A Hero and a Villain

Scene 17: The First Move

[Shinso]

Hitoshi paced back and forth between the buildings, constantly watching his phone. Andeddo said he would message him when everything was set, but it had already been an hour since he got there.

Finally, just as he was about to give up, the message popped up.

Hitoshi took a deep breath, "I'm actually doing this. Goodbye clear conscience, it was nice knowing you." He dialed Izuku's number, trying to psych himself up.

"Hey Shinso, what's up?" Hitoshi clenched his fist and shouted into the phone, "MIDORYIA! I FOUND THE VILLAIN! I HAVE HIM CORNERED! GET HERE AS SOON AS YOU CAN, I'LL SEND YOU THE LOCATION!" He almost dropped the phone after he hung up, but he gripped it tightly and sent the location Andeddo had told him to. Then he slipped the phone into his pocket.

"God, why am I so nervous? I've never acted like this before." He rubbed a thumb along a strand of his Binding Cloth, calming his nerves somewhat. He closed and reopened his eyes, now filled with determination. He jogged down the alley, catching sight of Andeddo at the other end. As he came up, Andeddo smiled at him, black eyes flashing, "Ah, you're here, Speakeasy."

Hitoshi smiled back, "Indeed I am, Reaper." His face turned more serious, "Deku should be on his way now. Are you ready to do this?" Andeddo nodded, "Are you, Speakeasy?" Hitoshi looked at his hand, curling it into a fist, "As ready as I'll ever be." Andeddo put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, "Once we get this over with, we'll be home free."

Hitoshi shrugged off his hand, "Stop being all nice to me, Reaper. I might not be able to fight you." Andeddo rested a hand on the handle of his katana, gripping it menacingly, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Hitoshi gave him the look, "I worry about everything, Reaper."

About a minute later, Hitoshi heard a shout in the distance. "Shinso! Shinso?! Where are you?!" Yep, he was there alright.

Hitoshi nodded to Andeddo, "Time to shine."

[Third Person]

Andeddo readied into a fighting stance, looking Hitoshi in the eye with purpose. Hitoshi stared back, fists up, "Let's go, villain." Andeddo smirked, "Gladly, Hero." The two circled each other, each sizing up their opponent. This had to be a real fight, and one neither of them were planning on losing.

Hitoshi made the first move, throwing a punch at Andeddo's gut. He dodged to the left, ending up behind him. Hitoshi followed him closely with his eyes, and was making a move to do a leg sweep. Andeddo jumped to avoid it, but then the Binding Cloth wrapped around his arm and tossed him hard into a wall.

He winced, and Hitoshi glowered at him, "I ain't goin' easy on you, villain." Andeddo stood, not wasting a second, and charged him. Hitoshi was ready, arms crossed to block. Andeddo front-flipped over his head, landing on one foot and kicking Hitoshi in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground with a grunt.

Andeddo then went for an axe kick while he was still down, but Hitoshi flipped over and grabbed his ankle with both hands, yanking Andeddo the ground beside him. They grappled on the ground for a minute or two, each trying to pin the other down. Andeddo managed to hold Hitoshi down long enough to spring up and back away quickly.

Hitoshi pushed himself up and whirled around, the Binding Cloth whipping around him like a mass of writhing snakes. Oh boy, was he fired up.

He lunged at Andeddo with fury in his eyes, the Binding Cloth gripped in both hands like a whip at the ready. It came alive and lashed out at Andeddo faster than lightning, wrapping around his torso and slamming him into the asphalt with a thud, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

[Shinso]

Hitoshi froze as soon as he spotted Izuku, fully decked out in his Hero gear, in the corner of his vision. He immediately tightened the Binding Cloth on Andeddo, who coughed and writhed in displeasure.

Hitoshi turned to face Izuku, panting madly, "Hah.....thank God you're here, Deku. I was just about to call for help." He gestured to the very frustrated Andeddo, "He said something earlier when I caught him. I think it was something about the hostage. Hold on, I'll get him to talk again."

He stood over Andeddo, casting a shadow across his wriggling form. Andeddo glared up at him with fake malice. "So, villain.....are you finally going to surrender? Or do I have to make you?" Andeddo spat out a few drops of blood—which almost made Hitoshi's guise crack—and growled, "I would nev—"

His stopped abruptly, his body going rigid. His irises turned a milky white, and all signs of emotion drained from his face, replaced with a blank stare. Hitoshi quickly glanced back at Izuku, flexing his fingers on the strand of the Binding Cloth, and said, "Tell me, where are you hiding the hostage?" "Abandoned building, three blocks North of here." he replied flatly. Hitoshi frowned, "And the address?" Andeddo gave them the address.

Hitoshi looked back at Izuku, "You got all that, Deku?" Izuku gave him a thumbs-up, "Yep." A knowing smile tugged at the corner of Hitoshi's mouth, "I can handle this guy. Think you can go find the hostage and meet me back here?" Izuku smiled and nodded, "I'm on it. See you 'round, Shinso!" With that, he bounded off in the direction of the address.

Hitoshi watched as he disappeared around a corner, taking a deep breath and glancing around one final time for watchers before releasing his hold on the brainwashing. His Binding Cloth slithered back to him and repositioned itself around his neck.

Andeddo's irises returned to black, and he shuddered, blinking several times as if to rid something from his eye, "Oh God, that felt so weird." Hitoshi laughed, offering a hand, "That's my quirk for you." Andeddo took it, and Hitoshi hauled him to his feet. "That was a fun tussle, Shinso. You're not half bad. Maybe we should spar sometime." Hitoshi clapped him on the back, "You're not to bad yourself, and maybe we should. Some time around.......Friday?" Andeddo sighed, "I'll see what I can do. I might be working with a client that day."

Hitoshi fiddled with one of the rigs on his utility belt, his cheeks reddened ever so slightly, "Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that." Andeddo looked to the sky, obviously avoiding eye contact, "Gah, you're making me really feel guilty about this." He shifted his feet, scratching the back of his head, "I'm really sorry about this, but it has to look believable. No hard feelings, Shinso."

Hitoshi was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, when Andeddo suddenly socked him square in the face, knocking him out cold.