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' Iida Tensei '
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The last thing Tensei wanted to be doing was sprinting among the suburbs and alleyways of Hosu City while his younger brother was participating in his first Sports Festival. More than anything, he wanted to be able to cheer him on. He'd even received an invitation to attend, but no, he had to be called out on a last-minute patrol because the Hero Killer Stain was on the loose in the area.
Not that he minded working, of course. He loved being able to help people, loved being able to strengthen and serve others. But why did this have to come up today of all days? Couldn't that creep take just one day off?
"Ingenium, any sign of him?" one of his sidekicks' voices crackled over his earpiece.
"Nothing yet," he replied, turning the corner down another tight street. "I'll send out an SOS the moment I find anything."
"Understood. The other squads are patrolling their respective zones and will also radio for assistance if they come across him."
"Roger that. Remind everyone to be on high alert-we're still not sure exactly what the Hero Killer's quirk is."
"Roger."
"Ingenium, this is Squad A! We believe that we've spotted the Hero Killer headed towards your sector!"
"Roger!" Ingenium called back, catching a telephone pole and firing off one of his engines to rapidly change directions towards the sector that Squad A had been searching, simultaneously constructing a mental map of everyone's positions and availability. "Squad A, head North! Squad B, check the West side!"
"Squad A, roger!"
"Squad B, roger!"
"Squads E and C, start heading towards my sector and be ready to assist!"
"Squad C, roger!"
"Squad E, heading your way!"
Another street. Another set of houses blurring past. Another empty-
Wait!
Ingenium skid to a stop, pivoting sharply back the way he'd come and sprinting towards one of the alleys he'd just passed, igniting his engines to give himself an extra strength boost and leap off of a wall, coming at the darkened street from above in the hopes of throwing his quarry off.
"I've found you, Hero Killer," the speedster growled as he turned towards the scruffy figure crouched nearby. He had wild, dark hair, a simple mask, blood red scarf, body armor wrapped around his torso, heavy cargo pants, dark boots, and more knives than a single person should be capable of carrying at once.
"Yes, you've found me," the man sneered, baring his teeth at the pro hero, "but do you really think you can face me alone when your entire agency of fools couldn't take down a single villain?"
Ingenium growled softly as he realized what villain the murderer was referring to. Even he would admit to still feeling a sharp sting of failure when he thought about the Bat Villain incident, but he refused to allow himself to be baited.
He knew better than anyone that the strength of his agency lay in its teamwork. So, of course, he began to reach for his SOS signal, ready to inform his team that he had found their quarry.
But the Hero Killer had other plans.
The speedster was forced to dodge as a series of knives flew past his face, narrowly missing the spaces in his helmet for his eyes. In those crucial moments as his focus was torn away from his opponent, he abruptly realized that he had made a critical mistake.
Because Stain was standing directly in front of him.
Ingenium cried out as a sharp, sudden pain blossomed under his left arm; the Hero Killer had stabbed into his armpit where the joint of his armor was weakest.
Then the knife twisted, and Tensei couldn't quite hold back a scream, his vision momentarily blacking out and his knees buckling as the man leaped back, withdrawing the knife and causing hot blood to spray from the wound.
Shit!
The adrenaline was keeping him from really feeling the full extent of the injury, but the Hero Killer had likely ruptured his axillary artery; if he didn't get medical attention soon, then he was in severe danger of bleeding-
"Agh!"
Ingenium cried out in pain as a massive force seemed to crush down on him from all directions, both inside and out. Suddenly he was on the ground, incapable of moving, barely capable of breathing, and all the while, he could see a pool of blood continuing to expand around him.
"What… What did you…?" he gasped as he struggled to obtain enough air even to speak, jaw clenched against the pain.
"You truly are nothing but a fake hero, trying to call for help when you should be able to face your enemies head-on," Stain intoned coldly, stepping forward and drawing a katana from his back.
"You-"
"I will purge you and your kind from this world."
"Wait-" I don't want to die!
"May your sacrifice make a stronger society," Stain's voice sneered.
Tenya-!
A sound, almost like a roar, suddenly echoed down the alleyway, and Tensei felt, rather than saw, Stain's head snap up and the movement as the man leaped away. An instant later, there was a blaze of heat somewhere behind him and the entire alleyway lit up with a flare of bluish light.
Tensei's heart leapt with a mixture of hope and complete confusion. Had one of his squads found them? But… But none of his sidekicks had a quirk that produced such an intense blue glow, and judging by the heat there might be some kind of flame involved which certainly didn't match any of their quirks, so who-?
"Well well. What do we have here," a quiet voice drawled at the other end of the alleyway.
The downed pro hero felt his breath hitch sharply, even though he wasn't capable of pulling in more than brief, shallow gasps. He tried to turn his head and see the newcomer, tried to warn them about Stain's ability to paralyze people-it likely had something to do with the blades considering that he hadn't collapsed until after he'd been stabbed-but he couldn't move.
In fact, every attempt to do so sent sharp pain flashing through his body; he almost blacked out, but forced himself to stay awake through little more than sheer willpower.
"And who the hell are you?" Stain snarled back.
"You can call me Phoenix," the man replied, somehow managing to sound indifferent and threatening all at once, "and I'm the guy who's gonna send you packing."
"C-Careful," Tensei managed to gasp. "The… blades…"
"Don't worry; I know." The voice was closer than it had been, cold and calm and laser-focused on the enemy before them, the presence it was connected to positioned just behind him as though the stranger was standing protectively over his useless body.
"What are you, another posturing fake talking big but unable to give substance to their words? Some kind of underground hero perhaps?" Stain sneered, and Tensei could see him rising from his crouch, preparing to defend or attack as the need called for it.
Tensei blinked as his vision swam, nausea beginning to coil in his gut. Shit, I'm already going into hemorrhagic shock.
"Nah, heroics aren't my thing. I just don't particularly like guys that beat the shit out of people to force their stupid-ass ideas on 'em."
"A vigilante then."
Vigilante? From Naruhata? But I… I don't remember anyone by that name…
"I have nothing against your kind as a rule, but if you insist on getting in my way, then I'll have to cull you as well," Stain growled warningly.
"You're welcome to try it, Stendhal. Or would you prefer Stain? Or perhaps Arbiter of Justice?" Phoenix suggested mockingly, and Stain snarled softly in response. The name Stendhal seemed familiar, but Tensei couldn't quite bring to mind where he'd heard it before. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter what you call yourself. Burnt flesh still smells the same."
"Bold words, brat. Let's see if you can back them up!"
Stain rushed forward, katana at the ready. This time, Tensei could see the intense blue flames that burst to life, rushing outward and filling nearly the entire alleyway in order to drive the Hero Killer back.
He heard the murderer's startled cry somewhere behind the wall of flames, then mentally jumped himself when he saw a hand enter his line of sight. It was a pale hand, worn and calloused and-ironically-stretched with pale red burn scars extending all the way to the tips of the fingers that were producing those vicious blue flames.
"If you can still talk, I need you to tell me how to activate your comms so you can call for backup. I've called a friend, but if he doesn't make it in time, I don't think I can hold this bastard off for long on my own."
"R… Right side," Tensei gasped. "Th-There's a button… by my ear. Press twice. That's… the SOS."
He felt the man shift behind him, his unseen hand quickly-and none too gently-slipping beneath his head and lifting it so that he could reach for the button. He'd barely managed to follow Tensei's instructions before the fallen pro hero saw a shadow leaping above the wall of flames.
"Look out!"
"Shit!"
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