TW: blood, violence
[Name] crouched down as his black eyes pierced through the frail petals of the flower. The purple fluttered in the slight wind, moonlight reflecting on it in careful caresses.
A hyacinth.
The eight year old was intrigued; from his knowledge, they bloomed only in spring. What a rare occurrence to find one in the middle of November.
"C'mon, Nine. We're heading out."
Blinking twice, [Name] readdressed himself at the mention of his name, walking over to the rest of his team with a careful step. He joined them to where they were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over a large forest. Their sights were set on a well-concealed mansion covered by the heavy foliage, containing a rival gang that Necrosis had been meaning to eliminate.
Hikaru gave [Name] a hearty slap on the back, smiling through his eyes. The younger looked to his side and tried his best to reciprocate. The group all had matching cloth masks covering the lower half of their faces, granting them their signature anonymity as shadow assassins of the Necrosis special force. With a collective nod, they sped down the cliff, no more than black blurs blending into the abyss of the night.
Landing silently, the figures clad in black moved swiftly along the branches of the forest, dancing with the leaves in a deadly rhythm as they neared the house. Once there, they split up and hid within the surrounding bushes, evading the numerous guards with practiced stealth. #002 motioned silently with his hand and, following his orders, Hikaru (#008) advanced soundlessly, unnoticed by the sentries on patrol as he slipped a small black box onto the underside of a low-hanging window's ledge. At the same time, #004 and #006 fixed twin metal contraptions onto the roof and walls on the other side of the building. The rest were busy taking down the guards silently, one by one, shooting each with a poisoned dart into their necks before watching them collapse with a muted thud.
The plan was simple, but risky— bomb the mansion and pretend to be killed in the explosion, with #005 disabling the trackers at a precise moment. The girl in question was meditating in a nearby tree, collecting her thoughts and concentration for her quirk to be able to work at peak power. Wordlessly, #001, leader of the group, emerged from where he was scouting the perimeter, bomb trigger in hand. He nodded sharply and the unit moved collectively to beneath where #005 was sitting, meeting with the others who had swiftly finished their job. #005 opened her eyes, now a vibrant purple, crackling faintly with phantom sparks of electricity. Jumping down to the ground, she nodded in confirmation as #003, sensing her nervousness, held her hand in silent comfort. Hikaru rested his hand on [Name]'s ragged locks as he and the others looked to #001. The adolescent took a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily. It was now or never, and they only had one shot. His gloved thumb hovered over the button as a tight tension erupted within the team, the teens bracing for impact. He pressed.
Click.
"Boom."
[Name] and the others watched in horror as Hikaru started to laugh hysterically, holding his hands to his stomach as he doubled over. He ripped his mask off of his face, revealing the branding present and glowing deceivingly on the skin of his neck as his eyes erupted in white, hinting the use of his quirk.
"You should have seen your faces! Oh, how hopeful and desperate you were for a little taste of freedom!"
"Eight," #001 muttered under his breath, "what the fuck do you think you're doing?!"
He grabbed Hikaru by the collar as the others backed away, standing behind their leader as they assumed offensive decisions. [Name] was left behind his friend, thoughts in disarray as he scrambled between choosing the two.
"What, are you really that stupid? You trust too easily, One, and that will be your downfall."
From behind the leader, an angered voice arose.
"Eight! What happened? What did you do?"
Hikaru growled and jutted his arm out, seemingly twisting it harmlessly in #003's direction. The others, caught off guard, could only watch as their comrade's torso was pierced and slashed by a hidden blade. #005 immediately caught him as he collapsed, laying him down and pressing on his wound, quirk fizzling out from panic for her lover.
"Three!"
#001 tightened his grip on Hikaru's throat, swiping his legs form underneath him to pin him down. However, the latter quickly countered by flipping the other down instead and putting him in a chokehold. The others were quick to react.
"Eight! Snap the fuck out of it! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The boy hissed, feral as the rest of the force tried to pull him off of their leader. [Name] was frozen.
Suddenly, a drop of rain landed on his forehead. He swiped at it with his finger. No, not rain. Blood.
He looked up urgently, seeing #007 digging a blade into Hikaru's shoulder. He groaned in pain before flicking more of the crimson onto [Name], grinning cynically, gaze piercing and amused.
"Come on, [Name]. You know what to do."
His white eyes bored into the twin blacks of the male, capturing him under his gaze as [Name] slowly approached the rest of the group.
