Bloodlust (Part 3)

Chris was jumping around, trying to avoid Stain's sword. The killer was relentless. Chris was fast, but Stain was more agile, always keeping the trainee on his toes. Chris raised a finger and fired off a shockwave: this one was only 2% of One for All. Stain got hit in the gut, but seemed relatively unphased. He drew three knives and threw them at Chris. Chris ducked, but had to roll as Stain brought his sword down where he had just been. The hero in training took a deep breath and whispered to himself. "One for All, Full Cowling, 3%." Chris gained a massive boost in both speed and power. Stain was thrown off Chris's faster movements. Stain got a punch to the face. Chris thought it was over, but quickly jumped backwards, barely dodging Stain's knife. Stain landed on his feet. That settled it: Chris knew he couldn't win alone. Chris rolled backwards, pulling his phone out. He quickly sent his location to the group before putting his phone away again. Stain raised his sword and drew another knife. "Impressive. I see you've finally started seriously. But this changes nothing." Stain charged forward.

Jason put down a small boy, who ran to his parents. The fledgling hero stood up. "That's the last one. We need to move on to the next area. Shoto started to say something, but Jason grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the way of Endeavor, who had just been thrown across the street. He got back up, dusting himself off. He didn't even acknowledge his daughter as he ran back to the fighting. Jason glared at him. "I hate him." Shoto rolled her eyes. "I live with the bastard." "Yea, that is so much worse." Shoto felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She looked at it. "That's odd." "What is?" "Chris just put a message in the group chat." "Really?" "It's just his location. Why would he do that?" Jason thought for a bit before smiling at Shoto. "Let's go check up on him." She nodded, sent her father a text with the location, and the two ran off to go find Chris.

Chris was in a desperate fight for his life. It had become clear that Stain had been holding back the entire time as well. He was jumping around with the same kind of speed Chris was using. He wanted to run and get help. However, the same phrase from before entered his head: 'If you start running, you'll never stop running. That's you have to fight, even if you know you'll lose'. The two continued to class all across the alleyway. Chris would land powerful punches, but Stain would keep on going. Chris tried to use his ranged 'flick' attacks, but he couldn't put enough power into them to keep Stain down. The villain was relentless. He had stopped throwing knives, realizing Chris was too fast. It was now a fight to see who would slip up first: the experienced hero killer or the hero in training. At first, it really seemed like the battle could go either way.

But Chris slipped up first. He jumped to avoid Stain's sword. Stain simply reached out with his free hand, caught him by the ankle, and slammed Chris into the pavement. The villain then pulled out a knife and drove it into Chris's back. Chris screamed in pain before becoming paralyzed. He struggled to try and get back up, but it was far too late. Stain sheathed the knife. "That's what you get for trying to step in." He raised his sword. "Goodbye." "No!" Stain stopped, puzzled at Chris's motivation. The hero trainee glared up at him. "I'm not done yet! I can beat you! I have to beat you!" Stain lowered his sword as Chris continued to struggle against his quirk. He then turned away. "You can live. You have the potential to be a true hero. Live to fight another day. But now it's time to finish what I started." Chris continued to struggle as he approached Native. Chris was desperate. He tried everything, even using 100% of One for All. But it was useless. Stain sheathed his sword and drew a knife. "Let's end this."

A fireball was flung at Stain, hitting him directly. He held his side in pain, but was suddenly punched by a blur of black and red. The hero killer drew a second knife and engaged Jason. Jason wasn't as fast or as strong as Chris, but was just as agile as Stain, and seemingly knew how to avoid the killer's blades. Jason suddenly backed off and dropped to a knee. Stain also ducked, barely missing another fireball from Shoto. The three were now in a standoff. Jason glanced at Chris. "Hey buddy. Next time, how about a 'S.O.S! Villain attacking!'. You know, so we can hurry up and bring more back up." Chris forced a smile. "Sorry. I was in a fight. Wait, where's the backup? Where are the other heroes?" Jason sighed. "Busy." Shoto spoke, never taking her eyes off of Stain. "We're the backup, Chris." The hero killer snarled. "More wannabes. At least you all saved me the trouble of hunting you down."

Shoto and Jason got ready to fight. "Hey Chris, I need you to go find some stronger heroes. Bring them back here." "Jason, why am I always the one leaving and getting help?" "Just do it." "Can't. I'm paralyzed." Shoto glanced at him for a split second. "What do you mean you're paralyzed?" "He stabbed me and now I can't move." Native shouted. "I became paralyzed when he licked my blood off of his blade!" Jason swore. "He has a paralyzing quirk?!" Shoto smirked, looking at her friend. "We just need to avoid being cut then. Easy as-'' She just barely managed to dodge Stain's throwing knife, which cut her cheek. She looked back to see Jason holding Stain's wrist. If he hadn't been there, Stain would've killed her right there. She activated her ice, trying to freeze the killer's feet in place. He was too quick. He was suddenly airborne, drawing more throwing knives. Jason grabbed a trash can lid and threw it at Stain, throwing off his aim. That let Shoto shoot more fire at the villain. He was getting angrier and angrier. Shoto was keeping him off balance and Jason was a match for him in head to head combat. However, as an observer, Chris could see that his friends were stuck in the same predicament he was in: as soon as they screwed up, it was over.

