The week after the U.A. Festival, the Hero Course students dispersed across the country. Each student chose a pro hero to shadow and the field experience began.
And with Class 1-A and 1-B away on internships, Principal Nezu and the Hero Course teachers turned their attention to Junsei.
His quirk remained officially undefined and by law that was unacceptable. So UA staff had subjected Junsei to every measurable test the faculty could devise. But to Nezu and the staff's frustration, Junsei did not cooperate.
He displayed precisely the same level of power he had shown during the festival and prior to the final match, no more, no less. The recorded data indicated he did not even exert the same effort he had demonstrated when fighting the Nomu.
The gap was obvious.
Which raised the question: why refuse to cooperate?
Eventually Junsei found himself seated across from Nezu in the principal's office again. Cementoss and Eraser Head joined them this time.
Cementoss spoke first. "Registering your quirk is required by law. You need to disclose what your quirk is and what you can do. The current description is clearly wrong and fails to capture the nature of your ability."
Junsei's answer was immediate. "Add what I can do to the description."
Eraser Head's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't work like that. We need a clear definition of your quirk. During the festival, we recorded that you copied at least three completely different quirks. Not to mention the illusion you affected people with."
"Add them all to the description."
"You are being a problem," Aizawa said flatly.
Nezu finally interjected. "You will cause everyone problems if we do not disclose what you can do."
"I won't explain anything," Junsei replied.
"This won't do," Cementoss pressed. "You are going to be considered a criminal and can be punished."
"I don't care."
Nezu finally said "Very well. We will add what he can do to the description and label the quirk as unknown."
Both teachers turned toward him in surprise.
"That is against the law," Cementoss said.
"It is not against the law to say we do not know," Nezu replied calmly. "A quirk that grants abilities yet whose mechanism we fail to understand, that is no crime. I would rather do this than escalate the situation further."
Reluctantly, the two teachers nodded.
Nezu understood something the others did not. Junsei did not trust humans and was expecting a fallout with them at some point. That expectation shaped his refusal. If pressure continued, the divide between Junsei and humanity would only widen.
And all Nezu wanted was to bridge that divide.
——————
When the internships concluded, the students of 1-A and 1-B returned. And the biggest news with their return was the appearance of additional Nomus. To make matters worse, the Hero Killer, Stain, had encountered Iida and severely injured him.
Fortunately, Iida survived. Though Stain remained free.
——————
One month after the U.A. Festival, new rumors began circulating out of nowhere.
The claims stated that All Might could no longer continue active hero work due to the injury he sustained during the festival. Observers noted his reduced public appearances. Some days, he did not appear at all.
People began reviewing recordings and his appearances, comparing them before and after the UA festival. The reduction in heroic deeds was staggering.
Even U.A. students began discussing it. And soon everyone began blaming Junsei.
Simultaneously, the national crime rate began to rise. While Japan still maintained one of the lowest crime rates among countries, the upward trend was undeniable and it was growing. All it took was the doubt surrounding the Symbol of Peace for things to start changing.
Eventually, All Might announced a press conference and soon he appeared before cameras smiling like he always did.
"The rumors," he began, "are partially true. After my injury, I had decided to step back from frontline hero work."
His words shocked everyone listening.
"The festival," he explained, "opened my eyes to the importance of the next generation. I am growing old, past my prime. And the next generation has already surpassed my expectations from when I joined UA first. Raising them is more important at this stage. I have decided to focus my time on UA"
The declaration calmed most of the public. But some insisted he was hiding the true extent of his injuries. They argued the old All Might would never willingly step back, he was simply not that kind of hero.
While others proposed a different theory, they suggested that All Might had found a potential successor. In particular, Mori Junsei. The student showed the strength and the ability to hold his own against heroes and that was without any sort of training. That alone showed the potential he possessed. All Might deciding to spend his time grooming the boy to be the next Symbol of Peace made some sense.
——————
All Might is a true hero. The perfect example of what a hero should be. A man like him would rather die than step away from saving people for any reason. I understand his nature completely. Even if he chose to train the next generation, even if he found a successor, he would still carve time from his own flesh to rescue others. That is who he is.
Which means his declaration was a lie of necessity. If he stepped back, then the rumors about his injuries are most likely true. The true hero All Might is no more.
And most likely, it is because of that villainous child. I cannot allow such a sin to go unpunished.
Yet I must not allow emotion to cloud judgment. It is possible the boy truly carries potential. If All Might sees something within him, then fate may have placed them together for a reason.
But if he is unworthy… then he deserves punishment.
I know All Might would never approve of such action. A true hero cannot bring himself to stain his hands with necessary judgment.
That is why someone like me must do it.
Three days ago, I began stalking Mori Junsei.
