top of that, I had to wash the Captain's laundry!" She looked at Tsuyu with a pout. "I remember thinking: 'What part of this is being a Hero?' at the time."
"Did you get tired of it?" Tsuyu questioned curiously. It sounded like Sirius had almost quit entirely.
"At first, I did." Sirius admitted with a soft smile. "But after becoming the Captain's sidekick, I realized what was really important for a Hero."
"What's really important?" Tsuyu perked up a little. "What is it?" She pressed her index finger to her cheek and tilted her head slightly.
"You have to find the answer to that yourself." Sirius beamed at the younger girl. "Right?"
"Kero." Tsuyu nodded in agreement. It was probably a similar answer for most people looking to become Heroes. But it would mean far more if she found her own path to that answer.
"Hey, Froppy!" Sea Rescue Hero Selkie walked onto the deck and spotted the pair sitting on the steps. Selkie was a man with a muscular physique, but with the appearance of a humanoid spotted seal that had a gray beard. Selkie's Quirk, much like Tsuyu's, was a Mutant Type called 'Spotted Seal' and gave the Pro Hero all of the abilities of the said species. He sported a full body wetsuit as his hero costume, featuring yellow goggles, retractable flippers and a stylized 'S' on his left shoulder. "What're you playing around for? Have you finished cleaning the Oki Mariner's deck yet?" He looked at Sirius. "Didn't I ask you to supervise her?"
"I finished cleaning the deck, Captain." Tsuyu informed the Pro Hero.
"And I'm supervising her properly." Sirius pulled Tsuyu into a side hug.
"Kero." Tsuyu nodded in agreement to Sirius' words.
"Oh, is that right?" Selkie blinked at the information. "I guess I jumped to conclusions." He rubbed the back of his head. "I see, I see, my bad!" The seal-like man then raised his hands to his chin and put on the cutest face he could. "I'm sorry."
"Ugh…" Sirius sighed while dropping her head. Tsuyu just stared up at the Pro Hero stunned.
"Hahahahaha!" Selkie laughed boisterously. "Was I too cute for words, Froppy?" He shot the intern a joking smile.
"She's dumbfounded, probably." Sirius looked up at Selkie unamused. "I keep saying this, but you can't just make your face cute." She shook her head side-to-side. "Below the neck, you're just way too macho…and your face is too rugged, it totally ruins it."
"What did you say?!" Selkie exclaimed in shock. "When I do this for kids, they always love it! They laugh every time!"
"They're not laughing because of it; they're laughing at it!" Sirius pointed at Selkie's face. "They're making fun of your cutesy routine, because it's not cute at all!"
"Eh?!" Selkie tilted his head with his hands on his chin.
'Cute.' Tsuyu thought with her index finger on her chin.
-Hosu City ~ Ingenium Agency-
"From now on we'll be patrolling in groups of no less than three." Tensei informed his sidekicks at the morning meeting. "I was attacked by the Hero Killer when I was alone, and that's Stain's MO." All of the sidekicks, and Tenya as the sole intern, nodded in agreement. "Now that we know he's here in Hosu, we'll be taking every precaution to avoid another attack."
"Yes, sir." The sidekicks chorused in unison.
"We'll have to alter our normal patrol routes a bit to make up for the groups of three, but safety is our top concern." Tensei pointed to the large map of Hosu on the table. "We're not going after Stain on some revenge trip, understand? Our duty is to the civilians and their safety. If Stain shows himself, we will engage, but we will not play into his hands and let him separate us. We'll go about our patrols as we normally do, but if you see something, call it in and we can all support each other."
"Yes, sir." The sidekicks, and Tenya this time, confirmed together.
"Alright, we have an intern for the week, so let's show him how we normally operate." Tensei smiled at his little brother and all of the sidekicks clapped to welcome the young man. Tenya could only bow in thanks to them for the warm welcome, a smile on his face. "Now, let's work out the new patrol routes and get out there. I have a Team Up Request already put on the Hero Net. I'm hopeful that with multiple Pro Heroes, Stain will be leaving Hosu in custody, to face justice for his crimes."
"Who did you request, Ingenium?" One of the sidekicks asked curiously. It was always good to know which Heroes they may be working with soon.
"I made a request of both the Ryukyu Agency and the Endeavor Agency." Tensei informed the group. "If both are able to join the hunt for Stain, I'm sure he can be captured before he hurts anyone else."
"The Number Two Pro Hero and the Number Nine Pro Hero, not even Stain could take them both on." Another sidekick commented with a thoughtful look on his face.
