NOTE: Sorry for the wait. Here's the next chapter! I'm still debating on if I want Ayako to be an Anodite or if any of the other kids should have some alien heritage. We'll see how it goes.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 6: A Friend
Haruka Sawamura prided herself on being an exploratory 2nd year student at her middle school. As the oldest of the Morning Glory kids, she had to always be ready to set an example. She and Ayako (1st year student) were the only middle schoolers of their group, so they both knew they had to do their best for their younger siblings.
While she wasn't necessarily the top of her class, Haruka was proud to admit that she stood in the top 10 usually in the class rankings whenever exams rolled around. Though now that she was a superhero, she had to put extra effort into making sure her grades didn't fall behind, otherwise Uncle Kaz would throw a fit.
As she took her seat, prepared for a day of learning, her sensei entered the address the class. They all stood, did their morning bows, and sat back down to let her talk. "Morning class, today is a very special day." Her announcement generates some buzz in the class. "We're welcoming a new student today! A transfer student from America!" She turned to the door. "You can come in!"
Haruka listened to the murmurs of her classmates as they wondered who this new foreign student would be. The boys were hoping it would be a cute blonde girl, while the girls were hoping for a fellow female student or a respectable boy.
What about her? What did she think? If Haruka was being honest, she didn't care too much about whoever this transfer student was. She had enough sense to know that whatever buzz this new addition would cause would end up blowing over by the end of the week. There was no reason to let herself be swayed by-eh? Haruka blinked as the rugged, cute boy entered the room. She found her eyes locked onto him almost like a trance.
He's a rough-looking boy with shoulder-length black hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes with black-discolored marks around them. He's dressed in the school's uniform, a black Gakuran with black flats on his feet. He has a padlock necklace hanging around his neck as well.
Their sensei motioned to the boy with her hand. "Introduce yourself to the class!"
He shoved his hands into his pocket with a small huff. "The name's Kevin Levin…or Levin Kevin since I'm in Japan."
Clearly, Haruka wasn't the only girl in the room to be enamored by his charm. The rest of her female classmates seemingly gained hearts in their eyes just from the sight of him. While the boys looked disgruntled and jealous of the attention Kevin was already getting from the girls.
Looking around the room, she pointed near the back. "There, you can take that seat next to Miss Sawamura."
"Eh?!" Haruka and the rest of the girls yelped. She watched carefully as Kevin strolled to the back of the room to take the seat near her. Haruka tried to stabilize her heartbeat, confused as to why she was feeling like this. But once she was given a closer look of Kevin's features, she felt her cheeks burn brightly. "U-uh umm…!"
Kevin took his seat, then noticed she was staring at him. "Yo. Sawamura, right?"
Quickly shaking her head to push away her blushing, Haruka waved her hands. "Y-you can just call me Haruka!"
"Then you can just call me Kevin." He shrugged, then his eyes trailed to the bulky watch on her wrist. "Huh…cool watch."
Her eyes shift to the Omnitrix before quickly bringing down out of sight. "O-oh this?! It's nothing special! I just won it at an arcade!"
"Cool! Maybe you can show me where that arcade is? I'm new to this place, after all." Kevin gives her a little smirk. The implications of his question caused her to sputter slightly, and the rest of the girls in their class felt the same. Jealousy burned in their eyes, upset that the new cute boy was giving his attention to Haruka.
Sensei clapped her hands. "Okay! Okay! That's enough socializing, time to start the lesson!"
"Yes, sensei!"
Seeing that class was officially starting, Haruka gladly turned back to her teacher. Paying attention to the lesson should allow her mind to think about anything other than the cute boy next to her. Although that caused her to miss the way Kevin's eyes remained on her, or more specifically, on the Omnitrix.
The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. Their sensei dismissed them to start eating until it was time to continue classes. Getting up from her seat, Haruka grabbed her lunchbox from the inside of her desk. As she was about to walk away, Kevin grabbed her wrist, right above the Omnitrix. A small spark danced between them, barely even noticeable by the two. "Y-yes?"
"Sorry." Kevin lets go of her wrist. "I was just wondering where you were going. I thought you guys only eat lunch in the classroom?"
Ah, it was a cultural question. "Well, we don't have to only eat here. We can eat outside or in other classrooms. I was going to go eat outside with my little sister."
"Cool!" Kevin gets up, grabbing his own lunch, a brown bag with his name written on it. "Mind if I come with you?"
Haruka blushed a bit. "M-my sister and I tend to eat by ourselves, but I don't think she'd mind having someone else there. I'm sure she'd be happy to meet you-Eep!" Suddenly, Haruka was thrown out of the way by the rest of her female classmates. The heroine cartoonishly flew through the air before landing outside of the classroom, sliding across the floor with her butt to the air.
"W-what the…?!" Kevin flinched back. He nervously looked around at the gaggle of girls with hearts in their eyes. "Um-"
"Eat with us, Kevin! We're far more interesting than that boring Sawamura!" One girl grabbed his arm.
"Yeah! We're prettier too!"
As Kevin tried to navigate his way through every teenage boy's dream, Haruka picked herself up off the ground. Looking back at the class, Haruka's eyes lowered at the sight of Kevin eating lunch with the other girls in the room. Brushing off her clothes, she picked up her definitely ruined lunch and marched down the hall. "Of course, I should have known it'd be like that…"
It wasn't like she was unpopular or anything, contrary to what just happened, she got along with her classmates normally. But that's all they were… classmates. Haruka preferred to keep herself distant from those not family.
She didn't hate people, but the events of her life were far from normal. How exactly do you relate to peers your age when you've been involved in multiple huge Yakuza related incidents in this country? It was better to just not have friends, and even when she attempted with Kevin those girls got in the way immediately. "Looks like it just isn't in the cards, after all."
As she made her way to the 1st years' section of the school, Haruka couldn't help but notice a pair of legs sticking out of a trash can. She blinked in confusion at who that could possibly be until she noticed the kiddie Sonic band-aid stuck to the right knee. Haruka's eyes widened in concern. "Ayako!" She rushed to help her little sister out of the trash can, cringing slightly at the terrible stench. "Oh my god, Ayako, are you okay?!"
The second oldest of the orphanage smiled appreciatively at her big sister. "Thanks, Haruka. I was almost scared nobody would help me." Ayako's uniform was slightly stained by some of the trash and some garbage hung off her shoulder. She carefully picked a banana peel off of her head. "Ugh… this is gonna take so long to wash out."
Haruka couldn't care less about that right now. Anger at the injustice thrown at her sister burned in her head. "Ayako! Who the heck did this to you?!"
"I-it was just Hana and her stupid gang. They waited until it was time for lunch to grab me and throw me headfirst into the trash can." Ayako rubbed her arm. "And they took my lunch too."
Stereotypical bullies?! Haruka's anger was increasing by the second. "Ayako, how long has this been going on?!"
Ayako looked away.
"Ayako!"
"F-few months…" She winced at the intense creasing of Haruka's brows. Ayako quickly waved her arms. "H-Haruka, it's nothing to get upset about! I promise that it's nothing I can't handle!"
In Haruka's mind, she thought back to when Ayako exploded at her during the incident with the charms. She had mentioned that she had dealt with some bullies at school, but she assumed it was just name-calling or mocking. But clearly it was far worse than she thought.
Haruka hated it when people abused their status or powers to hurt the people around them. All of her trauma from her bastard father, Nishiki, the Tojo, and Mine resurfaced through her mind. Back then, during all of that chaos, she had been powerless to do anything about it. But these were bullies, not Yakuza, meaning she could teach them a lesson. But how would she do that?
Slowly but surely, the young Sawamura looked down at her watch. An idea, one her uncle would probably frown at, formed in her head. "Ayako, here." She pushes her lunchbox into Ayako's arms.
"Your lunch?! But you need-"
"Don't worry about me. I'll just get something from the vending machines. Go eat, I'll join you later." Haruka hurries past her sister, leaving Ayako to stand there confused.
Unbeknownst to the two, Kevin, after escaping the group of girls, had quietly followed after Haruka. He hid behind the corner and watched walked off towards the school's courtyard. Growing even more curious, he quickly moved after Haruka without her noticing.
Hana Hoshino and her groupies happily strutted through the courtyard with their boxes of lunch. In Hana's left hand was Ayako's stolen lunch box which was wrapped up in teddy bear printed cloth. "Ha! Did you see the look on that dork's face when we dunked her in the trash bin?!" Hana cackles.
"She was all 'please stop'! 'Don't do this'!" Her black-haired friend laughs. She pretended to make a begging face to mock Ayako.
"And now we get another box of lunch too!" Her purple-haired friend added.
Spinning on her heels, Hana glared at her friends. "I have a free lunch! I was the one who came up with the idea and told you two to humiliate the loser, therefore it's mine."
