Two days had passed since the capture of the Hero Killer.

The antiseptic smell in the hospital room was partially masked by the herbal tea Momo had made. The team was gathered around a flat-screen TV she had created herself, a perfect replica of a high-end model. The morning news was in full swing.

"—and in a turn of events that is being hailed across the country," a reporter said with manufactured enthusiasm, "sources from the Hosu Police Department have confirmed that the capture of the Hero Killer, Stain, was the result of a brilliant undercover operation led by the pro hero Mt. Lady."

They showed footage of Yu smiling and waving at cameras upon her arrival in Hosu, a day before the capture. Then, brief clips of Endeavor "securing the perimeter" with his flames. The Nomu were barely mentioned, described as "low-level accomplices" who were quickly neutralized.

Ochako let out a sigh, watching her mentor on the screen.

"Yu-san… You look so… convincing. It really looks like you orchestrated the whole thing."

Yu, sitting in a chair with her arms crossed and a look of disgust, didn't take her eyes off the TV.

"It's called acting, kid. Eighty percent of the job. And I hate it. I hate every second of this sham, but the Chief of Police is right. It's either this or jail time for vigilantism and the end of our careers before they even start."

"But they're calling you the cleverest hero in Japan!" Toru exclaimed, reading the headlines on her phone. "Your perfume sales have shot up three hundred percent!"

"Great," Yu said. She grabbed the remote and snapped the TV off. "Now I'm famous for a lie and for selling burgers. Every little girl's dream."

Izuku, who had been watching Yu's reaction intently, finally spoke.

"They're using your public image perfectly. You're the only media-savvy hero who could make such an extravagant cover story believable. You were the only logical alibi they had."

Gran Torino, who had been watching silently from a corner, spoke without looking away from the blank screen.

"Twisted logic. They're using one hero to cover up for the next generation's actions. History repeats itself. And it never ends well."

The old hero stood up, stretching his old bones, and left the room. In the sterile hallway, its silence broken only by the hum of fluorescent lights, Gran Torino stopped, pulled out an old-fashioned phone, and dialed a number.

At U.A., in an office surrounded by relics of a glorious past, a distraught Toshinori Yagi answered on the first ring.

"Toshinori. I've seen him."

"Master…" Toshinori's voice was a hoarse whisper, full of contained panic. "Is he alright? The boy… the news isn't saying anything about him."

"He's a mess, but he's alive. He's got more guts than brains, just like you at his age," Gran Torino's voice was gruff, but held a note of respect. "I saw him, Toshinori. I saw his injuries. They told me the story. How he impaled himself on that lunatic's sword to save that hero, Mt. Lady. Without hesitation. I saw his eyes. There was no fear, no regret. Just… a suicidal, idiotic determination."

A sigh came from the other end of the line, a mixture of pride and pain.

"That's him…"

"Yeah. It's him. And now I understand your hell. You have the perfect heir, Nana's spirit reincarnated in a freckled nerd, and you can't give him your power. It's the cruelest joke fate could possibly play."

"Every day is torture, Master. Seeing his potential, his heart… and knowing I'm powerless to give him the tools he deserves. My power is fading, and the only worthy vessel is already full."

"And it's only going to get worse," Gran Torino's voice hardened. "Stain's ideology… it has charisma. People are listening to him. This isn't over; it's just beginning. And the way those Nomu appeared… the ability to grant multiple Quirks… that's his signature. The signature of a ghost we both thought was buried."

An icy silence fell over the line. Toshinori's voice was barely audible.

"I know… I thought it was impossible. I thought I… defeated him."

"You defeated the man, not the idea. Listen to me. You have to prepare him. And his team. If the kid has that ability to strengthen others, like you say, they're more than just sidekicks. They're the next line of defense. The burden you carry… you'll have to start sharing it soon."

When Gran Torino returned to the room, the air grew heavy with solemnity. The girls, sensing it, stepped aside, leaving him alone with Izuku, who was already sitting up in bed with a grimace of pain.

"Gran Torino-san… thank you for coming," Izuku said. "Why are you here, in Hosu?"

The old man sat in the chair next to the bed, his gaze direct and piercing.

"Toshinori asked me to. He was worried after the USJ attack. He asked me to come to Hosu to keep an eye on a boy named Tenya Iida. Wanted to make sure his… student… didn't do anything stupid." He gave a wry smile. "I was a little late for that. Who knew another one of his students would turn out to be even more reckless."

"Toshinori…?" Izuku asked, confused. "Do you mean All Might? You know him personally?"

Gran Torino sighed, as if about to confess an old crime.

"‘Know him’ is one way to put it. I was the one who taught that smiling idiot how to throw a punch. I was the only teacher he ever had. And the only one who hit him enough to make him learn anything."

Izuku’s breath hitched as the pieces clicked into place in his mind. The legendary mentor of All Might. The man who forged the Symbol of Peace. He was in his room.

In a decrepit bar on the other side of the city, Tomura Shigaraki disintegrated a tablet with five fingers.

"Stain, Stain, Stain! It's all they're talking about!" he shrieked, his voice high with frustration. "And that stupid, trashy hero gets the credit. It's disgusting. The whole plan was ruined."

"The city is in chaos, and trust in heroes has been damaged. I would say certain objectives were met, Tomura," Kurogiri said, cleaning a glass with unruffled calm.

"No!" Tomura scratched his neck furiously. "The secondary objective failed! My Nomu were supposed to crush that phony preacher! I wanted the world to see his great 'conviction' break under the weight of true, mindless force! And instead, those U.A. brats saved him!"

"An unexpected variable," Kurogiri commented.

"I hate variables. I hate Stain. And now…" a twisted smile crept across his face, "now I hate those kids even more."

Back in the hospital room, the relative quiet was broken again.

"Guys… this is worrying."

Momo turned her tablet, showing them the screen. A grainy, phone-recorded video was playing. It was Stain's final monologue in the alley, right before he collapsed.

"'Someone must stain this world with blood…'" Ochako read, horrified. "But he's a murderer! How can they believe him?"

Momo pointed to the comments section.

"'The only real hero.' 'Stain didn't sell out.' 'He saw the truth.'"

"Someone recorded it. It has over a million views in less than an hour," Momo explained. "They're calling it 'The True Hero's Testament.' And the comments… people believe him."

Yu's face darkened.

"Because the news story's lie turns him into a victim. A martyr for the very system he denounced. The Commission, by trying to control the narrative, has given him the exact power he wanted."

Izuku stared at the image of Stain on the screen, his crazed face frozen in a silent scream.

"It's not just a video," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "It's a manifesto. It's a call to arms. Gran Torino was right… The League of Villains didn't capture him. They unleashed him on the world."