"So, what exactly were you so insistent I leave those fights behind for?" Iguchi crouched beside his new mentor. The two dramatically squatted on the edge of a building, watching the city lights sparkle. "I kinda was treating that as my job. Now, I'm going to have a hard time paying rent with.. a job like this."
"Being a hero requires sacrifice. More than any other lifestyle."
"Yeah, but, how are we supposed to live like this?"
"I dunno about you, but I work as a trash collector on the side."
The teen sighed. "...I'm still just a highschool student."
Stain slapped the boy's back. "Well! Being broke's better than what you were in before at least!"
Iguchi rolled his eyes. "How so?"
"You telling me you didn't notice?? Boy, you just slipped past the gates of Hell!"
"Huh??"
"Those fighting rings are the entry point to some of this world's worst crimes! Kidnappings, human trafficking, drug smuggling, you name it! Tell me. Did anyone offer deals to you? Make you sign any contracts?"
"Uhhh, I guess I got some offers, but I always turned them down."
Sighing in relief, "Good. Because those are all traps. If you'd signed any one of those, you would have been carted away and likely sold as a slave."
The kid's eyes bulged. "WAIT REALLY?!" Pre-pubescent squeak. He returned his wide eyes to staring at the ground far below, terror shaking him. "I mean I had a bad feeling about those... But d###.."
"Yeah. That unfortunately is a problem I can't fix on my own... Still have yet to find any of the families leading those businesses."
"Ghh. That's frustrating." To think he was at times mere seconds from becoming a slave... Just like that.
He had his freedom to be thankful for, at least.
---------------
You had literally just been handed an earpiece of your very own and already you were using it. A table full of other gadgets lay before you.
"Ayo, this Line One?" You smirked.
""(Y/n)??"" Keigo's voice rang through.
"Fresh from the psych ward, baby!"
The elder teen wheezed. ""What are you doing on here!?""
Leaning your butt against the table, "Why, I'm your new partner in anti-crime of course~! I'm with your boss right now. Please say something, Boss." You disconnected the device from your ear and reached Ms. Zeyale's way. The woman rolled her eyes, smiling faintly. She leaned in to speak.
"You're not taking any detours, are you~?"
""Mfh, noh!?"" Sounded like his mouth was full of food. Caught red handed. The guy on the other end coughed on his own lies. ""Uhh- uhh- I'll be back on course pronto! Just grabbing a snack!"" You snickered, attached the earpiece again and shut off the line.
"You guys feed him for all his work, right?"
"Ts! Of course we do! He just has a habit of using his extra pay to buy himself snacks."
"Oo~ Will I be getting paid~?"
☝️- 0 - "Any and all payment you earn here will be put toward your debt to the government."
"So essentially you're just paying yourself..." You groaned. Dang the slave life sure is an annoying one. But, oh well. This was still better than prison or being executed, you suppose.
Eager to move on from this conversation, Ms. Zeyale cleared her throat. "We're working on a case right now that you'll soon be involved in."
Lifting your head. "Hm?"
"You familiar with the name Iceman?" You flinched upon hearing it, though it took you a few seconds to recall where you recognized the name from.
Elbow placed on one arm, hand rubbing your chin. "Hmm. Oh yeah! I fought that guy once! D###! I've been really looking forward to having a rematch with him in the near future~"
"He went missing."
"Huh??"
"How do I explain this..?" The woman rubbed her forehead. "..It isn't uncommon for child fighters in the underground rings to be offered contracts offering food, housing, and other benefits. However, most of the kids involved have no idea they are essentially selling themselves off as slaves.. We believe Iceman was one of these victims. He was registered at the age of twelve, and so was likely naive enough to fall for those kinds of tricks... As of right now, we're still unsure if he ran away or was sold."
Though you had many questions regarding how she knew all of this, you just accepted she was a very nosy creature and instead joined in her pondering.
"If I remember correctly..." You rubbed your head, recalling some ancient memories. "..I believe he also went by the name 'Geten.' Though.. that is probably just another stage name." Knowing its meaning, that name was likely made up too. But, another name to go off of was better than nothing.
