Part 21

Midoriya jumps up before I can, grabbing onto Stain and dragging him back. Me and Todoroki startle in surprise.

How is he moving? Didn't he say he would be unable to move due to Stain's quirk?

"I can move normally for some reason now!!" Midoriya yells. Todoroki makes eye contact with me. "Some kind of time limit?" Before I can answer the extra person from behind us speaks up.

"No, that kid should've been the last one he got. I can't move yet." He speaks up. I look from him, to where Midoriya's dragging Stain.

What.

What kind of plot convenience bullshit?

huh?

"Get back Midoriya!" Todoroki yells and I look up to see Midoriya sliding to stand next to us.

"He takes in a person's blood to keep them from moving. Since I got free first, I can think of three possible reasons. It could be less effective with more people. The amount ingested could affect how long it works. Or, there could be a difference in effectiveness based on a person's blood type!" Midoriya explains. I nod and turn to look at the guy in the back as he speaks up.

"Blood type? Mine is B.." Iida speaks up from beside him, "I'm type A"

"Blood type? That's correct." Oh, I guess we get confirmation from villains now. How nice.

"I can't really do anything just by knowing his quirk, though," Midoriya says. I look ahead. A dangerous quirk for a dangerous individual. If I get taken down, I personally have no idea how long I'd be down for. I never actually learned my blood type.

I should probably ask next time I'm at the doctor's.

"I wanted to hurry up and carry those two out of here, but he can react so fast he can avoid ice and fire. I can't leave myself that open." Todoroki voice. I look back. Iida with his armor is way too heavy for me to carry. I might be able to carry the other dude, but then there's the problem of Midoriya being kind of weak cause he's already been downed once, and Todoroki having two knife holes in his arm.

"I think our best option is to hold on by avoiding close combat until the pros get here." It's a smart idea, but it puts me in a slightly awkward position afterward.

"Todoroki, you've already shed too much blood. I'll distract him so you can Kitsune can support me from behind." Midoriya says, and I watch with wonder as he powers up. He glows for a good second, a warm glow and it pairs with little sparkly red crack-like glows as well. Then it recedes and now there's green lightning.

I've never seen his quirk do that before, it was pretty. I shake my head and snap out of it, I can ask him about it later, hopefully. Also, wait a minute, am I Kitsune? I know my mask is fox-like but that was a very sudden vigilante name reveal, wasn't expecting that. I didn't even get to chose it.

"That's a pretty big risk, but yeah.." Todoroki replies. Seeing Midoriya turn my way I give him a nod. "The Three of us will protect them!" Todoroki finishes.

"Three against one, huh? It won't be easy." Stain says.

Won't be easy for us, or him? Why does this feel like a training session? I don't actually feel malicious from this guy, at least not like the USJ attack, or the chaos happening on the main streets. I feel like I'm being taught a lesson, by a very grumpy and slightly rude teacher.

Midoriya shoots forward, bouncing off the walls like a loose rubber band. Todoroki's summoning Ice from beside me. Taking a glance back, I look at the two behind us before raising my hands in front of me, palms forward. Little pinpricks of light start to build in the air.

I'm going to have to make sure to start wearing some form of gloves after this, this power keeps making little burn dots on my hands.

Midoriya's bouncing off the walls, making hits that don't land and darting out as Todoroki uses ice to force Stain back whenever Midoriya's hits don't land. The moment he jumps back, I fire a few lasers in his direction, causing him to have to jump to the opposite wall. Todoroki powers up his fire every once and a while to force him back further. It seems he can't use both ice and fire a the same time, at least not yet.

I startle when Midoriya gets hit in the leg. Shit, just used the last of that batch of lasers, and right now isn't the time to make a million and tire myself out in mere minutes. I push myself, trying to make the newer lasers power up and beam on faster. Luckily for me, Todoroki's also got Midoriya's back and can make Stain back up before he could get close.

"please stop..." Iida's voice is so light I'm surprised I heard it, "I'm... already.."

"If you want us to stop, then stand up!" Todoroki yells at him.

"I'm not going down until you get up," I say, the first words I've probably said since leaving the agency building. They're deeper and electronic from my mask, but if anything that just makes sure he hears it as well.

I turn back to the fight, seeing Midoriya on the floor. He's probably out of the fight again due to the cut from earlier. Todoroki sends ice his way and I spin around Todoroki so that I'm on his right side now and fire off some beams. When Stain charges forwards and cuts through Todoroki's ice, Todoroki flames up with a yell of, "Look properly at what you want to be!"

He's leaping from different angles. Avoiding ice, fire, and beams. "From the right!" Immediately I turn and redirect the laser beam I had been about to fire off. He dodges back but I can tell I singed a part of his scarf.

He's still coming at us. I'm trying to hit all the places Todoroki's missing, but I can only be on side of Todoroki. I startle as Stain yells something about Todoroki's quirk and almost freeze when I see how close he was able to get. His sword's going to hit Todoroki! I'm already in the process of moving my hands but by the time I fully turn it's going to be too late!

"Recipro! BURST!" A familiar voice yells. With shocking speed I watch as Iida goes flying in between Stain and Todoroki, effectively kicking the sword aimed for Todoroki's chest away.

He only lands for a second before attempting to kick Stain with the full force of an engine. Stain blocks but gets pushed back by the force and I let out a sound of relief. Midoriya and Todoroki barely get through speaking to him when he cuts them off.

"Todoroki, Midoriya, this has nothing to do with you two, and I apologize. I also apologize to you Kitsune, for having to get a hero's help with Stain when there are bigger problems." His sentence directed at me makes me stop and glance back towards the center of the city, the main streets. I may be a vigilante, and not an actual hero, but there's still some good that could be done out there.

"You're saying that again?" Midoriya says from his place on the ground. If I didn't know any better I'd pinpoint that tone as sass.

"That's why I can't allow you to bleed more than this!" Iida says. I look around everyone here before turning to the hero on the ground. That guy's probably an actual pro, and he can't even help. I feel kind of bad for him, being saved by three teens and a vigilante.

"It's no use trying to be reformed for appearance's sake. A person's essence does not change so easily. You will never be anything but a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires. You are a cancer to society that warps the idea of 'heroes'." Stain speaks up from across the way.

"Someone must set you straight." He growls out.

We stare back. We may be only three right now just like before, but Midoriya will probably get up soon, and then we'll be four. The pros will get here. He has nothing on us, not his quirk, nor his mentalities. There's truth in his words somewhere, but it's tainted with bad morals. Tainted truths are nothing but lies.

"You're an anachronistic fundamentalist. Iida, don't listen to the logic of a murderer." Todoroki says. I nod, though Iida can't see me. Don't believe the words of someone who'll use them against you. If the words can't be said blatantly instead of being fueled by anger and hatred, maybe they're not the right words.

"No, he's right. I have no right to call myself a hero.. even so, I cannot give in. If I give in, the Ingenium will die." Iida says. I glare forwards a bit. When this is over, I'm speaking with him. I'm speaking with him as a stranger in a mask that he thinks is a pro hero. Because somethings are easier to see when they're not clouded by the thought the persons just telling you them because of friendship.

"Out of the question." Shut the fuck up. Who the fuck asked Stain? I know I didn't.. damn.

He charges forward, and I launch forward along with Todoroki to pull Iida back. I pull him further back, giving Todoroki enough space to launch fire forwards.