Chapter 1
Origins
The night has finally fallen on the busy city of Chicago. The rising crime rate has caused many citizens to fear coming out of their houses in the dark of night. The spring weather didn't make the citizens less scared. One of these citizens was a little boy. This little boy is a member of the Washingtons, one of the richest families in the world. His father Dana Washington is the creator and CEO of Washington Technologies. This boy is the heir to the company. This boy is supposed to grow up and run the company but tonight, he's scared of the dark. He is scared of the monsters that could come out of the closet and eat him. The fear of the dark has caused this boy to stay up later than he usually does. He is about to try to sleep until he hears his mother walk by his room. He gets up and places his ear near the door to hear his parent's daily argument. His mother walks into the large living room. She walks in to see Dana practically drunk sitting on the couch. She shakes his body and wakes him up.
"Who? What? Oh, hey Stephanie," said Dana.
"What happened today?" asked Stephanie.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Dana.
"Do you know what today was?" asked Stephanie.
"What was today?" asked Dana.
"It was Joshua's school play. He begged for you to come but not surprisingly, you didn't show up," said Stephanie.
"I forgot that was today. I'll make sure to apologize to him," said Dana.
"No. You need to do something more than to apologize to him," said Stephanie.
"What do you want me to do? An apology should be good enough," said Dana.
"You fool. How can your giant brain not know what an eight-year-old really needs from his father?" said Stephanie.
"What is that?" asked Dana.
"It's love. You're always at work and you're never with your son. You always make inventions as an excuse to spend less time with him," said Stephanie.
"I'm an inventor. I can't be an inventor if I don't invent things," said Dana.
"You're a CEO of a multi-trillion dollar company. You make the schedules for all of your employees. Why can't you make some time for your son? Why can't you hang out with him? He's a young boy. He needs love from his father. Ignoring events that he's participating in will only drive you two apart," said Stephanie.
"I had five inventions get thrown in the trash by my own company. I'm stressed out. Give me a break," said Dana.
"Being stressed out isn't an excuse to ignore your son's existence. When was the last time that you told your son good job son? When was the last time that you picked him up from school? When was the last that you even told him good morning? You act like he's your roommate and not your son," said Stephanie.
"I try. It's hard," said Dana.
"That's not an excuse. I bust my butt to make sure this boy matures into a man. You don't do anything. You're lazy," said Stephanie.
Dana gets up.
"I'm lazy? You don't have a job! My hard work bought this house! My hard work bought the cars! My hard work brought the fame! My money brought you!" exclaimed Dana.
"Oh, you're calling me a gold digger now! Yes, I may not have a job on paper, but my job is to protect and raise my son and I'm doing an amazing job! You aren't even paying attention to your son! You may biologically be his father, but you aren't his damn daddy!" exclaimed Dana.
"How dare you disrespect me woman! You're nothing without me! Without me, you would be just another dumb girl living in the slums of this corrupt city!" exclaimed Dana.
"I'm not your property you jerk! I'm a free woman that can do whatever she wants! You don't control me!" exclaimed Stephanie.
"You're saying that, but you know that you're a bum leeching off my wealth! I take care of my son the way I want to! A useless leech like you doesn't get to call me out of my name! Apologize!" exclaimed Dana.
"I never will!" exclaimed Stephanie.
"Then get out!" exclaimed Dana.
"Fine! I'm tired of your crap!" exclaimed Stephanie.
Stephanie grabs her purse and exits the mansion.
"You better stay out you slutty pig!" exclaimed Dana.
The little boy exits his room. He walks down the stairs and slowly walks into the living room. He walks up behind his father.
"Daddy, what are you and mommy arguing about?" asked the boy.
Dana is surprised to hear his son behind him and quickly turns around.
"It was about nothing son. Married couples argue sometimes about dumb stuff. You have nothing to worry about. Just go to bed. You don't want mommy to know that you were up this late do you?" said Dana.