"Hm. I looked into that..." Scratching her chin. Huh?? So did she already know that too?! "It leads us nowhere special. But it does confirm that he ran away. There were records of a kid by the name Geten being bought, but nothing about him being sold." Ms. Zeyale walked over to her desk computer and bent over the keyboard to start searching things. "You can go home now, by the way. It will likely take us at least a few days before we can pinpoint the kid." Clearly, you would be given no answers to your questions right now.
...How did this woman already know so much about the underworld? Why wasn't she doing anything about it? Why, out of all the cases she could be involved in, was she so invested in this one person? She could easily be toppling entire nations of the underworld right now, but instead she's perfectly complacent doing nothing!
Oh well... Even if she didn't have a plan of her own to fix the problems under everyone's feet, you at least had some schemes of your own.
----------
You plotted your best schemes while out and about doing other things. Today, you were shopping.
Unexpectedly, Iguchi was the one to reach out to you today, asking you to join them after school. Most of class 2A had plans to go to the mall for a bit of fun before school got really serious. Guess Iguchi thought you might want to join them. Or, perhaps there was another reason..
And as any moth drawn to the sun with the intent to fight God, you somehow wound up butting heads with Hokusei all over again. Seriously, this time you weren't even trying!! Had you been turned into the love rival in every sappy romance book or something? Because it was starting to feel like that!
Tenko didn't know why you were here and mostly tried to ignore you. You didn't know why you were here either, other than to get in-between Tenny and Hoku any time the weirdo tried making friendly advances. Aside from that, you tried to ignore Tenko as well. Hokusei kept giving you dirty looks for thwarting his plans. Seriously tho, the guy tried so many different times to wander off alone with Tenko, it was getting creepy!
The only person you could really talk to and joke around with like old times.. was Spinner. It was an odd but welcome change. He never treated you any differently than before, but that's what made it feel different from before, somehow.
If you were here to play the clingy "ex," then at the very least you were going to play it right.
Hoku chuckled as he set his eyes on an old photo booth. "D###, this thing must be ancient! What a waste of money.." Elbowing Tenko beside him, "Hey, Tenny, wanna give it a spin?" Before Tenko could even respond, you PNG-slid in front of the curtain, blocking off the entrance, catlike face burning with anger and fluster.
'WHAT? YOU WANNA MAKE OUT WITH MY BUDDY IN THERE OR SOMETHING, HUH???!?' Okay so maybe your imagination was getting a little bit too wild.
Hoku chuckled again, unamused. Hard to describe that rare expression, but his eyes were steely and thinly slit. His smile forced and about to break. It was like he was trying to threaten you and keep his cool at the same time. One thing was for sure, though. Nobody learns an expression like that from living an ordinary life. This boy was definitely hiding something about his past, which made him even less trustworthy. You bounced an evil face back, making him genuinely question whether you were blind or not. Your eyes were wrapped, so then how could you see that stare?
"Oh what? So now none of my ideas are good? You know, I've about had it with you today! Nobody asked you to come here!"
Smirking like the little gremlin you were, "Guchi did."
Hoku stomped closer and you stood taller. You two broke into incoherent arguing. Iguchi rolled his eyes and started walking closer to break them up, but Tenko grabbed his shoulder to stop them. "Let them fight." Translation: 'let them sort this one out on their own.' Either way, it caught his friend off guard.
"Huh? Aren't you usually the one trying to break up those two?!"
"Yeah."
"Then what gives??"
ب‿ب "..."
"Tenko..?"
"Is it bad that I kind of like being fought over?"
Iguchi face-palmed. "Really, man?"
"I mean, the last time anyone fought for me was when my parents were getting divorced.."
"Oh good lord."
Your verbal dispute didn't end too well but didn't end too terribly either. Rather, it mostly just fizzled out, leaving everyone with a bitter taste in their mouths. Honestly, why did you get so heated over this?! Yeah, this guy was a potential creep, but that was all through your eyes. No one else was giving Hoku any weird looks or villainizing him as you did. Was it just because you had trust issues, and for some reason this guy became the outlet for all of that stress and trauma?!.. Okay, maybe that was the case, but there had to be more! You're not homophobic!
This lack of backup from anyone else was really starting to make you question yourself. Even Spinner had given up taking your side, instead acting as the middle ground only. And, with just you against the world.. were you really in the right?
...
Hoku was off to the side of the group just being a mood. Tenko wormed through the group and tapped him on the shoulder. The taller one's eyes widened, seeing who was wishing for his attention. This was going to be really good, or reeeeeaaally bad. No in-between.
