20 Internships and invitation to the league

"I'm gonna admit that you have picked my curiosity. Would you mind explaining why you have taken inspiration from a fictional character?" Midnight asked with genuine curiosity and seemingly forgetting about her previous awkwardness towards me.

"Yeah, why not Mighty Boy?" Joked Kirishima while making Inasa laugh out loud.

"Or perhaps you should just name yourself after some god or deity." Shihai remarked with a provocative tone towards the others that did so.

More used with keeping the appearances, I smiled charismatically and shook my head. "I'm afraid that neither won't do it, at least not yet."

After receiving some chuckles from my classmates I continued. "Now seriously, I've always been very inspired by old tales about heroism from before the era of quirks. In special, the tale of the three heroes that banded together to fight for what they believed was right."

"Oh, that is very noble of you." Midnight remarked, probably not really knowing much about it. "An old school hero, how poetic! I can definitely see the appeal."

"Thanks, with bravery and loyalty I will protect the innocents and fend off any evil doers. Not only by going beyond in plus ultra style, but pledging to abide by one for all and all for one." I started with a clenched fist pressed against my chest.

The last sentence had the curious effect of waking Aizawa up from his nap and made Midnight's posture falter a little.

"What did you just say?" Aizawa asked, totally serious.

"What do you mean? The three musketeers' motto?" I asked faking ignorance. After receiving an uncertain nod from Eraserhead, I explained my reasoning. "Given my quirk's nature, not only will I protect the ones in need, but as a result they will allow me to grow more stronger. And even if they are quirkless, I'm sure I will learn some new lessons with them."

"I see, but why did you pick "Aramis"?" Asked Momo, being the one that was more likely to have actually read the old tale.

I shrugged my shoulders and replied casually. "He's my favorite. Besides, I'm not really fond of drinking nor am that interested in fame and fortune, so that eliminates the others for me."

That caused a reaction from Bakugou, probably remembering what he expected from becoming a hero back at Aldera Junior High.

"Alright show off, that's enough." Aizawa sighed and got up from the ground, gesturing for me to return to my seat. "Let's resume our discussion about the internships."

Before Midnight left the classroom, I noticed that she was looking at me with a different expression.

Have I overdone it?

Better have one of my clones inviting her for a coffee during break time.

And with that, the class moved on.

Aizawa continued talking about how careful we should be while choosing our agencies while pointing out their different locations and specialities.

———————————————————

While I attended class, I sent one of my clones to the principal's office.

"Principal Nezu, you summoned me?" I said after being allowed entrance.

As I looked inside, I noticed that the principal and All Might were discussing something.

The principal's expression was calm if not a little happy. That wasn't the case for All Might, despite being in his super form, his expression was as if he had just seen a ghost.

"That's correct!" Replied the principal. "Please take a seat with us."

I thought I would have to explain the reason why I did arrive during class time, but obviously he already deduced that I was using Ectoplasm's quirk.

The piece of his fur is still "collecting dust" in my collection, alongside those Nomus' pieces and my severed arm.

Gotta find a way to copy mutant type quirks. It's already annoying me too much.

"Hello young Monoma!" All Might greeted me with a nod and recovered a little from his spooked expression.

"Sensei." I nodded back to him.

"So, I was informed that I should speak with you regarding the requests I've received for an internship. Did you think about my petition?" I turned to the principal while getting comfortable on his sofa.

"Indeed you are an extraordinary specimen." He replied offering me some tea. "Thanks to your presence, it's the first time that class 1A had ever received so many requests from professional heroes."

"Apologies principal, but what do I have to do with that? That's just the result of everyone's dedication and passion to give their very best." I replied while making sure that my body language agreed with what I was saying.

"Heh, I told you he wouldn't take the credit." All Might chuckled.

"That I see." He narrowed his eyes. "But you have to be aware, like All Might inspire the world as a symbol of peace, you've pushed your colleagues to surpass their limits."

"I guess you might be right." I conceded.

"Now, let's discuss your curious case." The principal stated while All Might patted me in the back. "Mister Monoma, you have received the largest sum of requests for an internship that I've ever seen in my entire life, and it's still growing. I'm aware of your request to accept multiple offers, and given your unusual... abilities, I'm inclined to allow it."

