Fighting A Hero Killer

~{Selkie's Agency- 7:03PM}~

"Midoriya-chan's... Location?"

Tsu was sitting in a cafeteria on the Oki Mariner ship for her internship, staring at her phone at the message she received.

"What's wrong?" A young woman with blue eyes, blue shoulder-length hair, and wearing a sailor uniform that had bluefins in the hat asked the frog hero. This was Sirius, a trusty hero working under the Sea Rescue Hero, Captain Selkie, the same hero Tsu was interning for.

Tsu turned to Sirius with a tilt of her head, "One of my friends sent me their location, kero."

"A location?" Sirius asked before taking a bite out of some fish.

"Yes, but that's it. There's nothing else with it."

Sirius swallowed her food before answering, "Well, where's the place your friend sent?"

"Hosu City, kero?" Tsu muttered.

That made Sirius freeze and stare at her.

"Er... Tsu? When did he send you that message?"

"A few minutes ago. Why?" Tsu turned to her.

"Oh boy..." Sirius mumbled, looking somewhat serious. "Have you taken a look at the news?"

Tsu grew worried and she shook her head. "No... I haven't, did something happening?"

"More like what is happening. I think you should see for yourself..." Sirius suggested.

Tsu went through her phone and searched the news, feeling her heart drop as she saw the live feed of Nomus terrorizing Hosu City. She saw them throwing cars, causing explosions, and knocking down heroes left and right.

She didn't see Izuku anywhere the chaos, feeling relieved from that at least, but she felt uneasiness grow as she thought about the location sent to her. What did it mean? Was he in trouble? Was he hurt?

She instinctively hugged her phone as a trail of sweat went down the side of her head.

"Midoriya... Please stay safe..."

__________________________________________

~{Meanwhile-Hosu City}~

"I'm in danger..."

Izuku and Stain glared daggers at one another, one waiting for the other to act.

"He might be thinking that I came alone without letting anyone know... So I should just keep stalling until someone gets here."

He narrowed his eyes, "But if he does move-"

Stain's eyes seemed to flash red as he dashed forward with his long blade at the ready.

Izuku didn't even hesitate, blasting forward with Full Cowling at 10%. "-then I have to close the distance!"

"He's fast!" Stain realized immediately how quick the blur was and swung his sword with one hand.

Izuku suddenly got to his knees while leaning his head back, sliding on his kneepads along the ground as the blade went over him.

Stain didn't hesitate, swinging his weapon back at a lower angle to slash at the kneeling boy, but Izuku jumped a few feet off the ground and right over the incoming blade.

Stain's eyes widened as Izuku seemed to twirl in the air, jumping back and narrowly avoiding an incoming kick from the spinning boy.

"He knows how to fight..." Stain landed on his feet and toss two daggers ahead to try and graze Izuku.

Izuku had already landed before bouncing from the ground to the wall, avoid the daggers while closing the distance between him and the Hero Killer.

Stain swung his blade again as Izuku dashed at him, but the boy performed a side flip, jumping over the villain and even using said villain to push himself for a lift.

"He's got good reactions!" Stain growled.

The villain quickly unsheathed a smaller blade and swung it behind him, only for a midair kick from Izuku to send it flying upward from his hand.

"Use kicks to space him out!" Izuku told himself as he landed and swung another leg at electric speeds.

Stain jumped backwards and managed to actually catch the flying blade, then landing in a crouching position.

"This kid's being careful..."

He grinned crazily, "You really are the real deal..."

Izuku just glared at him, "The hell are you saying?"

Stain stood up and stuck the dagger he caught back into his sheathe, then tightly gripping his long blade with both hands.

"You'd got the right mindset and the skill to back it up!" He dashed forward and slashed the air as Izuku jumped back at the same time. Stain chuckled as he saw just another example of precise movement, "Not like any of those fakes." He then hissed with venom.

"And what!? You choose to murder heroes because of that!? Heroes that still give their effort to help the innocent!?" Izuku retorted while dashing forward, managing to collide a punch to Stain's arm and sending him back.

"Those fakes aren't heroes!" Stain shouted as he ran forward and tossed two blades. "They're selfish individuals who use their quirks for themselves! They don't belong in this society!"

Izuku moved forward and short-hopped while turning his body sideways, his body getting right between the blades and letting them pass.

"Who are you to judge who belongs in this world and who doesn't!?" Upon landing, he swung his leg at a trash can and sent its contents flying at the villain.

"No one else is acting upon the problem, I'm the only one willing to do anything about it!!" Stain sliced the trash in half with his red eyes burning with fury.

But as it cleared, Izuku was revealed behind it with his fist already coming forward.

"AND THAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO MURDER INNOCENTS!?!"

Stain's eyes widened as his hand gripped a dagger on his belt.

"Detroit-!" Izuku's hand sparked with green. "SMAAAAAAAASH!!"

His fist collided with Stain's face, the whole alleyway seeming to light up from the impact.

Stain was sent tumbling back while Izuku landed on the ground, panting hard.

The villain flipped himself off the ground and landed on his feet, the corner of his mouth bleeding.

Izuku put on another fighting stance and backed up, keeping close to the two heroes in need of help.

"I can take him... He's clearly been fighting for quite a while, and he has fast reaction time like me, but... I'm faster than him!"

Across from him, Stain lifted the small blade he had pulled out, only for him to narrow his eyes to see not even a spec of blood on it.

"Tsk! How hard is it to cut a damn kid?"

Iida was amazed to see his friend go toe-to-toe against the Hero Killer. Both showed skill with their movements, careful precision with their attacks and dodges, and good judgment of their opponent's abilities.

Yet compared to them, Iida felt so powerless on the ground, completely paralyzed while his friend is risking his life defending him.

"Midoriya... You shouldn't be here... And yet, here you are protecting me..."

Stain pulled out another long blade and held both weapons in an X shape, grinding them together menacingly as his blood-thirsty aura seemed to grow.

"I'm going end them... No matter what, I have to purge the fakes from this world! It is my duty... My future!! MY DESTINY!!"

Izuku felt his blood turn cold and his pupils shrunk, feeling overwhelming pressure coming from his opponent.

