Fujino moaned as her eyes blinked open. She sat up and let her blurry vision slowly clear up. Once her senses were back to normal, she took a quick look at her surroundings. She was on a bed in a small room. There were walls on three ends and bars on the final one.
'Wait, bars?!' Fujino thought as she realized she was in a cell. She frantically looked around. Had Paradise's workers managed to catch up to her and bring her back? Was she going to be made to disappear? Her breathing sped up as she began to panic.
"Hello? Miss? Are you awake?"
Fujino quickly turned to the bars and saw a man standing on the other side of them. At first, she had thought he was one of Paradise's workers, but when she looked closer, she noticed his outfit. It was that of a police officer.
"Where am I?" Fujino asked.
"You're at the Tokyo Police Station." the man explained. "We found you unconscious near the woods late last night and brought you here."
The police station? Then this wasn't one of Paradise's facilities. Fujino relaxed her breathing and slowly managed to calm down.
"You're probably hungry I'd imagine." the officer said. He brought a cup of instant ramen and walked to the door of the cell. "Why don't you have something to-"
"Stay back!" Fujino shouted.
The officer was caught off guard by the sudden shout. "It's nothing toxic, I promise. It's just ram-"
"I said stay back!" Fujino yelled again, hugging her arms around her knees into a huddle position. "Please… I don't want to hurt anyone…"
The officer stared at her in confusion for a moment before widening his eyes in realization. "You can't control your Quirk, can you?" Fujino's reply was a silent nod of her head. The officer let out a sigh. "I see. I've seen a few of your kind over the years. Don't worry, I'll just leave this here. You can grab it whenever you like."
Fujino waited for the officer to put the cup down and walk out of the cell. After she heard the door lock, she got up and walked over to the cup, making sure to not look past the door. She then picked up the cup after reaching it and walked back to her bed. She took a small sip. Even though it was a cheap convenience store cup of instant ramen, it was miles better than most of the meals she had at the facility she had been in the past three years.
"Can you tell me anything about yourself? Name? Age? Address?" the officer asked. "You didn't have any ID on you, so we don't really know much of anything as to who you are."
Fujino took another small sip of her ramen. She was silent for a few moments before finally deciding to answer. "Fujino Hatsu. Fourteen years old. As for my address… I don't really remember. I haven't been home in a few years."
The officer narrowed his eyes at Fujino. "So are you a runaway then?"
"No." Fujino answered. "I… well…"
She considered telling the officer everything she knew about Paradise. How their whole mission they advertised was a lie. What they were really doing and what a horrific organization they were. But what if he didn't believe her? What if he just sent her back to them?
"It's alright. You're safe here." the officer assured her. "Whatever it is, you can talk about it."
Fujino finally let out a sigh. It was risky, but this might be her one and only chance to put a stop to Paradise. "Are you familiar with an organization known as Paradise?"
"Paradise?" the officer asked. "That's the worldwide organization that works on helping children learn to control Quirks that normal counselors are unable to help with, correct?"
"Yes, that's the one." Fujino nodded. "Except that's only a front to what they're really doing?"
The officer's expresion grew serious. "What do you mean?"
There was no going back now. Fujino had to trust her gut with this. "It's a long story."
The school bell rang, signalling the end to yet another day of school for U.A High. Class 1-C gathered up their bags and prepared to head home for the day. Their training was slowly getting more and more intense. On top of that, finals were starting to draw near.
"Before everyone leaves, I have one announcement I need to make." Yamagori told the class. "As you all know, summer vacation is right around the corner. However, if you were planning to sunbathe and relax during that time, forget it."
The students widened their eyes, having a feeling where their teacher was going with this. 'Is she saying…'
"During summer vacation, we'll be having a special training camp in the woods." Yamagori said. "However! Keep in mind that anyone that does not pass the final exam will instead be going through a summer school of hell."
The term "summer school of hell" certainly gave everyone incentive to pass the final exam. But each of them were feeling excited for the training camp at the forefront of their minds. There would be plenty of summer camp activities to do, which meant plenty of fun in store.
"Anyways, that's all. So make sure you're prepared for finals." Yamagori told them before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
With class done and their teacher gone, everyone was silently thinking about the final exam. Or at least… most of them were.
