It had been a few minutes since the four of them, Kyoka, Kaminari, Red Fox, and Kenji, had split up. Kyoka and Kenji decided to check the ground floors while Kaminari and Red Fox investigated the upper floors. Ultimately, their goal was to find Mark Antony and stop him before he could carry out his plan to essentially wage a war against the population of the world without superpowers.
Kaminari and Red Fox managed to sneak past several 'guards', which were really just some of the older kids that patrolled the mansion to ensure that people weren't going to places they shouldn't be going.
"So, Red Fox, if you don't mind me asking, what's your actual name?" Kaminari asked, not wanting to keep calling her Red Fox.
"My actual name?" she said, sounding almost as if she couldn't remember what it was. After all, it had been a long time since anyone had actually referred to her by it.
"Emily." she said, feeling strange saying it. She felt like her past self was a complete different person than who she is now, and associated the name Emily with that former self instead.
"Emily? Huh. I like that name. I had a friend named Emily back in middle school," Denki said, trying to have somewhat of a conversation as they navigated through the empty parts of the large mansion.
"That's nice, I guess.." Emily said, a nervous half-smile on her face.
"Why do you guys even do the fake names, anyway? Sounds like extra work having to come up with a new nickname for every new person that joins." Kaminari asked.
"Well.. Great-, I mean, Mark Antony, said that it was necessary in order to forget about your past self." Emily said.
"Past self?" Kaminari asked.
"Yeah. Like, before you came here. He said something about the separation of name and person." Emily elaborated.
"Oh, give me a break. I can't believe he says all of those things to you guys, it's total brainwashing." Kaminari said.
"But, a lot of the things he speaks about are true! They treat us like freaks!" Emily said, gently raising her voice.
"Who's they?" Kaminari asked, stopping and turning to face Emily.
"Everyone! The whole world treats us like trash!" Emily said, some anger added to her voice.
Kaminari motioned downward with his hands for her to lower her voice, since they were trying to remain somewhat stealthy through all of this.
"Oh, sorry. But, if you knew what people like us have to go through, the things that happen to us.." Emily said, looking down toward the ground.
"Wait, like what?" Kaminari said, tilting his head. Emily remained silent and looked down at the wooden floorboards, observing the rectangular tiles below her feet.
"You can tell me, I won't judge." Kaminari said, willing to listen to whatever she had to say.
"No, I... don't want to bore you. Every time I tell someone, they just don't care.." Emily replied, crossing her right hand over to her left arm and gently placing it along her wrist.
"Hey, listen. I'm telling you right now that I want to hear. You won't bore me, trust me. I promise," Kaminari said, putting an arm on her shoulder. He was genuinely interested in what Emily had to say, remembering the frustration and depression he experienced when he first arrived in La Bella. Having Baidar there by his side to listen helped Kaminari slowly ease out of his depression, so now he wanted to help Emily in the same way.
Emily sighed, then turned around to look out of the window. As she looked at the dark outlines of the tall pine trees in the distance, she began to remember back to shortly before she stumbled across the cult.
"From as far back as I can remember..I was always afraid of messing up..afraid of not being good enough." Emily said, a harshness in her voice. She sounded like she was trying not to cry.
Kaminari nodded and stood beside her, waiting for her to continue.
"My dad...I remember three years ago, he came home really, really drunk one day. I was six years old. He was yelling at my mom a lot, and she got pretty angry. So, she left and went to sleep or something in her room upstairs. He then looked at me and told me to go get him a glass of water," Emily continued, before pausing at the end. She closed her eyes, and she looked like she was reliving the events she was describing.
"I went over to the fridge and I was really nervous..I grabbed the water and on the way back I accidentally dropped it. It made a huge mess and he was mad at me. 'You stupid little shit! What is wrong with you?' he yelled out. I, I started crying because I didn't mean to break the glass, and he just slapped me in the face with the back of his hand. My mom heard all the noise and she came back out, then they got into a fight because he hit me. It wasn't the first time he hit me, but it was the first time my mom found out. They separated a while after that, and I just...I always felt like I was the reason for their separating." she said. Kaminari could tell that this must have been an extremely traumatic thing for Emily, and he understood her frustration with the world.
"And then, a little while after that, I ran away from home. And Mark Antony found me, he told me all of those things..." Emily said, wiping a tear off of her cheek, unable to continue speaking anymore.
Kaminari knelt down and hugged Emily, who began to release her tears. Denki felt so sorry that Emily had to go through all of this pain on her own, but he was also angered that Mark Antony was exploiting the vulnerabilities of kids like Emily.
"You're more than enough, Emily. No matter what anyone tells you, okay? Never forget that. What happened between your family wasn't caused by you." Kaminari told her, hugging her tightly.
Emily nodded, feeling something that she hadn't felt in a long time. Much like Kenji, she understood that this cult was nothing more than an illusion and a deception.
"Okay." she responded, feeling much better than she was before.
"Say, what exactly does your power do?" Kaminari asked, wanting to know more about her.
"Well, the first time I learned that I even had a power was a bit after I ran away. I wandered through the forest just outside of town and a coyote found me. It tried to attack me, but I put my hand up and a burst of energy shot out and hit the ground next to it. It managed to scare the coyote away, thankfully. As far as I know, all it does is just shoot out these orbs of energy that can displace the air around them.
"Woah...so like an explosion?" Kaminari asked, intrigued by her power.
"I guess so, I've never actually tried to do something like that..I don't really like my power to be honest. I don't want to cause harm to anyone or anything.." Emily replied.
"Huh. Well, I'm sure there's even more that you can do with your powers. There has to be some kind of way to use it for good." Kaminari said, smiling at her. It made Emily feel even better, giving her a sense of pride in her power. No longer did she have to feel ashamed for the way she was.
"Now come on, Mark Antony's around here somewhere." Kaminari said, and the two continued on with their search of the cult leader.
Meanwhile, Kyoka and Kenji also took this time to catch up on the past few years.
"So, Kyoka, what are you doing now? You must be 18 now, right?" Kenji asked.
"Yeah, that's right! Ever since August. And I moved out of Mom and Dad's place, I live on my own in an apartment in La Bella." Kyoka responded.
"That's cool. Hey, how are they by the way, Mom and Dad?" Kenji asked.
"Well, it's been a while since I last talked to them, but they're okay. They really miss you," Kyoka added, remembering the turbulent times with her family after Kenji's disappearance. As mentioned before, her parents put the blame on her for his disappearance.
"Really?" Kenji asked, not expecting to be missed.
