"Fight fire with fire."

-Henry Tappan

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"It's you... What are you doing here, lightning user?"

In the dimly lit alleyway, the red eyes of Deku shone with the splendor of a plethora of mixed emotions, combining and shifting as they disguised themselves as an indifferent haze. He truly was conflicted; considering what the Hero Killer had demonstrated so far, whatever Iida had committed, it was likely deserving of the katana piercing his shoulder. He didn't have the faintest clue of what it could be, seeing as the teenager had been a very by-the-books and morally uptight individual. Yet, he was currently in this situation regardless.

Still, he was a teenager. A child. An innocent, most importantly. To stand by and just watch as he died... There was still another hero as well, forcefully stabbed to the wall. He couldn't feel the same amount of sympathy, but it was still a life regardless. It wasn't someone who committed rape by the dozens, that killed in a bloodlust filled rage either. They were humans, not monsters. He couldn't dismiss them that easily.

It would be incredibly hypocritical if he could make a difference but simply stood to the side.

And most importantly, he wasn't sure how much hypocrisy he could stomach before drowning in it.

"...Originally, I was just searching for you, but I can not let you kill him. In fact, I can see no reason why you are doing this in the first place, considering your noble ideals. So tell me Hero Killer, no, Stain... What twisted justification do you have to kill a teenager?"

The Hero Killer narrowed his eyes, contemplative.

"You are different from the others in your little group. To actually have morals and ideals, and still be their lackey, a true villain regardless... I could ask the same of you. What is your twisted justification? But sure, I'll answer you; he is not worthy to become a hero, and I will give him the same treatment that I have for many, many others. Death. That is the only way to wake this world up from its entitled delusions, and if that means killing a child..."

He plunged the Katana down.

"I will kill a child."

It was deflected at the last moment with a kick to the side of the katana, which creaked and groaned under the strain.

"Move! I can't protect you if you keep lying on the floor."

The blue-haired teenager quickly scrambled up to his feet, only to collapse once more. The look of shock on his face confirmed that it couldn't be purposeful, and it seemed like he had no injuries on his leg... Deku's brows furrowed in contemplation, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Trauma was out, injures were out, what else was there?!

The Hero Killer swirled his tongue around his blade like a morbid parody of a child licking a popsicle, and it hit him.

'...His quirk must paralyze people. More specifically, when he licks blood. If all that was required was cutting, he wouldn't have been able to stand up in the first place. I didn't think of it because it's an almost lackluster quirk. To be able to combat, and even kill Pro-Heros while being essentially quirkless... His combat abilities must be extraordinary. I'll have to be even more careful.'

"...What did you do to make him so bent on killing you?"

He absentmindedly spoke out loud, but the blue-haired teen answered him regardless.

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"D-Don't get involved... This has nothing to do with you! Why are you even... Aren't you a villain?!"

Deku just kind of stared at him from the corner of his eye, rather vividly expressing, 'Are you an idiot?' from his expression alone.

"...If I didn't get involved, you would have been dead by now. Whatever you planned on doing would have been impossible, needless to say, everything else. It is true that I am a villain, but I'm not going to let a kid die while I'm watching. That said... I don't feel all that confident in my odds. I need more information. So tell me, why did this situation happen in the first place? Well?"

There was an interruption before he could respond

He batted away several knives that came out of nowhere with a frown on his face. They were all exceptionally fast and spread out while still targeting his body; it took time to deflect all of them, and if it weren't for his enhanced body, he would have fallen victim to a few knives. Judging by the faint growl of surprise and dissatisfaction, the Hero Killer didn't quite anticipate it either. The majority of lightning types never reached their full potential, most preferring to simply use stale and basic attacks, so his bias was understandable.

Still... Now that he knew it was possible, he'd take into account his speed for the future.

'Although it's riskier, I'll have to dodge them. I'll eventually make a mistake or be overwhelmed if I solely rely on deflecting them. But the kid is right behind me... Although I still don't understand why he's being targeted in the first place. Just what did he do?'

The Hero Killer seemed to have picked up on the minute movement of his eyes, and a chilling smile spread outwards across his face.

"Are you curious why I of all people judged a child to be worthy of death? I'll tell you then. Haha, I wonder if you'll still be so quick to protect that brat! He wanted to kill me to avenge his brother. Ingenium, was it? He didn't even care about that Hero's life; only prioritizing his interests. He's been conquered by his rage and has become its slave. He's mere trash that doesn't deserve to be a hero."

'...Revenge, huh? So it is like that, in the end.'

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you, Hero Killer. To be honest, there was always a part of your beliefs that I had doubts about, and that was the reason I was searching for you. I had to reaffirm my suspicions, and it seems that I assumed correctly." Deku narrowed his eyes.

"You're... lazy, Stain. You assume that the only way to reform people is through death, no, you deny any other alternative. It may be true that a person's true nature doesn't change easily, but it can change. No matter how annoying it may be at times. People mature. By killing people, you rob people of their chance to change. Needless to say that none of their 'crimes' that you have arbitrarily forced upon them are punishable by death."

He took a deep breath but continued to talk regardless of the hurricane of killing intent.

"You talk about waking up the world, but you're just chasing the aftermath. You don't even think about targeting the cause. It's the environment that has forced Heroes to become like this. The media coverage, the fanfare surrounding battles, the sheer money involved... You should be doing social reform, not murder. While this may catch people's attention and forcefully awaken them... It's incredibly short-sighted. The only way for true change to happen is for people to wish for it."

His eyes narrowed to the point they were mere slits, and Deku thought for a split-second that there was a sliver of doubt within them, but it was gone in the next second. His composure turned uncharacteristically serious, a solemn air clouding over his person.

"...The world does not want to change. Therefore, I can only forcefully change it. If that requires me to sacrifice a few people to bring about a new age, so be it," He raised his katana. "You raise good points, young man. But... There is no guarantee that social reforms will produce results. Even if it does, it will simply take a new form. Racism is no longer about race nor color, but quirks. Good luck to those who don't have one. Humans, the average ones at least, do not have enough heart to spare for anyone but themselves. They'll talk smack about equality and justice, but in reality, they're more concerned about getting their Starbucks than quirk trafficking. It is only when it affects them personally that anyone really starts to care. So I'll break open their little bubble of comfort and make them open their eyes to the truth!"

Deku repressed his flinch when quirklessness was brought up.

"Even if murder is necessary!"

He felt a bad feeling slinking down his spine, but he was too late to act on it. With a mad grin drawn upon his face, he lept up and plunged his blade across the neck of the Hero pinned helplessly on the wall by his own blood. The crackling-snap that the bone made as it was ruthlessly crushed and pulverized would haunt his nightmares, as would the seemingly endless flow of blood escaping the artery.

(He choked on his own blood, trying desperately to scream in the final moments before his life flew to a close. It... gurgled.)

"One target down..."

The Hero Killer's (blood) red eyes shone.

"One more to go."