Chapter 2: In Her Footsteps

The afternoon sun was now set, as night quickly approached. The two villains made their way back to their makeshift hideout.

"Still no good, what a waste!" Libra shouted as he kicked a trashcan in frustration.

The woman known as Reina Sayo, just sighed in response. "Today wasn't a complete waste. After all, we did find a potential new recruit."

The two continued to talk, as they treaded the dark back streets of the city.

"Hmph, when I looked in that boy's eyes, I could tell his feelings were genuine, but I also saw a hint of hesitation. If he's going to help us set this world straight he'll need to show conviction and make that final choice to abandon the false world Heroes have built around him." Libra seemed to have a far off look seeming to be recalling the earlier events with the boy.

Reina chuckled, "Are you hoping he calls?"

Libra looked back with narrowed eyes. "Of course I do. It's rare to meet a child who doesn't blindly look up to pathetic Pro Heroes."

"Weren't you a fan of All Might when you were younger?"

"First off, he's different! And second, that was then, this is now!" Libra yelled in defense.

Reina couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, alright, keep it down."

Libra realized he had gotten a little worked up, and thus he quickly turned away from his associate while recomposing his calculated aura. Brushing off his outburst, Libra continued, "Anyway, that doesn't matter now. If we're going to make a lasting change we can't just kill off random Pros," Libra explained.

"Ah, quality over quantity then?"

"Exactly, Corasu City here is just the beginning," Libra said with a sweeping arm motion at the buildings around them. "When we're done here, we'll hit Tokyo, and then after that, Musutafu. We'll kill All Might." Libra's voice was filled with hope, "With the Symbol of Peace dead, and all the Pros we'll kill, the world will slowly come back into balance. This world ran by Heroes, leaning towards peace and order, will be brought back to perfect balance, pure equal order and chaos," Libra's words dripped with reverence and delight as he imagined his perfect world.

"Easy there pal, we still got a lot of work to do," Reina remarked, as she walked by the daydreaming Libra.

Libra shook his head and grumbled, following behind his partner. Even though their ideals were different, they shared the same goal of killing off the Pros, and in some ways, the two needed each other if they were going to complete that goal.

I was at home stewing on what Libra had said to me. I was in my room sitting at my computer desk idly browsing online, curious to see if Libra was more infamous than I thought. I didn't find much else than the report that had already been shown on TV, although there has been speculation that Libra could have been the one pulling the strings involving a string of petty crimes. I looked to my left where the scrap of paper rested upon my desk. "If you ever want to help fix this messed up society we live in, call that number." Once again, I held the scrap of paper with the number as those words ran through my mind. A million thoughts ran through my head. What are they planning? Should I call? What would dad think? What would my friends think? Wouldn't I just be proving Kimiko right by doing this?

I sighed as I rubbed my head, trying to relax. A sudden brush against my leg caused me to look down to see my black cat Shade, purring as he rubbed his head against my leg. I leaned down and scratched him behind the ears. I could see a contented smile form on his little face. "Any ideas on what I should do little buddy?" Obviously he didn't reply.

*slam!*

My head shot up upon hearing the door downstairs slam shut. "Looks like dad's home." I got up and slowly made my way downstairs, where I spotted my father sitting on the couch undoing his tie. "Hey dad," I said absently.

He let out a tired breath as he responded, "Hey boy. School going well?"

"Yeah, of course." I sat down next to him.

He gave me a questioning look. It was a look I recognized, it was the look he gave me when he thought I did something wrong or he thought I was lying. Running a hand through his short blonde hair, he looked back at me and asked, "Alright, what is it?"

I wasn't sure how to approach the topic. What was I supposed to say? Hey dad, I ran into some villains today and they offered me a chance to help them out with some shady business, should I give them a call? As such, I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly wondering what to say.

"Dad, can we…talk about mom?"

Saying those words got the reaction I was expecting. My dad was now glaring at me, clearly wondering why on Earth I'd bring that up out of the blue. Despite his look of disdain for the topic, I continued.

"I just wanted to know some things that we've never really talked about. I want to know why she was a villain and why you married her."

It looked like he was about to deny my request, but surprisingly, he took off his glasses and stroked his face. It looked like he was preparing an answer, and thankfully he provided one.

"Your mom was…a free spirit. I knew her for a while before I found out she was a villain, and she had always been 'wild'. I had always tried to keep to myself and not get into trouble, but your mom was outgoing and didn't care about breaking the rules." I could see that dad was getting wrapped up in memories of when he and mom first dated. "In some ways, both of us showed each other different ways of living. I taught her to rein it in a little and try to slow down in order to enjoy the simple things in life, while she taught me to 'live a little'." He was smiling to himself, but that smile quickly turned back into a neutral expression as he looked at me. "Anyway, point is, I believe your mom was a villain because she didn't know any other way to live. She hated the idea of people trying to tell her what she could and couldn't do."

"What do you mean?" I asked, just trying to understand my mother better.

