Chapter Text
What makes a person good? What makes them evil? Is it their circumstances? A sense of being that only targets those worthy of knowing the truth? Does one good deed outweigh the hundreds of bad things you've done in your life? These questions circle in my mind over and over. Chaos is a craving I can never satisfy. A hunger, a need, extacy at its core. But so is my innate want and desire to help others. Helping an old woman cross the road. Feeding a stray cat or 50. This conflict resides within me. Deeply ingrained as I fight with myself over what it is that I am. One minute I'm causing problems and being a nuisance and the next I'm helping someone from a villain attack.
My name is Keira June Ishimoto aka Kiki. Currently I am helping a woman escape her overturned car. Some villain with a strength quirk flipped her car as he was running from his current crime. The heroes and police haven't arrived yet. It's only a matter of time before they get here I'm sure. And I want to be as far away as possible when they arrive. I heave a sigh as I look around. How? How do I keep ending up in these situations? It's not like I'm trying to be a hero. In fact I'm doing everything I can not to be one and yet, I'm always helping someone. It's really inconvenient since I want to be a villain and all of this helping people thing is really cramping my style. But I can't stop doing it. I can't stop myself from jumping in and helping. The woman is clinging to my hand and crying. Dark brown hair a mess, tears and blood running down her face.
"Oh thank you thank you! You must be interning with a hero agency. Do you have a name?"
"Nope!" I shake her hand off me to Sprint down the sidewalk and through the gathering crowd. Typical people. Oh look a villain is attacking lets get in the way and be a pain in the ass. Ah well at least it lets me blend in and get away. I'd rather not get caught by the police or one of the heroes. It'd really make my already terrible existence worse. Plus I'm late for gymnastics class. Gotta stay in shape if I'm going to be a villain some day. I can't always rely on my water manipulation quirk for everything. I'm like a magnet for water I have the ability to pull water out of anything and bend it to my will, though I still need to train this quirk. Now if only the universe would stop throwing situations like this at my feet I'd be set. My damn body just does whatever it wants when someone is in need of help. I am the daughter of a notorious villain that disappeared a long time ago. Never caught for the crimes he committed. My father was known as absolute chaos. His quirk let him send out waves of energy destroying anything he targeted. He is still on the most wanted list though it has been nearly 5 years. Thoughts of my father always brings thoughts of Acadia. My twin sister, basically quirkless and all around useless. A pang hits my heart as I think of her. She was always so happy but also so serious. Her ability to understand things was far greater than my own. Damn I miss her and dad so much and I fear I may never see them again. When the heroes and police raided dads secret hideout he grabbed her and ran. Mom had taken me with her to our home since I was sick. I remember the frantic phone call from dad as he fled the city, taking my quirkless sister with him and telling mom to stay put.
"Mommy I don't feel good."
"Well you are running a pretty high fever."
"But I wanna be with dad and Cadia! Dad needs help with his next plans!"
"Now now. Just rest you can help next time." She turns away as the phone begins to ring. Laying back in bed as mom leaves the room I can't stop the pout on my face but my mother's voice stops any thoughts and protests I would have had. I can hear her muffled voice filled with worry and sorrow. Climbing out of bed I rush in just as she drops to the floor clutching her stomach and pleading.
"No no please! Don't leave us! I haven't told you yet! What about Acadia? She will never survive!" Her sobs make her shoulders shake as she clutches the phone. "I can't do this without you. Please." I watch as she holds the phone closer and cries harder. "I promise. I love you. Please be safe." She doubles over as she drops the phone. I rush to her side, her arms snake around me and she holds me close crying loudly. Worry fills me. "Did something happen to daddy?" Her eyes meet mine as she swallows.
"Yes baby. He is going to be gone for awhile. Same as Acadia."
