287 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
33 Years
Female
"Yellow Jacket"
Rookie-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Hachi Tsutsuji on Apr 18, 2020 12:37:15 GMT -4
 I must think of a new life
and I mustn't give in.
What spurred her to come back after all these years...?
It was one of a dozens of Edo-era warehouses in Kawagoe, which was why it had been safe for so long, and was still today. These buildings were in themselves tourist traps, and were considered a part of Japan's heritage. That was why, almost twenty years ago, Hachi had suggested it as where they would set up a base. The buildings were sturdy, clay walls dark gray with time, but surprisingly sturdy. There's had been, once, a restaurant, but the owner fell on hard times and sold it to them at a fair--if not low--price. It was lovely. And as Hachi flew down to it a nearly four in the morning, shrouded darkness, she found herself staring.
It hadn't changed at all. The outside's upkeep was still perfect, because the town itself took care of that. The wooden windows were shut, tight, perhaps to keep out the elements, but more accurately to hide the goings-on of those inside. Hachi went to the door and found it nonfunctional. A decorative entrance. The real one was on the second floor, because they could both fly...
She had flown for nearly thirty minutes to get here, draining her stamina and strength, and yet she was already considering flying back. She couldn't do this.
But sleep had evaded her for months. Hell, since last December. She had so many questions about the woman she once thought she knew everything about. Solenn had been an open book; she shared everything with her precious ward, from her fighting style to her dreams and desires. Or Hachi had thought she had. Then she uncovered, without a doubt, that Solenn had some sort of blood ties in Japan. Something she had never known. A son or daughter, who had in turn sired not only one child in the criminal Nicholas Cross, but another in one of her students--and now, her apprentice--Hajimari Miku. Both of them possessed her electrical abilities. Nicholas inherited her insect-like features, and Miku...once she'd known, Hachi had realized that Miku was nearly a spitting image of Solenn with her long blonde hair and bright, wide eyes. If she had her grandmother's blue skin they could have been clones. But Nicholas was orphaned and raised in the UK and Miku's parents had been killed and she was raised by a vigilante. Neither of them had any ties to their parents, and thus Solenn's son.
Or if they did, she didn't know of it.
So while she had some solace in having Miku at her side and training under her, there were still holes in the story that she lost hours of sleep to. All this time, Hachi had not checked the one place there might have been answers. She couldn't bring herself to. So when she suddenly felt no hesitation about it, regardless of the time, she had flown here without time to spare.
Hachi flew around the building, unlocking one of the window panes--it was soft to her touch, age threatening to break the fragile wood--and pushing them carefully open before she stepped inside. Hachi did not have a "nose" in a traditional sense, but her two antenna functioned in the same manner. It smelled horrible in here. Like mold, like rotten eggs, like heat and copper and salt. Hachi resisted the urge to vomit as she reached into her bag and pulled out a lantern--the sort reserved for school blackouts--and turned it on.
It was all just as she last remembered it.
Funny, how she recognized that after all this time.
A pair of couches with a low end-table between them were in the middle of the room, time and, likely, insects having made the fabric holey and worn. There were scattered throw-blankets and even a thicker comforter that were covered in dust and smelled like mildew. As Hachi came around the couch closest to her she spread one of the blankets over the seat, averting her eyes.
I can't look at that. I can't. I can't look at where--
She placed the lantern carefully on the end table which held its weight to her slight surprise. Termites might not have been one of the creatures that got in here after all. Now the light could flood the whole of the fairly small room that had been the "base" of the "Fighter Flys" for all those many, many years.
Aside from the couches, there were tables scattered around the room. There was no electricity on this story and, thus, no appliances like a fridge or outlets for phone chargers. The only outlet was downstairs, but they never paid to get electricity here. It was too risky. The walls and tables alike were covered in papers. Maps, lists of most wanted criminals--some of the names were crossed out, Hachi remembered, because they were fellow vigilantes who they'd known then. Some of them were even still alive and working today. Three large maps took up the largest, window-less wall. One of Tokyo as a city, split into districts; one of the Koto-ku district, where the port was, and subsequently many illegal deals made; and finally one of Shinju-ku, where Kabukicho was. Pasted to that one was a smaller map with finer details of Kabukicho. While the first was mark-free the other two were covered in post-its, writing, and a few pinned articles with drawn "X's" on the map where they related to. Hachi approached and looked them over, alien red eyes blank, as always.