"That's not fair, Hana!"
"Yeah! We deserve compensation for being the ones to dunk her!"
Shaking her head, Hana increased her glare. "Shut it! Unless you two want to taste garbage next!"
Across from the three and the rest of the students eating outside, a janitor was setting up a big mechanical fan alongside the gym teacher. "Are you sure you'll need this thing?" The janitor asked.
"Of course! This'll be good for the lesson I have planned today!" The gym instructor exclaimed. Unbeknownst to the two, a black and pink pool of liquid slithered up behind them, fusing itself with the fan. A pink circular eye blinked on the center of the fan, while the Omnitrix' dial stuck out on the bottom. Using her abilities, the alien enhanced the power of the fan, and with devious glee she enacted her plan.
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew through the courtyard, knocking over the janitor and teacher. The wind wasn't sporadic and was aimed specifically at the three arguing bullies. Hana and her friends were helpless against the intense blast of wind. Their lunch boxes fell from their grasp but that wasn't the only thing. Their skirts suffered a similar consequence and went flying through the air.
Seeing that her plan worked, the alien defused herself from the mechanical instrument and quickly slithered away.
Hana and her friends blinked, confused by that wind blast. "W-what the hell was that?!"
"A gust of wind? I don't think the forecast mentioned anything about high wind…?" The black-haired bully said. Though she did feel a breeze below. "Though I am feeling a bit chilly all of a sudden."
The purple-haired one looked around, noticing that other students were giggling, pointing, and laughing at them. "Um…? Is it just me or is everyone laughing at us?"
Growling at the mockery thrown her way, Hana marched in front of her friends. "And what's so funny, losers?!"
A 3rd year girl yelled. "Nice panties! Teddy bears are really cute!"
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
A huge blush formed on Hana's cheeks. "H-how do you-" That's when she and her friends looked down and realized their underwear was on full display for their peers.
"KYYYAAAAAAAAAA!" The bullies screeched loudly. Seeing their realization just made the whole thing funnier to everyone else. Hana and her groupies quickly grabbed their lunches, using them to cover themselves up, and sprinted back inside of the school as fast as they could. All the while, the laughter of their peers echoed in their ears.
Hiding behind a corner, Upgrade giggled at her successful prank. She used her phone to snap a picture of the humiliated bullies. The watch started beeping, then turned her back to normal in a bright red flash. "Hahaha! I can't wait to show this to Ayako later! I mean, she'll never know that it was me, right?"
"I'll know."
Haruka's blood ran cold. She whipped around lightning fast to see Kevin Levin coming out from behind the dumpster. He smiled confidently at the heroine and waved his hand. "Yo! Neat trick you did back there!"
"Y-you saw me transform?" She asked in a small voice.
"Yup."
…
…
…
Oh no… Uncle Kaz was NOT going to be happy about this.
"He saw WHAT?!"
Yup, as she guessed, he was not happy.
Dinner at the Morning Glory orphanage was silent as Haruka reluctantly told them an abridged version about everything that had transpired at school. She did her best to ignore the disappointed look in her Uncle Kaz's eyes. Sitting up straighter, Haruka felt the need to defend her actions. "But Uncle Kaz, it's not like I meant for him to catch me!"
"Whether you meant to or not doesn't matter." Kiryu countered. "The fact remains that you acted irresponsibly for a pointless prank."
"It wasn't pointless! Those jerks bullied Ayako! They shoved her headfirst in a trash can!" Haruka exclaimed before clamping a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that part and embarrass Ayako in front of their siblings.
"Wait, is that what that nasty smell is?!" Taichi exclaimed.
"N-nasty smell?!" Ayako flinched, cheeks heating up with embarrassment. It increased when Koji and Mitsuo leaned in to sniff her.
"Yikes! You do smell!" Koji laughed, pinching his nose.
"Ayako stinks!"
"I just took an hour-long shower! How is the trash smell still there?!" Ayako whined, covering her face with her hands. She hurried away from the dinner table, filled to the brim with embarrassment.
Riona smacked Taichi, Koji, and Mitsuo across the head. "Good going, dumb brains!"
Kiryu also didn't look pleased by their actions. "You three ARE going to apologize to her later."
Lowering their heads, the boys let out a reluctant sigh. "Yes, Uncle Kaz."
Once he was certain they understood (And made a self-note to speak with the middle school), he gave his attention back to Haruka. "And you, what you did today was childish."
Clearly, his words confused his adoptive daughter. "How? I defended Ayako against a bunch of bullies who deserved it."
"You used your powers to publicly humiliate those three girls."
"And how is that any different than me using this watch to take down some criminals?!" Haruka pointed to the Omnitrix, waving her arm exaggeratedly.
"Haruka, there's a difference between criminals who are breaking the law and a group of bullies that have no control over you." Kiryu explained. "Getting petty revenge isn't the right way. If you or anyone else are getting bullied, then tell a teacher or me. You have a responsibility with those powers, and you can't allow yourself to be easily swayed by emotions."
Scoffing at his attempts at wisdom, Haruka crossed her arms. "I doubt you'd ever be able to understand, Uncle Kaz! I hardly doubt anyone's ever bullied you before!"
As much as he'd like to disprove her, Kiryu knew her words were true. He and Nishiki never faced any bullying during their school days. They were the ones getting into trouble in the first place in order to prove themselves worthy of being Yakuza. It was stupid, ignorant, and only caused headaches for Kazama. He liked to think he's learned a lot since those days with wisdom he could empart on these kids, but Haruka was just as stubborn as he is. "Just promise me that you won't repeat this behavior in the future."
She looked down at her food, trying to hide her eye roll. "Yeah…sure…"
That was the best he was going to get at the moment. Kiryu decided to bring up the other elephant in the room. "And what about Kevin?"
"Is he going to reveal your secret?" Eri asked, clearly worried.
Pushing her irritation aside, the young heroine blushed a bit as she thought of him. "N-no…he promised not to say anything. In fact, he found my powers cool."
Kiryu let out a sigh. "That's a relief-"
"He also asked me out this weekend."
Silence overtook the dinner table before her siblings all erupted at once. "A DATE?! HARUKA'S GOING ON A DATE?!"
"YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!" Izumi squealed, hugging Mame tightly.
"I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" Haruka immediately denied, blushing brightly. "H-he just wants to hang out at karaoke this weekend! I-I'm going to be giving him a bit of a tour of Ryukyu since he only recently moved here! We're just friends!"
"Maybe for now! But he asked you out because he finds you cute!" Riona teased.
"C-cute…?! I-I don't know about that!" Haruka shook her head. "W-we just met!"
"And he also learned of your secret." Kiryu's stone-cold voice silenced the excitement. "Are you certain he's not doing this just to take advantage of you and your powers?"
Glaring at him lightly, Haruka stands up. "He was pretty nice to me even before finding out my secret. You worry too much, Uncle Kaz. I can handle myself just fine." She twirls her hair a bit around her finger. "And this could be my chance to actually make a friend."
Seeing the longing look in her eyes made the Dragon of Dojima sigh. "Fine, you can go meet him on the weekend."
"Really?! Thank you, Uncle-"
"As long as you promise to call me or come home if he turns out to be trouble."
Sagging her shoulders a bit. "Fine! But like I said, I can handle myself-"
"And you'll have curfew too."
"Uncle Kaz!" Haruka whines.
Standing in front of her mirror, Haruka examined her chosen outfit for her date. It wasn't anything too crazy, not much different from her standard casual clothing. Her denim skirt reached just above her knees, kept on by a belt around her waist. She wears a green top underneath an open pink jacket with the number 10 printed on the back in huge bold text. The sleeves of the jacket managed to cover up the Omnitrix just enough for it not to be a distraction. Her feet were covered by a nice pair of black and white flats. Her hair was kept neatly in place with a floral hair clip courtesy of Riona. "I think this looks good. What do you think?"
Behind her, her sisters all raised up their numbered signs. "A perfect 10, Haruka!"
"Aw~! Thanks, girls!" She embraces her sisters in a tight hug. They broke it up quickly to not ruin the clothes. "I wanted to look nice without, you know…doing too much."
Riona waved her hand. "You're worrying too much. You look great! You'll knock him dead!"
"D-dead?!" Eri flinched. Her mind flashed back to when Zombozo used that phrase.
"It's just a figure of speech." Ayako calms the squeamish child down.
Izumi picks up Haruka's handbag and gives it to her. "Don't forget your bag, Haruka."
"Thanks, Izumi." She gives her little sister a head pat.
Haruka and the girls exited their shared room to reach the entryway of the orphanage. They stopped when they saw Kiryu standing in the way. "Haruka."
"What, Uncle Kaz? I'm going to be late if you're going to lecture me again." Haruka complained, much to her adoptive father's annoyance.