"But?" I asked.

"Young Monoma, I would ask that you apply for working with the man that trained me before I became a pro." All Might said while shaking a little.

"That would be an honor, sensei! Consider it done." I assured him.

"That's excellent! I would also ask for you to tell me which heroes you are interested in applying." Principal Nezu said while handing over some papers with countless names of pro heroes.

"Wow! That many!" I showed genuine shock. Never in my wildest dreams have I thought that heroes would line up to work with me. "Let's see... obviously I wouldn't pass the opportunity of working with the top five heroes!"

All Might expressed his confusion. "Wait, do you mean..."

"That's right, since you cannot avoid acting as a hero, you might as well take your "successor" with you." The unknown animal reasoned.

Gotta say, not a bad logic.

"That would be great sensei! Besides, with me you won't have to worry even if your time runs out." I said while picking a cup of tea through a mini warp gate.

"Alright then." All Might accepted.

"So Monoma, please tell me how you managed to pick the number two attention despite defeating his son while using his own quirk." It was asked to me.

"That's a rather simple story. You see, he wanted to make sure that Shoto used his flames and reasoned that would be the best way. He traded it for an offer to work with him." I decided to say the truth, not wanting to risk appearing suspicious.

"But in the end you used OFA, why?" The principal questioned with genuine curiosity.

Seeing that All Might didn't react, I confirmed that the principal already knew about the transferable quirk and that he was aware of that.

"I just wanted to help him get through his trauma and break free of his walls, siding with his father till the end might not have caused the desired incentive." I admitted.

"A reasonable logic." It concluded. "It seems that Hawks, Best Jeanist and Edgeshot had also manifested interest in working with you."

"Young Monoma, like you certainly will, Hawks is someone that rose through the ranks at such young age. He might be the one more adequate to guide you through fame." All Might pointed out. "Best Jeanist will certainly aid you on working with your image while Edgeshot might show you some invaluable lessons regarding crime fighting."

"And their quirks will definitely be a great addition to your collection." Remarked principal Nezu with a calculating expression.

"Agreed." I said. "So sensei, please tell me more of your teacher."

"His hero name is Grand Torino." All Might began explaining.

'Love that movie!' I immediately thought.

Toshinori went on and on explaining to me that he and the previous holder of OFA were work colleagues and close friends. And that he trained him after she passed away.

I then picked some heroes that also worked on U.A like Present Mic and Midnight. And also accepted offers from some influential pro heroes like Mt. Lady and Ryukyu.

Unfortunately neither the "Wild wild Pussycats" nor "Nighteye" were available yet.

Dang it.

"I'm very impressed with your choices mister Monoma. Each agency not only has its specific specialization but also are somewhat distant from each other. I can't wait to see what kind of hero you will grow out to become in the future." Principal Nezu praised me as All Might agreed with pride oozing from his expression and posture. "But being in many places at the same time makes it more likely that you will find yourself in a tough situation and be forced to deal with it. I don't have enough authority to give you a provisional license, so if the time arrives, I would request that you refrain from openly using your quirks without supervision."

Refrain from openly using my quirk? I see what you did there.

"I understand principal Nezu." I bowed respectfully and was allowed to leave. Since my other clones had already prepared to travel, and anything else was a warp gate's distance, I was ready.

As soon as I left the principal's office, All Might called for me again. "Young Monoma, please wait a minute!"

"Sure sensei, did I forget something? When will my internship with you start?" I asked.

"Soon! Tomorrow I will come by your house and I will have enough time to tell you more about the history of OFA." He foreshadowed. "But that isn't what I wanted to say with you."

"I'm all ears sensei."

"I wanted to thank you. At the tournament, thanks to you I noticed that I've failed as the symbol of peace." All Might said while turning back to his regular form. "That kid... Midoriya. During the day that we met each other, I had just dismissed his dream of becoming a hero. But after doing my research, I noticed that you brilliantly succeeded where I failed so miserably."

"I didn't know about that." I lied. "He never told me."