"Hey girls, who's up for a fun time?" Jill asked.
"What's this about?" Fiona questioned.
In response, Jill brought out a flyer from her bag. "Take a look. There's going to be an autograph signing by Jimmi Axediver this afternoon at the mall."
"Seriously?!" Nene asked. "I love Jimmi's music!"
"Who doesn't?" Jill said with a grin. "So, anybody in?"
"Shouldn't you be focusing on preparing for finals?" Alicia asked.
"Finals schminals, we can study for those whenever." Jill said. "This is a once in a lifetime chance! Who's with me?!"
"I'll go." Nene said. "I think I've studied enough for now to take one afternoon off."
"Great, that's one!" Jill said. "Anyone else?"
"I'll go." Rekka said with a rather creepy smile. "I've always wanted to meet Jimmi in person."
"I'll pass." Alicia said. "I want to be fully prepared for finals and there's a few things I'm still having trouble with."
"Same here." Fiona added.
"Party poopers." Jill pouted.
"I can go." Sakura offered. "I'm not really a fan of his, but I needed to buy some things for home anyway."
"Aw yeah! You know where the fun's at Sakura!" Jill grinned. "Who else wants to come?"
"Who the heck is this Jimmi Whatshisname anyway?" Shiro asked.
"Huh?! You're joking, right?!" Jill exclaimed. "He's only like the most amazing musician ever! His song's are mesmerizing!"
"Never heard of him." Shiro said.
"Same here." Daiki added.
"The same goes for me." Satoshi chimed in.
"Geez! Don't you boys know anything about music?!" Jill asked.
"I think I've heard his name before. It was probably my sister." Marcus chimed in. "I don't get what the big deal is."
"Shame! Shame on all of you boys!" Jill yelled as she pointed to each of her male classmates.
"What did I do?" Dan asked.
"Same. I mean, I've never heard of the guy either, but who cares?" Hyde said.
"Indeed. If you wish for a man's company, I would be happy to oblige." Merci spoke with his "charming" smile.
"Yeah… I think we're good." Nene said.
"Well looks like it's me, Nene, Sakura, and Rekka then!" Jill said as she pumped her fist into the air. "Let's go get Jimmi's autograph!"
Fujino sat quietly in her cell. It had been a few hours since she had spoken to the officer that had greeted her when she woke up. She had talked about everything she knew regarding Paradise. How they were looking for children with powerful Quirks, and training them to be weapons. How awfully she had been treated. She had almost broken down a few times, recalling the pain and suffering she had gone through, but managed to keep herself together and prevent another panic attack.
After she had told her story, the officer said that he was going to need to discuss this with his captain and left. Ever since then, Fujino had simply waited in the cell. Most people would probably be annoyed by being forced to stay in a small cell when they had done nothing wrong, but Fujino was used to it. In an odd way, the familiarity of it was almost relaxing to her.
The silence soon ended however, as Fujino began to faintly hear voices drawing closer. She listened intently to try and hear what was being said.
"Are you sure it would be best?"
"Yes. If she is kept there, we can help her get her Quirk under control."
'Get my Quirk under control?' Fujino thought to herself.
"That would indeed be great. From the sound of it, her Quirk is rather dangerous. But do you think she'll go willingly?"
"It will be hard to convince her, I'm sure. But we must try our best."
Fujino wondered what they were talking about. They were going to keep her somewhere? Where? Suddenly her eyes widened. Was it another facility? Was Paradise involved? They were talking about getting her Quirk under control so the possibility was high.
'Damnit, I knew I shouldn't have trusted that officer!' Fujino told herself. 'What do I do? I can't go back to Paradise. I won't.'
As she looked around her cell, panic slowly settled in. Thoughts flew everywhere in her head, until she got the sensation she was all too familiar with. The sensation of her Quirk activating.
"Raaaaaahhhhh!"
The thing in the direct line of Fujino's view was one of the walls of the cell. An explosion occurred right inside the cell next to the wall, blasting a hole straight through it. Just like she had done at the facility, Fujino ran straight through it. She found herself outside where the amount of sunlight told her it was likely some time in the early afternoon. People that had been walking around normally all stared at her, caught by surprise from the sudden explosion and the girl that had run out from the gaping hole in the police station wall.