I blink as my focus comes back. Sighing at the memory I step through the door to the gymnastics center. My sensei already yelling at me for being late. It's been 5 long ass years since I've seen my sister and my dad. No contact, no letters. Just the birthday present once a year and bills paid anonymously. Mom stopped being a villain that night. Almost 9 months later Ryu was born. It's just been the 3 of us since then. My mind wanders as I change my clothes. I hope my sister is okay and that she is happy.
Somewhere in Russia
We stand and watch as the villain rampages through the street. Shaking our heads at his blatant need to be noticed. Turning I watch as a car slams into a lamp post pinning a woman between it and a building. I'm moving before I can stop myself. Damn today has just gotten complicated. We were just supposed to rob a place and return. In and out no problem. But no some half witted villain got a hair up his ass and decided to trash the shopping district. As I slip between the building and the car, reaching for her hand I guide her to safety. I'm a criminal and Yet here I am helping a victim escape the rubble. The irony of my life has never been lost on me.
"Are you hurt?" I ask her as I set her on the ground. She's crying and blubbering and hanging onto my hand for dear life.
"Thank You. But aren't you a bit young to be a hero?"
"Who said I was a hero?" I shake her hand off as I turn and begin running away. I turn my head and catch someone following close behind me. Tripp Milo my best friend and current patrol partner. He shakes his head at me. Scoffing I keep running until I'm certain we are far enough away we can slow down. Living on the streets has made me tough, but damn do I hate running. "Ugh! It takes so much energy! I need a nap."
"Well maybe you shouldn't have helped. You know if the boss finds out you are gonna be in trouble again." Tripp shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He sure is grumpy for a 13 year old.
"Yeah yeah" I'm not worried about him saying anything. He's loyal like that. I sigh as I glance around. The streets of Moscow are dirty and it's always so damn cold but this is the city we call home. Tripp grew up here and he was the first friend I made when my father fled here with me after becoming a noticeably wanted villain in our home country. I shove my hands in my pockets to keep them warm as I glance up at the gray sky. I'm little more than the daughter of a villain and I was thought to be quirkless most of my life. My dad was worried about this little problem so he turned to a mad scientist and asked him to fix that problem. Ha too bad my quirk finally manifested at that time. I walked away from that experience with not one but 3 quirks. And this deep ingrained need to help everyone, to save them. I sigh as I think of my father's reasons for wanting me to have a quirk. I understand his need to keep me safe truly I do but I feel like he might have taken things too far. He was worried something would happen to him and leave me defenseless and quirkless considering he made it onto the most wanted list for his crimes. These thoughts always make me think of my mom and my twin and how much I miss them. Dad says we can't go home, that we may never see them again. I shake off those lingering feelings of loss and I turn back to Tripp.
Tripp and his twin brother are the sons of another villain. Who saw them as useless since they weren't born with powerful quirks. Tripp's quirk lets him take the vision of anyone, leaving them in the dark, he calls it blackout. Torrent was Born with a quirk that lets him see inside of just about anything we jokingly named it X-ray eyes. Their dad didn't think that was enough however. Before their dad was taken to black dolphin A supermax prison for villains serving life sentences he gave his sons to the doctor. Boris gave them extra quirks and has been training them and raising them ever since. Kind of like he has been training me and being my caretaker while my dad is away on missions. It always seems like my dad is gone more often than he is around. At first that was hard as even when busy I saw him every day and now? Well I have Boris and my friends at least. Plus lately it's been difficult to deal with my dad. Like a deep rift has opened between the two of us. Some Days it's like the rift isn't there and other days it's like he is a stranger or someone I used to know. Shake it off Acadia he is just… busy I scold myself. Again for the millionth time in the last week. Boris would be annoyed if you became distracted returning from a mission.
Boris Boranov discovered his quirk let him manifest or build quirks within another person. He is more mad scientist than human. For some god awful reason he is friends with my dad and let us hide out with him. He is known as the doctor. He isn't much of a villain other than villains pay him to give them quirks. Sadly, he can only give quirks to those who are young and haven't trained or used their quirk very much. Or the quirkless. He is crazy but he takes in the kids who have been abandoned or kids on the run. Well more like he took in all the kids my dad found on his journeys. He feeds them, teaches them to read and write. He even taught us how to fight! Though he isn't as strict on us as his mentor was on him, or so he says.