"They'll be bringing a few of their sidekicks as well, if they agree, so we'll do our best to help them navigate Hosu." Tensei tapped the map on the table again. "Until I hear from them, we'll operate as normal."
"Yes, sir." The sidekicks agreed with their leader and moved towards the table to work out the new patrol routes.
'This is what I've always wanted, to learn from you, Tensei.' Ida was doing his best to keep his face neutral, but a smile kept threatening to overtake his face. It had been his dream to learn at his older brother's side for so long. Now, here he was, working as an intern at his brother's Agency. He couldn't be happier if he tried.
-Hosu City ~ Back Alley-
"Hmm, where are you, Ingenium?" Stain was on the hunt for the fake Hero that he'd already punished. Somehow, he'd made a full recovery in a ridiculously short time. The fake had found someone to undo his work. It was no matter. He'd soon learn the false Hero's routine again. Then it was only a matter of getting rid of him permanently this time. "This corrupt society, beleaguered by fakes and shams, will be cleansed. No matter how long I must continue my work, it shall be done."
The serial killer moved through the shadows of the back alleys, always careful to remain out of sight. He never took chances with his purge. One-on-one, get the fake alone and then punish them for claiming to be a Hero. For the ones that at least tried to act like Heroes, he crippled them for their imprudence. Those that made a mockery of the title Hero were sacrificed to make a better world for true Heroes to rise up. Once Ingenium was taken care of this time, he'd go after his next target, the Pro Hero called Native. That fake would be another sacrifice, just another fraud out for money and glory. He gripped the handle of one of his knives; it would be between that faker's ribs soon enough.
-Ryukyu Agency-
"Hmm?" Tatsuma Ryuko, also known as the Dragoon Hero Ryukyu, looked at the notification on her computer screen. She had chin-length blonde hair, which she kept swept back with a headband, a long fringe over the right side of her face that covered her eye. She had narrow, yellow, inward-tilting eyes with slit pupils and notably sharp teeth. Her hero costume was a dark red, traditional qipao with a pale green scale trim around her shoulders, and seemed to only be slit on the left side. The dress had yellow claw patterns on the bottom and smaller ones around her neck. She wore knee-high boots and a strap around her exposed thigh. She also wore long, white sleeves that almost reached her shoulders, with higher tabs on the outer sides, leaving her hands uncovered. She had a matching green headband with four large, pale purple claws attached, covering the right side of her face, and a set of small black dragon wings protruded from the back of the headband. The Pro Hero also had a number of gold spiked piercings decorating her left ear.
The Number Nine Pro Hero had just gotten back from her last patrol for the day and was eager to get a shower and soak in the tub for a bit afterwards. Chasing after a Villain with a Speed Quirk for the better part of the afternoon was tiring. All the effort the Villain put into escaping after robbing a jewelry store and he might've gotten away if it wasn't for her ability to fly. Aerial recon with her sidekicks on the ground had let them corner the man and left him gasping for breath from overusing his Quirk. It was a simple matter to hand over the exhausted Villain to the police afterwards.
"I wonder what this is?" Ryukyu clicked on the Hero Net notification. She'd start writing up her report for the day after her soak. "A Team Up?" She raised an eyebrow before beginning to read. Once she was finished the Dragoon Hero leaned back in her chair with a thoughtful look on her face. "Ingenium Agency and the Hero Killer." It wouldn't be a bad idea to team up and try to apprehend Stain. The serial killer was a menace and had already killed or crippled so many Heroes. Supposedly the man was a nutjob that claimed to be purging the world of what he dubbed 'fake' heroes. As if his idea and definition of a Hero was the only valid and legitimate one. "It could be good to have multiple eyes in the sky to prevent him from escaping." Ryukyu mulled it over and considered bringing in her work study student, semi-sidekick, and basically her protégé, Hadō Nejire.
"Of course, Ryukyu! What's the case? Is it a powerful Villain? Black Market stuff? Tell me, please!"
Ryukyu chuckled to herself, already being able to hear Nejire's acceptance.
"Who else did Ingenium request?" The blonde woman scrolled back up to the top of the request. "Endeavor?" Ryukyu wouldn't say anything about the man, he had an almost impeccable record and decades of service as a Pro Hero. "But he can be a bit much to get along with." She exhaled with a shake of her head. It wasn't like Endeavor was impossible to team up with or anything. He was just rather abrasive in the line of duty, always pushing ahead and trying to do more, to be better. "Chasing All Might's shadow." Ryukyu would hope that the man would let that go eventually. He was already a sidekick, freshly graduated from U.A. High, when Ryukyu had been born. After so long, the man had only recently seemed to calm down a fraction.
