Chapter 1: Fight or flight
There is good and there is evil. Right and wrong. Heroes and villains. And if we're blessed with wisdom, then there are glimpses between the cracks of each where light streams through. We wait in silence for these times when sense can be made, when meaningless existence comes into focus, and our purpose presents itself. And if we have the strength to be honest, then what we find there, staring back at us, is our own reflection, bearing witness to the duality of life. And each one of us is capable of both the dark and the light, of good and evil, of either, of all. And destiny, while marching ever in our direction, can be rerouted by the choices we make. By the love we hold onto, and the promises we keep.
,,Boss,are you sure this was a good idea? N-not that im undermining your judgement,but they're probably looking for him right now!" Said a lizard-like man in baggy clothes,pointing at something to his right.
This something,no,rather someone was a boy.A four years old years old boy tied to a chair .His bidding were tight knit,as to not present him with a chance of escape .They were placed on his wrists,stomach and ankles .His wrists were visibly red due to his vain attempts to free himself .It was first thing his young brain ordered him to do .The second was to scream for help.
,,P-please help me!D-don't hurt me!" He cried,but it came to a sudden halt as he was smacekd across the face with something that he later recognised as a wing .It belonged to a blue skinned man,who suddenly appeared from behind his chair .The boy could only see the man's angered face,as his firm hand closed on his mouth.
,,Shut it you little fuck! If you cry one more time,I promise you that I will single handedly rip your fucking vocal cords out and force you to eat them!" He shouted,spasming from anger
,,Now now,why so serious Kai? Did he killed your entire familly or something of these sorts? He is our temporary ,,guest" so please,keep your anger in check,would you?" Said almost sarcastically man standing with his back to the chair .He was wearing a long,black trench coat,and some sort of hoodie around his head.
,,I-im sorry Boss,but you know how little brats like him tick me off,especailly when they start screaming" Quickly responded the winged man,with audible fear in his voice.
,,All is forgiven,Kai .As for your question Tokage,yes that might be true,especially based on his set home return hours,so that might have caused his supervisors to be suspicious,and they have probably called the police at this point .But don't forget who this child is .He's like a faberge egg .That's why outside of police's efforts he got a whole private security unit looking for him .It is still a mistery to me how we managed to swipe him from under their noses,but let's not focus on it at the moment,shall we?" Monologued the man,still not turning face to face with the boy nor his colleagues.
Both Kai and Tokage swallowed nerviously at mention of the police,and even harded at the mention of private security.
,,So now,let's not focus on unnecessary things,but rather on the one we worked so hard to get into our hands,no?" Said the apparent Boss,slowly turning to the boy.
When he finally did,the boy fealt immediate rush of adrenaline and fear .The man was wearing a Japanese oni mask,with unnecessarily large amount of teeth,and with long,red line all along ,,his lips".The rest of the mask had normal,or rather traditional features of an oni mask .It was of white colour,with space cut for eyes and two long,dark horns coming out of his forehead.
,,So,you'r name is Issei Shishido,right?" The masked man asked the boy,kneeling down in front of him.
The boy's answer sounded like a mix between someone trying to mutter and choke at the same time.
,,Please,speak up,I can't understand you .If you answer me,I absolutely promise that nothing will hapen to you here,and I am a man of my word" He said,sounding more serious with every spoken word.
,,Y-yes,I'm Issei,b-but why am I here m-mister? A-are you going to hurt me?" Said Issei,his voice trembling.
,,Excellent questions,and I'll be happy to answer them! So first,I already said that I'm not going to hurt you here,so do not worry about that .As for the second question,you're here because you have something,a gift of some sorts,and I think it should not belong to you,not because I have a grudge against you,but because I have a grudge against it's origin"
,,W-what gift?I-i don't understand! I-if you're t-talking a-about my q-q-quirk,then I'm sorry,but I have none,o-or not-t yet!"
,,I'm fully aware of the fact that your quirk has not manifested yet,but it's what I'm talking about here .Your quirk will emerge,sooner or later .But it will not come from either of your parents .It will emerge from the gift in question,and I must make sure it leaves your body before it does"
,,B-but you just said you w-wil not h-h-hurt me!"
,,Ah,ah,ah! I said i will not hurt you,yes,but that was not the whole sentence.I said i will not hurt you here.This place has no conditions or machinery neccesary for the removal"
Issei for the first time of being in this place actually took time to look around .The Boss was right,the entire room was empty,except for the chair he was currently strapped to .He noticed the poor condition of the grey walls around him,some of them visibly molded.
,,Well,this is the first and the last day you'll be spending here,so enjoy it while you still can .Tommorow morning we'll get you somewhere more capable to get this precious little thing out of you" Said the Boss,smiling mischievously.
,,P-please don't! P-please don't take away it away.I-f you do,then i w-won't have a q-quirk.I c-couldn't be a h-hero without a quirk.Y-you can only b-become a h-h-hero if you have a quirk,right?" Said the boy,trying to change his captor mind desperately.
A child is born to innocence. A child is drawn towards good. Why then do so many among us go so horribly wrong? What makes some walk the path of darkness while others choose the light? Is it will? Is it destiny? Can we ever hope to understand the force that shapes the soul? To fight evil, one must know evil; one must journey back through time and find that fork in the road, where heroes turn one way and villains turn another.
