A/N: I got this chapter out pretty quickly, and I really enjoyed writing this entire arc. Hopefully you'll enjoy it despite how fast I wrote it. I didn't feel rushed per se but I wanted to get it out as soon as possible.

I think it has to do with me being antsy with how close we are to my huge turning arc.

Anyway I hope you enjoy!!!

"Regular speech,"

"Flashback speech,"

'Inner dialogue,'

'Phone Text Chat'

Himiko shot straight for the Hero Killer, throwing her knives as she did. Izuku leaped to the left wall and went wide to attack his side. Himiko's knives came right for Stain, but suddenly, he threw his katana straight at Izuku and caught the knives Himiko had thrown.

He might have been impressed with the man's speed and skill… if there weren't a katana flying right at his face.

Izuku didn't think his brain could handle another burst of high processing power, so he opted to use his costume to his advantage and deflected the katana with his metal forearm guards.

The blade spun away somewhere behind him, and Izuku could see Himiko and Stain were in a fast-paced knife fight.

Himiko sliced up at the Hero Killer's eye. He leaned barely far enough back to avoid the strike and followed up with his own slash he aimed at her abdomen. Himiko was just as fast as she grabbed his wrist and turned it so that he was forced to drop the knife, but then he leaned into her wrist hold and did a cartwheel that brought his spiked boots dangerously close to Himiko's face.

Izuku had cleared the space between them and aimed to sweep Stain's feet out from under him, but he seemed to anticipate Izuku's move and managed to stomp down on the boy's leg.

"Ahhh!" Izuku cried out in pain as he felt the joint in his leg snap.

"Izu!" Himiko closed the distance even further, seeming to forget her knives and opting to try and gouge the Hero Killer's eyes out with her clawed gloves, "I'm going to rip your eyes out, cut your belly open, and strangle you to death with your own intestines!"

Stain seemed to find her remark unsatisfactory, "If I wasn't sure about you before, that remark sealed it. You are no hero… you're just a parasite latching onto something far greater than you."

Himiko swiped her claws at Stain, but he easily avoided her wild and frenzied swings. She had given up on all of her skill with bladed and sharp weapons in her anger and was just lashing out blindly.

Stain avoided a heavy swipe, making her overextend, and then punched her in the face.

Himiko fell to the ground.

Izuku tried to stand, but white hot pain shot up his leg, and he collapsed to the concrete, "H-Himiko! Leave her alone!"

Tears of pain and frustration rose to his eyes, and he slammed a fist into the ground, bloodying his knuckles and cracking the pavement as Stain kicked Himiko in the ribs.

The spike on the tip of his boot pierced her side, and blood sprayed across Izuku's face.

His vision blurred, and he could hear the sound of his heart hammering in his ears. Suddenly, all the pain in his leg disappeared.

"Hey."

Stain turned from the girl beneath his boot to the green-haired boy. Somehow, he had managed to climb to his feet despite the broken leg, whose bone jutted out from beneath his pants. Something was… different.

"Get the hell away from her."

He sounded strangely calm but also furious at the same time. The blood from the girl had stained his face red, his eyes glowed with a strange light, and static crackled across his body.

The air around him felt heavier.

"Oh? Are you showing the seeds of conviction? Is this the advent of a hero?" Stain grinned madly, feeling goosebumps rise on his arms as he looked at the boy.

"Shut the hell up. I don't care about whatever you're saying right now," the boy stepped forward, and despite the broken leg, he didn't waver even slightly. "All I care about is helping Himiko and beating you within an inch of your life."

'He's… different."

The girl shifted.

Stain looked down at the girl and then back up at the boy, but he wasn't there anymore. He had disappeared in the instant Stain had looked at the girl. All he could see was the empty alleyway, the hero wannabe still trying to break free from his quirk, and the immobile form of the fake hero Native.

The Hero Killer looked all around, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. It was like he'd just disappeared.

A foot slammed into the back of Stain's head, sending him flying down the alley again.

He righted himself and came to a skidding stop, 'how did he—'

A fire escape squeaked from above; its walkway was bent in, and the metal was hanging by a thread.

'Ah. He jumped and then used the fire escape as a springboard to deliver a powerful overhead blow. Not a bad idea.'

"Himiko," the boy cradled the girl's head, pulled bandages from the belt around his waist, and silently wrapped them around her wound.

"I-Izu," she reached up and stroked the boy's cheek, "j-just leave me. You're already h-hurt."

"I'm fine. You're the one who's hurt, so don't waste your energy talking. Just wait for me; this won't take long."

Stain drew one of his combat knives from his boot, "ah, another very heroic line, but… I'm afraid you've already been led astray by that girl. It truly is a shame, but—"

The boy glared at the Hero Killer, "Didn't I tell you to shut up? Just fry."

