Chapter 16

This was exhausting.

Izuku looks at the list of names that he has acquired and can't help but bite his lips. He already crossed out half of them, written a maybe on 75% on what's left, and very hesitant to accept anything. This was the reason why he has found himself on the rooftop after class, a class that they chose their hero names in.

Ochako chose [Uravity], it sounded both cute and stylish to him, and it was very fitting for her. Most of the names were very fitting, like Tsuyu-Chan's [Froppy], or Kirishima's [Red Riot], although he was sure that he heard him say that his hair was actually black and not red.

But there were some strange names, unfitting really. [Can't stop twinkling] was one of them, but it seems that after talking to Aoyama, he was actually thinking about choosing between éclat and the phrase, he decided on choosing against it because his mother hated a French dessert that was similar sounding to the name.

A strange reason, éclat sounded great! But if his mother really hated it then …

And Mineta's [Grape Juice] … He didn't understand it at first, but Kacchan growls at him when he did show it, and later explained what it meant. He had to cover his face for a while trying to hide his embarrassment. It sounded childish at first, he really thought it was cute too, but it had to be perverted didn't it.

Then there was the most awkward and daunting name that no one could really react to. When Tenya went upstage, he showed his board and looked at everyone with determination in his eyes, even Ms. Midnight was too shocked to say anything.

[Ingenium]

"Are you sure about this, Iida-Kun?" Ms. Midnight finally says. Tenya nods with fortitude.

"My brother himself told me to take his name. I promised him that I will bring honor to the name, and to our family."

Izuku was glad that he was the last to submit the name, or else, the others after him would have been more subdued.

His own name was a given, he was always called by it to the point that it could be mistaken as his real name, and it meant so many things to so many people. He was [Deku], a name that was given to him as a mean insult at first, but was used fondly later. Ochaco even changed its meaning.

"You can do it!"

Wouldn't it be amazing? To always have that yelled at you in battle? That when people called for him, it was like them telling him that he can do it?

Because he can, no matter what happens, he will do it, the best he could. He would fight, protect and save!

Kacchan's name was ironically bestowed by Izuku. It did not mean that Kacchan would keep it, he would have surely choosen another name sooner or later, but till then …

"[Ka-boom]" It was in English and written inside a pop art explosive bubble that was usually seen in comic books. Kacchan's eye's twitched as he looks down at it, his gaze would slowly look up to glare vehemently at Izuku.

"No."

"But it fits you!"

"No. That's final."

"But this is the third time you're changing your name, at least pick something that will obviously be liked by Ms. Midnight." He later erased it, Izuku frowns at him. Kacchan would growl at him for a moment before writing a name down. Which was the exact same thing, only in Japanese. When he stood at the front, Izuku cheered.

"cute. Bakugou can actually come up with something nice." Tsuyu said out loud, which started another fight in class that had to be stopped by Aizawa-Sensei.

Since then, he talked a bit with Tenya and Ochaco, then stayed for a while with Kacchan before deciding to come up here to think through this. He only had two days to decide, and he was having a problem.

He knew most of these offers only came because of his insane amount of power. Unfortunately, he was afraid of going there if it meant he would work with civilians and they expect him to use that same skills. He might have had perfect control over his quirk when it includes day to day activity, but when it concerned his fighting skills, it was another matter entirely.

He still has perfect control, it just didn't have the perfect energy output that he would have liked. It was either all out, causing some damage to the environment around him, or so minuscule that it didn't matter.

After some discussion with his dad, and asking his mom for some words of wisdom, he knew figured that his current style was fine enough. Tricks, Kacchan would call it, but they were in his opinion a strategy that was overlooked. But a hero couldn't just form one strategy and use it all the time, they would become predictable then.

His choice matters, this could probably teach him how to use his quirk in a different and efficient way.

So, the only few he could choose were …

Izuku stops, staring at two names that he never thought would be there. Hands slightly shaking as he clutches onto the paper and floats up, heading to the door, slamming it behind.

0o0o0

Izuku is dead.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Just dead, he tells Ochaco to take his body and bury it next to his grandparent's, or simply give it to his mom, but it's better is she does the burial because mom will cry for all eternity.

All his time, deciding and factoring in so many details to choose the perfect place to conduct his internship, wasted.

Gran Torino has asked for an internship, and this one request beats out every request because no one wants to deny Grandpa Torino anything. Izuku must go to him next week. He must spend the next week in training in whatever Grandpa thinks is going to be good for him, and his head might be assaulted with a cane so much that he would be concussed by the time he comes back home.

Because no one says no to grandpa.

