Swinging across Hosu's burning skyline, Tsutsumi cut down stray Nomu as he closed in on Midoriya's signal. Landing on a rooftop, his gaze narrowed. Down below, the Hero Killer loomed over Midoriya, blade poised to stab.
Tsutsumi raised his Rider Book gun without hesitation.
Attack Ride: Blast!
Light bullets rained down. Stain sensed danger instantly, springing back just before they tore through him. Tsutsumi jumped; his feet hit the street hard, reinforced by his magic circuits, his glare snapping upward.
"Leave. I have no interest in vigilantes," Stain said coldly, blade leveled at Tsutsumi.
Tsutsumi: "..."
Looking down at his own clothes, black leather and magenta, which look like something a villain would wear, with the Nomu's blood splattered on his legs and sleeves, creates the image of either a vigilante or a villain. He looked nothing like a hero.
"…Sorry, but I can't let you penetrate the kid from behind like that. He's still a minor," Tsutsumi said flatly.
Stain: "..."
"…What?" Stain blinked.
The tone alone was enough to twist the meaning.
"Don't you dare slander me!" Stain snarled, teeth bared.
"He is paralyzed, huh?" Tsutsumi murmurs as his gaze shifts down at Midoriya lying face-first on the ground. When the Hero Killer took a step back, he still hadn't gotten up or tried to move. Tsutsumi could see that Midoriya still had his eyes open, meaning he was still conscious.
"So your quirk causes paralysis, making your victim unable to move or resist as you penetrate their defenseless body," Tsutsumi concluded.
Stain: "..."
Midoriya: "..."
Ida: "..."
Native: "..."
How he could easily see through and figure out Stain's quirk is surprising, but the way he voices that makes it sound like Stain is someone who paralyzes children and does some unspeakable thing to them.
"Tch!" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Stain didn't bother arguing any further and charged directly toward Tsutsumi, sword in hand, ready to strike.
Attack Ride: Polarity!
A black glow rippled across Tsutsumi's body. He stepped into the Hero Killer's strike range, yet the blade slid harmlessly past his shoulder. Calm, unflinching, Tsutsumi ignored Stain as he walked toward Midoriya.
"The hell are you even doing here? Did you figure out how to control your quirk yet?" he muttered, before lightly kicking Midoriya's limp body, sending him ragdolling into a nearby wall.
Stain, being unable to hit Tsutsumi, shifted his gaze toward the paralyzed Ida and charged toward him.
Reinforcing himself with both his magic and aura, Tsutsumi blurred forward and appeared before Stain could stab Ida. With a sharp kick, he sent Stain further into the alleyway. His body slammed hard against the wall, breaking multiple bones in his body, and coughing up blood.
"Tch! So, unable to touch one kid, you're aiming for the other one?" Tsutsumi sneered, his gaze shifting toward Ida, seeing the bleeding wound on his body. "Oh, so you already finished penetrating Glasses and tried to get another quick one before running, huh?"
Stain: "..."
Ida: "..."
"You really are unlucky, Glasses. Losing your first time to this old creep." Tsutsumi said with a straight face.
Ida: "..."
"You aren't a vigilante... Stain growled, coughing blood. "You're just another fake. Who are you?"
"Just a passing-through Rider. Remember that." Tsutsumi replied coolly, hand in his pocket as he approached.
"Another fake..." Stain murmurs before pointing toward the injured Native in the corner, whom Tsutsumi only now notices. "You could have saved him first. He is clearly injured and needs help. But instead, you are here talking nonsense, ignoring the injured, and even causing more injury to that boy." He pointed at Midoriya.
His gaze flared with conviction. "You're no hero. You're a fake. And fakes deserve to die!"
"Did I ever say I was a hero?" Tsutsumi shot back instantly.
Stain froze. That wasn't denial. It wasn't outrage. It was indifferent acceptance, something none of his victims had ever said.
For the first time, the Hero Killer faltered.
The reason his targets are heroes is to send a message to purge the hero society, making today's hero take their job more seriously and be like All Might, a true hero. But if he suddenly kills someone who admits that they aren't a hero, then what makes him different from the other villain who just kills because they can?
Too bad for him, he ran into Tsutsumi Ryoko, the reluctant successor to the title of Destroyer of Worlds. After all, he himself doesn't view himself as a hero, because being a hero isn't about the title, it's about your action and desire to protect.
That's why they are called Kamen Rider, not Hero Rider or Masked Hero. It's the people they protect and those who know that call them heroes.
Tsutsumi's calm eyes narrowed. "The guy'll live. Just a flesh wound, if he bled out from such little wounds, then that means he isn't cut out for the hero work." He turned his head slightly.
"So... mind telling me why you started this hero-killing gig? Did a hero fail to save your wife and children, so now you are taking revenge on everyone else?" He asks before quickly answering his own question. "No, that isn't right, with a mug like yours, only a blind woman might fall for you... No scratch that too, blind and deaf."
Stain: "..."
Stain's eyelid twitched violently. "You bastard!"
He lunged again, but his strikes kept missing by inches.
"Is that some kind of barrier quirk!?" Stain shouted.
"No," Tsutsumi said bluntly, "but about my question, care to answer, or should I just knock you out?"
Stain's voice rose with fury. "Tch! It's fake like you who is ruining this world. The title Hero used to be something sacred, something to be proud of; now it has become nothing more than just a hollow title." He then pointed his blade toward Ida. "That boy came here not to save anyone, but to kill me for revenge. Do you call that a hero!?"