"Shit! He got Nine with his quirk!"
"Nine! Can you hear me??"
"You bastard!"
The team stared at Hikaru, eyes wide as they tried to get him to release their youngest, bashing his head on the hard ground as [Name] slowly approached them. The eldest only laughed, numb to the crack of his skull against the dirt. [Name]'s eerie, unconscious stare bored into the other's skulls as they scrambled with urgency.
"Kill him! Kill Eight!"
"What? No!"
"He's a traitor, just fucking do it!"
[Name], trapped in his mind, was forced only to watch what happened next. #004 held up his dagger as the rest collectively pinned Hikaru, his closest friend, down. The restrained teen did nothing to resist— he just continued to laugh like a maniac as he kept his eyes on [Name].
"There's no reason fighting it," the once kind boy sneered, "you're all done for!"
#005 snarled, tears running down her bare cheeks as she hugged #003's cold body close. Her knuckles were white with pressure as she looked at Hikaru vehemently.
"Four, do it!"
The blade flew down.
[Name] woke up, blinking repeatedly. His breaths were heavy and stuttered as he looked around frantically, surroundings illuminated by the bright fire raging within the mansion they were supposed to raid. Suddenly, his red eyes landed on a mottled mop of brown hair next to him. His eyes widened, burning crimson as he slowly turned the head over. #005's pale face stared at him accusingly, lifeless eyes boring into his soul. The boy shook and retracted his small hand quickly, scrambling back before coming in contact with another cold body. He turned to see #004, blood crusted at his mouth and right arm no more than a jagged stump. Looking around helplessly, [Name] turned to find all his comrades lying motionless on the ground, dead in a variety of gruesome ways. He was unable to sense any blood flow in their corpses, despair filling him as he found himself alone. Turning to the side, he made eye contact with #002's dissected body, intestines sprawled across the bloody ground, kidneys and liver visibly twisted. [Name] shuddered and looked away in horror, gazing down at his hands before...
oh.
The boy's fingers were coated in shiny crimson and one look with his quirk was enough to tell him it was that of his comrades. Bending over, he gagged, quickly pulling his mask down to excavate the bile collecting in his throat. Tears filled his eyes, turning his vision red as his trembling fingers gripped the ground, knuckles white with pressure as he fisted the dead grass, wanting to rip it out like his heart. His chest clenched painfully at the thought of him being the cause, him being the fool he was as he trusted Hikaru— and, worst of all, him being the monster responsible for his friends' deaths.
The acrid smell of vomit perforated the air as [Name] sat on his knees, staring at his hands, breath quickening and sight blurred as memories of what had happened resurfaced in his mind— the terrified faces of his friends as he turned on them, killing them mercilessly and fueling his power on their flesh and blood; the screams and pleading for him to return to Nine, to the boy they knew as they locked gaze with his menacing eyes as he swung his blade; his emotionless face as sharpened nails tore into their skin again and again and again-
"Over here!"
"Hurry!"
[Name] heaved, still trapped in his daze as his senses went haywire. He clutched his pounding head, digging his nails into his scalp and squeezing his eyes shut as the smells, the sounds, the burning was too much, too much.
"I see one of them! Quick! Get him!"
The boy's neck snapped up urgently as the pulse of his blood in his ears quickened, a fog blocking the shouts of the men nearby. The familiar scent of the lab was enough to get him to stand immediately, on guard. His arms were raised and legs spread in a stable defensive position as he fearfully turned on himself, losing sense of direction as he panicked, looking for his enemy. The ghastly faces of the rest of his team surrounded him like phantoms, tricking his senses as he stuttered in his movements, mistaking them as his predators. A gunshot rang out— he was lucky to be conscious enough to dodge. At least ten different blood pulses— he was outnumbered. So, he did the only thing he could think of.
Run.
He sprinted into the forests, evading the hail of bullets chasing after him as he leaped from branch to branch, soon finding himself back at the bottom of the cliff. He jumped, landing on a ledge before speeding his way to the top. His eight year old feet carried him as fast as they could through the damp grass and as he ran, his red eyes couldn't help but catch
the gaze of a bloodstained hyacinth.
Author's Note:
heyo people :D
quite a heavy chapter dropped but yk, gotta do what I gotta do :/
on another note, we now know (half of) reader's past ! yay !! (we love a traumatised little bean)
as always, stay safe and happy :)) hope u have a great week !!
- Coco
Edited 24 Feb 2024