Ideals Die

'I am critical of heroes and the role they have played in our stagnation. But consider then that heroes are a driving force for good. They may contribute to the cycle of poverty and stagnation in this modern era, but remember Hawkmoon's words, 'Anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live. After all, you are alive, so you will always have the chance to be happy. As long as the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth exist, everything will be all right.' They are simple words but they are a final call to optimism and free will. So long as we choose it, we will not go quietly into the dark night. So long as we hold true to our manifest destiny as a species then even the stars will tremble at our passing.'

—Excerpt from 'The Effect of Heroics' by Saruhiko Ando.

Inko Midoriya is tired and perhaps she won't ever stop being tired. It gets harder to fall asleep when spiders wish to speak to her, to use her to commune to their dark gods in the cracks between the abyss and the real world. They are respectful but insistent, and on occasion, she must kill the few that refuse to acknowledge her power.

Perhaps she should be more worried that sometimes she wakes up and there are spiders the size of a small car watching her. They aren't purely physical, ethereal creatures fluctuating between shadows and dreams and all too real chitin.

/Great mother, Shadowking sire, let speak to our progenitor. Let us arbitrate peace between our people/

Inko stares at its dozen eyes, searching past the alien madness and complex designs for its true intentions.

She rolls her eyes. "Get out. I'm not letting you make a conduit out of me."

/shadowking mother, there must be peace between us and the shadowking. Let us become one people/

Inko crushes it with her power, compacting it to an easily manageable cube. Her window opens with a thought, and she flings the cube out towards the sea.

That's one thing dealt with for the day. She cleans up quickly and applies her makeup carefully. It is another weapon in her arsenal, and she has learnt to wield them all. Even Hisashi, should it come to that.

Nearly a full week ago, she set this meeting, and for six days she has waited for confirmation. Today, she meets the first of many who will help with her plan.

The house isn't particularly large and uninteresting form the outside, painted a pale yellow and without much in the way of character. The doorbell has a stylised falcon stencilled into the wall, a protector of sorts.

A sullen boy of perhaps twelve opens the door. He has that smile all children wear when they've seen something horrible but don't know how to process it. Still, he leads her through the home simple home. It takes her a moment to understand that the simplicity is by design, a statement against boldness or pretentiousness.

The room he leads her to is smaller than she expects. There are birds, multitudes of them, and all observe her in eerie silence. It isn't natural for so many birds to be this quiet.

"They're mourning as well," the lady in the room says, tending to one of the more colourful birds. "They always seem to know."

"They always do."

She finishes tending to the bird and turns, adjusting the strap of her summer dress. Her features are hard and heavyset, the jutting chin and hard scales part of her mutation. It is her eyes that Inko pays most attention to. A deep current of grief hides behind that steel, a flavour of grief Inko understands all too well.

"Take a seat."

Inko does so, waiting for the other lady to settle herself comfortably before she speaks.

"Mrs Koda, thank you very much for meeting me today."

The woman smiles but it isn't warm or compassionate. Inko knows that smile. She wore it for years after Mikumo died.

Only Izuku kept her sane by any measure, only he kept her marriage to Hisashi going. And for his sake, she will keep walking this path.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk about your son, Koji."

She tilts her head, curiously. "Get out."

"After we've spoken, certainly."

"Do you have any idea what it's like knowing your child isn't coming home?"

Inko offers her the sincerest smile she has in her arsenal. It is one she learnt from Izuku and she wields it like a sword now.

"I gave birth to twins. I held my eldest for a few minutes before he died. And I thought my youngest wouldn't breathe for a long time. So yes, I understand more than you can imagine the pain of losing a child."

The anger suffusing Mrs Koji dies a slow and pitiful death. "Oh."

"I'm not here to fight you or try and get something out of you. I'm just one grieving parent trying to keep my son alive. I think you understand that."

Inko observes how she glances to the side, undoubtedly where her living son resides and mourns in his own way. She did the same for years after Mikumo died, always looking to Izuku's room and checking.

She's done much the same after Izuku discovered his quirks and plunged into the depths of madness. Especially after Mikumo returned. She's not sure how to handle the fact that the manifestation of her son's psychosis is supposedly real, and that she's supposed to care for a voice in someone else's head.

But if there is even the chance that it is true, she knows she will love him just as much as if he were real.

"Fine. Tell me what you want."

"My son was severely injured in his second week at school," Inko begins. "I think you've undoubtedly heard about the furore regarding All Might since he oversaw the event. My son was burnt badly. That's not important. What matters is the treatment options we were given. Because I was led to believe he would be out of school for the entire term if he got surgery. Except, five specialists I've spoken to recently told me that with easily available technology, he wouldn't have to miss more than a few days of school. And two weeks on light activity. The last specialist thought he was a soldier after I showed him the scars."

Mrs Kodo leans forward, more interested than before.

"Go on."

"My son was involved in USJ as well and suffered severe trauma to his leg. Here's a picture." She slides her a photo of Izuku's leg, more a red mush with the occasional chunk of bone than anything else.

She looks away immediately. "Can he…"

"Walk? Yes. With a limp. And maybe that was the absolute best they could do. But Aizawa pushed us to finally get Izuku a quirk assessment. At UA exclusively."

"Why?"

"Short explanation is that his quirk has detrimental effects on his mental state. The explanation they sold is that villains might be able to steal a third-party assessment."

It isn't the full truth by any stretch, but it is honest enough for her purposes.

"That's happened to heroes before."

"What makes it best is that Aizawa's spent the last few weeks with a grudge against me because he thought I was abusive to my own child. The same man who cornered me in a hallway and threatened me on school grounds."

"He's a pro-hero. They wouldn't do that."

Inko almost rolls her eyes. "Have you known men in power to care for the rules?"

"I know where you're going with this." Mrs Koji sighs. "Fine. Tell me your case."

