Dual Fates
Chapter 19: More help
A/N: Sorry for the long-ass wait... x.x I've been going through some tough crap and getting into playing an online game sort of takes a lot of my writing time away. I managed to get 1 chapter done on my book, so I decided, while I'm still in the literature mood I might as well continue this chapter where I left off. Yes, I had this chapter started but never finished it. XD
Stupid, right?! XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy it :3
After several more matches in the tournament, it was finally time for the boys to battle it out. The seventh match is a match-up between redundant quirks! Manly and passionate steel! From the Hero course, it's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! Present Mic's announcement made Tetsu roar out with enthusiasm, after his fists pumped up before him. "All right!" Head tilted back to shout to the sky, the announcer continued.
Versus- Manly and passionate hardening! From the Hero course, it's Eijiro Kirishima! Mic exclaimed with so much enthusiasm that he was sure even the heavens could hear. "Even our intros are the same?!" Kiri's fist clenched at his side when he lowered his head and allowed tears to brim his eyes.
Let's start this passionate seventh match! As soon as he gave them the green light, Tetsu bolted after the boy, and Kiri had done the same. Sharp teeth gritting into view, testosterone flying, and the heat of the fight already rising, Tetsu thought it was a good idea to question him during their fight.
"Kirishima! What did you do to her during your fight with Saito?! She changed all of a sudden! It was manly of you to stay on the defensive side while she attacked, but you did something to her didn't you?!" Furious, his words were followed by his battle cry as he swung a fist at Kiri.
Eijiro's fist collided with Tetsu's after one of their feet locked together, with them being this close the redhead thought it was safe to answer the other boy. "I didn't do anything! She just froze in place! That wasn't the first time it happened to her!" Anger flying through the roof of his false accusation, red eyes watched black ones widen in surprise at his words.
"Huuuh? Then why did she act like that?!" As Tetsu stood there questioning him again, the only answer he received was...
"I don't know!" With a harsh bang of Eijiro's forehead to the other boy's, they both stumbled back a bit then continued their battle. Having it happen to Uviel three times now, he was beyond concerned at this point and his anger at Tetsu for pointing fingers at him, only added to the stress on his mind. "I'm going to tell Mr. Aizawa after this match, so we'll get some answers soon! I get it, you're worried too! Instead of getting mad at me, help me get some answers too," this time, his anger died down when they both stood there with their gazes locked.
A moment, Tetsu remained in place to ponder on the matter, and not too much longer did his head nod. A grin, a stern change in his expression, Kiri nodded to thank the boy and charged at him once more. They continued their battle after that, exchanging punches and attacks, their attention needed to be on the match whether than Saito who was with the teachers.
~~~Saito~~~
Uviel, after being taken to Recovery Girl's office, her blue eyes opened, and spotted the old woman grinning at her. "Re...covery girl? Huh?" Confusion, gradually recognition hit her after hearing a quiet and small T.V nearby talk about the battle between the two boys. Quickly, she sat up, the memory of how she couldn't control her body before raced back to her tenfold when she saw Kirishima's face on the screen. "W- Wait...! How did I...?!" trailing off with shock and puzzlement, it was as if the old woman next to her was able to make out the rest of her question.
"Cementos brought you in, dear. He said you passed out after he restrained you during your match. He, nor anyone else, knew why you changed all of a sudden; you were trying to kill that boy whether than knock him out of bounds," A sad smile formed on her wrinkled lips after she explained, and couldn't help but notice the disbelief on Uviel's face.
"N- No, that wasn't me! I wasn't trying to kill him!" With several shakes of her head, Saito knew she wasn't in control of her own body, she wasn't unconscious like those couple of times before. After a swift glance to her side, seeing the old woman's unconvinced expression only made a rise of panic in herself. "I'm telling you, that wasn't me!" with that final outburst, unbeknownst to her that the match between the boys ended, in came both Tetsu and Kiri. They were having a short break before jumping to the arm wrestling match, so, Uraraka and Bakugo were going head-to-head next.
They were brought in on stretchers and were placed on nearby beds, in which her gaze glued themselves to the boys' damages. "K- Kirishima...? And Tetsutetsu? You guys look..." the girl trailed off, scratched her cheek nervously with a quick avert of her eyes, and began to slightly sweat.
