-Chapter 02 - Heart-To-Heart-

Ladies and Gentlemen tuning in, you have quite a treat today! Coming to you live across the airwaves we have a wasteland legend herself, Nyght, with us live right now! Now Nyght, you are quite possibly the biggest name and inspiring force in New Japan right now. Many call you a hero, some call you a sociopathic extremist with a long history of violence and bloodshed, but one thing is clear; people know of you and what you've done in order to dismantle and destroy the group we all know and hate, BLOOM. Not to mention the bounty on your head is well… enormous. However, not many know who you are as a person. Nobody out in New Japan really knows what you're like, which is why we're here today! Why don't you start off by telling us who you are Nyght? Maybe just a bit about yourself?

"Heh, well, you've said my name already, but yeah. People call me Nyght, don't ask me why though. I think it might have something to do with my Quirk and how it makes the sky look, but uhhhh… I think it's a cool name! So I stick with it! I am… currently one of the most wanted "criminals'' in the country, I believe. BLOOM is obsessed with me, but it's okay! I'm obsessed with them. It's a love-hate relationship, they hate me because I refuse to bend and break to their whim, but they want me just so they can kill me and do god knows what to my body in those experimental facilities. I hate them because they've ruined the world and forced children and teenagers into a state of hell, but I fuck with them to get their demise in order… and because it gives me something fun to do! I like blueberry and pineapple milkshakes?! Oh, and I love my bike! Did you see it when I pulled up? It's a Dokuhebi 9000, only around five in existence! Uhhhh, what else, I like to party! I like girls… a LOT! I breakdance a little, J-POP is my entire life, and uhhhh… you give me anything that's sweet enough to give me insta-cavities, I'll love you forever! I love OPPAI, HEY, OPPAI-CHAN IF YOU'RE LISTENING, HOPE YOU AREN'T BORING THE KIDDOS TO DEATH!"

Damn! My next question was about your name. Oh well! I do have to agree with you though, that bike of yours is absolutely fantastic! Sure beats the old radio van I have in my garage, and ya hear that fellas? Outta luck! But you know Nyght something you said really got my attention, you know someone who's name is… Oppai?

"Believe me, I am fighting a giggling fit right now because of it. He's probably so fucking pissed~!"

Hahahaha I see, well shout out to you Oppai, your name is HILARIOUS! So first off, I think we should actually discuss the whole BLOOMING situation. What was life like for you before everything went to hell? What were your thoughts on the situation? What are they now?

"Coming out of the gate heavy-handed, huh…? I like that! To think that we were all so complacent, so unassuming that we couldn't see anything of that nature coming. I think I was around, what, twelve or thirteen years old when this all went down? I'm not sure, the days have all blended together since then, I've kinda lost a proper handle on time since. It's just a construct or whatever anyways, right? An illusion and all of that shit? That's what my parents used to say, heh! They were so freaking cool, I miss them every single day. They never bothered anyone, and we stayed out of the way! We were free-spirits! Nomadic souls that could only live with the wind in our hair and our wheels on the road! I might not be able to bring them back, but it's okay. Why fret over something that you can't change, am I right? You'll only drive yourself insane. I came close to driving myself into madness a lot of times, you know? It was hard, adapting to a world where the people who nurtured and cherished you are ripped from your fingertips without a moment's notice. You spend all of your nights crying and wailing for them to come back into your life, but the only thing you attract is attention from some bestial fuckery or suits in the middle of the night trying to wrestle you into an enormous airship. So in short, it was rough, but I learned to live with it!"

I agree! But even so what I would give to feel the embrace of my folks one last time… Anyways, enough about me, how exactly did you learn to live with it? I mean we were all so young at that time, and a lot of us didn't and COULDN'T live with it. What compelled you to get up and push on in a miserable world like this. A literal doomsday?