"Mitsuko Bakugou's son has permanent nerve damage. We called a few specialists and all three assured us that had they been present with a team they could have treated it with no issues. One of my son's friends lost a finger. That's not even counting the dozens of injured students I don't know about. When some of Izuku's friends came over, they looked like extras to a war movie."

"Students died," Mrs Koji says quietly. "I don't know if I would have preferred that to what's happened to Koda."

"And despite all that, UA is safe and secure in their position. After all, if the heroes they hired couldn't keep the stadium safe, what chance did a school have? That's the story and people are buying it. People are blaming villains for the systematic failure of the school. They're saying the same villains that attacked Shikoku were involved in this. There's so much disinformation going around and people aren't willing to really look at UA because most of their heroes came from UA."

"I've heard better conspiracy theories. No one's going to believe you and I'm not going to have my life ruined by your mad crusade."

"I'm not here trying to coerce you. But my son goes to this school and he's been hurt by them time and time again. I don't know how many other students have suffered but I plan on stopping it. I just need your help. And to do that, I need your story."

"You're asking me to burn any and all bridges I have with UA for someone I don't know."

"Yes. I'm asking for a lot, and there's maybe nothing good that will come of this. Maybe I'll wake up to my own execution. I don't know." Inko smiles. "But if it's for my son, I'm willing to die. And I know he'll make something better if I die."

"I don't really care if you live or die."

"That's... fair. Cold, but fair."

Mrs Koda lets out a tiny laugh. "Tell me something you've never told anyone else. I need to know how much I can trust you."

Inko swallows, considering what to tell her. There are so many secrets she's keeping, so many lies she's unearthed. She could speak of Izuku's quirk and its effects, or perhaps the things from her youth.

But there is one that will destroy her should it ever come to light.

"My husband's name is Hisashi Atakani and he's a risk assessor. He also has a warp quirk." Inko sighs, tired of all the things he kept, and all the things she must now keep. "On the day Shikoku burnt, he wore a white uniform. That's my secret. If you tell the world, everything burns to the ground."

Mrs Koda watches her, assessing the validity of her words. Then she nods.

"Nezu was the one who approached us. He was polite and sounded sincere but… maybe I'm going crazy, but it felt like he was leading the conversation the entire time. Every time I was angry, he had just the right words to say."

"You're not crazy. When Izuku was hurt, the very first thing he did was put in a position where I could do as he said or look hysterical. I think you of all people can understand."

"A woman acting hysterical. Why on earth would you listen to their words?"

"Yes," Inko agrees bitterly. "What did he offer you to take Kouda?"

"Money. A giant lump sum. I haven't touched it."

"Good."

"The best treatment at this facility they run."

"What's it called?"

"I… I don't know. I just always called it the UA place. I have a number but not much else."

"Do you think I could have it?"

"Why? How will it help us?"

Inko smiles because the woman says 'us' where before it was 'you'. It means they're on the same team now.

"My husband has connections to people who have the power to investigate. He's useful for something, at the very least." She nods. "I think I've taken up enough of your afternoon."

She is ready to leave. Of course, that's when everything goes horribly wrong.

"Mum!" the child shouts, bursting into the room. "Hosu's on fire!"

-TDB-

Toshinori Yagi has worked with the police many times. He knows much of their procedures and is grateful he isn't beholden to follow them. After all, when you are the strongest hero alive, the most perfect fighter, there is leeway to your actions.

He allows them to surround the two blocks around the Yakuza base and cordon it off. They do so silently and efficiently, well versed separating a possible battleground from civilians.

"I believe they're the last holdout."

Toshinori looks to his friend, Naomasa, and nods. "Hopefully. They're a dying breed. They failed to adapt to this era."

"With the Yakuza gone, there won't be any other crime syndicates left. Just the villains." Naomasa smiles. "And that'll be easy with you here."

I hope you never meet All For One, he thinks.

"And this has nothing to do with your bosses?"

Naomasa smiles. "Officially, my superiors in the police department want this done cleanly. Unofficially, my real bosses are rather annoyed that the Yakuza broke the cover identities of a few of our agents."

"You're skirting the line this time."

"Is stopping a crime syndicate a problem regardless of the reason? They're killers and human traffickers. I genuinely loathe them more than other villains."

Ultimately, Naomasa is someone he trusts.

"Let's get this over with."

He cracks his neck, rolls his shoulders, and prepares for battle once more.

All Might, the great hero, strides toward the base. His steps are even and measured. There is little point in wasting more energy than necessary. His body still hurts from the injury years ago, and every step makes it worse.

And yet, if he stops walking forward, it means All For One will win. So regardless of the pain and agony being a hero presents, he will stride towards the dawn where the villain is dead.

All Might bursts through the wall of the hideout and lands gracefully in the middle of the room. It is spotless, and his nose burns with the harsh smell of disinfectants. He scans the room, counting the criminals and noting how everything is arranged neatly.

He grins at the startled Yakuza, especially the young one. Understandable. How often does All Might simply walk into your base?

"Greetings, young Chisaki." The boy twitches, perhaps fear, perhaps annoyance. "Would you make this easy and surrender?"

"All Might, a pleasure," the boy says politely. "Kill him."

Toshinori tilts his head and casually avoids the bullet. He flings his arm out and the shockwave topples the criminal Chronostasis from his perch, knocking him first into a wall and then to the ground. All of this happens without All Might moving a single step.

"I take it we'll do this the hard way."

The battle begins.

He may be outnumbered, and he may not know the quirks of these individuals, but there are few people he knows can match him. And these Yakuza are no match for the Pillar of Society. Even if he is aged and frayed with time, he is still amongst the greatest combatants of this era.

All Might enters the battle and wins for there is no other possible outcome.

It does not matter that one saps his vitality and grows larger, nearly twice the height of All Might's strengthened form. There are endless reserves hiding beneath the surface so long as he searches for them. And so, he does, reaching for the fading wildfire in his soul, reaching for the flame that is Nana and every holder of One For All before him. He lets their power permeate his arms, strengthening him to new heights.

