30

Chapter Text

Bakugo Katsuki got off the bus, collecting his suitcases as he took in his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes, doing his best to stay awake.

He had flown in from Tokyo to Nagasaki, leaving the house with Dad driving him at three in the morning, well before traffic and gridlock of the Tokyo Morning Rush hour. After picking up his boarding pass he was on the five o'clock flight. He had landed not even thirty minutes ago, ran through the mostly empty airport to the baggage claim, and then hopped onto the first bus available at the bus lane outside. He looked at his watch as he shivered from the ocean breeze. It was just before eight o'clock. The blonde looked up at the building before him. It had the appearance of a typical office building, but the billboard of 'Gang Orca Agency' was prominent as it hung overhead.

Katsuki closed his eyes and turned, walking up to the entrance and carrying his luggage behind him as the blonde let out a sigh of relief. After a moment of contemplation, Katsuki opened the door.

"Hello?" He asked, voice low as he poked his head inside.

He was greeted to the sight of the walls being literal aquariums, filled with various marine life that Katsuki couldn't recognize. He didn't pay much attention to the Animal Channel.

"Ah, good morning!" Said a voice as an elderly woman leaned up behind her desk. She looked normal, with her graying hair done up in a bun, but she… had one big eye where most people would have two. Her cyclopic eye was behind a monocle of sorts. "How can I help you young man?"

Katsuki reached into his pocket, grabbing the card Orca gave him the other day. "I'm here for the internship." He presented it to the old lady, and she beamed.

"Ah, you must be Bakugo-kun!" She sat back down and leaned over to her phone. "Sakamoto-kun! You have a visitor!"

"Coming." Came a low voice on the other end as Katsuki licked his lips and took a deep breath. He felt uncertainty gnaw inside at his heart.

Katsuki picked up movement behind one of the aquarium walls. The door opened, and out came the hulking and towering form of Sakamoto Kuga. The Killer Whale Hero, Gang Orca.

He strode in, his red eyes narrowed as he saw the blond boy. "You came after all."

"I did." Katsuki nodded, having a hard time looking into the whale man's big red eyes.

"Did you come in by train or plane?"

"Plane. Three in the morning. Couldn't sleep really." Gang Orca let out a scoff but not a dismissive one.

"Those flights are the worst. Did you have any breakfast?" Katsuki perked up as he looked at the man.

"Well… had a ham and cheese sandwich on the fli-"

"Come." He gestured, turning around. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all." Orca growled as he turned and began walking away. Katsuki tilted his head, and the man paused as he looked back. "Well?"

"My stuff?" He said, holding out his suitcase and bag.

"We can handle it!" Came some voices as some men came striding in, all in dark diving suits and wearing masks of some kind. Katsuki reasoned that they were some of Gang Orca's sidekicks. "We'll take your belongings to your room."

"You go eat, kiddo!"

"Leave it to us!"

Katsuki stepped back as the rather… shady looking minion-esque sidekicks grabbed his luggage before dashing down the hall. Orca stood at the door, arms crossed and finger tapping his arm. The blonde took the hint and trotted up as Orca turned, both walking down the blue illuminated hallway.

"Shouldn't we cover anything for my internship first?" Katsuki asked as Orca led the way.

"We'll go over what we will be covering this internship with you while you eat." Orca opened a door, allowing the teen to walk into the eating area. There were nice tables scattered about where some people in formal business attire and others dressed in dark diving suits ate while conversing amongst themselves.

"You gonna eat anything?" Katsuki asked, looking up as the man shook his head.

"I already ate. Go on ahead, I'll wait for you." He said as he lumbered away, taking a seat at a nearby table.

"Heya boss!" Said a sidekick as he waved. "Oh hey, breaking in the new intern?"

"Obviously!" Chirped a tall giraffe-like lady.

Orca simply nodded in acknowledgement as he took his seat. Katsuki turned and walked towards the line and looked at the menu.

…

Lots of seafood options.

Then again, they were a healthier alternative to most meats. Katsuki settled for the salmon and cheese omelette with hashbrowns. Collecting some milk, he returned to Gang Orca's table and sat down with his tray.

"Good choice on the omelette. Now," Gang Orca opened his eyes as he sat there, eyes hard as his massive webbed hands rested on the table. "I am glad you took the choice to come here on your own accord."

Katsuki looked down at his plate, swallowing thickly before he moved to eat. After a moment, he spoke. "Can I ask you a question?

"You may."

"How can-"

"Oh, good morning Orca-san!" A familiar voice cut in as Katsuki paused and looked to the side before his red eyes widened.

Tsunotori Pony stood there, dressed in her orange bodysuit with various padding on her shoulders and knees. Her joyous expression remained still before she began to frown.

"Good morning Tsunotori. I was just about to bring your partner up to speed." Orca replied as Katsuki blinked.

"Partner?!" They spoke out at the same time, Katsuki in Japanese, and Pony in English.

Tsunotori was cut off when her big blue eyes widened at the sight of the ash blonde sitting in front of the Killer Whale Hero. Katsuki understood why. Gang Orca was so big that she must not have seen him. "What are you doing here!?"

"You never said anything about taking on another intern." Katsuki spoke sternly from where he sat. Orca scoffed with a roll of his red eyes.

"And where was it said that I couldn't take more than one?" He snarked back. His eyes panned over the both of them. "This will not be a problem. I am aware of how you two fought at the Festival both during the race and during the Finals, but that was then. This is now. Am I making myself perfectly clear?" Orca's eyes narrowed.

Bakugo bit down a curse and Pony visibly caught herself, straightening before her bunched shoulders relaxed.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Orca's voice could have cut through stone.

"No sir." Pony caved first.

"I got it."

"I'm glad we understand each other. After breakfast, we'll begin our patrols around town. Bakugo, once you are finished, you'll go to your room and change into your costume." The blonde looked from the American girl back to the Whale man and nodded as he went about eating.

"Right."

(X)

Midoryia Izuku, once a quirkless boy, and now secret successor to All Might, felt the sweat pouring down his face. In his hand, the source of all of his pain stared back at him. Its slick, uncracked surface was strong, but only for now.

All it would take was a single flinch, and it would crack like the egg that it was.

He took a deep breath, and tossed the egg into the air.

And in the corner of his eye, an edge shot straight for his face. He rolled forward, the green lightning of One for All giving him just enough speed to avoid the pinpoint kick. Izuku's eyes flashed over, but there was no one there.

Wait, no, focus! His head snapped up and the egg fell towards the floor. Izuku jumped, throwing out his hand, and catching the egg just before it hit the ground.

"YES!" he screamed.

Then his fist closed on reflex, and the yoke splattered out of his hand.

Izuku's smile twitched before he buried his face into the ground.

"Oh don't worry," Edgeshot said, the younger hero could imagine the half smile on his face, "I've got more eggs." He said, holding up another dozen.