'What? What does he me—'

A tidal wave of fire washed over him, and all he knew was searing hot pain.

Izuku fell to the ground beside Himiko, "that didn't take you very long, Todoroki."

Todoroki shook the fire from his hand and looked down at the Hero Killer, smoldering on the ground coldly. "Well, I would've been here sooner if you hadn't sent such a cryptic message."

Iida stood to his feet. Izuku figured Stain's quirk had lifted when he had passed out, but when he caught sight of Native still immobile on the ground, he panicked, "Todoroki! Iida! His quirk is still active, so don't let your guard down!"

"You," Stain stood to his feet, his skin smoking from the heat of Todoroki's flames, "are the child of the number two hero, Endeavor."

Todoroki's left side ignited, bathing the otherwise dark alley in light, "Hey, Iida, are you ready to help me take this guy down!"

Iida stepped forward and jerked Todoroki's right shoulder toward him. "No! This villain is mine! I must kill him and get revenge for my brother! It is the only way I can live up to the name he has entrusted to me, Ingenium."

"Ingenium?" Todoroki shrugged Iida's hand off and passed a cool stare over him. "That's strange. I don't remember Ingenium ever making a face like that."

Iida's eyes were set and grim, his brow was furrowed in rage, and his teeth were clenched. But at Todoroki's words, his expression shattered, and he clenched his fists, "I—"

"Todoroki, look out!" Izuku shouted, trying to get to his feet again, but all of his strength was truly gone. His leg ached, and he nearly collapsed on top of Himiko.

Todoroki looked back at the Hero Killer, instinctively sending a blast of fire at him, but a pair of knives flew through the fire.

The blaze obscured Izuku's vision, but he thought he heard Iida cry out. A wall of ice shot through the flames, immediately shattered by a kick from the Hero Killer, and Iida was thrown over to Izuku and Himiko.

"Iida! Are you alright?"

His friend adjusted his glasses and turned away before Izuku could see his expression, "I… am sorry you, Toga-San, and Todoroki were dragged into my problem."

"Iida… we came here because we were worried."

Himiko slapped Izuku's side blearily and mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear, "Izu was the one worried about you."

Izuku chuckled, "Yeah, okay. I was the worried one."

"Thank you for being my friend, Midoriya. You are truly a good person," Iida smiled sadly at them and rejoined the fight with the Hero Killer.

Stain seemed enraged by Iida; his eyes were bloodshot and crazed, "those words are waisted coming from a person like you. You're a fake who prioritized his own selfish desires! A cancer on this society warped by false heroes."

Iida crouched down into a runner's stance, "I know that this situation is entirely my fault, and I have a long way to go before I can even stand on the same level as the three of them. But if I give up here… then Ingenium is truly dead."

Stain gave him an unimpressed look and pulled out yet another hidden knife, "pathetic."

'How many of those things does he have?' Izuku caught sight of something a few feet away from him and Himiko, 'his katana.'

Slowly, painfully, Izuku drug both himself and Himiko toward the blade. He didn't know if it would come in handy, but he would rather have something to keep the man at bay if worse came to worse.

Todoroki sent a wave of frost along the ground, aiming to restrict Stain's movements, but he leapt into the air right at Todoroki. Iida had been prepared; he burst into motion and intercepted the Hero Killer just before he could cut Todoroki.

The knife scraped across Iida's metal-plated forearm, grinding and sending sparks shooting out. Iida aimed a high kick at Stain's head, but he just ducked under it.

"Stall however you like; in the end, I will kill you, that fake, and the girl so that I can build a better society," Stain stabbed at Iida's unarmored side.

A blast of fire drove him back, allowing Iida some breathing room. Todoroki stared at him coolly, "Don't count on it. The pros'll be here soon; I made sure of that."

Izuku and Himiko had reached the forgotten katana. A trail of her blood followed them the few feet it took to reach the blade, and she groaned as they came to a stop.

"I'm sorry, Himi-chan. It's almost over. Iida and Todoroki can handle him. He was already roughed up because of us." Izuku tried to smile down at her, but all he could do was grimace and try not to stain her face with his tears.

He was failing.

Himiko reached up and smiled through bleary eyes, " 's fine, Izu. I've had worse."

"You're a novice," Iida came tumbling toward Izuku and Himiko. Stain's boot crushed a thin wall of ice Todoroki had put up to keep him away, "don't you know? Relying on your quirk too much will only hinder you."

"I won't let you! Recipro Extend!" Iida shot forward faster than Izuku could follow, but he didn't need to.

All Izuku had to do was look at the Hero Killer.