"No daddy. I'll go to sleep," said the boy.
"Good choice Joshua. Have sweet dreams," said Dana.
Joshua doesn't respond and walks to his room. He gets back in his bed and thinks about where his mother has gone. Stephanie drives her car on the freeway and thinks about her son.
"Why did I get married to him? Joshua deserves better," thought Stephanie.
Stephanie starts to drive faster while stuck in her train of thought. Rain starts to fall on the city. Stephanie's speed continues to increase. She drives faster and faster every time she thinks of Joshua. She drives so fast that she doesn't see the large amounts of water flooding. She drives into the water and her car turns in the direction of a barrier. She tries to break but her brakes are suspiciously not working. She slams her foot on the brake, but the brakes still don't work. She tries to open the door to escape, but it's too late. The car slams into the barrier and she dies at the moment of impact. In her final moments, she remembers the only time that her husband, her son, and herself hung out and had a good time.
"Why couldn't every day be just like this?" thought Stephanie.
The night of sadness passes by. Dana sleeps in an uncomfortable position on the couch. He is awoken by the ring of the mansion's doorbell. He gets up and walks to the door. He opens it and sees two CPD officers outside his door.
"Why are you here officers?" asked Dana.
One of the officers looks at the ground.
"I think that you can break the news to him," said one of the officers.
"Ok. Mr. Washington, your wife has died in a car accident," said the officer.
"What did you just say?" asked Dana.
"Your wife is dead sir," said the officer.
Tears start to come out of Dana's eyes. The officers become even more uncomfortable after seeing him crying. Before one of them can break the tension, static comes from their radios. One of the officers picks up their radio.
"What is it Cindy?" asked one of the officers.
"We received a mysterious package around an hour ago. We found a letter, a pair of pliers, and a recording device. Our forensics unit found Dana Washington's fingerprints on the pliers. We believe that the pliers were used to cut the brakes of her car. We also found a letter. We analyzed it and it's his handwriting. We believe that he murdered her after they had an argument. The recording device details many arguments between the two. They obviously didn't have a happy marriage. You should bring him in for questioning," said Cindy.
"I'm following your lead here Cindy," said one of the officers.
The officer puts his radio down.
"This may seem surprising sir, but you're under arrest and will be brought in for questioning," said one of the officers.
"What do you mean? I obviously had nothing to do with this," said Dana.
"We don't know that. That's why you're coming with us," said the officer.
"Fine, but this is a waste of time," said Dana.
Dana leaves the mansion with the two officers. He's put in handcuffs and placed in the back of their police car. The police car speeds off towards the police station. Joshua wakes up a couple hours later. He exits his room and heads in the direction of his parents' room. He opens the door slowly and sees no one there. He walks into the kitchen and finds no one there either. He checks every single room and finds no one.
"Where could mommy and daddy be?" asked Joshua.
Joshu walks into the living room. He grabs the remote and turns on the tv. The channel that he switches to reveals the truth.
"Breaking news! In a tragic car accident, Stephanie Washington has sadly passed away. Her husband is now in custody. Was this just a tragic accident or a murder? We don't know now, but this will be interesting. More at 10. Back to you Rachael," said the reporter.
Joshua's mouth drops.
"No. This must be a sick prank. Mommy isn't dead," said Joshua.
Joshua switches the channel and the same sad news is on every major news channel. Joshua drops the remote on the ground.
"No! No! No! This can't be true mommy isn't dead. She can't be. She can't," said Joshu.
The sad truth was that his mother was dead and there was nothing that he could do. Two weeks of realization and grieving passes. Joshu slowly wakes up in his now dirty room. He looks at the calendar on the i. He is surprised by the date.
"Two weeks have passed already huh. It felt just like a blur. Mom's funeral was just two days ago. Dad was sent to jail. Well technically he's on trial with all of the overwhelming evidence, there's no way he gets off. I don't believe he did it, but a statement from a child means nothing to a judge. I've been crying for the last two weeks nonstop. Why did this have to happen to me? I just wanted to be happy and loved," thought Joshua.