"Haha, I know. We're a little beaten up but we're fine!" Reassuring her, Kirishima gave her a beaming grin and a thumbs up. The darker redhead was sitting up for a better view of the room and thankfully all it took was a simple action from Recovery Girl to heal him, she kissed him and watched as he rejuvenated.
"I saw you two pass out, it seems you woke up earlier than he did," A smile had formed on her lips, and noticed how his eyes lit up with surprise.
"W- What?" A turn of his head, Eijiro couldn't help but turn his head towards the iron giant who slept soundly.
Uviel's nervousness worsened when her cheeks tinted red at realizing...that she...was in the same room, as two other boys. Alone with only the old lady to keep an eye on them, it felt a bit unsettling, and her face turned a bit brighter the more she thought about it.
H- Hey! You're turning red again!" Though he's already been told about the red face, the fact that he knew she liked him made his own beam crimson. "Do- do you, have a fever...?" Kiri tried his best to pretend but he knew, somewhere in his mind that she knew he liked her. It was a bit upsetting though, his rival slept to his side in the same room as her.
Those red cheeks returned to their normal color, once the thought of her passing out, came to mind and caught his attention. His eyes now viewing the girl unknowing that Tetsu gradually opened his dark ones at that moment, he had to take this seriously; for he knew that something was definitely wrong. "U-...Uviel..." hesitant at first, he wasn't used to saying her first name but knowing they were now on a first-name basis...
Those stunning blue eyes of hers made his breath catch for but a moment, before he continued. A frown, narrowed eyes, his full attention on her made her face flush far deeper than she realized and it only caused her to lift a piece of her blanket to hide. So cuuute! Why, why is she so adorable?! A silly animation of him crying on the inside, appeared when he mentally spoke. "I want to talk about our match earlier..." From there he watched as her blanket gradually lowered to show her confused face.
"Um...yeah... About that..." Just before she began to explain, Tetsu remained quiet so he could listen in. No one knew that he woke up and he certainly didn't want to ruin a moment like this, but... Deciding against his own plans, he chose to sit up anyway. "I was just... I..." Tears began to brim her eyes the more she pondered on the event. It was scary, the very thought of not being able to move, control her own limbs, even more so conscious when it happened.
"Saito...?" Tetsu, usually would be loud and give an outburst but something inside him said to keep calm, lest he gets kicked out for disturbing the peace... His words made her eyes peek up at him for just a moment, before viewing her balled fists.
"It...I... I was so scared...! It was scary! I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything...! I... Nothing I did, worked! I..." beginning her explanation, it was more of a vent to let out her frustration and fear. Her eyes closed tighter to let heavier tears fall when her head lowered further. "I was in this black space, -hick- I couldn't hear anything other than this one time... This one chuckle from someone, -hick- a guy I think...! I screamed, I cried out for help -hick- but no one could hear me... I could feel tears on my face but that was it!" the cybernetic girl let those heavy tears fall after she curled into herself and buried her red face into her arms.
"A voice, you say?" There, while it was break time and Uraraka's fight ended just seconds ago, their very 1-A teacher stepped inside in all of his bandaged glory.
All heads looked over to see a curious Aizawa, whose eyes were glued to the cyber-girl. A simple nod, only her gaze was peeking over her forearms and the teacher took notice of her red teary face before sighing. "Well then, that explains it... It looks like Kirishima was right," Shock, at a loss for words, the students weren't expecting their teacher to show up out of the blue.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Both of the boys gasped at the sight, whereas the lighter redhead's gaze lit up with more surprise at seeing his bandages and thought for a moment...
Why is he allowed to move around when he's this wounded?! Her exclaimed thoughts somehow received an answer when the teacher chose to speak.
With a simple close of his eyes, his focus was only on the girl considering her performance from earlier... "I'm here only for Saito," a moments' pause ensued before intense eyes opened to hers and squinted. "I overheard from Kirishima on the stage and just now, your reaction when you explained that you didn't know..." though he wasn't done talking just yet, Eijiro frantically stood up in her defense to explain.
"Mr. Aizawa! It's not her fault, I've seen her like that a couple of times before! One night during our weeks before the tournament, she was running down the street with that same emotionless look! Not to mention the weird glow in her eyes..." Nervously trailing off at the end, his gaze averted to the stunned girl who kept the blanket close to her person.
