Hibana, The Fire Flower
Prologue
21:46 hours…
A woman was walking alone in an alleyway. It had been the height of night in its fullest. Activity was everywhere. People walked along in strides as the usual things followed. Night life as the youngsters said was a particular thing that she noticed, from bars to clubs everything seemed to be in place. Energetic, lively and sometimes chaotic. Some shops and stalls have closed by now. Some stay as the working man or woman kept at it to have their daily income sustainable. Cars roamed free in the city. News had been at the very usual of things. Rummaging from simple tales of economy, crime, or even some good news if lucky. Rich people being in their own plane of existence was also appreciated.
All in all, it seemed to be a quiet but lively night. Much to her amusement, it was perfect for her situation. No one would bat an eye if something happened. Sure, there are some cases in which some people would care to see their surroundings, but for now, it had been relegated to a simple thought that it was everyone's own business to attend to. The likelihood of someone noticing was low. It would be null and void in the morning, but doing things this way made it far more satisfying… and exciting too.
Which is why she enjoyed nights like these. Working on them was nothing short but exemplary.
She was prepared for tonight. She was sure of it. The job was simple, take something from someone's hands and return in it to the client. That was it.
And the reward associated with it was very appealing. The number of zeroes plastered on the price tag of the job was something even she would not ignore, and she even proclaimed herself to be the picky one when it came to jobs like these.
Well, in this case for now. Her usual soiree was "wetwork". She enjoyed taking out jobs like that, and it gave her menial to less eyes peeking into her work. She was proud of it, having been known to be very discreet and leaving no trace in her name for others to follow.
Others would consider flashier jobs, bank robberies and organized strikes to accept with. A displeased thought came into her mind when she thought about those fools who took the bait. Sure, the money on those types of works are really high in number, not to mention the skill and expertise needed to successfully pull off such things were commendable. Alas, they had one flaw, and it was exposure. Lots of eyes were drawn to big things, and with that comes danger. People tend to flock more to flashier things than smaller occurrences in the night.
With that saying of course, it did not mean that she was not exposed one or a few other times in her whole career. She had gone through six iterations of covers throughout her lifespan and never stayed in one spot. When she was in the spotlight, it had been for the results of her jobs. Attracting small to big-shot names of people in the system of justice that pursued her.
But…
None of those that did in fact pursue her survived nor were seen again. She took pride in that sense that she was a self-proclaimed master of stealth and tact that also came with the appropriate title of strength. None in this current time would dare to follow her footsteps to bring her to justice, some still do, but those were either in the decent or strong side of the spectrum. It did not matter.
She enjoyed a good fight from time to time.
For now, she would do this job. She had to admit, the first time she heard of this job surprised her. Not only for the large sum of money involved, but also the mere fact that the client in itself was anonymous. She did not like that. Usually speaking, she was known for having every detail of the job printed into her brain to accept it. She would even take days to research said job to its fullest. Learning the client, the schematics, the sum of the reward, and the approach to it. She had two of those removed from her normal check, namely information about the client and the approach to the objective.
She hated not knowing things. Uncertainty was a large flaw in her plans. Too many things can go out of hand if left to themselves. Which is why she was being reluctant to take it.
Although the amount of money involved made her to take the job. At least until she would get the target, she would know more of their client. Money was a bit scarce these days, she needed a large sum to sustain her for months on end. The job seemed to be the only thing available to compensate that need. Still, the amount of mystery surrounding this made her uneasy.
There was one detail that she did in fact know. Said job ordered the taking of a special individual, and to her luck there were small but enough details to follow through. One being the individual had red crimson hair, and that it was young.
Normally she did not mind doing jobs that included vague descriptions, but it did make her wonder why the description was 'young'. It made this easy of course. Younger individuals are easy to take and when she reluctantly accepted the job, she was given a device in hand to track said individual.
Such a device led her here now… an abandoned warehouse just in the outskirts of the city. Near the silent sounds of the sea by the docks. The company that managed this side of the city was long gone. Profits and whatnot had forced it to shut down. Now, it was a rotting field full of unused buildings and dusty old equipment of a once used supply dock.
She stood by the fenced perimeter of the place. She took out the tracker that was placed in one of the pouches of her belt. It still beeped in harmony, though faster this time. It also had a large indicator that said the target was close.
Cold winds came to her stead as she stood there. The sound of the waves was the only thing in the forefront. With the bustling of the city in the background. Not a lot of people walked nor drove in this part of the city. Only street lights were the source of illumination. She looked around.
"Let's get this over with." She muttered to herself.
Slowly walking over to the fence, she took out bolt cutters from the satchel she brought. After cutting it at a moderate pace to give her a big enough opening to go into, she entered the perimeter fence. She began to notice that it seemed to be too quiet for her likes.
She started to second guess and worry that this was a trap. Which is why she had contingencies in place. For now, she would worry the job to be completed and when something does in fact happen she would be ready for it.
She then started to walk towards the buildings as she took the device again to see where she needed to go. During this ordeal, she threw the bolt cutter in the air and within less of a second the whole tool was disassembled by an invisible force into its individual original pieces and flung into all directions across the pier. Leaving little to no trace that such a tool was used.
