Chapter 25 Battle in hosu

The Internship system of UA is a curious thing. On one hand, it gives students the opportunity to experience how hero agencies work and function and on the other it allows agencies to scout potential talents in the next generation. In a way UA has perfected a way that allows students to get a head start on their hero careers. I too, benefited from this system. My internship with All Might was all the rage a year ago and from that single week stems most my success as a pro-hero. Now it's my time to play the mentor to two hero aspirants, Mirio Togata and Hitoshi Shinso.

Originally it would not have been permitted for Shinso to take part in the internship program and that would have been ok, because Aizawa had already staked a claim on him. No one is stupid enough to go against Aizawa in this matter, but I managed to talk him into it. While undoubtably Shinso would be a terror with a capture weapon's like Aizawa, I couldn't help but feel that he could do better with a short sword in hand. I've seen how good he was after a month of tutelage under Izuku, who is still merely a novice in swordsmanship. Shinso has a talent for bladed weapons and even with his somewhat OP quirk, he isn't like Aizawa in that he can level the playing field against most opponents. No, he needs something more than just a smart piece of cloth to get him through his career as a hero. To that end I offered my services to teach him swordsmanship. I have to say that Shinso is an incredible student. He catches on quickly and his movements are efficient. Now if only I could correct this attitude of his to be hyper defensive in combat I could call his training a true success.

"You need to pay attention to the changing battlefield" I said

Shinso glared at me as he rose from the floor and took his ready position. I couldn't help but sigh at the sight of it. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, it was just so defensive that it was nearly useless in a real fight. I took my own ready position with my bokken.

"Come on, attack me" I said

"You aren't going to attack me again, what are you, chicken?" bit back Shinso

I snorted and as I went to reply, I felt an intrusion in my mind similar to a genjutsu. A quick flare of chakra was all it took to rid myself of the foreign influence

"That isn't going to work, Shinso" I said as I launched in a lightning fast attack

In three moves, he was already on the ground and his bokken was in my hand

"Dam it! How are you so fast?"

I raised an eyebrow "How are you so slow, that was my base speed"

It was true. I hadn't used a single drop of chakra in this fight. Heck I even went as far as to strap on weights that will counteract the passive effects on my body that chakra has.

"You need to stop relying so much on your quirk

Shinso" I said

He looked at me confused

"But isn't the training that we're doing now supposed to help me be a better fighter with my quirk?" he asked

looked at him. Is that what he through we were doing?

"No, the point of all this is to help you get a better grasp on swordsmanship. This is meant to add another tool to your arsenal and help when mere hand to hand combat and your quirk is not sufficient" he was still unconvinced "Tell me, would you have been able to beat the girl form 1-B in the sports festival without your sword?"

"No"

"Exactly. Stop looking at this training as something that will help your quirk. Your focus on your quirk is a fallacy that can be your downfall. In fact, it has been the downfall of many heroes in this age where quirks are viewed as the answer to all the world's problems" I said

Shinso nodded and went on the attack. I defeated him in two strikes.

After I pulled him up, I went over his stances and techniques, explaining when and where to use them and how to do so. Training Shinso is a lot of work, but it's not as much as it had been with Izuku. Don't get me wrong, Izuku is an excellent hand to hand combatant with a healthy dose of long-range ability for good measure, it's just that he's shit with weapons. Not that I can blame him for that, everyone has different preferences when it comes to combat, but I did make sure that he was at least passable in a swordfight should he ever need it.

I left Shinso to rehearse the katas for the technique I just showed him. I hope that he will become competent enough to switch to sparing with each other soon. Just practicing won't do his reflexes any good, and they are already terrible.

As I passed through the door to the training room, I spawned a shadow clone to stand by it and inform me should Shinso want something or if someone else entered the room without my permission. Secrecy was key to Shinso's success as an underground pro-hero and I can never fully trust the people that work for me at Might Tower.

Because the agency is so big and a center for one of the biggest hero factions in existence there is a lot of traffic throughout the lower levels and I can never be too sure if the lower ranks of the agency aren't on someone's payroll as a spy, or if they would simply spill info to a news station for a large sum of cash to make their life better. It was a sad fact, but one that I had to take into account none the less. Still, this situation did come with a silver lining.