"Look on the bright side!" His dad told him, shaking in the knees and most definitely not looking at the bright side. "You won't have to face Nighteye!"

"Did you ask him to give me an offer?"

"No, no he did it in his own violation. I didn't even know about it tell now, but I guess this gives me the opportunity to go and have a talk with him. I've been trying to find a conversation started for a while."

"Dad! It's like the only friends you aren't awkward with is uncle Naomasa." His dad gives him a weathering smile. "Wait, are you serious?!"

"Sorry, Izuku my boy, your father is a pathetic old man."

"Dad!" He said in agony, he knew in a way that his parents were awkward, they took literal years to even start dating, but this is in a new level. "Just- Ugh, go talk to him. It felt like he's been trying to get close to me to talk to you."

"Sorry, Izuku, I should have done my job as a father and made sure things like this doesn't happen. I'll go to him after today, don't you worry!"

"By after today, do you mean after school or tomorrow?" Izuku says begrudgingly, his dad's smile turns into stone, inciting another cry of frustration from him. "After school, please."

"Yes. I will not fail, you know why?"

"Because you're supposed to be a responsible father figure who is a role model for his son."

"… You know, I hate it when you and your mother do that."

"Do what?"

"That final statement voice. You will go to the hospital. You will eat your food. You will not go outside wearing that." His dad complains, and Izuku couldn't help but want to roll his eyes. He sighs and looks his dad straight in the eye.

"You shouldn't go outside wearing that. A yellow striped suit, really dad? What are you, a parody of an American Mafia mobster."

"But it fits my hair …"

"It does, and that's probably why mom lets you wear it."

After a long discussion concerning hair, clothing, and what could be Grandpa Torino's study schedule for him, Izuku floats away to the teacher's lounge, looking dejected as he drops in his form. Todoroki was also there, his form was halfway given and looks confusedly at Izuku's choice of name.

Aizawa-Sensei stares at both their forms, raising a brow at the both of them.

"He is the number two hero, I shall learn what I can from him." Todoroki says, and that's when Izuku realized why Aizawa-Sensei was staring. The man's eyes then turn to him, waiting for his own explanation.

"He-He's my Grandfather, he'll kill me if I didn't accept."

"You two, including Bakugou, have the longest list of offers I've seen given to first years, and you waste it on your family relations. This class, I swear to God." The man grumbles as he pulls the forms. Izuku looks down at the floor, feeling the heat rising up his face and turned around to leave the teacher's lounge.

He hears footsteps behind him, and he looks to see Todoroki was following him.

"So … your father?"

"Yes."

"Cool, wait no- Not cool. I mean- these weren't puns, I swear." Izuku flusters, and Todoroki only stares at him blankly before looking to the side, ignoring him. Izuku sighs dejectedly and looks down as he directs himself to class.

What he didn't notice was that Todoroki looks away to hide a small chuckle. He never experienced someone sending a pun his way before.

"So, for a whole week. That got to be tough, are you really sure about that?"

"I will be in the public eye the whole time, if he does anything, it will go back to his reputation." Todoroki answers, leaving no more room for discussion. Izuku sighs, not feeling very happy with Todoroki's choice but unable to voice it, seeing as it is his choice after all.

When they reach class, they hear a commotion coming from the inside.

"This is uber cute." Was the words that the two heard as they step inside the classroom. Unlike what one would think those words would sound like, Jirou was the one to say it in an unfathomable voice. She was carrying something with her earlobe and had it hung in front of her face. After Izuku focuses on the object, he noted that it was a patterned food bag.

Kaminari, Tsuyu and Ochaco were in front of her desk, all looking intrigued at it.

"Oh my god, Jirou! You have an admirer!" Ochaco says, gushing out and holding her cheeks with her hands. Izuku had to stifle a laugh when he noted how the tips of her fingers don't exactly touch her face. He never thought about it before, but now he realized that even Ochaco must have at some point had bad control over her quirk.

"You got one too, Uraraka."

"Yeah, but like, yours has a letter and everything. Mine is a bento box with burned eggs inside."

"Err- What's going on?" Izuku asks when he comes in, they all look up, and Ochaco squeels at him.

"Deku! You've got a bunch of gifts as well."

"Excuse me?" Izuku asks, his mind spinning a bit. His eyes turn to the side to spot his desk, and like Ochaco said, his desk was filled with goodie bags and some letters. "W-Why?"

"Why, he asks." Kaminari mutters. "He should be happy that he has some admirers, instead, he says why? It's not like the whole school kind of saw how nice he acted, or anything, that he wasn't quite a jerk like Bakugou and Todorki. Nope, totally oblivious." Izuku felt his body stiff a bit at the teen's complaining, the feeling of dejection slowly drifting at them. He spots Todoroki moving away from him and towards his own desk, which was coincidentally filled with letters as well, giving Kaminari a weak argument to use.

