A New Chance, A New Life

Chapter 1- "On The Hunt"

"It was a rainy evening. People were yelling and running- not running, chasing. Chasing what though? The bushes rustled in the distance with a flash of something red and white, possibly fluffy? It dove into a log that led down into a small burrow under some tree roots. It was a fox, a very distressed and exhausted fox.

Fox hounds were getting closer and closer to the burrow. The fox could not keep up running anymore for the night. She was so tired. The men shouting and dogs barking found the entrance to the burrow, but they were too big to fit into the log. Once the men split the log, they didn't find the fox they were hunting. What they found was a young girl, crying, scared, panting, and filthy. She had a few scraps of food and tossed them at the dogs to make them get back from her. The men reprimanded the hounds for losing the scent of this fox and getting distracted by some homeless looking girl who must have stolen a couple sausages. The hunting team were annoyed and drenched. The hunters decided to call the dogs off for the night and try again another night when they caught sight or scent of the fox again. They were determined to get this three-tailed fox!

What a prize that fox would bring to the hunter or trapper that brought in a creature with three tails! Fur trappers could make a lot of money with that much colorful, rich fur. Taxidermists could make a fortune with such a specimen. If the circus got involved, who knows how big of crowds the ring leaders would bring to their oddity shows. The fox child did not want to imagine what would happen to her if the locals discovered her true potential. Even she wasn't fully aware of her maximum potential.

Drained from yet another close call from getting caught, the fox child cried. She isn't a monster or a freak, she wept to herself, why won't anyone understand? She's just different. She can't continue to be living on the run forever for the crime of being different and misunderstood. Please anyone! Help me, save me from all of this!" She begged the universe for someone to come and help save her, take her somewhere safe, or someone out there like herself to teach her how to protect and defend herself better so she would have fewer nights like tonight. Frustrated, stressed, and exhausted, the fox child cried herself to sleep.

All Might woke up drenched in cold sweat, breathing heavily…It was just a dream…but that girl was crying out for help to be saved… but it was just a dream… wasn't it? The young girl in his dream, there was something familiar about her, like he had seen her before, but he just couldn't place her. He laid back down after catching his breath. Who was she? Who could she be? The dream felt so real, he had have seen her or met her before somewhere. But where? When?

Now All Might decided to get up and make himself some green tea. He was too worked up to fall back to sleep. Someone somewhere was calling out for his help and everything inside of him was screaming that this was no bad dream, that this was real. It went against every fiber of his being to ignore anyone in distress. He was a Pro-hero after all, and it was his duty and responsibility to help those in need. After sitting down and taking some sips from his tea, he figured it was best he started looking into this mystery girl with what appeared to be a transformation quirk of some sort. It's not like he was getting anymore sleep tonight anyway.

Who was she? What was his plan on saving her? Why did she feel endangered from humans and dogs? Why did he feel her fear of being caught for a profit? And especially, why were these humans so interested in a fox, but couldn't care less about a homeless child? Well-that answer was easy at least- during All Might's time abroad in America, he recalled a very selfish nature in the people. If the people found something or even someone, they felt they could exploit for compensation, there was little to no hesitation. So, America, that answered the question as to where he would begin to find her. That had to be where the distress call came from. That is where he was most likely going to find her. But America, even that alone was still going to be a lot to narrow down and pinpoint her location.

All Might recalled during his time abroad that quirks were not always looked at as something of a gift or an advantage. You had to look the part: buff, perfect hair, perfect smile, an alpha's alpha. A hero's hero! All of which he thought, slightly proud of himself, that he filled the part perfectly; however, there were more people who felt the need to hate their quirks to avoid being mistreated, or captured and sold for who knows what. The dark villainous circle of the underbelly of America was not for the faint of heart, and this child has had too many close calls to falling into that dark part of reality.

There was one family in America that All Might recalled. He remembered meeting them shortly before departing back to Japan. The mother had a transformation quirk and the father had a more supernatural type of quirk, if he recalled correctly. The father was capable of astral projection, or dream walking as some call it. The Kanasa's was their name, he remembered before finishing his first cup of tea. Filling up a second cup, All Might thought back, he didn't get to spend as much time getting to know them as he would have liked, only because he met them the same week he was to return home to Japan. The mother had gone into labor at a very inopportune moment, and he was able to rescue her and fly her to the hospital just in time to deliver an healthy baby girl-with a red fox tail and the tip with a dip of white. Could this be the same child in his dream? The last time he saw her she wasn't a week old, but in his dream, she couldn't have been more that 15 years old. And he hasn't returned to the States in decades, and why did she have three tails now? It had to be her, but to be sure All Might decided to reach out to his old friend from the States, Dave Shield, who helped him get his start in America. It has been so long since the two have spoken, only because both were so busy all the time. But Dave was going to be his best bet on seeing if he could find out anything possibly related to any of the dream, or whatever did happen to the Kanasa's. Since it had been so long since the two friends reconnected, perhaps this was a good enough excuse to reach out again after so long.

The next day at school All Might was clearly distracted, stuck in his own mind, as he paced back and forth in the teacher's lounge. Principal Nezu noticed this as he walked in and All Might obviously didn't see him. "You look like you haven't been getting proper sleep All Might. Good sleep habits are important in keeping a lustrous shine to one's hair, you know!" the principal said casually to the man pacing the lounge.

"Thank you, Principal, I have not been getting my usual rest lately. Something has been weighing on my mind actually…" All Might was interrupted.

*YOU'VE GOT MAIL! YOU'VE GOT MAIL!* All Might's computer chimed.

"Excuse me for a moment Principal. I must take this." All Might was delighted to see it was indeed from his friend from America, Dave, but the news was not good. Quirkless Americans did as they always do to those they don't understand or refuse to accept; they fear them and attack them brutally. There had been a riot and the Kanasa family had been attacked. Zenko and Inari, the parents, did not make it out alive, but Kyubi, the daughter, was never found, so she must have escaped through the crawl space her parents had guided her to just in case such a danger occurred. Though it happened many years ago, Kyubi's current whereabouts are unknown. However, without a child's body to be found, as far as he was aware, she may very well still be alive. His best guess would be to start a search in the forest on the outskirts of the town, right behind their home that was attacked. He will start looking immediately and will update All Might when he caught a lead. Dave was looking forward to seeing his old friend again.

All Might turned back to Principal Nezu, who had helped himself to a cup of warm tea and had sat himself on the couch. "Principal, I have an emergency I must attend to in America. Someone is in grave danger and I must go. I cannot ignore her cries for help. I will need just the weekend off if I leave today. I will be back by Monday for the students' practical exams," All Might said desperately, almost begging.

"That is fine. The students won't need you today for the written exams anyhow, so you may go now if you wish. But do be cautious not to strain yourself over there too much. If you need back up, don't hesitate to reach out to us and we will send help your way as fast as we possibly can get them there. We still need you here. Now take care," Nezu said barely looking up from his teacup, too amused with swinging his short legs over the edge of the couch cushion.

All Might was already out the door though. He hopped on the first flight to America. Just hang on Kyubi. Help is on the way. He thought. He hoped by some miracle she could read his mind as he looked out the window of the plane at the night sky, full of dark clouds, barely lit up from the lights on the wings of the plane.