The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom, Aizawa had just informed the class about the internships. Following the events of the sports festival, most of the students had a decent amount of offers. Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya had the most out of the rest given their ranking and the power they displayed in the battles.

However, what caught Izuku off guard was what All Might asked him to choose. All Might have stopped him on his way out of class and told him about a particular offer that he had. Gran Torino, a retired pro hero, and All Might's own teacher. No pressure.

The day passed in an ordinary matter, Izuku spent his lunch break with Uraraka and Iida. Uraraka kept glancing at Iida through it all with a somewhat concerned gaze. It felt as though she wanted to say something but didn't know what.

Later, when Izuku asked her about it she informed him that Iida too had withdrawn from the tournament. His brother, the pro Hero Ingenium, has been attacked by the hero killer. Of course, Izuku had seen the news. He'd known about the villain. Stain, the hero killer has killed many heroes in cold blood in the past months. To find out that Iida's own brother was attacked was shocking. Ingenium barely survived the assault. The hero ended up paralyzed from the waist down. Worry gnawed at Izuku's inside, his friend was in pain and he couldn't do anything about it. No wonder Iida was acting off. The only thing Izuku could do now, was being there for his friend.

____________________________________________

The day of the internships arrived at last, and Aizawa took the Class 1-A students to the train station to send them off.
"Remember not to put on your costumes unless you're accompanied by a hero," Aizawa told them; The man had made sure Izuku had everything he needed, also giving him his number in case he needed anything at all.

'Call me anytime you need kid, okay? Even if it's just to talk and if you feel like it's too much, call me and I'll come to pick you up.' Aizawa had urged back at the apartment, his eyes held a seriousness that made Izuku tear up.

"Yessir!" chimed Mina happily. She looked way too excited about all this.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then," Aizawa said, already turning and heading off. "Good luck."

Izuku took in a deep breath, then let it out. He'd be meeting Gran Torino today, and to say he was nervous...well, it's an understatement. He was both nervous and excited in a terrifying sense. Mainly because he was about to meet the man that trained his Idol. The man that trained the symbol of peace.

The students waved at each other goodbye and soon enough, set off to catch their train.

Todoroki was already on the other side of the station, preparing to board. He met eyes with Izuku and nodded. Izuku, responded with a shy wave, Todoroki had yet to talk to him about well... everything. However, he seemed content with just knowing that he was okay.

Todoroki boarded his train, and Izuku spun around once again, ready to set off.

And then, Iida walked past him, head down, shoulders hunched.
Izuku paused, just for a moment -- and then, he grabbed his belongings and rushed forward, suitcase rolling behind him. Across from him, Ochako seemed to be thinking the same thing, and she, too, charged over.

"Iida! Wait up!" Ochako hollered; she had a duffel bag in one hand and the case of her hero costume in the other.

Iida stopped and turned; Ochako and Izuku both stopped just before him, both thinking the same thing.

"Are...are you really okay?" Ochako asked worriedly. "You've been avoiding us since...since..."
Since Iida's brother was hospitalized. That's what she meant but didn't have the heart to say.

"You know, we're here for you Iida if you need to talk. That's what friends are for, right?" Izuku chimed in a low voice.

Iida looked down for a moment. He seemed to be taking a deep breath before he raised his head. His eyes met there's head on, offering them a little smile. It seemed sad more than anything.

"Yes," Iida said. "Thank you, Midoriya. If I need someone to talk to, I'll let you know."
And Iida turned and started off again. Izuku and Ochako watched him go until he was swallowed up by the crowd.

"Well..." Ochako looked away. "I'm glad he's...he's okay, at least. If he needs someone to talk to, he'll come to us."

Izuku nodded, but he had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He'd seen that look before, he didn't want to think of what it meant.

_____________________________________________

Izuku looked down at the slip of paper he held between his fingers, this was supposed to be the right place. The building in front of him appeared to be old and run down. The structure didn't seem that stable, making Izuku doubt that anyone actually lived here.