"I was just going to say, don't use the watch during this date. If he asks to see you transform or if there's a crime happening, don't do it. Let the police handle it and just enjoy a normal hangout." Kiryu advised.
"Oh… well, I guess I can agree with that." Haruka felt a bit bad about her rudeness before.
"But what if some really big incident happens, Uncle Kaz?" Izumi innocently asked.
"If it seems like the authorities can't handle it, then you can jump in. Otherwise, listen to my orders." Kiryu replied.
His oldest nodded her head. "That's fine. I'll do just that, now out of the way, Uncle Kaz! I have to catch the train!"
Kiryu stepped out of the way to let Haruka out of the orphanage. The young teen maneuvered between her wrestling brothers, catching their attention. "Have fun on your date, Haruka!" Koji yelled, teasingly.
"Yeah! Try not to catch cooties!" Taichi added.
"Taichi! She's the girl, so she'd have the cooties!" Mitsuo corrected.
"Oh…right."
Shiro rolled his eyes. "Just wish her luck, guys."
Shaking her head at them, Haruka waved at the boys. "Yeah, yeah! You four better not give Uncle Kaz too much trouble while I'm gone!"
"We will!" They responded with loud giggles, causing the dragon to smirk slightly.
"And remember your curfew!" Kiryu reminds her.
"I will!"
As she waved goodbye, Haruka placed her focus entirely on her date with Kevin. They haven't known each other for long but this hang out should give her a chance to learn more about him. Maybe having a friend for once really was in her cards.
Haruka and Kevin met up at Karaokekan, paying for at least an hour-long session in the parlor all to themselves. It was pretty embarrassing for the poor girl when the receptionist warned them not to get up to anything 'silly' inside of the parlor. Kevin rolled with the assumption, unbothered by the implications. After ordering some drinks (Non-alcholic) and food, Haruka nervously scrolled through the playlist of songs. "So…any preferences?"
Kevin, wearing a black and white polo with brown slacks, shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. Never been here before. I'm new here, remember?"
"R-right! Haha! I knew that!" The heroine mentally slapped herself. This shouldn't be as awkward as it was! She's been to karaoke parlors with another person before! Albeit, those were primarily with her Uncle Kaz but they still count! "In that case…" Seeing a song she recognized, Haruka selected it. "I'll start us off to get us going!"
"Confident in your singing skills, huh?" He teases.
For once since the start of the date, Haruka did look confident. "Oh yeah! My family praises my singing voice all the time!" Swiping the microphone from the stand, Haruka starts swaying to the beat. She had picked one of her favorite songs I Wanna Change Myself. A perfect opening for a hopefully perfect night.
As she started singing, Kevin found himself being drawn in by her voice. Haruka's voice was already nice sounding, but amplification from singing made it angelic. The longer it went on, the more he could feel his mind entering some kind of dream-like state. Soft memories of time long ago flashed in front of his eyes. He saw a woman with hair color similar to his own holding him close, a soft melody escaping her lips.
As the song finished, the heroine wiped a bit of the sweat from her forehead. A bright smile spreads across her cute features. "So, what did you think?"
Breaking out of his trance, Kevin sat there quietly for a moment. The ruggish boy reflected on his date's performance and slowly started clapping his hands. "I-I got to be honest. I've never heard singing like that before."
"O-oh! Was it bad?"
"Nah, it was…nostalgic." Kevin muttered, looking down at the table.
"Nostalgic?" Haruka repeated, confused. "My singing reminded you of something?"
"My mom."
She was silent for a moment, unsure of how to reply. "I-is she over in America?" Maybe he was just homesick?
A brief look of anger? Pain? Sorrow? Whatever it was had passed through Kevin's face lightening fast. The only reason Haruka managed to catch it was because her Uncle Kaz was the same way whenever he tried to mask his pain. "It's nothing important. I don't really want to talk about it."
"Right! Yeah! I get it!" Haruka scratched her cheek. "We shouldn't talk about such personal things when we're just trying to have fun!"
"Exactly!" Kevin's energy returned with the subject change. "Like those powers of yours!" His finger pointed at the barely concealed Omnitrix. "I didn't get to ask the details before, but how did you even get your hands on something like that?"
Haruka scratched her cheek nervously. "I-it…uh…fell from the sky?"
Kevin didn't believe it, but he shrugged his shoulders anyway. "Eh, whatever." He gets up from his seat to close the distance. Kevin holds out his hand. "Can I see it?"
She flinched back slightly, gripping the watch. "It doesn't really come off."
"Bummer." He sighed, pulling back his hand. He shoves his hands into his pockets. "Gotta say though, it's cool to meet someone else with-"
SLAM!
"OI! OI! OI!" Smashing open the door of their rented parlor were a couple of Yakuza-looking thugs. They strolled inside, ignoring the protest of the receptionist. Leading the pack was a lengthy guy with a shovel chin, his suit's top was unbuttoned to show his pale chest. "What the hell kind of place is this to serve a couple of brats?!"
"S-sir! Please! This room is already being rented! There are others-"
"And we said we wanted this one!" His shorter lackey yelled at the woman.
Kevin's eyes narrowed at the intruding bastards. "And what do you guys want?"
"What does it look like, little punk?!" The leader points to himself. "We're commandeering this room for our own enjoyment!"
"Yeah! Listen to Big bro Hagane!" His other lackey shouted.
Crossing his arms, Kevin didn't look scared at all. "Too bad, string bean. My friend and I rented this space out for the whole hour. You'll just have to wait."
Haruka quickly puts a hand to his shoulder. "Kevin, it's okay. We can just leave-" He tears his shoulder away.
"As if! If there's one thing I hate more, it's getting pushed around by a bunch of wannabe punk-asses!" Kevin growled.
Hagane glared angrily at the boy. "What was that, brat?!" He marched up to Kevin, grabbing him by his shirt. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to watch who you're talking to?!" Suddenly, Kevin spat in his face.
"Heh! Didn't yours teach you to watch who you get close to-GAH!" The American boy was thrown into the table, spilling their drinks and food all over the floor.
"You stupid little shit!" Hagane hissed, wiping his face clean.
"Kevin!" Haruka gasped. Instinctively she reached for the Omnitrix before stopping herself. She couldn't use the watch here, not with so many people and security cameras on her. She would need to think of something else before the situation got worse. But that's when she noticed Kevin's hand reaching for the tablet. To her surprise, tiny electrical sparks started dancing around the tablet. "What…?"
Hagane was beyond pissed at the disrespect thrown his way. "That's it, brat! We're killing you here and then we'll take that little girlfriend of yours!" His sick words caused Haruka to glare at them.
Hagane's lackeys started approaching Kevin, cracking their knuckles. "You picked the wrong time to be a hero kid!"
"Nah!" Kevin's smirk and confidence confused them. "I think it's you guys who picked the wrong time!" He tossed the tablet into the middle of the group. Before anyone could make a sound, it released a burst of high voltage, electrocuting Hagane and his men immediately.
Haruka and the receptionist watched in befuddlement, while Kevin enjoyed the lightshow a little too much. When it stopped, the thugs fell to the ground with pretty nasty burn marks all over their bodies.
"W-what happened?!" The receptionist stammered.
"I guess the tablet was pretty faulty." Kevin acted innocent as he got up from the floor. "I didn't think something like that would happen." Haruka slightly narrowed her eyes, not believing what he was saying. She could ask about that later but for now there were more important matters.
"Maybe you should call the police? These guys are still alive and it would be best to get them out of here." Haruka suggested to the receptionist.
"R-right! I'm so sorry about all of this! I'll be sure to give you two a refund for the inconvenience!" She informed them before retreating back to her desk.
Wiping his hands, Kevin laughed at the defeated thugs. "Did you see the looks on their faces after they got fried? Priceless!"
"Kevin." He stopped, turning to see Haruka's serious face. "Can we…talk?"
After leaving the karaoke establishment, the two youngsters were sitting under the evening sky on a bench, a popsicle in each of their hands. Haruka tasted her popsicle before giving her attention to her date. "Kevin, what happened back at the parlor? What was that?"
"Ah, so that's what this is about." He laughed softly. "For a second there, I thought you were gonna call off the date."
"W-well… I mean…!" Haruka stammered slightly.
"Don't worry about it! I was gonna tell you about this before those losers interrupted me." Kevin raised his hand, electrical energy surging in his palm. "Just like you, I have powers of my own."
Haruka couldn't believe that there was someone like her out there, and that person would end up being her new classmate. "T-that's amazing! How did you get them?!"
"I was born with them." Kevin shrugged. "Some kind of mutation or something."
"D-do your parents know?" Haruka decided to ask.
Kevin was silent for a moment. "Nah, they thought I was a freak. When I first showed them my powers…" He trailed over, clearly thinking back on his old memories.
