Chapter Text
“Then I’ll let go of him,” Leorio said. His steady grip on Majitani’s shoulder disappeared, the prisoner falling back before jerking upright suddenly.
“Whoa! Wait! I’m awake! I’m awake…!” The man desperately cried out as Leorio watched from the corner of his eye. “Don’t let me go!” Leorio’s hand came out to clasp his arm, yanking and pulling him back onto the platform stumbling.
A few in the audience cringed at the reminder. “Kero, he probably thought Leorio was bluffing,” Tsuyu said.
“If he heard how loudly Leorio was arguing with Kurapika on finishing him, this part would’ve gone by much quicker,” Jirou snorted.
The man fell back on his behind, gasping, as the scoreboard changed from 40/60 to 80/20. “However, you’re down to twenty hours,” Leroute reminded them while under her cloak.
“But now we have a 2-1 lead,” Leorio replied to her with a wary look. Her face became visible underneath the shadow of her disguise. “It’s your turn! What do you want to bet on next?” Leorio pointed directly at her.
The title of the episode flashed, “Trouble X With X The Gamble”
“The prisoners so far- excluding Majitani- have been playing on their strengths,” Iida noted worryingly. “He didn’t have much of a choice to begin with in the first hand, but it’s utmost concerning that he’s playing in a gambling match with what I’m assuming is a pro. Pitting a pro against an amateur as far as we’ve known is-” Someone coughed pointedly.
Iida spluttered for a moment, looking bewildered at the interruption. “I get what Iida’s saying,” Izuku said. “Leorio’s going to have to stay focused so she doesn’t cheat her way to a win against him.”
An eagle’s eye point of view of the platform was shown, Leroute and Leorio standing a good couple of feet away from each other. “It’s a five-on-five battle with the prisoners, Gon and his friends lead 2-1”
Leroute’s obscured figure was shown, Leorio on the opposite side with a bright grin, the others behind him on their side, watching intently.
“The fourth round is a series of wagers, with time as the stake.” The scoreboard appeared a few feet on the side from the two competitors, 80 to 20 with the prisoners taking the lead. “What will they bet on next?”
“I hope these bets don’t keep pushing forward to life threatening situations anymore,” Aizawa voiced. Nedzu hummed in interest. “It would be interesting to see where the highs of competition could lead!” Many eyed him carefully as he tittered to himself, oblivious of their discomfort.
“Besides from…that, this match can end soon if Leorio doesn’t turn it in his favor quickly. He only has enough to bet twice and he’s done for,” Recovery Girl said. They were all getting a sense of how quickly the match could end up turning against the applicants.
“Well, are you going to tell me what the next bet will be on?” Leorio’s voice projected throughout the space, pointing again in her direction. He rested his hand on his hip. “Or have you lost your confidence because I’ve figured out your scheme?”
The cuffs on Leroute clicked as they came apart at the middle, and fell in halves to the ground with a thud. Her wide eyes were partially visible from her cloak as she released a faint chuckle. “Very well.”
Her hand came up and pulled off the cloak, revealing long hot pink fluffy hair in pigtails held by yellow ribbons. Her skin was tinged pink, with sharp pink eyebrows, and purple eyes with thin glossy lips. A faint ‘woww~’ could be heard at the reveal.
Kaminari perked up slightly in surprise. ‘No way a cute girl like her got put in a prison like that!’ As if hearing his thoughts, both Shinsou and Jirou shot him unimpressed looks.
In his seat, Mineta quietly started drooling slightly.
Leorio’s face immediately brightened, cheeks flushing red, his lips twisting into a shrewd smile. “What? She’s super cute…” he stuttered, taking a good look as she stood with her hand on her hip.
Leorio stared at her with a perverted look, chuckling quietly to himself. In the back, Kurapika, Gon and Killua watched.
“Oh no. No, not here…” Midnight groaned. A few of the girls grumbled in discontentment. “Have some faith in him, he’ll get over it!” Mirio laughed slightly, remaining optimistic.
“I find that a hard thing to believe…” Nejire said, remembering Leorio’s initial appearance of the boat, hoarding a woman’s magazine.
“That old man’s probably dancing on the inside,” Killua said with a deadpan look, hands in his pockets. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Kurapika spoke. Gon continued to watch with his mouth agape.
“Then let’s bet on whether I’m a man or a woman,” she offered. Leorio’s expression turned to shock. “Huh?”
“What’s wrong?” she said calmly. “Is there a problem?”
“She caught on quickly,” Kirishima noted. “He’s not exactly hiding it,” Sero said with a skeptical look at the screen.
Present Mic chuckled nervously. “He wouldn’t do anything rash now! I mean, he was pretty focused not even a moment ago about getting this win for them…”
“N-No,” Leorio stuttered out. He leaned in to stare at her more intently. ‘She’s obviously a woman…’ Leroute watched Leorio with a small composed smile. ‘No, could she be a cross-dresser?’
The man frowned, squinting his eyes at her. ‘No, she’s gotta be a woman.’ Leorio closed his eyes, before putting his hands on his hips. “That’s fine, but how will you prove if I’m wrong?”
“Let’s see…” she began. “I’ll let you examine every part of my body.” She rested a hand over her chest, shooting him a slightly flirty smile. “Until you’re fully satisfied.” Leorio’s grin came back, even wider, his blush intense. “What?”
Bakugo sneered viciously. “No fucking way in hell I’d lose because of some desperate pervert!” Mineta nearly squealed in his seat, as he propped up forward.
Sir Nighteye rubbed his temples extensively, shooting on screen Leorio a disappointed glare.
His eyes laser focused down to her chest. ‘Her body?’ he thought with an overwhelming amount of hopefulness. His eyes trailed all the way down, chortling to himself at the thought.
“Leorio will bet she’s a man,” Kurapika determined, Killua watching with an oh so done look. “Uh huh,” Killua confirmed. Gon turned around with a questioning look. “Huh? Why?”
“Gon, you sweet summer child…” Midnight sighed. “Quite the 180 turn he’s made for how determined he was to win this,” Compress sighed. “How hypocritical of him to let his personal desires come over the majority.”
‘Damn it, I hate it when they make sense!’ Uraraka slightly fumed. Stain scoffed, giving Leorio a filthy look. “Hypocrite isn’t a word that suffices the type of scum he is. His words did not fool me,” the villain sneered.
“Okay, I’ve decided,” Leorio spoke. His face panned dramatically into view, an oddly determined look on his face, extending his arm to point boldly, declaring, “I bet ten hours that you’re a man!” A satisfied glint appeared in Leroute’s eyes.
“I knew it,” Kurapika seethed silently, closing his eyes in frustration. Killua stood to the side, glaring at Leorio. “That dirty old man…” the pale boy said. Gon turned back to them again, even more lost. “But how did you know?”