"Need anything, Tenny?" He strolled casually, hands in his pockets. However, inside, he was really freaking out. All day, he'd been trying to get some alone time -- just he and Tenko -- for the purpose of simply getting to know him a little better. (Y/n), however, had managed to turn this innocent endeavor of his into the eleventh worst day of his life.
Tenko hissed through his teeth, eyes trailing off of his new friend to the floor. "It's about that nickname, actually."
"Oh, sorry, should I go back to calling you Shimura?"
"No-no, it's fine if you call me by my first name! Just.. Hhhh... 'Tenny' is (Y/n)'s thing.. She made it up when we were kids, and... I don't really want anyone else to use it."
"Psh, okay, but why?? Don't you want someone to replace her?"
Tenko's face shot up to half glare at the other. Hoku realized he had made a mistake, but he didn't know exactly what it was. "You can't just replace your best friend, Hoku! And it isn't like I hate her.. just. We need some time apart right now."
"Ahhh I see... So what'd she do this time?" Chuckling.
"I'll have you know, it's highly classified information!" Tenny snarked back. He was being so cute about defending you tho, in Hoku's eyes at least.
He wanted a friend like that.. like him.
Hokusei playfully pat the shorter one's back. "Hey, I'm just teasin'. And I'll just call you Tenko --or, I can make up my own nickname for you... if I can think of one." Rubbing his chin now, staring up at the glass roof. "I've never been the best with names..."
"Psh, you don't have to do that. Tenko is good enough."
...
You and Iguchi listened on and off from the sidelines, unable to interject anything. You had to admit, Hoku sure was smooth when he wanted to be. Grr. Spinner nudged you from behind. "Hey, (Y/n)?" Whispering. He actually drew closer to you, a tell that this was going to be important. "You didn't happen to sign any contracts, did you?"
Leaning to the side and offering the animorph an ear, "Hm?"
Iguchi walked briefly on his toes. "You know. The rings."
"The-? Mh! Oh, yeah." Nodding. You then hissed regretfully through your teeth. "Yeahhhh, I MAY have signed one of those about a year ago. Why?"
"Ughh... Idiot. Those things are all traps. You better look back at the contract! You could legally be someone else's property without even knowing it!" You had kind of been worrying about this already, so a friend's wary words were all it took to spike your anxiety again.
But, it only took half a second before you were rolling your eyes and shrugging. "Meh. Contract or no, no one can catch me anyway."
Iguchi elbowed you harshly in the ribs. "Didn't you say you lost your quirk once?. That can happen again, you know!" Oh crud, he's right! They could catch you, lock you in a room, a rubber room, a rubber room with rats, and rats make you crazy! Crazy!? -Spinner interrupted your downward spiral with yet another rude nudge. "I dunno how, but you really need to get that fixed. The less enemies you have, the better."
You nodded, sighing. "Yeahhh.. you're right."
Sticking his nose up, "As always." You took a moment to smirk and flick at his side for the pompousness.
This was pretty serious, though... You'd lost contact with the underground for over a month now. No doubt there would be some major consequences for that, with or without a contract.
And you were already a slave to the HPSC, and somewhat even to the Shie Hassaikai, so in no way did you want to be a slave to some lawless criminals as well.
Back to scheming you went.
----------
Since you had so much free time after school, you spent your new internet access researching a certain gentle criminal~
The man with silver hair, a mustache, and a rather eLEgAnT form of speech was a rather funny character to watch. He had his own YouTube channel complete with a brand new assistant, who helped him record and edit his videos. These two were terribly easy to track. So much so that it was hilarious.
Despite one of them being a hacker, you by now knew someone perfectly capable when it came to picking at others' firewalls. It wasn't long before your long-time hacker buddy had given you all the information you needed.
It was about time you built a force of your own.
----------
"Thanks again for all your help, La Brava.." The silver haired man expelled an exasperated sigh as he fell into his desk chair. He stared idly at the small plate of crumpets and freshly brewed cup of tea waiting for him. Yet another act of kindness he wasn't used to.
"Why of course!" The young lady smiled from her computer near to the floor. Her eyes double checked the wall of code, unsure if she was just seeing things, or if there was a recent breach in their security. As she looked into that, the man tiredly stirred his tea. Having to work on top of all this recording of his villainous antics was tiresome at best. He had no intention to stop anytime soon, but, hhhh, maybe he should consider a brief vacation.