She squinted after the object was gone. A little focus from her was all it needed to do that.
She walked closer to the target's signature. She then saw that she was getting closer as she opened a dusty old door to enter one of the few warehouses in this dock. As she entered inside she saw that the entire place was dark, without any form of light as illumination.
"This just gets better and better." She said with a deadpan sarcasm.
She strode in without a care as she closed the door behind her. Walking in a straight line, not even bothering with the darkened place as if she could see in the dark. She wondered why such a target lived or why he or she was in this place. If such individual was important, why was it here in all places?
It did make her all the more worried. This did not bode well to her tastes. She would need to have a word with the said client soon and maybe she could double its price too. Hazard pay was indeed a thing both legally and illegally speaking.
As soon as the beeping continued, she sensed an itch in her senses. Someone or something was here. She sighed to herself, an annoyed look on her senses as she took a mask from her satchel and placed it on her face. The mask in itself was a simple white color in design, with two incisions for her vision, and a protruding horn like structure that jutted from the forehead.
She then took off the satchel threw it to the ground next to her. She put a hand on her hip as she surveyed the area. A bored and annoyed expression on her face that was hidden by the mask took fruit.
"Six… six of you are here." She said out aloud.
There was silence. She looked around once again, she could not see in the dark but her senses felt something hiding in it. She shrugged in response when no one or nothing spoke. Then something shot out from the satchel placed on the ground. It hit her hand in an instant. A cylindrical vial filled with liquid that shook when she closely looked at it. She could feel the liquid churn in her senses, she then opened it and poured the liquid in a circular motion around her. She then threw the vial aside and a metal-cased lighter flew into her hands in an instant. She turned it on.
"This is your last warning. Show yourselves to me or I'll burn this place down. With the target included." She threatened with a firm tone as she stood there. The only light source came from her lighter that blew its flame to the light breeze.
She still had no response and she grumbled underneath the mask. She was about to throw the lighter to the ground to prove her point when a knife-like object flew towards her. Only stopped a few inches away from her mask.
"I'm surprised you caught that." She heard a voice say.
She then felt the six figures to advance towards her. The only sound was their heavy footsteps that came with each figure. She gritted her teeth yet again in realization for her folly. Surely the reward was high and it did not just attract her in taking the job. Yet, she had taken care of competition before but right now she was not in the mood.
Then suddenly a man in a large trench coat walked over in view of the faint light of the lighter. He had a gruff look on his face and a scar that ran across one of his eyes. She saw that no visible color was in that eye, a clear indication of being blind there. He was taller than her by a small amount.
"Not gonna say anything? I thought you were threatening us there a minute ago." He said again to her. She then saw that five other individuals came into the faint light. She saw a skinny but lean-built man clad in a black form fitting suit that was comprised of knife-like objects sheathed into his suit all across his body. He had long hair and his red eyes complete with a mask covering his mouth was seen. Another was a woman with feline-like features (with protruding cat ears) dressed skimpily with skin exposed in some certain areas that made her feel like a hooker only with nine tails. Another was a small man with what seemed to have grayish hands and some parts of his face and body was melded with that material. He only wore shorts too. The last one was an insect-based person with mantis-like appendages for arms and insect wings by his back. Seeing them all one by one gave her one feeling in mind.
The blade hovering by her head was suddenly fractured and brought to small pieces afterwards.
"What's left to say anyway?" she said in a deadpan tone towards what she assumed to be the leader. She looked up and saw his eyes full of slight anger towards the unamused comment.
"You think we're scared of you?" he said.
"No… I never thought of it that way. Though disappointed is the correct term I would have used on you and your… whatever this is."
The man then suddenly grew in size a bit. His skin now hardening in what seemed to be rock or a steel-like substance. She never flinched but stared at him all the same.
"You disappointed still? Or should I show you why you shouldn't mess with me bitch?" he said to her in a threatening fashion. He crunched his knuckles as they stared down on each other.
"Do you really want me to do this?" she asked. Her single comment made the big brute angrier in the process. He towered over her with both fists ready to pummel her into the ground. Yet she still stared.
"You have nerve to say that to my face you fucking whore! Why don't you- ACK!"
No one in the room knew what happened. The big man simply fell to the ground and blood flooded out of his nostrils. He was dead. The other five people in the room looked at her. Some in shock, surprise, and fear. They also saw that the protruding horn-like structure above the forehead of her mask glowed.
She then stared at the dead body and walked closer. She kicked the head of the dead man with minimal force. Seeing that there was no response, she then looked at the others in question.
"Anyone next?"
Her tone was simple and it did wonders to the fear she gave out.
The one with the knives all across his body stepped forward.
"W-Who are you?" he said as he took out two knives from his forearms. The others steeled their nerves as well in preparation for her. Witnessing their leader die like that with ease made the nervous.
"I assumed my name was out there by now, but I guess a group of nobodies like you would have been too ignorant to care."
The sound of rattling chains from above were only noticed by her alone.
"Don't underestimate us you bi-" the feline-lady was stopped when a heavy object the size of a car crashed on top of her at an instant. Her arm flew away a few inches after the impact. Leaving a flattened corpse that splatted blood across the floor in which she last stood.
