A Hero and a Villain

Scene 14: But Death is Still a Buzzkill

[Aka A Villain's Love]    <— (the name I had for it first, but ^ this one was funnier)

[Shinso]

"You've to be kidding me."

Hitoshi froze, staring the villain in the eye. Reaper was no more than four feet in front of him, standing in front of a fresh corpse. Fear struck him as his eyes swept over the body.

It was the guy that shot Andeddo at the subway.....

Hitoshi's trance was broken by Reaper's voice, "Yo, Speakeasy! You just gonna stand there or what?" Hitoshi flinched, "W-What the hell are you doing here?! And why is he dead?!" Reaper frowned, tilting his head ever so slightly, "I'm sorry, did you not want him killed? He is the cucker that tried to shoot you yesterday, or am I mistaken?"

Hitoshi was at a loss for words.

A loud bang from above signaled the arrival of the rest of the heroes, and Reaper bursted forward, grabbing Hitoshi by the arm and dragging back into the elevator, "Damnit! No time, we have to get out of here!" Hitoshi yelped, "We?! The hell you mean, we?! There is no we! I came here to stop a frickin' break in, not to mess with you!"

Reaper sighed, almost punching the up button, "Look genius, there was no break in. I infiltrated this stupid place just to kill that guy. End of story." Hitoshi considered using his quirk on Reaper, but then thought back to the warehouse incident.

But.....I have no reason to distrust this guy.....he hasn't tried to hurt me or anything.....if anything, he's done nothing but help me.....

Reaper dragged him out of the elevator as soon as it docked on the first floor. As they stepped out, he glanced to the right at the dead guards he had passed by earlier. "So, Reaper, I assume that was your doing as well?" Reaper sighed, stopping to look at him, "Look, if it's any consolation, this whole building and its inhabitants are part of an illegal arms-dealing business. Those men would have shot me dead had I been spotted."

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, "Well, at least you have some morals, I'll give you that." Reaper seemed to realize something, because something in his face changed, "As you have yours, Mr. Speakeasy, considering you have yet to use your quirk on me."

A flashback of the alleyway scene replayed in Hitoshi's mind, and his face lit up red, "Y-You haven't given me any reason to." Reaper narrowed his eyes, "Excuse me, I just killed three people. That isn't enough reason for you?" Hitoshi shrugged, "As far as I'm concerned, they were all bad guys, and you were just acting in self defense."

Reaper looked at him with confusion, "Seriously, you're a Hero. Shouldn't you be capturing me?" Hitoshi raised an eyebrow, "You really want me to arrest you, don't you?" "Maybe I just want you to put me in handcuffs~" Reaper said shyly, wiggling his eyebrows. Hitoshi's cheeks burned, and he scoffed, "Oh, shut up."

Suddenly, a group of Heroes burst into the room, Ingenium leading the charge. A squad of armed police officers came in behind them. Reaper was out of there in seconds, almost carrying Hitoshi as he blazed towards the stairwell.

"WHOA, CALM DOWN!" Hitoshi yelped. Reaper didn't look back, "I'd rather not get caught today, thanks! I'd hate to have to leave the country so soon!"

They bolted up the stairwell two steps at a time, Reaper dragging him roughly by the hand. The Heroes trailed not too far behind, followed by the police. The two burst through the door at the top and out onto the roof, finding themselves at the edge of the roof. At first glance, the skyscraper was typically about 300 feet tall, but it could easily have been more.

The Heroes filed out behind them within seconds, backing them up to the ledge. Reaper moved in front of Hitoshi, blocking him from view, and chuckled, "Guess this is the end of the line, huh?" Ingenium stepped forward with a stern, disapproving frown, "Surrender, villain. You have nowhere left to run."

Reaper laughed sarcastically, "Really? Is that what you think? How interesting." He glanced back at Hitoshi, a confident but grim expression on his face, "Do you trust me?" "Not really, but it's not like I have much of a choice here." he replied flatly. Reaper grimaced at his response, "Well, that'll have to do, because you're about to learn one or two of my most important secrets."

Reaper then looked back to Ingenium and said, "Sorry sir, but I think I'll take the other option." Without warning, he turned and wrapped his arms around Hitoshi's waist, diving sideways over the side of the building.

They dropped like a stone, disappearing in seconds. Ingenium ran back towards the stairs, as did the rest of the troupe.

For a few seconds, Hitoshi couldn't seem to process what had just happened, so he just said nonchalantly, "You know you just sent us falling to our deaths, right?" Reaper nodded, his long ponytail whipping around them, "Yeah, I realize that now."

As the wind whistled in his ears, it slowly dawned on him. Hitoshi's eyes widened, and he yelped, "HOLY SMOKES, THAT IMPACT'LL KILL US BOTH!" Reaper noticed his concern, but didn't seem fazed by the thought, "Guess I didn't really think this through, now did I?" Hitoshi was shaking now, "I'm actually going to die. I got myself into this stupid mess and now I'm actually going to die."

Reaper was now fully aware of his panic, and his demeanor changed completely. He gently pulled Hitoshi into his chest, a hand on the back of his head, and whispered, "Hey, it's okay. I swear, I'll protect you no matter what, even if you don't know it." Hitoshi went quiet, holding tight to Reaper's neck.

Then they slammed into the ground and the world went black.