No matter how much Nejire struggled, the best she could do was manage to move her arm less than her inch.
Her entire body felt stiff, as though she was tired down in multiple chains.
"W-who are you?!" She yelled through gritted teeth as she watched the villain.
The man glared down at her, his dark pupils narrowing as he watched her.
"Who I am is of no importance to someone like you. My name holds no relevance, only my purpose."
He took a step closer to her and lifted his sword, a katana that had been punctured in multiple areas, giving it a serrated surface.
'A villain who fights with a sword and hunts heros.'
It was then Nejire realised just who the man standing in front of her was.
She had heard about him during her last work experience program and seen him on the news a few times…
He was a person who could strike fear into the hearts of any hero, the notorious murderer who had killed dozens of heroes.
Nejire felt the hair on her neck stand still, as a cold chill ran down her spine.
"Hero killer…" she mumbled, trying her best to move away.
What was he doing here? How did he find her house?
Those questions raced through her mind as the murderer inched closer.
"Heros should hold themselves to a higher standard, heroes should be the voice of the people, a shining beacon for all to follow!" He screamed in rage.
"But instead, fakes like you taint the very word hero!!"
He lifted his sword, the sharp tip of the Katana pointing downwards.
Stain was a man who believed heroes were akin sacred beings.
After seeing a poster of her doing a promotion for a shop, he was filled with rage.
He already hated the current generation of heroes, so finding out that the new generation was following the same crooked path made his mission feel pointless.
"It does not matter how many of you I have to purge, I'll keep going until every single stain is wiped clean!"
Swhoosh!
Nejire closed her eyes, stifling a scream as the sword came down.
Bang!
There was a sound of metal slamming against metal, followed by a metallic screech that rang in her ears.
She opened her eyes, only to gasp when she realised the sword was a hair's breath away from her face.
She could see the sharp, rusty tip of the sword, trembling as it was held in place by a metallic pipe.
And holding that pipe was Kyle, a look of slight annoyance on his face as he stared right into Stain's eyes.
"K-Kyle?"
Although Nejire was happy to see him, at the same time her heart was filled with worry.
She was afraid that just like Mirio had done, he would put his life at risk to save her.
Mirio was not a fully fledged hero, but he had been training to be one, yet, he was injured badly in their last fight.
What would happen if a civilian like Kyle, who had never received any form of training fought someone like the hero killer?
He could very well be killed, and Nejire could not live knowing that her friend had died protecting her.
The very thought of it caused tears to cloud her vision.
"No—" she muttered, her voice low.
Sparks erupted from both weapons as Stain jumped back, distancing himself from the two of them.
"Nejire, are you alright?" Kyle asked while keeping his focus on Stain, standing protectively in front of her.
"I-I'm fine. But you have to leave, you can't fight him! He's a hero killer, he is dangerous—"
"You forgot your purse."
Kyle tossed the purse to the ground next to her and frowned at Stain, ignoring her warning.
"Kyle, listen to me! Please." Nejire sobbed. "I can't bear to see you die."
They had met only due to business. UA was organising the sports festival and they needed to get a company to supply drinks…
But over time, Kyle had proved to be a good person. From helping them out during the attack on UA, to constantly checking up on Mirio while he was in the hospital.
Over time, Kyle had become someone she could call her friend.
He turned to watch her then said, "What did we just discuss, Nejire?"
Kyle smiled. "Friends are only friends because they can risk their life to save yours."
He was repeating a different version of what he had told her earlier.
Nejire felt her heart clench as she heard his words.
But Kyle was not done. He raised the pipe, and then in the most serious way possible, he said, "Don't worry about me, I watch a lot of self defense videos."
"…"
The street became deathly silent.
Even the hero killer seemed confused by his statement.
"Is this kid serious?" He mumbled, his hands tightening on his katana.
"Kyle, this is no time for jokes!"
"His only quirk is paralysis isn't it?" Kyle chuckled. "Don't go anywhere Nejire, I'll be back for you soon."
Nejire screamed out to stop him, but ignoring her pleas, Kyle dove right at the serial killer, who welcomed him with the sharp tip of his blade.
•••
Swooosh!
Kyle leaned back, barely avoiding the sword as it sliced past his neck. But Stain pushed the blade forward, catching thin air as Kyle evaded the strike.
Just as the swords cut past him, Kyle dashed forward and raised the pipe, bringing it down with a bang.
Stain brought his sword up just in time, both weapons ringing loudly as they met.
"You should get away while you can. I do not go out of my way to harm civilians. But if you dare interrupt my work, I will cut you down as well." He sneered.
"I don't want to." Kyle said plainly.
"You arrogant fool!"
Stain launched a series of fast paced strikes, his sword moving so fast that it created blurry arcs in the air.
Kyle deflected the first strike with his pipe, took two quick steps back to dodge the next two, then dashed forward, moving past his guard and slamming the pipe into Stain's gut.
He stumbled back, clutching his stomach with one hand as he watched Kyle, his eyes wide in shock.
'All I have to do is limit my actions to things humanly possible. That way Nejire will not suspect I have a quirk.'
It was annoying that he would have to drag the fight a bit, but it was what he had to suffer from rushing here.
'This should be fun…'
There was no way to perceive any abilities Kyle did not show.
So even without making it known, Kyle's excellent vision could pick out every silver one of stains moves.
He could also always increase his speed at the last second to make it harder to catch.
'Still… What the hell is he even doing here?!'
In the original time line, Stain had only appeared during the revenge arc after Ilda's brother was crippled, but somehow, he was here instead.
The timing wasn't exactly wrong, Stain appeared shortly after the sports festival, but this was the wrong place and definitely the wrong time.
Kyle could already guess why it was happening, which made him even angrier.
Stain must have somehow found out about the promotion Nejire was helping out with. He was merciless when it came to things like that.
It didn't matter the intent of the hero, as long as you did something, and profited off it, Stain would one day come breathing down your neck with a knife to your throat.
'This is technically my fault…'
If Kyle never asked her for help, then the story would have progressed the way it should have.
Kyle sighed.
To think such a minor event would cause the story to change in such a way.
Clang!
The steel pipe met Stain's sword with a furious clash that caused vibrations to pass through both weapons.
Stain frowned. "You are no ordinary person. Tell me, who are you!"
"Hmm? I am but a humble coffee maker."
Suddenly, a wave of unhinged bloodlust seeped out of Stain, his killing intent so heavy that it was choking.
Nejire gasped, frozen in place as she watched Stain with dread.
But Kyle had no such reaction, he just watched him as though he was performing party tricks.
Primordial fear would cripple him if he dared to unleash it. His bloodlust may have paralysed multiple heroes in the original story…
But to Kyle, it was like a mildly offensive odour.
"Come on Stain, why don't we finish this early? I have somewhere to be."
Stain gritted his teeth, the red bandana fluttering in the wind as he watched Kyle.
"Fine. Your death is a measly price to pay for salvation."