"It's as if he's changing by the second! No... That's not it... H-His ambition, his determination, i-it's growing!?"

Stain took a step forward, the alleyway seeming to turn red around him as his eyes flared up.

He then took off at a full-blown sprint, pointing his blades to his sides.

Izuku raced forward as well, jumping from wall to wall towards Stain.

The world moved slow for a moment as Izuku went passed the villain's side, only to grow fearful when he saw the tiny, but bright red iris following him.

Izuku shuddered but used the wall to jump over a sudden slash. He jumped around before landing behind Stain and running at him.

Stain didn't even have to glance first, he just swung both blades, one low and one high, behind him as Izuku drew near, forcing the boy to front flip over the villain entirely.

But as soon, as he landed, Stain came at him with two separate slashes, to which Izuku backed up and tilted his body to avoid being sliced.

Stain growled as he raised his arms up to perform an X slash at Izuku.

Izuku responded by dashing forward and dropped the ground right before the villain swung his blades, sliding between the Hero Killer's legs.

Stain reacted instantly, swinging a blade behind him and actually cutting a small piece of Izuku hair as he jumped up.

"His movements are different!?" Izuku thought nervously.

The boy landed with his back facing the villain, immediately proceeding to turn around.

Stain was already jumping at him once again, trying to get at least some sort of cut on him.

Luckily, Izuku had some time to breathe as a large torrent of flames erupted from behind and headed right for the Hero Killer.

Stain's eyes widened by the flourishing light but he was close enough to the wall to use his foot, pushing himself to the side and then jumping back to avoid being burnt.

Once he landed, he and Izuku glanced at where the flames came from.

"God damn it... This is really annoying me..." Stain fumed while his grip tightened even more on his weapons.

Izuku on the other hand, felt some joy but also surprise to see who had come out of everyone.

"Todoroki!? Why are you here!? Isn't Endeavor's agency two hours away!?"

Todoroki stood there breathing calmly with his left side producing some flames, but his eyes twitched when he heard Izuku's question.

"What am I doing here?" He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his phone, "Midoriya, you're the one who sent this, aren't you?. You need to give more details in times like this, I almost thought about not coming until I put it together..."

"I-I know I did, b-but like I said, you should be two hours away!"

"Well now I'm here." Todoroki sighed.

Iida was stunned to see the fire and ice hero.

"T-Todoroki! You too?! Why are you here?" His eyes focused on the boy's flames being put out. "A-And your using your left side…"

"Why I'm here? I should be the one asking why you're here..." Todoroki said with a stern gaze. "Midoriya here I can understand because he just naturally seems to be asking for trouble, but you? I have no idea how someone as diligent as you would end up here..."

"Hey! That's mean!" Izuku shouted to him.

Todoroki then stomped the ground with his right foot, causing ice to trail across the floor.

Stain saw this and instinctively jumped back a good distance away, his judgment serving him well as jagged spikes came at him. In the process, the ice formed into a small ramp of the sort that slid the stiff Iida and injured hero Native down right to him and Izuku.

"That should do it, as long as these guys are behind us, we just have to worry about facing the Hero Killer."

Izuku actually smiled, "I know we can do it, especially now that you're using your flames again!" he said proudly.

"Thanks for that..." Todoroki muttered, feeling some warmth that wasn't from his left side. "I knew your message must've meant you needed help, so I've let my old man know to bring more pros back here. They should be here soon."

That made Stain grind his teeth together as he intimately swiped his blades to the floor, creating sparks and marking.

"Then for now, let's show him what U.A students can do!" Izuku answered with an expression of determination. The group was all ready to fight, ready to continue giving it all they had.

And due to this, none of them noticed someone watching them from above.

On the rooftop of one of the buildings, peering over the edge and down into the alleyway, a pair of red eyes stared down at everyone.

"Well, well, well... It seems that I've come upon something rather interesting."

The eyeholes and jagged, open mouth of his trauma-mask dimmed down their red colors, getting rid of their glow as to not attract attention in the darkness.

Lynch stared down at Izuku with his bony fingers grabbing the edge as he let out a chilling breathing.

"I didn't expect to find him so easily. Should I just take him now and see how long it takes before he breaks? To finish him and make Reapy let loose again before being done with this world?" He put his fingers on his chin as he thought about it.

However, he recalled the boy's crazed state at the footage he looked at from the sports festival. Remembering seeing red eyes on top of the green boy's red eyes.

"Actually... No." He lowered his hand. "This boy's energy isn't like the others in the past. This one seems... different. Ignoring the first state of his green and glowing power that I assume is his 'quirk', that source of black energy of his has behaved in ways I haven't seen yet."

He had an echoing chuckle, "Oh no, my curiosity is getting the best of me again. But... maybe this is good."

He kneeled and peaked at Izuku zig-zagging from wall to wall.

"Show it to me... Show me the darkness that's inside of you. Show me what kind of source Reapy found this time."

___________________________________________

~{Meanwhile}~

"Even if I'm running full speed, it'll still take me about fifteen minutes to get to Hosu city!" Enso thought as he jumped off a building and landed on another. He then bounced up and ran on a clothesline connecting one building to another before leaping up high.

"I didn't think he was here already, I didn't KNOW he was here since the festival! That's nearly a week ago!

He slipped into an alleyway and ran through it quickly, thinking about the location Izuku sent.

"If Lynch gets to him, then there's no telling what he would do, especially since I know Izuku has a strong mind! But how long has he been watching us!? Did he see us split at the train station, does he already have him!?"

Enso shook his head to get those worst-case scenarios out of it, then leaping high into the air before landing on the bullet train tracks.

Seeing how straight the tracks were and with no train in sight, Enso crouched down as he continued to glow yellow.

"Snipe Style- Piercing Shot!"

He blasted straight ahead and felt the force of the wind against him, but he kept pressing on as he started panting.

"Izuku... I hope you're alright."

_________________________________________________

~{Meanwhile- U.A Academy}~

"So... You're telling me he's already here?" Nezu had his hands folded together on his desk as he maintained an uncommon serious expression.

