Chapter Sixteen
~Shina's POV~
"It took you this long to find Stain?" Shina asked when she entered the bar. Normally she would lower her mask once she was in the bar, but right now she was a bit nervous to be meeting a serial killer or 'Hero Killer' as he probably wanted to be known as. Oh, dear lord what was she getting herself into? She promptly sat down at the bar and took a huge gulp of the ginger ale Kurogiri placed in front of her.
"It was difficult as he kept moving." Kurogiri commented. "I was able to finally track him down as of an hour ago."
"What are you waiting for Kurogiri? Bring him in." Shigaraki ordered. Kurogiri disappeared in his purple haze. Shina lifted her mask back up to cover her face.
"Glad you could be here to join us Shina." Shina glanced at the staticky TV screen that was on in the corner. All For One was apart of this meeting, great.
"Hello All for One." Shina greeted. "Fancy hearing you here today. You doing good? No new plans to bring society to it's knees?" She took a sip of her drink as he answered.
"Heh, your interest is admirable Shina. All plans for now are being made by Shigaraki. I'm curious to see what he's able to bring about with this meeting." Shina glanced to Shigaraki.
"You are aware that this plan you have may fail right?"
"I am aware. However, what is it you American's say? 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'? Same principle."
"I suppose your right." Shina allowed.
"How are your clansmen doing in their internships?" Shigaraki asked. "Have they realized the error of Hero Society or are the Heroes making an effort to groom them?" Shina snorted.
"They're doing as well as can be expected considering they only have a week for their internships. All the information they've obtained is being compiled at our house. I'll bring them to you by the end of this week after I make sure that info isn't something I've already informed you of." Shina sighed. "To tell the truth, I despise them being so close to the heroes, especially Endeavor. He did not make a good first impression during the Sports Festival." That particular meeting had been, tense, if Shina had to call it something other than a complete letdown. Endeavor had been more focused on his son finally 'showing everyone how strong the lineage was' and 'how All Might would be surpassed'. Shina had felt bad for Shoto Todoroki as she'd seen the disdain for his 'father' immediately. With the scar on his face, it didn't take a genius to know some serious family abuse and trauma had occurred. Shina only hoped the trauma wasn't still continuing. She was a sucker for kids in abusive homes.
"It's a shame All Might does not have an agency that your clan mates cannot attend." All for One mused. "The information you could have brought us would have exceeded the information we already have." Speaking of abusive assholes...
"Glad I could help you with that. I'm sorry I can't bring you more information on the Top 10 Pros, their information is more heavily guarded than the rest of the heroes. Although," She amended, "James is currently interning with Endeavor and has been for the last two days. I'll bring in a new dossier on him and his agency by the end of this week as well."
"Good." All for One praised.
"What about the Hero Hawks?" Shigaraki asked. "You've run into him multiple times by now. You don't have any more information about him?"
"I have his statistics and other information that could be put on paper; however, I don't know him personally. From what Yuto has informed me though, he seems to be a workaholic." Shina didn't bother to mention the fact that Yuto also informed her that Hawks was investigating the League of Villains. It wasn't like he was going to find much on the League as they were in their early stages of being developed. Speaking of which, "No new candidates for the League?"
"Not right now."
"I have a suspicion that you may have a line on some new members?" Shina glanced at Shigaraki's relaxed body language. "Care to share?"
"Not right now." Shina grunted at the dismissive answer. She couldn't question him further as Kurogiri's black and purple portals swirled behind the bar and also in front of the bar. Shina got up, moving to sit on top of one of the booth's tables cross legged as Stain the Hero Killer appeared. She hadn't known what to expect but appearance wise, he did look intimidating and kind of awesome clothing wise. Like a humanoid ninja turtle.
"I see. So you're the ones who attacked UA. And I'm guessing you want me to join your little band?" Stain deduced. Shina had to give it to him, he was sharp.
"Yes exactly. When it comes to being evil, you're a pro." Shigaraki said.
"I don't know if 'evil' is the right word." Shina mused. "'Ruthless' would be a better descriptor."
"And what are you after?" Stain asked.
"Well, we want to kill All Might eventually." Shigaraki stated. "I also want to destroy everything I don't like. Everything!" He pulled a picture of the green haired kid from the Hero Course. "Like this little brat for instance." Shina wondered how long Shigaraki had been building up hate towards this kid. He hadn't voiced this to her but then again, she wasn't exactly around 24/7 to listen to him rant and rave.