“Come on, seriously? Did he just forget they’re going through an exam that’s almost cost them their life several times now?” Ojiro exclaimed, with a perplexed expression.
“This was definitely not the time for him to waste any of his plays. He only had two bets he could make now he’s down to one,” Gran Torino said, brows furrowed. ‘That boy needs a thorough knocking straight in the head,’ the elder thought.
Leorio’s leering face appeared, his thoughts visualizing Leroute, who stood with her hand on her hip confidently. ‘This way, even if I’m wrong, and it turns out she’s female, I’ll still get to examine her body!’
‘It’s a win-win situation,’ the man continued to think. His nostrils flared, Killua and Gon in the background looking at each other. ‘Actually, please be wrong…’
“There you have it,” Killua said, with a bored look. “I get it now,” Gon replied, wide eyed. Leroute stared at Leorio, who held an openly lustful look on his face. The scoreboard appeared once more, 80/20.
‘Please show it, please show it, please show it!’ Mineta thought, nearly slobbering in his seat from bliss. Aoyama took one glance and turned his head back around slowly, his nose scrunched with distaste.
“Okay! Reveal the answer!” Leorio demanded. She remained silent for a moment. Her expression betraying nothing. “Too bad… I’m a woman.”
Leorio reared back in happiness, before toning down. “Oh really?” He blinked, with a smug smirk on his face. Leroute rested a finger on her glossed lips. “Would you like to check?”
Leorio’s fingers wiggled as he stammered, “B-B-But of course!” The screen whited out temporarily, before angelic singing could be heard, Leorio dressed as an angel with white robes, ascending a pink tinted sky with clouds and hearts surrounding him. He laughed with an overly pleased look on his face.
Majority of the class watched with incredulous and deadpan expressions. Magne watched with a stone cold face, eye twitching. ‘Men…’
“They should’ve stopped him,” Sato groaned behind his hands. “I don’t think they can interfere with matches,” Todoroki said. Eri quietly watched the scenes unfolding, wondering exactly what was making everyone so upset when Leorio was happy.
The scoreboard dinged from 80/20 to 90/10. He took two steps back, his eyes closed in bliss, holding up his right hand that seemed to oddly shimmer with pink bubbles. ‘A mistake I do not regret.’
Killua made an acknowledging sound, the bored look on his face still persistent. Kurapika slapped his hand on his forehead, shutting his eyes. “Just watching hurts…” he sighed. “He’s gonna lose,” Tonpa said.
“Huh?” Gon turned around to Tonpa who was leaning on the wall behind with a smug look, arms crossed. “The opponent has seen through Leorio’s strategy. He’s betting conservatively, to minimize damage from either outcome” Tonpa explained, earning looks from both Kurapika and Killua, the latter more wary.
“He was already at the disadvantage of her having the lead, but he allowed himself to be easily swayed,” Vlad King said wearily.
Bakugo’s eyes were absolutely rabid. “That IDIOT could’ve at least fell for a stupid trick! Instead, he practically hands her the fucking win!” The blonde shouted aggressively, more than ready to hop out of his seat.
Tonpa’s eyes widened, the smug look on his face becoming more brazen. “A gambler who focuses on avoiding a loss will never win.” He watched as Leorio continued to hold up his mysteriously bubbling hand with a blissed out look.
“I guess Leorio just doesn’t have what it takes to gamble,” he finished. Leroute dusted off her shoulder for a moment, before opening her eyes, expression calm as ever. ‘As expected,’ she thought, looking over at Leorio.
“Gambling is not a game of ‘steady wins the race’. Exploiting weaknesses, bluff, risk and strokes of luck are all what creates the magic of it,” Nedzu explained.
The man was holding out his right hand, eagerness radiating out of his smile, as he leaned in and sniffed his hand intently. ‘His approach to gambling doesn’t frighten me at all. He’ll never beat me that way.’ Her face became shadowed, her serene expression never betraying the confidence she held.
She smiled for a moment, before pointing out a finger. “Now it’s your turn to think of something,” she said to him, his back turned to her, the derpy look still on his face. Leroute placed her hand on her hip. “What do you want to bet on?”
Uraraka semi glared at Leorio, her face oozing annoyance. ‘He better not bet on anything pervy!’ Her cheeks puffed out in frustration.
“He let himself get backed into a corner so easily,” Present Mic frowned.
Leorio broke out of his stupor, startled, before he turned his head quickly to look at the scoreboard. The score was 90/10. ‘This is no time to celebrate,’ he thought. ‘I only have ten hours left.’
“Leorio has no room for error,” Kurapika said, with his arms crossed, Gon’s head slightly turned to listen to him. “If he loses the next wager, the overall score will be 2-2.” Gon turned his head back around to face the platform, a tiny frown on his face.
“And we will have fifty less hours to escape this tower.” Gon watched Leorio staring at the scoreboard, Leroute a few feet away from him standing still. ‘Leorio…’ the young boy thought.
Kaminari groaned, his hands clutching his hair and he slumped down into his seat. “Dude, that’s literally the worst case scenario because they’ll still have to actually win the last and final match and who knows how long that could take?”
“If they lose this match, and most of their time, things…could end here,” Izuku murmured, teeth biting into his bottom lip.
“I can’t lose the next bet, but I can’t think of anything that’d be a surefire win…” Leorio mumbled to himself, eyebrows furrowed with a hand on his chin. His eyes widened as he came to a realization. “Oh that’s it!” He exclaimed, forming a fist in the palm of his hand.
“We can bet on whether I’m a man or a woman.” As soon as the thought came he shook his head profusely, a blush rising to his cheeks again. “No that wouldn’t work…” he thought out loud, dismissing the idea.
Sir Nighteye fought to keep back a look of disgust at Leorio’s inner monologue. “Time and place bro, time and place,” Sero sighed, shaking his head.
‘Ironic, considering the massive stick up his ass over Tonpa sabotaging them. Looks like he could clearly handle bringing them down on his own,’ Dabi thought, a small smirk playing on his lips.
“Hey, old man…” Killua said, a frozen half smile of discomfort on his face, pupils shrunk. “You’re thinking out loud!” Gon pointed a finger up, saying, “I know.”
“Leorio!” he called out, drawing Leorio’s attention. “Huh?”
“How about whether or not you’re still in your teens?” Leorio’s face immediately grew angry, pointing a finger directly at the boy. “Come on, Gon!” He pointed back at himself. “I don’t look that old…I’m clearly a teenager!” he argued loudly.
Most of the audience cringed at Leorio’s bold claim. “You know, that would actually work,” Mina said.
“Yeah if he didn’t fucking announce it to the whole tower,” Bakugo grumbled. “His obliviousness sure makes things a tad more difficult for them,” Nedzu sighed.
