L'Manberg's Most Wanted: Bench Trio

What He Now Knows

Ranboo had gone out that evening. It had been about a month now since his last outing. One of the people Ranboo had sold to in the past needed a refill, and who was Ranboo to deprive them of such?

He hummed to himself as he hopped from roof to roof, his footsteps light as to not alarm anyone who may still be awake at these late hours.

It was fairly cold out, the breeze making the drape of Ranboo's cloak fly up into the wind- revealing his slightly stained Lemon Demon T-shirt and his cut jean shorts. He didn't wear them too often- knowing how people had such harsh opinions on them. Yet he had a perfect explanation for wearing them, be had to cut one of his jeans one summer when it had gotten far too hot- and he never threw them out. Plus, all of his normal pants were in the wash- so all he had left to wear were his jorts tonight; and hey, jorts weren't the worst. Ranboo actually kinda liked them.

After a while Ranboo had finally made it to the destination he needed to be at for the exchange.

He fixed his hood as he stood in the shadows, making sure that none of his features would be able to be seen. He waited patiently, making sure everything was ready before he heard footsteps approaching.

The half and half turned around in an instant- the coiled bits of his swirly glasses bouncing with the fast movements. "Ah! Welcome!" He stepped out into the light a bit dramatically for a classic, dramatic movie villain entrance.

The person seemed to stand stiffly. "U-uh- h-hello-" They stuttered out, glancing around the area in a paranoid manner.

"Do you have the money?" Ranboo asked, head tilting to the side as he stepped forwards. His tail slightly flicked back and forth- the cloak he wore masking it ever so slightly.

The person nodded quickly, stepping forwards and scrambling to pull out their wallet. "Yeah yeah-" they spoke, pulling out the needed amount of cash and handing it in Ranboo's direction.

Ranboo took notice of how shaky the person was. He decided to not question it and took the money, taking a second to count it before giving a pleased chuckle and searching in the inside pockets of his cloak before his hand escaped the slit of the fabric. "Here ya go!" He said happily.

The person was about to take it- yet they were cut off by a shout from above. "Hey! Stop right there!"

Ranboo almost instantly recognized the voice, his heart dropping as he instantly moved out of the way; he moved just in time as the person dropped down to the ground.

It was the Smiler. He was one of L'Manberg's greatest heroes. He wore a white mask to cover his face, a cartoonish smiley face badly drawn onto it. He had a cloak similar to Ranboo's- yet the only difference was that his was bright green and seemingly torn to reach around his waist. Underneath that he seemed to wear a skin-tight black turtleneck and brown cargo pants- as well as a black utility belt. It was a fairly casual costume- yet Ranboo wasn't one to argue considering he just wore a cloak, glasses, and a mask.

Ranboo was quick to act, grabbing the innocent bystander and pulling out a blade. "Step any closer and I'll kill him!" He threatened, taking a step back as he pressed the blade against the person's skin.

A sob escaped them, soft begs fumbling out of their lips as they tried to press themselves against the tall male as much as they could to avoid the knife.

Smiler cursed, his hands moving up into the air in a surrender-like manner. "Okay okay- c'mon, Ender-" He tried to bargain, "Just let him go." He said. Ranboo simply pressed the blade closer to the hostage's neck. "Let's make a deal, Smiler." Ranboo said, venom lacing his voice.

It was almost a laughable situation- Ranboo was a guy with a ridiculous get up and was actually trying to make a deal with THE Smiler.

"Their life is in your hands, Smiler. Remember that before you answer me." Ranboo recalled as he stared at the white mask. Smiler sighed as his hands balled up into fists, "What's your deal?" He asked, curious to what Ranboo would propose.

"You let me go. And I'll consider sparing you both!" Ranboo replied. He received a scoff in response. "That's no fair deal." Smiler said with a groan, moving his hand to pull out an ax from its place behind his back.

One of the reasons Smiler was such a infamous hero was that he was one of the first people without a proven power to reach the top so quickly. He was incredibly good at hand to hand combat, so good that he was near to beating The Blade (another one of L'Manberg's greatest heroes).

Smiler twirled it in his hand with a wheezy laugh escaping him, "How about we just fight fair and square? Whoever wins. Well, they live." That was one of the more...darker sides of the hero. His ways were never really considered….typical. Ranboo always hated him for that- he hated the system and how they'd let people beat the ever living daylights out of others- hell even kill them- and they'd never do anything because they believe they 'deserve' it because they've done at least one thing wrong.

Ranboo hissed a curse, stepping back with the hostage. The person seemed to panic as Smiler got ready to charge at the two of them.

Ranboo watched as the other seemed to get ready, gasping as Smiler moved concerningly quick. In an instant, Ranboo moved his hand away from the hostage- accidentally slicing the guy's neck and teleporting away.

Smiler had barely gotten a hit on Ranboo- yet the half and half did have a small tear in his mask from the ax's blade. He breathed heavily as he stood on the roofs, peering over and looking down at Smiler. He was far enough away that the other wouldn't detect him- probably.

Ranboo watched as the hostage collapsed to the floor, slowly bleeding out.

Smiler cursed as he looked over the dying body, sighing as he pulled up his ax and brought it down onto the body- deciding to just put the poor guy out of their misery rather than calling for backup.

Ranboo flinched, his nose scrunching up at how easily Smiler seemed to kill a man. Ranboo never planned for the person to get hurt- just to use them as a meat shield. He frowned as the guilt finally hit him, his hands trembling. He always hated the guilt that came with the life of crime. While yeah, he'd rather be doing what he does now rather than being a hero- but he still hurt people without his intention.

Ranboo's thoughts were cut off when he saw the Smiler move a hand up to remove his mask.

Ranboo couldn't look away. No one has ever seen Smiler's actual face- not even some of his closest friends or teammates. Well, that's what the journalists say, at least.

He stared with intent- maybe this could give him some leverage on the hero! Maybe this could actually give him the chance to do something useful for his friends.

Yet his hopes were shattered the moment he saw the blonde man's face. He recognized it. He hated how familiar it looked. He hated how he could put a name to him. He silently prayed that this was all some terrible dream.

"Dream? He whispered out hesitantly- almost trying to see if his suspicions were correct.

Considering the fact they were in a very empty alleyway- the walls picked up Ranboo's voice with ease, making it echo and jump amongst the walls.

The hero turned in an instant, shielding his face from the world with his white mask once again. "Who's there?!" He called out harshly.

Ranboo yelped and teleported away, his breath picking up as he stumbled when he appeared onto the roof of some random apartment complex.

He didn't know what to think. He knew his brothers were in hero work- it was the whole reason they grew apart and Ranboo decided to run away. But he didn't think one of them would be one of L'Manberg's greatest heroes.

Ranboo cursed loudly as he moved his hands to cover his mouth. How is he going to be able to work at the hero agency if his brothers were there?! He knew they've been looking for him ever since he ran off and he's been doing a great job at avoiding them- but if they work at the same place that could all go downhill.

Ranboo spent that evening walking around the streets, dealing with so many thoughts about what he now knew.

He got home at the crack of dawn, almost instantly collapsing onto the couch. He planned to call in sick into work that day- tired both emotionally and physically.

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An: sorry it took so long to update! But hey here we are! Hope you guys enjoy!