He glanced over his shoulder out the window to the right and sighed, which transitioned into a yawn. The sun would be setting soon. The man stretched as he stood. "*yawning sounds* Well, I really bust be retreating to my bed chambers. I'm tired. I'll have to do the laundry in the morning."
"Oh you don't have to worry about that! I already did it!"
The man's eyes widened. Impressed, but startled. This young lady had only just joined him a month ago and already she was making herself right at home. In the best possible way, he had to admit. The criminal expected least of all anyone to care for him like this after his prison sentence. "...I see." Bowing politely to the woman. "Thank you. I wish there was more I could do for you in return."
Once the man had opened the door to his bedroom, he gasped.
There you sat on the foot of his bed, legs crossed, cheek resting on your closed fist as you watched him with amusement. Though your eyes were still wrapped, it was clear you were staring directly at him. "Don't worry, my guy." Speaking calmly, if a bit mischievously. "I'm not here to hurt ya." The man studied you, noting your ankle to be sticking through a weird, dark portal of sorts. "You are terribly hard to have an audience with, so I thought stopping by was my best course of action."
"What's wrong, Gentle?" La Brava crept closer. The man stuck his hand in the way of her, still wary of you. His calm composure returned to him somewhat. Though you sitting on his bed was certainly a power move, he wouldn't let this stranger get the best of him.
"State your business with me." He demanded. Your smile shrunk, taking this more seriously now.
"Sorry for the scare." Uncrossing your legs. "I was drawn to you by your channel and the potential you hold."
"Potential for what??" Glaring.
"Sheeesh, calm down~ You originally wanted to be a hero, right? You wanted the fame, the glory, everything that comes with becoming one as well! But... Most importantly, you genuinely have a heart for helping people... I'm here to help you out. You won't have to change much. Just a little rebranding." The man was clearly caught, clearly wondering how you knew so much about him. "You see, I've accidentally made a terrible mistake. Trying to decrease the kidnapping rate, I accidentally increased it. Now, more children are being trafficked around the country because of me." The emotional hook you knew he would latch onto. He did, shown through his eyes widening. "So, I have to change up my strategy. I need to be able to track the traffickers down, ambush them, and free the children manually. However," gesturing down to you lack of foot. "I have been placed under house arrest."
"How could.. I-?"
"It's simple." Gesturing to the small woman. "She tracked you down with ease, correct?" The girl gasped. "Surely, with a little help from me, she can track kidnappers and predict their moves." Then gesturing to Gentle. "Then, you can intervene from there and save them in the usual fashion you would go about your heists. Recording will help not only provide entertainment, but it also get the faces of the criminals out to the public. From there, the law will take over and arrest the villains involved. Plausible yes~?" You tilted your head again, watching the two with interest. Though you proposed this scheme like some conniving villainess, it was of the most heroic plans you've ever made!
There was a long pause. Then, the man rubbed his chin. "Hmmm... So.. vigilantism?"
"You are already for that criminal life, so may as well do some actual good. Still, you can use it to out hero society for being so neglectful of the lives that really need saving. Not to mention that if you agree, I will find a way to cover as many expenses I can. Trust me, this is an offer you do not want to stand-up. I can even secure a way for you to contact me in emergency situations, in case you think you might need saving."
The two seemed frozen in thought, so, you left them to discuss it. The next day, you appeared to them again to ask if they had made-up their minds, as well as answer any questions they may have.
They agreed, much to your delight.
This happened the very same day, only one after your meeting with the HPSC President, that Ms. Zeyale informed you that they had found their target.
Geten was but one brief mission away.
Rematch, baby~
---------------
But first.
As you waited for the sun to go down, you and Kai met with the paid experiment and Hari to talk about what to do with the reverse quirk.
These guys certainly found an interesting fellow to do their experiments on. A recluse already by the time the offer was given to him. Age 36 with no friends, family, or self respect to think of. Every time you met him, he got a little stranger. First, he was a bit hesitant, but had no reason to say no to such an offer. Then, he was complacent and quick to think about the positives. Then, he was perfectly fine, even at home talking about experiments. Kai said he got a whole lot more chatty, even while being cut up. And now, two years into it, he may have gone a tad insane. Because now, especially after that vacation, the man truly believes he has the best life, complete with everything he needs or wants, people to talk to in person, and even the chance to feel special and a part of something bigger than himself. It would be sweet...if it weren't so unsettling.
