32

Chapter Text

In a rundown apartment at the edge of Tokyo in a certain Ward, the Hero Killer Stain felt an unfamiliar feeling.

Ever since he had started his crusade, the role that he'd embraced was clearly defined. A hunter, the savior who purged the weak-willed heroes that would only bring down society as their existence and ideologies spread. He would lure them into a trap, and like the foolish pretenders that they were, they would fall for it.

That's how it was supposed to be, how it was meant to be until only a true hero was left.

Until All Might was all that was left. At his hand, Stain's crusade could end the way that it was meant to.

Yet here he sat, on the remains of a couch, bandaging his wounds after barely escaping with his freedom. The hero, Yoroi Musha. Even without exchanging words Stain knew what he was like, it was all in the way the old man fought.

And fought well. Had the old man been aiming for the kill, he probably wouldn't have been able to get out of that alley with his head attached. The old man had clearly intended to bring him in.

What a joke, being forced to act like prey by one that didn't hold the same conviction that Stain did.

He pulled the bandages taut with his teeth, ignoring the spike of pain as his shoulder screamed. Not the best work, but it would let him hold a blade again if it came down to it.

From a dust-covered box, he pulled out a water bottle and some wrapped protein bars. Looking at them both, they were the last supplies that he had for this particular safehouse.

He'd need to relocate, both to resupply as well as find the time to heal.

If Chizome ran into another hero like Musha, or even someone beneath him without a plan again, he wouldn't make it.

So till his wrist healed, he would need to move. Move, but not without information. Groaning, the Hero Killer walked over to the windowsill of the safehouse, and turned the receiver on a portable radio. He tuned it to the police line; it wasn't one that some of the heroes would use, but the heroes always relied on the police to narrow down their search vectors.

The radio sparked, and someone called in something about 5th Avenue for Hosu being cleared. Stain let his tired body hit the couch. He needed to rest, but not until he knew what routes he could take through to get to the next safehouse, preferably one outside of Tokyo to lay low.

(X)

Katsuki grunted as he pulled up, chin rising above the bar for the thirtieth time before he descended. Finishing his set, he let out an exhale before picking up a towel to wipe his brow. He could feel his stomach growling lightly, but this was his routine. A strenuous workout before breakfast.

Gang Orca's gym was impressive, including up-to-date gym equipment and a boxing arena. He could even see a sand arena, like a giant sandbox of sorts for testing Quirks. All in all, not bad at all.

He took a deep breath before the blond went over to the rower, wearing a tanktop, gym shorts, and his running shoes. He was up and early, with only a few others minding their own business on the treadmills and weights.

Katsuki went to the machine and got the right weights in place, and then got to work. Twenty reps and five sets should do it, then some cardio for cooldown.

Focus only on his training. It was the only way he could get better. Nothing else mattered.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure walk on in clad in her workout jumpsuit before she walked over. Katsuki didn't pay much heed, counting mentally in his head as he got past fifteen.

"Hey." Tsunotori said.

He offered a grunt in response, not even looking at her.

"You doing okay?" His red eyes looked over to her in confusion, the shorter Hafu girl standing there with her arms crossed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Tsunotori's blue eyes quirked in puzzlement.

"Ummm. Didn't you hear? One of your classmates was attacked last night." After twenty reps, Katsuki let the machine rest and took a breath, shaking out his arms.

One of his classmates? "Who? And how?"

He heard her scoff in disbelief. "Aren't you like, a part of a group chat? Me and my classmates are, and I heard Class A is in one too. I thought you would have known."

"Never bothered." Katsuki replied, uninterested.

"You're kidding me." Tsunotori replied, and Katsuki looked over at the blonde horned girl, her mouth agape. "Iida got slashed. He was attacked by the Hero Killer!"

Iida? "Four Eyes got cut up?" Katsuki mused aloud, then the gears in his head turned, Tsunotori looked baffled. "Say, didn't his brother get fucked up too?"

"I think so."

"Well." Katsuki placed his hands on the bars, ready to begin Set Two. "He's got his own issues. If he went revenge hunting and got burnt, that's on him."

"Are you kidding me right now?!" Tsunotori blurted out in English, face looking red as her eyes widened. "He's your classmate! You seriously don't even care?!"

"It's on him." Katsuki responded in English, eyes narrowed. "And we're in Japan. Speak Japanese. I got my own problems, why should I-"

"Because the world don't revolve around your dumb ass, that's why!" The horned girl hissed, still in English. She did have that Texan accent after all. "The least ya could do is send condolences! A text. Or a simple 'That's horrible' like any other decent human being. Nah, bottom line is all about you. Fuck anyone else." She scoffed.

"You don't know a damn thing about me," Katsuki growled. The horned girl gave a scoff.

"Please. Get over yourself. You ain't that fucking complicated," Tsunotori's eyes were narrowed, her tone high. "Why the hell Orca brought ya here is beyond me." She scoffed. "It's like the school is bendin' over backwards for ya, just to give ya a participation trophy."

Katsuki was proud of his English as he heard that last bit. Participation Trophy!? "Shut up, some of us actually want to work. Not bitch all day." He growled back.

