SOTF Mini

((Hiro Hayes-Honda continued from One Last Confrontation With The Devil))

Hiro didn't like that he was all alone again. He really had failed Soledad. He should have tried harder against Ilya. God, why was he such a lousy shot?

He glanced at the bridges that were just before him and he didn't bother to move forward yet.

"Should I try to lure him here?" He muttered to himself thoughtfully.

He had to think about it.

“Depends - anything else in that plan?”

[[She revealed herself to the “Hero” boy]], one arm across her chest while the other held her gun at her hip.

“‘Cause if that’s all you’ve got, you’re probably gonna get yourself killed.”

Hiro heard the girl's voice behind him and he turned his head sharply to look at her. Trying to keep up the "hero" facade was just so tiring. But he couldn't let himself fall into a dark depression. He noticed that it was Marnie Cross and he glanced down slightly, staring at the gun for a second and then looking back up at the girls' face.

"Well, I seem to be very lucky when it comes to Ilya. Twice!" He gave the girl an uncomfortable-looking smile and then he glanced back at the bridges briefly. "He just keeps on killing other people in front of me. To be fair, the last time he stabbed a girl repeatedly in front of me.... He threatened me with a grenade launcher. Isn't that just crazy as hell?"

He shook his head a little.

"If I have to die while taking him out...." He cracked a knuckle. "Then so be it."

"That's...stupid."

A beat.

"Brave, but still stupid."

She took a few steps closer to the 'Hero' boy.

"But I guess I can't say I've done much better."

Rather than stopping in front of him, she walked pass him, looking towards the bridge.

"Three chances to do something, and all I've got to show for it is Ray missing an ear."

The shoulder her bag was hanging from rolled, getting a little sore.

Taking a glance over her shoulder, she looked the 'Hero' boy in the eyes once more.

"Was it just him you saw? Or was anyone with him?"

Hiro let out an awkward laugh. He really wasn't thinking things through with a clear, smart mind at all, was he? Marnie was right. He was in a stupid mode. He wasn't sure if it was very brave of him, but well, heroes were normally known for being over braveness and mostly being stupid and reckless. Man, it has not been a good time at all. It has been draining the life out of him more and more.

He just had to keep up the fakeness. He couldn't stop now. He just couldn't.

Hiro was pretty such that he had heard Ray's name on the announcement too. Even if he had been obsessed with getting his hands on Ilya. God, he should just try to catch the other boy at his own game. Just get him off-guard. But how?

"Well, at least you managed to damage the guy." He said with a soft, tired sigh. "I had many chances to shoot Ilya and all I could do was be the most lousy shooter ever. God, I need to get him unexpectedly. Otherwise, I feel like there is no way that I can beat him.... Well, stop him from killing more people."

Hiro looked right back at Marnie with serious eyes, thinking about Ilya again.

"Soledad was the girl that he had attacked not that long ago. We.... We wanted to trap him, but..." He paused and there was a cloud of sadness in his dullen eyes. "We failed. I failed her. I failed Julia too. I need to make up for my failures, otherwise, I can't really be called a hero at all."

He glanced at the bridge himself for a few moments and then he looked back at Marnie once more.

"I didn't see Ilya with anyone else actually. Was someone trying to team up with him?"

For a few moments, she didn't speak.

Her eyes only stared as the rest of her face remained hidden under a mask of neutrality.

The moment stood strong for nearly a minute, before she once more averted her eyes from the 'Hero' boy's gaze.

"I think," a sigh escaped her lips before continuing."We both failed Julia. So you're still not alone in that."

She kept her gaze pinned to the bridge, rather than looking back at him.

"Someone did team up with him. Because apparently he has a soft spot for guys who shoot girls in the head."

He could put two and two together on his own.

"I... I'm sorry, Marnie. I failed you too." Hiro's memories had been a bit fuzzy after what had happened with Soledad and Ilya and he shook his head a little, feeling a bit mad at himself. "God, I think my mind is trying to block some things out. God, I wish I could keep myself so... stable and sane right now."

He touched the back of his head and winced a little. Forgetting for a moment that he had injured his head. Maybe that was also why he felt like that there a few gaps in his mind here and there?

He paused when he thought about who might have paired up with Ilya.

His eyes widened a little in realization.

"Son of a bitch...." He muttered under his breath.

He moved to step closer to Marnie.