To my surprise, he resides beneath the roof of a wealthy family, the Yaoyorozus. They have a mansion with guards and enclosed by walls.
So since then, I have been observing the mansion. I need to understand what I am going to face. I wanted to enter and meet the boy, judge him then leave. Preferably without anyone noticing me.
However, my eagerness drove me to act sooner than prudence would advise. After only three nights of observation, I chose to move just past midnight.
Risky? Yes. But I must meet him.
Sneaking past the outer wall proved trivial. The guards, in their arrogance or ignorance, stood watch only at the front gate, and completely ignored the rear. These guards are the definition of incompetence. Even normal civilians have sharper instincts than these men.
But this played in my favor. I jumped over the wall from the back garden and approached the mansion while keeping my presence minimal. It only took me seconds to reach the mansion and peer through the windows.
I couldn't see any lights or movement. It was safe to slip in.
"Who are you?"
The voice came from behind me.
I turned instantly, drawing my sword.
But my opponent was faster, my wrist was caught mid-motion. My body slammed against the wall. A hand wrapped around my neck.
I looked up.
Two glowing blue eyes stared into mine.
Mori Junsei had found me.
His grip tightened slightly.
"You have been watching the mansion for the past three days? Why?" he asked.
The question was emotionless. But it still shocked me all the same, I was discovered from the very beginning. But more importantly, the cold look in his eyes already told me he is not a hero material.
But I cannot judge too quickly.
"I am here to find you, Mori Junsei."
"Why?"
"To see what kind of person you are. Are you being groomed by All Might?"
He did not answer. Instead, his fingers pressed harder against my throat.
"Who are you?"
"I am no enemy," I said evenly. "If you let go of me first, I will tell you everything you need to know."
I intended to exploit his inexperience. I will try to drive the talk and make him show an opening for me to strike.
But to my surprise, he let go immediately.
He is too naive.
I drew a knife with my left hand and slashed at his arm in one fluid motion.
The blade bit into flesh.
For an instant, I felt satisfaction as I saw steel pierce skin.
But I felt sharp pain in my other arm. I jumped away, making as much distance as possible.
But it was too late as the pain only intensified, I looked at my right arm, it was gone and blood was pouring from the stump.
"I gave you a chance," his voice echoed.
Pain clawed at my mind, but I forced myself to stand as I looked at him, my arm lying next to him while still holding my sword.
"I am the Hero Killer, Stain," I declared through clenched teeth.
I raised the knife and licked the blood from its edge.
He froze.
A thin smile formed on my lips despite the agony tearing through my body.
"You are no hero material," I told him bluntly. "You are a sinner who harmed All Might."
"And?"
The indifference in that single word widened my eyes. He didn't try to deny it or defend himself, did he not care at all?
"I know All Might declaring that he wants to focus on the next generation is a lie, a hero like him would never do such a thing!! What you did is the true reason!!"
"Could be, I didn't ask" he replied with the same expressionless face.
Didn't ask? Is that it? Does he truly not care at all?
"Do you not realize what a grand sin you have committed? All Might is a true hero, the greatest of all time!! And you ended his hero days!! Mistake or not, you must be punished!!" I couldn't help but feel agitated by his apathy.
"No, he was already injured and dying. My strike at most hastened his end"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, All Might is dying? And he just admitted he hastened it. No!! That can't be true. This spawn of evil must be lying to me!!
"My work is to hunt fake heroes," I said, anger overriding the pain and every other thought. "But I will make an exception for you. You are the worst villain, and even if All Might thinks otherwise, even if he thought he could make a hero out of you, I will punish you."
"Heroes and villains have nothing to do with me, just humans hurting humans" he said.
Then he began walking toward me.
Impossible.
My quirk had already been activated. I licked his blood. He should be paralyzed.
He spoke again "You are like Shinso but your quirk is triggered by blood instead of words"
Before I could react, his hand seized my face.
The world inverted. Then I was crushed into the ground mercilessly.
"You came to take my life, so I should be taking yours, but Mr Sai said to not kill you"
That was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.
——————
The next day, the news of the Hero Killer Stain sneaking into Mori Junsei's home in the middle of the night has spread everywhere. It was said the Hero Killer was confronted by Junsei and ended up with many broken bones along a missing arm.
It was suspected the hero killer went after Junsei due to the rumors, thinking the boy was All Might's successor. He planned to kill the successor before becoming a full-fledged hero.
In the end, the villain that hunted and terrorized professional heroes left and right, was defeated by the said student. Which brought forth a question regarding the current generation of heroes capability and at the same time showed that All Might's words were true, the next generation in UA has already exceeded expectations and many began to believe that the Symbol of Peace's successor had already revealed himself.