I walked out of the elevator I had previously taken and headed for one of the training rooms on the lower floors. As I entered I was treated to an amusing sight.

Mirio was fighting against one of my clones while another, henged as an old man dressed like the stereotypical mystical sense that one would expect to find in a mountain somewhere, was pointing out the flaws in his technique. Speaking of such figures, I should really go see what old man Jian is doing these days and if he's given up on that ridiculous codename of 'Custodian', not that its meaning was wrong. That man was easily one of the strongest martial artists still alive, having been born at the time where there wasn't even the notion of Quirks around. It's ironic that, as he trained as a Buddhist monk he manifested the quirk 'Prime Life'. While he does continue to age, all be it at a much slower rate, he's still as strong as he was in his prime. I should know, after all he kicked my but more times than I can count when I was a kid. Even to this day, without chakra enhancement I couldn't stand a chance of beating him in a pure taijutsu match.

Anyways, back to Mirio. In the three days he's been here, he's made quite some progress honing his combat skills. Having to deal with an opponent that used battle precognition made sure of that.

He learned to be unpredictable, though I'm not sure how well this would work against someone like Nighteye, but it was more than sufficient to give my shadow clone a run for its money. Of course, it wasn't using chakra actively since that would be against this exercise's point, but still it was an impressive feat for what was basically an ordinary human teenager.

He was progressing nicely. I could already see that his form had less holes than before and if he could keep up this level of intense training for a month or two, I'm sure that he would be a pain to fight against even for someone like Yoroi Musha. That man was a monster in battle. Honestly, if he had wider appeal he could very well breach the top 5.

But then again, when you look like Santa cosplaying as a Japanese Warlord I suppose there aren't many parents out there that would want their kids to look up at such a person. Not that I'm better mind you, it's just that I managed to twist the public's image of me to that of a young prince going through the trials necessary to attain the throne of his 'father'. Don't look at me like that, people think crazy shit up all the time, honestly I blame it all on Hawks.

The door to my office hissed open and I entered.

As soon as it shut behind me and the seal on it glowed blue as confirmation of its activation I allowed myself to slouch and collapse on the campaign bed that I had hidden away behind my desk. Another day, another headache, as the saying goes. Actually, it was midafternoon, but I didn't care. I was up all night tracking down a lead for Nighteye. Normally I would have let Mirio take the lead and just stick a shadow clone on his tail to monitor and intervene should it be necessary.

Unfortunately, this particular person was a high-level broker in the underworld, mostly specializing in drugs and quirk and human trafficking. From what I noticed from doing raids against several safehouses and distribution points is that most of the human trafficking revolves around quirkless kids. Mostly pre-teens, though I did see a few teenagers here and there. Not surprising considering the stigma and dare I say it shame concerning the quirkless. Japanese society hasn't changed that much from what it used to be in the 21st century. Even now there are reports of exhaustion related deaths. Any family with a quirkless child was doomed. Most often than not, the parents would split up and the child, usually around the age of 6 would either live in an abusive household or be abandoned at an orphanage somewhere. From there, it was easy pickings for any thug involved with human trafficking and these kids would end up abused in the worst ways and eventually disposed of before they reach 20.

No, I can't, won't let Mirio dirty his hands with matters such as these, because I'm sure that it would break him. In this age, children aren't taught the heroic legends of old. The ancient tales of the lliad and the Odyssey are relegated to those few still interested in history, the rich folklore of Japan has lost its oral tradition as well. I should know, when I was young I used to tell Izuku stories before bed. I would tell him of ancient heroes and even regurgitate the plot of some moves and tv series I used to watch that are no longer available nowadays. The people of this era are weak and fickle things. Even blessed with all the power their quirks give them there are no more true heroes around. There is no one you can point to and say that their name would go down in history, that their legend will be passed down from parent to child like the tales of ancient heroes.

I drifted off to a dreamless slumber only to be awakened a few hours later by my phone. Without looking at the screen, I answered.

