So I had to reread the first 2 chapters to remember what I'd written and I didn't realize the first baddie I introduced had the same name as Nozomis father. Damn.
Eraserhead was on patrol again. It had been a few weeks since Miracle had been injured and they'd met a few times since then. He wasn't able to catch her since she'd either leave him with a victim of an attack or she slipped through cracks he was too large or inflexible to fit through. Ahead of him he saw her silhouette staring at the night sky. He stopped on the same roof.
"You ever think how different your life could be just from one little change?" her voice had a melancholy tone to it. He didn.t know where the question came from but still answered.
"...Not really. I wouldn't change my life for anything right now." he stepped closer. "Why did you become a vigilante?"
"I don't have a choice."
He was thrown for a moment. :Everyone has a choice. With your quirk you could have made it into any hero course."
"Not with only an elementary education. I can't pass a basic history test let alone an entrance exam." He was about an arms length from her now and had to pause. He needed answers.
"And yet I've seen you calculate force and trajectory in the middle of a fight. Not to mention your technology. The designs don't match any current company designs, making them homemade." She let out a small laugh.
"It's a wonder what local libraries have in their education section, not to mention what motivation can do... I know why you're here, but I haven't broken any laws."
"You partake in vigilante activities, which is against the law."
"Only for those who use their quirks without exceptions. My quirk doesn't turn off. Thus exceptions for its use."
"And what is your quirk exactly?" Maybe he could find out who she was through her quirk name. Her laugh took those plans away.
"Now that would be telling kitty cat." He gave her a confused frown. "Your hero costume has small grey hairs all over it. Unless you're sweet on some short haired granny the only other option is animal hair. Seeing as you seem to prefer quiet, a dog is out of the picture. Thus you have at least one cat. Kitty cat is a fitting nickname."
"Logical assump-" he jumped back as Miracle seemed to try to tackle him. His confusion turned to understanding as a net sparking with electricity tangled Miracle and a large rubber man engaged him in combat. A voice shouted over her screams.
"Fuck! We only got one! Rubberband! Quit dicking around and finish him! Boss lady wants him dead for getting rid of Allure!" A scrawny man with a spider like body was grabbing the net and dragging it to a small man holding a photo. Eraserhead tried punching the man called Rubberband only for his rubber body to absorb the hits. Miracle was still screaming as the electricity coursed through her. Her outfit wasn't meant for electric attacks. As her voice modulator broke Eraserheads anger grew, for there was no mistaking that sound. A child was screaming.
Before anything else could be done a piece of that electric rope was shot at him from the mouth of the spider guy. It forced him to leap back as it wrapped around Rubberband and pulled him toward the others. As Eraser ran towards them, they seemed to disappear, leaving the photo drifting down to the rooftop. It landed on something metal. He picked up both items to find a pocketwatch with the name Naraka engraved on the back and the photo depicting a stone walled room with a metal chair in it. A bit of garbage was strewn about the floor in the photo.
Aizawa was still looking for leads on the men three days later. He was able to figure out their history. All three grew up in the Hajimari orphanage only to be turned out at 18. They fell off the face of the earth for a few years only to come back as petty criminals. Kumo Akachan was the electric spider guy, Hito Shinshuku was Rubberband, and the photo man was Shashin Honda who could teleport to any place he had a photo of.
The pocketwatch was the easiest lead. Naraka Kiba, the son in law to Recovery Girl. Married to Naraka Haru with one child named Nozomi who ran away at age 10. He was diagnosed with Cirrhosis and passed away when Nozomi was 6. Chiyo hadn't even known her daughter had gotten married nor had a child. She had lost contact with the girl when she was seventeen because Haru felt as though Chiyo cared more about her job than her family and had set out to make a life of her own. He just hoped to find the girl before Chiyo killed him for getting her captured.
Nozomi had passed out from the pain as the world seemed to blur. When she opened her eyes she was tied to a chair and her mask was off. Her quirk seemed to have healed all the damage from the net. Looking around she saw a steel door to her left and some trash strewn about. An advert for a local barbeque place clued her in that she was about an hours walk from her warehouse. The door opened and a woman entered. She had short purple hair and black sclera and eyes, she wore a business suit and heels.