That was something Haruka couldn't relate to. When she first got the watch, her family was excited and supportive. They all wanted to see her transform and be a hero, it was clear as day that their love for her hadn't changed. But Kevin didn't have anything like that. His family didn't see his powers the same way. It hurt her heart to hear that. "I'm sorry, Kevin. I shouldn't have asked."
"It's fine. You didn't know. Besides, it's not like they're important or anything. They didn't want me, so I struck out on my own." Kevin leaned back, taking a bite out of his popsicle. "Kinda. I eventually ran into some…trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Just some stuff with some people. Nothing too concerning, but the guys in charge of the child-care system figured it was best for me to head out here in Japan for a new start." Kevin explained.
"So, you're on your own?"
"Yup!" Clearly, Kevin didn't seem upset about it. "As long as I do well in school then I ain't gotta worry about some caretaker being assigned at my apartment!"
As she processed everything she just learned about Kevin, Haruka tightened her grip on her popsicle. His situation slightly reminded her of her time before meeting her Uncle Kaz. That feeling of loneliness after losing her mother wasn't so easily forgotten. "You come stay with me."
"Huh? You want to move in together?"
"I-I MEAN!" Catching what she just said, a huge blush overtook her face. "I-I didn't mean anything like that!" Haruka took a deep breath to calm herself. "I just meant that you could come live with me and my family at the Morning Glory!"
"Morning Glory?"
"Yeah! It's an orphanage run by my Uncle Kaz! All of us, me included, are all orphans. But Uncle Kaz took it upon himself to adopt us all to live with him. We're a family." Haruka explained.
Kevin's face settled into an unreadable expression. "Do they know about your powers?"
"They do! A-and they didn't hate me for them! So, if you come with us, then you won't have to worry about people being afraid of you!" Haruka exclaimed, hoping that he'd agree.
There was nothing but the sounds of the wind passing through them as she awaited Kevin's reply. He looked away for a moment, unknown thoughts running through his head, then he looked back at her. "Nah."
"W-what?" Haruka looked downtrodden.
"Big places, especially orphanages aren't my thing. I'm better on my own."
"O-oh…" She lowered her gaze.
"Is something I would say if I hadn't met you." Kevin's words brought her head back up. "Meeting someone else my age with superpowers is pretty awesome, right?"
"Y-yeah. It's pretty awesome!" Haruka agreed.
Kevin held out his hand. "Then let's be partners, you and I."
"Partners?"
"A team. I'm someone who doesn't like seeing people getting taken advantage of, you're the same right? You did humiliate those girls for what they did to your sister, right?" Kevin reminded her of her earlier actions.
That was true. Haruka hated the idea of people with more power getting away with hurting others. Hana and her cronies use their status and popularity to humiliate Ayako, so she paid them back in full. Her bastard father, Nishiki, Mine, and Hamazaki were all dealt the fates they deserved for hurting their family. The more she thought about them, the further her blood boiled with righteous anger.
"You're right, Kevin. I can't stand watching powerful people trample on others or people hurting others for their own amusement. I'm a hero, because I can't be powerless anymore." Haruka declared. She took his hand, sealing the deal. "Let's be a team!"
"Then we have a deal!" He jumps up from the bench, discarding his popsicle in the trash can. "Let's go! I already have our first team mission rolled out!"
"E-eh?! Right now?!" Haruka stuttered.
"Yeah!"
Looking at her phone, she blanched at the time, especially since the sun was starting to set. "I kinda have to leave. Uncle Kaz wants me to be back before the curfew he set, and he ordered me not to use the watch tonight."
Rolling his eyes, Kevin turned to face her. "C'mon, Haruka! Are you really going to let some bad guys get away with their crimes because your uncle wanted to tell you what to do?!"
"Well…" She scratched her cheek.
He takes her hand, causing Haruka to lightly blush. "We're the ones with power, Haruka. We gotta use it how we see fit. And that's punishing the guys hurting us and others."
His words touched the soreness of her heart, dragging Haruka to make a decision. Smirking, she got up from the bench. "Alright, Kevin! Let's kick some butt! I'm sure Uncle Kaz will understand! He did say I could use it if the circumstances called for it!"
"See! Everything will be fine!" Kevin turned away, hiding his sneaky smile from his newest partner.
Kiryu patiently sat in his room, staring at his clock. The rest of the kids were getting ready for bed with Ayako rounding them up to ensure the younger ones didn't try to skip brushing their teeth. The only one that was missing was his oldest, the one that promised him she'd be back by curfew time. Kiryu narrowed his eyes, agitation and disappointment increasing by the second.
"Haruka…"
Unaware of the punishment that would be awaiting her back home, Haruka hid behind some crates next to Kevin. She peeked above, seeing a bunch of Yakuza occupying the warehouse lot close to the docks. Strangely enough, these guys looked a bit beaten up, some already dressed in bandages or scuffed up clothing. Haruka didn't recognize their style of dress, meaning they must be some small Yakuza family that just recently moved into the area. Ducking back down, she turned to her partner. "So, what's the plan?"
"You distract them." Kevin whispered back.
"Distract them? Why?" She asked.
"Because your transformations are pretty loud, yeah? Perfect for holding their attention while I sneak past them." Kevin replied.
"Sneak past them? Is there something in there that they took?"
Getting slightly annoyed at her constant questioning, Kevin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He figured the girl was a complete goody two-shoes, but this was pushing it just a tad. Luckily, lying about terrible deeds when it comes to guys like this are easily believable. "Yeah! They took some pretty valuable stuff from people around where I live. I want to get them back."
"What did they take?"
"A bunch of stuff!" He hissed with a bit too much strain. Kevin saw her flinch slightly and sighed, cooling his jets. "Sorry, I just really want to get it back for them."
Seeing the determined look in Kevin's eyes, Haruka relented. "Okay, I can see it's important to you. I've had some important things taken from me too by the Yakuza, so I'll help you out." Reaching down, Haruka activated the Omnitrix. She scrolled through her roster before landing on her preferred icon. "You might want to close your eyes; the flash is pretty bright."
FLASH!
All of the men stationed outside turned the noise, gasping at the sight of the large orange dog snarling above the crates. Wildmutt raised her head and bellowed out a mighty roar that caused the men to take a step back. As she leaped down onto the concrete, several more men rushed out of the warehouse to see what was going on.
"What the hell?! What is that thing?!" A thug asked.
"I recognize that mutt! It's one of those alien freaks that's been popping up all over Okinawa recently!" A bald guy exclaimed.
"Great! We've already had to deal with one stupid freak, and now we've got this one too?!"
Though she was slightly confused by what they meant, Wildmutt chose to continue with her part of the plan. Scratching her claws against the concrete, the huge dog rushed forward with deadly speeds. Her paw smashed the first guy into the pavement before deflecting a round of bullets with her claws. Utilizing her advanced reflexes and senses, Wildmutt avoided their attacks like it was nothing. "RAGH!" She grabbed a guy by the leg with her jaws, dragging along the ground before throwing him into a small group to knock them into the ground. Bullets bounced off her tough exterior, shocking the Yakuza.
"The bullets bounced off of it?!" That was the last thing the guy said before Wildmutt crashed into him, sending him flying into some of the crates.
Kevin took a moment to watch the one-sided smackdown, mesmerized by Haruka's abilities. Her prank against those bullies didn't do her powers justice at all. The ruggish exchange student licked his lips, slightly wondering what having that kind of power would feel like. Though he couldn't keep watching since he had a job to do. As more men rushed out to combat the heroine, Kevin snuck into the warehouse as stealthily as he could.
He ducked behind tables and crates to stay out of the sight of the guys still lingering inside. Kevin clicked his tongue when he noticed that sneaking through some of these guys wouldn't be easy with how they're positioned. Luck seemed to favor him when he noticed a forklift nearby. Quietly moving towards it, Kevin placed his palm on the vehicle and activated his powers.
With a loud noise, the forklift surged to life, charging towards the opposite side of the wall. Any of the Yakuza in its way quickly ducked away to avoid getting run over. When it crashed into the wall, the men gathered around it. "Who the hell turned the forklift on?!"
"How am I supposed to know?!" A bulky thug responded.
"Whatever! Clean this up before the boss has our heads! We've got enough trouble with that stupid dog outside! If anything, else goes wrong then-" A spark flew past their heads, nailing the forklift. There were only a few seconds to process before the vehicle exploded in a bright flash of fire and metal. All of the Yakuza were sent flying, crashing against the floor with burns and shrapnel impaled in their skin.
Wildmutt turned to the warehouse, seeing the smoke and flames billowing out of the place. She was about to charge in until the thuggish men blocked her path to the warehouse. Wildmutt growled fiercely before lunging with a roar.