I follow Tripp as he turns down an alley heading back to base. Really it's little more than an abandoned grocery store. People on this side of the city tend to keep to themselves. Mostly the poor and forgotten live here. I step around a broken bottle and past another alley. "Do you think I was never meant to be a villain?" I turn to Tripp as I ask this. That question plagues me. Sure my dad is considered a villain. But blowing up a few banks to erase debt for others? It's a crime but I see his point. I've seen what happens to those who can't afford to eat. Can't afford rent. At 13 I have witnessed what no other wants to acknowledge. The deep underbelly of every large city. The lost and forgotten. My own father lived on the streets as a kid. His mother lost her job when she lost her hearing. Can't work in a call center if you can't hear what people are calling to complain about. They lost their home, warm meals every night. She went into debt trying to provide for her son. When she became ill he joined a gang. He needed money for her medicines and since he was little more than a street thug no one would hire him so joining a gang seemed the only logical decision for him. He left most of the gang life behind after meeting mom. He even got a decent job. It would be ideal if he would have stopped trying to erase the world's debt issues, but he hated watching people lose everything because they can't afford to live.
"Do you consider yourself a villain? Do you think your father wants you to be a villain like him?" He finally asks. I turn and meet his bright orange eyes. I shake my head at him. "Not really. I get his point in a way, but he could have gone about helping in a million other ways. But he is always sending us on dangerous missions or having us steal things and… part of me feels like I don't want to do that anymore Tripp." He nods his head as if he understands. His own father is known worldwide for being a super villain. Killing hundreds and causing mass destruction out of hatred and violence. He was violent even towards his own sons. They have scars to prove that fact. At least I can say my own father isn't a violent person by nature, he just goes about helping the world in unconventional ways. We step out of the alley and towards the decrepit building. The sign hangs loosely it's mostly faded but you can still see the words продуктовый магазин. Grocery store in a faded green. Windows covered in a metal roll cage and spray painted with gang slang and other shit. There's a cat smiley face with one of the eyes crossed out, my own signature added to the dozens already littering the metal. We head around the side of the building. Brick crumbling and grime covering most of the building. We stop in front of a door and knock in the familiar pattern. It takes a moment before the door swings open. Angelique Petit is a pretty girl with long white hair and bright blue eyes that glance at us before she steps back and lets us in. She looks every bit the French girl with her grace and long fingers. She loves to tell us stories in French, it's like listening to the greatest melody of all time. Her hands fly into familiar patterns as she begins signing rapidly. My father taught us all Japanese sign language. Saying it gave us an advantage over everyone in Russia since they wouldn't be able to understand our secret form of communication.
'what took you so long?'
'Nothing you need to worry about'
'Ronan says different' she turns with a huff and walks away. I glance around the room. This was the employee break room. Old lockers line the wall, broken and tilting. A threadbare couch sits against another. Springs poking out and the wood broken inside. Tripp walks passed me and shakes his head. Following him into the main room, gutted for the most part this tiny store now only holds computers and workout equipment. Near the back are some bunk beds and a few duffle bags filled with clothes. Nothing of fashion just necessities really. I turn and head towards the computers. Of everything here this is the only part that holds anything of material value. Ronan Moretti sits at one of the computers. His quirk is known as electronic communication. He can understand, control and generate electronic digital and radio transmissions. He doesn't need to be plugged into a computer to do this but it helps him to expand his areas of focus. He is basically a wireless computer. He can disrupt radio frequencies and intercept cell phones or security cameras. His own parents are serving life in prison for their crimes. Leaving their only son to live alone. When I first met him, it was hard to understand him as he only spoke Italian after all. My father and Boris took it upon themselves to teach us to speak other languages. So now each of us are fluent in Japanese, Russian, French and English as well as JSL. I glance to Kade Andrews as he runs on the treadmill in the corner. Maroon hair in need of a trim bouncing as he runs. Eyes focused as he paces himself lest he destroys another treadmill with his quirk. Having a speed quirk has to be tough for him. Though his background isn't the same as ours. He ran away from his home. His mother is a well known villain in the USA and he didn't want to live that kind of life. He's only 14 but he acts like he's 6 most days. Too loud and goofy for his own good. I shake my head at his serious face. It's times like this I have to wonder if he is focused on the task he is doing or if he is just messing around and pretending to be focused.
