Fractured Wings

The cold night air felt heavier than it should have. A chilling silence, broken only by the sound of laboured breathing, filled the alleyway along with the scraping of sharp metal on the gravel. 

Midoriya couldn't move. The metallic tang of blood lingered in his mouth from the solid and nasty blow he received from the hero killer. His eyes darted towards his friend Iida Tenya and the pro hero Native. The latter was unconscious while the former was in the same position as Midoriya himself. Vulnerable. 

Panic clutched his chest. Move! You have to move! But his limbs were paralyzed by the serial killer's quirk. 

Why did I let this happen? Midoriya's thoughts raced, guilt weaving itself into every corner of his mind. He'd known Iida was hiding something—something dark and self-destructive But he'd been too late. Too blind to his friends pain, blind to the sweltering rage and depression brewing beneath Iida's usual demeanour. And now, because of his failure to act, his friends life hung by a thread. 

I should've brought Gran Torino. He cursed himself. There were many heroes in the city that he had met thanks to the elder that he was interning with, Kesagiri man, Airjet, Backdraft. And there were many more in the city capable of beating Stain, Odd eye, Crust, Sir Nighteye and of course Endeavour himself. 

I'm a failure, a hopeless and miserable... Deku! I hate it. He's going to kill them and I can do nothing... 

But then, faintly, like a whisper against the wind, he saw it—paper. Tiny fragments, fluttering like snowflakes, illuminated by the dim streetlights. At first Midoriya thought his consciousness was playing tricks on him. But then Stain hesitated. His sword arm froze mid swing as the paper coalesced into delicate threads in the air. 

Midoriya's breath caught. Paper? The realization hit like a shockwave. His mind reeled. It had been years since he had seen that in person, but there was no mistaking it. Kobe... Sōryū is here. 

Stain's head snapped around, his gaze narrowing as he slashed the air with perpetual speed, his blade severing a floating paper construct. The fragments burst apart harmlessly, but more followed, drifting with deliberate purpose. Bird-like figures formed from paper, wings beating silently as they dove toward the Hero Killer. 

Stain's reaction was instantaneous, his sword slicing through the air in arcs of precision, cutting down the constructs with ease. But in the brief chaos, the bodies of Iida, Native and even Midoriya had vanished from where they were on the ground and were now perched safely on a rooftop. Transported by unseen hands. Stain turned sharply, his eyes narrowing as he faced a figure standing calmly at the end of the alley. 

***

I stood at the edge of the alley after landing on the ground and making sure those three were alright. They were paralyzed, I don't know how, but it was obviously due to the quirk of the man in front of me. 

His sword had already been slick with blood. 

A deep gash was on Native, I used my paper to patch it up the best I could as a bird carried him up the roof. Now I could have them be transferred further but Stain may try something like throw a sword at them from my blind spot, so leaving them up there was for the better now. 

This wouldn't be my first time facing killers like him. But Stain still felt oddly dangerous in a way Overhaul didn't, his intensity and the way he stared you down, his killing intent, it was like being dumped in a pool of ice cold water that would wake you up instantly and fire up all your senses. 

"You don't belong here," he said, "Paper isn't fit to stain red." 

I didn't have time for a response, I wasn't supposed to, it was a bait of course...

The no-nose having freak sped in my direction in a blur of motion, and he was on me, his sword slashing through my toward my throat. I twisted, leaning just enough for the blade to whistle past my neck. Paper flowed from my sleeves in a fluid ripple, forming a thin barrier that shimmered into a thin paper wall. 

Stain's blade bit into it, but I stepped forward and opened up the wall and drove my palm into his chest. 

He staggered slightly, his feet finding purchase almost instantly. His movements were animalistic, in a similar way Overhaul's were when he had absorbed his allies, but Stain's were a lot more calculated. He had a sharper instinct. 

"You don't belong here," He snarled, his voice like gravel. His sword spun in his hand before he lunged again. 

This time I let him get a little closer. Paper ribbons danced around me, threading the through the air in erratic patterns. One strand coiled around his arm, the fibers tightening like a serpent. He jerked back, the paper snapping, but it gave me an opening. 

I struck low, a sweeping kick to disrupt his balance. He jumped narrowly avoiding it, but I was already following up. Paper folded into a makeshift blade in my hand, it's edge glinting unnaturally sharp. I brought it down in a controlled arc, meeting his steel in a burst of sparks. 

For a moment, our weapon's locked, the force reverberating through my arms. His was strong but not overwhelming, but I didn't need to match it. I shifted my weight, letting his momentum carry him past me as I stepped to the side, a second blade formed in my hand and I slashed at his open flank. 

He twisted again, his movements unnervingly smooth, and my blade caught only the edge of his clothing, leaving a shallow tear. His eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment, annoyance flickered in them. 

"You're Sóryú. I've seen you on the news. I didn't think you were this skilled." He admitted, "But skill without purpose is empty. You'll fall like the rest." 

"Right," I shot back sarcastically. "...cause you and All Might are the only one's allowed to dance at the top with a purpose right?" 

The tension snapped as he lunged again, faster and with more power behind him. His sword became a blur, each swing with deadly precision. My paper moved in tandem, birds diving and daring to intercept his strikes. He cut through them effortlessly, but each one demanded more focus than he wanted to give. 

I shifted back, paper spiralling around my feet to burst me into the air, my hands moved in rhythm, folding and shaping a massive construct. A hawk, with a wingspan that spanned the alley. It dived toward him, talons sharp. Stain met it with a growl, his sword sliced through the construct in a shower of shards. The explosion of paper obscured his vision for a heartbeat, just enough for me to reposition. 

"Stop with this. Stop running." Stain's voice cut through the paper storm. 

