BNHA: Dual Fates

Chapter 31: Candidate?

"There he is," Shinso's eyes picked up on a car that drove down the street, toward them. As it came to a slow stop, the driver's window moved down to reveal the teacher that looked as serious as he sounded over the phone.

"Who's this?" Aizawa questioned rather suspiciously, with his dark hues eyeing the crock in the cloak.

"He's going to help us fight that Hitman. We'll need all the muscle we can get, right?" Hitoshi's brow lifted, in hopes of acknowledgment, before he walked around the car to sit in the passenger side.

"I don't care... As long as we develop the plan better, he could play a big part," After his answer, his attention moved back to the road, and felt the vehicle slightly dip on one side. It was easy to see Wani sit in the backseat, caution could be seen in his eyes as he viewed the Crock in the mirror above him.

"Now, as for your plan, there are some cons we need to work out. Regarding your ideal ambush, you need to remember that he can smell just as good as Haru can. We're going to need some sort of concealment to hide our natural scents," As the teacher drove, he explained to the boy to his side and only a glance or two was given.

"I already have something in mind that'll help us," From his pocket, Shinso pulled out the same spray he used, to sneak up on Haru and her father before. "Miss Kayama gave me a special kind of body spray that hides a person's natural smell. We could use this to hide and ambush him when he arrives." His heart was in the right place but his idea wasn't, he didn't think about the possible issues it could cause during the ambush.

"Have you ever thought that the spray she gave you, may actually alert him whether than-" before Mr. Aizawa could continue, he was interrupted by the kid's answer.

"It worked before," a long pause ensued, Shinso felt that it'll work. "I hid from her and her father while they talked, with this on me. The Hitman never noticed me, nor did she, it was how I was able to encounter that man and it nearly got me killed," his purple eyes stared at the spray in his hand, nothing but confidence resided in his mind and prayed to the heavens above that his plan would work.

"Alright... Now, as for the tall one in the back-" Aizawa glanced at the mirror above him and watched a pair of yellow eyes perk up at the mention of him. "You- If we're going to ambush them, I'll need to use you as bait to keep him distracted. Whatever your quirk is, Hitoshi seems to be certain that you can handle him. With you distracting him, I'll cancel out his quirk and Hitoshi will force him to talk. Understood?" As annoying as it felt to have a third person to tag along, he knew he'd need his help to catch the villain off guard.