"Good morning sleepyhead, and welcome to your new home for a while." her voice was high pitched and jarring, like she was talking to a small child.
"Thanks, but I don't swing that way. Neither am I into bondage."
"Oh no no no! You see, you got my sister locked up, and that makes me very angry." her lips drew into a smirk. "So now I need to punish you, naughty child."
Nozomi went to retort, only for it to feel like a thousand knives were stabbing into her nerves. She screamed and convulsed as far as she could in her bindings. It was over in a few seconds but felt like hours to her.
"Let me explain my quirk to you. Have you ever read Harry Potter?" Nozomi shook her head, and the woman frowned. "What child hasn't read- well, my quirk allows me to activate all your nerve endings, starting from a mild irritant all the way to feeling like your very skin is on fire."
Nozomi was shaking from the pain. It hurt so bad, she didn't want it to start again.
"Now here's the plan sweetie, you're going to take your due punishment, and when your mind is close to breaking we'll put you with the other children and see how much you bring us. Isn't that just grand?" All she had to do was avoid looking in the psychos eyes, because unlike her sister this bitch wasn't gender specific. Only to have the pain start up again.
"Tut tut. Good children answer when asked a question. Did you think my quirk was eye contact based? Oh no. All I need is something from the one I'm punishing." No more talking happened as the pain increased until she passed out.
It had taken a couple more days for the police and Aizawa to narrow down where the photo was taken. One of the officers recognized the barbeque advert in the background of the photo and it took only an hour to narrow down the building to an abandoned apartment building that was falling apart. It took another few hours to come up with a rescue plan. Aizawa demanded to be on the team who infiltrated the building, so he was partnered with Midnight and Fat Gum.
When they entered the building it was empty of life. Quietly doing a sweep, Fat Gum noticed a trapdoor in the kitchen with no dust on it. On a count of three, they opened it and Midnight jumped down while tearing the left arm on her costume and releasing her quirk. The men put on air filter masks and followed her in as the police secured the perimeter and main floor. Walking down the corridor and peaking into each room saw cages full of kids from missing person reports and some guards all knocked out from her quirk. The third door from the end was locked. Fat Gum went to ram it open when they heard the lock click. Wary glances were exchanged before they cautiously entered.
Nozomi was sideways on the floor, strapped to a chair and spasming periodically, as though her muscles were being attacked. A purple haired woman was behind her holding a small amount of blonde hair.
"Don't move any closer, otherwise I'll have to punish her again. You heroes wouldn't want that now, would you?" Her high pitched child voice did nothing to subtract from that threat.
"What are you doing to her?!" Fat Gum yelled at her. She let out a small giggle and put a hand in front of her mouth in a parody of a school girl trying to hide their smile.
"I used my quirk of course. You're not very bright are you?" she giggle again. "Any more and she won't survive. Doesn't that just ruin your day?"
"..Do it... Pussy." Nozomis voice was barely above a whisper as she talked through the pain. "You... use your... quirk... and you're... vul.. vulner... able. Th-they can... stop you... then."
The woman frowned at her. "Yes but you would still be dead."
"I'm a... F-fucking fl... flower. Just need... some sun." This seemed to upset the woman as she immediately activated her quirk. Nozomi screamed out and the heroes jumped into action, Fat Gum knocking into the woman and Eraser tying her in his capture scarf which forced the hairs from her hand. Midnight quickly ran over to Nozomi and picked her up as her screaming cut off. Fat Gum knocked the woman out just as a few officers ran into the room.
As they cuffed the woman with anti quirk cuffs, Eraser turned to Midnight to see her trying to perform CPR on Nozomi. His lungs stopped working as Midnight looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes. It was with heavy hearts and the thought of being too late that they walked out of that building into the morning light. Officers were pulling the caged kids out and into waiting ambulances. Eraserhead help Nozomis body close to him as her death was added to those he couldn't save. It was the only reason he felt her heart start beating again.
"Eraser, what-" Midnight started to ask about his sudden jolt.