"Yeah, of course they do. I don't think there's a day that goes by where they don't think about you, Kenji." Kyoka responded.
Kenji smiled, happy to know that his family still cares about him. He looked out one of the windows when he noticed someone familiar walking up onto the roof of the mansion.
"Kyoka, come look, quick!" Kenji said, signalling for her to come near the window.
"What, what is it?" Kyoka asked, nearing the window. Kenji pointed at the person on the roof, who was none other than Mark Antony.
"What the hell is he doing up there?" she asked, seeing how it was starting to rain. He had some sort of equipment with him that he was fiddling with, like he was about to transmit a signal of some kind.
"I have no idea, but I have a bad feeling about it. Let's go find Kaminari and Red Fox, we have to get up to the roof!" Kenji added.
"Let's do it." Kyoka said as the two ran off to find the others.
It didn't take long for the 2 pairs to cross paths once more. They found each other outside one of the bathrooms on the second floor.
"Hey, what's going on?" Kaminari asked.
"We found Mark Antony. He's on the roof." Kenji said.
"Wait, the roof? Why?" Kaminari asked.
"We don't know, we just saw him up there a few minutes ago." Kyoka replied.
"I know a way to get up to the roof, it's down this wa-" Emily said, before they were all startled by the noise of someone opening the bathroom door and walking out. The four all turned to look at the girl who walked out. None of them recognized her, except Kaminari. It was none other than Mina Ashido.
"Oh hey, what's going on?" Mina asked, unsure as to why four people were standing outside of the bathroom.
"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it. We're just talking about how great Mark Antony is." Emily said, using her emotionless voice again.
"Yeah, he's cool I guess." Kaminari said, using his emo voice again.
Big mistake.
"Hey, you look familiar.." Mina said, trying to get a closer look at Kaminari. His heart began pounding and he pretended to cough and turn his head.
"Nah man, you've never seen me before." Kaminari said, trying not to make eye contact with Mina.
"Is that...Kaminari?" Mina said, taking a step back.
The other three were surprised at the fact that Mina somehow knew Kaminari. He stood silent, unsure of what to say. He began to feel himself get hot and his hands began to shake.
"How do you know his name?" Kyoka asked, wanting to inquire more about Mina.
"I worked with him at the library.." Mina said, confused as to what was even going on.
Kyoka took a look at Kaminari and how he reacted, then realized that this must have been the same girl Kaminari had told him about before. Kyoka took a step forward, enraged at this girl for what she did to Kaminari (or at least, what she thought she did to him).
"He told me about what you did. How you threw yourself onto him at work the other day...you sick piece of shit..." Kyoka said, a cold look in her eyes.
"Whoa whoa, Kyoka, calm down, forget about whoever she is, let's go get Mark Antony!" Kenji said, knowing that time was of the essence, and whatever this was about could wait a bit longer.
"What are you talking about? He threw himself onto me first when he came over to my house that one night! Who are you guys anyway and why are you even here?" Mina asked, still confused.
Kyoka froze upon hearing Mina say those words. She glanced over at Kaminari, who looked like he fell ill.
"What is she talking about?" Kyoka asked Kaminari. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"I..I," Kaminari said, unsure of what to say.
Kyoka figured that Mina was just trying to toy with her head and looked over at Kenji, who was still pulling her towards the hall.
Kyoka chose to forget about it for the moment and knew that there was a more important issue at hand. Kaminari was on edge, not sure if Kyoka believed Mina or not. Regardless, the four of them took off down the hall as Emily led them to a set of stairs that went up to the roof. Carefully, they opened the door that led to the roof, the strong winds of the storm blowing in their faces. They could see Mark Antony next to what appeared to be some sort of satellite dish and a camera. He adjusted the satellite dish's orientation to point up towards the clouds, carefully positioning it.
There were a few half-walls that allowed the four of them to crouch down behind while they watched to see what Mark Antony was up to. He was connecting a few cables from the camera to a few devices laid out on a small table. He faced the camera and fixed his suit up as best he could, given the storm. He pressed a button on the camera and put his hands together, then a bright beam of light illuminated from the satellite dish. The light rose high above the clouds, appearing like it had parted a hole in the storm. The light shone brightly into their faces given how dark it had become outside.
"What is that?" Kyoka said, shielding her eyes with her arm from how bright it was. The beam of light kept climbing higher and higher, until eventually it appeared like it had separated into thousands of smaller lights which began to fall back down to Earth in different directions, like some sort of firework display or meteor shower.
"Hello, citizens of the world. It is I, the Great Mark Antony. But that was not what I was known as when I still walked among you. I was called a freak, a loser, a waste of space. But none of that matters anymore." he began saying into the camera.
"Where is he transmitting this to?" Kenji asked.
"This is what he must've meant the other day. He said he wanted the whole world to know of his pain. He's transmitting to every major news station in the country." Emily said.
Sure enough, Emily was right. He had managed to interrupt the live broadcasts of several major news organizations and instead transmitted his message. Just about every television in the entire country was now displaying his message on top of the roof. News station workers were confused as to what was going on, because no matter what they tried, they couldn't get rid of the signal. From there, people started posting on the internet about what was going on, as well as images and videos of the beams of light falling from the sky.
"Okay YouTube, I'm here in my backyard, and look at that! What is that? I swear, if it's aliens, I called it." a person said in one of their videos.
"There's some strange light in the sky, idk if any1 else is seeing it?" a person from Arizona posted on their social media page.
"Hold on, what is that light? A rocket launch?" another person said during one of their live streams.
People around the world were confused as to what was happening, and why this strange man with a mask was talking on the news channels.
"As of speaking, it is 11:56 P.M. here in La Bella. For many of you, you might be getting ready to get into bed, thinking that tomorrow you'll wake up like on any other day. But tomorrow will be anything but an ordinary day. At midnight, a storm will be unleashed that this planet has never seen before. It won't be a small storm. This is vengeance, for all of those you have treated wrongly. Maybe then, when tomorrow is over, the few of you that remain will truly feel sorry for what you've caused." Mark Antony said, ripping off his mask at the end of his sentence. He smiled, revealing his jagged teeth, like those of a dragon. Seeing him smile made the four of them uncomfortable, and in that moment, they could almost see his evil aura around him, like a cloud.
"What do we do?" Kyoka asked, unsure of how to go about this.
"We have to interrupt his signal somehow!" Emily responded.