"Hello, you've reached the personal number of the pro-hero Rikudou, how may I help you?" I asked in a flat tone

"Ni-san! There are Nomu's in Hosu" yelled out the voice of my brother

In a instant I jackknifed into a sitting position and flooded my body with chakra, using it as makeshift adrenaline. I was up in an instant.

"WHAT!" I shouted

"One just crashed through the train and Gran Torino took off after him, but Ida isn't answering, and I'm worried and-"

"Enough!" I said

Izuku fell silent

"Is there a policeman near you or something?" I asked

"Uh, yes there's a wounded hero and a guard tending to him" said Izuku

"Put me on speaker" I said

I waited for a moment to gather my thoughts and spoke

"To any law enforcement and pro heroes in the vicinity, this is the pro-hero Rikudou, identify yourselves!" I demanded

A squeak was heard and the phone was fumbled around a bit

"Y-Yes sir, I am Hirotechi Yamabushi, I work as a security guard on the train that was attack" came the strained voice of a security guard

"You'll do. Now listen up, I hereby grant permission to one Izuku Midoriya and any other class 1-A students with him to engage in battle and to use their quirks in defense of others and themselves in accordance with Act 3. Subsection 4b of the Pro-hero legislative code. Anyone who hears this announcement may be liable to be summoned as witnesses in court. Is that understood?"

"Y-Ye-s sir, crystal" replied the stuttering voice of the guard

"Good enough. Izuku go and find your friend.

Engage only if necessary, I'm on my way" I said

I could hear some cheers in the background as I closed the connection and went to don my armor.

Every minute was precious and I couldn't waste any time.

Izuku did not hesitate. As soon as his brother was finished giving his proclamation, he flooded his body with chakra and allowed One For All to the it over and bring forth that wellspring of power that turned All Might from a quirkless idealist to the man he was today. Electric green lightning erupted across his body and with a single push, he was off leaving behind an awed crowd and a trail of green light.

The streets were in chaos, but he powered through, running across walls and leaping from building to building, all in the hopes to find his friend.

"TENYA!" yelled a voice

Izuku instantly locked towards the source of that shout and his eyes widened as he saw Manual, Ida's mentor. His eyes widened even further as he saw the destruction the three Nom were wreaking.

'Shit, what do I do? I can't afford a long drawn out battle with those Nomu, but the heroes over there are useless! Please tell me didn't forget to pack the scroll'

Izuku stopped on the roof of one of the nearby buildings and began to search his pockets. He breathes a sigh of relief as he found the scroll he was looking for. Putting on a determined face, he jumped. At the apex of his jump, Izuku drew three kunai from his pouch and threw them at the Nomu, one for each. At first everyone was confused, but Izuku landed soon after and unfurled the scroll on the ground. Several quick hand seals later, he slapped down his palm on the center of the scroll

"Fuinjutsu: Chains of Heaven!" yelled Izuku

From each of the thrown kunai, a green circle spun into existence beneath the Nomu and then connected with a line of chakra to the main scroll.

From there, another larger circle spun around the scroll, this time golden in color and from it were launched heavy chains at the Nomu. The Nomu tried to avoid them, but the chains were too fast.

They pierced the limbs of the Nomu and wrapped around them, binding them completely. Seeing this, Izuku took a metal spike from his belt and slammed it down into the center of the seal.

'There, that should do it. I have to find Ida quickly, before my chakra drains completely' though Izuku as he got up and sped off unhearing of the cries to wait that were raising from the heroes he left behind.

Dammit, dammit! The road from Might Tower to Hosu was long and I didn't dare waste the chakra necessary for flight at near Mach speed. I was stuck with running. Not that I was much slower this way. Clad in blue lightning indicative of the Lightning Chakra Armor, I sped past cars towards Hosu. I just pray I make it in time. Still, Nomu?

What the heck was the League and All For One doing? This wasn't rational, there's no way that All For One would waste resources just to mindlessly attack a city, unless... No, this wasn't AFO's hand at play. This was definitely that man-child Shigaraki. I did theorize that Shigaraki may try to bring Stain into his group, but the attacks of these Nomu were not targeted. From what I could make out from the radio chatter in my ear, the Nomu, five in number, were all wreaking as much havoc as possible without any set target in mind.