"Yeah," she scoffed, "I'm sure that work you're so busy with is worth it seein' how I've been walkin' up and down your ass like a treadmill for the last week."

She glared at him before shaking her head.

"Whatever, I'm done with you."

And with that, she turned around. "Loser..." She uttered under her breath before walking away.

Katsuki felt his teeth grinding so hard that his jaw ached, while his grip on the bars made his arms tremble.

He lost count of the reps by the time he stopped and his arms shook with having pushed his muscles to the point of failure.

Four Eyes wasn't his fucking problem. And his stupid decision in going after the Hero Killer was no one's fault but his. What the fuck did she want from him? For him to stand on a fucking soapbox for the guy?

His fingers trembled and twitched as he reached for the water bottle.

'Get over yourself. You ain't that fucking complicated.'

'Loser…'

Katsuki grit his teeth as he chugged down the bottle, hand ready to blast it.

(X)

Izuku sat in the dojo, staring at his phone.

The messages from the group chat seemed frozen on his phone's screen. There was a childish part of him that wanted to blink, and have the message disappear.

It wouldn't.

Heroes got hurt on the job, that was a fact of life. Going into a fight with a villain carried with it the same danger that you would expect, no one was immune to being hurt. People could die too. It was impossible to save everyone.

Not even All Might, but that didn't change the facts. His friend was in the hospital, stable, but hurt. If that wasn't enough, his future as a hero was in question as well. It didn't make sense to Izuku, IIda had just wanted to bring in the villain that crippled his brother. To ensure there was no more Ingenium's retiring too early.

That's what heroes were supposed to do, defeat the villains and protect people with a smile on their faces.

And yet.. Iida was in the hospital.

"Still worried about him?"

There was a twitch as Izuku naturally let out some surprise at the voice, but being with Edgeshot for the duration of his internship made his sudden appearances easier to deal with. He'd still flinch and scream, but now…

"Yeah," Izuku said softly.

In the corner of his vision, he saw the ninja nod once before gently taking a seat next to All Might's young successor. He didn't say anything for a long while, before taking a deep breath.

"The waiting is always the worst part." Edgeshot said.

Izuku looked down at the message again, "D-do you think that he can still be a hero?"

Edgeshot's face was a literal unmoving mask. There was no twitch or tell that clued Izuku into what the pro was thinking but eventually the hero shook his head.

"I don't know," he admitted, "Quirk and Vigilante laws are strict for a reason. He's just a student, and an argument could be made that he went in trying to protect the fallen pro, but I wouldn't buy it."

Izuku's eyes widened, "B-but IIda was undergoing his internship, h-he was just doing what he was supposed to."

Again, Edgeshot shook his head.

"Again, there's a reason that the law distinguishes villains and criminals. A student working under a mentor while taking on a purse snatcher is one thing, going after a hardened hero killer with no backup for revenge is another," Edgeshot explained. "Especially during a mass villain attack, and ignoring that to sate your own grudge. It doesn't look good for Iida or Manual in the end."

Izuku took that explanation in, and his mind raced with what he remembered about quirk law. Even back when he first read it, he thought it was strange. If someone could help, why shouldn't they? Yet, knowing what he did now, he saw why it was needed. Hero work was dangerous, and any x-factors introduced could dramatically change the outcome of a situation.

And not always for the better.

Still…

"There has to be something we can do..." Izuku asked.

"How?" The Ninja Hero asked, curious and intrigued.

"I-I don't know," Izuku admitted, "But m-maybe we could help track down Stain, he still hasn't been captured and he needs to be brought to justice."

"Endeavor has that on lockdown," Edgeshot said with crossed arms, "He's determined to be the one to take him in. His firm is working around the clock as well."

"Then we can help!" Izuku declared, "If we point him in the right direction maybe we can join him!"

"He won't share the glory," Edgeshot started. "Especially when he considers me a rival."

"It's not about the glory!"

Silence fell between the two as Izuku felt a confidence swell within the pit of his stomach.

"IIda and his brother worked to bring Stain in, and he's my friend. If that can help him, then… then I'll do it!"

Edgeshot studied the boy for a second or two, and for one agonizing heartbeat, Izuku thought that Edgeshot would shake his head again.

Then the corners of his mask stretched just a little bit, and his eye closed as he smiled.

"Alright, we'll chip in where we can," he said.

Izuku beamed.

(X)

Peter was marching down the hallway. He knew that he should be resting after a hard workout, but ever since he got out of the shower and checked in with Karen he heard the news. The pit in his stomach was only growing with each step by the time he reached the lounge of Mirko's Agency.

He saw the Top Ten Heroine relaxing on the couch in her leotard, having showered herself with a protein shake at her side as she watched TV. The channel? Some blathering talking heads with the caption: 'Hero Killer Strikes Again! Connection with Hosu Massacre?'

His classmate got maimed at the same time as the equivalent of a mass shooting took place? Where dozens are dead and even more injured?

Peter wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

"Mirko." He stated, walking past the couch and seeing Mirko's red eyes shift to him. She was wearing her earmuffs, having just noticed him.

"Yeah? Shouldn't you be resting? You look wound up." She drawled.

