The Black Phoenix
Chapter 10: Kai's Proposal
What the actual FUCK?!
Izumi's chaotic mind was still trying to process the information that had been forced on her all at once. The girl who had bumped into her clung to her leg, trembling as angry shouts echoed in the nearby hallways. She looked like she belonged in the hospital with the oversize white shirt that looked more like a dress, and her arms and legs both bandaged. The look in her was haunting, as if she'd seen the worst life had to offer. No child that young should ever have that look in their eyes.
"Please…" Eri whispered to her pleadingly. Her voice was soft and clearly frightened. "Please don't let them find me."
"There she is! Eri!" Izumi's head shot up as one of the lackey's turned the corner and called out. "Stupid little runt. Are you trying to get me killed?!"
Eri whimpered and immediately hid behind Izumi, still holding onto her leg.
"Don't think you can run and hide now you little bitch. Phoenix, grab her so we can-"
"Excuse me…" Izumi's hand slowly came up, the purplish black energy of sentient aura swirling around her hand like a flame. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"
"Wha… I'm sorry, Phoenix. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was giving your orders." He suddenly took three steps back, holding his hands out defensively.
"Really? Cuz it seems to me like you tried to do just that." She wrapped her energy around his shoes and tripped him up. The guy immediately scampered back, but Izumi made no move to go after him. She didn't need to. "I suggest you leave, before I decide to take my increasingly bad mood out on you."
"Hiiieeeee yes, ma'am!" He scrambled to his feet and ran off. Izumi sighed and looked down at the child who still cowered behind her.
"You okay there, kid? Was he being mean to you?" She crouched down and gently patted her head. "These guys can be real ass holes, huh?"
"Eh?" The girl, which she deduced was named Eri, looked up at her confused. Izumi's gentle touch was something she wasn't accustomed to.
"Where did you come from?" She asked, resting in the crouched position in order to stay at eye level with her. "How did you find your way down here?"
"I… I live… here." Eri whispered and lowered her head.
"What?" Izumi's eyes immediately narrowed. Was she one of the Yakuza children? She didn't see a resemblance to any of the men she'd met before. In fact this was the first time she'd seen any kids on the complex. "Where are your parents?"
"Not here…" She closed her eyes tightly. "Please… please, I don't want to be here anymore."
Her immediate plans to blow off some steam by training suddenly de-railed. She picked Eri up and held her protectively.
"You're alright now." She soothed the girl, petting her hair. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. We'll go see Overhaul and-"
"No!" Eri screamed suddenly, and fisted her hands on her back. "No please don't take me to him! Help me… please just help me escape from here."
Help me… Save me…
The request hit Izumi right in the stomach. Something was wrong, and she could feel it in her gut.
"Sorry, kid… but I'm not a hero." She shifted Eri in her arms. "We're doing things my way."
Eri whimpered, and her grip on her tightened more.
Why was this child here? Why was she dressed like that? How did she get injured… and why had that lackey been looking for her so desperately even though he didn't seem to really care about her? She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. When she finally cornered Chisaki in his room, and he saw the child in her arms, something in his eyes told her that she'd stumbled upon a secret he'd had no intention of sharing with her.
Well too damn fucking bad.
"Explain…" She told him, her voice calm, but her gaze razor sharp.
"Eri… what kind of trouble have you gotten into now?" Chisaki fisted his hands together tightly as he remained seated on his bed.
"The one who's in trouble is you Kai if you don't give me a fucking good explanation for this." Izumi warned. "Why is she here? Who's child is this?"
"You won't like the answer." Kai told her, but was met only with a steely glaze. He sighed heavily. Oh well… cat was out of the bag. "She's mine."
"What?" Izumi's anger faded to pure shock and confusion. Overhaul took this opportunity to call for Chronos. Despite Eri's reluctance to let Izumi go, one quick harsh look from Overhaul had her limply going to Chornos.
"Chronos… whoever was in charge of watching her… be sure they receive the usual punishment for incompetence." He stood up, walking to Izumi who still stood like a statue in the middle of the room.
"As you wish, Overhaul." Chronos eyed Izumi briefly before walking out with Eri in tow.
"Well now…" Overhaul locked the door, knowing full well this wasn't gonna be pretty. "Let's have this out, shall we?"
"Eri is… your daughter?"
"In a sense… If you recall, you're the first woman I've ever been with in a sexual manner."
Kai explained, pouring himself a glass of whiskey and swirling it with the ice. "However, I am her primary guardian, as she is actually the Boss' grandchild. Her father is dead, and her mother abandoned her."