Kaminari looked around, and noticed one of the cables that led to his equipment ran underneath his foot. He grabbed the cable and saw where it connected to an extension cord, then unplugged it. The beam of light began to flicker before disappearing altogether, the last transmitted image being that of Mark Antony smiling devilishly into the lens of the camera. He noticed the flicker of the light and turned around, finally spotting the four of them stand up.
"What are you doing up here? You're not supposed to be here!" Mark Antony said, enraged.
"No, Mark Antony. We're not letting you get away with this." Kyoka said.
Mark Antony tilted his head, unsure why Emily, Kenji, and these two new people he seemingly has never seen before are on the roof. Then it clicked, and when it did, he let out a laughter that echoed through the surrounding forest.
"Oh my, the family reunion! If isn't Kyoka Jirou and her little brother Kenji! And to think your stupid little disguises actually fooled me for so long!" Mark Antony said, acting like it was the funniest thing ever.
"Stop laughing." Kenji said, a stern look in his eyes.
"It's just hilarious to me. You four seriously think you can stop what's already been done." he continued. He snapped his fingers, and the necklace he was wearing began to glow.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked.
"Why, I'm just utilizing the powers that you so kindly gave me, Red Fox." Mark Antony said.
"You stole them! I never gave you anything in my damn life! And don't call me Red Fox, my name is Emily!" she exclaimed, angry at Mark Antony for his lies and deception.
"Oh now, no need to be angry now. There's not much you can do about it now." Mark Antony continued. Just as he finished his sentence, the door that the four of them took to get up to the roof swung open once more, and several of Mark Antony's believers came out and surrounded the four of them.
"This necklace really is something wonderful.." he asked. The children nodded, a blank look in their eyes. It looked like Mark Antony was somehow able to control them.
"You're an evil man," Kyoka said, shaking her head.
"No. I'm just one who has seen the world as it is," Mark Antony responded as he turned around to tend to his equipment once more. "Great ones, make sure these four trespassers don't disturb me again."
After he finished his sentence, the kids surrounding the four of them raised their fists.
"What the hell? Is he seriously going to make them fight us?" Kyoka asked, watching as they slowly closed in.
"Looks like we have no other choice," Kenji said, raising his fists as well.
The children were around 14-17 years old, so they weren't exactly weak. One of them charged towards Kenji and attempted to tackle him to the floor, but it proved ineffective towards Kenji. He managed to keep both feet planted on the floor and pushed the kid away.
Kyoka did not want to fight any of them, and instead tried to focus on going towards Mark Antony, since he was the one who had control over the kids. Before she could run towards him however, she felt someone grab onto her legs and pull her down to the floor, her face slamming onto the wet roof tiles. Kyoka turned around to see who had pulled her, and saw the face of Mina, also under control.
"Okay, now this is one I won't feel bad about..." Kyoka said, wiping some blood off of her nose. She lept up and put her arms around Mina's waist and tackled her to the ground, getting on top of her and hitting her in the face.
"Yeah, pin me down like Kaminari did..." Mina said, trying to further toy with Kyoka's head.
"Shut up!" Kyoka said, again hitting her. Mina managed to overpower Kyoka and throw her off of her. Kyoka rolled down the steep side of the roof and fell down a small drop onto the fire escape. Mina stood up and walked over to Kyoka, who was trying to get back up after her fall. Mina pressed her foot down on her chest with great strength and prevented her from getting back up.
"Once I kill you, then what will you do about your little Kaminari..." Mina said, the evil of the cult truly manifesting her into a completely different person. Kyoka looked at the rain-soaked Mina towering over her as a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and landed in the forest nearby.
Kyoka tried her best to get up or to move Mina's leg away, but she was stronger than her. Emily saw the struggle and ran over, then went up behind Mina and pulled her away from Kyoka.
"Go! Get up, Kyoka! I'll hold her!" Emily said, as she tried her best to keep Mina still. Kyoka stood up and smiled, then walked over to Mina and punched her straight in the face.
"As long as I'm alive, you won't do another thing to my Kaminari." Kyoka said, before punching her again.
While this was happening, Kaminari was being attacked by three different kids. Kaminari did not want to hit the kids either, so instead, he devised a plan. He waited for the three of them to get on opposite sides of each other and to charge towards Kaminari. When they were about to hit him, he ducked down, and they instead hit each other, knocking themselves out from how fast they were going.
"Wow, that was easier than I thought." he said to himself, before switching his attention to Mark Antony. Kaminari walked up behind him and punched him in the back of the head, but Kaminari instantly regretted it. With extraordinary reflexes, Mark Antony turned around and blocked Kaminari's punch, returning a punch of his own. Kaminari was not so quick and was hit in the jaw, knocking him back.
"When will you learn. It's no use to try and fight me." Mark Antony said, looking down at Kaminari on the floor. Kaminari crawled away and stood back up, not phased by Mark Antony's words.
"Jokes on you, I wasn't ever good at learning stuff." Kaminari said, as witty as ever.
Another bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck a nearby tree, managing to tip it over. A large branch fell onto the roof of the mansion, landing perfectly in between Kaminari and Mark Antony.
Mark Antony ripped out one of the thick and blunt pieces of the branch to use as a weapon. He was able to use Emily's power to give himself a sort of super strength.
"So that's how you want to do it..." Kaminari said, looking around for something similar. He ripped out a piece of piping from the top of the roof, using the metal pipe to defend himself.
Mark Antony leapt up and over the fallen tree, when Kaminari remembered that Mark Antony has powers of his own. He needed to be more careful, but as long as he could just get the necklace off of him, Mark Antony would be powerless.
Mark Antony swung and tried to hit Kaminari, but he raised his pipe and blocked it. He felt how strong Mark Antony was, how it felt like the pipe was starting to bend. Kaminari pushed him back and took a step back, taking a second to get a better footing on the slippery roof tiles.
"You know Kaminari, you and I are a lot alike. We're both rejects of the same system. People who weren't deemed good enough." Mark Antony said.
"You and I are nothing alike." Kaminari responded.
"Oh? Well then, suit yourself. But I know why you're here." Mark Antony said.
Kaminari shook his head, not wanting to fall for any of his mind games. Kaminari swung his pipe and tried to hit Mark Antony, but he was too quick. Mark managed to dash behind Kaminari and swing the large piece of wood, hitting Kaminari directly in the back. It made a hard, deep impact sound, knocking Kaminari down onto the floor. It hurt immensely, but Kaminari knew he had to get up. As quickly as he could, he jumped back up onto his feet and maintained his distance from Mark Antony.