No matter, I would deal with them later. It's more than likely that Stain has had a fallout with the League and this is just some sort of twisted pissing contest started by Shigaraki because things didn't go his way. Such a thing would not be out of character. Even so, this pissing contest was costing thousands in propriety damage and more than a few human lives.

I shook my head, I can't afford to have rage and anger cloud may judgment. For better or worse, Izuku was there and he was powerful enough to beat the Nomu that stood in his path. From what I heard, Endeavour managed to cook one alive and they seemed to be reacting slower than the ones I fought at USJ. This just further supports my hypothesis that this attack is just Shigaraki throwing a temper tantrum.

I need to get there faster.

My chakra flared and even more condensed lightning natured chakra was shunted from my coils to my muscles, skin and nerves.

Spreading his senses out, Izuku tried to locate his wayward Classmate

'Dammit, nii-san's still better than me at this and I'm supposed to be the one with the OP sensory ability!' yelled Izuku in his head

What he was trying to do is make the nature energy from One For All connect with the ambient nature energy of the world. Of course, the quirk was quite stubborn and would not lend its power so easily. Izuku knew from what his brother told him that he should be able to eventually spread his senses out across the entirety of Japan and have such a sensory acuity that even Ragdoll's Search quirk would be rendered near useless when compared to him. Of course, that was just the theory and so far he'd been unable to actually put it into practice. In the end he was forced to rely on his brother's tried and true method of chakra sensing. That wouldn't be so bad, if it didn't require a shit ton of chakra to cover the area needed for his search.

'Dammit, who the hell made so many back alleys across the city! Honestly, it's like someone was waving a flag in the face of all the villains 'please do crimes here'. I swear I'm going to have a talk with the city designer later!' raged Izuku in his head

Just as he was about to stop and send out the chakra pulse for the sensing technique, his passive senses came across the very familiar signature of Ida.

'Found you!'

Launching himself in the air, Izuku managed to arrive just on time to save Ida from being stabbed through the back of the neck by a sword.

"Midorya!" yelled Ida

"Can't you move? Get out of here already!" yelled back Izuku

"I can't move, he must have done something when he cut me. But what are you doing here?" said Ida

"Hehe, more fakes come" came a voice from the alleyway

Izuku turned his attention back to the threat at hand and settled in a fighting stance, drawing a kunai from his pouch

"Hero Killer Stain" replied Izuku coldly

The hero killer cocked his head to the side and looked at Izuku strangely

"You have nothing to do with this!" yelled Ida

"What?" asked Izuku, not taking his eyes off Stain for a single second

"This is my fight, my duty to avenge my brother, don't you dare but in-" yelled Ida

"Shut up!" yelled back Izuku, cutting Ida off "What the hell is wrong with you? You must have hit your head or something, because that's not how a hero thinks!"

When Stain heard this, his grin widened

"You understand, don't you, inheritor of All Might's will" he said

"And what the hell do you want?" shot back Izuku

"I just want to cleanse the world of fakes like these two, surely you can see that. Their corrupt and false ways stain the good name of the true heroes everywhere" said Stain

"And by that you mean only All Might?" asked

Izuku

Stain looked surprised

"Don't be so surprised, I researched all I could find about you Chizome Akaguro the moment I found ou about what you did to Ida's brother, Ingenium" said izuku

"Then you understand, my will, my duty, my conviction!" said Stain as he took a step forward

"I do, but that doesn't mean that I won't bring you down right here and now" said Izuku

Stain stopped and stared

"Don't you dare, he's mine!" yelled Ida

"Be silent! I thought that you had more brains in that empty head of yours than to go up against a serial killer without even a serious plan" yelled back Izuku

"Those that stand in my way, will die" declared

Stain

"So be it" replied Izuku

In an instant, Izuku was upon him. Sparks were shed as Izuku's kunai bounced off Stain's hastily raised sword. The blow was of such force though, that it broke through Stain's guard. Without wasting a second, Izuku pressed his advantage and tried to get a good hit in on the hero killer.