Honestly, Izuku had no idea if this was the right place. Steeling himself, he took the case holding his Hero costume in one hand and headed up to the front door.

He hesitated for just a moment before knocking. The instant his knuckles made contact with the wooden door, it creaked open, letting some light into the room before him.

Izuku swallowed thickly, this whole situation reminded him of a cliché horror movie where the protagonist would die a slow agonizing death as soon as he stepped into the mysterious house.

He stood there for a long, long moment, thinking it over. Maybe, he should just go in and announce his presence. Gran Torino surely must know that he's coming right?

Summoning what courage, he could, he pushed the door open and peered inside.

The interior of the house looked just as bad as the exterior, if not worse. The main room was completely dark; the only light at all was that of the sunlight streaming through the open door.

Izuku didn't know how someone, let alone a pro-hero could live here.

His thought was halted as soon as he looked down to the floor. There, lying face- down in a pool of a strange red liquid in front of him was an unmoving figure. This must be Gran Torino he thought grimly.

Now, Izuku has seen enough blood in his lifetime to know that this wasn't the case. The liquid seemed thick and the smell- Was that ketchup? He crouched down in front of the figure and slowly pocked the man's cheek.

"You know that won't work right? At least make it more convincing next time." Izuku said while giving his best Aizawa impression. If his teacher was here he'd be proud of the way Izuku's voice came out as monotone and uncaring.

The man on the floor huffed and got up, his features twisted in slight disappointment but overall fascination.

"I'm impressed kid, you managed to see right through my prank. Although, I was looking forward to seeing you jump or something. Shame..." He muttered that last part as he cleaned the Ketchup from the floor.

Suddenly, Gran Torino seemed to freeze in place, his eyes ever so slowly going up to meet his.
"Wait, who are you?"

"Ah- I'm Midoriya Izuku from the hero course in U.A."

After a moment, Gran Torino still looked puzzled.

"Well, that's wonderful," Gran Torino said, "but who are you?"

"Uhm... Izuku Midoriya sir." Izuku replayed calmly, maybe the man just didn't hear him.

Izuku, getting slightly irritated, tried to repeat his words but Gran beat him to it.

"Toshinori?" Gran Torino guessed, then smiled, like he was a genius.

Izuku gave him the most deadpan glare he could muster, making sure to not break eye contact as he thought of all the possible agencies he could have gone to. That would preferably not be with senile old men.

"You already have decent control over One for all right?" The man finally broke the silence, maybe he'd realized that whatever he was up to wasn't going to affect the boy

His statement, however, piqued Izuku's interest. Gran Torino wasn't looking at him anymore, but rather, at the silver briefcase containing Izuku's hero costume.

"Get suited up," Gran Torino told him. "I want to see how well you can handle your power so we know what we will have to work on."

Izuku blinked. The man in front of him went from incoherent old man to serious mentor in second. The change of behavior gave him whiplash.

"Sorry, but who are you again?" Or not...

Izuku was about to say something but suddenly, Gran Torino kicked off the ground, shot forward, and embedded his feet in the wall over the door. Izuku actually stumbled backward in shock, not expecting it.

"Wha- "

Gran Torino grinned at him, almost wickedly, he leaped off the wall and hit the ground, just in front of the door. He straightened up, met eyes with Izuku, and smirked.

"Fire up One For All," Gran Torino said, "...And fight me."

Izuku's eyes widened.

And then, recovering from his initial shock, he nodded.

Gran Torino gave him some time to put on his costume, which had been long-since repaired since the incident at the USJ. The support department had done wonders with his upgrades, he would have to thank Hatsume, the girl left a small note explaining the updates and such.
He finished putting on his gear and got up to join Gran Torino in the living room.

I'm ready. Let's do this.

_____________________________________________

He did not have this.