Joshua is deep in thought until he hears a knock on his door.
"Come in," said Joshua.
A young Hispanic maid opens the door.
"What do you want Consuela?" asked Joshua.
"There is a man downstairs asking for you," said Consuela.
"Ok. Thanks," said Joshua.
Joshua exits his room and walks downstairs. He sees a short Asian man with a little bit of a belly and a bowl cut standing near the edge of the stairs.
"Who are you?" asked Joshua.
"My name's Hiro Girai and I'm your godfather," said Hiro.
"Godfather?" asked Joshua.
"Your father told me that if anything happened to your parents, I would take care of you," said Hiro.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Joshua.
Hiro pulls out a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket. He hands it to Joshua. Joshua reads it.
"This is an adoption form. You're adopting me?" said Joshua.
"Your father contacted me when he was imprisoned by the CPD. he told me to take care of you so that is what I'll do," said Hiro.
"Where do you live?" asked Joshua.
"Musutafu, Japan. Japan is far away from here, but the people are way nicer. I'm the CEO of Girai Industries so your life won't be that different. The only big thing that you will have to do is learn Japanese. English isn't spoken a lot in Japan," said Hiro.
"But, I have friends here," said Joshua.
"You can stay in contact with your little buddies over phone or email. My only concern is your well-being," said Hiro.
"When do we leave?" asked Joshua.
"Whenever you're ready," said Hiro.
"Give me an hour," said Joshua.
"Cool. I'll be waiting in the limo out front," said Hiro.
Joshua walks up to his room. He pulls out two old suitcases out of his closet and stuffs clothes and shoes into them. He looks at an old picture on his desk. He picks up the picture and looks at it. The picture is one of his mother, his father, and himself.
"We were happy back then. What happened to make it end this way?" thought Joshua.
After a few minutes of reminiscing, he grabs the picture and puts it in one of his bags. He zips up the two overstuffed bags. He picks up the heavy bags and walks downstairs.
"Consuela, keep the place clean. I don't know if father will ever return, but just make sure nothing bad happens to this place," said Joshua.
"I will sir," said Consuela.
Joshua opens the door and leaves his old life behind. He walks to the limousine and opens the door. Joshu enters the limousine. He puts his seatbelt on. Once he puts his seatbelt on, the driver speeds off.
"That was quicker than I expected," said Hiro.
"I don't have a lot of stuff," said Joshua.
"We'll be heading to the airport. We'll be in Japan by nighttime and at my mansion a couple hours after that," said Hiro.
"I haven't been on a plane in a long time. Will it be scary?" said Joshua.
"I have the best pilot in the world. You have nothing to worry about," said Hiro.
"Do you have any sons or daughters?" asked Joshua.
"My daughter owns her own company, so she doesn't visit a lot. My son is training to become a hero at UA. He still lives with me. He can be like the older sibling that you never had. Do you have a quirk?" said Hiro.
"No. My dad took me to the doctor and I found out that I didn't have one. I wasn't surprised. Majority of my family doesn't have quirks anyway," said Joshua.
"That's very convenient. I don't have one either, but who needs powers when you have money," said Hiro.
"Unless you want to be a hero," said Joshua.
"So you want to be a hero huh. You know it's going to be super hard to become one without a quirk right?" said Hiro.
"I know that. That's why I will train harder than any person would and I will be able to protect everyone," said Joshua.
Hiro smiles.
"You are an aspirational young man. I wish there were more heroes like you. Most of them only want money and fame. They give the term hero a bad name," said Hiro.
"Hopefully I can change their mindset," said Joshua.
"That's probably way harder than becoming a quirkless hero," said Hiro.
"I have done the impossible before," said Joshua.
"You Washingtons are good at doing that," said Hiro.
"Yeah, we really are," said Joshua.
