"Mama! Mama! Mira! (Look!)"
A young boy, about 8 years old, stood in front of an aged woman, the slight wrinkles in her beautiful face told her she.
"Oh? And what's this?" The woman asked, slightly kneeling down to his height.
The boy gleefully stuck out his hand, revealing a small little frog.
"I have a friend! It's name is Ranita, say hi Ranita!" The frog lazily sat there, its body sinking into the boy's hand.
"Well hello, Ranita! Nice to meet you!" The woman laughed.
"Can we keep it?"
"We can't, Jason. It needs to be free!" The mother sat beside the boy on the steps to their doorstep. She motioned out towards the setting sun in the sky.
"It's an animal, they desire the life of freedom. Look out there, look at these beautiful skies, the trees, the fresh air, we can't shield Ranita from that, no?" The boy thought for a moment, before nodding his head.
He walks over towards the small puddle he found it, gently plopping it down.
"Bye bye, Ranita! Have fun!" Jason said to the departing frog.
"Oh, Jason, your English is getting much better!" She said with a clap of her hands and a smile. The boy grinned at her.
In all honesty, the mother didn't exactly want to take it in, only for it to die. She'd rather not see her son sad.
"Mmm, how about we visit your father and brother?"
The boy's eyes immediately lit up, her excitement causing his mother to laugh aloud. He grabbed her hand as they walked off.
They eventually arrived at a bustling pizza shop named "Mendoza's Pizza".
Yes, it was rather uncreative, but it worked out.
The patrons inside greeted the mother and son.
Despite the few that had mutation quirks, they still felt welcome. The Mendozas never judge.
"Jason, is that you my boy?" A tall, big man stood behind the counter, his brown hair hand around the tops of his ears.
The father picked him up, making the boy squeal in delight as he hugged his father back.
"Now my day has gotten better! You come to watch your old man do what he does best?"
Jason nodded as the mother smiled.
"Julia..." He said, giving her a kiss and making her flush.
"Oh, Jorge..." She muttered.
"Now then, I'll take care from here, I know you got a shift coming up."
"That's right, it's been busy... I must go soon, so I'll see you soon, my love!"
"Hold on! Please, take this!" He said, before revealing a rather big lunchbox.
"All your favorites, even the bread sticks!" He said with a big smile.
"Oh, Jorge." Her smile widened, giving her husband a kiss much to the boy's disgust.
She soon left, leaving Jason and his father in the kitchen. In the kitchen was a teenager, his grey hair a stark contrast with the rest of the the family. He was quickly woken up from his small doze from a small smack on the head.
"Ricardo! Trying to let my pizza burn, huh!?"
"Oh shit! Uh, damn it!" The teen scrambled before realizing something.
"You old man, there isn't anything in the ovens!" He yelled in dismay, much to the father's amusement.
"Now that I have your attention, why don't you say hello to your little brother!" He said, setting the little boy down.
"Hey, Jay, how's it going?" He said with a smirk.
"Going good Ricky!" He said to Ricardo's annoyance.
"You know I dont like that name!"
"Boys!" The two swiftly turned towards the man. He stood over the dough, his face covered in shadow.
"You ready to see something special? Watch this!" The man went at rapid speed, making what appeared to be a supreme all meat pizza. Due to his speed, some spices almost feel off the countertop if it weren't for him catching it before they fell off, almost as if he knew it was going to happen.
"Now look at this, my best work!" The boys looked in awe, albeit the older boy in less enthusiasm.
"Wow..."
"That's cool!"
"Yes, yes I know!" He said with a smirk.
"Now then, you boys be careful in here ok! And Jason, do not eat the dough, aight!?"
"Okayyy!"
Mr. Mendoza was a simple man, achieving his one desire his whole life, along with his wife supporting in his endeavors. Thankfully, they paid off when his shop increased in popularity. Ricardo wasn't exactly sold into the idea of making pizza. He was more of an active kid, wanting to go out and do stuff that got his blood pumping.
Jason was sort of the same, but had the desire to run the shop when he was older.
"Say, why don't we go to Uncle? I heard he's around again! I bet he could teach us some cool stuff this time!" Ricardo said, knowing that the little boy would say yes.
"Really!?"
If only the boys knew.
Their uncle changed the course of their lives.
Why did things change?