Gran Torino had literally wiped the floor with him. He'd barely seen him coming, the man moved in an unnaturally fast speed. One second, he was preparing to dodge an attack, the next he was sprawled face first on the floor, breathing heavily as he tried to regain some semblance of awareness.

"You got a good grasp of your power kid; however, we need to work on your reflexes and your fighting style. It's already well developed but we need to work harder for you to be able to handle the real world."

Izuku nodded his head as he slowly got up, his eyes shown with renowned determination as he prepared himself mentally for the rest of the training.

_____________________________________________

Torino spent the rest of the weekend training Midoriya, they went through many fighting techniques. Izuku's whole body ached with the strain of the past few days of training. At the end of each day, he'd feel like he was hit by a truck. However, with the strain came the satisfaction of actually doing something productive. A welcome distraction from the thoughts that constantly plagued his mind. His mother hadn't left his mind, his anxiousness acting up each time his mind reminded him that she was still out there and that she could still hurt him. He just needed everything to be over.

Torino must have caught onto his strange behavior because on the third night he decided to confront him about it.

They were just finished with some light sparring. Izuku was getting closer each time to beating the older hero, however, each time he'd get close to landing a hit or completing one of his plans he'd lose focus and end up right back where they started. At around 4 in the evening, Torino called for a break. He pulled up two chairs at the dinner table, gesturing for the teen to take up one of them.

With some hesitation, Izuku complied. Up until now, the two hadn't had a proper conversation outside of their training discussion and some pleasantries. So, to be called to sit down and to actually talk was strange, to say the least.

"You've been distracted boy. Now, All Might has informed me of your past-" Izuku's breath hitched. Did All Might tell him about his mom? "I Know you've gone through a lot kid, the things you've experienced are hard to forget, you won't actually. They will always be there, the memories and the hardships. However, your tough kid. You've survived hell and I can see that you're going to be a great hero." Did Torino really mean that? "But you've got to get out of your own head boy, distractions will only get you killed. Villains will take advantage of your weakness, they're going to take that second of hesitation and use it against you." Now, this Izuku knew, he needed to stop associating everything around him with his mother. He needed to get better, be stronger. He needed to work harder to become the hero he wants to be. The hero that saves people. The hero who never gives up.

Torino looked at Midoriya, witnessing how his expression changed from scared to a pure look of determination in just a few seconds.
You chose one hell of a successor Toshinori, I'll give you that.

_____________________________________________

The day passed, The resumed their training and Izuku was finally able to focus. That is until Torino said that they'd be going out for patrol tonight, their root would take them near Hosu city, where Iida would be interning. The blue haired teen had decided to take up his internship with the normal hero: Manual.

Despite having many offers to choose from, Iida decided to go with the hero that worked in Hosu. The city in which his brother was attacked by the hero killer. This didn't sit well in Izuku's mind. Maybe he'd get Gran to agree to check on his friend.

_____________________________________________

"You kids and your smartphones these days, I swear," Gran Torino sighed, crossing his arms; they'd boarded the bullet train a little over an hour ago and were speeding on. It was dark now, the lights of the city passing by outside the windows.
Izuku didn't respond, choosing to refresh his messenger once more. He'd sent Iida a message, informing him that he'd be nearby and asking if everything was okay with the taller boy.

The boy still hasn't responded, worry gnawed at Izuku's insides. He hoped his friend was okay.

He was about to text him again when the train jerked to a screeching halt.
Izuku found himself being nearly thrown out of his seat, only managing to stay in place thanks to the metal bar next to his seat.

A voice boomed over the intercom "We are experiencing an emergency stop. Please remain in your seats. We apologize for the inconvenience."

The voice had barely finished before a creature smashed through the wall of the bullet train.
Izuku put up his arms to shield himself. Dust, smoke, and debris went everywhere. Someone screamed, loud and long.

A large creature with long talons and an exposed brain.

