Divergent Virtue Chapter 1

**"..."**

## The Cogs of Reality

"You're Metarutorōru!" A green haired girl yelled as soon as the metal giant stepped into her sight. A single drop of sweat began to slide down the side of her face, her breathe released heavily as her throat was beginning to tighten.

Metarutorōru's steps were mighty and loud, his feet making the ground slightly shake every time he tried to come closer. His bulking body was ginormous compared to that of the two girls, a mountain overlooking a grassy hill. The cannons emitted smoke that drifted off high into the night sky, too overheated to fire off anymore of what was left of its ammunition for now. Both girls stood there ready to fight, but it seems that they were beginning to look a bit more tired after everything. The battle had gone on for god knows how long, with both sides ill prepared for such an encounter, let alone the impending conflict. The giant metal man stopped in his tracks just a few feet away from the girls; the green haired one with her fists up similar to that of a boxer, and the one with dark hair having already fallen to the ground on her knees. A sly robotic and distorted laugh came from behind Metarutorōru's three eyed mask.

"Who else would wear a suit like mine?" He rhetorically asked, followed by another distorted laugh.

Panting, the dark haired girl looked up to her friend with eyes filled of regret. She was the one to get them in this mess, and so she endangered not only herself but her friend too. Her eyes began to water up, knowing full well how much of a mistake it was to go along with this. From behind the mask, Metarutorōru could only wince a smile at the two, even if they couldn't see it. To him two against one wasn't fair, but an adult against two teenagers should have been easy in his mind. He's fought many before, but all those experiences he had in combat with law enforcement and heroes didn't seem to help him here, especially with the green haired girl.

"You're an annoying one, anyone ever tell you that?" The robotic voice asked again, this time looking for an answer.

The green haired girl could only smile back, breaking from her bland expression. She must have been tired out from the fight that she couldn't bear to carry on her emotionless facade. "If only I had a hundred yen for every time someones told me..."

All three figures remained in place, looking at eachother with wills ready to react. The battle was coming to a close and now whatever was to take place would decide who'd leave with today's 'victory'. Both metal man and girls stared eachother down, the green haired one's hands were twitching with giddiness as she was just about ready to jump in and attack. The dark haired girl however remained dormant, still and calm as she tilted her head and stared at the ground. It was as if there was something on her chest that she needed to get out, but was still wondering whether she was to reveal or not. Metarutorōru on the other hand, remained still as a rock, with his heavy breathing becoming feint enough to be heard and projected through his mask, coming out as quiet panting.

"...I'm-I'm sorry." The dark haired girl said with disgrace in her heart and words.

The green haired girl looked to her friend from the corner of her eye, her eye brow lifted. "What do you mean?" she said before switching her attention back to Metarutorōru.

The dark haired girl let out a whimper, holding herself back from crying in view of their enemy. She knew she needed to be strong, but the thing that was weighing on her mind seemed to be too much for her. Taking a deep breathe in, she let out on heavy sigh before bringing her leg up and planting one foot into the ground. "...Just, run. Please."

Without warning or any sort of indication, the dark haired girl attacked. Pouncing from her place, her fists began to glow bright with light blue energy, as if her whole arm was a glowstick. Placing herself inbetween her green haired friend and their ultimate enemy, she threw her glowing fist right into the torso of the metal man. She let out a loud battlecry as she approached, one that was on the verge of anger and sadness with the tears flying off her face. Her fist landed right into the robot's bulky chest, denting it inwards and sending Metarutorōru flying metres back, lifting his large body off the ground and into the building behind. She had blocked everything besides Metarutorōru from her mind, with the intent to attack. So she couldn't defend from Metarutorōru's own instinctive counter, as his fist was brought to her side before she struck. The captive bolt shooters implemented had struck her body but with a force more intense than usual. It shot out and pounded into her side, causing a small dent of its own as both fighters exchanged blows.

"NO!"

As Metarutorōru fell into the rubble, bricks and whatnot piling around him, the darkhaired girl had only managed to fall over to the side, in front of her green haired friend. Metarutorōru's mind was spinning as the front of the robot man's chest felt closer to his own than before. The dent was pushed so deep, that it was practically pressing on his own from the inside. Processing what had happened, Metarutorōru looked around to see where he last saw the girls. All he could see now, was the green haired girl kneeling over the body of her valiant friend. Tears began streaming down the girl's face as she tried to move her around, checking where she had been hit and shaking her body to wake her up. No response. She tried slapping her friend's face, thinking that she might have been playing some sick joke. No response. She placed her ear to her friend's chest and checked for a heart beat. It was already obvious what the friend had become as soon as the green haired girl went in for a hug and held tight, her cries becoming louder and louder.

"NOT ANOTHER ONE. PLEASE." She pleaded to nothing, frantically checking for a heartbeat again. She shuffled around her friend, pressing two fingers on her wrist and neck to check for a pulse. She placed an open palm over her friend's mouth to feel for any sort of breathe. "NO. I CAN'T LOSE ANOTHER ONE. STAY WITH ME."

With the green haired girl distracted, now would have to make due as Metarutorōru's opportunity to escape from the back of the suit. Pressing a button from the inside of his suit, the body opened a small escape for Metarutorōru to move out from. Ignoring the girl's pleas for help, Metarutorōru pulled himself out and looked around. The punch had caused Metarutorōru to fly through and make a hole in a concrete wall, deeply intimidating him. Hiding behind the crippling wall, Metarutorōru looked over to see her still crying, but had no intention of coming out and playing as if he was a passerby. Leaving the area, all he thought he heard was the green haired girl repeating the dark haired girl's name. But every time he tried to listen as he walked away, the words were only repeated in a muffled tone in his mind. Tonight was meant to be the night that he ended his role as a the villain, and he was going to stick by that promise no matter what.