"The glow? Hey, I saw that when she was fighting you earlier!" Tetsu's voice rose when recognition hit him like a truck, after a finger pointed at the boy. If not for Kiri's explanation during their fight, he would've kept putting blame on him for her situation.
"So... The glow you both seem to be familiar with, only shows when she supposedly loses control of herself? I'll need to inform the principal," From the two boys his eyes laid upon, they moved back to the girl who seemed to have a pleading gaze and a hint of lingering fear. "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this. As for your friend, Yukimura..." A moments' pause from the man only made the air a bit thicker than normal, her best friend was a tad touchy subject to her. "What happened? She disappeared after she fled the stage, it looked like she wasn't herself either," those black eyes bore into saddened blue ones for the longest time until Eijiro butted in.
"She ran away, no one could make her stop. Not even Uviel could make her slow down enough to explain what happened..." Red eyes glinted sympathy for the girl when he looked in her direction and frowned deeply. He didn't forget the promise he made her about helping her look for the snake girl, in fact, how could he? Those tears, what she told him about the two growing up, the things she's gone through with Haru. He wouldn't dare go back on his word, it's not like him to do so.
"Very well, after the tournament, I'll send a missing student report to the teachers. Until then, I need her to stay in a teacher's sight. If she lost control then we must have someone watching her from afar, we can't have her killing anyone... Am I understood?" An authoritative voice came from the dark teacher and just before he turned to leave the room, Saito's soft words made his lips curl into a smile beneath his bandages.
"Thank you..." The girl knew, very well, that it was dangerous for her to be by herself now. Fear and sorrow mixed in her eyes when she watched his back face her for a moment before leaving.
As soon as he left, Recovery girl had already given a kiss to Tetsu to heal his wounds during their conversations and now, they were both facing the cyber-girl. Intense stares, faintly flushed cheeks, completely focused on her person until she averted her gaze from theirs. Her cheeks lit up like the boys', she couldn't help but feel awkward under their eyes. "W- What...?" her words made their eyes squint and in her peripherals saw them move closer to her face, causing her face to turn more beet-red.
Embarrassing, it was, to receive so much attention... Especially from the one boy that she seems to be so fond of. They kept getting dangerously close to her but stopped a foot away from her face, that was...until they both made an outburst. "We'll help you, no matter what it takes!" In unison they spoke, with fists pumped into the air and enthusiasm lacing their words; they sure were scary-similar to one another... Their actions caused the girl to fall backward in her bed...man, she hated jump scares...
Though Kiri had already told her he would help her before, but that was specifically for her best friend and normally, she'd get angry at how loud they were being but this time... T- They...no. Both of them, why? I don't want to be a burden to them but they seem to want to regardless... Kirishima... surprised in her monologue, her heart rammed against her ribs and could hear its pulse in her ears. Hot tears trailed her cheeks, the one thing neither of the boys counted on was for her to jump out of bed after recovering from her scare.
Shocked faces, red cheeks, her small fists clenching tightly onto their shirts when she leaned in between them and cried. A hug, she gave them a hug that only friends would receive. "Thank you... Thanks, you guys...are... Great friends," Through her cracked voice she spoke and watched through a warbled vision as her tears patted the hard floor.
They stood there for a while watching her short frame cry between them, she was just so scared, so hurt, so sad...and she felt as though nothing could truly help her situation. However, to know that more people are willing to get involved, to help, it only made her feel more relief.
Their tinted cheeks never left, in fact, they worsened when she hugged them. Embarrassed by the contact, all they could manage was to look away and with a hand gently placed on her head Kiri reassuringly patted her.
She has such tiny hands! Tetsu's black eyes trailed down his jumpsuit to get a look at her small frame and when he did, he couldn't help but watch those blue hues leak water. No! I can't let someone make her cry! If she cried like this in that dark space then... Whoever put her in that state has hell to pay! Through gritted teeth, his rage was obvious on his features the more he thought of the possible scumbag responsible. And, by the looks of it when he peeked over to Eijiro, it seemed he had a similar thought...maybe? Fury clear on his face, those red hues glinted anger and sent a nod his way.
"Huh...? Oi, we're up next!" Eijiro's sudden jump and exclaim made the girl step back all flabbergasted by his outburst. Going from angry to shocked after hearing an announcement about their match coming around. Frantic, he and Tetsu both bowed in apology when they realized how rude it'd be to just run away so quick. "I'm sorry, please watch our match?" Kiri's question only made Uviel stand wide-eyed at his words and heard the iron-giant mumble out something she couldn't comprehend until...
