Stain lunged at Kyle, driving his katana towards his throat. Kyle shifted his foot back, tilting his head to the side.
He could feel the wind from the force of the attack brush against his throat as he did, and then, seeing that he missed, Stain redirected the sword and slashed at him.
Clang!
The steel pipe rang loudly as the sword met it.
More slashes came, this time far more deadly and packed with more power, but Kyle blocked them all, his eyes laser focused on Stain.
Stain then stabbed towards his chest, only to be knocked to the side by a heavy blow to his ribs.
Before he could recover, Kyle was already upon him, his pipe raised high.
Stain raised his sword defensively as it came down with explosive force, rattling his arms.
Swoosh!
Kyle bent the pipe in a way that allowed the sword to slide past it, then he grabbed Stain's shoulder and pulled him forward, driving his knee into his gut.
Stain buckled over, only to have his head rocked back by the cold steel pipe.
Blood spewed out of his nose as he stumbled back, dazed by the blow.
"Come on, Stain. Don't tell me you're only good at fighting disabled people?"
Although he was feared by a lot of heroes in the show, take away his paralysis quirk and he was like a regular guy that was just stronger than the average Joe.
The reason many heroes had died by his hand was his ruthless technique and his ability to intimidate.
Although Stain had no speed quirk, he was also extremely fast, even capable of stabbing Deku in full cowering.
But that was Deku.
Nothing got past Kyle's crimson gaze.
Stain took a moment to assess the situation, his eyes locked on Kyle as he slowly walked towards him, the pipe moistened with his blood.
'Am I really getting beaten by this kid?' Stain thought, dread filling his heart.
The worst part was that the boy had not shown any special abilities; he was just fighting him head on with that bloody pipe of his!
"I get your ideology does have its roots, Stain." Kyle watched him coldly. "Some heroes have sold their honor to fill their pockets."
It had gotten to the point where a lot of heroes only did the job for money.
Now, although that was not inherently wrong, the problem was the mindset.
It was the same with the police. If someone only protected people because of monetary gain, then they wouldn't think twice before abandoning people to save themselves.
Stain had a strong ideology. Even Kyle was trying to fix the broken hero system in Japan.
But…
"Is killing them really the way?"
Stain had become so obsessed with his ideal vision of what a hero should be that he had run mad.
Far too many people had died by his hands, and some of them were actually decent people.
It had gotten to the point where he had no problems with killing a seventeen year old girl because he felt he was fighting for the greater good.
"At the end of the day, you are just as scummy as the heroes you hate." Kyle lifted his pipe, pointing it at him as though it were a blade.
"SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS ROTTEN SOCIETY?!!" Stain screamed out as he lunged at Kyle.
Although he was enraged, he did not miss a beat. His sword strikes were immaculate, each attack moving straight for his vital points.
Eyes, heart, liver…
The first strike ricocheted off the pipe, bouncing the sword back. Stain reacted quickly, going low and striking at his liver from below, but Kyle shifted his body slightly, the blade slicing his shirt open but missing his skin.
Nearly instantaneously, Stain spun in a three-sixty-degree angle.
His fist came flying first, which Kyle successfully blocked, his feet skidding back a little just as the sword arrived.
Slash!
Blood spewed into the air as Kyle's cheek was cut open, but before Stain could recall his blade, the pipe exploded against his arm, shattering his fingers.
The sword flew into the air, spinning wildly as it was knocked out of sight and into the night sky.
Stain gritted his teeth. "You bastard!"
Kyle smiled as he wiped the blood off his cheek. 'Now it would make sense that I was in a fight with Stain…'
Throughout the fight, he had allowed Stain to rip his clothes at multiple places and slash his face to reduce suspicion.
'It should be about time now…'
A whirling sound reached their ears as the blade descended. Stain grabbed it with his left hand and licked the blood off the blade, a sinister smirk on his face as the quirk took effect.
Kyle could feel it; his entire body felt a little stiff and his breathing increased.
'I see… so his quirk manipulates blood?'
He wanted to laugh out loud as he brushed off the effects with ease. Kyle's blood control was far greater than anything Stain could ever hope to muster.
Still thinking Kyle was paralyzed, Stain took a step forward, then another, before he broke into a run.
"It's over for you," he declared as he leaped into the air, his sword racing down at Kyle, who still hadn't made a single move.
But just before it could land, he saw Kyle smirk and look to the side.
Stain turned his gaze in the same direction, his eyes widening slightly.
Nejire was now on her feet, her whole body trembling as she forced herself to move.
She lifted her hands, her jaw clenched as she watched Stain.
"Get away from him!"
Whooosh!
Spiral energy tore through her hand, causing the street to vibrate and the air to turn turbulent as the attack cut towards him.
The yellow light sparked in his eerily dark pupils just as it collided.
Bang!
Stain was blasted away like a bag of trash, his body slamming against the floor and rolling several times before coming to a stop, steam oozing out of his unconscious body.
'Just like in the story… the paralysis' duration is based on the blood type.'
Kyle had purposely stalled the fight just so that Nejire would have the final blow.
She was a member of the Big Three, so he could easily phrase the story to be that he played a supportive role while Nejire finished the job.
Besides…
'Nejire needs this.'
If she ended up staying on the sidelines while someone saved her again, it would have damaged her confidence even more.
Kyle smirked and gave her a thumbs up.
"Whooo!" He fell to the ground, pretending to be paralyzed. "Thanks, Nej, I really thought I was going to die there!"
Nejire smiled faintly, the worry leaving her eyes just before she chuckled softly.
"What the heck? Your self defence videos are really something."
'He managed to hold his own against Stain,' she thought as she watched Kyle laughing nervously.
Nejire smiled. 'If only he was born with a powerful quirk… he could have been the greatest hero I know.'
"Eh?! You're bleeding!" Nejire jolted and hurried over to him.
"W-where did I put my first aid kit? Let's go inside—wait, you can't walk! Should I call an ambulance?!"
Kyle just laughed as he watched her scramble around nervously.
Then he stared up at the sky and sighed.
Since Stain had already revealed himself…
'It's happening soon, isn't it?'
The Hosu City Incident.