"You're here because your life at home was terrible. Remember it? What was that girl's name, again? The one who cheated on you long ago? Yaoyorozu?" Mark Antony said.
Kaminari froze for a second, but quickly shook it off. Nonetheless, the thought still lingered in his head.
"How the hell does he know about Momo?" Kaminari thought to himself in his head. He tried remembering any time he might have crossed paths with Mark Antony before, but his mind drew a blank. He decided to ignore it for now and focus on the fight.
"And? So what? How does that make me anything like you..." Kaminari said, holding the pipe out in front of him to block any swings.
"When I was your age...I too had my heart broken. I don't just mean shattered...it was ripped out of my chest and thrown on the ground, stomped on and dragged across the floor. I know how you felt, Kaminari. How you must feel, deep inside. Know that if you join me, things will be different." Mark Antony continued.
"Join you? Are you insane? You seriously think you can get me on your side?" Kaminari asked, not wanting to hear more of this. He ran at Mark Antony and swung his pipe, which Mark Antony swiftly blocked.
"You're not just joining me, Kaminari. It's much more than that. After tomorrow, the world will never be the same." Mark Antony said, eventually overpowering Kaminari and knocking him back a few feet. Kaminari landed on his feet, taking a moment to think about how he was going to possibly defeat Mark Antony. Every time he got even remotely close, Mark Antony was quick to defend himself.
Meanwhile, Kyoka and Emily were still fighting Ashido on the fire escape. Mina went down a level of the fire escape, and the two were quick to follow her down. Mina became cornered, her back pressed up against the railing. She looked over her shoulder and noticed how high they were, a solid 20-30 feet above the ground.
Kyoka and Emily began to carefully close in, and Ashido realized she had little to no options for what to do.
That's when she felt something hot begin to drip off of her fingers.
It was definitely not the rain, since that was cold. She looked down and saw vapor rise up from her hands, then watched as the strange liquid dripped onto the metal walkway below her feet. It managed to burn through the metal quickly like an acid, which gave Ashido an idea.
Right before Kyoka and Emily reached out to try and grab Mina, she released a large amount of acid across the walkway, separating Kyoka and Emily from Ashido. The structure of the fire escape had weakened drastically, and the part that Kyoka and Emily were on began to collapse.
"Shit!" Kyoka said as the fire escape separated from the side of the building and began to fall over. Emily was scared and froze up, unsure of what to do. Kyoka quickly grabbed hold of Emily and pulled her back onto a safer part of the fire escape which managed to remain along the building, and together they watched as the metal structure quickly collapsed and smashed against the ground below. Emily and Kyoka caught their breaths, having just both barely escaped just in time. They looked up and saw Mina on the other side, a large 8-feet gap separating the two.
"What the hell was that? She threw acid out from her hands!" Kyoka said.
"It must be her power..." Emily replied, glancing at the tired Mina on the other side. Mina grinded her teeth at the two, then began to climb up the ladder towards the roof. Kyoka and Emily ran up the stairs, stopping Mina once she got to the level above.
Mina tried throwing some acid onto the two, but it seemed as though she had already used up all of it. Kyoka realized this and punched Mina once more, knocking her out cold.
"Good hit!" Emily said, impressed by Kyoka's punch.
"Thanks, now let's go help the others." Kyoka responded.
Back up top, Kaminari and Mark Antony were still fighting strong. They exchanged a few more swings and swipes, but not a ton of progress was made. Kenji had managed to fend himself off against several of Mark Antony's 'guards'. He climbed up to the rooftop and saw Emily and Kyoka, then looked over at the battle between Mark Antony and Kaminari. He rejoined Kaminari and told him to step aside.
"Kaminari, step back. I got him." Kenji said.
"What?" Kaminari said, backing up. He looked over to Kenji and Emily, noticing the two were in pretty bad shape. The fight with Mina proved to be intense, as well as fatiguing the two of them.
Kenji then took point and stood directly in front of Mark Antony, and there was not even the slightest hint of fear in the young kid's eyes.
"Ah, if it isn't Blue Eagle. Don't you see? These people aren't your friends. If they somehow did end up making out of this, do you really think they'd treat you the same again? Only a fool would believe such nonsense." Mark Antony said, trying to persuade the young Kenji towards his side.
"You really need to stop with these ridiculous fake names. And you're right, these people aren't my friends. They're much more than that, they're my family." Kenji said.
"Family? Ha! Like the one that abandoned you? You must be insane!" Mark Antony said as he brought his hands above his head. An orb of dark purple energy began to manifest between his hands, and when the orb was about the size of a soccer ball, he swung it towards Kenji with a great force.
"Kenji!" Kyoka called out, seeing that her younger brother was about to be hit. But Kenji remained still, and the orb did indeed hit with a loud bang. A large explosion blinded the eyes of the three spectators, and Kyoka fell to her knees.
"Kenji, no..." she said, fearing for the worst. But after the smoke cleared, they all looked up to see Kenji still standing there, perfectly unharmed. He had used his power to form a sort of shield around himself for protection.
"Clever boy..." Mark Antony said as he saw the fearless Kenji still stand before him.
"Emily, was that purple orb your power?" Kaminari asked.
"Yes...Mark Antony doesn't have any powers of his own..." Emily replied.
"Wow.." Kaminari said, in awe at the amount of power that could be exerted with Emily's ability. Upon looking closer, the roof tiles surrounding Kenji were completely shattered, making something of a crater-shape in the roof of the mansion. A small ring of fire circled where Kenji stood, which was quickly put out with the heavy rain.
"You can't hurt me, Mark Antony. No longer will I fall for your lies. I see now the manipulation you have done, the vulnerable minds you've tampered with." Kenji replied.
"Perhaps I can't hurt you directly, Blue Eagle." Mark Antony said, another one of his evil grins appearing across his face. He pointed his finger towards Kyoka's feet, and a smaller orb of energy shot out at slammed against the floor below her. It was powerful enough to knock Kyoka off of her feet and onto her back. She was in extreme pain from it, her entire pain felt as though it was in shock. Kaminari and Emily were also blasted away since they were so close, knocking them down a few feet away. Kaminari in particular had it worse, having been blasted against a small wall which severely injured his legs based on how he had landed.
"Kyoka!" Kenji called out, not expecting Mark Antony to target her. She tried to get up, but was far too weak and still dazed. Kenji was furious. It was one thing Mark Antony targeted him, but once the target became his sister, he could no longer tolerate it. In a bright flash, Kenji became engulfed in a bright blue flame that lit up the entire area. Emily, who managed to sit back up, watched as the enraged Kenji's power flared up.
