Chapter Two, Part Two, Tradegy.
Old, abandoned scrapyard.
Aoki, hiding away in an old junkyard, hid himself behind a mountain of scraps as he sobbed in his arms, tears flowing down his eyes in an emotion of rage and hatred. "Why. Dad. My school. Everyone. Why did all of this have to happen!?" he shouted to himself as his emotions swirled. Lost in his own anguish, suddenly a salmon pinked-haired girl poped her head from the hills of junk he was hiding behind. "Why are you crying?" The question hung in the air as Aoki blinked, startled by her sudden appearance, his tear-streaked cheeks flushing with embarrassment and surprise. "I... My dad..." His voice cracked, choked by emotion, and by her sudden appearance.
Mei popped herself out of the scraps she was covered in as she decided to take a seat beside Aoki. Perplexed by the strange girl, Aoki notices that her eyes have lenses in the center, which look like they resemble scopes. Reaching out a hand, she introduces herself. "Hi, I'm Hatsumei Mei; sorry, I didn't hear what you said earlier, but why are you crying?" she asks. Aoki's gaze fell to his feet as he responded to her. "My dad, he was killed," Aoki finally managed to whisper, his words heavy with sorrow. "I... I can't believe he's gone." Mei tilted her head, then showed a softening expression of understanding. "I'm sorry to hear what happened to your father, but I never knew my parents, so I'm not sure if I can understand what your going through." Mei's admission of not knowing her parents struck a chord within Aoki, softening the edges of his own pain momentarily.
"But! I tried not to think about them because one day I'm going to be making tons of super cool support iteams," she declared with a stance changing the tone of their conversation. "Hey, I have a great idea. Do you want to help me make tons of them?!" she excitedly asked, causing Aoki to become more perplexed by her behavior as he blinked, taken aback by Mei's sudden shift in tone and enthusiasm. Her energy was infectious, and despite the heaviness in his heart, he found himself chuckling.
"Heheheheh, s-support items?" He responded, his voice still tinged with sadness but now with a hint of curiosity and joy. "What are you saying?" Mei's eyes sparkled with excitement as she continued to explain herself. "Well, I love to create and tinker with all sorts of gadgets, especially with support items for heroes!" which got Aoki's attention. "But currently, I'm looking for someone to test them out with and see if they work as intended or if they need tweaking. That's where you come in! You could be my assistant or my partner in innovation!" Aoki's brows furrowed slightly as he considered Mei's proposition, but they darkened as he exhaled. "You should consider someone else as your partner; you wouldn't want to work with someone who doesn't possess a quirk. A worthless nobody like me." He said this, remembering everything people had said to him behind his back. But Mei grinned, her excitement undiminished. "It doesn't matter if you do have a quirk; you see, I can sense it. You've got something special inside of you waiting to be discovered. And who knows, maybe together we can create something amazing that'll shock the world!" Her eye's glimmered as Aoki's gaze softened, listening to Mei's words.
There was a warmth in her voice, a sincerity that reached through the fog of his grief and touched something deep within him. With a small nod, Aoki introduced himself, "I'm Aoki." The act of sharing his name felt like a small step forward for him, a connection that formed in the midst of his sorrow as Mei's salmon-pink hair seemed to glow softly in the dim light of the junkyard. She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Aoki, so what do you think?"
"Okay," he said with a small nod as he smiled. "I'll be your lab rat. But on one condition." Mei's eyes widened with curiosity. "What's that?" Aoki's smile grew a fraction wider as he made his request, his voice steady and determined. "Promise me that we'll create something that can make me into a strong hero, so I can make my dad proud. Something that'll honor his memory and remind everyone that he was a Hero." Aoki declared to Mei as she agreed, shaking his hand.
As they were about to leave, the junkyard silence was shattered by a deafening roar, drawing their attention to a hulking figure emerging from the shadows. "When are those stupid Heroes going to stop chasing after me?!" the hulking figure shouted to no one in frustration. "They're no fun." His face was marred by a grotesque burn mark as he loomed before Mei and Aoki, his presence sending shivers down their spines. Aoki's heart pounded with dread as he recognized who the giant was. The man who had torn his world apart. "Muscular."
Fear clenched Aoki's stomach as he remembered the news reports detailing Muscular's atrocities. The memories of his father's tragic fate surged to the forefront of Aoki's mind, fueling an overwhelming urge to confront the villain who had shattered his life. But Mei, sensing the danger, urged Aoki to run, her voice trembling with fear.
