Throughout her life, Fujino had grown to hate many things. At first, she had hated her Quirk due to not being able to control it and causing her mother grief as a result. She hated the training she had been forced to undergo at one of Paradise's many hidden facilities. She hated herself for being the primary reason her mother had gotten kidnapped.
But all of her hatred for those things paled in comparison to her hatred for the president of Paradise. Genjiro Matsuhari. The man that had turned her life into a living nightmare. And now he was standing right before her.
Fujino took a quick glance around the room. She had unleashed her Quirk without thinking, but now that she had a chance to take a closer look she saw each of the members of Checkmate knocked out and badly injured, even though she was certain the only ones she had blasted were Genjiro and Bishop.
"I don't really know what's going on right now. And frankly I don't really care." Fujino said coldly. "All I know is that I'm going to kill you here and now, Genjiro Matsuhari."
Genjiro groaned as he got to his feet. "It truly is a shame that it took U.A to get you to become so formidable. If you had only managed to get this good of a grasp on your Quirk during your time at Paradise, you would have made an excellent soldier."
"I'm not some puppet for you to control, you bastard. I'm going to make you pay for everything you've done up until now." Fujino told him.
Genjiro found himself chuckling at Fujino's words. "You really think you've beaten me? Naive little girl. You couldn't be farther from the truth." His chuckles gradually turned into hysterical laughter. "Shall I tell you a little story? It's about how I first got the idea to form Paradise."
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm sure you know about Quirk marriages, or at least heard of the term." Genjiro explained. "Arranged marriages based solely on the Quirks of the two parents to create a child with a specific Quirk in mind. My parents were one such couple. My father was in charge of an underground fighting ring, getting all of his money illegally through bets. My mother was a nun, but her family wasn't very accepting of it. They ended up taking a bribe to sell her off to my father because she had a unique Quirk. Combine that with my father's Quirk and I was born. By the time I was eight, my father had me fighting in that underground ring to help him rake in the dough. Anything went in those fights, from Quirk usage to killing your opponent. I fought and fought, doing as I was told."
"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you because of this?" Fujino asked.
"Patience, girl. I'm not finished." Genjiro continued. "I fought for years in that ring. When I wasn't fighting, I was undergoing training from my father. I didn't go to school like normal kids. My life revolved around fighting, all to help my father make a fortune. And by the time I reached the age of thirteen, I realized something. There are only two types of people in this world. Those who use others, and those who get used by others. And nobody is easier to use than children. Nobody suspects them at a glance of being used for illegal activity. They're helpless against higher authority. And most importantly of all, they're expendable."
Fujino clenched her fists tightly. "You disgusting bastard."
"When I reached the age of fourteen, I killed my father and mother, took the fortune my father had made off of me, and set off on my own. Rather than fight however, I spent all my time studying. When I came of age, I entered college, learned all I could about business, and slowly began my plans for forming Paradise. An organization designed to help children that couldn't control their Quirks on the surface, while being a mercenary organization in the shadows."
"What exactly is the point of this story?"
"I would think that would be obvious." Genjiro said with a laugh. "Do you honestly think someone like you can defeat someone who's been so familiar with death since the age of eight?"
Suddenly, Fujino noticed Genjiro's body begin to change. His left side began to glow with a warm light as three rings formed around his wrist, while his dark side slowly turned black and crackled with violet electricity. A pair of wings emerged from his back, an angelic one on the left and a demonic one on the right. Half of a halo appeared over his head as his wings lifted him up a few meters into the air.
"Allow me to show you the full power of my Quirk, Fujino Hatsu!"
[Genjiro Matsuhari. Quirk: Black and White. His left side is angelic, while his right side is demonic. His angelic half is capable of shooting off halos that can ensnare others. His demonic half can unleash lightning capable of electrocuting those it hits.]
Fujino grit her teeth as she watched Genjiro's true form. 'Damnit. To think he was hiding a trump card like this the whole time.'
"It's been awhile since my last real fight! Do try and make this entertaining!"
Not wasting any time, Genjiro fired his violet lightning at Fujino. She quickly dodged it, keeping her sights on Genjiro as she used her own Quirk. "Burst!"
Genjiro showed impressive reflexes and hovered to the side, avoiding the explosion from Fujino's Quirk. "You'll have to do better than that."