Hiro and Joshua continue to talk until they reach the airport. When they reach the airport, they walk onto Hiro's private jet.
"I've never been on a plane this beautiful," said Joshua.
"Money can get you many beautiful things in this world," said Hiro.
Hiro and Joshua sit down in their seats. Their plane ride is filled with normal conservation. Thirteen hours pass. The private jet lands at Haneda Airport.
"And we are now in my homeland," said Hiro.
Joshua wakes up after Hiro says this.
"Finally. I was dying in this seat," said Joshua.
"Stop overreacting. You're going to be sitting for a little while longer," said Hiro.
Joshua groans after hearing this. Joshua and Hiro exit the jet and enter another limousine.
"How many of these do you have?" asked Joshua.
"27," said Hiro.
"That's a lot of limos," said Joshua.
"You always need a few backups," said Hiro.
Hiro and Joshua ride the limo for two hours until the limo drives into a driveway in front of a large mansion.
"And this is my house," said Hiro.
"This is way bigger than my dad's mansion," said Joshua.
"My net worth is three times larger than his so it would only make sense for my mansion to be bigger," said Hiro.
Hiro and Joshua exit the limo. They walk up to the entrance of the mansion.
"I have something planned for you inside so don't pass out if something happens surprisingly," said Hiro.
Hiro opens the door and a bunch of people start to cheer when Joshua enters the mansion. Streamers fall from the ceiling and fall to the floor. Joshua is led by Hiro to the dining room. A large table sits in the middle of the living room. Two people get up from the table. One is a tall, muscular Japanese man and the other is a shorter Japanese woman with glasses and a well-endowed set of breasts. The two people walk up to Joshua.
"Hi, I'm Akuyaku Girai. I'm your new big brother. You can just call me big bro," said Akuyaku.
"Hi, big bro," said Joshua.
"I'm Osen Girai and I'm your new big sister. I'm not around often because I own my own company so this will probably be our last conversation for a long time. On behalf of me and my little brother, we welcome you to the Girai family," said Osen.
"Thank you," said Joshua.
"We can't stand around with all of that delicious food on the table. Let's go eat," said Hiro.
Hiro, Osen, Akuyaku, and Joshua sit down and enjoy a large feast. An hour of eating delicious food passes.
"I'm so full," said Joshua.
"I didn't know that a kid your age could eat that much food," said Hiro.
Hiro looks at his watch.
"It's very late at night. Joshua, let me show you to your room," said Hiro.
"Ok," said Joshua.
Joshua and Hiro leave the dinner table. They walk upstairs. They make a left and walk up to a room. Hiro opens the door and reveals a large room with a big bed and pink on the walls.
"This room is so pink," said Joshua.
"It used to be Osen's room. I didn't get a chance to repaint it yet," said Hiro.
"I guess it's ok. I can feel girly for a couple nights. It still feels comfy," said Joshua.
"Well, good night. Hopefully, you have sweet dreams. Yell at one of the butlers or maids if you need anything," said Hiro.
"Ok. Good night," said Joshua.
Joshua enters the room and hops into the bed.
"This is the start of something special. I know it," said Joshua.
Joshua falls asleep. He wakes up the next day from noises coming from outside. He gets up and looks out the window. He sees his new older brother training outside.
"I need to be trained and I think that he can help me," said Joshua.
Joshua walks out of his room. He treks through the mansion and walks outside. He walks up to Akuyaku. Akuyaku turns around.
"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry," said Akuyaku.
"It's ok. I wanted to ask you something," said Joshua.
"What did you want to ask?" asked Akuyaku.
"I want to become a hero, but I'm quirkless. I saw you training and I came to ask you if it was possible for you to train me to become as skilled and powerful as you even though I don't have a quirk," said Joshua.
"Sure, but it will be long and intense," said Akuyaku.
"I'll take everything you throw at me," said Joshua.
"Ok. Let's get started right now," said Akuyaku.