I peeled my eyes opened upon hearing a voice. Through the darkness, the clock read 8:32 pm. My eyes were sore and swollen. I must've cried myself to sleep.
My throat was totally parched. I untangled my body from the sweaty sheets and shuffled out of my room to get water. Creeping down the stairs, I noticed that the kitchen light was on. My parents' shadows cast on the tan tiles. There was another, but I didn't recognize it. Gently placing my hands on the wall, I peeked into the kitchen. Dad was leaning on the kitchen counter with his arms folded with Mom sitting at the dining table. Sitting across from her was the back of Corvade's head. What was she doing here? Why is she talking to them? What are they even talking about?
"I think it's time we tell her," Dad said.
"It's too dangerous," Corvade curtly replied.
"Dangerous? She's already in danger!"
"That's exactly why she can't know!" she snapped. "She doesn't need to get dragged into our drama. We shouldn't pass on our problems onto her; she's been through enough already. I don't want her to end up like Kiyoshi or Hiro. Or like..."
I waited for Corvade to finish, but she just stopped. Mom's face went solemn, and the wrinkles on Dad's face deepened.
"At this point, there's no use continuing this lie. The only reason why this's been working for the past 6 years is because of the accident. She's been suppressing her Quirk but now it reawakened. She knows that it isn't like mine or Anri's. If she's not already suspecting something, she will soon. She's old enough to understand these things."
What things are they talking about? I leaned in closer to hear.
Mom closed her eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. "This is very difficult for all of us, you especially. We love Rin, and I know that you do too. She's so confused right now, and I'm willing to tell the truth if it means it'll make her feel less lost. We can't keep lying forever," she quietly spoke. "When you brought her that day, I remember the look you had on your face. We knew we couldn't turn you away. We promised that we'd look after her and...failed. I-I'm so sorry."
My heart started to pound in my chest. My mind started to race all over the place as the words rang in my ears. I couldn't believe what I heard, I didn't want to believe it. Are they actually admitting that...?
"You did nothing wrong. She wouldn't have grown up as she did if she stayed with me," Corvade replied. Hearing that last line made the pounding in my chest intensify.
All of a sudden, Dad's eyes flickered in my direction. Crap! I quickly ducked behind the wall and tried to make my getaway by tiptoeing back upstairs when he called out to me.
"Rin, come here. We need to talk."
With my cover blown, I had no choice but to sulk into the kitchen. The air got heavy and everybody's eyes were on me. Mom began twirling her hair. Corvade, whose back was what I saw earlier, turned around. She wasn't wearing her cloak. Moving from the counter, Dad took a seat next to Mom. He told me to sit, and I did.
"...How much did you hear?" Dad asked. He was fiddling with his fingers.
I flickered my eyes to Corvade, to Mom, then back to Dad. "Stuff about my Quirk and um, how you guys were gonna tell me something..." I swallowed the dryness in my throat. "I didn't say it earlier when you asked at the hospital, but Kiyoshi told me something. He told me that you, Mom, Hiro weren't...my real family."
His shoulders stiffened and his fingers froze. He glanced at Corvade, practically burning a hole through her. Although he was silent, Corvade knew what he was saying and she didn't like it one bit. Turning to me, she asked if I believed him. I told her that I didn't at first but after everything that's happened and what I just overheard...
"I'm starting to believe it."
Dad placed his hands on the table, curling his fingers slightly. A line creased between his eyebrows. "...He's right. Your mother and I aren't your actual parents and Hiro isn't your brother."
At first, all I felt was the churning of my stomach. I knew it. I knew it all along deep inside but hearing him admit aloud made my head spin. Kiyoshi was right; Hiro's not my brother. He never was. He saved me for nothing. There was no way I could deny it anymore...and there was no more denying it from them either. It's my mistake for not realizing this sooner, but why didn't they tell me this? As crazy as the situation is, I think I'm old enough. Knowing that they were hiding this from me my entire life suddenly made my chest grow warm.
"If I never recovered my Quirk or if Kiyoshi never told me, did you ever plan on telling me this?"
He didn't say anything. Mom had to respond for him.
