So this is my first My Hero Academia fanfic but I knew I had to at some point. This series is incredible and I love the characters so much! I thank whomever introduced me to this series for this story coming about, but I really dunno who that is so just thanks to the creator of the manga and the anime in general. Seriously, MHA is one of my favourite anime out right now and I don't normally like Superhero anime.

Warning: This is an AU from the fight against Stain, it deviates from Manga canon meaning that what happens in the anime/manga doesn't happen. Also, there may be spoilers from the manga as the series progresses dependent on the upcoming final six episodes of Season 2. Also, yeah, murder, blood, swearing (Blame Kacchan for that one, I do) and stuff like that so rated T for edgey.

With that said, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Aftermath

"Get down!" Gran Torino's shout brought the three students, plus a bunch of other Pro Heroes out of their static states as a winged Nomu came flying towards them. The female hero turned around, getting into a defensive stance.

"A villain?!" She cried out, remembering the cream, brain leaking figure from moments ago when Endeavor began fighting against it to save another from its clutches. Blood was streaming behind it from an empty eye socket, probably a remnant from its last fight. It swooped down, cawing as it reached its foot talons into the group and snatched up the first thing it could grab.

That thing was Izuku Midoriya.

"Midoriya!" Shouto Tokodori and Tenya Iida, fellow classmates at Yuuei High School, cried out their friend's name as he was dragged up into the sky by the Nomu, struggling and squirming in its claw grip. The wind rippled from the creature's wings, practically forcing the heroes to the ground with the harsh breeze it was creating. From behind him, Gran Torino heard the female hero cry out as some blood splattered itself on her face. He ignored her words, scowling as the boy he had taken in for internship was getting further from is reach, if he didn't act soon then there would be no way his Quirk would be able to reach his target. It didn't help that air resistance had doubled thanks to the powerful flaps of the Nomu's wings, which would hinder him even more.

Due to a stroke of luck, or maybe just a lack of thoroughness, it turned out that Stain, the hero killer had one more blade hidden up his sleeve. Seconds later, his tongue ran across the cheek of the unnamed female hero, catching the blood that had splattered across it. The Nomu was paralysed almost immediately, wings locking up which caused it to lose altitude quite rapidly. Ropes that had once bound the villain flew off, cut as if it was a simple piece of paper.

"A society overrun with fake heroes and the criminals who wave their power around idly…" Stain jumped into the air, eyes glowing red with undying rage. His arm raised above his head before the blade in his hands was stabbed into the Nomu's brain forcibly. The force sent the beast to the ground, crash landing with Izuku still in its clutches and with Stain riding on its back, clouds of grey dust covering them from the impact. Once the dust had cleared, it revealed the hero killer with a hand pinning the boy down and the other tightly clasped around the blade still in the creature's head.

"…they should all be purged."

Remembering the words spoken by the same man, the hero called Native almost choked on his dry throat, shivering at the pure terror that was being caused by a singular villain that was struggling to remain standing not too far away from where he was now, a villain that almost managed to kill him. Drool ran out of Stain's mouth like waterfalls, cascading from the edges of his teeth. His pupils had shrunk to a near invisible size, veins protruding visibly around the viewable surface of his eyes.

"This is all…" Taking a huge breath of air, he ripped the blade from out of the dead Nomu's exposed brain. The action allowed blood to fly out from the sudden tear of tissue giving it the freedom from the body. Stain was still looking down at the ground, other hand still on Izuku's back, but with that moment everyone else felt the judgemental, insane eyes of a killer glaring at each and every one of them. Only one person was exempt of this treatment, and that one person was too close to the villain for comfort. "…to create a more just society."

Nobody knew that two members of the League of Villains was watching them at that moment, one of them cursing Stain and Izuku as he scratched at his neck angrily. No one would have cared at that moment either, all of their attention lay on the hero killer – who had lost the struggle to remain standing and was kneeling on the ground – and the boy who he had just technically saved. It was a paradox to the Pro Heroes, why would someone who killed heroes go and save a kid that wanted to be a hero, was training to be a hero at the best hero course in the whole of Japan? Iida knew why, Midoriya fit perfectly into Stain's ideal world. Midoriya's words mirrored All Might's, the only hero who was good enough to kill the Hero-killer, the only hero that Stain would ever admit defeat against.