"Anyone who calls me an uncouth name once more will suffer a fate far worse than hers." She said again in a deadpan manner. Shocking the other three as she merely just stood there, not even an arm nor leg was moved.
She then clapped her hands together and smiled underneath her mask.
"Now, I'm sure none of you want to die… but since I work alone and never intended nor liked to share with anyone, I guess something drastic is needed to be done."
The insect man charged in with his scythe arms towards her, but before he could do anything she held up the lighter and she simply aimed the small object towards him. A sudden blaze of inferno came out from the small fire moments ago and it burned the insect man in place
FWOOOOSSSHHH!
He screamed in agony as the blaze continued. She held up the lighter and it levitated into the air continuing to burn away the insect man to his death.
The smaller man prior then jumped towards her, his arms morphed into a hammer and a blade in the other. He tried to hit her but she simply dodged each strike carefully and easily that it was comical for the little man as he screamed in frustration. He then used his blade arm to strike her sideways, only to be caught by the wrist with her left hand. He then smiled a bit as this let her open to the strike with his hammer hand, but before he could get a hit in, she simple poked her finger with her free arm towards his neck and it snapped his entire neck in place. He fell to ground, instantly dead with a shocked expression strewn across his face.
The only one left was the knife-man.
She simply stared at him, unsure but ready to do anything should he move. He was frozen in place as he saw his team all around him, dead in the worse conditions.
Then a realization hit him.
"Y-You… y-you're that woman."
"Is that supposed to stop me from killing you?"
He stepped back as he looked at her entire attire and look and in his head he confirmed that this was the person he recognized far too well.
"You're Jade…" he said in horror.
"Oh… is that fanboy I hear in that voice? I would love to settle this with little blood then." She said with a slightly amused tone. She walked towards him and took held his head in place. The man began to loom in fear and beg for his life. Tears starting to stream in his eyes.
"P-Please… I didn't know. I didn't know…" he begged.
"What difference does it make? At least you died knowing it was me."
"No please… I-I'm only doing this for my-" he was cut off when blood began to seep into his nostrils and mouth. The green glow on her horn illuminated his horrified face until his eyes dilated. He was dead and he fell to the ground.
"Consider that mercy enough for crossing me and like I said, I don't share."
The woman known by the moniker Jade heavily sighed. She hated killing this much people in one location. It brought a lot of attention towards her work. However, she did realize that this needed to be done and that she had to complete this job in a faster rate. She predicted that other shmucks would take the job. It was far too large of an opportunity to waste and she knew any other stupid lowlife small-timer would get his or her hands on it.
She understood why they were here, but she was angry at that idea. She would have words with the client after this is all done. She hated being put in the dark and giving off the bounty in a sort of competition as to who gets it first made her furious. This also gave way another problem, some individuals may not be in the same power level as her, but some might. To be fair, she was not afraid of anyone and she proved that foremost the first time her name was exposed by the media.
Still, things like that complicate everything and she hated complications.
For now however, she would walk in with a wary and cautious step in her wake. She would need to handle the bodies later, should this be a bloodbath again with same types of people she would kill them where they are, take the target and using her abilities, hide the bodies long enough in the sea next to the docks. She would also clean as much evidence as possible. Making it easier to cover her tracks until then.
She took out the device from her belt and surveyed her surroundings. She was close. Very close.
As she was about to walk closer towards a room that seemingly had the target, a light suddenly shown from the side. She instantly hid herself on a nearby crate and hoped the one using the flashlight never saw her. She heard footsteps coming closer towards the crate and with her senses felt around her in this room, she felt that the man was looking around in worry. The flashlight shaking in his hands.
Jade wondered why the man was shaking in nervousness.
It did not matter to her anyways. She did not want witnesses and this man was about to be. With a quick maneuver she head-locked the man in place and used her other arm to hold the wrist where he held the flashlight. Keeping it there to avoid suspicion, should there be any other people around that was with him.
He struggled underneath her grip and Jade felt him trying to break free, but his weak body, coupled with his stick-like physique gave out on him. He was far too weak compared to her. She held him steady and a small pin that came from her belt levitated slowly towards his chest and to his horror as he tried to be free saw that the pin entered his flesh, piercing his internal organs and heart inside. The small hole where the pin entered seeped with blood and began to flow into the dirty ragged clothes the man had. He slowly went limp as he no longer moved in her grasp.
"Shhhhhh… just let go." She whispered and he was dead. She removed the flashlight from his hand and it remained floating in place. She then settled the man into the corner of this small hallway and he bled there. Jade then realized that the man looked awfully… different than the thugs she had encountered. He looked like a homeless person, but she shrugged the thought away as she turned off the flashlight and took the device again to see where the target was. She walked back towards the door she initially came to and with a slow creak to it she stepped inside. The device signaling her that she was very close towards the target.
She took another step closer and let her senses fill the room to 'see'.
Suddenly she heard a voice.
"H-Honey? W-What was that sound?" a weak voice of a woman called out. Jade wondered in confusion as she sensed that it was a woman near her. She could not see Jade with the darkness, but Jade could sense her. What puzzled Jade with this discovery was that she sensed her to be sickly… and holding what seemed to be…
"H-Honey?" before Jade could react the woman took out a flashlight and shined it on the entrance of the door, but what she saw was not the man, but Jade herself in her suit and mask. Horror came to her face as she shook in fear, speechless.
