The Heroic God Slayer
Chapter 22
So I know I just dropped a massive arc from the story with the last chapter, but now you'll be getting a different story and version of the Stain arc as well. Not to mention some set incidents up for later down the road. So on with the show.
(No POV)
Mina and Ida were walking with Manual after noticing the incident on the news. Both of the teens shivered since they knew exactly who had perpetrated the incident. And they had been in close proximity to said monster for a number of days.
"I have to worry about Midoriya. You may have said it isn't in his nature, but he is a Campione. We don't know much about them." Ida said with a suspicious look. But it shifts to a scared one when he sees the glare Mina is shooting his way. "He won't become like that," she says with greater emphasis.
Ida looks ready to rebuff or counter, but he stops when Mina says something else next. "To be honest, he's not the one I'm worried about right now. You are." Ida stops at this and asks what she meant. Mina shakes her head before saying, "I know the real reason you came to Hossu. It's because of the Hero Killer."
The vice rep of 1-A looks away and tries to deny what she said, but the look from her golden eyes tells him that she wouldn't be fooled. "Maybe I am. Do you blame me?" Ida asked with a scowl behind his helmet.
"Yes and no. Yes because anyone would be angry or out for blood after a relative was hurt. Especially a sibling. But no in that…. If you're trying to be a hero, then I don't think that is the best thing to do."
Mina's statements cut into Ida a bit, but he brushes her comments off by noting Midoriya's own powers. "Horus is not exactly a wholly righteous character now is he? He fought for vengeance and was seen as a hero for it. Midoriya has the powers from that God. And lest we not forget what he did in saving you twice. Taking revenge on two gods for hurting or kidnapping you."
The pink girl's eyes were wide at the callous way Ida had put that and his attempts at rationalizing his deserved revenge. Mina tries to counter, but Ida cuts her off and says they need to get back on patrol.
'He won't budge. And I'm willing to bet we'll have at least one incident or a hero fall before our internships end.' Mina thinks with a pouting expression that turns somber. She just resolves to keep an eye on him to make sure nothing befalls her classmate.
For the other interns from 1-A, some where having more eventful or unusual encounters during their studies. Jiro mostly trying to keep up with Death Arms, Mineta being an errand boy for Mt Lady, or Momo and Itsuka being assistants to Uwabami.
But two students had a very intense and intrigued teacher. "I'm glad you could come here Miss Sun. I was quite impressed with how you defeated my son," the number two hero Endeavor said.
While he had been a bit upset that Shoto had lost, he was fascinated with the "quirk" Xeimei had. And quietly considering/hoping the two would grow closer during their time together. "I read up a bit on your abilities. You can manipulate an element that you touch to take on different effects. Truly impressive."
"Thank you. But it requires a bit of thought and planning. Especially since I can only manipulate the five classic elements of nature. Fire, water, wood, earth, and metal." Xeimei said with a raised eyebrow. Endeavor nods and tells the two he'd like to work with them personally.
Shoto questioned if this was because he'd been ignoring any of Endeavor's previous training. The hero's eye twitched a bit at that but he moved past it by saying, "not exactly. You are exceptional with your ice Shoto. But you don't have much in terms of control. I can teach you how to do that."
He then notes that he could help Xeimei get better at thinking and fighting on the fly. "You seem to be the type who thinks about luring people to fight where you want. Like when you convinced Shoto to attack you with his flames and turned it against him."
The mage rolls her eyes slightly, but she doesn't deny she's a bigger fan of strategy when dealing with people of similar strength. That often doesn't work when dealing with rogue Gods, so she's been forced to be more upfront when helping Izuku. So she thanks the hero for some possible guidance.
Endeavor nods before saying they'll go on patrol first to walk the two through the basics of what heroes do. And when the reports come in about the destruction of the Yakuza, they were all shocked.
Shoto gulps before asking, "is that roughly what happened to the ones who…" When he trailed off, Xeimei picked up on what he was asking and nodded. "Yeah. There is a reason most people don't enrage a Campione. Even more so when pertaining to Master Jonathan. This is a pretty minor example."
In a lab structure under Jaku Hospital, AFO's doctor was working with some of the tissue and blood he extracted when Athena loaned their group. He was fascinated by the differences and similarities between the two creatures and known animals. 'This could be very useful for my nomu. As well as restoring the Master.'
He'd already isolated some base cells that could be added to them and had been modifying a few. Unfortunately, they were growing at an uncontrollable rate. So he was forced to move them to a different lab.
"Send these ones to Mustafa. This pair we'll send up to Okoyama. And…. ah those shouldn't be too much trouble. Take them to Hosu," he ordered a few villains allied with AFO to do. Some grumbled, but they did comply and got the various creatures to the other labs.
After the groups had left, the doctor took some time to look over the data again before coming to a different conclusion. "We need more to work with. More of like these creatures or similar. Then I can really make some monsters."
The doctor chuckles darkly while imagining all of the monsters he could make from the essence of the various mythic creatures. As well as how it could be used to restore his master. 'But I should study these a bit more. Just to be safe.'
