So yeah, this is an SYOC story about a vigilante reform school, and my first attempt at an SYOC story. Feedback is appreciated, as are character submissions.
Also, thanks KingKatsu for helping.
Asano crouched on the lip of the building, blending into the shadows as he watched the people walk on the streets far below him. He waited for any suspicious individuals, watching people's hands and postures for the tell-tale signs of criminal intent. One particular person drew his eye, a sleazy looking youth with matted and untidy blonde hair, who was making his way through the crowd, his hands darting in and out of pockets and bags, stealing wallets and valuables from unsuspecting individuals.
Asano's mouth curled up into a snarl as he watched the pickpocket go about his business, even the people who noticed the thief refusing to do anything as he robbed others blind. Asano grabbed onto the outlet pipe that led from the roof to the ground, sliding down it with practised skill. He hit the ground and started walking, pushing his way through the crowd as he tried to follow the pickpocket through the human maze that surrounded him.
Asano saw the pickpocket dart into the alleyway, and followed him into the darkness, remaining far enough behind that the thief wouldn't notice him above the hustle and bustle of the busy street outside. The pickpocket quickly looked around, checking behind him and on the rooftops above him, before he began to pull a collection of wallets out of his pockets, chuckling as he leafed through them, pulling out notes, coins and cards before tossing the wallet down onto the alleyway floor. "Trash, trash," He muttered as he leafed through the cards, "This one's nice," he said, pulling a credit card from the mass of cards and slipping it into his pocket.
Asano had seen enough. He began to run towards the pickpocket, cracking his knuckles as he went, "Got the time?" He called towards the youth, as his run turned into a sprint. The thief turned to face Asano just as he swung a fist right into his face, knocking the pickpocket to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.
"Ow, fuck!" the pickpocket cried as the breath whooshed out of his lungs, "That's not how you ask for the time!"
"Shut up," Asano growled, as he grabbed the youth by the collar and punched him in the mouth, "You better stop this shit, or I'll be back tomorrow, and they'll never find your body," he finished, lifting the pickpocket up and smashing him into the wall. He rifled through his pockets and took the money he had recently stolen.
"W-w-what kind of hero are you?" The thief stuttered, paralysed by fear even after Asano let him go.
"The kind that's not going to let the law get in the way of ending scum like you," Asano growled, as he stood up and walked away, kicking apart the pile of wallets the youth had made.
"So you're not a hero, you're a vigilante, a criminal just like me." The pickpocket said, a cocky and slightly punch-drunk grin spreading across his face.
Asano paused, and then in an instant; he was standing in front of the youth, his arm pressed against his throat, holding him against the wall and crushing his windpipe.
"No," he growled, "I'm nothing like you,"
He removed his arm, dropping the pickpocket to the ground as he turned and resumed walking, leaving the criminal alone in the alley, gasping for breath.
Asano pulled the cash he had reclaimed from the youth out of his pocket, leafing through it and totalling up the amount. "Twenty, forty, ninety, ninety-five," He muttered to himself, pulling a ten dollar bill out of the mass, putting it back into his pocket as he walked towards a small charity stand. He dropped the cash onto the surface of the stand, walking away and ignoring the chorus of thanks that emerged from the charity workers that operated the stand. He disliked having to take a cut from the reclaimed money, but he needed it, and at least ten bucks was the least he could take and still afford to eat. He turned down a blind alley, slipping into the darkness as he prepared to resume his work.
The pro-hero Armarhino unclipped the cell phone from his belt, raising it up to his ear as he answered the call. "Armarhino here, what's up?" he said.
"Armarhino? Thank God it's you; the last few calls have only reached some B-tier jackasses who think they can handle this," The caller answered with a breath of relief, as Armarhino's lip curled in disgust. The Heroic Emergency Response Signal, or HERoS, was a good idea, in theory, a device that broadcast a signal to any nearby registered heroes, patching them into a phone call with the person who put out the message and giving them the location of the incident. Unfortunately, all too often, anyone who put out a signal would refuse help from anyone who wasn't a well-established hero, repeating the beacon's signal till someone of sufficient reputation arrived. If those issues could be resolved, then this would be another great tool in a hero's arsenal, but for now, it could often be as much of a hindrance than a help.
Armarhino sighed, "Let's get right into it then, who's calling, and what's your situation?"
"This is Detective Nakada, we've got a hostage situation going on in downtown. Some loon has about twenty people held up in a hotel lobby. He's got a gun, and he's claiming that he has explosives too, but we haven't seen any sign of those." the caller answered.
"Do we know anything about the hostage taker?" Armarhino asked, his voice remaining at a calm and level tone as he began to run towards the location the call was coming from, racing past cars and down alleys as he went.