"What I mean is your mom didn't choose to be a villain she was labeled as one, and she accepted that role. She just did whatever she felt like, which was mostly burning things and stealing things, and obviously, Heroes showed up to stop her. What started off as casual inclination turned into her job and passion. Some nameless thug with a fire Quirk became the villain known as Solar Fury. And just to clarify, your mom wasn't some deranged lunatic; she never tried to kill anyone. Of course she hurt people, especially Heroes, but that was never her goal."

I soaked in all this information, nodding slowly, grateful that my father was telling me all this. "So you knew she was a villain when you married her right?"

"Of course I did! After spending so much time with a person you're eventually going to find out what their Quirk is, and after discovering what her Quirk was it wasn't hard for me to put the pieces together. After I found out who she was, I was hesitant, but I stuck with her and immediately began to convince her to give up her line of work."

I was hesitant to ask my next question. "Do you…blame the Heroes that killed her?"

He was silent for a long time before he leaned forward, not looking at me, but instead looking straight forward, imagining the faces of the man and woman who killed my mother. "In all honesty…I do. She was a villain, I know, but those two…well….they certainly didn't act like Heroes that night."

My dad seemed lost in thought, until he snapped back to attention and looked me dead in the eye. "I'm sorry, but why are we talking about this all of the sudden?"

I gave him a half-truth answer, "Well…some kids in my class brought her up today and I couldn't help thinking about it."

His accusatory look slowly dissolved into one of detached pity, as he gave me a pat on the back. "Don't listen to them. Your mom was an angel compared to some other villains, and she was a wonderful woman when she wasn't wearing a mask."

To my surprise, my dad then hugged me, albeit a brief and light hug.

Dad had become more distant after mom died; the smile he once wore daily had become a rare occurrence. He usually wanted to be left alone after he got off work, and even when he was home the two of us didn't interact often. I didn't fully understand when I was young, but I grew to understand that when my mother died, a piece of him did as well.

Now that I think about it the same goes for me. Mom always made me take risks, go out to interact with the neighborhood kids, and be adventurous. I guess her energetic personality rubbed off on me. Hell, if it wasn't for her encouraging me to go out and explore the neighborhood I may not have met Tsuneo. After she died, that sense of spontaneity in me slowly died down, which my father chalked up to me just becoming older, Tsuneo took note of my personality change too, but never really talked about it beyond mentioning how I seemed different.

After our brief chat, I awkwardly thanked my father for talking, and I went back upstairs to leave him to relax. Entering my room I looked to the right to spot Shade curled up on my bed taking a cat nap. I scooted him over, as I decided to lay down myself. Without realizing it I had steadily drifted off to sleep, while still wondering about what I should do.

Little did I know this would be the last time sleeping in my own home.

Libra and Reina had arrived to the abandoned apartment building, in which they used the basement as a temporary hideout.

"Gorou, we're back. Make me some coffee," Reina loudly announced as the two entered the basement.

The tidy looking man known as Gorou got up from where he sat, complaining, "What am I, your god damn secretary?"

"Pretty much," she said lazily as she hopped onto the tattered couch, laying on it in order to rest her sore feet.

Gorou begrudgingly went to go brew some coffee, as he mumbled in a mocking tone, "Yeah it's nice to see you too sister, glad you didn't get nabbed by some Heroes." He set to work preparing coffee for himself and his bossy sibling, turning back to yell to Libra, "You want anything?"

"I'm fine Gorou, thank you for all your all help."

He smiled, happy that someone was around to thank him. "Just remember, when the time comes I can help out in the field too," Gorou began as he cleaned two coffee cups. "I know I can't go toe to toe with a Pro Hero, but I can still help."

"Don't worry Gorou, when the time comes I'll have a place for you on the team," he reassured the overworked brother.

The three settled in for the night, Gorou doing menial tasks, Libra devising future plans, and Reina was on her laptop and phone as she set to work finding potential group members.

It was the next day, and I sat at the edge of my bed staring down at my phone. I thought about my future, my mother's past, and the night she died…..I knew what my choice was. "If what he said was true…this is my chance to change things. I can't make the world a better place by becoming a Hero, but maybe I can by becoming a villain." I entered the number on my phone and called the two villains from yesterday. I got an answer quicker than I thought.

"Hello?" I could hear the woman from yesterday on the other line.

"Hi, it's Akio, from yesterday."

"Akio! I knew you'd call, but I wasn't expecting it to be this soon." Even without seeing her I could feel a devilish smile had begun to form on her face. "Oh well, the sooner you join us the better so it's completely fine. And I'm sure Libra will take it as a sign of your dedication that you responded so quickly."

After that, the woman (who told me I could call her SR, for the time being) explained to me how things were going to work if I joined. She explained that I'd need to leave my home and father behind in order to focus full time on my training and whatever plans they had in mind. I knew I'd need to be trained by them if I was going to help them fight against Pro Heroes, and on the issue concerning leaving my father…well I knew he'd be fine not having me around. I just hoped he wouldn't be disappointed in the decision I was making. In the end I agreed to everything she said, and in return she told me that later that night someone would be waiting nearby my home to take me to their hideout.

This was it, the first step to my new life.