"Um … If- If you really want some, you-you can have some of my treats Kaminari."

Kaminari stops muttering, he quickly looks up and locks onto him, something starts twinkling in them. His mouth opens, then closes, only to open again, gaping at him. Izuku couldn't help but feel like he has done another mistake.

This was all stopped by Jirou hitting him in the back of the head.

"Don't just sit there, thank him you big goof." She reprimands him, and that was all it took for Kaminari to burst out crying at Izuku, garbling incomprehensible words as he holds onto his school blazer.

"You are a saint, an honest to god saint. What did we ever do to deserve you, our angel, our pure divine floating ball of fluff, the one and true honest man in our class! Never had I ever been given such a gift with no regards of themselves. From a creature of light, a blissful angel that has come to lessen the burdens of this poorly treated soul such as I. NO! Not an angel, but a cherub!" He cries out, rubbing his face at his clothes. Izuku slowly glances at his friends before looking down with a frozen expression on his face. Everyone else present in the class was wearing confused faces, trying to comprehend what's going on.

Izuku himself did not know why Kaminari was suddenly so happy. But it might be because he didn't receive any treats?

"What-" A dark and wrath filled voice interjects behind him. Ire slowly seeps out, contaminating the entry way to the classroom. "The FUCK is going on here."

That was a demand from Kacchan.

0o0o0

"Kaminari sure has a way of expressing himself. You'd think that Tenya was talking." Izuku hums, trying another piece of chocolate and giving another one to Kacchan. His best friend didn't receive any, but that wasn't a real surprise. Usually, he gains some admirers by the second semester, seeing how hostile he acts around everyone at the beginning.

Kacchan takes the piece of chocolate and rips at the poor tiny thing.

"The guy is a dumb idiot when it comes to everything else. His marks are all 80s and 70s in everything but Japanese and English. It's like his head is built up for language and nothing else."

"How do you know that? Did he tell you?"

"He doesn't need to." Kacchan grumbles. "If you sneak a peek in his desk, you'll find at least 4 books. Hardhead says he reads during class. Who fucking reads instead of sleeping."

"I think that's productive. Sero draws, and he doesn't draw anything interesting either, it's all doodles." Izuku says, laughing at the memory of a doodle Sero once made of one of the older vintage heroes, a vigilante swinging by the buildings. Sero must look up to him since they both have similar quirks.

"Earlobes listens to music when she thinks no one's noticing. All the damn time, her ears just reach out to her bag and I swear, I hear the music."

"That's expected from her."

"She hums. It's annoying!" Kacchan explodes, snatching another piece of chocolate before gobbling it in anger. "Whenever we have to solve something, she just freaking hums. Solve a question, read a paragraph, write a description, and listen to the freaking humming in the background."

"Kacchan, you're just hyper aware of everything around you."

0o0o0

The second day of training and Izuku will simply drop his body to the ground.

Kacchan is with Best Jeanist, he must be experiencing something exciting. Todoroki would definitely experience something exciting. Tsuyu's out by the sea with a patrol ship. Ochaco's probably learning new moves from Gun Head, and while he was concerned for Iida, he was sure that walking through the streets would calm him a bit.

Izuku, on the other hand?

"That's why we do not cross over the Dead Sea's boundaries. Do not let that oven slip." Izuku was learning about hero politics with a dash of history as he strengthens his endurance and power usage. Of course, Grandpa Torino would notice his problems and decide to help him through the crudest way possible.

He has been floating everything up as he went through his lectures while holding up a barrier at the same time for two days. Two incessant days of droning about things that he already knew!

"What is the most volatile area a quirk user could be crossing over?"

"Turkey?"

"Is that a question I hear?"

"No! I mean, Turkey!"

"Wrong." Torino hits his head, the microwave almost drops if it weren't for the sharp reminder that came from his Grandpa. "Unlike most countries the middle east, Turkey has an extensive amount of laws concerning foreign quirk users but does not prohibit them from entering. Mutant type quirk users are exempt from most of the laws." His grandfather says, and Izuku slumps over his desk in dejection. Maybe he wasn't as well versed in Quirk politics as he thought he was.

"This is getting us nowhere. You definitely have the power and control, it's your focus that's lacking." Grandpa sighs, waving him to the table. Izuku's dulled expression turns into a massive grin as he flies up to the chair after almost dropping the oven, ready to eat. "Maybe you aren't having the right motivation."