'I can't trust anyone. Everyone around me could be an enemy.' Fujino thought to herself. Panic once again rushed through her head as she stared up into the sky. "Ahhhhhhhh!"
An explosion occurred once again, this time in the middle of the air. The citizens braced themselves and shielded their eyes from the ball of flames that was above their heads for a brief moment. When everything settled down, they all looked towards where Fujino had been standing, only to find she wasn't there.
Soon several officers, as well as Principal Nezu from U.A High School emerged from the hole in the wall. They all looked around for Fujino, but had no sign of her in the immediate area.
-5 minutes earlier-
Nezu walked into the Tokyo Police Station. He had gotten a call about a young girl who they might need his people person skills with, on top of wanting his opinion on the matter.
"Ah, Principal Nezu." the police chief said, walking up to the small rodent-like man. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"Not at all. I'm happy to help." Nezu said. "I also brought along Eraser Head like you suggested."
Aizawa walked in after the principal. He wore his usual tired expression on his face. "So what's all this about a girl that can't control her Quirk?"
"Right. I'll get more into detail." the chief said. "We haven't managed to uncover any actual proof to the girl's story yet, but this is what she's told us."
The police chief went into detail about the story his officer told him from Fujino. About how she had been forcibly taken to a facility and trained along with other children to become living weapons. And how she managed to escape and make her way here.
When the story was finished, Nezu let out a sigh of pity. Having been experimented on himself, he knew firsthand just how horrific that kind of treatment was. "That poor girl. To have to go through such a thing at her young age."
"We also called in some expert Quirk counselors." the chief added. "We felt all of your help would be beneficial."
"If it would be alright, I'd like to talk with Miss Hatsu myself." Nezu said.
The police chief nodded his head. "Understood. Please follow me."
Nezu and Aizawa walked behind the police chief as they made their way to the holding cell Fujino was in. They decided to talk about the situation on the way there. "So what're your thoughts on the matter, Nezu?" the chief asked.
"It would be best to not let Paradise be aware of her being here for the time being. Just in case she's telling the truth." Nezu suggested. "It would also be best that any investigation done on them be done in secret for now."
"I agree, but what will we do with her in the meantime? Investigating Paradise without raising their suspicion will take weeks."
"Hmm…" Nezu said as he thought to himself. "I know! Why not let U.A be responsible for her for the time being?"
"U.A? But why?" the chief asked.
"She said she's unable to control her Quirk, correct? What better place for her to learn how to control it than there? We have plenty of staff that are experts on the matter, plus Eraser Head to keep her Quirk from going out of control."
The police chief thought to himself. "Are you sure that would be best?"
"Yes. If she is kept there, we can help her get her Quirk under control." Nezu nodded.
"That would indeed be great. From the sound of it, her Quirk is rather dangerous." the chief said. "But do you think she'll go willingly?"
"It will be hard to convince her, I'm sure. But we must try our best." Nezu said.
"I agree. If it's true that her Quirk is powerful, then her being unable to control it would make her a walking time bomb without someone that could erase it." Aizawa added.
"This situation must be approached with the utmost care." Nezu told them. "If she's telling the truth, then-"
The conversation was cut short as a large explosion was heard that shook the police station. After regaining their balance, the three adults hurried to Fujino's cell. When they arrived, they gasped at what they saw. A massive hole was in the wall of the cell, likely caused by the explosion just now.
"Damnit." the chief said as he unlocked the door to the cell and they rushed through the room to the outside. "She's gone."
"Oh dear." Nezu said. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Out of sight of the three adults and the general public, Fujino ran down an alleyway. She had to get away. She didn't know where to go, but she knew now that she couldn't trust anyone. She was completely on her own.
And that terrified her.
Genjiro Mastsuhari, the president of Paradise, sat in his office. He was a man of 38 years old, with black hair that had small streaks of white visible by his bangs. Befitting the president of a worldwide company, he wore a fancy navy blue suit with a black tie.
It was just this morning that he was informed there had been an incident at one of his company's secret facilities. An incident where one of the subjects there managed to escape in the chaos. A very powerful subject at that.