"Sure," Wani wasn't too friendly with the idea of working with a hero. His glare pierced like daggers into the back of Aizawa's head, he wanted nothing more than to find a way to save Haru, and what better way than to get a little close to her friends? Either way, he believed it to be a win-win for all of them.

~~~Uviel~~~

"EEE-!" Uviel panicked when a rock just barely missed her head and almost made her tumble backward into the water. Her mind wasn't calm, in fact, thoughts raced, about her life possibly being on the line when she felt it whiz past her head. With heavy breaths, the girl couldn't help but lean over to calm her heart that beat against her rib cage.

"Keep your mind calm. In dangerous situations, many would either go into a frenzy or into a panic and cause casualties that are irreversible. Many citizens, or even your own allies, would have been killed by now if this were a serious matter. A calm mind can think much clearer and support others much quicker; in fact, they can jump into life-threatening situations much faster than most," Shinya, who stood with a hand pressed against his back, used his other hand to fiddle with a stone.

"B- But I'm still new to this! Don't worry, though, I'm sure I can learn quickly," Her determination shone, in her blue hues when she lifted her head more to view him. This time, as she did a second ago, her eyes closed and a calming breath fell from her lips.

"Good, that's something I like to hear. Determination to become better and stronger is the key to keep pushing onward," No hesitation could be seen when he chucked the stone from his hand and made it fly past her head again.

In a skittish jump, Uviel's eyes shot open after she stiffened, an alarm rang throughout her body as it shook, but, she managed to stay in place this time. A shake of her head, those hues closed once more, much tighter than before and her brows knitted from the concentration.

"You just need to breathe, Saito. Relax and focus on remaining still, your body is in a fight-or-flight situation. That is why you jump or panic after feeling like you're about to get hit by this stone; you must tame that feeling. To keep a calm mind, you must relax and stay focused on the situation at hand," again, he explained, and watched her take many deep breaths to calm herself. Muscles relaxed, less stiff, he took a mental note of her body language and decided to try again.

From around his feet, a stone was picked up and was held close to his person. No warning was given when he tossed it, he watched as it flew past her head again and saw almost no reaction this time. "Good, very good; in just a short amount of time we already have some progress," he was proud of her, to say the least; his cheeks rose to indicate that a smile grew, despite the mask he wore.

"Let's have some lunch. A mind cannot focus well, without proper brain food," after he said that, he never noticed the girl nearly and comically fall backward from the abrupt stop, as he wandered back to the car.

"Wait! We're stopping? Just like that? I still need to practice! B- Brain food or not, I've played Stargazers Online for three days straight, without eating much and I still flew past their ranks..." When Uviel bolted after the ninja in red, her words slowly became mumbled and trailed off when she saw his hand lift.

"Stargazers Online. Do you know who the strongest player in the game, is?" Over his shoulder, his gray eyes peeked down at her small frame and noticed her pondering eyes blink.

"Y- Yeah, it's a player I really look up to in the game. Their name is Kami Kuro..." as she stood there to ponder on the name, she wondered why he asked such a question. That was, until her eyes met his, and had an idea that he was possibly the player. "Are you...Kami Kuro? Wait, that can't be right, you're too busy with hero business to be into online games like-" her rambling was soon cut off, when a simple word of his, made her speechless.

"Yes." As easy as breathing, Kamihara confirmed her with a nod of his head in addition. "That's my ninja. Do you know why I'm the highest-ranking player in the game?" he questioned the girl coolly before making his way to the car again and walking around to the trunk.

"B- Because you're super calm and strategic! It doesn't take you long to learn something either," Uviel ran around the vehicle to catch up and saw him pull out a picnic basket full of various goodies, including some drinks.

"It's not just that, Saito... I focus, as hard as I can, on my goal and keep pushing. Of course, I learned as much as I could but I also kept my mind sharp and open to do so," When he said that, Uviel's mouth gaped and never even budged when his shoulder brushed against hers on his way past. "Let's eat, Rank-Bane.~" he had a bit of a playful voice when he spoke that last sentence.

Saito whirled around in shock at his words, as far as she was aware, he didn't know who she was in the game. "How did you know?!" Quickly, her feet scuffed through the dirt to catch up to him and looked up at him with awestruck eyes.

