Dual Fates

Chapter 4: Lunchtime Anxiety!

"Hm... Interesting... This girl and by the looks of it, her best friend, have been accepted into U.A..." an ominous, almost mechanical voice echoed through the darkness that surrounded a large, flickering screen. A black silhouette moved in the shadows and watched through another pair of eyes on the screen, as though they were watching a live recording of someone's daily life. Someone, who was walking down the hall, passing many U.A students and carrying a lunch tray. "This will be a great opportunity for me to start... She'll become far more useful than she realizes..." their deep, eerie words mumbled to themselves and proved that they were male due to the figure of their silhouette.

Soon, in side-view, his lips curled into an open smirk and were shown clearly once the screen's light flashed across his face.

~~~With the redhead~~~

Embarrassed, Uviel couldn't believe that Haru was about to tell them about her social issue...or so she thought; the girl hadn't realized that once she left that they were told about her shyness. The look on her best friend's face told her how much fun she was having, from talking with the other students and she sort of envied her in a way.

Many students who wandered the hall, passed by, and stared at her with confused, knitted brows. It was lunchtime and she was heading to the rooftop after getting her food, thoughts of homeroom swarmed her mind as she sauntered down the hall. "Why... How could she possibly forget that I was shy...? Was she just caught up in the moment? Or, was it on purpose to try and get people to talk to me...? She knows I'm only good at talking over the phone or text. I swear, sometimes it makes me wonder if she really does do it on purpose..." her mumbled and muffled words behind her mask, fell upon deaf ears as students passed her.

"Uvieeel!" Haru yelled from across the hall behind her and was waving her hand, making her best friend turn to see her.

A sweatdrop fell down the girl's head at the sight and groaned, why she couldn't just run up to her and get her attention that way was beyond her. Watching her sprint and skillfully swerve to avoid other students, eventually the brunette caught up.

"Hey! Wanna eat lunch with me? We could go on the rooftop if you want, away from everyone else," the snake girl questioned and grinned brightly, allowing a few giggles to escape. There in her hand was a lunchbox with countless...hard-boiled eggs, she saw them once the lid opened for the girl to see.

"Sure, I guess..." that was the cybernetic girl's simple answer until someone's voice behind the brunette exclaimed. Her blue hues widened at the sight of a few students from their homeroom catching up to Haru, so the girl comedically tried to walk away as fast as possible; a chibi, all pudgy with devastated and round, white eyes with her mouth hidden behind that mask.

"Hey guys!" With an energetic wave of her hand and closed eyes, her other hand reached behind her. It stretched hysterically and inhumanly across the hall after Uviel, who was about to turn a corner. As if it was made from a rubber band, her arm snapped back to her side with a chibi Uviel in her grasp.

A single narrowed eye was what the redhead had in her chibi-form, as she hung in the air in her best friend's grasp and kept a tight hold onto her tray. It was Kirishima, along with a kid with dirty-blonde hair and Mezo, who simply gave them a friendly wave.

Although when Eijiro saw the redhead, his cheeks flushed lightly and his smile broadened. Out of the three, the dirty blonde-haired boy was the only one that didn't greet the girls. "Let's eat lunch together! I've been looking for you two for a bit. I know some good spots in the cafeteria that we could sit!" As cheerful and friendly as his face was, his voice certainly didn't waver.

"Nah, I'm good," Uviel's unenthusiastic voice spoke up and was about to walk away from her best friend, when she noticed she couldn't move any further. Over her shoulder, her blue eyes saw the back of her hoodie being gripped onto by a fierce grip, Haru was going to make sure not to let her best friend skip out on making friends... "Let go, already," annoyance laced her words after viewing the side of Har-Har's face, all she could hear were chuckles in return.

"Sorry, no can do! We're eating together!~" Confidence poured off of her like a fountain afterward and she marched her way past the boys with a large smile. The boy with dirty-blonde hair scoffed at the snake girl's antics and followed along behind the other two, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Kirishima blinked confusedly at the redhead's behavior and surprise could be seen in Mezo's eyes, nonetheless, they all followed after the brunette. Only a few minutes passed until they reached the Cafeteria, hundreds of students lined up for food and just as many kids were sitting at booths.

The two girls sat in one of the booths that Kirishima escorted them to and sat there in silence, waiting for the other three to return with their food. "Sorry about that, UV-Ray... You know me, I can't say no to an invite like this.~ Besides, I also wanted to tell you something cool! Ochaco was really awesome earlier! She was getting super pumped for this festival that Mr. Aizawa told us about and of course, you know me, I was just as bad as her! I wanted to come over to you since...you...weren't really paying attention much, and rile you up too! It's so cool, we have soooo many preparations that need to be done. We need a costume, our own unique weapon, and more; we have to catch up with everyone else!" Haru explained and stuffed a hard-boiled egg into her mouth, biting it in half.