Izuku was pretty sure that he has the perfect motivation to guide him through everything.

First of all, he wants to make his mom proud and wants her to stop worrying whenever he was out of her sight. A guilt festered inside him as he remembers his childhood days that were always happy and warm in memory, but if looked onto closely, he would notice the dangling fear that hangs up above his mom's head. Whether the fear was towards him or for him, that was debatable, as he once heard his mom admit how much he reminded him of his biological father.

Secondly, he wants to make his dad proud. Simple as that. He always looked up to All Might and always loved Yagi Toshinori's company as well as Uncle Naomasa's. The man has inspired him to do his best since childhood, and never billeted him for his dreams. To find out that Yagi Toshinori would be his dad, and at the same time, he was All Might, made his day. But that happiness was also marred with the fact that his dad was getting weaker by the day, that his search for a successor in every department in UA tires him out, and that couldn't be the successor that has wanted because of his handicap only made him a bit more bitter.

Lastly, he wants to prove himself to Kacchan.

Izuku felt his face and the tips of his ears slowly burning, embarrassment and a feeling coiling in his stomach were the causing factors. Kacchan was … He was everything to Izuku. He helped him, cared for others, saved him, and he wants to be just like him, to be us inspiring and heroic as his blond friend. He wants Kacchan to look at him and see-

A finger snapped in front of his face.

"You little brat, did you even listen?!"

"Sorry!"

And to Izuku's misfortune, he ends up tagging with his grandfather around the neighborhood, helping the man with his grocery by carrying them all with his quirk. He loses count on how many times an elderly person stops them to chat with Grandpa and then, quite promptly, pinch his cheeks.

He'll receive red cheeks by the end of the week, and Izuku cries at that thought.

He doesn't want to look like a Christmas themed hero.

If Kacchan was here, he'd say that he already is one with how much he gets injured and bleed around.

He misses Kacchan.

"Alright, I see you suffering enough. How about we go out to the city later?"

"City …?"

"Tokyo, most likely. You're probably the type to receive insight while in action, or a Eureka moment would pop out for you while walking."

The training didn't stop. Instead, Grandpa Torino started to widen his range as well, and Izuku was slowly losing his mind. The man would choose the most random and minuscule item to left. Izuku had to focus by looking at it from afar, the only thing he learned through this training was that he might need glasses, a very frightening thought.

He has seen how many times Tenya broke off his, he already has trouble enough keeping his wheelchairs and braces, a tiny weak frame will not survive a week with him.

"That one." Grandpa said, pointing far away at a train conductor's hat. Izuku squints at it, then slowly turned at his grandpa with a deadpanned look.

"What did he ever do to me so that I can annoy him?"

"At least you're a bit righteous." Grandpa hums to himself, Izuku splutters a bit, feeling exasperated at the man. What was the deal with pro heroes and their love for tricking younger people?

The moment they sat down the train, Izuku finally, and truthfully, gives up. He turns to the older man and gives him a tired expression.

"You don't honestly think that I'll be able to improve my quirk."

"You can if you believe in yourself." The man says. Izuku's shoulders sag down.

The train ride starts.

"You can improve, Izuku. Your quirk has that advantage for you. The problem here is that you let your emotions get a hold of you and your quirk. You should be able to access that much amount of power with no problems, instead, you let fear roll you over."

"I-I don't let my fears control me." Izuku mumbles, but the older man sends him an unimpressed look.

"I spent the first two days getting you used to the idea of using your quirk around civilians so that we can start the real improvement."

Izuku blinks, surprise coloring his face as he realized that, yes, Grandpa Torino really was doing that without him noticing.

How did that pass him by without realizing it?

"The first day was a constant use around me. Your brain still works in the vain that I'm a civilian. So, I had to break off the habit of you. You already do it with you constantly flying around, and helping around the house, but you need to use it in different situations. When we left and walked around town, it was just us slowly expanding your comfort zone. After you use your quirk on some thieves and criminals tonight, I'll have to start fighting you to see if there's any change in style. "

"You're treating me like I'm a kid who just got his quirk."

"Bingo." The man says, smirking with obvious satisfaction. Izuku felt a stab go through his pride.

"Don't worry kid. Quirks like yours have been around me all the time back in the day. When I was your age too. People with absolutely no control freak out and cause a disaster when they were in emotional turmoil. It had to be us heroes who were called to the scene to resolve it, and back then ..." The man stops, looking away as if remembering something painful. "Back then, tolerance for quirks weren't as high. The percentage of people with quirks equaled the ones without them, and we were having apposition since most in power didn't have quirks."

"Were you treated badly?"