"Yeah! Watch us, I'll prove my manliness!" A fist to his chest, determined he was when his strict gaze met with hers and was soon followed by the darker redhead.
"We need to hurry! Uviel, turn up the television! I want you to hear us, too!" Beaming with energy and a wave of his hand goodbye Kiri did, on his way leaving the room. In tow was the iron kid himself, only his excitement showed when a skip in his step appeared during his sprint.
All that was there was Saito and Recovery Girl, however, the cybergirl only stood in awe at their behavior. With her back continuing to face the old woman, no one saw the sweetest smile she's ever formed in a long time. Good luck, guys... Inside of herself, she cheered them on, but there were still some lingering worries of her best friend who hasn't returned yet. Her hues cast downward in thought and allowed a single mutter to escape. "Har-Har..." whispering, she spoke to herself and turned to watch the final round between the two boys on T.V.
"Don't worry, whatever troubles you have... I'm sure they will all work out in the end," Gleeful, such a loving old lady she was when Recovery Girl reassured her.
"T- Thanks..." A nod was what Uviel gave before moving her attention back to the T.V. There they were, sitting down with their arms now resting on the surface and their hands clamped onto each others'.
"AAH-, I HOPE SHE'S WATCHING!" Through gritted teeth, Tetsu screamed to himself in midst of the pressure his arm was undergoing. Muscles flexed, tensity high between them, and just as intense faces they made proved how serious they were toward winning. With music playing in the stadium, Present Mic's voice boomed over the exciting arm wrestling match and made Saito's eyes light up with awe.
The draw from the seventh match of the first round, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu! The winner to the arm wrestling match to decide who advances to the second round is...! Mic's words cried out and watched as the boys battled for dominance. Kiri's harden quirk activated, his free hand digging strongly into the concrete supposedly Cementos created, and the iron-giant who has roughly done the same... Through the struggle, the steel quirk of Tetsu cracked on his hand not too much longer and a harsh grunt left his gritted teeth.
With a strong force from Kiri, the darker redhead pushed down on his opponent's arm and crashed it into the surface with incredible power; in doing so, countless debris flew from the impact; a hand raising nearby, Midnight announced the winner.
"Winner, Kirishima! He advances to the second round!" As soon as she finished, the said boy rose his fist in a roar of victory. Present Mic continued his exciting comments at that moment, even Uviel, whose attention was sunk into the display, stood astonished and with a dropped jaw.
Why is he so friggin' strong?! To break steel or iron like that?! Just pondering about his strength, the girl couldn't stop thinking about how amazing he was and how manly he seemed. Strong, he never gives up, whereas she was half tempted to do so during the race earlier. The girl watched him cheer out his lungs during the cry of the audience.
Watching as he approaches Tetsu, then offers his hand with a praising comment, the iron man simply accepted with a grin and a quick avert of his eyes to the side. Now we've got everyone who's advancing to the second round! So, let's get started! Mic began and waited a minute or so for the next round to start.
Thanks for waiting, everybody! The first match of the second round is a big match! The man who won a huge victory in the first round and literally left the audience frozen- From the hero course, it's Shoto Todoroki! Exclaiming with so much energy, he announced Todo who was gradually making his way to the stage.
On the other hand, this guy barely made it past the first round! What kind of fight will he show us this time?! From the hero course, it's Izuku Midoriya! Present's speech only made Uviel's recognition hit and her attention snapped back to reality.
"Aw man, I forgot. I can't stay here...! Thanks for...keeping me, may I go sit with the other students?" Hopeful eyes, the girl wanted a better view of the fight that's soon to happen and received a simple nod from the old woman.
"Of course, let me notify one of the teachers. I believe Vlad King is available at this time, stay here while I give him a call please," requested the old woman, when she approved and wandered to her desk.
That's right... I need supervision now. Why did that have to happen to me and...who was that guy I heard laughing to himself...? In her mind the redhead spoke, contemplating on the recent events, such as Haru, the boys, those moments when she was being controlled even when she wasn't aware of it, and the new friends she gained while being here in U.A. Feeling a tad happy could be an understatement, for she knew if it hadn't been for her best friend...she would've never met new people; especially those around her age.