"Ha Ha!" Kevin cheered and dashed up the metal stairs to reach the main office as the automatic sprinkler system activated, drenching the entire place. He blew the door open with his powers and surveyed the room. Seeing that nobody was inside, Kevin reached into his shirt and pulled out a bag. "Now if I were a safe where would I be…?" Searching, the mutant checked underneath the desk and grinned. "Bingo!"
Hiding beneath the wooden table was a metal safe with an electrical lock. Kevin pressed his finger against it to fry the lock. The metal door opened up to reveal the huge stacks of yen hidden within. Moving quickly, Kevin tosses the money into his bag and then ties it closed to ensure nothing would fall out. Standing back up, Kevin stops when he hears the sound of a gun clicking. "Heh! Figured you would show up!"
Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit with a silver pin attached to his left breast pocket. He aimed his gun at the troublesome boy. "You again, freak?! Didn't you learn your lesson last time?!"
Kevin didn't look afraid. "My lesson? If memory serves me right, you guys were the ones who started shooting at an innocent kid, Minazuki."
"Innocent, my ass! You hospitalized 20 of my men and made off with several bags of our money! The only reason you didn't get it all is because of the police arriving!" Minazuki hissed.
"Your money? I thought the Yakuza were known for cheating and stealing people. All I'm doing is taking from the rich to give to the poor. And by poor, I mean myself." Kevin declared with a tricky smile.
"Shut it, kid! This time I'm not going to miss my shot!" Minazuki was about to pull the trigger.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you! My big, hairy partner wouldn't like that!" Kevin points behind him.
His trick worked, causing Minazuki to turn around. He blinked when he didn't see anyone behind him. "What?! There's nobody-GYAAAAAAH!" Electricity scorched his body, overloading his senses. Mixed with the water covering his body, the attack was even more painful than it normally would be. Minazuki dropped his gun and fell to the floor.
Kevin fried the weapon to ensure Minazuki couldn't use it anymore. Then he stood over the unconscious Yakuza. "And for insurance…" Kevin tore off the man's necklace and stuffed it into his pocket. He kicked Minazuki hard enough across the face to knock out a few teeth. "That was for calling me a freak!"
Turning back to his money, Kevin smirked. "Now, this is what I call a payday."
Meanwhile, outside of the warehouse, Wildmutt finished up knocking all of the men out. The Vulpimancer let out a small sigh now that the fighting was over. Turning back to the burning warehouse, she prepared to rush back in until she saw Kevin stumbling out, covered in soot and dirt, with a huge bag in his hands. "Ragh!" Wildmutt rushed towards him.
"Hey, hey! I'm perfectly fine!" Kevin laughed at the concern coming from the eyeless dog. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket, holding it up with the bag. "And I got the stolen goods too!"
"Raah!" Wildmutt happily barked.
Suddenly, police sirens could be heard in the distance, growing closer by the second. Kevin's eyes widened, realizing that the explosion likely garnered more attention than he thought. "We need to run!" He felt Wildmutt by the back of his shirt and tossed him onto her back.
"Raagh!" As if yelling at him to hold on, Kevin grabbed her quills and hung on for dear life as Wildmutt sprinted away from the warehouse. The police eventually arrived, confused by the destruction that littered the warehouse.
Haruka quickly made her across the beach, hoping that her Uncle Kaz had fallen asleep so that she could sneak back inside of the orphanage undetected. Her mind flashed back to her conversation with Kevin before they split up for the night.
"Did you get your neighbor's belongings?" Haruka asked.
Kevin flashed the bag at her. "Yup! Everything's here thanks to you, I'm sure my neighbors are going to be happy to have it back. Thanks, Haruka."
A blush appeared on her cheeks; she pushed her hair behind her ear. "I-it was nothing. I'm just happy that you were unharmed. I heard the explosion that happened inside the warehouse."
He waved off the concern. "Nothing big. Those guys just crashed one of the forklifts inside into a power box. It's gonna take more than that to take me down. But I was more impressed with you."
"M-me?!"
"Yeah, your powers are awesome! With you and me together, nothing will be able to get in our way." Kevin stuck out his hand for her to take.
She hesitated for a moment before taking Kevin's hand with a warm smile. "Together."
A warm feeling sprouted in her chest. "I have a friend~!" The giggly heroine practically skipped inside of the orphanage. Flowers and sunshine were rotating around her head to demonstrate her pleasant mood.
So, it would be really bad if the door to her uncle's room suddenly shot open right as she walked past it. Haruka froze, sweat pouring down her face as the fearsome Dragon of Dojima loomed over her smaller form like a dark shadow. She turned with robotic movement to meet his glowing red eyes. "H-h-h-hi, Uncle K-Kaz…"
Kiryu opened his mouth.
"A WEEK! GROUNDED FOR A WEEK!"
Ayako took small bites out of her lunch as she watched her sister angrily pace back and forth. The younger sister felt like it was better to let Haruka get her emotions out considering that Uncle Kaz didn't let Haruka utter a single word during breakfast.
"Like, seriously, this punishment is so unfair! I wasn't even out that long past curfew!" Haruka angrily huffed.
"Umm…wasn't it midnight when you got back?" Ayako reminded Haruka, only to be met with an irritated glare. "S-sorry."
Shaking her head, Haruka sighed. "Don't apologize, Ayako. It's not your fault." She sat back down next to her on the bench. Haruka angrily picked up her lunch. "It's Uncle Kaz's fault for not understanding the point of being a hero."
"Umm… What were you doing last night, Haruka?" Ayako asked.
"Being a hero. A group of Yakuza were taking stuff from innocent people, so Kevin and I made sure they would regret their actions." Haruka bragged, proudly.
"Wait, Kevin? Why would Kevin be there with you?" Ayako questioned.
After looking around, Haruka leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Because Kevin has powers too! Just like me!"
"EH?!" Ayako almost dropped her lunch in shock. "Y-you mean that-"
"Yup! I'm not the only superpowered kid in Okinawa anymore." Haruka said with a dreamy expression. "We have so much in common! Far more than I initially thought! And he wants to go out again tonight too!"
Ayako frowned, not sharing the same excited thoughts. "Haruka, are you sure that's smart? Uncle Kaz did warn you to come home immediately once school was done. You're grounded."
The heroine's mood soured at the reminder. "So? Uncle Kaz will understand once he sees all the good I'm doing."
"Does Kevin know you're grounded?"
"I told him, but he said that being 'grounded' isn't really a punishment. Just something adults use to hold power over us." The girl's eyes darkened a bit, scaring Ayako slightly. "People like us are the ones with power, not them."
"People like us?" Ayako did not like how that sounded. She was about to speak up about that until familiar loud shrieks filled the courtyard. "W-what?!"
Suddenly, Hana and her groupies rushed past the two. The three were completely soaked in muddy water and loud mocking laughter could be heard all over. And much to Ayako's shock, Haruka was also openly laughing at the three bullies being humiliated. "Ha! I guess those three got another round of karma thrown their way! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"So, was that as good as your prank the other day?" Haruka and Ayako turned to see Kevin approaching with his hands in his pockets. "Messing with the school's water hoses wasn't too difficult."
"Prank?" Ayako asked. She knew her sister did something to her bullies, but she never actually knew what Haruka had done.
"Oh yeah, I didn't show you before." Haruka took out her phone and showed the picture of the three bullies running around in their underwear. "Upgrade made sure to get some nice revenge for you, little sis."
However, to Haruka's confusion, Ayako's brows furrowed in anger. "Haruka! How could you do something like that?!"
"What are you getting upset about? I was just getting revenge."
"T-that's way worse than what they've done to me or anyone else…kinda." Ayako thought back to some of her more embarrassing encounters with those bullies. "But still! Doing something like that to people isn't right, you know that!"
"Woah, woah!" Kevin interrupted. "All she was doing was giving those banshees exactly what they deserved. Don't you hate it whenever they bully you?"
"Of course, I hate it! But that doesn't mean we have to stoop to their level! Nobody wins in revenge!" Ayako declared.
"And nobody wins either if we sit back and do nothing!" Haruka placed her lunch down, glaring at her little sister. "You wouldn't understand, Ayako! There are people in this world who get a kick out of abusing others, causing them pain, and taking everything away from them! All we're doing is ensuring that they get the justice they deserve."
"But there's a limit, Haruka!"
Haruka paused for a moment, flinching slightly from Ayako's response. Something inside of her agreed with Ayako that there was a limit. But that thought was yanked back into darkness by Kevin's hand landing on her shoulder. "Kevin?"
"There's no limit when you're the one with power. We have to punish those jerks that try to stomp all over us, right?" Kevin's sweet smile wormed its way through Haruka's brain.
A determined smile formed on the heroine's face. "Exactly."
