((Here is a story I wrote about my character Haroku on the Virtue server. This happens after the Rikti War when he was living as a homeless boy on the streets. Hope you enjoy it!))
The nightmare had been nearly the same every night for months on end, threatening to shatter Haruko's sanity. He floated alone in nothingness, staring into the dark abyss that surrounded him. Sounds echoed from everywhere at once, the sounds of thousands of marching and scampering feet...the sounds of battle. It swelled in volume until Haruko's eardrums felt like they would burst. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
All of a sudden, the deafening sounds ceased as if they had never began. But the silence was short lived. A new sound drifted from the darkness...a young girl's frightened sobs. It was his little sister, Aiko. Haruko reached up to grip his head, tears streaming down his cheeks from his closed eyes...he knew what was about to happen. He could hear his mother trying to comfort Aiko as best she could, though the fear in her voice was apparent.
Haruko tried to warn them; shouting at the top of his lungs even though he knew it would do no good. "Mom! Aiko!" He sobbed between words. "Get out of the house now! Run! Mom, please!" There was no reply from the ghosts of his loved ones...their fate was sealed. There was a loud crash, followed by the sound of splintering wood, as a door broke free of its hinges. Aiko let out a terrified scream and Haruko's mother began crying...he knew she was clutching his sister close to her chest. Her voice was frantic and pleading as she sobbed. "Please! Don't hurt us! We did nothing wrong! No!!! Please!!! We don't want to d-..." Her words, along with Aiko's screams, were silenced by the sound of a Rikti blade cutting them both down.
Haruko wailed, his hands clutching his face. "Nooo!" His shoulders shook uncontrollably. A pleased laugh taunted him from the darkness, deep and alien. Haruko peeked from in between his fingers, searching for the horror that was next to come. Black smoke whirled into existence before him, rolling out from the empty shadow. The maleficent tendrils drifted upwards, forming a gigantic villainous hand, at least two hundred feet in length. The hand opened slowly, its fingers long and viciously pointed. Hundreds of voices began speaking at once in an alien language, gravely and whispering as the smoky hand loomed in front of Haruko like a deadly plague. The towering fingers coiled back and forth like snakes preparing to strike. Before Haruko had time to scream, the hand darted forward and closed around him.
The sickening smoke was everywhere, scorching his skin and filling his lungs, threatening to burn him from the inside out. It absorbed his cries of pain like a sponge. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited to die. Suddenly the smoke cleared...he felt a cool breeze on his face and ground under his feet. Slowly and cautiously, Haruko's eyelids slid open. He was standing outside of his father's dojo in Galaxy City. The streets were a battlefield. Rikti filled the area like a swarm of bees and though there were an ample amount of heroes combating them, they were far outnumbered. Haruko's eyes widened and he shouted, "Dad!"
His father was a blur of motion under the awning of the dojo. His arms and legs moved like quick deadly weapons, striking at the Rikti that surrounded him. He was a true master and it showed, dodging energy bolts and blades alike before lashing out at the enemy. But with every Rikti that fell, another replaced it. No matter his father's skill, Haruko knew he could only survive for so long in such a desperate fight alone. He started towards the battle, but was stopped short by his father's voice. "Haruko!" His father never took his eyes from the aliens as he shouted. "This is a losing battle! I will not allow you to put yourself in such danger! Run! Run now, son!"
Haruko's bottom lip quivered. He didn't want to leave his father...but he knew he had to. Tears staining his cheeks, Haruko turned to run as fast as he could. He knew what would come next and couldn't stand to witness the horror once again. Haruko hurdled over a Rikti soldier as it dove towards him. He could hear his father's growingly distant voice shouting, "I love you, my son!" right before one of his assailants sliced him in two. Haruko fought to hold back the wail that bubbled up in his throat as he sprinted down the street, struggling to dodge the constant barrage of alien attackers.
Slowly, the world seemed to shift and the Rikti faded. Haruko halted his mad dash and stared at his new surroundings. He was standing in his family's apartment, which was housed on the second floor of his father's dojo. The entire place was an empty graveyard, devoid of any life. The front door had been ripped from its hinges and now lay flat on the floor, cracked and broken. The entire apartment was in shambles. Shelves, lamps and other appliances had been tossed over, joining the sea of books and papers that covered the carpet. A soft sound caught Haruko's attention, making him turn his head in surprise. It was his mother...singing. Her voice hung upon the air, ghostly and haunting...it was a song she would often sing to Haruko when he was a small child. It echoed from her room down the hall.
