Ultimates:

In this life, there are those known as Ultimates: people feared and hunted for their special abilities, be they physical or mental. When Makoto Naegi suddenly develops as an Ultimate and is immediately targeted by his alleged father, he's left wondering if he's truly a "Luck" type.

PROLOGUE: [It's not] World's End

The Tragedy. The name given to the war that took place nearly a century ago that killed millions. It had started as a small, isolated incident… a group of people had taken an entire office building in New York hostage, completely prepared to kill themselves and everyone in the building unless their conditions were met.

There are many theories that try to explain why it happened; one states the group of people who'd started the uprising were victims of a corruption scandal that the entire city had covered up. Other theories suggest that they'd simply been a terrorist group. As the days went by and the hostage situation continued, more and more theories began surfacing all over the planet. It's unclear why this had such a large impact, but for some reason people began to fight based on whether or not they thought that one group was in the right or wrong.

It was when the nation's police force took action that things began to spiral out of control. After days of ignoring the group's requests, they stormed the building and started shooting anyone in sight, hostage and kidnapper alike. It's unclear as to what had happened after that point, but within minutes the building erupted into a fiery ball of rubble and smoke. There were no survivors… and the world flew into a frenzy.

Some people began blaming the government for what had happened; that the situation could have been resolved if they had only listened to the group inside. Others were sticking by the government's decision and felt the blame was on the alleged terrorist group for not complying with the law.

The events following were a blur in most people's eyes, but from this one, isolated incident… people began to divide. Those who sought reform the governments and those who sought to keep them the same began fighting and killing each other for the sake of what they'd believed in.

As time passed, around two years or so, people seemed to all but forget the reason for this war. It wasn't about reform anymore; the original two sides had disbanded. The fighting continued without reason, crimes were being committed for the sake of committing the crime, with no way to stop it. People who cried out for peace began banding together in attempt to stop the senseless violence… but that would only lead to more bloodshed than there originally was.

About five years into the fighting, two more factions began to fight each other for the sake of peace. One side sought peace through diplomacy and avoided confrontation, while the other side felt that things would end faster with force and displays of power. The two sides eventually were dubbed "Hope" and "Despair" respectively, and while both sought out the same end, it was the means to the end that caused even more violence than what had originally occurred.

Within the last year of the war, the battle between Hope and Despair had caused five times the amount of casualties than the first seven.

The war came to a crashing halt when Despair had begun experimenting with biological warfare. It was then-

…

Makoto Naegi, are you even listening!?

I'm snapped out of my reverie when the teacher calls my name out. "W-What?"

She huffs and puts her hands on her hips. "I'm attempting to teach a class young man! I don't care if your father was a war hero or not, you need to listen to this lecture just like everyone else!" She walks over to my notebook and sees the various doodles I've scribbled down. "And why aren't you taking any notes!?"

I frown and sink into my seat. "Sorry ma'am."

"Be sure to see me after class." She turns on her heel and walks back to the board. I hear several stifled snickers from behind me and I sink even lower into my seat. I feel a tap on my arm and glance over to see my best friend and crush Sayaka frowning over to me. She smoothly slides a note onto my desk and turns back to the board, scribbling down whatever the teacher says.

I quickly unfold the note and read it. Are you alright? You've been out of it all day.

I sigh and quickly scribble down my reply. I'm fine. Just a little tired. I push the note onto her desk when the teacher, Mrs. Amiya, isn't looking.

She reads the note and nods, shoving it in her notebook and quickly returning to her note-taking. I sigh and let myself zone out again. We've been over things like this again and again, and they only ever add a small amount of information each year we do. For some reason though, no one ever seems to notice that fact. "At least I'm a senior… I won't have to sit through any more of these dumb classes."

Eventually I tune back into the lecture, not wanting to get scolded for not paying attention again. "Now, as you all know, there are several kinds of Ultimates. Back when they were first discovered, we didn't have a classification system for them, so it's really convenient to have it now!" She turns behind her and writes the word "types" with an underline. "Can anyone tell me any types they know?"

"Strength?"

"Siren!"

"U-Uh, Oracle?"

"Emperor!"

I sigh and raise my hand. "Luck."

She stops hastily scribbling down answers and turns to me with a frown. "Now Makoto… you more than anyone else know that the only Luck type belongs to the army. We normally simply class that under…" She scribbles a word down and moves aside so the class can see it. "A Variant."