Leroute startled, her arms sticking out to the side as she leaned to the side, trying to get a good look at Leorio’s face again. ‘T-Teenager?’ She bent in to analyze him.
Leorio stood with a hand on his hip, digging around into his nose without any shame. ‘But he looks like an old man,’ she thought. “Right! In that case, we’ll use rock-paper-scissors!” Leorio declared, holding out his fist, pridefully.
“Aww, it would’ve totally worked!” Hagakure exclaimed. Snipe scratched his head. “Odd game to bet on there.”
“And risky. Way too risky considering how close they are to losing not the match but 50 hours of time.” Tsuyu croaked with a rising level of concern.
“A bet on who will win a game of rock-paper-scissors!” Leroute giggled. “Sure.” Kurapika huffed before questioning, “Rock-paper-scissors? Why did he have to pick such a difficult wager?” Gon turned his head back around.
“Huh? Rock-paper-scissors is hard?” Leorio smirked confidently to himself. ‘I happen to be quite confident in my rock-paper-scissors skill. Just recently, I won a gourmet vacation in a tournament in the shopping district,’ he thought.
Aizawa blinked in an unimpressed manner at the screen. “That counts for…something?” Jirou blurted with a puzzled look on her face.
“A prize gourmet vacation totally instills confidence in a match against a convicted gambler,” Shinsou drawed out, rolling his eyes.
“Let’s see then,” Leroute began innocently. “I’ll put eighty hours on my victory.” A stupefied look crossed Leorio’s face at her bet. “E-Eighty hours?”
“Is something wrong?” She inquired, holding out her hand. “I’m free to bet as much as I want.” Leorio stood up straight for a moment, before relaxing, his face one of uncertainty. “W-Well, that’s true.”
“And if you lose, I can only take ten from you,” she reasoned, holding out both of her hands. “Don’t worry.” Leorio began to sweat, watching her with wide nervous eyes. ‘She doesn’t need to bet eighty. Ten would suffice. What if she loses? Or is she that confident?’
“And just like that, she managed to crush any good momentum he was attempting to gain back in this match,” Aizawa noted.
“She’s a hard and fast gambler. Her bluff is no joke, I have to admit. Against the average inexperienced person,” Nedzu mused. “No joke indeed, how isn’t she in the least nervous about losing so quickly?” Sato said.
“Well, when you consider that they’re all facing hundreds of years in prison, it’s all or nothing,” Momo explained. “Also, she’s a pro. Her poker face is unmatched,” Sero said, looking at the playful and smug look on Leroute’s face.
Leroute’s face remained poker passive, her purple eyes watching Leorio carefully. ‘As expected, he’s starting to stress out.’ She giggled internally. ‘He’s so easy to read.’
“While the rules to rock-paper-scissors are simple, the game itself is quite complex,” Kurapika began to explain. A red hand throwing out scissors was multiplied against a blue hand throwing out paper, and the screen panned out showing various combinations of plays.
“If you consider the game from a probability standpoint, there’s only a one-third chance of losing.” Two out of the three rows glowed, excluding the row that included the draws. From there the middle row glowed only, the three plays leading to consecutive losses for the blue hand.
“Does any of that really matter? It’s not like you can read your opponent’s mind to know what they're going to play next. It’s a fifty fifty shot,” Kirishima reasoned. Sero casted him a skeptical look. “I have a feeling that Leorio’s going to tip her off somehow anyways.”
“However, if your opponent can predict your reasoning,” Leorio appeared with a concentrated look on his face, Leroute in the back drop peering down at him with a cheshire grin at his confusion. “And control your reactions, defeat becomes much more likely.”
“In other words, simple-minded Leorio will be at a disadvantage,” Killua pointed out, as the trio watched the man on the platform. “I see,” Gon replied.
“All right! I’ve made my decision,” Leorio shouted, turning back around to face Leroute. She walked up a few steps toward him, giggling as she came to a stop. Leorio’s face grew nervous. “What?”
Kirishima sunk in his seat, a little dejected at Leorio’s obvious reaction. Gran Torino shook his head. “He needs to shake out of this or she’s going to make him eat out of her hand the entire match.”
“Simple-minded seems like an understatement,” Aizawa distastefully muttered, eye twitching.
“It’s obvious what you’ll use,” she told him. He reared back, shocked. “I can read people’s minds,” she said simply. Leorio leaned down to point his finger directly in her face, provoked. “Liar! Your bluffing won’t scare me!”
“You’ll believe me soon enough,” she said to him, his finger coming down as he stared at her with disbelief. Leorio’s teeth grit together, struggling to find the words, before holding up his fist. Leroute continued to laugh to herself.
‘As planned, he’s losing his cool over a blatant lie,’ she thought. Leorio’s face appeared, shadowed as doubt filled his visage. ‘She can read minds? She’s lying. Of course it’s a lie…’ he attempted to reassure himself.
“Seriously…” Vlad King blinked incredulously at Leorio’s thoughts. All Might winced slightly. ‘Surely her bluff couldn’t have gotten to him that bad,’ the former pro thought.
Mirio spoke up. “A clear mind and calm disposition is half of the battle facing any opponent.”
“That’s why All Might always had a smile on his face,” Nejire chirped.
The man scoffed before looking down at his fist, unsure. ‘But what if she’s telling the truth?’
“Leorio will use rock,” Kurapika said with a serious expression. “Huh?” Gon questioned. “Let’s do this!” Leroute said suddenly. “What?!” Leorio shouted, sweat pouring down the sides of his face.
“Rock…” she began to call out loudly, holding her fist back. “Paper…” With wide eyes, Leorio leaned back before they both shot out at, “Scissors!” Leroute held out rock, the same as Leorio. The man breathed a sigh of relief, wiping his brow.
“I didn’t think she was that good? What, does he have it plastered on his forehead?” Sero said skeptically. “Or she’s secretly a top ten champion at rock-paper-scissors too,” Kirishima laughed.
“You were right. Good guess,” Gon praised Kurapika. “Nervous people unconsciously avoid any action that involves opening up,” Kurapika informed him. The blonde turned his head back to the platform. “In other words, by making Leorio uncomfortable, she ensures that he’s less likely to use paper.”
Leroute in question eyed Leorio with a knowing smile. “So if she sticks with rock, she’s guaranteed a win or draw,” Killua deduced. “Like I said, rock-paper-scissors is actually a mind game,” Kurapika gestured, as he looked at Gon.
“Amazing how he could interpret that so quickly!” Nedzu exclaimed. “Bro, I thought it was just rock-paper-scissors,” Kaminari whispered over to Shinsou.
“They should tell him. So he can at the least get the chances of her winning against him back to a 50/50 shot,” Midnight said.
