Chapter 4: Opportunity
4 days later
Some days later, the Brokuma’s received a call that came directly from the government, informing them that one of their representatives wanted to speak with them directly and would pay them a visit at their earliest convenience. Thinking that they knew what was to come, the family figured it was better to tear the band aid off sooner rather than later and set the meeting up for the next day.
A day after the message was received, the doorbell rang and Harumi answered it. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a lanky middle aged man with beige, messy, chin length hair. He was dressed in a formal black shirt with a white undershirt which was paired with equally black pants. He also wore a loose tie and black shoes. In his right hand was a black briefcase.
“Good morning,” said Harumi, giving a bow with a fist to her chest, the family’s traditional bow.
“Greetings, Mrs.Brokuma,” the man replied in a blasé, unenthusiastic tone as if he hadn’t slept in days. A moment of silence passed before anyone said a word.
“May I enter?” He asked.
“…Oh, right. Sure, come on in,” said Harumi, allowing him inside.
Both seated in the living room, the man taking a seat in the chair closest to the door while Harumi took a seat on the sofa across from him.
“Make yourself comfortable, let me get my nephew in here,” she said. “Amaku!!!! Get out here, there’s someone here to see you!” she yelled down the hall.
Amaku came out of his room, dread and grim on his face. He walked into the living room and sat next to his aunt.
“So then, you’re Brokuma Amaku, I take it,” the man asked. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mera Yokumiru, I represent the Hero Public Safety Commission and I-“
“With all due respect, sir…there is no need for pleasantries,” said Amaku in a mix of hesitance and hopelessness in his voice. Yokumiru raised a me of his eye brows out of slight shock.
“Amaku!!” snapped Harumi. “I-I’m sorry about this, Mr.Yokumiru. He-“
“It’s fine, Mrs.Brokuma,” said Yokumiru. “Let him speak.”
“I’m…rather certain that all three of us know why you're here, Mr. Yokumiru,” Amaku continued. “So please, allow me to say one thing first.”
“...Of course,” said Yokumiru after a moment of silence.
Amaku took a deep breath in and continued on with a tone of sincerity and confidence.
“I’ve had some time to contemplate about my actions…I do not regret them,” he said, clenching his fist. “I take full responsibility for what I did, and I do so knowing full well the consequences. I did what I believed to be the right thing that day. When I saw Mirror Match against that wall, wounded and helpless, I refused to simply stand by while those villains attempted to execute him. I knew that by defending him with my quirk, I would be in direct violation of the law and potentially throwing away my chance to become a hero. But while I feared such a result, the one thing that I feared more was living with the guilt of having let a man die just so I could achieve my dream. I would not build my future as a hero by sitting by and letting a hero’s blood be spilt. So, if you’ve come here to tell me that I am banned from applying to any school to become a hero, just know that even though I knew that my actions would lead to this…I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”
Yokumiru simply sat there, silently staring at Amaku, who was now staring at the floor with a look of dread on his face. Harumi then put her hand on her nephew's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Then, after a whole minute of silence, Yokumiru finally spoke.
“Young man…I’m afraid that it’s true that you are barred from participating in any official hero academia here in Japan. Unfortunately, no matter how noble your intentions, you did very clearly break the law, even if it was in fact to save a life.” Yokumiru said.
Amaku tensed up as grief once again took hold over him, forcing him to shed a single tear as he started at the floor.
“However…” Yokumiru continued. “Even though you are barred from pursuing your goal through any traditional methods, I am here to offer you an alternative solution.”
Amaku, as these words were being processed in his mind, slowly raised his head up to face Yokumiru. Harumi herself turned to face him with a look of curiosity on her face.
“You see, we here at the Hero Public Safety Commission have taken a considerable amount of time to directly analyze your…particular situation. And as I’ve stated before, you very clearly broke the law. That, and the way in which you went about it not only brutally injured two people, villains or not, but it also caused considerable property damage to the surrounding area. However, we have not failed to recognize that you did act for the sake of the well being of another. While your predicament is a complicated set of circumstances, it’s not quite as unique as you may think. There are many just like you, people who were simply acting out of the desire to save another. But after carefully analyzing your situation, we have deemed that to force you to have to relegate your quirk to common everyday work would be a waste of not only such a powerful quirk, but also a waste of a potentially effective hero. Given that your aunt was once a night watcher hero in her day, there’s no doubt that she has had some hand in molding your mindset into that of one who will do whatever they must to see true justice done. So, with all that said, here is our offer.”
Yokumiru then pulled out his black business bag and placed it on the table. After opening it and digging through the multiple items inside, he pulled out a sheet of paper and a ballpoint pen, placed them on the table and pushed them over to Amaku and Harumi. At the bottom of the fine print there was space for two signatures. Upon seeing this contract and the two signature lines at the bottom, Harumi and Amaku looked at one another.
