What if Naoko was a serial killer?

Let's just be real here, Naoko has extremely strong morals, it's what allows her to turn to the idea of vigilanteism so easily, and it's what connects her so well to villains because the line between a hero and a villain is fairly thin. So, let's take a look back at what could have been if Naoko had reacted... Less favorably to learning about Endeavor from someone she was so close to.

~~~~~~~~

The moon glowed brightly down on the city, a haze settling over it as the light dispersed in a haze, caused by pollution. It created an obscuring mist, mixing with the lights to caused a disorienting glow. The perfect cover for Naoko.

She leaned on a building, alternately staring around at the dimly lit streets and the flyer Hasame had placed next to her sleeping hole that day.

Her poor aunt really must be worried about Naoko if she, who was almost as anti-hero as Naoko was, was hinting at Naoko going to a hero school.

Hmmm. Well, perhaps Hasame had a reason to be worried.

Naoko's quirk began to pick up on people surrounding her as she continued looking at the paper. No, perhaps it wasn't a good idea for Naoko to be in this kind of area at night, long past the time when sensible people retreated to their houses. But she had a purpose, and she didn't plan on leaving until she fulfilled it.

A quick flair of her quirk had the paper in her hands dripping to the ground. As if any hero school would accept her.

She looked up to the see men (of course) gathering around her with wide smiles. The liquid pumping through their veins was accelerated, and flowing specifically towards their groin. Disgusting. She vaguely recognized that one of them was talking, but hey, there was no sign language, so, as usual, she was lost.

Maybe if she pushed off and walked away they'd leave her alone. This was stupid anyway, if he wasn't here by now, then he probably wouldn't be.

Three steps were all she was able to take before a hand landed on her shoulder, pulling her back.

She didn't even look up at the man yet she could feel droplets of spittle landing on her face. Disgusting. The men around her were closing ranks, trapping Naoko in and leaving her with no choice but to go where they wanted her to go and do what they wanted her to do. They were even beginning to brandish their quirks, trying desperately to seem more threatening.

Almost subconsciously, her quirk spread out under her and she smirked. Perhaps if this didn't happen so regularly, she might be more intimidated, but there were always thugs that filled the streets, eagerly looking to take advantage of poor, foolish young girls that were out past curfew.

Too bad for them that they got her instead.

The moment before every one of those men had a very bad night, a new body breezed onto the scene, and the hand that was gripping Naoko's arm uncomfortably tightly disappeared.

Probably a hero, because the public were a bunch of sheep that just went along and ignored everything but themselves. Or it could be a vigilante, but those were a rare breed, and more often than not branded as criminals by the government and hunted down.

It was sad because that just left heroes to protect the public.

And Naoko wasn't very good about hiding her opinion of the heroes.

She slowly turned to face the person who 'saved' her from her would-be assaulters, a look of feigned terror on her face. That was the normal reaction to an assault, wasn't it?

A blue and white bodysuit greeted Naoko, making her cringe as she looked at the mask. She knew from her research that the green-skinned man with the vibration quirk, Vibrato, was a decent fighter and actually did some good as a hero, but he was also about as fake as his million-watt smile.

It took some real digging, and the hoops she had to jump through to fact check were astronomical, but it multiple previous girlfriends and boyfriends had tried to bring him to court for abuse. They had been suppressed by Vibrato's influence, and they were reluctant to share their stories again, but Naoko had her ways. He looked so good on the surface, but he was such a liar.

Really, Naoko should be used to it by now.

She walked up to the hero, who seemed to be talking to her, and smiled ever so slightly. With care, Naoko touched her jaw, her only way of correcting her degraded speech, "Vibrato?" Only god and those with hearing knew if she said that right, but she wouldn't let that stop her.

The hero looked towards her and said something, which wasn't helpful... There was a part of her that wanted to fake being able to hear. It was always in the background, but she was deaf enough that she would never be able to keep up the fraud. She stepped around her would-be assaulters and pulled out a small electronic pad from her back pocket.