The green haired boy turned back from the brief explanation. “I get it.” Leorio looked up for a moment, realizing something as he held up his fist. “Hold on.” He leaned in.
“Since we both used rock, wasn’t that a draw?” Leroute blinked at him with a lost look. “What of it?”
“A-ha!” He exclaimed, pointing at her again. “So you were lying about being able to read my mind!” Leorio accused. He pointed at himself. “If you really could, you'd have won. Right?” Leroute giggled openly, her eyes closed.
Vlad King shut his eyes with a wince.“This is getting painful to watch.”
“I can’t believe he’s actually letting himself get convinced by the mind reading thing!” Present Mic exclaimed. Tokoyami shook his head in sympathy. “Anxiety can be poison to the mind.”
“What’s so funny?” Leorio demanded. “I deliberately gave you that tie,” she answered him, her purple eyes opening. “Quit lying!” Leorio confronted with a fist, taking a step towards her. “Did you forget?” She asked him, unphased.
“We’re trying to stall you here.” Leorio put down his fist. “If I chose to, I could force an indefinite series of draws…” she proposed. Leorio grit his teeth together, sweat beaded at his hairline. Leroute held out her hands. “But that wouldn’t be any fun.”
Izuku frowned at Leorio’s despairing attitude.“There has to be something they can tell him to shake her out of his mind.”
“If only heroes were this easy to toy with…” Magne sighed. Toga wishfully nodded her head in agreement with her.
She let her smile furrow, eyes flashing with determination. “So I’ll end this with the next turn.” Leorio’s face was positively psyched out, as he stared down at her. “Well? What will you use next? Think hard. Come on,” Leroute egged him on, before erupting into laughter.
“Damn it!” Leorio cursed, as his hands clutched his head from stress. ‘That’s it. Worry about it. Fret over it,’ Leroute thought. Leorio’s face was tense and lined with sweat beads, teeth set together as he clenched his hair.
Uraraka huffed, watching the screen in confusion and concern. “I don’t understand. He resolved Kurapika’s match without even so much as breaking a sweat, but now it’s like he’s a whole different person…”
Sir Nighteye adjusted his glasses slightly. “He let himself get blinded for a moment, that allowed her to gain the upper hand, and now that he’s realized what he’s done, the guilt and pressure of potentially losing this match is making him practically lose his mind.”
“Worrying, Fretting. When someone loses confidence, they crave reassurance. That makes him more likely to use the same hand,” Kurapika reasoned. “Or, in an effort to regain his confidence, to use a stronger one than in the previous round.” Gon and Killua were turned to face Kurapika as he explained.
The two turned back forwards. “Meaning that she wants Leorio to choose either rock or paper,” Killua said, as Leorio groaned over his decision in front of Leroute. “Yes. If she uses paper, she’s certain not to lose,” Kurapika replied.
Thirteen’s eyes watched worryingly. “Do you think that he’ll realize in time?” Power Loader shook his head with a shrug.
“Then Leorio just needs to stay a step ahead!” Gon said optimistically, drawing the attention of the two. “Well, if he could calm down, that might work,” Kurapika said. “Leorio!” Gon shouted out to the man.
Leorio removed his hands from his head, turning around. “What is it?” He shouted back. “Hey you’ll win if you go with scissors next!” Gon told him happily. “What? Scissors?” Leorio said, confused, before turning back to a smiling Leroute.
She laughed before saying, “Go ahead and use scissors!” Leorio watched her intently, thinking. ‘Then she’ll just use rock. No, she'll go a step further and choose paper.’ Leroute remained passive, waiting on Leorio.
Iida’s face drew into a scowl. “She’s only goading him in order to throw him off!” Ojiro grimaced at Leorio’s words. “Surely he didn’t miss that poorly disguised bluff?”
Mr.Compress in the back laughed slightly. “I’m pretty sure she could tell him the building was set to detonate in an hour and he’d be scrambling for his life.” The performer smirked to himself.
‘Wait, then she’ll just take another step and use scissors…No, no, then she’ll take another step and use rock…’ Leorio thought, getting frustrated. He blew over, clutching his head once again with an aggravated shout.
“Man, I don’t get it anymore!” “Here we go!” Leroute announced suddenly, holding out her fist. Leorio’s eyes shot down, eyes widening. “Here…comes the…draw!” She shouted out, giving less than a second as the two players both quickly shot out their play.
Mirio bit back a curse. “Ah, she keeps catching him off guard on purpose!”
“C’mon Leorio, trust Gon!” Kirishima nearly shouted at the screen, hopeful.
Leroute held out paper, as Leorio held out rock once more. Silence filled the area, Leorio stunned. The scoreboard appeared, dinging to 100/0.
Leroute cried out with a joyful laugh, her arms extending out as she twirled around. “I win!” She shouted ecstatically, arms shooting up in the air as she glowed. Behind her Leorio looked at his fist, confused and upset.
Bakugo’s nostrils flared as he turned his head to the side to avoid looking at the screen. “Fucking idiot,” the blonde muttered under his breath.
Todoroki blinked at the screen, disappointment only appearing in the slight purse of his lips. “Well, he hands her the win. Quite literally.” Kirishima watched with a dejected look at the loss.
He doubled over, his face cinched in anger at the loss. Leroute’s laughter rang out as she skipped away with her arms out, turning back around with a wide cheery smile. “Rock-paper-scissors is really complicated,” Gon said absentmindedly, arms resting behind his head.
“Now the score is 2-2,” Killua said. “Worse yet, we have to give up the fifty hours he lost,” Kurapika reminded. The bridge extending out, connecting to the platform as Leorio stepped out to walk back across to their side.
“They have one more chance, ribbit,” Tsuyu said. Izuku hummed in acknowledgement. “If the final prisoner decides to drag out the match, they could lose all the time that they have left, or if Killua loses, then that’s it.”
“Sorry. I was pretty confident in my rock-paper-scissors ability,” Leorio said lowly, his shoulders slightly hunched forward as he walked. “All the more pathetic!” Tonpa insulted from where he leaned.
“What was that?!” Leorio was quick to respond, before halting, breathing out a frustrated sigh. “Well, I can’t argue with you on this one.”
Aizawa pinched his nose. “Leorio…needs to work on controlling his temper and emotions.”
A mischievous look appeared on Sero’s face. “Reminds me of one of our own,” he said cheekily, sharing a glance with Kaminari. A vein quickly popped on Bakugo’s temple, as he scowled angrily, fighting to not turn and confront the two.
Leroute walked back over to the prisoners side, where Bendot and Majitani stood on the right side of the hallway. “Say, how much time do they have left now?” She spoke directly into the camera that was mounted on the left wall of the hallway, hands on her hips.
