“Ow, ow, ow! What’s happening— You again?!”
The ten-year-old girl stumbled from the bushes in shock. Twigs snapped against her palms as she scrambled back from the children marching up to her.
“S— Sorry, I didn’t mean to!” she squeaked. “I just want to play with—”
“Ow, shut those damn eyes already!” The oldest-looking boy shoved her to the ground, and a few more children restrained her arms with some stray vines they had plucked from the floor. Darkness filled her vision as someone covered her eyes with some kind of cloth.
“Ugh, you’re so annoying. It’s time you learn your lesson, villain!” another boy’s voice shrieked in her ears. “Let’s throw her in the river for hurting us!”
Fear gripped her heart as she began struggling against her restraints. “No, please! I didn’t mean to! I just can’t control my quirk! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
But it was no use.
The sound of flowing water only got louder and louder as her feet kicked the mushy soil futilely. Tears welled up behind the binding cloth, and her struggle died down. It was pointless. Her quirk was a curse, although she never knew what she had done wrong to deserve it.
“Hey, stop it!”
The girl craned her neck at the unfamiliar voice. Who was he? Friend or foe?
Her knees buckled as the hands on her body let go abruptly. Another warm set of hands caught her before she hit the ground.
“Mind your own business, Kazuma!” the oldest boy jeered. “She’s hurting us with her quirk; she’s a villain! We need to punish her!”
“She goes to my school,” the boy holding her retorted. “Her quirk is just out of control; she can’t help it. There’s no need to be so mean!”
“Oh, looks like the quirkless loser found himself a girlfriend! Eww, eww! We’re telling everyone about this! Have fun with that disgusting girl!”
Sunlight burned her eyes as the blindfold was removed abruptly. The girl blinked in confusion, staring at her saviour. He looked about her age, with frizzy dark brown hair and light blue eyes. A kind smile etched itself on his face as he stretched a hand towards her.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Takehiro Kazuma, but you can call me Hiro,” the boy said. “Those boys can be so mean. Are you hurt?”
The girl flinched, cowering from him.
“It’s okay,” he reassured her gently. “I won’t hurt you. May we be friends?”
She reached out and hesitantly touched his hand. The smile on Hiro’s face widened as he helped her up.
“T— Thank you,” she said in a timid voice. “M— My name is—”
“Kiko Asahi, right?” Hiro answered cheerily. “I’ve seen you around; we go to the same middle school.”
A red tint covered her eyes again as shyness rose from within. She hurriedly covered them and turned her head away. The last thing she wanted was to hurt that kind boy right after he’d just saved her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Hiro pulled her hands away from her face. “You can look at me.”
Kiko opened her eyes slowly, now staring incredulously at the boy who was somehow unaffected by her power.
“How…?” she croaked.
“It’s like the others said earlier. I’m quirkless.” Hiro laughed, putting a hand on the back of his head. “Your power only works on those who have quirks, right? Well, you don’t have to worry about me.”
Exhaustion overcame Kiko, and she slumped to the ground in happiness. After so many years, she finally met someone she could not hurt involuntarily. After so many months of wallowing in loneliness, the Heavens had finally sent someone to be her friend.
“I understand how it feels to be lonely.” The boy sat beside her as well. “Being shunned for something you were— or weren’t— born with is such a curse. I’ve always wanted to be a hero to help the weak, but I wasn’t born for it.”
“A hero…” Kiko breathed, turning to Hiro with a small smile. “That’s an amazing dream.”
~ ~ ~
Just a dream.
Kiko jolted awake, shaking her head groggily from the vivid flashback. It had been years since she had dreamt of her childhood. The sight of her old childhood friend must have triggered something in her memories.
But there was no point in dwelling on the past. She was Kusanagi now, and her allegiance was sworn to Yamato. If Hiro Kazuma was going to stand in her master’s way, she’d kill him without hesitation too. After all, her blade belonged to her master only.
Black, shoulder-length hair tickled her neck as she got out of the single-sized bed. Her feet met the metallic floor, and she trudged to the work table.
The room was small, only slightly larger than a standard prison cell. After all, it was repurposed from a laboratory into her living quarters. The walls were made of an unknown insulating material, which kept the room at the same temperature no matter the time of the year.
For some reason, Yamato had assigned a medical facility for her to live in after his faction of the Yakuza took it over. Kiko wasn’t complaining, of course. But she would probably have felt more at home living closer to her master, especially since she was also supposed to act as his bodyguard. Instead, she got a bunch of geeks wrapped in lab coats for company.
Sharp grinding sounds began to fill the room as the assassin picked up a knife and began honing it. Partly because the fight with Eraserhead had chipped it, but also because the repetitive action of scraping her weapon against stone always sufficed to calm her down after a nightmare.
Being shunned for something you were— or weren’t— born with is such a curse. I’ve always wanted to be a hero to help the weak, but I wasn’t born for it.
