I like a little risk, but even I'll admit that this is a bit much, and I'm not certain about the outcome..but nothing is set in stone so...we'll see how this ends.
Enjoy! And thank you so much for taking your time to read this!
Unaligned: No Way Out
Everything stopped. No air, no sound, no movement, everything in the dilapidated room was deathly still like a surreal statue….
But the waving of my dress, my jagged breath, the hairs rising at the back of my neck ….revealed life. I looked at him, feverishly red eyes, menacing posture and scorching sparks and coal-black smoke rising from his palms, stuck mid-air like a photograph.
I didn't knew him but I already hated him.
"It's just you and me fucker. I won't let you touch them" I spat, even knowing that he couldn't hear a thing. I ran over the still landscape with all my might towards him and gave a harsh push to his shoulder...
And everything came back to life in a blink; the sound of countless sirens, the chilling night air whispering into my ears, the shouting outside the door, and the satisfying sound of a cracking bone.
"WHAT THE….!" The man flew backwards, crashing against a nightstand, crushing it under the impact, and grunted in pain, holding his left arm.
"Unless you want me to break the other I suggest you leave. And don't dare say a word about us!" I growled while backing away, my eyes hot and curdled with tears threatening to overflow.
"WHY YOU BITCH!" the man rose quickly to his feet and raised his other arm, the gauntlet glowing with angry red sparks at my direction.
And it happened; the scenery was devoid of life once again. I ran towards him once again and gave the same push, this time to his other shoulder. Then in a blink everything returned to normal.
I was met jet again with the familiar grunt and murderous red eyes shooting daggers at me.
If only looks could kill.
"Told you I would do it" I spat venomously. "Now if you want to make it out.…UGH!
A sharp pain on my shoulder forbade me to finish. I dropped to my knees and brought a hand to the source; a small silver dart was pinned just above my shoulder blade, my vision immediately became blurry.
"Sedative" I thought immediately. I tried to immerse myself in the No-Time once again. "If I just let it wear off I might have a chance". But the man kept grunting, the sounds were still being heard, the air flowed cold; the night kept its course. "Why isn't stopping?
"You won't go anywhere now" A voice came from the broken, and now opened, door. "It's over"
I tried my best to focus my vision, my eyelids becoming heavier by the second. But I could only make a pair of yellow goggles, surrounded by a frame of shaggy black hair before everything went dark as I met the floor with a thud.
From up far, I could've sworn I've heard a little girl crying.
I wished I could just rip my head off.
I thought that at least it would hurt less than it was right now. My neck was stiff and any attempt to move it felt as if I was wearing a heavy chain around it. My vision returned, albeit slowly and requiring several blinks for it to be clear enough once again, the metal table in front of me sure didn't helped as it was reflecting the light directly onto my face. I was on a chair, that much I knew, and my hands and feet were restrained, judging from the cold metallic feeling around my wrists and ankles.
My thought ran at miles per hour, I could just activate her quirk and use the momentum to break the cuffs. But the memories from a while ago came back like a flood.
"I can't use my quirk can I?" I said to no one in particular. I rose my head, meeting my reflection in what it obviously was a double way mirror. The room was white, pristine and well lit, and it smelled like something burnt and foul. There was a heavy looking door, no knob on the inside. It reminded me of those detective movie scenes where the good guys made their interrogations.
"Was it too obvious?" A calm voice spoke through a non-visible speaker.
"A bit cliché if you ask me" I replied. More calm that I should, now that I think about it.
"We don't want to harm you" The voice said. It sounded comforting, and I decided that I liked it.
"The restrains are a weird way to show it" I said, letting out a small chuckle. I knew I wasn't getting out of here any time soon.
"We needed to take precautions, I hope you understand". The voice was so soothing; I was tempted to make small talk so that I could just keep hearing it. It almost felt like I was talking to…..
"I do, don't worry" It was impossible to be rude, I also noticed that I hadn't said I curse word during our dialogue."Listen, you can tell your friend to come over, I promise I won't break anything else"
I didn't mean for it to sound rude, but guessing by the loud "FUCK YOU!" that came from the other side of the mirror I didn't do a good job. The voice on the speaker sighed, almost like a mother having trouble controlling her child.
"Actually, we were about to do just that"
A sudden click made my attention focused on the door, which slowly opened, allowing two males to enter the room. I was familiar with the blond one, who now had a heavy set of bags under his tired red eyes and a splint on his left arm. I tried my best not to chuckle at the sight.
The other was an odd one to me, familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time, as if having see his face somewhere else yet being unable to recognize it. He had a mop of wild, curly dark hair and enormous eyes of a green so dark they almost bordered on black. His face had a friendly look and a roundness that made him appear younger than he probably was, very unlike the blond's sharp and threatening aspect.
