So… I kinda busted my hand last week during volleyball practice, and writing got surprisingly harder than I expected it to be. The weekly updates should resume with this one.
I gotta apologize for my mistake regarding the last chapter, I ended up uploading an incomplete version with just the drafted ending. The way a write my stuff is that I make a draft of the whole thing at first and then I go back from top to bottom actually writing the real thing over that draft. Turns out that when it came to saving the finished chapter I created a new document on a random folder instead of replacing the draft, so when the site's Doc Manager popped up I immediately went for the file on this story's folder as usual.
If you haven't yet read the updated version (posted about 18 hours after the original update) I urge you to do so before you continue with this one. Not even kidding when I say that the graveyard bit with Momo is twice as long and actually has some development to it.
Regardless of that… Normally I'd use italic for flashbacks, but I will be breaking my own rule this time for the sake of not posting a whole chapter in italic. Here we are, after five months after I first posted this story, two hundred thousand words in and a fuckton of support from you guys, it finally has arrived: Hakuba's past.
And be warned that this one might feel a tad more graphic than the rest of the story; PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE IN THIS CHAPTER.
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, Okinawa Prefecture, Uruma, Camp Courtney, 0600.
The wind was finally beginning to warm up. Standing in rank and file at the harbor were twenty-five members of the Japanese Special Forces, members of a tightly knit squad that had served together for at least six years, with about a third of those squad members serving together for over a decade. Alongside them were the remainder of the crew, composed of people from the Navy and Medical Corps: the crew in charge of manning the JDS Murakumo. Two figures stood in front of them, a man and a woman whose uniforms differed quite a bit: The man a Navy captain and the woman the squad leader for the Special Forces.
Standing to the side of the platoon and sticking out like a sore thumb was a child dressed in the uniform of Okinawa's Military Academy, his posture impeccable as if he was part of the military body. Machibuse Hakuba, eleven years old and son of the woman in charge of the operation. He was barely containing himself, it would be his first time on a military warship… the thing looked amazing. The JDS Murakumo was a technological wonder, a destroyer escort that, even after eight years of service defending Okinawa, was still considered to be one of the fastest warships in the Pacific.
It was by far the single largest thing Hakuba had ever seen.
"All right ladies and gentlemen! Listen up! Even if we have done millions of escort missions already I don't want to see any of you slacking on the ship! Our schedule is going to be a little different this time around: You all know what we are transporting, but this time we will have some guests joining us midway. Apparently the matter also concerns the South Korean authorities, which means that some of their guys will be joining us as a show of good faith when we dock at Busan, about nineteen hours from departure. From there we go straight to Qingdao, unload what needs to be unloaded and leave the higher-ups to deal with the paperwork. We do this like professionals! I want to be back here before the holiday!" Machibuse Kagome's voice filled the air of the harbor as she stepped forward, addressing her squad in a manner much more personal than what the Murakumo's standard crew was accustomed to.
"YES, MA'AM!" the squad replied in unison.
"Captain Seizo, please consider my men to be at your orders." Kagome spoke as she turned to face the imposing-looking old man behind her, now stepping to the side as to give him the center stage.
"My gratitude Colonel… I will be making her words mine as well!..." the Murakumo's captain begun speaking, detailing the schedule further.
Hakuba's attention slowly drifted back towards the base he was in as the captain spoke. According to what he had been told, Camp Courtney had been founded by the Americans in the years that followed World War II and only had handed to the Japanese in recent decades, mostly because of how Japan had to reinstall it's military after the advent of Quirks. Despite that, both armies had a strong alliance, meaning that most of the signs around the base were still in English and that the "Camp Courtney" name was kept out of respect.
Soon the ship's captain had finished speaking, and now the crew began the preparations for departure and the young Hakuba was quick to turn towards the ramp leading to the massive ship, eagerness visible in his semblance as he waited permission to board.
Approaching him from behind was his mother with a smile in her face, normally she would've made sure to not be noticed, after all being able to remain fully aware of his surroundings was part of Hakuba's training but sneaking on him would likely cause him to stick his Chelicerae out and through his uniform.
"Ready to set sail?" Kagome asked tenderly as she stopped besides her son.
"Can I get on the ship?" Hakuba asked anxiously as he tugged on his mother's sleeve.
"You know our room number, right?" Kagome asked back, scanning around the place for someone from her squad on it's way to the Murakumo.
"Twelve-A!" Hakuba responded immediately.
"All right… Uncle Haritomo looks like he is just about to get on the ship, go see if he needs any help and get aboard with him. You go straight to our room; your father will be there with you in a moment, so wait for him. I don't want you roaming through that ship alone." Kagome explained, kneeling in front of the child before kissing his forehead and ushering him to go.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Hakuba responded with a smile, then he took off.
On the corner of her eyes Kagome could see her husband just finishing speaking with some of his friends from the Medical Corps and turning to join her.
"Told you that he would be happy to come with us." Kagome spoke as Hakaku came closer.
"I do not remember saying he wouldn't be. I just think you went overboard on your alternative to leaving him with my mother while we are away again." Hakaku responded in a deadpan tone, one of his eyebrows arching as he stared at his wife.
"Oh look! Some boxes that need moving!" Kagome simply shifted her eyes away and awkwardly walked away from her husband, a nervous smile coming to her face as her plan was uncovered.
A sigh escaped from Hakaku as he rolled his eyes, it was too early in the morning for him to have that discussion with her. Still, he couldn't deny that having his mother hand-picking Kagome's squad for this mission was suspicious to say the least; Only his presence was essential for the mission, and it wouldn't be too farfetched to picture Hakame using her authority over the Special Forces to send her daughter-in-law away for a couple days in order to spend some time alone with her grandson.
Unfortunately for Hakaku, his mother and his son were becoming more and more averse to each other as Hakame pushed her behavior protocol on the child whenever she had the chance.
Regardless, boxes in fact needed to be moved and he wanted to make it to their small room in the ship as soon as possible and get some shut eye. Hakaku had only slept for about three hours; this whole mission had a lot to do with his research, so he ended up staying up late to get everything ready.