"W-Who are you?" she asked shakenly in her voice
Jade did not respond, but she now saw the woman in clear view. She was weak, thin, and almost sickly like the man she had just killed. She was surprised to see her, as the device seemed to imply that she was the target, but before she could think that way, another revelation donned itself.
The sickly woman had something in her arms.
And it was a baby. A baby with Crimson strands of hair on her head.
This night became more complicated than she would have liked it to be.
"Who are you? W-Where is my… Oh God." The sickly woman with dirty raven-black hair said towards her, she clutched the baby closer towards her as she saw Jade. Jade never said a word, the senses she had only amplified by the mask gave him a feeling that meant something was wrong. She felt only two bodies here. One of the sickly woman and one of the baby. The description said 'young' and had crimson hair. The baby had strands of crimson hair and she was 'young'. Too young for her tastes. To be fair to her own morals, she never cared for the death of anyone innocent. If it wasn't related to her or if she cared less, she gave no sympathy. However, there were exceptions and one of them was here now and it was a baby. It was ridiculous for her line of work to even care remotely for what the baby's condition was but being a child once herself (a neglected child), she drew the line there.
Still, she did not believe what she was seeing. She still could not put it in her senses that this little child was the target, the target with such high value and high price tag. Seeing the kind of people that wanted to take the little one made her visibly tense. The baby may more or less not survive this night.
She felt sick knowing that one person would do this. Pitting everyone who took their job to the death just to get one measly and innocent baby was beyond her. She hated this.
"P-Please… don't kill me. S-she needs me…" the sickly woman said a she tried to inch away. Tears in her eyes began to form up as she held the baby closer to her own. The baby itself was
So it's a she? She thought to herself.
"Please… leave us alone. We don't want any part of your plan. W-We just wanted to take this little girl away from it. From everything…" she pleaded with broken and fearful eyes.
Normally she would not give a shit, but seeing the pain the woman had in her eyes made her feel guilty for killing her husband, or what she assumed to be her husband. She now tried to piece together what she needed to do in this situation. She also asked herself why this baby was the target, why was she such a high liability in the first place?
Damn it all, and I just wanted a quiet job for tonight. She muttered to herself. Sweat began to form up on her forehead as she thought about all of this.
"Y-You already killed him, p-please just let us go and I-I won't tell anyone." The sickly woman said with a shaky voice. Jade just continued to stare. What was she to say to her anyway? That she was here for the baby? That even though she would leave them alone, some other people will just come here and kill them and take her?
Before she could make a decision, the horn of her mask flashed bright green. Using her amplified senses, she felt a dozen- no, almost over forty or more people just entered the range of her sensory zone. She concluded such an outcome with the numerous voices and sounds of people outside or inside the building beginning to build up. The two had not heard nor felt it yet, but they were in for a night of their lives, her included.
A sound of metal or something large was heard outside the door. The sickly woman panicked and Jade responded by walking slowly towards the door and closing it quietly enough for no one to notice. She knew that the sound came a bit too close to the bodies of the first six she encountered. It would slow them down a bit, at least if they bought in to be shocked by their corpses.
She then turned her head towards the two, walking over and kneeling to have her and the woman face to face. She stared straight into her eyes as the woman grew more anxious and scared to the surprising change of heart.
"Look here, I don't intend to save you both but there are people out there that want to kill you and take your daughter away…" she said to them in a low voice.
"T-There are m-more?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm not the only one it seems that took this job. Even if I quit this inquiry and leave you two here, you'll both die or worse, and based on the mood of the people I can sense outside… this place is going to have one hell of a party tonight."
"O-Oh no… t-they caught up to us. After all this time- Oh God… I-I told him we needed to move way again, but he was so sure that w-we, we wouldn't get caught." The sickly woman said as she began to tear up towards the baby in her hands. She apologetically whispered towards the child as Jade watched.
The sound began to come closer; she swore that they both heard what seemed to be voices calling out names in the dark. Jade turned off the flashlight that the woman was holding, she was still shaking but she held out her other hand with a finger raised to keep her quiet. She then slowly guided the woman's hand to put the flashlight down to the floor.
"T-They're close. You both need to leave. I can't help you." She whispered to them, the only light being the faint glow of the horn of her mask.
The woman then looked at her, not in defeat nor fear this time, but acceptance. She gingerly held the baby towards her. Jade then realized what she was meaning to do.
"W-What the hell are you doing?" she snapped with a low voice.
"Y-You need to protect her. I-I can't anymore. Please, she needs to be far away from here. Far from them… far from those people." She pleaded with tears in her eyes.
"Are you insane? She'll put a target on my back. I can't afford that even with a kid like her."
"Please, I beg you. She needs your help. I don't care if you killed my husband or not, I just want the girl to be safe. I-I don't know what'll happen if they get her. S-she won't just die! Please. I need you to take her from me and help her. Y-You're her only hope." Panic and desperation were laced into the woman's words. Jade felt tense but unresolved on how to best approach this.