It made sense as why Stain, after paralysing Midoriya in the fight, largely ignored him with preference of killing Iida first, then Native. The villain had said it himself, Midoriya was deemed someone worth keeping alive. It's not that he wouldn't kill the boy just because he wasn't an actual hero, he tried to take out both Iida and Todoroki with his weapons, but the hero Midoriya wanted to be when he was older was true definition of the term, in Stain's eyes at the very least. By now, the pros had pulled themselves out of their shocked states and were talking about what to do now.

"He saved the boy?!" One of them inquired in disbelief, only to be on the receiving end of glares and sarcastic looks.

"No, you idiot!" A hero – with a white mask and four blue bars in the middle of it – replied, annoyed by the words that he deemed stupid that were coming out of another's mouth. "He took a hostage!"

"He killed someone, more so another villain, without hesitation." Another hero – with goggles on his head and spiked white hair – added with a serious tone.

"Anyway, get ready!" The female pro announced as she and the three others got into battle ready positions. "'Cause we've got a fight on our hands!" Before any of the pros could do anything, another voice made them turn and look.

"Why is everyone just standing around in a group?" The burning mass of Endeavor – ranked number 2 in the Pro Hero charts with All Might being number one – ran up the road, staring at the group who had an old geezer, two hurt children and an injured hero thrown into the mix. Of course, there were four healthy pros just standing in the middle of the pavement, doing nothing when a distress signal had apparently been sent from this location. It was also the area in which the winged beast had vanished off to. "The villain should have escaped this way."

"How are things holding up on your end?"

"Things got a little rough… mhrmm?" Endeavor's eyes laid themselves on the knelt man ahead of them, pinning a struggling form to the ground who was yelling out to be let go of. "But don't tell me that that man is… the hero killer?" Flames began forming around the hero's left arm as he was about to take aim, only for the elderly hero, Gran Torino to shout at him to stop. There was a hostage involved, any fire could cause the boy injury as well and as the number 2 hero, the press would have a field day if they found out that Endeavor put the pride of defeating the hero killer over rescuing a hostage.

Stain snarled at Endeavor's appearance. That man was the opposite of All Might; selfish, greedy, undeserving of his title. In the villain's warped mind, he knew that Endeavor would be the first to fall at the hands of judgement from his blades. The fire controlling man had no place in a society of true heroics, a fake if he had ever seen one. A part of him wanted to preach his ideology, make those heroes shake to their very core but he couldn't, at least not for now. He wanted to fight with All Might, he wanted to have a battle that would remain in the books of history for centuries to come.

And to do that, he needed the boy who was squirming under his hand.

All Might, the greatest hero wouldn't just appear for a killer outside of his preference zone. Hosu City was out of bounds when it came to All Might's area of justice, Stain would just have to find a way to bring the hero out of his zone and to Hosu. For years he had planned this final duel, the fight against All Might to prove that this society was tainted by fakes and could only be saved by heroes such as the powerful Symbol of Peace. It was thanks to the League of Villains, predominantly their toddler like leader of sorts known as Tomura Shigaraki, that he had learnt of the boy.

During their attack on the USJ, the league had taken note of one the Class 1-A students from Yuuei. His Quirk, albeit heavily damaging on the boy, was a near identical match to All Might's. However, it wasn't just the Quirk that felt the same, their view point on what it means to be a hero was as well. To Stain, it felt as if the boy was a younger All Might and he could just tell that there was some kind of connection between the two, one of which he could exploit for the greater good of a more just hero run society. Shigaraki wanted the boy dead for multiple reasons, Stain wanted the boy alive for those same reasons.

The true hero would come and fight for the future of society, he knew that All Might would do it, especially with a hostage to keep him from rejecting such a kind offer.