In front of him was a panting number one hero in his skinny form. Toshinori had run out of the teacher's lounge and rushed to Nezu's office in order to inform him of the current danger that had arrived. He told him everything the detective Tsukauchi had said, from the information about the Nomu, all the way to the arrival of the villain Enso had told them about.

"Y-Yes! He's in our world as we speak and was the one responsible for the cafe massacre on the day of the festival!"

Nezu looked down, surprisingly looking calm but clearly in thought.

"We don't really know if he came here on the day of the festival, but we do know that if he was in a net cafe, then he was most likely there for information... And if he was searching through the web while the festival was going on, then he must know that Enso-kun is attending U.A."

"B-But do you think he knows about his connection to Young Midoriya!? I-Is he in danger!? Should we act now!?" Toshinori stammered, resting a hand on Nezu's desk while the other held his scar.

"That depends..." Nezu muttered as he started rubbing his chin. "If what you told me about this villain is exactly how you described him from Enso-kun's words, then he may have as much destructive capability as 'that man.' But he wouldn't just go destroy everything in sight, just whatever connects to Enso-kun because of his apparent obsession with him. But what we don't know is why he's so obsessed with the boy specifically... And to what extent he'd go to get into his head."

Nezu leaned back in his chair, "If he wants to inflict as much mental pain as the physical pain he wants to inflict to Enso-kun, then this 'Lynch' may go after anyone that he shows a special connection too, which in this case, would be Midoriya..."

Toshinori felt his despair growing as he listened.

"And if he did look through the festival footage, he must've watched Enso-kun's fight against Bakugo. So... he should know that Midoriya is important if he actually listened to what the two said during the fight. From there, it's not hard to figure out who Midoriya is because of the attention the festival gave for him."

"Th-Then Midoriya is clearly in danger..." Toshinori looked down, wishing he could buff up and run after him. However, he already expended his limit earlier after going to save many civilians of Musutafu, so he couldn't change any more.

"Young Enso told me to meet him in Hosu City right after I told him of Lynch's arrival... D-Does that mean...?"

"I don't know nor can I be sure." Nezu answered. "Did you see what's happening in Hosu right now? There are Nomus on the loose, but it's also the same city the Hero Killer is known to lurk in. I'm sorry, but at this point, anything can happen."

Toshinori stared down at the ground, hands tightened into fists as he felt powerless.

"So Enso-kun asked you to meet him in Hosu, correct?" Nezu asked him.

"Yes... But I won't be able to go..."

"But at least we know Enso-kun is going." Nezu said, thinking about the boy with both worry and hope. "He's definitely in trouble for leaving his internship, but even if we called him now, he wouldn't stop until he's reached Midoriya."

Nezu turned his chair to glance out the window, staring out at the night light.

"All we can do is leave it to him..."

_________________________________________________

~{Hosu City}~

"Todoroki! You can't let this guy see your blood, I think that's how he paralyzes people!" Izuku warned his friend as he jumped away from two attempted slashes from the Hero Killer. "That's what seems to be what happened to Iida and Native!"

"So his blades help synergize with his quirk? Alright, I'll keep him as far as possible." Todoroki said as he pointed his right arm to send barrages of ice forward while Izuku jumped out of the way.

"Yeah!" The broccoli head boy agreed, "Just support me from the back with your flames and ice! Just don't let him get close!"

"These damn brats!" Stain felt his stress building up as he spiraled like a top in the air, spinning his blades and splitting several pieces of ice out of his way.

He tried to jump forward, but Izuku came flying at him with his shoulder ramming into the villain's chest.

"NNGH!" Stain was sent backward and his back hit some remaining ice, yet he was able to balance himself as he landed on his feet.

Izuku jumped upward towards the wall as some flames traveled under him and towards Stain.

Stain jumped and managed to jump from the wall to a peak of ice before tossing a knife at Izuku flying at him from the wall.

Izuku titled his body just enough to let the blade pass him, but now he was off-balance in the air and still heading to Stain.

Stain tried to take advantage of the moment, but more of Todoroki's ice came hurtling at him from the ground, forcing him to jump away. Izuku then landed on the ice that just formed and jumped back to retreat in front of Todoroki.

"Midoriya is probably our best bet to win…" Todoroki thought as he watched Izuku's movements. "He has way more fighting experience than the rest of us. I just have to support him from here…"

Stain felt his blood rushing through his body as he quickly jumped on three peaks of ice before diving to the side to avoid flames.

"I have to do this... It's my duty to take out the trash!"

He started running as more ice came towards him, swiftly maneuvering left and right to avoid pillars of ice.

"Die, Die, DIE!"

Izuku charged power into hand, "10% Detroit Smash!"

He punched a pillar of ice and sent chunks of it flying at the oncoming Hero Killer, the green hero then feeling more sweat develop as he saw Stain jump and split the several pieces with just one slice of his blade.

Iida could only watch with his shrunken pupils, fear and confusion overwhelming him.

"Wh-Why are you two…? P-Please stop!" He desperately tried to move as his tears flowed. "I-I've inherited my brother's name! I-I have to be the one to do this!"

Todoroki peaked back to Iida for a moment, his eyes narrowing before turning back to the battle.

"Hmph, inherited it? Not with that face."

"Wha-?" Iida's eyes widened.

"I've seen your brother before, I've even seen the other heroes in your family... But I've never seen any one of them once make the face that you're making." He sent more flames ahead.

Iida was stunned into silence by learning this information.

"You've got a lot to deal with for your family too, don't you?" Todoroki sighed. "I know, because that look you have is the same look I've always had to my old man..."

He created a wall of ice ahead. "Anger, hatred, rejection. All for ruining my life and my family... It's how you're feeling towards the Hero Killer... isn't it? Haven't you seen where that path got me? Nowhere good."

A bunch of flashes occurred as Stain burst through the wall of ice as a terrifying black silhouette with deadly red eyes.

He landed on the ground and dashed straight ahead, "To block your own view against an opponent faster than you. What a foolish-!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Izuku blazed around the area once again using One For all, ramming himself into Stain's side.

"RAA!" Despite being struck, Stain kept his feet firmly planted and swiped his blade to Izuku.