She was shaking as she sobbed softly into Jade's shoulder. Jade did not know what to do next. If she would take the baby like the woman said, a large target would be put on her back. She did care a bit for the well-being of the small child, but she cared more for her own safety. She weighed down all the risks she would take if she took the offer but she knew that the risks outweighed the benefits.
"I-I can't accept. This is too much for me. I don't want myself to be compromised. Even if it meant I have to leave you two behind." She said to them with a firm tone. The sickly woman was shocked with her words.
"You can't let her to be taken!"
"Why would I care? I don't even know the damn reason why this little kid is being hunted with a large paycheck on her ass. If you could somehow tell me why, then maybe… maybe I'll reconsider." She said with a now slightly annoyed tone.
"S-She's special." The woman said with a heavy and sad voice.
"That's it?"
"No… you don't understand, if she gets taken- "a sudden realization came to Jade. A faint blue and thin blue light just hit the woman in the chest. She was able to duck in time but the woman wasn't lucky. It had pierced her heart and lethally wounded her. She instantly began to limp her whole body in pain and was about to drop the baby. Only for Jade to catch the sleeping child just in time while also slowly putting the sickly woman to the floor.
She choked on her own blood as Jade watched in both uncertainty and concern. Not just for the baby but for herself. She began to ask what she got herself into. Jade began to worry for the worst, but she knelt closer with the baby in her hands towards the woman.
"Did you hit something inside?" she heard a voice say outside the door.
"I can't tell, it's too dark in there to know." Another voice said.
"But the damn thing says it's in there."
Jade gritted her teeth, this complicated yet another thing for her tonight, all she could do right now was hold the baby in front of the woman who was dying to her wounds. The woman then took her hand and squeezed it with the remaining strength she had. Jade was surprised at the action yet she took her hand still.
"T-Take care of her… s-she needs to live a normal life… p-promise me." Blood was seeping into her lips as her other hand was at her wound, now soaking her clothes with the blood that was coming out of it.
"I can't promise that." Jade said to her.
"Y-You'd have to… i-in time." She then moved her head slightly and kissed the little girl's head one last time and smiled with as much happiness as she had left. She then looked at Jade and her pupils dilated.
She was gone. Leaving her with the package and the promise to take care of her. Two things were in her head right now, the decision to give the girl and fight herself out to the client, or leave this place with her. Regardless of what would happen. She had no guilt over the deaths of the woman and the man but she was conflicted on what to do with the baby. Uncertainty was now tethering into the edge of her sanity.
"We need to check in inside to be sure." A voice said.
"I ain't getting in there, it's dark!"
"Like a give a crap."
"Just dust the place up first, then we'll enter."
"What? And kill the package?"
Jade was not having any of this. Her day was already ruined she angrily held the baby in her arms and scowled at her. She was the prime reason she was in this shitshow. She could kill her right here and now so that no one could get the bounty. One thing stopped her though, and it was that she could not seem to have the nerve to kill such an innocent and small child who barely understood nor aware of what was happening. She questioned what made this little girl special.
CRASH!
Her thoughts were driven out the window when the wall closest to her was broken apart. Entering said wall were two individuals wearing very non-subtle suits. One was a man wearing shorts and had some sort of absorbing ability, and another was a man in a suit with a blank face.
"What do we have here?" the man with the shorts said as Jade stood up and held the baby in her hands, protectively for reasons she never understood herself. She was about to reply when apparently the voices from outside the door unleashed a volley of those small rays of light and it cut and singed every part of the room. Jade was able to break the wall next to her with slight concentration and dodged the makeshift beams of light with the baby in her arms. The absorbing man had his head chopped off from the ensuing rays. The man with no face conjured what seemed to a semi-invisible surface and the lights bounced off of it.
Jade sighed in relief but it was soon taken back when she saw that she was in the middle of the abandoned shipyard, and around her was a multitude of men and women. All who had different abilities and all who were ready to jump on her.
Great. Fucking Great.
"Hand over the package." She heard one said and she saw a woman with a snake-like complexion, and a snake for hair. The waist-down she was a serpent, finishing the look. Before she could move closer however bullets that exploded like small bombs struck the ground next to her. She saw the one who shot it come closer with what seemed to be a sniper rifle attached to with a tube going to his chest.
"If anyone's gonna get that package, it'll be me. Fuck off, all of you." He said as he aimed that rifle towards Jade. All the other people in there who had abilities of their own had looked at her like the immediate threat. Jade's heartbeat began to race up as she angrily looked at all of them. The mask of her horn radiating brightly in green energy.
"I'm not asking again… Jade." The man said.
Suddenly murmurs began to form around her. Her name thrown into the mix as she held the baby closer towards her. She still did not wake up, but she bet that the more commotion ensued she would cry in terror. Those that were talking about her then began to look at her with more vigor and anger than never before.
"It's flattering to know that at least someone recognizes me, are you all here for the job as well?"
"I am, but like you I don't share as well, so hand the damn thing over so I can kill the other useless punks here and leave with the cash."
"You sound like you can kill me."
"I'll take my chances, but if it ain't me, there are others her who'd do and knowing you I can say that you know my reputation as well."
Jade focused her eyes on the man. She did in fact recognize him.