Izuku was on his feet in an instant. His heart sprung into his throat. His eyes widened in realization. This was a Nomu, were the league attacking Hosu? Many unpleasant memories surged forwards, his hand instinctively reaching up to rub his throat. No! He had to stay focused, he couldn't let the memories take over.

"Stay here, kid!" Gran Torino demanded as he launched himself at the creature. In seconds, they had both disappeared out the blown-out wall of the train.

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts and charged over, standing and looking out of the gaping wall. He saw Gran Torino ram the Nomu into a building; and then, they disappeared with an explosion and a cloud of smoke.
Izuku gritted his teeth, he didn't want to disobey his mentor but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

Without thinking, and without heeding Gran Torino's words, Izuku lept from the gaping hole in the side of the train, into the city. Many people called out to him, screaming at him to stay there but he didn't listen.

He landed on the rooftop of a nearby building, channeling One for All throughout his entire body, he ran. If he could help people, he would.

The city was in flames, he could see smoke from a short distant, hear the shouts and the screaming.

He got down from the roof and saw the groups of running civilians, all of them running away from something. Aizawa and Torino would later shew him out for it but Izuku could never turn away from danger, not when it meant turning away from people he could save.

He ran in the opposite direction of the civilians, towards the heart of the fight.

Two figures rushed passed him and it took him a second to realize that this was another Nomu. Did the league make more than one? The monster was currently fighting one of Hosu's heroes.

The hero was handling the situation so Izuku decided it would be smarter to look for something he'd be suited for.

He heard someone shouting and his mind caught onto a familiar name.

"Tenya! Tenya, where are you!?"

Izuku whirled around; one of the pros was yelling for Iida.

Izuku recognized him instantly, this was the hero Iida was interning with. Iida was nowhere to be found and Izuku found this especially strange. Iida would never run away when people needed him, why wasn't he here? Helping his mentor?

Then, Izuku froze. His train of thought screeched to a halt; his blood ran cold; his heart pounded viciously against his chest.

Did- Did Iida choose Hosu to find the hero killer? Did Iida think he could take the vigilante on? Avenge his brother?

How could he be so stupid! How could he have not seen the signs! Iida has been closed off for some time now, that loo in his eyes that day, that look wasn't sadness as Izuku initial thought it was. It was a look he'd seen on his mother' feature countless times. Izuku thought it was sadness but no. It was a look of pure anger, a look that demanded revenge. He spun around and charged in the opposite direction.

One For All burned through his veins as he hoped he'd find Iida before his friend did something he'd later regret.

From what he'd seen in the news, the hero killer's victims were all found in secluded alleys, maybe that's where he'd look first.

He needed to find Iida, he needed to make sure he was okay.

That thought burned through him as he ran faster and faster.

His blood went cold when he heard something from the alley in front of him, a low voice, threatening and imposing. He turned the corner.

There, on the ground, in a pool of his own blood was Iida. The hero killer was standing over him, sword raised in the air ready to strike the teen.

His legs moved before his mind could catch up. His only need at the moment was the need to act. To save. He charged forwards, feet kicking off the ground as he leaped at the vigilante.

At that moment, Izuku didn't care if what he was doing was reckless. The only thing on his mind right now was his friend. He knew winning this on his own would be impossible, the hero killer had killed Pro heroes, with more power and experience than some first-year student.

He didn't care though. His friend came first.

Pulling his fist back, he powered One for all and hit the hero killer in the face.

The hit sent the man a couple of feet back. Having been caught off guard he didn't have time to react. However, now that he knew of Izuku's presence. He won't get lucky another time.

Izuku calmed his nerves and tried to look as threatening as he could. Straightening up his posture, positioning himself directly between his friend and the vigilante. He looked at the man head-on, his eyes never leaving the others as he addressed his friend.

Iida was breathing heavily, the sound music to Izuku's ears. Proof that his friend was alive. That his friend was okay, as okay as he could be at least.

"Don't worry Iida. I'm going to save you"