"Burst!"
Once again, Genjiro dodged Fujino's attack. "Nice try."
"BURST!"
This time, Fujino attacked with a much larger explosion. Genjiro hadn't been able to escape it completely, but the damage to him was rather minimal. He then held out his left arm and the three halo rings around the arm shot forward towards Fujino.
Fujino leaped away from the rings as they came towards her, but they seemed to be homing in on her as they chased after her. Thinking quickly, Fujino decided to aim her Quirk at the rings. "Burst!"
An explosion occurred right where the rings were. Fujino thought for a brief second that she had succeeded in destroying them, but it turned out only one had been destroyed. One of the other two emerged from the smoke and expanded before encircling her and shrinking, squeezing her tightly near her stomach. She could barely move her arms.
"You're a hundred years too early to be picking a fight with me!" Genjiro told her as he held out his right arm. The violet electricity shot forward and zapped Fujino as it painfully surged through the teenage girl's body.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"That's right! Scream! I plan to make you suffer for how much you've hindered my operations!"
As the electric attack ended, Fujino breathed heavily. Her body ached with pain. And to make matters worse, she saw Genjiro's second halo coming her way. If it managed to shackle her feet like it was doing to her arms, she was finished.
She couldn't move her arms, but her legs were under no such restriction. So she ran and leaped, evading the halo with everything she had. She aimed her Quirk once again at Genjiro, hoping to break his concentration on the halo.
"Burst!"
Once again an explosion occurred and once again Genjiro avoided it. He was just too fast with those wings of his. Normally Fujino would simply use a larger explosion or cover a wide area with her Simultaneous Burst technique, but with it being this far underground there was no guarantee the shockwaves wouldn't cause a tremor and cave the whole place in. She would have to resort to her normal explosions.
As the remaining halo closed in on her, Fujino jumped with a backflip. She aimed her vision at the halo as it closed in. "Burst!"
The explosion from her Quirk succeeded in destroying the halo, but the close range caused her to be blown back by the shockwave. She hit the ground with a painful thud. But at least now the only halo left was the one around her right now.
"Not bad." Genjiro said. "I suppose it's only fair I start taking this a little more seriously now."
Genjiro then clenched his left fist and suddenly Fujino found the halo around her squeezing even tighter. She grunted in pain as the ring struggled to close more and more around her body, squeezing it tightly. "Ngh… Damnit…"
As Fujino was distracted from the pain, Genjiro quickly closed the distance between them. He grabbed her by her hair and flew up with her. Fujino was facing away from him, so he was safe from her Quirk.
"This might sting a little." Genjiro said with a devilish smirk.
For a brief second, Fujino felt a tingling sensation come from her hair. Then, her body surged with pain as Genjiro unleashed the electricity of his right half on her. All she could do was cry out in pain as she continued to get shocked.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
The electricity continued to assault her body for several seconds. Finally, Genjiro relented and simply held Fujino by her hair. The girl's body twitched from the small traces of electricity still moving through her body.
"Perhaps now you've finally learned your place, little girl. I will never be used by anyone ever again. And to do that, I will make sure I am the one who uses others. So accept your place as a piece on my game board."
After saying his piece, Genjiro let go of Fujino and the girl plummeted towards the ground below. However, with her body free falling, that left her able to maneuver herself and turn around to look up at Genjiro. She revelled in seeing the surprise on his face when she looked at him.
'Impossible! She can still move?!'
"Burst!"
Unable to react in time, Genjiro found himself taking a direct hit from Fujino's Quirk. He tumbled around in the air before straightening himself out. His jacket was singed, and his left arm had some slight burn marks on it.
Although she had landed her first clean hit on Genjiro, Fujino had no way to break her fall. She landed on the ground painfully. And to make matters worse, Genjiro's halo was still hugging her tightly.
Genjiro descended towards the ground. "I am reaching the limit of my patience, child. Everything that has occurred here is your fault. Had you simply obeyed, you wouldn't have to suffer like this. Had you never run away, your mother wouldn't have lost her memories."
"Go… to… hell…" Fujino spat weakly.