"Wait..." You and Kai stood side by side in front of the guy. "Instead of me giving him the quirk, try to reverse his body until he has the quirk again."
Kai's eyes widened. "O~" Silently, he stepped up to the task, using his month of experience to try it out. Instead of turning into a fetus, the man remained the same. You crept closer, activating your quirk. Streams of white light started to flow from the man's body into your hand. You and Kai stared at each other with the WIDEST eyes. "We can duplicate quirks." Kai said, as if he couldn't believe it himself. You and he shared the same braincell of quiet wonder. Excitement grew as the realization sank in.
Five minutes later and Kai was pacing in a circle, holding his head like a madman, you were flapping around with six wings now, trying to situate your balance, and Hari was standing in a corner, a child for some reason. Suffice to say things had gotten very much out of hand.
"Wait!" You sprinted toward Kai. "If I can duplicate quirks, that means I can have a copy of yours!" The man spun to you with widened eyes. It wasn't the typical look of shock or distress. More like he was gaging how much he trusted you. You stopped short, holding your hand back. It was quiet for a very long second. Kai had calmed down, looking like he was about to shrug it off and accept defeat, but you interrupted him. "On second hand.. eh, I don't really need it! Not as long as I have you on my side at least!" You waved your hand out dismissively. "That quirk makes you more special anyway; I just... It would be kind of weird to share that trait, ya know?" The man just stared at you for a little bit.
You were choosing to put faith in him; allowing him to be an essential part of your life. Even though you could technically have it all, you let him have what was special only to him... Kai felt that. He got it right away and was strangely honored by it.
From that chaos, it was decided. You could have a copy of the reverse quirk, and Kai would start to train with you as soon as possible. But for now it was to remain dormant no matter what. As for longer-term goals, Kai started planning to find more people to join the one experiment they already had. That way, they could ramp up their production of the drug substantially. From that, they could look forward to making greater profit from it. And you, of course, had your own little creative ideas to add into the mix, making this guy's plans even grander. More neutral. Rather than being silly and using it just to remove quirks for the sake of such. You were sure this drug could be used for good as well.
---------------
Before we continue on with the story, I'm sorry but I must first explain some really technical stuff about your Sight quirk that I simply can't through the narrative. But, ignoring the details will also make it harder for everyone in the long-run.
Hopefully by now we all know how our eyes work, yes? Light bounces off of objects and into our eyes. Light is the basis for all sight. This in further context is how we are even able to perceive things like color, which cannot be gaged using any of our other five senses.
Anywho. So as I have previously mentioned, "Sight" (the quirk) does not function using light. Rather, it is a sixth sense, specifically one that relays information similar to sight using tiny pours throughout the skin. If you know anything about the Platypus, you know what I'm talking about. If not, research it and know science better. Idk I'm not a Wikipedia article.
About now in the story, your brain has finally adjusted to the basics of this brand new sense. Now that your mind has adjusted enough, the training wheels are slowly being taken off. All this does is allow you to see the world around you in greater detail than before. Everything was a little blurry before, but is now clear again. On top of that, your brain is beginning to process individual molecules and their properties. This, in turn, leads inevitably to being able to distinguish colors yet again. As you continue to grow in this ability, you will even be able to do the equivalent of feeling the textures of everything around you without touching, and know an object down to its molecule.
To better explain how one experiences this quirk, it's like you are touching every individual molecule within a certain square radius of you. While this can be highly invasive for others, unfortunately -- for instance, you can somewhat feel the people around you from all angles -- thankfully, there are settings you can toggle on and off, which you gladly do so. Your favorite feature is refusing to feel/look past clothes except for the rare occasion where you can examine specifically what may be hiding in one's pockets. Heck, you could examine someone's organs if you so decided. And from there be able to tell what they last ate if you really were the nosy type.
But, again, for now, your brain is only just starting to comprehend individual molecules and decipher between colors.
Yeah, that was a lot. Sorry, lol.
