Starting a criminal empire isn't as easy as some might think it is. Whilst yes I am charismatic, and my many social Quirks increase my sway over peoples minds, it is a stressful and time consuming endeavour to find skilled individuals for my organisation.
Most 'villains' are merely common criminals, two bit thugs that just want to hog the spotlight and commit petty crimes, they don't have ideals, they aren't looking for a grand long term goal, so finding skilled individuals is a massive hassle. Right now I'm trying to recruit some of those skilled individuals.
Running through the empty streets of Esuha city Chimera did his best outrun the group of heroes hot on his tail.
"Quit running you mutant freak!" Chimera snarled lightly as he did his best to run away. He's no fool, he can't fight a dozen people at once, no matter how strong he is numbers do matter, even if those numbers are weak.
Ever since he was a kid he's been pushed out of society, rejected by everything and everyone, they all called him a criminal, or a villain so one day he just decided to give them what they want.
He might not be the pretties but there's no denying his strength, he's become pretty infamous for his many acts against hero society. Eventually a group of heroes was put together in order to stop him, he recognises a few of these grunts from the hero charts, their powers don't seem to have any sort of theme going on, likely just a mishmash of decent heroes to throw at him. Ones that seem especially gleeful at the idea of hunting down a mutant type.
One of the heroes hot on his tail raised his hand and from his fingers shot several purple lasers from his fingertips. They were too small and fast for him to dodge them all so a few grazed his skin, they caused deep cuts on his flesh that stung, but he continued to run regardless.
Suddenly his sixth sense went off like haywire and making full use of his beastly instincts made a massive front flip when a massive blue dragon that was clearly inanimate and made of glass lunged at where he once was, destroying a car and damaging the side of a building.
Their heroes don't seem too bothered about avoiding property damage, given the nature of their attacks, which can make them dangerous foes.
Just as he made yet another powerful jump to latch onto the side of a nearby building he was caught off guard when a blonde man came bursting through the Walls he was on.
He felt a sharp pain on his stomach that would be sure to leave a scar as he was kicked off by the man with claws on his hands.
After free falling and landing on the ground, both bleeding and sweating, as several of societies 'saviors' crowded around him with feral grins on their faces.
"You were a tough bastard to capture, you know that. When we were given the order to capture a mutant scum like you we figured that it would be easy. But you decided to put up some resistance, so we're gonna do a whole lot more than-"
"I think that's enough."
The heroes, and Chimera himself, were momentarily distracted by the sound of a soothingly calm, and slightly amused, voice which was followed by the sound of footsteps echoing in a nearby alley where a man walked out.
Chimera says man but if he is then he'll have only become one recently, he had short and slightly curly white hair, which went well with a pair of blood red eyes, that came included with a rather easy going smile. He wore a suit strangely enough and despite his friendly demeanor Chimeras instincts as a mutant were all telling him to get away from this young man.
One of the heroes decides to open his mouth." And what if we don't feel like doing what you say." The words were clearly sarcastic with an undertone of threat.
In response the young man let a devilish smirk spread on his face." Then I'll do... this-"
Chimera didn't even see what happened next.
One moment the suited man was standing completely still, the next he blitzed into a speeding blur so fast that Chimeras eyes couldn't keep up. A dozen pro heroes suddenly drop to the ground unconscious, leaving only four remaining on the ground.
His face was a painting of calmness as the mysterious and powerful man ignored the gaping looks of the remaining pro heroes and took a step towards them." You tried to harm this gentlemen because he's a mutant, that correct? "
Instead of responding to the question the heroes were looking fearful as their true cowardly nature revealed itself and they tried to run away. They had no chance.
The man disappeared in a blur again and this time chose to grab two of the remaining heroes by the face. "Only you four have any worthwhile powers for me to take. You've been found guilty of attempted murder, gentlemen. Your punishment is to live the rest of your miserable, pathetic, insignificant lives without your Quirks."
Chimera watched on in awe as a red aura surrounded the three of them and shortly after his saviour did... whatever that was, both of them dropped out of his hands. Unconscious.
Seeing their fellow heroes fall so easily was enough to get the attention of the man's final victims, who tried in a vain attempt to run away. Needless to say they didn't get far at all.
After finishing with his job the man who dealt with a gang of heroes as though they were but insects turned his eyes on Chimera." You are... Chojuro Kon, correct?"
Chimera wasn't sure what someone so powerful would want with him however the man is a suit didn't seem to want to harm him.