"Are you Vibrato?" She typed quickly, then handed him the screen. It was a gift from one of the surgeons, who also apparently invented her synthetic inner ear. Right now it was her only way of communicating with people who either didn't know any sign language or, like Rei, only knew the bare minimum.

He tilted his head, and typed back a short "Yes." Which was all Naoko needed.

Her smile widened as she leaned forward and put a hand on his shoulder, "Thank You." It was one of the few things that she could say well because she said it every time she rooted out a false hero.

The man nodded, his smile gleaming in the dark as his chest puffed out.

At first, it was obviously in pride, but quickly the puffing grew beyond normal levels.

Vibrato's eyes widened in panic as he looked around for the cause. No matter how many times she did it, evaporating the liquid in the body always seemed like the worst way to go to Naoko. On the levels of how painfully she had killed people, this was up there below liquifying all the gas in their bodies, which made them drown slowly.

The incapacitated men on the ground lay frozen as Vibrato's skin changed from vibrant green to a murky brown. He was swelling like a balloon, yet Naoko simply kept smiling, her eyes serious as gas began to pour from his nose and mouth.

She silently recited his last rites, claiming justice for all those people he had violated.

So what if he saved her? Doing something just for popularity and money would get you was no achievement. It was called being a fucking decent human being, and he failed that test.

Naoko was unflinching as she watched Vibrato's body give way, eyes first, and soon his stomach burst. It was gruesome, but part of her self appointed job. Once his heart completely stopped beating, she liquified his body, and soon the air surrounding them was tinted red as he disappeared into gas.

Was it guilt, or accomplishment that she felt in these moments? Honestly, Naoko wasn't sure, but it always left quickly enough... Especially since that first time.

The men on the ground around her were beginning to struggle now that Vibrato's quirk wasn't holding them down. Damn. Part of Naoko wanted to just let them go. They weren't on her list, and it would just take more energy to take them out too... But they had tried to assault her.

And she had a strict policy of no evidence...

With a resigned sigh, Naoko leaned down, ignoring the signs of panic around her, and placed the palm of her hand on the ground. It was quick and deliberately painless. She didn't need someone yelling now and bringing in other people who could bust her.

So far she had gotten by with no evidence of what she did. Every month or so a pro would just vanish into thin air. Depending on how popular they were, the media would fuss about it for a few days, and occasionally some would speculate that these disappearances were linked.

One reporter tried to link the cases to the quickly emerging Hero Killer, but their MO's were entirely different. She looked up to this emerging killer, who was publically killing heroes who didn't live up to the title, but she wasn't in it for the name. If she could remain nameless until the day she killed that flaming bastard, she would be perfectly happy.

The more she thought about it, she was putting Hasame in way too much danger. The more she killed, the more likely it was that she would be discovered. She couldn't do that to Hasame, who took her in when she was alone. She wouldn't tangle Hasame in this. She would never do that to one of the only people who tried to keep connecting with Naoko after the disaster... After she became next to worthless.

And the best part was that Hasame hadn't even wanted her to begin with.

As Naoko calmly left the scene of her crime, she didn't notice the eyes fixed on her retreating back. This girl was interesting indeed... Definitely worth keeping an eye on for now.

***

Naoko's eyes flitted across the screen as she read the police report of Vibrato's disappearance. Almost two weeks had passed since she had killed the man, yet there was so little news... Though, it was hardly surprising. Police like to keep disappearances close to their chests to stop mass panic, especially since this was hardly the first 'Suspicious Disappearance' that had happened recently. The term was being tossed around more as the Heroes and detectives alike began to speculate.

What was it they had started to call her string of murders? It was something clever a reporter had come up with Missing by Midnight as the tagline if she remembered right. Clever, to be sure, but it hardly encompassed the whole situation. Some sites brought up the idea of a serial killer targeting heroes, but not many people took them seriously.

Though Naoko was impressed, they brought up the fact that in each of the Midnight disappearances, an alleyway looked like it had been misted with what looked like red paint. Oddly enough, even Naoko didn't realize that her quirk did that). When samples were taken of the substance, results were inconclusive. It was more than just paint, but it also wasn't blood... At least not fully blood.