"Abandoned her?" Izumi looked up fretfully. "Why?"
"Because of her quirk…" He explained, circling her. "You see the reason her father is dead… is because Eri killed him. Completely by accident, of course, but..." he shrugged. "She sees her as a cursed child and wants nothing to do with her."
"I see…" Izumi held her mouth. "Her quirk is that dangerous? Is that why you keep her locked up down here and away from everyone else?"
"Yes… and also for another reason. Can you make a guess of what that is, Phoenix?" He took a strand of her hair, giving it a pull. Izumi slowly turned to face Chisaki, her eyes hollow, but zeroed in on him.
"Her quirk… What quirk does she have? Why is she dressed like she belongs in a hospital? Why does she have bandages all over her body?" She clenched her fists over her stomach as it started to pitch "Why... is she so scared of you?"
"I think… you already know the answers to those questions. " He set the glass down, trying to keep his voice calm so as not to further antagonize the situation. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill his second most useful tool. "You just don't want to say it out loud."
"I do…" she said in a quiet voice... Deathly quiet. Suddenly all the plans she'd been making to steal the source of his serum, to overthrow him from his position of power, and take control of the Yakuza came to a crashing halt. Her mind and her heart raged war, and she wanted to pass out where she stood.
"I'm sorry for the secrecy. I didn't want to tell you, because it goes against your-" he started to defend, but immediately got interrupted.
"Shut up! It doesn't matter…" she snapped it at him, her breath coming out in short shuddering gasps. "It doesn't matter why you hid the truth from me. It doesn't change how I feel about all of this."
"Oh?" He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "...and how do you feel about this?"
"Sick, angry, hurt…" she clenched her teeth. "I don't like it."
"Phoenix-" he spoke to her gently, ready to soothe.
"When are you going to keep your promise?" She demanded suddenly.
"My promise?"
This time she whirled on him, tears slipping down from wide wild eyes.
"You said from the start I was sick… that I, like many others, am suffering from Hero syndrome and that you were gonna cure us of that sickness." She rubbed at her tears. "So when are you going to cure me? When am I going to stop feeling like this?"
Surprised by her words, Overhaul took a careful study of her body language. Her mind had always been a little bit broken despite its brilliance… but he could see that the information he'd shared with her was tipping her over that dangerous edge to insanity. She'd had the exact same look on her face right after she'd murdered the entire league. He needed to find a way to calm her down.
"I told you before it was gonna take time." He reached out to pet her head, but she slapped it away.
"Well it's taking too long! How long do you expect me to keep any sort of sanity when I'm mentally torn in two?" She screamed in his face as hysterics set in. "I care… too much… about other people. I just want to play the game without any distractions! I want to look at all the variables without this ridiculous and dangerous need to help others getting in the way!"
She lowered her head and held up her hands.
"It was because of these feelings that I've lost everyone and everything I ever cared about. My hopes, my dreams, mother, my friends, Tomura… Touya." She went to her knees and covered her face. "I'm so sick of caring about other people! I don't want to care anymore! I don't want to love anymore! I just want the freedom to play my game… no fear, no regrets, no gut wrenching guilt!"
She crawled to him, her hands fisted on his sleeves and she tugged at them while her eyes looked up at him pleadingly.
"Cure me, Kai! Rid me of this debilitating disease and make the pain stop! Please, I can't take it anymore!"
"Shhhh…" he knelt to her, cradling Izumi in his arms. "I will, my Phoenix. You'll be able to play to your heart's content. I promise."
"When? How?" She sobbed and beat her fist into his chest. "I can't take it anymore. It hurts so much."
"You need to stop thinking of Eri as a victim, and instead think of her as just another pawn in your game." He lifted her chin up with a single finger. "She's an important piece, one we can't afford to lose."
"Kai... she's just a child." She gripped his shirt, shaking her head. "No matter what I do, my heart just won't let me see her as a simple game piece."
"You have to." He gripped her shoulders giving them a shake. "We can't do this without her. You can't win the game without her."
"I told you I can't!" She screamed at him, her quirk lashing out, throwing furniture and decor against the walls and tearing up the room. "My heart… no… my SICKNESS won't let me! I can't do my job anymore if you don't do something to make this guilt and regret go away! Do what you promised me, and cure me!"
"Damn it, calm down! I told you it's not that simple!"
"Bull shit!" She shouted at him, anger taking hold of her emotions and more furniture flew. "Look at you! You just calmly stood there, telling me you've been using this poor innocent girl to create weapons, and yet you don't give a shit! It's all so easy for you! How do you do it? Tell me!"