A girl up front raises her hand. "What do you mean by a Variant?" I have the sudden urge to roll my eyes, but I have to check myself because I know that the rest of them probably didn't know.

"A great question!" Mrs. Amiya says with a smile. "Variant types are Ultimates that can't be classified as a Strength, Siren, Oracle, or Emperor type! Now, we could simply make new categories, but variants are so uncommon, and no two usually share the same ability! These types are definitely some of the most dangerous, because there's no way to know what to expect from them."

Sayaka is next to raise her hand. "We've gone over this already in another class, but…" She scratches her cheek a little sheepishly. "Could you please go over what each type means?"

"Of course!" Mrs. Amiya cheers. She then sets to work writing each type's description next to their names on the board. She steps to the side with a flourish once she's done, and I lazily scan the information that's been drilled into my head since I was little.

Strength- Any Ultimate with enhanced physical capabilities.

Siren- Any Ultimate with the uncanny ability to influence others through expression.

Oracle- Any Ultimate with enhanced mental capabilities.

Emperor- Any Ultimate with the uncanny ability to strategize and lead others.

Variant- Any Ultimate with an ability that can't be classified under any of the other types.

"Does that help you at all dear?" She asks. Sayaka nods and hurriedly scribbles down the information on the board. "Good! Now then-" She cuts herself off as the bell chimes and signals the end of the school day. "Jeez, just as we were getting to the good stuff! Don't worry guys, I'll start to discuss the extermination and capture measures for each of them tomorrow! Dismissed!"

I grimace and briefly consider skipping tomorrow, but think better of it. "Dad would have a cow…"

Sayaka smiles over to me as she gathers her things. "I'll be waiting for you outside Makoto! Leon wanted us to meet with him and listen to his new song later, and I'm not going unless you're with me!"

I grimace. "He's still on that whole rock star thing? He should just come back to school already, he'd be great as a border guard!"

"I know, I know! But…" She gets a small smile on her face. "I want him to live his life, you know? I'm sure things will work out for him!"

I sigh and nod. "If you say so Sayaka…" She turns on her heel and sweeps out of the room. I can't help but envy Leon at times like this, but I really shouldn't. He's another one of my best friends after all.

Mrs. Amiya clears out her throat, breaking me out of my jealous thoughts. "Come over here please Makoto." I approach the podium and she shakes her head. "Can you please explain to me why you were drawing pictures of dinosaurs and cars in your notes?"

I scratch my cheek a little. "Mrs. Amiya… I don't mean any disrespect, but we've talked about The Tragedy and the Ultimates ever since middle school. What about the the middle ages and the Egyptians and stuff? It's the same thing over and over again!"

"Because this," She gestures toward the board. "Is what matters right now! Just because you know this stuff inside and out doesn't mean I should tailor the course to you!" She crosses her arms and fixes a steady glare on me. "This school is designed to get you all into professions where you can defend the helpless against the untamed Ultimates, there's no point in discussing anything else!"

"Untamed…" I internally snort. "…You know they aren't animals Mrs. Amiya."

She sighs. "I don't even know why you're in this school… They aren't like you or I Makoto!"

"I'm here because I want to protect people." I say with a frown. "But that includes them too. They might be different from the rest of us, but I don't think that warrants us treating them like the scum of the earth!"

"You can't be serious…" She sighs and walks over to her desk, flopping down with a huff. "I don't understand you at all! Your father is one of the most famed heroes from the war, and one of the best Ultimate exterminators there is! How can you be so… naïve about them?"

"I'm not being naïve!" I say with a huff. "I realize that some of them are bad, but… Just because I don't think they're all monsters doesn't mean I'm an idiot Mrs. Amiya!"

"That's not what I-!" I turn away from her and grab my things off my desk, storming out of the room. I don't normally like exploiting my father's status, but at least I can do things like this once in a while and not get detention.

Sayaka kept true to her word and was waiting for me outside the door. By the look on her face, I can tell that she'd heard everything. "You have some pretty strange views Makoto…"

"No, they aren't strange." I say with a sigh, walking down the hall. "Just because they're special in some ways doesn't mean we should kill them or enslave them for our own purposes."

She winces slightly. "I wouldn't say enslave…"

"I would." I say flatly. "What else do you call keeping them against their will?"

"I-It's not against their will!" She hurriedly says. "It's giving them a chance at life! Otherwise they'd be killed, you know? Besides, it only happens when they come to the city, it's not a big deal!"

