Basic Trope: Jumping in to deliver the final blow after letting others do all the hard work of weakening a foe.
- Straight: Hiro, Wolfie, Marcy, Kelvin and Claudia are whittling down the health of the powerful orc Slashgut. Suddenly, ninja assassin Kodachi jumps in and backstabs Slashgut for massive damage, taking him out.
- Exaggerated: Kodachi specializes in kill stealing; every single kill she's made has been poached off of others.
- Downplayed: Slashgut is already mortally injured, but not quite dead. Kodachi prevents Slashgut from attacking any more.
- Justified:
- Kodachi believes she is the only one capable of killing Slashgut, but only by surprise when he is already weakened from the fight. She didn't know Hiro was about to do it himself.
- Kodachi didn't want Hiro to live with the guilt of ending a life, even if it was in battle.
- Kodachi can only use her Supreme Stab once per battle and Slashgut has a below 10% hp defensive shield effect that reduces all attacks to 1 damage point, this was the only way to kill him quickly.
- She's just comedically petty.
- Inverted:
- Deliberately allowing another person to land the final blow.
- Killing the person right before or as they're about to kill another person (where the person saved had no way to kill the now dead guy).
- Subverted: It turns out Slashgut is Not Quite Dead, allowing Hiro to make the kill anyway.
- Double Subverted: Kodachi, realizing her mistake, quickly finishes off Slashgut with a shuriken.
- Parodied:
- Hiro and Kodachi are more concerned about fighting each other over the kill than finishing Slashgut.
- No one delivers the first blow to avoid the other to finish a weakened foes, which allows Slashgut pounding them to the ground effortlessly.
- Zig Zagged: At first Kodachi attempts to steal the kill, but the killing blow misses. She falls back into a support role after The Team members bawl her out. As the battle continues and the team members miss opportunities to kill Slashgut, she resolves to leap in and do the deed herself; this time the deadly attack hits, but it just causes Slashgut to transform into his One-Winged Angel mode. Hiro, who was preparing an attack that would have ended the fight if Kodachi hadn't once again tried to steal the kill, is not amused.
- Averted: Nobody jumps in at the end of a fight.
- Enforced: "Hiro is supposed to have a rule against killing, so we need somebody to finish Slashgut for him."
- Lampshaded: "That ninja totally stole my kill."
- Invoked: The Big Bad has his Dragon on orders to do this to prevent the heroes gaining his exp/loot/powers.
- Exploited: Hiro and his gang take advantage on Kodachi's impulsive-compulsive kill stealing to save themselves the effort on fighting though enemies.
- Defied: "This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself."
- Discussed: "Why did you steal my kill you prick? Slashgut was at 2%, you didn't even have to interfere."
- Conversed: "Dude, I hate this game. Every single kill I get gets stolen by stray bullets and noobs"
- Deconstructed: Hiro confronts Kodachi after the battle and demands an explanation for her behavior. He points out that she's not a particularly competent fighter by herself, and accuses her of stealing kills just for the right to brag about making them. She meekly admits it, and is promptly Put on a Bus for her selfishness.
- Reconstructed: Kodachi lands the killing blow and then uses ninja speed to leave the area. No body knows what happened, but because Kodachi follows Hiro's team, she becomes something of a Sixth Ranger that delivers the Finishing Move for the team.
- Played For Laughs: Kodachi is a well-meaning ally who only wants to help Hiro out, but her timing really sucks and makes her look like a Glory Hound.
- Played For Drama: Slashgut is one of a number of monsters whose essence can be absorbed by Hiro's Sword of Plot Advancement, something that will eventually make it strong enough to take down Dark God Marduk. Kodachi is a rival carrying a similar blade; since she stole the kill, she reaps the benefits of all their hard work and keeps that strength away from Hiro — and drives forward the possibility that they may have to eventually fight each other to consolidate that strength into a single weapon.
The Kill Steal page is down to 10% - time to finish the job!