Kiko gritted her teeth as she ground the metal harder. Why couldn’t she get Hiro’s words out of her mind? It was such an impractical, childish dream. Sure, she shared that same dream of being a hero after becoming close friends with that boy, but that was in the past.
Far, far in the past.
She was an assassin for the Yakuza now, and a villain to the rest of the world. Because of the nature of her quirk, she couldn’t be any further from that pipe dream. Besides, she owed her new life to Yamato. Her training, her gear, her purpose… It all belonged to him.
Yamato broke her out of jail so that she could live on her own terms. He promised he’d always honour her decisions. And yet—
Kiko gasped as the blade snapped into two pieces.
The woman stared at the broken knife for a brief moment before tossing it into the bin with a light sigh. She glanced at the huge digital clock near the doorway. It was still early in the morning; her master wouldn’t be up for another few hours. She had time.
Kiko put aside the equipment and pushed a button on the side of her desk. A small section of the table sunk in, before resurfacing with a computer keyboard on top of it. The monitor popped out of the wall a few seconds later, casting a glaring light in the dark room. Normally, she used it to track her target’s movements and monitor nearby cameras.
But not this time.
Resolve hardened her face as she began accessing the laboratory’s research data. Surely, something in there would be able to help her.
Hiro was right; quirks were a curse in this society. Without them, the quirkless would be the norm, and people like Hiro or herself wouldn’t have to suffer the existence of quirks. Without them, her master would have an easier time making the world a better place as its new ruler. Without them, the world would finally have a place for her.
Kiko turned off her Ethernet visibility as she entered the local intranet portal. Nobody needed to know.
~ ~ ~
The night rang with the thunder of gunfire, but there was no one within several kilometres to hear it. Birds scattered for shelter as bullets continued to fly through the abandoned woods. Luckily for them, they weren’t their targets.
But he was.
The thief panted, adrenaline flooding his veins as he darted erratically between the trees. This night just would not quit, and neither did those killers.
His mind swirled with panic and confusion. He was arrested just the previous afternoon for stealing a purse. It was nothing out of the ordinary for him, except for that stubborn young hero who actually managed to get him caught this time.
Things should’ve been simple enough: spend a few weeks in jail before breaking out again. After all, petty criminals like him didn’t have the misfortune of being sent to the maximum security prison, Tartarus.
So what the hell just happened?
He was minding his own business in his cell when the police cleared out for no reason. Ordinarily, he’d see that as a chance to make his escape. But a large group of unfriendly-looking men marched right into the detention centre before he could slip through the gates.
At first, he was glad they saved him the trouble and tore the doors open for him. It wasn’t until they revealed their concealed weapons that he realised they weren’t there to free him from the cell.
And now he was on the run, hunted in a godforsaken forest like some kind of wild animal.
“Kenchiro Watanabe, time’s up! Toll the hell’s bells!”
His stomach turned as maniacal laughter rang out over the gunfire. These killers were enjoying the chase.
Damned psychos.
Kenchiro Watanabe winced as pain shot through his flank again. He clutched the bullet wound, trying to stem the blood. No sense in wondering why he was being pursued now; a few bullets had already found their way through his body. He wasn’t sure if they hit anything vital, but he had to get out of this shitshow before the blood loss took his life.
A bright light flashed in front of him. Was that…?
It was. By holy Mary and sweet Jesus, it was. A building was only a few dozen metres in front of him. And by the grace of whatever deity dumb enough to watch over a thief, the building was still lit.
He was saved.
Watanabe turned paper thin, using the night breeze’s updraft to carry him over the barbed fence surrounding the building. It was probably some kind of military installation, but he couldn’t care less now. Better to be arrested for trespassing than to lose his life entirely.
The footsteps behind him slowed down as Watanabe collapsed on the mushy floor in his human form. He scrambled for cover behind a truck as his pursuers came into view, waiting for the sound of bullets rattling again.
But it never came.
Instead, mocking laughter drifted to his ears. He peeked out of the car hood to see what they were laughing at.
“Consider the job done, Mister Gouma. Our prey has just sealed his own fate.”
The man speaking into his phone was barely concealing his maniacal laughter. A sadistic expression seemed permanently plastered on his face, along with an ugly scar that cut across his right eye.
Mister Gouma? But… Why would Boss want me dead? It didn’t make any sense at all. And what does he mean that I sealed my fate?
“He’s trapped in one of Ujiko’s old laboratories right now. Yes, the one that manufactures Nomus.”
A bloodcurdling roar nearly deafened Watanabe’s ears as his blood turned to ice. The ground shuddered with the footsteps of something heavy. Sadistic cackling bellowed again as the killers walked away.
Kenchiro Watanabe trembled in fear at the two glowing eyes in the darkness moving slowly towards him before finally relaxing his body in defeat.
He closed his eyes, accepting his death.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrRN9Uklb8
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