Izumi doubled over spewing remnants of last night's dinner. All Might stood off to her side leaning against a tree, wearing a disapproving expression. Izumi finally finished and stood up on steady feet. "Izumi, did you happen to skip breakfast this morning?" Izumi clenched her eyes shut, she wished that she could get a do over as she felt his gaze bore into her back. "You know that you can't train on an empty stomach, I know you want to be like me, but you can't save the day on an empty stomach." All Might sighed as he pushed off the tree and stepped to his future successor, gently he patted her back.

"I won't always be able to save people with prefect conditions! I have to be prepared for anything if I'm going to follow in your footsteps!" The green haired bundle of energy objected as she shot up straight and put on a show of flexing the already growing muscle from the past two months of rigorous training. All Might bit back the swelling pride in his chest, he simply chuckled as he patted the young girls head.

"Ah well that is very true, but that doesn't mean you have to mess up your training. That will only lead you to coming up short at the entrance exams!" He exclaimed knocking his student down a peg. Izumi deflated as a pout came forward, her teacher certainly knew just how to humble her. All Might groaned as he looked down on the girl as tears bubbled forth."You know we really need to work on your crying problem." Izumi stared at him in shock as the words came out of his mouth. All Might knew at that moment that he had made a mistake in bringing up the crybaby implication, he held his hands up in a calming gesture. "W-W-Why don't we go and get breakfast! Then we can jump right back into training!" All Might blew out a breath of relief as his pupil jumped from nearly bawling her eyes out to bouncing around excitedly as the prospect of breakfast with All Might came up.

"I can question you on your tactics or your TV show, or finally get you to sign all of my merch..."All Might shook his head as Izumi muttered off the endless possibilities for the near future. All Might resigned himself to his awaiting interrogation as he grabbed Izumi by the collar and began walking.

"Well young Midoriya, if you have questions I have just the prefect place to eat, my favorite diner!" He belted out his signature laugh as they walked, Izumi immediately became transfixed on her idol once more.

The pair finally turned a corner onto another crowded street only to see police tape and the scene swarming with authorities. All Might instantly went from relaxed demeanor into that of a pro hero. "Wait here Izumi breakfast will have to wait." Izumi sensing the seriousness of the situation nodded, as her teacher ran off into an alleyway, not long after the number one pro came bounding over the tops of the surrounding buildings, landing just before the crime scene tape. All Might recognized an old friend as detective Naomasa approached him. "Ah detective, good to see you on this case." Naomasa gave a nod, a serious look on his face.

"Thought I saw you in the crowd. That the next one to get the "thing?"" All Might nodded at his friend and turned to the diner. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you. The place is a blood bath honestly. From what we could gather, and there was much to gather, the perpetrator entered after closing time, place is old fashioned, no cameras on site and nothing suspicious was actually picked up from the surrounding areas at least nothing at a first glance once they got inside they didn't waste any time. We have two victims, all workers that were just finishing up their shift, The perp... exploded them, their heads to be more specific." All Might felt his appetite fade as he heard the news. Naomasa took a breath before his eyes hardened once more. "Then they stole money from the till. Now usually their wouldn't be this many of us on scene, but there's something I was actually going to bring up to Yuuei after I was done here." All Might felt a chill run through his body as Naomasa's gaze rested on him. "What I'm about to tell you stays a secret." He nodded before his friend continued. "There has been a number of cases like this popping up around town. The same M.O. for them all, victims all had their heads exploded and then the place was ransacked or used. Never any money taken from the bodies or the area and never any prints." All Might closed his eyes as a weight settled in his chest.

"A serial killer then." Naomasa nodded even though he knew it hadn't been a question.

"Yes and a very thorough one, no leads and no DNA, the force is stumped, We were gonna bring this to the pro heroes, we can't do this alone and we have no gauge of their fighting capabilities. Frankly I think we need to inform the public of this to increase safety concerns, but the higher ups have denied my suggestion. We can go over the case files at the meeting at Yuuei, I'll have my people send out an email to the rest of the pros to gather at Yuuei."

"I understand, I'll be there. This is a very pressing matter and I will do anything to help, I can't believe that a serial killer would even rise up in this city." Naomasa gave his friend a funny look before shaking his head.

"Toshinori, just because the symbol of peace exists doesn't mean evil will stop, and serial killers aren't rare, we are just faster at catching them and quieter too, not everything is left to the pros." All Might coughed to hide his embarrassment, he had lost control of his thoughts for second and lead to him making a fool of himself. The pair looked around them the scene was chaos as reporters shouted to try and get any piece of information they could get their hands on. The other officers went about their jobs with a rigid expression, a tense air about them, they wanted to catch this person and bring him to justice. All Might looked back to his friend and nodded.

"Alright, I will be at the school, I should be there before you, but I have to see to something before then." Naomasa waved to him as he took off into the skies. All Might sighed as his mind focused on the conversation, A new serial killer in Musutafu wasn't a good thing. They had crime sure, but the heroes and police were always there to stop it or catch the person who committed the crime. Something about this felt off however, this was a series of crimes and no clues showed at any of the places. What kind of quirk could have been responsible for such damage. All Might shook his head as he landed in an alleyway. All Might looked around to make sure the coast was clear only to be startled as he met the eyes of young man who equally looked terrified.