No doubt this would be a key piece that cracked open the disappearance. Naoko knew that eventually, people would figure out that there was more going on here than just heroes running away or being kidnapped. Still... she could only hope that they wouldn't connect her to the murders for a while. The idea of her face, or name, being out there for the underground heroes to start hunting terrified her.

Never mind the other heroes...

Naoko had seen one in action, his long, floating scarf billowing around him as he crouched on a rooftop, stalking his prey. Naoko had been close to killing the group who were beating up an unfortunate soul who had been caught outside just a little too late in the day, but Eraserhead beat her to it... Naoko remained in the shadows, frozen as she watched this man take out the group of 7 burley people in less than 20 seconds.

Really, the only thing she could do in that situation was to remain still and pray she wasn't noticed.

That man had left her with a healthy fear of the heroes who stalked the night, and regardless of what side they were on, Naoko would forever respect and fear Eraserhead.

Definitely fear.

Hmmm... She flipped the screen into sleep mode as she spun around in her chair. Hasame was out for the day, which was the only reason Naoko had dared to sneak back into the apartment. Perhaps that was a bit stalkery of her, but she couldn't risk hasame finding out. And where she as staying certainly didn't have an internet connection. It was a risk she had to take for now.

Her eyes flickered longingly towards the shower... How long since she had had fresh, clean water to bathe in?

Had it really been three months?

Five more heroes had been removed by her hands in that time, and while it wasn't the best life, it wasn't half bad. Naoko had been thanked by near victims of disgusting humans who Naoko had been able to stop. Not all of those ones died. It was true that she hated heroes, but it was the violent criminals she really wanted to scare the crap out of. They needed to spread the message to their friends that even if the heroes wouldn't do it well, there was someone out there making sure the idiots of the world didn't get away with murder.

Naoko lifted herself from the shockingly comfortable computer chair and turned around, brushing a small amount of dirt of the seat before she left. Funnily enough, the streets had given her a name, yet they didn't know what her real goal was.

Endeavor would die by her hand, or she would die by his. There was no other way she would let this end.

***

Naoko was hunting yet another hero, one not quite as bright as the rest she had to track down... Or, at least, she would be if this worm-like fellow weren't standing in her way. Arms folded, and enough frayed cloth wrapped around him that the tailor part of Naoko cringed.

It didn't help that he must have had his nose sliced off at some points... And those swords!

Nothing was pointed at Naoko for now, which is the only reason this silent standoff was still happening, but it was bizarre. Naoko had seen so many blades in her time, with the number of nicks in this katana... well, it really didn't look all that well-kempt to Naoko.

This was ridiculous. They had been standing here for three minutes too long already.

With the largest, sassiest eye roll she could possibly manage, Naoko huffed as she reached into a pocket to pull out the barely functioning electronic pad. Many hours had been spent hiding from rude staff members in free locations, charging the pad without being kicked out. And getting a coffee if she had any spare change, but that was rare.

"What? Do you have a problem with me or something?" She typed quickly and thrust the device at him.

He didn't startle or look surprised, which had Naoko's eye's narrowing. Had he been watching her? He typed for a while, struggling a bit with the palm-sized machine before holding it out to her, "I've been watching you. You target heroes too."

Okay... Sure yeah, she'd go along with it. Either he was the worst undercover cop in the world, or he was a killer who had been stalking her. There was nothing that could possibly go wrong in this situation. She nodded, and he jerked the pad back to him and began typing frantically for a long while... Was it just Naoko, or did he seem like an excited puppy that had been given a new toy?

When he finally held the device back out to her, Naoko had to stop her eyes from widening and her jaw from dropping. On a device that the screen was only about 3inches squared, Naoko could barely read the script because he had made it so small... Not to mention the fact that she had to scroll up for a solid second before she reached the top. He certainly was... enthusiastic... She grabbed it back and held it close to her eyes because while they hadn't been damaged all those years ago, this shit was tiny

"Then why? I've been keeping an eye on you ever since we targeted the same hero several months back. It was Vibrato I believe, the one who was incredibly pompous with how he acted in front of the press... I think I saw something about sexual assault charges too? That hardly matters though. At first, I thought you killed just because when you murdered those men as well, but that isn't the case, is it? You Only kill a hero every few weeks and only after spending time at libraries and places with computers. When you do stop other people, you let them go and they tell people about you. You have strong morals too don't you? I think we're a dying breed."

