Katsuki and the mystery man were at it. Katsuki darted foward using the explosions granted by his quirk to act as a propellant, moving him faster than usual.
His trajectory towards the man was offset by a throwing knife which he barely managed to dodge. If Katsuki had been a paper widths closer, his cheek would've been straight up torn off!
The boy's attention was then drawn to the spiky boot which raised towards Katsuki's side at a rapid rate. He saw this as a good opportunity to close the distance. Doing so gave him a wide open opponent, prone to his powerful blasts of fire.
Katsuki shouted as a loud boom echoed through the alleyway, the kinetic fireball managed to knock the man back, who had nowhere to go to dodge the large attack. The man was stunned, catching his breath as he rubbed some ashes off of his cheek.
The boy didn't see this as a chance to stop and talk things through, rather he closed the distance once more, preparing for another assault. He took advantage of his opponent's vulnerability, reeling his hand back in preparation for an even bigger explosion. He could practically feel the energy course through his veins as it came up slowly, small pops on the outside of his arms being heard.
The man, despite his vulnerability smirked with confidence as he looked back at his assailant.
"So? You a hero in training or something? You're pretty strong."
He said in a curious but condescending tone as he quickly slid underneathe Katsuki's very telegraphed attack. The boy winced as a sharp pain radiated near his inner thigh. He had been cut.
"Though that angry additude of yours... It needs fixing... If you were just more calm and competent, maybe you wouldn't die tonight. I gave you a chance to back out. So am I truly the bad guy? After all, we're headed for the same person~"
The man taunted as he pulled his bloody blade towards his long and bumpy toungue which hung out lazily, motionlessly until further notice. What Katsuki thought to be a strange gesture instead resulted in Katsuki's body dropping to the ground, unable to move whatsoever.
He was... Completely paralyzed!
It didn't matter how much Katsuki wanted to move. He just couldn't. He tried thinking of everything that got him up to this point... Something as a motivational factor to get his ass off the dirt... But he still couldn't move.
The boy once again felt the feeling of acceptance towards his demise, similar to how he felt fighting that overpowered villain at the USJ. He watched as the man slowly trudged towards him, humming some lalaby as he walked. Filled with adrenaline, the sounds he heard were only enhanced, making for an even more horrifying experience.
Time seemed to flow twice as slow as his inevitable death came closer and closer. Now, the man stood above him, his jagged and chipped katana pointed straight down at the base of Katsuki's neck. He braced for the brief pain that would be felt as he dug the cold worn blade into his neck, and the sweet relief of death that would come after his brain stem is severed.
Just as the blade made contact with the skin of Katsuki's neck, the man was quickly knocked back a few feet, a distressed and shocked look plastered on his face. A man donning all black clothing stood before him. It was Mr.Aizawa!
"What the hell are you doing out at this time of night Bakugo...? Not to mention the misconduct of using your quirk in public... Truly irrational."
His teacher lectured as he got ready to fight the blade weilding man, holding his binding cloth in one hand, and putting eyedrops in his eyes with the other. He then put on his gold colored goggles, activating his quirk on the villain.
Katsuki was shocked to see his teacher more than anything. He thought he was in a coma just like him! Guess he got out sooner than expected... That really went to show how dedicated his teacher was to heroism... If only he could be like that.
Shota let out a grunt as he stared down the formidable opponent, that being the hero killer Stain.
"What do you want from this boy? I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself before I beat you to a bloody pulp."
The hero tried to reason with the villain. Shota wondered if he could even take this villain on in the first place... It was obvious that his quirk only acted to boost his lethality, though that didn't mean he was worthless without his quirk. He was likely an experienced fighter who had pushed his body to its very limit, just like Shota himself...
If anything this will be a very close fight...
"Ahh... Well you see. He technically attacked me first... So am I really at fault here? We're going for the same goal, though I couldn't help but notice that he was in my way... I gave him a chance to butt out and he didn't..."
Stain replied with a grin as he wiped the blood trickling from his lip, a large boot mark being left on the lower half of his face. He took the powerful kick surprisingly well...
"So what if you two are after the same goal...? That doesn't give you the excuse to kill a minor. Even if he did hit you first, wouldn't you know better to just... Walk away, or paralyze him with your quirk?"
