The war room was unusually silent. That was the first thing Hiashi Nogi noticed when he entered.
As one of the six Faces of the ABB, Hiashi's duty's revolved around the creation and maintaining of the various drug smuggling routes. A very important job and one he did well, or at least he believed so. And luckily it seemed Lung did as well, considering the fact that despite his relatively young age, he had maintained such a coveted position in the ABB.
Said man was currently lounging in a large chair at the center edge of the table as he waited. His mask glistened in the dim light of the war room as he stared straight forward while he waited. Oni Lee stood silently on the left side of his master's chair, hands folded behind his back as his blood red mask scowled at them all.
Hiashi personally didn't like the Oni, though he would never say so aloud. The man struck him as…off. Doll-like. His movement, his speech, even the way he stood, gave Hiashi a sense of uncanny valley, like he was looking at something poorly attempting to pretend to be human.
That didn't mean he was any less dangerous. As a matter of fact, he was even more dangerous for it. Hiashi had been unfortunate enough to witness the facsimile of a man in action. He moved swiftly, each and every motion deliberate as he cut down his foes, leaving blood and ash in his wake as his targets fell one by one.
And he did it all without uttering a single word, a dozen lives snuffed out in mere seconds with simple stabs and slashes. Horrifying was an insufficient word for what he had witnessed, and he was glad that his responsibilities now lay behind a desk as opposed to on the field.
Hiashi gave the door a wary glance, much like his colleagues had been doing since they sat the meeting would have long since started, but when Lung had entered he had proclaimed that they were waiting on one more. Although, considering that Hiashi could just barely hear the sounds of footsteps making their way closer, he had a feeling that their guest was about to arrive.
The door to the room opened, breaking Hiashi from his thoughts as he and all of those present turned their gazes to the person entering the room, clearly the reason they had all been waiting.
It was a woman, which surprised Hiashi, as he knew that apart from the serving girls, all women were forbidden from entering the war room.
Still, Hiashi could tell this was no serving girl. She was wearing a flowing black and red kimono, upon which were depictions of various creatures that Hiashi recognized. Raiju, Dragons, Oni, and what he was pretty sure was a Cerberus were just some of the creatures depicted. The theme was clear to see given that nearly all of the depictions were of some sort of mythical creature, perhaps a deliberate nod to her powerset? Most parahumans knew better than to do that, Yosei was either arrogant, or extremely confident in her abilities.
A black, red, and silver half-mask in the shape of a fox sat firmly on her face, obscuring the upper half of her features and leaving only her lips and jaw exposed, and Hiashi could just barely see the dark edges of what looked like a knife scar on the right side of her jaw, creeping up her cheek and ending just before the edge of her mask.
Even disregarding the fact that she was very clearly a parahuman, the sheer presence she excluded was eerily similar to Lung's own. It filled the room, a weight pressing down upon every person present and making them acknowledge her for what she was. Above them.
She moved with purpose, shoes clicking upon the laminated floor as she strode confidently towards Lung, kneeling in front of him, and Hiashi's heart nearly stopped at her words, softly spoken into the now silent room.
"Father." She bowed her head, "I have arrived."
'Father?' Hiashi's eyes widened and muttering immediately broke out around the room as they processed the woman's words. He could hear the whispers of outrage and those of worry, concern and anger prevalent for this woman who dared to claim to be the Dragon's spawn.
And yet, Lung did nothing to refute the woman's words. In fact, he looked… approving, if that was even possible. His posture did nothing to indicate his anger at least, and Hiashi had a sinking feeling that the woman was telling the truth.
He looked up and around at them all. He stood slowly, and the mutters immediately ceased to exist as he gestured toward the still kneeling woman.
"This is Yosei," He spoke clearly, "My daughter and heir to the ABB."
Murmurs began to break out once more and as Yosei stood from her kneel, Lung held his hand up to silence them all, "I have not finished speaking."
That simple statement silenced the murmurs immediately, tension filling the room once more. Lung gazed around at them all as Yosei came to stand on his side that wasn't occupied by the Oni, clasping her hands in front of her elegantly. He waited a moment to ensure there would be no interruptions before he continued, "I have kept her hidden from you all deliberately, partially for her safety, and partially because I did not deem her ready. That has changed. As my heir, she will be below only me in the ABB's hierarchy. That means that an order from her is nearly as absolute as my own. Even Lee is not exempt from this."