"I apologize for the sudden appearance young man!" His smile brighter than ever as he looked at the boy, the boy said nothing as he looked on in shock, All Might laughed as he recognized the signs of being starstruck. "Fear not young man, I shall give you an autograph it is the least I can do." All Might took out a piece of paper and began to sign it "Although, you shouldn't be out here alone especially in an secluded place like this." His eyes drifted up as he looked over the boy more closely, something struck him as familiar. Emerald eyes stared at him but remained silent, All Might simply shook his head. Ah he reminds me of Izumi, such a resemblance. he chuckled as he pushed the thought out of his head, there was no reason to bother this poor boy further. "And who am I making this out too?" The boy shook his head as if finally snapping out of a trance.

"Ren, just Ren sir. Also I was on a delivery so I took this alley because it cuts my time in half." The wonder in his voice made All Might simile it reminded him of why he became a hero.

"Well Ren, I salute a working man, just be more careful in the future. Other than that keep at it!" He handed the paper over to the boy, and stepped back waving to the young man before leaping away headed for a more secure place to meet with his pupil. Ren's cap blew off only to be caught by an invisible force, long green curls flowed out free of the hats prison. Ren's smile faded as he watched the symbol of peace bound away without so much as a look back. The paper in his hand was crumpled and discarded as he put his hat back on. He blew out a sigh of relief as he walked out of the alley onto a deserted street. He continued walking for some time before stopping in front of a pawnshop. The sign above it read "Silver Pawns." Ren slipped on the black half mask that covered the lower half of his face. He took out his phone and dialed a number impatiently waiting for him to answer.

"Kid, good to hear from ya. Are you at the shop?"

"Yes."

"Good, well let me fill ya in, you are not to kill the owner of this shop, just rough him up some and break some shit, then demand the money, if he doesn't have it then give the usual day to come up with the money or he can expect to see you again. and don't worry there'll be a nice payout waiting for you when you get back, call it a bonus for such a great job you've been doing." Knowing that the conversation was over Ren hung up the phone and slipped on his gloves as he entered the store.

"Hello there, what can I do for...you!" The elderly man at the count paled as he hissed the last part out. "You're his enforcer, that damned Giran, I paid all of my debt back already!" He shouted as he took a step back, Ren simply willed him still as he set his mind to destroying items in the store. "Y-you monster! You can't do this, this shop is all I have!" he screamed as Ren destroyed more and more items. Ren looked at the men with cold eyes which quieted the man down.

"You are to pay him double the amount due in 24 hours. If not, I will be paying you another visit." The man yowled in pain as his arm bent in the wrong direction. Ren threw the man aside as he turned and began to make his way to the door only to be met with an unrelenting torrent of water. Ren barely held on to consciousness as he slammed into the back wall of the store.

"Halt villain stand down and surrender yourself!" A voice from outside the store shouted. There goes my fucking bonus. Ren groaned as he sat up and peered over the counter, a no name hero stood outside her left hand raised ready to send another blast of water his way. There's way to many police nearby to fight her, plus All Might's hanging around, and killing her would only bring more trouble to Giran's operations. With an annoyed sigh, he knew that he would have to let her go. Ren began to reach out and wrap his mind around the various items in the store. "Come out now, and no more harm will come to you. As long as you surrender yourself peacefully. Ren grunted, this was one of the many reasons he hated heroes, the pretentious speeches instead of just taking out the enemy, it was a stupid mistake and one he was going to take full advantage of. With a shout of exertion almost everything in the store including the counters flew at the hero. She yelped in surprise as they slammed into her knocking her out. Ren wasted no time, already hearing the sirens in the distance closing in. He dashed out of the store and began snaking his way through the winding alleys of the city. He slipped in and out of different passages until he couldn't hear the sirens anymore. He had long since ditched his jacket and bag in one of his stashes scattered throughout the lower end of Musutafu. Now dressed in a black sweatshirt and a matching baseball cap, he took out his phone and punched Giran's number again.

"Kid I must say, I didn't expect to hear back from you so soon. Don't tell me, some hero got in the way?" Ren could pick up on the slight edge in his employers voice.

"No, the message was delivered fine. I'm pretty sure you'll be getting your payment sooner now that the cops will be swarming his shop. Also you're welcome. I could've killed that greenhorn of a hero, but figured that would put a damper on things." His voice held it's edge, not backing down to his boss. After moments of silence from the phone a laugh erupted from the line. Ren relaxed knowing that he had just defused the situation.

"You see this is why I like you kid, not only do you get the job done! You ensure that nothing gets to out of hand, any of my dumb ass enforcers would have just fucked the whole situation to hell in back. That was the only job I had for you today, take the rest of the day off, act like a kid or whatever people like you like to do. But keep your phone open." Giran's annoyance had turned into his laid back self, his money assured and the cops not having any reason to suspect more than just a robbery in progress he was more than satisfied.