However, before they could escape, Muscular spotted them, his malevolent gaze fixating on Aoki and Mei with chilling intent. With a malicious grin, Muscular charged toward the duo, his intentions clear. In a desperate attempt to protect Mei, Aoki pushed her out of harm's way, only to find himself ensnared by Muscular's powerful grip.
"Get help!" Aoki cried out to Mei, his voice laced with urgency and determination. "Trust me! I'll be fine!"
As Mei fled for assistance, Aoki found himself locked in a brutal struggle with Muscular, his rage and grief driving him to fight back against the villain who had robbed him of his father. "I-It's all your fault! That m-my father is dead, and why heroes are like this! it's All BECAUSE OF VILLIANS LIKE YOU!!" Aoki shouted with hatred at Muscular, figuring out who the kid might be. Muscular smiled maliciously, focusing his attention on Aoki. "Ho, let me guess, could you be the child of that Blaze Heart guy?" he questioned, deciding to toy with Aoki, giving Mei the chance to get away. "Yes, and he's dead because of YOU!" Musculars laughed to himself as he threw Aoki into a pile of trash, breaking a few of his ribs on impact. "Ah, so you're the spawn of that man who robbed me of my left eye. Just my luck! Heheheheh." Aoki winced as pain shot through his body, but, he refused to show Muscular any weakness. "I'll never forgive you for what you've done. My father was a hero; he saved people! But-"
Muscular scoffed, his laughter echoing throughout the scrapyard. "Heroes, villains... it's all just a lie, kid. Your old man was a pawn, sacrificed to maintain their precious facade of justice, and what it meeeans to be a Herooo." He mocked.
Aoki's fists clenched, his knuckles whitening with rage. "You're lying! My father was a good man; he fought for what was right!"
Muscular's expression turned cold as he kicked Aoki Torso, sending him crashing back into the trash. "Wake up, kid! I could care less about what you think about me! But your father died because I wanted to kill him, plain and simple. The Hero Organization needed a scapegoat, and I guess your old man fit the bill perfectly."
Aoki struggled to stand to his feet, as he began to cough out a mouth full of blood, with a sudden pain forcing him back down to his knees. "N-No... that's not true..."
Muscular's laughter cut through the air like a knife. "Hahahahah, believe whatever you want, kid. But in this world, there are no heroes. Only fools who cling to false hope!" stepping on his legs, Muscular broke them, causing Aoki to cry out in pain, preventing him from crawling away.
"You know, your father could have won our fight with those Gauntlets; if he hadn't sacrificed himself to save some brat's life, what a foul he was. And now look, that dumb decision of his came back to his son." He smirked as he raised his arm, activating his quirks, causing his muscles to wrap around his left arm. "Farewell, kiddo, hahahahah!" "No," Aoki said, fearing for his life as Muscular was about to punch him into the ground.
"Undulating barrier!" Appearing from the darkness, his mother deflected his attack as she coated her limbs with her flames, releasing them in a circular motion as they formed a protective barrier around Aoki, burning away Muscular muscle fibers as he jumped back, his expression contorted in surprise and frustration. "Who might this be, perhaps the mother?!" he growled, glaring at Aoki's mother with pure malice.
Aoki's mother stood protectively in front of her son, her fiery aura emanating power and hatred. "My husband was not a fool! He was the best thing that could have ever come into my life, and you took him," she declared at Muscular. "I'm sorry, dear, for not believing in your father instead of the word of the news." "You have some spunk in you; I hope those flames are not just for show!" "The police are on their way! You should leave if you don't want to be thrown behind bars," she shouted with pure hatred in her eyes, tinged with concern over her son. "Well then, guess I have to kill the both of you quickly before they have the chance to show up!" Muscular engulf his body with layers of his muscle fibers, charging ahead to punch the two. Moving swiftly, Aoki's mother quickly pushes her son out of the way as she takes on the full brunt of his attack. Deflecting with another circler coated flame.
Sneering, Muscular face twisted into a grotesque mask of malice excitement, ignoring his burn from each punch he delivered, continuing to slam down on Aoki's mother's flame barrier. "You think you can stop me, little flame?" He taunted, flexing his muscles as he doubled his layers in size. He lifted his arms above his head and slammed down towards her barrier, indenting her into the surface of the ground as it simultaneously broke her shield, kicking his mother to the side, he continued to laugh with glee.