"Not as bad as others. My quirk isn't the mutant type, although my hair was silver even back then, I was treated more as a delinquent. The people with mutation type quirks were the real unfortunate souls. Always mistreated, and never received their rights. Some mutant carrying quirk users are still in that sort of place."

"… Is that why you wanted to be a hero?"

"Hmm," Grandpa gives him a tired smile. "No. Disappointing, I know. Me wanting to be a hero only came to light when a Tsunami hit Japan, there was a level 9 earthquake too. Came as a surprise since I was reading Manga late at night with no TV on." Izuku's eyes open wide in surprise. Unless it was caused by a villain, there hasn't been an earthquake like that in Japan for a long time now. "Anyways, there was a particular man, another source quirk holder-"

"Grandpa used to read Manga?" Izuku asks, bewildered, only comprehending what his grandfather said completely then.

A sharp hit to the hit was the reason small yelp to escape him.

"What's with that look! I don't read those Shonen Manga you kids like nowadays! The sort of manga I used to read were simple and funny, not these complex stories with complicated shaded drawings."

"That's called gag manga."

Another hit to the head, and Izuku shuts up as he winces, and grabs hold onto his head.

"Where was I, oh yes, another source quirk holder. His quirk was the accumulation of kinetic energy …"

0o0o0

"Please, please," The man begs, looks at them with a wide fearful eye, his other eye covered by long curly and untamed white strands, as if he spent years without combing them. "You can't take me to prison. I'll kill them, please."

"Sorry, Quantum, but your days of villainy had finally ended." A hero says, and Gran Torino frowns at the sight of the scared man. He was young, in his early 20s, and seemed to have stayed years in the wild to survive away from civilization. The only reason that they even found him was because of his recent explosion.

"You can't. Please, you have to listen to me. I can't go near anyone, I'll kill them."

"Like how you killed everyone in your school."

"No, please, please, listen!" A very deep hurt seeped into his words, but it seems everyone else was ignoring it. His eyes turned to him, begging him to understand.

But Gran Torino was young and foolish back then. The man has already killed a whole school, all filled with his year mates and teachers. Not a sign was left but a hole in the ground and a teen in the middle of it. He thought back then that this man, Quantum, was evil, and a villain.

He didn't resist arrest. He follows them as he begs them to listen, but no one did.

By the time he was put behind the two-way mirror, saddled down with quirk repression cuffs, the police officers were having an argument. The medical statements made no sense.

This man still had his toe joint.

"Still didn't pick up on the evolution, huh."

"This is a problem, could he be the last remnant of the last generation? People with pesky and untamable quirks?"

"If that's true, then he needs to be put in therapy instead. He was listed as quirkless up until his freshman year. It must have come as a shock to him as well."

"You're not seriously contemplating putting a criminal, no, a terrorist, in therapy. He killed a school filled children."

"He was a child as well, it could be the equivalent of a four year old accidentally activating his quirk for the first time.."

"Are you even listening to yourselves?! That is a killer. He does not deserve any sort of mercy from us."

The day of the trial, Torino was asked to escort him to court. Not once during the travel did he raise his head up, seemingly to have drowned himself in defeat. When they reached the court, the man finally looks up and stares Torino in the eyes.

"This won't end well."

"For you, then sure. But the rest of the country will surely be glad of getting rid of you." He replies back to him. The man's tired eyes crinkled a bit, a small smile on his lips.

"For anyone, this will not end well for anyone …"

0o0o0

Torino stares at Izuku, feeling his throat dry up before he could continue. Izuku was staring at him confused, so entranced with the story that his sudden pause of the ending must have jarred him.

How can he say it?

How can he tell him, his honorary grandson, that he was a monumental reason for another disaster?

Source quirk holders by his time were rare, any information concerning them is locked away into a country's archives, trying to forget a long forgotten history of a crumbling society that depended on people with such powers to fight for them.

But these people were always ruled by their emotions. It takes a long time for them to learn how to control it, and he was surprised that Izuku even has this much hold over his own quirk. Not when Source quirk holders usually receive them when they are older, when at least two decades of their lives were wasted and they were suddenly pushed out into the open with devastating and powerful abilities.

That man, Quantum … he was holding it all in, trying his best not to let his quirk overtake him.

He couldn't.

The events were too much for him, from every direction there was an onslaught, and he had no one to help him.

His quirk only activated because he was bullied, and the quirk worked on its own to protect him. If he only had someone with him …

He was glad, just glad that Izuku has such a loving and supportive family. Or else, he shudders to think of a world where a rampant and anger filled child or man would be like. To let the loathing burn in his heart and his emotions control his abilities.