---------------
The cloudless sky made room for the stars to shine through. The near full moon to beam gentle rays of pale blue light down on the dark city rooftops. Not a noise stirred. Nothing but the ghostly howls of air passing through abandoned windows, weaving between forgotten homes.
The city you flew over was dark. Though, yes, a city, it had been abandoned thanks to a recent earthquake. You hadn't expected such a place to be so ominous. The buildings which hadn't concaved were still so miserably shaken up... How sad.. You were in the asylum when all of this happened. Though terrible, at least it only hit this small sect. Hopefully, Tenko and Iguchi were able to assist in evacuation or something afterwards.
Until construction crews could plow through this abandoned city, it was the perfect place for criminals and the like to reside.
""Now remember. Follow my orders exactly. Fail to do so and you may lose certain privileges."" Ms. Zeyale warned.
You were soaring over the darkened shapes of buildings, blissfully enjoying the wind between your feathers, a feeling which you'd missed. A potato-sack-like bag over your head, you touched your earpiece through the cloth. "Yes ma'am." Kind of annoying to know your fun would be tracked every step of the way, but hey, at least they were letting you have your fun! You called back real quick. "Are you sure about this whole recruitment thing? I highly doubt he'll listen to a thing I say!"
""If we were trying to sway him with speeches and bribes, we wouldn't have sent you on this mission. Just do what you do best for now... If he resists, take him in by force.""
"Chhh!" You shrugged, almost starting into a laugh. "Alright then."
What were you the best at doing, then..?
Kicking a##? Heck yes.
Experimenting with your Sight quirk, you were able to track him down from here.
You found him~
-----
It was a crude place to stay, but this was where he made his bed. Geten had dragged a turned over mattress to the bay of the former owner's bedroom. Half surrounded by windows, he had a good vantage point of the outside world. It was so dark here. He was lucky the moon and starry night were picking up the slack.
The teen had torn off his worn old coat and set it on the floor already. Sitting on the mattress with his legs crossed, the teen looked up to the sky... Now how about that?.. Was it a coincidence that the first time he got a view of the stars was the first time he ever felt truly free?
Miserable as he was, having to scrounge around for meager scraps of food just to survive, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he preferred this over his old life. Thin as he was getting, it was well worth the freedom.
.. A new life awaited him. That was for sure.
. . .
There was an uncomfortable shift in the air.
. . .
CRASH!
You flew through one window and out the other, taking the target outside with you. You crashed again through another window, this time landing and rolling in the building nextdoor, where the darkness encompassed everything.
Geten fell from your grasp at the last second, grunting and picking glass shards from his skin as his legs fought to stand. His wearing, baggy clothes were even more torn and bloody than before! But for now the shock from it all was enough to drown out the unnecessary details to fixate on. All he needed to keep in mind was the threat ahead of him.
You, but a dark lump on the ground further from the moon's light than him, started giggling there on the ground. Your body convulsed as your laughter grew into something uncanny. Your six wings folded unevenly against your back, arms and legs picking your torso up unnaturally, like an old doll. Your head tilted, face obscured by a bloody, cloth bag.
To add to the unsettling look to your Punching Bag fit, you never bleached the blood stains out of it. Not now or before when you were a decent figurehead. Some stains were clearly older and more faded than the rest, creating a very creepy, calico affect. But other than that detail, it was just your average sweatpants and hoodie.
It was an unsettlingly mundane terror of a blend.
After Geten stood, he backed up against the shattered window. The air around him began to crystalize in preparation. For now, his eyes stuck on you strictly, fearful of what might happen should be look away for even a second.
It had been a long.. long time since you'd had any fun.
"Remember me~?" You cooed, finally standing decently enough for the young man to see just how tall you were. Geten shook his head slowly. You pouted, shoulders dropping. "Awh.. I was really hoping this rematch would have more meaning for the both of us... Oh well. I'm Punching bag. We fought more than half a year ago. Ring any bells?"
His white brows furrowed. He stood a little straighter, tightening his muscles from shoulder to finger-tip. "If that's the case.." he threw his arms back. The crystals in the air merged together to form thin bullets of ice. "Then I shouldn't have a problem beating you again!" All the ice darts shot your way. You reacted perhaps most creepily of all. You didn't even flinch as the shards all passed through your skin. No, you just stood there, tilted slightly. Mockingly. Only a few speckles of blood came from it.