Shota then tried to reason with Stain who let out a chuckle.
"Reason reason reason... That's all you talk about. If you're so adamant about defending that kid that you'd protect him from unlawful use of quirks in public and assault... Then why don't we fight? Whoever wins gets to do whatever they want, wether it be saving or killing him."
Stain then shot back as he pulled out a combat knife to act as close range support alongside his katana. Shota let out a sigh before quickly shooting out his binding cloth towards the villain.
Stain dodged the attack and tried to close the distance, moving with great vigor and speed. Both of which shocked Shota to say the least. Nonethless he maintained his composure and continued to fight with a rational mindset.
Shota reeled his cloth back, splaying it out in the air, the cloth floating loosely for a second before being guided back to Shota's hands. Stain jabbed his katana towards Shota, who blocked using the surprisingly durable material.
Using some footwork, Shota managed to swiftly get behind Stain, wrapping his binding cloth around his neck before delivering a powerful punch straight to his ear, dirupting his senses.
The equilibrium in Stain's ear being distrupted meant that he was off balance for a short amount of time, though he wasn't out of the fight just yet, as he wildly swung his combat knife back at the hero to get him to back off.
Shota did create some distance between the two of them, but managed to keep the bindings firmly tightened around the villain's neck, effectively putting him on a timer that Shota simply had to wait out.
Stain threw both of his weapons into the air as he quickly spun around, grabbing onto the cloth, with overwhelming strength, Shota was quickly pulled towards the villain, who caught the falling sword in his mouth and the knife in his left hand.
Stain swung his sword by viciously turning his head. Shota used the momentum of him being pulled in order to succesfully slide under the attack, dodging with finesse. The hero managed to wrap up Stain's ankles as a result, tripping the already off balance villain, slamming him to the floor with force.
A thud on the concrete echoed through the alleyway as Shota stomped on the back of Stain's head, holding him down firmly as the bindings on the villain's neck slowly weakened him, and the bindings on his ankles made it hard to stand up.
"Tonight is the night that you are brought to justice, hero killer."
Shota announced calmly as he tapped on his earpiece in order to contact more heroes and police to come this way. The hero had a good feeling he had won the fight, but he was not certain that Stain had given up quite yet...
His fears were only waranted as a sudden burst of strength shot out from underneath him, taking Shota off of his knocked over body.
"I'm sorry but not tonight... You may win this time... But I won't let you catch me Eraser Head."
Stain said as he quickly jumped up the walls, making a hasty escape as his haunting visage faded in the night. They were safe. That's all that truly mattered in the moment. While he may not have captured Stain, at least he prevented the death of his student...
Police, heroes and an ambulance arrived at the scene. Bakugo's mother was soon called to the scene as he got his leg wound patched up by some nurses. The boy's mother was furious, but also greatful as to his survival, and thanked Shota for saving her son's life.
Shota reported the Stain founding and hoped to get a lookout to search for him since he resided in this city. If he was truly right about some goal being in this city, it was unlikely that he would leave. At least he wouldn't be gone for long.
One way or another the hero killer was bound to constantly have heroes and police alike on the constant search for him so long as he continued his conquest in this city. At least Shota's efforts to stop the villain weren't in vein...
Katsuki, who had recovered from the state of paralysis from Stain sat at the edge of the ambulance, his leg being bandaged up and doused with disinfectant. At least he didn't need to go to the hospital again...
The boy sighed, with annoyance and a feeling of guilt as his mother came to the scene, knowing he was going to get an earful from her. He braced for the worst.
"Katsuki you little shit! Why the hell would you go out alone at night like that?! You almost died!!"
His mother barked out in anger, seemingly tempted to smack the top of his head off with the force of a thousand suns. The boy couldn't respond. He knew he was in the wrong. He had no excuses for what he did tonight, simply blinded by his own anger and selfish desire to find Izuku.
After about thirty minutes of Katsuki's mother discussing with and apologizing to everyone, the two were sent home.
"Look... I know you want to find Izuku... I do too... You think you're alone in these feelings of yours but you're not... Katsuki. You can only begin to imagine the pain I felt as his mom died... I just knew something had gone awry and I wanted to get into contact with her son... But I couldn't. I spent many nights unable to sleep... I'm just as scared as you are... And now that we know who he is... It only gives more reason to look for him... Because we at least know he didn't die too..."