"... It's ridiculous that you held my attention for a second there. You're the type I hate the most." The anger and underlying contempt in Stain's voice didn't go unnoticed by Shina.
"Huh?" She had warned Shigaraki of this outcome and knew that this meeting, whatever Shigaraki had hoped to accomplish, was not going to go well.
"As if I'd team up with some temper-tantrum throwing kid. Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless."
"Sensei, should I stop him?" Kurogiri asked of All for One.
"No, this is fine. There's no sense in simply telling someone an answer. He must be taught to reach these conclusions on his own. We can only help him to mature." Shina's mind filed that away to analyze for later as right now she had a question to ask herself.
"Question, if you kill all the heroes, how do you expect anyone to become a hero?" Stain turned his glare on her. "Your conviction is to 'kill all those who pretend to be heroes' but if you keep killing those heroes, why would anyone want to be a hero? At the most, you'd just cause a huge rise in crime."
"I detest all who pretend to be heroes as well as those who use their Quirks for their own personal gain. To truly accomplish anything, one needs will and conviction. Those without it, the weak ones, will be eradicated." Shina nodded as if she understood. "If there is no one willing to be a true hero, then they are fodder under my blade."
"Right but, who are you to say who is weak and who is not? I mean if you kill a growing hero for 'pretending' how are you to know if that hero would have become a great, selfless hero in the long run? Aren't you just destroying the roots of 'hero society' before they have a chance to take root?"
"And who are you to defy my convictions?"
"This is Sunfire." Shigaraki introduced. "My lieutenant." Shina only nodded once in recognition as Stain seemed to glare at her.
"Sunfire of the Shadow Clan?" The animosity seemed to rise as Stain growled. "You are apart of this generations taint to think only for yourself. Your conviction is as weak as his." Stain moved then. Shina had to admit he was faster than she'd expected as she felt a breeze in her face before a blink and Stain was practically on top of Shigaraki, using two combat knives to hold him down. Shina meant to get up to aid Shigaraki but she couldn't move.
"You and your accomplices will die tonight." Shigaraki started laughing. Considering his right shoulder was pierced through with Stains knife/sword, she wondered if either he'd lost whatever remained of his mind or if he had built up a high pain tolerance to laugh at this. Either way, she thought he was crazy to continue to provoke the murderer who currently held them down.
"Ow, so strong. Kurogiri quickly, send him away!"
"I am sorry Tomura Shigaraki, I cannot move. It must be his Quirk."
"Yeah sorry Shiggy but I'm immobile as well." Shina stated before he could ask.
"The word 'hero' has lost its original meaning in this corrupt society, rife with fakers and shams." Stain began to monologue. "Criminals who aimlessly throw their weight around like you, are also targets of my purge." Stain began to move the left knife closer to no doubt cut Shigaraki's throat.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on! Not this hand! Not this one!" Shigaraki reached up with his right hand and gripped the knife. Stain froze as his knife started to decay. "I'll kill you. You sure talk a lot about convictions. I don't have something so trivial. My motives are based on one simple person, All Might." The knife blade crumbled into dust as Shigaraki's voice got higher. "That piece of garbage and this worthless society that worships him can all crumble at my fingertips. That is my only 'conviction'." With that Stain jumped backwards to the doorway as Shigaraki was finally able to get up. "My wounds had just healed from last time. We don't have a healer, so this really sucks."
"Hey! I did my best okay?" Shina snapped. She still couldn't move but, based on Shigaraki's ability to push Stain backwards, she figured he could handle himself. And if he couldn't she could always light her body up in a flash grenade. Not that it would do much but blind everyone but her.
"Looks like you were right Sunfire." Shigaraki stated. "Our goals are too different."
"It would seem so, however," Stain grinned. "It looks like our one ambition that is similar is our quest to destroy the status quo."
"Get lost!" Shigaraki ordered. "Go die. I'm the 'taint' you hate, so why would I consider working with you after that display?"
"I was just testing your sincerity." Stain stated. "People tend to show their true colors when death is staring them in the face. You are an odd one, but your ambition, warped though it may be, is still a strong conviction." He glared at Shina who just stared back at him boredly. "I cannot say the same for your 'lieutenant'."
"Ah bite me Voldemort." Shina snapped. "I could care less what you think."
"In any case, your other accomplice made the beginning of a deal that I'd like to go through with."