"Criminal Activity in Shin-toyosu, Quirkers Among The Accused Claim Discrimination". "Quirker Battle on the Rainbow Bridge Causes Multiple Injuries, But No Casualties". Tokyo's pier district was always so busy, even ten years ago--the Shinigawa raid might have been the first for heroes, but it was certainly not the first of its kind, nor would it ever be the last. Hachi moved to the map of Shiju-ku. "Police in Kabukicho Suspected of Corruption", there was a marking in red pen beneath that article title that just read "SHOCKING NOBODY". Hachi smiled wryly. Had she written that, or Solenn? She couldn't remember. "Territory Wars in Kabukicho Escalate", "Kobayashi vs. Yamayoshi: No Winners in this Yakuza Turf War".
Hachi's claw hesitated over that piece. Kobayashi. Even after all these years, their clan persisted, lead by Japan's number one most wanted criminal. Even then, they had filled numerous papers with fearful articles on their expanding reach, the police response, and even the actions of vigilantes against them. Not just them, of course--other Yakuza families existed both then and now--but they were the "closest to home" for those living in Kabukicho. Which...
...actually, looking at this map, all of the articles around the Kabukicho area involved the Kobayashi clan in one way or another. Hachi has never noticed it before. Sure, she and Solenn had fought whoever was doing harm without any discretion, but this didn't feel like just a collection of important events--or even "trophies" of fights that they had taken part in, like the on on the Rainbow Bridge. There were too many here for that. And while there had to have been hundreds of articles about the Kobayashi clan over decades of activity, all of these were fairly recent, and seemingly random in their contents. Fear pieces, sightings, even some conspiracy pieces. This...she didn't remember the reasoning she had gotten from Solenn for this. "Knowing the enemy"?
It felt hollow, like a lie, from an adult's perspective.
Her eyes began scanning more carefully, and when she wasn't able to make out all the text well she picked up the lantern to bring over and hold up to them. There were lines connecting each article to a specific location, even ones that had no location mentioned at all, and some were connected to places that weren't the ones spoken of in the piece. Hachi studied them closer.
The pictures. These articles all have pictures. Hachi's eyes couldn't widen but she felt a cold feeling go through her spines as she started flicking pages of the articles up, scanning them further. The pictures all had locations in them, shops or even just corners and recognizable landmarks, in Kabukicho. That was where they were pinned or drawn to connect with. But beyond landmarks, these all had people in them. Candid, risky shots of Kobayashi clan members going into bars, being spotted on the streets, coming and going in their home turf. Some had captions. Names she didn't recognize. But all of them had one thing in common. All of them.
"Wanted Master Thief Seen Speaking with Kobayashi Head". "Kobayashi Head Spotted Leaving Reddorōzu Hostess Club: What is His Type?". "Nearing the peak of summer, even the scary Kobayashi leader need help beating the heat"--she had a feeling this reported was not alive anymore. "Kobayashi Head and 'Unknown--"
Hachi's claw twitched, holding the article she was reading so tight it threatened to tear off of the wall.
"Kobayashi Head and Unknown Youth Seen--"
That's...this is...wh...why...?
The picture was different. Unlike the others, that had been clear of marks save the lines connecting them to the map, was circled. Not the whole picture. Just one of the people in it. A boy, or a young man, in his late teens or early twenties with bright blonde hair and a face that even at a distance--and de-aged a decade--she knew from wanted postings and past experiences.
Thunder Shock. Thunder Shock was circled in this, while all other faces in the image had been furiously scribbled out--some even stabbed through with the pen. The location on the map was different, too, marked with harsh, angry lines instead of the methodical ones connected to all the others. This had been marked in a panic, in a haste, in anger or hatred or...just...fury. Hachi didn't remember even seeing this before. It had to have been in the early days, when she was just out of school herself. She must have been...no older than he was in this picture. That thought frightened her, but not as much as this article, this picture, and these cold, frightening realities that they brought did.