But my eyes were fully darted towards Greenie. My mind tried to keep on track.
"Come on, you know him from somewhere!" I encouraged myself. Then like the ring of a bell…..
"My my, to what do I own the pleasure of meeting Deku?" I smiled at them, trying my best to look friendly in order to avoid bursting and asking where were they….
In front of me there was none other than Deku himself, The World's Number One Hero.
"If you're wondering about your friends" Deku spoke. "So it was his voice after all…" I though. "They're safe, don't worry"
"They're not my friends" I lied. "You'd better not have hurt them, bastards. Or else….."
"Really?" The blond scoffed. He was standing in a corner, right hand in his pocket and a permanent scowl on his face. "If I recall correctly you almost lost your shit when I hurt the bitch in purple"
"Right, back then on our fight" Now I had no intention of playing Mrs. Nice. "By the way, how's your shoulder?"
"You little bitch!" He snapped, suddenly coming my way, I noticed the smell of smoke once again. I tried my best not to snap back, or laugh since the sight of him trying to be menacing with a splint was quiet funny, even I could tell it was not an everyday thing. But a hand stopped his approached.
"Wait"
Deku, although harmless in appearance, actually had a serious face during the hold improvised "interrogation". I could tell who was there to talk and who to threat.
"While you were out we did some research on you and the others" I didn't notice the folder in his hands until he placed it on the table. He opened to reveal a few papers, and began to scatter them over the metal surface. I noticed my birth certificate and not much else; elementary school report cards (only up to the fourth grade), a copy of my very first and only passport (now expired), and a photo, taken most likely by a security camera, of ten-year-old me.
"Um…I think you need an upgrade on the search software" I tried not to smirk. "She really did a good job after all" I though.
"Believe me, we've tried" said Deku. His expression was now bothering me, like a father trying to speak with his deranged kid. "But you disappeared from the radar years ago"
"Did I?" I tried my best to look surprised, but I knew I couldn't fool anyone. "Guess I happened to like playing hookie"
"Since you were ten?" The blond scoffed.
"I don't get why does my absence from school is suddenly so important to you" I said. I had a vague idea as to where this was going.
"With your friends it was the same, specially the blonde one. No records other than birth certificates and report cards" Deku spoke, his voice remained calmed I was about to ask how he'd managed. "Mind telling us a bit about you?"
"Why don't you ask me to dinner first?" I asked with a small smile. Definitely my "flirty" side wasn't my strong suite.
"Oh come on Deku! She's not gonna tell us anything unless we make her talk!" The blond bursted out, slamming his healthy hand into the table. I jumped in fright.
"Calm down, she'll tell us everything" Deku turned his eyes on me once again. His face reminded me of someone, and old friend I've wished to forgot. "Wouldn't you?"
"Why?" I asked, genuinely confused.
Deku sighed, leaning over the mirror. I caught a couple more details, he looked tired and I think I saw a hint of worry.
"You've heard the news haven't you?" He said. "Heroes and Villains found death, killed by their own Quirks, no apparent sign of conflict. Evidence suggests that there is someone involved; they dubbed him "The Quirk Killer".
I froze. It couldn't be….not him…..not again.
"What does any of this has to do with me!?" I cried, my voice came almost as a croak.
"Relax, we're not accusing you of anything" He assured. "But we are curious as to what were you and your friends doing in a brothel, owned by none other than Daddy, a villain with alleged connection to the Quirk Killer."
"And most fucking importantly; why did you murder his sorry ass?" The blond leaned over the table, the muscles from his right arm tensing as he gripped at the edged.
That was it, there was no point in playing dumb anymore, or to keep pretending that I actually cared what would happen to me. As long as I could get them out…..
"Murder is a big word, don't you think? I didn't stabbed him in the chest because he cheated on me with the neighbor girl, I blew his head off because he was making money out of sex slaves" I replied nonchalantly. I remembered well; squeezing the trigger, whipping the blood off my legs and trying to clean a bit while the others kept watch outside. Then a loud explosion alongside screams and the sound of grunts and fists colliding, then the blonde bastard showing up.
"Murder is still fucking murder! It doesn't matter who the fuck he was or what he did!" He yelled at me. His hot breath hitting my face. "Brats these days are fucked for good!"
"If you think people like him should live then I should be the one to question your morals, asshole!" I yelled. I just wanted this to be over.
"YOU FUCKING…" The blonde grunted, turning to Deku. "When do I get to hit this Bitch?"
"You won't!" Deku replied. "And you, we're both on a stage right now, we need to catch him and you and the others need protection"
"Umm…Care to explain?" I raised an eyebrow. "What in the world is he thinking?"
"You killed a connection, probably an accomplice, right now he might be looking….."