Haruko walked slowly towards his mother's room, both frightened and anxious of what he may find. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as his hand reached out for the doorknob. The door creaked open before his hand ever touched it. His mother's voice faded as the lonely room was revealed. It was empty and untouched, just as she had left it before the Rikti attacked. Something instantly caught Haruko's attention as he entered the room, glimmering like a tiny star upon his mother's dresser. He slowly approached, his eyes fixed upon the object as he reached to pick it up. It was a small golden locket fixed on a gold chain, diamonds set into the ornately engraved surface. The locket was always his mother's most valued possession, given to her by his father before Haruko was born. It had been in the family for generations and was considered an heirloom.
Haruko delicately opened the locket, his fingers sliding over the picture resting inside. The tiny image displayed his mother and father, standing side by side with Haruko and Aiko in front of them, everyone smiling happily. Those times were now gone forever. The dream slowly began to fade and Haruko drifted back to the waking world...
He had kept the locket ever since that day. It was the only reminder he had of his lost family other than haunting memories. He had worn it every single day...until they stole it...
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Five thugs ran down the sidewalks of Kings Row, each of them wearing white skull masks over their faces. It was still early morning and the sun had yet to rise. The streets were lit only by the light of a full moon. They were just finishing up their nightly rounds and though the majority of the night yielded little profit, they had just come across an item that would sell very nicely indeed. Not only that, but it was easy pickings, lifted off a homeless boy as he slept in an empty alley. An angry shout rang out from behind them, causing one of the thugs to glance over his shoulder and curse under his breath. He shouted towards the thug in the forefront, who appeared to be the one in charge, wearing a black jacket while the others wore gray. "Boss! I think we woke the kid up after all!"
The leader glanced back for himself and muttered, shaking his head. He turned his attention to the thug who had given the warning. "Damn kids. Get back there and waste the brat. Meet us back at the hideout when you're done." The thug nodded and began running the way they had come, pistol in hand. The leader growled in frustration, his pace never slowing as he ran with the three remaining gang members. He clutched the golden locket tightly in his fist.
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Haruko leaped from the roof of a two-story building, twisting into a somersault as the electrical blast from a clockwork arched over his airborne body. He landed perfectly on the roof of an adjacent building, his feet kicking up dirt as he resumed his mad dash. He normally would have turned the clockworks to scrap...but this wasn't a normal day. The Skulls had stolen the most important thing in the world to him. His father had always told him not to succumb to anger and to use his skills only for defense. But he was more angry now than he had ever been in his entire life...and it showed on his face. They would pay.
He could see the thugs running along the sidewalk about fifty yards down the street. The thought of never seeing the photograph in the locket again brought bitter tears to Haruko's eyes, but it was quickly transformed into rage. He let out a loud roar as he sprang from the rooftop and rocketed down to the sidewalk below. The sound of his voice obviously reached their ears because one of the thugs began speaking to the man leading the way. Soon after, that same thug stopped following the others and turned to run towards Haruko. But the boy never wavered...he ran as if his life depended on it. When he was about ten yards away, the thug raised his pistol and took aim. ~This is it~, Haruko thought. ~It's now or never.~
Haruko feinted to the left and then dove to the right, rolling behind a nearby dumpster as the gunshots rang out. His feint seemed to work for the first couple shots before the thug adjusted his aim, bullets ricocheted off of the dumpster. Haruko crouched low behind the large metal object, squinting a little with every bullet that hit the dumpster like a gong. The thug stopped firing for a few seconds as he quickly loaded another clip into his gun. The man shouted, his tone taunting. "Do you really feel like dyin over a stupid necklace, kid? Look. You let us keep it, quit followin' us, and we'll let you walk off without leavin' a bullet in yer skull."
