Heroes?

That afternoon, Hosui City.

Yukino and Tenya Iida sat in the same car, neither saying a word.

They soon arrived at their destination and, under the guidance of the hero leading this trip, carried out their first assignment:

Patrol!

"Normally, all we need to do is wait in the office for requests. But as you know, things have been getting restless around Hosui lately. Patrolling the city can keep the criminals' arrogance in check."

Wearing a helmet and looking exceptionally friendly, the professional hero Manual cheerfully led the two of them along. Buildings on both sides steadily slipped past, while pedestrians on the streets happily greeted him.

"Look, it's a hero!"

"Looks like everyone really likes you." Yukino followed behind, also dressed in a combat suit with a face mask. Of course, for safety's sake, her female form looked much smaller and slimmer than the original body. Black hair hung down from beneath her cap, while two long, sexy legs clad in black stockings extended from beneath her loose robe.

As for the original body, he was actually browsing through a nearby bookstore, trying to find something useful for training.

"Haha, you flatter me. The ones who are truly famous now should be you two, right?" He scratched his head sheepishly. "And I really never expected the champion of the U.A. Sports Festival and Ingenium's little brother to both come to my agency. Compared to the heroes ahead of me, I really don't have anything outstanding."

"The more famous a hero is, the stricter they are. Rather than being controlled, I'd prefer a little freedom." Beneath her mask, Yukino looked at the absentminded Tenya Iida and said this.

The patrol ended quickly, and the two of them ate dinner together at the agency.

Since she truly couldn't find a suitable place to train, Yukino simply decided to relax for two days.

Sitting atop a building, swinging her legs as she used Binoculars to admire the distant view, she couldn't help humming a few little tunes from her previous life.

Iida walked up from behind her.

Perhaps because Yukino had her back to him, the face of this earnest class representative wasn't filled with suppressed hatred at that moment.

"Are you going to kill me?" Seeing Iida's face through the original body in the distance, Yukino lowered the Binoculars in her hand and spoke quietly.

"What?" Iida's steps halted, and the expression on his face stiffened unnaturally.

"Your killing intent is far too obvious. I was even prepared for you to slash me once." Yukino's words made Tenya Iida's expression change.

"Sorry, I'm not in a very good mood." He immediately apologized.

"Well, I know what you're thinking. But forgive me for saying this—by yourself, you definitely can't defeat the Hero Killer. You'll only make us worry about you instead." Yukino lightly pushed herself up with one hand, easily drawing back the two legs that had been dangling over the edge of the building.

Iida tensed up, his face looking terrible. He had originally wanted to keep this matter hidden, but Yukino had said it so easily that he was left at a loss.

"So I was right." Yukino nodded. "I won't stop you. But the Hero Killer is unquestionably far stronger than you. To put it bluntly, going there would just be throwing your life away, and it would only make your brother lying in the hospital bed suffer even more."

Tenya Iida clenched his hands into fists as his thoughts began a fierce struggle.

Dusk on the third day of the Work-Study Program.

After two monotonous days of patrols, even Yukino was starting to feel bored.

The sky gradually darkened. Manual, who was still patrolling the streets, suddenly stopped.

"Tell me, you're looking for that Hero Killer, aren't you?" he asked sternly.

Tenya Iida's expression froze.

"Sorry, but I really can't think of any other reason you would come to me. And Su Lin... I advise you not to act because of personal grudges. Heroes do not have the authority to arrest criminals or inflict private punishment on others. We are merely approved by the government to use our Quirks. Using a Quirk for personal desires is considered a very serious crime."

Tenya Iida clenched his fists. After a moment of silence, he bowed. "Thank you for your advice."

Although his expression was sincere, Yukino knew he hadn't taken a word of it to heart.

"Then let's head over there."

The three walked along the road for a while. Before long, Manual's communicator suddenly rang.

"What, an enemy has appeared? All right, I'll get there immediately." Hearing the voice on the other end, his expression changed drastically. He immediately turned to Yukino and Tenya Iida. "You two, run with me."

"Yes!"

The two immediately quickened their pace.

At the same time, two kilometers away.

Boom!

Flames shot into the sky, and the sound of explosions echoed through the entire city. Su Lin's original body stood on a rooftop one kilometer from the blast's center, carefully approaching a certain location.

"Found him. He's right here—the Hero Killer."

Leaning against a nearby railing, Su Lin cautiously poked her head out and saw a man with a hunched back, gripping a sharp silver curved blade in his hand.

With his superb martial arts, the man had easily forced some unfamiliar hero into an alley.

"You still have the nerve to call yourself a hero?"

Gripping the other man's head in one hand, lifting him into the air, then viciously slamming him against the wall, Stain slowly raised the long blade on his body.

"Think carefully about your last words... Hm?"

Just as he was about to finish the other man off, Stain suddenly sensed something and slowly raised his head.

Su Lin immediately pulled her head back and transformed into Sister Doma, gasping for breath.

"What sharp instincts. I almost got spotted. As expected, someone at this level won't be easy to deal with."

"Oh?"

As she leaned against the wall, looking uneasy, another mocking voice suddenly came from the stairs ahead.

"What are you doing hiding on someone else's rooftop in the middle of the night?"

