About a month later

Izuku stared down from the balcony, his sensei’s corpse hung to the wall, His eyes staring right at the boy, his friends were crying in front of the corpse. Shinsou spoke “Why did he do it, why did Izuku let him die.”

Izuku knelt down, crying. Todoroki was in front of him, looking down “You let me be taken, Now they’re torturing me, I killed my father to save you, but you couldn’t shake off one man?.”

Tears flowed down his eyes “I’m so sorry, I tried”

Endeavor stood over his son, a gaping wound in his neck, his eyes red. “Should’ve expected the null to side with a villain instead of the heroes.”

Of course, who was he kidding, he was just one quirkless kid, he should’ve let his dreams stay just that, a dream. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to see All Might standing there in his deflated form, a ghastly smile on his face. “I warned you, being a hero was just going to get you and others killed, just turn yourself in. Let it all be over.” Izuku stared at the man with tears in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”

He woke up in a cold sweat. He frantically got up looking around only to see the couch and the small TV. That's right he was in the small hideout.. the one shared with… right. His breathing and heartbeat finally calmed down as he walked over to the kitchen. Starting the kettle he had forced Stain to grab. He glanced at the clock, 4:00 am.

He hadn't been getting much sleep since that night. His nightmares never seeming to fade. Stain said it was almost time to move cities since his leg had recovered. He wasn't sure why the hero killer was willing to keep him along. Especially since he kept swearing this was a temporary thing. His stomach growled and he subconsciously wished for his mother's katsudon.

Going to the fridge he grabbed a ready to cook meal, putting it into the microwave. He'd have to buy actual ingredients when he went out. He doesn't know how the man lived off of these things.

After the tea was done he sat down. Gingerly eating the meal and sipping on his tea. His mind wandered back to Shinsou. He wondered how he was taking the news. And to his mom who would be heartbroken.. he shook his head. There wasn't anything he could do about that. He should focus on something he can fix.

Todoroki… Shoto had been taken by Hawks, not killed. He remembered what he had said, to use him in a program. What were they gonna do to him. Experiment on him,brainwashing? Izuku felt sick at the thought. He'd have to get the boy out of there.. if he could just figure out where he was. He reached for his pocket, only to curse himself as he remembered that his phone wasn't there. He needed a way to gather evidence.

Stain walked into the room. Stretching as he walked in. Izuku piped up "I made tea if you want some."

The man shook his head pulling a bottle of coffee out of the fridge. Downing the whole thing. "I prefer coffee."

The man sat down as they shared a moment of silence. Izuku calmly eating his food.

"So little hero, are you ready to start training?"

Izuku cringed a bit at the name.

"Call me Izuku please."

The man stared at him before nodding, "very well."

Then follow me Izuku.”

Izuku put on his shoes, checking to find his final hidden blade, feeling its edge lost in thought. The sound of the door brought him out of his trance, he pocketed it before following after the man.

Izuku tucked his growing hair into the hoodie of the sweater he had received from the man, putting on a medical mask. He couldn’t risk anyone recognizing him. Not with his face plastered everywhere.

He walked down the streets of Hosu, following the Hero Killer as they weaved through the crowds, Izuku passed the remainder of what used to be a bank, its remaining wall plastered with missing posters. People whose bodies hadn’t been found after the incident. Izuku thought back to the flying Nomu that had picked him up. It had been trying to take him somewhere. If it had wanted him dead it wouldn’t have taken much work, one of those claws could’ve easily…

“You lose someone too?’ Someone had said to his left, he looked over to see an older lady, who stared at the wall wistfully, her hair very obviously used to be orange, but was graying. She stood, balancing on a cane, one of her eyes a glassy blue. Izuku looked around, snapped out of his trance, Seeing Stain heading into a nearby alley, “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go” he bowed and left the lady, who looked surprised by his sudden outburst. She grabbed his arm, putting a hand on his “That pain in your eyes, I understand It must hurt.” She put the item into his hand “Keep this as a reminder,” She let go and Izuku ran off to catch up to Stain, Making it around the corner, taking a peak at the item before bumping into the man. She had given him a little charm, in the shape of a Possum, a scar over its right eye.Izuku stared at it. Huh, this looked like Nezu. How had she known? Izuku looked up, his vision blurred. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes as he pocketed the weird charm, a strange feeling in his heart. “We are here” he opened a door, entering an old gym, A lone mat in the center with some weights strewn around. The place was dark, The power was out, But surprisingly in one piece.

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Stain walked over to the center of the map, drawing a knife. “Today you will learn how to properly use that knife of yours.”

They trained for the entire morning, Izuku getting constantly floored by the man, before he showed him where he had gone wrong. By the end of the day Izuku was exhausted, but he could last for more than a minute against the experienced swordsman.

After they were finished the Villain looked at him. “Not terrible. We will keep at it every morning, same time, so be ready.”They fell into this familiar pattern, training all morning for weeks, Izuku’s skill growing, whilst he hadn’t gotten to the same level as Stain, he was much more capable of holding his own. Izuku had taken an unofficial quirk counselor job online, going to local libraries and using their computers to do so. Eventually making enough money to buy himself a laptop, and a burner phone. Allowing him to do this work where he pleases. He would have to thank Stain for setting him up with the bank, using a fake name and ID.