"FINE!" He shouted back at her. "You wanna know my secret? You wanna know how I'm able to do all these things that everyone else deems immoral? It's because I only care about one thing, and one thing only. All of my feelings, my attachments, and my needs are fixated on one person."
"Kai?" The anger suddenly simmered, as the emotions on Overhaul's face and in his eyes caught her off guard. She'd flipped some kind of switch and she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it.
"The Boss is the only person I've ever cared about. I made it my life's venture to ensure that everything he ever wished for would come true… even if it meant tearing down the morals of society. Which is why I admired your work. You seemed to share the same ambitions, and goals as me… but you lacked the focus to see it through. You claimed to love Tomura, but your love was divided… and it's the reason why you lost in the end."
"So… wait." Izumi held her head, her temples pounding. "You're telling me that in order to not care, I have to care? What the fuck kind of twisted up logic is that?"
"That's why I told you it wasn't that simple." He ruffled his hair, trying to soothe his own temper by pacing. "Think about it… look at all the crimes you were able to commit, that went against your sensibilities because you made yourself believe that you were in love with Tomura Shiaraki?"
"Yes but… it didn't last very long." She hugged herself. "I was only able to do those things, because I believed it would save him… but it didn't work."
"Because you lost your conviction…" he pointed at her. "You fell in love, really in love, with Dabi, and it threw your entire motivation out the window."
"You're… not wrong." Izumi admitted with a pained expression. "I guess."
"You tried to turn it into a more polyamorous relationship, make it more about saving your "family" rather than saving the man you supposedly love."
"Yes…" Izumi held her heart as all of that rang true. "You're right. It burns me that you know that without having actually been there."
Oh he'd known… Overhaul thought with some smug satisfaction. He'd known from the very start that the girl didn't crave love, or sex, or even intimacy. What she wanted, truly wanted, was family. He'd seen it clear as day when they confronted the league. She'd made noises about seeking vengeance, but it had torn her up inside to kill what she had considered family.
"Yes, but that didn't work either, because it wasn't a real family." He clarified for her. "You put labels on your teammates… hade yourself the queen, or rather martyr of the league. Dabi, Twice and Toga recognized it, embraced but ultimately Tomura's jealousy, and the rest of the team's lack of trust made your family fall apart."
"What are you a damn shrink?" The tears fell freely now and she bat them away. "If you knew all that then why did you make me kill Tomura and the league? Why did you say that they were my weakness when in truth-"
"When in truth they're not your real family!" He cut her off quickly before she could come to any other dangerous conclusions. "Tomura didn't love you, your friends and so called family didn't trust you, ergo they're not real. If you truly want to be cured than you must satisfy your heart's desire." He grabbed her chin, making her look up at him. "What you need… is a real family."
"Kai…" She reached up and took his wrist. "Are you suggesting that-"
"That's right…" He plucked her up and turned around to lay her on the bed. He stripped off his jacket and crawled atop of her. "If what your heart needs is a real family… then you've got one right in front of you."
"Kai…" Izumi shifted her eyes away but he gripped her cheeks forcing her to look at him.
"Love me… Phoenix." He ripped away his mask and gripped her by the hair pulling her against him. His mouth latched onto hers, the kiss heated and violent as he made her bow against him. "Make the Shie Hassaikai your family"
"No…" She whispered it even as the heat of the moment made her emotions stir. Tears slipped down her cheeks in a flood. "I can't do that… I can't just force myself to love you."
"You can if you want to win this game." He pulled back a little, but kept her pinned underneath him. "Tomura killed the man you loved, and broke apart the family you'd worked so hard to build. You punished him for his crimes, but now your heart is empty and it longs for what was lost."
He stroked the sword pendant that lay between her breasts, and Izumi's breath hitched again as the grief came back. He shushed her tears, wiping them gently away with his gloved hand, brushing a knuckle over the freckles on her cheek.
"Dabi is dead. He can't give you the love and family your heart desires… but I can." He kissed her again, sweeter this time. "Be with me. Come to love me and mine… Marry me."
"What?" She looked up at him shocked.
"Marry me, be my wife, and become the Ane of the Shie Hassaikai." He rubbed a thumb over the bottom lip that parted and trembled. "Many women of the Yakuza were brought into the family through arranged marriages. In time they grow to love their husbands, and do all they can to protect those that serve under their husbands. The Shie Hassaikai is the perfect family for you and will never betray you as the league did."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold up!" Izumi held both her hands out, Her face blood red as she tried to scoot up and out from under him. "Marriage? Are you fucking serious? I just told you I'm not in love with you! How the hell is that gonna "satisfy" my heart's desire. Your logic in this is totally warped."