The thug's words cut into Haruko deeper than any bullet could. Let them keep it? His fists squeezed shut and he grinded his teeth together. It wasn't theirs...it belonged to him...to his family. How dare they? How DARE they take what isn't theirs when Haruko had done NOTHING to them. Rage swelled up in Haruko to the point of explosion. He shouted out at the top of his lungs, "NO!" In one quick fluid motion, Haruko leaped up onto the dumpster lid. As soon as his feet touched the surface, he sprung high into the air, his body rotating 360 degrees. Caught off guard, the surprised thug tried to fire off a shot...but it flew wide as the heel of Haruko's foot slammed into the man's face, sending him sprawling unconscious to the concrete. Haruko hit the ground running. Adrenaline pumped through his body like fuel in a speeding car, pressing him onwards. It felt like he was running faster than he had ever ran in his life. That bullet could have killed him...but by a stroke of luck, it didn't. Someone was watching over him, he knew it. He had to get that locket back.
For a moment he thought he had lost the thugs, glancing frantically from side to side whenever he passed a building. But finally he could see them in the far distance right as they ducked into large, neglected building. When Haruko drew close to the building, he slowed to a halt. Though the thought of simply kicking the door open and storming in did cross his mind, his better judgment made him think otherwise. This was probably one of their hideouts and there was no telling how many more Skulls could be waiting inside. Haruko knew that there was a good chance that he could die that day. But he couldn't give up...not without a fight.
Taking a deep breath, Haruko reached out to the door and pushed it open. It appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, industrial shelves and stacks of pallets covering the floor. Haruko squinted as he cautiously stepped into the large room. Sufficed to say, it was quite dark, illuminated only by the dim moonlight that streamed through a few spaced out windows on the ceiling. Though he couldn't see anyone, Haruko could feel their eyes on him, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He began going through the breathing exercises his grandfather had taught him as he walked further into the room. He couldn't let the rage blind his senses...he would need all of them if he was to survive this confrontation. He closed his eyes and placed his hands together in front of him, his fingertips touching as he willingly cleared his mind of all anger and fear. His grandfather had always been astounded by Haruko's meditative prowess, claiming to have never seen such a skilled student...even in his cousin Hayato.
Once Haruko's eyelids slid open, he could see the men waiting in the shadows, most of them hiding behind the various obstacles around the warehouse. There were at least ten of them. Haruko spoke, his voice the epitome of calm and his face devoid of any emotion. "I know you are here...I can see you. I don't want to harm any of you. But if you don't return my locket willingly, I will retrieve it by force."
Laughter broke out all around him, several of the thugs following up with taunting remarks. With barely enough time to react, Haruko sensed someone behind him. He whirled around to be confronted with a thug, baseball bat in hand, already in a downward swing towards Haruko's chest. Using the momentum of his turn, Haruko brought his leg up in a powerful kick that caught the bat head on, breaking it in two. Haruko let out a loud "Hya!" as splinters of wood exploded from the shattered weapon. He brought his leg back down and raised the other one in a crane kick that caught the man square in the stomach. The thug staggered back, slamming into the brick wall behind him before slumping to the floor with a groan. It was time to move.
Multiple gunshots sounded out as Haruko broke into a sprint, heading towards the closest pistol-toting Skull he could find. If he could manage to take the gunmen out first without getting hit, his chance of survival would be greatly increased. The darkness that covered the room, along with luck, was on his side. He readied himself to attack as swiftly as possible. His first target was rapidly firing off rounds at him, gritting his teeth in frustration. Haruko erratically leaped from side to side as he approached, throwing the thug's aim off even more. Once he was within range, Haruko leaped high into the air, rebounded off the nearby wall and twisted into a kick that sent the man's gun clattering to the floor. Once Haruko landed, he ducked down into a sweep that took the thug's legs out from under him, sending him to the ground. He followed up with a backhand to the thug's face before eyeing his next target, who stood right across the way, on the other side of a large multi-tiered set of shelves.
The Skull was clumsily trying to reload his gun, looking a little bewildered by Haruko's former feat. Haruko took no time to wait. Shots were still ringing out, the sound of bullets ricocheting off of metal filling the room like raindrops on a roof. He had to stay in constant motion. He dove forward, between two of the shelves, and clocked the thug in the nose with his palm while in midair, the entire weight of his body behind the strike. The thug fell flat on his back as Haruko ducked down into a roll on the ground.
