Rejected Stones

The Slow Poison

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17. The Slow Poison

Once you eliminate the impossible, what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

-Sherlock Holmes

The first Izuku had heard of the Hero Killer Stain had been nearly a year ago. The Stealth Hero Translucent had recently been embroiled in a scandal where he'd been accused of using his Quirk to rather perverted ends. He'd claimed he was innocent, and at first it looked like the whole thing would be swept under the rug. Until Translucent was found with his eyes carved out on the floor of a woman's bathroom, with a message scrawled in blood on the bathroom mirrors: A stain on heroes.

That message had resulted in the killer being known as Stain in the media, and a string of a dozen deaths and twice as many vicious assaults across Japan had followed. Sometimes the victims were heroes who were known to have some sort of character flaw, such as gambling or drunkenness, other times they were heroes that everyone had thought highly of. The attacks happened seemingly at random, with the only common thread being that they were always bloody, and always when the hero was in full costume, and on duty. No one was ever killed at home or while they were dressed as civilians, and nothing of value was ever taken.

The identity of Stain was a complete mystery. He was described as being tall, dressed in near rags, and having a horrifically scarred face. Despite this description, no one had ever managed to apprehend Stain. Even more oddly, on occasion, Stain would attack a Hero and incapacitate them, only to leave them alive, saying they understood what it meant to be a Hero. There were whispers that Stain was a revolutionary or a Hero himself, only attacking those who had betrayed the ideals of what it meant to be a hero.

Still, to Izuku the most disturbing thing about Stain had happened when he'd attacked his classmate Iida's brother, Ingenium, crippling the formerly popular and effective Hero. Izuku was a bit worried about the other boy, but he didn't know Iida very well and he was busy enough with his own concerns that he never had time to speak to Iida.

All that came to a head only a few weeks before the end of term, when to Izuku's and the nation's shock, Stain was finally captured, and changed the face of Japan for years to come. Izuku first saw it on his phone's newsfeed when he woke up, with Stain's face plastered on the headline alongside none other than Mirio Togata's winning smile.

HERO KILLER CAPTURED! HERO LEMILLION STOPS STAIN, SAVES LIVES OF CLASSMATE, NATIVE

By Iero Janarisuto

Hosu city was a battleground last night, with another attack by the Hero Killer, Stain. Stain sought to claim his 41st victim, the Shaman Hero, Native. Young Tenya Iida, brother of the famous and tragic Tensei Iida, better known as Ingenium, attempted to intervene, but was also wounded and nearly killed by Stain. The horrific serial killer nearly claimed his latest victims, if not for the timely intervention of Mirio Togata, the Hero Lemillion. In a shocking display of speed and skill, Lemillion not only saved the lives of both Iida and Native, removing them to safety, but also soundly defeated Stain after a brief battle.

It may come as a surprise to some to learn that Lemillion is actually a third year student at UA Highschool, along with Tenya Iida, who is a first year. To those that saw Lemillion's awe inspiring performance this year at the UA Sports Festival, they will know that Lemillion is perhaps the greatest up and coming hero in the entire country (See link: Togata Crushes 3rd Year Field at UA).

Lemillion has also distinguished himself working alongside a number of veteran pro heroes, including Sir Nighteye and his current mentor, Gran Torino. Most famously, Lemillion is All Might's teaching assistant at UA highschool. Last night, he was working alongside Gran Torino against the attack of strange creatures known as Nomu, who are also associated with the League of Villains (See link, Stain and the League of Villains: Masters in Crime).