Why did you do it?
I don't know.
Why did you choose to kill Kinetic?
I don't know.
Why did you do it on the grounds of Chikara High?
I don't know.
Why?
Why?
Why?!
…
… Why does it matter?
Why?
He couldn't count how many times he'd been asked that question over the years. For the first two, he'd always, without fail, responded with an "I don't know." It had infuriated the press and police alike, and likely the entirety of Japan as well. Hell, maybe even the whole world. But it had been the truth, and that had infuriated Koushi most of all. There was nothing worse than this, he thought – committing a crime so abhorrent, but not being able to remember the reason for it, or even going through with the act in the first place. It was hellish, having the same three letter word bounce around in his head every single day since he'd woken from that coma.
During the past year, however, he'd changed his answer to that irritating question. It was more annoying to the people, perhaps, but Koushi didn't care anymore. They kept sending detectives and cops to interrogate him, even as he sat, rotting away in his cell. So, he began to counter:
"Why does it matter?"
Koushi wasn't trying to be a smartass. In reality, he simply didn't know, and he couldn't handle saying it out loud anymore. The lack of control – lack of understanding – was a nightmare. He'd taken the life of a good man, ripped him from his family and the people he protected, and for what? Would he ever know, or would he be trapped here, empty and alone in this dark room for the rest of his life?
There were too many questions that Koushi didn't have the answers to, these days.
His cell was quiet and cold. Dark, save for the small fluorescent light in the dead center of the ceiling. There was a bed, creaky and uncomfortable, in one corner. A toilet and sink in another. Three of the four walls were solid concrete, and the other – the one set across from his bed – was a large mirror. Koushi wasn't entirely sure what they'd included it for, but he'd come to the tentative conclusion that it was just another added layer to this hell. Placed there specifically so that he could watch the daily deterioration of his body and mind.
He wasn't allowed visitors, so he had no one to look good for, which was some consolation when he thought about how pathetic he looked now. When he was younger, Koushi had taken great pride in his appearance. He had been fairly attractive, he supposed. Enough to win over some eager boys and girls from his school, and he had enjoyed the attention immensely, but had never committed to one of his suitors for more than a few weeks at a time. None of them would be interested in him now – not with his hair too long and bedraggled, his face too thin, his eyes too dull and sunken.
His appearance was definitely from his mother. Yua was a striking woman, with luscious, vibrant scarlet hair and piercing golden eyes. Her Vulpes Quirk made her all the more so. Like with many animal mutations, she'd received alterations to her physique. Tall, pointed ears, a fluffy red tail, and sharpened claws and fangs. The mutation Quirk had run in her family for quite a while before her time, and it did much more than just change their appearance. There was a wildness about the holders of the Vulpes Quirk that tended to make them even more enticing.
When Koushi had been born with the signature red locks and his eyes had faded from their dark, newborn blue to that same sunflower gold, his parents had assumed he'd manifest the same Quirk as his mother. His father, Tatsu, was Quirkless – a rarity these days, - and his appearance was nothing too special. Koushi had received his Quirk from his paternal grandfather. It was a simple Illusion Quirk; his grandfather hadn't done anything special with it, and while his mother had never alluded to it, Koushi wondered if she'd been disappointed that he hadn't received her Quirk. After all, she'd conceived the twins mere months after his Illusion Quirk had manifested.
Itsuki and Sayuri been much the same – full heads of red hair and vivid golden eyes. As identical as fraternal twins could be. No one in the Hado household was known for being large, but Koushi remembered thinking that the twins were exceptionally small. But for such small creatures, they sure were loud and troublesome. The five year age gap between them meant that Koushi was old enough to help soothe them when they cried, feed them their bottles, and other small tasks, and he'd taken his job very seriously.
He missed his family desperately. They hadn't had the chance to see one another much during the trial process – the twins had been thirteen at the time, so they'd been left with relatives as his parents tried their best to be around for Koushi. It was a painful experience for all of them, and he felt guilty to this day when he thought about what he'd put them through.
His reflection stared back at him, emotionless and dull. The Quirk-canceling collar settled on his neck, adjusting his posture into something a bit more slouched and uncomfortable. A singular red light blinked on the front, in time to the slow beating of his heart. It was a good thing his family couldn't see him now, he figured – all weak, miserable, and underweight like this. His mother would want to cut his hair and clean him up, and would scold him for not taking better care of himself. His father would give him a good meal. The twins would probably be too nervous about hurting him to try and wrestle.
They would all try not to mention his scars – the long, crisscrossed burns, in the shape of a massive X across his face. The cross point was over his left eye, which had a foggy, blue film over the surface – entirely blind. He wanted to cover it and hide it away, but the prison wouldn't allow him that much. It was stupid to think, he understood, but he did rather miss when his eyes were both the same matching gold.