"I prefer to call it a strategic relocation." I replied, flicking my wrist. Paper needles shot towards him, tiny and precise, forcing him to deflect, dodge or even just suffer from the attacks and block them from hitting his face or his vitals. 

Stain took out another long sword, and swung towards me with his initial one. When I leapt back his secondary sword was thrown at me in a wide arc, I materialized a paper blade to block it. 

But like a cool whisper in winter, a wall of ice surged between us, stains blade bouncing harmlessly off it's surface. My eyes widened as the second place winner of the sports festival appeared. He had dual coloured hair and an expression colder than the ice. 

And then a breeze of air touched me as Midoriya jumped down to land beside me. "Thank's Shoto-kun." He looked at me, I kept my face ahead avoiding his eyes. 

But I could feel them burning through my cheek, God he can be so damn awkward. 

"Not now, dummy." I muttered sharply. 

The ice user turned to Midoriya. "Midoriya, are we supposed to be fighting with him?" he gestured towards me, ready to turn me to an ice sculptor. 

Midoriya's response was immediate. "It's fine. Kobe... Sōryū saved me and Iida as well as Native. He's not our enemy." His words were resolute, he lacked the usual stammer that I had associated with him. But his jaw tightened slightly as though he were bracing for a disagreement. 

Todoroki hesitated, his brows furrowing, but he nodded. "Fine. For now." 

The wall of ice shattered suddenly, shards scattering in every direction. Stain burst through, his blade flashing in the moonlight. He moved faster than before, his rage sharpening every motion. His eyes darted toward Midoriya and Todoroki before locking onto me. 

"Allies?" His voice dripped with disdain as he lunged. 

I ducked low, my paper forming into a coiling serpent that lashed out toward him. Stain twisted, slicing through the construct with a precise strike but it forced him to shift his footing. 

Todoroki seized the moment, sending a jagged trail of ice towards Stain's legs. Stain jumped, but Midoriya was already in motion, rocketing upward with a forceful kick aimed at Stain's midsection. The blow connected, sending the hero killer sprawling against the wall. 

Midoriya landed beside me, his breathing heavy but controlled. "Kobe, What's your play here?" 

"My play?" I smirked faintly, spinning a thin, sharp blade in my hands. "My play is not dying, simple, but effective." 

Stain recovered with alarming speed, his grin widening as he charged in again. "Good! Fight like your lives depend on it." His blade slashed through the air aiming for Midoriya's chest. 

I intercepted, my blade of paper catching his steel with a sharp clang. Sparks flew as we clashed, his raw strength pushing against my agility. Todoroki moved to flank him, his ice trailing like veins across the ground. 

"You need to learn subtlety, Frosty," I quipped, flipping backwards as Todoroki's ice surged beneath me, creating a platform that lifted me and the other fighters to the rooftops. 

Stain was here with us, I conjured paper birds that dove at him, their razor wings slicing through the air. Stain swatted them away, but the distraction allowed Todoroki to launch another wave of ice, this time pinning stains arm briefly against a vent, 

Midoriya joined, his movements erratic but precise. He used the momentum from Todoroki's ice to leap high, delivering a punch that cracked the concrete rooftop where Stain had been standing. 

I stayed above the chaos, watching and weaving more constructs into the fight. A net of paper descended from above, entangling Stain's legs just as Todoroki's ice surged forward again, encasing his lower half. 

"Got him!" he shouted. 

But stain roared, his sword slicing through the paper and cracking the ice in one fluid motion. He lunged for Todoroki, blade raised. 

I dropped down between them creating a wall of paper. His blade bit into it, but he didn't have the power to make it pierce through. 

"Careful Frosty." I said pushing the Hero Killer back. 

Stain's grin widened, his eyes gleaming with a manic light. "Doesn't matter how strong you all are! As I said, Strength without purpose is meaningless!" 

He broke away, spinning toward Midoriya who was already charging in. Midoriya slid under the strike. But Stain quickly came back with another powerful strike, I reacted fast, forming massive paper hands that scooped him into the air to dodge the attack. 

"Thanks!" He still called out, twisting in midair to prepare a counterattack. His fist glowed faintly, the pressure around it building up as he aimed for Stain's exposed flank. 

The Hero killer turned slowly to raise his sword to block, Midoriya's strike landed, sending a shockwave rippling through the rooftop. Stain staggered, his footing faltering. Todoroki followed up instantly, sending a surge of ice across the ground that coiled around Stain's legs and chest, locking him in place. 

"This is it!" Midoriya shouted, charging forward with his fist cocked back for one final blow. 

But then the air shifted. A strange alien sensation coursed through me, like static crawling under my skin. 

A voice, low, playful and mechanical spoke loudly in my head, and judging by their startled expressions, it did in theirs too. 

"[Game On]" 

The world around us twisted unnaturally, the dark night of the city we were just in was bleeding away into a monotonous gray. The rooftop vanished, replaced by a featureless void stretching endlessly in every direction. Shadows flickered at the edges of my vision and my eyes adjusted, I realized we weren't alone. Countless figures stood around us, some familiar and most strangers. Civilians. Their expressions ranged from confusion to terror. 

"What... what is this?" Todoroki's voice broke out, though it sounded distant as though muffled by the strange atmosphere. 

I looked down instinctively and cursed under my breath. My shoes were gone and so were my socks, my feet were bare against the cold, unyielding surface. Nearby, I saw Todoroki, his boots and support gear gone. 

And then there was Midoriya. 

Clad in only his underwear.

"Midoriya," I started, but my voice was cut off by his panic at his sudden nudeness. 

Then the rising murmur of panic came from the crowd around us. 

I don't know what happened, but we are not in Hosu anymore.