'Asking for both Endeavor and myself…obviously Ingenium wants aerial reconnaissance to help track Stain down. Endeavor is fast and has the power to deal with most Villains single-handedly. It's not a bad Team Up…' The woman thought to herself for a few long moments. "What the hell, we'll do our best to stop the serial killer, Stain." She clicked on the accept button and then began typing out her response to Ingenium. She needed to tell him how many of her sidekicks that she was bringing and which ones.
This would be a good case to bring Nejire on as well. The young woman was well on her way to being a beacon for heroism and peace in Japan already. Much like her two friends, Togata and Amajiki. Those three would be amazing in the future, continuing the era of peace that All Might had helped usher in over the last few decades. The Number One Hero couldn't be the single pillar forever. Symbol of Peace or not, he was still human, one day he would have to retire. The man was pushing fifty-five or so, based on when he'd graduated U.A. High. That was already far older than most Heroes that retired, except for outliers like Yoroi Musha. That man had to be older than Ryukyu's own father and was still an active Pro Hero.
-League of Villains Hideout-
"Sensei…how many Nomu are ready to go?" Shigaraki asked the blank screen on the counter. He was still bandaged up from his altercation with the Hero Killer.
"None at the level of the one you attacked the USJ with." All for One replied through the television speakers. "But six are fully operational at this point."
"Send them my way." Shigaraki requested as he thought about Stain and what he'd like to do to the bastard.
"Why?" All for One questioned his protégé with an unseen grin on his face.
"Because I don't like that Hero Killer!" Shigaraki answered immediately. "And I'm allowed to destroy whatever I don't like, right, Sensei?"
"You can have three…" All for One granted after a moment of thought. "Use this opportunity to learn something…Tomura."
"Yes, Sensei." Shigaraki agreed, even though all he wanted to 'learn' was the best way to destroy Stain's dream and work. He wanted to leave the Hero Killer with absolutely nothing, before he killed the man.
-All for One's Location-
"Let's see what you learn from this chance, Tomura." All for One chuckled darkly at once more stoking the flames of Tomura's rage and his hatred of the world. He was looking forward to how his project would develop from this experience. Perhaps the boy would learn proper planning and some leadership skills.
The ancient Villain hit a single button on the armrest of his chair. The sound of a call connecting was heard from the speaker next to his ear, built into the chair too. The call didn't even ring before it was picked up by a familiar voice.
"Ah, to what do I owe the pleasure of your unexpected call?" An elderly voice asked with a chuckle. There was the sound of typing heard in the background through the call.
"Doctor, I have need of three Nomu." All for One spoke and the typing stopped.
"Which three would you like?" Garaki asked with a curious tone.
"Only one of the Near High-Ends…the weakest one." All for One wasn't going to waste too many high-grade resources just to test Tomura. "The flying one that has been in storage, and the last one can be any of the low-grades that you choose."
"I see, I see…" Garaki had resumed typing from what All for One could hear. "Not ready to lay waste to anything too important, I take it?"
"Just letting Tomura try his hand at leadership again." All for One chuckled darkly.
"I hope it goes better than last time…" Garaki grumbled, still annoyed at losing one of his Near High-Ends at the USJ. "I've had to make more rounds at the hospital ever since that incident. Investigation Heroes have been looking into the backgrounds of multiple doctors in the country. They clearly know someone had to make the Nomu they recovered from the USJ."
"Will you need extraction, Doctor?" All for One wouldn't let Garaki be captured if he could help it. The man was still vital to his century-long plan.
"Not yet, they have no cause for suspecting me beyond my PhD's in Medicine and Quirkology. Plenty of doctors have those nowadays though. I shouldn't stand out too much." Garaki replied, seemingly waving off the concern. "Should my lab be in danger of being discovered though, then that will be a different story."
"Noted." All for One made sure to start making a few extra contingency plans, just in case something happened to the lab or Garaki himself. He wouldn't let a century of work be ruined for any reason. "Let me know their coordinates when you have them prepared and I will pass them along."
"Of course, it shouldn't take too long, the one in storage will need a day or so to revive fully. I will speak to you then." Garaki informed in a clinical tone when talking about the process.