Why did you put these ideas in my mind, uncle?
Why was I stupid enough to act on them?
Why did you tell me to fight for what was right, knowing I would do so without hesitation?
Why did you teach me to fight?
Why did the heroes not help us?
Why did the heroes not help him?
Why did you run, Uncle?
Why didn't you help us, Uncle?
Why did you get my brother killed, Uncle?
Why?
Why?
Why?
I always seemed to ask myself this, as if he would just appear infront of me and answer my question. It was a nightmare, thinking about what was in the past. It was a nightmare, because I know what happened, I know what happened to our happiness, our comfort.
I wasn't born for that life, I was molded into it at a young age, slowly it bleed into my mind, like a parasite.
Uncle.
That fucking bastard. I swear the next time I see him I'll kill him my damn self. Slow and painful too, the fucking coward.
I looked into the mirror, tracing my fingers over the few scars that littered my face.
I looked at the one that streaked from the top of my chin to the middle of my neck, I'm surprised I didn't die to that.
I shook my head out of these thoughts. Now is not the time to be reflecting on the past.
"I kinda slept in today too..."
I walked down without any surprise visits, thankfully.
Man, I still felt tired... Whatever, it is what it is.
~~~~~
Kind of late into the afternoon, it was. There was still a larger number than usual that came through here due to that TV thing a little while back.
I looked up as I saw a rather fragile, bony looking guy. He was blond with some pretty sunken blue eyes. He seemed to be breathing a little hard, though.
"Hey man, are you alright?"
"Yes.. I'm okay... Let's just say that whatever energy I had ran out... A long time ago..."
... Weird way to put it but alright?
"I see... What would you like then?"
"I heard you sold some very good tomato soup! I wanted something a little light for my stomach."
"Good choice! You're welcome to sit wherever you want! Take out or dine in?"
"Take out, thank you!"
He then sat at... The closest table near me. I could feel his eyes just looking at me as I prepared his dish. Weird.
This guy felt kind of fishy, but a customer is a customer.
"This place is nice..."
Oh God, small talk?
"Yeah, I wanted to create a more homey type of vibe here."
"Well I can say that you succeeded in that..."
"..."
"..."
"You seemed to have quite the eventful life." He said, probably referring to my scars.
"Oh these? A fight or two, but mostly accidents. I was a dumb kid." I said.
"I see, you seem to be a rather tough person."
"Thanks...?"
"..."
"..."
It fell into silence again as he continued to just look at me. I finished up quick, placing a top on the bowl and placing it in a brown paper bag.
"Here's your soup,..."
"Toshinori."
"Toshinori! You have a good day now!"
"Thank you, sir, you too. Stay safe!" He said before quickly leaving.
How weird.
I didn't really think much of it, but for some reason I felt that I've seen that guy somewhere...
Well, I guess so. No skin off my nose-
"OIIII! MISTER MENDOZA!!!!"
Damn.
I look over to see one Mina Ashido, and another guy I never seen before. He had dark, straight-ish hair and some sharp ass teeth.
"Two slices, pepperoni, hold the veggies!"
"Hey, wait a minute, you can't order for me!" Argued the other kid.
"Nice to see you again Mina, and who is this?"
"Oh! This is Kirishima! Kirishima, Mister Mendoza, Mister Mendoza, Kirishima."
"Nice to meet you, young man." I said, putting forth my hand.
"Uh, same here." He simply said. It was clear that he was slightly nervous. How did he end up around someone like Mina?
"Two slices huh? Well I already have them here for ya, fresh out of the stove."
"Hell yeah!" She pumped her fist into the air.
I gave them the slices as each paid for their own.
And then they just sat at the same place that Toshinori guy sat at.
"Don't you guys got parents to go too?"
"What? But I wanna chill here with my buddy, right Kirishima?"
"Umm, yeah?"
"... Bah, fine fine! Just don't make a mess." I said, surrendering to her. Man, way too much energy for my old ass...
I went about doing my tasks as I felt her just stare at me while talking to her friend. What the hell is with people staring at me today? Is it because of my dashing good looks? Or is it my natural charisma just oozing out of me?
"Mister Mendoza, where did you get all of those?" She said like a little kid pointing out a disabled person.
Second time someone asked about these scars.
You wanna know how I got these scars, hmm?