But those were not his only scars – there was another small cut, right over the corner of the right side of his mouth, that he'd received when the twins were four years old and had manifested their Quirks. It'd happened when they were play fighting, and little claws had sprouted from their fingertips. It was the mild-mannered Itsuki who had caught his mouth with one of his claws, and though there had been a lot of screaming, crying, and bleeding, the injury had faded into a tiny scar. Not even worth mentioning, what with the rest of the disfigurement of his face.
Koushi actually liked that little scar. It was grounding, and helped remind him of his siblings - especially during the bad days.
The twins should be in high school now. Second years, if he had the date right. They'd wanted to go to Chikara High as well, but there was no chance of that happening anymore. It would be lucky if they'd gotten into any high school at all, after what their older brother had done.
Koushi couldn't rid himself of the sensation of shoving a knife into another human being's back. Over time, he'd begun to remember more of the incident – that, or his mind had just conjured it up on its own. It wasn't too much of a stretch. His Quirk had been made for it, after all, so his mind was naturally more active and creative than that of an average person. It was both useful and horrifying when he found himself stuck in this cell.
He couldn't get Kinetic out of his head. Kinetic, who was only thirty-one years old when Koushi had stabbed him in the back. Who had been one of the only teachers in Chikara who hadn't hated his guts. Who had been nothing but kind and understanding with him from day one. Who hadn't deserved to be hunted down in a dark hallway at his workplace.
What had he made the man see before his death? What could have scared Kinetic so badly that he faltered like that? It had to have been something truly horrifying, because in the three years that Koushi had known the man, he had never once seen him flinch.
It ate at him, sometimes. How he'd made someone feel so afraid in their last seconds of life. Someone who had cared for him, who was one of the only people who wanted to see him succeed. Even when he'd been an insufferable little shit who thought himself to be invincible.
Autumn, 2094
"You're going to have to learn to take a punch better than that."
It was unwelcome advice. Downright rude actually, especially when Koushi was doubled over, vomiting into the nice rose bushes beside the sparring arena. Still, the warm hand pressed between his shoulder blades was grounding, and it did make him feel a little bit less like shit. Maybe it shouldn't have, because just a few moments ago, that same hand had been a fist that buried itself into his stomach. But whatever.
Koushi didn't respond. Mostly because of the throwing up, but also because he had no witty comebacks that would make this situation funny rather than pathetic.
This was something Chikara High did often, starting in the beginning of their second year: one-on-one fights with the teachers. The majority of them were just hand-to-hand combat, like this one. But the difference in their size and physique was too great here – Koushi was a mere five-foot-six with a scrawny, lanky frame; Kinetic towered over him at six-two, and was built like a brick house. Koushi was a bit faster, sure, but nowhere near as experienced or strong. One good punch to the gut, and he was out.
Eventually, he managed to straighten up, but he swayed a little, and Kinetic put out a helpful hand to steady him. The blond man had a grin on his face, his brown eyes crinkled up in amusement.
What a dick.
"Your girlfriend fights better than you," Kinetic remarked casually, as though he hadn't just punched Koushi's breakfast into the bushes. "The one with the green hair."
Koushi brushed the back of his hand across his mouth, wrinkling his nose. "We broke up last week. I'm dating this guy from the support course now. Naoto," he grumbled irritably. "And besides, Haruka's like... a lot stronger than me. Of course she's a better fighter."
Kinetic shook his head with a soft laugh. "That would explain why she came to me the other day and asked me the quickest way to decapitate a man," he responded. "She seemed pretty upset."
"We were only dating for, what, a month? She'll be okay." Honestly, Koushi couldn't understand what Haruka had seen in him in the first place. The two of them were entirely incompatible, and the past month had been a volatile mess of emotions – mostly from her, but Koushi had to admit that she brought out the worst in him, as well. He truly should've broken up with her sooner.
"It's beyond me how you kids find the time to date in the first place. When I was your age, I was much more focused on not failing my classes," Kinetic jested, stepping back into the arena. Their match wasn't over yet, even if Koushi had had to take a quick break. The teen followed him at a slower pace, dreading the match that was to come.
"I don't have to worry about that. My scores are some of the highest in the class." It sounded cocky, sure, but it was true. At least, in most areas.
Kinetic's laughter was loud and hearty, and Koushi felt his ears burn with embarrassment. "Not in combat, they're not!" he remarked. "You've got a long way to go before you get anywhere near the top in my class. In fact, you're much closer to the bottom."
"I know!" Koushi shoved his hands into his pockets, bristling, and stared at a fallen leaf on the ground. "I'm not exactly built for combat. My Quirk or my body, physically."
"I fail to see how either of those things make up a good fighter."
The sentence was said so quickly, and with so much conviction, that Koushi immediately jerked his gaze from the ground and made eye contact with the hero. Normally, he liked to tone down his reactions to things – especially with the teachers in Chikara. Most of them were so no-nonsense and strict, and honestly, it was fun to play these sorts of mind games with them. Some of them weren't as smart as they made themselves out to be.