I stop in my tracks. "Sayaka… you've never been outside the city. I've seen it with my own eyes… they don't have to do anything wrong to be captured or killed. Back when I was a kid, my dad took me out on a… hunt. An Ultimate with a unique ability had been discovered out in the forest; he was able to make plants grow within minutes. They went way out from the city just to get this guy because they thought his ability would be useful." I grimace, images of that day flashing through my mind. "A-Anyway, the point is there's a reason for me to think like that!"

A worried frown graces her features. "…You've talked about this sort of thing with me before Makoto. But that was such a long time ago… why are you bringing it up again?"

I laugh a little and wave her off. "I never stopped believing that Sayaka!"

She huffs and crosses her arms. "I had thought you'd grown out of it…"

"I'm not asking you to accept my views Sayaka." I turn around to her, putting on my best smile. "Let's just drop it for now, alright? Talking about this sort of thing isn't fun."

"Alright, but… you can't keep that sort of thing to yourself." She laughs a little and catches up to me. "I wouldn't want you turning into an Ultimate on me!"

"Hey." I say poking her in the side. "I said they're people, but that doesn't mean I want to be one! I couldn't imagine how hard it must be…" I sigh. "Besides, it's not like I can just turn into an Ultimate; neither of my parents are one you know!"

She giggles. "I know! Anyway, let's get going! We can't keep Leon waiting for long, you know he'll pitch a fit!"

Leon's performance was… interesting, to say the least. He was so enthusiastic about it though that neither Sayaka nor I had the heart to tell him that it needed some work. After several hours at his apartment, I walked Sayaka home and started off toward my own.

I glance up to the sky. "No stars again…" That's the issue with living in the city; too much light pollution. I look over to the large fence surrounding the city, and then to the guards patrolling both inside and out.

Towa city is one of the metropolitan areas that was constructed after the war. As far as I know; all of the large cities like Towa have the same things in common: They all have sensors that can detect an Ultimate, they all are completely barricaded, and they're all extremely advanced technology-wise. Areas that aren't blocked off basically consist of ruins of the older cities and suburbs, new villages and towns that don't have the same luxuries we do, and wild areas.

"It's scary to think that this was all different just one-hundred years ago…" I muse, continuing my way home. "I'd told Sayaka that I've been out of the city, but really it was just into the forest just outside… I wonder what it's like in other areas."

I'm brutally shocked out of my thoughts by a loud siren suddenly going off. I immediately snap to attention. "An Ultimate…!?"

I never understood completely how the Ultimate sensors worked, but apparently when an Ultimate uses their ability they expel a certain energy that the sensors can pick up. I've heard of false alerts happening before, and it's been a solid year since there was an Ultimate sighting… it must just be a fluke.

"It went this way!"

…or not.

I speed up my pace. Whenever the Special Ultimate Control Squad (or SUCS) get in gear, they're ruthless. I've heard stories about how they've killed civilians on accident while on the hunt… and I'd rather not be the next S.O.B. victim if I'm being honest.

I hear footsteps quickly approaching from behind me, and before I know it I've been pulled into an alley. I try to yell out, but a hand quickly clasps itself over my mouth.

"Keep quiet!"

I focus my gaze in front of me to see a tall and lean busty brunette glaring down at me. "Seriously, I'm not gonna hesitate to bend you like a pretzel if you get me caught!"

"C-Crap!" I internally squeak. "There really was an Ultimate here?!"

She drags me deeper into the alley and pulls me behind a dumpster. It doesn't take long to find out why she did; within moments the once silent area is filled with noise; helicopters, utility vehicles, and foot soldiers all pass through the area in an instant. I hear the people barking at each other, but their words are lost in the sirens and the noise of the helicopter's blades. I'm almost certain that they're going to catch us, but to my surprise, and relief, they pass by us quickly.

After she's certain the coast is clear, she releases my mouth and stands with a huff. "Annoying as hell…!"

"H-How…?" I squeak after a moment. She turns and raises an eyebrow at me. "How did they not find you?"

"Oh, that's easy!" She says with a laugh. "Those whatever the fucks only make noise when I do my thing, you know? If I'm not doing anything, then they won't go off!"

"…I see." I say flatly. "So they were chasing you because you did…?"

"Bah, I got sloppy." She says, cleaning out her ear with her pinky. "These cities are so damn annoying. I jump a little higher than I should have once and all hell breaks loose." She starts, as if something just occurred to her. "Hey… why arentcha freaking out?"

