Midori the Girlfriend

Cause and Effect

Iida didn't know what was happening. All the truths and reasons he'd convinced himself of were now turning to lies and excuses. What had he done? He was supposed to be the one to finish off the Hero Killer, or would have died trying to do so finding some stupid honor in that. What he'd gotten was a slap to the face, and a waste of the precious life he'd been honored to have. He lay broken and bleeding, watching as his friends stood for him, swore to protect him and face the evil before them.

He'd dragged them into this.

Todoroki was bleeding and yet he stood firm. Izumi had been shaking from fear and yet still she stood against the evil. Why were they getting involved? Why had he allowed that to happen?

He watched Izumi dark like a bolt of lightning across the alley, her speed amazing even more so than it had been in the Sport Festival. She could match his engine boost power... maybe even recipro. Her training and internship were serving her well, she had taken full advantage of the pluses Endeavor offered, including her teamwork with Todoroki.

He could see it, their teamwork. Without even having to speak to each other they were able to gage each other's movements and work diligently. Stain was struggling to keep up, to keep focus... and it was making him wild and feral. He was bruised up from Izumi's punches and kicks and sweating from exertion and Todoroki's fire. His blades moved erratically in the air and his eyes danced with a sort of wild hunger.

Izumi thrust her hand out knocking one of the blades away with a blast of air and she had to bounce off the wall to dodge the second he thrust with.

"Izumi!" Shoto called out to his partner when he saw Stain rise above her and out of her field of vision. She looked up and was barely able to dodge a fatal blade, but still it nicked her across the leg and she bled. She fell to the ground and was barely able to brace on the wall before he'd tasted her blood and left her on the ground paralyzed.

Her eyes flung upward fear making her pale and she couldn't even bring up an arm to defend herself. Shoto shot out fire protecting her from his attack.

"Izumi! Are you alright!?"

"I can't... move!" She struggled again trying to force free the grip Stain's quirk had on her. "Be careful!" She lifted her eyes up keeping them on stain. "From the right! Ice him!"

Shoto didn't hesitate, he shielded himself and the others with a wall of ice, wary to hit Izumi he sent it straight up.

"Stop... please... just get yourselves out of here." Iida pleaded as tears spilled down his cheeks. "I;ve already..."

"If you want to stop us then GET UP!" Shoto shouted between grit teeth. He saw blades started to crack into it and he fist his left hand. "I know your pain, Iida, I know you're struggling... but all I can say to you is look properly at who you want to be!"

Blades sliced the wall into shards and he flared up his left letting the fire blaze and rip through the air. Stain dodged and ducked through the air avoiding being heavily burned, but still scarred from the rush of heat.

Izumi tried to brace herself up more to become less of an obstacle. Her eyes briefly met Iida's, and he saw the tears in them, the worry, the fear. Yet she looked past it, continued to shout, and fight with Shoto even while laying paralyzed. Her eyes darted around now, following Stain's movements, her voice shouted out directions and cues for Todoroki to follow. Todoroki listened, reacted with split second decision, and he felt the trust and the teamwork. The two of them were incredible.

Look properly at who he wanted to be? He wanted to be a hero his brother and the rest of his family could be proud of. He wanted to be the kind of hero his brother was, cool, supportive, kind. Instead what he had become was a false name, staining his brother's image by using the name Ingenium for revenge.