"My name is Ryoto. I need people like you, to join my cause. This world has done nothing but rejected you all your life, I think it's time that you did the rejecting." He held out his hand to help Chimera up, the wolf man noted the holes in his palm.
Chojuro has nothing, he's but a criminal in the eyes of the world, this society will never accept him. Never even thought about accepting him. He could never fight back on his own, hearing this guy out might nor be a bad idea.
With that thought in his mind the mutant man resolved himself and took the strange man's hand.
Tatara. That is the name that my criminal organisation goes by.
I came up with myself believe it or not. In Japanese 'Tatara' means to burn down steel and industry. As Tatara we will burn this hero society to the ground so that we may build something better. A society that serves actual justice.
In the past two years my organisation has grown significantly, this is because of my method of recruitment.
As an organisation that will be facing heroes who have had years of disciplined training with their Quirks, no member of my organisation can be cannon fodder, what I need are a group of extremely powerful individuals who share my ideology and will aid me in my quest to overthrow the current system.
But above all else I need undying loyalty in my members, people who are willing to put their lives on the line for me are always appreciated, but that is a trait that you won't find in some wannabe gangsta who's only goals are petty dreams like money, or God forbid, fame.
Now can you tell me of a group of people who would live and die for my cause? A group that is so completely rejected by society that they would cling onto the first charming, charismatic and powerful individual that just takes the time to treat them with dignity? Well the answer should be pretty obvious.
The Quirkless.
Quirkless people are, to put it mildly, ostracised and rejected by society. Hell I'd even go as far as to say that Midoriya was lucky in the anime, at least he had his mother. My parents just abandoned me the moment I was diagnosed as Quirkless, and unfortunately I am not a rare case.
Regular people in this world are jeered and abused in extremely cruel ways, suicide baits and abusive behaviour are common in the ways of both the young and old. And why wouldn't they? Everyone likes having someone to look down on, even I like looking down on and crushing any Quirkist pieces of trash who had the nerve to call me a villain after they spent years of their life laughing at my pain. But they don't have to worry, quite frankly I was merciful in just breaking their legs.
In the end humans like looking down on others because it feels good to be better than someone, be it intellectually or physically, and so they beat us down.
Tell me what do you think would happen if I gave a Quirkless boy or girl a powerful or destructive Quirk so that they could exact their justice on the ones who tormented and abused them? They'd be so high strung on the fact that they weren't powerless anymore that it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone if they pledged eternal loyalty to me and my goals right then and there. After all they would want similiar things to me.
The only downside to this method of recruitment is the fact that I need to give away a Quirk to said Quirkless individual for them to join me, it's not the end of the world but losing a Quirk does hinder me, even if only a bit.
I have to be careful when taking a Quirk, I may be a villain, and have taken more than my fair share of lives, but I will never take the Quirk of an innocent person by force. That goes against everything I stand for, no matter how strong, no matter how influential, no matter what I do, I refuse to stray from who I am, to get lost in my power. That would make me a real monster.
Sometimes I'll admit it's... difficult to control my hunger for Quirks, to hold myself back from going on a rampage and taking every Quirk in sight, to not give into my urge my hunger my right every Quirk in the world is mine to takeeveryQuirkintheworldwillbemin-
I shook my head. I'm more than simply my Quirk, I won't spiral into nothing but a vicious monster, the moment I lose myself in this power is the moment I've really lost.
No matter what I will stay true to myself.
Several members of Tatara were training in their base, experimenting with their new Quirks and getting to know each other better.
A lot of them were new to the organisation with their leader, Ryoto, taking special care to personally recruit all of them himself.
To Aoi their leader is her saviour, for years she'd received nothing but abuse at the hands of this society of bastards. She is twenty years old and she had nothing, she couldn't land a job because of her Quirklessness, her family had died a year ago and was tired of life.
She still remembers that cold winter night, when she was finally about to end it all.
The cold breeze that accompanied November's bitter chill gave her little comfort as her legs shook and her teeth chattered on the edge of a building.
Looking down she became terrified at the realisation of how high up she was, a drop from this height and she'd be nothing but a flattened stain on the ground, a mess of smashed bones and grounded human flesh and blood which would horrify any human being unfortunately enough to cross paths with it.
But still Aoi tried her best to calm her nerves and let the cold winter breeze flow through her hair as she let go of the urge to get ad far away from the end of a building as possible. She noted that the air felt quite nice once she stopped fighting and chattering her teeth, maybe her mind would be similiar, once she died she'd finally be able to rest, to stop hurting and find peace.
She let a small smile grace her tear covered face as her eyes sealed themselves shut and she put her foot forward and prepared to-
"If you were going to jump I wouldn't recommend doing so here."