Unfortunately, tzuku's original assessment on Stain's martial prowess was wrong and the latter maned to catch Izuku's fist with his off hand and bring down his word with the other in an attempt to kill Izuku. The blade was stopped dead in its tracks by lzuku's kunai, settling the two in a lock

"You're good, who taught you how to fight?" asked

Stain

Izuku didn't reply but instead he grabbed onto the wrist of Stain's sword hand and pulled down on his hands, causing his head to come smashing down in Izuku's knee. Now dazed, Stain was kicked into a wall with enough force to shatter it.

"That, you don't need to know" said Izuku as he stalked the hero killer

He knew that the was not out, even if the kick had broken a couple of Stain's ribs. That was proven true when a moment later, Stain reengaged Izuku.

Izuku blocked his strike but was unable to prevent

Stain from disengaging and throwing a knife at him. Thinking it was meant for him, Izuku dodged.

Moments later his eyes widened as he deduced that the knife was not aimed at him, but at Ida.

Without a second thought Izuku folded a hand seal and was instantly replaced with the knife, leaving the knife to fall harmlessly to the ground.

Rising from his crouched position, Izuku glared at Stain

"Really now? Attacking non-combatants do you not have a single shred of pride within that disgusting soul of yours"

"Tch, I need not take any pride in my work" said

Stain

"That's not what I meant" growled Izuku

"Midoriya!" yelled another voice

Izuku's head immediately snapped to the source of the sound and to his great surprise he saw

Shoto at the entrance of the alleyway.

That was all Stain needed as he charged Izuku, only to be cut off by a huge wall of ice. Seeing his opening, Izuku picked up Ida and pulled back to the entrance of the alleyway

'What's happening to the seal? It's draining my chakra faster than it should. If this goes on, I will have to sever the connection to the seal matrix' through Izuku

With his prey gone, Stain turned his attention back to Native, the hero he originally intended to kill.

Just before he reached him and killed him, Izuku appeared cutting off his access to him.

"Tch, annoying brat" said Stain as he was forced to doge a barrage of kicks and punches

'My strength is diminishing and One For All isn't helping much either. Something must be seriously wrong for the seal to draw that much chakra. Nil-san... hurry up' thought Izuku

Right behind Izuku came Shoto who gingerly picked up Native and began bedding back to the small ice fortress he made around Ida.

"No!" cried Stain

In a feat of extraordinary gymnastics, Stain twisted around and kicked Izuku away as he went into a dead sprint for Native and Shoto.

Just as he was about to reach the two, Izuku yet again appeared between Stain and his target.

Deciding to be proactive for once, luku caught the sword by the blade and broke it. That act stunned Stain just enough for Izuku to be able to shove his fist in his stomach so hard that Stain was instantly launched back and smashed against a hastily erected wall of ice. Deciding that discretion was the better form of valor, Izuku snatched up both Shoto and Native and retreated to the ice fort that housed Ida.

"Keep them safe" said Izuku

Shoto nodded and resealed the ice fort, all the while bolstering its walls.

Turning around, Izuku stared down the now manic Stain.

"You... dare impede mymission!" raged Stain

The hairs on Izuku's neck stood up at the feeling of bloodlust that Stain was emitting.

'I need my full strength. I just hope that I bought enough time for the heroes to deal with the Nomu. Fuinjutsu: Kai'

luku took his stance and with his reserves dwindling dangerously low he called upon One For All

'Even with this measly 3%, I swear I'll save everyone!'

I arrived just in time to kick off a Nomu from Gran Torino and shove a Rasengan through its chest.

"Are you all right, old man?" I asked

"Heh, I may have gotten old, but I'm not helpless, boy" replied Gran Torino

looked around at the burning buildings. Several hand seals later several low powered Water Bullets splashed on the burning buildings, quenching the fires. I turned to Gran Torino

"Where's Izuku?" I asked

"I left him back on the train, he should be safe" replied the old man

This stunned me "You what? I thought that he was calling me for backup before heading off with you"

Gran Torino looked at me, seemingly understanding what I'd done and placed his head in his hands

"That dammed brat, he's going to be the death of me" muttered Gran Torino

"Go and search for him. I'll be there as soon as I can" I said

Gran Torino nodded and took off. I too vanished in a body flicker to the very top of a nearby building.