"Tch, Glasses." Tsutsumi clicked his tongue before turning toward the still-paralyzed Ida. "So that's your grand plan? Revenge? Is this the type of hero you want to become?"
"No wonder you and Midoriya make such great friends. You're both idiots." Tsutsumi said coldly, voice razor sharp.
Tsutsumi didn't mind the killing part, but trying and failing so horribly that you become the victim is humiliating, not gonna lie. Instead of planning things out thoroughly, get help to gang up on him, or hope for someone stronger to at least put the Hero Killer to justice. Ida decides the best move is to go searching and charging alone, letting his emotions guide him.
"Charging headfirst into danger not because you wanted to protect others but because of revenge, then at least have the strength to back up some of it. Because what I'm seeing now you just another soon-to-be body bag. Nothing but deadweight."
He said coldly to the still paralyzed Ida, before shifting his gaze back to Stain, who is currently being cornered and trying to look for an opportunity to strike Tsutsumi when he has his guard down.
"So you kill his entire family or something? He has a long metal stick up his ass, so he usually doesn't even dare to break the rule."
Ida: "..."
Stain: "..."
"Kill? I only injured his brother; Ingenium is still a good hero, so I spared his life. He is still alive."
That made Tsutsumi pause. He turned his gaze back on Ida.
Stain saw his chance and lunged. Tsutsumi continues to use Pyrrha's semblance. He flicked his hand and forced all the metal objects on Stain's body back, pinning him to the wall like a bug.
"So your brother is alive, and just needed time to recover from his injury. Yet you make it out as if Stain rape your brother before killing him." Tsutsumi pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "You come looking for revenge and nearly got yourself killed. Do you want your brother to walk out of the hospital and carry your coffin? Is that it!?"
"He's ALIVE, dammit! What the hell are you avenging!? You're basically avenging someone who is still alive!" Tsutsumi shouted at him before kicking Ida across the face, sending a tooth flying out.
"Gahhh!" Ida crashed into the nearby wall, letting out a loud groan, signally the paralysis wearing off.
"Good, you can talk now. Tell me, mister genius, what was going on in your head when he decided to do this, huh!?" Tsutsumi shouted at him as Ida slowly pushed himself up, his gaze locked onto the pinned-down, defenseless Hero Killer stuck on the wall.
Ida staggered up, eyes burning with vengeance, then shouted.
"Recipro Burst!"
Going at his full speed, Ida ran past Tsutsumi, aiming to crash into the Hero Killer and finish him off.
But just as Ida ran past Tsutsumi.
"Rider Kick!"
Tsutsumi spun around, doing a roundhouse kick, his foot crashing into Ida's face, breaking his nose and knocking out a few more teeth before sending the other boy crashing back onto the other side of the wall, his body fell down on the ground.
"Did you leave your brain at home or something?" Tsutsumi snarled, stomping on Ida's gut.
"Child Predator over there is subdued; he isn't a threat anymore, and you wanted to charge headfirst into his embrace or something? What are you, desperate for a hug? Parents not love you enough?"
He stomped again.
"If you kill him now, then can you still call yourself a hero?"
Another stomp.
"Even your entire reason for revenge is pointless!"
Another stomp.
"Your brother is alive."
Another.
"You have a loving family!"
Another.
"You have an entire future ahead of you!"
His voice cracked like a whip. "And you wanted to throw it all away by getting the labeled killer?"
"Tsutsumi-kun! Stop-" Midoriya tried to shout, his broken fingers trembling.
"Shut it, Deadweight!" Tsutsumi snapped. "You're lucky I even got here in time. I'm not in the mood for your buy none, get two corpses free deal!"
He could see that Midoriya still hadn't gotten control of his quirk yet, visible by his broken fingers.
His glare dropped back to Ida.
"You should reconsider whether or not you really want to be a hero, or if you are simply doing it because your family did it. Because, right now, you're no hero... just a wannabe killer hiding behind the title of hero."
Stain burst out into wild, manic, crazed laughter, his gaze locking onto Tsutsumi, capturing every moment of this into his memory. "Yes… YES! That's it! That is what a true hero looks like! Someone who understands the risk and the sacrifice it takes to be one! Someone willing to stop others from stepping onto a path of no return!"
Once, Stain had looked at Tsutsumi with contempt. Now, his eyes burned with respect, almost worship. To him, this boy resembled All Might himself.
"…Don't tell me you're on drugs too." Tsutsumi muttered before slamming Stain's head into the wall, knocking him out cold.
Slow clapping echoed from above. Mirko crouched on a rooftop, smirking. "Well said, Decade. Well said."
"Tch. You gonna keep sitting there, or are you actually coming down?" Tsutsumi muttered.
With a grin, Mirko hopped down, landing beside him as casually as if she'd just come back from a jog.
With that, the Hero Killer incident came to a close, fortunately, without a single death. Stain was subdued, captured, and promptly shipped off to prison.
Ida and Midoriya, however, didn't escape unscathed. Both were hospitalized and heavily reprimanded for their reckless actions: operating without authorization, using their quirks illegally, and deliberately seeking out the Hero Killer. The pros they were interning under paid the price as well, their Hero Licenses suspended for two months.
Meanwhile, the story of the Hero Killer exploded across the media. And right at the center of it stood Decade and Mirko. Decade received all the credit, while Mirko's official role was reduced to nothing more than "supervision", keeping things from going too far off the rails.