"There is only one person who's been climbing the ranks, as you mentioned. Who else could you be, other than Rank-Bane? Or, should I say, Ethereal X?" His emphasis caused the girl to nearly fall face-first into the dirt, if he hadn't caught her bicep in time.

A moments' pause ensued after they stood there. Her dumbstruck expression only changed when she stood up straight to fully face him. "So, you know my Stealth Archer's name?" Curious, in awe, she was, and watched as he gave her a simple nod.

"Yes, many people do. In fact, they choose to call you Rank-Bane instead because that's exactly what you are to them. A bane, that defeats all the strong ranks and clawing your way up to the top, to me," when he continued his path to the edge of the stream, he sat down on his knees like any proper ninja and began to unpack.

Uviel couldn't stop staring... To know, that her idol hero was actually the strongest player in the game, almost made her faint if not for the delicious smell of burgers filling her nose.

Just when she was about to sit next to him, a car honked behind them as it drove up the dirt path. Both of their heads looked and saw the vehicle come to a slow stop, in the driver's seat was...

"M- Mr. Aizawa?!" Saito instantly stood, despite Shinya remaining in place and holding the burger close to his masked lips. Those gray eyes curiously stared at the teacher who stepped out of the car.

Next, it was Shinso, then the tall and cloaked Crock she met several days ago during the sports festival. "Hitoshi? Um...Crock-man?" Those blue hues confusedly blinked as she watched them approach, rather...quickly?

"Kamihara, Saito, I need to speak with you both. This is a dire situation," Aizawa grabbed her idol hero's attention upon the latter being mentioned.

Seconds, minutes, passed as they all stood between both of the cars and Uviel in the center of them all. Everything was soon explained to the ninja hero and the plan they chose to stick with. "This Hitman, is going to try and kill Saito, then? How do you know if that spray will truly work a second time?" Shinya's question lingered for a moment, he knew Aizawa and Shinso were pondering on his words when their eyes moved to their feet.

However, from afar, no one knew of the slithering Hitman who hid in the shadows high up in a tree just a small distance from them. His black hat was pulled down by his clawed fingers to hide those dark eyes and it was too shaded to truly notice the scowl on his snake lips. The sheathe to his cane-rapier laid against the base of the tree, nearly wedged between the branches that he stood on. How annoying... in his mind, anger made itself known as he observed from above.

Through the leaves, he watched them scatter around to hide, except Kamihara and Wani. Uviel was hidden inside Shinya's car, thanks to the ninja quickly shoving them inside.

With a raise of his blade, swift and blinding, a strip of red shot out after him. It collided with his rapier when he swooped it in front of his face to block it. A harsh, metallic clang, echoed before the red retracted.

"I know you're there, Hitman. Reveal yourself!" Through a strong voice, Edgeshot demanded from below with his eyes glued to the snake's hidden frame.

From where the ninja stood, he could feel his presence but couldn't see him; however, thanks to his quick eyes he was able to catch a tiny glimpse of Tadami's movements and saw a footstep around a tree base seconds later. The rapier he had, stabbed into the ground like a cane as he walked and the hat on his head concealed his eyes from the ninja. "You're here to kill Saito, correct?" With a fold of his arms, Edgeshot casually leaned against the trunk of Aizawa's car after making his way over to it.

Wani's large feet strolled past the red ninja to fully face Tadami and stood a couple of feet away from Shinya. "We aren't gonna let you kill the girl. Man- you have a lot of witnesses to kill, by the looks of it. Saito and Hitoshi aren't the only ones, so I think it'd be best if you turned yourself in. If you don't, I'll be more than happy to kick your ass and so would this ninja dude," Through a grumbled breath, his Crocodile growl emitted from his throat with anger. Only Tadami could see the tight fist beneath his cloak, shake from his ever-growing fury and he could even pick up the sound of bones popping from how tight it was.

(Play: Gothic Storm Music- Truth In A Lie- It's his character theme! 3)

Many eyes watched as the killer lifted his rapier and lower his head, but they never expected corrosive spit to fly from his lips onto his blade. It trickled down the metal, just before he disappeared, and tried to pass the beast in the cloak.

No words given, no reply, Tadami had completely ignored the Crock and aimed to pierce the ninja behind him. It all happened too fast for Wani, he wasn't able to keep his attention on the snake when he vanished and lost sight of the man, until, metal clinked loudly against something else.