Izuku managed to jump back right before the blade could even graze him, yet he looked somewhat shook as he saw the even more menacing silhouette of Stain giving off an even more dangerous and crazed look.

"What the hell?! It's as if his whole aura changed! He must be getting desperate to kill Iida before the pros come!" Izuku thought as he landed back on the floor.

Stain took the moment of fear Izuku had to move quickly, dashing forward and leaping towards Todoroki and the two fallen heroes.

"I don't think so-!" Todoroki was raising his left arm to create flames, but that's when Stain's eyes flashed red and he flung something down at him, nailing Todoroki in his left arm and causing blood to start coming out.

Todoroki growled and wince in pain, instinctively grabbing his left arm with the other while wondering what just happened.

"He threw something!? But how!? Both of his hands had swords-!"

"Enough of this!" Stain's voice howled as he held his single long blade with both hands and fell from the air, aiming to plunge it right into Native's body on the floor.

Todoroki's eyes widened as he realized what he did, "He threw one of his swords at me!?

"Get away from them!" Before Stain could land the killing blow, Izuku jumped up right at him and used his body to push the villain against the wall.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Against the wall, Stain kneed Izuku in his stomach, prompting pain into the boy before he got pushed him off.

Izuku landed in a crouching position as he caught his breath, not taking his eyes off the now grounded Hero Killer while still being concerned for the bleeding arm of the fire and ice hero.

"Todoroki, are you alright!? You're bleeding a lot!"

"You think I don't know?" Todoroki grumbled in pain, reaching for the sword lodged in the upper part of his arm and pulling out. "Damn it... At least my body hasn't become paralyzed though, so I don't think his quirk activates with just my blood being out..."

"Then it must depend on him getting closer! So just keep doing what you're doing! Space him out and let me go ahead until the pros arrive!"

"Got it..." Todoroki grunted as he dropped Stain's blade and raised his bleeding left arm.

Izuku blasted forward towards Stain again while Todoroki took deep breaths to ignore the pain.

Iida looked mortified as he saw the blood going down his friend's arm.

"P-Please stop…" His voice cracked.

Todoroki just fired off more flames from his bleeding arm before turning his head to Iida.

"J-Just-"

"If you want us to stop, then stand up!!" Todoroki interrupted with an angry shout. "Iida, I'm sure Midoriya has a lot more to say to you, so the only thing I'll say is this-!"

He created a trail of ice towards a frantically slicing Stain.

"Look properly at what you want to be! What kind of person do you want others to see you as!? Who do you want to BE for them?"

When Todoroki said that, Iida instantly thought of his hero name, remembering what he had told Stain.

"I AM INGENIUM, THE HERO THAT WILL DEFEAT YOU!!"

He then remembered the conversation he had with his friends as he spoke about his brother in the cafeteria, the day the press had broken into U.A.

"He is my eldest brother! He is a likable hero who honors the rules and leads people! I set my sights on being a hero because I want to be like my brother!"

Then Iida recalled what Stain said about him.

"Then you're just like any of the others, using your quirk selfishly for your own desires, which in this case, is revenge..."

"Hmph, and you're calling yourself a hero? Did you even think at all about that guy over there?"

"You came after me, but shouldn't you have thought about saving him? What would an actual hero do?"

He then recalled what Enso said to him on the day the press trespassed in U.A.

"I mean, could you truly claim that you're aiming to become a 'true hero' when you aren't even thinking about the one thing a true hero would prioritize for becoming a hero in the first place?"

"Do you really think your brother wants you to be a hero just to continue your family name?"

"Iida, if your brother really is such an amazing hero as you said, then what do you think he truly wants you to do?"

Iida felt only his thoughts working now, thinking about everything he's been doing, realizing that everything that was said about him was true.

"What kind of a hero am I?" He thought as he cried the most he ever has. "Going after the Hero Killer so selfishly, using my quirk selfishly... A-And now my friends are here protecting me because of my selfishness, they're bleeding for me..."

He watched as Izuku was kicked into a wall, but then ducked to avoid Stain's blade trying to slice at his chest.

"Hero Killer Stain… I-In order to teach him a lesson, in order to act out revenge, I-I used my brother's name... I only saw what was in front of me…"

Stain was panting hard as he ran along the wall for a few steps, then jumping off as Izuku came and crashed his feet into it.

Izuku chased after him as the villain landed on the ground, but Stain had nearly enough at that point, actually throwing his large sword straight towards the young hero.

"Wha-!?" Izuku didn't expect Stain to throw his last main weapon, but quickly turned his body to just narrowly avoid being cut. However, this was when he saw Stain pass him in the air, snatching his blade that had clanked off the wall and then jumping right towards Todoroki.

"Crap! He tricked me!" Izuku thought as he landed in a sliding motion to recover from his sudden movements in the air.

Todoroki sent another barrage of ice, yet Stain sliced right through with his blade and swung it close to the fire and ice hero, intending to finally slice through some flesh.

"If I don't stand right here… I-If I don't make things right..." Iida thought as he forcefully pushed his body off of the ground.

Todoroki's eyes widened in fear as the Hero Killer's silhouette closed in on him with his blade shining brightly.

"I'll never… be able to catch up to them, or Tensei!!"

Iida's eyes snapped open all the way as his legs burst with power.

"Recipro... BURST!!!

The next thing Stain and Todoroki knew, Iida's leg had intercepted with the Hero Killer's arm, stopping his blade from moving any closer and stopping the movement of the villain entirely for a second.

"AAAAHH!!" With another yell, Iida pushed his leg to send the Hero Killer back sliding against the ground.

"He's back up again!" Stain thought in shock.

"SMASH!!"

"From above!?!" Stain looked up and his eyes widened to Izuku blasting straight down at him.

"They're both too fast!" He jumped back as Izuku's feet crashed into the ground, creating a shockwave that had enough force to send Stain's back flying through a small pillar of ice.

"Irk!" He firmly kept his feet planted as he was dragged deeper into the alleyway, then hunching over as he stopped. He panted as he tightly held his sword in his right hand, glaring ahead at all three students now standing up.

"Iida!" Izuku shouted in some happiness as he then landed beside his friend.