Holding in the will to straight up stab Endeavor where he stood, Stain used his blade to nick the kid where his knifes had caught him last time, allowing more blood to rise to the surface. Licking his tongue over the cut made the boy paralysed but this gave him a time limit. He had to get out of there in three minutes flat or else. Throwing the child over his shoulder, he turned and looked one last time at the group of heroes that were mentally planning on charging at him.

"In my society, you would all be dead, stepping stones on the path to a better future. None of you deserve to be called a 'hero'," he glared at them all intently, ultimately freezing them in their tracks. Surprisingly even Endeavor faltered in his step, which left an opening. "The only hero who can ever kill me will be All Might, no one else can ever hold a candle to him. A true hero is something you could only wish to be in another life, a life that will be opened up to you once I'm done killing you all. For now, all I want is All Might and refusal to bring him to me will result in the kid's death, got it?" Stain cringed from the cliched mass of corniness that was a villain's hostage taking speech but it was effective to say the least. He had their attention, they knew his demands and now, he was going to leave.

With a bounding leap, the villain made his way onto the top of a nearby building with captive firmly in grasp. The shouts of 'Midoriya!' from below at least gave Stain some sort of name to refer to the kid by, it was the only thing he would give gratitude to for the two students back on the ground. Ingenium's brother was too thirstful for vengeance, not able to show the markings of a hero with a clouded sense of judgement whilst the other was the offspring of Endeavor, nothing could be worse a sentence in his eyes. Stain gave the sorry group one last look before he left, if only he still had his knives on him. The raining of metal on those fools, piercing their skin and bones… it would have been such a beautiful sight to leave to.

~0~o~0~

Tenya Iida was drowning in guilt, in the shame of what his actions had done. Not only were he and Todoroki stuck inside a hospital room during their internships but Midoriya – one of the few friends he had made in his short time at Yuuei – was still in the hands of the hero killer with a ransom over his life. None of the Pro Heroes did anything to stop Stain from leaving with the paralysed student, no one fought for Midoriya's freedom. Thus, another reason for the guilt was born, he didn't save Midoriya. Uraraka was going to kill him when they met again, he just knew it.

He ignored the stare that Todoroki was leaving linger upon him, thinking about everything that had gone wrong and how it was mostly his fault. If he hadn't decided to intern in Hosu, if he had left Stain alone for another hero to deal with then they wouldn't have been hurt and Midoriya would still be with Gran Torino wherever those two were before this incident occurred. Their training was obviously working as his friend was no longer breaking bones whilst he was fighting, meaning that Midoriya had done more than he had in the last few days. Now he was lagging behind yet again and there was nothing he could do to get out of the hospital, especially with his arms in the condition they were.

"Hey, Iida." The spectacled hero-in-training looked up at Todoroki, who's stoic expression hadn't changed much in the past few hours. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Iida asked too quickly for his own good, realising it made him sound like he knew what his classmate was saying. The fact was he did but didn't want to talk about it at that moment.

"Moping like that," Todoroki turned to face the window for a moment, looking out to a calm and clear sky. "It won't change anything, it won't bring Midoriya back. If anything, it'll just make everything worse."

"How can you say that?!" All of the bottled-up emotions were allowed to run freely, tears welled up in the corners of Iida's eyes as he continued to talk. "Our classmate is a hostage in the hands of a murderer, we're both in recovery from only just surviving a fight against said murderer and all of it is my fault entirely! If only I…"

"There you go again, if only, what if…" With a sigh, Todoroki shook his head. "It's the past, you can't change it unless you have some hidden time travel Quirk somewhere. We have to focus on the now and the future. Once we've healed, we can get help, help of people we know can be valuable assets in the mission to rescue Midoriya…"

"That won't happen." Both boys turned their heads as the heroes Gran Torino and Manual – the man who ran the agency Iida was interning at – with the Hosu chief of police, a dog headed man called Kenji Tsuragamae. "It would be too risky to have children partake in something as dangerous as this, especially with the Hero Killer Stain involved. We can't risk anymore lives, as I'm sure the two of you are highly aware, woof." Two sets of eyes looked away from the police chief, receiving them two whacks on the head by a speedy old man.