...Okay... there was a lot to unpack here. Naoko looked up at the man, who was very obviously trying (and failing) to look intimidating.

She deleted his message and typed, "And who are you, Mr. Stalker?" Handing it to him with a quirked eyebrow. It was only 10 pm and already she was exhausted. She still had to track down her newest victim and get him alone before the night was out, that was what she originally came out here for, but here she still was.

He only typed for a moment, "Stain. I assume you've heard of me?"

Damn, she hated having extended conversations over the pad. "Presumptuous." He frowned at that, "Fine, I think I have heard whispers. You've got the heroes in quite the uproar."

Yep. An absolute puppy. He quickly grabbed the pad, almost slicing up her hands with his bracers in his excitement, "That is true, but so could you if you weren't so good at getting rid of the evidence."

Oh god, just let it stop, "Yeah, well unlike you, I don't want the attention." He watched her expectantly and she rolled her eyes, "Fine, you got me, I kill heroes who are terrible humans and would be in jail if they didn't have undue power and popularity."

Some people would go into rants here about how stupid the system was that it allowed people to take advantage of it so easily, but A) Naoko didn't want to to this guy she barely knew, and B) Typing it down sounded irritating, so instead she just deleted what she wrote, "Now, are you just going to stand there and stare, or can I get back to what I was doing?"

He stared at her for a long moment before his hands rose, and in very slow and shakey sign language, he signed, "Play for me."

What?

Was that a threat? His face made Naoko think it wasn't but what the actual fuck would he mean if he mis-signed?

Her confusion must have been a pretty good sign to him as he immediately began signing again, this time going through each of the signs and muttering. Naoko did want to smile, but that would be a bad idea until she decided what he was doing.

It was a moment of amusement as he signed the same thing multiple times. She only handed him the pad because she knew what not knowing what you were signing sucked.

"Work with me?"

***

Naoko's quirk flared around her like a bullet. That idiot was getting sloppy. He was so eager to eliminate targets that he didn't view to be 'worthy' (don't get her started on that, it was a whole fight that they'd had many times in their year working together) of being a hero that he didn't do his research!

First, the idiot attack Ingenium, a hero who Naoko knew for a fact was nothing but a really stand up citizen. He was a damn good hero, and if she was saying that, then it had to be true.

Then, in a move that absolutely astounded Naoko with the sheer amount of stupidity it had to have taken the cloth wrapped worm, he started talking to the league of villains! Those idiots who were trying to burn the whole world to the ground! Naoko may be just fine with melting a few skulls every now and then, but she was never down for senseless murder.

Unless it was of rapists, abusers, and other assholes, then murder away... But that was beside the point.

But that wasn't the reason Naoko was storming through Hosu barefoot and with a scowl worse than anything else she'd worn for years as the district blazed around her. Of course, this was mostly Endeavors fault, and Naoko would like to kill the man, but right now he was stopping her from having to deal with those abominations herself, she knew had been able to sense the crusty bitch who was trying to recruit Stain, but once again, that wasn't her issue.

Right now, she had to pound the idea that research was important when you are in the assassination business. She loved the man like a brother, but he was an absolute idiot when it came to anything besides fighting and his ideals.

Right now she was tracking him based on the recent fixation he had. Because Ingenium survived (you're welcome.. if she hadn't been there to tear Stain away and solidify the bleeding, there would be no more Ingenium), he had become fixated on keeping his record consistent. She warned him, heck, she offered to find him and actually unworthy hero to track down but he refused, and now Hosu was on fire.

What was the name he briefly flashed at her before running out the door of their crappy abandoned duplex? Nature? Not that she cared, but she doubted he had made sure he was a false hero before charging in, blades first.

