Kenji got out of the car slowly. Rin didn't want to move but she was curious what the police chief wanted. This new information about her mother concerned her though. Why did she hide it from here and why was it so important to keep it secret? Suddenly she realised something. "Kenji sir," Rin started to speak and was met with a concerned look from Kenji "What did you mean my mother 'killed' herself?" Kenji let out a groan "That slipped out. I can't talk about it in front of a police station, I can lose my job. I like my job woof" Kenji turned around and walked to the front door of the station. Rin stood there trying to process what to say. Too much was happening in one day, she almost wished she didn't leave the hospital. "Let's go, Rin" Kenji muttered and turned back to Rin, holding the door open for her.
Rin said nothing and walked forward into the station. It was a large office building with the main police HQ downstairs. There were countless police officers and citizens standing and sitting talking. Kenji stopped in front of a desk in the corner of the room. "I'm here to see the chief. I have Rin with me. He requested to see her privately" he said. He stood up straight almost like he was giving a speech. 'He really takes this seriously' Rin thought. All her life Kenji had been just a good mate to her dad. She could name countless times when Kenji would babysit her when Gunslinger became a pro hero. "Oh, Arthur's kid. Rin, I'm so sorry for your loss" the man behind the counter said as he walked behind the desk to meet her. "Arthur was a good friend of mine as well as Kenji's. Sorry, you must be used to calling him Gunslinger. He really did love that name" The man placed his hand on Rin's shoulder. "He did" Rin said avoiding eye contact with the man. She had no idea who he was. The man pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Don't tell anyone" he said winking at Rin. "Kenji I'll give you the pass to get to his office". The man walked back behind his desk and started rummaged through a filing cabinet until he pulled out a key with a bright yellow paper keychain on it. Kenji took it and bowed to the man. "Thank you, Edward," he said. Kenji put his paw on Rin's back and pushed her towards the elevator. They waited for the elevator to come down and then got in. Kenji put in the key and touched the paper keychain to a sensor on the elevator. It started going up.
"How did he know my dad?" Rin said staring at the gradually increasing number of floors they've passed. "He used to be a police officer before training to become a hero. It was accidental he became one really but..." Kenji paused. It was obvious he couldn't accept Gunslinger or Alira's death as real. He still had such fond memories of his friends. "He was so excited. He said he always wanted to be a hero woof. He would burst into the police station sometimes when I was doing paperwork to boast about his stories. It really sucked when he went pro and didn't have time to do that. Then again, we just got phones, so he would ring me at random times to tell me the big scoop woof". Rin smiled. She only knew her father as a pro hero. He didn't have much time to come home but when he did they would always do something together. "I'm glad he was happy" Rin shook as she spoke. Remembering her father sent a jolt of sadness through her body. Why did it have to be him? The elevator dinged to signal they were on the top floor. Kenji took a deep breath. "He can be very blunt. Whatever he says in there, be careful" he turned to look at Rin and gave her a smile. The doors opened. It was a reception waiting room. No one was waiting however and a woman with bright green hair was on the phone behind the reception desk while filing her nails. She saw Kenji and Rin and pointed to the chairs in the waiting area. Both of them sat down. Kenji said nothing but sat straight. Rin observed him closely. He was sweating. Was he nervous? Was he worried about me? Rin thought. It was silent. The only sound was the green haired woman talking about how her friend deserved better and 'Britney didn't have crap on her'. It seemed a bit unprofessional for a police chief's office. Suddenly the green hair woman put her hand on her phone and looked at Rin. "Hunny you can go in now. If you need any water or somethin' just call out". Rin stood up and took one last look at Kenji. He smiled but it was heavily broken. He was anxious about the situation. Rin opened the doors and walked in. It was a glass room which had a veranda out to overlook the city. There were massive TVs in the room. It was neatly furnished. "You must be Rin" A man spun on a large chair to meet her eyes. He was a large man with black hair and a black moustache. He had glasses are gave Rin a glare. Rin didn't want to speak. Somehow, she felt intimidated. "My name is Chief Ota. Nice to meet you"