"Are you two listening?!" Todoroki rubbed the back of his head whilst Iida flinched but both boys nodded in answer. "It's bad enough I lost the kid who was interning with me but for you two to dimwittedly try and take on a professional killer with an army of toddlers in the hero world? Are you crazy?"

"Plus, you aren't allowed to use your Quirks without a provisional license or permission outside of school grounds," Manual added sternly. "You would be breaking more laws with that one act than the three of you combined did today. Even with Native's words of praise, you two and Midoriya still would be receiving harsh penalties, if it wasn't for the kidnapping and its effects on the two of you. You've had more than enough torment for tonight and with Stain not caught, we thought it was best to sweep the situation under the rug and never mention the two of you in any recounts."

"As the chief, I believe it is my duty to protect the citizens at all cost, just as much as a hero would," Tsuragamae stepped in, staring down at the two bedridden boys. "A city-wide search has begun for the two of them. Once the Hero Killer is found, we will make sure justice prevails without any more bloodshed. That will only happen if the two of you promise not to go searching for Stain yourselves because if you do, then he will have no mercy and your lives would be walking on a tightrope above a blade of his choice. You need to know what this means, and I hope you do…"

"In other words, leave it to the professionals, kids." Gran Torino butted in, tapping his boot covered foot against the floor.

"Do you understand?" Manual finished up, his gaze focused more on Iida than Todoroki but that was to be expected, the latter wasn't interning at his agency.

"Yes sir." The two boys said at the same time which was obviously the right answer in the adult's eyes. The stern expressions had faded into worried ones. These kids were suffering from both mental and physical trauma, and one of them was trying his hardest to keep his emotions tightly shut inside.

"All of us hope for your swift recovery from your injuries," The police chief finished as the heroes began to turn and leave. "Get some rest, heal up as quickly as you can and then you can head back to your internships before school starts again. I'm going to deal with the legal details with these two, woof. You did defeat the hero killer after all." Neither Iida or Todoroki said anything until the others were heading out of the doorway.

"Stain said he wanted All Might," Todoroki called after them, making the men turn around with shocked looks on their faces… well two out of the three were, Gran Torino was frowning for some reason. "The reason why he took Midoriya was because he wanted to fight with All Might, and now he has a life hanging over this decision… Will All Might accept this challenge, or will he let Midoriya die?!" Silence hung over the room, with Iida's gaping face looking straight at Todoroki's anger fuelled one. Manual looked at the ground whilst Gran Torino clenched a fist. Tsuragamae didn't know what to say for a while, so just went for a default answer, one of which had been used a thousand times.

"All Might will accept, it's in his nature to help anyone in need, woof," The man turned his back to the students, hiding his quivering lip from their view. "Especially for a student at the school he teaches at. All Might will accept… he will." With that, the adults excused themselves, leaving Iida and Todoroki to give each other a worried glance. That voice hadn't been filled with certainty, not something they had wanted to hear. Looking over at the bedside cabinet, the one with his phone resting upon the desk, Iida thought of a plan.

"Todoroki, can you hold my phone for me whilst I make a call?" The half hot, half cold Quirk user raised an eyebrow at his words.

"Why do you need me to do that?"

"There's someone I want to talk to," Iida paused before he gave his fellow classmate a half-hearted smile. "If that is okay with you?"

~0~o~0~

Gran Torino waited by the telephones in the hospital, waiting for a certain someone to pick up. When a familiar voice ended up on the other line, he spoke immediately

"You're in quite the pickle now, Toshinori," he told his ex-pupil. "I'm sure you've heard the news by now."

"I'm not sure what you mean." All Might's normal form voice came down the line, causing the elderly man to groan.

"Listen, and make sure you note everything down…"

"Iida? What do you mean by the fact that you got into a fight with THE HERO KILLER?!"

"I know it sounds bad, but that isn't even the half of it, Uraraka."

"What… you mean?"

"Yes, Toshinori, I do mean…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean something horrible has happened."

"No… no, no no NO!"

"I am not lying to you, your protégé Midoriya…"

"What happened to Deku, Iida?!"

"Mi… mid… Midoriya is, has been kidnapped by Stain, the hero killer."