Once More (My Hero Academia)

31: Ingenium

"Hey Manual, we gotta roll," a hero -- who Tenya didn't know the name of -- called from the agency entrance.

"In a minute," Manual, Tenya's mentor, waved for the other hero to go on, then turned back to the boy. "Iida, I know you really wanna go with us to search for the Hero Killer. I know that's why you're here in Hosu anyway. But as your supervisor, I can't let you go. You have to stay here at the agency."

"I'm not going to hurt myself," Tenya seethed, "Please, Manual. The demon responsible for incapacitating my brother just hurt another hero. How can I sit here and wait?"

Manual sighed, but his eyes remained kind and patient, "From what the agency told us, Endeavor's here at Hosu, too. Surely you can trust the number two hero to bring the villain to justice?"

Tenya didn't get why Manual was so determined not to let him join the search, and the image of his brother lying helplessly on the hospital bed flashed in his mind again. But he forced a deep breath. "If Endeavor's for sure going to find and capture the villain without any of our help, doesn't that make it a safe environment for me to practice searching?"

"Outsmarting me by answering my questions with your questions isn't going to change the fact that you might be in danger."

"I can handle danger."

Manual shook his head in defeat, "Fine. Since I can't stop you, I may as well keep you in my sight. Let's go."

This moment might've felt victorious for Tenya if he wasn't already thinking about how he would make the Hero Killer pay.

But after he stormed in front of Manual for a couple of minutes, ignoring the hero's intermittent warnings to slow down, it occurred to Tenya that he had no idea where the Hero Killer was or where he would be. Begrudgingly, Tenya finally slowed down and trailed behind the pro hero, who redirected them back to their usual patrol route.

"Wandering around only makes the search more inefficient," the hero taught, but Tenya barely listened.

He followed the hero until the sun set and the streetlights turned on but there was still no sight of the villain.

"It's getting a little late," Manual said, "I don't think the Hero Killer is in this area, so... I won't keep you, then. You should go back to the agency."

A part of Tenya wanted to keep looking for Stain, but his hope had dwindled, so he agreed.

"You need me to take you back?"

"No, I'll be fine on my own."

"...Alright, then. Have a good evening, Iida."

"You, too, Manual."

The walk back was somewhat peaceful. The sky was a dark purple, and moonlight shined through a sheet of clouds. But again, he thought of his brother. Since his anger had dimmed, only sadness remained. When his thoughts finally tired him out, he noticed that he had unintentionally strayed away from the path back to the agency, then heaved a sigh and started back.

But only moments later, he heard a series of clattering in the distance that sounded like metal falling to the ground. He squinted in the sound's direction but couldn't see its source, and a bad feeling crept into his stomach. Adjusting his helmet, he jogged toward the street where he heard the clattering. Suddenly, he saw something glinting in the dim streetlight near the mouth of an alley.

"What is that..." He slowed down and took a couple more steps, and when the object's outline became clear, a guttural sound spouted from his throat.

A blade.

His engines whirred to life, and the next moment he was sprinting towards the alley where the blade was sticking out from. The inside of the alley came into view, and with a jolt, Tenya saw him -- the Hero Killer, back facing Tenya, with swords of different lengths strapped to his body.