"Ray... He allied with Ray, didn't he? No, of course, he did. Killers always got to stick together, I guess." He huffed in disgust.

"Stop saying that."

Her voice was hard as she spoke, turning back to stare at the 'Hero' boy.

"You sound like a broken record."

Then, after another moment.

"And you still tried. That's what's important, isn't it?"

She pulled in a breath, then puffed it back out of her nostrils, turning back to look at the bridge.

"Saw it happen right before I started shooting at them, yeah. Thought I killed Ray at first, but..."

Shoulders lifted and fell.

"Turns out, that guy's a lot harder to kill then he looks."

"Oh. Sor-"

Hiro actually stopped himself from apologizing by biting down on his own tongue a bit. She was completely right. He needed to stop feeling guilty, but it was hard not to feel like that. He needed to still try, right? He needed to keep on keeping on. He couldn't give up on taking Ilya down. He could feel a fire in his belly that was fuelling him with a new determination and confidence.

"Yeah, yeah. But I can't just stop now. ...Nggh." He actually winced slightly due to the back of his head aching slightly.

He was pretty quiet while Marnie talked about Ray and Ilya and he felt himself smile a little about her saying that they shot at them. Not that she could see his smile and he wiped it off of his face quickly.

"Are you still going to go after him?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah."

Said without hesitation, turning her gaze back to the 'Hero' boy.

"And you should too, just...make an actual plan, next time. It doesn't need to be perfect, just something more than luring him somewhere and trying to shoot him."

She turned her sight back to the bridge again, before asking a question of her own.

"Any idea where Daniel went? Or did he just dip after killing Sunny?"

Hiro was feeling more tired just thinking about Ilya. He knew that Marnie was right about him trying to come up with something better. He really needed to just....

Sneak up on him, Hiro. Duh, of course! I need to caught him off-guard. Go on the offense somehow.

"Yup, yup! You're completely right about that, Marnie. Trying to lure him in.... It wouldn't have worked anyway. Unless he really wanted to finish me off, I guess." He hummed softly and he was shifted his feet side to side slightly.

He glanced up a bit when Marnie suddenly mentioned Daniel. The first person to kill.... Man, it was pretty crazy to even think about.

"Hmm. Not really sure about Daniel. Maybe he's just hiding somewhere. Until, well, the end of all of this."

He let out a small huff.

"Hey, Marnie. Would you like to work together? I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay as well." He was rumbling a little, so he shut his mouth pretty quickly.

The smile that pulled at her lips didn't look quite right, but was present all the same.

"Thanks, but...save it for when you get him."

A sigh left her mouth.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. He always tries to be a tough guy, you know? And with how things went with Sunny..."

She lets out a noise, not quite a growl, but more angry than your usual groan.

"I don't think he's gonna stop."

Her gaze shifted back to the 'Hero' boy, looking him up down, considering.

After a minute, she shook her head.

"Appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. Kinda doing my own thing right now. Still figuring it out, really."

For a moment, the smile looked better, as her eyes looked a little more tired.

"Rooting for ya, though. Think you can do it, you just gotta be smart."

Hiro actually winced a little at the mention of Sunny's name. The fact that Daniel had been willing to be the first to take a life, he wasn't sure if he could understand it. Yes, he wanted to kill Ilya himself... It wasn't really the hero way to go. He was just a normal person pretending to be someone that he was not. It was exhausting to keep it up.

But he had to.

"Well, if I find Daniel... I can try to stop him too, if you want me too." He suggested with a small nod of his head.

He didn't know how to feel when Marnie rejected his offer. But he was trying to be understanding about what she wanted to do.

"Gotcha. Good luck with your own journey, Marnie!" He offered a grin that was actually pretty genuine.

He let out a small shaky breath. Trying to keep himself calm and relaxed. It was hard after seeing two people die like that.

"Thanks! I'm rooting for you too! I hope that you find what you need!" He said, feeling a bit better about things now.

A nod was the response to the first statement.

"I'd appreciate it."

After a moment-

"Thanks."

Turning back towards the bridge one final time, she brought one foot up and pressed the toes against the ankle of her other foot.

"Try not to get stabbed in the face."

Before the 'Hero' boy could respond to that, she pushed off onto her wheels. Hard.

It wasn't necessary to say that, but she did, and that was all that mattered.

She prepared her other skate as she sped across the bridge, not looking back as [[she went off.]]