"Not so fast, Blue Eagle. If you so much as even think about using that, you might as well say goodbye to your beloved sister." Mark Antony said, a purple orb of energy hovering above his hand, pointed directly at Kyoka.
Kenji looked at the orb, then down at his big sister. She already looked extremely weakened from his previous attack, and it hurt Kenji's mind to even think about what another one of those could do from an even closer range. His flames slowly came back down, realizing that the fate of his sister was in his hands.
"Kenji..no.." Kyoka whispered, knowing that her death mattered very little if it meant saving humanity.
"That's it, good choice, Blue Eagle. Now, surrender your power to me." Mark Antony demanded, holding his other hand out towards Kenji.
"No." Kenji said.
"No? Remember what's at stake here." Mark Antony replied, the dark orb manifesting an evil glow around it.
Kenji sighed. He really didn't want to have to give his power over to Mark Antony, but he knew that he couldn't risk anything happening to his sister. He began to carefully walk towards Mark Antony, a look of pure despair on his face.
"Don't do it Kenji!" Emily said.
"Quiet!" Mark Antony said.
Kaminari felt helpless. He knew he needed to do something to defend his friends, but he just didn't know what he could do. He took a look at Kyoka lying on the floor, his heart hurting from having to see her in such pain.
Kenji took another step forward and stopped in front of Mark Antony. He looked up at him, seeing the evil look in his eyes. Kenji began to raise his hand to touch Mark Antony's, but hesitated slightly. He took another look at his sister, and knew he had no other choice. He touched his hand, and much like earlier, Mark Antony began to remove his power.
"Yes..that's it..I can feel the power rushing through my veins.." Mark Antony said as the power transferred over to him. His voice began to change as well, sounding more like a growl near the end of his sentence. His eyes, which were once normal, began to develop a red glow around the pupil. He used his newfound power to knock Kenji back a few feet with a blast of air.
"Yes..yes! Foolish boy! Now my powers have doubled!" Mark Antony said, an evil laughter ensuing shortly after. Kenji stood back up and dusted himself off, then tested to see if his powers truly had been removed, which they indeed were.
"You got what you wanted. Now take your hand away from her." Kenji said, noticing Mark Antony's hand still hovering over Kyoka.
"Or else what?" Mark Antony said, knowing that Kenji couldn't do anything to stop him. He smiled and turned to look at Kyoka, who had a look of pain and anger on her face.
"Do it already." Kyoka said, not afraid to die. In that moment, all she wanted was for Kenji and the others to make it out of this alive.
"Gladly." Mark Antony said, his two hands coming together. Dark purple rays began to spin and twirl between his hands, the occasional flash lighting up his face, revealing his terrifying new appearance. His face became more wrinkled, his hair messy, and his teeth jagged around the edges.
In a fury, Kenji charged at Mark Antony to at least try to hit or tackle him, but Mark Antony used his new acquired power to create a shield that knocked Kenji back several feet once he ran into it.
Emily tried again to use her power, but it was no use. It was still gone, and likely wouldn't be back while Mark Antony still had the necklace in his possession.
Kaminari watched as Mark Antony raised his hands above his head, about to strike the energy down onto Kyoka and kill her.
He remembered back to the early days of their friendship, back on the playground at Oak Glen Elementary School.
He remembered back to how she perfectly covered the sun with her head when he looked up at her, and how she reminded him of an angel.
He remembered the comfort she gave him here in La Bella, and how much she cared for him.
He remembered the dream he had where she had died, and how it felt like his whole world had came to an end.
He knew that he couldn't let that become a reality.
At precisely 11:59 P.M., Denki Kaminari stood up onto his two feet, despite the pain he felt coursing through his legs. At the same time, the thunderstorm had reached it's peak of most intensity, the pouring rain having drenched everyone and everything on the rooftop of the mansion. Suddenly, bolts of lightning began to strike all around the mansion, like the shells of artillery in a war zone.
"Hey Mark Antony," Kaminari boldly yelled out. Mark Antony turned to face Kaminari, confused as to how he was still standing after such an attack. Kaminari took one look at Mark Antony, who no longer even appeared human. He looked almost demonic, an evil and dark glow surrounding him.
"You were right about one thing. The world after today will be different. But not for the reason you think." Kaminari said. Just as he finished his sentence, Kaminari began to glow white. Everyone watched as sparks and electricity ran through him like computer circuitry. He looked down at his hands, watching the smaller rays of electricity dazzle and sparkle the air around his fingers. He pointed his hands at Mark Antony and clenched his fists, releasing a powerful burst of electricity directly at the ghastly man. The orb of energy Mark Antony had prepared for Kyoka was instead sent into a nearby tree, his attack having been completely interrupted by the sudden impact of Kaminari's electricity.
"Kaminari..?" Kyoka said, amazed at what she was seeing.
"It's him..Stingray.." Emily said, the widest of smiles appearing on her face, like seeing her favorite superhero before her very eyes.
Mark Antony was quite literally shocked. He had not expected such an attack to come from Kaminari, who he believed had no powers.
"What? How do you have powers? It's..it's impossible!" Mark Antony said, the electricity lingering in his limbs.
"I wouldn't say impossible." Kaminari said. The skies began to roar violently as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the entire valley. A ray of lightning came striking down onto Kaminari with a mighty roar that rattled the inside of everyone's bodies. It effectively super charged him, granting him incredible power. Kaminari raised his hands to the sky, then down at Mark Antony. This caused millions upon millions of rays of electricity made contact with Mark Antony, his body beginning to jerk and convulse. Everyone watched as the night effectively turned into day from how bright the beams of electricity were. Kaminari screamed, feeling the incredible amount of adrenaline and electricity that was running through his body like a current.
"I won't let you hurt anyone anymore!" Kaminari said, a mighty rumble in his voice.
From over a mile away, Agent Tim watched through a pair of binoculars as Kaminari harnessed the energy of the thunderstorm. He smiled as he lowered the binoculars from his face.
"They did it," the agent said to himself, proud of the young heroes.
The electricity ceased, and Mark Antony fell to his knees. He was severely weakened from Kaminari's shock, and could no longer move. Emily quickly ran up and removed the necklace from around his neck. She threw it against the ground and stomped on it with her foot, shattering it. Soon after, a haze rose up from the pieces and flowed into the hands of both Kenji and Emily, their powers once again in their possession. At the same time, all of the children that Mark Antony managed to control were now back to their normal selves, admittedly a bit confused.