"Very well, Tomura will wait until he has the Nomu before he does anything, I'll make sure of it." All for One ended the call and leaned back in his chair. It was time for another lesson and to see just how far the next Nomu had come along. He needed obedient and powerful soldiers to fulfill his ambitions. "Another field test will provide good data and teach Tomura at the same time. Truly, two birds with one stone."
An amused chuckle filled the dimly lit room a moment later
Chapter 26 – Team Up and Hosu
At the Endeavor Hero Agency there was much going on the morning of the third day of internships. Izuku and Todoroki were both confused at first, but their confusion was cleared up when Endeavor stepped out of his office and got everyone's attention.
"Listen up!" Endeavor boomed and everyone practically stood at attention. "We've had a Team Up request sent to us from Ingenium. He's requesting both myself and Ryukyu for assistance in dealing with the Hero Killer: Stain." Some murmuring was heard amongst the multiple Sidekicks for a moment.
'The Hero Killer.' Izuku knew that was who had originally injured Ingenium. It seemed that Iida's older brother wasn't taking chances. A Team Up of the Ingenium, Endeavor, and Ryukyu Agencies should be more than even the elusive Hero Killer could escape from.
"I'll be taking Burnin, Kidō, Onima, and our two Interns to Hosu." Endeavor informed his Sidekicks with finality.
"Uh, boss, is it really okay to take the interns? This is the Hero Killer we're talking about." Burnin looked between Izuku and Todoroki and then back to Endeavor.
"I know they're top of their class at U.A. but Burnin has a point, sir." Onima voiced his agreement with his colleague.
"They will not be engaging the Hero Killer; they are there to observe and learn." Endeavor locked eyes with his son and then Izuku, making sure that both teens firmly understood his instructions. "At most, they'll be tasked with keeping civilians out of harm's way."
"That should be alright then, right?" Kidō looked at Burnin and Onima for their opinions now.
"I guess so." Burnin looked over the two teens. She would be lying if she said that she didn't like the two boys. They were hard workers and didn't complain about the tasks they'd been given over the last two days.
"Yeah, if they're not on the frontlines, then they should be safe." Onima nodded after a few moments of thought.
"We'll be leaving shortly for Hosu, so make sure that you're prepared." Endeavor looked at the five that were coming with him. "For everyone else, I expect you to continue your duties as normal while we're gone. I want the daily reports on my desk as usual and I'll go over them as soon as I return."
"Yes, sir!" The rest of the Sidekicks replied professionally.
-Ryukyu Agency-
"This is so exciting, it's a really big case, right Ryukyu?!" A fair-skinned girl of average height with wide, curious eyes questioned the Dragoon Hero. The teen's upper eyelashes were long and thick, and her irises a shade of royal blue. Her hair was a periwinkle blue, and it fell all the way down to her knees, twisting around itself at her waist and curving inwards around her legs. This was Hadō Nejire, a Third Year student at U.A. High School and one of its so-called 'Big Three' for her top placement in the Hero Course.
"Yes, Nejire, it is." Ryukyu couldn't help but smile at the bluenette. She was such an adorable ball of energy, if a bit airheaded sometimes. "We'll be tracking down the Hero Killer in Hosu and putting a stop to his string of murders and attacks."
"Oh, that guy…" Nejire didn't look angry, but a grimace was on her pretty features. "He definitely needs to be stopped. What's his problem with Heroes anyway?"
"He believes the modern Hero System is flawed and thinks he can change it by force." Ryukyu sighed as she thought over what was known about the Villain. "Honestly, he's not entirely wrong, there are quite a few people in this industry that don't do Hero work to help others, but to enrich themselves. However, his methodology is absolutely incorrect and he's nothing more than a serial killer at this point. That's why we'll be stopping him."
"Right!" Nejire nodded, her face serious but somehow still adorable.
-Ingenium Agency ~ Noon-
Endeavor, Burnin, Onima, Kidō, Izuku, and Todoroki walked into the large building that was the Ingenium Agency. They were promptly greeted by the receptionist and led to a large meeting room. Once there, they were greeted to the sight of Ingenium, along with several Sidekicks (including Tenya), and Ryukyu with her own Sidekicks.
"Endeavor, good to see you, thank you for agreeing to this Team Up." Ingenium gave a short bow to the older Hero.
"The Hero Killer needs to be stopped, I'm here because I'm a Hero." Endeavor gave a nod to Ingenium and then another to Ryukyu.
"Now that we're all here, we should begin the debriefing and planning." Ryukyu suggested and Ingenium agreed with a nod.