Genjiro walked over to Fujino, wincing from the slight pain he was in. He made sure to keep a close eye on Fujino's face to be on the lookout for her using her Quirk, even if she was clearly too weak to properly use it now. As he came up to her, Genjiro reeled his leg back and kicked Fujino hard in the gut. The air rushed out of Fujino's lungs as she coughed up blood. Genjiro swung another kick, making her tumble along the ground. Her back was now to him, but she didn't move.
"This is where it ends for you." Genjiro told her as he walked up to her. His right arm crackled with electricity. "I'd love to slowly torture you, making you beg for me to end it. But I'm afraid I can't waste much more time here if I want to avoid the heroes. So I'll have to do this quickly."
Still, Fujino's body showed no signs of moving. Genjiro wasn't sure if she was unconscious or already dead, but he'd soon be able to tell based on whether or not she would scream from his next electric shock.
Genjiro stood over Fujino's motionless body. This was it. Finally, the girl that had ruined everything for him would be no more.
"Goodbye, Fujino Hatsu."
Just as Genjiro was about to deal the finishing blow, Fujino rolled her body around in one swift motion. Genjiro could barely believe his eyes as he saw Fujino staring at him fiercely.
"Game over, you bastard."
Acting quickly, Genjiro began to leap back as a distortion formed near him. He wouldn't be able to escape it completely, but he would avoid any serious injury.
And then something neither Genjiro nor Fujino expected happened.
Genjiro's body suddenly felt heavy. His wings failed to keep him afloat and he instead descended the short distance between him and the ground. It wasn't that his wings had suddenly failed him though. He knew of this sensation.
A sudden increase in gravity.
Genjiro glanced over to where King had been lying down. He was still lying, but one of Queen's syringes was injected in him. The one that acted as the antidote for her toxin.
'She hung on to her consciousness in order to wake up King?!'
"Payback, boss man." King muttered with a smug grin.
"Burst!"
Fujino had originally aimed her explosion to simply blast Genjiro back. But due to his change in position from King's gravity, his left arm was directly in line with the distorted space. In the explosion that followed, Genjiro felt a burning pain erupt from his left arm. His body hit the floor, with his left side burning in pain. As he glanced towards his arm, he widened his eyes in disbelief. The limb was gone, blood emerging out from the hole just past his shoulder.
"My arm… my arm… it's gone…"
Fujino struggled to get to her feet from how much pain she was in, but she dug deep. She stood up and walked over towards Genjiro's body. She hadn't planned to blow off a limb with her attack just now but seeing Genjiro like this gave her an idea. She set her gaze on Genjiro's right knee, creating a distortion near there.
"Burst."
This time, Genjiro's leg was blown off. The man cried out in pain from having two limbs suddenly gone. Fujino glared down at the president of Paradise.
"Which limb should I blow off next? Don't worry. I'll be sure to save your head for last."
"Fujino!"
The sudden shout caused Fujino to turn towards the door to the room. Standing there, she saw all of her classmates from Class 1-C that had followed her inside Paradise's base.
"Hey, you guys." Fujino said. "Just wait a second. I'm almost finished here."
"Fujino, wait!" Sakura called out. "You can't kill him!"
Fujino clenched her fists in anger upon hearing this. "Why the hell not?"
"Because it's wrong!" Alicia told her.
"WRONG?! Don't you dare preach to me about what's right and what's wrong!" Fujino shouted angrily. She glared at her classmates with tears in her eyes. "Were any of you separated from your family because of this man?! Did any of you undergo hellish training for years on end just to be used as a weapon?! Not a single one of you has any damn right to act like you understand what I feel and what I've been through! This bastard took EVERYTHING from me! He did the same thing to thousands of kids like me! How is it wrong for me to give him the punishment he deserves?!"
"Fujino…" Jill muttered, taken aback by her friend's anger just now.
Sakura stepped forward. As the class representative, it fell to her to say the words Fujino needed to hear. "You've been in class with us long enough to know the answer to that, Fujino. It's one of the fundamental rules heroes need to follow. We don't kill."
"Shut up! Who says… Who ever said I wanted to be a hero anyway?!" Fujino yelled. "I was just using U.A to keep me safe and help me control my Quirk! I never had any intention of becoming a hero!"
"You know that's not true." Sakura told her. "Maybe at first you only saw U.A as a place for you to use for your own benefit, but we've been with you for months now. You pay attention in class and are working just as hard as the rest of us. You wouldn't be doing that if you didn't want to be a hero."