A world where gravity itself was mute, and physics controlled under a child's own hands.

Instead, Izuku …

"He died at the end."

"He received a death sentence? Isn't that rare?"

"No … no, he was put in an isolation ward, a prototype of the current jailing system. It didn't end well."

"..."

"Humans could be cruel at times, Izuku, and incredibly selfish. If someone asks to listen, please do. It could change everything." He tells him, a small piece of wisdom that he is willing to bestow.

"… Alright." The teen says, he nods and smiles at him. Torino smiles back, but on the inside, he holds a promise.

He will never let Toshinori's kid go through what Quantum went. Not the isolation, not the ridicule, not the fear and sadness. Izuku will always have a place to go back to and someone to lean on.

"Hey, grandpa, do you have a messaging app?" Izuku suddenly asks, pulling out his phone to show him said app. "We can add each other! Dad always calls you up, doesn't that eat your phone bills?"

"And let myself get eaten up by the internet bills instead?!"

"I'm just asking." The teen complains, pulling back his phone to check the screen. He tsks at the behavior.

"You millennials, always on your phone, even when someone is sitting next to you."

"Come on grandpa, it's cheaper to talk through an app than a phone. And like, it has a news too!" He says, typing something on the phone. Looking at it for a split second, he reads the name Tenya on the screen. "And there are games. Mom knows lots of games that you might like, all the adults always love playing same puzzle games-" He hits the teen in the head, Izuku yelps in response, dropping his phone.

"Did you just mock my age!"

"You read gag manga?! I bet it's one of those really old obscure ones that just relies on stupid hand movements."

"Those are the fine arts you brat!"

Somewhere, near them at least, they heard laughter.

"Look, an old and a young hero. Isn't that kind of cute? It must be that time of the month with the internships."

"Oh, isn't he the second winner of the sport's festival?"

"You're joking, oh my god! It's the powerful kid that lifted up the stadium!"

Right. Not now, he was a professional, he shouldn't be acting so familial while on the job and Izuku should be working on his quirk.

"Brat, recite to me the laws pertaining vigilantism while," He takes out two pieces of gums. Izuku squints at it, his eyes trailing at him before looking back at the gum with suspicion. "Writing them on air with the gum."

He opens one and eats it in front of the teen, Izuku gapes at him.

"Minty fresh."

"Grandpa, you have got to be- You know what, never mind, alright." He starts reciting the laws glumly, the gum now moving like it was a pencil in mid-air. Torino mentally grins as he chews his own gum. He noticed the slow and stilted movement of the sugary treat and sighs.

"How many times do I have to say this, don't visualize it, let it move by it's own."

"I have to visualize it, that's how I use my quirk."

"Do you visualize your own hands as you write?"

"Eh …" Izuku stares blankly at him, and not a second later, realization sprouts in his eyes. Torino would remember this moment as the first he ever witnessed the acclaimed 'lighting a light bulb on top of your head' moment he always sees on tv.

"Eh- EH!"

"You don't. You don't visualize yourself moving, you just do. You don't visualize yourself picking anything with your quirk, you don't formulate your words unless you sing, you just do. It's instinctive. And like a singer, you will have to practice it until it comes out naturally without the need to formulate it."

"This whole time. No way …" Izuku was slowly divulging himself into a mess, holding his face in panic as the idea just suddenly clicked in his mind. "Even mom told me that!"

"You really are an idiot." Torino facepalms, Izuku just looks down as he slowly shakes his head and starts muttering in that odd scary low voice of his.

0o0o0

He stares faraway, at the fading lights of the sunset as it shines a bright golden color behind the city skyline. His helmet obscured no view, letting him enjoy the full range with a slight discoloration on the edge.

A man walks in front of him, talking to him in a kind and slightly worrying voice. He was giving him another drill story of when he was in the army.

When one looks at Manual, one would think of him only as an ordinary guy. An average hero among the assortments of Japan's hero scene. He wasn't bad, in fact, he was good, but in their landscape, heroes needed to be amazing, and not just good.

Yet, he can see him as a diligent and hard-working man, law-abiding and ready to protect anyone in danger.

Tenya would have looked up to a man like him, greet him and call his name in enthusiasm, if it weren't for the fact that Manual has discouraged him from seeking out the hero killer. Manual did not mean anything by it, he only looked after his health and well being, but Tenya still couldn't help but hate him for what he has told him.

Tensei was in a hospital bed, close by to him for when he finishes his routine. He would take off his hero uniform and run off to him, and he might spend the night with him in the hospital room. Manual didn't begrudge him that, he lets him go even though he was obligated to keep Tenya in the quarters that the agency was supposed to provide.