Kenji clenched his fists together and wiped some blood off of his cheek, then looked at Mark Antony, who could barely do anything except move his eyes.
"This is for my family." Kenji said as he punched Mark Antony with a mighty force. Mark Antony flew back and slammed against one of the half-walls on the roof, falling unconscious.
The rain and the winds calmed down significantly shortly after, some of the clouds even moving away to reveal the beautiful night stars and full moon above. Kaminari looked up at the moon and smiled, knowing that he was at least able to do something to protect those who he truly loved. A tear fell from his face, and shortly after, so did his body.
"Kaminari!" Kyoka called out, watching him collapse. She quickly stood up, despite the intense pain in her sides and back, and ran over to his side. Kenji and Emily also went over to help once they noticed that he fell. They circled around him and knelt down to assist in any way they could.
Kyoka held his head in her hands and made him look up at her. He looked extremely beat-up, the sheer amount of electricity that ran through him taking a lethal toll on his body. Kaminari was about to die.
"Kaminari! Are you okay?" Kyoka said, trying to look for any major wounds. Kaminari kept smiling, despite currently staring death in the eyes. He moved his head to look at Kyoka, and knew he could die peacefully knowing he's in her embrace. He felt the gentle warmth of her body, the tenderness of her hand gently caress his chin, and felt joy.
"Kyoka...I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me. Thank you, for all you've done." he said, struggling to get the words out. He smiled once more at her, seeing her head perfectly cover the full moon above once more. She truly was his angel.
"No, don't say that Denki! You're going to be okay, okay? Just listen to me, don't leave me!" Kyoka said, not wanting this to happen. She began to cry, not wanting to lose her Kaminari.
Denki then closed his eyes and his body went from stiff to relaxed, as he let out one final breath of air. Kyoka panicked, refusing to believe that this was how she lost Kaminari.
"No, no, no, no! Kaminari!" she said, tears falling down from her face like the rains from earlier. Kenji stood there, in shock that Kaminari had just perished. Kenji had only known him for so little time, but he already managed to gain Kenji's respect. A tear fell down from his cheek as well as his big sister wept, putting an arm on her shoulder in support.
Emily, however, took a look down at her hands. She remembered the words of encouragement that Kaminari gave to her earlier.
"I'm sure there's more you can do with your powers!" his words echoed in her mind.
Emily was determined to prove to herself that she was in fact capable of great things. Swiftly, she put her hands together and rubbed them against each other, then gently placed them down onto Kaminari's chest. She felt a tingling sensation begin in her fingers, then her hands, followed by her arms. Her long black hair began to rise up, as though being gently fanned by a cool breeze. Her pale skin became vibrant, showing the true pigment of her skin. Her hands began to glow a bright and beautiful purple, in contrast to the dark and sinister color from earlier.
"Whoa, what's happening?" Kenji asked, amazed by what he was seeing.
Emily pressed her hands firmly down against his chest, and the group watched as Kaminari himself began to gently glow purple as well. The color faded, and a few moments after, Kaminari began to cough. He then opened his eyes once again.
"You brought him back!" Kenji exclaimed, jumping up to his feet and putting his hands in the air. It was one of those moments where you're so overwhelmed with joy, you don't even know what to do with your hands and feet. Kenji looked at Emily with a passion in his eyes as she realized her true potential. In a way, Kenji was amazed by her.
Kaminari looked over at Kyoka, who was in complete disbelief. She covered her mouth with her hand and started crying even more, but this time in joy. Her cute little idiot was back in her arms.
"I'd never leave you," Kaminari said, taking hold of Kyoka's hand, tightening his grip to reaffirm that he would never leave.
The two then shared a hug that could only be described with one word: loving. Kenji and Emily joined in shortly after, the four heroes triumphantly celebrating their victory. They had managed to prevent a total catastrophe, and because of that, the world truly changed forever.
Several ambulances and firetrucks began to pull up in front of the mansion, as well as the local sheriff's office. The children were evacuated from the mansion, and those with wounds were taken to the hospital for immediate medical treatment.
The four of them got down from the rooftop and sat in front of the mansion while the first-responders safely got everyone out. They sat on the edge of the large fountain in the driveway of the mansion, talking to each other about the events that transpired and their incredible powers. It was then that Agent Tim walked up to them, a smile still on his face.
"Agent Tim!" Kaminari said, standing back up, wanting to show the most respect to the agent.
"Hello Kaminari, and hello to the rest of you as well. You all did outstanding work tonight." the agent responded, adjusting his tie.
"But what about the whole secrecy thing? Didn't you say no one was supposed to find out about this?" Kyoka replied.
"Upon watching everything unfold, it was made quite clear to us that there was no possible way that all of this could remain secret. You won't have to worry about that anymore." the agent responded.
"So...what's going to happen to Mark Antony?" Kaminari asked.
"The man you all knew as Mr. Antony is going to get his wounds treated at the hospital, then likely go to jail for a very long time." the agent responded, scratching his hair at the same time.
"What about the kids?" Kyoka asked.
"Don't worry about them. We're going to get them medically evaluated and then back in the care of their parents." the agent replied.
"Okay. Thank you, Agent Tim. For everything." Kyoka said, admitting to herself that if it hadn't been for him, she likely would have never found Kenji at all.
"No, Ms. Jirou. Thank you." the agent said. He tipped his hat to the four of them and turned around, walking off into the crowd of paramedics and detectives.
"Who was that guy?" Emily asked, curious as to who this man dressed in all black was.
"A friend," Kaminari replied, watching as he walked off.
Kenji stood up from the edge of the fountain and walked over to Emily, who was looking up at the full moon.
"Hey uh, Emily?" Kenji said, a nervous tremble in his voice. He didn't look directly at Emily, rather at different spots around or near her.
"Yes, Kenji? Oh wow, that's going to take a while to get used to.." Emily responded, used to referring to Kenji as 'Blue Eagle'.
"Yeah, it really is..I just wanted to say that I.." he said, pausing as he finally worked up the courage to make eye contact with her. Just one look at her eyes was enough to make him lovestruck. Likewise, she noticed a look of pure determination in his face, one that made her smile.
"I just wanted to say that you did an amazing job earlier. It was so cool what you were able to do with your powers!" Kenji said, regaining his confidence.
Hearing that from someone, especially Kenji, made Emily beyond happy. For years she thought she had no value, but now she could finally see that she was in fact invaluable.