That sentiment didn't help much. Around him, the shattered remains of the last dozen attempts at keeping his control stared back at him. The original idea was simple. Keep fine control, even in the heat of battle. Today's breakfast… hadn't gone well, so Edgeshot gave him some protein bars to snack on instead.

Hundreds of chopsticks filled up the trash can.

So Izuku was supposed to throw the egg, catch it, and throw it up again without breaking while Edgeshot took a few potshots at him. As you'd expect of a top ten hero, all it would take was one attack, and Izuku would botch it. Actually, a few of these splattered eggs resulted when Edgeshot simply needed to hit his hand. Strikes that Izuku couldn't even see coming.

And it was only a fraction of what the hero could do.

Izuku remembered reading on his wiki that Edgeshot could attack at the speed of sound and beyond through only the refinement of his quirk alone. What he was doing here, was like a love tap in comparison to what he could do.

It brought a whole new meaning to the term 'Pro' in Izuku's head. He'd seen All Might, he'd seen the Symbol of Peace fight, but those punches were nothing but single shots. Edgeshot only needed to twitch before he knocked Izuku off balance.

It was… amazing to look at. The mountain that was a top ten hero.

"I-I'll do better!"

"I know you will," Edgeshot said, his singular eye somehow curling into a slight smile, "But I'd rather you not trip during your attempts."

Izuku felt his face heat up in embarrassment as his eyes drifted over the remains of the eggs.

"T-Thank you."

"Think nothing of it," Edgeshot dismissed his apology in good humor, "You're improving, even if it doesn't seem like it."

The ninja walked over to the side of the training mat, and effortlessly dropped into a one-legged sitting position next to the small coffee table of food that one of the hero's sidekicks had prepared sometime during the test.

He helped himself to a cracker, while Izuku took only a glass of water.

"However," the ninja said, "I believe that we can definitely say how despite your quirk's ability to enhance your body physically, it does little for fine motor skills."

Izuku frowned, but nodded in agreement. It made no sense. All Might had never even so much as bent a doorknob when he was doing anything. The young hero in training had even seen the huge hero carry lunch boxes and eat without so much as bending whatever utensil sat in his oversized hands.

"But don't worry, the only difference between you and he is experience."

Izuku jumped, crushing the cup of water in his hands. Edgeshot's single visible eye notched upwards.

"H-how did-"

"You were mumbling," the hero gleamed with mischief as he spoke, the small smile hidden behind his mask.

Izuku deflated, oh thank god. For a second, he was worried that the hero had somehow figured out the connection between him and All Might.

"Though I can't say that he's a bad example to base yourself off of," the ninja said, "Your quirks are similar enough, and being the Symbol of Peace gives him more than enough experience. Have you asked him how he controls his?"

Izuku flashed back to those days on the beach, where the pro hero would talk about the feeling, the rush that One for All brings. The day that Izuku invented his egg in the microwave analogy, that was the last day that All Might had been his personal mentor. Since then, his duty to U.A. and everything else didn't exactly leave much time for personal training.

"N-not really," Izuku admitted.

The advice that the pro had graciously imparted was more on the feeling, the theory of how to control One for All and not the application. Which, when Izuku thought about it, wasn't too surprising. All Might was doing his best, but there was only so much someone could do when they did the impossible and passed on their quirk to someone with none.

"Well then, food for thought," Edgeshot said wistfully, "If you manage to catch him in his off hours, I'm sure that he'll explain it to you."

"Right," Izuku agreed.

It had been a while since he'd texted All Might, after all.

"Alternatively, you could ask your homeroom teacher."

Izuku stopped.

"What?!"

Edgeshot's eyebrow notched upwards, "Your homeroom teacher is Eraserhead, correct?" he asked, to which Izuku nodded, "Well then you could simply ask him."

"R-really?"

"Indeed," Edgeshot said, "It takes a bit to pry anything out of Eraserhead, but eventually he gives you enough information to work with if he feels it is logical."

The ninja stole a quick glance at Izuku's cup.

"He's a hard man to work with, but he means well, and with his help, I'm sure that you'll be able to match all Might one day. Or," the ninja paused, his eyes glinting in something akin to challenge, "Are you willing to go beyond him, instead of simply settling to be like him?"

The successor to one for all nodded. It was what All Might was trusting him with after all. To be the next wielder of a quirk that was passed down through the generations and protected everyone.

"Good," Edgeshot said cheerfully, "I'd hate to see the next generation without it's admiration. We'll need a new soul to take up the mantle soon enough."

Izuku felt his blood run cold as Edgeshot's lone visible eye found his. "All Might, despite his power, is not immortal." He said somberly.

Izuku could only stare as the older hero's lone eye clouded over.

"He used to have more hair for starters," he said, trying for a joke, "He's as fast and as strong as ever, but we cannot simply sit by and hope that All Might will remain effective long enough to solve all of our problems. I dread to think of a time when we will have to take to the streets without him in our corner, without his example leading us on, but it will happen, one of these days."

He stood up, dusting off some crumbs.

"Put on your suit, we're going on patrol."

"A-Already?"

"Yes," Edgeshot said without a shred of hesitation, "Your fine motor skills are still improving, but your general speed and awareness are better than you give yourself credit for. So for your final lesson today..."

The ninja shot forward, his entire body folding to a single point. A cannon blast went off in the dojo, and Izuku had to shield his eyes. Blinking away the dust, his head snapped up to Edgeshot, resting on the edge of the window.

"Keep up."

Izuku felt his legs shake, but he smiled like he was meant to.

"Right!"

(X)

Momo sipped on the special protein shake that the cooks had provided for her as she rested in her room. She was in casual attire, no longer in her sweat-soaked haori, yet her arms ached. She had followed Musha's instructions, creating more blades to fill the hollow handle until the timer had rung out. She looked to the side, seeing the slit in the handle that allowed her to fill in that spot with the blades.

Taking the time to clean up the dojo that now contained a mountain of dull blades took a minute, but it wasn't inconsequential. She had remembered doing similar exercises in her family's gym attached to her home. She was used to muscle burn like this, but her arms just felt dead.

She doubted that Musha would have her continue the sword training, as it would only work her arms beyond the pale. Overtraining was a thing and would eventually lead to muscle degradation. Contemplating what Musha would wish for her to train in made the girl think.

After she had cleaned up the dojo and showered, she got the protein shake to help with her recovery. It was large, about a pint as she was halfway done.

The fact that it was also strawberry and banana flavor helped. It was delicious.

She let out a sigh, looking at her hands and wincing. Bumps and sores were forming on the palms of her delicate hands. Calluses had begun to emerge from so many swings and grips of the sword handle.

"No pain, no gain," She murmured to herself, taking another deep sip and rolling over in bed as she now had time to herself.