A chuckle came from King. "Heh, what a joke."
"You stay out of this, you jerk!" Lilina told him.
"None of you can possibly get it. You can act all sympathetic, but at the end of the day, the only one that knows the pain that girl has gone through is herself." King told them. "Even us members of Checkmate can't comprehend it. We knew what Paradise really was, and we went along with it anyway. Stupid things like morals don't mean a thing in the real world. At the end of the day, they're simply rules set to make the masses follow someone else's agenda." He looked to the girl standing over Genjiro. "The decision is all yours. Not a single person on the planet has the right to criticize you for seeking vengeance."
Fujino's body trembled. She felt the same as King. Only someone that had been hurt in the same way as her would understand her. Her classmates who had lived normal lives, went to school, hung out with friends, and lived happily with their families couldn't begin to fathom how much pain she had experienced at the hands of Paradise.
But deep down, something nagged at her. Something that she had begun feeling from her time as a student of Class 1-C. She began thinking about what she really wanted to do with her life.
Thousands of kids had been torn from their families like she had. All of their lives had been twisted for the sake of turning them into human weapons to serve Paradise's ends. And there were probably plenty of others in similar situations throughout the world. Untold numbers of people suffering at the hands of a higher authority they had no power to resist. She had been saved from that life by heroes. Deep down, she wanted to be the same. Someone who could comfort those who had been unjustly hurt and make their lives better.
She wanted to be a hero. And heroes didn't kill.
As tears rolled down her cheeks, Fujino looked down at Genjiro, lying before her unable to do anything but endure the pain his body was feeling right now. "I hate you, Genjiro. Words can't begin to describe how much I hate you and everything you've done. But as much as I want to… I can't kill you. Because then I wouldn't be able to achieve my new dream. Becoming a hero."
Fujino walked away from Genjiro and over to her classmates. It had been a long hard fought battle, but she could finally put Paradise behind her. It was finally over.
It was a busy night for the pro heroes in the area. After hearing the explanation from the students of Class C that were waiting on the surface, they infiltrated Paradise's underground base. One by one, they took the soldiers, the kids whose lives had been ruined by the organization, into custody. The handful of workers there, including Emiri Kiroki, and Genjiro Matsuhari, were also captured. The only ones confirmed to have escaped the grasp of the pro heroes were the two members of the League of Villains, Spinner and Utocha. Within a few hours, the base was emptied and Paradise had been completely crushed.
That didn't mean Class 1-C was out of hot water yet though.
Those with injuries were taken to the hospital for treatment. Thankfully, none of them were hurt too severely. U.A had also been contacted and informed of the situation. Once everyone had been treated, the entirety of Class 1-C stood out in the hospital parking lot with their homeroom teacher Yamagori glaring at them.
"I have half a mind to expel every single one of you on the spot." Yamagori told them. "What exactly were you all thinking?! Just because you each have a provisional license does not give you the right to go out hunting villains at your leisure!"
"It's my fault, Ms. Yamagori." Fujino told her. "I went off on my own. The others were just trying to get me to come back."
"That's not true." Hikari admitted. "In the end, we all decided to take part in the mission to rescue Fujino's mother."
Yamagori let out a frustrated sigh. "Honestly, do you kid even realize how lucky you are right now? Your recklessness could have made this situation end up far worse than it did. Damn brats."
"We're sorry…" Sakura said with a frown.
"Sorry isn't good enough, even if you did end up flushing out the rest of Paradise. You broke school rules, and you need to be appropriately punished for such actions." Yamagori said sternly. "I don't know how many of you were planning on partaking in the work studies we talked about, but as of this moment consider them off limits for you for the foreseeable future. In addition, all of you will have detention after school for the next two weeks. Is that clear?"
"... Yes Ms. Yamagori." the students said in a disappointed tone.
"Good. Now then, it's way past midnight, and you all still have classes tomorrow. Time to get you back to school." Yamagori told them. "And Hatsu… Before we leave, the doctors said you could see your mother for a few minutes."
Fujino's eyes widened. "Really?!"
"Just a few minutes. That's all." Yamagori repeated. "Make it quick. I don't want to be kept waiting long."
"R-Right! Of course! Thank you!" Fujino said with a grateful bow as she rushed back inside the hospital.