"You don't know how much that means to me," Emily said, resisting the urge to break down in tears. "Thank you, Kenji." she added.
3 weeks later
The events that transpired that night in La Bella were covered globally. The news was made public that there was indeed a new generation of humans being born who could manifest superhuman abilities. After a few more research was conducted, it was discovered that many people could develop these powers later on in their lives, such as in the case of Kaminari, who initially showed no signs of powers until the night at the mansion.
Such an event caused many questions to be raised about many different things, such as what to do about the legality of these powers and how it would affect everyday life. People around the world also settled on a new word to describe these powers: quirks. They decided this due to some people's powers being differing from others. Some quirks could enable their beholder to fly, or even have an extreme sense of smell. Sure, some may be more exciting than others, but its all a matter of perspective.
Denki, Kyoka, Emily, and Kenji also received attention and recognition for their actions in taking down Mark Antony. They became well-known for what they did, receiving praise from the inhabitants of La Bella, as well as from around the world.
In the present time, Kaminari decided he would speak with Baidar, mostly since it had been a while since the two had a conversation, but also because Kaminari was planning on leaving La Bella. It was around 8 in the morning when Kaminari walked up to his front door and knocked. He heard the sound of someone putting their fork down against their plate, followed by the squeak of a chair being pulled out. He heard footsteps approach the front door, then Baidar opened the door.
"Oh, well hello there, Kaminari! Been a while, no? Come in, come in!" Baidar said, happy to see Denki. He stepped aside to make room for Kaminari to enter, which he did.
"Yeah, it has! How have you been?" Kaminari asked as he walked in, smiling at seeing Baidar again. He grew to look up to Baidar as more than just a friend, viewing him as almost a sort of father-figure for his words of motivation and uplifting attitude when Kaminari was going through his depression.
"I've been well, tending to the blueberries, as usual. How about yourself? Recovering after all of that hero-work, eh?" Baidar asked, acknowledging the events of the night at the mansion. The two walked over to the dining room, where Baidar's family sat eating.
"Yeah, I guess so. Oh, hello there!" Kaminari said, noticing Baidar's family. He waved at them politely, not wanting to interrupt their meal.
"Hiya!" Baidar's wife said, looking up at Kaminari. She turned to look at their 5-year old daughter, then said "Mia, say hi! Say hi to the boy with yellow hair!"
Mia had been staring at Kaminari since he walked in, precisely because of his out-of-the-ordinary yellow hair. His hair wasn't the usual yellow color, having still been darkened slightly by the black hair dye he was given for the emo disguise. She waved at him and said "Hi!" in a cute voice. It made Kaminari smile, for one because he had no idea Baidar has a kid, and secondly because he liked seeing kids be happy rather than depressed.
"Hey there!" Kaminari said back to the little girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt or anything. I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I'm leaving," Kaminari said, taking out the key to the guest house from his pocket.
"You're leaving? So soon?" Baidar asked.
"Yeah. At least for a little while." Kaminari said, nodding his head. He gave Baidar the key, and then proceeded to pull an envelope out as well, handing it to him.
"What's this?" Baidar asked, looking down at the envelope without any writing on it.
"Think of it as a thank you. For all you've done for me while I was here." Kaminari said, smiling.
"Oh Kaminari, you don't have to thank me. I'd do it all over again, any day." Baidar replied.
"Well, I'll hold you to it, for when I come back next time." Kaminari said, jokingly.
Hearing that made Baidar giggle. "Yeah, well I hope next time you come on through, I hope you're drive a little more careful." he said, teasing Kaminari.
"Will do, friend." Kaminari said.
The two hugged, happy that the other was okay. Baidar watched as Kaminari changed himself and found the meaning in his life, a contrast to the depressed and hopeless Kaminari from before.
"Take care, Denki." Baidar said.
"You too, Baidar." Kaminari said. He waved goodbye to the rest of his family, and made his way out of the door. Baidar watched from the front door as Kaminari walked over to his car, now all fixed-up and shiny. He watched him drive off and waved one more time before stepping back inside.
"What a nice boy," Baidar's wife said.
"Yes, yes he is.." Baidar said, taking a look at the envelope he had been given. He sat back down at the table and carefully opened the envelope, revealing a special card inside. The outside of the card had a neat blueberry design, perfect to fit the nature of Baidar's blueberry farm. In black pen, Kaminari had written the words "For Baidar, my inspiration, my hero, my friend." on the front cover.
Baidar opened the letter to reveal an even stranger design inside. There were tiny pancake and waffle stickers covering the entire inside of the card. However, Baidar noticed more writing on the left flap.
Dear Baidar,
Thank you for finding me when I was lost,
And caring for me, no matter the cost.
I wanted to tell you in person,
But I didn't want to be a burden.
You changed my life, for the better
I hope I can do the same with this letter.
Baidar, name of the Enlightened,
Thank you, for now, I am no longer frightened.
With much love, Denki Kaminari~
Baidar closed the card and stroked his mustache, taking in all of the words that he read. A tear began to emerge from his eye, happy that Kaminari had in fact transformed into a new kind of person, or rather, returned to his normal and joyful state.
Kaminari drove down to Kyoka's apartment complex and parked his car in the small lot next to the building. He was a bit nervous, since it had been a while since he had actually seen Jirou. After the events of the Night of Liberation, which was what the media began referring to the event as, they had only seen each other once or twice as part of a press conference/sheriff's office investigation. This meant that the two never really had an opportunity to talk, let alone discuss what happened with Ashido.
Kaminari walked around to the other side of the car and reached inside to reach for a bouquet of flowers. He picked them himself from a local flower shop and garden, then proceeded to make his way up to Kyoka's apartment. He took another look at the flowers he had chosen, hoping that it was at least a decent selection. They definitely did smell great, he thought to himself when he caught a whiff as he raised a hand up to knock on the door.
He knocked, and a few seconds later he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. However, they were from behind. He was caught off-guard by the feeling of someone poking his side with their finger, to which he quickly jumped around, frightened out of his mind.
"Hey there you little dork," Kyoka said, standing before him. She was dressed very lively compared to her usual attire, wearing a black and white striped sweater along with semi-ripped black skinny jeans.
"Kyoka!" he said, smiling with glee. As he turned, he noticed Kenji standing right beside her donning a completely new look. Likewise, as she watched him turn, she noticed the bouquet of flowers that he was holding in his hand.
"What's with this," she asked, blushing a bit.
"It's for you." Kaminari said, handing them over to her. Admittedly, she was never into flowers or stuff like that, but because it was from him, these were now her most favorite things ever.