Her figure appeared on the big screen of the monitor room Lippo was in. The man picked up a chip from the bag he was eating. “Fifty-nine hours and forty-five minutes,” he told them with a narrow smug expression.
“Which means…” Bendot began. The four prisoners stood gathered around the camera. “They actually have fewer than ten hours left,” the mercenary said to them.
“They have to take the time to clear this match and then whatever time is left, they have to be able to clear the rest of the tower,” Ectoplasm said. Snipe held his chin with one hand, a pensive look on his face.
“It would sure take a miracle of God for them to get there in time.”
“It doesn’t matter how much time they have…” A strong jaw with a bushy blonde mustache and roman nose was all that could be seen, a cloak obscuring the rest of their visage. With shock, Majitani yelped slightly, turning to look, Bendot doing the same.
Sedokan’s visible eye grew wide as he looked in slight terror at the direction of the voice, Leroute gasping softly as she looked to the back. “....Because my opponent will die.” At the very end of the hallway the prisoners fixed their gaze to, was the final masked prisoner, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
A majority of the students tensed at the assured tone of the final prisoner sitting in the back. “Not creepy at all…” Mina whispered to herself.
Lines of stress drew harsher on All Might’s face at the reaction of the other prisoners. ‘Not good at all,’ he thought.
The bottom half of their face appeared once more, before they tilted their head up, revealing a man with blonde bushy brows to pair. A crease was focused between his brows, his blue eyes held an odd far away gaze, filled with dark intent.
“They’re not just up against nobodies. They’re competing against actual convicted prisoners…” Nejire said softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The score above their heads was marked at 2 for the group, as they stood watching the other side with the prisoners. “It’s finally time for the last round,” Kurapika stated.
“Guess I’m off,” Killua said without much fanfare, as he stepped forward, hands still buried in his pockets. “What? Killua?” Leorio exclaimed, throwing his entire body to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Killua asked him.
The students murmured nervously amongst themselves. They hadn’t forgotten what Killua had done to the two applicants on the airship.
‘Calm…entirely too calm,’ Aizawa thought, watching the screen warily.
“Damn it! I really needed to win my round…” Leorio said mournfully, his hands into fists. “Gon…This guy is totally pissing me off!” Killua said, reaching over Gon’s head to angrily point at Leorio. Gon shrunk underneath him, sweat dropping with a sheepish smile and his hands up in surrender.
“Now, now,” Gon said placatingly. Killua stepped back. “Don’t give up before we even know what the contest is,” the pale boy said. He turned his head to the side, avoiding eye contact. “But, if it's like a math challenge, I’m surrendering.”
An odd air settled over the audience, a bit unsettled by Killua’s nonchalance.
“That’s right!” Leorio said, his head popping into frame. “Depending on the opponent, we still have a chance!” Killua turned back around to look at the other side.
“That little kid is their last member. Never thought I’d see him fall prey to that monster,” Bendot said with his arms crossed. “Poor thing. He’s still so young,” Leroute said with soft sorrow. The final prisoner appeared, still seated in the back, his face lined with an eerie tension.
Aizawa blinked profusely, tension between his brows. ‘I can’t let my judgment be clouded from what Killua’s said about his family…He’s still a child who could be in a fair amount of danger,’ the pro hero thought at the words of the other prisoners.
“They’re talking about him like he’s already dead,” Kirishima said, unnerved.
“I didn’t want to use him,” Lippo’s voice came through the speakers. Killua was shown on the big screen of his monitors. “However, the Hunter Exam has no mercy. If he dies here, that’s fate.” Killua was completely unaware, looking steadily over at the platform, his expression unreadable.
The prisoner was hunched over from where he sat, head bowed, with the other prisoners facing away from him as they looked at the other side. “I’m removing his handcuffs,” Lippo warned them through the speaker. Immediately, they turned around, with apprehensive and downright terrified looks. They slowly inched back.
Kouda nervously twisted his hands, the shy boy a near wreck at the tension going onscreen. Toga and Twice leaned forward, dramatically eager expressions on their faces.
Recovery Girl glowered at the screen. “Unbelievable…letting children…” she grumbled under her breath.
The handcuffs click apart before falling into halves with a thud, releasing heavily muscled and veiny arms. With one push, the man lifted himself off of the ground, Majitani and Sedokan watching him with fear.
Leroute and Sedokan backed away carefully. Majitani and Bendot stood, watching closely. The prisoner stood tall with a broad chest and flexed hands, veins outlined through them. His expression was unreadable.
Endeavor’s face hardened at the sight of the prisoner. ‘Those eyes…no mistaking them,’ the pro thought, having battled countless blood lustful killers to recognize the intent behind the prisoner’s gaze.
“You guys are getting too scared…” Majitani said with a huff, walking up towards the man. “You idiot! Don’t!” Bendot tried to warn, only taking a step forward with his hand out. Majitani stood directly in front of the man, a few inches taller.
“Is he really that terrifying?” He bent down a bit and leaned in, attempting to look the other man in the face. “Isn’t all that stuff just ancient history?”
Shigaraki raised an eyebrow, eyes gleaming with dark amusement. ‘You don’t get lucky twice,’ the villain thought.
“Seriously?! Read the room!” Mineta yelped in slight fear.
A hand swiped out and grabbed his face with near machine-like force and precision. In a flash of rubble, Majitani’s head was buried into the wall behind him, jaw and nose melding into one under the man’s strong grasp.
The other prisoners' faces went aghast, Leroute releasing a small gasp. Pieces of brick tumbled down at the man’s bare feet, before he stepped over them, walking away. As he moved past, Majitani remained slumped into where he was shoved directly into the wall a few inches, totally unconscious.
“Oh mon ami…” Aoyama breathed out, wincing. Bakugo sneered unsympathetically. “Idiot had that coming. Fuck around enough and you’ll find out.”
“Don’t poke a sleeping tiger…or the one that’s awake, inches away from you, in this case,” Ojiro turned his head, grimacing.
The blue prisoner’s foot jerked unsteadily, yet unnoticed as the final prisoner slowly walked his way ahead, Bendot watching him in fear. The man’s hand lunged out and clawed into the wall, before dragging into it as he walked, the brick under his fingers crumbling as if it were clay.
Bendot hastily moved to the side as the man came by without a word, destroying the side of the hallway with one hand. The prisoner met the end of the brick wall, grasping the concrete side and ripping it off with ease.
“That grip strength must be serious…” Midnight observed. Izuku watched with a slightly stunned expression.
“For a world without any quirks, the amount of force he’d need to have in his hands is incredible,” the boy said in an amazed tone. Iida’s face grew weary. “Quite reassuring for a convict to have that ability.”
