"Is Togata not here today?" Izuku asked on the third day of internship week when he arrived.
"Nope, he's busy with school work," Bubble Girl replied, "I think he mentioned that finals were coming soon. But anyway, what do you think about the internship? Is it fun at a hero's workplace?"
"Yeah, I've learned a lot."
"That's great. How's the new case going for you?"
Izuku squinted, "What new case?"
"You know, the quirk-destroying bullet case?"
Izuku did a double take, then felt his heartbeat quicken, "I'm... Not really familiar with it yet...?"
What the hell did Sir Nighteye tell his sidekick?! How am I supposed to respond to that?!
"Oh," she looked surprised, "He seemed really set on letting you help us out with this case, so I assumed that he already got you started with it. Well, anyway, we're investigating this underground organization right now. Since you're here the entire week, you can help us organize some documents."
"Oh, ok," Izuku breathed. It looked like he was just being treated as an intern helping out with miscellaneous agency tasks. "I'll... go talk to Sir."
He burst into Nighteye's room, then closed the door.
"I thought you didn't mention my involvement!" Izuku's remaining panic leaked through his voice.
"I didn't," the hero sipped from his coffee, "I asked them to involve you. Makes it more realistic, don't you think? You're gonna be there for the rescue anyway, assuming that you get your license. May as well start making your participation normal now."
Izuku sighed but nodded in agreement.
"Plus..." Nighteye added with no expression whatsoever, "It's funny seeing you pretend not to know anything."
Izuku almost rolled his eyes. He wasn't worried about exposing his time travel since he was pretty good at hiding that now, but it was still annoying. "I wouldn't say it's funny..."
Suddenly, Nighteye's face darkened. "Are you saying you have no sense of humor?"
"No! Uh, it's hilarious! Ha! Ha!"
"Your lack of humor is incurable," the hero's gaze remained cold, "Just go along with the sidekicks and help them with small tasks since you'll be here for workplace training anyway. You can start this afternoon."
Izuku suddenly fell quiet.
"What?" Nighteye asked.
"About that..." Izuku knew Nighteye was strict, but still -- it felt wrong not to tell him. "I'm probably going to Hosu this afternoon, and if things go bad, I might miss the rest of the week."
"Hosu? Is this another meager attempt at humor?"
"It's very likely that the Hero Killer will be there this evening," Izuku blurted, afraid to look up. Just two days ago, Nighteye had given him a lecture on the consequences of not having a hero license. But Izuku needed to go, because... "My friend will be there, too."
"You're actually serious," Sir Nighteye sighed. "So I'm guessing that even if I tell you that both of us will get in trouble, I won't be able to stop you from going?"
Izuku bit his lip and shook his head. He would've asked Nighteye to go with him, but both of them knew that it would only complicate the situation since Nighteye never went to other cities for missions, even if it was going to be the Hero Killer.
"And you do know that...if you die," Nighteye continued, "the quirk that All Might entrusted to you, and all of his efforts over the years, would go to waste?"
Izuku nodded, "I've always understood the risk. But I can't ignore it when someone's in danger. Even if my friend wasn't there tonight, I would've gone anyway. The Hero Killer must be stopped, and I know how to beat him."
Nighteye sighed heavily, then took off his glasses and pinched his nose bridge.
Finally, the hero said: "Can I just ask you to do one thing?"
"Yeah?"
"If you don't need to show yourself, don't. Or else this is going to be a lot of annoying paperwork for me."
"Understood, Sir. Thank you."
•••
A soft melody hummed from the bullet train's speakers, then the announcements turned on: "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are now approaching Hosu City Station. Please ensure that you have all of your belongings."
Izuku looked out the window and blinked against the bright orange, late-afternoon sunlight, flurries of shadows passing over his face as the train neared the station.
He wasn't wearing his full hero costume. Instead, he was wearing a plain gray hoodie with a small All Might logo printed on it, a black utility belt, black pants, and his trusty red sneakers. Lightweight arm braces and leg braces were hidden underneath his clothes.
The reason for his casual attire was simple, and was the same as why he didn't ask any other heroes to come with him -- he didn't want to attract attention. With his time travel knowledge and lack of a hero license... The fewer witnesses, the better.
After he got off the train, he had a small sandwich for dinner, then traveled further into the city. The sun dipped below the cityscape, casting long shadows that stretched across the calm streets. No fire, no chaos. The only abnormal thing about the scene was the light air of apprehension that clung to the citizens on the streets -- a distant fear of a murderer who, according to the news, might still be in the city.