"We did Rin but when you awakened your Quirk, we became afraid. We were afraid of what would happen if we told you, s-so..." She let out a quivering sigh. "After you hurt that boy, you stopped using your Quirk. It got to the point where you even forgot it existed. I... We were relieved. You would surely notice that your Quirk didn't match mine or your dad's, but since you erased it from your memory..."
"You guys could continue the secret, right?" I finished.
She nodded and hung her head. "We feel so ashamed about that. I promise that we were planning on telling you soon but then you overheard us talking..."
"So, what am I to you?"
"W-we're still family. I'm your aunt and Ryu's your uncle.".
"How about Corvade? How's she related to this?"
Corvade let out a low sigh. "In order to make sense, I'll have to start from the beginning."
I glanced at Corvade, whose sharp gaze had not wavered since I sat down. Her arms were folded across her chest with one leg over the other. "I'm sure you know that Ryusaki and Kiyoshi used to be in Venom's Bane, but you don't know that I was too. Ryusaki and I known Kiyoshi since we were young. He was practically our brother. He admired your grandfather very much; he would do anything to gain his approval. Not only because he was the leader of the gang, but also because he saw him as a father. When he died at the hands of a hero, that caused Kiyoshi's downward spiral."
"According to tradition, I was next in line to take the mantle. Kiyoshi wanted me to but I refused. Even if I wanted to, the majority of the members were apprehended by the police. I ended up disbanding it," Dad explained. "Kiyoshi's still bitter after all these years. When he attacked you and that boy, it was because of me. He wants me to create a new Venom's Bane within Crimson Eclipse and seeks revenge on the hero that killed your grandpa." He curled his fist into a tight ball. "Even to this day, he's still after me. I am the reason why you and Hiro suffered."
Kiyoshi was also telling the truth when he said that they went far back. It seemed like I could take his word which was weird, since most villains are liars.
"So that means you're Dad's...you're his sister, the one who died," I remarked.
Corvade darted her eyes at him. They narrowed. "You told her about me? I thought I told you not to say anything."
He returned the look back to her. "I didn't, but an old co-worker swung by and mentioned you when she was there. What was I supposed to do? Play dumb?" he defended.
"Yes, exactly."
He scoffed. "Are you kidding me, Asuka?"
"Um, can we continue?" I said, breaking into the conversation.
Corvade resumed. "I hated Venom's Bane and resented your grandfather. By the time the gang disbanded, I was already a full-time vigilante. I left home to continue my work." She gazed at me with cold eyes. "Earlier, you asked how I was related to all of this. What do you think, Rin?"
"Kiyoshi told me that my real mom should be the one telling me everything. That means she's out there," I started. A stiff smile formed on my lips despite the aching in my chest. "You know, it kinda sucks realizing that I've been lied to my entire life. I think what makes it worse is that the one who started this lie has secretly been with me this whole time."
She seemed unbothered by this but then I noticed that she was gripping her biceps, the skin around her finger turning pale. There was a crack in her defense. "I treated you that way because they hadn't told you the truth yet. If I were to drop the truth the first time we met, it'd be too soon."
"But what about the one after? And the other times we met? You had so many chances to tell me. You're my mom. You're the one who gave me away, so you should be the one coming clean, right?"
Her eyes narrowed at me. "There was a reason why I left. I left because it'd be better if we weren't together."
"Honestly, I don't really care that you left in the first place. What annoys me is that when you came back, you were always glaring at me like I did something wrong." I gripped the bottom of my shorts. "Not only that, you ignored my existence. I was just another hostage to you. You didn't care."
"That's not true. She cared which is exactly why she left," Dad piped, his voice rising.
My face flushed, and I looked at him. "She just said that she didn't want me. I don't get how that's called caring."
"I left to protect you!" Corvade snapped.
Her eyes were fuming, and I saw the veins on her arms. But suddenly, the fire in her eyes died down. Reaching up to her chin, she pulled down her mask. I admit, I was taken aback by her sudden facial reveal. Now that I had a closer look at her, I saw hints of Dad in her. They both had sharp violet eyes and a straight, long nose bridge. Unlike him, however, there was a deep scar on her face. It started near her left nostril and traveled over her mouth and ended at her lower lip.