"This is a map of Hosu," Ingenium pointed to the large map on the table. Everyone gathered around to get a good look at it while the local Hero continued to speak. "I was separated from my Sidekicks and attacked at this location." He pointed to a circled spot on the city map. "If we apply Stain's previous attacks on other cities and assume he'll follow his current pattern, then we're looking at three more attacks at minimum before he moves on."
"We'll need to recon all of the major areas where crimes take place then, that's where Heroes do their patrols the most." Ryukyu looked over the map closely. "What areas would you recommend for that, Ingenium?"
"The main shopping district, the entertainment district, and this part of the business district." Ingenium circled the three spots on the map. "They have the highest crime rates in Hosu."
Izuku noticed that the circled area for the business district was very close to where Ingenium had been attacked the first time. He saw Endeavor give him a short nod, obviously the Number Two Pro Hero had noticed Izuku's observation. The chances of Stain attacking the same area were lesser than him moving on to the shopping district or the entertainment district.
"I have Sidekicks that will be more than happy to help you navigate Hosu while we track down the Hero Killer." Ingenium nodded as two of his Sidekicks stepped forward. The Hosu-based Pro explained that one of them had a Quirk that let them fly with assistance from their Gear, while the other had a Fire Type Emitter Quirk and could work well with Endeavor's group.
"How much area can we cover with teams of three at minimum?" Endeavor questioned, knowing that Ingenium had just over sixty Sidekicks at his Agency.
"Standard patrol routes are here, here, and here." Ingenium began outlining the normal patrols his Agency did in Hosu. "So, we hit the three main areas of interest ourselves. The Normal Hero Agency, run by Manual, covers this area over here and he's already agreed to work with us. His Sidekicks are already on the lookout for any suspicious activity in their area in case Stain is hiding out there."
"That's good, it would be odd if Stain stayed in the same areas that he performed his attacks. Having eyes in different parts of the city is going to be crucial." Ryukyu agreed as she eyed the two different patrol areas. "He's not exactly going to blend in with the getup he's been seen in before."
"People strapped to the teeth with bladed weapons rarely do." Endeavor let out a small grunt. "On that note, what do we know about Stain's Quirk?"
"It's some type of Paralysis Quirk." Ingenium informed, recalling exactly how Stain had defeated him and then crippled him when he couldn't move. "He didn't activate it right away when he attacked me, so we can infer that it's not something he can activate before a specific condition is met. In my case, it was only after he cut me that his Quirk took effect."
"A cut? So, poison of some kind?" Ryukyu's eyes narrowed at the prospect. Poison or venom-based Quirks were somewhat uncommon, but they existed and could have a variety of effects upon a person.
"Not according to the toxicology report that was performed on me when I was administered to the hospital." Ingenium shook his head. "There was no trace of any foreign substances in my bloodstream."
"The act of drawing blood maybe?" Izuku muttered lowly, but Endeavor heard him.
"If you have thoughts about Stain's Quirk, then share them, Synthesis." Endeavor prompted his intern, using his chosen Hero Name at that.
"Oh! Um…yes, sir." Izuku saw all the eyes on him and took a second to compose himself. "If there was no foreign substance in Ingenium's body when he was administered to the hospital, the poison angle is less likely. I was just thinking that Stain is known to carry tons of edged weapons on his person to commit his attacks, and with Ingenium's experience, perhaps the act of cutting a target has something to do with activating his Quirk? Maybe he needs his target's blood for it?"
"A good theory." Ryukyu gave the intern a gentle smile. "If he carries so many blades and was only able to activate his Quirk after cutting Ingenium, then that theory has merit."
"True," Ingenium agreed, shooting a smile at Izuku. "I wasn't able to see what happened during the attack itself. I was cut and before I could turn to face Stain again, my body went limp and I was on the ground unable to move."
"So, we're operating on the assumption that he needs to have access to our blood to use his Quirk?" Endeavor looked between Ingenium and Ryukyu. Both Pros gave him a nod of agreement which he returned. "That means that the only people that directly engage Stain should be ones that can either block edged weapons without injury, or those that can get rid of any blood before Stain has a chance to use it for the activation of his Quirk."
"Agreed, it would be risky to send in Heroes that are vulnerable to edged weapons in this case." Ingenium looked over his many Sidekicks, picking out who among them had appropriate Quirks for this mission.
"My scales in Dragon Form will stop a sword or knife blade without issue." Ryukyu informed her fellow Pros.