He crushes the villain's defence with one steely fist. The Precept gasps once, before collapsing, unconscious from a single blow to the chest. All Might relaxes his arm. The others won't be strong enough to survive a blow like that.

He doesn't care that one rotates his shoulders so fast that each blow is like a piledriver. These are blows that would genuinely hurt, and might leave him exposed, should they connect. So, he does as Izuku would and weaves between the blows, patiently building momentum with each duck and weave until an opening appears. His left jab breaks the Yakuza's mask and sends him flying into the villain with a wide-brimmed hat.

The telekinetic barrier is nothing to his immense strength and shatters after a single blow. The knives thrown his way are irritants, and the only reason one has a chance to stab him in the shoulder is that he stumbles, experiencing a sudden wave of vertigo. And maybe he does take a hard blow to the face by the man with crystal fists that makes him stumble back.

They think they sense weakness—the criminal with the katana who leaps forward; their leader Chisaki ready to destroy All Might with his quirk; the man whose mouth is wide open to chew through All Might's flesh—when he steps back.

"Foolish," he intones gravely, eyes burning blue.

His power surges as he prepares for the attack to end this. The world comes alive to his senses, brighter and clearer as time seems to slow. He sees everything about these Yakuza, knows how they will attack, and knows none will ever be capable of matching him in a hundred years of constant training.

The chasm is insurmountable.

He slams his hands together. The shockwave rips through the concrete floor before it hits the Yakuza. It pushes them back, the destructive force tearing through the walls and throwing them out.

He breathes harshly when it is done. His body is still strong. Only the injury from that battle against All For One years ago slows him down. As it is, he still has time as a hero.

"One more hour," he guesses.

He walks towards the leader, indifferent to the rest. The police stationed outside are mobilised and ready to arrest these criminals.

He kneels beside the leader, taking care to keep one of his arms pinned beneath his leg. He isn't dumb enough to assume his quirk isn't activated through his hands, not after the way he rushed All Might.

"Now, young Chisaki, how about we have a conversation."

The boy groans in pain. "I would prefer we don't."

All Might chuckles and applies pressure to the boy's arm. Just a bit. Not enough to break anything. But enough to make the boy grit his teeth.

"You and your organisation are over," All Might says. "The Yakuza have fallen completely. Now, tell me where I can find the girl and you might not spend the rest of your life in prison."

It may take a few minutes, and perhaps some legal protections for his people, but Chisaki folds. All Might feels something in him break as it always does when he must arrest a youth. What makes them who they are? What road led them to a life of crime?

In the end, it isn't his job to answer those questions. His only duty is to defeat All For One and let the new generation decide the future. He can set the stage, but he won't be the star.

Finding the girl is easy. She's kept in a building nearby. All Might lets the police deal with those protecting her and enters afterwards.

The first thing he notices about the girl is her horn. It is long, perhaps a few inches, but doesn't look to be a weapon of any sort. An odd mutation to be certain, but he has seen odder. It is nothing special compared to the many others he knows.

The second thing he notices is how she is crouched in a corner, eyes wide with fear. And perhaps wonder as she recognises him.

"All Might," she whispers as though this is a dream.

He grins at the terrified child. "Never fear, I am here."

"This is a dream. You're never real."

He closes his heart to the pain and any sympathy he felt for the Chisaki fades away. He is willing to excuse circumstance to the youths who become villains. He isn't willing to excuse them when they perpetuate the same actions.

"Kai Chisaki will never hurt you again."

He extends his hand, an offer of salvation given freely. He can protect people from villains all he wants, but against personal demons, one must always save themselves. But that doesn't preclude external help.

"The sun will only rise if you walk towards it," he says softly, no longer the booming voice of a hero. "I will help you take that first step."

Slowly, hesitantly, afraid that this is a dream or maybe a nightmare, she takes his hand. Coldness creeps up his arm and straight to his soul. He feels his body changing, unsure of the why and the how. Maybe an unintentional quirk activation from the child?

He hides it beneath a grin as he picks the girl up and cradles her in his arms. She cries openly and unashamedly, crying in the crook of his neck.

Eventually, her tears fade and she enters a deep slumber. He hands her over to Naomasa.

"Keep her safe."

Naomoasa nods. Nothing more needs to be said. Naomasa will do absolutely everything in his power to make sure that girl is safe.

When she is saved, Toshinori takes stock of one impossible fact. The constant pain he has suffered for years is gone.

He lifts his shirt and finds the wound there gone. Impossible.

He blinks in shock and wonder. The grotesque purple scar is gone. Only unblemished skin.

Every other wound he's healed from, but not that one. Absolutely nothing, from advanced organ growth techniques to innumerable healing quirks had been able to heal him. It is a phenomenon to do with All For One and One For All, and how those two quirks interact.

He activates One For All once more and lets its strength fill his body.

It isn't the peak of his power by any stretch. His quirk is still fading. But this is magnitudes more than anything since the injury. It isn't the small wildfire he has become used to. No, this is a blazing inferno of power. The continent-wide fire of his prime may be out of his reach, but it burns brightly in Izuku.

This, though, is more than enough for whatever battles he will fight.

He laughs deep in his chest.

It is appropriate, then, that in this moment of joy, every single screen in the area lights up. And they all show one thing: a city on fire. Hosu looks like a warzone, villains and Nomu clashing against heroes.

Toshinori sighs in disappointment.

"I'm coming for you, All For One. This time, you die."

-TDB-

Shouto Todoroki stands on a rooftop, Iida beside him, as they watch Hosu burn. It started suddenly, and before he could really process it the city has become a battleground. He surveys the world, seeing the lines of energy and following them to their sources—there, across the city is a Nomu engaging a group of heroes; closer and to his right low-level villains attack a police precinct; to his left, a few kilometres away, a pyrokinetic sets buildings on fire.