He sat back down in his chair, "She will be taking over my role in the managing of a large portion of the ABB's internal affairs. From now on, if you have an issue that would affect the gang at large, you will defer to her before me."
Hiashi's sharp gaze caught the sudden stiffening of Yosei's shoulders, and he had the feeling that this was the first time the woman had heard of this. Still, she apparently came to terms with the new information rather quickly, as her posture returned to normal mere moments later.
So she was level headed, or at least good at keeping her emotions in check. That was good, Hiashi would rather not have another Lung to defer to if he could help it. It was a miracle he had stayed alive so far with just the man himself, there was no telling what would happen if his daughter had inherited his explosive temper.
"Are you kidding me!?"
And speaking of explosive tempers…
A few chairs down from Hiashi, Kaito Nanaki stood suddenly from his chair, face twisted in outrage, "Why the hell should we have to listen to another crazy cape!? Just because she's your daughter!?"
Hiashi didn't think the room could get any more silent. Heads turned toward the standing man, including the three clad in masks. He could see the thin line of a frown creasing Yosei's lips and shook his head at Kaito's arrogance.
Kaito was from an extremely influential family. Or at least they were, before Kyushu was sent plummeting into the depths of the sea. He and his family had moved to Brockton Bay years before Lung had made the journey himself and, in an attempt to reclaim some of their lost prestige, had set about creating a large-scale crime syndicate.
He had failed of course, so many refugees of different nationalities do not make a good or even semi-productive gang. Despite his admittedly valiant efforts, his little empire had come crumbling down around him within the year and Lung had strode in to pick up the pieces, using his superior strength and power to beat the remnants of the various Asian gangs into submission.
Kaito had been lucky enough that Lung had seen his worth and decided to recruit him instead of making an example out of him. He had elevated Kaito to a position near the top of the ABB, giving him rein over a good portion of the gang itself. Much more than the man deserved in Hiashi's opinion, but he seemed to be doing a good job thus far.
It appeared that Kaito had been afflicted by a temporary bout of insanity however, as the man stood from his chair to address Lung as if he were just another member of the gang and not the man who had fought Leviathan to a standstill in his very own homeland.
Honestly, Hiashi wondered if the man was secretly suicidal and had just decide that it was his time, because those were decidedly not the actions of a man who valued his life, and he just barely held back a sigh at the man's foolish words. He knew what was coming, the Dragon would not let that sort of disrespect lie.
And indeed, he could see his leader tense visible with anger, hands clenching in his chair as he took in the man's insolent words. Hiashi could feel sweat begin to form on his neck as the ambient temperature of the room increased dozens of degrees in just a moment.
Kaito seemed to realize his mistake, his skin paling and his eyes widening as he was subject to his leader's rage. He scrambled into a low bow, profusely apologizing from his foolish words, but it was far too late. Had been from the moment he opened his mouth.
The temperature continued to rise, several Faces around the room beginning to pull at their collars as they began to stick to their necks. The temperature continued to climb, and Hiashi looked down at the table in front of him, finding that his once cold glass of water was emitting steam.
He swallowed roughly. This was bad, if it continued like this, the lot of them would be dead within the minute. The heat was obscene, the air of the room becoming hazy as if they were in a desert, and Hiashi's breaths began to come out in short pants.
He looked around the room, wincing at what he saw. Most of the other faces were much older than himself, early fifties at the youngest, and as such they weren't faring nearly as well in the heat. Their eyelids drooped and some of them had slumped over in their seat, borderline heatstroke taking its toll on their fragile bodies. They would cease to be very soon if something didn't change.
And then, miraculously, the temperature stopped climbing, settling down at what felt like a little over a hundred degrees before it began to slowly drop once more, dropping just as fast as it rose until finally, it was back at a relatively comfortable temperature.
As Hiashi thanked whatever gods were listening, Lung took a deep breath, slowly unclenching his hands, splinters of wood falling from his fingers from his armchair. He took a moment to calm himself, before turning to Yosei.