"Thanks for saving me... I guess his quirk has a time limit..." Todoroki sighed in relief from nearly being slice.

Iida took this moment to stand still with his head down, recovering from some of his muscles still tensing up from just standing.

"Todoroki, Midoriya... I'm sorry. This is all because of my own selfish actions... I'm making you fight for me, no... making you save me, when I should be the one saving others."

He raised his head to show the face of someone who knew what he had to do, his eyebrows furrowing as he took a deep breath.

"I know that I'm not a true hero with everything I did selfishly... But even so, I can't just go down here, or the name Ingenium will die!"

His engines started lighting up.

"So I will fight! I will protect both of you and fix this mistake that I've created!"

"Good, with you up and composed again, Midoriya has a lower chance of breaking his arms." Todoroki said with a straight face.

"Would you be quiet about that!?!" Izuku shouted.

Stain glanced at his main blade, noticing that it was looking rather dull at this point. He ground his teeth as he glimpsed at how many smaller blades he had on him, but discovered that he barely had any left.

He felt pissed as his chances of finishing off the fakes of society started diminishing.

"It was difficult enough fighting Endeavor's son and that Midoriya kid, but now I have to deal with the fake too? Even though he's a fake, he can still move quick... What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Stain growled and his eyes turned red as he tightly gripped his only long blade left with both hands, keeping it pointed at the group.

"I'm going to finish it, IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

While all parties were too engrossed in their battle, they failed to notice a hidden figure looming over them.

"How boring..."

On the rooftop staring down at them, Lynch stared rather uninterested at the group as Stain dashed at them, but was forced to jump to the side by Todoroki's flames, and then jumped back because Izuku came in his path with his arms swinging.

"He was already struggling just facing off against those two kids, but now he has a third to deal with? There's just no chance, he's basically done."

He watched as Iida's leg collided with Stain's arm, the murderer fumbling back with his arm in pain.

Lynch glared down at Izuku below.

"And you... why haven't you used it yet? Why aren't you using that other power of yours?" He snapped.

He didn't see any sign of the darkness he wanted to see from the boy. There were no red eyes, there wasn't any black around him, the only powers he's seen were what he assumed was Izuku's 'quirk' like the others had in this world.

"Hm, perhaps he just believes he doesn't need to use it? Fine, then..."

He slowly raised his right hand.

"Those kids said that the Hero Killer guy might need to be close to their blood to paralyze them, correct?"

His eyes and mouth lit up in red.

"Then let's give Midoriya some... 'encouragement.'"

He snapped his fingers, which then caused Stain's already thrown daggers to vibrate on the ground.

But the group was so busy fighting, they didn't even notice them vanish.

Iida swung his leg and Izuku swung his arm, both of them slamming into Stain's arms as the villain crossed them to block, yet he felt both of their overwhelming attacks and was launched back into the air.

He let out a yell before flipping in the air and landing on a peak of ice, then jumping off and retreating back to make space. Iida panted as he stood in a guarding stance while Todoroki got the flames of his left ready yet again.

"We have him!" Izuku thought as he leaped to the railing of a fire escape and then jumped to the ground. "The three of us are more than enough! We can stop him here!"

But that hope was slashed, just like his back.

Izuku's pupils shrunk as he felt the tip of a blade slice upward at his back, not going too deep, but still leaving a long mark.

"GNAH!"

Iida and Todoroki glanced back in shock at the scream, "Midoriya, what's wro-!?"

Iida was cut off as he felt his back his slashed as well.

"Wha-!?"

Todoroki's eyes widened as he felt the same slash.

The trio didn't know what happened. They clearly felt something perform clean cuts on their back, but there wasn't anyone behind them.

Stain, on the other hand, was startled as he looked slightly up at his own daggers flying in the air towards him, blood on the tips of each of them. He had seen what happened, but at the same time didn't know what happened. The students were facing him with no one clearly behind them, yet he saw three flashes of slices which caused small drops of blood to fly up along with his three daggers spinning towards him.

It was clear someone did this, someone else was here, but they didn't do anything to hurt him. He didn't know what this meant, what was their goal, but...

He grinned, not wanting to pass up the blood of his opponents just being delivered to him.

"What struck us!?!" Izuku glanced in all his surroundings in panic, clearly feeling the wind on his back due to his costume being cut.

"From behind!?!" Todoroki was confused and frozen in place as he tried to find out what happened.

"Pay attention! The Hero Killer is-!"

Iida was cut off as he felt his whole body tense up in paralysis once again.

"Wha-!?" He fell right to the ground, his body trembling as he recalled the familiar feeling of Stain's quirk. "M-MIDORIYA, TODOROKI!!"

Todoroki turned in confusion, "What the-!?" His words stopped like his body, causing him to fall in fear as he felt everything refuse to move.

Izuku had a look of horror on his face as he saw his friends on the ground, then looking ahead at the sight of the hero killer with his main blade on the floor.

However, the villain had a blood-chilling open mouth smile while holding three blades within his hands.

"NO!" Izuku charged Full Cowling and blasted right towards Stain out of desperation, raising his fist to swing it at him.

Stain's long tongue just seemed to slither from his mouth and lick the blood off the third blade.

Izuku could swear he felt his heart stop for a second as a shock went through his entire body, tensing up as the colors of One For All faded from him.

"H-He ingested my blood!?! That's how his quirk activates!?"

Since Izuku was still moving towards Stain in the air, the villain jumped up with his tongue still sticking out rather crazily. He swung his shoe and kicked Izuku from the air with the heel of his boot, sending the boy back.

"GACK!!" Izuku tumbled on the ground before coming to a stop on the wall, unable to move his body.

Stain landed on the ground panting hard, "It's over..." He breathed out in satisfaction.

"Wh-What happened!? H-How did he-?" Todoroki's words trailed off, thee hero wondering what had happened.

"F-From behind?" Iida cried in fear, knowing that all three of them were down.

Stain grinned, not wanting to waste any time to finish them off, but his grin faded as he remembered that what had happened wasn't him. He snatched his sword from the ground and looked all around him, wondering where the one who intervened was.

"Oi! Show yourself!" He snarled.