"Such is the gap that I shamefully failed to notice. Despite receiving harsh criticism from someone he idolized, he persevered and achieved a place where his past dreams are finally within his reach. Don't dare to deny this, it's very likely that you saved him from a life of misery or worse." The proud godfather coach then proceeded to hug me. "It's my fault that the world won't be blessed by having such hardworking heroes like him. Despite receiving the invitation to provisionally transfer to the hero course, he declined stating that he had found his way."

Patting on his back while hugging him, I tried to console him. "But sensei, if you really consider me responsible in any way for "saving" Midoriya, then you should be proud of yourself. It was, after all, you that inspired me to fight injustices and offer a friendly hand to those in need."

My simple logic seemed to have more than enough to transmit my message. Though still on the verge of tears, All Might was looking less downhearted. "See, you never cease to impress me. Thanks for the honor."

"Likewise, sensei." I replied.

After that, the day was more tranquil. Midnight accepted to drink coffee with me and was glad that I accepted her request for an internship.

Checking out on Midoriya, he told me that All Might had personally spoken with him during our break from the Sports Festival and praised his performance.

Izuku still admired him, he mentioned that the flawless symbol of peace seemed less larger than life now, but thanked me for helping him out when he was at his lowest point. "Ever since we were kids, I constantly thought less of myself for not having a quirk and allowed others to treat me as such. Sometimes I even got envious of you, of your amazing quirk and inspiring spirit. I'm sorry for that!"

"There's nothing to apologize man! I was just doing what was right." I replied, getting a little tired of repeating myself lately.

"I know! That's why I'm sure you will be the next number one hero! Surpassing even All Might!" His eyes shined with admiration. "I will pursue my dreams and inspire everyone that might sympathize with my past. If you ever need any support, you can count on me."

"Thanks man." I replied and after talking a little about our internships we continued with our day.

He was even more happy after knowing that my parents had voiced their interest over him to me.

Speaking of them, they had to return to their work abroad and wished me good luck after I took them to the airport.

———————————————————

Hosu City.

As of now, I had a new identity. I had to take responsibility for 16 murders of "fake heroes" and brutalization of 23 to the point of being beyond regular recovery.

I am now the scourge of the pro hero community, the Hero Killer Stain.

And soon after some of my appearances, I was eventually located and received an invitation from the league of villains. Of course, I had to continue with his brutal modus operandi to not raise suspicion, though I had to do some research first.

Bureaucratic tyrants and self-interested faction leaders are beginning to find themselves targets of my purge, and lower-income areas that are usually unprotected will have its local villains and crooks taken care of by me.

Right now, I was crouched over a building watching the police starting to clean the mess I've just made, while feeling the wind blowing my hair and scarf while monologuing to myself.

It was then, that a warp gate opened silently besides me.

With a quick and precise response with my katana I heard a voice talking to me in a respectful manner. "Please remain calm. We are of the same mind. I had been searching for you... hero killer stain." Kurogiri manifested out of his portal and continued speaking. "I've heard of your exploits and wanted to meet you in person. I think you will be interested in what I have to offer."

"I hope so, for your sake." I replied shortly.

———————————————————

The next day, after spending the night playing the video game I've found in Dagoba Beach with Toga and taking the time to teach her the basics of sword fighting, I heard a knock at my door.

Toga turned into a cat, we found out just recently that she was capable of that, and I went to inspect the door.

"Good morning young Monoma!" All Might greeted me with his booming voice.

"Morning sensei! Breakfast?" I asked him while gesturing for him to enter.

"I've already had mine." He thanked me. "So, shall we?"

"Yes!" I nodded and after a quick suit up, we both took off in a single super jump as I instructed one of my clones to keep company to Toga.

Meanwhile...

Some of my other clones were instructed to go to the train station alongside my colleagues. "You all have your costumes, right? Remember, you don't have permission to wear them in public, and don't lose them or anything."

"Yes sir!" Our class replied.

After Aizawa allowed us to leave, Inasa approached me. "Dude, why are there so many of you? What's the matter?"

"Oh, I had received the opportunity to intern with multiple heroes." I admitted.

"That's incredible Monoma!" Momo remarked.