Shouto sighs, annoyed. "All I wanted to do was help you kill the hero-killer."

He senses what Iida is going to do long before his classmate makes a move. It's a stupid plan, the kind of reckless nonsense that would have gotten Iida killed before Shouto appeared.

"Wait," Shouto says, grabbing Iida before he walks away. "You're not going to find him out there."

Iida pulls away. "We don't have time. He'll be there, and I am not failing my brother again."

"Just listen for once in your life. When has he ever worked with the League like this? People don't just change. When has he ever attacked in public?"

"Then, where is he?" Iida snaps. "Tell me right now so I can kill him."

"He's going to be away from the fighting. Somewhere no one's paying attention to. Somewhere with a small group of heroes and…"

Shouto grins suddenly as the pieces fall in place. This may not have been his plan, or perhaps he's been following it in the back of his mind, but he'll take it.

"What?"

Shouto turns slowly. In the dark shadows, he can make out a glint of something metallic and a flair of red.

A knife sings as it slices the air. He doesn't have the time or the casting distance to summon his ice. So, he does the only thing he can. He sees a world in which that knife is molten slag.

A stream of black fire materialises from his eye. It consumes the knife in its infernal grasp. The dark flames chew through steel and carbon fibre grip until nothing remains of the blade.

"He's right here."

Shouto wipes away the blood dripping down his eye. No point starting a battle with a disadvantage, even if his eyesight is shot to shit in one eye after that stunt.

The hero-killer, the menace of Hosu, approaches slowly, easy as a cat toying with its prey. One hand grips the sword on his back, still sheathed as if he considers them toys at best.

"True heroes don't seek to kill," he says malevolently, an oppressive weight making the air heavy. "I suppose the corruption's infected students as well. Put up a good fight, at least."

There was a time when the malevolence in the air would have crushed him, brought him to his knees in fear. That time was over half a year ago by his reckoning, somewhere in the range of six months fighting to survive in the abyss.

Shouto summons entropic ice in one hand and eternal black flames in the other.

"Time to get your revenge, Iida."

His classmate walks forward, the rage in his soul so close to exploding outwards. It is a miasma of thick hate and unyielding rage. It tastes like ashes and burnt corpses. Shouto approves.

"Gladly."

-TDB-

Izuku doesn't bother spending much time on the Nomu or the petty villains barring his way. He is so far above such weaklings that he almost feels bad for how quickly he beats them, moving like a flash of green lightning and striking them down with kicks better suited for breaking down concrete walls.

Still, they're in his way as he sprints towards the tiny flares of godflame he can sense. Which is the only reason he doesn't get lost.

He does, however, pause when he gets to the source of the fire. It isn't a villain as he first assumed, but a Nomu breathing gouts of intense fire and seemingly unharmed by the flames surrounding it.

What bothers him about the act is that there are no civilians nearby. If there were, he would be able to feel their flickering shadows as they fled. No, this area is empty of life. It seems to just be out to cause property destruction.

Which may be true, but he doesn't wish to test if that theory will hold.

Izuku leaps towards the Nomu, landing on the ground lightly. It still instantly turns its head, dark eyes homing in on Izuku.

It opens its unhinged jaw, a cavernous expanse of black, and expels a gout of flame.

Izuku grins and twists, sweeping his leg up. A pressure front of wind escapes at the tip, parting the wave of flame clean down the centre. Fire runs along either side of him, but Izuku is unharmed.

He dashes forward, low to the ground. The heat of the fire surrounding the Nomu leaves his skin dry and makes his scar itch.

He dodges the first blow of the creature before twirling around it. His first kick clips its waist, disorientating it long enough for Izuku to leap into the air. He brings his leg down in a massive axe kick that crushes its shoulder.

Izuku steps back as the flames surrounding it intensify, grateful that his armour has an ablative coating and that his boots are steel tipped.

Getting close to the Nomu is a problem with that barrier of fire. So, he does the simple thing and calls upon his shadows. Dozens of darts form, all hard as diamond and sharp as a blade. Most lose cohesion because of the fire and light, but enough get through to pierce the tough skin of the Nomu.

It shrieks in pain before collapsing.

Izuku taps the creature's torso with his foot and sees it tense unconsciously. Good, it is still alive. He leaves an emergency marker with his phone and sets off once more to Shouto's location.

He finds Shouto in a back alley fighting the hero-killer, Iida at his side. Izuku doesn't rush in and instead observes the battle. The hero-killer is quick, fast enough to match Iida in the enclosed space. His knives come close to slicing Iida, but each time they are blocked by shards of ice.

He glances at Shouto and finds his friend is watching his as well. There is a small smile on his face, as though he's having fun, and not battling a murdering villain. And something about that makes Izuku rage.

With a single leap, he lands between Iida and the hero-killer, startling them both. His kick pushes back the villain, giving them space.

"Midoriya," Iida says in shock. "You said you weren't going to tell him."

"I didn't," Shouto replies happily.

There's a childlike joy there, as if he's glad another friend gets to join in on the fight. A part of Izuku understands wanting to fight with someone you've fought with before, but the two of them together isn't a fight so much as an execution.

"So, you've gone from heroes to sidekicks to teenagers." He bares his teeth, sharp enough to shred flesh. "That's pretty pathetic."

"Teenagers who spent the last two weeks trying to kill me," the hero-killer says, his voice deep and dripping malevolence.

Izuku blinks slowly. "Iida. Explain."

"He killed my brother," Iida snarls and tries to shove past Izuku.

With an arm filled with One For All, Izuku flings him back without thought. He's still watching the hero-killer carefully.

"Sorry, what's your name?"

The hero-killer takes a step back. "Stain."

"Right. Stain. How's about you give me a moment. Please, and thank you."

Izuku turns and exposes his back, indifferent to the possible danger the man holds. At worst it will kill him. Most likely, Shouto will send a wave of ice to protect him. Realistically, he's fast enough to dodge any blow.

