Ethereal | hawks

zero - 始まり

Life is full of inevitable surprises— things we never thought would happen,  happens. In most cases, surprises bring a wide smile to people's faces. In some cases, it might just leave your mind itching with terror and trauma.

Either way, all types of surprises are able to project us with shock one way or another.

For Fumiko, surprises were almost always never a good thing. Heroics was a complicated career to be in, for heroes basically put their lives and well-being at risk everyday. So, the surprises Fumiko would always come across was a villain suddenly appearing out of nowhere; or something of the like.

***

The ebony locks she had left tied in a braid kept bouncing behind her with every step she took. Thin-rimmed glasses perched on top of her pointed nose as her green eyes scanned the dim hallway she was in.

The lights kept flickering, yet the woman held no ounce of fear. For this was common for a place that was hidden deep under ground. The sound of humming vehicles can be heard from above was echoing down the empty hallway.

Green eyes flickered towards the clipboard she held in her hands, carefully reading the report she had made about the subject's blood.

Everything is normal so far. The last thing she wanted was to go back to the subject's room to draw out more blood. The woman believes the subject was close to reach a severe state after going through daily blood withdrawals.

Now, the woman stood in front of an oak door that led to the boss' office. With a sigh, she raised a closed hand to knock, before entering the room and closing the door behind her. She bowed, raising her head down as she waited for the man to acknowledge her.

"Miko. I suppose those are the records for today?" The man spoke, rising from where he sat before circling around his desk to stand in front of the ebony-haired woman.

"Yes, boss." Miko spoke, standing up straight and meeting the man's amber eyes. The man reached out a palm towards her, motioning her to hand over the document.

And she did, before clasping her hands behind her as she waited for the man's comments. Whether he was disappointed or pleased, Miko did not know. For half of his face was covered with a mask that resembled that of a plague doctor's.

"I see. Looks the same as usual." He spoke, slowly closing the folder before placing it on top of his desk. The man then leaned on this desk, his amber eyes staring at her green ones behind her glasses. He crossed his toned arms in front of his chest before letting out a soft hum.

Miko raised her brow slightly, curious as to why her boss was staring at her with such a look.

"Do you need anything else, boss?" She asked, fixing her glasses with a finger.

"Do you know what I hate most, Miko?" He asked, pushing himself up from the desk and taking small steps towards the woman.

"People with quirks, boss." She answered, a bead of sweat forming at the side of her temple.

"Well, yes. Everyone knows that." He scoffs, stopping centimeters away from where Miko stood before raising a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "But second to those filthy scums are?" He spoke, wanting the woman to finish his sentence.

Miko's eyes widened as she came to a realization, "Traitors". She could only hope that her voice didn't falter when she spoke. Was he already wary of me?

"Exactly, rats are just as disgusting as those ill people." Suddenly, he went to grab her chin, his fingers tightly grasping her pale skin. His grasp started to hurt, and that was when Miko realized her disguise was long revealed to the man before her.

Miko started to thrash under the man's grip, "Ah, ah, ah. One wrong move and I can kill you with just a simple flick of my fingers." With his other hand, he started to take off the plague mask, revealing his face underneath.

"Do you know what I do to traitors?" He leaned forwards, his voice almost as quiet as a whisper. His mouth was curved into a slight smirk.

"Kill them." Miko gulped, feeling her clenched hands start to sweat.

"That's right. So tell me, hero." Overhaul questioned, the smirk disappearing from his face. He started to lean forward, his amber skin almost touching Miko's.

"How do you want to die?"