After allowing a suspenseful pause to linger, you took a stride forward, swaying heavily to balance. "Awh... How cute. ... You know... Even if I wasn't holding back then, you'd be shocked by how much I've grown since.." Step, after step, after step, you came closer. So close, the fellow teen couldn't bear it.
He jumped out of the window, landing on a platform of ice he'd been building for himself. The ice reshaped itself into a slide, letting him down into the alley rather easily. You made no such elegant escape, shattering the glass once more to soar down after him.
Perhaps your Punching Bag persona was getting in the way right now, because you were having a little too much fun.
Geten climbed over piles of rubble, weaving between crumbling walls and piles of trash. He felt a random pinch of pain in his side, then another. Sure enough, you were deploying the occasional feather, just to mess with him. You had no plans of attack here other than to tire him out, and prove yourself the victor once and for all.
Thick webbings of ice formed between the walls, slowing you down just a little. You had to admit, this ability of his was pretty cool. Manipulating ice, though harder to fuel, was far more versatile and adaptive than the ice quirks seen in the Todoroki family. Though a great quirk to steal, you'd been ordered not to nab this one.
Geten finally dove between some concrete chunks you were too big to follow behind. Technically, you could shrink, but you preferred to hang back and just watch him crawl around for a while. It was scratchy down there. Dusty too. Geten coughed on all the loose particles filling his lungs. But he had no other solution. He was gasping for breath, focusing on escaping.
The teen freed himself from the makeshift tunnel and grabbed onto the nearest ladder. The air within that whole block was drained of its moisture. You could feel its effects, just from your skin getting dryer. This moisture gathered together in thin streams flying throughout the air, all collecting into one spot. Geten stood on top of a three story building now, recovery breathing best he could, wild eyes scanning for any movement. There was none. This did not help. You had wings. Right? You could fly, right?! That was your quirk, was it not?! Why then didn't you die when he shot you with all those darts!? How then did you possess enough strength to break through his ice webbing?! How could you SEE?! The moisture in the air from all around gathered into a palace of spikes that surrounded him, but even with this post he'd set up, it didn't feel like enough! Who WAS this person!? What did they want?!
Crunch!!
From under the boy's feet, you jutted up. His defenses were made useless as you simply rocketed through the ground, taking him up with you into the sky.
Your arms were wrapped tightly around him, wings flapping, wind flying by. The teen couldn't even open his eyes. "I came to see if you were interested in joining this little hero squad thing, actually!" Your voice shouted over the wind.
The other barked back. "No thanks, not interested!" Thin, long streaks of ice darted up, piercing through your legs. You kicked and fought against the ice as it slithered around your limbs, piercing straight through them whenever they so chose, but eventually you were forced to drop the guy. Geten fell onto a platform of ice and started to descend at once, taking the moisture in the air along with him. Your wounds healed rather quickly, but your enjoyment had all but faded away by now. So you were taking this a bit more seriously.
You dropped after him, fell on top of the guy and kicked him down so he'd fall even faster. He plummeted. Would have died in rather brutal fashion against the rocky concrete ground hadn't the ice both on the ground and floating created a tower to catch him with. He slid further to the base of the ice tower, rolling and dizzy. You didn't even allow him a moment's break. You crashed through the crude ice tower, smashing it to bits on your way down. Geten jumped out of the way just in time for you to break through the ground, falling into earth. A loud splash was heard after. Realizing your likely predicament, the target hardened the water into ice around you down in there, hoping it would trap you long enough for him to escape. Unluckily for him, the ground under his feet gave way. He too fell into the icy sewage system.
This time, he wasn't quite as prepared to catch himself. He landed on the thick ice with a hard thump. Even in ice form, this water stank of feces. Even to the taste, it was wretched. The ground began to crack under himself. Geten jumped to his feet, sliding away as you tore crack by crack through this bedding of ice. He reinforced the ice, filled in the cracks, whatever he could think of! But nothing was working! Your fists tore through the ice, then your legs. It wasn't long before you had freed yourself from a would-be icy grave.