"I admit that is a tiny flaw in the plan, but people get married without being in love all the time. So long as we're committed to each other, and support each other, then our marriage will be successful. What really matters is we'll be husband and wife, and you'll be seen as a true member of the Shie Hassaikai. The members will come to trust you, confide in you, and the love and bond will grow. That's the power of the Yakuza family." He took her hand to keep her from getting up and running away. "Think of it as a partnership agreement… a contract if you will."
"A contract? Oh geez how romantic?" She rolled her eyes.
"Marriage is a contract, that's just how things are. If it bothers you that much then, in addition to the usual vows and promises, I will concede to any stipulations you add so long as you let me continue my work, and you do your job in turn. We can continue our business as usual, and you'll be able to play the game without distractions as your need to love and protect will be satisfied. Sound fair?"
Izumi was about to tell him to shove his conditions and stipulations… but a thought crossed her mind. Her eyes shifted down and she looked at their joined hands. Kai watched the wheels in her head go into motion, and had to smirk. He saw she was working out a game plan, figuring out how this proposal of his would play out in the long run. When their eyes met again, he was immediately satisfied with the conviction he saw.
"Did you say… ANY stipulation?"
"Yes… just name it."
"Alright…" She held three fingers up. "I'll marry you on three conditions."
"Okay," He smirked and lounged back on the bed looking more relaxed. "What conditions does my future wife have in mind?"
"Number one…" She held up the first finger. "I will not marry you under a pseudonym. We will be using my real name, so it is legally binding."
"I'm sure we can find the right people to pay off to make that work." Kai nodded. "Next?"
"The second… I want you to treat me like a wife. That means public displays of affection, frequent sex, and you will call me by my first name when we're not working." She explained holding up the second finger.
The second stipulation put an itch between his shoulder blades, and he rolled them to shrug off the discomfort.
"I suppose I could deal with that." Kai agreed and motioned for her to continue. "Third?"
"The third… You can continue to work with Eri… but in between your "sessions" you will allow her to live like a normal girl. We will buy her real clothes, let her watch cartoons and interact with others… IN small doses…" she added quickly before he could object. " ... and you will treat her as if she were your own daughter. Which means occasionally playing with her, reading to her, and tucking her in at night."
"Taking her outside may be a stretch. Heroes may ask questions that we don't need them poking into."
"That may be, but you let me worry about that. I can go out in guise, and take her to a quiet place with less of a populace. I know a few parks and cafes we could go to."
"I may be wasting my breath asking, but why is this important to you?"
"It's for your benefit too, yah know." Izumi explained and looked down. "Eri is ready to run. Fear is the only thing keeping her from running. She expects some hero to come along and rescue her and we need to show her that she had nothing to be afraid of. If she has to endure what you're forcing her to then we need to at least give her some enjoyment in life."
"If I allow this… then you'll be spending a lot more time with her which will make it harder for you to see her as a game piece rather than a victim."
"In truth, Kai, I doubt I will ever agree with what you're doing… but you've got a point that I can't keep looking at her as a person who needs rescuing. I'm not a Hero. I can't rescue her from this hell you're putting her through. The only thing I can do... is to make hell a little more bearable for her to live in."
...and maybe, Izumi thought with a little prayer, just maybe... she could figure out a way to set Eri free without forfeiting the game.
"So… Do you agree to my terms?" Izumi held her hand out for his
"I'm probably gonna regret this but…" he took her hand, giving it a shake before pulling her up to sit on his lap. "You've got a deal."
Izumi smiled warmly, and closed her eyes as Overhaul let his mouth cruise over her neck and naked shoulder.
"So… since we're engaged, does that mean I get a ring?" She teased, and felt his laugh rumble out of him.
"What is it with women and all that glitters?" He strung his fingers through her hair and kissed her long and hard. "Fine… I'll get you a ring."
~Meanwhile~
Eri lay curled up on her bed as she thought of the woman she'd met before. She'd never seen her before… in fact Eri didn't think she'd seen any other girls in this place.
She was… different from the others. Her touch had been so gentle, and her voice soothing to listen to. Even when she got angry, and her voice went harsh, Eri could tell she wasn't like the others here.
"So kind…" Eri cried as she touched the place on her head where Izumi had pet her. "She was just so kind."
~Ask Briry~
Bri: Didja Miss me? I hope you guys are enjoying the fic and like the direction it's going. I've got more twists in store so I hope you'll look forward to it.
Next Chapter: First Date