“We are offering you the opportunity to participate in a recently developed program issued by the Safety Commission for a select few individuals that we deem are worthy candidates, codenamed The Wolves Initiative. I suppose you could think of it as a sort of ‘experimental program’. Much like you, many of the candidates were denied the chance to become heroes through traditional educational outlets for one reason or another, and we offer them an alternative. Those who are selected are chosen to participate in a very uniquely designed curriculum that will mold them into the heroes that they were meant to be. You will be provided with room and board at one of our training facilities along with the other candidates. The program consists of various physical and educational training exercises that will help mold you into the most ideal version of yourself. You will also receive hands-on training in the field. However, before you make your decision, I must warn you from now, this program will be far different from any traditional hero academic program that you will find, even compared to an elite school like UA. And once you agree to this program, there is no going back. So I would think very, very carefully before you make your dec-“
“I accept,” Amaku interjected with absolute determination. Harumi turned and looked at him with a shocked expression on her face, even Yokumiru appeared to wake up a bit from this sudden response due to how sudden it was.
“Uhm…young man, are you sure about this? This isn’t the kind of decision that you just make on a whim-“
“I’m not,” Amaku interjected. “I know quite well what I’m getting myself into, and I acce-“
“Alright, timeout! Ok? Just…stop,” Harumi interjected as she grabbed Amaku by the arm and forced to stand.
“I’m sorry, Mr.Yokumiru, but would you excuse us for a moment? I need to have a quick talk with my nephew.”
“Yes, by all means,” Yokumiru said with a simple nod.
“Thank you. Now, come along, Amaku.” She said, dragging him into the bathroom down the hall and closing the door behind them.
She then turned to Amaku with an unbridled rage in her eyes.
“Just how badly has your brain rotted over the last few days, Amaku?!” She said in an angry whisper. “Do you have any, and I mean ANY idea, just what the hell you’re getting yourself into?! The safety commission doesn’t train heroes, they train soldiers.”
“Auntie-“
“The heroes trained directly by the commission are broken down to their very core and rebuilt to be whatever they deem fit! They’re just soldiers for the government pretending to be heroes-“
“Well maybe that’s what this country needs!!!” Amaku retorted. Harumi was stunned into silence by the abrupt response.
“Maybe this country needs soldiers that can make the hard call regardless of how their reputation is affected! Now more than ever, this country needs heroes who would do anything to forge a world where good people can live their lives in peace and scum are locked away in some god forsaken hole in the ground with no key. If it guarantees results, then I don’t care what kind of training I must do!”
Amaku clenched his fist and looked into Harumi’s eyes as his burned with a steely determination.
“I want you to look me in the eye right now and tell me that, no matter what program I would participate in, I would come out as this society’s definition of a proper hero. You know well enough that no matter what I end up doing, I would always be shone under a controversial light. You know it, I know it. And regardless, I made a promise…a promise to my father, your brother, that I would become a hero. And if I recall correctly, didn’t you promise me that you would do everything in your power to help me see that dream realized?”
“Don’t you put that on me,” Harumi seethed. “I may have made you that promise, but I also made one to both your parents, too. I swore that I would make sure you were safe and healthy so long as you were in my care, that I would guide you to lead a good, honest, and happy life. And I’m telling you, there are other ways for you to help people than forfeiting yourself to-”
“THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!!!!” Amaku exploded in anger, his brown eyes glowing red. Harumi was once again silent out of pure shock. Amaku tempered himself before he spoke again. “...Not for me...You and I both know that any chance of me leading a normal, happy life died long ago…and my chances of even being a normal hero died a week ago…”
Amaku clenched his fist in determination. “Auntie…I have to do this…I know you only want the best for me, but you have to understand, I cannot simply walk away from this.”
Amaku walked up to her and gently put both hands on her shoulders as he said this.
“As much pain as it carries, that’s why I have to do it. Because as much as the pain may hurt me, what will hurt me more is knowing I had the chance to do something and I just let it go…I have too much to make right to afford that luxury.”
Harumi slowly began to tear up as he spoke with a tone of genuine care mixed with determination. What made it worse for her was that she knew that much of what Amaku was saying was right. She had tried for so long to put him on the right path, but she was beginning to accept that in the end, this was how it had to be. Amaku went to wipe away her tears and then brought her in closer to hug her. She embraced him tightly and they both remained like this for some time. Harumi looked deeply into the eyes of her nephew, sorrowful tears rolling down her face.
“…You look just like him, you know that?” said Harumi, trying to contain her sorrow. “It…it’s truly something to see how much like him you’ve grown up to be. I failed him once, and I…I can’t stand the thought of failing him again by letting you fail.”