The vibrations around her were going crazy, it was basically a war zone, which told her that she needed to get away from the main streets. Stain didn't like hunting in the open. Which was one of the things they agreed on, killing in the streets caused PTSD for people who didn't deserve to be traumatized and it drew the police and heroes to your position.

Along the way, Naoko passed three muggings, and one attempted murder, which Naoko quickly stopped, but she kept going. He should be fairly close to the action. He would make sure that his mark would be seen quickly, and that narrowed her radius.

He wouldn't be near the fire... The oddly formed gaseous man on the roof... nope. A fight between four people? That couldn't be him... Right? That wasn't his usual style...

Ha. Yep, guess who got himself outnumbered? That's right, the idiot who didn't listen to her. Naoko took a deep breath as she stood hidden in the shadows. This had to go quickly. They were attacking ferociously, and by the way Naoko could feel Stain's body moving, he was reaching his limit.

Thank god for all that painful training he'd put her through, m'I right?

"Stain!" She yelled, pushing her rarely used vocal cords to say something that Stain had worked with her on saying so she could get his attention quickly if she ever needed to. At the same time, her quirk flared, and the three teenagers who were in the middle of some intense looking attacks dropped through the ground, submerging in liquid cement up to their necks before she solidified it around them.

"The fuck are you doing?" She signed widely, strolling out into the area with a scowl, "Do you ever think before rushing in and doing something stupid?"

The snarl that warped Stains face would've been terrifying if Naoko didn't see it literally every day. Instead of dealing with the child who still struggled with signing, she walked to the hero who was propped up against the alley wall.

Three stab wounds in his side and one in the top of his thigh, he was in bad shape, it seemed like he had bled to a dangerous amount. Honestly, Naoko hated looking at it. She smiled down kindly at the hero who was trying to glare up at her and move, it was sad honestly. She looked over to the teenagers who were struggling in their prisons, one with green lightning surrounding him, and back down at the man.

"I don't know if you can understand me," she signed, and immediately the man went still, his eyes fixed on her hands, "Wait... Can you?" He looked down briefly before looking back up, confused and afraid at once. if he were a hero that she deemed unworthy, she would've relished in the fear, but she couldn't. He was okay as far as she was aware.

"Really, that's unusual. Sorry about this. I've been trying to work on his patience, but he's absolutely terrible at thinking things through."
A smack was delivered to the back of her head, but she ignored it, reaching out and laying a gentle hand on his abdomen, activating her quirk and hardening the blood that was still flowing out. She stopped as much internal bleeding as she could, but there was very little she could do without making the problem far worse. He didn't have a fever yet, but that was probably coming, it always did when she got to beat up, after all, "I can't do much more for you." She signed, almost urgently, ignoring the sensation of Stain jumping back into a fight.

"But I'll drag this idiot away so the kids can get you help."

He was staring again, but something was different. His hands twitched as though he wanted to say something to her, but she shook her head and turned around before he could. Just in time to witness Stain getting punched in the gut twice at the same time as he was kicked by a boy with engines in his legs... Ingenium had something like... You know what, nevermind, she didn't want to know.

Before anyone could react, they were buried again, but this time, she maintained her hold on the concrete, continuously keeping a hold of it as she pulled out her pad, shaking her head at the lump on the ground, formerly known as Stain.

She warned him, therefore, she had no pity for him.

"I've done what I can for him," She typed out quickly on her pad, gesturing to the hero, "There's a clinic two blocks over to help since the city's burning down. Get him there as quickly as you can."

The boy with green eyes and hair gazed up at her, almost as though she were a puzzle he needed to unravel, but she just shook her head. She could only buy them so long to get out of dodge before someone was trying to track them down, and she was nowhere near as strong as Stain. She could feel the broken ribs from where she was standing, and that meant a painful walk back for him. With a grumble, she placed the swords in her belt, praying that they wouldn't break through, and pulled the infamous serial killer onto her back.

If not for her, his goal of cleansing hero society would've ended tonight, but he got a second chance, and she would be damned if he didn't help her achieve her goals.

And as she had said before, she wasn't planning on going down until either she, or Endeavor, was dead.