CHAPTER THREE: Killers
"A voice inside me/Compelling to satisfy me..."
"Requisition: healing nanites. Deadpool level healing nanites." He whispered. At the corner of his field of vision a couple of yellow, feline eyes appeared from a patch of shadow - accompanied by a bout of girlish giggling.
"And here I was thinking you'd want a bouquet of red roses." Prometheus chuckled. "Requisition complete."
The steel glimmer of a blade reflected the ray of sunlight coming from the street outside as the blonde girl fully stepped into view, blocking his exit while the sounds of explosion and the crackling of flames kept reaching their ears from the main street. Apparently the battle was still going on.
Her hair was hastily tied up in two buns, her teeth bared in a predatory grin as he slowly walked towards him, tilting her head slightly sideways. "Hello, Barrier Boy. I don't believe we've met. Nice Quirk you got."
Without realizing, he was stepping back. Her eyes were both mesmerizing and terrifying him: Himiko Toga. The real one. For a split second, the divine irony of the situation he was in hit him like a sledgehammer. She was the literal reason he shipwrecked on the shores of this reality - or, more accurately, the idea of her. And now that apparently fate has conspired for them to meet, he was one step from being scared shitless. Care for what you wish, indeed.
"I just got here, actually. Kind of a long story. And my name ain't Barrier Boy, if you please." he replied. "I got involved into your little terrorist show by mistake, as I told your pal out there."
"Oh?" she brought her index finger to her cheek, observing him with renewed interest. "So you're no pro hero? That would explain why you're not in uniform. I thought it was because you were off duty or something. Only a pro would step up to actually face Dabi, you know." She narrowed her eyes, the pink tip of her tongue running over one of her fangs. "You get more interesting every second. Oh, but where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Toga. Toga Himiko. And you are?"
He shrugged. "Dave. Dave Briggs. Now that we're acquainted, I suppose you'll go all stabby-stab? I doubt you ambushed me in this alleyway just to make small talk. Not that there would be anything wrong in small talk, and to be honest I'd really like to go on my merry way without any further complications...but that glint in your eyes says otherwise. Am I wrong?"
"A foreigner. And one who actually gets me. Oh, this excites me so much! I can't wait to know...everything...about you, mysterious stranger. Let me taste your blood..." Himiko's smile grew even larger as she pounced with incredible speed towards him: her knife lunged at his stomach before he could even react. He felt the cold bite piercing the muscles and then the internal organs: mercifully, the nanites in his body neutralized the pain almost completely. For an instant, their faces were an inch from each other and he could read the mild surprise in her eyes as she saw him smile through the vicious stabbing.
"Surprise." Dave whispered placidly. His right hand took a hold of Himiko's brown school blazer just as her eyes narrowed into two slits and she pulled the blade out of his guts. The blood spray that showered her was cut short as the wound begun closing almost immediately. "Requisition: Taser."
The instrument appeared in his left hand and he thrust forward just as she swung right at his throat: both connected and another spray of blood splattered on both the girl and the dirty alley wall as the current coursed through her, making her shriek in pain. Instinctively, she kicked him full force before falling on the concrete. Dave stumbled backwards and got up with a wobbly movement, still half stunned; Himiko was looking at him with her mouth half open in something that could have been ecstasy if she wasn't so damn *scary*. Half her upper body and her face were soaked in blood, her right arm was dangling limp at her side due to the taser discharge and her pupils were so dilated they were almost round.
"You..." she panted "...are so...WONDERFUL! That defiance, that barely hidden fear... and you heal so quickly... what's your Quirk? how do you do all this? I must know... I MUST KNOW EVERYTHING!"
"When I write my biography, I'll give you a signed copy. But you will excuse me, Toga-san, if I don't stay for tea. I've got places to be and being stabbed ain't in my bucket list for today." Dave grunted. "So get out of my way."
"No. I can't let you go, silly. Even if you're so deliciously formal!" she replied before lunging again towards him. Even tazed, her speed and skill far outmatched him and now that she had an idea of how he moved he couldn't surprise her anymore by letting himself get hit. She'd simply keep slicing until his healing factor gave out: even nanobots couldn't cure a decapitation or a heart ripped out. He would have to use overwhelming force.
He looked straight in her eyes before lurching forward like a football player about to tackle. "You're lucky you're important. Requisition... GETTER CYCLONE!"
"Requisition complete, you weeb." Prometheus snickered.
The horizontal tornado which immediately formed between them caught Himiko completely off guard in mid-jump and the howling wind sent her flailing at considerable speed out of the alley, across the street and crashing into a compact parked there - together with a trash can, a stop sign and several wall bricks.
"I...important? I'm important?" was all she murmured before her eyes unfocused and she lost consciousness.
Patting his shirt, Dave took a deep breath and quickly peered left and right to make sure no other oddities were coming his way, then scampered off.
"I think she likes you. Success?" Prometheus chuckled as he ran.
"SHUT. THE FUCK. UP."