The blade Stain had aimed at Todoroki was coming down toward Iida now.

Izuku turned the katana in an icepick grip and reared back, 'Can my body handle this? Will I make it in time?'

One for All answered his call, but he couldn't feel his body tearing, feel the muscles unraveling under the new strain of ten percent. But he didn't need his whole body for this—just his arm.

Izuku threw the katana.

It sliced through the air faster than Izuku could second guess himself. The blade stayed straight despite the heft of the handle, and it found its mark. The tip of the blade pierced Stain's knife hand, jerking it away from Iida.

Iida turned his entire body with his own attack. His leg came up with insane speed, and the tip of his booted foot slammed into the Hero Killer's chin.

Stain was thrown backward, but the force of the Katana Izuku had thrown pulled him backward and embedded the blade into the brick wall behind him.

The Hero Killer hung there, suspended in the air by his hand that his own katana had impaled.

To add insult to injury, Todoroki froze Stain to the wall, "He's definitely not going anywhere now."

Izuku collapsed to the ground, panting. His shoulder hurt. It felt dislocated.

Iida knelt down to help Izuku and Himiko, "thank you, Midoriya. It seems you had to save me again."

"N-No problem." Izuku winced as he rolled to his side to look up at the boy. "You were the one who knocked him out."

Todoroki came over. He was the only one with almost no injuries. He had a small cut on his left cheek, but that seemed to be it. "You and Toga held him off really well. I'm impressed, Midoriya."

Izuku laughed weakly, "Yeah, but I got careless."

Native, the pro hero Stain had been targeting, to begin with, finally seemed able to move again as he came to help Izuku up.

"No," Izuku looked over to Himiko, "help her first."

Native frowned, "you should really worry about yourself more, kid."

Thankfully, despite his admonishment, Native stooped down and picked Himiko up.

Iida hoisted Izuku to his feet, and Todoroki got to work restraining the Hero Killer. Todoroki pulled the Katana out of the villain's hand, melted the ice that pinned Stain to the wall, and let the man fall face-first onto the ground.

Todoroki didn't even blink when the man slammed down to the ground face-first, "Does anyone see any rope around here?"

Native turned around and gestured with his head at his back, "I've got a bag under my cape with some supplies; I think I still have some rope left."

Todoroki tied Stain's hands behind his back with the rope Native had provided and dragged him along haphazardly as they exited the mouth of the alley.

The night in Hosu had grown significantly quieter, but Izuku could see the flickering light of flames over the tops of buildings. The number of voices he could hear screaming was far fewer than when they had started their search for Iida, and the warmth of the fires drove a bit of the night's chill away.

Izuku winced as his arm slapped against his side, and he nearly cried out as his leg scrapped the ground.

A foot slammed into his face, but somehow he barely felt it, "you damn problem children! Didn't I tell you just to help evacuate people?!"

"G-Gran Torino!" Izuku looked down at the older man very ashamedly.

He glared at Izuku, looked at Himiko, who was grinning weakly at him from where Native held her, and sighed heavily, "Well… I don't know what happened here, but… glad to see you're both still alive."

"Is this the alley he mentioned?!" Another pro hero with a scarf and bodysuit hurried over toward them with a group of other heroes.

The heroes fussed over them, "we got a backup request from Endeavor. But… kids?"

"Hey, they're badly hurt! Call an ambulance!"

The woman in the scarf and bodysuit started in surprise when she caught sight of Stain. "Hey, is that… the Hero Killer?!"

Izuku smiled sheepishly, "uh, yeah. We kind of… ran into him and had to capture him."

Todoroki turned to the woman, "So… Endeavor's still fighting over there, then?"

"Yes. Those of us whose quirks had no effect on those villains came to help you guys."

Izuku looked around. There were five heroes, not counting Native or Gran Torino. It wasn't a huge number, but they were greatly appreciated… even if they had come far too late.

Himiko had been hurt, and it had been because he didn't think they would need any backup right away.

Izuku glared down at the ground, 'I'm such a damn idiot.'

"All three of you!" Iida passed Izuku to Todoroki and hung his head. His shoulders were hunched and shaking, "Midoriya and Toga-san were both hurt terribly because of me, and you were even forced to help, Todoroki. I am so terribly sorry!"

Izuku shifted uncomfortably and winced when his leg hit the ground. "No, I should be apologizing. I could tell something was wrong, and I didn't try to talk to you about it. Not really."

Todoroki stared, his ever-impassive face not changing even a fraction, "I probably should have helped too. I should have known better than anyone that you were suffering with thoughts of revenge."

Himiko groaned and looked at the three of them, "I've done literally nothing wrong, so I'm not apologizing."