"What the fuck were you trying to do?" Izuku roars at the two. "And Iida, if you say another fucking word, I'm going to throw you in a ditch."

"We were going to beat him to a pulp and stop him killing other people," Shouto offers simply. Earnestly. Shamelessly.

Izuku looks at him incredulously. Then looks to Stain. Then back to Shouto.

"That's not how you be a hero. I am done with all of you idiots."

"Are you done talking?" Stain asks.

Izuku shrugs. "Mostly just stalling."

With the hand he's kept hidden this entire time, he raises his phone. Right now, the screen is blaring red, sending an emergency broadcast through the app Aizawa forced them all to download.

Stain wastes no time to speak and throws a knife at it. Izuku could dodge it. But then again, he can hear a shard of ice. The shard slams into the knife and diverts its course. The ice shatters, sharp flecks scratching Izuku.

He yelps throwing the phone away instinctively.

"You fucker," he snarls, because the only way that would happen is Shouto wanted it to.

Are you still not over everything that's happened between us? I fucking hate you.

Stain unsheathes his sword. "I'll kill you as well if I have to."

Izuku rolls his eyes. "I'm not standing aside," he shouts, feeling the thrill of the coming battle. "You'll have to get through me to get to him."

"Boy, I've killed heroes twice your age. You won't win."

And I've killed gods that would drive you mad, he thinks. You're nothing but a training exercise.

Stain dashes forward, a red demon intent on ending him. The man is fast, far faster than a normal human should be.

But he isn't Gran Torino fast.

Izuku ducks and weaves between each swipe of the sword, a deadly dance where a wrong move means death. He's danced to this tune many times before in the abyss against monsters to whom the laws of physics are a joke.

He hears Iida charge forward just before Stain pulls out two more knives from somewhere. He's perfectly willing to ignore it until he doesn't hear frost spreading across the ground.

Which means Shouto doesn't plan on being helpful.

Izuku roars in annoyance, twisting and kicking up to deflect one of the knives. Stain takes the opportunity to slice at his torso.

The blade catches on the steel plates of his armoured vest, and Izuku rolls back. He hears Iida grunt and grits his teeth in annoyance.

How did he not dodge that?

"So, what's your story? I mean, there's got to be a reason you're trying to kill kids."

Stain throws another knife that Izuku dodges easily.

"You're stalling for help."

"Yeah. And?"

He barely manages to keep track of Stain as the villain blurs forward, his sword rising in an arc to decapitate him. Izuku scrambles back hastily, feeling the blade score a cut across his forehead.

"Because heroes are corrupt!" Stain roars, his blade making patterns of light that Izuku avoids easily. "Their ranking system is a lie that they hide behind. They're heroes for fame and wealth, not to help people. They support a corrupt government."

Izuku shoves Iida aside, annoyed partly because of Stain but mostly because Iida is fucking useless at this level. He doesn't have the experience or raw skill to face Stain. Which means Izuku must expend most of his concentration in keeping Iida alive.

"Fuck your conspiracy theories."

"Have you ever seen Hokkaido? Its people are starving and in poverty, because the government won't lift a finger." Stain punches Iida in the face errantly, like just as annoyed with his as Izuku is. "They purged Shikoku and killed thousands. They let the people who sunk Taiwan walk away."

Izuku doesn't really have an argument against that. Not after the things he's learnt from his father. So, he decides to be a teenager and resort to sarcasm.

"And your solution to that is to kill people. Right."

Izuku dashes forward and shoves Iida aside, taking a knife to the arm in the process.

"Keep him alive, Shouto," he snarls, ripping the knife out and throwing it back at Stain.

For a moment, he senses a spark of godflame around the blade before the villain simply plucks it from the air and sheathes it. He ignores it for now. Shouto probably has a reason for burning his blood away.

"All creatures seek immortality. No one will remember the heroes, but they will remember the Great Tyrants. And these false heroes want their fake achievements to be remembered forever. They hoard wealth and power. I'll end them before they can perpetuate an unjust system."

"Yeah, and whatever system you put in place will be just as bad. It'll be something built on blood and death. And stop taking Ando out of context."

Shouto sends a wave of ice that Stain leaps over. The villain lands lightly on the ice, standing above them. It gives him the high ground. Izuku's watched enough movies to know that danger.

I am going to kill Shouto.

Izuku leaps up and spins into a kick that Stain ducks under. They battle on the ice, sliding and slipping between kicks and sword swings.

Neither of them is taking this seriously. Izuku because he knows the battle will be over the moment Shouto decides he's bored. But Stain's hesitance to go for the kill leaves Izuku unsettled.

Iida's explosive roar distracts them. Izuku watches Iida leap between the buildings, gaining momentum to jump on the slab of ice.

And completely wasting whatever advantage he would have by attacking from stealth.

Izuku shares a glance with Stain as they both wait for the second it takes for Iida to get on the platform. And is promptly met by Izuku kicking him off the ice. Not maliciously, but because Stain would have sliced Iida's throat if he moved an inch forward.

"Stay out of this."

"Look at your friends. He wears Ingenium's armour to find revenge. And your other classmate is indifferent to the idea of murder. Those aren't heroes!"

"Yeah, they're idiots not representative of the rest of us."

Izuku leaps over a horizontal swing and brings his leg down in a devastating kick that shatters the ice. Falling through the air, he dodges one of Stain's knives and lets his vest take the second.

"Besides, doctors get paid for their work," Izuku says, rolling away from Stain's attack. "So, do firemen. And they all protect people. They all work for the government. So what if they get paid? We should let people die if the people saving them are paid. Fuck your logic."

He weaves past a vicious swipe and slams a foot in Stain's side.

"They aren't heroes."

Izuku punches him in the face, genuinely annoyed.

"Tell that to everyone who's had surgery and lived. Tell that to everyone who was pulled out of a burning building. You can't have it both ways."