With a deep breath he forced the thoughts about his mother out of his mind. He knew that, despite everything, Hakame cared for her grandson deeply… She was just very, very bad method of displaying her affection.
Hakaku's eyes were fixed on his son for a moment, maybe having him around for the trip wouldn't be so bad.
Hakuba now had just reached the cargo truck where "Uncle Haritomo" was busy fastening the straps around what seemed to be the last wooden crate from that truck that the Special Forces needed to load into the ship. Haritomo Junshou was a towering figure, standing at a massive 6'8'' tall and built like a walking fort even in his mid-sixties. Besides that what stuck out most about Kagome's second in command was the clearly receding hairline on his graying mane, something he was actually very sensible about, and his missing left ear and eye.
Normally a man that would simply leave most children frightened.
But not Hakuba. Hakuba knew very well that his godfather was just about the biggest goofball around, in every sense of the word.
"Hari Oji-san! Need help?" Hakuba offered as he pretty much jumped on the man's back after the running start needed to reach Haritomo's shoulders.
"Ah! Hey there young man! Little Honekawa sent you on my way, didn't she?" the man laughed, not even budging from the impact.
Hakuba gave a firm nod. His godfather was the only person he knew that still called Kagome by her maiden name as he had known her since high-school. Haritomo and Honekawa Yoshiro, Hakuba's grandfather and Kagome's father, served together since their admission at the Special Forces. In a sense he had become Hakuba's grandfather figure; his father's father had died from natural causes about a year before Hakuba was born, and he barely remembered Yoshiro… his grandfather had gone MIA during a mission in South Korea eight years ago and was assumed dead. If anything Hakuba remembered that the man had a Quirk that gave him the ability to grow spear-like bones through his skin and that he had been the one to teach Kagome how to fight. Kagome's mother, Honekawa Ayane, took it pretty bad after that incident and returned to her home in Nagoya. Hakuba and his parents visited her at least once a year, but the woman wasn't very fond of having military guests for too long and had since grown distant.
"Hmm, then do me a favor… all these crates need to have an ID tag on them, but this one's got caught on something when we loaded the truck, so we need to replace it." Haritomo spoke pointing towards a half-ripped adhesive.
"What is in there?" Hakuba asked curiously as he tried to read what remained from the ID tag. That crate had a weird, pungent smell coming from it.
"I dunno… if it's on this truck then it had to do with that research your old man has been doing. Weird sciency stuff, you know… Have no idea why it smells like gym clothes though, but lucky for us getting the smell off the truck is not our business." Haritomo shrugged.
"Smells like pee…" Hakuba commented, a disgusted look on his face.
"Ammonia. Regardless, just find someone that works here at the docks and bring'em here so we can get a new adhesive, the old one still has the ID number visible, so the guy just needs to print a new one for us and stick it on. I will get a forklift in the meantime. Guess I can just carry the thing, but the least I need to touch it the better, don't want that… perfume on my uniform." Haritomo spoke, motioning towards where the harbor staff was likely to be around before turning to look for someone with a forklift.
"Yes, Sir!" Hakuba responded before taking to fulfilling his mission.
Not even fifteen minutes later the crate was both tagged and loaded into the forklift and soon enough Hakuba had entered the massive cargo bay of the Murakumo. With a hasty bow he left his godfather to deal with setting the crate where it was supposed to be and took off to the main deck, just to have a glimpse at it before heading to the room he would share with his parents during the trip.
Every inch of that ship was amazing, and Hakuba knew that the trip would be amazing as well.
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, In Transit Towards Busan, JDS Murakumo, Canteen, 1210.
The Special Forces' Squad Six was a lively bunch, that's for sure. Hakuba and his father were just watching the familiar scene as some of the company members took cracks at one another across the table, while others sung silly songs as they ate. One could've mistaken the group for coworkers at any kind of office, enjoying a Friday night at a bar, if they weren't fully dressed in military attire.
For Hakuba it was hard to eat without giggling at the antics in front of him, Hakaku on the other hand had gotten used to it already; he somehow was absorbed into that group's culture over the years.
"Oi, gramps! Is it true that you are retiring when we get back?" Kimura Maiko, a young woman with shoulder length blond hair, asked as she turned towards Haritomo. Kimura was one of the three women in Squad Six, and possibly the youngest member of the group.
"Eh!? You kidding me, right!?" Torayama Koga, a man with a Quirk that made him like a hyena, almost choked on his meal as he was caught by surprise.
"Not right after we get back, but this is likely my last big mission. I've been doing this for over forty years already, it's about time I hang this uniform for good." Haritomo responded, reaching for something on someone else's plate with his chopsticks.
"So, who gets the second-in-command seat after that?" Torayama sighed in acceptance before turning towards Kagome, his tail now wiggling in curiosity.
"Me and Haritomo have already discussed that actually… quite a tough call to pick one of you guys given that you all behave as if you were Hakuba's age most of the time." Kagome teased with a shit-eating grin.
"That was just uncalled for, commander!" Kimura complained as the group once more broke into laughter.
"And what about you, young man? Will you be joining me in our little band over the next years?" the last female of the squad, Akihisa Mikori, asked in her undeniably sultry voice as she leaned her rather large chest on Hakuba's shoulder, causing his cheeks to turn bright red.
"I-I… huh…" Hakuba stuttered.
The boy's mother and Kimura just stared at her endowments for a moment and then down at herselves, the redhead surely was wearing a uniform at least two sizes too small just to add insult to injury. Life was very unfair sometimes.
"Don't you go corrupting the commander's son, Akihasa!" Bo Takayuki protested loudly.
"Oh! Leave me be, monk! Hakuba is just too adorable!" Akihasa spat back, alluring to the man's lustrous shaved head as she wrapped her arms around the boy protectively.
"Damn succubus…" Bo squinted his eyes angrily as the woman now used one of her leathery wings to shield Hakuba from him.
"Stop bickering, you two! The people from the Navy will start thinking that we are crazy!" Haritomo laughed heartily as he watched his godchild trying not to look at the woman pressed against him.