"W-What do you mean?" I ask, wholly confused by this situation.

She snorts. "I meant why you didn't run off as soon as I let go of ya? Aren't you civvie types scared shitless by us Ultimates?"

"Well, normally…" I rub the back of my neck. "Not many people really share my views on this, but… I don't think I should hate or be afraid of someone just because they're different. I want a reason." I stand and brush my pants off. "So, uhm… why did you drag be back here?"

"Feh!" She crosses her arms. "I normally don't give a shit about you pansies, but the old man told me not to get anyone killed… who didn't deserve it at least!" She scratches her nose a little. "And… I unno, something jus' told me they'd probably kill ya if they saw you near me."

I grimace. "What would have made you think that!?"

"Just feels, okay?" She sighs, but then shoots me an appraising look. "...You're pretty scrawny, huh? What's your name kid?"

"…It's Makoto Naegi. And I'm not a kid, I'm turning eighteen in a couple days!"

"Wow, seriously? That's hysterical, I-" She looks ready to bust into laughter, but checks herself. "Wait, did you say Makoto?"

"Y-Yeah…?" I affirm, feeling uncomfortable. "Why?"

"Hang on." She digs into the breast pocket of her white shirt and pulls out a small piece of paper. "M… Ma-…" She scowls. "Damn this old man and his shitty handwriting! Here!" She shoves the small piece of paper into my hands. "Is this your name?"

I smooth out the wrinkly piece of paper and squint at it. The handwriting really is terrible… I can't make out what it says at all. "…I can't read this either."

"Hah! And he just said I didn't have an eye for it… now I have proof!" She snatches the paper from my hands and stuffs it down her shirt. "Well, whatever. You're pretty funky, so I'm just gonna guess that you're the kid he's looking for!"

"Your friend is looking for someone in the city?" I ask, completely confused by this strange girl. "But why? Only people live here, and most of them are… well, most of them really wouldn't want to talk to an Ultimate. What could he possibly want with someone here?"

"Don't ask me!" She huffs, crossing her arms. "What he'd want with someone here I 'unno, but I'm here looking for them anyways! It pisses me off, but until I'm sure of who this fucker is I can't leave… So what didja say your name was? Mike or something?"

I really don't know what's going on right now. "…Makoto."

"Right right!" She nods, seemingly understanding. "Alright, I'll be keeping an eye on you Maki, so don't freak out or nothing if I pop by to talk to you again!" She turns on her heel and dashes out of the alley.

"Wait, why-!?" I run after her and call out, but she's nowhere in sight by the time I make it back to the main street.

I have no idea what to think of what just happened. "Just what am I supposed to do…? That girl said she'd be back… do I tell dad" I quickly shake my head. "No, that's the last thing I want to do… he'd definitely find her and kill her! I don't know why she's here, but she hadn't done anything wrong by the sound of it!"

Resolving myself to keep my mouth shut about the incident, I start the long walk home once more, hoping to god nothing else happens.

I unlock the door to the house and slide inside, shutting the door noiselessly behind me. It's nine o' clock… much later than I had expected it to be. I put my school bag in the closet and slide my shoes off. As I walk by the living room, I see my mother hunched over… crying.

"H-Hey, mom?" She whips her head up to me. "What's-"

She launches off the couch and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank god you're alright! Thank god…!"

"W-Woah, mom!" I say, prying her off of me. "Why wouldn't I be, what happened?"

She blows her nose into a tissue. "I-I'm sorry Makoto… it's just that I'd heard the Ultimate sensors go off, and I thought…!"

"She was afraid that you were killed by the Ultimate that had infiltrated the city."

I glance behind me to see my father standing there with his arms crossed. He's very muscular for his age, and can still fight and beat anyone who challenges him to a sparring match. He's extremely intimidating when he wants to be… which is why I don't say anything as he shoots my mother the dirtiest look I've ever seen. "Just what took you so long though?" He asks, turning his gaze to me.

"D-Dad, you know how the SUCS guys can be… I mean really, you used to lead them! I took cover once I heard the siren!" Okay, not a total lie, but my father is a perceptive man. I do my best to keep my expression light.

He seems to buy it well enough, as his face softens just a bit. "…Probably a wise descision. My boys really can be overzealous when it comes to keeping those things out of the city... just please, call us next time!"

"D-Dear…" My mother starts, shaking. "Don't you think we should-"

"Get Makoto here some dinner?" He finishes for her. "Of course! It's a little late, but he's a growing boy!" A smile works its way onto his face. "Come on, your mother made lasagna tonight!"