Undeterred. She stood to her feet and unleashed another wave of flames, engulfing Muscular in a blazing inferno. What she believed was howling in pain, instead howled with laughter. "Your flames no longer work on me! If I just keep on growing my muscle fibers every time you burn them away!" He shouted, jumping out of the blaze as he grabbed a hole of her face and threw her across the field from him. "Then you can't beat me." he grined with blizzful malice.
Aoki, broken and brittle, tried to move—to tell his mother to leave or her condition would worsen, recalling a conversation she had with their family doctor. "Ms. Sindriobi, I need to discuss something very important with you regarding your quirk, Flame Heart," the doctor began, his tone serious yet gentle. "Your ability to generate and manipulate flames from your heart is certainly remarkable, but it's crucial that we address a concerning issue related to its usage."
He paused, collecting his thoughts, before continuing. "You see, over time, your quirk has developed a weakness known as Tephrosis. Just like your mother, but, yours seems to be worsening at a faster rate every time you activate your flames. Consistent use of your quirk has caused your body to become charred, we found that your blood does not possess the necessary fule to power your quirk."
Explaining further, "Initially, this manifests as black ashy spots that form on your chest, originating from your heart, then gradually spreading throughout your entire body. These spots signify tissue damage and can lead to severe complications if left unchecked."
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, conveying empathy in his voice. "Continued use of your flame quirk exacerbates this condition, causing this spots to enlarge and spread at different points on your body. It's imperative that you avoid overusing your flames to prevent further damage to your health."
The doctor concluded with a reassuring tone, "While your quirk does possess healing properties under special circumstances, it's essential to balance its usage to safeguard your well-being. We'll work together to monitor your condition and explore alternative methods to manage your abilities effectively."
The doctor's words echoed in his mind, the weight heavy on his shoulders as a sense of helplessness washed over Aoki, he knew he had to act to somehow persuade his mother to run or for someone to help. But he was too immobile to do anything, a silent observer of the chaos unfolding in front of him.
Suddenly, Muscular charged his mother, as no matter how many times she burn away his muscles vibers, he kept on growing them back. But moving with fluid poise, she manages to dodged from most of his attackes almost as if she were dancing, but, becoming frustrated with her fluidity, Muscular punches the ground breaking it apart, hinging her off her guard, as it give him the opportunity to punch her into a pile of trash as he continued to walked menacingly towards his mother. "I thought you would have put up more of a fight! Ho well, when I'm done killing you, I'm going to kill your brat next and the pink hair girl who got away." Siad Muscular, all the while smirking with an unhinged blitz.
Seeing his mother get up once more Aoki tired his voice to shout, watching as her skin become pailer."D-Don't MOM!" but it was barely audible amongst the chaos.
Taking a deep breath, she summoned her remaining strength, concentrating on her flames to condense as she saw her chest and skin becoming more charred and paile, slowly spreading throughout her body. Undeterred, she fired her last remaining strength at Muscular as he tanked the attack head on, only for him to shake it off the next second. "Hahahah, your flames have become weaker than before!" he said, continuing to walk towards his mother with mocking laughter. Seeing no way out for her son, she uses the flames that lay burning around them as she manipulates them into the sky, causing them to burst into fireworks that spelled out the word help, including an arrow pointing to their location, causing her body to becomes even pailer and charred, passing out into unconsciousness.
Trying to summon the strength to move, Aoki's broken limbs didn't allow him. Feeling completely powerless, he swayed to stay awake or pass out, believing that his mother was going to die if he didn't do anything, with his vision fading dark.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure appeared in his vision. "Take a deep breath, and set your heart ablaze. If you don't, your mother will die." Just then, a flickering amber landed on Aoki's blood, causing it to combust. It quickly spread throughout his body as it stopped at his heart and burst into a bluish red flame that intensified the ground he lay upon, catching Muscular attention as he jumped back out of instinct.
Aoki's body turned into a living enferno as a fire tornado surrounded him. Soon as the power came to Aoki, he directed the flames at Muscular, incinerating his right arm from the force of the blast and knocking him out cold. But as soon as the power came, it faded away from Aoki's body, causing him to fall back to unconsciousness.
"MOM!!"Jolting awake, Aoki shouted for his mother as he reached out his arms, but found himself in a hospital bed as pain suddenly shot through his entire body, with fragments of memories slowly coming back to him. Panicking, he looked around the room and saw his mother's bed across from him as he focused himself to stand, making his way to her side. Tears flowed down his eyes as her entire Torso and limbs were covered in char as Aoki started apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Aoki choked out his words, barely audible amidst his sobs. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything!"