"I am sure that they already think that." Hakaku observed in a monotone voice, people all over the canteen had been staring at them for a while now.
Yes, Squad Six was a very lively bunch.
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, In Transit Towards Busan, JDS Murakumo, Bridge, 1630.
"Is the little one enjoying the trip, Doctor?" Captain Seizo asked as he spotted Machibuse Hakaku's reflection on the window.
"A little too much, I am afraid… Hakuba wants to see the ship, so you can imagine that I was left in charge of going with him." Hakaku sighed as he took to observing the main deck alongside the captain.
Both his son and wife busy down there, hand-to-hand practice.
"Think that your research will get those guys behind bars now?" Seizo asked, his voice somewhat hushed as to keep everyone in the ship's bridge from hearing.
"That hinges on what the Chinese have found on their end; the minister has already informed me that she is just waiting on confirmation to shift the operation towards the apprehension phase. If whoever the Chinese authorities captured had a hand at the manufacturing process then I can easily prove it, it's just a matter of comparing the sample with the one I obtained from that dealer Ingenium arrested. And when I do prove the connection then there will be a lot of work for the heroes and the police back at the main island to do." the doctor explained, a small smile on his face as he watched his son quickly getting back up on his feet after Kagome tripped him. Hakuba had gotten a lot better at fighting since that day on the beach.
"He will make a fine soldier one day." Seizo commented, noticing the smile.
"Kagome has been talking about sending him to a hero school recently, she got to work with quite a few of them on her last mission. Our son wants to help people, and she says that hero work is going to weight less on his soul than being in the military." Hakaku responded, his tone not giving away his own stance on that matter.
"Can't imagine that the minister will be thrilled to hear about someone from her family not being in the military." the captain admitted in surprise.
"My mother has no saying on what he does with his life."
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, In Transit Towards Busan, JDS Murakumo, Engine Room, 1840.
"It's huge!" Hakuba shouted in amazement as he first laid eyes upon the massive heart of the Murakumo.
"Taking a tour?" a familiar voice asked from over one of the catwalks.
"Bo-san." Hakaku greeted as he looked up towards the man.
"Bo-san! I wanted to see the ship, but I promised mom that I would not go alone, so I got dad to come with me!" Hakuba responded.
"Well, it's good to see that you are having a good time." Bo commented as he made his way down from the catwalk.
He couldn't help but notice how Hakaku was the depiction of the word "tired".
"Want me to keep an eye on him, Doctor? I have a good hour of patrol duty left, but Hakuba can just tag along with me… You seem like you need to rest for a bit." Bo offered as both adults watched the child timidly approaching the railing to have a look at the ship's engine, earning a few chuckles from the engineers at the room.
"You have my gratitude, but I can't push the work on you. And besides, this is his last stop for the night, so it's just a matter of getting him back for a shower before dinner. I can get a good night of sleep after that." Hakaku responded.
"You two will be dinning with us? From what I was told the commander will be with Captain Seizo to finish discussing the plans regarding our arrival in South Korea." Bo asked as he gave a short bow, he had to keep on patrolling.
"I am afraid not. I have some friends from the Medical Corps serving on this ship, told them earlier that we would be with them tonight." Hakaku responded, offering a bow of his own.
"I see… Well, see you two around then."
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, In Transit Towards Busan, JDS Murakumo, Room Twelve-A, 1950.
"Kagome! You are going to get late!" Hakaku called from the bunkbed, his eyes not veering of the book he was reading.
"Quit fussing over it! You were the one that allowed Hakuba to go snuffing around those machines! You should've been the one to scrub this shit from his hair, not me!" Kagome practically barked back from the small bathroom where she and their son currently were.
Hakaku's expression twitched lightly as he failed to find an excuse for the incident that happened in the engine room involving Hakuba sticking his head inside a hatch lined with thick, grimy oil.
"And besides, one of the guys that work at the bridge came earlier, said something came up and needed the Captain's attention, so we canceled... Brought me an envelope with the schedule for me to check and sign, mind taking it to the bridge for me? I am kinda busy in here, you see." Kagome asked, trying to keep her cool.
"S-sorry…" Hakuba offered weakly.
"Hush you! I don't want any of whatever this stuff is getting on your mouth!" Kagome ordered.
Hakaku took a deep breath and closed his book. Didn't took him long to find said envelope.
"See you at the canteen then?" Hakaku asked as he got up.
"Guess I'm almost finished here… some ten or twenty minutes more should do the work." Kagome responded tiredly.
Hakaku could barely hold his laughter as he closed the door of the room, his wife almost losing it as Hakuba apparently tried to lick the stuff that was running down his face.
In the end he couldn't disagree about Kagome's decision of bringing him along, it was a very unusual family trip, but a good family trip regardless.
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, In Transit Towards Busan, JDS Murakumo, Cargo Bay, 2000.
"ETA is five hours." Haritomo's voice filled the room, behind him were the bloodied bodies of four crewmembers of the Murakumo.
With him in the room where the twenty-four other members of the Special Forces' Squad Six.
"Fuck, never thought that this day would finally come!" Torayama rolled his shoulders in relief.
"Can't even believe I won't need to see your ugly mugs anymore." Kimura basically groaned.
"So, "Hari Oji-san" what's th…" one of the members of Squad Six began speaking, but he dropped to the ground dead before he was even finished.
"I've been dealing with that pitiful nickname since the brat learned to speak. So I strongly suggest that you don't call me that." Haritomo threatened without losing his cool. Blood now pooled underneath his victim's head from a wound the size of a coin.
"One less to share the bounty with." Akihasa rolled her eyes.
"Now that we got that out of the way… Bo, how long until the C4 goes off?" Haritomo asked.
"The charges at the bridge should go off in six-hundred seconds, and our beloved commander goes along. The ones at the engine will explode in another three-hundred. Targets will be either at the canteen or at Room Twelve-A." Bo reported.