"So what's it gonna be Jade… no one here is scared of you." He commented. She huffed from that comment and sensed that a group behind her was about to move in and kill her. Her horn blared brightly in green in an instant.
A thunderous crash was heard. With it a violent display of power that came from a nearby large ship that was violently thrown by an invisible force and massacred all the people behind her. A few escaped, though narrowly. The show of power was so massive in scale that the entire ship was capsized and broken in half the moment it crashed the ground moments prior. It now sits in the middle of the pier behind Jade.
She heaved for a breath, it took almost all her stamina to do such a thing. She slowly regained her footing but she steeled herself to show those who were still there that she was still strong enough to fight them all head on. She protectively held the baby in her arms. She did not notice however that baby shifted in her arms.
All those who were still watching were in shock at what they just witnessed. She was still regaining her breath slowly as she looked down upon her assailants. Clutching the baby closer to her.
"A-Anyone care to say to me that they can take me on?" she said tiredly.
"That was impressive. Though that won't stop me. You may have fought the Symbol of Peace on numerous occasions Jade, but I'm not leaving her until either I get the baby or when you're dead." The seriousness of his tone began to reignite the determination of all those in the area that were alive.
They had the same bloodlust to get that reward even if it meant dying.
"Fine… take me then! All of you!" she shouted out aloud as she readied herself for a full blown fight. The gunman raised his gun and the rest ignited their abilities to attack her.
With that… the chaos started. They were starting to rip each other apart and made as much commotion as possible, putting all the notice and eyes on the abandoned shipyard. The night was not peaceful anymore.
Jade dodged and was able numerous people by either throwing object violently towards them or snapping necks when they got close. She was doing her best to keep the baby out of harm's way but the more she did, the more she realized that she would not last at this rate. She was getting tired and the fight was just starting. That stunt she did with the ship nearly took out all her strength and she was heaving as she kept on using her ability.
But as everyone was fighting, she felt the baby shift in her arms and after it opened its eyes, she began to trickle tears down her face as she saw that the one holding her was not her guardian.
Then something snapped.
With the baby's wail of terror and fear came a violent wave of red energy that crackled like lightning around her. Jade did not understand what was happening at first but everything came to a halt a second later. A shock wave of red energy exploded from the baby affecting her and everyone that was hit by it. The lightning the baby emitted shocked her too much that she knelt and let go of her as it persisted.
The area of influence had reached out almost throughout the whole city. Everything screeched to a stop as everyone felt the pain enter their bodies when they were struck.
Suddenly, all who were there in the vicinity of the baby's continuous wave of terror felt a sensation of fear, as if all their stress, worries, and anxiousness built up in their heads. Everyone cried out in pain as it overloaded their senses, specifically their brains. It affected Jade so much that her mask cracked and she was struggling to concentrate.
Jade felt old memories to resurface. Ones that were in her nightmares and ones that made her feel like a little girl again in fear of the unknown.
The intensity of the wave worsened so much that people in the city had bled in through their noses, ears, and mouths. Even those in law enforcement were having the same terror too.
After what seemed like an eternity of pain, the energy from the little girl intensified further and the result was something that would never be forgotten for years to come.
Everyone affected by the energy, specifically those closest had their heads explode into a bloody and gory mosaic. Fountains of blood rose a bit because of the pressure that built up in their heads and all throughout the city… everything living from children, adults, and animals had simultaneously burst their heads to the wave of energy that ensued. Everywhere began to fill with blood as the massacre continued.
Jade felt herself dying as she thought about how her last moments came like this.
She screamed in pain before blacking out herself.
Blood sprayed around her when the once bustling and chaotic night of Aldera Ward, Japan turned into an eerie and undisturbed silence.
Nothing was heard. Only the cry of a certain crimson-haired baby was there. Energy tendrils of red lightning slowly dissipated into the calm night.
Jade felt consciousness to slowly come to her. She did not believe that she was able to survive that. She slowly sat up as she took her mask off. Coughing in blood with a stream coming from her nose. Her head had still hurt from that… whatever it was.
She regained her breath as she felt her muscles and limbs sore. She did not feel any sort of pain from breakage or something, but she did in fact feel that she would need some rest. Her eyes focused to the silence around her and that's where realization took hold of her. She saw the shipyard still broken from the fight but what shocked her to see was pile upon pile of bodies and blood that sprayed everywhere. It was so damn quiet. Too quiet.
She then saw that the city close to this place was also quiet. Only sounds of rescue helicopters and vehicles in place. She also saw some figures who were either flying or making noise (pro heroes perhaps). Everything seemed dead, and they were all dead. She tried to remember what caused this, and then she recalled that she had the baby in her hands. She rushed near her and saw the baby still crying, and she then realized yet again that this was the cause of all of this.
She looked around as she cradled the baby.
This one single child had killed everyone in sight that was affected by the power she had displayed. She then widened her eyes when she realized that the reason she could only hear such sounds from the city… was because everyone was dead. She did not want to believe it, but it was foolish to deny such a thing. She looked at the baby in fear and questioned yet again why on earth she was so special.
Now she knew and she didn't know what to think of it.