She wasn't just in Japan to fight crime. She was here to find her son. Her son--her son that was involved. That she was chasing, that she was searching for, while fighting against his--his father? His family?? His--
He's--
Hachi felt like she needed to vomit again.
Thunder Shock is Solenn's son.
Oh, God. Oh God. He's her son. He's Miku's father. He's Nicholas' father. All of his children are Solenn's grandchildren. He can't be much older than I am. He's done so many horrific things and hurt so many people. But he's her son. He's Solenn's son. And she was--
Hachi heard a sound from downstairs, and went still.
Who...?
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332 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
40 Years
Male
"ThunderShock"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Thunder Shock on May 13, 2020 23:52:16 GMT -4
"It's outdated information... Why of all times do you want to come here now?"
A red headed man spoke cautiously as he drove the Mercedes containing none other than Thundershock himself, along with another blond haired girl, Kanna.
Thundershock kept his arms crossed as he leaned back into his seat, looking outside the window as the scenery passed them by. A small hum escaped him lips at the question, though it was quickly followed with a sigh as he pried his eyes away to look ahead at the reflection of Julen in the rear view mirror.
"Curiosity. We're quickly moving into a new world with Lady Ishtar at our side. That said... It may be time I face the remnants of an old one so I can truly be prepared for what's coming."
He said in a rather monotone voice, glancing back out the side window whenever the car came to a sudden stop outside the reported building. A few years ago he had been given the intel that she was here... or at least that she had been seen coming and going here more than other places. he doubted she was still here at all, but even just facing the ghost of his past might help him face the upcoming future.
There were still so many things going through Thundershock's mind following the madness he had slipped into following the cage match. Questions, what ifs, doubts... He'd begun to question the path he had chosen to take, or at least question the one that brought him to where he was now. There was definitely no going back, and he wasn't the kind of man who would seek salvation... but Ishtar's suggestion to keep him in the shadows more than the limelight was tempting... though it most likely meant he would need to surrender his position as the number one villain. Another question, why did he care so much about that title?
With a heavy exhale he would open the door to the car and step outside, closely followed by his oldest daughter and right hand man. Two other cars arrived on scene as well, members of the clan exiting their respective vehicles.
“Alright guys, move into formation immediately. Delta, Gamma you two will stay with the cars.”
The red haired man instructed via their communicators. As soon as the order was given, they all went off to their respective positions. Some scaling the walls like master ninjas, others fading into the shadows while Julen and Kanna stepped behind Thundershock, allowing the big man to take the lead into the building. Thunder was never one to have people guard him directly, so if they were walking headlong into some old trap, he’d be the first to face it.
As he stepped into the large building, there was nothing truly out of the ordinary to see. In fact, it looked as if it hadn’t been used in quite some time. At least not regularly. He followed the previous information and headed up the stairwell and found the assigned room. Something felt off, as it always did when things were entirely too quiet. It seemed he wasn’t the only one to pick up on that either as Julen stopped dead in his tracks, summoning a blood red scythe to his hands, while Kana moved to the other side of the door, the horns on her head growing longer as she brought her clawed hands up, ready to fight.
Thundershock motioned for the two to be still before reaching for the handle, testing first to see if it was locked before pushing it open. The smell that greeted him inside the room was rancid… so much so that he had to bring his hand up to his nose so that he could adjust to it as he stepped inside.
‘I’ll never get used to that smell… something dies in here and was closed in. urg. That’s 3 year old intel for you…’
He thought to himself in annoyance as his gaze was first drawn to the map on the wall, but was immediately pulled away as he saw a flash of yellow. His gaze hardened, shifting until he found himself looking at the form of that disgusting woman once more.
“If it isn’t Yellow Jacket. You know your housekeeping skills suck, they’re called air fresheners.”
He stated as if the two had been friends for years. However, the tone in his voice was sharp and cold as he remained standing at the door.
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287 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
33 Years
Female
"Yellow Jacket"
Rookie-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Hachi Tsutsuji on May 15, 2020 12:27:16 GMT -4
I must think of a new life
and I mustn't give in.