"Nothing so far, the techs haven't dug anything up yet, they still don't even know who he is," Detective Nakada answered, "I'll try to give a better explanation when you arrive."
Asano watched the police crowd around the hotel lobby, the flashing lights and wailing sirens filling the night sky as the police officers stood behind their cars and barricades, talking on their radios in an oddly casual tone, considering how many lives were at stake. Asano knew his way around the hotel, he had spent a few nights sleeping in the basement after he had figured out the keycode, but they had long since changed it, and he hadn't bothered to come back since, but now it seemed like he had no choice. He circled around the hotel, keeping his distance from the police line as he approached the service entrance.
The door was open when he got there, propped open by a folding chair, so employees didn't have to continually unlock it to get outside, whether for a smoke, or just a breath of relatively fresh air. Asano ducked inside, creeping towards the lobby where the sounds of the whimpering hostages emerged. He peaked through a side door, watching the hostage taker as he guarded the hostages.
He was about five foot, ten inches tall, with a thin and angular build, and a long, drawn-out face. He wore a long black coat with a deep red lining, black combat boots, a dark grey shirt, and black pants. He carried an assault rifle in one hand, and a long curved knife in the other. Every so often, he would bark an order at the cowering hostages, and they would flinch back, huddling together in terror.
Asano backed away from the door, moving downstairs into the basement of the hotel, a plan for saving the hostages already forming in his head.
Armarhino arrived at the police line surrounding the lobby, many of the police officers relaxing now that a pro-hero had come to deal with the chaotic situation. Armarhino ignored their praise, instead searching out for the detective who had called in. He found him not soon after, analysing a floor plan of the building with several members of a SWAT unit. Armarhino cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the detective.
"Armarhino here," He announced, saluting the police detective, then offering his hand to shake, "Detective Nakada, I presume?"
The detective remained silent, as did the members of the SWAT unit, instead staring at the pro hero in amazement. Armarhino wasn't surprised, most people reacted like this when seeing him in person for the first time.
He towered over most people, standing at ten feet tall, with a build to match, making him look like an oversized boxer or wrestler. He had a relatively normal face, but the broken nose drew attention away from it, and his blond hair draped over his eyes to conceal them. A segmented, shell-like plate covered his back, allowing him to curl into an almost impenetrable ball, a result of his quirk, Curling Shell.
Detective Nakada swallowed hard, then shook the heroes offered hand, "Thank you for arriving so quickly, Armarhino," The detective said, "Allow me to catch you up."
He began to explain the current situation, "The hostage taker is in the lobby, with twenty-eight people held captive. He's shorted out the elevators; they're stuck between the eighth and seventh floor. He's got a gun, and a knife, and isn't responding to any attempts to contact him."
"Any explosives?" Armarhino asked, resting his hand on his chin
"We've got no idea," a member of the SWAT team answered, "if he does, they're most likely here," He said, pointing towards a spot on the floor plan, "And here."
"What's your plan, Sir?" the detective asked.
"Simple," Armarhino said, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders, "I'm gonna go talk to him,"
"Talk to him?" detective Nakada asked in an incredulous tone, "We've tried that, he's not responding!"
"No, you've tried yelling at him from across a parking lot," The pro hero countered, "But I can go inside safely, and talk to him without risking injury. This isn't the kind of situation we can solve by charging in headfirst."
The detective and the SWAT team stood in stunned silence as the pro hero began walking towards the entrance to the lobby. He pushed past the police line, coming to a stop just outside the doors of the hotel lobby. Taking a deep breath, Armarhino pushed open the door, walking into the lobby with his hands held high above his head.
As soon as he walked into the lobby, the gunman levelled the rifle at him, supporting the front end with the hand that still held the knife. "Who are you!?" The man barked at him, his finger tightening slightly as he aimed at the pro hero's head, "Identify yourself!" He ordered in a disciplined and military tone.
"I'm a pro hero," Armarhino answered, stepping slightly further into the lobby, "My name is Armarhino, I came here to talk with you,"
"There is nothing for us to talk about, I have no demands, and I will not leave here without accomplishing my goals," The gunman replied, "Unless you are here to deliver your surrender, I suggest you either leave the way you came in, or join the other tributes."
Armarhino cursed quietly under his breath, as he scanned the hotel's lobby. Not having any demands meant they couldn't promise things to postpone the gunman, and Armarhino could only think of one goal that could be accomplished in a room full of hostages. As he looked around the room, he noticed the doors to the elevator being pried open, and a boy with short brown hair poked his head through the newly created gap. He made eye contact with the pro hero, and lifted his finger to his lips, indicating that they should keep silent,
"Keep him talking," The boy mouthed, as he pushed the gap open wider, and began to direct the hostages down into the elevator shaft, into the basement and away from the gunman's line of fire.