I turn back to Ronan his light brown hair and blue eyes. He turns to me with a grimace. Hands flying as he signs his displeasure.
'I saw what you did today you are lucky I deleted all the footage.' The world doesn't know him personally but it feels his menace. He is known worldwide as Rapture404 the most wanted hacker, he can hack just about anything. It amazes me how easily he can do that. And He is one of the few who knows I secretly want to be a hero. My father could have been one but instead decided he would rather destroy the hierarchy instead of changing it. I sigh as I glance away in guilt. I am not trying to get caught I just can't stop myself from helping. I turn to Tripp as he flops on the couch activating his second quirk Demon mode. Here is why I am so close to him. We both were given a quirk that makes us more beast than human. Where his is demon mine makes me look like some goofy half cat half girl. We both possess enhanced strength, hearing and smell. Our eye sight is also enhanced mine is better in the dark than his though. I have enhanced flexibility and balance much like a cat. Where he can open portals or tunnels with his quirk I can blend in using camouflage and shadows. I glance around for Torrent and catch him curled up on one of the beds. Must have been up all night practicing his own second quirk Blood link telepathy. With a drop of someone's blood he can communicate with them or drops of blood from multiple people give him the ability to create links him being the one to channel each person's thoughts to the others. But it takes a lot out of him sometimes. His blonde hair all sorts of messy from where he lays curled into a ball as if he is sick again, I wonder how my own sister is doing, she was sick the last time I saw her. Mom took her home and left me with dad since mom also didn't feel well. She made me promise not to say anything to dad as she picked Kiki up and walked out the door. It wasn't long after that when everything went to shit. The police and heroes raiding the hideout and dad using his quirk to blast them away and get us out of there.
"Come on baby. We have to leave mom and Kiki for a little while. Everything will be fine." Except everything hasn't been fine. Learning to live with my new quirks wasn't easy. Living on the harsh streets of Russia has been a challenge. My father has been trying to keep a low profile for years now. Always hiding somewhere. I haven't seen him for a few weeks now. I look around at each kid he has strangely adopted as his own and sigh. He is a good person deep down. I know that truly I do. But he could have been a hero instead. Then again I wouldn't have met any of these kids or made friends with them. A loud racket from the back of the building meets my ears. I'm trying to get used to how sensitive my hearing has become, but some days everything seems so… loud. I watch as Boris makes his way out looking like the mad man he claims to be. Dressed in ripped jeans and a sweater 2 sizes too big, long gray hair in a low ponytail and a broken pair of glasses over his light green eyes. He gives me a long look like he knows what I did. He scoffs as I give him my most innocent "who me?" Smile.
"Everything went smoothly?"
"Sure did borbor." I slip the backpack off my back and hand it to him. I feel bad for robbing that medical supply place. But it's not like they don't have insurance to cover the lost goods… Hopefully. "How is your latest victim?" He scoffs as he begins digging the necessary supplies out. Switching back to Japanese like he switches his temper. His fluency surprised me at first but I've just accepted it. It was nice having someone around who spoke the same language as me and dad. Learning a new language was fun but at first being unable to understand anyone was difficult, thankfully Boris had been teaching Tripp and Torrent Japanese making the learning easier as we learned to share language together. This is what cemented our friendship in the end. Having common ground to work on as we each learned something new. And later as we learned another language and made more friends together.