"Oh you know, shit happens and what not."
"You gotta give me more than that! I want a story here!" She pleaded.
Eh, why not? I'll tell her about one of the more tamer ones anyway...
I pointed to the thin scar that ran across my forearm.
Let's take a trip down memory lane here...
I was about 13 around the time. By that time I was rather mature for my age, the area did that to me. I was kind of built due to my uncle's training. As I walked home from school, I saw a classmate of mine beingbeaten down by several others, it was pretty bad too.
One of them had a quirk that sharpened their fingers to a degree.
Another had one that made their knuckles made out of stone.
The last one just had a weird looking nose.
Yikes.
The dude getting his ass whooped was a cool guy, he was pretty smart, a little quiet, and didn't do too much. So it can be a mystery why he is being targeted this way, but I knew why.
It was because he bagged one of the most baddest girls at the school.
Everytime I saw him, she was with her. I personally didn't know or care about that, but I'm only saying what I saw.
Anyways, I saw this shit going down and I knew I could stand by and watch this shit happen, even if I didn't have a physical quirk. I walked up behind them.
"Hey! Fuckheads!"
"Eh!? What are you doing here, fuck off if you don't want you ass beat too-"
"You talk to much!" I said as I socked the weird nose guy in the... Nose.
He reeled back, clenching his stupid ass nose as the other two focused on me.
"Alright, your getting your ass beat!"
"I'll cut your ass!"
I ducked under a left hook from the knuckles kid, sending a cross of my own into his abdomen. He almost folded under, so I took this time and sent my fist across his jaw, putting him to sleep. However, as I dealt with him, that sharp finger kid came up, slicing me across the forearm.
I immediately clenched it in pain, trying to weave through his wild swings, with some cutting into me.
He led into another swing as I grabbed his arm, dragging him nesr me as I grappled him on the ground. I sent a couple elbows into his nose and the side of his head, making sure he got the message.
"Ok... Ok... Stop, please!"
"... Bitch."
I humphed, I got off the boy as I went over towards the other.
"You alright, dude?"
"Yeah... Thanks... Thank you so much!" He said, immediately shaking my loose hand.
"My name is Nicholas, thanks for saving me man!"
"No problem, now get outta here." He immediately listened to my command, running away in the next moment.
"And now you jokers, I don't wanna see you fuck around with any other people again. Now fuck off!" The two and the one who woke up from that knockout left right away, leaving me with some words that shouldn't be said by school students.
"... And that's how that went down."
The two kids looked at me in what seemed to be in awe. To me it was a cliche story of how I came in to save the day of the poor, kind soul. Speaking of, I think Nicholas and that girl are married now...
"That's crazy, Mister! Were you a delinquent when you were younger!?" Said Mina.
"Delinquent? Me? Of course not!"
"Mmm I don't know! I imagine you wearing, like, a leather jacket, and saying stuff like 'Yo, buzz off that kid, yo!'"
"... Really?"
"Yeah!"
The boy seemed to be in some type of mental conversation with himself, staring at his own hand. I could tell he was thinking about something for sure.
"... That sounds so manly... How?"
"How what?"
"How did you just... Jump in? You said you didn't have any physical quirk so why?"
Good question, for sure, but I already had my answer by now.
"It just felt right, that's it. I simply can't stand around and do nothing. You'll feel worse when something happens that you could've prevented by intervening."
"... Weren't you scared?"
"... Yeah I was." He slightly looked up at me.
"Hell, think about it. 3 on 1, most of them have quirks that can do some really good damage and here I am just running in there. Who knows, the guy could've sliced my throat open, but that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was getting that poor guy out of there. You can have all the strength in the world, but if you don't got heart, you're going nowhere with it. So if I could say anything, it is that you gotta follow your gut and your heart, and stick to it. When you see something that goes against your values, speak up, act on it. Who can stop you?" I finish my little speech off there.
"Huh..." The boy sat there with a less gloomy expression he had previously.
"Did Mina tell her about her hero training?"
"Oh, yeah! Recently, I started training too, so I'm gonna be a hero!"
I laughed at that, his personality was a stark contrast to the one I saw a little earlier.
"Well, look kid, you got it, just focus on your values and your reason why, you'll be alright."
The boy then turned to me, his eyes beaming at me.
