BNHA Next Gen: Kota's Tidal Wave

The Heart is a Muscle, Too

"The Carnal Murderer: Muscular... my father."

Hearing those words from Kanashimu -- it's the type of disbelief that hits like a downpour of ice cold water. The shivering of my spine crawling up my back, the paranoid twitching of my fingers as they retreat into my palms, the shock that I was right all along: this guy is related to Muscular, the scumbag who stole Mom and Dad from my life. 

But it felt strange... I wasn't angry. I wasn't disgusted by what I learned. I simply look towards Kanashimu, who just sits by the lockers, looking anxious for my reaction. Even if I try to feel angry at him, I- I just can't... I just feel... sad.

"That's not the face I was expecting," he marvels.

"No, it's just... I feel bad. My parents have long been dead, but... you're living with the fact that your dad is a murderer. I don't mean to pity you... I just can't imagine what that's like."

He's silent, gathering each word I've spoken... and he lightly curls up a somber smile. "Tch, you're pretty soft for a devil.

"Hey, I'm just being honest!"

This thick, menacing fog of mystery that swirled between us seems to be lifting, and Kanashimu is starting to seem like an ordinary guy with real emotions, something that's been clouded by my memory of Muscular.

But now that my fears are gone, all there's left is curiosity. "So, what's life like for you?"

He glances up, the shadows in his eyes sharp enough to cut steel. "You really wanna know?"

Kanashimu quietly takes a few moments with himself, calmly taking deep breaths...

"I grew up in Airinchiku, the trashier side of Osaka. If Hell really does exist, my hometown's the closest thing to it. Every night was something brutal, whether it was a police riot or somebody's blood painting the pavement, the underworld of petty villains was visible in every street corner. 

I lived in a small shack in town, nothing really comfortable. Living in the crossfires of a bunch of people's bullshit, none of that sits right when you're a kid. But even though the neighborhood was sick and twisted, nobody dared to threaten me.

My father, Muscular, as they called him, was the head honcho of all of the town's fight clubs and police riots. Everybody respected him, or else he'd make a bloodbath outta you, and that kept me safe as a result. If the famous Hero Killer: Stain believed he had a reason to kill, my father had none of that, demolishing people for the enjoyment of it. But what made him the most terrifying is that... he seemed completely normal at home."

"Normal?"

"I never knew about my father's crimes. At the shack, you wouldn't tell that he was a monster. We never had any real father-son connection, and he'd be gone for several days straight, but he always left me food and he was never violent towards me. I thought that's just what fathers do, going off to do his business while I stayed home, away from all the violence outside. I didn't think there was more to that to a father..."

"...What about your mom?"

"Never knew her."

He had no mom? At least I still had Cousin Shino, but to have no family to bond with...

Kanashimu's face clenches up. "And then, everything changed 10 years ago, when my father was arrested.

When I was five, my father got involved in a raid led by a squad of dangerous villains. I only learned about this several years after it happened. The news that he was captured by police came as an outrage throughout the slums. That was also the time when... I could move little red threads of muscle from my arms. My Quirk had manifested.