The sound from downstairs was the door creaking open, so long unused that it creaked awfully, old wood and rusted hinges angry to be stirred. Hachi stepped closer to the window. Somebody was here. Who? It couldn't be the owner of the building--that was, still, technically herself. Unless a squatter had taken up residence here in the meanwhile? It had been years...but, no, there wasn't electricity here, and if there was running water it would have been in old, unclean pipers. There were far many better places to hole up in than this place.
Hachi saw a car parked outside. Black, dark windows, no license plate that she could see from here. No hints.
A feeling in her chest told her to run.
Hero's instinct and fight-or-flight went hand-in-hand.
She hovered closer, moving just a few feet away, when she suddenly went stock still because of two things. The first was she heard the footsteps climbing up the stairs, meaning whoever was here knew there was something up here--possibly even know what it was. But the second, far more prominent reason for her stopping was a small red light that had just appeared on her chest. Real life snipers didn't need laser pointers for a clear shot. No, somebody wanted her to know that she had a gun trained to her chest. Somebody...
The door came open. A breeze passed between the window and door, rustling papers and dust into the air. And Hachi's head turned, while her whole body was still.
"...you..."
It felt like a bad dream. Hazy, early morning, standing in front of the man she had only just come to the horrible realization that he was her mentor's son. She didn't even need to ask why he was here. She knew now. Now, so much made sense...if he knew.
Did he?
"...is this why you targeted me in Shinigawa?" She spoke almost to soft to be hear, and remained still. If she could move fast enough, she might be able to avoid getting shot in the chest. The arm, maybe? But there was no way she could dodge a bullet at such close range. She was trapped. So. This was happening now.
"I haven't returned to this place in years, if its sorry state does not make that obvious. Why are you here?"
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332 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
40 Years
Male
"ThunderShock"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Thunder Shock on May 15, 2020 22:56:23 GMT -4
While the intel of this place was old, Thunder wasn't stupid enough to believe nothing eventful would happen. Of course he only expected a squatter, maybe someone raiding the place after so long... In the end, a secret part of him hoped that he would actually find his mother there. He hadn't taken as many people with him to the location as he probably should have, hoping to have a bit of a one on one with her or whoever they found inside. A small part of him had broken during his recent madness, and that small part sought salvation...
As hard as it may be to believe, Thundershock wasn't always this way. He used to be a pretty carefree kid who's chase girls all day, then fall asleep in random parks or places at school. Chiyo and Taichi had been the turning point in his life, and he felt that maybe by talking to his mother, he might be able to go back to that way of being. At least for a moment.
So whenever he finally opened the door only to find hachi stuck between a sniper and a lightning bolt, he would let out the slightest of sighs. What a pain in the ass. She was definitely the last one he had hoped to find here. The stupid bee was always sticking her nose into where it didn't belong.
"So then, my intel of LightningBug hanging around this dank mess a few years ago were wrong then, and what they saw was you? I mean, you are both pretty disgusting, easy mistake I suppose."
He said in passing, walking further into the room like it was nothing. He would look back at the mind map on the wall and head towards it. As he passed the couch, he noticed the smell of decay get stronger, but chose to ignore it for the time being. That blanket clearly covered something, and he'd find out what in a minute. For now however, this map interested him. Had she truly been trying to find him this desperately? Amusing how the villains of the time didn't leak the information of the underground city to her.
"Hunh. So she's been hunting me for a while hasn't she. This dates back a pretty long time."
He mused as he looked things over bit by bit. It wasn't long before he found images of his old man and elder brother, both with X's marked over them. His father's image was pretty badly maimed, his just caused Thunder to snicker some as it led him to some more recent information about him, and even the underground city.
'Seems like I might have made knowledge of the city a little too liberal...'
He thought to himself as he placed his hand on an image of the map, one of him in his teenage years. his hand began to crackle with electricity until a small blast fired out into the image and it caught fire. He stuck the flaming image back on the map, watching as bit by bit, pieces of the map began to burn. This might be old information, but there was some stuff on here he wanted to limit the information on.
He then turned around once more to look at Hachi, two red dots now hovering over the woman's chest and head.