"Yosei." Lung spoke to his daughter, who seemed completely unaffected by the heat the man had been producing, "For your first act as my right hand, you will give this fool the proper punishment for his blatant disrespect. Ensure he regrets his decision."
What? Lung was letting his daughter take care of it? That was uncommon, while he had sometimes allowed Lee to handle the punishment of his subordinates, Lung usually preferred to handle any discourse by himself. Hiashi personally believed it was a way for the man to show his power, to show that he had not gone soft during his time leading the gang. As if anyone would believe that the man was soft in any sense of the term.
Yosei was silent for a long moment. Finally, she gave Lung a slow nod before unclasping her hands as she began to slowly walk around the table. Hiashi could tell the slowness of her movement was deliberate, and he was suddenly reminded of a scene from a nature documentary he had seen recently, that of a panther stalking its prey, moving with unnerving patience as it crept up on the unknowing victim.
Unseen until it was too late.
As Yosei walked, mist seeped from her flowing robes, spilling into the air around her and the ground below her. It was thick enough that it obscured everything behind it, and as it continued flowing forth, it consumed her form as well, blocking her from sight, transforming her.
The cloud of mist slowly wafted towards Kaito, who was becoming more and more nervous by the second. It seemed he had finally realized his error, much, much too late.
From his place on the other side of the room, Hiashi could feel the presence of something, an unseen weight pressing upon his shoulders and rooting him in place. He wondered what Kaito must be feeling at that moment, so much closer to the cause of the feeling than he himself was.
As the mist dissipated, Yosei had transformed, the changes in the woman plain as day. She was taller for one, having grown at least two feet in mere moments to stand at over seven feet tall. Her medium length black hair had become stark white and now fell down to her lower back, lustrous and full as it flowed in an unseen wind.
Her mask was also gone, and yet Hiashi had a feeling he wasn't looking at the woman's real face. Her eyes were now an orange so bright they were practically glowing, slitted pupils staring straight forward as she walked. A pair of fuzzy white fox ears emerged from the top of her head in a facsimile of her mask's design, and two large bushy tails protruded from her lower back.
Her rather modest kimono had transformed as well, now much more revealing and made from all silk instead of whatever it was made from before. Her arms were now visible as well as a good portion of her legs and thighs, feet now encased in wooden sandals that clacked along the floor as she walked. The neckline of her kimono had lowered significantly, now displaying an amount of pale cleavage that Hiashi personally thought was inappropriate. Not to mention, he was pretty sure she didn't even have that much to show off only moments before.
In fact, thanks to the clothing along with the added extremities, she now looked remarkably like…
'A Kitsune!' Hiashi realized. He remembered the stories his father had told him when he was little, of mischievous fox spirits with the ability to use magic and cast illusions on the unsuspecting mortals that happened to venture into their territory, or simply to prank them. They often took the form of beautiful women to better blend in with humans, though most were identifiable by their fox-like features. Did the woman's power truly give her the ability to transform into creatures of myth as her costume suggested?
As Hiashi ruminated on the woman's possible power, Yosei had reached her destination. Kaito stared at her with both defiance and fear as she slowly reached out her hand. He startled as she grabbed him by the chin, holding his head motionless as he tried to jerk out of her grip.
As she held the man still with unnerving ease, the transformed woman leaned forward, her other hand coming up just below her face in a cup, as if she was gently cradling a pool of water or sand. As it reached her lips, she inhaled softly, before releasing it, blowing air into her palm and Kaito's face.
Colored smoke came into being, floating on an unseen wind as Kaito tried to back away while Yosei held him still. The veritable rainbow of colors was surprisingly fast, it surged forth upon Kaito, surrounding the man's head as he yelled surprise. Yosei stepped back, clasping her hands in front of her as she watched him begin to panic with an odd calmness, flailing his arms this way and that as he tried to disperse the odd smoke.
Soon enough, as the smoke slowly dissipated, Kaito's screams of panic turned into howls of terror. Hiashi's heart clenched as he caught sight of the man through the thinning smoke. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, pupils darting around as he stared at things unseen by the rest of them.