The man closed the distance between his face and the face of Issei and whispered a sentence that caused shivers down the boy's spine,and made his blood pressure drop.
,,After were done with you,the only thing you'll ever become is a buffet for worms"
Issei was left speechles,and his eyes started to water,before erupting into waterfalls down his cheecks .He understood his situation finally .He's never gonna have a quirk .He's never gonna become a hero.
He is going to die because someone wants something from inside of his body.
,,We did more than was ment to be done,let's leave it as it is .Kai,Tokage,follow me,we're leaving for today" Said the masked villain,standing outside the door,motioning them to come forth.
,,But Boss,shouldn't we like,lock the door or something like this in case he escapes?" Said nervously the lizard man.
,,Easy there Tokage,Kai made sure that unless the boy uses some sort of blade,he is not getting out of his biddings .Also,almost no one ventures to this level in this complex,especially at these hours .But because there is a small chance,a tiny winy chance that he might succesfully free himself,we'll make it a challenge"
,,What kind of ,,challenge" are we talking Boss? Oh,can I break his fingers,so he does not try anything funny? Or can I break his knees so he does not escape? Or-"
,,You both amaze and terrify me at times Kai. But no .It will be a challenge easy to set up like a flick of a finger" Said the Boss,as he flicked the light switch off,leaving the room in a complete darkness.
,,N-no,please don't turn off the light,pleasedonttrunoffthelightpleasedontturnoffthelight" Almost chanted Issei,in a very frightened voice.
His pleas were met with the sound of the closing door,and sporadic,echoing laughter.
Moment the laughters died off,he started breathing heavily .He really feared the darkness .He really feared the monsters that might lurk in it .His four year old brain imagined that they were just behind him,looking for a moment to harm him .His fearful imagining swiftly came to a close .Suddenly he felt something replacing his fear .It was resolve .Resolve to get out of here.
,,No .The only monsters that were in this room left it,and they left it unlocked." He finally convinced himself.
He had to do something .He started to struggle against his binds .But as the villain stated,they were really sturdy,so he gave up trying to break out all of his body at once,and he focused on his right arm .He put all of his four years old energy in attempt to free his arm,but to no avail,he tried around six more times,but to same effect.
There are many ways to define our fragile existence; many ways to give it meaning. But it is our memories that shape its purpose and give it context. The private assortment of images: fears, loves, regrets… for it's the cruel irony of life that we are destined to hold the dark with the light, the good with the evil, success with disappointment… this is what separates us, what makes us human. And in the end, we must fight to hold on to.
In his time of trial,he chose to fight,instead of flight.
He chose to challenge the obstacles in his path rather than give into the despair and fear.
,,Come out,come out!" He almost screamed with his teriffied,but also determined voice,while pulling his right arm back.
And something surely did ,,come out''
He suddenly felt something hard and cold sliding down from his shoulder down his arm,and ending on his fingers .When he tried to move them,he felt as they were in some sort of metal encasement.
,,Is this the gift that villain was talking about? Is this the quirk from this gift?" Issei wondered
He did wonder for a second but just before he started to pull his arm again .This time,it was easier and he felt like the binds were giving way .After a minute of grinding against them,his right arm was finally free .He then tried to grab onto his left arm with his fingers,but as he touched his skin,he felt like it was pierced by a knife .He immediately stopped touching it.
,,W-why are my fingers s-so sharp?" He asked himself
But that gave him an idea how to free the rest of his body parts.
He pulled his left arm backward as to locate the bids that were holding it in place .When he finally did,he tried to put his fingers on them,which was hard due to the complete darkness of the room .After a while,he managed to lock on to them.
,,I-if my fingers are really sharp,then c-can I cut it?" He thought.
,, Unless the boy uses some sort of blade,he is not getting out of his biddings" He remembered the masked captor saying.
This was the last thing he needed to execute his little plan of escape .He scratched,but more likely in this state slashed at the binds on his left arm.
They gave way
He then repeated the process with the binds on his stomach and then on both of his ankles .When he finally free,he rushed to the door .It was hard since his legs felt like cotton because of the binds that kept his blood circulation low in them .When he finally got to them,he opened them wide.
The light of the corridor blinded him for a second,but the moment his sight adjusted,he looked at his right arm.
It was covered in a black,metalically shiny armor,with sharply ended fingers and a long blade in acute angle above his wrist ending on his elbow
He looked at it throughly .His very own quirk .The quirk that helped him escape from death .The quirk that he denied the villains to get their hands on.
Looking at it was the second last thing he remembered from this incident.
The last one was that he started to run really fast down the corridor,looking for the way out.
And then he lost all recollection of what happened next.
The Earth is large. Large enough that you think you can hide from anything. From Fate. From God. If only you found a place far enough away. So you run. To the edge of the Earth. Where all is safe again. Quiet, and warm. The solace of salt air. The peace of danger left behind. The luxury of grief. And maybe, for a moment, you believe you have escaped.
Now that's for the first chpater.I will try to update the story on every Wednesdays and Fridays. R&R,all critic is welcome.
(And if you know whose quotes are in bold,you are a real hero)
The story will continue on chapter 2: Resolve and Regrets