From there I could clearly see a good deal of the city burning. I vanished once again and appeared next to a flying Nom. Lightning coalesced around my hand and extended in a blade like shape. The Raikiri swiftly cut through the wing of the Nomu.

The creature screeched as it fell, but it was quickly silenced by being sliced to pieces by a Wind style:

Vacuum Web. Ilanded next to the bloodbath and saw Endeavour battling it out with the other two creatures. One had already lost both its legs and one arm was nothing but charred meat. The other one, was tricky in that it had a chameleon function.

A quick flash of chakra and my Sharingan powered up in my eyes. With these eyes I could clearly see the outline of the creature. Several hand seal later a high-powered Wind Slash severed the creature in half. It fell to the ground screeching as it bled out.

"Secure the villains!" I heard Endeavour yell as he turned and ran down the street

That somewhat confused me but as I stretched out my chakra senses I couldn't help but feel one of Izuku's chakra transceivers stuck to the ground.

From the charred paper fluttering around it, I could tell that he had used this seal as a possible way to restrain the villains, even if only for a moment. I couldn't dally. This situation needed to be dealt with quickly.

Izuku was breathing heavily as he took in the bleeding and injured form of the hero killer before him. The fight had been going for some time and despite the fact that he could go all out now that the people he was protecting were safe, he didn't have the power necessary for any jutsu more chakra intensive than a replacement or a flash step. That and Stain would not go down. Every time they clashed, he would get injured worse and worse and yet he would still get up. Not that Izuku was unharmed. His armor was all scratched and scuffed from when he had been grappling with Stain. It did its job, though and kept Stain's blades from piercing his armor. So long as he didn't get a cut on his face he was safe. Honestly, it was times like these that Izuku wished he had a helmet to protect himself.

Just as he was preparing to engage the hero killer once again, he heard the sound of steps on pavement.

"We were commanded by Endeavour to provide assistance... wait, is that the hero killer, Stain?" asked one of the sidekicks

"Get back, he's still dangerous" said Izuku as he took his battle stance once again

It was then that the heroes noticed the 15-year-old in green and black armor who was looking like he had just ran a marathon

"Midoriya!" yelled out Gran Torino

This sparked recognition throughout the heroes assembled. This was the younger brother of Rikudou, the symbol of Strength and the one who was proclaimed as the up and coming symbol of Hope

"Even more fakes appear" said Stain

The attention once again turned to him

"Their foul hearts stain this society. They must be purged! Someone must be stained by the blood of these false heroes if we are to have a just society!" yelled Stain

Just then, Endeavour appeared from the corner

"What are you just standing around over there, he must have-"

"ENDEAVOUR! FAKER OF FAKES YOU MUST BE PURGED!' yelled Stain in a mad frenzy

His bloodlust was so terrible that everyone froze up, even Todoroki, Ida and Native who had come out of the ice fort when they heard the other heroes arrive. All froze, except Izuku. He was standing as firm as ever, even if his body was all but screaming at him to stop and rest.

'Not yet'he told himself 'not until this battle is over'

Stain broke out into a run, bellowing a harsh howl that served to terrify all who heard it, all except Izuku. Calling up the last dregs of his chakra, Izuku appeared in a flash step next to Stain and with as much power from One For All as he could safely draw, he punched the hero killer in the face, sending him careening into the wall on a nearby building.

"You're not purging anyone anymore. Not on my watch" said Izuku

As the dust settled, the others could see Stain, bloodied and broken, as he sauntered forwards. It looked like it was taking all he had not to collapse

"YOU, YOU ARE WORTHY! THE ONLY ONE OTHER THAN ALL MIGHT" yelled Stain

In that moment, like a missile from the sky, Rikudou arrived, Sharingan blazing and chakra swirling around him in a veritable storm.

But just like that, Stain fell to his knees and passed out. Those watching were shocked until Izuku too, began to wobble and collapse and he would have, were it not for Madara catching him before he touched the ground.