"Very well. We strike as soon as the first blast goes off. Six of you go to room twelve-A. Four are in charge of taking out the security, we can't have alarms and CCTV on. The others go to the canteen with me: we are going to need to clean the place fast if the targets are not there. We need only one of them alive, preferably the Doctor, but there is a huge bonus if we can take both him and the brat." Haritomo ordered and got ready to leave.
"What about the little helper our benefactor sent us? Can we trust him?" Torayama asked, turning his snout toward the crate that assaulted his sensitive sense of smell when he first entered the cargo bay.
"Our benefactor apparently doesn't know where that thing came from either, but it was trained enough to not attack anyone wearing one of these. Let the blast wake him up." Haritomo informed, pointing towards the reflective cloth tied around his bicep.
"Now let's earn ourselves our retirement pay."
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, In Transit Towards Busan, JDS Murakumo, Room Twelve-A, 2010.
A massive blast went off and the entire ship shook from it. Lights immediately went out, leaving only the deep red hue of the emergency lightning.
Hakuba instinctively latched onto his mother for protection. He had just finished dressing after the long bath he had been put through and his mother was about finished as well, just missing the coat from her uniform and her shoes.
The sounds of many people running frantically outside the room soon filled the corridor, but as fast as they had come they were gone.
Kagome still took a moment to reach for the door.
She was just about to turn the keys when a familiar voice came from the other side.
"Doc! You in there!?"
It was Kimura, but something was off... she wasn't standing in front of the door as she spoke, her voice came from the right, just by the doorframe. Why was Kimura positioned for breaching the room?
Hakuba was about to respond, but Kagome was quick to stop him, quickly placing her hand over her son's mouth... Her husband would've likely fallen for the same trick.
"DOC!?" Kimura called again.
Kagome ushered Hakuba into the small wardrobe of their room, ordering him to keep absolute silence.
She triggered her Quirk, pushing forth a spike of chitin from her palm, about as thick as a nail and as long as a combat knife. Kagome was not taking any chances as she leaned her ear to the door.
Kimura wasn't alone on the corridor.
A subtle sizzling sound she knew all too well came from the other side. Kimura had a Quirk that allowed her to quickly rust away most metals she touched. And the Rust was now visible on the doorknob.
This was a breach indeed.
Kagome stepped into the bathroom and waited.
Not even half a minute later the door was pushed open and three figures made their way inside with great care. All were members of her squad, carrying silenced weapons… and for sure those weren't the only ones.
Kagome needed to think, and fast. Wouldn't take much time for those three to begin investigating further.
Another blast rocked the Murakumo, this one even bigger than the previous. If her squad had a hand in those explosions then it likely was Bo's work; the man was capable of storing copious amounts of supplies with his Deep Pockets Quirk, and he had a knack for demolitions.
Unfortunately the blast caused Hakuba to gasp, giving away his hiding spot.
"We need him alive." one of the attackers spoke.
No time to think.
Time to act.
Kagome sprouted two more Quills from her hand and planted them on the bathroom's floor firmly, then, in a single motion she stepped out from the bathroom and shoved one of the assailants towards the impromptu punji sticks, chest-first.
First blood.
Kimura wasn't inside the room, so Kagome had to deal with at least three more hostiles. The commander bit her lip as she swung her arm, sending two more Quills towards another one of her subordinates. The first projectile was deflected, the second, however, now lodged firmly on the target's jugular.
She couldn't believe this was happening, it had to be a bad dream.
"The commander is here! Golf and X-ray are down!" the last remaining target in the room shouted, wiping his aim towards Kagome.
Kagome was quick to dash forward and throw another Quill at the gunner's hand, painfully forcing him to drop the rifle. A single spike surging dead center from the palm of her hand, but this time she kept the weapon connected to her. Quebec was an instant too slow to draw his combat knife as the commander slammed her palm into his face.
This was beyond a nightmare.
Kagome kept on running towards the door, as low to the ground as possible while her free hand now held Quebec's body up. She needed something to block the incoming gunfire, and now her former subordinate had become a shield as bullets wheezed around her and pelted the blockade she was carrying, Quebec's bulletproof vest proving vital for her sake.
Once she crossed the doorway she spotted two other people: Kimura (normally referred as India) and Lima. The first one on her right and the second to her her left.
With a spin Kagome threw the body over to the side with the most dangerous enemy in close quarters while sticking one of her legs out towards the second target. A Quill went clear through Kagome's socks, growing to the size of an arrow and nailing Kimura's hand onto her own shoulder before the tension from the blow caused the chitin to snap. The woman screamed in pain and dropped to the ground as she tried to pull the bloodied spike out.
One hostile left.
Lima rushed towards her as he was forced to push Quebec's body, he knew that his commander would not leave them with enough space to pick his gun back up and aim.
Combat knife ready and he knew very well that he just needed to create a breach to reach the boy in the room. The Quills Kagome was able to create were dangerous weapons, easily able to puncture bone and it took the commander less than a second to create ones the size of daggers, but they were easy enough to bend and crack, making them very poor for blocking, and the narrow space they were fighting in would make it hard for Kagome to dodge and weave around like she usually when fighting at close quarters.
Lima however showed himself too naïve for his own good. Kagome jumped back, rolling her back against Kimura's as she reached down for the woman's rifle before landing on a crouched position.
India made for an excellent tripod, keeping the aim nice and stable as hot lead was shot down the hallway.
Silence.
There was only another pained cry as Kagome shot Kimura's free hand before the woman managed to reach for her sidearm.
"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS, INDIA!?" Kagome shouted as she kicked the woman towards the wall.
"Those imbeciles only needed to get one piece of intel right and they still managed to fuck it up…" Kimura scorned as she slowly tried to wiggle her hand free.
"ANSWER ME!" Kagome demanded, forcing Kimura's hand back towards her shoulder with her foot, the rifle now aimed square at her head.
Tension filled the room as India thought possible escapes from her situation…
Then her radio clicked.
India opened her mouth to speak.
Kagome immediately pulled the trigger. If her squad was turning on her then she couldn't risk the information about her knowledge of it to leak. The commander quickly picked up the earpiece from India, she wouldn't be needing it anymore.
"India! I know you can hear me! Canteen is clear. Do you have the targets?" the voice from the device, clearly was Torayama speaking.