The villainous thugs moved their charges to the locations, though one were less concerned than the others. "These things don't look that dangerous. Yeah but don't forget who made them. I doubt we need to worry at all. Not with all of these – Hey! Be careful you idiot!"
One of the tanks was knocked over and landed roughly on it's side thanks to a member of the group turning sharp while transporting. "Sorry! Some moron ahead of me doesn't know how to drive."
The group checks the tanks to see if there were issues. But not very thoroughly, as they missed some hairline cracks going through one of the tanks. Ones that they store in the basement of Hosu hospital.
After a few days, Mina could feel all of the tension coming off of Ida. And it was something Manual noticed as well. "Ida. Listen to me. I know that you only took this internship because your brother was hurt here," the water manipulating hero said with a nervous look to the teen. He acknowledged that Mina may have come to keep an eye on Ida as well, but she needed to hear what he had to say.
"Don't let yourself be motivated by personal grudges. We heroes don't have the authority to make arrests or dole out punishment. It's only because of advances in Quirk regulation that we can use our Quirks at all. But vigilantism is strictly against the rules. And if you're caught going off on your own, that's considered a major crime."
Mina nodded and while Ida seemed to agree, both could tell he wasn't really listening. He heard the words but he was still committed to finding Stain and taking him down to avenge his brother. So Mina thought she'd try something Xeimei had taught her when or if the time came.
And it came a way no one had been expecting. The evening Endeavor arrived with Xeimei and Shoto to hunt for the Hero Killer, there was an incident in and around Hosu hospital. "They said it looked like that monster thing All Might reported during the USJ attack!" Manual said while running to help put out fires.
Mina and Ida followed along, but the latter's eyes shifted to the alleys as well as thinking on a different matter. Once they arrived, all of them were shocked by the strange Nomu that were rampaging around the hospital. Some had not four but 10 extra arms or had stinger like tails.
A few of the other heroes were engaging the Nomu, but it was an uphill battle. Even when Endeavor arrived, the monsters seemed only mildly phased. "This is bad! Pinky! Ida! Keep the civilians clear and get out of here!" Manual ordered before using his quirk to put out some fires and slow down a Nomu.
They both nodded and started directing the civilians away. But Ida finished with his task quickly before sprinting off to search for Stain. Mina didn't notice right away as she was focused on helping some people get away. And using her acid to intercept some of the rubble that was being launched at her.
Only to be saved by a wave of ice and then some of the concrete rising up. She turned to the side and saw Xeimei and Shoto standing there with their hands on the ground. "Great timing you two!" she said before asking how long they had been there.
"Not really the thing to worry about Ashido! Where's the hero you were interning with? And Ida?" Shoto asks before firing a stream of fire and then freezing a monster. "He's right over… wait! Ida?!" Mina said before realizing he was gone. Xeimei asks what was going on before commanding some earth to trap another Nomu.
Mina gulps before pulling a bit of chalk out of a pocket of her vest. "Let's hope this works!" she says before drawing the circle Xeimei had shown her. She then pulls out a spare pair of Ida's glasses and sets them in the center.
"Intent is key when doing a locator spell Mina!" Xeimei says before using her own skills to protect other civilians. She had noticed what the pink girl was doing, and respected that she wanted to do the spell herself. Mina thanked the Chinese girl before rubbing her hands together and focusing on Ida. 'Please! Find him! Before it's too late!' she thought as she placed her hands on the circle.
In an instant she saw where he was headed. Or rather she could sense where he was headed and started that way as well. She barely heard Xeimei asking her to stop as she skated off. Praying she would get there in time to stop or save Ida.
And it was needed. Ida had finally found Stain as he was about to kill the pro hero Native. He rushed in with a kick to the villain's side and put himself between the two. "Hero Killer! I will take you down!" Ida announced while taking his stance.
Stain shrugged off most of the hit and narrowed his eyes at Ida. 'Another foolish fake…..no. He might be more focused on saving the hero. If it wasn't for what I did to Ingenium. It was never personal, but I need to make society stronger. And a family business of heroes? That just makes us weaker.'
He pointed his chipped katana at Ida before saying, "you really want to do this boy? What makes you assume you can win?" Ida grits his teeth before jetting in with his quirk to get another hit in. Stain evades while trying to attack the teen as well.
But Ida had learned a bit from Jonathan and Izuku on evading in the moment. He slid under the slash aimed at his body before going for another kick. Stain blocked that before throwing out a few knives to disrupt the boy. Who counters with a cycle of spinning kicks.
"Shouldn't you be helping the others boy? I know about the chaos over by the hospital. They'd need you more there. Unless you were here to save this fake." Stain says while slightly gesturing to Native. Who grunts while trying to move.
Ida doesn't even look at the injured pro and only focuses on Stain. Proving the villain's thoughts and opinions about the boy with a subtle sigh. "Fool," is all he says before rushing Ida faster than he anticipated.
He mostly dodges, but his helmet is knocked away from the slash Stain aimed at him. Ida grits his teeth and increases the speed on his engines before shouting, "I'll stop you! I'll take you down to stop you from hurting anyone like my brother ever again!"
