Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil. All credits go to Capcom and its creators.
Synopsis: When a biohazard incident occurs at her school, teenager Irina Tang is assisted and ultimately rescued by revered DSO agent Leon S. Kennedy, who she also learns is her biological father. And with that everything changes.
Author's Note: This is a chaotic mix of estranged family/resident evil horror that was inspired by... well, a variety of things actually. Mostly I wanted to write Leon as an unexpected dad because I wonder how he would tackle that if he ever found out of the blue. Would be interesting that's for sure. So if you want see that untangle, mixed in with the chaos of chasing another bioweapons specialist who wants to wreck havoc on the world in revenge, this story is for you.
Also someone mentioned on pinterest how Leon would make a great girl dad (considering how soft he is for Sherry and cares for her like a surrogate father) which I have to agree :) Anyways the first chapter kind of already starts off pretty chaotic but since this fandom is kind of used to that in the RE universe I hope you will be more than pleased with this as the start. Please let me know your thoughts! I am very curious.
01: The School Outbreak
It started out just like any other school day; Irina Tang snoozing through her alarm and running late.
The girl was in a scramble that morning: haphazardly putting on clothes, aggressively combing through her dark curls while trying to pull them back into a manageable half do, and attempting to throw in breakfast by shoving a croissant into her mouth. She gave Izzy (their green-eyed black cat with broken ears) a dutiful scratch behind her ears, kissed her grandmother on the cheek (who was doing paperwork on the desk) and hollered at her grandfather that she would be stealing the truck for the day because of a mandatory club meeting after school.
"We really need to get another car." Her grandfather had complained lightly, listening to the door slam shut as he came in from the back of the house, wiping the light residue off his forehead. He even carried in a little basket of eggs - a soft contrast from his lumberjack image of old flannels, faded jeans and prominent hiker boots he even wore inside the house. Much to the annoyance of the ladies in his family.
His dear old wife laughed, looking at him through her tiny blue glasses.
"As if we have the money for that."
Because she lived in the countryside, nestled nearly neck deep into the woods on a small property that consisted of an old log cabin and a small chicken coop, the drive to school took fifteen minutes longer than those who lived in their little suburban town of the state of Colorado. It made Irina impatient - anxiously tapping the wheel as she stopped light after light behind a maze of glimmering cars that contrasted with her grandparents' peeling '93 Ford F-150. Stuck in another crowded line behind a stoplight right by the maze called their school Irina sighed and flicked on the radio for music, hoping to distract herself with some decent tunes.
Instead the local news switched on, which wasn't surprising considering how her grandfather always liked to stay active on crime updates or random road closings because of a flooding or car accidents. He refused to get a smartphone, even with Irina offering to buy him one as a birthday present, and only allowed the Internet to exist in their old-fashioned house because he liked to watch basketball during late hours on Tuesday nights. Since she was only five minutes or so away from school Irina relented and decided to listen, eyeing the road for any sign of movement that would allow her to speed foreword.
"Dr. Twine is still missing, last spotted by locals two months ago in Arizona. Government authorities warn us to keep our eyes peeled and to call this number if you see any suspicious activity involving a male that matches this description. The man is wanted for active involvement in acts of bioterrorism, suspected even to be a survivor of the Raccoon City incident back in 1998. Sources say one or both of his parents worked for the company allegedly responsible for the virus that caused these outbreaks."
"Spooky." Irina responded aloud, trying to ignore the goosebumps that started crawling up her arms. Not many knew the details behind all the outbreaks that started occurring since Raccoon City was ordered for extermination (way before she was born, mind you) but it was discussed sometimes in her history class, where a lot of her classmates had varying opinions about whether the limited information they've given by the government was true or not. Some claimed they had relatives who lived near the past local outbreak incidents, saying it was all a hoax and the government just wanted to control everyone by inciting fear. Others believed that pictures taken at the time and witnesses made them real and, really, the subjects resulting from such contamination should be considered as zombies - for lack of a better world. She had always been indecisive about it: her grandparents weren't entirely sure either yet they always encouraged her to simply trust her instincts and be cautious of her surroundings, something that never hurts in a world that's constantly changing.