"Mn, should've expected when we didn't see how many requests you had received." Yui remarked.

"Anyone in special?" Asked Reiko.

"A few." I pointed to my other clone following Todoroki and Bakugou. "Endeavor." Ignoring some wide eyes I pointed out to the one besides Momo. "Best Jeanist." And then to the one alongside Iida. "Ingeniun." The one pissing off Shihai and the other joking around with Kirishima. "Edgeshot and Fat Gum."

"Wow! That's so like you Monoma!" Ochako chuckled. "Almost all the top heroes had shown interest in you, congratulations!"

"Thanks, I'm going with Inasa and Tokoyami to intern for Hawks and my original form has already left with All Might."

Obviously, they had shocked expressions after I finished my explanation. I am kinda already used to it by now though.

"That's so cool dude!" Inasa shouted while punching my shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Thanks." I said while my other clone left with Momo to take their train. "So, who have you guys picked?"

Uraraka was the first to speak. "Me, Reiko and Tsu were very lucky, we had received a request from Ryukyu!" She told while cheering alongside Froppy. Reiko showed happiness through her own way.

"What a coincidence!" I smiled and they immediately understood what I meant. "So, the three of you wish to improve your combat skills while still improving your rescue ones... that's a great strategy!"

"Ribbit! Thanks Monoma!" Asui said while blushing a little and Reiko gave me an eye smile.

"And you?" I turned to Yui while one of my clones followed the other girls as they left and waved to us.

"I had received a request from Mt. Lady." She told me and I noticed some semblance of expectation from her expression.

"That's amazing, me too! Though I had to admit to be a little surprised when I learned that her agency wasn't from around here." I chuckled.

"MN!" She nodded happily before turning to the side. "But I need to ask, why is there still that much of you remaining?"

She was referring to a few dozens of my clones that were waiting for their respective trains to arrive.

We were basically the last one remaining from class 1A, besides Shouji and Toru that were going to join a detective hero agency.

Some of my other clones went with Ibara and Kinoko to work for Kamui Woods as another went with Awase and Kendo to work for Death arms.

Oh, Jirou managed to get Present's Mic interest as well.

"They are just waiting for their train to arrive, just like us. Most of them were assigned to distant areas that don't usually receive enough attention from the pros." I answered Yui's question. "I can't really make warp gates from such distances without first being there, and I rather not risk having them all jumping around."

"That's very thoughtful of you." She recognized and placed a hand over my shoulders. "I think I can better understand what you had said previously. It does seem like you're taking the weight of the world over your shoulders."

"It's a good thing that I'm that powerful then, otherwise I think the expectation might've crushed me already." I chuckled.

"Indeed." She said without looking away. "Tell me, why did you decide to work with Mt. Lady?"

Shit. What should I say? Because I think she's hot?

No, that simply won't do.

"To be honest, I had been a fan of hers for quite a long time now. You know, suddenly being recognized by all my heroes is a bit overwhelming." I replied to her calm expression.

"Curious, I thought it was because you find her attractive." Yui suggested out of the blue.

"Wh-what do you mean? Sure, she isn't hard on the eyes, but you can't possibly be suggesting that I've chosen to work with her only because of her... assets." I had to improvise. Hopefully, that was good enough.

"I don't know, did you mister "Aramis"?" Her deadpan expression gave way to an usual smirk.

She did read it.

It doesn't matter, I'm in control here.

"Getting jealous of me, Rule? And here I was thinking that you were beyond those kinds of trivial and petty things." I joked.

"And if that is the case? What are you going to do?" She teased me while taking her hand out of my shoulder.

"As you've already seen, there's plenty of me to everyone." I gesture with open arms.

"Should I have to become a damsel in distress to have a shining knight coming for me?" She continued teasing me.

She was so out of character that for a moment I almost thought she was Toga in disguise.

But the clone in my house had just confirmed with a subtle use of Aizawa's quirk that it wasn't the case.

"That won't be necessary." I finished as our train arrived at the station.

Yui was about to say something else, but Aizawa interrupted her. "The two lovely couples should go now, and I better not hear complaints from you two."

"Yes sir!" We both replied and left.