"So, they say everyones got a skeleton in the closet, who's yours?"
He asked with a motion of his head towards the blanket. With no evidence as to what happened 3 years ago, it was easy to come to the conclusion that hachi had actually killed this person, and left them here to rot.
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287 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
33 Years
Female
"Yellow Jacket"
Rookie-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Hachi Tsutsuji on May 16, 2020 18:55:29 GMT -4
I must think of a new life
and I mustn't give in.
His intel? Has he been keeping an eye on us?...had.
Just like she did.
Hachi stayed perfectly still. She was grateful for now that her face couldn't relay any of her emotions right now, because she wasn't sure what would surface as she watched Thunder move over to the maps--her eyes gave no indication of this, having no pupils or irises. She was frightened of course. She could be shot at any second. A bullet at this distance would come too fast for her to hear the sound, and by then she would be shot. Risking moving would result in getting shot, if only in a less lethal spot, and she would likely only have one chance. So she had to make it count. But besides fear, there was so much more she couldn't unravel.
Why did you have to be her son?! You have hurt so, so many people--your men have hurt so many people. I wanted to find you so much. I wanted to tell you about your mother. I wanted to reassure you, now, that she didn't abandon you--that she had to have been looking for you--but not you. I can't tell you. I can't make the words come out. I have to disconnect from you.
I can't care about you, any more than I can hate you.
...he's using present tenses.
Hachi felt her blood running colder as Thunder took up a piece of the articles around the map, and began to burn it and the map itself to ashes. A part of her felt her heart ache. That was one of the few, few things she had left of Solenn. This place was--if he took it--
No. No, she's gone, and this is nothing but a building now. It isn't worth dying over. If it burns, it burns.
She wished she could listen to herself better.
Another dot appeared in the middle of her head, directly between her large eyes, and she noticed. That one was honestly easier to dodge than the one on her torso. But both of them meant she had fewer directions to move.
I have the police on my phone. The app will give them my location in an instant. I'm fast. If I can slip my claw into my pocket I just need to turn it on. But not while he's looking at me. I need a distraction. I...
...wait...
...he doesn't...
"You don't know," she breathed, voice hollow, stunned. He didn't know. If he did then he wouldn't be here. He wasn't looking for Hachi. He was looking for Solenn. She wasn't who he wanted to find here at all. He expected her to be here. And...well, he wasn't wrong.
Hachi's shoulders tensed but otherwise her stance remained the same. Her head didn't bow in shame, her eyes and face, alien and unchanging, didn't wince.
God. She wanted this to be a nightmare, but she knew better. She had thought over and over of how she would tell Solenn's son what had happened to her. If fate was so cruel as to make Thunder her son, couldn't it be kind (in comparison) and not make her still have to tell him? And while she didn't need to, it was the only way she could think of right now that may distract him long enough for her to reach her phone. And yet.
Hachi exhaled.
"...the person you're looking for," she spoke like she were, devoid of feeling, while in her thoughts she was anything but. "Solenn died four years ago, Thunder."
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332 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
40 Years
Male
"ThunderShock"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Thunder Shock on May 16, 2020 21:39:07 GMT -4
As the map began to burn, other things around it would start to catch fire as well. It seemed to be a rather slow burn, seeing as it had no constant source where it ignited. However the more flammable material was fed to the fire, the more it would start to spread. He didn’t seem to care though as he remained across from hachi, eyeing her seriously as he spoke. While Hachi wasn’t exactly expressive, there was a dead tension in the air between the two.
“Father, do you need us to-”
Kanna began speaking as she peered into the door. The smell of smoke was obvious, and the last thing the mutant girl wanted was for her father to get caught up in it.
“Shut the hell up, Kanna. I ordered you to stand guard. I don’t need help from someone like you.”
He spoke demeaningly to the girl who only bowed her head, taking a step back so that she was in position once more. It was then however that Thunder’s eyes narrowed as he looked up once more at Hachi. His cold eyes would pierce her own as only three words escaped her lips.
‘You don’t know’
“Don’t know what?”
He demanded, his own blood running cold as that was her response to him asking about the body under the blanket.
