The Truth Of Heroes

Dirty Little Tricks

    Tracking down Stain wasn’t as difficult as I would have thought.

    Perhaps it was the extra quirk training, or maybe it was because I was so in tune with his energy.

   But I managed to track him down to a dingy alley.

   What I found was much harder to stomach than his usual presence.

   Stain’s energy was strong, gangly, and twisted.

   A much weaker energy, one that was fading and pulsing in small beats, came from a woman on the ground.

    Her body was littered with cuts and dirt. Soon to be bruises and broken limbs.

  Stain’s knives were planted through her thighs, her stomach, and shoulder. If they were removed she could bleed out and die. 

    “Stain!” I screamed out, disregarding my civilian dress, my fear, and the element of surprise.

   Stain turned to me, his body looking ragged. 

   “What are you doing here?” He growled out and I flinched back, stumbling and almost tripping over myself.

    Shaking myself I tried desperately to steel what little resolve I had.

   Puffing out my chest and holding my head high I raised my voice. 

    “Stop!” I demanded and Stain paused for a moment before he came stalking up to me.

    My limbs trembled, my quirk simmering below my skin. But I held it back.

   I wasn’t Stain’s plaything anymore.

   I’m not another of his victims.

    I’m a student of U.A. I’m a hero-in-training.

  And I’m going to stop him. 

    “What did you just say to me?” Stain brought his face close to mine, his red eyes glowing in the dark alley. 

   “I told you to stop. This is enough Stain. Killing her won’t change anything. You’re wrong.” I said, trying to erase the tremble in my voice.

   Stain’s energy grew darker, dense, and suffocating.

    I tried not to choke on it, tried to keep my limbs from reacting. I can’t be sure if I would have run or fought at that moment, but then Stain reached out and grabbed my hair, twisting it and pulling my head back. 

    “After everything I’ve taught you. It seems I’ve wasted my energy.”

    I grit my teeth but didn’t look away from him. 

   “You’ve taught me a lot, Stain, that includes standing up to you. You can’t do anything else to me. And I won’t let you kill her. I won’t let you hurt people anymore!”

   Stain scoffed and turned, dragging me by the hair with him. He threw me at the unconscious hero, and I couldn’t help but spread out my energy like a blanket, protecting her. 

    “So you think you can defeat me? I am your truth! Your god! I have a righteous mission!” Stain yelled out, his voice was crazed and unhinged.

    I stood up to face him. 

   “You are a villain! You are no god! You are a lie!”

    I let my quirk pulse, let the air sizzle around me, let my hair float, and my skin glow.

    Stain laughed and pulled out his knife, the very one he used to carve wings into my back, to discipline me.

    I felt the disappearing scars itch.

   Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, readying myself. 

    That’s when he attacked, just as I knew he would.

     I put up an energy field but Stain changed directions and attacked from the other side.

   I put up another shield but it wasn’t strong enough and I was sent flying.

   Picking myself up I shook it off and engaged him again.

    We fought and for just a moment I felt like we were training again, but as I used my quirk to enforce my blows, he used his weapons with fatal intent.

    Eventually, we were blown back and both of us stumbled.

    I attempted to strike with long-range attacks, but Stain quickly closed the distance.

   Punching me in the face just as I got him in the rib.

   “You’ve learned well.” He said, holding his side.

     I used the break to try and suck in his energy. I was too busy protecting myself to do it earlier.

    But now I’m too tired to make it a full-scale attack.

   Stain barked a laugh at me as he stumbled a little.

   “Really? Just like when we first met. So the student thinks she can become the master with dirty little tricks?”

    I grit my teeth and glared at him, letting him see my resolve.

   “You were the one to teach me a fight is never fair.”

   Stain nodded, giving a crazed grin. 

    “Yes, I’m quite impressed with how far you’ve come along. But you’re forgetting one thing. When a fight is never fair, you have to remove your opponent's leverage.”

   I blinked at Stain in confusion, my stance loosening for a moment. But then Stain was heading for the hero on the ground and I finally understood what he meant. 

    “No!” I screamed and lunged for them, but it was too late.

    Stain nicked me with his sword, paralyzing me as he licked the blood off its stainless steel.

    Then he made me watch as he plunged the sword into her chest.

   Tears blinded me, but I refused to look away.

   Is this what Almight felt when he couldn’t save my parents?

   Or when the villain took my sister?

    When those heroes couldn’t engage the sludge villain and save Katsuki?

    Was this the truth? 

    Stain turned back to me, his foot coming close at a dizzying speed.

  And then everything went dark.