Jason slipped on some ice Shoto had created. He started falling. Stain saw his chance and started to draw a knife. Shoto couldn't react fast enough. Chris watched his friend desperately raise his arms up to defend his vital areas. Then, either by some kind of miracle or through sheer willpower, Chris was moving. He managed to tackle his best friend out of the way as the knife drove its way into the ice below. The two guys rolled before jumping to their feet. "Thanks for the save, Chris. Now get out of here." "And do what? Get back up?" "Yes." "No." Before Jason could continue the argument, Shoto fired off a massive fireball. Stain dodged, so they had to dodge too. It was now three on one. Stain didn't like his odds now. He needed to take out one of them. He readied a knife, aiming for Shoto. Jason couldn't reach the killer, so he did the next best thing. He jumped in between Shoto and Stain. The knife was already airborne. The knife drove itself into Jason's side. He couldn't feel the pain as he continued to shield Shoto. She took the opportunity to try and freeze the ground where Stain would land. The killer landed and jumped up again, ready to end the fight.

Chris was ready this time, already airborne. Stain turned to see the young hero smiling, his fist clenched and reared back. Chris's friends shouted. "Finish this!" Chris uttered words he had been longing to say. "Detroit…" Stain couldn't move fast enough this time. He couldn't even raise his sword up fast enough. All he could do was brace himself. "...Smash!" Chris's fist slammed into Stain's face with 10% of One for All. Stain was thrown into the wall, nearly shattering the bricks. Stain fell to the ground, unconscious. Shoto ran to Native, took the handcuffs off of his belt, and threw them to Chris. He immediately arrested the villain. It was finally over.

The three heroes in training dragged Stain out of the alley and set him on the sidewalk. Native started patching up Jason and Chris. "You three are crazy, but I must thank you all for saving my life." Chris smiled as he pulled his hero outfit back on over his bandages. "All in a day's work." Jason winced in pain as the pro hero gently pressed rubbing alcohol against his wound. He tightly held onto Shoto's hand as she lectured him. "You're an idiot." "Your welcome." "I would've been fine. You didn't need to hurt yourself for me." "Yes I did." Shoto slowly inhaled before finally hugging him. Jason was frozen in place. "...Thank you…" Jason blushed. "...Anytime, Shoto…" Chris watched his two friends bond just a little bit more, but then saw several pro heroes and EMTs running towards them. Chris swore when he saw Gran Torino. "Chris! Jessie! What are you two doing way over here?!" Jason yelled back at him. "Jason! For the last time, it's Jason!" Shoto glared up at Endeavor as the Number Two hero marched up to them. "Shoto! Where have you been?!" "Working." A police officer looked behind the group and suddenly turned pale. "...Is… is that…?" The rest of the group of people who just arrived also looked at Stain and froze. Chris smiled. "Yea. We caught the Hero Killer." Native smiled. "These three students saved my life." Gran Torino shouted at Chris. "You ran off to fight a villain?!" Endeavor was also shouting at Shoto. Jason just rolled his eyes, mostly ignoring the two pro heroes. Endeavor looked up and ignited his flames. "Everyone get back!" Everyone was on their feet now. Stain had gotten back up, having cut through his handcuffs with a hidden knife. He glared at the heroes, blood dripping from his mouth. "...Fakes… All of you…" Endeavor smiled. "Let's do battle, hero killer!" Stain shouted into the night sky. "Unworthy!" The Number Two hero froze up, suddenly gripped by fear. "I will only let a true hero kill me! The only one who can kill me…" He shouted directly at the group of people as loud as he possibly could. "...Is All Might!" Nobody could move. The hero killer's screech rendered everyone helpless. Chris felt his legs turn to jelly, unable to form rational thoughts. He couldn't even bring himself to run away. Shoto tightened her grip on Jason's hand, completely consumed by dread. Then she felt Jason let go of her. She managed to turn her eyes away from Stain and to her friend. Jason didn't show even the slightest hint of fear. He stepped forward to confront Stain, putting himself in between the killer and the group. The two faced off, nobody else daring to make a sound. Stain stepped forward. Jason dropped down into a combat stance, ready for round two. Stain fell to the ground, passed out. Jason relaxed. Later, everyone would learn that Stain had passed out from internal bleeding. In his current state, it was easy for the police to apprehend the serial killer and drag him to prison.

Jason and Chris packed their bags. Chris looked towards Gran Torino. "Basically, if we admit to fighting the hero killer, we go to jail?" "Yes. You ran off and used your quirk to cause harm to an individual. It doesn't look good in the eyes of the law." Jason shouldered his duffel bag over his shoulder, his hero uniform packed inside. "Still sucks that our internship is cancelled." Gran Torino looked at him. "Jason, can I speak to Chris alone?" "For the last time, my name is-" Jason stopped and turned back to the old man, who was smiling. Jason blinked a few times before smiling. "I hate you." He turned and headed for the door. "See you around, sir." He left the building. Gran Torino lost his smile as soon as the door closed. "Chris, you've shown remarkable improvements since you came here. In only a few short days, you managed to grow exponentially. I am now confident of your ability to wield One for All." "...Oh. Thank you, sir." "One more thing." The old man looked up at Chris. "Take care of your friend. He's incredibly brave, even by pro hero standards. That being said, he's more than willing to give his life even if it means saving a single person." He sighed. "I'm worried that his wanting to help people will be his undoing. This world can't afford to lose either of you." Chris nodded, remembering all of the times Jason has gotten beat up throughout school because he didn't know when or how to run away. Chris smirked. "I'll keep an eye on him." Chris exited the house to see Jason waiting outside. The two began to walk away. Gran Torino shouted out to Chris. "Hey! What's your name again?!" A confused Chris turned back to him. "It's Chris, remember?" "Chris?! I don't remember any Chris!" The hero in training sighed before stopping, realizing what the old man meant. Chris raised his head up high and spoke confidently, like a true hero. "My name is Impact." Gran Torino and Jason both smiled at him before the two students continued walking, heading to their prospective homes until school started up again. They two had endured a lot. Once again, they pulled through together. They always pull through together. One day, however, Chris will need to learn how to stand on his own.

And that day would come sooner rather than later.