I know for a fact that's not what my mother wanted to say, but she relents with a nod once my stomach growls the mention of food. "Right… come on sweetie."

The next few pass with little to no incident. It's almost as if the thing with the strange Ultimate girl never happened, and it's managed to slip into the back of my thoughts, much to my relief. Finally, the day I've been waiting almost a week for comes… my eighteenth birthday!

…

Of course, it would be a lot better if I didn't wake up with the headache to end all headaches.

I shove myself out of bed with a grunt and make my way to the bathroom. I pull some painkillers out of the cabinet and swallow them dry, then move to get ready for the day. Shower, brush my teeth, wash my face… the entire routine is the same as usual.

But I can't help but feel like something's weird.

It's not because of the headache either, it's really just this feeling I have. I do my best to shake it off and pull on some clothes so I can face the day. This year I was lucky enough for my birthday to fall on a Saturday, so I don't have to drag myself to school.

"Makoto!" I poke my head out my bedroom door when I hear my mom. She's standing just outside with a tray of food in her hands. "Happy birthday kiddo!"

I open the door fully and grin at her. "Wow, thanks mom! I could have come down to eat you know…"

She laughs and shakes her head. "I wasn't really expecting you to be up so early on a Saturday, so I was hoping to catch you in bed…" She trails off and her expression changes to something I can't place. "Makoto… are you feeling alright? You look pale."

I wave her off. "I'm okay, it's just a small headache! I already took some painkillers, so I'll be fine!"

She scowls, but nods anyway. "…Alright." She hands me the tray. "Tell me, do you have any plans today?"

I nod. "U-huh! Sayaka and Leon are meeting me at the park! Apparently they have something cool planned, I'm not sure what it is though!"

"Ah, alright then!" She suddenly smiles. "Then, while you're gone I'll be getting a few things ready!"

"Mom." I say, puffing out my cheeks at her. "You don't need to go through the trouble of throwing a party like you always do!"

"And who said I was?" She smirks slightly and ruffles my hair. "Now, eat up and be sure not to come back until you absolutely have to! Your momma has a few things she needs to handle without you getting in the way!"

I duck away from her hand with a laugh and she reaches out and flicks me on the nose before smiling fondly and walking away. "You're such a weirdo mom!" I yell out after her. She only giggles as she makes her way down the stairs.

I shake my head and glance down to the food on my tray. Looks like I won't be going hungry today!

"Makoto!"

I whip my head around to see Leon running over to me. "Yo, dude! You're here early!"

He slings his arm around my shoulder. "I am? I'm pretty sure you're the one who's early bro!"

I brush him off and turn to him with a sheepish grin on my face. "Well, you know how my mom is! She kicked me out as soon as I stuffed my face with my birthday breakfast!"

"Ah, good ol' Mrs. Naegs." He shakes his head. "So obvious with her party planning."

"I know." I laugh. "But she's the best mom a guy could have asked for, you know?"

"Feh, wish she was my mom." Leon crosses his arms with a huff. "Mine was so pissed at me for dropping out of school that she kicked my happy ass out."

"Oh please, you love living on your own!" I roll my eyes and scan the crowd. "Hey… where's Sayaka? Shouldn't she have come here with you?"

"I dunno actually." He says with a frown. "She said that she had some things to take care of, so I showed up on my own. I think she wanted us to meet over by that sweet shop on Fifth."

"Well, let's go then." I say. "I can't wait to-" I start walking toward the street, but I cut myself off short when my headache drops a reminder that it's still there. "Geh…!"

"Woah, Makoto!" Leon says, catching up to me. "Something the matter? I didn't want to say anything, but… you sorta look like you're hung over."

"What?" I start to yell, but quickly regret it when my head starts to throb. "You know I don't drink… I just woke up with a wicked headache!"

His expression switches over to a thoughtful one for a second before it breaks out in a grin. "You know what would help-?"

"No." I say flatly.

"You didn't even know what I was going to-!" I shoot him a look that screams "Really Leon?" and he sighs. "Yeah, okay… killjoy."

I laugh a little. "So I'm a killjoy because I don't like to drink underage like you do?"

"Yeah, you are!" He says with a huff. "It's boring when I'm the one out of the three of us who gets wasted! Drinking is a group activity!"

I move behind him and push him along. "Yeah, yeah! You can complain all you want when we find Sayaka!"

"It's not complaining, it's fact-stating!"