"Your so... So... MANLY" he almost yelled out.
Manly? I'll take it.
"You're such a tough guy, and I just met you!"
"Ah well, what can I say, I look the part."
"What a manly man..." And with that, he looked at me with a sense of respect. It was weird as hell for me
What the hell. This ain't a daycare.
"Hey, wait a minute, what is your quirk anyway? You said it wasn't a physical one!" Mina said, butting in as usual.
"It's a secret."
"Is it telekinesis?"
"No."
"Telepathy?"
"No."
"Lasers?"
"No!"
"But I wanna know..."
"No, Mina."
"Is it cool?"
"... Yes."
"Pleaseee?"
"Yeah, no."
"Booooo!"
She then checked her phone, her eyes practically popping from her sockets.
"Kirishima, we gotta dip, dude! Sorry, Mister Mendoza, we gotta run!" The boy checked on his phone, resulting in a similar reaction.
"Damn! Bye Mister Mendoza!"
"Heh, I'll see y'all later. Take my words with you!"
He then paused in the doorway, giving me a smile and a nod. Good kid, I can tell.
I tried to hide that smile that was growing on my face.
I know I can't do what I did before anymore, my time has passed, the only thing I can do is share some guidance for this new generation coming up. It is what it is.
~~~~~
It was around that time in the night when I would usually close up. I could feel myself being more tired than usual. Thankfully today is a rest day for the gym...
I saw one, probably my last, customer enter my shop. The woman was dressed in... What the hell. I could see who it was from a mile away, but nobody else in here noticed?
It was Mirko herself, dressed in what seemed to be in black pants, which she looked really good in, and a leather jacket? She wore a fedora, but had holes for her ears.
"Hello there good sir-"
"Cut the act."
"... Bitch."
She slumped down at the table near me.
"What are you doing here at this time of day? And what's with the get up?"
"I was on for an infiltration mission, it was a disguise to kinda blend in for the perfect moment. It was until the gang turned on each other for some reason, so I wasn't needed... Wait a fucking minute, why the hell am I talking to you for!?"
"I dunno, ask yourself."
"... Fucking bitch..."
"..."
"..."
"Are you just gonna sit there and stare at me or are you gonna order something?"
She looked over the menu, and then returned her glare at me.
"A salad."
"A salad?"
"That's what I said, dumbass!"
"Right..."
"And gimme some carrots too!" She said with a slight flush.
A customer is a customer I suppose.
"Just like a rabbit, huh?"
"Whatever, just make it..."
I got to work making her salad. Making sure I toss in the freshest stuff I had. I can't serve day old salad, can I? I made sure to put extra carrots in there as well. If I'm making something for a customer, I gotta do it right.
I placed it in front of her, her eyes analyzing the dish on front of her and then looking at me, her eyebrows furrowed.
"You gonna eat it or..."
"Yeah, yeah."
~~~~~
[Mirko POV]
I took a bite of his fucking salad...
What the hell?
It actually tastes good?
It's not bland, or soggy like all of the other ones I had before. It's as if he seasoned it in some way. Was it some type of salad dressing? Everything taste fresh and not from some grocery store or something. Damn, this shit is fucking good...
"So?" He leaned down, looking at me with his stupid smirk.
"Its fine."
"I think that's an understatement, considering you're already half way through~."
I look down, and sure enough, he was right.
Fucking bastard.
I could feel him grinning at me, dirty bastard. So what if he could cook? So what if he was good looking...
Good looking!?
Hell no!
Am I losing my mind or something?
"I'm glad you enjoyed it... Mirko." He said in a low tone so no one could hear.
Damn, why did he have to say it like that!?
"Yeah... Thanks... Doesn't mean I trust you though."
"I'd expect that, you can't exactly trust everybody in this world." Good point.
"Clearly, specially since I know you got shit to hide!"
"And what's wrong with that, everybody does, probably even you."
"You don't know me!"
"I know enough."
I sucked my teeth. Bastard.
"Whatever. The salad was alright..."
"I'm glad, no one really orders it, so it's a little refreshing getting to do it again. So I'm glad you enjoyed it, Mirko, I really am." He said, his head resting in his hand.
Why did he have to say it like that!? What the hell is his deal!?
That look in his eyes...
"Your welcome I guess. I'm out of here."