"I'll say that it wasn't easy, that's for sure. The cycle gets worse and repetitive and pretty soon, the agony and sadness turns into… this unimpressed and unmitigated flame composed of rage that burns from the heart. And it was only when I got that feeling for the first time that I realized something… I came to terms with the fact that I couldn't have my people back. Those days were done and over. They're gone. I could only pick myself up, survive, and move forward. You'd think that it'd be easy to just lay down and accept whatever else fate had for you, but it's not that simple. There is a willful amount of spite that consumes you after a bit and rips you from your sorrow and pushes you onto your feet. And when you're up, you start to gain newfound life, you face forward and keep your head up no matter how heavy it is. And you survive, not out of necessity, but because you're aware that dying gives them a sense of satisfaction. It makes them feel powerful, and I'm not in the business of appeasing egos."

But it definitely couldn't have been easy though, right…? Even for someone like you?

"Gahaha, hell no… It took me a long time to work up to that, I was just a kid after all. In the beginning, it was incredibly… hard. It was mind-breaking… traumatizing, even. I had to do things that… I'm not proud of it. I had to lie, I had to cheat, I had to steal, I had to backstab, I had to… kill. My first murder was at the age of fourteen. It was the first time I had blood on my hands. And then I murdered again… and again… and again. It was at this time, I realized that killing was something I was actually pretty good at. In a lawless land like this? That's a useful skill. It never really hit my mind that all of those people were… older. It seemed like they were trained as well, but I didn't pay any attention to that until later."

So I take it that this was how you started out as a mercenary then? Tell us a bit more about what lead to your distinguished career as a Merc in the wastes.

"Mercenary work was offered and since I needed the money? I hopped on the opportunity. Society after society, job after job… it was hard, but death became a normal part of my life. I learned to become accustomed to it. I became numb. But the feeling of guilt… that feeling of disgust afterwards burns into you very quickly. You grow to hate yourself a little… I think this was where everything turned around for me. Soon, I started setting specific guidelines with my contracts. That included things that I was comfortable with and things that I wasn't. I felt sick to my stomach since there were quite a few contracts that… forced me to prey on innocent settlements filled with kids who were just trying to get by… so I made that change that was necessary. I still hate myself for what I got into during the starting process, but I was younger and didn't think that I had much of a choice."

Ooooh very interesting, we've all had to do things that we aren't proud of in these trying times. However setting contact guidelines to keep innocents out of harm's way, you were one of the first mercenaries to make that change, you're aware of that, right?

"Yeah, sadly. Most mercenaries get it how they live, which a part of me understands. Morals in this kind of environment are regarded as… burdens, you know? They get in the way of one's own survival so in an act to fully reinforce their self-preservation, they drop them completely. I admire people who are capable of doing that to an extent, but I can't say that I respect the act itself. By throwing away your morals, you either have to kill a part of yourself in the process or just be born without them. Here's the thing; I do kill people. I won't sit here and pretend that I don't have a body count. However, one thing that I take pride in is the fact that I choose who I want to kill and who I don't. Innocent societies who mind their own business and don't bother anyone? People who are just trying to survive? Kids who are struggling to avoid BLOOM's capture and control? They're off-limits. Soulless murderers, rapists, pedophiles, monstrosities, and scum that do it all for laughs and giggles?! Oh, yeah, I am all for taking a contract to take them out!"

Wonderfully said! I like you, making the world a better place, one dead piece of shit at a time! I can definitely see where you're coming from. However, I noticed that you didn't actually list BLOOM themselves.

"Oh, that's because I do those on my own terms!"

…Really now? I wasn't aware of that, I always just thought that people kinda.. paid you to do it and you happily jumped on the onboard—!

"PFTTTTTTT! I mean! People hire me to get rid of those horrendously murderous EXILE creatures that BLOOM deploys to invoke fear into us kids every now and again, sure! But every other thing with me kidnapping, extorting, and murdering BLOOM affiliates & allies, overtaking convoys, ripping their creations and experimental facilities up for FUN and even taming one of their little EXILE cretins?! Hell, even the big Osaka operation?! I coordinated all of that! That was all me! I do that on my personal time!"

…Well I guess it's true what they say. You look death in the face and squish its adorable, chubby little cheeks, huh?

"I give them a good little smack and a kiss too~!"