"C'mon, I already know the next hideout to hit." He puts an arm around her shoulder, causing Haruka to blush. "We can probably knock them out before the day is done."
"Gotcha! See ya, Ayako!" Haruka waves to her little sister as she and Kevin start running towards the school gate.
"W-what?! Haruka?! What about school?! And Uncle Kaz?! He won't be happy about this!" Ayako exclaimed. Clearly, Haruka had tuned her out in favor of listening to Kevin. "Oh no…" Seeing that her big sister had clearly fallen for whatever manipulations Kevin had placed on her, she quickly rushed back inside of the school to grab her phone, her Uncle Kaz needed to know about this asap!
Throughout the rest of the day, Haruka and Kevin went on a crusade together, hitting any and all suspicious 'hideouts' all over the city. Much to Kevin's amazement, Haruka's aliens were versatile and diverse, making her perfect for all of their infiltrations and fights. What was even better was how naive his partner really was to his true goals. As they pillaged these Yakuza and thugs, he always took the chance to take any stolen valuables they had hidden. His lies about turning the bags into the police or to those he knew were easily believed by the young goody-goody. She was far too sweet for her own good, but Kevin did find her cute. So, he'll keep her around for a bit longer before bailing out.
Right now, they were resting in his apartment, eating snacks as they marked off another spot on their little map. "And that's the west-side of the city handled." Kevin said.
"You were right, Kevin!" Haruka exclaimed as she popped open a can of orange soda. "We really can clean this up by the end of the day!"
"Was there ever any doubt?" He teased her. "Besides, without your forms this never would have been possible. You're like a massive cheat code!"
She blushed, giggling a bit. "I wouldn't say that! These powers aren't anything special."
"You're wrong. Those powers are wicked awesome!" His eyes lingered on her Omnitrix. "I still wish you'd let me give it a shot."
"I already told you that I can't take it off. It's kinda stuck." Haruka pulled at the watch to show that it wouldn't budge.
Kevin shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure I can figure out a way to remove it. I'm pretty good with machines."
Haruka didn't know if that was a good idea. "We can discuss that later."
"Sure." He gets up, brushing off his clothes. "I'm gonna use the bathroom. Just chill here till I'm back."
"Alright!" She nodded as she watched him leave the room. Now that she was by herself, Haruka relaxed with a smile. Her eyes scanned over the bags of belongings they've gathered up till now. After they hit these last few places, they'll turn all of this over to the police to return back where it belongs. Working with Kevin allowed her to do far better than she's been able to do up till now. This was much more efficient than just waiting for criminals to make a move.
She felt her phone buzz and took it out to see her uncle was trying to call her. Frowning, Haruka ignored the call with a huff. "Enough, Uncle Kaz. You're just going to yell at me again for trying to help people." The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "Can't you see that I'm just doing what's right?!"
If her uncle was in her place, he wouldn't be doing all of this. He'd have forgiven anyone who wronged him just because they fought with spirit or whatever justifications those big burly men had. No matter how many people they hurt or how much damage they cause, he'd just let them get away because he beat them in a fight or something. That wasn't justice.
Mine dying without paying for everything he did wasn't justice! It wasn't fair! It wasn't right! Her mother's death wasn't right! And yet the ones responsible died without properly paying for all of the pain they caused!
Haruka's fist smashed into the floor, expelling her pent-up anger. Her hit caused one of the bags to fall over. Her eyes widened and caught it quickly. "Oops! That was close!" She didn't want to risk breaking anything-huh? That's weird… Haruka squeezed the bag and felt nothing really solid inside of it. Growing curious, the heroine opened the bag to find it filled to the brim with a bunch of yen bills! "What the…?!"
Shooting up to her feet, Haruka opened the rest of the bags to see that they were all the same. Each bag was filled with nothing but money, lots and lots of money! Stumbling back, confusion and suspicion burned her brain.
Then the door opened to show Kevin walking back in. "Hey, Haruka, wanna watch this one movie real quick-hm?" He stopped when he saw the girl glaring at him, surrounded by the stacks of cash. Kevin's heart dropped a bit. "Oh."
"Oh? OH?!" Haruka's eyes narrowed. "Kevin, what the heck is this?! I thought these bags were filled with people's belongings, not cash!"
"Well, if you look at it from a certain point of view-"
"KEVIN!"
"Fine!" Kevin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I lied about what we were borrowing."
"Borrowing?! Kevin, I-we-stole all of this money! It's not ours!" Haruka yelled.
He walked over, picking up one of the stacks. "C'mon, Haruka, the people we stole this stuff from were thugs, gangsters, Yakuza, and your usual pair of petty thieves! The money was never theirs in the first place."
"That doesn't change the fact that we still have it here! We need to turn this money into the police, now!"
"Why should I? It's my cash! I earned it fair and square!"
"There's nothing fair about stealing, Kevin! You can't justify your actions of stealing by hurting people, even if they're not good people!" Haruka argued.
"Oh, really?! You're going to judge me about justifying?"
"What are you talking about?" She slightly flinched back as he got closer.
"Aren't you the one who used her powers to humiliate those bullies back at school?" Kevin reminds her.
"W-well, yeah, but that's different! They hurt someone I cared about-"
"And there you go, justifying it! Those Yakuza hurt people all the time! And they justify it by holding their power over others! Just like the jackasses back home, like my parents before they threw me out on the streets! You can justify treating people like crap as long as you have power over them!" Kevin shouted, shoving the heroine back.
Haruka's eyes widened. "Kevin…"
"Do you want to know why they brought me over here from the States?" Kevin stood over her, glaring down with barely contained anger. "It's because I'm dangerous, they fear what I'm capable of doing. A bunch of guys kept thinking they could take advantage of me, because they thought I was nothing more than some punk kid!" His hands sparkled with energy. "And well, let's say that didn't end well for them."
"You…?!" Haruka gasped.
"Killed them? I wish. But even after that it kept happening. Day in and day out there were people trying to hurt me! So, I decided I'd hurt them and take from them before they could do the same to me." He reflected on a memory of his father attempting to stab him with a broken glass bottle. "I tried to play by their rules, but even over here I'm judged for the way I look, the way I walk, and the way I talk! Nothing changed! And I refuse to let anyone hurt me ever again!"
Haruka flinched under his glare; his eyes reminded her of something familiar. Memories of Nishikiyama during the Millennium Tower Incident flashed through her mind.
"I'm going to take the ten billion and inherit the Tojo Clan. I'll take Yumi from you too. For the first time, I will control my fate!"
The words of her uncle and Ayako flashed through her mind as well.
"You have a responsibility with those powers, and you can't allow yourself to be easily swayed by emotions."
"Of course, I hate it! But that doesn't mean we have to stoop to their level! Nobody wins in revenge! There's a limit, Haruka!"
The young heroine lowered her head, bangs covering her eyes. "I'm an idiot…"
"Heh!" Kevin smirks. "I'm glad you're starting to realize that I'm right-"
"NO!" She roars, jumping to her feet. "I'm talking about myself!" Haruka pushes her hand into her chest. "I've been so focused on trying to enact my own justice, to make up for my own weakness, that I've ended up becoming just like the people I hate the most! Justifying hurting others for my own agenda makes me no better than them! I forgot what it meant to have a responsibility and how to use it! And I refuse to continue walking down that path!" Haruka points at the mutant. "And neither should you, Kevin!"
Kevin's face morphed into a snarl. "And what? You think just because you've had some epiphany that I should too?" He shoves her hand away. "I told you before, Haruka, I live my life by my own rules! I'm the one with the power, I'm Kevin Levin, who's gonna stop me?!"
The sound of the Omnitrix activating silenced the room. Haruka's hard stare met Kevin's surprised orbs. "Me!" Before she could transform, Kevin grabbed her wrist, his hands sparking with surging energy. "K-Kevin?!"
"HA! You're such a loser like that little sister of yours!" Kevin insulted with a sick grin. The Omnitrix started making erratic noises as Kevin's powers started to mess with it.
"W-what are you doing?!" Haruka gasped, trying to pull away.
"I never fully explained my powers to you, did I?!"
BOOM!
An explosion shook the apartment building, the two superpowered kids were thrown towards the opposite sides of the room. Haruka groaned, holding her head as she got up. Looking down at the watch, she saw that it was switching between red and pink on the faceplate, likely still reeling from whatever Kevin had done. Speaking of… "Kevin?!" She looked around for the mutant.
"He he he he he!"
"What?" Haruka looked ahead through the smoke in the room. Stepping through the smoke was Kevin, but something about him caused her to stare in fear. Kevin's body had undergone a horrific mutation. Half of his upper body was now covered in the same purple rock exterior as Haruka's Crystal-Girl form. His head had changed into the shape of the transformation with several pink crystals jutting out of his back and shoulders. "Holy…!"