"No! NO STAY BACK! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!" He stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and holding his arm out in front of him to ward off some unseen evil. His shoes scraped against the floor as he tried to distance himself from whatever he was seeing, scrambling backwards with speed belaying his age until his back met the wall.
As the afflicted man curled into a ball of sobbing terror, Hiashi turned his gaze back to Yosei.
The woman was staring at Kaito with unnerving calmness, face set into a placid mask of indifference as she watched her victim writhe in horror and agony. She seemingly felt his gaze upon her, as her eyes flickered toward his own, and Hiashi felt a chill run up his spine as her slitted pupils met his own.
There was something unnerving about those eyes, burning orange slits surrounded by a thick layer of eyeshadow that only enhanced their dangerous appearance. He was frozen, locked into an unwilling battle as he fought to tear himself away from the predatory gaze as it kept him trapped.
Luckily, moments later she turned her gaze back to the show in front of her, and Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief, his heart beating wildly in his chest from just those few seconds of eye contact.
Soon, Kaito's screams of terror came to a screeching halt. The man's already wide eyes widened even further and his face morphed into an expression of pain as he began clutching his chest. He clawed at his shirt with both hands as if he was trying to dig into his chest. His breaths came out in ragged pants, and his eyes darted around, this time stopping periodically on the other Faces of the gang as he was freed from whatever had afflicted him.
"Help…" He whispered out, nearly choking on the words.
And then he stopped, slumping down against the wall and ceasing motion entirely.
The room was filled with an unnerving silence, the lack of screams now more eerie than ever before. Yosei walked toward the motionless man and slowly leaned down, placing a hand on Kaito's chest with an odd gentleness. She paused, ears flicking on top of her skull, before she shook her head slowly and stood once more, turning to face her father with a placid expression.
"He's dead." She spoke quietly, and Hiashi noticed that her voice was much deeper than before, indicating the changes weren't just skin deep, "A heart attack it seems."
Sweat broke out on Hiashi's forehead at the frank proclamation as Lung nodded in apparent approval, "Good. It is a fitting punishment for his crimes. Well done Yosei"
Lung stood to address the rest of the Faces, and Hiashi felt a tinge of terror as his masked gaze roved over his seated form, "Kaito Nanaki was a traitor. He believed it was okay to give up valuable information on our operations to the Empire. This was his punishment." He pointed at the body, quickly cooling on the wooden floor, before casting his hand out to the rest of them.
"Let this be a lesson to you all!" He spoke clearly, "Traitors to the ABB have never and will never be tolerated! And now, your punishment need not come from Lee or I, for Yosei can and will make your deaths as slow and painful as I see fit!"
Swallowing dryly, Hiashi turned his gaze to the woman once more, finding that she had turned back to Kaito's corpse, observing its slumped form silently. Once again, she seemingly felt his gaze upon her as she turned her head ever-so slightly to meet his eyes.
Hiasi felt his face pale at the tenseness in her gaze, her face was set in a sharp expression that he couldn't decipher. And after a mere moment of holding his gaze, Yosei turned sharply to face her father. Mist fell off of her shoulders in massive quantities, pooling on the floor at her feet as Lung's gaze turned to her.
"Father," Yosei spoke quietly as she bowed toward the man, ears flicking lightly on the top of her head, "I would ask to be excused. I require time to… collect myself, after such an ordeal."
Collect herself? Hiashi noticed her hands were shaking ever so slightly. Excitement perhaps? Did she gain such euphoria from killing a man that she couldn't stay in polite company for a short period of time!?
Lung stared at her silently for a moment, before giving the woman a nod, approving her request. Yosei bowed once more before turning sharply on her heel and striding out of the room. Mist trailed in her wake, settling lightly on the floor before dispersing as it followed her. Hiashi could see it begin to gather around the woman once more as she strode out the door.
As Yosei exited the room just as silently as she entered and the sweat in his shirt began to seep into his coat, Hiashi was filled with the sudden fear that his earlier thoughts about Yosei had been wrong. The lack of emotion as she watched a man writhe in horror and then agony, the cruelly causal way she had killed him and proclaimed his death to her father, shaking with excitement and possibly looking for some twisted semblance of approval from the powerful man…
Yosei wasn't Lung, but she certainly might be worse.