"I can burn away any blood before it can be used, if Stain gets close enough to me to draw blood at all." Endeavor confirmed right after the Dragoon Hero. Most Villains stayed far away if they confronted him at all. Getting too close to the Flame Hero was just asking to be burned in a combat situation.
"My suit is heavily resistant to edged weapons, but Stain is incredibly skilled, he aimed for the small gaps in my costume to bring me down last time." Ingenium informed the other two Pros, giving them a warning of the Hero Killer's proficiency with his weapons of choice.
"We should devise groups then and get familiar with each other's Quirks before we begin the patrols. Stain's MO is to operate at night when the most Heroes are patrolling so that one going missing isn't noticed too quickly." Ryukyu suggested to the group at large. Both Endeavor and Ingenium agreed and the Heroes began to talk and explain the functions of their Quirks, leaving the interns to speak to each other.
"Iida, good to see you." Izuku smiled at his friend. "Learning a lot from your brother?"
"It is good to see you as well, Midoriya." Iida returned the smile. "I've already learned quite a bit from my brother over the last two days. He's shown me some aspects of the Hero profession that I was only partially aware of when it comes to running an Agency." The bespectacled teen was all smiles as he spoke about his brother. "I hope you and Todoroki have both been learning an equal amount."
"Paperwork mostly." Todoroki shrugged to explain what they'd been doing for the most part.
"Ah, yes, that's part of what we've been going over since the first day." Iida nodded, though the look in his eyes hinted that he was also shocked by just how much there was to do.
"Hey!" Nejire was suddenly right beside the group with a beaming smile. All three boys nearly jumped back from the girl and her surprise appearance. "I'm Hadō Nejire, U.A. High Hero Course, Class 3-A! I'm your senpai!" She giggled brightly at the three boys. "I didn't know I'd get to meet other interns on this Team Up! It's so interesting to see!"
"Um, hello, Hadō-senpai." Izuku greeted the bubbly girl.
"I'm Iida Tenya, Class 1-A." Iida was quick to reply with a proper greeting.
"Todoroki Shoto." Todoroki gave a short nod to the girl.
"It's nice to meet you all!" Nejire was still all smiles before she nearly zoomed in on Izuku. "Hey, hey, Midoriya, I saw the videos of the First Year Sports Festival, you were amazing! What's up with your Quirk though? You had a lot of Quirks! How're you doing that? Can you teach me how to have multiple Quirks?" All three Class 1-A students quickly found out that their senpai was a curious motormouth.
"I, well, it's my Quirk, Collector." Izuku took a second to settle himself before he could reply clearly. "It's a Mutant Type that lets me copy other Quirks, but only of the Emitter or Transformation Types."
"Really?!" Nejire leaned in closer and Izuku leaned back slightly. "That's so interesting! But why only Transformation and Emitter? That's kind of limiting, isn't it?"
"Well, the doctors that helped me figure it out hypothesized that it's so that my body doesn't change too much and make my Quirk stop functioning." Izuku explained to the energetic girl. "I can only use Transformation Type Quirks at about half of their normal power because of that limitation too."
"That's so neat though…you can have all sorts of Quirks and you combined them together during the Sports Festival too! I was super curious about what you would do next! It was so exciting!" Nejire was practically bouncing on her feet at this point.
"Thank you, Hadō-senpai." Izuku smiled at the older girl at the praise.
"Hmm, if we had met earlier maybe I would've let you copy my Quirk? It's super useful!" Nejire grinned as she held up her right hand as a glowing spiral of energy surrounded it. "I call it Surge, and it uses my energy to launch powerful blasts at whatever I target! But it takes a while to build up the stamina necessary to really use it. Then you have to learn how to manipulate it properly so that you can hit stuff, I figured out flight near the end of First Year too." The golden spirals of energy appeared around her feet and lower legs, lifting her off the ground as she smiled at the boys.
"That's so cool!" Izuku exclaimed, now he was the excited one as he pulled a notebook from…somewhere…and began writing down what Nejire had already explained about her Quirk. "What type of energy is it? Are you able to regulate the strength of your blasts, or are they a standard strength? Does flight take up a similar amount of energy or less?" Nejire was now the one on the end of a barrage of questions.
"Hey, hey, Midoriya, one at a time!" Nejire giggled with her hands raised in front of her. "Is this why Yuyu says I need to slow down?" She looked thoughtful for a second before laughing. "To answer your questions, the energy I produce doesn't match any known in the natural world, so it's been classified as a unique energy of my Quirk. I can totally control how weak or strong my blasts are too! Flying takes less energy than a blast, but it's a constant drain rather than a sudden drop."