"Affirmative. Heading to extraction." Kagome responded, doing her best to emulate Kimura's voice as she smothered the mic with her thumb, distorting the voice even further.
"Good fucking job, Alpha! Almost tricked me there, we hadn't informed India about the extraction point just yet. You know, just in case she wanted to make it off with the prize." Torayama responded with a chuckle.
"You idiots playing mercenaries now!?" Kagome gritted her teeth.
"Everyone has a price, ma'am. And those guys doubled down on it! Now stand still so we can end this quickly. Gotta buy myself a nice summer home in Rio!" Torayama responded before turning off the radio.
Kagome immediately turned the door of her room, Hakuba was terrified as peeked from the doorframe. He likely just had watched his mother shooting someone in the head.
"Everything is going to be ok… pick up the case under my bed for me." Kagome lied through her teeth as she bent down to pick up India's sidearm and holster.
Going as fast as she possibly could Kagome stripped both India and Quebec from their bulletproof vests and loaded on as much ammo as she could fit on the pockets, now throwing the strap on the rifle over one of her shoulders.
"We need to get moving. Put on one of the vests… They are going to come after us, and we still need to find your father." Kagome instructed.
"What is happening, mom?" Hakuba asked as he hastily fastened the straps on the bloodied bulletproof vest as he searched for the case he knew contained his mother's bow.
"Bad things are happening… we need to send a distress signal, tell everyone what's the situation here. And your father should be at the bridge as well. We need to get there." Kagome spoke as she handed the bow to her son, alongside the quiver and about a dozen arrows she created.
"I know mine is a little too big for you and is heavier than the bow you are used to training with, but I'm sure you can do it." Kagome offered with a reassuring smile before both of them took to running.
"W-what do I do?" Hakuba panicked as he held the weapon nervously.
"You do everything you can…" Kagome responded, trying to keep calm.
Hakuba didn't seemed too certain however.
"You will be safe as long as no one knows where you are… Just make sure no one can see you and everything will be fine." Kagome offered.
She had no way to know it, but those words would come to haunt her son for a very long time.
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, JDS Murakumo, 2040.
The Murakumo now had turned into a deadly game of cat and mouse. And given how none of the alarms were going off it was easy to guess that something happened in the security room. This meant that none of the Murakumo's crew actually knew that the ones behind the attack were the members of the Special Forces that had boarded their ship as friends, wasn't hard to imagine that Squad Six was in fact asking everyone they crossed paths with for clues about the members of the Machibuse family.
Progress to reach the ship's bridge was slow as the central staircase had filled up with thick smoke, forcing Kagome and Hakuba to take an alternative route either through crossing the main deck or the main storage area. Luckily for them the Murakumo was big enough so that the mutineers of Squad Six would have to search the place thoroughly to find them.
And luckily for Kagome her son had inherited his fathers stamina and her speed, Hakuba was doing very well given how traumatizing that whole experience felt.
However their luck was beginning to run thin, they had managed to sneak past some of the search parties, but Torayama, a.k.a. Whiskey, was surely on the job and the man had a particularly gifted sense of smell. It was a matter of time. And to make matters worse Kagome was sure to have spotted Akihasa, a.k.a. Juliett, circling around the ship. She was a quick flier, likely was in charge of keeping an eye on the external areas of the ship.
Kagome couldn't help but tense up when the prospect of having to face Bravo, her second-in-command, crossed her mind. She considered every member of her squad as close friend… but Haritomo was by all means a member of her family, hell, he had been the first person after her and Hakaku to hold Hakuba after he was born. And he was by far the biggest threat on that ship.
Kagome and Hakuba continued to run.
Things were getting bad, for a while now the ground had begun to feel a little off, slanted by the tiniest degree. The hull likely had been breached and now the ship had begun to sink ever so slowly. The lower floors of the Murakumo soon would be inaccessible, and the safest route to the bridge was through the elevator shaft that started there.
Something moved on the window. The reflection of the corridor just around the corner just got darker, something stepped in between the red emergency light and the glass surface. Whiskey was right around the corner to the corridor that led towards the path down to the emergency stairs that led to either the main deck or down to the lower areas of the ship.
He signaled for the two that were following him to stop as he sniffed the air.
They had been found.
The two Machibuses would need to get across one way or another.
Kagome quickly turned the corner, a volley of bullets flying and quickly ending one of the three targets. Whiskey was quick to get on all fours when he realized just how close the commander was, leaving Echo, who stood behind him, to take the attack.
Kagome was about to rush back when a burning pain on her arm caused her to flinch. Uniform managed to fire back at her and she now had two bullets wounds in her right bicep, now she stumbled backwards.
In an instant Whiskey pounced at her, normally he would've just gone for a bite on his targets throat, but he wasn't about to try that on someone capable of sprouting spikes at a moment's notice. Rather, Whiskey decided to focus on the mission; using Alpha as pivot he quickly rushed down at her son. Subduing and capturing Hakuba was the top priority, and Uniform had the grounded commander at gunpoint.
Hakuba had trained to fight, but this was the first time he would actually have to fight. This wasn't training, this wasn't a sparring match.
"RUN!" Kagome shouted as she dove around the corner and pulled another Quill, narrowly dodging two more bullets but having a third impacting her bulletproof vest.
In an instant the commander would drew her sidearm and Uniform would meet his end.
But for now Hakuba was alone, and he was frightened. He tripped on his heels as he tried to step away.
Whiskey pressed on, quickly hooking his hands around the boy's collar and forcing him to the ground. In an instant Hakuba had been pinned down by a knee landing on his chest.
Hakuba barely had recovered from the impact when he felt a fist connecting with his jaw, almost knocking him out cold.
"Now now, don't struggle!" Whiskey giggled as he delivered a second punch.
Then the third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Then Whiskey fell to the side, convulsing wildly with a numbing pain in his arm.
Hakuba had managed to grasp firmly the leg pressed against his torso in between the second and third strikes with both his hands.
The payload had been delivered.