"I..I love it..Kaminari, you didn't have to do this for me," she said, trying to find the words to thank him with.
"But I wanted to. You deserve this and more. Hey my man!" Kaminari said, switching his attention over to Kenji so he wouldn't feel ignored and raising his hand up for a fist bump.
"Hi Denki! Wow, your hair looks so much cooler when it's yellow!" Kenji said, bumping fists with him.
"Aw, thanks man. Jeez, you're out here trying to impress all of the ladies, aren't you?
"Not exactly all of them, just one." Kenji replied.
"A gentleman, I love that." Kaminari said, nodding his head. Nonetheless, this reminded Kaminari of the situation with Ashido, and he remembered what he came here for.
"Sorry to surprise you, but we just got back from our parents' place. I wanted to come show Kenji the apartment," Kyoka said.
"Oh, no worries! Is it okay I come in with you guys?" he asked.
"Of course!" Kyoka said, reaching for her keys with her free hand and opening the door. The three walked into the apartment, to which Kenji was amazed.
"Wow! All of this is yours?" Kenji said, in awe at the size of the place.
"Yup," Kyoka replied, looking around. "Oh, that reminds me, let me go find a vase or something to put these in.." she said, walking over to the living room. Kenji went further into the apartment to look around at the different rooms.
"Hey, so, you caught up with your parents? What did they say?" Kaminari asked.
"Oh, well they were definitely happy to see Kenji again, that's for sure. As for me, well, they still sort of act the same way, but I don't mind. They did tell me they were proud for what I did, along with you guys.." Kyoka elaborated, finally finding a glass vase and filling it with water.
"That was nice of them to say.." Kaminari went on.
"Yeah, yeah it was." Kyoka said, putting the flowers in the vase.
"Hey listen, Kyoka, about the thing with Ashido, I wanted to talk to you about it." Kaminari said.
"Well, you sure picked an interesting time.." Kyoka said.
"I know, I know. I wanted to tell you right when it happened, but then the whole thing with Kenji came up and I just didn't know if you could've taken the news well back then. That's why I was acting so weird a few weeks ago, I was anxious and guilty out of my mind. But more importantly, I was afraid I'd lose you. I knew I messed up big-time, and I still hate myself for it," Kaminari went on, before Kyoka stopped him.
"Kaminari, it's fine." Kyoka said.
"Wait, what?" Kaminari said, bewildered.
"Yeah. It's fine. I'm actually kind of glad you chose today to come see me. It gave me some time to think about it all. Mina even came here and apologized to me the other day." Kyoka went on.
"She did? What happened?" Kaminari asked.
"Well, she explained to me how she met you, how she became attracted to you, how she tried to throw herself onto you, all of that. And as much as I wanted to punch her again in the face as she told me all of those stupid details, I knew she was only trying to make things right by coming to apologize. She insisted that I forgive you as well, which I was going to anyway." Kyoka explained.
"Are you sure you want to forgive me?" Kaminari asked.
"I'm positive. Just, you know, don't ever do something like that again." Kyoka said, grabbing him by the collar and tugging him in towards her.
"Never ever." Kaminari said, and she released him.
"Good. Now come here you doofus," she said, this time hugging him. The two hugged, and Kaminari was glad that he was able to make things right with Kyoka as well. Kenji came back a few seconds later, having explored all of Kyoka's apartment.
"Hey, why is there a whole room with pictures and articles of me? Kind of cool!" Kenji asked.
"Long story, I can explain later." Kyoka said.
"There was one more thing I wanted to tell you. I think I'm going to head home for a few weeks." Kaminari said.
"Alright, well then I guess we're coming with you." Kyoka said.
"Wait, really? You guys want to come?" Kaminari asked, surprised by them wanting to come along.
"I'd love to go!" Kenji said.
"It's been a while since I've been at our hometown, why not?" Kyoka added.
Kaminari smiled, happy that he at least had someone to go back home with.
The three remained in Kyoka's apartment for a while, gathering whatever they needed for this now-road trip adventure. As they did so, they heard another knock on the door.
Kyoka went to the door and opened it, smiling when she saw who it was.
"Emily!" Kyoka said, kneeling down and hugging her.
"Hi Kyoka!" Emily replied, equally happy to see her as well. She was dressed very nicely and looked like a completely different person, healthier and more alive.
"Come in! Emily, what brings you here? How did you even find my apartment?" Kyoka asked as Emily stepped inside.
"Oh, I looked in the address book..there's only like 44 people who live in this town so it wasn't too hard..anyway, is Kenji here?" Emily added, her nervousness growing.
"Yeah, he's right here!" Kenji said, moving into Emily's view.
The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever, mesmerized by the mere presence of themselves.
"Hi.." Emily said, nervously.
"Hey," Kenji replied, also a bit nervous.
"We'll give you two some space," Jirou said, walking with Kaminari over to another room. Kenji watched as they walked off, watching as Kaminari turned around and winked at him, sort of mouthing, 'you got this!'
"Listen, uh, I was wondering if you uh, wanted to maybe go on a date with me sometime? You don't have to if you don't want to, that's totally cool, but if you did want to, that'd be cool too.." Emily asked, the typical awkward nature of an almost 10-year old.
Without even thinking, Kenji reached for her hand and held it tightly.
"I'd love to." Kenji said, his hand shaking from this being the first time he's ever held a girl's hand.
Emily started blushing immediately, loving Kenji's confidence and charm.
As you can imagine however, the 3-person road trip became a 4-person road trip, Kaminari loving the idea of everyone coming along on his voyage home. On the way, they stopped at a park and enjoyed a nice picnic, a day that could have never happened had the Night of Liberation ended up being the Night of Desperation. Kenji and Emily treated this as sort of their first date, spending most of the time away from Kaminari and Jirou and exploring the park together. They even came across a small pond and used their quirks to make big splashes in the water. Overall, everyone was happy, except perhaps the ducks.
Kaminari looked up at the afternoon sky as he laid in the grass next to Jirou, the words of Baidar once more echoing through his mind: "It's crazy how quickly life can change."
The End.
Well, that was a long one! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed Harvest Moon! This has been my longest story so far, and it took quite a while to finish, so I apologize for the long delays. Thank you to everyone who supported this story with your thoughtful comments and support, as that has been what has kept me going!
I have one more FanFiction planned out, but it might be a while before that gets on here due to school and work.
Anyway, thanks again for reading, and have an awesome time!