She jumped out of her trace and stepped forward on reflex and started to lose bala-
A strong hand grabbed the back of the white shirt she was wearing before pulling her backwards, preventing her from killing herself.
She was about to scream at whoever stopped her from ending her life, stopped her from stopping the pain, however her words hitched in her throat when she saw who saved her.
Handsome was the first word she though of.
He was very handsome to her, with white hair and blood red eyes which felt like they could bring a man back to life or send him to death with but a though, he looked calm and completely unconcerned with the situation before him.
Only after he raised an eyebrow at her did she realise that she was staring very blatantly at him.
Her face flushed at the scene before her, she suddenly felt embarrassed that this guy was seeing her in what was definitely her lowest moment.
He turned his gaze away from her and walked ahead slightly to look down to the ground below." Not high enough." He spoke simply.
After he said that she lost her embarrassed partially and was instead perplexed by what he said." Erm... what?"
He turned to her with that same carefree look and shrugged." A drop from this height wouldn't kill you instantly, if you fell on your head sure, but if you landed on your stomach your death wouldn't be so quick. Your ribs would shatter and your lungs would be punctured, you'd spend, at the very least, a few minutes of pure agony and suffocation before the blood loss finally kills you. If you land on your ass your spine will be shattered and you may very well actually survive the fall, you'll be bound to a wheelchair and put on suicide watch for years, and without the ability to move you would still spend years tied to life." He spoke casually, as though talking to a woman who was trying to commit suicide was just another day for him.
Hearing those extremely detailed ways to describe what could happen to her if she made the jump actually made her question I'd she really-
She shook her head before frowning." Why do you care so much about whether I jump or not?" She held her arms below her chest in an attempt to keep warm in this cold winter.
He ignored her and pulled out a coat, god knows where he got one, and put it over her shoulders with his own two hands.
She felt significantly warmer with her recognising the brand as high quality, taking a moment to take the coat off her shoulders and properly put on the warm piece of clothing with a content sigh. It was warm.
He finally answered the question which she forgot that she asked with a serious look on his face." I care because I'm a person who takes the time to help the people who need it the most, you seem to need help quite badly so I've decided to help you."
Aoi was shocked for a second, then her expression morphed into one of fury." Why do you think that you can help me?!-" She looked at her powerless hands as red hot tears started to build up in her eyes."- I'm just a Quirkless loser. What could you possibly do to help me?" Her last words were hardly even whispers as the tears on her face turned ice cold from the winter and she fell to her knees.
Nobody can help her, she's cursed to be a nobody for the rest of her life, she has nothing, no family, no friends, no job. What could she possibly have to lose? At least this way... she'll get to be with her mum again.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and momentarily paused her crying at the comforting physical contact. When she looked up she realised that this guy, this stranger, was lowering himself to the ground she was grovelling on in misery with a comforting smile on his face. He looked like an angel to her.
To her increased surprise he then pulled her in for a hug. Part of her wanted to pull her off, to scream and kick and bolt for the other end of the rooftop, to end it all. To end her life.
But in the end she did none of that. What she did was... well melt into his embrace.
He seemed to emit an aura that soothed her anxieties and he had no hint of malicious intent or fakeness in his genuine comfort for a girl who'd nearly ended her life. And he smelled so good, like cologne and vanilla, a mixture that she didn't know she was a fan of until now. The hug wasn't forced and quite frankly didn't need to be, she was content and happy for the first time in years.
"Mmmmhh-" she cut herself off when she realised what she just did. Did she just purr like a kitten from a hug?!
She immediately pulled away from him in her embarrassed and had to hold back a whine at her own actions of losing that eternal sense of comfort and security that he seemed to radiate.
Her thoughts of suicide were put on hold when she heard him chuckle lightly at her actions. Her life was over, her embarrassment will be the death of her.
Her face was bright as a tomato and she refused to meet the eye of the one who caused her to moan out in pleasure from his warm embrace as her mind became riddled with thoughts of what he thought of her now that she'd acted in such a manner.
"You know if it's just a Quirk you need I can help you with that." His voice was soothing and dulled her nerves as- wait what?
She turned and looked at him as though he had two heads. If he's joking with her then he has a cruel sense of humour.
He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and held up his palm, which she noted had a hole in, as he explained." My Quirk is special, it's called All For One. A Quirk that steals Quirks, from then on I can keep them for myself or pass them on to others. I can give you a Quirk."