"We need to go hunt him down." He said, pointing at the words 'Hero Killer' on the screen. "Endeavor is leading the charge in finding him so let's coordinate and-"

"No."

Peter paused, eyes wide. "No?"

"Yeah. For one the Hero Killer, Stain, as the ole samurai put it in an earlier interview, is not in my ward, and the closest one was Hosu and he is long gone from that warzone."

"Endeavor's office isn't that close and he's still going!"

"He has Branch Offices. He has the cache and clout to do that shit, considering he's the Number Two. And secondly," The white-haired woman scoffed. "I work alone. And even if I didn't, working with a gloryhound and a general ass like Endeavor is the last thing I wanna do. And should be for you too if you know what's good for ya, especially if ya wanna advance in the rankings when you become a Pro. His firm is a fucking mill."

Peter bit his lip, pacing around a little as he tried to find the words. The last several days of patrolling, training, and learning under the Rabbit Hero was hard, yet at times fun. Some, not so much. But he was learning, growing to become a better Hero. And yet…

"You don't want to stop a psycho serial killer who has murdered over a dozen and maimed more, all because he's not in your neighborhood." He surmised, looking at her. He could see Nakiri walk into the room out of the corner of his eye, curious on where the conversation was going.

"Endeavor and his hive of leeches will track him down eventually." Mirko turned back to the TV and reached for the remote, only for Peter to grab it. Her red eyes were on him, boring into him in anger. "Hey…"

"He hurt my friend." Peter stated, lips tight. Mirko narrowed her eyes. "He's my friend, and my Class Secretary. He… he's been going through a lot since the Sports Festival." Peter muttered, looking down as he held the remote. "I didn't realize he would… actually do it."

"Hunt the Hero Killer?" Peter nodded at the Rabbit Hero's answer as she sighed. "Ingenium was being proactive in trying to hunt him down, but Hosu wasn't his jurisdiction. I can respect his go-getter attitude in trying to stop him, but the Hero Killer was above his pay grade, and he paid for it."

"You can say that, yet there's been no attacks from him in Endo."

"Yeah," Mirko retorted with a smirk. "He knows better than to fuck with me, even when I'm patrolling cross-country. Whenever a villain causes a ruckus, I come back, find them, and kick their ass tenfold for it and leave them pissin' out of a bag. And you better follow his lead. We aren't goin' after him, nor are we gonna work with anyone either to hunt him." Peter bared his teeth as he rounded on her.

"S-Should I get some tea?" Nakiri piped in, hoping to dissolve the situation.

"If you can stop it, and don't…" He snarled. "Then you're responsible for what comes out of it. For what happens after!" The shorter bronze skinned woman had eyes of equal fury as she hissed.

"My decision is final, if you can't deal. Tough shit Parker. Suck it up." Mirko starred back at the TV. "We'll go over some films today, this time of other heroes and simulation stuff." She placed her earmuffs back on and raised the volume, not even bothering to look at him.

Peter didn't respond, slamming the remote back down on the table before he walked off.

"Parker-san?" Nakiri asked.

"I'll settle for water." He muttered under his breath, going to his room and slamming the door behind him. Peter flopped onto his bed, breathing hard into the pillow as he sighed out a groan.

"You're upset." Came Karen's electronic voice in his earpiece.

"That's an understatement." Peter hissed under his breath as he turned. "I was… even starting to like her too."

"She has a fair point. Heroes don't usually do business outside of their selected wards. Japanese Hero Regulatory Code Sect-"

"I don't care about the law Karen," Peter sighed. "I want to do what's right." He turned over in bed, grabbing his phone and seeing the Group Chat messages, all of them showing concern for Iida.

"I understand, but you do have a vigilante strike to your record. If you get another, it will cause problems." The boy closed his eyes. Yes, Karen was right. If he did go out there on his own and got caught without having his Hero License, it would be another strike. It would cause so many problems for Yu and Mr. Fukuda… He doesn't want to think of the potential consequences if the Japanese Government sought to revoke his forged visa, and subsequently found out that it was forged.

But still…

"Do you wish to go regardless, Peter?" She asked as Peter sighed.

"What can I do… you can't hack into Police or Government Servers to get information, so we can't simply hack into the traffic cameras." The boy muttered. "Those are in the hands of the Pros, and I doubt Nakiri is gonna do anything to undermine her boss." He felt like a slowly-deflating balloon.

"You are correct. I cannot access State, Military, or Government Networks remotely. I can if I am inside, but considering our status and current situation, getting into a government building in this Age of Heroes and pulling it off would be a tall order."

"Damnit…" Peter sighed, closing his eyes and slumping on the blankets.

"However, you are wrong in your assumption that Hero Servers are tied to Government networks." Karen spoke in his ear, her tone smug and amused as Peter perked up in bed.

"What?"

"I've been doing some probing, and found out that Hero Servers… aren't exactly listed within the rules and statutes of the Ultron Safeguard." Karen would be smirking if Peter could see her face. His face lit up.

"You mean-"

"I am gathering up as much information as I can from the Endeavor Firm, along with any and all Hero Agencies that were involved with the Hero Killer past and present. Their firewalls are quite ineffective." The AI mused as Peter got up from bed, pulling out his phone and going to the Avenger's App before opening it.