Harumi then set her head against Amaku’s chest as they continued their embrace.
“Auntie…I love you…and I owe you everything,” Amaku said sympathetically. “I know there’s nothing in the world you wouldn’t do for me, and I have no right to ask such a thing of you…but I’m asking. Let me do this…there is a darkness in me that will never go away, you’ve seen it. I am burdened with demons that cannot be tamed, but at least this way, I can point them in the right direction…will you help me?”
Harumi took some time before responding, but eventually did so with a slightly hesitant and shaky nod. Amaku breathed a sigh of relief at the sign of her long awaited compliance.
“Thank you, Auntie,” Amaku said, taking some tissues from a box near the sink and giving them to her. “Come…let’s not keep Mr.Yokumiru waiting any longer.”
Harumi took a moment to collect herself, cleaning her face of the tears, and they both went back out to the living room. They both sat down at the couch across from him, the paper and pen still sitting on the table in front of them.
“Apologies for making you wait, Mr.Yokumiru,” Harumi said, apologetically. “There was…a lot to be sorted out.”
“No need to apologize,” Yokumiru said, putting a hand up.
“After all, this is quite the decision for you both. So…have you both reached a verdict?”
Amaku and Harumi both turned towards one another and Harumi gave a nod of approval towards Amaku. He took the pen in his hand and proceeded to sign and date the piece of paper and passed it to Harumi, who did the same. After she signed and dated it, she placed the pen on top of the paper and pushed both back over towards Yokumiru.
“Excellent,” Yokumiru said, placing the paper and pen back into his work bag. “Now with the initial formalities completed, we will make the arrangements and prepare for your training regiment alongside the other candidates. Until then, I suggest you keep up with whatever personal training you may be doing already. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Amaku responded.
“Good, then our business is concluded. Good day,” Yokumiru said, bowing to both of them.
“Allow me to walk you out,” Harumi said, standing from the sofa.
The two of them walked out of the house where a car was waiting for Yokumiru. Before he could enter the car, Harumi stopped him short.
“Wait, Mr.Yokumiru,” Harumi said. He stopped at the door of the car and turned back to face her. “There’s something that I don’t understand. If Amaku really isn’t the first to be considered for this program, then surely there were other people out there with strength that was quite close to if not stronger than his. That, and as you’ve said, his situation is not all that unique. So tell me, why did my nephew stand out amongst the others?”
“…You are very astute, Mrs. Brokuma,” Yokumiru said. “To answer your question, though, I believe that you already know the answer.”
Harumi was confused by this at first. However, after taking a moment to consider what he meant, her eyes widened in a mix of fear and shock as she came to a horrifying realization.
“Yes…we’ve been watching your nephew…for a very long time now,” Yokumiru said ominously. “However, this was not our only reason. You see, a couple of days after the incident at the park, we received a visit from the very person your nephew saved, Mirror Match. He attempted to plead on the boy’s behalf and was quite adamant that our judgment not be so harsh on the boy, insisting that we use the cover story fabricated by the MPD. If there is anyone that you should thank for cementing your son’s position, it would be him. While we may have already had our interests in him, Mirror Match was the final push that influenced our decision.”
“…I see,” Harumi said, surprised at the act of charity. “And you think you can really keep the incident under wraps?”
“I make no such promises, but I can guarantee that we will do everything in our power to keep your nephew’s name and face out of the news. That, I can promise you.”
Harumi nodded in response to this, approaching Yokumiru.
“Well, in any case…thank you,” she said, extending her hand for a handshake, which Yokumiru accepted firmly.
“We’ll be in touch,” he said before entering his car. With that, the two parted ways.
Five minutes after leaving the house, Yokumiru pulled out his phone and made a call. After about thirty seconds of ringing, there was an answer.
“Cayne speaking,” said a female voice with a cold, formal tone coming in over the phone.
“Agent Tex,” replied Yokumiru. “Our business with the Brokuma’s is concluded.”
“And?” Tex asked.
“The candidate has accepted. We now have our final piece.”
“Acknowledged,” said Tex. “We’ll begin preparations for his training immediately.”
“What did you have in mind for his initiation?” asked Yokumiru.
“Actually, Madame President is seeing to the preparation of his initiation personally. She’s requested that agent Keigo be the one to test him.”
Yokumiru was silent for a bit before speaking again, he even woke up a bit when he heard this, his eyes widening considerably.
“Keigo?” Yokumiru asked with surprise. “She would use him just to test this boy? Why? What does she see in him?”
“You read his file, yes? Then you should know what she sees in him…”
Meanwhile, Harumi went back into the house, finding Amaku still sitting on the sofa.
“Stand up, Amaku,” she said sternly. Amaku rose up from the couch as she instructed.
“Backyard, now…we have work to do.”
