𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒; 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Dead or Alive

It wasn't often that Nobara wandered around the city at night—save for when she was on a mission— the lights shone down on her differently this night. Her ginger hair looked a little darker—she probably needed to dye it again. Her fingers were growing calloused from her death grip on her hammer being locked in for so long—she'd estimate a few hours.

The man in front of her was no human—Mahito, in all his glory with his teal hair separated in three parts and his hetero chromatic eyes. His lids were narrowed, his lips in a smirk—he sensed a familiar presence coming his way, its effect on his cursed energy growing stronger the closer it got.

"They're coming," he grinned cheekily as he practically shook in his spot, his limbs vibrating with excitement. Nobara lifted a brow in confusion as she watched him dance in his pants. Her cursed energy spiked as well as the presence got closer, a shiver going up her spine as her head involuntarily twitched and her shoulders squared and tightened.

Nobara took Mahito's excitement as a chance to strike as her fingers tightened their grip on the nails in her hand, tossing them up in the air just above her face. Her cursed energy emanated around them as the butt of her hammer collided with them, sending them flying away into Mahito's side of the street. His body swayed automatically and the nails fell from the air, hitting the ground with small clangs.

"Hah! You're weak! You're nothing like that other girl!"

Mahito grinned from ear to ear when he saw the source of the overwhelming force emerge from a corner. You stood there under a street light, your eyes looking as lifeless as you felt, your lips pursed into a hard line and your eyebrows furrowed when your gaze landed on Nobara.

Nobara sensed your presence, her head snapping and turning to look at you with a quick, sharp twinge of fear stirring in her gut like an imaginary stab wound in her stomach. Her eyes widened as her lips parted at the sight of your death stare, your clenched fists.

"Senpai—"

"Mahito," you rudely cut her off, sparing a glance at Mahito. "Do you intend to kill her?"

Mahito looked at you with a wide, toothy grin, the light shining on his teeth as excitement grew in his core like a sprouting flower. He nodded eagerly as he giddily shifted his weight from one side to the other. "I do."

"Good," you muttered, making your way towards Nobara. She swallowed the knot in her throat and backed away, her grip tightening on the warm handle of her hammer. Her free hand grabbed more nails from her bag behind her back, holding them between her fingers as she tossed and struck them, none of them hitting you.

"You're tense," you called out, never breaking your gaze from her nor your path, your jaw clenching and your body shaking from the flurry of emotions swirling through your head and the rest of your body. "That attack was rushed, you're panicking."

"I'm up against two special grades, how could I not be?" Nobara grumbled back as she grabbed more nails and repeated her actions again like she was programmed to do it, except she aimed her nails towards the walls of buildings surrounding you both. Mahito had backed away to avoid getting hit and to watch the fight go down; his grin never wavered and his excitement reaching new heights.

"Then why fight, Nobara?" You twitched your head to dodge another nail, listening to the small clang it left behind. "Why do you keep trying?"

"I won't let someone like you go around boasting that you've beaten Kugisaki Nobara!"

"There's nothing to boast about," you stopped a nail from hitting you dead in the face by catching it, moving your head away from your fist to look at Nobara once again. "Killing a Third Grade means nothing."