They met in the ruins of Hosu.
Past the broken train line.
Past the alley where fire once raged.
Where blood soaked the pavement.Where three students stood once—one broken, one brave, one burning.
Now, only two figures stood.
Izuku.And Stain.
The Hero Killer hadn't aged a day.
But the air around him had.
Heavy. Rancid. Still clinging to old blood.
He stood like a statue, wrapped in rags.
His blade scraped the concrete when he turned.
"You're not the same boy," he said.
Izuku didn't blink.
"I'm not."
Stain circled him slowly.
Eyes sharp. Animal. Reading every breath.
"I watched you once. You trembled like a leaf."
"That version of me died."
A smile.
Ugly. Sharp.
"Good. The one who trembles has no place in the future."
A pause.
"Why are you here?"
Izuku dropped a file on the ground.
It slid through the dirt.
Photos spilled out. Documents. Maps.
And in the middle—A girl. White hair. Red horn.
"Her name is Eri," Izuku said.
"She's the future. And the target."
Stain knelt.
Gloved fingers hovered over her face.
Not touching.
Just staring.
"She's been used."
Izuku nodded.
"Will be used again. Unless I break the cycle."
Stain stood. Slowly.
"You want me to help."
"I want you to judge."
That made the killer pause.
Izuku's voice was low.
Flat.
"I've rewritten time. Broken natural law. Used knowledge I shouldn't have. Manipulated heroes. Lied to friends. Put children in danger."
He stepped forward.
"I want you to look me in the eye and tell me if I'm still a hero."
Silence.
Wind howled through the skeleton of the city.
Then Stain spoke.
"You're not."
Izuku didn't flinch.
"But you are something more valuable," Stain growled.
"You're necessary."
"You're not justice. You're not even right."
"But you move."
"You act."
"You bleed for a girl no one's seen."
"You challenge gods with broken bones."
"You terrify the ones who sit in towers."
He stepped forward.
Voice a whisper now.
"You're filth. But you're useful filth."
A pause.
"I'll help you."
"But not because I believe in you."
Izuku nodded.
"I'll take that."
One hour later.
Chisaki's men scouted an old warehouse.
Their scanners picked up two heartbeats.
One child.
One teenager.
They swarmed in.
Guns ready.
Quirk suppressants armed.
And—
The trap snapped shut.
Stain descended like a demon from the rafters.
His blade drank in the first scream.
The second didn't make it that far.
They didn't see Izuku.
They only saw a blur.
Green sparks.
A hand.
Then black.
The next day.
News broke.
A Hassaikai outpost destroyed.
No bodies recovered.
Only blood.
And one phrase sprayed across the wall—
"THE HERO KILLER WALKS AGAIN."
Aizawa read the headline and sighed.
Bakugo punched a wall.
All Might stared at the photo for a long time.
"…This isn't your path, Izuku."
But the boy was already gone.
Hiding.
Moving.
Writing.
And beside him…
Eri smiled.
For the first time.
Her bunny in hand.
The monster's name no longer whispered in her sleep.
But far away, a scientist reviewed a file.
Project: Quirk Extraction.
Status: Delayed.
Priority: Escalated.
And beneath the lab—
A single chamber.
Empty.
Where a little girl once screamed.
And time itself had just blinked.
End of Chapter 10