My laugh interrupted his speech.
"Why the fuck are you laughing!?" Blondie spat.
"You…haha….you think….haha!" I tried to take deep breaths, but my lungs wouldn't allow it. "How did they get this far in life?"
"Care to share the joke?" Deku asked, never losing his cool.
"You think we killed a right hand?" I said, now capable of making a coherent sentence. "He wasn't even a toenail clipping!"
"So you do know something" Said Deku.
"Of course I do, everyone in the streets knows!" I almost took pity, thinking that they must've worked pretty hard on the case. But they had to understand that they weren't going anywhere if they stayed in an office….."You're not dealing with the typical serial killer"
"No shit Sherlock" Blondie muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I shot him a "Bite Me" look.
"He's not killing just Heroes" I said.
"What do you mean?" Deku was now leaning closer.
"Of course you would only focus on those, but he's also killing Villains the same way, as if he used their own Quirks to kill them." I explained. There was no reason for me to help them, but as long as it could get us all out of this…."Listen, I'll tell you everything I know, but please let us out, I swear we're not involved"
"Come here for a sec" Blondie dragged Deku out of the room in a violent manner. I heard muttering and the occasional scream, obviously from Blondie. They came back minutes later, I was tempted to ask if they were making out but I knew it wasn't time for jokes.
"You promise to tell us everything" Deku sighed. All or Nothing. "And we'll let you and your friends go"
No Way Out Now.
"What do you want to know?" I sighed, this was going to be a long night I could feel it, probably the longest in my short life.
"Why don't you start from the beginning" Deku suggested, his friendly face returning once more.
I chuckled.
"I hope you got time number one, 'cuss I got plenty"
Up until this day I haven't met anyone whose life wasn't happier when they were younger. In fact, if I had the option to give anything, let that be a thousand corpses, a billion dollars, even my soul, in exchange for a chance to relive a couple minutes of my childhood once again I wouldn't hesitate to do so.
I still remember those years with a fondness that made me cry almost every night while growing up. My father, a police officer, loved us dearly, as we did too, as I still do. I remember his station always smelling like burnt coffee and cigarettes, filled with the perpetual sounds of typing, non-stopping phone conversations, and more curses than actual words.
I loved it.
Right next door there was a candy store owned by a kind elderly lady that loved to smoke outside, and always greeted me and my brother whenever we went to visit the station.
"And my candy?" that was the million dollar question.
Either she or my father would give us handfuls of rose-water bonbons and chocolate coated almonds, my favorites.
I still remember how I would get scolded by my mother whenever I tried to stay awake past my bedtime in a futile attempt to wait for my father to get home. I usually woke up in my bed the next day, then I rushed towards my parents' bathroom to wake my father up by jumping on their bed like any four-year-old would.
Those were my favorite days, filled with the smell of cigarettes, bonbons and sleepless night.
But everything ended so suddenly, I sometimes feel like it didn't happen, as if my brain couldn't register the fact that the world was unfair and crude, that it leaves you no time to react to whatever it throws at you.
As far as I can remember, the fateful day began when I insisted on accompanying my father to work. My mom was reluctant at first, claiming that Fridays were always busy days for the police, but my father brushed it off, stating that every day was the same. How wrong he was…
I greeted the candy lady as usual, and as we approached the station's entrance I wondered what was so appealing about cigarettes that adults loved so much. But my thought were interrupted like a cord severed by a knife. The screech of a car skidding in the concrete followed by a series of loud bangs made my blood curdle.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The next thing I remembered was a push that made me hit the ground a few feet away, then more bangs, my father screaming my name, a pair of onyx-black eyes, then a spray of something warm…..
Everything was quiet afterwards, and my first instinct was to find my father. I recognize his heavy brown boots peeking over the concrete stair of the station in front of me. But when I reached him I was left beyond confused. Why did my father had a hole in his forehead? What was that loud noise? Why am I covered in red? Why was my father covered in red?
Why wasn't he moving?
I couldn't cry, up until this day I didn't know why. The only thing I could do was sit by my father's side, in hope that he could answer my questions. I certainly didn't heard the chaos of police officers rushing towards the scene, shouting orders, making phone calls and tapping me in the shoulder.
I didn't knew how much time I spent like that, but it was until a very large man with blond hair, a blue, red and yellow costume and a wide smile approached me that I was able to respond.
"Young lady, everything will be alright" he said, his voice boomed with a comforting tone. I looked him in the eye.
"Get away from me" I deadpanned. My voice reflected no emotion; no sadness, no despair, no helplessness.
All of that faded away with my father.
And since that day…I owe him a death.
Thank you so much for getting this far!
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Next Time on Boku No Hero Academia...
Outlaw: Tales of a Death Foretold