A quick turn around, there he saw the Hitman whose blade had pierced the car's trunk. Within an instant, Shinya's foldabody quirk made streams of red bolt after the killer. However, he surprisingly missed when Tadami disappeared and reappeared high into the trees for only a second, before racing back to him again.

Everything was too fast for everyone's eyes, even Aizawa whose eyes tried to focus on the man in black that kept zipping across the air. Left, right, up, and down, everywhere, they soared.

A rapier covered in yellow poison, just barely missed a red stream from Shinya that aimed for his head. The ninja's attack had nearly done the same, he missed by just a hair and scrapped the Hitman's cheek.

Edgeshot knew that what coated the snake's blade, was poison and one slip-up could cost him his life. He had to be careful not to get even a tiny scratch, lest he get sent to the hospital from being poisoned or die depending on its potency.

There he took notice, of a change in Tadami's snake eyes, after his hat lifted to reveal them. In midst of their battle, through the air, Shinya flew backward and forced several streams of red from the use of his quirk to try to pierce the Hitman in the distance.

Those snake eyes changed into black slits much like he did in front of Tomura a couple of days ago and waited for the ninja to get closer. Shinya knew something was up when his hat lifted to reveal his eyes beforehand, but now he knew why. His gray eyes bore into distant black and white ones, if he were any closer, he felt they would've taken an effect on him somehow.

At that moment, the Hitman stood still to watch the ninja land in the trees, crouched among the branches and leaves. "Now!" Aizawa's voice boomed from behind another tree, whose eyes gleamed red behind a pair of goggles. His black hair stood stiff above his head as he came around the corner, then heard Wani's cry of anger fill the area.

"AAAH!" Tadami's eyes were forced to return to normal, but his rapier was still coated with his poison. So, from there, with one swift thrust of his blade, it pierced Wani's shoulder and the beast's fist struck the Hitman's face.

A strong punt sent the snake through several trees and made a lot of them tumble from impact. "Come on, I know your snake hide can handle my hits!" His anger reached across the distance to where Tadami laid and hadn't realized the cloak he wore, flew off when he punched him.

Shinso was also hidden away, in fact, he was right next to the teacher who kept Tadami's quirk from being used. He's bleeding but he doesn't seem to notice, either, not even a wince? the teacher's thoughts echoed as he took a quick glance at Wani's shoulder. Crimson leaked from his skin, yet, there was no sign of agony or any kind of reaction.

In a long line of knocked-over trees, the Hitman gradually rose with his hand grasping his shoulder and felt blood trickle between his fingers. Anger could be seen in his eyes as he glared daggers at the crock from afar, then, with a swift grasp of his cane's handle, he sprinted.

His quirk may not be usable now, but his blade still had residue of his poison and the rapier was still available to him. "Dad!" Haru's voice rang from somewhere, which made his run halt and move his eyes in her direction.

High in a tree, clad in yellow, stood his daughter with devastation on her face. "Don't kill them, please!" Tears cascaded down her cheeks from beneath her mask. As quickly as she could, she appeared in front of her father in an attempt to stall him, but, alas, it only resulted in a smack to her face.

Aizawa, Wani, Shinso, Hitoshi, Uviel inside the car, and Edgeshot all grew either furious or stunned at the display. They watched her fall to the ground with a hard thud and heard the roar of Tadami's voice. "How dare you get in my way! You were supposed to be with the league, didn't they keep you tied up?!" Rage, was all she could hear, as she laid there helpless under her father's presence.

"I escaped!" From her two feet, she stood hastily and swatted her hand to the side with anger. "I don't want to be like you!" Even though his shoulder hurt, he still managed to grab her neck and shut her up; to the side, he tossed her, so he could finish what he started.

However, streams of red flew after him but were blocked, just as quickly, by his blade. So, this time, he chose to grab his daughter after shifting to avoid the red strips from Shinya and held her close. They all froze in their step, no one wanted Haru to get hurt any more than she already was, until...

"Yes, they're in the forest...!" on the phone, Toga giggled at how quickly Tadami moved and notified the bartender of their whereabouts. She was hidden behind some bushes as she talked and watched in the distance, as a portal of some sort appeared behind the Hitman; she was quiet so no one would hear her.

