BNHA: Dual Fates
Chapter 61: Concurrent Chaos
Swiftly across trees and onto a nearby roof, sprinted All Might with urgency in his mind. He wasted no time to stop and take a breather, for he knew even the slightest stall could be fatal. Many citizens who wandered by excitedly pointed and cried out to the number one hero when he leaped off of the roof and glided past their heads.
I have to get there in time! Aizawa might be in danger if- before his thoughts could continue, the phone in his suit pocket gain his attention when he felt it vibrate. As soon as he landed on a pole high in the air, he crouched and examined his shaded blue hues over the structures around him. With a click of his phone, he answered and took off again with a burst in his jump. "Hello?" He had no time to read who called but trusted that it was either another hero or Principle Nezu.
"All Might- I received word from Aizawa Shota moments ago after you left. He and the students, as I mentioned before, are at one of the new training grounds; the abandoned stadium that Cementos helped fix. The hacker is using Saito to fight through her classmates and Kyoshi had stepped in to help. But there is one particular problem! Kage, her robot, has escaped and could be a potential threat if it runs through the city nearby! Hastume needs to disconnect Saito with her discharge bombs again before her robot causes any damage to the school. I'll need you to stall that robot, or destroy if you have to, to keep it from causing any chaos! To add- Yukimura has also been kidnaped by the League of Villains again, so I'm going to request some help from a few heroes!" Haste, strictness, anger, there were many emotions that could be heard in Principle Nezu's voice when he explained to All Might.
"I'm on my way," With a firm tone the top hero answered and ended the call in mid soar.
Seconds turned into minutes as he made his way to the stadium, however, when he saw the giant robot that was taller than most of the buildings, he knew something was bound to happen. He could hear those heavy steps echo with a metallic clunk, the mechanical resonance of gears moving, and the ground shaking. "It's heading toward the school? Why?" Taken aback, confused, under his breath he asked and watched Kage burst into a full sprint when it moved around a skyscraper. It's fast! The speed of the robot nearly made surrounding structures crumble as it passed, it was surprising to him to see such a machine move that quickly aside from the training robots from the sports festival.
As swift as he could move, All Might jumped in front of one of his overly large feet and use his strength to try and slow it down, which resulted in the robot's hand catching itself in time. "I won't let you go after that school!" Through gritted teeth and a firm voice, he exclaimed.
Although the power behind his muscles was enough to keep one foot from moving, it wasn't enough to keep Kage from picking up the top hero and moving him aside. Astonishment would be an understatement, there was no aggression, no attempt to harm him, he was just simply placed to the side a little fast and continued his scary sprint through the street. "What?" Regardless of his confusion he gave chase and noticed how he seemed to have avoided every citizen who was in his way. "It's... It's trying not to step on people?" Nonetheless, he kept on its rear and observed his behavior.
When he grew closer to the school, he knew from there, that it would get demolished if Kage wasn't stopped right then and there. Without a second thought, he leaped and stomped as hard as he could on the back of Kage's head. The force was enough to send it crashing through the forest near U.A. and stir up concealing dust in its wake.
"Regardless if you're avoiding casualties, I can't let you damage the school! Children are in there!" A sense of protectiveness filled his mind when he clenched his fists and ran after Kage's hidden, giant form.
~~~~
Everyone- I would like to make an announcement! Over the com, came Nezu's voice. Many students in the cafeteria, others in different classes, and various Teachers not among the hero classes, all stopped to listen. The weight of those few words was enough to make everyone stop what they were doing.
Please rest assured that any rumors you hear, are only to test your will. If you wish to believe what the rumors say, then you will fail. If you wish to remain studying in U.A. then do not resign from School. The test is over now and anyone who has left- will be returned. All resignation papers were never filed or accepted. As I've stated- this was a mere test of your will. Thank you for your cooperation, you will be rewarded with a day off from school tomorrow! With that, the com clicked off and the countless students began to whisper among themselves when they continued with their tasks.
Hastume, who sat in class, giggled to herself and fist pumped for the reward. "Yay, that means I can-" Before she could continue, Nezu's voice resonated once more over the speakers and drew everyone's attention.
Mei Hatsume, please visit my office. Just as quick as the com turned on, he clicked back off and made her classroom grow silent.
Did I do something wrong? Curious, and confused, her yellow hues blinked before she rose from her seat. All of her belongings were gathered, so when she left the room the Teacher in her class continued with their lessons.
Time passed as she made her way through the School. There before her were Nezu's office doors, the weight that most people would feel from being called to the Principle would make them nervous, but the smile on the girl's face never faltered, and remained as excited as ever.
Just before her fingers could touch the doorknob, those very doors rushed open and a pair of beady stern eyes stared into her astonished ones. "Miss Hatsume, you are urgently needed at the new training ground with Mr. Aizawa. Bring the discharge bombs you used on Saito before, she has been taken over by the infamous hacker and was not released from their hold yet! Do be quick-!" His small feet padded across the floor as fast as they could and the phone from his pocket was pulled out.