Izuku's mind rampaged in panic as he processed what happened and what the Hero Killer just said.

"We were slashed from behind, but no one was behind us!? How!? And then the H-Hero Killer got a hold of our blood, ingesting it for his quirk to activate!? N-No way...!"

Stain still looked around and up the alleyway, but didn't get a response to his order, causing him to narrow his eyes.

"Whoever that was can still be around, but I've wasted enough time here!"

Stain turned his head to Izuku, the boy feeling his blood go cold at his intense gaze.

"H-He-!" Izuku couldn't make out any words as the Hero Killer quickly walked towards him, holding his blade tightly.

"Get up! Get up Izuku!" The boy shouted to himself.

But Stain wasn't heading to Izuku, and instead, walked passed him.

"You've fought well... You were the hardest hero I had to face."

Only Izuku's eyes were able to follow Stain as he walked right to Iida.

"D-Don't… you… touch them!" Izuku shouted.

"Sorry… But I have to purify this world of all the fake heroes that are around! Even if your friend reflected on himself, he's still corrupted at heart." the villain answered as he neared Iida.

"Stop…" Izuku struggled to utter out.

"M-Midoriya! I-It'll be alright! Y-You guys will be fine!" Iida shouted, his voice cracking as tears formed in his eyes.

"Get up... Get up!!" Todoroki shouted, frantically hoping that his willpower would overpower this mysterious quirk.

"S-Stop please!!" Water formed in the corners of Izuku's eyes.

"Let's not waste any more time!" Stain shouted this as his blood-like aura of intimidation seemed to blaze, producing fear in Iida as he saw the villain quickly raised his blade and pointed it downward, firmly gripping the handle with both hands.

Izuku closed his eyes as he waterfalled with tears. He felt powerless, unable to move as his friends were going to be murdered right in front of him. He remembered all the heroes in the news that were killed by the Hero Killer, he remembered Iida's dream to be a hero just like his brother, but it was going to end right here. He felt his blood boil, he gritted his teeth, and he shouted at the top of lungs;

"STOP IIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!"

"DIE FOR THIS WORLD!!" Stain screamed as he thrusted his blade down.

Then all was silent.

________________________________________________

Izuku opened his eyes to find himself standing in a black abyss.

He blinked and looked down at himself to see that he was still wearing his hero costume.

"Where am I? Wasn't I just-?" He blinked as he immediately remembered the place, making his eyes widen.

"Wait! Th-This is my consciousness, isn't it?! So if I'm here, then that means-!"

Izuku's eyes widened all the way as he turned around and frantically searched all over the area. There wasn't any sign of a black aura trying to envelop him like before, so he just kept looking around for any sign of red.

"Ikari!!" He yelled into the darkness, remembering the lives of his friends at stake.

He started running in the darkness, but he couldn't even tell if he was moving due to no sounds of his footsteps or any sign of change in the area.

"IKARI!" He screamed once more as he kept running.

He ran what felt like forever, only stopping to catch his breath and realizing that he was going nowhere.

"I-I need you!" His voice cracked as he shouted, "Th-They're gonna die! Iida, Todoroki, Native! W-We have to save them!"

There was only an eerie silence in the darkness, to which Izuku fell to his knees and put his hands on the ground. He hung his head and closed his eyes tightly, feeling tears forming in the corners of them.

"Please... I-I need help..."

There was another moment of eerie silence, making Izuku press his forehead to the ground and whimper in hopeless cries.

But then he finally heard a voice that wasn't his own.

"Oh do you?"

Izuku's eyes snapped open and he immediately raised his head to find a floating black silhouette of himself staring down at him, only his legs were replaced with a wavy tail of the sort that floating ghosts would have.

His eyeholes were completely filled in with bright red and lit up the darkness around them, yet there was nothing within it.

"I-Ikari!" Izuku shouted, feeling a big load of relief as he let out a sniffle.

Yet Ikari just narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"Or do you just need what I'm made of?"

Izuku was taken aback by this, sensing some hatred from the entity.

In his confusion, he could only utter a small, "Wh-What?"

"Do you really need me out there? Or do you just need me to give you power that you can 'use?'"

Izuku's pupils shrunk as he could hear Ikari's voice and demeanor appear different than when they had previously met in his consciousness.

"H-He isn't acting anything like before! H-He seems... hostile!"

Izuku recalled what the dark being informed him about their connection.

"Your mental state affects my mental state! If you can even call it my mental state since it just keeps getting affected by you!"

This claim made by the vessel of anger echoed in the boy's mind.

"Th-That's right, m-my mental state affects his! So since I-I was intense out there, th-then right now h-he's..."

Ikari's face suddenly moved to be about an inch away from Izuku's, startling the boy as his red eyes looked as if they were trying to burn a hole through him.

"Which, is, it?" He said in what almost sounded like a threat.

The hero was scared of what would happen to him, recalling Enso saying how Ikari actually attacked him in his consciousness. If he did it now, then what would happen? Would he go berserk again? Just lash out at anything that moved?

Whatever it was, Izuku couldn't let that happen.

He took a deep breath, calming himself down despite Ikari actually seeming to grow into a larger, more menacing version of himself in front of him.

He remembered Gran Torino's words on the first day he met him, "Are you really considering your quirk's feelings!? From that thinking causing him pain is okay, to thinking that he's something for you to control !? You said that your quirk is a separate consciousness from yours, right!? Then is it really okay for him to be something for you to only think about using!?"

And he remembered the elder's last words on the matter.

"You want to bring Ikari out and come to an understanding? Then figure out what is he to you!"

Izuku's pupils seemed to shake as he was sweating intensely.

"That's right..." He thought to himself. "All I've ever done was treat Ikari as just power to use at my disposal... But this power is his, not mine. It IS him... I still don't know exactly what he is, but he's still someone I should be working with, not using. Otherwise, I'd be no better than a villain using others at their disposal for their own goals. Ikari and I... w-we were never working together in the first place, were we? It's always just been my influence bringing him out forcefully and then causing him to lose control..."

Izuku opened his eyes as he wiped his tears to try calming down, knowing he had to be careful with what he said. "I can't save Iida or Todoroki right now... I-I need..."