"Can't say I really want this crazy guy as a member of our party, especially since I think you'd kill Sunfire the first chance you get. She's still useful to me."
"After all these weeks and that's all you can think to defend my honor?" Shina asked sarcastically. "How lucky am I?"
"Shigaraki Tomura, Stain's offer is legitimate. Sunfire can take care of herself. Any chance to increase our firepower would be a welcome addition."
"Sunfire?" Shigaraki asked. Shina felt her body finally come back to her command. She got off the table to stand straight. She assessed Stain before she looked at Shigaraki.
"He is a skilled fighter. Throwing away such a powerful piece would be wasteful. Kurogiri is correct though; I can take care of myself. The choice to add this deranged ninja turtle is yours as it always has been." Shigaraki tilted his head.
"Well look at that, looks like our negotiations have been successful." Stain licked his lips.
"So we're done here. Send me back to Hosu. I have unfinished business to take care of."
"Kurogiri." Shigaraki ordered. Stain disappeared in the familiar vortex. Shina relaxed minutely but then remembered, Hosu City was where James was for his internship. While Shigaraki went to the screen to plead for more Nomu's- of all things- Shina pulled out her phone and started to text James.
'Nox.'
'Mischief Managed.' The secret validation text came through a second later letting Shina know James was safe to receive the next text.
'Hero Killer on the loose in Hosu. Shiggy is angry. Expect Nomu invasion.'
'Understood.' Shina sighed and looked up to see what else Shigaraki was going to do now that Stain was effectively, on his kill list.
"Let's go." Shigaraki ordered. "Kurogiri, take us to Hosu City."
"Yes." The three of them disappeared in a vortex. It wasn't as fluid as Kana's portals, it was like sinking into a bed of jelly if possible. Shina came out of the vortex atop of a water tower. They looked to be in downtown Hosu if the size of the building was anything to go by.
"So this is Hosu, it's livelier than I thought." Shigaraki commented lightly.
"I will reform this town. But for that, I need more sacrifices."
"Why not stop sugar coating it?" Shina asked in a bored voice. "Just say you need more murders."
"You should watch your mouth." Stain growled.
"Is it not the truth?" Shina raised her eyebrow.
"If you're going to kill then get on with it." Shigaraki ordered, most likely tired of Shina being snippy with Stain. Shina hoped the new 'alliance' with Stain didn't work out for long. She didn't like him nor did she trust him. Not after that little display of killing instinct he pulled.
"Hmph, 'hero' is a title reserved for those who perform truly great feats. Too many are undeserving, money worshipers playing heroes. Until this society wakes up and corrects itself, I will continue my work." With that Stain jumped from the building to run rampant in the city.
"All that high and mighty talk, but he's not even past the small potatoes stage. It's almost precious how hard he's trying."
"Be that as it may, he's still going about his plans in a much more methodical if insane way than us." Shina stated as she sat down, pulling her knee up to rest her arm on.
"The cities he has been in have all seen across the board drops in crime rates. Some theorize that it's ties to an increase in hero awareness." Kurogiri reported matter-of-factly. Shina grunted under her breath at that. The cities were arming themselves after his attacks had left many dead. Shouldn't the other cities have also done the same after hearing about the first attacked city just in case? But that was assuming they were idiots who didn't know what they were doing. Japan's always been known world-wide for having their crime rates low. But, if they had armed the cities against Stain, they did a pretty crappy job.
"Well, that's great, so much for putting a stop to heroism. He's a hero breeder. At least indirectly." Shigaraki whined.
"Hm, before you go on a long tangent about you two being too different for this partnership to work, didn't you request the nomu's from All for One? Which, why did you request these nomu?" Shina asked.
"You're right. Kurogiri, bring them." Kurogiri started to open the vortex while Shigaraki continued to rant at Stain's disrespect. "As if I'd let him get away with stabbing me like that. If he wants to go on a rampage, we'll let him." He snickered.
"I assume you mean to bring about equal chaos to either upstage him or kill him?" Shina asked drily.
"Of course. I'll crush his pride and dignity." Three Nomu came from the vortex. They were a Franken-style assortment. One had large, leathery wings while another had long skinny arms and a spider-like quality. The last was all large muscles and hulking disposition. Shina assumed this batch was as hard to get rid of as the first Nomu she'd seen. In which case, only a Pro Hero would be able to get rid of them, or a few heroes working together if they were lucky to join. One had to wonder though, if All for One was intent on not interacting when it came to 'teaching' Shigaraki patience, why had he even bothered to have Kurogiri get Stain to join them, at least for this one night? Was it apart of a bigger plan that All for One was hatching behind the scenes? If so, was Shigaraki really in charge? And finally, what was the purpose of joining with Stain?