"My name is Rin... but you already know that" Rin awkwardly spoke. She wanted to run away from this man. "Rin, I called you in today because I have a once in a lifetime opportunity. I heard about Arthur and Alira, god bless their souls, and I couldn't help but think you would be a perfect candidate for a project we've been working on" Rin stood in silence. Did he think she was a test subject? It seemed menacing, but Rin didn't know what else to say. Ota continued "Let me cut to the chase Rin. Do you want revenge on the man that killed your parents?" Rin's body felt limp. She had never thought about how that man made her feel. Angry and hateful yes but she had only been focusing on the fact her parents were gone. She was collecting her thoughts. It wasn't in her to perform revenge. "I... I don't know sir" she managed to speak as her voice broke. Her eyes darted around the room, trying to not look Ota in the eyes. "We need someone to go undercover to become a villain. However, everyone here is known as a police officer and no one else is trained. In theory, because you are a teenager it would be the perfect time for you to become one. You're angry over your parent's death and want to find the man to killed them and get revenge. It's the perfect alibi really. That way we can get insight on a new criminal group forming" He gave her a smirk. Sweat dropped from Rin's forehead. She didn't know what to say. "You want me... to become a villain?" She already had enough problems becoming a hero. Her mother was a villain but Alira always spoke if villains were scum and beneath her. "We'll let you murder the man who killed your parents. We'll rule it off as an accident. Now Rin, do you want revenge? Don't you want to let their souls rest easy? You want to, right? You want to do what you can to appease them. Come on now Rin, you get a new life and get to do whatever you want. We'll give you money and all you have to do is stay in that little criminal group. Do you understand? I can't let you leave without an answer". Rin started to sweat more. Tears formed in her eyes. This man had no idea what she wanted. Somehow, she felt angry. She knew he was manipulating her, but she did hate that man with all her heart. Maybe she should kill him. There was a long pause as Rin tried to collect her thoughts. It felt as though someone was whispering to her to do it.
"I want revenge" Rin whispered, staring Ota in the eyes. He gave her a crocked smile and raised his eyebrow. "Good. So, our plan is for you to 'kill' some students at U.A. They'll be in on the whole thing don't worry. I can't exactly get that beast Nezu to agree to something like this. The students will be okay and will be recovered instantly. You will be denounced as a villain and the group should approach you. Then you will work your way up and get your revenge on Buster. Does that sound good?" Ota sat back in his chair and put his hands together. Rin didn't know what else to do. "What about Aizawa and Hizashi?" she silently spoke. "They'll be safe of course. I'm sure they'll understand when the experiment is over. You'll go back to being a hero. You want to be a hero like Gunslinger, right? You will have all the power in the world". Rin stopped breathing. She could become a hero easily, get revenge and her friends would be safe. The idea of becoming stronger to kill Buster flowed into her head. It somewhat seemed like it wasn't her own feelings forcing her to act this way. It was someone else. "I'll do it". Rin spoke, staring Ota in the eyes with a sharp glare. Her eyes darkened, and she clenched her fist. "I'll protect everyone, so this won't happen again". Ota laughed and put his elbows on his desk. "Good Rin. I'll brief you in a few days" Rin bowed and went to leave the room. "Oh also, I forgot to say," Ota spoke, and their eyes connected. "No one can know about this, it's our little secret okay? Including Kenji. I'll make sure he gets a raise for his hard work".
"Yes sir" Rin exhaustedly said. Her heart hurt and was beating faster than ever. To become a villain was terrifying. But if she did, this would never happen again. She wanted to become stronger and she wanted to win. She walked out of the room. Her legs felt weak and her body was numb. Kenji stood up. "You okay kid? You look a little pale woof" he said putting his paw on Rin's shoulder. "I'm fine sir. I'm just a little tired" Rin looked at Kenji. He had relief written all over his face. They went back down in the elevator, gave the key back to Edward and left. They said nothing to each other. Rin was trying to process the pros and cons of this. 'I want to do what a hero would' Rin thought.
[3]
It was a silent car ride home. Rin hadn't met Kenji's wife before nor had she been to their house. "Can I ask what he talked to you about or is that off the table? woof" Kenji tried to cut through the awkwardness between them. It was hard to adjust to suddenly getting a new family. Rin didn't want to push away the memories of her parents. But it truly felt like to her that they were still here. They were waiting for her somewhere. "He told me not to tell you" Rin muttered, placing her head on her hand while she stared out the window. "I see..." Kenji seems anxious once again. He had no idea what they talked about or what they were planning. He wanted to do his best for Rin as a favour to Gunslinger but she wouldn't tell him anything. Even if this was confidential. The light went red and the car stopped. Kenji turned behind him quickly and picked up a plastic bag. There was Iced Coffee inside of it. He grabbed it and passed the bag to Rin. "Thought you might be hungry so I went and got some food while you were talking to the Chief" he smiled. Rin was confused. "When did you have time to go and get food? We weren't that long". Kenji gave her a glare and muttered "I was hungry". Rin opened the bag. There was another iced coffee and a small chocolate cake. 'Was there a cafe or is he trying to get rid of his lunch?' Rin thought. 'Wait he's technically a dog, chocolate would kill him'. She snickered while she twisted the cap off her drink.