When she finally did pull into the parking lot, and found an available spot, class was minutes away from starting. Locking the car up and slinging her backpack over her shoulder Irina made a beeline straight to her classroom, not even having time to meet up with her friends beforehand. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, which could only mean the groupchat was going nuts about her being late again.
It had become a meme at this point.
Unbeknownst to her, from the comfort of a darkly tinted sleek grey car meshed between two obnoxiously bright vehicles, a camera was trained on her back - focused entirely on snapping shots of her. Taking a few more pictures the driver turned to his partner in the passenger seat, who nodded before holding a dark walkie talkie to her lips.
"She's entered the school. You can start the process now."
"Theo Nott." A raised hand.
"Abigail Lee." Absent.
Attendance continued, a dull routine that left the students sleepy, still waking up for the long day of school ahead. Then (at last) it came to her name.
"Irina Tang.."
"Present!" The spoken girl came rushing in, sliding into her assigned spot while dropping her backpack with a heavy exhale. Her classmate and close friend, Harper Jones, choked down a laugh: giving her a side poke as a greeting while their teacher raised a bushy pale blonde eyebrow.
"Late again, Ms. Tang. I really encourage you to fix your sleeping schedule."
"Will be considered. Sorry, Mr. Campbell." Irina smiled apologetically, causing her classmates to snicker around her. The teacher, Mr. Campbell, narrowed his eyes as he checked the box next to her name with a large sigh. Then he closed the attendance sheet notebook and started the morning off by telling them to open up their textbooks to page 125.
"Were you up again late last night?" Harper muttered to her as the class grew silent during the reading period, her eyes training on Mr. Campbell's back as he paced down the aisle in between seats, like a proctor on-duty during exam seasons. "This is like the fifth time these past two weeks."
"Yes but I had a really good reason this time." Irina mumbled back, head bent down as if she was intently studying the chapter. It was a lie of course. She stopped reading after learning the topic was on sea urchins: a total snooze fest, in her opinion.
"Oh really? What?"
Irina smiled, her blue eyes dancing despite herself. "My mom visited me."
She was getting ready for bed; pulling her hair back and watching a tv show from her phone while she put on a face mask. She snuck in some chips from the pantry, despite her grandfather's insistence never to eat in her room or else she would attract mice, and was munching on them as she waited for the timer to go off. After fifteen minutes her phone buzzed and she left the bedroom to go wash the creamy substance off her face in the bathroom down the hall.
When she came back the bag of chips on her desk were gone and her window was wide open, the whistling air allowing a cool breeze into the room that made her shiver in her thin pajamas. Then there was a crunch from the other side.
Where her bed was.
"How touching. You got salt and vinegar just for me." Came a voice that was equally sarcastic as it was welcoming, an element of entrancement revealed in the undertone. Revealing herself from the shadows Ada Wong plopped on the edge of the bed, eating the chips in such a stylish fashion that only she could pull off. She was dressed to kill in a fashionable all-black attire: skin tight black top, unzipped leather jacket with matching pants, and high heeled, laced-up combat boots: the only red was her thin silk choker. She was like a mysterious creature in the night - and definitely a sight to behold.
This is also not the first time she appeared into her daughter's room like a ghost by sneaking through the window.
"Mom." Irina practically beamed, running over to her.
"Hey Rabbit." Ada tucked Irina into her warm embrace, using her fond nickname for her because she always thought she had such a cute button nose - especially as a baby. She smoothed down the little flyaways on top of her head, smiling sweetly at all the little curly wisps tracing the top of her hairline. She wasn't much of a hugger, hell she barely even gave a genuine smile here and there (past the coy grins that aided to the mysterious facade she kept for her job) but with family she made rare exceptions. Especially with her daughter that she hadn't seen in nearly 6 months. "Happy birthday. Sorry I was late."