The fact that Momo was working under a Top Ten Pro Hero was incredible. She'd had plenty of offers, but to know that one of Japan's best was interested in her made her giddy and filled her exhausted body with pride. She reached over for her shake, but her arms ached as she winced. Conjuring a straw, she placed it in the cup and sipped the drink from there.

Wanting to check in on the latest trends, she looked over at her phone, seeing that the Group Chat wasn't as active as before. No doubt everyone was working hard at their internships.

Looking over the news cycle her eyebrow quirked up on her social media feed.

"Mirko's sidekick?" She clicked on the thread, and her eyes rose up. The gif was of the Rabbit Hero Mirko grinning and traversing the Tokyo skyline via great leaps and bounds. And behind her, swinging and running across buildings was Peter! In his brand new costume too no less. It wasn't that metallic armor he had before during the Battle Trials and Practical Exam, looking more skintight and mesh-like combined with a blue and red color scheme instead of blue, red and gold.

It looked like they were in Kureito, Tokyo's southernmost Ward. Wasn't Mirko based in Endo to the northeast?

Then again, Mirko had been known to travel cross country, and at times did do a revolution around Tokyo.

Although, thinking about it now, she did need to ask Peter a quick question. Quick as she could, she got out her phone and sent him a message.

'Peter, if you can, can you call me? I want to talk to you about something important. It is concerning your web formula.'

Send.

Momo sighed, at ease as she closed her eyes while lying on the futon.

Only for her phone to suddenly vibrate, much to her surprise as he looked over.

'Hey Momo! What's up! Talk to me! And before you ask I-whoa seagulls! Anyways, I am on voice-to-text right now! Linked it up with my new mask and stuff so don't worry about me texting and swinging! It's a lot like-Oh wow that whale lady is huge! Whoa that cannonball! Anyway, it's a lot like that bluetooth thingy that translates your voice while you-Gah Mirko slow down! Gonna have to gun it. Ha ha ha. So yeah, what's up?'

Peter-san was web slinging and… texting? And running too by a body of water by the looks of it. His new mask had been integrated with his phone? Did he have his phone on him? She looked at the gif again, and from the angle, she couldn't see any place where he could store it…

'Well… if you are out on patrol, maybe we could talk later? I wouldn't want to distract you.'

Only for an instant response.

'It's cool. No worries! We can talk tonight or tomorrow night.' Momo's eyes lit up.

'When you have a chance, call me. I would like to talk to you about your web formula and patents. Please.' She waited, seeing the reply bubble rippling, indicating of Peter's talking. As much as she'd like to talk about the Sports Festival, that should be in person.

'Oh, patent stuff! That's important whoa! Hi harbor crane people! Sorry for the scare!' Came Peter's reply about thirty seconds later and Momo realized that he had run into a construction crane and caused a minor scare.

Momo couldn't contain her giggle as she imagined it.

'Tell you what, we can talk later tonight. Maybe set something up. Sound good Peter? :)' She asked as she stretched her aching arms.

'Yep! Gah there's more to jump from! How many boats are there here?! Jeez Mirko, give a guy a break!'

Wait, they're going to Manana Ward? Ship jumping. They're going to the Port of Tokyo now!?

Well, Peter was working hard on patrol. She smiled as she set her phone down.

Still… what did Peter mean before in regards to swinging and texting? Had he done that before in America?

Then again, their Quirk laws were far more lax than Japan's, but to do something to that extent… combined with his experience, his Iron Spider costume, and his incredible powers...

Momo's mind wandered as she began to muse more on her friend and Deputy Representative, taking the time to rest and relax her muscles as she did what most girls did and looked around social media, and-

Wait, was that Jirou now? With Death Arms no less? Then again, with the exposure of the Sports Festival and the U.S.J. attack prior, their faces were becoming more well known throughout various circles.

Her fingers began to fly as she texted her friend. 'You're patrolling on Day One?' She asked before putting her phone aside and standing up.

Momo looked down. While she understood the importance of training, hopefully Musha-san could take her out on a patrol and-

Her phone rang and the black-haired beauty looked down and took the phone, surprised to see that Jirou had responded back.

'Yeah. You at the office of Musha then?' Jirou replied.

'I am. Just relaxing after some training. It's how I found you on social media.' Jirou's response was quick.

'Oh ffs. Stalkers. Can't leave people be even when they're in school. :/ whelp, guess that's the price of fame, or notoriety.'

'How have you found the time to text while on patrol anyway?'

'On break. Death Arms has been running me ragged all over Musutafu. Thankfully I don't have to live at the office, but I gotta show up there super early to compensate. But I get to work around Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods too, so it's still cool, so far.' Momo smiled, pleased to see that her friend was doing well. Jirou was still typing.

'How about you? You oughta be doing some cool stuff under a Top Ten.'

'Well, I have been training mostly. Relaxing and recovering for now before Musha-san returns from a patrol. I am a bit envious really.'

'Well, if you have a boring hero career, something's wrong right? And besides, you're getting stronger. Can't complain on that.' Momo frowned as she took a seat on her futon.

'I know, but I would like to be out there helping others… I do think that Musha-san will take me out on a patrol at some point soon, I guess it's just me being antsy and trying to catch up to everyone. I heard Asui is working under Selkie and it's basically a pseudo-Coast Guard hero firm where he works at, while Uraraka surely must be learning the lay of the land with the Wild Wild Pussycats. And we know Peter is under Mirko and we know how she travels. And I'm just doing physical and quirk training! It's like I never even left school'

'Well patrolling and gaining experience=/=getting in practice and getting stronger. You'll do great Yaomomo. Keep your head up. Break's almost up. Let's talk later k? o/'

'Of course. Have a good patrol Jirou!' Momo put her phone to the side and got back up, walking over to the bathroom connected to her room. She made it a habit to brush her teeth three times a day if she could as she walked inside, opening her bathroom bag before pulling out toothpaste and a specialized toothbrush. She got to work on brushing first, taking about two minutes before going to flossing. Using her quirk, her finger glowed as the fine floss sped out…

Faster than usual, which made Momo blink. By the time she had a good amount, she inspected it. She knew the materials needed like the back of her hand due to practice from Mother. While making toothbrushes would be illogical since the best ones would require a more fine understanding, floss was incredibly easy to produce, and producing a quantity like this would take about two to three seconds tops to help her last through the day.

A good several feet of floss seemed to have been fired out of her finger in just under two seconds, if not one.

Looking at her hand, Momo began to understand as her obsidian eyes brightened. Beaming, she got to flossing with her creation and getting every crevice before gargling some listerine. Going back into her room, she put on a new set of workout underwear in addition to a fresh training haori stored within the linen cabinet. Walking out, she made her way to the dojo, yet she didn't have her hollow sword with her. In her hand, she conjured a stopwatch.

"Everyone's getting stronger in their own way. A break once in a while never hurts, and while I can't overwork my muscles to the point of overtraining..." Momo said as she opened up her haori over her exposed stomach, and conjured a great big howitzer cannon. She recalled how during the Race it took about ten seconds or so. Her stopwatch was on as she stepped back as the military appliance landed on the floor. She timed it, looking at her watch.