The three boys all looked at each other and laughed. It was nice being able to have a moment of levity despite everything that had happened.

"Are you alright, Himiko?" Izuku steered Todoroki over so that he could lean his forehead against hers.

"Yeah, 'm just a little tired, and you know, low on blood. I think we'll need a hospital… or maybe Recovery Girl." She smiled up at him and licked a patch of her blood from his face, "by the way, that blood on your face makes you look super sexy."

Todoroki cringed, "Can you both please quit flirting in front of me?"

Izuku was about to make a crack at the boy's expense, hoping it would make Himiko smile more, but he was suddenly sized from the boy's hands. He was lifted ten feet into the air in the blink of an eye.

A pair of clawed bird-like talons gripped his shoulders, sending jolts of white-hot pain up his dislocated arm and stars shooting across his vision on supernovas that nearly filled his vision.

"I-Izu!" Himiko struggled in Native's arms, but she was too weak to do anything but hold out a limp and weak hand.

"Midoriya!" Gran Torino shot toward him, but the buildings were too far apart for him to use so that he could build speed or height. He could only go so far before his quirk would be useless, and Izuku was entirely out of range.

"Huh?" Izuku looked up through the blinding pain and saw that a winged Nomu had grabbed him; its left eye was bleeding, and some kind of metal plate had replaced its jaw. But something about its wings was… familiar.

Suddenly, the Nomu's wings froze mid-flap, its limbs went rigid, and they plummeted to the ground.

"Both this sham-filled society," a knife slammed into the exposed brain of the Nomu right as it and izuku hit the ground, "and the criminals who wield their power in the name of petty mischief… are targets of my purge."

Izuku wheezed and glared through bleary eyes at the Hero Killer, 'how did he get free?!'

Stain's breath came out in heavy sighs as he yanked the knife from the Nomu's brain, "All for the sake of a better society."

The heroes who had come to save them all shouted in a jumble.

"He saved the kid?!"

"No, idiot. The boys a hostage."

"This is an unprecedented murderer we're talking about."

"Enough already! Assume battle positions!"

Izuku tried to pull himself up with his one good arm, but the Hero Killer pushed himself back to the ground with one hand.

"Why're you all bunched up together?" Endeavor came from an alleyway that Izuku had spotted connected to where the main fight had been happening. He didn't look particularly exhausted, but Izuku figured he was a pro for a reason… even if he was an asshole, "One of those creatures should've headed this way!"

He scanned the crowd of people, and then his eyes landed on Izuku and, more importantly, the Hero Killer, who was standing over him.

"Wait… is that?" He smiled menacingly and prepared what looked like a huge windup attack, "The Hero Killer!"

Stain stood, and finally, Izuku was free. He rolled over and resolved himself to sacrifice his good arm with one hundred percent of One for All if he could just splatter this guy against the building behind him.

"Endeavor… you fake!"

The man's mask ripped from his face, and Izuku was horrified to see why he looked so strange when Izuku first laid eyes on him. His entire nose was missing, and a vacuous hole and his exposed inner nostrils were in its place. His zealous eyes stared unblinkingly at Endeavor, and the burns Todoroki had given him were red and raw.

Izuku shuddered. It felt like the Hero Killer's whole demeanor had changed. If he had been playing with Izuku and the others before, he was entirely intent on murdering Endeavor. The night seemed to grow darker around him and cast his face into ghoulish dim light.

"If I don't fix it… if someone isn't stained with blood… then this society will never recover! So come," Stain took a step forward, and suddenly he seemed as large as All Might, "just try me, you fakes! The only one allowed to kill me is All Mignt! A true hero!"

The entire crowd was frozen, and Izuku shook from his spot on the ground. He thought he had faced all manner of people at this point, but the Hero Killer truly was different from the rest. He wasn't childish like Shigaraki and wasn't brutish like the man he had saved Eri from.

He was a true monster bent on the destruction of society as a whole.

Everyone sat shivering, and then Endeavor spoke, "This guy, he's… out cold on his feet."

Shigaraki stood atop a building, watching the situation unfold as paramedics and police showed up on the scene. The Hero Killer was being carted away in an ambulance surrounded by police escorts, and those kids were taken in another ambulance.

"This is so frustrating!" Shigaraki scratched furiously at his throat, "If that idiot had just left well enough alone, we could've had at least one of those kids, but he just had to go and kill the Nomu."

"Other than that failure, did you achieve the result you were hoping for, Tomura Shigaraki?" Kurogiri watched Shigaraki carefully as if he were expecting an outburst at any moment.

"Idiot. That all depends on tomorrow."

They disappeared through Kurogiri's portal and left Hosu in chaos.