"Shit! HA HA!" Kevin finished the curse. He happily examined his new body alongside the power flowing through his veins. "Is this what it feels like whenever you transform into your aliens?! This shit rocks!"
"H-how is this possible?!" Haruka stuttered.
"I don't just manipulate energy; I ABSORB it too! I didn't think absorbing some of the energy in that watch of yours was going to do this, but I don't mind it one bit!" Kevin declared with a maniacal laugh.
Slowly standing up, Haruka held out her hand. "Kevin, you have to stop!"
"Stop?! Why would I stop when I'm just getting started! With this power, nobody will ever be able to hurt me or control me again!" Kevin's body started to glow, energy swelling within his form. "I'm finally free to live how I want!"
"Hurting people just because you can isn't going to help you! It'll only hurt you in the long run, Kevin!" Haruka shouted.
Anger exploded forth. "Shut up! I'm done listening to your preaching! As far as I'm concerned, our partnership is DEAD!" Kevin aimed his crystal hand right at Haruka, causing her to gasp when the rainbow beam was fired explosively.
Driving through the streets of Ryukyu in their family van, Kiryu Kazuma was anything but happy. Sitting right next to him in the passenger seat was Ayako, who was trying to contact Haruka's cell number. "She's still not picking up."
Kiryu's grip on the wheel tightened, slightly scaring the 2nd oldest. "Haruka…"
"Uncle Kaz, you're not going to hurt Haruka, are you?" Ayako asked, carefully.
The Dragon of Dojima's anger subsided after hearing the question from his ward. Slowing down the van, he turned his eyes to Ayako. "No, I would never hurt her or any of you in anger." The only time he's ever laid hands on Haruka was back when he barely knew her. She was talking back against him and spoke rudely. He's not proud of it, but he felt it was justified. "But I will be giving her a severe punishment for disobeying me in such a way."
"Okay, I understand. I'm worried about her." Ayako looked out the window, noting the setting sun. "She's never acted like this before."
"Haruka's life hasn't been easy. She's lost a lot, much like me, just by being around me." Kiryu starts to explain. "There was a time where I felt she would have been safer separated from me. Even now, I still feel that way at times."
"Uncle Kaz…" Ayako muttered.
"But she was the one who steered me away from the ledge of uncertainty. When I felt like I had nobody else in the world to rely on, Haruka reminded me that I wasn't alone." Kiryu's sadness could be felt by his other daughter. "That's why I'm ashamed that I hadn't seen the darkness gnawing at her own heart, similar to my own. I'm angry at her, but I'm also disappointed in myself for being unable to help her."
"Don't say that, Uncle Kaz!" Ayako shouted, surprising him. "You've always helped Haruka! Just being here in her life, supporting her, has saved her far more than you think! Right now, much like me, Haruka is lost in her own troubled emotions. But it was her who saved me when the charms had controlled my heart. So, now more than ever, we have to do the same for her!"
There was a brief moment of silence before Kiryu gave a small smile. "Thank you, Ayako."
She giggled, smiling brightly at her father-figure. "No problem, Uncle Kaz!" Then she turned to the windshield. "Now we just need to find her. She could be anywhere in the city-"
BOOM!
A huge explosion shook the street. Fire and smoke could be seen rising from a few blocks away. Father and daughter looked at one another before reaching a conclusion. "Haruka!" Kiryu stepped on the gas and barreled down the street.
Haruka bolted down the steps of the apartment, avoiding the energy blasts of Kevin. She leaped over the railing to roll across the floor as a beam tore through the stairs. The heroine frantically kept slapping the faceplate of the watch. "C'mon! C'mon! Just work already before I get blasted to death!" Unfortunately, the Omnitrix was still trying to repair itself.
"Quit running already! You're making this difficult!" Kevin shouted as he continued to chase her.
"Yeah, because I'M the one making it difficult!" She ducked down before a beam could blow her head off. Haruka slid across the floor, scrambling to get back to her feet. She reached for a fire extinguisher on the wall, holding it close. "Uncle Kaz uses random things to fight all the time! It can't be that difficult, right?!"
Kevin suddenly vaulted himself forward, cutting her off down the hall. He grinned sadistically at the heroine. "Nowhere to run!"
"That's what you think!" She swung the fire extinguisher at Kevin. What she expected to see happen was the mutant being sent flying, instead he barely even flinched. Haruka blinked owlishly. Apparently, she lacked the physical strength to make the attack work. "Note to self, start going to the gym more often."
"Oh, I think that's the least of your worries." Kevin charged up another blast to blow her away.
Thinking quickly, Haruka jumped back and threw the fire extinguisher just as Kevin fired his beam. The mutant's eyes widened when the extinguisher exploded a bunch of smoke and foam, knocking him down. When his vision cleared, Kevin saw that Haruka was nowhere to be found.
Clicking his tongue, he got back to his feet. "Tch! Whatever! I scared that wannabe hero more than enough! I got more important places to be!" Reaching into his pocket, he took out the necklace he stole from before. "And I know just the place to start…"
Hiding behind one of the corners, Haruka let out a sigh of relief as she heard Kevin leave. With the watch on the fritz, she wasn't certain how long she would have lasted. Right now, she needed to think of a plan. And the first step of her plan involved making a really painful phone call.
As the police and fire department worked on helping out the panicked civilians of the apartment building, Haruka sat outside on the curb. A car honk alerted her, bringing her attention to the familiar family van. She stood up as it rolled up in front of her, Ayako leaping out of the van to embrace her. "Haruka! You're okay!"
"A-Ayako! Y-yes, I'm okay!" She returned the hug tightly. Then pulled away to look her sister in the eyes. "Ayako, I'm so sorry for everything that I said and did! You were right, you and Uncle Kaz were right!"
Ayako smiled softly, then held her sister's hands. "I'm not the one you should be saying this too." Haruka blinked, then saw her uncle stepping out of the van to join his oldest daughters. He looked down at Haruka in a mixture of relief and disappointment, a gaze that Haruka couldn't meet.
"U-Uncle Kaz… I…"
"You disobeyed me." She flinched. "Refused to listen to me." Another. "Went on some crusade across the city without a care for what could happen." More flinching. "Nearly got a bunch of people, including yourself, killed." Haruka wanted to be devoured by the ground. "And worse of all, you broke my trust without even a shred of hesitation. I'm extremely disappointed in you, Haruka."
Tears welled up in the girl's eyes, causing Ayako to hug her tightly. "Haruka…" She glared up at her uncle. "Uncle Kaz! That was too harsh!"
"N-no…" Haruka shook her head. "Uncle Kaz is right. I screwed up. No amount of apologizing is going to fix that." She dried her tears to look her uncle in the eyes. "But there is a way, and that's stopping Kevin!"
"Stopping him?" Ayako repeated.
"Kevin has the power to absorb energy! He touched my watch and now has Crystal-Girl's powers!" Her family were shocked by the revelation. "Right now, he's the most dangerous thing in the city! If I don't stop him, then who knows how many people are going to get hurt! Uncle Kaz, you have to help me!"
"Of course!" Kiryu nodded without any hesitation. "I'll always help you, Haruka. Remember?"
The heroine smiled. "Yeah, I remember."
"And I'll help too! You're not alone, Haruka!" Ayako added.
"Thanks, Ayako!"
"Get into the van!" Kiryu ordered his kids. The two followed him inside of the van. Once they were strapped in, the Dragon of Dojima started the engine and quickly drove down the street. "Any idea on where he may be?"
"He could be anywhere in the city!" Ayako exclaimed.
"No." Haruka shook her head. She remembered the necklace that he had stolen from the beginning. "I think I know where he's going."
Chaos ensued once again down by the warehouses, explosions devastating the privately owned property. Yakuza were dropping like flies as Kevin stormed his way through the place without a hint of remorse or mercy. He fired off several charged beams of light to destroy all of the vehicles around to prevent them from escaping. In his other hand, he dragged a beaten Minazuki along the rubble. "Kicking your butts never gets old!"
"Y-you damn…freak!" Minazuki hissed painfully. Kevin smashed him into the ground before throwing him ahead.
"Don't call me that! I'm not a freak anymore! I'm far better than that!" Kevin roared. As Minazuki struggled to crawl away, Kevin charged up another shot. "You Yakuza are the real scums anyway-huh?" Suddenly, the rocks and crystals covering his body faded away in a puff of smoke, returning him to normal. "What the hell just happened?!"
"Your powers ran out!" Kevin turned around to see Haruka, Kiryu, and Ayako running towards them. The young heroine stopped in the lead, glaring at her ex-friend. "It's over, Kevin!"
"Tch! It's over when I say it's over!" Kevin yelled. "And it looks like you're about to give me some more!"
"And why would I do something as stupid as that?!"