"She is Fine and will be back to her horrible self soon." Villains come to Boris for their medical needs. He is a good dude and wanted to be a doctor but life has a funny way of throwing a wrench in your plans. Now he just helps the lowly criminals back to health. He also treats the poor when he can. Which is why I had to rob a place. It's not like nursing villains and the poor back to health pays a lot. I make my way over to the couch and plop to the floor. I glance at Kade as he steps off the treadmill and decide now's a perfect time as any to practice my 3rd and unnecessarily strange quirk, I call it emotion eyes, I can stare at someone and send emotions their way. Rage, fear, calm, fight or flight. I wonder how paranoid I can make Kade. His body stiffens as he glances back at me with a snarl on his face. The sight causing me to laugh out loud. I wonder if my sister would like them. Damn do I miss her. It's weird having this connection with my twin broken like it is. Tripp and Torrent would probably rampage until being reunited. But I'm in hiding and I have no idea how to contact my sister or my mom. Or my dad for that matter. Where the Hell is he anyways? I settle back against the couch for a nap. Not like getting much sleep on a stake out and then robbery is possible. Ever since receiving shadow cat my vigilance has amplified. I'm always hyper aware of every sound, every smell. Sometimes it grates on my nerves and I know Tripp suffers from that as well. But we both know the others won't let anything happen to us in our sleep. I look around at everyone again. Angelique is standing in front of a dirty mirror examining her wings again. Long and white they stick out of her back like a beacon of light and warmth, and she can tuck them away the specifics of which I try not to dwell on, the pouches and way the wings fold up just make my eye twitch and a shudder run through my body. Her primary quirk lets her heal anyone she touches, we call it Angel's touch. It's fitting because she does look like an angel, long white hair and eyes that glow blue, and hands that glow a faint blue as well when her quirk is active. But she hates fighting, the act itself causing panic attacks and horrible nightmares for her. I have comforted her on nights when the nightmares attack her, on nights where her father's face won't leave her alone. He was a cruel cruel man. He nearly killed his own daughter for having a hero type quirk instead of a villain quirk. He killed her mother for giving him such a terrible offspring. At 13 she has seen things that have broken a lesser man. Yet she stands proudly like always. Even when her eyes are sad. She catches my eye in the mirror and gives me a soft smile. All of us here between the ages of 13 and 14 have lived a life most other kids will never dream of. Living on the run, living with monsters for parents, being abandoned. We make an odd group really but I love each of them like brothers and sisters. Damn there I go again thinking of my twin. I miss her so much. I sigh as I lean my head back. I wonder if Boris will be up for a sparring match later. We usually head to the gymnastics place for training. The Ukrainian lady who let us use her studio was world famous for her flexibility and performances. But she retired many years ago. She gave us lessons in exchange for helping her get groceries and medical supplies. Sadly she passed away a few weeks ago. Leaving her studio to Boris so we can use it. I'll miss her vibrant eyes and personality. I sigh again as I close my eyes. I really need to sleep before I start blubbering. My emotions always feel raw after a mission that makes me feel like nothing more than a criminal. But it also means I can help those who desperately need it as not everyone here can afford medical treatment so stealing the needed supplies gives them that help. Although the villains are usually bad people which makes me feel like a bad person for giving them the help. I close my eyes as I lean back and try to shake off the lingering feelings of guilt and doubt. Ha the irony of my life, steal to help people who can't get help on their own. The last 24 hours has seriously weighed heavy on my shoulders. Forcing me to dwell on things, making thoughts rush through my brain at neck breaking speeds. I want to be a hero so badly and yet I feel stuck in an endless cycle of crimes. Steal to help the poor, fight a gang member for information, save a lady trapped between a car and a wall. Its goes round and around. One crime, one good deed, 5 crimes, one good deed. My hopes for becoming a hero someday dwindle like sand in an hourglass with each crime that leaves a permanent mark against my soul.