He had the Blue-White background of the A-symbol with the arrow, and then a screen of files being downloaded onto a cloud server. Peter grinned from ear to ear.

"So, shall we get started? We should be quiet, considering that Miss Usagiyama has astute hearing." Peter got up from bed, walking to the door and cracking it open a hair.

He could still see the earmuff-clad ears of Mirko in the lounge chair from his view as she yawned, eyes half-lidded.

"I think we will be fine, but..." He said after closing the door. "Whispering wouldn't hurt." Peter hushed silently as he returned to his bed and connected his charger to his phone.

"I agree." Karen replied back with a whisper, and Peter smiled.

"Alright." He focused as he went through each file, seeing it get highlighted at certain parts instantly as Karen's AI went through each PDF, each case file, each report in the blink of an eye and cut out the clutter. "Let's find this guy, and stop him before he hurts anyone else."

(X)

Izuku felt like he was going to fall asleep. He'd been staring at the map of Hosu Ward for hours within the hotel room they had rented, breaks only coming from going to the bathroom or when Edgeshot ordered takeout. His mentor flipped through a police report and blinked.

"There was a police blockage cutting off 5th and Waruka Avenue," Edgeshot said, "No reports of anyone coming through that match Stain's description."

Izuku nodded, quickly marking the map in front of him with a red marker to designate the line of police that were there during the time of Stain's attack. It wasn't the first one that the two wrote down, the biggest areas of note were the confirmed engagements with the Noumu's as well as the civilian paths to safety.

So far nothing had came up. The villain had seemingly disappeared after his fight with the Equip Hero. There was nothing that even gave so much of a single grain of insight into how the villain managed to evade the heroes chasing him. Which meant that they needed to erase the parts where he couldn't have been.

After all, the city was still burning, and there were plenty of places to hide when everyone was working on the fires.

Izuku's perked up, that was it!

"Do you have any reports from the fire departments?" Izuku asked.

Edgeshot's eyes flashed with understanding and the barest hint of a grin sprouted from behind his mask.

"Good idea, Deku," the ninja said, reaching for another file and handing it to the green intern, "I was about to go on emergency calls myself."

"Do you think that someone saw him?"

Edgeshoot shook his head, "With the city under attack, the chances of someone seeing him are minimal, but at least it gives us a vague idea of where the centers for damage were."

Izuku nodded, eyes going over the fire department reports. One by one, he marked his map and after a while, Edgeshot came over to lend his expertise. Together, the two heroes stood in silence, comparing the maps, combining the areas of interest that were similar between the two and adding ones that were unique to one report over the other.

Izuku watched the hero work, his mind racing for any other possibilities that they could use.

"What about the-"

"I've already gotten several people going over the news footage," Edgeshot interupted, his eyes never leaving the map in front of him, "So far they haven't given me anything that we haven't already covered."

Izuku's shoulders slumped.

"A rather difficult conundrum, isn't it?" Edgeshot commented.

Izuku nodded.

"The reports say that he fled by rooftop," he said, flipping through that particular report, "But where could he have gone that wasn't patrolled by heroes?"

"Anywhere."

Izuku flumbled with the report in his hands.

"You have to remember Deku, the city was on fire and the civilians were running for their lives from monsters that were killing them," Edgeshot said, "The reports are only as accurate as the heroes that were able to make them at the time. In a perfect world, everything in those reports is true and the heroes were able to account for every little thing. Remember, despite the persona that we adopt, at the end of the day, heroes are people too and they can make mistakes."

He pointed to a patch of buildings on the south end of the map, much of which was marked as destroyed territory from the Noumu's rampage.

"Take this south side, the reports indicate that there was a patrol through the area at 8:24PM that was engaged with a Noumu who fled the Downtown Square where the Massacre took place, and engaged no one besides said Noumu until 8:37PM and they didn't see anyone come through in that time on their street or by rooftop. Do you see the problem here?"

Izuku stared at the map, the marks that Edgeshot had already made as well as the maps that were next to them. They were simple street level maps, others were service maps.

Like the sewer. Izuku's eyes sharpened as he began to think out loud.

"He wasn't using the streets, or the rooftops. Endeavor would have caught him, or someone would have made a call..."

Edgeshot nodded, "Indeed. Hosu is a modern city, and like all modern cities it needs an intricate plumbing system to get everything out. And Tokyo has several sewer refineries to help keep this municipality clean."

He picked up another map, this one outlining the sewer system. The sprawling map of pipes and outputs dwarfed the street view maps that they'd been looking at before.

"Right now, the refineries where he would reasonably be able to flee from are here," the pro said, marking an apartment complex at the edge of the district near Downtown, "Here," he said, marking a sports stadium within Hosu, "And finally here," right outside an abandoned lot that was scheduled for demolition, just outside the ward, the farthest one away. "We can scratch off Downtown, since the Noumu rampage was occurring and I doubt a wounded serial killer would hole up both during the chaos and in the aftermath when those monsters were being defeated."

"And the stadium is in a residential area." Izuku added, eyes going all over the map. "We would have gotten a call if someone had spotted him. It's how Musha found Iida, via someone reporting it in."