"I got this scar when we got attacked. You weren't even one yet. A lot of bad people were on my tail during that time, Rin. After that happened, I realized that my line of work was putting your life in danger, so I asked my brother to look after you. You'd be safer that way."
The aching in my chest started to hurt again. "...Did Hiro know all along too?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
She nodded.
"It's his own damn fault he's dead! He risked it all just to save somebody who's not his real sister!"
It was very subtle, but the corners of her eyebrows slanted up slightly wrinkling her forehead. "Nothing will change that I, your mother, abandoned you. I don't expect you to forgive me or acknowledge me. One thing I do expect is that you don't ever stop caring for your parents. Although they aren't your birth parents, they still raised and loved you as their daughter. Hiro included. Despite everything, he's still your brother."
I had the sudden urge to get up and leave the room but found I was glued to my chair. I couldn't look her in the face anymore. I stared at the dining table instead, seeing my reflection in the clear vinyl tablecloth. Through the distortion, I saw tired eyes.
"What about my dad?" I hardly managed to utter.
She told me he died during the attack. Before she could delve further, there was a beeping noise coming from her. She reached to her ear and clicked on her earpiece. After a few seconds of quietness, she stood up. She began to walk out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Dad demanded.
She informed me that there was a Crimson Eclipse sighting and was going to take care of it before disappearing into the living room. Standing up from my seat, I quickly followed after her. She was by the front door wearing her cloak and putting on her boots.
"I'm...coming too," I said.
"Don't be ridiculous. Were you not listening to what I was saying earlier?" she scoffed. She stood up, turned the doorknob, and walked outside. Before she could close the door, I ledged my arm in-between and slipped out.
"Crimson Eclipse is the reason why Hiro's gone," I began.
"That's exactly why you can't come. You've had enough trouble already."
"I don't care. They're bad people and they deserve to get taken--"
Without warning, Corvade's boomerang comes flying at my face. It bonked me right in the forehead and flew back into her hands. My face flushed as pain began to form.
"Tell me what happened," she ordered.
Rubbing my forehead which had gone warm, I told her she hit me with her boomerang.
"Wrong. You failed to use your Quirk," she corrected. She threw it, and it hit me in the shoulder. I told her that it kinda hurt, but she ignored me and threw it again at the same spot.
"Um, could you not do that?" I asked through my teeth.
Walking up to me, she handed the boomerang. She told me to throw it at her. Grasping the weapon, I aimed for her torso and launched it. At first, it barreled towards her, but it suddenly changed its trajectory. It flew away from her body and hit me in the other shoulder. By now, I was growing increasingly impatient and made no effort to hide it. She didn't care though and instead asked how she did that.
"I don't know. You redirected it?" I replied. Once saying that, the realization came in. "Wait, so my Quirk..."
"You inherited from me," she curtly replied. She placed the boomerang back into her cloak. "But you can't even use it on command. If you can't even do that, don't even think about fighting Crimson Eclipse."
Turning her back to me, she walked away. I took a step to follow after when another boomerang smacked me at the back of my head. When the heck did she throw that? It didn't return to her and instead, clattered on the road. I picked it up and by the time I turned back around, she was gone.
I squeezed the boomerang feeling a ball of frustration begin to form inside. That's it? After that whole conversation that flipped my entire life upside down, she just left me without saying anything. I get that we don't know each other well, but at least say something as my mom.
I stormed back into the house, crashing into Dad. He asked me if Corvade left but I didn't reply. He noticed the small boomerang in my hand but didn't say anything. Marching up the stairs, I chucked the boomerang at my bedroom wall and flopped onto my bed.
She's right. Dad, Mom, and Hiro might not be my birth family but they're more of a family than she ever was to me! I don't care that she left anyway. I get her reasons, but would it kill her to treat me better? If it weren't for Crimson Eclipse, she wouldn't even be here right now.
I gazed at the boomerang she left behind that was lying by the wall.
I'm going to get back at Crimson Eclipse and Kiyoshi for what they did to Hiro, no matter what. Nobody's gonna stop me, especially not her.
I'll show her that I can use my Quirk too.