Haruko sprang to his feet and bolted towards the next gangster. The fire that flashed from the barrels of the remaining firearms told Haruko that there were two gunmen left, this one included. Out of the corners of his eyes, he could see six other thugs closing in on him. He dodged left and right, behind stacks of pallets as he made his way towards the trigger-happy gunner. He spotted a lone pallet, about twenty feet away from his target. In a bold move, Haruko rushed towards it, giving it a powerful kick with the outside of his foot before dropping into a roll. The pallet slid across the floor and caught the man in the legs, sending him falling face first onto it. Haruko vaulted into a series of back flips towards the wheezing thug, kicking the gun away from his hand as he landed beside him. The gunfire from the last pistoleer had ceased and Haruko noticed that the man had run out of ammo, tossing his firearm to the floor in frustration as he began running towards the boy.
Haruko thanked his lucky stars for that...because the other Skulls had closed the distance and were now initiating their attacks. While three of them were unarmed, the other three carried baseball bats. Haruko was ready for them. He launched into a flurry of movement, his arms and legs whirling about, assailing the gangsters relentlessly. He felt as though he was in a trancelike state, his body working like a well-oiled machine as he anticipated their moves. He dodged their strikes with ease, using their own attacks against them to put them out of commission one by one. The thug who had ditched his pistol arrived just as the last of his comrades fell. He had picked up a metal pipe along the way and was rushing towards Haruko with it raised over his head. As he swung the pipe downward, Haruko slid to the right, pivoting on his heel. He grabbed a hold of the thug's outstretched arm and used his momentum to flip the man over onto his back. Haruko dropped down to his knees, his elbow crashing down against the Skull's face.
Haruko grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket and pulled his shoulders up off the floor. The man was bleeding from the nose and didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. Haruko frowned as he spoke. "Who has my locket? Do you?"
The thug shook his head groggily, spluttering. "No! No! D-Devon has it! He's the one...the one in...charg-..." The thug's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out.
Haruko tried his best to hold his building anger at bay, gently shaking the unconscious man. "Where is he?!"
Just as the words left Haruko's lips, he felt something press against the back of his head...the barrel of a gun. "I...am right here." The man's voice was gravely and had a cocky tone to it. "I'll have to admit...you did a good job mopping up, brat..." Devon pressed the barrel of the gun harder against Haruko's head. "But unfortunately, you've really pissed me off. Stand up and turn around."
Haruko did as the man said, rising to his feet. His state of calm had been all but shattered now, his eyes wide with fear. He was going to die. Slowly, he turned to face the Skull leader, the barrel of his uzi now resting up against Haruko's forehead. Devon tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrow behind the villainous skull mask. "You're not so tough now are you, little guy? Do you know what I'm gonna do to you?"
Haruko swallowed, his body visibly shaking as his mouth worked silently for a couple moments. His voice came out quiet. "I...I don't know."
Devon barked a laugh, raising his other arm. The golden locket hung in his hand, glinting dimly in the scant moonlight. He held it mockingly in front of Haruko's face as he spoke. "Well first of all, I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to sell this pretty little necklace for a nice bit of cash. Funny, isn't it? How you're gonna die now...all because of a stupid piece of jewelry. What are you, kid? Stupid?" Devon yanked his hand to the side, the locket swinging to slap Haruko on the cheek.
Haruko's body jerked and his eyes squeezed shut as his mother's locket made contact. As quick as a flash of lightning, Haruko's terror morphed into anger, despite the gun that was pressed to his head. This man's lack of honor infuriated Haruko...and the fact that he was desecrating his family's memory amplified it a hundred fold. His body no longer shook out of fear.
Devon smirked. "Well?"
Haruko's eyelids slid open, his eyebrows furrowing. He spoke slowly...his voice full of venom. "No." Haruko's hand moved faster than humanly possible, flying up to strike Devon's arm. There was an audible crunch as Devon's arm flew up, the uzi sending a short spray of bullets up into the air before he let go of the weapon, roaring in pain. Haruko took a hold of the locket as his other hand reared back. His fist collided with Devon's chin. The Skull leader let go of the locket as he sailed back, crumpling to the ground along with the other unconscious gang members.
Haruko let out a shuddering breath. He staggering around a little as he clenched the family heirloom tightly in his hand, looking around at the fallen villains with a dazed look on his face. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, raising the locket up to his lips. Haruko's eyes squeezed shut...and he wept.