"And by default." Edgeshot pointed at the abandoned lot in the adjacent Ward. "Here is the most likely spot."

Izuku broke into a grin.

"Then we can-"

"Izuku," Edgeshot said, his voice stern, "Look at where the lot is. It's in Akuto Ward."

Izuku blinked, and carefully looked at the location. It was outside of Hosu. So? They had come from Kashiki Ward after all.

"B-but that should be fine," Izuku said, "All we need to do is get authorization and we can go."

"That could take three days at a minimum. Akuto Ward has quite the hoops to jump through to get a warrant compared to other Wards, largely due to the fact that it has few Pro Hero Firms there and it's the biggest industrial Ward in Tokyo." Edgeshot said with a shrug, "And at that point when the warrant comes in, he'll be long gone, even if he's there to begin with."

"Then what are we supposed to do!?" Izuku asked, eyes pleading, hoping for something, anything!

Yet Edgeshot's single eye never flinched.

"We've done enough," he said, "But now it's out of our hands. Even if he was using that area as a hideout, there will be forensic evidence left behind. It's better than nothing."

"But it's… we had forensics from Hosu… his katana and his knife! We-"

Izuku wanted to say something, anything to get the hero to change his mind. But nothing came out as he was at a loss for words. The older hero stood in front of him, and gently put a hand on the younger hero's shoulder.

"Izuku, there will always come a time where you'll have the chance to rush into danger, to help everyone in front of you. But there will also be a time where you have to hold yourself back, and believe that your comrades will prevail. To leave it to others more suitable." Izuku could only gawk, opening his mouth before he looked like a deflated balloon.

"I… yes sir."

"Good, I'll file the report and send it off to Endeavor and the Heroes at Akuto, file everything here and call it a day. Don't cause trouble for the other agencies."

Once again, the intern nodded, and Edgeshot removed his hand as he made his way out.

"You're a good boy Izuku, but remember, there's the hero that you want to be, but sometimes, you have to put aside the hero you want to be and become the hero that you need to be." Izuku was silent, looking at the ground. "Now I'm going on patrol. When I get back, we can go get dinner. I'm sure that we both need it at this time of night."

With that, the ninja was gone, leaving Izuku standing there, with all his work, but feeling like he had nothing to show for it.

All of that, and no criminal behind bars to show for it.

It ate at him on the inside, choking at his heart as Izuku gritted his teeth.

"I can't accept this…" He uttered to himself, exhaling harshly before he got up and paced.

How could he do nothing while Stain was out there!

He walked around the hotel room and sat down on the bed, head in his hands as he took a deep breath, dragging his hands across his face.

Izuku gripped his fists as he looked down at the maps, glaring at that particular area. Stain was there. The one responsible for maiming and killing so many good heroes was there. And to just… leave it be?

Let Stain recover and go into hiding so he could plot and strike again?! Take another life!? Leaving another in the hospital like Iida! Crippled like Iida's brother?!

No!

Besides… If Akuto didn't want to be helped… "Helping others when others don't ask for it is the biggest fundamental aspect of being a Hero. It's what All Might would do. " Izuku said to himself.

Izuku's brain got to work as he began to gather up the maps and documents and scan them onto his phone via picture and app. He zoomed in as well to help clarify as he sent them to the email he had that was allowed access to Edgeshot's agency, and by proxy the Public Safety Commission that all Pro Heroes did business with.

It might take three days on his end, but he'd make them jump the gun.

He wouldn't let a hero be maimed like Iida again. Not when he had the power and responsibility to do something about it.

Izuku inspected his hero gear, his green suit with arm and leg guards, and his custom metal gas mask that hung around his neck. He went to his backpack, grabbing his jacket and spare baggy workout pants he had brought along in case he needed them for pajamas and an all-nighter was required.

He put them on over his gear, removing his gloves and metal mask and placing them in his hoodie's pocket. He grabbed his phone as well, pocketed his hands and left the hotel room, key in hand.

He made his way out of the lobby after buying a breath mask from the concierge and strapped it on, the white mask covering his nose and mouth. With him claiming third at the Sports Festival, discretion was the better part of valor. And he was grateful to Mom for getting him the baggiest sweatpants to help hide his armor as he got out and began walking, hands in his hoodie's pockets. The night was mild, a given how summer was right around the corner, then the humidity and monsoon season would be going like crazy with night time thunderstorms and thirty celsius degree into the evening..

He got his phone out, seeing that the data he had uploaded was now available for viewing. Izuku looked up, seeing a subway station close by as he went down the steps below to the underground terminal.

He bought his ticket online, fingers a flourish as some night owls were gathering at parts of the station as well. Izuku kept to himself, as he heard the sound of an incoming train and stayed still.

The train roared past, wind passing through as Izuku kept his hands to himself, focusing on his plan.

If word got out of Stain being found, the nearby hero firms would surely act. Endeavor would hightail it there, warrant be damned.

But he had to get there first. To hold Stain down until they arrived. If the heroes and police swarmed the place, Stain would get spooked and disappear once again.

The next train came to a stop, and he hopped on board after showing his ticket to the ticketeer within the subway cabin. He got in and settled down, sending the information to the server. It would take time to upload the information, but he could wait.