Katsuki's mother spoke, her voice lower than usual as she seemed genuinely sympathetic for once. Katsuki still had nothing to say, since she was just explaining shit that they both knew.
"But just because you want to look for him doesn't mean you need to put your life on the line to do so! We will find him... It may take days... Or weeks... Or months... Years maybe, but we will find him. We just need to be patient."
She added as they pulled up to their driveway. Katsuki looked down at his hands which rested on his lap. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking up for once.
"I know... But it's my fault that he became like this! I bullied him... Fuck! I even told him to jump off a roof! I thought he actually did it! Now that we know he's alive... I want to find him... And save him! If that means my life is at stake then so be it... That is my punishment for bringing him to this point!"
Katsuki replied as he gripped his torn up jeans tightly, his voice breaking as he yelled. Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes as his emotions got the better of him. Not wanting his mother to see him crying, he buried his face into the dashboard.
"I know... I know you disagree with me but there is nothing anyone can do to change my thoughts... It's my fault so I should go and fix it..."
Katsuki concluded to himself as well as his mother, his lip quivering as tears began cascading down his face.
"Thats..."
Katsuki mumbled, as he raised his head, staring his mother in the eye as tears streamed down his face.
"That's my conviction."
He said in a firm tone, as his eyes glowed orange, the flames of inspiration burning brightly in his retina as he began to feel a new emotion once unrecognizable to him...
Passion.
Izuku sighed, tossing a dart at a dart board, he was riddled with boredness. He felt as if there was nothing to do, now that he had broken All Might down by revealing his identity. Shigaraki accompanied Izuku, throwing darts as well.
"Y'know what pisses me off the most Izuku?"
Shigaraki asked Izuku, who prepared for an absolute rant fest from the other villain.
"It pisses me off that I was originally the one supposed to take All Might down and become the next symbol of fear... Yet you've taken Japan by storm, you broke the number one hero down and a good portion of the belief of the masses... In other words, you're more popular... Why is that?"
The blue haired villain ranted as he tossed another dart, not even hitting the board, as the sharp object lodged itself into the wooden wall behind the board. Shigaraki cursed to himself.
"Maybe it's because I presented interesting information alongside a conviction? If you did similar, you'd be getting the same treatment y'know. Then again you don't really strike me as the type to have... Convictions."
Izuku replied as he launched another dart, hitting the board unlike Shigaraki, but far from the bullseye.
"I have plenty of conviction! I fucking hate this society... And want it destroyed. Heroes are so focused on saving the majority rather than the minority... I was once a child homeless and hopeless, yet nobody saved me... Until master came along and gave me a purpose!"
Shigaraki replied with pride in his beliefs, tossing another dart which landed right beside Izuku's last dart.
"Hmm... Well I guess that's an interesting idea to present.. After all, it makes you a more sympathetic villain and even if the heroes do beat you, it's only a step in the way of resolving the flawed world you witnessed... Not even I have that really! Beating me would pretty much resolve every problem I bring to the table."
Izuku said, speaking truthfully about his overall importance to the world compared to Shigaraki's.
"I'm not even this symbol of fear you speak of... I don't symbolize anything I don't think. Maybe greed? I don't know. Either way, that symbol of fear is still out in the open. You just gotta go out and make a lot of noise!"
Izuku concluded his point with a smile on his face, hoping that would be enough to calm Shigaraki down and give him something to think about.
"Yeah... I guess so... And now that All Might is down for the count in terms of influence, maybe I could truly step up and become that symbol after all."
Shigaraki said as a grin became apperant on his face as he threw yet another dart, hitting the bullseye.
"Yeah, not without preparation though... Since nobody knows your name, they just think you're a nobody trying to ride off of my success... You gotta make your own identity. Go about that however you will. Be it through your actions or words."
Izuku replied, throwing his final dart, also getting the bullseye.
Author's note: sorry for the long wait for this chapter releasing. School has been weighing me down a lot and I've been sleeping a lot more cause daylight saving lol.
Though now since i'm on Thanksgiving break, I should be able to drop a few more chapters and keep updating the story! With that being said, stay tuned for next chapter!