Kinetic was different.
Koushi reigned in his surprise quickly, masking over his expression and narrowing his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, tone carefully leveled.
"Sure, you're small, and your Quirk isn't made for fighting, but you've got a big brain in there," Kinetic explained, reaching out to tap Koushi's forehead. He wrinkled his nose in response, but made no move to step away. "When you're fighting an opponent that outmatches you in strength and skill, you've got to use it to your advantage."
"...How so?" he asked after a moment of hesitation. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it before – it was just that he hadn't found a particularly effective way of utilizing it in a combat situation. He'd gotten his ass handed to him many times during his first year.
The larger man stepped back again and fell into a fighting pose, a grin spread across his face. "Let me teach you."
Present day.
Kinetic always did shit like that. Went out of his way to help students who were struggling. Koushi had become a much better fighter by working with the hero, and though he was never among the best, he certainly wasn't the worst, either. There was a genuine kindness in that man, and a real desire to do good and help others.
Koushi had taken that person away from the world with his own hands.
There was a faint, rumbling sensation that traveled through the prison halls, bringing Koushi's attention back to reality. The alarms began going off immediately afterward, but they also sounded quite far away. His cell was mostly soundproof, after all, so the fact that he could hear it in the first place was pretty impressive.
Prison lockdowns were pretty rare here – he didn't think he'd ever heard the alarms at all before now. Koushi couldn't bring himself to be too interested in it, but he did vaguely wonder who might be trying to break out.
It was a stupid notion. This was one of the most highly guarded prisons in Japan. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to try and escape was a total fucking idiot.
His gaze snapped toward a sudden flurry of movement and sound past the tiny window in his door. It sounded like someone was getting their ass handed to them, and Koushi wasn't worried at all until he heard the gunshots. That caused him to tense a bit from where he was sitting, but it still wasn't enough to drag him to his feet. His cell was secure, and there was no reason for anyone to enter it in their escape attempt, so he was just fine sitting right where he...
Someone stepped through the door. It didn't open, but the person stepped through as though it had. As though the door didn't exist in the first place.
The intruder was a woman – tall and slim, with pin-straight black hair and clear blue eyes. About a decade older than Koushi, maybe. There was blood on her face and clothes, though the latter was more difficult to tell, because of the all-black unitard she was wearing. Koushi wondered if the blood was from her, or from the guards who were stationed outside his cell. He wondered if it mattered.
The two of them were quiet for a few moments, simply appraising one another, before the woman decided to break the silence.
"You are Hado Koushi, correct?" Her voice was chillingly calm, for someone who had most likely just killed at least a few guards. There was a sort of otherworldiness about her that unsettled Koushi greatly, and for a moment he wanted to lie and say he was anyone else.
"Mhm... I am," he rasped instead, his own voice hoarse and thready from disuse. He hadn't spoken in at least two months – the last time they'd sent people to question him. Perhaps he should be more concerned with appearing less weak before this visibly dangerous person, but he couldn't quite seem to scrounge up the energy to fake it.
Her icy gaze narrowed a little as she smiled, and though Koushi refused to break eye contact with her, he found himself desperately wanting to look away.
"Well, well, well, little Hado Koushi," she purred, striding over to where he was sitting. A dainty, blood-soaked hand was extended toward him for him to take, and it took everything in him not to recoil away from it. "It seems you've got friends in low places."
Hello again! I was so surprised by the outpouring of support I've received for this story. It's a lot different from most MHA SYOCs, so I really wasn't expecting it to take off like it did – thank you all for all of the wonderful reviews and support! I genuinely appreciate all of it, and it's gotten me very excited to continue writing.
I apologize for Koushi's weird, disjointed mindset here. He's not in the best headspace at the moment, so his mind is a little all over the place. It should clear up over time though – don't worry! This chapter is also pretty boring, for the most part, except for that little bit at the end, but things should be picking up quite a bit after this!
A few updates...
I've decided that Quirks in this universe first came into being two hundred and fifty years ago instead of one hundred, so they're not as new as I originally was going to make them out to be.
I am aiming to use most of the characters I receive, but I won't be able to make everyone a main character, of course. I will dm you personally if I need to make changes to your OC, but when you send in characters, please keep in mind that they may be used for side or supporting characters, pro heroes, etc., and I may have to repurpose them. This isn't to say they weren't good enough, because I'm sure all of these characters will be amazing, but the main cast is relatively small for this one.
That being said, I am expanding the former classmates to 10 individuals, aside from two of my own. I will end up needing a main cast of around 12 or 13 individuals.
The firm deadline is July 20th! I will not be accepting any characters officially until that point, so there's a bit of time to wait.
That's about all for now! Thank you to everyone for all of your support and submissions. I've been extremely sick this week, and I haven't been able to read any forms, but I will get around to it soon. If you've got any questions or comments, please let me know c:
Thank you again,
Van