All the adrenaline in Hakuba's system caused him to inadvertently synthesize an adrenal booster with his Quirk. And one not fit for a beast, let alone a man. Tachycardia and intense vasocontraction led to massive spikes in blood pressure… Torayama was either having a heart attack or a stroke.
Whiskey screamed, but just for a moment.
It was a painful way to go.
Hakuba had taken his first kill.
Took the boy a moment to move after that, the blows to his head had a lot to do with it, but that by far wasn't what got Hakuba to stall.
"Here, we need to move…" Kagome offered a hand as she approached, unfortunately her son's first kill would have to be addressed later as the screaming surely would get the attention of the people hunting them down.
Hakuba needed a second to reach for her, and another one to remember to pull back his Chelicerae before actually making contact.
It was hard to stand up, but his mother managed to keep him stable for long enough so he could try to walk with her help.
"Your arm…" Hakuba spoke weakly as he eyed the oozing wounds his mother had suffered in that last battle.
"I know… let's get to the main deck, we deal with these things once we get there." Kagome pushed forth, her eyes studying the troubled expression of her son. Hakuba's nose was busted pretty bad, she would need to snap it back into place.
"Hakuba.. I'm going to need you to stop my bleeding, think you can do it?" she asked, beginning to feel lightheaded as they moved up the stairway.
Hakuba nodded nervously, would take him about a minute to synthesize the drug, but he knew how to do it.
Didn't took them long to reach the top of the emergency stairs, Kagome had decided to not risk going lower into the ship. All that separated them from the open was a steel door, from there it was just a matter of turning to the corner and they would be close to the access stairs to the Murakumo's bridge.
"Ok… get something to bite on. This will hurt." Kagome told her son as she now reached for the bloodied nose while Hakuba rolled the tie of his uniform and adjusted it into his mouth.
His mother gave him no time to prepare after that, there was just a low crack as she forced the bent nose back right. The boy curled in pain.
"Not going the have my son growing up with a crooked nose, I'm way too proud of you for that." Kagome offered, wiping her hand clean of blood before ruffing his hair tenderly.
She took a deep breath. Her limp right arm would be a problem.
"Ready?" Kagome asked, eyeing the bleeding wound.
"Y-yeah…" Hakuba responded, nervously reaching for his mother's right shoulder before injecting something to increase her blood clothing capabilities.
The two were quiet for a moment, the scent of smoke and saltwater permeated the air of the enclosed staircase.
"Did I…" Hakuba began speaking, his mind was still filled with the echoes of Torayama's dying cries.
"You killed a man. And you may need to kill more." Kagome stated firmly.
Hakuba clenched his hands, a lot of doubt visible on his eyes as he turned to look down at his feet.
"Hakuba, look at me. They are after us; they want me dead, and something worse awaits for you and your father. I won't be able to do much now, can't aim a rifle and can't draw a bow… I wouldn't be surprised if I never get to do any of those things again." Kagome spoke softly, she could barely feel her right hand, much less move it.
"But we need to press on, you need to press on. We gotta find your father and make it to the security room, we need to tell everyone what is happening her, but I can't do this alone. I need you to fight… I know that it is a lot to ask, but I need you to do it again, to push your fear to the side, to face everything that is headed our way the same way you did down there. You will need to do everything you can without holding back." she continued, now reaching for the steel door that would lead them to the outside.
Hakuba took a deep breath, then knocked an arrow onto the bow.
"Let's go get your father."
"Yes, ma'am."
The two quickly stepped out and got moving, eyes peeled for enemies. Two massive columns of smoke could be seen rising into the sky and now it was easy to tell that the Murakumo didn't have long. For now the ship was still mostly afloat, but it had begun to sink, and it would only sink faster and faster as more water entered.
The entire thing likely would be underwater in about two hours.
There were already some lifeboats in the water, people had already realized that the Murakumo could not be saved and had begun abandoning ship. Squad Six surely had secured one somewhere and were just waiting for the time to escape.
Something then moved from around the corner of the ship.
Akihasa had just made the turn and would spot them in an instant.
Kagome whipped her handgun towards the target, but it would be a near impossible shot with such a small gun and only one hand to aim.
She gritted her teeth.
Then an arrow immediately flew, giving Juliett just enough time to beat her wings for a last time with horror in her eyes before being struck in the chest and plunging down into the cold ocean.
"Target eliminated." Hakuba spoke painfully. He had killed two of the people he liked the most in the span of twenty minutes.
Kagome gave her son's hand a tight squeeze, this was the last thing she wanted for him.
They resumed running. The main deck was just around the corner.
Another arrow flew, sending Charlie tumbling dead into a steel barrel.
They had reached their destination, now it was just a matter of climbing the access ladder to the bridge.
But…
Kagome felt a sharp pang in her chest as the bridge came into her sight. Fire, smoke, shattered glass… she had been telling herself that her husband would be ok since the first explosion, but after seeing what remained of the Murakumo's bridge she couldn't lie to herself anymore.
Hakaku was dead.
And Hakuba knew it as well, yet he was barely able to register what he was feeling. He was in shock as reality struck.
"We can't stop yet…" Kagome was unable to hide the grief in her voice.
Something broke within Hakuba as he watched the burning wreckage that had become his father's grave. He felt oddly calm.
"Yes, ma'am."
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, JDS Murakumo, Security Room, 2140.
Everyone in the room had been killed.
The difference was that two of the dead were much more recent than the rest; Sierra and Victor likely were in charge of keeping an eye on the ship's radio after Squad Six had taken care of the navy guys that were in the room. Neither of the two had time to react when Hakuba rushed inside as Kagome shot the red lightbulb.
Hakuba's first kill had taught him that he needed to make sure his victims couldn't scream, so, after some careful planning and synthesizing he had reached an ideal chemical to inject.
A very simple compound that would cause brutal muscle cramps and, in high enough concentration, pulmonary arrest.
They couldn't scream if they couldn't breathe.
By now Kagome had finished relying the information as she made a tourniquet around her arm. Rescue was on the way, armed and ready to deal with the insurgents.