A completely unfamiliar young man slowly emerged from the darkness. The moment he saw Sister Doma, his expression was clearly one of extreme amazement.

"Well, well, an unfamiliar little girl. What are you doing on someone else's rooftop? Or did you want to have some fun with big brother..."

Swallowing as he drew closer, a lewd smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Tch, what rotten luck." Sister Doma truly hadn't expected a scumbag like this to live in the building beside the place where the plot was unfolding.

As she watched him close in step by step, she nervously backed away.

"What... what do you want?" Sister Doma's voice trembled slightly with fear.

Takanashi Rikka's avatar was ready to be summoned. If he dared make any inappropriate move, she would act immediately.

Hero?

At that moment, a disturbance suddenly arose below the building.

"Looks like a child upstairs is in trouble. You inferior fakes wouldn't even think about saving her when you yourselves are in danger, would you?"

Bang!

With a dull thud, the man who seemed to have been caught was smashed to the ground in a single blow. Stain then swiftly climbed toward the rooftop, preparing to save Sister Doma above.

But at that moment...

A figure suddenly shot over from the other end of the corridor, crashing viciously into Stain in midair.

Buzz—

A flash of blade light passed, and the figure was sent flying backward. The helmet on his head was severed and fell to the ground, rolling several times.

"Where did this brat come from?" Stain landed from above and glared irritably at the sudden newcomer, his eyes gradually sharpening. "A kid in a uniform... Who are you? This isn't a place children should set foot in."

Lying on the ground, Tenya Iida revealed a look of hatred, glaring fiercely at Stain.

"It's you. The crimson headband, blades all over your body—Hero Killer Stain. I've been looking for you."

That hateful gaze made Stain narrow his eyes.

"That look in your eyes... You want revenge?" He pointed his blade at Tenya Iida, then glanced up at the rooftop with annoyance. "We'll discuss your problem later. At least wait until I deal with my own business first."

With that, Stain leaped toward the rooftop again.

"Don't even think about running!"

Bang!

Tenya Iida activated his engines again and charged at his target.

At the same time, upstairs, Sister Doma watched the man in front of her pounce at her. She immediately shut her eyes tightly and summoned Rikka at her side.

"Explode, reality! Imprisonment of Darkness!"

The man's body was instantly held in place by a strange energy. At that moment, the grimy arm was less than five centimeters away from Sister Doma.

"That scared me to death."

Sister Doma finally caught her breath. After all, this body had little combat strength, so it feared this kind of situation the most.

Pretty and weak enough to be bullied, even if she was an avatar, she might still need other avatars to protect her.

Now that Sister Doma's aura was here, Rikka's combat power had greatly increased. After all, the so-called big-brother trait could basically be defined as any allied unit that was a sister-lover and considered himself an older brother.

"This is such a pain... Non-heroes can't casually abuse their Quirks, and even heroes can't kill people."

Sister Doma truly hated the man before her, but under the constraints of this society's rules, dealing with him properly was rather difficult.

"Let's see whether a curse that activates on a timer can work."

Takanashi Rikka began trying.

Below, Stain, who had been focused on saving someone but kept being obstructed by Tenya Iida, was truly enraged.

He suddenly raised his blade and pointed it at Iida's nose. "Even children can become my targets."

"Are you saying I'm not worthy of being your target?" Tenya Iida clenched his fists. "Then listen carefully. I am the younger brother of a hero you crippled. He is my strongest and coolest older brother. I came in his place to stop your atrocities. I'll make you... remember my name forever."

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Ingenium. That is the name of the hero who will defeat you."

"Oh?" A violent gleam began to show in Stain's eyes. "Then you can die."

"You're the one who's going to die!"

Flames burst from Tenya Iida's legs as his body instantly shot toward the other man.

Boom—

After a collision, Stain stepped on him and pinned him to the ground.

"You're too weak."

The blade in his hand glinted coldly as it was about to fall.

Just then...

"Get lost!"

Yukino's body dropped from a neighboring building, and a long blade similar to Stain's slashed toward his neck.

"Huh?"

Stain spun around and instantly dodged the strike, then swung his sharp blade directly toward Yukino's arm.

"So fast!"

Her attack had been dodged in an instant, and the other man's skill was unbelievably high. Without a single unnecessary movement, he had effortlessly slipped to Yukino's side.

As his blade came down, Yukino suddenly braced one hand against the wall beside her and twisted with all her strength. Her body instantly bent at a bizarre angle, slipping beneath the blade. Then she grabbed Iida with one hand and flashed backward.

The few movements looked simple, but they had actually been perilously close.

She had to admit that Yukino Yukinoshita's learning ability was truly exceptional. Her previous training, combined with the knowledge she had absorbed from books, was displayed remarkably well in her first real battle.

However, Stain was clearly somewhat distracted.

There was an opponent here he wanted to kill, yet someone on the rooftop also needed saving.

That anxious feeling made him even more irritated.

"You're Stain, right?" Yukino threw Iida aside. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt her body grow sluggish.

"This is bad..."

She had been hit!

Had he already cut her during that brief exchange and activated his Quirk through it?

Seeing him lick the blade, Yukino's mood sank to its lowest point.