"So," Armarhino began, drawing the gunman's attention away from the hostages, "What are your goals here then, surely there is something you want that you can't get here?"
"Unless you can get me more tributes, I don't think we can negotiate anything, Mr… Armarhino was it?" The gunman lazily drawled, his grip on the firearm weakening.
"Just Armarhino," the pro hero replied, maintaining his level tone "And who are you?"
"No-one important," The gunman answered, "but if you must know, my name is Jeffrey,"
"Well then, Jeffrey, since we're on a first name basis now, my real name is-"
"I don't care," Jeffrey interrupted, "I doubt we will see each other after this, one of us will be dead, and the other will face the oncoming storm."
Half the hostages were evacuated by now, so Armarhino pressed on, feeling encouraged by the success of this plan. "Oncoming storm, what are you talking about?" He asked, lowering his hands slightly, which Jeffrey seemed not to notice.
"Don't act like you haven't seen it, this world is growing darker," Jeffrey began to rant, "The world is tainted, and needs to be reborn, in fire and blood. I have already begun the first, now is time for the second,"
"The first…" Armarhino thought for a second, then it dawned on him, "The fire at the government building, and the university, that was you!"
"Very clever, pro-hero," Jeffrey said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I think there are a few four-year-olds who didn't get it as fast as you,"
Armarhino felt his anger seethe inside him, but he kept it in check. They only had a few more hostages to get out, and he didn't want to blow it now. "If this… cleansing... requires blood, why not offer yourself?"
"Don't be foolish; humanity needs someone to lead them after this cleansing, someone who has foreseen the woe's that will befall the chosen survivors. Besides, there are so many, who would miss a few…" he said, as he swept his hand around the room, now seeing that it was almost entirely empty, the only ones left being Jeffrey, Armarhino, and the boy that had helped evacuate the hostages.
"Expecting someone?" The boy said, leaning back against the doors of the elevator with a cocky smirk.
Armarhino inspected the boy, now that he could get a good look at him. He was relatively tall, standing at exactly six feet tall, with a lithe build, similar to a gymnast, with long limbs and a shorter torso. His hair was dark brown and very short, cut quite close to his skull, and his eyes matched his hair colour. He wore faded grey jeans held up by a worn brown belt, black hiking boots, a black shirt, and a brown jacket that was missing its right arm, exposing his strange black coloured right arm.
Jeffrey stared at him in surprise, but it quickly morphed into anger, as he began to raise the assault rifle towards him. Armarhino reacted quickly, stepping around Jeffrey and punching the firearm, bending it beyond repair and flinging it out of reach. Jeffrey was unfazed, and switched to his knife, while the boy charged into closer range to fight hand to hand. Armarhino quickly pressed the panic button on his cell phone, alerting all nearby police officers that he needed backup, then dove between the boy and Jeffrey, intercepting the knife, tearing it from Jeffrey's grip, and feeling the boy bounce off his armoured shell, and fall to the ground, unresponsive.
Seconds later, the hotel windows shattered, and the doors were kicked open, as a crowd of police in SWAT uniforms stormed into the building, screaming commands at the top of their lungs as they surrounded the trio. Two of them grabbed Jeffrey by the arms, forcing him to the ground and handcuffing him, while one of them grabbed the boy, handcuffing him like Jeffrey.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Armarhino demanded, as he grabbed the officer who cuffed the boy by the shoulder, "That boy helped me, without him, this would likely have been a disaster!"
"Sorry sir, but I can't let him go," The police officer said, his mask muffling his voice slightly, "He's a wanted man, several counts of criminal vigilantism,"
The police officer stood hauled the boy up to his feet and began marching him out of the hotel lobby, alongside Jeffrey.
"Wait," Armarhino called after the officer, who paused, and turned to face the pro hero. "At least tell me his name," Armarhino asked, walking closer to the police officer.
"Asano, Asano Torio," The officer said, and exited the building with the boy.
Armarhino nodded, then pulled out his cell phone, quickly typing in a number.
"It's me," He spoke into the phone, his voice quiet and serious, "I think I've found another one."
So yeah, that's the introduction chapter, and my main character, Asano Torio
As for the SYOC rules, I only have a few
1. The school is international, so have international characters
2. Submit the character through PM only, if you put it in the review section, I will ignore it
3. Try to answer every question on the form, unless it is marked as optional
The form can be found on my profile, any questions, just PM me