Now trust you me, you make that very apparent, heh… now speaking of the Osaka incident, that was pretty much where they finally turned their heads your way, right? Like, people were already becoming more and more accustomed to having conversations about the "merc with the really cool motorcycle", but that Osaka business was pretty much your BIG moment to shine! I remember when heroes and villains were a thing, they called huge moments like those… "I AM HERE!" moments. In your case, everything calls it "The Day Nyght Came Early". People talked about how the sky went from a rustic red to a bright shade of purple for hours as one of BLOOM's main buildings for communications exploded and crumbled, leaving only a massive crater filled with an amaranthine shine. It was… absolutely incredible if I do say so myself, brings a tear to my eye. You caused that, and I'm sure the audience would adore it if you told us some more about it.

"Heh… what is there to say other than it was one of the best days of my entire life? All of that anger, all of that training, all of that time spent getting strong enough to make them flinch came to that very moment. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. You see… another reason for why I wanted to move forward post-BLOOMING… is because I'm someone that likes to get even. Everything that happened beforehand was simply me getting a start on showing them that I'm not fucking around. That I WILL do whatever it takes to have them crumbling to my feet… I'll do anything to get the people happy and hopeful again. Maybe one day, we'll get into what happened, the process leading up to it, what happened when it all transpired… but it'll likely be after everything is said and done. There were people involved that I don't want to incriminate or throw underneath the bus. I am grateful for them, which is why I carry the burden of running for what might be the rest of my life for them. That being said, is that REALLY where people started calling me Nyght?!"

Yup. At least, I'm pretty sure.

"Huh… NEAT!"

You know for someone who seems to be aware of the fact they have a huge following, you seem to really be surprised by that tidbit of information.

"Well… while vanity and recognition is very… touching? It's honestly the last thing I care about. It's nice, you know? I appreciate that people think I'm the bee's knees and if I can inspire other kiddos and fellow teens in the process of doing what I'm doing? Then that's awesome! However, people have this false narrative that I'm an attention seeker or whatever. I'm not going to lie, attention is a good thing for me… but it's not in the way that people think. I want people to see me and know that even if they feel like they're hopeless and a slave to BLOOM's power and influence, they're NEVER alone. There are kids out there that are willing to fight for those who are not as brave or courageous. And I don't want people to assume that I'm saying that as a bad thing. You want to know something?"

Of course.

"I've been told that people think I'm the second coming of Deku or Jesus Christ. They think that I'm so strong that I can handle BLOOM all on my own and leave them cowering in their bed sheets. They think that other than myself, there is nobody that can hold a candle to them. They think that I'm fearless. They think that I'm just a strong and unwavering deity. They think I'm immortal. Here's something that I have to say right here, right now. I'm not. I'm just a teenager. A gutsy one, but a teenager nonetheless. I bleed the same blood that you all do. I've won many battles, but I have also retreated from many. I am not perfect. I am not the smartest person around, and I'll tell you that myself. I don't have any sort of huge game plan for everything that I do either. I am not calculated, and I have come close to being killed MANY times. Hell, there were times where BLOOM definitely came close to putting me in the ground. I have failed before. I tend to get overly emotional. I let my ambitions overcloud my better judgments. And while I might look cool and smiley on the outside, I am trembling and afraid on the inside."

Well now look who's coming in heavy-handed now! I do have to say though that is… fascinating.

"You seem surprised! Ha! Bro, do you think that I'm just… going out there without a single inking of emotion in my body?! Hell no! I am fucking terrified! I spent all of my days paranoid and stressed! I'm not perfect, you guys, I'm not! And I'm not a saint by any means! I know that people like to think that I'm a full-blown hero born from the ashes of smouldering BLOOM compounds and buildings, but that is not… true. In order to get to this point, like I said before, I've had to do fucked up things that I'm not proud of! I'm… human. I just want everyone to know that. I am 100% human! I feel, I love, I cry, I struggle, I fail, I overcompensate, and I am 100% traumatized! Haha, I am one person, one kid trying to take on a globally powerful entity that pretty much caused the apocalypse! I am literally dancing with death every day of my life and I only survive by pulling away before the tango can rip me to shreds! If that wasn't an obvious sign that I'm not okay in the head, I don't know what is!"