"Sure, not like I keep this thing on for any other reason. Be seeing you." Ren didn't bother waiting for a response as he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Finally free of his obligations Ren stepped out from the alleyway and slipped into the bustling streets of Musutafu, he melded seamlessly into the crowd as adults and adolescence moved about with a clear destination. Ren was no different from the others, he had a meeting in an hour or so, one he intended to keep.

Izumi in one her favorite coffee shops, clearly disappointed no matter how much she would have denied it. Stupid Izumi, if only I ate breakfast then we could've actually trained. The girl quickly shook her head pushing those thoughts out, All Might was the best hero around, it was for the best that he helped the police with whatever they needed him for. Izumi had figured out it had to be connected to murders in the dinner today, even a child could, she just wished that All Might would have at least told her more about it. She closed her eyes as she sipped her drink, not wanting to think further about the murders, perhaps it had been for her own safety and maybe to save her some sleep probably for the best in the end. Izumi licked her lips as she finished the last of her drink, focusing her attention to the people around her, she took out a singed notebook and began making new entries in it widening her analysis from just hero quirks to any quirks that were noteworthy. She looked over at a pinked skinned girl with great interest as she tried to understand just what her quirk was by her observations alone. Before Izumi knew she had began to mumble into her hand as she wrote down an endless list of different possible quirks. The staff already used to the odd girls behavior went about their jobs as if nothing were out of the ordinary, a waitress even pasted by and left a new mug of coffee for her while taking the old one. The customers on the other hand shot looks at her, Izumi finally looked up from her notes to look at her subject only to shriek in surprise as two black sclera with bright yellow rings in the center were mere inches away from her own face, Izumi fumbled for something to grab a hold only to come up empty as she tipped over backwards and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Ow." she moaned as she lay on her back. The other customers decided that the girl was simply odd and went back to their own drinks and food. A pink face came into her view with an guilty look on her face.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you!" The girl held out a hand which Izumi gratefully grabbed a hold of, the other girl pulled her up with surprising ease. "Again, I am sorry, it was just you were being really weird staring at me and mumbling stuff, also you kept writing into this notebook." She held up Izumi's notebook. "And it was sorta just freaking everyone out. But I didn't mean for this to happen and."

"Horns." Izumi interrupted her, the girl looked dumbfounded.

"Huh?" She exclaimed, exasperation finally working it's way to the surface. Izumi, smiled at the girl.

"You have horns!" She said again, The girl held a hand to one of her horns, suddenly becoming defensive. Izumi picking up on it waved her hands in a placating manner. "They are awesome! My names Izumi Midoriya and I think look awesome! so I wanted to note it down!." The girl let her hand drop, she stared at the girl in front of her before busting out in laughter, she doubled over as she laughed harder.

"Well, Izumi. I'm Mina Ashido, and you are probably the weirdest person I met, I like it." She wiped a tear from her eye as she looked up at the green haired girl, before her. Izumi's smile grew wider as did Mina's.

Ren sat in a window booth of a higher end restaurant, he had asked to be placed away from the other patrons as he waited. It wasn't long before a stern looking man came over took the seat opposite of him. Ren didn't bother to look up from his steak. The man cleared his throat, an air of nervousness around him.

"I looked into your adopted parents... There wasn't much, they moved away from Japan soon after leaving you at the orphanage." Ren set his utensils down as he finally looked up at the man, the man gulped as he understood the displeasure behind the cold emerald eyes. "Look, I know I used to be a pretty big name in the underworld, but things have changed, most of my old contacts don't care for me and I don't have sway over much. You work Giran, you would have much better luck going to him, he could easily help you find whatever it is you're looking for." Ren kept his face neutral as he began to lose his temper. As if I would give that slimy fuck more shit to hold over my head. He closed his eyes and let out a measured breath.

"Mr. Yoneda, I went to you because of the delicate nature of this matter, I also value your aptitude for secrecy, however that value is running out and unless you want me give Giran an 'anonymous' tip about your location and new name then I suggest that you get me the Amamiya's the sooner the better." Ren stood from the table and walked out of the restaurant, his mind swirled with rage and frustration. He could've gone to Giran and asked him to locate his birth parents but that would have been more for the bastard to hold over him as insurance to keep him working. He may have been weaker than Ren in the power department but he was a giant when it came to the power of secrets. No he would have to do this quietly and by his means. Ren's phone vibrated within his pocket, he sighed it was as if thinking about him summoned him.

"Hey kid, got a job I ya down by the docks pronto, got some guys here that have requested you." Ren's only response was hanging up, his boss knew that he would be over soon. Ren sighed, it seemed like Giran's so called cash cow finally wanted to use him. He didn't know much about the league of villains only saw the name on some papers in Giran's office but he had no doubt that's who had requested him. Ren pulled his hood over his cap and began walking.

Hey everyone sorry for the random disappearing act, thankfully it wasn't nearly as long as the ones I used to take. Life just decided to side track me. But now that I have a handle on things again I can get back to writing my stories. Starting with the first real chapter of Familial Ties, let me know what you think, I love reading reviews and seeing peoples thoughts. If you also read my The Quirkless Genius don't worry, that update is coming next, for now I'm thinking of alternating my updates between stories every week. So next week will be the return of The Quirkless Genius. Anyway I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time.