"You're a child who has seen nothing."

Izuku raises a brow a second before he kicks Stain in the face, sending the man stumbling back. He may take a blow to his other arm, but it is nothing compared to all he has suffered.

"I don't care. That doesn't matter. You're trying to kill kids. It doesn't matter if heroes are petty bastards looking for wealth because your actions are wrong. A hero sees injustice and says no to it. I'm drawing a line right now and behind me is everyone you'll try and hurt." He glares at Iida who stops in his tracks. "Even if some of them are idiots. Shouto, fucking be useful."

His friend sighs and sends spears of ice to Stain. Which all miss.

Izuku takes a deep breath to calm himself. It also distracts him long enough for Iida to dash past and engage Stain.

I'm surrounded by idiots, he thinks as Stain toys with Iida. He lets them go at it for a few seconds until Stain's disposition changes, his intent going from distraction to genuine violence.

Izuk runs forward, slow relative to his peak abilities, and only reaches Stain after he's stabbed Iida in the arm. Might as well let him learn that there are consequences to everything.

He breaks the knife that would have killed Iida with a strong kick, ducks to let a block of ice hit Stain, and surges up to clip Stain's chin with his toes. The blow sends the man reeling back.

Izuku lets Iida feel useful by kicking the villain in the side and into a wall. Then he glares at Iida.

"I said stay out of this. This entire fight is your fault."

He tilts his head to block the knife, not once looking back at Stain. No, he's focused on Iida who seems to be on the verge of exploding in rage.

"He killed my brother," he says as if that's answer enough.

Izuku punches Iida. He feels Iida's nose crunch beneath his fist, blood spurting as his classmate is knocked back by the blow.

"That doesn't make it right!"

He grabs Iida, sparks of green lightning running across his body, and throws him towards Shouto. His friend, sometimes enemy, catches Iida with one hand. Frost creeps across Iida's face, and even from here, Izuku can tell Iida is being healed.

Stain huffs a quiet laugh. "At the rate, this is going you're going to kill each other and prove my point."

Slowly, ever so slowly, he draws forth power from his shadow and creates a long pole of inky darkness. It will break soon since it isn't directly attached to his shadow. But it makes for a powerful tool to point at Stain with.

"If you feel so strongly about heroes, why don't you fucking join a political party and become Prime Minister, you asshole. Instead, you resort to the easy path of violence."

The easy humour vanishes from Stain. "I won't join a government like that and let myself be corrupted."

There is no word needed for them to cross the distance and swing their respective weapons, a blade and a pole, a weapon of violence and one for peace. Izuku isn't particularly skilled with his weapon of choice, but he has no choice but to learn between each furious exchange. He doesn't know any real form but appropriates the stances of Renewal Taekwondo. After all, the basics of combat stay the same.

Don't get hit and hit your opponent harder.

And Izuku is excellent at dodging.

When Stain parries a blow, Izuku hops away before jumping forward. He falls for a feint and takes a blow to the side, surviving only because of his armoured vest.

"I fucking hate people like you," Izuku shouts, dodging between blows. "Of course, this system is messed up! But the way you're trying to fix it is just as bad. You'll become another Warlord and no one wants another Dark Age."

His pole shatters, leaving him exposed. Eyes wide, Izuku tries scrambling back but the distance is too close. He may be skilled, but not with a weapon, and certainly not against someone who uses a sword for a living.

He hears a whistle. Sees something white slam into the blade and deflect it away. Feels the blade slice one of the straps holding his vest together.

With a leap, Izuku gets out of range and rips off the vest, leaving him exposed. It doesn't matter. His greatest armour will always be One For All.

He summons his power, the sparks of green intensifying as he prepares for battle once more.

"Maybe you're the only true hero."

He blinks, confused by those quiet words. "I do not want your approval."

It starts as a high-pitched whisper, a whine that grates at his teeth. Then it becomes a flare of light behind him. And then Iida is past Izuku, his engines working overtime and moving far faster than either Izuku or Stain can hope to match.

Iida's blow, when it comes, sends Stain flying upward like a rocket. Iida continues running and a trail of frost spreads past Izuku, expanding to become a curving ice ramp that Iida follows.

Iida's a blur of silver as he ascends. Iida leaps off the ramp and brings to bear the force of his squared velocity in a single glorious kick.

Stain twists in the air, bringing his sword to block the blow. The steel shatters and Iida's blow connects, sending Stain down to the ground.

It's like watching a small explosion. Dust kicks up after the earth craters, obscuring Stain. The impact of it makes the ground beneath vibrate.

Iida lands gracefully, breathing harshly. He turns and glares at Izuku, his nose unbroken. There is a rage in his eyes, but as well, there is a dark satisfaction.

"I thought you were my friend."

Izuku sighs. "I am. That's why I want to stop you."

"Don't get in my way."

Then Iida freezes mid-step. Izuku frowns in confusion, then sees the blade sticking out of Iida's leg.

"You should have gone for the head," Stain says cruelly, standing from the small crater as Iida falls. "Same mistake your brother made."

Izuku watches him walk forward, limping slightly. The man pulls the blade out and licks it with a bulbous tongue.

He looks battered and bruised and should not be able to walk without a hardening quirk.

How fucking durable is he? Izuku wonders, because he knows exactly how painful a blow like that is. And he has One For All to take the brunt of the damage.

"Now, where were we?"

Izuku bares his teeth. Glances over his shoulder to Shouto who rolls his eyes but nods.

"The part where I beat you to a pulp," Izuku says, finally ready to take this seriously.

Izuku doesn't need to give a signal to Shouto. No, they know each other so well that the sudden ice wall has less than an inch of separation between Izuku and it. He runs beside it as Stain backpedals.

Then he kicks off the ice wall to the brick wall opposite it. Stain makes the mistake of jumping over the ice.

Izuku shoots off from the wall, spinning through the air. His leg rises and he strikes Stain right across the chest.