He pouts for the better part of our walking trip, not saying anything as a form of "punishment". Several blocks later, I finally spot Sayaka standing on the opposite side of the street from us.

"Hey, Sayaka!" I yell out. Leon perks up at the mention of her name and starts waving over to her once she sees us.

"Hi guys!" She cheers. She dashes into the street in an effort to come over to us… but she's not watching where she's going.

A large van is heading right for her, and showing no signs of stopping.

"Wait, Sayaka no!"

The next several seconds seem to move in slow motion for me as my body runs on auto-pilot and rushes out into the street. My headache is reaching a peak as I run, but I ignore it.

"Makoto don't-!"

"I need to get her out of the way…!"

I leap towards her and shove her as hard as I can out of the way of the truck, crushing my eyes together as I wait for the truck to plow into me.

…

But it doesn't happen.

I force my eyes open just in time to see the truck plow right into a building, having made a complete turn to the right from the exact point that I'm standing at. Some people managed to get out of the way, but others weren't so lucky. People on the street can only gape at the scene and look on in horror at the mangled bodies of those who were hit full force by the truck and subsequently crushed between it and the building.

And yet… somehow I'm still alive.

Sayaka gapes at me from her place on the ground, mouth trying desperately to form words. "M-Makoto- why-?"

I fall to my knees.

"What…?" I rasp out. "What… was that?"

Without warning the Ultimate sensors start to go off, sending everyone in the area into a frenzy. The bystanders all disperse in random directions in an instant, leaving me frantically looking around for my friends.

"Sayaka…!" Not here.

"Leon?!" Gone.

They're gone.

"They… left me?"

The street is completely barren within a few minutes, and all hope of locating my friends is completely gone.

I hear something coming fast down the street behind me, and I whip my head around to see the SUCS team in full uniform leaping off the massive truck that had just pulled up. I recognize it immediately.

It's a capture truck they use to transport Ultimates.

"Makoto Naegi!" One of the men in uniform begins. "You are under suspicion of being an Ultimate! Surrender now, or we will not hesitate to use deadly force!"

"H-Hold on!" I yell out, standing. The men immediately aim their guns at me as I do. "Y-You can't be serious, there's got to be a mistake…!"

"Oh, there's no mistake Makoto."

My heart hits my stomach as I see my father step off the truck. "I was afraid this would happen… and here I thought we were safe from you emerging as an Ultimate… and as a Luck type no less! How disappointing!"

"D-Dad, hang on!" I yell. "Neither you or mom are an Ultimate, so how-!?"

He shakes his head. There's a smile on his face, but it is by no means I kind one. "Don't worry. Just come with us… I promise that you won't regret it Makoto."

"The hell he won't!"

All gazes shift upward as a girl seemingly falls from the sky, landing gracefully in front of me; it's the very same girl from the other night. "Mark, I swear if you go with these guys you'll wish they'd killed ya! They ain't nothing but bad news!"

"…You." My father says flatly. "How annoying, and here I was told that you'd been eliminated… we have no use for any more Strength types in this city."

"I'd sooner die then hafta get collared and serve you fucks like a dog!" She grinds out, standing in front of me menacingly.

"C-Collared?!" I screech.

My father shakes his head. "Most people aren't aware of that until they're fortunate enough to start hunting, so I'm not surprised that you weren't aware of how we keep our dear Ultimates in check." He holds up what I assume to be one of the collars, which on its own looks like a simple choker. "It's not bad if you decide to cooperate Makoto, but if you don't… well, let's just say what happens next won't be pleasant."

My father laughs as he talks in an almost casual manner. "How can he be… how can he be like this?!" I desperately want to run over to him to and ask him why, why he's looking at me like some sort of thing instead of his son… but every single fiber of my being is screaming at me to run.

Before I even have time to consider going over to him, the weird girl snakes an arm around my waist. "Sorry, but you're not gonna have the opportunity to stick that on him!" She slings me over her shoulder, and with what I assume to be her ultimate skill, launches herself high into the air and lands gracefully onto a balcony of a nearby apartment. While the police scramble to aim at us, she shifts me so that I'm piggy-backing her. "Hang on kid!"

Just as she gets ready to jump again, they start to open fire on us. There are bullets whizzing left and right, missing our bodies by millimeters as she jumps once again, this time landing on top of one of the shorter buildings in the area.

As if we weren't being shot at, she laughs. "Wow, that's one nifty skill you got there Marco!"