Just as she stated his mothers name, Thundershock stepped forward and grabbed hold of the sheet over the corps, pulling it away harshly onto the ground below. There lay a literal skeleton, an ancient husk still wearing the bloodied costume of lightningbug. At first, he seemed expressionless as he just stared down at the corps, his words so low it would be hard for most anyone to hear him.
“Heh. salvation… the thoughts of a madman.”
He would murmur, his eyes resting on the woman’s wings. Then, that’s when emotion seemed to hit his face. His mouth twitched, curling into a sneer as sparks began to dance around his hand, and soon his entire body. He reached forward, his electrified hand touching her wing which immediately crumbled under his touch.
“She DIED four years ago? Fucking understatement… more like you left her to die here! Or even killed her yourself!? A wound mark like this… not something you couldn’t do… and now what, you come back here after four years to sweep the evidence under the rug? Make sure I could never find her, IS THAT YOUR PLAN!?”
He cried out as he placed one foot on the bloodied sofa, pushing off of it with immense force to project himself angrily towards Yellow Jacket with a burst of lightning that erupted around him like a sphere, pushing furniture, papers and any loose objects away with the force of the blast. Anything thin enough to be kindling would burst into flames, fuelling the growing fire behind him as the electric attack soared towards Yellow Jacket with furious abandon.
“I will kill you this time. You won’t get away with this. She wasn’t yours! She was NEVER yours! As if a damn bu g like you could EVER replace ME.”
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287 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
33 Years
Female
"Yellow Jacket"
Rookie-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Hachi Tsutsuji on May 19, 2020 10:46:35 GMT -4
I must think of a new life
and I mustn't give in.
He was suddenly so quiet, and he did just as she hoped he had by stepping away to inspect the blanket and the couch and what was hidden there. While his attention was elsewhere Hachi was quick; her hand slid into her pocket and found her phone, and pressed and held the button on its side. She had to glance down--again, with no visible pupils to give it away--to make sure she did it right, but she saw the red "Emergency" button light up. She pressed her claw on it, then withdrew her hand from her pocket. There. That would send her location to the police. It would follow her phone. So if she got hurt, she just had to get out of his reach. Just--
Hachi made the mistake of looking back up, and had to see what Thunder was seeing for the first time...again.
Oh God. Solenn. No, no, don't look at her!!
Her breathing stopped completely. Ah. She could still smell it. The smell of copper and rust, only made worse by time. It hadn't been painful. Or, rather, if it had been, it hadn't been for long. Hachi had tried so hard to save her mentor, done as best she could, but she had never tried to stop somebody from bleeding out, let alone from a shotgun wound to the stomach. Solenn had been dead before they'd even returned from the place she had been shot. By the time she had been set down on that couch...she had already been dead.
His response was only surprising because it was him.
He cares?
Of course a child would care about their mother.
If he didn't, he wouldn't have been looking for her.
Still looking.
But he cares enough to--
Hachi took a sharp step backwards, only afterwards expecting to be shot, but nothing fired. The smoke was growing and the sudden burst of flames behind her made aiming nigh impossible. But she couldn't focus on escape just yet. Not when Thunder was now so close to her with the equivalent of a gun in his own hand, charging at her. She swerved as fast as she could away from him but wound up farther from the open window--from the only way she could get out that wasn't being guarded. And her breathing still wasn't returning.
He's wrong. He's wrong. I didn't kill her. I didn't.
But because of me, she died. Because I wasn't--
No. No no no no no, there was no way to--
I can't get distracted. I need to--
Replace?
Hachi breathed in sharply. "No. Never. I would never. She was my friend. But you--" she gestured, in vain, to the ashes of the map, "--she was always looking for you. If I was enough, wouldn't she have stopped? Even as it drove her blindly toward death, she always--"
I'm talking to a mad man. It's pointless. He won't hear me. He can't hear me. He'd never try to. I just need to escape. There's no point to this.
An exhale. "--she never even told me about you."
This place will burn. Solenn will--
She's been dead for years, she's not here anymore.
She tried to move for the window again. If she was fast enough, it wouldn't matter how little space there was between the two of them when she passed him. And she knew she was faster. She knew she could get out.