The trio on the other side noticed the noise, their attention snapping up. Tonpa’s eyes grew wide at the display. The three prisoners stood to his right, on his left the damaged brick wall, all done without a word.
He reached up and pulled off his cloak, pale blond hair with equally bushy brows and mustache. His eyes were void of any warmth or sympathy. Leorio gasped, his face strained with recognition. “That guy is-!”
“You know him!” Gon asked, tilting his head up to look at Leorio questioningly. “We should take the loss,” Leorio quietly told them. “Killua! Don’t fight him!” He sharply demanded. “Why not?” The younger asked.
“Serial killer? Definitely a serial killer,” Hagakure shivered. Mirio was quiet, tense at Leorio’s grave tone.
The man was muscled, with a heavy set chest and strong biceps. “He’s Johness the Dissector.” Over the man’s head wrote, JOHNESS 968-YEAR SENTENCE, MASS MURDER. “The worst mass murderer in Zaban’s history.”
The screen grew blurry, focusing on a flashback. The body of a woman in a white blouse was laid on the ground, beside and all around her other bodies of random people. “He chose his victims randomly.”
Shinsou’s eyes grew wide at the sentencing. “Oh shit…”
At the end of the alleyway filled with dead bodies stood Johness. “It was a famous case…146 people of all ages, men and women,” The murderer stood watching with empty eyes. “Met brutal deaths by his hand.”
Police stood guard, sirens flashing as crime scene investigators were crouching on the ground near the mouth of the alley. “The victims all had one thing in common.” A heavy hand marked with dried blood appeared. “He committed all of his murders with his bare hands.”
“And they deemed him fit enough to ‘test’ the applicants??” Present Mic questioned.
“I doubt they intended to fit him into the role of examiner. More like a deadly obstacle to be avoided at all costs,” Nedzu replied, thinking back to the zero pointer from the entrance exam.
Leorio’s eyes were distant and serious as he continued. “He was known for his iron grip, the power in his fingertips.” The man crushed the concrete in his hand without much difficulty, the empty look on his face almost wishful.
“I have missed the feel of flesh,” he spoke, unclenching his fist as the concrete was turned mostly into fine dust. “You don’t have to face that psycho. There’s always next year,” Leorio said with a severe tone, watching the display with his fists clenched tightly.
“He’s only 12. His family might be cold blooded killers but he’s still a kid,” Mirio stated thoughtfully. Amajiki nodded in agreement with him.
The students held torn expressions, realizing the danger Killua could be in, but losing the match would mean instant disqualification. Toga rolled her eyes. “I hope Killua fights him!”
Killua’s blue eyes didn’t so much as blink before he strolled forward onto the bridge. “Hey, Killua…” Leorio shouted after him, raising a hand. “Killua!”
Killua paid him no mind as he walked without faltering across the bridge. “Damn it, was he even listening to me?!” Leorio cursed, stopping short of stamping his foot. “We should let him go…” Kurapika spoke.
“He could have a plan.” Gon watched quietly, as Leorio scoffed. The bridges connecting the two sides drew back, leaving the platform with Johness and Killua isolated. The young boy looked up at the man with a cool expression, the man in return looking at Killua as if he were starving.
Shigaraki scoffed at Kurapika. “The brat could be walking straight to his death.” Spinner gave him a skeptical look. “One hell of a confident walk.”
“Place your bets now! That kid’s a goner,” Twice said.
“How are we settling this contest?” Killua asked with a small unassuming smile. The man’s fingers twitched. “Contest? I believe you have the wrong idea.” His hand continued to spasm, his piercing eyes watching Killua closely as if the boy would disappear if he blinked.
“This will be a one-sided massacre. I have no interest in the exam or any offer of amnesty. I just want to hear your screams of agony,” he replied. Killua’s blase attitude remained as if he never heard the man. “Really? Okay. The one who dies, loses then?”
“I wish I was this unbothered facing all of my problems,” Mina said absentmindedly. Momo had an unsettled look on her face.
“Is he taking this seriously?” It didn’t escape her notice how small Killua looked standing face to face against the broad muscled killer. Nedzu remained silent, thinking ever so carefully.
Johness tilted his head up more to look at Killua, his eyes glimmering with slight perplexion before falling blank. “Yeah, that’s right.” The man stood with his shoulders square, reaching out his left hand.
The air around Killua grew dark, the shadows of his face more illuminated as the playful smile fell flat, his eyes razor sharp. “I’ll tear you apart with my hands-” the man crooned with bloodthirst, unaware of the change of atmosphere.
Several in the audience blinked in surprise at the change of mood. “I don’t like this feeling I’m getting,” Kirishima began hesitantly.
Swiftly, Killua stepped by, with aftershadows trailing behind him, his face posed and collected, eyes cold. The man’s eyes were shown, his pupils widening greatly, a single thump of a heart beating, before they dulled over.
Over on Gon’s side, the four gasped, the prisoners doing the same, with shocked looks. Killua’s face was stony, as he took two steps forward, his back to Johness. The mass murderer's hand was still outstretched, waiting to grasp, yet over his chest was a bloody hole, with a blackened center.
A pin prick feeling tingled at the base of Aizawa’s spine, as he tried to keep a neutral face. Without much thinking, he shifted closer to Eri before taking his capture weapon around his neck off and plopping it over her head, effectively blocking her view. “Hey…mister, I can’t see!”
Izuku’s breath caught in his throat as a lump began to form, attempting to process exactly what he was seeing.
The man grunted softly, looking down before looking up again, slow to process. “W-What? I’m so cold,” he gasped, clutching directly over his chest. He turned his gaze to look at Killua.
The young boy was silent, shifting the object in his left hand to his right, revealing a fleshy thumping heart, blood oozing past his sharpened fingertips. His eyes were narrowed, taunting, with a cat-like smile.
The students reared back in their seats, faces pale at the grotesque imagery. “O-Oh my god,” Uraraka managed to weakly say before sealing her lips shut, an awful feeling rising in her throat signaling her that she would vomit if she tried to speak again.
Toga’s eyes dilated and took in the scene, hearing very faintly to her side Magne curse. “Cool…” she uttered with a grin, feeling her own blood lust rise, fangs aching for a taste of blood. Dabi blinked wide eyed at the display, subconsciously sitting up in his seat. “What the fuck?”
The desperate thumping of the heart was all that could be heard, exposed arteries weakly spurting out what little blood remained. “That’s…” Johness faintly said, struggling to turn himself around. “....Mine.”
The man stumbled with his hand out in a desperate reach, walking forward. “G-Give it back!” He dyingly pleaded. The heart in Killua’s grasp thumped fainter, as the man whimpered, trying to reach the young boy.
Jirou shut her eyes, her teeth gritted, a stray tear escaping the corner of her eye at the brutality. The remaining students were frozen, their terror growing by the second at the disturbing display. In the back, All For One smiled a toothy grin at the horrified expressions of the young students.