Soon, the Hitman was pulled into it by a pale hand and Haru was dragged along. Fear, of losing her best friend again, a quick movement of Uviel's hand made the door shoot open and caused everyone to watch her sprint after the girl. "HARU!" As quick as her feet could carry, her hand reached out in hopes of grasping Har-Har's hand who did the same in return.

Their fingertips barely touched, anticipation built within that moment but was soon crushed when she went in and the portal disappeared. Saito was left there frozen, disbelief, and shock made itself known on her face with her gaping mouth.

Not too much longer it was replaced with anger and she stomped her way over to the violet-haired boy, who stood next to her teacher. "Hitoshi!" Fury burned in her eyes and screamed halfway there.

Shinso's own hues lit up with surprise when he saw the rage on her face. Regardless, he watched her march up to him and glared daggers into his purple gaze, it was a look of blame. "Hitoshi! Why didn't you use your quirk?! Why didn't you make him stop?! Why didn't you go along with your own plan?!" Her cybernetic fist punted the wood of the tree to his side rather harshly and made an incredible hole.

The boy could see frustration, however, for her to put blame on him didn't feel very fair. "Everything happened too fast, it wasn't going to be possible for me to talk to him when he had her hostage and getting pulled away into that portal. I planned to catch him with a question, but it went by too quickly..." Guilt was visible, as he lowered his gaze to the ground. He understood why she felt that way toward him, but it also seemed unfair that she put blame on him.

"Y- You, What-..." Disbelief made Uviel's head shake with a step back, shocked to know that the one boy they needed the most couldn't use his quirk in time. Why?! Why of all times?! Kirishima would've stopped them from going into that portal! He would've used the quirk you have, in time! Edgeshot could've knocked her father out easily! Why didn't this plan go well?! Tears fell, as her ranted thoughts continued to ramble on and throw blame everywhere. She couldn't take it very well, her heart ached for her best friend's safety, and yearned for the comforting words of Eijiro to keep her heart strong.

After another step back, on her knees, she fell and hugged herself to try to will away her frustration. Shinya couldn't help but feel for the girl, his sympathy toward her showed in his gray eyes as he watched her curl up on her knees and let silent cries escape. Aizawa and Wani were both stunned at Uviel's rage, however, it didn't stop the teacher from approaching her.

"Saito, go eat your lunch," A gentle hand was placed onto her quivering shoulder, how she felt was certainly understandable considering all the planning they did. "Edgeshot, continue to keep your guard up while you train her. I don't think that Hitman's going to stop targeting her any time soon. He may return, and if he does..." those dark eyes of his bore into gray ones after he viewed the ninja from the side. "Contact any heroes nearby where ever you two will be. I feel he's hiding more power than what he showed us. To add-" a quick glance between her, Shinso, and the other two, he paused a brief moment and continued.

"Principal Nezu and I found out what the Hitman's villain alias is. It took some digging but we found it... Serpentine, his villain name is Serpentine. We only called him a Hitman because that's all we could go by, judging by his work and such," with a turn of his feet and a gesture to Hitoshi to follow, he made his way to his car.

"Serpentine, I believe I heard of that name," Kamihara's arms folded when he kept his eyes on the passing teacher. "I learn as I fight villains, even the rumors that they spill before they die. I recall one of them mentioning Serpentine, once. They said he was a dangerous man, who was going to kill him if he didn't cause a scene... Perhaps, you're right about him. About how he seems to be holding back," he couldn't help but agree with Aizawa on that matter.

As he stepped closer to a sulking Uvi on her knees, a comforting hand rubbed her head and made her look up to view her idol hero. His reassuring eyes made her own tear up more and moved them away to hide her embarrassment. He's training me right now, isn't he supposed to tell me to toughen up, or something like that? confusion added to her lingering frustration, as her thoughts echoed.

"Villains always run away when things get too dicey, but if they're cornered with no way of escape then they'll fight their way out. I'll speak with Principal Nezu again, too, and apparently- The heroes he sent to Yukimura's house were killed instantly. He said he has a hero, in mind, that's perfect for fighting Serpentine," Shouta's voice grew a bit louder as he opened the driver's door and slid into the seat.

To the side, Shinso gave Saito an apologetic frown before, he too, slid inside and buckled up. "Who?" Curious, blue eyes blinked, at the mystery hero Aizawa never mentioned when he drove away.