He raised his head with still a somewhat nervous gaze to the negative being.

"I-Ikari... I have no right to ask you for this... I've caused you so much pain that you shouldn't have gone through. And even when we talked after the festival, I still tried to forcefully bring out your power for my own use..."

Ikari made some small growls as his balled fists opened up to reveal claw-like fingers.

Izuku bowed down to him, "And I'm sorry for that! I wasn't as considerate as I should've been to you! For parts of yourself to be extracted for the use of others without having any say in it, to feel the pain that I cause to myself, and unable to control yourself because of me! I-I'm so sorry!"

Ikari narrowed his eyes, stopping his movements.

"B-But right now... I don't need your power Ikari!"

Izuku raised his head up, staring straight in his red eyes as he couldn't hold any of his tears back. His eyes were red, his face was slightly scrunched up as he sniffled, and his voice kept cracking as he spoke.

"I NEED YOU IKARI!"

Ikari visibly shrunk in size, his eyes widening a bit.

"I-I can't save everyone on my own! I'm out there just watching as my friends are about to be killed right in front of me! I can't do anything, I can't save them! You're the only one who can save me! Who can save them! I-I don't want them to die, and I know you don't either!" His drops of tears disappeared in the void of darkness.

Ikari got closer with his eyes burning vigorously.

"What makes you think that? Why would I care about them?"

"Because you're just like me!" Izuku shouted to him with no hesitation, "You said so yourself, remember!? Y-You never wanted to hurt anyone! You said you liked All Might, you said you liked my friends, and I know you want to meet them for yourself too!"

Izuku put a hand over his own heart as he trembled, thinking about those he wanted to protect currently in danger.

"I-I want all of us to be smiling together again! I want you to be there with us! Don't you want that?"

"F...riends?" Ikari backed up a bit as the illumination of his red eyes partly dimmed down, feeling some warm familiarity and looking somewhat confused by it.

Izuku wiped his eyes and took deep breaths, then glancing back up at Ikari with a big, watery-eyed smile.

"Yes..." He cried. "Friends. I know that's what you want! Deep down, w-we both want the same thing, but... just in different ways."

That piqued Ikari's interest, wondering what he meant by that.

"We both want to save anyone in trouble, we both have power gained from previous heroes for just that. But your power comes with a downside... All the regrets of these same heroes linger in you, you're the manifestation of rage from all of them, those who weren't able to save everyone, those who weren't able to avenge those before them. And because of that, those desires fuel the fury you feel, they cause you to lash out... To destroy anything evil, to use your anger to avenge those who've suffered, and you can't control that because this desire of vengeance was the reason you were formed in the first place. As if... As if it was your purpose."

Ikari stared down at his claw-like hands, thinking deeply about himself.

"B-But you don't want that, right? You want to stop villains, but not like before... You don't want to hurt anyone like that." Izuku put a hand over his heart, "I-I understand wishing to take down villains, to stop them right in their tracks... B-But that won't matter if we can't save the people around them!"

Izuku reached a hand up, shaking in desperation with tears running down his eyes once more.

"H-Help me Ikari... Please."

Ikari raised his head and stared at the offered hand, his body shrinking back down to be the same size as Izuku. He slightly floated back while seemingly starting to shake.

"I... I don't know what'll happen..."

Izuku's eyes widened to hear the timid voice that nearly matched his own now, the first voice he heard from Ikari when he first met him.

"The last times our hands touched, I... we actually tried to kill Enso, w-we broke our, no, your arms to try and win. I-If we do it again, then... I don't know what'll happen to us..."

He saw the eyes of Ikari seem to lower, showing how he was no longer aggressive and instead worried about the consequences of connecting once again.

Izuku let out a weak chuckled, "I-I mean... Aren't you the one who told me that things have a way of working out? We can do this, I know we can. We can help each other, we can save others in trouble, and we can stop others from doing harm. I think... I think we just have to believe in one another."

He lowered his arm and looked down with a sad expression. "Ever since you first showed up, I thought you were dangerous... I thought you were just trying to destroy anything, or anyone, so I was never confident in believing we could work together... And at the same time, you didn't trust me because it felt like I was only trying to use you, right?"

Ikari looked back up at Izuku, doing a slight nod.

"Yeah, I thought so... Even though I'm so good at analyzing heroes, I really am the worst at getting a clue..." The boy muttered as he slowly pushed himself back to his feet.

He stood up straight, still teary-eyed, but formed a small smile.

"So... Let's start over."

He extended his hand once more.

"Hi, I'm Izuku Midoriya, someone who wishes to save everyone with a smile, and... someone who wants to make everyone smile. I hope we can be friends."

Ikari stared down at the boy's hand once more, then looking at his own open hand.

"I..."

He slowly reached it over, stopping it an inch from Izuku's hand. A jagged red line suddenly appeared under his eyes, a smiling mouth revealing itself.

"I hope so too."

He took the boy's hand with his own.

The moment the two took each other's hand, Izuku felt an entire shock go around his body, making his eyes widen and pupils shrink.

Ikari suddenly dissolved into just a black mist, the substance circling Izuku and forming a black aura around the boy. Izuku's breathing became harder, his body tensed up, he gripped his fists tightly and clenched his teeth together.

A familiar feeling was starting to envelop his head, an emotion that started to overwhelm him and erase all other feelings.

"Nngh!! GRAAAR!!" His hands tightly gripped his head as he stepped back, feeling his blood start to boil as multiple images flashed in the darkness around him.

He saw several news articles, broadcast news, and more all relating to the Hero Killer. He saw the faces of every hero that had their lives ended by the villain, he saw their families grieving with the loss of their loved ones.

Izuku's eyes turned blood red as he could feel the anger building up in him. He heard the anger that some of these grieving families had, asking why, why would a villain do this? What kind of monster would go around killing so many heroes and taking them away from those who look up to them?

He fell to his knees in pain as he saw the silhouette of someone ahead of him. He saw two red eyes glowing and giving light to an outline of a woman he didn't know.

Suddenly, six other silhouettes formed behind the woman, all people in different shapes and sizes. All of their red eyes seemed to glare at Izuku as voices started to echo in the abyss around them.