You tilted your head his way. "Not even going to hear me out? I mean, it's a brilliant offer." Sitting up, you picked yourself up out of the icy hole. The only light source for miles beamed on your form above. "You'd be given food, housing, clean drink, any and all essentials! Hgh.." picking yourself up onto your feet, just in time to slap away another ice barrier attempting to knock you out. "Fresh start too~ You can have a new name and flashy identity. All for helping out other people~ Doesn't that sound nice?" You started striding toward the other, easily kicking past the waves of ice and slapping away the massive ice spikes that formed from the walls to impale your head. Geten inched further and further back, but he was limited by the light. Stumbling around in the darkness would be his downfall, since you clearly didn't need your eyes to see!
Backed into a corner here, the teen curled his back and growled like a wild beast. "I refuse!! My whole life, I've been controlled by others! I'd rather die than join you! HEROES!? Is that what you really think you are!?"
"Well, technically I'm not a hero yet. I'm just an enforcer. You won't be doing my job, so you won't have to worry about that."
"STILL! You're crazy to think I'd sell my soul again!"
Crack!
The ice cracked open under you, swallowing you whole. Before the ice could envelope around you fully, allowing for the other's narrow escape, you threw around blue fire on all sides. It burnt at your sleeves and arms, but it was enough to keep the ice at bay. Though your wings were wet with layers of frost, you used them to help you jump out of that watery hole and charge the other. You pinned Geten against the wall, watching as his eyes finally revealed just how helpless he felt. You were kinda starting to feel bad for him now. He looked a little younger than you even.
"Listen, kid!" You held him there. His struggling was useless. "I know you don't want to be a slave again, but think about it! You're going to die out here! You're skin and bone already and haven't had a proper meal in over a week!"
"Dn't.. c'r...m' a'leest.. free!"
"And what will that get you? What will dying out here like this accomplish?!.. Nothing! You're wasting your life on dreams that c-an't come true!" Was that.. a break in your voice? Were you starting to genuinely feel for his predicament? You stopped a moment to breathe and calm down. The other wasn't fighting so much anymore. With the arm not pinning his neck, you loosened and slid off the bag around your head, letting your white hair flap around wildly. "..Take it from me.. There is no such thing as freedom. For people like us, at least. No matter what we try, we'll always be slaves to something."
"Liar.." But he knew it was the truth. Your soft frown conveyed empathy.
"The best thing we can do is choose who our masters are, and make due with what we're given." The other squinted at you angrily. "At least then, we can still accomplish our dreams."
"Don't have any!"
"Well mine is to help kids like you.. People like you. I want to save children from being trafficked, put an end to quirk marriages, and stop people from being treated like objects because of their quirks. . And I can't do any of this on my own. I need people in order to get what I want, and people just so happen to be in something called a 'society.' .. Heh. I can't hope to get anything I want done outside of it. So, I have to play the game a little. Play by their rules.. until I can start making a few of my own. ... If you'll join me.. maybe we'll never be free, but we can ensure that others are. ... And, if you say no, I'll unfortunately have to knock you out right here." You ended with a chuckle. The other ground his teeth and turned his head away. You allowed him to think for a moment about what he wanted.
After having some time to think, the other teen pushed back against your arm. "Get off, alright? I'll join your sissy group or whatever." He pouted, avoiding what would be eye contact if only your eyes weren't wrapped. You backed off of the teen but still hovered around closely.
"How old are you anyway?"
"Sixteen..?"
"HAH!" You slapped his back. "I'm older than you, then!"
"I'm still confused. Are you a guy or a girl?"
"A girl~! Couldn't tell by my voice?"
"I just assumed you were a butch femboy...if that's even a thing."
"It isn't, but I'll take it!" You laughed. Adrenaline sure was fun, wasn't it?! Fresh from the rollercoaster ride of a fight, your body housed plenty of energy. Enough to easily change gears to lead the new recruit in the right direction.
""You did a good job, (H/n)... Nice work indeed."" You were surprised she hardly gave any input this mission.
Calling her back, "Hey, um, mind if the two of us 'take care' of our contracts real quick?" Geten stared curiously as you asked this, slowly piecing two and two together. There was a pause on the woman's end, but soon enough, you had your answer.
""Go ahead. It would do more good than bad.""
You grinned, then looked up at your new icy friend. "You're still in good enough shape to fight, right~? How about we work together to track down the people who have contracts on us and liberate ourselves~?" As little as this would help anything in the long-run, it seemed to get his attention.
He agreed. The rest of the night was spent doing just that. You and Geten helping each other get rid of the people and papers that dared to chain you down.