Izuku glanced at his phone. He still had a couple of hours before the Hero Killer would appear, but he started making his way to the alley anyway. He didn't remember exactly where it was, so he just walked in the general direction.
As he walked, he realized that the number of people on the sidewalks had increased and the traffic on the road had slowed. He reached into his pocket and put on a black mask, then tugged his hood over his fluffy green hair, just in case any of these people were sports festival viewers.
It was only when he saw the first police car that he realized the fear on people's faces.
He looked further ahead and saw more police cars lined up along the sidewalk, and suddenly a siren screamed to life, and an ambulance zoomed past Izuku toward Hosu's hospital, weaving through traffic.
A knot tightened in his stomach.
As he neared the large crowd of people, he quickened his pace, his heart pounding. Some people have already started leaving, the crimson and blue lights of police cars casting an eerie glow on their faces.
Izuku squeezed himself past concerned onlookers and finally, the scene came into view. His breath hitched in his throat.
The dark alleyway had been closed off by yellow tape that fluttered in the early evening breeze. Police officers and a few heroes darted back and forth, in and out of the alley, and when Izuku looked further in the shadows, he spotted a pool of blood on the ground and splatters of it on the wall.
"No." Izuku found it hard to breathe under his mask.
With a trembling hand, he turned and tapped the man next to him, "Excuse me, may you tell me what happened here?"
"Oh geez, kid, I'm so sorry you had to see this," The man sighed, his gaze dark, "From what I've heard, the Hero Killer Stain attacked this hero called Native."
Izuku took a deep breath, "Is the hero dead?"
"I don't know. He got carried into an ambulance."
"What about the Hero Killer?"
"Probably being chased down right now."
Izuku nodded, then the man left. The crowd gradually thinned, and eventually, only a few people were left hovering near the scene.
It didn't make sense.
Why did the attack happen earlier? Where was Iida? Was he ok?
Maybe the explanation was right in front of Izuku all this time. He looked out into the streets.
No fire, no chaos.
No nomu attack.
Shigaraki was in charge of that last time. Shigaraki was now locked up in Tartarus.
Stain might've worked with Shigaraki last time, so if that didn't happen this time, it could be why the Hero Killer attacked early.
Which means Iida could already be in danger.
Right when Izuku was about to leave, he overheard a hero talking to a police officer.
"...chased...Endeavor lost him," Izuku heard the hero say.
Then Izuku remembered, Endeavor was here, too.
"Hosu City Hero Agency just contacted," the police officer reported, "they issued a city-wide search for the Hero Killer."
"Hey, you there," Another officer suddenly came up to Izuku, "we're clearing this area off, so I need to ask you to leave the scene. There's a villain on the loose, and for your safety, we suggest you stay home."
Izuku nodded, then walked away. When the police weren't looking anymore, he turned the corner and walked into another alley.
The green light of his quirk lit the walls and with a few leaps and bounds, he was on top of the building. Crouching down, he scuttered to the opposite edge and peered over, and the crime scene came into view.
He could see the blood more clearly now -- a large pool of it, so dark it looked black in the shadows. When he squinted, he saw a few more dark spots that traveled in the opposite direction of where the police cars were, but the trail of blood disappeared at the alley's opening, which was also closed off by yellow tape.
Right when he thought he lost the Hero Killer's trail, he spotted something else from the corner of his vision. His gaze landed on another building on the other side of the street.
"Scorch marks."
Endeavor must've been chasing Stain earlier, but from what Izuku heard, the hero had lost the criminal. And if Endeavor was looking for the Hero Killer, Todoroki Shoto wouldn't be far, either.
Izuku checked the time again. The nomu attack was likely not going to happen anymore, which was good but didn't make the situation less tricky. The only reason that Izuku, Iida, and Todoroki got away with the fight last time was that there were fewer witnesses due to the nomu attack. This time, they needed to be a lot more careful if they met the killer.
Izuku thought of two scenarios: number one, Endeavor or another group of pro heroes find Stain first, and everything is solved. Number two, Iida finds Stain first and either gets hurt or gets in trouble fighting without a license.
So Izuku had one objective -- to make sure Iida didn't find Stain first.
"But... what if Iida asks me why I'm here?" Izuku muttered to himself. Since he was working under Nighteye now, there wasn't really a good excuse for being here.
Nighteye's words resurfaced: "If you don't need to show yourself, don't."
Izuku sighed and silently agreed with his mentor. Then he leaped towards the scorch marks, leaving behind a trail of emerald lightning as the sky began to darken.