"Sunfire," She snapped to attention, looking at Shigaraki. "Find Stain and monitor him. If the Heroes or Nomu don't end him, I want you to do the honors of bringing him to me."
"You don't want me to just finish the job?" Shina asked curiously.
"No. I want the pleasure of ending him myself when this is over." Shina nodded before she stood up in one fluid motion and jumped off the water tower. She hit the ground running, going invisible between one bound and the next so that by the time she jumped to the next building's rooftop, no one saw her.
~James' POV~
"I smell blood." James told Shoto as they ran down the streets. They were almost to Ekou street where Midoriya's text had directed them. He just hoped they weren't too late for whatever trouble Broccoli Boy had gotten into. "I can smell Midoriya and Ida up ahead along with two other scents."
"You're faster when you go all fours James. Run ahead!" Shoto huffed.
"Alright!" James stopped running upright and launched himself forward, using his arms to pull his body forward while his legs pushed him faster. His tail and ears flattened to reduce drag as he darted further up the street before skidding into an alleyway. The smell of blood, sweat and fear was pungent in the air and only thickened the closer he got.
"SMASH!" He rounded the last corner to see Midoriya punching a man. He hesitated only long enough to observe what it was he had come upon. There was a hero leaning against the wall a couple feet backwards while Iida laid on the ground between Midoriya's crouched form and the hero's body. Their opponent looked to be trying to get back up. Midoriya was still crouched as the man got to his feet. James frowned, why was Midoriya allowing this villain to get back up? He should have finished him, or at least knocked him unconscious.
"You lack power." The Villain spoke. "But you did track my movements. You exploited my blind spot and planned out your moves to bring me down. There are few who would be able to do such a thing. You are worth keeping alive future hero. Unlike your friends here." James lurched forward as he saw the man moving to Iida.
His natural stealth helped conceal his movements as he went airborne to kick the villains head. A soft pop was heard as the villain went staggering to the side. James didn't move closer to the villain yet as he grabbed Iida's shoulders and twisted both to roll down the alley until Iida was next to the downed Hero. He then crouched protectively in front of Iida and the hero, his claws extended.
"I don't know about you, but I prefer to fight my opponents in a fair fight, not while their already downed." James snarled.
"James!" Iida and Midoriya exclaimed.
"Be careful James. He's the Hero Killer Stain." James narrowed his eyes.
"You couldn't have given clearer instructions Midoriya? I could have brought a Pro Hero with me!"
"Feh, another worthless distraction." Stain grunted, getting up. He tilted his head to the left, popping his neck.
"Considering the backup that's coming; you really think you can beat us?" James asked. "If you want to fight though, I won't mind coming up to bat." He created a Chaos Sphere and broke it to make his Chaos Claws. Stain readied his hunting swords. James jumped up, bringing his claws down in twin slashes that Stain had to jump back from after one of the slashes caught a sword. The sword turned black before it crumbled into ash.
"Well, that's familiar." Stain grunted as he pulled out another sword. "I won't mind killing you."
"As long as I have your attention." James hissed. He had to jump aside as Stain was faster than he'd expected. He should have asked Shina questions when he'd gotten her text earlier but he'd been in the middle of an arrest and hadn't been able to afford more time to look at his phone with Endeavor's glare on him. He was only able to dodge a few more times before James saw Todoroki's familiar white hair round the corner.
An idea from their training sessions the past few days popped into his head. It wasn't perfect and at most it was only for defense but right now, it had to work. James created two Chaos Spheres in his hand, he broke on and kept the shards going before he ran at Stain. "Shoto! Slide!" Ice spread quickly letting James fall to his knees and slide under Stain's legs. He used his Chaos Claw to swipe at Stain's boot while the Chaos Sphere he used to destroy the ground under them. James lost sight of Stain as he flipped onto his side, grabbing Shoto's hand to right himself before Shoto then launched him into the air.
"James, defend!" Shoto ordered. James nodded, jumping up into the air as Shoto had ice thrust upwards, making the downed hero, Midoriya and Iida slide together on the other side of the broken concrete. Shoto created ice steps in the wall above allowing for James to run along it easily until he landed in front of the three downed heroes. Shoto stood on the other side, using ice to cover the deep fissure created by James Chaos Sphere.