"I see, that makes sense." Izuku muttered his pencil moving across the notebook rapidly as he wrote down everything that Nejire was telling him.
"I think we've lost them." Todoroki looked between the conversation and Iida.
"So, it would seem." Iida blinked at the rapid-fire questions and answers flying back and forth between Izuku and Nejire.
-Atop a Building in Downtown Hosu ~ Evening-
A swirling black portal of mist appeared out of nowhere. From within the swirling fog emerged Shigaraki Tomura, clad in the severed hands that made up his Villain outfit. He looked over the city as Kurogiri formed from the portal and stood behind him.
"So, this is Hosu, huh?" Shigaraki asked rhetorically, scratching at his neck. "Livelier than I thought it would be, what with the Hero Killer running around." He mocked the man that had stabbed him when they'd met. "For all his high-and-mighty talk, he's still only at the small potatoes stage. It's almost precious how hard he's trying."
"You shouldn't criticize him too much…" Kurogiri spoke up. "The cities he's appeared in have all seen across-the-board drops in crime rates. Some theorize that it's tied to an increase in Hero awareness." The Warp Gate user informed the one he was ordered to look after. Stain was at least accomplishing some of what he set out to do.
"Well, that's great!" Shigaraki scoffed at the Hero Killer's efforts. "So much for putting a stop to Heroism! Hero Killer? More like Hero Breeder! Even if only indirectly…" He grumbled at the fool actually increasing the effectiveness of the Heroes. "I knew it…we're just too different, deep down. He pisses me off…" Shigaraki growled as he crossed his arms. Kurogiri, bring out the Nomu."
"Of course." Kurogiri's fog-like body began to billow before swirling into a large warp gate to the side of the Villain's body.
From the purple-black abyss, three huge figures emerged. Two of them were off-white, looking a sickly color with their brains exposed from the tops of their heads. The one crawling along the ground had incredibly long limbs and four eyes embedded into its exposed brain. The other creepy-looking monster had large, bat-like wings on its back and four limbs that all ended in grasping claws. It also wore what looked like a respirator mask of some kind over its mouth. The final hulking figure was a massive mountain of muscle. Its skin was jet-black and the most horrifying thing was the complete lack of a skull. Its large exposed brain simply sat atop its neck and lower jaw with no eyes at all.
"As if I'd let him get away with stabbing me like that." Shigaraki spat with his long messy hair covering his eyes. "If he wants to go on a rampage, we'll let him…." He let out a mirthless chuckle. "Which of us can cause more destruction? Let's see." He made a motion with his arms and all three of the Nomu leapt off the top of the building. "I'll crush your pride and dignity…Stain." Shigaraki promised with a hiss as he watched the Nomu descend on Hosu.
-Hosu City Streets-
"Almost six hours and not even a minor crime…I suppose that's a good thing." Burnin commented as the Endeavor group patrolled one of the three routes that Stain was most likely to show up at.
"It lets us look for any signs of the Hero Killer, so we should be thankful for the calm." Kidō mentioned, making sure to take a long hard look down an alleyway as they passed it.
"We're all in communication so if anyone spots him, they'll be sure to inform us of it right away." Onima tapped the earpiece in his ear.
"That's when you come in, kiddo!" Burnin turned a grin on Izuku. "That Warp Gate Quirk of yours is going to be super helpful for getting us to the scene quickly."
"Yes, ma'am, I'll do my best!" Izuku nodded to the woman with the flame-like hair. He received smiles and thumbs up from the three Sidekicks.
"Who did Ingenium say was patrolling the area next to this route?" Endeavor questioned, noticing that they hadn't seen whoever it was yet.
"Native." Todoroki answered with a flat tone. He and his father were still far apart, the chasm between them couldn't be fixed in a short time, but he would try to talk to him and be helpful during his internship. Hound Dog had told him that the first step to overcoming his issues was to acknowledge them. The second step was to try and work through his intense dislike of his father, that meant acknowledging the man and seeing his response. So far, he'd been somewhat surprised at how his father's demeanor had changed since the last time he'd willingly spoken to the man.
"Not a bad Hero, professionally." Endeavor nodded to Shoto in acknowledgement. "But I can't say much about him beyond his public record. I've never worked with the man before."
"He likes the limelight, but so do a lot of Pros." Onima shrugged, before doing a scan of the street with his eyes to look for any signs of criminal activity.
