Villain Deku - Broken

Chapter 4 - Whetting the blade

Three months had passed since Deku had begun training with Stain and he had already surpassed Stain's expectation. He had already learnt how to dislocate and relocate his shoulders and legs on command, making him agile and nimble; a hard opponent to pin down. He had also mastered the art of pain ignorance, which allows the combatant to focus entirely on the battle. He had been learning these skills in combat training, allowing him to learn to use an assortment of weapons such as swords, knives and knuckledusters, whilst also improving his ability to multi-task. However it was now time for Deku to learn an extremely important skill: emotion blocking.

"What are we learning today, sensei?", Deku asked. Stain had asked to be called sensei until Deku became stronger than him, to constantly remind him who was in charge. It was an emotional catalyst, using his emotions to force progress. "Today Deku, I will be teaching you to isolate yourself from your emotions, preventing them from clouding your thoughts", Stain explained. "However, never isolate yourself from every emotion. Otherwise you become a sociopath, preventing you from thinking straight. As long as you have that one emotion, you can be unstoppable force. What is your emotion Deku?"

Deku thought for a moment before saying, "I think anger is my strongest emotion." Stain nodded. "Anger is one of the strongest emotions. It fuels the actions of multiple villains, but also leads to their downfall. Always keep your anger in check, Deku. Don't let it get the better of you. Now, to training." Stain unsheathed his katana and tossed it to Deku. He didn't grab one of his knives or any nearby weapon, which Deku found strange. Almost as if reading Deku's thoughts, Stain said, "I won't need a weapon for this duel." He then continued the lesson with, "The only way to negate your emotions is through battle." Stain stated that "The battlefield is an unrelenting place, and emotions can happen without you even thinking. Emotions are like reflexes, in that they are difficult to control. Therefore, if you can control them on the battlefield, you can control them anywhere." What Stain was saying made sense, so Deku took up the defensive stance Stain had taught him and prepared for battle.

Stain took the initiative and ran towards Deku, waiting for Deku's reaction . Deku waited for Stain to get close, then swung downwards at Stain's figure. Stain easily dodged the strike, then jumped to avoid Deku's swing. From above, Stain landed on Deku's shoulders before jumping off, forcing Deku to his knees. Deku, infuriated, quickly turned and swung at Stains knees, hoping to catch him off guard. Stain jumped out of the way, but Deku still managed to hit a glancing blow on Stain's left ankle. Deku smiled, proud to have hit his mentor, before noticing the blade resting on his shoulder.

"This duel is over, Deku." Stain said looking down at Deku, before sheathing his blade and crossing his arms. "Do you want to know why you lost, Deku?", Stain asked. "It's because you felt proud." Deku went to ask a question, but fell silent when Stain continued. "When you struck me, you felt proud of yourself for a split second. In that split second, you pride prevented you from seeing that I had jumped behind you. You only realised what happened when it was too late," Stain finished. Deku listened to Stains words before thinking something. "Sensei... did you let me hit you?", Deku asked, certain of the answer. "No," Stain answered. "Anger is a very powerful emotion. It heightens your senses and reflexes. The fact that you managed to hit me is proof of that. This fight was an example of how emotions can change the course of battle. Do you understand what I meant when I said they are difficult to control?", Stain asked. "Yes, I do." Deku answered, now understanding the challenge that lay before him. "Well then," Stain said, taking up a defensive position, "ready for round two?"