10.24 seconds. "I can still strengthen up my quirk."

She smiled as she trotted over to the intercom right outside the dojo room. She pressed the button directing it to the kitchen. "Excuse me, Matsumoto-san? Are you there?"

"I am. Is this Yaoyorozu?" Came the Culinary Chief on the other end. "How can I help you?"

"I would like more of those shakes please. The recovery ones to help with muscle growth and have calories galore." Momo said with anticipation. "And can you bring them up to the top floor near Musha-san's office by the dojo? I am going to be training and I will need those for me to practice my Quirk."

"On the way. I can change up the flavors of them if you like. Having more shakes that are vanilla flavored may make you detest vanilla forever by the time your internship is up, hehe." The playful chef chuckled.

"What flavors do you have?"

"Thirty-one."

"Perfect! Don't be shy about them and just… do one of each please!" Momo gripped her hand as she raised her elbow, readied her stopwatch, and with the timer activated, conjured a steel rod. Those usually took about three to four seconds by the time they come out of her shoulder… Time.

3.43 seconds. "After all, I plan on going Plus Ultra!" She finished as she walked back to the dojo, sat down and closed her eyes as she placed the stopwatch to the side and had her hands out in front of her. Her legs were crossed under her, forearms resting on her thighs and knees, palms facing forward. With nourishment and future lipids coming on the horizon, she wouldn't hold back.

Time to create items she knew from scratch. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did her best to get a clear mind. Ignore the light ambiance of the city outside. Or the sound of the air conditioner. Ignore her inner thoughts. Her worries for her friends. Her doubts from her family.

Focus on the steel staves. Have that picture in mind. If she could master that, she would be able to master conjuring other items in a snap.

Her hands began to glow, steel rods beginning to fire out in three second intervals over and over as they landed and clanged on the dojo mat. Hopefully Musha-san wouldn't be too upset, but these creations could serve as additional scrap for the smiths downstairs.

Focus. Create. Conjure. Breathe. Focus. Create. Conjure. Breathe.

Momo kept to this routine until she heard the first knocks on the door, with several shakes waiting for her and a floor littered with pipes.

(X)

Shouta's fingers flew across the keyboard. Two days into the internship, and Shouta had barely gotten the first draft of the final test finished. A thousand different questions swirled in his head, but somehow, through coffee and the distant sound of Hizashi's screaming, he was able to focus on the tests long enough to get a draft that he was somewhat happy with.

The written test was standard from the U.A. curriculum, but Aizawa made a point to put questions tangentially related to the experiences of the students.

Namely, the U.S.J.

Painful as it was, it was the closest reference most of them had to live combat. Any lessons that could be pulled from that situation had to be ripped out kicking and screaming if need be. The questions were tactful of course, the last thing the school needed was talk of a student having a panic attack in the middle of a written exam. The written essay questions did state that the student could choose to answer however they saw fit and truthfully. Besides, the written part of the U.A. Final only covered about a third of the total grade for the Final Exam.

The practical exam however, that was a different story, and the real meat of the Final.

Previous years had them face an assortment of sentries supplied by Power Loader. This year however… they needed something more personal, and challenging.

Bakugo, Todoroki, Midoryia, Parker, and many of their other classmates would make mincemeat of anything other than the Zero Pointers. And even then the Zero Pointers would get trashed in minutes.

And Shouta didn't even know if they had enough in the budget to get that much metal without recycling one of the practice cities. Though… thinking on it, that wouldn't be too bad of an idea. Not as if they were going to use it for anything else and with Power Loader's little madlady getting the keys to his workshop…

Jesus he needed a nap.

Pushing his laptop aside for a moment, Shouta let a long sigh escape him. A quick nap to clear his head, and then back to work. Or at least, just a break from school in general. A terrible thought, considering the work that still needed to be done, but it was one that wormed its way into Shouta's head.

Especially when he noted the stack of manga at the edge of his desk. He'd thrown the volumes there after his talk with Fukuda, obligations demanded that he not look at them afterwards.

Now… there was some time, if only to keep himself sane.

Picking up the first one, he scanned the cover while lazily reading over the several dozen different titles that were entertaining today's youth. Standard shounen and shoujo stories, most of it trying to recapture the magic that manga had before the emergence of quirks. That being said, Shouta had to give credit where it was due. Even with quirks emerging, and the news looking more and more like an anime come to life than most shows, authors had to adapt their mediums to survive. It demanded creativity, application and persistence, three traits that Shouta could appreciate.

What he couldn't appreciate was uninteresting premises.

Mortals fighting in a tournament against gods of old, pass.

Yet another guy with the intelligence of a brick surrounded by a wish fulfilment harem involving admittedly interesting looking mechs, again, pass.

A story of a robot, a sorcerer and a spider boy with a familiar design on his chest walking through the ruins of a post apocalyptic city.

Exhaustion left Shouta in a flash, and he sat perfectly straight in his seat, eyes wide.

He stared at the story, 'Arachnophobia'. It covered a metal man, a sorcerer and then the big image of the spider boy with the design on his chest in the center. In the corner, a celebratory tagline read out 'Even defeated, they move on, to avenge all that they lost!'

It was a First Anniversary chapter, with a full color page celebrating the success of the story so far. He spotted trailing the trio was a porcupine person looking like a cowboy, his quills countless. A praying mantis girl with her eyes in a blindfold, looking similar to one of Vlad's students. And a hulk of a man riddled with tattoos and dual knives.

Which let Shouta see a familiar design of red, gold and black stare back up at him. The protagonist's armor.

Wait a second, he recognized that armor. The design matched Parker's original design point for point.

But… that would've been a copyrighted design since it was registered as part of his hero costume. No, he had to be sure.

Aizawa pulled his laptop back in front of him, and as quickly as he could, he went to the student files. Each student had a designated file, a simple summary of their abilities so possible internship choices would know what they were dealing with when the student came to them.

Aizawa opened Parker's file, and then double-clicked on the video file labeled 'Entrance Exam'. He had to be sure that his memory wasn't playing tricks.

Not two seconds in did he pause the footage of a familiar sight. A metal-plated boy swinging through the city about to crash into a faux villain with the force of a freight train, his metal spider legs spread out. With a tap he made the image zoom in on the student's chest.

He shifted his seat, and carefully put the color page of the manga magazine and the feed side to side.

It was like comparing the images in a mirror. The same Spider insignia.

"No fucking way." Shouta uttered to himself.

It had to be, there were only so many ways to draw a design for a spider emblem on a chest and make it practical to wear. Shouta's gaze went down, and he nearly dropped the manga when he read the name of the author. His heart stopped.

"Araki?"