"You do realize...I'm quirkless, right...?" Those blue eyes looked over at her best friend and watched the brunette chow down, not once had she removed her mask to eat. "Besides, how am I going to fight and stuff, when I can't...?" her words made Haru halt in mid-bite, when she was about to eat the other half of her egg.

Slowly placing the halved egg in her lunchbox, a frown curled and those hazed green eyes showed many thoughts swarming her mind. "Hm... Well, take into consideration...that you're practically a cyborg. Being a cyborg could make anything possible, really; just put your mind to it!" Har-Har chirped and her gaze remained in the same place as they once were. "You're smart, you'll figure something out, I'm sure of it! You and I have both have heroic classes after this so I'm sure our teacher will catch us up on everything. I don't think they'll let us stay behind everyone else, haha! I can even help you out with your costume if you want! I'm pretty fashionable if you ask me.~" A tease left her lips at the end and giggled after she leaned back in her seat.

"Really...? Whatever, as long as I get this over with, I don't care," Uviel responded with a simple close of her eyes and sunk further into her seat, groaning. A blush tinted her cheeks at the compliments from her best friend, the girl thought she was lucky that her face was hidden behind her hair and mask.

The next thing they knew, someone rose their voice rather angrily and caught both of their attention. "Why do I, have to sit with them too?! Forget it, damn it!" the very boy who scoffed earlier at the brunette's antics, raged out and stood behind the other two who were a foot away from the booth.

"Haha, it's fine! You don't have to if you don't really want to!" Haru's voice rose to gain his attention and gave him her brightest smile. The boy simply growled at her, then to the other boys who watched him leave and blink.

Then Kirishima and Mezo sat down, they both watched Uviel for a second only to move their attention back to Haru. "Are you two in the heroic classes after this?" the darker redhead questioned and his friendly grin never faltered, he was genuinely curious about the new students.

"Yeah! I hope we catch up with you guys, we still need to put together a costume and weapons! If we knew that this festival was arriving, sooner, I would've prepared for it way earlier!" Yukimura chuckled loud and heard a faint clunk echo to her side. Without even needing to look her way, the brunette blinked and the boys moved their attention to the redhead. "You okay, UV-Ray?" her concerned words met the girl's ears and heard no response in return.

Uviel, who had planted her forehead on the table's surface after moving the tray ahead of her a little groaned and mumbled... "Yeah..." though, she wasn't alright, because her stomach growled heavily and that made Kirishima laugh.

"Hahaha! Start eating already! You're gonna be sick!" A toothy grin and closed eyes were on his face when he looked her way, albeit pink tints dusted his cheeks.

"What Eijiro said. You'll get sick if you don't. Why do you not remove your mask, to eat?" Mezo blinked and questioned the girl who refused to raise her head back up.

I don't want to... Not in front of everyone else, what if they make fun of me?! What if they pick on my face?! What if they start saying how stupid I look with all of these lines on my skin?! Her monologue was devastated and her blue hues widened in fear, as red tinted her cheeks. Uviel didn't want to, so much fear and anxiety fell upon her like a waterfall or as if someone poured a bucket of hot water over her person.

She could smell the fear from her, Haru frowned and sighed. Closing her eyes, the brunette pulled the girl's hood down and felt her jump at her action. "Either you take the mask off and eat, or you sit there with your hood off; your choice...~" A small glint of dark humor could be seen on her face when she grinned and saw a shadow cast over her blind eyes.

Eijiro and Mezo both blushed at her partially revealed face and stunning blue eyes. It took a few minutes to decide on one of the two choices until the girl finally spoke. "F-Fine!" she yelled out and both of the boys leaned in with rising anticipation. Aimlessly turning her head, she looked everywhere to try and find a blind spot so that no one could see her face but no matter where she looked, there was always at least one person in the said direction.

She had no choice...she had to, it felt like everyone in the cafeteria was watching her at that moment when they really weren't; her limbs began to tremble and her heart started to race the closer her hand got to her mask. Lower and lower her head fell, trying to hide as much as she could while her mask was being removed. However, it was futile, both of the boys gasped loudly in shock at the sight of a very soft and small face.

Despite the long red bangs over her one eye, they could see her bright blue hues and one line starting at the corner of her eyes reaching down to her jawline and connecting to more curved lines around her neck. Those upper-black lips of hers curled down and heavy red tints spread across her face, she hated it... She was expecting to be bashed, to be poked at or made fun of, to be shunned by other students like the many times she had before in her previous schools.

However...what she thought was going to happen, never did and her pupils shrunk. They're talking badly about me in their heads, I just know it! They have to be! Those mental thoughts swarmed her mind like bees in a hive until... "WAAAAH! You look so cool! So you really are a cyborg?! Or an android?! What are you, you have lines all over your skin! You look awesome! Why do you keep hiding this when you look so badass?!" Eijiro exclaimed with heavy flushes of red painting his cheeks and rose from his seat to lean over the table, he wanted a closer look at her.