"Four-hundred and eighty seconds." Kagome informed, as she took off the headset. She didn't bother with placing it on top of the desk as the ship by now had been steadily tipping to one side.
Hakuba just remained unresponsive as he stared down his two last victims, the Chelicerae in his palms out and ready to strike.
"Hakuba!" Kagome called, causing her son to snap back into the real world.
Kagome slowly wrapped her left arm around her son as she approached, a brief moment of care in the darkness of that night.
They needed to move once more, now that Kagome had revealed the truth behind the attack on the Murakumo surely the security room would be stormed soon. Getting into one of the lifeboats was their best shot now. Either that or they could improvise with a crate, they still had time to make it to the cargo bay and get one of the external hatches open.
On the run again and as expected there was resistance on the way. Now that Squad Six's was exposed they couldn't leave their mission unfinished and they had to get it done in a hurry. And that hurry made Foxtrot and Zulu sloppy enough to run on the stairs, the thin aluminum steps alerting their targets of their approach.
Hakuba and Kagome simply waited around the corner, and when their enemies came into view Kagome rushed Zulu to the ground, one of her Quills punching right through the man's neck, while Hakuba used his mother's back to step up and push both his palms on Foxtrot's face.
The Machibuses had decided that they had no time to search for the lifeboat, so now they rushed to the cargo bay.
Running was turning into an issue, the floor had to be tilted by at least thirty degrees now. The Murakumo would capsize shortly.
Soon they were greeted by the smell of copper that filled the storage area. As many as twenty bodies scattered across the floor, all but five brutally mangled, ripped open and missing limbs. Strangely enough one of the five that weren't thorn apart was Squad Six's Delta. There was someone, something in that place.
Kagome spotted a shadow on the corner, and whatever that was it had noticed her. She created another Quill with some effort and gestured for Hakuba to step away slowly. Kagome had been pushing her Quirk for a while now, her skin was beginning to crack and soon enough she would begin losing more blood than she already was.
The stalemate lasted for roughly a minute, Hakuba could not see just what had his mother so on edge, only hear a low, muffled grow-like voice had been repeating the Machibuse name with difficulty.
The Murakumo continued to tilt, they were near the point of no return.
It all clicked for Kagome once he saw that figure, the reason behind all of this. Should've been as plain as day from the start.
The jet-black skin, the knife-like claws, the crazed eyes, the partially exposed brain. Kagome knew that thing very well.
"Hakuba, get out of this corridor very slowly. Lean against the floor and get away." Kagome whispered as she made another push, short Quills sprouting from her forearm and shoulder.
Hakuba's eyes widened when he realized that he was meant to leave his mother behind.
"The ship will capsize at any moment now, and there is no telling on what will happen after that… It will come after me now, and I am not risking having you anywhere near it." she added, her body tensing for a battle she knew would be inevitable now.
"What is going to happen with you!? You are wounded!" Hakuba despaired, doing his best to keep his voice as low as possible, but having a hard time doing so.
The monster in the room perked up in attention, it had noticed Hakuba now.
"I don't know." Kagome responded, quickly shoving her son away with her right side and quickly pulling the mechanical switch that held the doors to the cargo bay open.
The metallic door quickly feel shut, cutting the two apart.
"MOM!" Hakuba cried, slamming his hands against the steel desperately.
"GET OUT FROM THE SHIP! I WILL MEET YOU OUTSIDE!" Kagome shouted back.
"YOU PROMISSE!? I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!" Hakuba continued crying, unaware that the monster inside the cargo bay had just begun charging against his mother.
"I DO! NOW GO!" Kagome responded.
"I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU!" Hakuba gave a final cry before turning away from the door and running.
Tears ran down Kagome's face, her limp right arm now had been completely severed as she used it to deflect the assault and create an opening to strike back.
But that wasn't why she was crying.
She was crying because the last words she exchanged with her son were lies.
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, JDS Murakumo, Canteen, 2230.
Hakuba had been lucky enough to have a ship capsizing about twenty minutes ago while he tried to get away from another search party, his Chelicerae proving to be capable tools for climbing and allowed him to hold tight to the wooden floor while his pursuers, Papa, Romeo and Yankee, were rocked around and left open to a quick volley of arrows from his perch on top of one of the wooden tables bolted to the floor.
It would be a good idea to take his shoes off the next time though.
His luck however turned bad immediately after when another four members of Squad Six made it inside the canteen.
"Stop resisting young man. You are only delaying the inevitable." Bo sighed as he rappelled inside alongside November, Oscar and Tango. Ropes attached to some pipe on the outside of the canteen. All four stopping for a moment over six meters above Hakuba, and another two from the lowest point in the room.
Hakuba didn't respond. He had been evading a four-man squad led by Bo, or Hotel, for a few minutes now, moving from one cover to the next whenever he had the opportunity and needed every second he could muster to plan his next move. He took a deep breath and took a peek at the old watch he had around his wrist, a gift his father gave him for his seventh birthday. The almost fading nine segment display was telling him that he had around eighteen hundred seconds before rescue arrived.
"This would've been so much easier if your old man wasn't so anal about accompanying you during your little tour. Too bad he is a piece of charcoal now, we lost a good cut of our payday because of that." Hotel taunted, reaching into the pocket he had in his forearm for grenade.
In moment he had blown up one of the tables of the canteen after making sure his target wasn't within the blast range.
"Honestly, just save me the trouble of restocking and give up." he continued. Another explosion.
Six more tables to go.
Hakuba could hear the other three approaching carefully. His mind was going a million miles per hour. He couldn't draw his bow as at least one of his hands has vital to keeping himself anchored, and he couldn't risk fighting in the open without a decent footing, especially against armed opponents.
Hakuba quickly reached for the straps of his bulletproof vest, that thing was in the way now. Once freed Hakuba pressed his upper back against the wood, the Chelicerae there now able to anchor him as well as he held the heavy armor with his chin.. It was a good idea to free his hands but was a rather painful idea also, he had never used the Chelicerae on his back much, so they weren't nearly as strong as the ones in his hands and feet. One aspect of his training he had grossed over.