There wasn't a hero in the underworld that didn't know of Araki Hyu, the Dream Drawer. The man's notes on how to follow through on a case were taught in police academies around the country and even beyond. He was retired, having turned to manga out of nothing but boredom. Yet the man kept working, being one of the best detectives in Japan.

Hell, even Endeavor did a work study under him back in his heyday. Some say the reason Todoroki Enji was as good of a Number Two Hero was thanks to learning under Araki.

Shouta would agree. After all, when he was a First Year in Class 1-A, his first internship was with Araki Hyu himself. Not a flashy pro hero, but a sly and cunning Detective whose quirk had a hand in dissolving countless crime rings throughout the years.

And according to rumor, he still worked as a consultant for cases, provided that the case in question gave him enough ideas for whatever manga that he was currently working on since he had seen it all. Shouta quickly accessed the public safety records that were available to the Government and Pro Heroes and did a quick search of Araki's last job.

After a second, the name flashed up. Musutafu Police Department, under the orders of Chief Fukuda, and the date… "The same day that Parker's vigilante report was made." He spoke to himself as he felt a rush through him. The kind of rush he lived for as an underground hero when he finally pieced a case together.

Shouta tossed the manga to the side instantly, giving him a free hand to dial the number to Araki's publisher. The phone rang twice, and a female voice asked.

"Seinen Leap, how-"

"This is the Pro Hero Eraserhead," Aizawa interrupted, ignoring the gasp on the other end of the line, "I have a few questions regarding Araki Hyu's manga."

"Eh? A Pro Hero? Can I-"

"Here is my ID code." Shouta stated, speaking his ID that confirmed him as a Pro Hero that could get him access to certain records when people were apprehensive. "Now, I'd like to ask some questions, hopefully to Araki-sensei himself." Shouta would have called the man himself, but Araki only ever contacted Shouta through third parties. Trying to stay on the downlow. That and he didn't have Araki's phone number after all these years.

"I-I see, well, Eraserhead-san, I would love to help you but Araki-sensei isn't in today. He only ever comes to the publisher when he turns in his manuscripts for the monthly magazine." The receptionist responded and Shouta closed his eyes.

Made sense. With a quirk like Dream Draw, Araki has made himself a target in the eyes of the dying crime organizations and some villains could aim to make a name for themselves if they saw him out too much in public.

"I take it you do not have his address either?" Shouta inquired.

"No sir, he hasn't given us a billing address. He accepts his payment only in cash." Shouta nodded as he began to write down some notes off to the side.

"I see, do you know when he will be in?" He asked, eyeing the calendar, pen ready for this week…

"It will be next month I'm afraid. He delivered this month's manuscript yesterday." The dark haired man swallowed down a curse and breathed through his nose.

"Okay then. Is it the beginning, middle, or end of the month when you guys publish your next issue?"

"Beginning, sir." Shouta looked at the calendar. Next June, first weekend.

"Does the first Saturday of June work?"

"Um, he comes in on Friday's. Does that help?"

"It does. Thank you very much. I am working on a little… project and I would like his consultation."

"Well, good luck with that, Araki-sensei is very fickle on when he chooses to consult and assist on criminal or litigation cases, sir."

"Oh, don't worry." Shouta eyed the paused video of Peter Parker crushing a Three Pointer during the Practical. "I have one that has his interest. Thanks again." He hung up and took a deep breath.

"Alright Parker… next month, I'm going to get to the bottom of you." He muttered. "No matter what." Shouta's tired eyes went to his Final Exam paperwork as he minimized the video feed.

"Gotta finish your Final, and how to truly test you…"

(X)

"Yeaaaaahahahaah!" Peter whooped as he jumped off the nose of an oil freighter, firing a webline and swinging across the water as his hand skimmed the surface. He came up at the top of the swing and flipped, landing atop a shipping freighter as he chased after the very familiar sign of Mirko. In his jubilation he had fallen behind again! He sprinted across the tops of the freight containers as he jumped before he saw her jumping silhouette. "Like Jacksepticeye would say: Hardcore Parkour!" He yelled as he jumped to the top of a freight crane and ran along the iron beam at the topmost part.

"Your endorphin levels are above normal parameters, Peter." Karen stated in his ear as he jumped off, eyeing a nearby skyscraper as he saw Mirko run through the streets. He fired a webline and swung from the skyscraper as he crossed through the other end of the Port of Tokyo. He swung and pulled, flinging himself higher as he flipped and twirled in the air.

Man, he couldn't wait until they got to Shinjuku! All those buildings to swing off of!

He twirled and landed in a tumble as he broke out in a fast sprint down the sidewalk, Mirko still running on ahead by a good fifty meters. People blurred past them as Peter could just barely make them out.

To finally just cut loose, swing and feel the air under him and run without care… It was like being back in New York all over again, and the thought of the day where he graduated and became a Pro made Peter salivate.

'Thank you so much, Mr. Fukuda! Yu!' He thought in his head as he jumped up to a lamp post and took off, firing a webline as he observed Mirko leap over buses and onto an office building. He saw her gesture with her hand as she looked back.

Urging him to follow. Gotcha.

He took off at the top of the swing and yelled out a "Yaaahooo!" as he twirled in midair, readjusting as Mirko on the ground waved at him.

He landed on the ground, tumbling forward to a stop before he hopped back up to his feet. Peter was grinning from ear to ear. "Ohh! That was fun!"

"I bet." Mirko said with a smirk, hands on her hips as she looked up at the taller American boy. "I heard ya hooting and hollering ever since we crossed Taikodaina Ward."

"Hehe, yeah." Peter smiled bashfully. "Just, it's been a long time since I've done this and-"

"Oh, I can tell. Your landings were a bit shaky, but this isn't your first rodeo," Mirko pointed at him. "Lemme guess, back in America you did some vigilante shit on the side, right?"

Peter perked up, blinking. "Oh ummm… yeah, I did kinda say that just now, didn't I?"

"Ya did. And relax." Mirko waved her gloved hand in front of her face as her toned caramel physique shone with a fine sheen of sweat. "I ain't gonna report it or anythin'. What you did back in the States doesn't mean much here. Well, at least to me." She pointed up and Peter followed her hand, seeing a… Beef Bowl place. Satonaka's Bowl was the name of the establishment. He could feel people pause and stare at them as many of them took photos and talked amongst themselves.

"Holy crap, it's the Number Seven Hero Mirko!"

"Ohmigosh, she's so awesome!"

"Waaaah~, she's too hot for this world~"

"Who's the spider-looking guy next to her though? Is that her date?"

"No way, is she finally taking a sidekick!?"

"Seem to be drawing a crowd." Karen texted as Peter perked up, looking at the letters read across his HUD. Why hadn't she just spoke as norma-

"Rabbits have super ears. You wouldn't want to explain me to her right?"

Peter nodded lightly.