Mezo just stood there wide-eyed at her soft and delicate face, how bright her eyes were, and how they seemed to provide a faint but gentle glow. "Guys, calm down... She's never had this kind of positive attention before, give her a minute!" Haru was beginning to show her protective side when Kirishima got too close and used her hand to push him back into his seat.

Both of the boys glanced in her direction and sat there in silence, clear concern could be seen on their faces after the brunette's words registered in their heads. "S- Sorry..." the darker redhead mumbled and averted his crimson eyes to his own food. Not long did he and Mezo begin to eat, although the muscular one ate really close to his tray to hide his own mouth.

Even Haru began eating again and on occasion, their conversations would become inaudible to Uviel's ears. The only thing that ran through the girl's mind was nothing but shock, disbelief, and embarrassment as she sat there in pure silence. They...they didn't...make fun of me...? I...but I thought... I could've sworn, as everyone else had before, I thought they... her monologue echoed, and very shakily did she start eating.

"You know, you could always ask Hatsume if she'd help you guys with your costumes and weapons! I bet she'll know how to fix you up," Mezo suggested to Haru who laughed in return and nodded.

"Sure! I don't know who that is but I bet I could find her easily if I knew what she smelled like!" Haru chirped with enthusiasm after swallowing half of another hard-boiled egg.

"Hmm, I wouldn't know. I don't go around smelling people randomly, to see what they smell like! Hahahahaha!" Kirishima laughed and Mezo chuckled at the boy's words, on occasion did he glance over at Uviel's small frame.

However, as they chatted, in the distance someone had their eyes on Haru. It was a boy with indigo hair and purple eyes, he stood in the middle of the cafeteria and took a quick bite of a french fry on his tray. A frown evident and contemplation visible, he wondered who she and the other girl was. Regardless, he never made an effort to approach them so he simply turned and left to who knows where.

Uviel, after taking her last bite, was about to put her mask on until a hand stopped her and kept her own from moving. Widened eyes gazed upon the rough-textured hand that belonged to Kirishima and very slowly did the girl move her head to view him. He looked serious and his frowning lips showed that he didn't want her to put it back on. "You look better without that. Why hide? Huh? It was super manly of you to show yourself like that even though you were scared too! Look at me, I can harden my own body and no one will care!" Eijiro stood up in his seat and stiffened his muscles, making odd cracks and bulkiness to show. Despite his words, the girl felt annoyed at the word manly, simply because she that it was an insult considering she was a girl; however, that never changed her surprised expression.

It caught her by surprise, even more so when he gave her a reassuring grin and chuckled triumphantly. "Don't be so scared to show yourself to everyone, no one's going to make fun of you here in U.A!" Energy, confidence, and encouragement, he tried his best to keep her from putting on that mask. "I think it's super cool that youhave lines on your skin!" his attempt to encourage the girl made Haru giggle and stand up in her seat across from him.

"Yeah, look at me too! I have a snake stripe under my eyebrows and scales on my shoulders and cheekbones! You don't see me hiding, do you? It's not fair that you get to wear a mask and I can't.~" the brunette chirped excitedly and gave her a thumbs up in her direction, not once did she step down off of the seat... "Come on, just do it! You'll feel a lot better! One day... One day, see if you can keep it off and count how many people actually say anything negative about you! Just one day..." her cheerful attitude soon fell and sympathy washed over her face, she was practically begging Uviel to comply.

Sighing, the girl simply laid her head down and clenched onto her mask tighter, but never put it back on. Very slowly did she rise back and with reluctance, her hood was pulled down all the way. A full red face, averted blue hues, and a deep frown that almost looked like she was about to cry.

A simple nod came from her and it made Haru cheer, a fist pumped into the air. "Yes!" the brunette gave Eijiro a high-five and he simply looked back down at her from his standing position, blushing.

"Whoa, she looks cool!" some girl on the sidelines, in the lunch line, exclaimed from afar and stared at her with stars twinkling in her eyes. It was Ochaco who giggled and stood next to another girl whose ears looked as though they were earphone-jacks, she nodded with a faint smile.

Uviel, upon hearing the distant explanation, hunkered down further into her seat until Haro planted a head on top and made her halt. "Don't you dare shy away now, no hiding! Just one day, remember!" Har-Har did her best to reassure and encourage her small friend, while Eijiro couldn't help but agree with a nod of his head.

"Could you sit down, Yukimura and Kirishima...?" a low voice met everyone's ears and their attention moved over to...Mr. Aizawa? Everyone, aside from the cybernetic girl, stood there awkwardly in silence and watched him narrow his eyes.

"Sorry..." both she and Eijiro apologized in unison and sat back down, then earned a few chuckles from Mezo who shook his head at their actions.