Chapter Text
*Izuku's pov.*
Izuku couldn't believe this was happening.
He was standing between Iida and Stain, the pro hero Native laying on the side, both of them paralysed and with no guarantee of backup. And out of everything he could've done in response to this; attacking him, calling for help, grabbing them and running…
He opened his big mouth.
"Why are you doing this? Why kill heroes?" He asked, looking the man in the eye. A startled noise came out of Iida, but he didn't take his eyes off of him. Stain glared, visibly considering before speaking up. "All these heroes are fake, only showing off for profit. They don't care about the people they're supposed to save, only money and fame. They use their positions of power to hide their dirty actions. I'm purging them all!"
Something cracked inside Izuku, the same barrier between his mind and his mouth that broke during the sports festival. Who did he think he was? Did he not realize his mistake? Izuku wouldn't have it.
No one was dying today.
"What category of work do you think heroics falls under?" He asked, feeling a weird sense of satisfaction at the killer's surprised expression. "What do you mean?" Izuku shrugged. "In this society, heroics is a job, isn't it? We go to school for it, get a license and get to work. So, what's the category?" Stain looked at him with morbid curiosity, trying to understand. Once Izuku realized Stain wouldn't answer, he continued, slowly stepping towards the man as he spoke. "Public service. Heroes are a part of the public workforce. The same category as firefighters, police officers, doctors, heck even teachers. People paid to hold people's lives in their hands. You wanna know what's the difference between heroes and the rest though?" Stain tilted his head in curiosity. "Almost all the money they get from the commission goes to medical bills because of villains like you!" Stain froze. "I'm a first year heroics student, and just this year I've been hospitalized 3 times already! The only reason I didn't have to deal with that was Recovery Girl! And heroes have families to look after, for which they need money. So, they resort to other options. Add campaigns to gain money and become more well known, second or third jobs for stable income, you name it! You'd know these things if you graduated! And whether they do it for fame or money, it's admirable that they chose to do it by risking their lives to people like you!"
Native slowly got up as his paralysis ended, slowly dragging away a shocked Iida as Izuku remembered something else. "And another thing! Yes, some heroes do terrible things. I've seen it myself. But making them into martyrs won't fix anything! Killing them only puts you in the wrong! Expose them with a million articles for a I care, but killing them AND the people they would've saved is unacceptable! You're not god! You don't decide who lives and who dies!" He was now right in front of the frozen villain, staring into his eyes. "And you know what? I don't care whether or not you understand what I said tonight, cause you'll have a lot of time to think about it. In jail." Before the villain could move, Izuku charged up One For All and punched him in the face, knocking him out.
*Iida's pov*
Izuku walked out of the alley, dragging a knocked out Stain by the collar. He looked pissed, throwing the unconscious man to the ground. Then, he glared at Iida. "What the hell were you thinking?! You could've died!" Iida looked away, unable to look his classmate in the eye. "I wasn't."
Iida bit his lip, expecting a few harsh words when he heard a sigh. "I can't be mad at you. You're grieving and no one kept you in check during the anger stage. I knew you were in denial, I just wish you were at home for the anger." Iida blinked as the realization sinked in, looking at his friend. "Are you talking about the five stages of grief?" Izuku nodded, an embarrassed blush coming to his face as he came back to himself from his anger. "Yeah, I am." Iida smiled slightly, tilting his head as he remembered something. "Your expression really reminded me of your match with Todoroki during the Sports Festival." Izuku chuckled, shrugged. "F-felt that way too, honestly. Like a barrier between my head and mouth just broke." Iida was startled at that. "Do you usually think like this..?" He asked, silently noticing Native give a curious look. Izuku bit his lip, looking down. "Kinda? I mean, I notice a lot of things, but I'm usually nicer about it. I don't-" Izuku was cut off by a kick to the face as a short, old man with a yellow hero costume appeared. "Dammit, you zygote! I told you to stay on the train!"
Iida watched as the man -was that Izuku's mentor?- shout at Izuku, receiving panicked answers before Native interfered, telling him what Izuku did. The hero, now named Gran Torino, looked between the hero killer and the hero student before letting out a sigh, punching his shoulder. "Toshinori has rubbed off on you kid. But, good work." Izuku grinned, bowing in thanks. Paramedics arrived a few minutes later along with the police. Luckily, they only had minor cuts, so they went to the police station to testify. With the lack of fighting and Native's defense of Iida's actions, none of them got in trouble, and Izuku received full credit.
Iida couldn't be prouder of his friend.
*Izuku's pov.*
Izuku wasn't ready for what he saw the next day.
Someone had recorded his speech and put it online. The amount of response was unbelievable. Everyone was supporting him, turning against Stain. Someone had found his name and everyone was talking about him. On top of all that, he had been called to see school. Aizawa Sensei wanted to talk to him.
What had he done?