"Because you don't have a choice!" Kevin aims his hands at Minazuki, surges of energy igniting his hands. "I still have enough juice to fry losers like him! Too bad, hero!"
"No!" Ayako shouted.
FLASH!
"Haruka, wait!" Kiryu shouted, but it was too late. Heatblast rocketed herself forward in a burst of flame. She made a grab for Kevin but the mutant dodged her attempt easily. Smirking at how easy that was, Kevin slams his hands into her chest. Burning hot energy submerges into his body, powering him up once again. Just like with Crystal-Girl's powers, Kevin's body was half Pyronite.
"Oh no!" Heatblast gasped.
"OH YES!" Pulling back his other hand, it ignited into a bright burning ball. Kevin smashed his fist into her face to send the heroine blasting across the lot. Heatblast bounced across the ground before crashing into another warehouse. "HA HA HA HA!" Kevin took off after her like a speeding comet.
The flaming mutant slowly marched towards the recovering Pyronite. "This is going to be real fun!"
Standing back up, Heatblast glares angrily at him. "For once, I agree with you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, because I don't have to hold back!" She rushes forward, leaving a burning trail behind her. Kevin was all too happy to meet his rival head-on, clashing fists in a big bright explosion.
Outside, Kiryu and Ayako were helping anyone still conscious back to their feet. The Dragon of Dojima picked up the bleeding Minazuki, whose eyes widened at the sight of him. "Wait a minute…! Aren't you-"
"Run now, questions later!" Kiryu ordered.
"O-okay! After all this, there's no way I'm letting the boss station us in Okinawa again!" Minazuki spat as he limped away.
Ayako hurried over to her uncle. "Shouldn't we stop him from spilling about us?"
"I doubt anyone would believe him about a couple of kids getting the best of him. Superpowers or not." Kiryu answered. Suddenly, several explosions detonated around the lot, warehouses were going up in smoke as collateral of the fight going on between hero and rival. Kiryu and Ayako watched as two bright streaks clashed in the air.
Dodging a few of her projectiles, Kevin laughed while punching her across the face. "I'm taking all of your alien powers!" He kicked out only for Heatblast to grab his leg, pulling him in close.
"Not a chance!" She throws him back down into the ground, then propels herself downwards to crash right on top of him. The hero was flung back by a burst attack that was soon followed up by a torrent of flames washing over the concrete. Heatblast deflected the wave, then returned fire with her own wave of heat. Kevin boosted himself through her stream to land a strong punch into her stomach.
To his surprise, a burst of energy kept Heatblast from getting blown back. She countered his heat with one of her own that sent him bouncing against the scarred concrete. Heatblast unleashed a fireball that exploded upon contact. She stood there, waiting to see if Kevin would get up from that attack. Her eyes widened when a flaming comet smashed into her, the two powerful kids rolled across the ground, Kevin pinning her down.
"Give it up, Haruka! I'm stronger and better than you!" He declared as he continued to cave the ground with her body.
"There is no one better than anyone, Kevin! All we can be is better than ourselves!" Heatblast grunted, pushing back. Then, to her horror, a familiar beeping sound started to ring across the lot. Looking down, Haruka saw that her time was running out. "NO!" Kicking out, she managed to throw Kevin off with a powerful burst. As he went flying through the air, Heatblast followed with her own blazing trail. In an act of desperation, she unleashed a brutal flurry of flaming strikes that left the mutant seeing stars. Spinning slightly, Haruka jetted out a burst of streaming flames from her feet, fists crashing into Kevin's sternum.
The two were like a falling star Haruka smashed the mutant into one of the abandoned warehouses, destroying it instantly from the impact, a huge explosion shaking the entire lot.
"Haruka!" Kiryu and Ayako rushed towards the area the two combatants landed to see if their family member was alright. Pushing through the smoke, father and daughter found Haruka standing over a medium-sized crater, where Kevin lay defeated. "Haruka!"
Turning around, she gave the two a tired smile. "I won…"
"Rghk…"
The three looked down into the crater to see Kevin was waking up. His eyes landed on the three standing over him. Anger and betrayal burned in his irises upon locking onto Haruka. Unlike the heroine, he still had his fire powers. Yet Haruka didn't look afraid at all. "Give it up, Kevin! You lost!"
"I lost?! Are you out of your mind!?" He raised his hands, ready to burn them all to ash. Kiryu stood in front of his daughters in order to protect them. "As long as I have these powers, then I'm still the one making the…" Before he could finish, just like before, the powers of Heatblast melted away into smoke. Kevin stared at his hands, horrified. Kevin tried again with his own abilities, only to find that his own powers weren't working. "No! No! No!"
Kiryu lowered his arms, seeing that the kid was harmless. "Looks like you're all out of juice. Using your powers so recklessly came back to bite you."
"It's over, Kevin. Just turn yourself into the police and stop all of this pointless fighting." Haruka tried to reason with him. She reached out for him to take her hand.
As he stared at her warm face, a certain memory of his mother played through his mind, a memory that brought forth a spring of anger. The mutant slapped her hand away with a scowl. "Get away from me! I won't stop! Not until I make them all pay!" He turned and sprinted away from the Morning Glory family.
"Kevin!" Haruka tried to chase him, but Kiryu grabbed her arm. "Uncle Kaz?!"
"There's no point, Haruka. Without his powers, he's just a harmless punk kid. No different from the rest of us." Kiryu said.
Haruka lowered her head, relenting to his wishes. She stared sadly at the direction he had gone. In the end, she had lost someone she thought she could consider a friend. He seemed different but it turned out he was nothing but a criminal in the end.
Maybe she really wasn't destined to have any real friends.
When Haruka arrived at school the next day, she stared regretfully at Kevin's empty desk. They had checked his apartment earlier in the morning to see if he had returned, but there were no sightings of him. The good thing at least is that they turned all of the money Kevin had stolen into the police. As she took her seat, the heroine wondered where Kevin had gone and if she'd ever see him again.
"Pfft!"
"Hm?" Haruka raised her head to see that several of her classmates were laughing at her. It confused the heroine. Did she do something funny as she walked in or…?
"H-Haruka!" She turned to see some of her female classmates approaching her desk. The giggling girls were trying not to burst out laughing.
"Is something funny?" Haruka asked.
"You mean, you don't know?!" One of them asked.
"Know what?"
"This!" They presented the school newspaper to the heroine. Haruka took it and scanned it over, her eyes bugging out of her skull to see on the front page was none other than a photo of her sleeping in a big pink bunny onesie with a stuffed teddy bear tucked into her arms. Even worse was that it was joined by a few more embarrassing photos of her.
"W-what the heck is this?!" Haruka erupted, her face glowing crimson. Upon closer inspection, Haruka read that the pictures were submitted by none other than… "AYAKO?!" Her cry caused all of her classmates to finally explode in laughter, finding her reaction just as funny.
Feeling her phone buzz, Haruka took it out to see it was a text from her back-stabbing little sister. It read:
"Sorry about the photos, Haruka! But Uncle Kaz figured this would be a more fitting punishment than grounding you for the rest of the year! We tried to pick ones that weren't too embarrassing! We hope you learned your lesson about publicly humiliating people for your own agendas!" - Love, Ayako
As if frozen like a statue, Haruka fell into her desk, crying tears about how difficult her social life was going to be for the next few weeks. "Wuaaaaah! Karma sucks!"
While Haruka dealt with the fallout of her school life, a familiar figure walked through the Okinawa airport with a plane ticket in hand. As he trudged along through the crowd, he opened his palm to see a small flame materialize above. He snuffed it out quickly to avoid attention. Spreading across his lips was a sinister smile that promised nothing but pain for whoever it was meant for.
Chapter End
NOTE: And that's Haruka meeting Kevin! I am pairing her with him in this fic, but it will take a lot for them to be on good terms again. Where is Kevin going? You'll have to wait to find that out. Though I'm sure some of you could take an obvious guess on where he's heading to.
Something I really wanted with this chapter is that Haruka is kid that went through a lot of terrible shit. I think it's a little too unrealistic how unaffected she tends to seem by it. I get that she acts more mature for her age and she's keeping it together for Kiryu, but that means her feelings never really get tackled.
Haruka holds grudges against the ones who caused her and her family pain. Her father and Nishiki really pushed the events of Yakuza 1, which lead to her mother's death. Kiryu may care deeply for Nishiki, but Haruka has no reason to. She doesn't know Nishiki (Yakuza 0), she only knows the one that tried to take her mother by any means necessary. And Mine's actions destroyed the orphanage and lead to the death of Rikiya, so it's obvious that she'd never forgive him.
Kevin strung along those emotions unknowingly and pushed almost pushed Haruka down a dark path. It's that easy to be negatively influenced by people who may share similar feelings as you.
Haruka is still a kid that's learning. Much like Ben during OS.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!