All Might’s face was frozen, appalled by the image before an immense anger arose in him. “ Enough! ” His voice startled the students and the few heroes that were taken aback.
“This- they are children . Why would you dare show something like this to children? ” All Might’s angry voice admonished, shaking a few out of their stupor from the uncharacteristic tone of the former pro.
Why not? After all, they’re not just children. They’re future pro heroes.
There was no response.
The heartbeat slowed to its final pump, falling still. The man’s eyes, with blood vessels strained and popped at the corners, almost bulged out of his head, glazing over. They rolled to the back of his head and he fell limp, body giving out on the ground below him, a mere inches away from Killua.
Bending down, Killua plopped the dead heart into the man’s outstretched hand, before standing upright again. The scoreboard above on their side dinged from 2 to 3, signaling their victory.
“Okay. That’s three wins, two losses. We pass, right?” Killua called out to Bendot, his other hand making way into his pocket. “Yeah, you win,” the man trailed off.
Nedzu observed Killua intently, his face serious. ‘No feigning or anything, he’s completely relaxed. It’s unsettling to see such a lack of remorse on a young face. It’s as if he did nothing more but swipe a card through a machine.’
Shigaraki sat silent, seemingly undisturbed besides the faint goosebumps that rose across his forearms.
Killua’s eyes were cat-like and smug, malice tracing over his smile. “By the way, you must be itching for some action, since you didn’t get to do anything.” Bendot’s jaw was set firm, lips scrunched with sweat betraying his demeanor.
“Want to play with me?” Killua offered, his eyes keen. Bendot blinked, before replying. “No thanks.”
“Seriously, what the fuck,” Dabi said bluntly, wondering if he had truly gone insane. Aizawa’s hand tightened at Killua’s causal offer. Eri, who had managed to peek out of the heavy scarf blinked up at him curiously.
“Oh okay.” Killua turned around, stalking away with assurance. “Who is he?” Leorio whispered carefully, as the bridge extended out to the platform on their side only. “Oh right. You guys don’t know,” Gon said obliviously, turning to look at Leorio.
Tonpa, Kurapika and Leorio turned their attention to Gon. “Huh? Don’t know what?” Leorio asked. “Killua comes from an elite family of assassins,” Gon informed them simply. Leorio grew spooked. “Eh? A-An elite family of assassins?”
“I’m back,” Killua announced. Leorio jumped back, holding out his arm as a shield, yelping slightly. “What?” Killua said with wide eyes. “Uh..Well…Good job!” Leorio stammered with fake cheer.
Iida’s jaw set firm, a heated glare burning into the screen. ‘To train your son to commit such horrible crimes…and he treats it like nothing!’
“This is unnatural…entirely unnatural,” Ectoplasm said silently.
On one side of the walls opened a secret door and a bridge that connected to the platform. The group turned to the noise . It connected with a thud. “Across the bridge, you’ll find a small room,” Lippo spoke to them from the monitor room.
“You must spend the fifty hours you gambled away there.” Killua had his skateboard in hand with a grin. “Well, let’s go,” he said. “Yeah!” Gon agreed with cheer, following after him with no hesitation.
Spinner gawked slightly, feeling as if he had caught whiplash. ‘That’s it? Kid just killed a man and he’s running off to the next adventure?’
Izuku had a dubious look at Gon’s happy demeanor. “They’re both treating it as if Killua killed a fly and not a human…”
Leorio watched for a moment, before stepping after them, Kurapika and Tonpa in suit. The five of them trekked across the narrow bridge to the other side.
The large circular shaped area lit by torches appeared again, with doors lined all across. One slid open with a heavy rumble. Behind it stood examinee 301, with purple skin and yellow pins sticking out of his face and shoulders.
“It’s that…person, again,” Sero struggled to find the right words. Amajiki guilty looked to the side, ears flicking. ‘It’s wrong of me to be so creeped out by someone’s looks…they can’t help it,’ he thought to himself.
“Applicant #301, Gittarackur is the second to pass,” a robotic voice announced, as the applicant in question stiffly walked forward. The door behind shut closed. “Total time, twelve hours and two minutes.”
With a clacking noise, they turned their head to the side. A few feet from them, Hisoka leaned against a wall, seated. “I figured you’d already crossed the finish line,” they said to him, a ticking noise heard.
“Wow, considering the given time limit this was a breeze for them,” Vlad King said. Midnight tilted her head. “I think what’s more interesting is that those two know each other.”
Gran Torino’s eyes squinted at Gittarackur suspiciously. “I can’t imagine any good coming from being on speaking terms with someone like that man.”
Hisoka’s eyes were closed, with a faint smile, the wound from his clash with the former examiner, open on his shoulder. His eyes opened a fraction, yellow eyes snaking over to look at Gittarackur. “All right!” A rowdy voice shouted out. Hisoka turned his head to the noise.
Out the door came running Hanzo. “Applicant #294, Hanzo,” the announcer began. “I’m the first to finish!” the ninja celebrated, pumping his fists into the air. “Is the third to pass.”
The atmosphere lightened slightly at Hanzo’s exuberance. “Spoke too soon,” Tokoyami said.
“Huh?” Hanzo turned his head to look, his arms falling back down. “No!” He despaired as he caught sight of Hisoka and Gittarackur, hands on his head. “I don’t believe this…” he cried out. He slumped forward, eyes closed with a let down expression. “I came in third.”
A heavy metal door slammed shut with a blinking green dot turning red as the locks went in place. A screen switched on, displaying time as 50:00. “Oh man,” Leorio said, as the five stood at the entrance of a brightly lit room.
Kaminari sighed, slouching a bit with his hand on his chin. “Aw, they actually have to sit and wait for 50 hours?”
He walked over to the black couches on the right side of the room. “We have to spend fifty hours in this room?” He set his briefcase next to him, sitting with his legs crossed. Kurapika turned his head to his right. “Killua.”
The boy in question responded with a “Huh?” Gon looked over curiously as well. “Can you tell me how that technique works?” Kurapika inquired. “Technique?”
“The one you used to instantly remove his heart,” Kurapika said. “Oh, that wasn’t even a technique,” Killua told him. “I just ripped it out.”
Toga gasped, clasping her hands together in a twisted glee. The hero students had opposite reactions, the image of the dying organ fresh in their minds.
The other villains were curious on exactly what Killua meant.
“Ripped it out?” Killua held out his hand, with a small smile, his eyes adopting a feline look to them once more. “But to make it easier, I manipulated my body a bit.” With a flex, his normal looking fingers grew veiny as his fingertips hardened and grew sharp, glinting.