He has accepted his less than stellar attitude for three days now, and even though Tenya should be grateful for a man like him, he unexplainably hates him.

His feelings of hate that were directed at the hero killer was somehow splintering off slowly and redirected itself to a man like Manual, and Tenya did not like it. He detests this feelings, and he knows that the only way to dispose of these feelings was to get him.

Hero Killer Stain.

Try as Manual might, but Iida knows that the villain will come back.

He has studied him ever since his brother got injured. As every other psychopathic serial killer, Stain has a pattern with a motive. His targets always consisted of heroes, though which type of hero was inconsistent. He always heavily injured at least four victims before jumping into the next town or city.

And in Hosu, the only injured person was none other than his brother.

Stain will come back, and he will finish the job. This was an edge Tenya will not let pass by.

He felt his phone vibrate, and he pulls it out, expecting his mother messaging him.

Instead, he finds Izuku's icon on screen.

[Izuku: I'll be passing near Hosu! Who knows, maybe I'll spot you in the streets with probably Manual, since he's the only one with an agency there, so it's like his city. How are things going with you, Tenya?]

Tenya sucks in a deep breath and closes the phone.

He can't answer that now, not when he was angry. He wouldn't put it past his friend to know that something is wrong, and he was ever so thankful that he wasn't pushing him into telling the truth. Izuku was a more sensitive type of person as well, and he would feel morally obligated to come by sparing just to see to his safety.

It would be shameful to have Izuku see him as he is now.

0o0o0

Shoto was following his father for the third day now, trying to catch the hero killer.

It was a surreal experience for him, in all honesty.

He has spent his whole childhood hating the man and trying his best to defy him in the smallest way possible without aggravating him, and now, he finds himself walking behind him, following his every footstep.

He hates it.

But he has no other choice.

By this point, his father is nothing more than an asset to him. He was an encyclopedia of how the hero system works. After the loss in the sport's festival, his interactions with the man has become flinty and filled with apprehension. He always second guessed how the man would say, and the only respite he received was visiting his mother for the first time since her admittance to the hospital.

It was obvious that his father wants to lash out, to scold him and to admonish him of his weakness, but he has become tongue tied, meaning that a serious matter has occurred, and the only logical reason would be his attention on the hero killer. If it weren't for that, Shoto would not delude himself into thinking that his father wouldn't beat him relentlessly in matches and disguise it as training.

Not even reaching the top 3 of the festival …

But he will abide.

Summer would be soon, and he would use up all his free time till then, to garner as much freedom as he could.

This was only a small price to pay, to receive top tier information, training, experience, and possibly lessen any hostility the man would still hold in his heart till summer.

He looks at the setting sun. The sky was now colored red, and he couldn't help but feel something ominous was about to occur.

Especially with the way the sky seems to bleed.

0o0o0

[Izuku: Grandpa said that fighting at night would be more interesting than at day.]

[Katsuki: You shitting me?! I'm in the fourth top hero's agency and all I did with him was walk around the streets to learn popularity of all things. This place sucks.]

[Izuku: Come on Kacchan, maybe he's just easing you into it. It's the third day after all.]

[Katsuki: It's the third day, and you're already out at night fighting villains.]

[Izuku: Technically, it isn't the night yet. It's evening.]

[Katsuki: Izuchan, not to call you dumb or anything, but you're dumb. This internship is a week, and I've already wasted three days.]

He looks up for a moment and grimaced before texting more.

[Katsuki: Now, I'm sleeping next to this weird guy who thinks that 80s delinquent hair is stylish. This is fashion, Izuchan, FASHION.]

[Katsuki: (Picture of a drooling man with a pompadour and a crop top).]

[Katsuki: FASHION.]

[Izuku: (⋟﹏⋞) (⋟﹏⋞) (⋟﹏⋞) so mean, Kacchan! I'm not dumb. Maybe it's his aesthetic.]

Katsuki snorts outloud.

"Aesthetic my ass." He mumbles to himself as he turns himself away from the snoring man and continues to text to his friend.

[Katsuki: Beast jeanist is such a letdown. He's all skills, and strategy, but he isn't trying to teach me any of it. Everyone else here wears some ridiculous thing too. The only people I've seen who actually look good is this lady with those belts that loops over your shoulders, but she's wearing a fedora, so no.]

[Izuku: It's called suspenders, Kacchan, I use wear them when we were kids, remember. And what's wrong with a fedora?]

[Katsuki: She's trying too hard. What's the point of the fedora? Does it have face concealing technology? No, it's a normal fedora. She's just wearing it because it looks nice.]