"Just don't let Hero Critics hear about it, or they'll trip over themselves ripping into ya. Come on, let's get some lunch." Peter looked to the clock in his HUD. It was half past noon after all…

"Sure." He said with a smile as he followed the Rabbit Hero inside, ignoring some of the people who were talking to themselves as they entered. It looked like a normal hole in the wall as people looked up. Peter quirked an eyebrow at the sudden attention as he bit his lower lip under his mask. Mirko just grinned and waved at everyone as they muttered and gossiped to themselves.

"This is just an intern. Showin' him the ropes as I do a walk around the neighborhood! No sidekick or anythin'!" Mirko stated. "Now then, we're here to have some grub before we resume our rounds, so just respect our space and no one gets a toe sandwich!"

"Toe sandwich?" Peter spoke to himself as he followed her inside to the counter. A girl with short blonde hair and a cap blew a gum bubble out of her mouth as she looked on with… relative boredom at the sight of the Top Ten Hero in front of her.

"Ah. Mirko Special?" She asked plainly as she went to work behind the register.

"Ya know me too well. Is Satonaka in?"

"She's in the back, she knows what to do." The girl's brown eyes turned towards Peter. "What would ya like, sir?"

"Ummm, well…" Peter looked up at the menu and squinted his eyes.

"Order big, ya need the calories to get ya through the day." Mirko mused.

"Say, Mirko, who is this guy anyway?" Asked the register girl as Peter perked up, her tone now excited, boredom leaving her. "Wait a second, you're that American kid Peter Parker! I recognize you from the U.A. Sports Festival, you're Spider-boy, right?"

"It's-Uhhh... " He felt the register girl's eyes on him again as he patted his cheeks. "Spider-Man."

The girl simply blew a bubble out and shrugged. "Fair enough, what can I get you?"

…

Okay, he just needed to get over the fact that secret identities didn't mean jack anymore.

"Just… the XL Double Meat please." Peter ordered as she tapped it in.

"Charge it to my firm, ya know the number." Mirko waved as she walked off, motioning for Peter to follow.

She sat down at the first available booth. Peter took his seat across from her. "So… come here often? I mean, if you have a secret menu item named after ya…"

"Yep. One of my favorite hole-in-the-walls." Mirko lounged back and stretched as a man came by with cups, filling them with water. "Finally! Drink up and hydrate, Parker. When you're on patrols like this, it pays to make sure you're at full strength. Wouldn't do ya any good being hungry or dehydrated on the job."

"S-Sure." Peter lifted up the edge of mask, taking the water and sipping as Mirko chugged from her glass right across from him.

"Not taking off the mask eh?" She asked, smirking.

"Not really. Still… kinda getting used to it." Back at home, he would make sure that he was in a secluded place before he would ever think of taking off his mask. Sure, he could take half of it off in order to eat or drink something quick, but to just casually dine in his Spider-Man costume with other people even knowing his name around him? He still couldn't shake off that awkward feeling.

"Related to your vigilante stuff ya did back in the States right?"

"Kind of… had to keep my identity hidden back then." She didn't really know all the details, and what vigilante laws Peter had studied up when he arrived in this world told him that America was more lenient with Vigilantism depending on the context of things more so than Japan. It was kind of like what he remembered of gun laws. Then again, America was the birthplace of the Hero Profession since they took inspiration from comic books and stuff. "After an incident I... well, found myself here."

"Had to get away huh? Piss off the wrong people?" Peter frowned as he sighed.

"Not like I had a choice…"

"Well, it's not like you're just wilting away and dyin'. You're standing up on your own, and you made me actually put in effort." Peter looked back at the smiling white-haired woman. "Not many can keep up with me when I'm on the run."

"So… you wanted us to go on patrol throughout Tokyo so you could see if I can keep up?"

"Kinda. I knew you were fast, saw that during the Sports Festival." Mirko stretched her arms. "But you were always the one in the lead. How'd ya react when you were trailing another is what I wanted to see, and you handled it pretty well, outside of the times I heard ya mumbling to yourself and losin' focus." Peter blanched.

Yeah, talk-to-text. "Y-Yeah, just kinda talking to myself. Hehe."

"That's somethin' I noticed during the Festival as well. You really like fucking talking." Mirko leered, and she leaned forward. "Granted, you were able to back it up, but it was still a distraction. Anywa-" Her ears twitched and her body tensed up as Peter perked up at her frowning.

Outside the restaurant, a car zoomed past, breaking every conventional speeding law around. Sirens were audible in the distance as well.

Mirko got up from her seat and raced out of the restaurant, Peter close behind her as people jerked in surprise. As one, they looked down the road and watched as a van nearly crashed into oncoming traffic. Without words, Peter understood what to do as he saw police cars coming in hot.

His mentor leapt over a building, Peter keeping up with a line of web. He swung overhead, keeping the van in sight as well as he could. Miriko landed hard on a building close by, and apparently, that was the sign that the driver needed to floor it.

The van took off, and there were too many people down the road!

Peter whipped out a line of web, slingshotting himself over traffic. He grabbed hold of a streetlight, using it as a launchpad to throw himself to the sidewalk. Parallel to the ground, he threw out a line of web between the two poles, the one he launched from as well as the one he landed next to, creating a fence that stopped anyone from crossing the street.

Several people yelped in surprise, but that was better than them getting hit. The van swerved, and took off down another street than risk getting caught in a giant web.

Another swing got him back overhead, and closer to the van. A tingle ran across his back before he pulled on his webline to jerk himself higher, and he saw Mirko fly in where he once was. "Watch it!" He yelled in English.

"You have your precog! You're fine!" She yelled back as she got to the road, sprinting after the rogue vehicle in a blur. Up ahead, the van was getting to an intersection, with a dozen cars already in the lane of oncoming noon-traffic.

There wasn't enough time to get ahead of it, no time to take it out from the side without endangering anyone. So he launched twin lines of webbing that latched onto the backend of the van's frame.

"Mirko!" he screamed as she looked back, leaping back up towards him as Peter flew.

Instantly, the rabbit-themed hero was next to him. He cut the lines, and she grabbed both, connecting them to the bottom of her feet. The van was about to hit someone who had fallen over on the crosswalk!

They went taut the second the Rabbit Hero slammed against the ground, digging up asphalt. She dug a good two feet into the ground, and the leverage forced the car to jerk to a stop as it jostled and rattled. Mirko moved a bit, but the van stopped meters before the intersection, as well as the terrified individual huddled up behind his briefcase.

Peter landed next to the van's driver-side window, and saw that both passengers were out of it, slammed against their airbags and groaning. One of them looked to be made entirely of dice alongside a normal looking bald guy.

He webbed them up just in case.

"I'm gonna have to check on my boots," Miriko grumbled, walking up as she looked down at her white rabbit-based footwear, "But not half bad, not the way I would've done it, but hey," She smirked at Peter with that same old dangerous toothy smirk. "At least you're not useless."