"Pain…"

"Sorrow…"

"Loss…"

"Fear..."

"Vengeance..."

"Loneliness..."

"Anger..."

Izuku heard all of this coming from the people ahead, instantly understanding what it was. These emotions, these feelings... it was what the previous holders had all felt several times during their short lifetimes. When they had lived in a world of constant fear and evil, watching friends and family die just as the Hero Killer was doing to innocent heroes, taking them away from the world.

The eyes of the ninth holder shined an ominous red in the darkness, the seven silhouettes in front of him fading away and leaving Izuku in aching agitation.

He let out a grunt and screamed in the darkness, then forcing himself back to his feet as the black aura around him intensified.

The darkness suddenly started forming red cracks in it, the fracturing mysteriously spreading all around Izuku as his black aura flared up. He grinned as the sclera of his eyes turned black, highlighting the red veins and irises that menacingly glowed.

Then the world shattered around him, letting in bright red light that engulfed everything.

______________________________________________

Iida's eyes were looking up in horror as Stain was just getting to bringing his sword down on his head.

"IIDA!!" Todoroki shouted.

Iida just closed his eyes, watching his life flash before him. He saw himself sitting beside Izuku and Ochako, with Enso and Momo sitting across from them. Then one by one, more of his classmates came and sat down with them, everyone smiling as they talked to each other brightly.

"I'm sorry everyone... I guess it was just meant to be..."

He then heard something pierce through the air and the sounds of clanking metal.

Hearing the sound, Iida opened his eyes and they widened as he saw the Hero Killer looking stunned. His hands were stopped in place and the tip of his blade was only an inch from the boy's head, being held back by something.

A black tendril.

"What!? How-!?" Stain turned his head and saw that the tendril extended all the way to Izuku on the ground. The boy's body was twitching, slowly starting to move as a black aura surrounded him. He hung his head down as the black tendril around Stain's wrists tightened, then suddenly yanking him away from the students on the ground and towards Izuku.

"What the hell is this!?" Stain was still holding his blade so he pointed it forward at Izuku as he got pulled close, but the tendril suddenly pulled him up over the boy and tossed him.

Stain was surprised but used the walls to jump off, flipping in the air before he landed a few yards behind Izuku with a small slide.

"M-Midoriya." Todoroki uttered as he saw not only the familiar black aura of Ikari around Izuku, but also saw the boy already starting to rise off the ground with the help of some black tendrils supporting him.

"How are you moving!?!" Stain asked him in a mixture of frustration and disbelief.

Izuku took a deep breath and raised his head, turning it back to look Stain right in the eyes, their red and black colors piercing through him.

Stain instantly felt as if his body had frozen all over and swore he saw a vision of himself getting sliced apart in a second.

"This kid, his whole aura changed... Literally." Stain thought as he put up a more defensive stance while still holding his sword. He took a moment to process the situation. Izuku was between him and his goal once again, there wasn't much time left, and for some reason he was already standing up despite having been paralyzed before by the villain's quirk.

"Is a blood type O? No... Even if it was, he still shouldn't have gotten up that fast!"

Izuku's breath came out as a black mist as he shakily got all the way back to his feet, the boy then letting out hostile growling as he fully turned himself to the Hero Killer's direction.

Iida and Todoroki were both confused but in awe at what they saw. They were surprised that Izuku had gotten back to his feet, but were now also worried as they the black power around him.

"Midoriya! Are you alright!?" Iida shouted, concerned if his friend was actually 'there' or not.

Their worries grew some more as they saw something start forming from the aura of their friend. It started rising above Izuku's head and started to form a humanoid shape with many features to note. It formed arms and claw-like hands, formed a head with familiar rustled looking hair, and formed two slanted eye holes that were filled to the brim in bright red.

Todoroki instantly recognized those eyes... Those red, slanted eyes. They were the same eyes he had seen at the sports festival, the eyes of the being that had corrupted Izuku.

"So it really is...?" His words trailed off as he suddenly saw the figure open its mouth, revealing to have a red, jagged open smile also filled in red completely.

Then for the first time ever, they heard it breathe.

*Haaaaaaaa...* It released a red mist from its mouth instead of the black Izuku breathed out.

"Th-That's-!" Iida could feel his fear building up, being reminded of what this being had done before, and what it could do now.

"What the hell is up with this kid!?!" Stain wondered as he glared daggers across at Izuku and the... 'thing' above him.

The figure over Izuku's head looked into its own claw-like hands for a moment, then looked at its surroundings, while Izuku just stood still and panting furiously.

"I'm... here..."

"IT SPOKE!?" Iida, Todoroki, and even Stain all thought with chills, hearing Izuku's voice but in a more demonic pitch.

It then turned his head back to Todoroki and Iida, illuminating the area near them in red from its eyes.

"You... can see me..." Its voice echoed.

"F-Focus Ikari!! NNGH!!" Izuku shouted in pain, feeling the fury and pain building up in him, feeling himself about the explode right there.

"I-Ikari!? Isn't that your-!?" Iida started saying, trying to comprehend what it was he just witnessed.

"I'LL EXPLAIN LATER!!" Izuku cut him off, shouting more aggressively than he should've, but succeeding in shutting Iida up.

Ikari turned back, his head focusing in on Stain.

"You're right." He growled, closing his fingers into fists.

Both his and Izuku's menacing red eyes narrowed on Stain like a hunter ready to finish its prey.

"We have a job to do... Let's get this bastard."

Stain just scowled as he held his sword with his right hand and pulled out a dagger with his left, holding them both ready to keep going.

Izuku clenched his hands into fists while raising them up in front of him.

"The might of wrath and anger..."

Ikari raised his arms up as well, balling his hands too.

"Fueled by the regret and pain of those lost..."

Both of their movements suddenly were in sync with one another, their arms moving into a new fighting stance.

"The power of vengeance..." "The power of vengeance..."

Izuku's black aura and Ikari's body suddenly burst with intense power, ready to demonstrate their new abilities as they shouted;

Both Izuku and Ikari's eyes flared up.

"ONRYŌ'S VESSEL!!" "ONRYŌ'S VESSEL!!"