"Yes, Principle Nezu!" Despite Hastume's usually excited expression, complete concern for Saito filled her mind and the robot. No time was wasted, for she rushed back to her class and gathered some much-needed items so she could be prepared. Don't worry, my babies will save you again! With a large, excited grin returning and her eyes lighting up with eagerness, the girl ran as fast as she could down the staircase to the main floor.
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
"Did you find a good place yet, Dabi?" Back and forth, impatience radiated from Shigaraki as he wandered aimlessly in front of the Bar in their base. He ignored the angry cries of Haru who remained strapped to a chair with a cloth over her mouth and thrashed the best she could.
"Yeah- yeah, I found one. It ain't much but it's the best secret location you can ask for. It's at the Gates of Ruin. An old place out in the Amazon Forest, they're like some Aztec Ruins or something... I don't know. Anyway, an old dude told me about how he'd love to visit there, he used to be an explorer. Since she's a snake, I figured that'd be a good place," Annoyance could be heard over the phone when he answered.
"Good. I don't care where we go, as long as I can get this done sooner then I'll do it! Damn, why are these sorts of things such a pain? And- where's Toga? She should've been here by-" Just before the leader could finish, in came the blonde with a cheerful outburst that cut him off.
"I'm back! I found the most beautiful dress! It's yellow and white! Oh-, but you aren't allowed to see it now are you?!" Cooed the girl whose hands held onto a nicely fashioned box the size of her torso. "Can I dress her now?!" Full of excitement she asked, before trotting over to the surprised brunette.
Her still posture, how frozen she was, proved the amount of disbelief she had when she heard them both speak. So... I heard right?! I thought I heard him wrong that day when he approached me! He was being serious?! Taken aback, bewildered, many words could describe how she felt at that moment and could smell the girl standing close to her knees.
"Not yet!" Harsh, Tomura didn't much like how Toga was being pushy so he whipped around and glared daggers at the blonde, through the hand which covered his face. "Wait until we leave for the Gates of Ruin! We'd still have to prepare the ceremony before she arrives... Kurogiri-" This time, facing the misty man, watching his attention move to him, he continued and pointed his finger toward the backroom. "Find the Gates of Ruin in the Amazon Forest and take the man we captured there as well! We're going to speed things up a bit," Finally his anger began to subside, especially when the bartender nodded and exited the room.
~~~~Hitoshi~~~~
In class, the violet-haired boy sat and stared out the window with images of Haru's bright smile in his head. Worksheets were being gathered from each student when the Teacher passed by each row, but when he noticed that the 1-A students not far from his classroom hadn't returned... Confusion set in and his purple hues lingered at the closed 1-B door.
They should've been back by now. I would've been able to see them passing by our door... It's been an hour now since the first class started. As if on cue, when the bell tolled to notify a break between classes, he rose from his seat with a quick grab of his things and left the room.
Although, a subtle quake made everyone stand still and panic. The desks rattled and the ceiling made dust trickle from tiny cracks, he didn't spend another second to ponder like everyone else. As swift as he could run down the halls, he peeked out of the windows when others had done the same.
There, stood Kage, Saito's giant robot fighting All Might in the nearby forest. He was easy to spot given his incredible height over most of the trees. The earth shook upon each step or sprint when he'd go after All Might and every collision with the top hero, resulted in more quakes.
Clearly, the robot was trying to push the hero out of his way to go somewhere, but the buff man wouldn't let him. Back and forth, they exchanged blows so devastating that many of the students would whine from unease and concern. I need to find Haru... If Saito's robot is acting like this, then that means she's been hacked again! I need to find out where they went! As he sprinted past the others, to his side ran a familiar pink-haired girl; he knew by her distinct outfit that it was Hatsume.
"Hey! Are you going out to help too?! Principle Nezu called me to his office and asked me to knock Saito out with my explosive baby!" Out of her pocket, the bomb was lifted and carelessly she wiggled it as if it wouldn't go off. Her signature excited grin told him that she was all up for the idea of helping out her friend.
"Yeah. Actually, I was going to see if Haru was okay because she's around Saito every day. I just don't know where they went," Simply explained, Hitoshi looked ahead and rushed through the front doors of U.A. with the girl still by his side.
"I know where they are! Just follow me!" This time, Mei ran a bit faster and went ahead of the boy. Avoiding the civilians and turning corners, their feet were patting across the sidewalks almost like a stampede. Twist, turn, sharp swerve, and curve, they spent a couple of minutes using shortcuts to reach the abandoned stadium.
As soon as they entered the building and made it to the large clearing inside, they were dumbfounded by the fight they saw. All of the students in 1-A were made to stay back, for Aizawa and Cementos both did their best to divert the hacker's attention with various methods.
Cementos's large walls rose to block impacts from Uviel's physical strength, with Aizawa snatching her staff on occasion when Midoriya is unable to keep a hold of it, and Wani who kept trying to get the hacker's attention off of Kirishima. All of the chaos was unbelievable to them, to know that Saito was capable of such power with her amount of cybernetics.