Peter… didn't know what he had expected. "Uhh, thanks."

"What's going on here?!" A voice said as Peter turned, and in came a blonde-haired Centaur riding in, her top human half encased in a policewoman's uniform. "Ah! We got us some thugs." She said, hands on her 'hips' as she smiled, turning towards Mirko. "As expected of you, Mirko-san!"

"Don't mention it. You can thank my buddy here for tying them up." The police lady looked over to Peter, who waved back.

"I… didn't think you'd take in a sidekick like this, Mirko-san."

"Sidekick? Pffft, no." Mirko scoffed. "Just an intern for the next two weeks. Anyways, you can note me in your report. I'm going back to my lunch break." She waved as she noted the cameras on her. Peter looked around, seeing other people taking pictures or videos with their phones and cameras. He waved awkwardly before trotting back with Mirko into Satonaka's.

"Okay." Mirko reclaimed her seat, waiting on Peter to do the same. "So, notice anything?"

"Yeah, how did you know they were coming?" Peter asked, lifting up his mask a bit to expose his mouth as the two went back to sipping their drinks and conversing.

Mirko's ears twitched and flexed to and fro as Peter's eyes went up. Then his masked eyes widened. "You could hear them from here? With all these people?"

"Yeah. Rabbits have acute hearing after all." Mirko explained as she leaned back. "I trained myself to pick up certain noises back when I was your age and starting out back in U.A. If I had to act fast, I needed to ensure that I could stop any crime from taking place. Or at least prevent it from getting worse."

"You heard all of that from inside here and in town!" Mirko pointed at the open windows of the restaurant.

"This place has open windows. I can pick out the sound of blades being sharpened or prepped too. It's why I prefer going to beef bowl places. Not as much knife work in the kitchens to interfere, wit the meat being cut up with scissors or are pre-cut in the early mornings."

"Must be hard though, having super ears like that. I mean, there has to be so much background noise going on." Peter said in amazement. The fact that Mirko pulled that feat off was astonishing. Then again, she was in the Top Ten after all.

"Yeah, it can be rough but I deal with it." She shrugged. "I'll probably get tinnitus in a couple of years too 'cause of it."

"So… you're gonna lose your hearing? That doesn't make you concerned at all?"

"I won't lose all of it, I'll just have an occasional ringing sound and shit going on. Not like I'm gonna be retiring early or anything. I'll just have to consult doctors and take preventative measures. You saw me with those unique earmuffs in the gym right? I tend to wear those casually when I can so I can lessen the impact on my hearing." Mirko pointed up at her long rabbit ears. "Not all Quirks are entirely winners. Some of them have their drawbacks too, and you just have to live with it, like how any other person has a condition and shit."

Peter sipped at his water, deep in thought as he took that advice in. "That… does make sense. You did practice what you preach though, being proactive."

"Of course. Being a hero means having eyes in the back of your head and ears pointed in all directions. Naturally, I have super hearing so whenever I hear something of a crime about to be committed, I do my best to stop it, as you've seen." She pointed at Peter. "And you need to learn how you can be proactive in your own way." She smiled as her ears twitched again. Peter saw her glance to the side before focusing her ruby eyes back on him. "Not saying you copy me, but see what you have, and try to apply it in how you can prevent crimes from happening." She grinned as she looked to the side. "Ah, here we are!"

Peter saw the waiter place down his large beef bowl, filled with beef and noodles and various vegetables in front of him. Before him was a similarly-sized bowl, but with a lot more vegetables inside. No meat.

"Vegetarian?" Peter inquired.

"And proud of it." Mirko split her chopsticks up before she blinked, ear twitching. "On second thought… I'm gonna use the lou." She got up. "Can you hold down the fort for me?"

"Umm, sure!" Peter said as he brought out his chopsticks. Mirko jogged over to the side, going into a bathroom…

"Hey you!" Said an English voice as Peter perked up, looking up towards the doorway as he saw a man in a beige coat carrying a briefcase. He was pointing at him. "You're with Rumi Usagiyama, Mirko the Rabbit Hero, ain't ya?"

"Umm, yeah, I am." Peter said as he saw the man, clearly an American, approach.

"If I hadn't known any better from the footprint you were the one to web it up! That van I mean! I noticed you made some kind of fence to corner in those guys, didn't ya? Thinking on the fly! Ha! Fly! Spider! Fits I say!" He beamed, pleased with himself as Peter winced to himself. They're not related at all... "What's your name, young hero?" Said the man, who looking at him he was a Caucasian man with a buzzed head and thick moustache.

"Oh, it's uhhhh, Spider-Man. Just, Spider-Man." Peter said, shaking off any dust. "Do you need any help at all, sir?"

"Me? I'm fine. You saved my life even! Now I won't have to explain to my wife how I wound up either in a casket or an Emergency Room halfway across the globe!" The moustached man grinned as he spoke in English. "Still, to think I would meet U.A.'s Golden Boy, Peter Parker, all the way out here." He smiled, ignorant of some stares as the man and Peter spoke in English in a prominently Japanese restaurant. "This business trip is paying off in ways I couldn't even count! Still, your accent… Which borough?" Peter perked up as he tried to make sense of all that. But he did catch that last bit.

"Wait, you from New York?"

"Yep! Downtown Manhattan!"

"I'm from Queens actually!" Peter said excitedly.

"Queens eh? My wife was from there! Nice place. You lived up to that moniker of yours people have! While your deed may not be on the official record, I will make sure you will get the due credit you deserve!"

"Well uh, thank you. Just you know, doing what heroes do." Peter shrugged as the man was helped down. Mr. Manhattan patted him on the shoulder before he perked up at his smartwatch ringing.

"Alright, got a meeting to attend to. Meeting up with some bigwig journalist on a Podcast in person. Got invited to attend and both people will be speaking in English, plus I can write some pieces on Hero Society in Japan for the paper back home." Manhattan mused as he held out his hand. Peter took it.

"Well, I gotta go finish my lunch with Mirko-san, I mean, Miss Mirko. You take care of yourself Mr. Manhattan." The man beamed as he picked up his briefcase, closing his eyes warmly.

"Just call me Stanley, kid." He said as he walked out with a wave. Peter took his seat at the booth. He saw Mirko saunter over to her seat, plopping down.

"You talkin' to someone? Heard you runnin' your mouth in English." The bronze-skinned Amazon mused as Peter leaned back and grinned.

"Yeah, just that guy we saved thanking us." It felt good saving people. Doing good deeds. Sure that was a bit scary going through that mess but… the thrill of jumping and swinging through buildings. The adrenaline rush of acting fast. It was a high Peter lived for.

Mirko smiled. "Gotta say, with that webline idea… nice job Parker. You acted fast and on your feet." She complimented before she picked up her chopsticks and grabbed some stir-fry veggies and noodles. "Thanks for the meal!"

Peter also began to eat. "Thanks for… the meal."