Ida keeps his torque up and keeps kicking at Stain. Only to be surprised when he is struck in the side. By a kick from the villain's spiked boots. It punctured deep enough to make him bleed. And left the teen open to another attack from Stain.
His armor took the brunt of the slash from the chipped katana, but the fight was basically over. And Stain said as much as he got a bit of the blood from his boots, onto his katana. Bringing it up to his long tongue.
"Kid run! He's going to use his quirk!" Native tries to warn. But it was too late, and Ida wasn't backing down. Only to be paralyzed once Stain licked the blood from his katana. 'What?! No!' Ida thought while trying to move.
Stain shook his head before walking up to Ida. "You and Ingenium didn't deserve to be called heroes. Your whole family is built around the idea that being a hero is a business. And you were so caught up in revenge you didn't do what a hero should have done. Save the victim."
He looks to Native and can see that he's still trying to move. But not to get away this time. Instead, it seemed like he was wanting to stop Stain and save Ida. "Hm. Looks like you may have more in you to be a hero than I thought. But it is still too late for both of you."
Ida roars that he'll kill Stain for what he did and it cements the Hero Killer's thoughts about the boy. "You'll be another sacrifice to make this society just." Stain says while holding his katana aloft. Ready to cut down the teenager.
Only to be struck from behind by another kick. This one from Mina, who skated in as fast as she could to knock the villain away from her classmate. She landed a bit roughly, but she quickly righted herself and threw out a bit of acid to put some space between themselves and the villain.
"Ida! That was way too close! B-but don't worry. I'll keep you safe." Mina said with a little stutter as she let some acid pool in her hands. In her mind though, she was terrified. Mostly thanks to the visage the villain had and the blood stains she saw around her.
'But this is nothing compared to facing down against a God.' Mina thinks before comparing Stain to Njord or Athena. Eventually finding him small in comparison and smiling in spite of her fears. Stain himself smiles before laughing and commending Mina.
"Truly heroic girl. You can smile despite any fears. But if we continue on this path, the weaker will fall," Stain says before brandishing his katana again. She takes a breath before shifting her weight back and forth a bit. 'I don't have my Monkey boosts. But I won't let that stop me. I will save Ida. Just like Izuku would do.'
She waits for Stain to move and launches some of her acid at the man. Who leaps around to evade the liquid. 'Not the best match up. My body is one thing, but if she melts my weapons I won't be able to stop her.' Stain thinks before throwing some knives at her.
She creates a small wall of acid and takes the edge off of the weapons. Except one that slips by her wall and cuts her side. She winces but doesn't let up on keeping Stain away from Ida and Native. "Asido get out of here! This is my fight! Not yours!"
"That's all the more reason to step in! Izuku would try to save you! Just like he's done for me more than once! So this time! I'm going to be the one saving someone!" Mina says before launching more acid at Stain.
He nods in respect to the young heroine. "Well said girl. But I get the feeling if it hadn't been for this other person, you might be another to remove." Stain says while looking over the battlefield.
He throws out a few more knives and attacks once more to try and stop the girl. Before seeing his path to stopping her and finishing what he needs to do. He narrows his eyes at Mina while bringing his katana down toward the ground. Then sprinting as fast as he can.
Mina makes another wall of acid to stop the man, but is surprised when a box filled with dirt and junk is thrown at her. Stain had caught that and used it to obstruct her vision. She then noticed something going over her head and launched some more acid at it.
Only to be surprised by a kick from behind. What she had been spraying acid at, was just a raggedy blanket Stain picked up with the box. The kick sent her away from Ida and Native while still getting cut a bit. And before she could stand, she felt her body being paralyzed.
"You did well girl. And you have the potential to be a great hero. But this fight is done. I made sure you were facing away so you wouldn't see this. Though you will remember it as when two more fakes fell." Stain said before stalking over to Native.
The man was afraid but he still tried to move and stop Stain. With Ida angry that someone else had been hurt because he failed to stop the Hero Killer. Just as he was berating himself for failing and straining to get up, a new player entered the battlefield.
Right as Stain's katana was coming down to finish off Native, the clash of steel rang. With Stain now only having half a katana. Opposite him, Xeimei landed with a flip and flourish of her jian. And just as he was about to engage her, the Hero killer sensed something else.
He leapt up and off the walls to dodge a stream of fire from Shoto. Who then used his ice to move all three of the injured away. "They're clear Xeimei! And I'll make sure he can't get to them!" Shoto said before making a wall of ice to separate them.
Xeimei nodded before flourishing her sword a bit and taking a stance before the Hero Killer. Her red eyes intently focused on the villain. He grumbled a bit before taking another knife out and holding two blades to engage Xeimei. 'This just got complicated,' he thought while easing toward the Chinese hero student.
Sorry if that seemed a bit convoluted of a reason to put in the chaos, but I didn't want to have it just be the whole LOV tries to recruit Stain and Tomura just acts like a pissy brat who is mad he got beat. So I went with this and having Tomura waiting for a new real chance or AFO looking for a way to avoid fighting or inviting the wrath of a Campione. The rest of the fight will happen next chapter. With Xeimei really getting a chance to shine. Please review!