[Izuku: Aesthetic.]

[Katsuki: NO. NO NO NO NO AND FUCKING NO. During battle it'll only fly off unless she tightens it so much that it causes headaches. If she uses it for stealth, it'll only attract attention, because who the fuck wears fucking fedora in Japan?! WHAT IS THE POINT?!]

[Izuku: Uncle Naomasa wears a fedora!]

"Hey, rookie, close off that phone, you have a busy day tomorrow." Someone calls out on him, and Katsuki grumbles before texting the last message to him.

[Katsuki: He's a detective, only they can wear fedoras.]

[Katsuki: Goodnight, don't let any crook get you, I know your gramps will be the one hurting you if that happens.]

[Izuku: (￣□￣;)]

[Izuku: Don't be such a meanie! I can take care of myself, don't scare me like that! Grandpa's hits are so hard too. It's like an omen waiting to happen.]

Katsuki snorts at the emoticon before closing the phone and turning again.

He still couldn't shake off the bad feeling that was coming to him now.

0o0o0

Izuku closes his phone and stares at the chair at the window next to him. Talking to Kacchan might have eased up his mind a bit, but something has been encompassing his mind tonight. It was a strange, sickening feeling that has been filling him with dread for days now.

He doesn't remember when it started, but it has been in the back of his mind as he trained, and with nothing to currently do, it was at the forefront of his thoughts.

Like a heavy murky fog, trying to warn him as it obscured his thoughts.

That's when he heard someone gasp.

"That building just exploded!"

"Where? Where?" A lady replies, Izuku floats up slightly to spy over his chair as his grandpa leans over.

"What's going on this time?" Grandpa complains.

"You're right! There's smoke everywhere!"

"Is it a fire?" Izuku asks, feeling nausea slowly come up. Their heads look up as an announcement was heard, telling to hold onto the seats-

A loud crash was heard, a tremor was felt across the train, the passengers screamed, and a second later, a gaping hole on the side appeared with a bleeding hero trying to stand up in front of it.

"Back away-" But before the hero could finish his words, his head was stomped down by a greenish monstrous foot. Izuku's eyes widen as the aura that he has been feeling for days now suddenly hits him full force in the guts. He trails the foot slowly and looks upwards to find the head attached to it.

He sees an exposed brain and protruding lifeless eyes.

An inhuman screech came out of it.

Izuku was sure that the sound wasn't from the mouth.

"Nomu!" He warns. In a split second, his grandfather crouches down and starts up his quirk.

"Izuku, barrier!" He screams, jumping up at the side of the train then bounces off, hitting the creature's head in full force. Izuku immediately lefts up the barrier, splitting the passengers away from Numor and his grandpa.

"Grandpa!" He screams when the man jumps off of the creature, hitting his own barrier, and bounces off of it to hit back at Numo, pushing him out of the hole that it created. Izuku flies up at the hole, holding onto the shredded sides trying to outreach the older man with his quirk.

"GRANDPA!"

But the train moved too fast, his grandfather disappeared faraway with Numo among the city's skyline, and the scene he finds only makes his heart drop.

The city was burning.

AN: -

Yes, the old villain was inspired by Nitro from the Wolverine and the X-Men. I'll always remember him trying to get away to stop hurting others. Too bad his comic character is just purely evil.

In my headcanon, Gran Torino was a teenager during an earthquake just like the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Because it affected Japan at large, the rate of crimes raised. This led to the acceptance of more heroes and quirks to society.

- This will be an apology -

So … it has been a really long time … *checks date* a four-month long hiatus.

I'm sorry.

I didn't want to update only to say that I'll be on a hiatus, but in hindsight, I realized that I could have updated the summary instead of a chapter. (இ﹏இ`｡) A lot of things happened, but the main reason I didn't post is because of finals and the fact that I was in a car accident.

Whelp, Didn't Expect That Did You!

Sorry, it's just been hectic since then. Nothing bad happened to me, honestly. My car got scrapped on the right side and the radiator was busted, but nothing bad happened to me. I did need to go to the hospital/clinic at least six times by now. That's excluding my brother's own hospital visits. I had to be with him every visit, eating my time. He had a bleeding in the sclera, so when it happened, I looked up and screamed bloody murder.

It was not a fun time.

I was a wreck at the hospital.

In other news, I ordered a butterfly comb, and in the very next day, I received a butterfly knife training tool instead. Basically, a butterfly knife, only with a really blunt edge. How? I don't know, but I find it amusing, and it's a lot more expensive than the comb, so I'm keeping it. It's Benchmade too, so I know it's of the better quality.

I feel like Spy from team fortress!