(X)

Far atop of the hotel, a subway passed out from underground and onto a bridge going upwards.The Ninja Hero stood, eyeglass zooming in and spotting his intern in a car, eyes to the ground.

"He's going to do it after all." Edgeshot mused as he smiled to himself. Following rules and protocol were important when it came to being a Pro, that was a fact.

But being a hero, meant doing what was right. Doing what needed to be done.

If Izuku was going on that train line, he was no doubt heading towards the abandoned lot in Akuto where Stain was presumably hiding.

With a flash, Edgeshot was gone, zooming rooftop to rooftop as he progressed north, following the subway train.

(X)

"We have a hit."

Peter perked up as he got up from his desk, shutting down his laptop windows of his homework that Mr. Aizawa handed out as he walked to the center of his room. It'd been ten long hours. He did some workouts in that time, along with taking a nap as Karen went over anything he wasn't around for. He looked at his suitcase where it contained his Suit.

"Where?" He asked.

"I backchannelled a file sent from the Edgeshot Agency to the… Akuto Police Department." Peter's eyes widened.

"That's east of here right?" He remembered going through it with Mirko only once along the edge. Definitely looked like gangland. Like Hell's Kitchen back in New York.

"It is, and the files he sent over detailed the location of Stain's last known location since fleeing Hosu. By car, he's only a half hour away."

"Stain is there, I'll make it five minutes." Peter breathed, narrowing his eyes as he cracked open the door. He could hear the buzzsaw that was Mirko asleep in her room.

"Parker-san?" Came a voice as Peter jumped, opening the door all the way. "Ah, I didn't mean to startle you!" He turned, seeing Nakiri in the hallway, no longer in her formal colorful business attire, but in… a black leather skirt, vest, blood-red shirt and-was she wearing mascara and a spiked collar?! "Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention." She said cutely as she fingered the hem of her skirt. "Going out for some karaoke tonight." Nakiri sighed. "Blow off some steam and all that."

"Oh. Uh." Peter blinked, then smiled. "Well, don't let me keep you. Have fun, Nakiri-san." He yawned a bit. "Was gonna get some water before I head to bed. Big day with Mirko tomorrow." He said as he heard the Rabbit Hero snort in her room, making him jump, but the snores still came. The tanuki lady simply smiled.

"Of course. I'll be back super late so don't worry about me. Just going to meet some old friends from high school. We try to catch up any time we can!" She said. "And don't worry about me and Mirko-san." The shorter woman reached into a cabinet, pulling out some earmuffs. "These are the same custom brand Mirko-san uses for her own ears. She's more acute so she can hear clearly even with them on, but for us?" She handed a pair to Peter, who took it.

The moment he placed them on, the snoring was gone. He blinked, looking down and seeing the secretary beaming as she wore her own pair. They took them off. "See what I mean?"

"Yeah... " Peter bit his lip. "I can tell… I didn't hear much snoring before."

"It's her posture and that her face isn't in a pillow." Nakiri mused as she placed her earmuffs back in the cabinet. "I have an extra in my room, in any case." She pulled out her phone after he heard the ping of a text. "My ride is here! You get some good night's sleep, ok?" Peter rested his arm against the doorframe and nodded, grinning.

"Have fun, and good night Nakiri-san!" He waved, seeing the girl walk off. He could hear… screeching death metal in the distance. His eyes widened.

"She is into that?" Peter muttered to himself as she got to the front door. When she opened it, he could hear the satanic voices and hardcore guitars before she closed it, but she sounded happy calling out to some friends.

Well, to each their own.

He closed the door as a precaution and went back to his phone. "What do we got?"

"An abandoned hospital that is close to a sewage refinement plant in Akuto. That is the last known locale listed in Edgeshot's server."

"It'll take time for them to get a warrant too." Peter mused as he walked over to his suitcase. "And if many Pro Heroes show up, he'll get spooked and run off. We'll lose the trail."

"Whoever submitted that has done their homework."

"Yeah." Peter began to strip off his workout fatigues, going down to his undergarments and slipping into the red and blue spider suit. He tapped on the button, prompting the suit to fit itself to him as he grabbed his mask. Turning off the lights, slipping the clothes under his bed, he silently walked out the door as he could still hear Mirko snore. Good, keep on sleeping…

Peter got to the front door for the darkened agency and opened it before locking it behind him. He turned, and made a mighty leap over to the next building across the street upon ensuring that no one was within sight. He let out a sigh, then saw his mask.

He donned it, and Spider-Man's HUD came to life.

"Show me the way Karen."

"On it." He saw the map come up on the screen, and in the distance, red markers and the word for TARGET were spotted, many miles away.

"There's a sewer plant both in Shinjuku and Kijimi, and the next closest one…" Peter saw a map of the Greater Tokyo Area pop up, red dots lining out the various plants.

"Is in Akuto, closest to us." He finished as he jumped to his feet. "We move fast and quiet." He aimed his webs, and took off into the night.

(X)

Izuku landed on the roof, his foot cracking against the ground with barely enough force to disturb a bird. All the training with Edgeshot on controlling One for All was starting to pay off. He checked his phone; he was going in the right direction, and if he went a little faster he'd be there within a half hour or so.