'Fujino Hatsu.' Genjiro thought to himself, looking at her file. He knew right away after seeing that girl's Quirk that she would be perfect as one of his meta human weapons. She could end up as one of his best warriors in fact. But her being unable to control her Quirk was an issue. Even after three years of training, her Quirk control was still shaky at best. She could do it on command, but there were plenty of instances where it would go off on its own. An unpredictable factor like that could prove disastrous in the field.
"Honestly, that girl is starting to become more trouble than she's worth." he said to himself.
As the president thought to himself, a knock was heard at the door to his office. "Mr. Mastsuhari? I have an update on… that matter."
"Come in." he said.
The door opened and a woman walked into the office. She had short pink hair styled neatly, and sharp red-framed glasses. She closed the door behind her to keep their conversation out of the hearing range of anyone too curious for their own good.
"What is the update, Ms. Kiroki?" Genjiro asked. "Has Fujino Hatsu been located?"
"We are aware of her location." the woman confirmed. "However… retrieving her may prove difficult."
"And why is that?" he asked with a scowl.
"Our sources have told us she's being held in the Tokyo Police Department."
It took all of the president's self control not to scream out curses upon hearing that information. This was the exact situation he had been hoping to avoid. The police being involved meant this matter just became a lot more complicated. If Fujino told the police about the truth behind Paradise, then all his hard work would be ruined.
Getting out of his chair, Genjiro looked out the glass window behind his desk. He took a deep breath to calm himself. This needed to be dealt with before it became a bigger problem than it already was. After a moment, he turned back to his desk and pressed a button. "Tell King to come to my office at once. I have a job for him and his team."
"You're sending them to deal with her?" Ms. Kiroki asked. "Are you sure that is wise? If they get caught as well, then the situation will only worsen."
"I'm sending them precisely because I believe they won't get caught." he told her. "They're skilled, but smart enough to know when a mission becomes too risky. If anyone can resolve this situation under the table, it's them."
Ms. Kiroki nodded her head understandingly. Suddenly, she received a call from her ear piece and brought her hand to it. "Yes? What is it?" she asked. After hearing what the other end had to say, she widened her eyes. "What?! Are you sure of this?! Yes… Yes, I understand. I'll let him know. Thank you."
Genjiro narrowed his eyes at his lead secretary. "What is it now?"
"Apparently there was an explosion at the Tokyo Police Station. The cause seems to have been Miss Hatsu, and now… she's gone."
Genjrio widened his eyes at this. He quickly brought his hand to his chin and he became lost in thought. This might be just the chance they needed. They didn't have Fujino's exact location anymore, but she was no longer in a hard to reach area like a police station. If she was on the run, then that meant she was alone. And that meant she was an easy target.
'This can work. We may be able to salvage this situation.' he thought to himself.
Soon a knock was heard at the door to the office. Not even waiting for an answer, the door opened and a boy in his late teens walked in. He had navy blue hair and wore a simple shirt and pants.
"Yo boss man." the boy said with a smirk. "I hear you've got a job for me?"
Ms. Kiroki adjusted her glasses as she glared at the boy. "You will address him as Mr. Mastsuhari. That attitude of yours is as lacking as ever I see, King."
"I'm pretty sure the boss man cares more about my skills than my manners." the boy known as King replied. He brought his gaze back to Paradise's president. "So what's our mission this time?"
"There's been an incident. One of the subjects, a girl named Fujino Hatsu, broke out of one of our facilities last night. She's on the run, with the police after her." Genjiro explained. "You are to capture her and bring her back to the closest facility you can find. We cannot let any information she knows get leaked."
"Got it." King said. "And… hypothetically speaking… if the target can't be captured alive without making a scene?"
"I would prefer that be avoided, but if it comes to it, eliminate her." Genjiro said. "She has a strong Quirk, so she may be useful given the right… conditioning."
"Understood. I'll let the team know and we'll set out right away, boss man." King told him as he turned to walk away.
After King left, Genjiro turned back to the window of his office. With King's team on the job, he could rest a bit easier. They were his most elite team of meta human soldiers after all. He glanced at the chess board at his desk. "Fujino Hatsu. You may think you're out of reach, but my pieces are already moving in on you. And once they find you, that'll be checkmate."
A/N: Hey readers. Not much to say this chapter. Hope you're enjoying this arc so far. Plenty of excitement is in store, so look forward to it.