"One after another." Stain raged.
"Todoroki too?" Iida murmured.
"Your left side? How?" Midoriya muttered from behind James. He didn't doubt Midoriya was looking at Shoto.
"Isn't that supposed to be my question?" Shoto asked. "You should clarify more on your group texts. You're lucky James and I were able to figure it out."
"I already yelled at him for that vagueness." James cheerfully announced before he stated in a lower voice. "Don't worry, the Pros will be here soon." He honestly hoped he wasn't lying when he said that. Three nomu against heroes who weren't All Might? That was going to suck on so many levels.
"I wasn't able to say before," Midoriya said. "Don't let him draw any blood. Pretty sure he paralyzes his opponents by ingesting blood."
"That explains all the blades." Shoto muttered across the alley.
"Aren't people worried about ingesting any diseases with blood quirks?" James asked idly before he had to duck a smaller knife Stain threw at him.
"You've got some good friends Ingenium." Stain voiced. James hackles rose as he saw Stain heading to Todoroki. James growled as he knew he wouldn't make it to Todoroki in time. It looked as if he didn't have to worry though as Todoroki used ice chunks to protect himself from Stain getting any of his blood.
"Why are you guys butting in?" James heard Iida ask. "Just stop it. This is for my brother. This is for Ingenium!" James ear flicked as he looked down at Iida's eyes. He noted, that unlike last week, the swirl of vengeance as well as pain and anger was plain as day.
"That's weird." Shoto stated as he landed beside James who turned to watch Stain. "The Ingenium I know doesn't make faces or exclamations like that. Guess you also have a dark side don't you?"
"Everyone does." James stated. "It's what makes us human. What I want to know though, is can you live with yourself if you somehow can kill another human? Can you face your family with that knowledge? Would you dare to taint the name, Ingenium with that scum's blood?"
"You two talk too much!" Stain spoke. James had looked away and paid for that as Stain was coming at them. Todoroki launched a wall of fire at him, but James watched in horror as Stain went through the flames like he was a demon. He could attempt to hit him but with the fire, James was going to get burnt. Stain's body position was an issue for him also as James wouldn't be able to kick him or punch him without the villain getting a hold of him.
Stain was too fast! James readied his body to experience pain as he stood firm to protect the heroes behind him. In the back of his head he wondered when he had come to even care about these idiots?
The pain James expected was halted as everything changed in a quick flash of lightning. Suddenly, Midoriya was in the air beside Stain. James blinked in surprise as Midoriya grabbed Stain's scarf and twisted them, so Stain was flattened as Midoriya attempted to body slam him into the ground.
"Midoriya!" Todoroki and James shouted.
"Somehow I can move again just fine!" Midoriya shouted at them.
"It has a time limit?" Shoto stated.
"If that was true," James spoke up looking behind him to see Iida and the downed hero still down. "Then why aren't these two up yet?"
"He was the last of us to get hit." The Hero stated. "I still can't move."
"Guh!" Midoriya cried out as he fell to the ground. Stain had freed himself and stood separate now.
"Go help him. I'll watch these two." James ordered. Todoroki nodded and ran to aid Midoriya. James' mind was running on full tilt as he tried to figure out Stain's Quirk. He needed blood to immobilize his opponents but there was obviously a fault as with all Quirks. If it wasn't timed, due to the two behind him then could be it based on how many people he could immobilize? No, that was flawed as evidenced by the two behind him. What other factor was this based on? Age, gender, and body type was out. What about blood type?
"Hey," James glanced at the hero behind him. "What's your blood type?"
"Blood type? I'm B. What does that have to do with anything?" Iida must have been on the same wavelength as himself as he stated,
"I'm type A." James nodded.
"Then Midoriya must be AB or O, either one is probably more resistant to Stain's Quirk abilities. Not like that knowledge will help but if Stain does get either of them, I'm hoping they break out of it faster. Otherwise, we'll all be fillet."
"Stop this." Iida begged. "This is my fight!" James grit his teeth.
"Then stand up." James ordered. "But I'll tell you this now Iida, if you're just thinking of revenge, then you may as well stay down. As friends, we're going to do what we need to, to stop you from going down this dark path." James left it at that as he could see Midoriya and Todoroki were getting their butts handed to them. Stain truly was a monster as he wasn't giving them the opportunity to fight back much.