She stared at his palm for a second as her world seemed to pause when she analysed his words and felt her eyes shrink at the implications of what he's saying. He- he can't be serious? Can he? Because if he is then-
"You can give me- you can give a person a Quirk?" She was in shock and awe at the idea of such a power existing in the first place.
He nodded at her." I am building an organisation, it's called Tatara, and we are going to overflow the system that has wronged us. Our goal is to bring actual justice." He stood up and looked down on the city from where he stood with narrowed eyes.
He- did he want her to join him? To join a group of people that will get revenge on the system that allowed people to get away with her suffering?
He looked right into her eyes." Whether you join me or not makes no difference as to whether or not I will give you a Quirk. I am a firm believer in freedom of choice and it goes against what I stand for to force a person to fight for my organisation. But I am going to give you an offer to help me in my fight. There will be many hardships ahead, many tough days. However we will change this society, and it will be easier with your help."
He held a hand out to her and spoke genuinely." It will be reassuring to have you with me."
Her eyes widened at his words and she had to take a moment to regain her thoughts. On the one hand she'd technically be a villain, she has no idea what she'd have to do if she did join, whether it was against her morals or not, and what could happen to her if she failed. But she also knows that this man in front of her sees her as something that this messed up society doesn't.
As a person with value. Someone worth the oxygen that they breathe in. Someone who matters.
Looking down at her hands her fists clench tightly as she gritted her teeth and remembered what this society does to people like her, what happens every day to people like her. Why should they have to meekly let it happen? To be society's punching bag?
With willpower and resolve that she didn't know she could muster she looks up at her saviour and shakes his hand.
Snapping out of her daze she shook her head.
Ryoto did more than keep his word, she's made so many friends here, met so many people like her who were saved by him and this organisation, so many victims who are training to become strong, to become real heroes for the Quirkless.
She allowed rage to ignite in her veins as she let loose a massive blast of air from her palm that shot upwards with her hair flowing back from the residue and several of her friends staring at her with slightly surprised eyes.
According to Ryoto every person had a different amount of 'memory' when it comes to how many Quirks they can hold. How many Quirks they can hold purely depends on how much 'memory' the Quirk takes up and how much room a person has for said Quirk. If a person has too much of their 'memory' taken up then... well he said the results aren't pretty.
Quirkless people are exceptions though. They are hollow vessels, empty cups, unlike people who already have bodies adapted to what Quirks they have in their body, their bodies can morph and conform to hold multiple Quirks far easier than a Quirked individual can. She finds it a bit ironic.
She herself has three Quirks: Air Cannon, Spring Like Limbs and Cooldown. Her body is able to healthily handle so many powers because she was a hollow vessel, any amount of power can morph to her will.
Air Cannon is so powerful that the recoil can break a person's bones if they aren't careful, her second Quirk, Spring Like Limbs, allows her bones to become 'springy' in a way that erases any recoil she will feel from using her Quirk whilst simultaneously increasing her first Quirks power. Finally Cooldown keeps her body cool, her body overheating can be a drawback of Quirk overuse.
She is grateful for the gifts that her friend bestowed upon her and doesn't intend to disappoint him.
The courtyard was silent for a moment at the display of power before a pair of clapping hands could be heard.
"That was an impressive display Aoi. Very well done."
A familiar voice from behind her made her eyes widen in recognition before she whipped her head around to see her white haired leader looking slightly impressed by the powerful use of her Quirks.
"You've really outdone yourself you know that, consider me impressed." He spoke genuinely to her praising the power she displayed in her last air blast.
Suddenly she felt incredibly bashful at his words and looked away in a vain attempt to hide her blush under his praise. Why does he have to do this to her?!
She was in a sorry state, she was drenched in sweat from a hard day's workout, her hair was a mess, she probably looked tired from all the work she's done. She hates him seeing her in such a state.
He then turned to all of his other friends with a genuine smile on his face." Your all amazing, thank you for putting in the effort and training hard. Doubt I can fail with you on my side." He said merrily with a smile on his face.
Many of the female members blushed at his smile and the males all showed appreciation, and maybe a little jealousy, at his kind words.
Ryoto is a saviour to these people. He is the real hero in their world, the one who gave them an out from suicide, another option, a shoulder to cry on. He isn't just their leader. He is their friend.
Aoi looked at her hands. She doesn't know what she did in this life to deserve someone like him coming to save her, she can only hope that her work will one day repay his kindness.
But she knows this, she'll keep working hard, keep moving forward, until she has repayed him. Until that day comes she'll fight for her friends.
If you want to read more then you should go check out my P atreon. There are already five extra chapters online.