"Hatsume!" As swift as he could, Aizawa rushed over to the two and kept his attention on the ruckus. "I'm assuming Principle Nezu asked you to come here, right?! Yukimura was kidnapped by the League of Villains in the middle of the hacker's attack, so we had no real way of anyone escaping to go find you!" his voice boomed as loud as it could over the loud bangs and explosions that filled the air, however, his words made them gasp.
To find out Yukimura was captured, anger fell in waves from Shinso and astonishment lit up Mei's eyes. Neither of the two was responsive afterward, that was until Hatsume reached into one of her pockets and pulled out her discharge bomb.
"Don't worry- I have it ready! Just like last time, my baby will knock that connection to the hacker, right out of the window!~ I just need a good opening!" Despite hearing the bad news about Yukimura, she did her best to keep the mood light and beam her brightest smile.
"Good! I'll signal you with my hand, just be ready to toss it! And- Hitoshi, I'm guessing you came along because you heard of Saito's situation?" Shota's dark hues met infuriated purple ones when he asked and saw how he remained silent, with only a simple nod of confirmation.
"We'll need you to help us out later when the heroes retrieve Yukimura! She might not be emotionally stable by the time she returns and she'll want to rely on you and Saito the most for support! Now leave the Stadium, before you get hurt!" With that, he ran back into the field to assist.
Accompanying the Teacher in black, Hatsume waved goodbye to Hitoshi before she ran to hide somewhere and prep herself for the counter strike.
Despite his anger, the situation, everything, he wanted so badly to find out where they took Haru and bolted to the nearby doors. If there's one thing I can do- it's to make people talk. I'll find out where they took her and inform the heroes! Without so much as a second thought, he rushed out of the stadium and made his way through the many streets.
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
"Here's the money... Now where's my new gun?" In a dark alley stood the pig-tailed dead woman and an indescribable shaded man. Her pale hand handed over a wad of cash compacted together by a band and traded in her Gatling Gun to add to the payment.
"Ya know- Even though you're dead, you sure know how to make some quick money," The man's hands carefully picked up the Gatling Gun by its handle, which was leaned against the wall of a brick building, and stashed the green bills into his pocket.
"It doesn't matter how I got it. I'll be back in the grave soon anyway. This Cannon better be able to handle a creature like that..." For a moment Tali Muni trailed and hoisted a large, osmium-made cannon by one of the two handles that were attached under its mouth. A singular dark blue line traced its giant form on both ends and just behind both openings of the weapon.
"This thing can pretty much handle anything, lady. Especially if this thing you mentioned, had some sort of quirk that turns itself into waves of heat in the air. Just remember, this thing packs quite a punch. No one's been able to handle its recoil and people complained it's too damn heavy for the stands they tried to use... So, good luck wieldin' that," The man in the shadows had little to no care about her well-being when it came to using the cannon, for his hands were shoved into his pockets after he popped in a cigarette and quietly left the woman to herself. If anyone were nearby, they'd be able to hear the Gatling Gun grading against the pavement and the weapon's ammunition belt clinking behind him.
Now that he's gone... Her black eyes moved to look over her shoulder before she continued her way and ignored the nervous stares from the citizens. A lot of the people around her were dumbstruck by her strength. Carrying something so huge which was nearly the same length as her and as thick around as a cannon on a warship, they were too afraid to so much as move.
It looks like I was right. That girl- Gossip is already spreading, stating that some kids dropped out of U.A because of a threat from the inside. And some are saying that making fun of a particular person in there could mean their own death. Her thoughts, focused and mature, echoed while she made her way past a display window to a store.
Dark hues peeked to the side and saw several televisions showing the news with inaudible voices. Many scenes regarding the recent events taking place, were flashing next to the reporters who were behind a desk. Cameras showed a helicopter's view of Kage's giant form, fighting All Might and trying to get closer to U.A. The very sight caught her attention, for she fully faced the display window and closely looked at the robot.
What? That thing's going to ruin my plan! Anger filled her entire body like a bull to a red cape. She wasn't going to let that happen, so she swiftly ran with the bounce of her Cannon on her shoulder, upon each step, and almost knocked some civilians down along the way.
However, something made a group of innocent people scream ahead of her. It was enough to make her skid to a halt and raise her guard, especially when the very thing she met before had appeared before her out of a distorting heatwave. I found you... Sheer determination shone brightly in her dead, black eyes with nothing but hatred radiating from her.
The very creature, who stood with his hip pushed out and his head cockily tilted in the same direction, not once did his strange eyes avert from hers. The people around him wanted so badly to get away from his smothering heat and crawled away with pleas for help. Just then, Goro's creation increased his heat and caused an explosion to burst through the windows. Countless shards of glass flew past him, piercing the inching citizens who were barely managing to get away. From the blast came spontaneous flames as it caught many trees on fire and other, further away people who cried in agony.
None of the chaos from his heat alone, would stir the dead woman's mind or break her attention from him. Their long staring contest never broke and no care for the people around them ever glinted in their eyes, they were fixated on the next task... To kill.