But--
The corpse of her mentor, friend, and partner passed by in a blur, just as flame licked at the crumbled remains of her wings, and, like an utter, total fool, she hesitated.
That was all it would take.
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332 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
40 Years
Male
"ThunderShock"
Bandit-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Thunder Shock on May 29, 2020 23:51:03 GMT -4
His initial burst of electricity just barely missed it's mark as Yellow Jacket shifted away from the impact with elegance. Instead the electricity slammed harshly into the wall, shattering it and opening a piece of the wall up to the stairwell. Thankfully, Yellow Jacket moved away from the door and window, essentially pinning herself into a corner with the only way of escape being the new hole he had just created, and Thundershock was standing in the way.
The big man pivoted, his eyes alight with electricity, a murderous scowl on his face as he took a step closer to Hachi.
"Your friend..."
He snarled dangerously, his heart pounding so hard he was surprised it couldn't be heard over the raging fire and crackling lightning.
"That you lead to death..."
He repeated, another step towards her, burn marks left behind in the old floor under his feet. At this moment, Thundershock looked to be more of a demon than a human being. Not only because of his appearance, but the aura and murderous intent that swirled ravenously around him.
"You thought you..."
He started, though with a burst of speed quickly closed the gap between himself and the hornet. His left hand surged forward, making a grab for her throat, then quickly slammed the woman against the wall behind her, tightening his grip around her windpipe.
"You thought you could be enough? That you could replace me? I've seen the two of you together, working as a little team over the years. Don't think I'm stupid! You lured her in and killed her!!"
He roared angrily, lightning shooting out of the hand against Hachi's skin, electrocuting her with as much force as he could muster. He poured all of his hatred of her into his attack, fueling it with his rage and even his sadness.
'I left her to be with you... because I never deserved her. She was good, and I wasn't... and you...'
Regret. How could he be so foolish as to keep her at arms length all these years? he had kept his own tabs on his mother, had so many chances to meet her and lead such a different life.. and yet he hadn't. In his younger days, in his own way, he wanted to protect her... as an adult however those thoughts turned sour. How could he so easily find her, and yet she couldn't find him? how had she not come for him in all those years? That soon led to hatred, and in his twisted mind meant that she now deserved death.
This confrontation was a huge contradiction. It proved how fine the line between love and hate truly was.
As Thundershock let his lightning ravage the woman's body, the sounds of sirens and gunfire could suddenly be heard from outside the window. He immediately recognized the wailing of the police cars, and clued in to the fact that the firefighters weren't too far behind. He clicked his tongue angrily, subsiding the wave of electrical energy coursing through Yellow Jackets body and leaning in closely. His face was mere inches away from Hachi's own, his deadly gaze impossible to miss as lightning continued to crackle within his eyes. This close, it would be easy for Yellow Jacket to see that his scarred eye was compound, thousands of little honeycomb shapes creating the slightest break in the visibility of the lightning that crackled behind it.
"You're quick, you called them? Too afraid to die in the same place as my mother? I could kill you right now if I wanted too, but you know what? I think seeing you walk out of here disgraced might make me feel a little god damned better. How about, we make it really fucking clear who you've crossed, hm?"
Thundershock continued to growl, now raising his right hand, bringing it up to Hachi's face as the lightning that surged through him focused itself on the tips of his fingers, almost as if he was sporting a set of electric claws. Without warning, he dug the claw of his index finger into the woman's right eye.
"Let's let the world know, that I let you live. You took something away from me, I'll take something away from you. Never forget."
He stated cruelly as he began to carve the very same scar he bore into her face. Watching as her eye began to ooze and orange like blood that resembled honey. The whole time, there was a cruel and twisted smile on his face as he committed his gruesome act.
Finally, he would let go of her throat with a final shove, stepping back and even letting his coat fall to the floor at his feet as it had caught ablaze with the raging fire around them.
"If I'd given you that sooner, maybe you really could have replaced me. I look forward to our next meeting. Hachi."
He wouldn't even deem to call her by her hero name, spitting on the floor where she once stood. The sirens outside grew louder and louder, and with another cry from Julen and Kanna, he took his leave. He fully turned his back on Yellow Jacket and walked straight into the flames, heading for the door.