"It's okay." Irina sat back and looked at her, smiling softly at the sight of being able to see her in person. "I got your postcard, on time as always. Were you really in Portugal for work? It looks beautiful."
"It was." Ada agreed, her obsidian black eyes growing gentle as she tucked a strand of loose curls behind Irina's ear. Her daughter's mane of dark brown hair was often untamable, a striking contrast from the her own locks that was closer to the shade of raven-black, a consistent sleek bob that always never ghosted past her jawline. She had always been fond of her daughter's wild curls, braiding them whenever she visited. "Was your birthday all right? Did Piper and John remember for dessert that you don't like cake..."
"Just ice cream, yes they did." Irina finished for her, laughing lightly. "Mom why do you call them by their first names? They practically adopted you when you were around my age. They're your family."
"Force of habit I guess." Ada shrugged, a dark note flickering in her eyes that Irina was dying to press. But she didn't: she knew better not to. After all, her mother explained long ago that she kept secrets from her personal relationships to protect them: her job, why she was taken in by her adoptive parents, why she never mentions their biological family and, most of all, why Irina has never met her father - a man that has been out of the picture since Irina was ever born. Irina learned since she was young never to ask about him. Somehow, simply mentioning him always brought a dark aura into the room; whether it was with Ada, her grandparents or (on the rare occasion they were all together) both. So instead, she tried to fill her journals with all the unnecessary theories and desires to know what he was like. It didn't make things much better but it did help subside her dying questions that often felt like they were clawing their way up her throat.
Her train of thought was suddenly broken off by Ada, who was hovering a red box in her face.
"I got you a late birthday gift."
"What is it?" She dropped it into Irina's open palms, watching in amusement as the younger girl eagerly opened it. Stunned, she looked down in shock at a pair of black diamond studs staring back at her, glinting under the pale light by her nightstand. "Oh mom, where did you get this? It's beautiful."
"Swiped it." The older woman sat back on the bed, leaning back on her arms, almost like she was proud. When her daughter gave her a massive side-eye that reminded her of a certain someone, Ada chuckled. "What? I'm kidding. I paid for it like a good civilian because I knew you would never accept it otherwise. Here, I'll even help you put it on."
Irina sat back excitedly, struggling to sit still while her mother quickly and efficiently slip the studs into her ears. When she finally was done Ada handed her a small mirror, leaning back and smiling again while the younger girl admired herself in the reflection.
"They look perfect. Thanks mom."
"Of course, my love. It was long overdue."
Irina set down the mirror, growing quiet before looking over at her. "How long can you stay this time?"
Ada's eyes flickered again, although this time she softened. "I have to leave early in the morning, before you go to school."
"When will you be back?"
"I don't know." Ada couldn't help but sigh. "I'm sorry Rabbit, but you know how my vacation days are. It really varies and this year it's not looking too great. But I'm hoping to work enough that I can take all of next summer off. Maybe I can even be there to take you to school and celebrate your birthday. But no.."
"Promises, I know." Irina sighed before leaning against her shoulder. "I'm just gonna miss you. I know your job gets dangerous a lot and one day, I'm worried you'll never come back. And worse, I'm scared I'll never know if that day ever comes."
"Well first off, I've been in my field for a very long time. It's pretty hard to kill me." Ada said, though her light tone slipped and grew comforting as she wrapped an arm around her teenaged daughter. "But even if someone did I always have backup preparations, if something happens, to let you or your grandparents know. Trust me."
"They do look so pretty." Harper commented, pointing out the black diamond studs glinting in Harper's ears now as she happily showed them off. "They must've been so expensive, I'm jealous."
"I'm sure they were." Mr. Campbell said just then, standing behind them as the two girls stiffened. He cleared his throat rather loudly. "Now I'm happy your mother got you a gift, Ms. Tang, but I believe you have a chapter to finish so I would advise that you stick to books and talk about this at break with Ms. Jones. Understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Campbell." Irina said, face growing beet red. Did he hear her conversation this whole time? Talk about awkward. She debated saying something in defense but figured it would be better not to add any unintentional fuel to the fire. So she bowed her head and got back to her reading, seeing Irina do the same out of the corner of her eye.