This new life almost felt normal. But he was still haunted by the nightmares. On one such night he woke up in a cold sweat, grasping at his throat. A small thud was heard and he looked down to see the little charm lying there, Picking it up he stared at it, his eyes growing misty. I’m sorry, I failed as a hero. I’m being trained by a serial killer whom I live with, and am hiding from the law. And people are still out there, getting hurt, and there’s nothing Izuku Midoriya can do about it. The fact he couldn’t help anyone is what hurt the most, he had done all of this to help people, but now people would be more likely to call the police than accept his help. How could he help people without them knowing… An Idea crossed his mind, sure Jade the hero can’t help people, nor could Izuku Midoriya the former UA student. But Luruni hadn’t been caught, No one knew who he was.

He grabbed his bag pulling out his old hero costume, staring at the burnt and ripped fabric. He knew he should’ve thrown the old thing away, but everytime he tried he just couldn’t make himself let it go. Only one of his shoes had survived, the body armor had survived in one piece, but the pants were fully ruined, one leg of them being almost entirely gone, his utility belt was thankfully in one piece, a couple of his pellets still in the pouch, not that he had the firing mechanism anymore, at least for now. He could still wear the top piece too, Although there were huge gashes in the shoulders from where the creature had grabbed him. Izuku pulled out a blade, cutting the sleeves off of the fabric. He pulled out a needle and thread he had bought on a whim last week. Getting to work he patched up the shoulders with the fabric from the sleeves. It wasn’t very aesthetic, and he was sure that Mei would yell at him for ruining the look of the design, but it was functional, fully covering his shoulders again. First he put on the armor, before he put on a bland sweatshirt, Putting his old shirt on top of it.

He tucked a blade away into his sweatshirt pocket, strapping two more onto his belt.

Izuku felt the warm summer air on him as he patrolled the more destroyed parts of Hosu. whilst this place had been mostly abandoned, there were still a few people who stuck around. Although the crime rate had skyrocketed in these areas as heroes didn’t patrol there, a fact Stain ranted about often. He walked the streets for hours, stopping a few petty crimes. He was about to call it a night when he heard a scream, he rushed towards it, He found a Grizzly scene. A man whose muscles seemed to expand and contract over his skin, standing over a man lying still, a blade still in his hand. “Shame I thought you’d put up more of a fight. Oh well” the man lifted his fist, about to connect with the prone man. Izuku acted on instinct, yelling out as he stepped forward. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The man looked over at him, a hockey mask hiding his face under his hood. “You got a problem with a man having a little fun, pipsqueak?”

Izuku eyed the man up. He clearly had a muscle type quirk. Maybe muscle manipulation, or muscle growth from how his muscles seemed to dance around. He'd have to be careful if he didn't want to become a blood splatter on the ground. "You've won your fight. There's no reason to kill him now."

The man put on a huge grin. "Ah you're one of those hero types, couldn't tell without the usual flashy clothes but I get it. But this man had promised me I'd die, and since he couldn't deliver on that promise I have to put him down. There's nothing worse than someone who can't deliver."

He was about to turn back to the man, his intent all to clear. Izuku drew his knife yelling out to the man. "I promise you I won't let you kill that man."

The man turned to look at him laughing. "You.. you are nothing compared to me…" the man had stopped laughing suddenly as he felt a blade pierce through his mask, right into his lleft eye. He reached a hand up to pull it out as izuku rushed forward, blade in hand. The man laughed again pulling the blade out with ease. "Sorry but you were beat to taking out that eye pipsqeak. Although you're beginning to remind me of thei hope you can put up as much of a fight as they did!" The man's muscles expanded outwards surrounding his arms. He took a swing at izuku who ducked under it. Grabbing the unconscious man, slinging him over his shoulder as he ran out the other side of the alley.

"Oh you're not getting away now! Not until one of us is dead!"

The man jumped out of the alley muscles forming around his legs as he sped up. Izuku ducked Into. Nearby alley. Climbing over a fence and jumping into a nearby building. Stilling his breath as he heard the man land in the road right infront of the store. "Where did that pipsqeak go. Damn coward. I'll kill him when I find him. The man jumped away again. As izuku let a sigh out. Deciding to look over the man on his shoulders

He put the man down. Looking at him to see the man's face held together by stitches. His hair black and an overall patchy framework. Obivous burn scars littered his body. Izuku noted how most of them seemed to be very old wounds. With o ly the ones he could see on the man's wrist appearing newer. He had bruised all over his body. His left arm appeared battered.

He was about to pick the man up again when he saw his eyes open up. Izuku jumped back as blue flames engulfed the spot he had just been. Izuku put his hands up "you were attacked. I got you away from the man who attacked you, but You need to go to a hospital."

The man's flames didn't let up, a calculating look on his face