The weight of the situation took her in as she tried to calm her down. So many questions began to pile up. What was this child? Why was she the bounty? Why was this child… so powerful to do all of this? Why did her ability- no, her quirk manifested this early? She looked at her crying face as she tried to comfort her to sleep again. She also wondered why she didn't die amidst all of this. However, she did recall that her mask focused and amplified her telekinetic abilities. It also served in helping her against mental-type quirks. For some god-forsaken reason, she was lucky that she had that mask on.
Yet… she was still reeling in of the events that lead them now to here.
"I-It's alright… I'll protect you. I-I'll protect you…" she said while shushing the baby.
She could not give her to the client. She now knew what was on stake. True, she didn't care for all of those deaths, but seeing the amount of destruction in front of her prompted her to realize that this girl deserved something better. Not her… not anyone…
But something better. She cradled her close as she was slowly being lulled to sleep. She would need to leave soon. Before the pros could arrive. It would only serve as a large detriment if she let herself get caught. She also knew that if the pros would discover her, they would lock her up and experiment on her dangerous… quirk. Was it still a quirk? Holding her now felt like a nuclear bomb ready to explode on contact. She was scared of that thought but couldn't take herself to leave her as is.
She made her decision. She would hide the girl. Hide her from everyone. The world didn't need to hear about this day. They wouldn't need to know that one helpless little girl had just killed hundreds or maybe thousands of people without any awareness of her actions.
She stood up and readied herself to leave when something crashed in front of her.
When the smoke cleared, a large and muscular man in a red and blue suit came into view. She knew him far too well not to forget his name. The Symbol of Peace himself, All Might was here. This time he had no smile on his face. He only had a large scowl.
I fucking don't need this right now. She internally commented.
"Villain! You will pay for all of those lives you've taken today. I thought you were salvageable before, now I realize you're as despicable as the rest of them. What a fool I was to try and save you from yourself." He said with a finger pointed at her.
"I don't need this All Might… just leave. I can't deal with you right now." She said in a low voice before she turned to him and put her mask back on.
"You will not leave here unscathed. You killed over a thousand people tonight and I am not leaving until you face the consequences." He said now, his tone adamant.
Jade did not want to fight here anymore. She was still carrying the child. She was dead-set in making sure they would get out of here.
"I need to leave. You have to understand. It was not me who did this."
"ENOUGH!" he screamed as he aimed a punch at her, she concentrated again and a crane beside her fell upon All Might, but she was still thrown to the ground from the shockwave that ensued. She felt one of her ribs break from the impact of his punch. She now knew that he was not holding back.
"I've heard enough lies from you. You crossed the line tonight, so I'm making sure you'd never do this thing again."
Jade quickly stood up with the baby softly crying in her grasp. She needed to calm her down unless another… Oh God she thought. She needed to stop All Might from is anger towards her.
"All Might STOP! You idiot! It was not me! You have to listen or we're all going to die!" she shouted out loud.
"You don't deserve any words of innocence! You've killed so many people! You're not going to do that again!" he said as he readied to charge him yet again.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! Can't you see I'm injured? This is not my doing!"
"I don't care!" he said as he charged in with another punch, Jade was out of options. Either it was to tank another cry from the kid (to which she doubted she would survive) or keep her away from harm's way with the last vestiges of her quirk and accept her fate.
She cradled the child as if it were her own and kissed her forehead. She asked herself on why she did it, but in truth tonight she had given up on her own self. The child was the only thing that mattered.
"It'll be alright… y-you'll be safe…" she whispered, but did not realize that All Might was faster and she closed her eyes as she waited for the fist to hit her face, only for her to realize that he suddenly stopped. His breath almost as if he did everything to stop himself.
He angrily scowled at her as he saw that her mask was broken, revealing a teared-up right eye with fear in it. Along with a crying child in her arms.
"W-What… what is the meaning of this?"
"I… I need to get her out of here…" she said in a shaking voice.
"Who is that child? What happened here?"
"S-She… she's -I need to get us out of here. I need to disappear. Y-You have to understand. I-I can't let them find her. Not like this."
All Might stood there staring at Jade as she was on the ground cradling the girl to calm her down. Her green hair dirty and filled with rubble and blood.
"Jade. What happened here? Why is she here?" his voice now calmer and solemn.
Jade stood up and out of All Might's vision took out her lighter with her free hand.
"She was a target. I only took a job to claim, I didn't realize it was her."
All Might's expression changed visibly.
"Wait… do you mean that-"
"Yes… this was all her. Which is why I need to keep her out of harm's way." She said as she turned her lighter on and a torrent of flame blazed in front of him, obscuring them from his vision.
"WAIT! Jade, you can't just leave!" he said as he tried to stop the flames.
"I'm sorry…" she said with a slight tear in her eye and the last thing he saw was her cradling the child in her arms before the flames dissipated and she was gone.
All Might remained standing where he last saw them and still tried to process what was told to him. He never moved until a certain police named Naomasa came running with his colleagues and some of the Pro Heroes of the top 10 came.
"All Might... what happened?"
"I… I don't know."
23:35 Hours…
Nemuri Kayama was just finishing up and heading to bed after a long and arduous day at patrol. Breaking in drug dealers and some small-time villains took a lot out of her, making her ask herself whether she should do something new for a change.