Boom Boom Boom
Three faint explosions went off in the distance, but were still loud enough to reach the group. All four Pros were instantly on alert and trying to pinpoint the source of the blasts. A few moments later and a crackle was heard in the earpieces they all had.
"Downtown! Three Villains…I think? What the hell are those things?" The voice of Ryukyu came over the radios.
"What part of downtown?" Endeavor questioned with his finger pressed to the device to enable him to speak to the other Pro Hero.
"Entertainment District, almost right in the center of it. How'd these things sneak through the city without being noticed?" Ryukyu gave them the information. "We're engaging them! They're attacking indiscriminately!"
"Synthesis!" Endeavor turned to look at Izuku sharply.
"Yes sir!" Izuku was already letting the map coordinate part of his Warp Gate find the designated location. A few seconds later and the exact location came to his mind. Now he could make an exit portal there! "Got it!" He held out his hands and the familiar purple-black fog poured out before swirling into a large circular gate. "Ready!"
"We're going in!" Endeavor looked at his Sidekicks and two interns. "Shoto, Synthesis, you're both on civilian evacuation, do not engage unless your life is on the line or your preventing someone else from getting hurt."
"Yes, sir." Izuku and Todoroki nodded in compliance with their instructions.
Endeavor was through the Warp Gate not even a second later, quickly followed by Burnin, Onima, and Kidō. Todoroki was about to follow before his eyes widened and he stopped dead.
"Todoroki?" Izuku blinked at his classmate.
"Hero Killer!" Todoroki pointed down the alleyway where he'd seen the man illuminated by the city lights for long enough to make a positive identification.
"What?!" Izuku turned his head only to see the alley empty. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Todoroki nodded and both boys shared a look. They weren't supposed to engage, but the incident downtown had called all the Heroes there.
"What should we do?" Izuku looked between the portal that he still had open and the alleyway.
"Damn it…" Todoroki actually let the curse slip out as he was pulled in two different directions. One to follow their current instructions, but that would let the Hero Killer probably kill whoever he was targeting right now. The other option was to go after the Hero Killer and at the very least surveil him so that they could report his location.
The two interns shared a look, both of their gazes serious as Izuku closed the Warp Gate and they rushed down the alleyway to track Stain.
-Downtown-
"What the hell?" Endeavor's words were repeated by his three Sidekicks as they emerged into a battle zone. Three massive creatures (they most certainly couldn't be called human) were tearing up the area, knocking Heroes aside in the process as the local Pros tried to subdue them.
"Endeavor!" Ingenium slid to a stop next to the Flame Hero and Iida stopped behind his brother a split second later. "Tenya says these are the same as that Nomu thing that attacked the USJ!"
"Nomu? The bioweapon?" Endeavor asked for clarification.
"Yes, sir!" Iida nodded to the man. "I'll never forget what that beast looked like! These things are definitely the same thing, especially that huge one with the jet-black skin!"
"Raaarrgghh!" A bellowing roar from overhead saw Ryukyu in her Dragon Form clashing with the flying Nomu in aerial combat.
"We have clearance to use lethal force against these things, right?" Endeavor was already beginning to increase his temperature, the flames flaring along his costume.
"Yes, blanket authorization for the extermination of the 'Nomu' has been instated by the HPSC." Ingenium nodded to the other Pro, his Engine Quirk revving loudly.
"Burnin, Kidō, Onima, help subdue the four-eyed Nomu and eliminate it!" Endeavor ordered as he and Ingenium blitzed forward towards the biggest threat.
"I don't see any eyes!" Ingenium landed a powerful highspeed kick to the black Nomu's side, sending the beast skidding backwards a bit.
"Then it's either infrared or echolocation, maybe some other type of Sensory Quirk too." Endeavor bathed the abomination in flames making it let out an odd sound from its twisted body. "Regeneration?" Endeavor blinked as all the burns he'd inflicted healed up in seconds.
"These things have multiple Quirks!" Ingenium reminded as he came in from behind the big Nomu and slammed into it with a shoulder tackle. The eyeless beast stumbled forward before shrieking and swiping at Ingenium with a wild backfist. The Pro Hero was far out of range without issue thanks to his speed.
In the chaos of the battlefield, none of the Pros realized that Izuku and Todoroki hadn't come through the Warp Gate with them. The threat of the Nomu and the panicked civilians trying to get away from the bioweapons took precedence over all else. While the Pros engaged the Nomu and evacuated civilians, two interns were tracking a serial killer in the back alleys on the other side of the city.
Whether their choice would be a good one or a bad one remained to be seen.