Gon watched in amazement as Leorio exclaimed, “Y-Your nails?” The man’s face was disturbed at the display. “Wow!” Gon said. “Murderers are only amateurs,” Killua said smiling, turning to Kurapika.
“Amateurs…what a scary sentence,” Power Loader said quietly. Toga squealed, her eyes shimmering dangerously. “Killua’s so adorable! I wish he were here to teach me,” she crooned.
“Dude…” Kirishima breathed out. ‘It would be so cool if he didn’t rip people’s hearts out. Not manly at all,’ the redhead thought, crestfallen.
The white haired boy pointed to himself. “I used to be a professional. But my old man would’ve done better.” Killua held an oddly prideful look. “When he removes a heart, you won’t even see a drop of blood.”
“How reassuring,” Leorio nervously mumbled. From the side, Kurapika stared at Killua, blinking as he seemed to analyze the young assassin. ‘As long as he’s on our side…’ the blonde thought grimly.
“He’s not exactly describing his family in the way that he thinks he is,” Mirio said, frowning at the satisfaction on Killua’s face.
“Please tell me that wasn’t foreshadowing,” Shinsou begged monotonously.
“Well, then,” Killua said, changing topics. The three, Kurapika, Killua and Gon, stood in front of the screen that displayed the time as 49:55. “We have more than two whole days.” Gon turned to Killua.
“What should we do, Killua?” Killua held up his finger. “First, we should search the room for any kind of entertainment.”
“Oh yeah!” Gon agreed with a close eyed smile. Leorio watched from where he was seated as the two boys, with Gon in the lead, ran across the room with happy looks. “Man, you kids don’t have a care in the world.”
All For One watched with a thoughtful look. ‘A trained killer yet still holds the obliviousness and innocence of a child at times,’ the ancient villain thought to himself, impressed.
Bakugo crossed his arms, looking at the screen in disbelief. “And they’re seriously playing…”
Tonpa sighed, grumbling as he sat down on a chair planted on the ground. Kurapika sat on another couch opposite from Leorio. Gon stood behind Killua, who crouched at the base of a cabinet that had a TV resting on top.
With a little fiddling, the screen flashed to life, drawing excitement from the both of them. “Gon’s team of five has passed the trial, with three wins and two losses.” Gon and Killua again were poking around in a shelf book, Killua already having one open and skimming over it, as Gon pulled out a book examining the cover.
“How often does this happen? They have an entire room waiting…” Jirou mentioned. Midnight watched the screen with disbelieving eyes, feeling disturbed by the speed at which the two children moved on.
‘Talk about fucked up…’
“However, they must spend their fifty-hour penalty,” The group was spread out across the room, Gon and Killua’s heads bumping into each other as they read a book, Tonpa digging around the small fridge they had, and Kurapika and Leorio rested on the couches facing opposite of each other, their respective bags put to the side.
“In this small room. They’re running out of time.” The timer dinged from 49:00 to 48:59.
A silence rang over the room as the screen darkened. A few dim lights flickered on. “Bro…”Sero said with a start, before getting interrupted.
So far, the exam has been rough on not just the applicants, but on you viewers as well.
A majority were confused, but remained quiet listening. Here are a few refreshments to keep your spirits up!
On both sides of the theater, two long tables filled with various types of food and drink appeared. The students immediately perked up in excitement. “Aw, finally!” Kaminari exclaimed.
The teachers watched hesitantly, before realizing that tampered food was most likely not going to be their main concern, considering all that had happened. Them and the students slowly shuffled to claim the right side of the theater while the villains moved over to the left.
Sero let out a relieved sigh, taking a grateful bite into a peice of yakitori. To his left, Kaminari desperately stuffed his face with gyoza, crumbs flying as Shinsou stood back to watch in mild disgust, Jirou giggling at his side.
“Ah,” Todoroki blanked, stooping to grab himself a portion of soba he had seen in his peripheral. He hummed while chewing on the cold yet rich noodles. “Want some?” Kirishima offered a slice of pizza to Uraraka. “They even have American food!”
The brunette shook her head, her arms clutching her stomach slightly. “I’m good for now, I’m still feeling a little queasy…” Kirishima nodded his head understandingly, his smile dropping a bit.
“I thought he was just going to be another cute little kid to be best friends with Gon,” Hagakure moaned sadly. Tsuyu nodded in agreement at her words.
Bakugo chomped down on his food. “So much for that shit. That Deku 2.0’s a creepy little brat too. All he did was blink when Killua killed that extra.” Izuku sighed, picking at the tonkatsu that he had picked up and took a few bites of. “What type of family teaches their child to kill so…heartlessly.”
Iida’s nostrils flared angrily as he overheard, turning to them, hands chopping. “They have no shame nor morality adopting such an evil profession into their family! The idea that someone like Killua younger than us, killing people with such a sickening level of expertise is-”
“Iida! We’ve talked about this…” Mina interrupted him, ducking out of the way of chopsticks that had turned into unlikely weapons in the boy’s hands. He flushed slightly before setting them down, clearing his throat.
Twice jumped ecstatically over the food before them. “It all looks so delicious!” He exclaimed while fake gagging over it. Toga giggled to herself, face stretched wide in an eerie smile. “Nothing would taste better now…than fresh blood!”
Dabi rolled his eyes. “Pipe down, fangs. They’ve probably got some shit around here for someone like you anyways.” Compress tilted his mask up only to reveal his lips, before taking a bit out of a chocolate eclair.
“How frightening. I never knew someone’s heart could be removed so cleanly. And by only a child at that.”
Shigaraki glared down at the plate of onigiri before him dusting it, ignoring Twice’s downcast cry. “A kill is a kill. Nobody cares how fancy you got it done as long as the person’s dead,” he spat.
“I suppose you’re right. However it’s made me awfully curious as to how long his family have been practicing the art of assassination,” the performer sighed. Spinner made a face. “What, you think this could be like a generational thing?”
“Fucking creepy I bet they are,” Dabi mentioned. “I want them to adopt me,” Toga whined. Magne nudged her shoulder. “Trying to leave us already, eh?”
Toga wrapped her arms around the taller woman. “Of course not! I would take you with me Big Sis!” The older woman sweatdropped at her claim. ‘Not what I was going for!’
If you could all be seated.
Kaminari whined as Jirou dragged him away from the ice cream mochi he was finishing off, Shinsou trailing behind. “Yo, you think there could be anything in the room to give them clues?” Kirishima asked Izuku. The freckled boy shook his head with a shrug. The students shuffled back to their seats along with the heroes.
“I wonder what’ll happen if they do lose,” Spinner said curiously. “Death, executionary style!” Twice cheered. Spinner look startled, before sighing. ‘Why’d I even ask…’
The villains took their seats in the back of the theater, as the lights died back down and the screen grew bright.