The man rises higher and flips in the air. Knives appear between his fingers as he orientates himself in the air. Then he's flinging knives straight at Izuku.

Shards of ice fly over Izuku's shoulders, brushing past his hair, and strike the thrown knives. They deflect the blades away.

Izuku keeps his eyes on Stain and shifts into a slide. The move looks ridiculous and in any other situation would lead to broken bones.

But with Shouto, he doesn't need to worry about that. An ice ramp, shaped to fit him perfectly, greets him. He slides without losing momentum and lands in a crouch beside Shouto.

"No fire," he says, brushing his fingers against Izuku's wrist.

Izuku nods, finally understanding at least a part of why Shouto is being useless. He wields the godflame, the same black flames that flared up when Shikoku was purged. The same flames that nearly got Fumikage arrested.

It's not an excuse for his abject indifference to Iida or his willingness to kill Stain. If he needs to beat more character growth into Shouto, then Izuku will. It may not be fun, and he might wind up burnt to a crisp, but he has no intention of letting this go any further.

Together, there isn't any way Stain can beat them. Izuku no longer needs to worry about keeping someone safe now that Iida is out of the fight.

He surges forward and punches Stain in the shoulder, hoping to cripple the joint. The villain just elbows Izuku with the same arm.

"You're trying to change things by force but you're losing to kids," Izuku says after a painful blow to the face. He's pretty sure something around his eye is broken from the blow.

"All creatures seek immortality."

Izuku stumbles back, safe by virtue of Shouto protecting him with his ice. Which is great because Izuku has blood in his eyes that he wipes away frantically, backpedalling rapidly till he's standing beside Shouto.

"They might not be perfect, and things need to change. But not like this. You keep on quoting Saruhiko Ando like you know anything about him."

He dodges another knife and kicks Stain in the stomach.

Stain catches his leg between his arm and chest. Like a piston, he punches Izuku with enough force that without crystal in his bones, his jaw would be broken.

"I know more than you!"

Izuku twists around the hold, bringing his other leg up from the other direction. His kick pushes Stain back and the two disengage.

"He ended with a message about hope." He weaves between punches. "'So long as we choose it we will not go quietly into the dark night'. Those were his last words. Stop cherry picking his beliefs."

Stain leaps back, putting distance between them. He scrambles around Shouto's ice, avoiding the shards and spears easily.

"And that dark night is a world where heroes keep corrupt governments in power, high on the power of their fame and fortunes. Heroes like Endeavour."

Despite it all, Izuku finds himself liking Stain. Just a tiny bit.

"Let's end this," Stain says, just in time for Iida to stand on shaky legs.

"Stay down," Izuku roars, knowing his hope is futile. Iida is just as stubborn as everyone else in his life, it seems.

In an instant, a wave of ice traps Stain before he can escape. The man curses, stuck in position as Izuku gathers the power of One For All in his leg, and Iida's engines come to life with a violent roar.

Izuku times his approach to match Iida on the other side. In sync, as though they have practised this a dozen times over, they attack.

In a single glorious moment, the blows connect from opposite directions. It is enough force to destroy a steel wall brought to bear against a single human.

Maybe he is imagining it when he hears Stain's ribs breaks. Maybe not. Either way, Stain pukes blood and falls to the ground helpless. He hits the ground hard, groaning in pain.

Stain slumps over in agony, still conscious, but only barely. Izuku walks toward him, pausing only to level a glare of such intensity that Iida steps back in fear.

He crouches so that they are eye-level. He finds it amazing that Stain is still conscious. As far as Izuku can tell, everything so far has been pure skill and raw determination. The man has no hardening quirk, no special technique to reduce damage.

No, Stain only has unyielding conviction.

"You're right about many things, Stain," he admits, hating it all the while. "You're right that the hero industry cares more about money and image than saving people. Things need to change. But not like this."

"You think words will fix anything," Stain says weakly.

"If I must stand against the world to make it better, then I will. But there must be justice and compassion to make a change that matters. And Stain, no matter how noble your cause, your actions invalidate its legitimacy."

Stain's eyes are cold black pits, but Izuku can see the man he must have been. And it's not someone he can ever hate.

"The world will hate you."

Izuku shakes his head. "Some will, but people ultimately are good." He stands fully. "Any place can be paradise so long as we have the will to make it. You could have made a paradise. Instead, you failed."

This was never a battle of martial prowess. Against Izuku alone, Stain would have lost. With the three of them, there was no chance of his victory.

No, this is a battle for his ideals.

And, for the moment, Izuku has won.

"Get him tied up," Izuku says.

He leans against the wall, breathing heavily. Shouto tends to Iida first, using his ice to heal their classmate. After Izuku glares at him, Shouto extends his power to help Stain.

Only then does Shouto stand, nodding towards the heroes approaching. He watches Shouto pick up his phone and ignores it. The thing is ruined. He'll have his father buy him a new one.

The pro heroes are here now. Izuku observes them indifferently, leaning against the wall. He spares only a moment to glare at Endeavour before Shouto heads over and speaks to his father.

Hey, I'm back… what the hell is going on?

Izuku sighs in annoyance. I was busy. Where were you?

Just killing the last ghosts in your head. Don't worry—

"No," Izuku snaps. "You're going to tell me now."

"Midoriya, what's wrong?"

Izuku glares at Iida until he takes a step back. "You shut up. You do not get to speak."

Do you wish to know, brother mine? Izuku crosses his arms and inhales to force down his rising anger, and unintentionally making Iida step back further. Ever since you inherited the living lightning, your mind was invaded by spirits. I do not know their machinations, but they wish to drive you to a singular cause. They wish you to kill someone.

Izuku considers that. The living lightning? One For All? Why would that want me to kill someone?

Because of the oath that binds. Your lightning lives only to end life. And you really should duck.

"Wha—"

Something slams into him hard and fast. It tears through his undershirt, sharp blades slicing his shoulders, and then he's in the air.