The fire licked and burned at his flesh, but the big man pushed on through. He'd been through a lot of pain as a child and had endured fire... yet this time, he relished in the pain it caused him. It was a temporary relief from the torment he felt in his heart.
As he walked out of the burning room, Julen and Kanna quickly began to lead the way outside. Thundershock had to admit he was glad to be behind these two, as they wouldn't see the tears that had started to fall from his eyes.
'I never got to see you face to face... but I wish things could have been different. Under different circumstances maybe... just maybe you could have changed me a bit... you could have been like Lilly... Good bye, mom.'
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287 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
33 Years
Female
"Yellow Jacket"
Rookie-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Hachi Tsutsuji on May 30, 2020 0:23:37 GMT -4
I must think of a new life
and I mustn't give in.
That was all it would take.
Hachi felt Thunder's fingers snap around her throat and her trajectory was knocked off, her back slamming into the wall instead of escaping towards the window. Her throat burned. The smoke didn't bother her as much as the inability to breath--her thin, weak neck was crushed in his hand, and it would take so, so little effort on his part to snap it. She tried to get an angle. A kick to his stomach with her strength would be enough to knock him away, but he was holding her too low for her to land it even as she flailed. He knew how she fought. The alternative was to try and swing her stinger into his side, but on the off chance that he wasn't about to snap her throat, him pulling that out of her would be a far more gruesome and not nearly so quick a death.
Her claws instead dug into his hand, trying to use her own strength to pry his fingers away. Break his thumb. Get an out. She just needed an inch. Enough to move.
The electrocution was familiar in the worst of ways.
It wasn't like Solenn had zapped her on purpose. She'd trained Hachi. Accidents happened. Sometimes, that pain was what helped her to best remember how to avoid mistakes and do better. Sometimes though it had been in a fight, a bolt too close to her head, the scent of ozone and feeling of her skin twitching and muscles tightening in pain. But this wasn't an accident at all.
It felt like nothing at first. Unnatural numbness, like all of her nerves had shut off at the same time. Then at once every nerve in her body was screaming. Pulsing. On fire, convulsing, agonizing pain--and it didn't pass the way that Solenn's mistakes did. Not even the way Miku's had in practice. It persisted. It continued. She couldn't even scream with her throat in his hand, as faint wisps came up from the edges of her hair and wings and tips of her antenna. How long it went on for she wasn't sure. When it stopped, the pain persisted, like a burn but inside her flesh, inside her exoskeleton. Her arms twitched, limp at her sides now, as did her wings and useless legs. Focus, she tried to think, Focus or you will die. Focus or he will kill me. Move. Move.
It hurts. I'm not dead. I need to move.
Her eyes couldn't close, couldn't properly blink, and her mind was struggling to keep up through the pain, but still her eyes focused on his as he leaned in. His words didn't reach her. She could only hear static, like her own blood was burning inside of her ears. But she saw.
He has the same eyes as me. As her.
"Don't--"
There was a sudden bright light in Hachi's right eye, a pain hotter and sharper than even the electricity still coursing through her body, and then blackness. The eye no longer saw. Something was dripping down her face. She should have known what was happening but she couldn't think. Couldn't put words together in her mind. They didn't come. It just hurt. Worse than her wings, worse than lightning, worse than choking. Just pain. It was the only thing she could think or feel.
When Thunder shoved her aside, it was only grace or luck that pushed her towards the window, which, with no ability to see or feel or think or fly, she toppled back from, falling a story to the unkempt grass below. If anything else on her broke or sprained or bruised she didn't feel it. The pain was going away, but only because everything else was as well. Everything was going away. It wasn't numbness. Just nothing. Shock. Orange blood pooled around the side of her face, around the eye that no longer saw anything but black.
She couldn't feel pain anymore. It didn't hurt. Was she dead? But she was still here. She wasn't, was she?
It wasn't supposed to be this. It wasn't. This wasn't...
"...h...lp...."
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Post by DrTentacles on Jun 7, 2020 20:13:28 GMT -4
Hachi: +33
Thundershock: +28
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