It was silent after that until Kenji pulled up to his house. It was an old-fashioned looking cottage with a neat garden outside of it. There was a wooden fence surrounding it. "Here we are! Home sweet home" Kenji sighed with relief. He was happy to go home after such an eventful week. "Is your wife nice?" Rin said as she sipped some more of her iced coffee. "She's wonderful. I'll warn you though she is a bit lovey woof" Kenji had a look of disappointment on his face. 'Maybe he can't get a break when he gets home from work' Rin thought. "Nothing I can't handle" Rin said while opening her door. She wanted to act like everything was okay for Kenji. She felt as if she was replacing her family with another. Her heart ached and she wanted to cry but she had to at least hold it until she had her own room. She didn't want either of them to worry. The two walked to the door. Kenji unlocked it and they walked in. His home was very white. It was neatly furnished 1 story house. Rin walked in to see another dog person in a dress. '...He married a dog... why didn't I see that coming' Rin thought. She placed her hand on her eyes. "Hello Rin. My name is Maria. It's lovely to meet you" before Rin could respond Maria had walked up to her and hugged her. Rin couldn't breathe while Maria hugged her. "Jesus Christ she's strong" Rin managed to get out of mouth. She looked at Kenji who was looking the other way almost embarrassed at his wife's behaviour. "Sorry!" Maria yelped as she let go on Rin. "I'm just so excited to have my own child. Well not really my own child but to take care of you! I always loved Alira and Arthur. Game night was the best thing to look forward to in the week when they were police officers. Man, I just can't believe what happened. Are you okay hun? What food do you like? Do you have any plans this week? When are you going back to school?" Maria bombarded Rin with questions. Kenji sighed and stepped in before Rin had time to respond. "Don't overload the kid Maria. She's still processing everything" he said, placing his paw on Rin's head. Maria smiled and gestured Rin to follow her.
They walked down a large hallway until the last room on the left was visible. It was a massive room with a double bed, a desk, two windows and family photos scattered through it. "It's our spare bedroom but it'll do for now before you make it your own, you know woof?" Maria said smiling. 'God, she does the woof thing too' Rin thought in disbelief. They were dogs. Maria left the room. Rin realised some of her old stuff was here. On the bed was Gunslinger's old jacket. It was his favourite and he wore it as a hero costume. It was a black trench coat with a collar which had chains and pockets scattered all through it. It was somewhat tattered. She put it on. It was bigger than her, but it was warm and comforting. Best of all it still smelt like Gunslinger. Next to it was a mechanical glove. It was just the exoskeleton of metal parts but she remembered Gunslinger using it to use electricity to stun opponents. He had made it when she was little and she had a fond memory of him being excited to show her how it worked. Both of them were grounded for a week by Alira after that. Rin chuckled. She took a look around to see what else was in the room. She walked over to her new desk and looked at the very same photograph Rin had been staring at the other night. She looked at it and saw how happy they were together. She took her family for granted. She remembered their faces. How their eyes had no life in them. How her mother said to run. If she had been quiet maybe Alira could have ran. She couldn't stop it or beat them. Rin blamed herself until finally, she broke and fell to the floor. She stared to cry and held her hand to her mouth to stop herself from being so loud. 'I hate him. Buster or whatever the fuck his name was took everything from me. They didn't deserve this' Rin thought. 'FUCK'. She slammed her hand against the desk. It had left a dint when she pulled her hand away. "Rin" Kenji said standing in the doorway. She didn't look at him. She was angry. She was angry the last memory she had was them motionless. It was burnt into her mind. Kenji said nothing but stood behind her. He held out his paw. "We're having the funeral tomorrow. I just want to make sure you know I'm here for you" he spoke softly. She wiped her face and sniffed. She grabbed his paw and he pulled her in for a hug. Rin hugged him back. In the back of the mind a thought appeared. I don't want to lose him too. He stroked her head and smiled. "Maria has dinner for us, let's go eat, yeah?" He knew he couldn't magically make it better or make her forget but... if he stayed strong and didn't show any weakness then maybe Rin could be stronger too. They both walked out and sat down at the kitchen table.
