As Stain brought up his sword while dodging, Daredevil unexpectedly moved forward in a burst of speed, exactly as Iida came up from behind him, as if he knew on some instinctive level when to best time this attack so it took place exactly at the right time to take full advantage of the young Hero in training's advance from behind.
The result was that rather than parrying the club, it instead went right down on Stain's arm, breaking just below the elbow.
...
Had he been a lesser foe, Stain would have flinched horribly at the injury, and easily had it followed up by another blow.
Instead, seemingly in defiance of all the ways a normal person would respond to pain, he firmly planted his foot, and with the other landed a strong kick right to Daredevil's left side, easily able to send him flying, though he landed on his feet.
Iida did not witness any of it, all of it having taken place before Iida could turn around.
As he snapped around Daredevil got to his feet.
Iida noticed the broken arm immediately, along with the sword that had fallen to the ground. He felt a strong, powerful sense of schadenfreude at the sight.
The sight of his foe, crippled, also sent a surge of confidence back to his very bruised sense of self. He was still going to bring down his brother's maimer himself, with his own hands.
"Thank you for your assistance "Daredevil". But I can handle him from here!"
At that, silence fell.
"Just as arrogant, and self-righteous as when you charged in…" Stain spat.
In his still functioning hand, Stain was currently holding a pretty long and wicked dagger he'd unsheathed from a holster, and though his stance was ready to react to an attack from either side, it was against Daredevil the metal was pointed.
"And still with no concern for anyone else around you."
"And what is that supposed to mean, Bastard !?"
Stain nodded with his head towards Daredevil.
"The only reason you're still alive is the appearance of someone stronger, nobler, and more experienced than you to prolong the joke that is your existence. He and he alone is the reason you're still alive. If you were an actual hero, you'd work together with him, trying to take me down. Instead, you want revenge, the glory of being able to say you defeated me in combat."
The accusation washed over Iida without leaving much of an impact. His crusade was a noble one. He would NOT be swayed by the words of this monster!
Stain next words though, washed over him like an unexpected wave, bringing him back to reality.
"You have also completely ignored your savior's physical state, focused on your petty revenge as you are."
Iida blinked.
Then he actually looked at Daredevil.
Looking at him from the back, there was one fact that he had not noticed.
He had built up an image in his head of Daredevil being an unstoppable warrior, even more, skilled at arms than Stain. And mayhaps he was so, but there was also another fact staring him in the face.
Daredevil's face was absolutely covered in sweat. So was his outfit. The cloth between the joints of the metal plates was absolutely drenched as well.
Was he overheating?
No… The way he breathed was methodical, the way a runner would force himself to inhale deep breaths calmly and slowly in order to make sure their sides didn't flare up in pain.
That meant...
"Did he injure your lungs?!"
"I did kick one of them, but that is not the root cause of this fatigue brat. Daredevil here is OLD. He is from the age before All Might himself! Before you, your worthless brother, or your father ever soiled the title of Hero, this man worked tirelessly, devoting himself to cleaning up the streets in the biggest hell hole in all of the U.S.A. He must be somewhere between 60-75 years old, and yet, here he is, forcing himself to struggle against his own deteriorating body in service of a hopeless cause!"
This time, there was no hiding it, as Stain spoke with genuine warmth and respect. He… He truly respected this man. This… This villain honestly thought Daredevil was worthy of praise. Iida had kinda thought he was being mocking earlier, but...
Daredevil's response had a snarky tone to it, sounding rather out of place compared to the growly voice he'd used before.
"Well, Stain… This tired old relic from a bygone age just broke your arm in the service of this "Hopeless Cause". And he's about to break the second one as well."
Then, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
Iida had expected that Stain would attack with his knife, either lunging out with his knife or waiting for them to attack and move accordingly.
Instead, he kicked the fallen sword up from the ground in an arc towards Daredevil, who was forced to spend a vital, important moment blocking it while he went on the attack towards Iida.
To his credit, Iida did not hesitate, nor make the same mistake he'd made the first time he'd tried to attack him. As he burst forward, knowing that once more Stain would jump over him, he made sure he did not stop to leave himself open, and he'd maneuvered himself on the side with the broken arm, all the while holding up his good arm, angled so it'd protect him if Stain decided to try and kick him.
It was a good plan. Unfortunately for Iida, by doing so, he left himself wide open for Stain to angle his broken arm so it slammed right down into Iida's hastily bandaged wound.
Iida had managed to grit his teeth against the pain before. He'd forced himself to man through it as he rose to his feet to challenge Stain once more.
The pain he'd experienced before, was NOTHING compared to the horror that slammed through him then, as Iida's wound collided with Stain's broken arm at full speed.
It was so painful, that he actually blacked out for a moment.
As he regained his senses, he once more found himself lying on the floor beside Native, pain shooting through his body in a manner that Iida would never have dreamed of before tonight.
"Shit! You okay kid?"
Iida didn't answer, instead forcing himself to stand.
Or at least he tried to.
As he struggled to his feet, he barely managed to get his head turned upwards towards the combatants, before suddenly, with no warning he once more found his body going limp, the pain disappearing instantly, and all bodily control ceased.
He collapsed forward, his chin colliding with the ground. Hard. He felt the vague taste of blood filling his mouth, from where he'd bit the insides of his cheek.
This time, as he once more was left powerless, and a sense of frustration set in, Iida got a much better front-row seat to watch the battle in front of him once more.
Or he would have if tears didn't cloud his eyes.
Tears of frustration. Tears of rage. Tears of shame.
He was weak. Powerless. Despite all his big words, all his training at Yuei, his decision to come here, he'd proved himself utterly, and completely incapable of dealing even the slightest damage to his brother's destroyer.
This was all his hard work had amounted to.
He was worthless. A pathetic heir, and an unworthy younger brother, who couldn't even avenge his own kin.
He felt his entire being burn with shame.
Then there was also another part of him that recognized something. Daredevil would get the glory of defeating Stain. And there was a part of him that resented that, too large a part.
Was… Was he a glory hound? He'd come here seeking justice, to avenge his brother, not to gain the fame for doing so. And yet…
Iida Tenya's internal musings, however, were cut short, as just above them, a massive beam of energy tore through the second level of the entire city block with such force, that it shook EVERYTHING around them to it's very foundations.
Both sides of the alleyway shook and wobbled, as the world became a sudden downpour of choking dust, and stone that fell like shrapnel.
...
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