For now, before sleeping as her usual thing to do in her apartment she watches television. Anything that came up was enough for her until sleep takes her. She settled in with her pajamas and put her rather proud and revealing costume back in her room to rest. She then took out a beer can and opened it. Fizzling in place from the cold temperature she closed her refrigerator and walked to her couch. She closed door to her kitchen afterwards. She sat in her couch and stretched her body. Taking the remote in hand and took a sip before turning it on.
She turned on the channels bit by bit and saw random things that came into view. Movies, cartoons, talk shows, and other things. Being bored to such shows right now, she kept on trying to find at least once thing to keep her occupied before sleep took her.
Then she stumbled upon the news channel.
In fact, almost every station was putting on such a breaking news. Nemuri or better known as the hero Midnight scrunched her brow towards this particular news. Wondering why it was on every station, and as she saw the headline as well as to what it was… she was shocked.
"A tragic incident had happened here on Aldera Ward Japan when a total of almost 6000 people had died in a tragic event that took the lives of even the pro heroes guarding this city. Authorities are not sure yet as to why this tragedy occurred but witnesses report that a wave of red swirling energy that seemed lightning-based was seen bubbling all over. Leading to some experts to say that it was a villain attack. Said villain attack also took the lives of several small-time to ambiguous villains that were on the watchlist of authorities worldwide. One such villain, going by the name "Longshot" was killed, his remains as well as the other villains spread all across the nearby abandoned shipyard."
Nemuri began to feel the horror come towards her as she saw the gravity of such a situation. She took her phone and began to dial down several numbers on her list that lived in Aldera Ward. She hoped that they were alive.
"What baffles experts right now is that the blast of energy seemingly… pardon those who are in their homes, but the energy seemingly made all affected individuals to rupture their heads. Leaving all the dead with headless corpses for everyone to clean up."
Nemuri put a hand on her mouth in shock. It kept coming.
"The top 10 heroes were all in the scene to respond. Sadly, no survivors as of yet were found. All Might himself was found and even though we tried to interview him, he gave no comments nor statements regarding the incident. To some experts however, have figured this to be either a telekinetic or telepathic based quirk that caused this. They theorize that this individual amplified his or her power and caused the tragic destruction witnessed tonight. This lead some to think what villain would do such a thing. Earlier comments from some theorists claim that the attack could be the result of the villain known widely as 'Jade' the telekinetic quirk user that had run ins with the Symbol of Peace and more than one occasion eluded capture from his grasp-"
Nemuri turned off the television.
She had enough for one night. Instead of helping her sleep, this only made her restless. She had encountered this 'Jade' before and after she did, she had to admit that she let her go. Reasons being that she recognized her. An old friend of hers back in highschool that vanished.
Right now, she felt that decision of letting her go dropped the weight of guilt on her shoulders. She never thought she would stoop so low like this. Even if it wasn't her, something same would happen and Nemuri felt as if she was to blame for letting her go. She was her friend… once, but it was now a long gone memory. She wasn't even sure if she was still the same when she last talked to her.
"Damn it…" she muttered to herself. She sipped another drink of her beer to let her grief in.
A sound of glass shattering was heard. Her senses tensed as she ran towards her whip and she pulled the sleeves of her pajamas. She focused herself and slowed her breathing. Panicking was not a thing she needed right now. She could stop the whatever it was with a single emission of her quirk.
She slowly walked towards the kitchen door and slowly opened it.
She then walked inside and saw that her window had been broken and a silhouette of a person sitting underneath her broken window was seen. Based on what she saw, she assumed the person was exhausted, the breathes (she assumed to be) she was dry and heaving.
She slowly tried to upstart her quirk.
"D-Don't… please." She heard her say. Surprising her.
"Why?"
"I… I need your help." After saying this she heard a sound that seemed like a baby cooing. Midnight flinched and instantly turned on the lights of the kitchen. Nemuri's eyes widened when she saw a broken and bloodied Jade who was on the floor. She had a small and tired smile on her face. Her mask on the ground next to her with blood on it. What surprised Nemuri more was that on her arms was a small baby girl that had red crimson hair in strands.
"Inko…" Nemuri said.
"Hi… Nemuri." Jade, her real name Inko said to her.
"What is this?" Nemuri asked.
"I-I need your help with her…" she said as she cradled the baby closer.
Nemuri came over and saw her condition. She was badly beaten up but the girl had no traces of anything that hurt her. Only that she was dirty and dusted. She was lightly squeezing Inko's finger. Playing at it as if it were a toy. She was uncertain still of being the guardian or… mother-figure to this child. Her mind still reeling in what happened, leading her to have mixed thoughts and a hazy disposition.
"Who is she?" Nemuri asked.
Inko looked at the little girl, and even though she knew that this was a gamble. She simply sighed and smiled as she kissed the little girl. She would protect her for now. She was sure of it. If not, then the worst was yet to come. She gulped slightly before trying to say it.
"S-She's my daughter… Izumi."
END OF PROLOGUE
Hi guys, I'm a lurker in this part of the site, but I just had this small idea in my head that I wanted to turn into a possible small project. I'm fairly new with this kind of thing so I assume it won't be perfect. Leave a like and review I guess and if you guys want I can continue this. For now, I hope you enjoyed. Have a good day!