Luckily after her first class of the day, the rest of the morning passed by relatively quickly. They watched a movie in English after finishing the assigned book for the past month or so, played a math game in Statistics, and had a substitute in Physics class, who they convinced to let them watch Myth Busters of all things for a the majority of class. Pretty soon break had passed and before Irina could realize how exhausted she was it was already lunch. Trying to ignore her growling stomach, she adjusted the backpack over her shoulders and headed over to her US History class where all her friends usually met to eat to talk; especially cause they had all class in that respective subject, room and teacher once the bell rang.
When she entered she was greeted with a sarcastic round of applause, Harper among them, as they teased her for snoozing her alarm yet again for the third time in the past few days.
"Oh fuck off." Irina gave the finger as she pulled into the last available seat in their little group of desks, this close to head butting her head against the desk. "Leave me alone, it's only October."
"I think I've heard that story before." Sebastian Adams snorted, a close friend who has known Harper and Irina since they were in elementary school. The latter gave him a deadpan glare and he only snorted in response. "Let me guess, you forgot your lunch too?"
Her stomach could only growl helplessly in response, causing him and Harper to start laughing again. She groaned, only to have a box full of macaroni and cheese shoved in her direction by another person in the group. She looked up at its recipient, who shrugged nonchalantly.
"My mom made me extra. Go ahead and have it."
"Thanks Noah." She accepted gratefully, trying to make sure her cheeks didn't burn as she started shoveling down the food. Noah Cardoso was the newest addition to their group of friends, transferring last school year from a bustling city in Arizona. He did taekwondo and was even an instructor with her for their club, considering the fact he was the only one (besides her) who was a black belt. A tall, lean athlete with a flawless complexion of tawny brown skin with warm undertones, tousled dark hair that curled at the back of his neck, and hooded hazel-brown eyes, combined with his gentlemanly nature and quiet yet rather soft personality, it was no doubt he was a pretty attractive guy; one that also happened to be single. Only Irina (stubborn as she was) has been trying not to admit to herself that she finds him cute.
Naturally, it wasn't working.
Normally the other two would be giving her a hard time at this point, making gestures about her blushing or even making pointed comments about her so-called blatant favoritism towards "certain" members of the group. Much to her relief, however, Harper and Sebastian already moved on to a different topic that they were actively discussing about with another member of their group named Fulki Yadav, one of the few people other than Irina who also lived in the countryside. Combined with their teacher giving her pointed comments to their range of conversations it seemed like the sign of an another eventful lunch that would pass by quickly before they knew it.
Then it happened, out of nowhere and yet so distinctly strong it threw everyone off:
A blood-curdling scream.
At first Irina thought it was some kind of sick joke: a group of friends or even classmates freaking out in the hallway over a cockroach of all things. Sometimes the younger students, typically freshman, would chase each other around with gross food options they were forced to choose from the cafeteria, daring each other to eat.
Until a student bursted into the room: shirt covered in blood, long sleeves ripped as they were forcibly pushed up to her elbows as she shook so violently it was like she could barely move. She slammed the door to the classroom behind her back as she fumbled for a lock, only to realize they could only be sealed shut with a certain key that teachers carry around. She loudly swore as she looked down at her hands, freaking out as she slowly turned to face the other people in the room.
"Chasity?" Their history teacher ran over, seconds away from catching her before she nearly passed out cold on the floor. "Oh My God you're bleeding. What's wrong? What the hell happened?"
"People are eating each other's faces off in the cafeteria." The blonde rasped out, breaking into tears as she clung onto the young woman's arm for dear life. She looked like she witnessed the devil himself, her face a near ghastly shade of white. The history teacher cursed under her breath and shot a look over at Sebastian. "Call the office. Now. Tell them we need an ambulance."