"All right then, Miss Mirko. Stay safe out there, alright?"
"Me? Safe? Yeah right."
"You know what I mean, take care." He said with another smile and a slight wave.
"Yeah, see ya." I said as I left.
Stupid bastard, being all nice and shit...
It felt weird having someone say that to me. "Take care"? Please, I'm a hero, he needs to worry more about the people I fuck up. Still...
The salad was good though.
Prick.
~~~~~
[Jason POV]
After that rather weird encounter, I simply smirked. I could tell that she liked my dish, especially when she cleaned it out like that.
I was telling the truth when I said I was glad she ordered it. Almost nobody bothers to order it, so it's a good change to my usual.
I also had to treat her like a customer, no one gets special treatment around here
It was interesting though, the hell did she come in here for? So she could "keep an eye on me"? I don't know, but she seems alright. Very rough, but alright. And those pants really-
I'm gonna stop myself.
After closing I look up to see one Aizawa lazily standing outside the door.
"Yo, Aizawa!"
"Mendoza."
Curt as usual I see. The man has gotten a little more comfortable around me, especially in the beginning when he practically ignored me most of the time.
"What brings you here on such a night?"
"Just to check in." He waltzed in and collapsed on one of the booths.
"Good to know I'm always in your head-
"Shut up." He groaned out.
"What's got you looking even more homeless then before."
"... I got finals to grade." He said, ignoring my little jab.
"Oh yeah, UA, right? Super prestigious hero school, right?"
"Right..."
"Wait, didn't you say that you expelled your whole ass class?" I asked, I remember how shocked I was when hearing that.
"I re enrolled them with a new homeroom teacher. The kids had the wrong idea, being self sacrificial is different then being suicidal, so I gave them what they wanted... A 'death' so to speak."
Interesting, he basically gave them another chance then...
"I can understand that..."
"I'm sure you can, Mendoza."
"I wasn't exactly suicidal though..."
"Don't lie, what you did would've gotten anyone else killed, I'm surprised you survived."
"To be honest, I feel the same." I said with a laugh.
"However, with out your efforts, the Crypt had a higher chance of succedding with their goals."
"I hear that all the time, it still feels... It feels like I was just there."
"I can understand. Jason, you're a good person, although you broke the law and did some very questionable acts, it was in best interest of the people around you." He blankly said.
I blinked at him, I was surprised he thought of me of such regard.
"Aww, Aizawa, your making me blush!"
"I take it all back. You suck."
I laughed at his tired expression.
"I have to go now, my patrol is about to start. Don't do anything stupid, and stay safe."
"Heh, thanks Aizawa, who knew you can be a kind person..." He glared at me as he left.
What a guy.
I turned off the lights inside as I went upstairs. I needed to check on something.
I went into the closet, moving aside some of the clothes to reveal a box. I picked it up and placed it on my bed.
I opened it up to reveal the thing that has protected me and did it's job well. I felt the metal with a sense of nostalgia. It's chains making a clinking sound as I felt it, one blade on one end and a big, metal weight on the other. My Kusarigama.
I picked it up, slightly weaving the chain around my forearms as I swung the weight around, twirling it slightly.
"Still works alright..."
I needed to give it a good clean anyway.
I missed using this thing.
The feeling of it zipping through the air was addicting. The way both blade and the heavy iron weight soared throughout the air, snapping at the poor soul.
It was the one of the only things my bastard uncle left me.
I grit my teeth slightly.
I shouldn't have these thoughts, not right now. Especially with this in my hand.
I got to work on cleaning my weapon, you never know just in case
It was weird, feeling a sense of what may come in the future, is it a effect from my quirk? Probably, but I felt that I was doing this with a purpose, almost as if I was preparing for something that was soon too come.
I was right.
~~~~~
And that's a wrap folks! I had some fun writing this, and writing this character along with the other characters in this little story. We take a peek into Jason's past with his own family. The Incident wasn't the only bad thing that happened in Jason's life...
I wanted to touch on Kirishima before his glow up and shit as well, I felt it's a part not too many talk about. With Jason being Jason, he sort of recognized his dilemma and gave some advice. What a guy, am I right?
Make sure to vote and comment if you have any criticisms, comments, or you just want to say hi!
Thanks for reading and I hope I'll see you in the next chapter! Buh bye ;)