James himself had to enter the fight after Midoriya was thrown into a wall after his leg was stabbed. It was a little scary just how many swords and knives Stain had on his being considering it was form fitting gear.
"James duck!" James bowed backward before he pressed his back into the ground and used his feet to slam them into Stain's chin forcing his head back. James then rolled back onto his feet, panting.
"Any ETA on back up?" He asked under his breath.
"Unfortunately, no. If they haven't gotten here by now, we're on our own." Todoroki said. James nodded.
"Midoriya?" James called.
"I'm fine!" James knew Todoroki believed that as much as he did.
"We need to try and knock him unconscious. Maybe distract him and one of us will hit him from behind?"
"He's too fast." They didn't have more time to talk as Stain came at them again. He seemed to only get faster as he fought them in a whirlwind now. Todoroki's ice and fire were slowing and so was James own movements. He had managed to avoid getting cut but only be the fur of his tail.
It was about a minute later when he made a mistake. He used his Chaos Claws to swipe at Stain to keep him back and away from himself but Stain was faster as he finally sliced James chest to his shoulder making him cry out in pain as fire pounded through him. James staggered backwards only to have Stain kick him in the chest, slamming him into a wall. James grunted in pain, resisting the urge to yell as he glared at Stain who was very blurry but getting larger.
"James!"
"Recipro BURST!" James grunted, trying to ignore the heat and pounding pain from the cut. He gently shook his head and rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. Iida had managed to get back up and used a powerful kick to break Stain's katana before kicking the man to the far wall. He was faster than James had seen him in class as he used his legs to toss Stain aside and away from him.
"Iida?" James murmured. "You have terrible timing."
"This guys Quirk wore off. It must not be so great after all." Todoroki said. James groaned as he tried to get up.
"Don't dismiss it if you haven't been caught in it." Todoroki knelt down beside him. "Bandages in my pack. Pressure on wound to stop bleeding." Todoroki nodded and pulled out the packing gauze.
"This had nothing to do with any of you. I'm sorry." Iida voiced.
"Not this again." Midoriya groaned.
"That's why, I swear I won't let you three lose any more blood!"
"Hmph, it's no use pretending." Stain voiced as he got up. "A person's nature is not so easily changed. You're a fake who prioritized nothing but his own selfish desires. A cancer on this society warped by the so-called Heroes. Someone needs to correct the system."
"You're a fundamentalist? Get with the times." Todoroki drawled, not stopping in his bandaging of James chest. "Iida don't listen to his ideals. They're as warped as he is."
"No, he's right. I have no right to call myself a hero. Still, I won't let him break me. Because if I do, then Ingenium is really dead."
"You idiots! The Hero Killer is after me and the white armor kid. Get out of here!" The down hero shouted.
"No can do." James grunted, trying to stem the blood flow from his chest. "We're teenage heroes, we have trouble following the rules on a daily basis."
"James don't move." Todoroki commanded. James grunted in pain as he moved the wrong way causing a new wave of pain to flash across his chest.
"Okay, not moving." He relaxed as best he could and watched through slowly hazing eyes as Todoroki used ice to freeze Iida's leg allowing him to move fast enough to kick Stain's side while Midoriya, who had finally got back into the fight, punched Stain hard enough to have his head snap to the side. Stain landed on the iced over hole that James had created in the beginning with his Chaos Sphere.
"Is he out?" James asked warily.
"Let's tie him up and get to the main road. Anyone have any rope?" Todoroki asked. "If I keep him on ice his body may shatter when he moves."
"I have some rope." James groaned. "Gonna need help getting up."
"We should also take all his weapons, just in case." Midoriya spoke up. The three boys worked efficiently to tie up Stain, get the downed Hero up on his feet and also help James up. He could walk okay but the pain in his chest wouldn't allow him to take any deep breaths without feeling the fresh wave of pain. He would probably need some stitches.
"Todoroki please allow me to drag him." Iida persisted when they were exiting the alleyway. He was still miffed that Todoroki was the one to drag Stain out behind him while Midoriya was carried by the Hero. James and Iida walked side by side slowly.
"Your arms are still messed up though." Todoroki reminded.
"Relax a bit Iida." James stated. "I know you feel bad but if you injure yourself even more you won't be doing anyone any favors."
"I'm sorry I wasn't much help to you guys." The hero spoke up.
"Oh don't sweat it. It was a difficult fight even with the four of us there."