Wow, well now we're really getting into the heavy stuff.

"I guess~! But… you know what? I'm in too deep to pull out now. My spite got me here in the first place, and there's nothing that I can do but try and send these bitches crumbling and falling to our power. You know what I'll do in the midst of it all? I'll smile. I'll laugh. I'll joke. I'll play. I'll party. And I'll do it all in their face. Because regardless of everything, I am still one happy gal! And they HATE that. I represent something that they wish to put an end to. I smile because no matter how scared and traumatized I am, I take pleasure in their failures to put me under. I feel free while fighting with a massive grin on my face. I LIVE for the day where something I do makes an actual difference and we all can come away from this era… happy again. I want people to live! I want people to smile with me! Passing by, all I see is sadness and depression… all I see is despondency and fear. That's what they love. They love knowing that with their thumb on you, pressing you into the mud, you'll never even think to fight back. You'll accept this reality, and that's what they want. They want your submission! But… I refuse to do that. Submission is not in my blood. It never has been and it never will be. I refuse to be a doormat and accept that this is what life will be from now on. I want to fucking live again. We all practically had our childhood ripped away from us by them."

I-

"And god dammit, I don't know about you?! But I'm not getting any younger, I'm seventeen, for fuck's sake! I want mine back! I want everyone else to have theirs too. So I don't fight just because I'm some adrenaline junkie. I don't commit what is essentially extreme terrorism just because I want fucking attention! I want to be free! I want to be a damned kid again! For what little time I have left, I want to live without fearing that someone or something is out there trying to kill me—and I don't want that reality for everyone else! It's been five years, and I have not sat still because I don't want this to be the norm for us! Fuck that shit! I'm going to fucking fight! And I'm going to fuck up everybody involved in creating this mess in the first place! I'm going to hurt anyone that applauds this hell! I'm going to… I apologize for that…"

No no no! It's perfectly fine Nyght, I'm sure you've got our listeners up out of their seats right about now! And besides, you seem like you've needed to get this off of your chest for a while…

"The fucked up thing about riding solo… is that the only person you have to talk to about your thoughts and issues is yourself. It's why I have such a non-existent filter. But… you get it."

Yeah, I think I do, it's nothing compared to what you do but it does get lonely sitting up in a radio tower alone in the apocalypse. I'm actually really glad that you came out to say that. So… lemme ask you something Nyght. As it stands and with everything you've done, do you feel a sense of accomplishment from it all?

"Nope."

… Are… you sure? Even after you've done so much…

"Yes, I'm sure. I feel no sense of accomplishment. Why? It's simple. The job's not finished. The job is nowhere NEAR finished. I haven't even put a dent in a single thing. Don't give me that look, think about it. Do you… think that BLOOM is only prevalent in Japan? So you think that they don't have just as much of a hold on other countries beside this one? Sure, their main headquarters are here, but they have multiple other places that keep things running. They have reinforcements upon reinforcements. I mean, listen. These are the same people that put YOKOHAMA underwater. Come on now. So no. I don't feel a sense of accomplishment because the job is not done. But I can keep working towards it~!"

I see… well before I wrap things up here, is there anything else that you'd like to add? Maybe… something small? Is there a special someone out there for you, perhaps~?

"Hmph~! wouldn't you like to know~? I just have one thing to say, honestly! To everyone listening on Mr. Wasteland's wondrous radio network?! I hope that I can do more and get a smile on your face! But… I can't do it alone~! Fight with me! Ride with me! Whether it's to my path or your own, I don't care, as long as you'll… help! Be the change that everyone needs! Then maybe… we can see this through. And stomp out the deathly flower that BLOOM planted and replace it with our own! What was it that anonymous coward said on that fateful day?! "Children of tomorrow… it's your turn"?! Well guess what?! I think it's about time we put that turn to good use!"

Okay! So BOOM! Here we are~! An interlude and Nyght's interview! Hopefully this helps you to have a better understanding of her character…? Anyways! This should help with the relationship with Nyght tag!

Other than that, I have nothing to say! Please favorite, follow, and review! It helps a lot with morale!

Byeeeee~!