The red-headed boy, known for his freckled face and arms, immediately complied as he made a beeline for her desk. For once he wasn't cracking a joke or making a dirty comment. Irina couldn't help but stand back helplessly as she watched him punched the number the history teacher gave him. Yet after a few minutes he set down the phone, looking awfully spooked.
"The phone line's dead."
"What?" The history teacher got to her feet, facing Sebastian as she began to argue why that shouldn't be true because it doesn't make sense. However, unbeknownst to her, a rising figure (the blonde whose skin was now a chalky state of grey and eyes were bloodshot) rose behind her. Irina had seen such a look before though only in movies.
She looked ready to pounce.
So she screamed, "Behind you!"
Their history teacher turned around but, of course, she was too late.
His personal phone buzzed in the back pocket of his jeans. He pulled it out, squinting at the phone number as if he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Was this real? It's been years since they called him.
Setting down some paperwork and scratching his graying eyebrow, Leon S. Kennedy stared at the phone a few more times, watching it buzz and buzz with a sense of fierceness he only liked in two things: his drinks and his women. He snorted at the cheeky thought and looked back down at his phone, wondering if he should decline or send it straight to voicemail.
He chose the latter. It was more polite.
But then they immediately called again. And again. And again.
"You should probably get that." Claire Redfield commented, walking briskly over just then to scan the paperwork he was finishing up. Holding two glasses of wine she stared down at him amusedly as he looked, rather devastated, down on the coffee table at the glowing phone that stared up at him - still angrily ringing. "Maybe she'll take you back."
Leon looked up, curling his lip in annoyance, though his pale blue eyes shared her sense of amusement. "It's not a girl."
"Then who is it?"
He paused, struggling to put it into words. "Bitter in-laws?"
"I'm sorry what!?" Claire nearly choked on her spit, her brain spinning nearly 1,000 mile a minute. "Since when did you get married?"
Ignoring her, Leon answered the phone. "I thought you told me to never step back into your life unless I wanted a painful death?"
Claire's eyes nearly doubled in size but he held up a finger in her general direction before she could say anything. I'll explain later, his gaze seemed to say, his other hand on the phone now attached to his ear.
"We need your help. You need to get here now." His gruff voice responded, a whirlwind that sounded like a mix of sirens and soaring helicopters echoing on the other side of the line. It definitely piqued Leon's curiosity but he knew better than to simply obey the command of his ex's father. He only met the guy twice and the latter never liked him, especially after he and Ada ended things bitterly yet mutually. As far as he was concerned, Leon broke his daughter's heart.
Just then he wondered if this was simply a ruse and the guy actually planned him dead, despite knowing his job history and what he did for a living.
"I'm off the clock and as far as I'm concerned, it seems like you have a daughter that can assist you in whatever crisis you have right noq."
"Ada's not responding. She's at work."
"Of course she is." The woman was very good at staying off-line when she needed to be. Especially when you were dating her. Hearing he was a second option now that the daughter was out of the picture, Leon felt a tad more inclined to listen. A tad. "So why do you need my help?"
"Something you are experienced with has happened to one of our schools here in Colorado." The older man made it quick, as expected. Seems like he couldn't talk too long to Leon without it being too painful for him. "The BSAA is here but they haven't done shit except keep us stressing outside the blockade. I need you to go inside."
"There's other agents dispatched there right now." Leon couldn't help but bite back snidely. If he was going to suffer through this with his ex's father of all things, he was going to get a little petty. "They should be there within a few hours at most."
"I don't trust other agents."
"Oh but you trust me?"
"In this situation, yes." The older male nearly bit out. What was he getting so worked up about? "I'm breaking the code: you were never supposed to know about her existence, for the sake of her safety, and Ada will absolutely kill me for this. But her goddamn friends are out here, covered in blood, and crying saying she's trapped in there and I need you to go fucking save her."
"Who is her?"
The older man sucked in what sounded like a sharp growl and muttered to someone off the phone before saying it quick and fast, like a sharp slice of a knife, cold to the touch. "Your daughter, Leon."
Now it was his turn to choke on his spit.