With a quick draw from the bow he fired an arrow at the wall that had become the de facto floor of the canteen since the capsizing.
All movement in the room seemed to halt as the sound captured their attention briefly.
"Watch out, you know he is crafty." Hotel warned.
Hakuba gritted his teeth, that wouldn't cut it.
Then his father saved him.
In a way, at least as he quickly begun setting up the alarm on his watch before removing the accessory.
The alarm arrow was ready to fly.
"We are not falling for that." Hotel stated as none of the climbers paid attention to the projectile.
That was up until the thing started beeping a few seconds later.
It was Hakuba's chance to make a move, taking the heavy vest and tossing it into the completely opposite direction to create more noise.
Hakuba jumped down. It was a pretty big drop, but he could handle it. November's body would cushion his fall a little.
By the time the four men in the ropes realized where the boy actually was Hakuba had already picked November's rifle and had begun firing away.
Romeo happened to be killed in the assault, but that wasn't Hakuba's original plan.
He unloaded the whole clip at the pipe where the ropes had been tied to.
The four fell like rocks.
And none of them got up.
Climbing out of the canteen was going to be a challenge, Hakuba for sure had at least sprained his right ankle on the fall. Still, he had to endure. And now that his mobility had been crippled he would need to be even more ingenious.
The Murakumo was sinking fast now, the sound of water pouring in was distressing to say the least.
Hakuba picked up his alarm arrow, his watch wouldn't resist more than another go, but he wasn't in position to be picky. His muscles were burning, his throat was dry, his eyes were heavy.
"Nine hundred and twenty…-five seconds until extraction."
-.
Four Years Ago, October 24th, JDS Murakumo, Hull, 2250.
Kilo and Mike never saw it coming.
The watch had been tossed into a room with no other exit just as Hakuba made his presence known and the alarm led both men inside.
Hakuba just closed the door shut behind them and pilled some junk on top of it to guarantee that they wouldn't escape.
Hakuba now had reached the outer shell of the sinking ship. There was only one member of Squad Six after him now.
"I'm genuinely impressed. When I was told that your mother had escaped the blast at the bridge I was sure that at least some of the guys would be put down, but I didn't expect all of them being killed." Bravo admitted as he watched Hakuba climbing onto the railing.
"You feeling candid now, Hari Oji-san?" Hakuba spat, leaning heavily on his left leg.
He then fell to the ground clutching his tight, a large shard of glass now lodged into his flesh and nicking his femur.
Hakuba knew very well he wouldn't stand a chance against Haritomo's Hyalokenesis. And even if the man refrained from using his Quirk to turn every piece of glass on the Murakumo into a weapon Hakuba wouldn't still be able to lay a finger on him even in peak condition.
Yet there was no escaping that confrontation.
"How many of them did you kill?" the old man asked as he flicked a glass marble at breakneck speed at one of Hakuba's hands as to stop the boy from prying out the glass in his leg and possibly bleed to death.
"D-did you even care about them?" Hakuba asked back in pain.
"I planned on getting rid of them after the mission, you and your mother saved me the trouble. Just being curious." Haritomo explained as he approached, making sure to step on Kagome's bow to snap it in half.
"Fifteen." Hakuba responded finally.
"Aren't you one fine little killing machine. I wonder what those guys have in store for you…" Haritomo mused, picking up Hakuba by the collar.
A navy ship coming a maximum speed caught their attention.
"So that is your plan? Stalling for time? You know that I can control any glass I can see my reflection on, all I need is one of these and it's off to the extraction point." Haritomo asked as he turned to one of the many glass panes on the ship, immediately bringing closer to demonstrate his escape vehicle.
"I know the ships can't reach you, Hari Oji-san… I just wanted to know why you did this…" Hakuba spoke.
Bravo rolled his eyes.
And then immediately slammed Hakuba down through the floating glass pane.
The boy coiled in pain. Then he was pinned to the ground as a massive boot landed on his chest with an unsettling crack.
"I was going to say money was the reason behind everything… but you know? It is not! This, all of this is to show that insufferable minister that her little political games have consequences! I have lost it all because she sees everyone as a disposable pawn! This is to show her that something as small as refusing to send a rescue mission for her pawns is not something to take lightly!" Haritomo berated as he kicked his godchild across the bits of glass.
Hakuba could only cough blood.
"Anymore stupid questions or can we get moving?" the man questioned, now bringing another glass pane for him to ride towards extraction.
Hakuba chuckled.
"The part of your Quirk that requires you to reflect on the glass… is the receeding hairline to boost that? Makes you shine better or something like that?" he taunted.
Haritomo immediately picked Hakuba up by the neck and just as he was about to speak again Hakuba forced his jaw to the side.
And spat one of his Chelicerae right on his godfather's good eye.
"Payload delivered." Hakuba coughed as he was tossed against the floor. Haritomo needed to be able to see his reflection on the glass to control it, and luckily for Hakuba someone had already done half the job when it came down to blinding the man.
Haritomo tried to shout something in rage, but he found hard to actually speak as his muscles stiffened.
Then a sharp pain took hold of his leg as Hakuba crawled closer to deliver a second dose to make sure the job was done.
Then a third as he reached with his other hand.
It was enough to put a rhino down, but Hakuba was not taking any chances.
"Sixteen."
…
..
.
AN: Questions answered? New questions? I hope so. This is the single longest chapter in the story up until now and I've written most of it with a single hand.
I was a little strapped for what Quirk give to this arc's antagonist, so I must give a quick shout out to Mashmallow Titan and the Quirk compendium he maintains; I've made a little tweak on Hyalokenesis (chapter 46), but the idea came from there. Haritomo Junshou means "Honest Crystal Neighbor".
Sometime ago I asked you guys about the possibility of a spin-off later on but didn't gave any meaningful explanation on what the spin-off would cover and I got mixed responses as I expected. Now I can tell you guys that the spin-off would go over the events that preceded the JDS Murakumo Incident.
And yes, like most chapters in this story this one also has some harder to spot bits of information. Let's just say that the sauciest of them all is in this chapter.
Till next time.