"Nifty!?" I screech. "How is anything about what's happening nifty!? They're shooting at us!"

She snorts. "Yeah, and I woulda had to move a lot faster than I am if you weren't with me! They called ya a Luck type, so that means that you're pretty damn lucky!"

I am so tempted to point out that this situation isn't lucky at all, but at this point I'd rather not get shot because we're standing here shooting the breeze. "Whatever, let's just get away from them!"

She visibly pouts, but nods anyway. "Fine fine…"

Several terrifying leaps and bounds later, I get almost used to the feeling of the girl bouncing from roof to roof. After a while, I decide to talk. "So… what's your name?"

"Oh, I didn't tell ya?" She asks with a laugh. "It's Akane. Nice to meetcha Michael!"

I grimace. "It's Makoto!"

She grins. "Details, details! I'm just so pumped it was actually you! Now I can finally leave this shithole!"

"W-Wait!" I yell. "What about me?"

"You're coming with me, duh!" She says this as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "No offense dude, but I don't think your family is gonna want to keep you in the house anymore, let alone keep ya around!"

I want to tell her that it'll be fine, that everything that's going on is just a fluke and that I'm really not an Ultimate… but then I remember what my father said, and any chance of denial is gone in an instant.

"And here I thought we were safe from you emerging as an Ultimate… and as a Luck type no less!"

I feel tears spring to my eyes. "He… knows something, doesn't he?"

"Whaddya mean?" Akane asks, not looking back at me.

"My father… he didn't seem surprised that I turned into an Ultimate…"

"He was sorta sketchy." She affirms. "I wouldn't worry about it too much though, I mean-"

"Can you take me to my house please?" I blurt without thinking.

"Hah?" She asks, screeching to a halt on one of the buildings. "Are you nuts? They're hunting us right now!"

"I know that! But we lost them a while ago…" I move a hand off her shoulder so I can wipe a few rogue tears away. "Not to mention I need to talk to my mom. I… at least want to say goodbye. I'm pretty sure my dad won't be there, so please…!"

"…" She stays quiet for a moment before nodding. "Fine. I can't expect ya to just accept somethin' like this so… just give me the damn directions."

After some less than quality direction giving by me and even worse quality direction taking by Akane, we manage to make it to my house by some odd miracle. I hop off her back and pull out my key, hurriedly motioning for her to get inside once it's open.

She lets out a low whistle as she scans the space. "Not bad…"

I don't reply to her as I frantically look around for my mom. To my surprise, she's standing in the kitchen. "Mom…!"

She turns around to me, knowing look on her face. "…It happened, didn't it?"

"Mom!" I say, walking up to her. "Tell me what's going on! I'm so beyond confused, I can't…!"

She shushes me as she pulls me into a hug.

"I had a horrible feeling this would happen… so please," She pulls away reluctantly and hands me a bag. "Please take this and run away…"

"H-Hold on mom!" I grab her shoulders. "I don't understand any of this, why is dad-"

She cuts me off with a harsh voice. "That man is not your father."

…

"What?" I manage, letting my arms drop away.

"Sweetie…" She has the saddest smile I've ever seen on her face. "I love you so, so much, and I'm very proud of you… which is why you can't stay here. They'll lock you away, or worse yet… that man will kill you."

I can't believe any of this. "Mom, please, just tell me why!" I yell out through teary eyes, she reaches out and brushes my cheek.

"There's no time." She says with a shake of her head. "I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to come here looking for you very soon… I put a letter in your bag explaining everything as best I could, so I really hope that'll be enough." She pulls me into a hug once more and kisses me on the cheek. "Run away Makoto, and never come back here again. Go out there and live your life. All I ask…" She chokes back a sob. "All I ask is that you find your father for me. Your real, actual father… he deserves to know you at the very least."

She glances behind me, noticing Akane standing there very awkwardly. "…Did he send you?" She asks, letting me go.

Akane scratches her cheek a little. "Look, I dunno what's going on lady. All I know is that I was sent on a wild goose chase looking for him." She gestures toward me. "I dunno anything about long-lost kids or whatever."

She shakes her head fondly. "I should have known he wouldn't let things sit like that…" She takes Akane's hands in her own, making the tall girl visibly flinch. "Please, make sure to get Makoto to him safely, and… tell him I'm sorry for not having the courage to run away."