"Probably would have helped if the four of us had attacked all at once instead of one at a time though." James stated. "Or if you were one of the top 10 Pros ya know?" The hero sweat-dropped.
"You're not making this easy are you James?" Midoriya asked.
"I doubt anyone but a Pro Hero would have been able to fight him off with his speed. We got lucky that he screwed up by getting mad. If he had been more focused, I don't doubt that he wouldn't have been able to dodge Iida's kick and Midoriya's punch." Todoroki explained.
"I'm just glad no one died." James sighed.
"Eh? What are you doing here?" A loud shout had all of them stopping to stare at the short old man in yellow and white. "I thought I told you to stay in your seat?!"
"Gran Torino!" Midoriya yelped before the old geezer kicked Midoriya in the face. James blinked but didn't think anything of it as it seemed like they knew each other. Chances were this was Midoriya's hero that he was shadowing.
"Well I don't know what happened here, but glad to see you all alive!"
"Is this the alleyway?" They looked to see another group of heroes approaching.
"Who are you?" James asked.
"We were told to head here for back up by Endeavor." The female Hero spoke.
"I'm guessing he's- Endeavor is still fighting?" Todoroki asked.
"All those whose Quirks were useless were told to head here as back up."
"Cool." James murmured. "Anyone a Healer? Or have a ride to get to the hospital?"
"Call an ambulance!" A guy shouted.
"Is that the Hero Killer?" The female hero asked.
"Yes."
"I want to apologize to you three again." James, Midoriya and Todoroki looked at Iida who was bowing in apology. "I'm so sorry. I was blind. I lost sight of everything."
"Hey no!" Midoriya interrupted. "I'm sorry too. I'm supposed to be your friend. I should have realized sooner that something was wrong. I'm sorry I failed you."
"Like I said Iida, I'm just glad no one died, or went rouge." James muttered the last part under his breath.
"Pull yourself together." Todoroki stated. "You're our class president." A sharp whistling sound entered James ears but he thought nothing of it. At least not until a shout of,
"Get down!" came. James squatted down as did everyone else. Everyone but Midoriya it seemed, a second later his voice shouted out for help. James head snapped to the side to see his green haired classmate being flown away by a nomu. What the heck did Shigaraki want with Midoriya?
"Midoriya!"
"Midoriya!" James couldn't jump up to attempt to grab his classmate and he knew none of the heroes here were able to fight it. Before anyone could think to do anything, the familiar voice came.
"Both this sham filled society and the criminals who wield their power in the name of petty mischief, are targets of my purge." In the time this was said, Stain had broken free from his restraints, jumped up to the nomu and killed it before landed on the sidewalk with Midoriya in his grasp. "All for the sake, of a better society." James ignored the murmuring of the adults to look at the imposing figure of Stain holding Midoriya seemingly hostage. A memory of earlier when he'd come upon them in the alley filled him.
"You lack power." The Villain spoke. "But you did track my movements. You exploited my blind spot and planned out your moves to bring me down. There are few who would be able to do such a thing. You are worth keeping alive future hero. Unlike your friends here."
If Stain had been willing to save Midoriya then, would he do the same here? He may be a murderer but, was this a measure of goodwill?
"Why are you all just standing around there?" The loud bellow snapped James out of his musings to see Endeavor walking upon their group. "You should have encountered a flying nomu that escaped. Wait, is that…" James watched as he assessed the scene in front of him. The way Endeavor's face twisted up was pretty ugly.
"Endeavor!" Stain growled.
"The Hero Killer?"
"Todoroki wait!" The old man shouted making Endeavor falter.
"You fake!" The voice of what James could only describe as being worse than Shina's angriest voice had him freezing as a terrible foreboding feeling overcame him. His instincts were screaming at him to run from this person, run far away and never look back. "If I don't fix it, if someone isn't stained in blood… If I don't reclaim my hero status… COME! JUST TRY ME YOU FAKES! THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO KILL ME IS ALL MIGHT, A TRUE HERO!"
The deafening silence after this proclamation left a loud ringing in James ears. His instincts still screamed at him as he stood frozen in fear. Stain stood there as if waiting for the heroes to rush at him. But not one of them moved for what felt like forever. Until someone, either stupid or brave enough asked.
"Is he…. Out cold?"
GM NASAI: Shina has blood type O, James has blood type A, Kana has blood type AB and Yuto has blood type A.