It was already dark, and there would at least be six hours till sunrise.

Getting back to the hotel should be doable, if everything went well. He'd lose some sleep, but that detail was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

Which, when thinking back on his time in U.A so far, things going well wasn't an often occurrence. That didn't mean that he couldn't try. The plan was simple, if not risky. Confirm Stain's location, and call it out as soon as he saw him. If he was spotted first, he'd engage, if only to keep him occupied until said help arrived.

Endeavor would come and bring everything that he had to bear down on Stain the second that he got the chance. Though, there was a lingering voice in the back of his head that warned him against it.

Stain was a monster of a villain. He'd engaged with Ingenium and Yoroi Musha, and before that, under three dozen heroes either being maimed or killed, Iida and his brother being among them. One he defeated and another he was able to fight off. Even if he received injuries from his clash with the Top Ten Pro, there was no way Izuku could perform at the same level as the Equip Hero.

If it came down to it, he'd have to hope that his control of One for All would be enough to let him keep his distance. If not… he had ten fingers to use.

If unleashing a flick of power from One for All wasn't enough to bring police and heroes towards the battle, nothing would. Even in this dilapidated area of Akuto Ward.

Izuku shook his head, he shouldn't think about that. Focus on the positives, and everything he could use to keep it like that.

He'd just stay on guard, and keep an eye out for anything! He made his way to a rooftop and slowed his run as he knelt down, looking out at the sight before him.

Tall warehouses were mixed in with blue collar shops, all closed for the night. Scant few light posts flickering. Cracks in the pavement. In the distance, high-rise cheap apartments and along the ground, Izuku could make out some tents. Even in an Age of Quirks, there would always be big cities with the heavy blue collar industrial areas combined with poverty. The trash of Tokyo had to go somewhere, with Akuto Ward and the northern parts of Hosu being that place.

He sighed as he focused on the sight before him, and he remembered the map. Izuku squinted his eyes, and about a block away, he could see the clear white domed infrastructure of the sewer refinery plant, with several smokestack factories and Solar Power Stations nearby. The main abandoned lot looked perfect for the hideout of a devious villain.

A derelict hospital, decaying and windows broken in. Graffiti painted the walls amongst its lower floors.

All he had to do was go inside, and quietly find-

"Midori?"

"AH!" Izuku shrieked.

Lightning sparked across his forearms as his Quirk came to life on instinct. Only to fizzle out in a series of disappointing sparks when he blinked at the sight in front of him. Red and blue with glowing dim blue eyes as the figure backed off in surprise. But that voice!

"Parker-san?!" Izuku squaked, "What are you doing here?"

"Says the other guy jumping over rooftops at midnight," His spider-themed classmate said, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here?"

Izuku blinked.

"T-that didn't answer my question. And," Izuku mused as he looked over his costume. "So is that a new costume of yours?"

"Well, it's similar to my old one I used before." Parker looked at his glove. "But, I suppose in your eyes it's new. So, to answer the question… I guess you're here in the Tokyo Projects for a patrol at this hour?" Izuku opened his mouth, then closed it.

"No… I'm here to find him." He said as he turned towards the hospital, sitting against the brick rail as to not attract eyes from any vagrants down below.

Parker remained silent, taking a seat beside him as the green-haired boy turned to face the costumed hero. "The guy who messed up Iida. Stain."

"Yeah." Izuku's fists tightened. "Me and Edgeshot-san were looking over and investigating all possible leads and… we found a possible location, but Edgeshot-san said it would take a few days to process a warrant." He raised his head, eyes hard. "I can't just let the Hero Killer slink back into the shadows. Not after what he's done."

Parker was quiet, nodding. "So… it was you who uploaded the data to the Servers?" Izuku perked up and turned.

"I did, yes. Were you… also looking into him?" The American paused at Izuku's answer.

"Well, I had access to the Public Safety Commission and Mirko's website… so I found the info and..." Peter shrugged. "Got dressed, and headed out."

"Is Mirko-san with you?" Izuku asked, head on a swivel looking for the Top Ten Pro. He'd always wanted to meet the Rabbit Hero in person! Peter was interning under her too!

"Out like a light and snoring like a chainsaw." Parker replied wryly. "And even if she was awake, she wouldn't head over here, at least, not anywhere outside her ward whenever she's not doing her cross-country patrols. And since this is Akuto and not Endo..."

Puzzled, Izuku finished for him. "Still, why didn't she take up investigating Stain?"

"Didn't want to work with Endeavor, or anyone else for that matter." Peter spat, blue eyes on his mask narrowed. "Hates teamwork apparently…"

"Yeah… she's not the type to work with a group unless a disaster hits or a special occasion called by the Safety Commission." Izuku replied. That was pretty common knowledge to those who follow the Top Ten...

"Still… I have to do… something ya know?" Peter said with a sigh. "If there's a killer out there and they hurt one of my friends, even if Mirko doesn't like it, I'll tell it to her face that I went along with it anyway."