~~~Haru~~~

"No matter what you want to accomplish, it is necessary to have conviction and desire. Those who are weak will be weeded out, it's only natural. That's why it turns out like this," Stain's blade was jabbed into Tomura's arm nearly instantly after his tiny speech and pinned him down by his shoulder. The other blade simply pierced the floor next to his head.

Tomura had managed to snatch Haru and Tadami before this whole display happened. The girl was curled into a ball against the distant wall, while her father simply observed in the sidelines unimpressed.

"Ow... It hurts... Kurogiri, take this guy back," Shigaraki's pained words only received struggled ones in return, from the bartender.

"I- I can't move my body..." his misty form quivered from the paralysis as he stood there, unable to truly move. "It must be the hero killer's quirk," Kuro's mumbling was left unheard as he remained in place.

"This society overgrown with fake heroes, where the word itself has lost its true meaning, and the criminals who wave their power around idly- Should all be purged," When the killer explained, a harsh grip from Tomura's hand prevented his blade from inching any closer to his face.

Haru's head stayed low, bound by ropes once more and her back against the wall, her ears continued to pick up on their conversation. I managed...to save Uviel. UV-Ray, please stay safe. The fear she felt never faded, in fact, it only became worse since her father stood a few inches from her and kept his attention on the hero killer. Dad, why are you like this? I'm sure that, not even a villain, would harm or kidnap their own child and beat them. Why are you such an ass? It couldn't be because of my mom's death, it can't be. As her thoughts continued to ramble on, she paid no attention to the rest of the display from the two near the bar.

It wasn't much longer until the hero killer was sent back to Hosu City. Now all that remained was a wounded Tomura, Kurogiri, Toga, and Tadami. However, the long and comfortable silence crumbled when the Hitman decided to approach the leader of the league.

"Shigaraki." His black eyes watched the pale man look over to view him with carelessness and only heard a hum from the man, gesturing for him to continue. "I made a decision. There's something I wish to discuss with you in private, regarding Haru," A gesture of his finger, the bald, tattooed man walked out of the room and around the corner into the hallway.

"What's so important that you dragged me into this hall...?" A couple of seconds was all he needed to wait, for Tomura to meet with him alone and ask for his reasons. As silence filled their ears for but a moment, it was broken when Serpentine answered.

"Some anonymous villains have been selected and I believe you could be a candidate as well. Since my daughter refuses to accept her villainous bloodline and herself, there is but one other option I have yet to try. I know you're thinking of ways to try and redirect my daughter's lust for blood towards something more progressive and meaningful. Your master called me and informed me, however, he was the one to give me this idea," when he paused for a moment, he watched those crimson eyes squint with suspicion.

"Will you be willing to accept a spot on the list of anonymous villains, as a marriage candidate? Not only would it benefit my bloodline, but your league as well. As long as Muni is in the city, she will most likely find usefulness in Haru, but she needs to fully accept her villainous mind first," despite the hand on his face, Tadami's words made his face light up with shock. It certainly wasn't something he was expecting to come from an all-too-serious Hitman, who's cold-hearted and abusive. "If not, then it'd narrow things down to only a few choices, left on the list," annoyance could be heard in his voice after he added and the long wait for his answer only grew on the snake's nerves.

Contemplative, the leader stood silent for the longest time and thought hard on how to answer. "Are you saying- Your daughter will be able to accept herself if she had a villainous partner instead? That- she could be more inclined to accept her true self if given more sentimental guidance from a similar, dark person?" his question only made the Hitman nod in return, so he decided to think harder on the matter. If she is guided by a partner, it would most likely be more effective... as he pondered, he felt Tadami faintly brush his shoulder on his way by and give him a quick comment.

"Contact me when you have an answer. There are some more personal matters I must take care of..." Anger could be seen in his eyes when he left, as flashed images of Saito and Shinso went through his mind.