Due to having her memory erased by Emiri Kiroki, Fujino's mother had undergone a full examination at the hospital. The doctors said that while they had no immediate answer, there was a chance she would be able to regain her memories in the future with the right treatment. So she was going to be kept in the hospital for the time being. Fujino had gotten all of these details earlier, and although it hurt her to know that the chances of her mother's memory returning were slim, she was simply grateful that she was safe.
Fujino stood outside the door to her mother's hospital room. She hesitated to go in, not really knowing what to say to the woman on the other side who she was a complete stranger to. But she knew she couldn't keep her teacher and classmates waiting. So she gathered up her courage and opened the door.
Sitting up on the hospital bed was the maroon-haired woman Fujino had known all her life. The woman she had fought so hard to take back from Paradise's clutches.
"Mo-" Fujino stopped herself short with a cough. "I-I mean Mrs. Hatsu. Are you feeling better?"
Fujino's mother stared at her. "You… You were one of the children who rescued me, correct?"
"Yes ma'am." Fujino nodded. "I um… well… has your memory returned at all?"
The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Everything up until seeing you in that facility is completely foggy. I can't remember anything."
"I see…" Fujino knew as much that this would be her answer, but she still wanted to be wrong.
"I really must thank you. You and your friends were really brave." she told her. "I don't know all the details, but that group that was holding me was a villain group, correct?"
"Something like that."
Fujino's mother lowered her gaze. "It feels so weird… not knowing who I am."
"You really don't know anything?"
"Only what the doctors have told me. They said my name is-"
"Ayano." Fujino interrupted. "Ayano Hatsu."
The woman stared at her in mild surprise before nodding her head. "Yes, that's right." she said. "They also… told me I have a daughter."
Fujino stiffened up slightly, doing all she could to hold herself together. "O-Oh, I see. Did they… happen to say anything about her, by any chance?"
The woman responded with a soft smile. "They did, but I don't think I need to tell you any of that. Do I… Fujino?"
She couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears emerged from her eyes as she looked at the woman. "Mom… I..."
"It's alright, Fujino. Say what it is you want to."
Fujin ran to her mother and threw herself at her as she cried. "I… I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Waaaaahh!"
Fujino felt her mother gently rub her back in a soothing motion. "There, there. It's alright."
"It's all my fault!" Fujino cried. "I couldn't control my Quirk! And because of that, you suffered so much! I'm sorry! I've been nothing but a burden to you my whole life!"
Suddenly, the back rubbing stopped. "Fujino… listen to me." Fujino's mother pulled the girl away and looked her in the eyes. "It's true that I may not recognize you. I don't have a single memory left of you. But what I do know is you risked your life to come save me. So while I don't know what the past me thought of you… I know that the current me couldn't be prouder to have such a brave and kind girl as my child." She wiped the tears from Fujino's eyes. "So don't ever think of yourself as a burden, Fujino."
After taking a few seconds to compose herself as best she could, Fujino nodded her head. "Alright."
"One more thing." Ayano added. "I don't know how long the doctors here plan to keep me for observation. But when I finally get discharged… would you be alright living with me once again? So we can try and be a family once more?"
Fujino nodded her head. "I'd like that. I'd like it alot." She then lowered her gaze. "But right now… I can't. At first, I was just going to U.A so they could keep me safe from Paradise. But now… I found what I really want to do with my life." She looked her mother in the eyes. "I want to become a hero. So I can save people who are suffering like I was. So that nobody ever has to go through what I did ever again."
Ayano nodded her head understandingly. "I see."
"But if you're willing to wait until I graduate, or at least until the dorm system isn't mandatory anymore, I'd love to live with you again." Fujino told her. "So that we can go back to how we used to be."
"I understand." Ayano said. "In that case, go. Go and follow your dreams."
Fujino got off of her mother and nodded her head. She walked towards the door and gave her mother one last look with a smile on her face. "Well, I'm off."
As Fujino left the room, Ayano wore a gentle smile on her face. "Good luck, Fujino."
A/N: And that's it for the War on Paradise arc readers. Next up is back to a canon arc, the School Festival arc. It won't be an overly long arc as I'm sure most of you can imagine, but I hope you look forward to it nonetheless. Until next month, readers.