Seemingly unsure of what to say, Akane nods. Mom walks away from her and looks as though she's going to say something else when we hear a loud clatter from outside. "So soon…!?" She pushes past me and heads for the back door, slinging it open. "Quick, through here! I'll try to distract them, so please, move as fast as you can!"

"But mom-!" She shoots me a look that leaves no room for argument and I quickly snap my mouth shut, slinging the bag over my shoulder. "Mom… please be careful."

She snorts, smile betrayed by the endless stream of tears pouring down her cheeks. "Of course you'd worry about me more than yourself at a time like this… I love you sweetie."

"I love you too…!" I pull her into a short hug and plant a kiss on her cheek before bolting out the door, Akane hot on my heels.

We run and duck under as many things as we can, trying our best to remain unseen. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" Akane whispers. "The whole damn city is on red-alert, there's no way we can just slip out!"

I bite my lip. "…I can see the border fence from here. Do you think you'd be able to clear that?"

She peeks over in the direction I gesture to and nods. "Shouldn't be an issue. It's tall, but not as tall as some of those skyscrapers here. I should be able to do it if I get a running start."

"Right." I nod. "When we get close enough I'm going to have to hop on your back, and we'll have to make a mad dash for the fence and do our best not to get shot."

She waves me off. "Hell, with that ability of yours we shouldn't even worry about something like that."

I scowl. "I don't know how you'd classify something like that as an ability! Those bullets just barely missed us, how can you attribute something like that to an ability!?"

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Okay, I get you're still bitter about the whole suddenly becoming a public enemy thing… but your ability is one in a million! You're like the Joker in the deck of Ultimates, I dunno how you could be bummed about that!"

I can't tell if she's trying to make me feel better or if she's just pumped about my being an alleged "Luck" type. "Akane, I don't even know what my ability does! I could maybe accept this whole Ultimate thing better if my ability was straightforward like yours, but Luck has got to be the vaguest thing to classify as an ability! I even tried researching it in school because it was so strange, and yet I still don't understand it at all!"

She shrugs. "Maybe the old man can explain it to ya when you meet up with him or whatever… but for now we gotta get out of here."

I sigh. "…You're right."

She laughs. "That's the spirit! Now then…!" She heaves me up on her shoulders, keeping a hold on my legs. "Let's get going!"

"W-Wait, Akane!" I yell. "Aren't we still pretty far from there!? There's no way we can avoid being shot at if we start from here!"

"Yeah we can!" She says, feral grin on her face. "I'm gonna prove to you that your ability is awesome right now!"

She can't be serious. "Are you insane!? You're chancing us being killed so you can prove a point!?"

"Pretty much!" She says, crouching down. "Ready, set…!"

"A-Akane!"

"Go!"

She takes off like a bullet down the street. Like I had predicted, any and all SUCS members that see us open fire. Akane doesn't even bother jumping out of the way of any of them as she barrels her way down the street like a demon.

"Gah!" I scream. "What is wrong with you, they're…!" My eyes widen as I see a blockade of soldiers and trucks in front of the area of fence she's heading toward. "Hang on Akane, move to a different area!"

"Nope!" She cheerfully yells. "We're gonna make it, just you watch!"

With a final burst of speed she jumps up slightly and uses some of the soldier's heads as stepping stones before jumping on one of the trucks and uses it as a launch pad. She rockets off the truck and clears the electrified fence in one jump, landing gracefully on one of the trees just outside of it.

She hops over treetops for a while until we're a safe distance away and hops down off the canopy, laughing loudly in victory. "Man, that was fun!" She lets me down and I slump against the large tree she'd jumped off of. "I told you that your ability was sweet! If you weren't with me I woulda looked like a piece of swiss cheese!"

I do my best to try and calm down my rapidly beating heart. "You just got lucky! We could have died!"

"No, stupid!" She grins at me and puts her hands on her hips. "That was all you… Mr. Luck!"

I let myself slide down the tree, looking deep into the forest, and then look back toward my old home known as Towa city.

…

"Luck type my ass!"

A/N: Okay, so I am definitely still working on my other stories guys, don't get me wrong! But this idea just sorta hit me, and I just got so pumped for it that I didn't want it to just sit on my idea sheet. ; w;

I'd like some feedback on as to whether or not I should keep going with this though. I mean, I get the idea is strange, but I think it could be something really different that could be fun to write. Of course, if no one is gonna read it I'm not gonna bother. xD So make sure to let me know what you think about this idea! Thanks guys!

(Just in case you didn't know, S.O.B. stands for standard operational bullshit in this context.)