"So, how were you able to do it?" Mirko asked. "Your precognition. When I took off that one time I knew you were gonna avoid me when I made myself thin to get past ya." She looked up as she finished slurping away at some noodles. "Do you have a name for your lil special move or ability?"

"Special Move?"

"You don't have any super hearing like me do you? And with you facing away from me and those other times at the Sports Festival, ya couldn't have seen me coming, as well as those invisible kids back during the War." Mirko grabbed more stir fry and began to stuff her face some more.

"Oh well… how to explain this…" Peter mused. "I sensed it coming. With my, um, sixth sense, I guess? Although precognition isn't… what I would call it." Peter bit his lip as he swallowed some meat.

"What would you call it then?"

"Uhhh… Haven't really decided on it. Been working with Peter Tingle in my head." Mirko stopped eating, and her red eyes went from her veggie bowl to Peter, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Peter… Tingoru?" She uttered in heavily accented English.

Peter gulped. "Yes…?"

"That's fucking retarded." Mirko spat out as she drank some water. "Your Quirk is called Spider right?" She jotted down on a finger, to which Peter nodded. "You said this was a sixth sense right?" Peter nodded again. She clapped her hands. "Spider Sense. You're welcome!" She boasted, arms wide as she leaned back into her seat.

Peter opened his mouth as Mirko went back to eating. "Peter Tingle… for fuck's sake…" She muttered under her breath as Peter puckered her lips.

…

Yeah. Spider Sense was definitely better.

"Umm, thanks. I'll work with that."

"You better. I ain't going to intern someone who makes clown super moves or ability names." Mirko added as an aside. "Let's scarf this down. We gotta cut through Musutafu then be in Shinjuku by sundown before we can head on back to the firm. Won't have dinner until we get back."

"You got it." Peter shrugged as he saw her lift up the bowl and began to slurp down the bowl as if he would with milk in a cereal bowl.

He needs to eat this fast, so he began to dig faster into his beef bowl with urgency.

(X)

The bar was simple, but that was probably the point.

Insane villains wouldn't be able to keep hidden if they at least couldn't put on a simple front. Akaguro Chizome kept his hands at his sides, inches from his weaponry as he made a show of looking around the little bar. No traps, but those could be easily hidden, even from him.

His eyes shifted back to the warp quirk user, his entire body shifting in that smoky substance. It formed around in a humanoid shape, but it could simply be a distraction. The brace might be his only means of entry, but that didn't mean that a simple nick along his shoulder wouldn't do the trick.

The real question came down to the so-called leader that the warp user brought him in to talk to.

He was a kid, but only in the physical sense. Hands dotted his body, covering his arms and the back of his head but letting his face remain open. Chapped lips and narrowed blood-red eyes studied Chizome.

The hero killer known as Stain recognized the look. A mad predator waiting for the chance to strike.

He thought that he was invincible here.

Definitely a child.

"So, what's this about a deal?" Stain asked, playing the curious customer.

"I was told that I needed someone like you in my party," the boy said.

His fingers dug into the countertop, and Stain could see four distinct lines trace themselves on the wooden surface.

He wasn't impressed.

"And is that supposed to mean something to me?" Stain asked, eyes hardening, "I don't think you understand what you're even talking about."

"Enlighten me," the boy drawled.

Stain scoffed, "No matter what you want to accomplish, it is necessary to have conviction and desire. Those without it and those who are weak will be weeded out. Looking over you, I see nothing."

He eyed the boy, waiting for even the slightest movement, the edge that showed his true self.

There was nothing. No matter, Stain had plenty more to say.

He was a waste of air.

"This society is already overgrown with fake heroes, where the word itself has lost its true meaning, and the criminals they fight are little more than children who wave around their powers like toys."

He reached for his katana, the warp gate user tensed, but he wouldn't be fast enough.

"All those like that, should be pur-"

"Do you ever stop talking?"

Stain froze, instinct and confusion forcing the action. The boy finally lifted his head, his shaggy eyes looking at the hero killer. Boredom, annoyance, both emotions flashed in his eyes.

"I don't give a fuck if you've got some vendetta against every costumed piece of shit that walks down the street. All I care about…"

He gripped the table, and the wooden surface turned to ash under his fingers. This boy was dangerous, far more dangerous than he initially seemed. Stain kept on guard, watching as the villain stood up. His eyes were burning with madness, his bloodthirsty grin too wide on his chapped face.

"Is turning All Might into this, along with this entire pathetic society full of trash that worships shit like him, got it?"

Oh? So that's how he wanted to play it? A show of strength, puff up his collar like an animal trying to make itself bigger.

It wouldn't stop him, but it did make things more interesting.

Stain licked his lips in anticipation, "Yes, you've made that abundantly clear that our motives oppose one another."

The madness gave way to surprise.

"What are you talking about?" the villain asked, "We both want to tear this fucking society down, I'm just not dressing it up in all your fancy words."

Stain smirked, that statement just proved everything he needed to know and more.

"You want to do more than simply tear it down. I intend to cull the weak, the fakes that pollute the world. You? You want to bring everything down, tear down the real and fake heroes till nothing's left."

"And why shouldn't I?"

The boy tilted his head, and that smile stretched over his lips.

"What has it done to me, to you, to Kurogiri or any other fuckers that call themselves villains? It's the one that tears us down, it's the one that labels us the villains. It'll get what's coming to it, so if you can't understand that..."

His fingers twitched, and Stain brought his knife to bear.

"Then you're no use to me."

"Tomura," the warp quirk user spoke, "Please reconsider what you're saying. This man could be a valuable asset-"

"He won't be," the boy interrupted, "He's too busy looking down on us from his pedestal that lets him see real and fake heroes." The whites of his eyes were bloodshot. "I hate villains like him."

"Then that means we're done here," Stain said, sheathing his blade.

"No shit, Kurogiri, send him back," The boy drawled, going back to his seat and shoo'ing him away.

The bartender nodded, and started spreading his mist to envelope the air around Stain.

"Wait."

That one word, whispered, yet it cut through all the air. Stain swore he could hear a pin drop as the boy turned back, pointing a single, lanky finger at the Hero Killer.

"I nearly forgot to say something. If you come back here, thinking that I'm not the real deal or some shit..."

He clenched his fingers, and Stain saw drops of blood fall from his palm.

"I'll kill you."

The declaration was said with the confidence of a king declaring the law. There was no hesitation, no fear, and absolutely no doubt that he would be able to carry out that kind of threat. A villain with a quirk as powerful as his, and he didn't even need to use it to make Chizome believe him.

So it was no surprise when the Hero Killer smiled.

"And I'll pay close attention to what you do," Stain declared. "If you are the real deal, that is." He added the last part of his statement with a smirk. He saw a shot glass being grabbed by the snarling youth.

And then the dark fog took him away, with the glass flying through the space where his head once was.