Maria had made them steak and mash potato. Maria was telling Kenji off about something at work and they were jokingly arguing. It was obvious they were very in love with each other. They were still young. Rin's parents had to be older than the both of them but had met through the police force. Rin couldn't smile and could barely eat. She didn't feel any motivation to do anything. She just poked her mash with her fork. "You don't have to eat it love, just tell me when you're done woof" Maria smiled at Rin. "Excuse me, I think I want to sleep for a bit. I'm a little exhausted" Rin sighed. "Thank you for dinner". She didn't want to be rude to Maria and Kenji's kindness, but she didn't have an appetite for anything. She didn't want to be anywhere. She laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. A tear ran down her cheek. "I just want to sleep and never wake up" Rin said, closing her eyes.
It was dark. She felt nothing. Being asleep was the greatest feeling. She would feel nothing. It was obvious she was having a dream, but something felt wrong. "Why did you let them die bitch?" a voice said. Rin jumped. 'What was that' she thought. "Did you not hear me? Did Alira really think I was going to get along with a snotty brat like you?" Rin looked down to see a small creature below her. It was black with long horns like a ram. It had sharp teeth and a large tail. It was scaly but somehow fluffy and had spikes on its back. Rin put her foot on its head as it raised its arms to fight. "What the hell are you supposed to be?" She said. "None of your business bitch" it replied pushing her foot off of it. It suddenly started to grow until everything around her was darker than before. Its eyes were blood red. It stared at her. "You're Atlas then?" Rin spoke trying to seem like she wasn't scared of him. "I am, and you and I are stuck together for eternity. Great" he let out a long groan. "I'm sick of being placed inside of people. I want to be free. Listen here kid, your body is now mine which means if I want something. I'm getting it" Rin replied almost instantly "Ha! You think you own me? Aren't I your master now?" There was a pause while Atlas stared at her. He squinted his eyes and took a deep breath. "You are an arrogant piece of shit" he said, staring deeper into her soul. Rin was terrified of this creature, but she didn't let her guard down. "Whenever you sleep is the time where we can be face to face. That's also why Alira didn't sleep. She wanted to stay the hell away from us" It raised its head above Rin more. It was almost like it was showing dominance. "What are you exactly?" Rin nervously spoke. She wanted to find out as much as she could before she woke up. "Listen kid let's cut the shit. I was a person once many years ago. It has to be thousands by now. I died because I saved someone I loved. The bitch then went and married some dude straight after. I killed villages and cities for her and this was the thanks I got. I became a spirit to haunt that bitch and kill her. That's what I did. I murdered her in cold blood by taking over her lover's body. It was simply hilarious". Rin gulped as Atlas spoke. It seemed to have no remorse and he seemed happy with the ending. "I made sure to eat her after that too. Listen now what you eat goes to me too. So, make sure to eat okay? Or I'll force you to go and rip someone's flesh off" Atlas laughed. Rin started to shake more than before. "I had an ability that you all call quirks now. I always had it in secret. I had the ability to copy other abilities. I loved to murder people" Atlas started to smile. Its teeth had blood stains on it. "I heard you wanted revenge on that man. I hated Alira but even so, it was enough of a bitch having to get used to all those spirits. Now I have to get used to a little kid. I want blood to be spilled. Let's get revenge. How about we swap quirks? Your quirk is useless anyways. I will help you get your revenge" Rin was shocked. "I can't understand your motive here Atlas" Rin said confused at why the monster would help her. "I want people to die" he replied "If you don't want my help, I really don't care. I'm just going to wait until you get killed so I can be released" Rin stood there not know what to do or say. This thing swore and was a psychopath. It could however get her to her goal. She could be stronger with his help. To lose her humanity doing it though. She didn't know if it was worth it.
"I guess I'll-" Rin went to speak and woke up. Her neck burned, and she started to choke. She looked around and saw a figure over her. It was choking her. It must have been Atlas. She tried to scream and fight, but she couldn't. It smiled and said in both her voice and his "I want them dead". It was definitely Atlas. Rin finally could control her body and moved forward. Atlas was gone. Her body ached, and her arm felt like it was burning. Her veins started to turn black and her arm had cracks of dark energy through it. "This is corruption" Atlas spoke. He wasn't in the room but they still must have been together. "You will die without me". Rin blacked out.
She opened her eyes. It was morning. She looked down at her arm to see only her wrist had had small black lines through her veins. She was sweating and her heart was beating fast. "I swear this is just a coincidence and it was all just a really bad dream" she said. However, she was curious if she had a new quirk. It seemed way to convenient. She couldn't understand the motives behind it.