Looking at Yui, I noticed that to her, teasing was fine as long as no one caught her. From her red tomato blush and usual deadpan expression, I found her weakness minutes after knowing a little more of her.

Thanks to Ectoplasm's quirk, I will be able to have more eye opening times like this with my colleagues.

———————————————————

Hosu City.

"Now I get it." I said seconds after placing foot over the location I had been monitoring since the the incident with the U.S.J. "You must be the ones who attacked U.A. You wanna recruit me to build up your little group again."

"Yeah, you will be great since you have so much experience." Shigaraki said while sitting close to the table of his private bar.

"So what's your mission?" I asked shortly while wanting to keep appearances.

"For now, I really just wanna kill All Might. I like to destroy anything that pisses me off." Shigaraki replied while showing a picture of me. At least, heroic me from the Sports Festival. "Like this little brat here. Game Over."

"You should start to regret wasting my time. If you don't point out a single thing that I can gain by associating myself with your league, then don't blame me for losing my manners." I threatened them. "From the way I see, you care only for violence for the sake of it. My mission is to forcefully incentivize this society filled with fakes to find its path again. If that doesn't happen... then I will be the one forced to destroy it so I can rebuild it from scratch."

"I've already told you, with us you will have a free pass to kill whoever you want and destroy whatever you desire." Shigaraki replied annoyed, not capable of understanding what else I could want from him.

I relaxed my posture and replied. "What meaning is there to killing if you have no convictions? If a child begins destroying whatever happens to annoy them at first glance, then growth will never be achieved." I smirked seeing that the two people in front of me were showing clear signs of fear. "I was once like you, a child lacking conviction, lacking purpose and resolve. I shall join this league of yours for now, only because my mind had shifted so much since I started my crusade."

It was then, that a fourth voice entered our discussion. Being reproduced by a tv with the words "sound only", the overlord joined us. "Interesting, I wasn't aware that the Hero Killer was so open minded. Indeed, it seems he will be quite the addition for your ranks."

"That's what I've thought." I suddenly interrupted. "A puppet master pulling the strings from behind the curtain. How cliche."

"Strings? Puppet? I was the one that had chosen to recruit you!" Shigaraki began raising his voice.

"Whatever, I've already accepted your invitation. Unless you wish to kill me, don't bother me with your tantrums." I dismissed him while approaching the tv. "Tell me big boss, what's your plan?"

"Oh, perhaps I've given you more credit than you've deserved. What made you think that I would even respond to that question." The voice continued calm despite openly insulting me.

"I guessed that all this secrecy with your identity was due to you valuing it more than this group of errand boys of yours." I said mimicking his tone.

"Mister Stain, since you've decided to join our league, I think it would be best for strategic matters that you explained to us what is your quirk." Kurogiri started while Shigaraki stared daggers at me.

"You won't need to worry. I'm quirkless." I lied.

"But that's impossible! Surely you must be joking, it is common knowledge that you paralyze your victims. But since no toxicological test had ever been tracked by which means you accomplish to do so, I asked for you to better explain it to us." Kurogiri continued talking.

"What I use is called fear tactics." I stated while giving him my best creepy and intimidating look.

Seeing him and Shigaraki flinch was more than enough to make my point.

Something curious I've learned by amping "Blood Curdle" with OFA is that I can reproduce what the original Stain pulled before passing out during canon. And to varying degrees depending on how much energy I infused it with.

"Shigariki, I'm sure this man will be a great asset to us. He has a clear goal and from what I've witnessed, his dedication is admirable."

"I'm beginning to doubt it. He talks all high and mighty but is wasting his time focusing on small stages." Shigaraki began trashing me while scratching his neck.

"You shouldn't spurn his methods. The reality is, in all the cities where he has appeared the crime rates have fallen. Possibly out of fear. Regardless, he does bring change." Kurogiri defended me.

It seems I've made a fan.

"Agreed." That was the big boss talking just now.

Now I've two out of three. Not bad.

Shigaraki just grumbled and accepted me.

Great.

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(12/11/2020)

*Hope this chapter is of your liking. Anything you wish to ask, feel free to do so.

Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.

Any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.