He looks up and stares at the Nomu carrying him higher and higher with each beat of its membranous wings.

"Mikumo you fuck," he snarls through the pain, ready to summon his mentor's quirk.

But then he hesitates. Mikumo doesn't lie. No, that's what Izuku does. And if One For All pushes him to kill someone, then is it right to use it now?

Then he decides he can debate a moral conundrum when he's not being carried off to who knows where by a Nomu.

His stomach drops suddenly. He looks around, noticing the Nomu suddenly listless and falling to the ground.

He sighs. Braces with One For All. Crashes into the ground.

He rolls and lands away from the creature in a daze. Blinking away the spots, he sees Stain standing over the Nomu which sports a knife through its brain.

The malevolence Stain generates is enough to freeze the heroes in their spots. It is thick and heavy like rotting blood, a promise of endless violence towards a future.

"I will make things right. Let one man bear the sins of society so it may be fixed."

Izuku has faced gods and demons, conquered worlds of ruins, and suffered more than anyone can imagine. This is nothing to him.

One For All fills his body with light. Sparks of green lightning arc across his skin and he dashes forward, nothing more than a blur.

The man collapses over his fist, his weight resting over Izuku's bloody shoulder.

"What is just and what is right matter," Izuku says strongly. "You may be right, but there's no justice here. Stop fighting."

Stain coughs weakly. "Stopped by a little brat. You weren't even trying."

"You were a worthy opponent," Izuku whispers. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances."

"I entrust it to you then," Stain rasps, so low that Izuku can barely hear it. "Show them a true hero."

The tension leaves Stain's body along with his strength. Stain finally falls still, his determination overpowered by the injuries he has sustained. Before he can topple over, Izuku kneels with him. The villain falls into Izuku's arms.

In unconsciousness, Stain looks like a normal man. Maybe bloody and covered in bruises, but there is nothing monstrous about him.

Slowly, Izuku stands, the Hero-Killer cradled in his arms.

He glares at Endeavour and finds he still hates the man. The man is everything wrong with hero society. Powerful and protected simply because of his quirk.

"What is a hero? The answer to that is simple."

With a thought, the green lightning of One For All surrounds his body. This is his strength, his power, how One For All expresses itself within him.

"A hero is anyone who says no to injustice."

This is the electric potential of his legacy. So long as he walks forward, people will follow the trail of his lightning.

-TDB-

This is how what it means to be alive on this day.

Ochaco Urarakahas a cup of coffee with Shinsou on their first date. It's awkward since neither knows what to say, but she's willing to push past it. Besides, Shinsou blushes the loveliest shade of red when he's embarrassed. So, when her phone vibrates incessantly, she's annoyed because it means she can't watch him choke on his drink after an innuendo. When she sees the blaring red border, she regrets not pulling it out earlier, especially since Shinsou has his phone out as well. The image isn't perfect but she can clearly see Izuku matching blows with the hero killer. "Idiot," they both say at once.

Kaminari Denki knows a trending topic when he sees it. He lives, breathes and eats social media in his spare time. It isn't very difficult to jury rig the emergency broadcast into a live stream and uploads it on a dozen servers as it happens. "Holy shit," he says once it starts trending across Japan. "Come on Midoriya, you got this."

Shouta Aizawa is just completely done with Izuku Midoriya. The boy literally exists to give him a headache. He fully regrets the app because as far as he can tell, the entire country is watching Izuku fight the Hero-Killer. And the worst isn't that it's a physical battle. No, the worst part is that Izuku is systematically tearing down Stain's ideals and the heroics industry.

Inko Midoriya is both proud and terrified. She knows her son, knows he cares more about saving people than politics. And because of that, she knows he won't be prepared for things to come. He can't possibly understand what it means to agree that the heroics industry is corrupt—and he may not say that word exactly, but all the analysts will read it like that. She opens a social feed and every single post asks about Izuku and his ideals. "I'll keep him safe," Hisashi says, beside her suddenly. "I failed him before. I won't do so again."

Bakugou Katsuki watches Izuku battle and wonders how far behind he's fallen? No matter the setbacks, Izuku has kept on growing, kept on improving. And now, Izuku is so far ahead it feels like trying to reach the moon. He wonders if he can ever cross the massive chasm that stands between them. "Just fucking stay still."

Koichi Haimawari, the vigilante Crawler. He remembers meeting this boy and having faith in him. And now, that faith is being repaid. Crawler looks at his contemporaries and equals, a dozen other vigilantes and many more without affiliation. "I told you he'd do amazing things."

Kirishima watches the stream in silence, disquieted by what he hears and what he sees. He hears Izuku insult everything they fight for, insults the very idea of the hero agency he wanted to build, and insults Kirishima's dream to be a hero. He sees someone cold and willing to let a comrade be hurt. "What happened to you?"

Toshinori Yagi stands in the middle of a street, still revelling in his newfound strength, and watches his successor battle the Hero-Killer on an advertisement screen. The boy is determined and unyielding in his beliefs, no matter the consequences they may hold. It reminds Toshinori so much of Nana that it hurts because they are both willing to stand against the world for those they believe in. "I'll entrust this society to you, my boy. Just let me fight the villain."

This is how it feels to be Tanabe Kaori of Hokkaido. You see a young boy fighting against the Hero-Killer, a force so great every hero failed to hunt him down. One boy who calls out the injustices of the society you suffer in. Yours is a life of hardship, of struggle, and the fault lay squarely at the hands of the government and their heroes. Perhaps, you wonder, this child may be the hope you are looking for.

In the darkness of his base, All For One laughs as one boy shows his resolve against a man that gave pro heroes pause. His amusement is genuine because he never expected Hisashi's son to be so moral. Intelligent, perhaps, but not a creature of such moral conviction. "Is this the weapon you wish to use against me, Toshinori? I wonder if you know how hard you've failed. That boy will never be a hero."