"Stand back! I need some room!" He gently laid her out on the concrete and stepped back himself, keeping a hand on her wrist to feel her pulse.
Fat Gum was the first to get it. "Like a flower... She needs sunlight to heal! That's what she meant, she wasn't being sarcastic. She needs to Photosynthesize!"
Ever so slowly her pulse quickened to normal living standards, and then a bit faster like an adrenalin rush. With a large gasp of air she sat up, only to fall back in a faint. They loaded her into one of the remaining ambulances and rushed to the hospital, Eraser riding with her the whole way.
Nozomi woke up to a steady beeping and someone yelling, with sunlight in her eyes. She groaned and slowly sat up as she remembered why she would be hurting.
"Nozomi sweetie! Mommy's here to bring you home!" a face she recognized came into her room and she flinched back before she got angry.
"How dare you." she whispered.
"I'm sorry? what did you say sweetie?"
"How fucking dare you! You kicked me out, left me to fend for myself for four years and now you want to TAKE ME HOME!?" she was mad. How dare this woman think she had any connection with her. "I SPENT THOSE FOUR YEARS FIGHTING FOR MY VERY SURVIVAL AS YOU SAT IN YOUR COMPHY HOME AND ATE GOURMET MEALS! i HAD TO GO WITHOUT FOOD FOR DAYS AT A TIME! I HAD TO SHARE WITH FUCKING RATS AND STRAYS AND YOU WANT TO TAKE ME HOME?!" she turned away. "Just leave me. you're good at that."
"Naraka Nozomi you do not speak to your mother that-"
"YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER! You kicked me out! Called me a murderer! Threw my things into the trash! So get out! GET OUT!" the heart monitor was going crazy bringing a team of doctors to try to calm her down. Sedation wasn't working as she felt too threatened by the woman in the room to allow herself to go under. It was only when Eraserhead came barreling into the room that she started to relax slightly.
"Mrs. Naraka, you need to leave. you are causing undue stress for the patient."
"I am not leaving without my daughter!" She stamped her foot in anger.
"Yes you are. We shall be looking into the allegations Naraka Nozomi has spoken of. If any of it is true you won't be getting custody of a dog, let alone your daughter."
That was the last Nozomi heard before the Anesthesia took effect.
When she woke again there was an older woman in her room reading. She observed her warily, she looked too much like Haru for her to be comfortable.
"I don't bite Dearie." She looked up with a small smile. "I am Shuzenji Chiyo, your grandmother."
"What do you want?" she was wary, was she going to try to convince her to go with Haru?
"I want you to get better, and after that I want to get to know my granddaughter. Maybe in the future offer you an apprenticeship, but healing first."
"And I suppose this is some elaborate plan to trick me into moving in with Haru?" Chiyo's face darkened at that.
"No. My daughter will have no place in your life if I have anything to say about it. They've already taken away her parental rights when it comes to you."
Nozomi relaxed slightly but still had her guard up. Chiyo just smiled at her and slowly left the room.
Shouta was outside the door waiting on Chiyo. As the door closed behind her she let out a small sigh.
"She's wary of me. I look too much like her mother." her eyes were slightly wet from what her granddaughter felt about her. "I have a small favor to ask of you."
Shouta took a moment to think of what that favor could be. His eyes widened at the realization.
"No, Chiyo. I can barely take care of my cats."
"She trusts you! Her guard relaxed with you in the room, even though Haru was still there! I walk in and her hackles are raised, ready to run out of this hospital. I can't have her living on the streets, but she'll never agree to live with me." slight tears were running down her face, and Shouta caved. It was rare for Chiyo to cry and it caused anyone to do whatever she asked. He just hoped his cats wouldn't make a fuss.
Longest chapter to date! Sorry about the pacing, I'm just trying to get to the UA entrance exams. I'm just not sure if she'd get a recommended exam or if she'd take the entrance exam, since healing quirks are rare. I also suck at writing manipulative characters so Nedzu is going to be very OOC whenever he's in the story. I also can't flirt in stories so Midnight will be a little more subdued or just directly quoted from the show.