"Even if it's another vigilante strike, right?" Izuku mused, causing the American to turn towards him. "It was you at the train station during Mt. Lady's debut, right?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well… you have ample enough reason to not get in trouble. I mean, being a foreign exchange student. Already having a strike to your record. If you get caught agai-" Izuku had a hand on his shoulder as his green eyes stared into the wide blue eyes on Peter's mask.

"Don't worry about me or any record stuff. I'm here to take a bad guy off the street." Peter's cheekbones rose in a smile. "That is our job as heroes after all. Take out the bad guys, protect the good guys."

Izuku couldn't help but return it, his heart warm.

"Yeah." Peter's hand rose to his chest, and he tapped the black spider sigil on his chest. Izuku's eyes quirked in confusion before the sigil moved! And it even began to fly and hover like a drone!

It was a drone!

"What the… is that a drone?" Izuku said, eyes wide as the spider-like robot landed on the concrete floor before them. He could see its tiny glowing eyes as it stood on all its legs.

"Yeah. Okay." Peter had a hand to his mask. "Go inside the hospital, and see if our Hero Killer is there." He set his hand down. "And don't try to cause attention." Peter's mask eyes flashed as Izuku blinked, then he saw the drone take off! Wait… was that a woman's voice coming from Peter's mask?

"Parker-san… did I hear a voice coming from your mask?" He asked. "What are you doing?"

"Well, first off yeah it is." Peter smiled. "That drone is… how do I put this…" He mused, hand to his chin. "Um… l-like those robots from the U.S.J. Me and Hatsume have been… working on it together."

"That's awesome! So that's what you've been doing after school a lot in the Support Department?" Izuku asked, amazed.

"Yeah, gave her a name too. Karen. You know, like with that Lisa or Penny AI you see from those smart-home systems Amazon sets up.." Peter laughed a little. The blue eyes were glowing and flashing. "Okay… going through the air vents, nice…"

"You have a direct video feed?!" Izuku asked in a loud whisper. Peter nodded.

"Yeah, this mask can see whatever Karen can see and so on. Right now, just combing through… We find him, then we bring him in." Izuku perked up.

"I-In truth I was only coming here to confirm if he was here, according to the investigation reports that is." Izuku stammered, biting his lip. "If he was, I was thinking-" He was cut off as Peter raised a finger, and his hands cupped his ears.

Izuku leaned in close, anticipating any sounds. "What is it?" He whispered softly.

"I see him." Peter said silently, his voice becoming terse. "He's awake… looking at a map too… Some marks around it in blue… some red. Zooming in… That looks like Hosu, the red."

"Native." Izuku whispered, realizing what those marks were. "What are the blue markings?"

Peter was quiet, and Izuku could make out a female voice in Peter's ear speak out in English. "Cross referenced Tokyo Area Map with locations of Stain's attacks. All red marks indicate fatalities. Blue are unknown, but we are sixty yards away from a blue marking." The green haired boy caught that, thankful for his studies in English.

"Safehouses." Izuku uttered, to which Peter turned, then his eyes widened and recoiled. Izuku did so too, and-Oh gosh he was so close to his face! "S-Sorry! I just wanted-"

"It's fine. Just… give me some personal space? Please?" Peter asked. Izuku's face was beet-red, his hands on his lap as he puffed out his cheeks. Peter has this kind of high-tech gadgets on hand in a costume that didn't look as sophisticated as the one that was destroyed at the U.S.J.? On top of his experience and accolades and-

No time. Focus on Stain and helping Parker.

"He's packing up his bags." Peter uttered in English as he lifted his head. "Going to be moving to the next safehouse for him to lie low and heal some more."

"We can't lose him now! We should call for Endeavor and the others."

"Make the call. We call for help, and we fight him until the cavalry arrives" Peter uttered.

"Then we need to make sure he doesn't have the chance to flee using the sewers."

"Yeah… wait, so he's been usin' the sewers for his getaways?"

"Yeah, said so in the report me and Edgeshot made."

"Eeewww… he must smell awful." Peter cringed before he coughed. "So… you know his fighting style, or should I recant from the news articles throughout the day?" Peter inquired, to which Izuku shook his head.

"Stain has a Quirk that allows him to paralyze whoever he cuts. When he licks or consumes blood, the victim is paralyzed, and can work on multiple people."

"If he hits one of us, it's game over." Peter turned towards the hotel, as did Izuku. "If you get hit, holler and I'll bail you out. I know you'll do the same for me."

"Of course." Midoriya gulped, gathering his courage as One for All was channeled throughout his body. Yes, he could feel it. The rush of eight percent now instantaneously, whereas before at the Sports Festival he had to focus to bring forth five percent.

"Ok, Karen's given me a map of the layout. He's on the second floor, maternity ward close to the central rotunda. You go high, I go low? Pincer attack?"

"We ambush him." Izuku said as he got his phone out and dialed in Edgeshot's agency. "He's a hit and run fighter, yet against Musha he couldn't handle sudden surprises." The two heroes in training stood up as one on the roof of the skyscraper and turned. One in green, the other in red and blue, the crescent moon at their backs.

"Okay then. Operation Stain Hunt is a go." He checked his wrists, and Deku heard clicking noises as he saw small tubes in motion as Spider-Man's fingers flexed into his palms. "Let's get that sonuvabitch."