*"Last night, second year U.A. student Aiko Kowareta was found dead a few blocks from the city's west shopping strip. Only minutes away from the Kowerata Residence, where the suit and charred body of infamous criminal Metarutorōru was also located. Overnight security footage reveals that Metarutorōru after being struck by the young Kowerata girl was sent crashing into a shop nearby. Fire seemed to had started from inside the suit, as reports this morning show that the body had been fully charred, leaving whoever the real Metarutorōru was in that suit unrecognisable. DNA tests are being carried out, but researches say that it may take some time to finally unveil the mystery of Japan's Metal Troll. More information after the break."*

Guy sat on the couch of the living room in complete distraught, his legs crossed as he leaned back into his seat. He was noticeably shaky by the way his hands shook with regret and fear, wondering if what he had done that night was the right thing. The tv reporter spoke as if she was talking to him, playing on his conscience. Guy was certainly no moral man, but he certainly was no cold-blooded child killer. That was someone's daughter, someone's friend, someone's... sister. Thoughts rushed through his mind as he tried to think for every thing he could do for anything that could get in his way, but the guilt seemed to override his efforts. He couldn't think straight, the only thing that was on his mind was the young girl he killed that night. The door slammed shut behind him, alerting Guy as he swung his attention over to it. Steph with her black and red hair draping over the side of her face walked in, her expression cold and disheartening. He knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Really Guy? Really? This is what you go and do?" She yelled at him, her tone empowering and vengeful.

Guy lifted himself from his seat and returned an expression and tone similar back to her. "What was I going to do? Let her kill me? It wasn't my fault!" he reasoned out with her. It was obvious Steph wasn't going to back down so easily this time.

"Wasn't your fault?! YOU KILLED A TEENAGER. A STUDENT. MATTER FACT SOMEONE I KNEW WELL! YOU KNOW I'VE WORKED WITH HER BEFORE!" She screamed back, stamping her foot on the ground.

"HEY! Lower your voice!" Guy pleaded as he turned his head to look out a window, he didn't want the neighbours getting any ideas. Placing a finger in front of his mouth, Guy had a look in his eyes that asked Steph to quiet down. "How was I to know she was the Kowerata girl at the time? They jumped me whilst I was waiting there, I was fighting in self defence!"

Steph rolled her eyes and walked over to the kitchen counter, pulling out a handbag from her stomach. "You really are a fucking idiot, you know that? How am I going to ever look at the Kowerata family the same again? Knowing that my baby brother took away their daughter?"

Guy stood there, his fists gripped tightly, he wanted to lash out and defend his side but knew Steph wasn't going to listen. He clenched his teeth, he wanted to yell but didn't want to arouse suspicion. He didn't know if he had made life easier for himself or just harder, the only thing he knew was that he was going to have to carry this weight for the rest of his life. Taking a deep breathe in, Guy closed his eyes and sighed. "Then don't look at them then." He remarked before slowly taking his seat at the couch.

As he looked back to the TV, he couldn't help but feel someone behind him. As the TV turned to black for a brief instant as it switched shows, Guy could see Steph standing right behind with a knife in her hand. His eyes widened as the knife finally made its way into his vision, and pressed against his throat, the hand holding it belonging to Steph. His jaw dropped and thoughts began rushing through his mind, never had Steph acted this way before, not even when he had killed and nearly killed some of her friends during his many encounters with them. This Kowerata girl must have been the push over the edge for Steph, as she was willing to get physically threatening, especially with a knife. The cold metal of the knife pressed gently against his warm skin, all Guy could do was chuckle, smiling awkwardly as Steph's arm began to press on the side of his face.

"...So what? Going to kill me?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Steph was not amused by any of Guy's comments and pressed the knife harder onto his throat, pushing his head back into his seat and lifting his face to look up. She made sure he could see her face all too clearly, as she found nothing to laugh at in the situation. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

*"We now return to report on the death of U.A. Student Aiko Kowerata-"* The TV blurted out, interrupting the intense moment that was shared between the siblings.

The reporter on the screen was dressed in a suit jacket and white shirt, holding her microphone just underneath her mouth as she spoke into it. Behind her was the scene of the fight, as police tape was strung all over the place, flashing lights from all directions with officers and heroes alike wandering the area. *"Aiko Kowerata was found dead on the scene along with the deceased body of criminal and gang leader Metarutorōru. Discovered with fellow U.A. student Midori Crane, Aiko was found to be killed from internal bleeding as well as the puncture of her lungs due to a pressed in rib cage. Aiko was only sixteen at the time of her apparent demise, and has left her family of three in mourning. Metarutorōru on the other hand seemed to had been burned from the inside of his suit, as overnight security footage reveals the aftermath of the battle between the two. Fires had erupted from within Metarutorōru after crashing through a nearby shop, charring Metarutorōru from within and making the body of the deceased unrecognisable."*

Steph backed off, her face in complete shock as the TV displayed everything that camera had caught. The moment Aiko and Guy exchanged blows, Guy flying through a wall and Aiko falling to the side, and Midori weeping over her dead friend as the Metarutorōru armour began catching fire. She looked down at Guy who was fixated on the screen, his eyes emotionless and bland, reminding her much of Midori herself. "Whose body was it..." She asked, slowly coming to regret her question.

Guy turned his head slightly to the side, looking at Steph from the very corner of his eye. "Do you really want to know?"

"...No." She answered before walking away, her steps loudly tapping on the wooden floor of the living room.