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lithe-cloud · 5 years

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Since someone requested a character map for my fic A Single Reason, I’ve gone ahead and created this little puppy. Hope this helps anyone who is/was interested. These are all the OC/borrowed characters who have actually any important impact in the story, as well as a few facts you might not know about them.

Epitaph - a mafia-like organization operating throughout the whole of Japan. Drug and illegal firearms trade. Human trafficking. Assassination. Information trade. You name it, Epitaph is probably doing it. Currently is run by the Big Four and was, at the start of the story, almost 10,000 members and associates strong. Has currently gone to ground after a tenth of personnel were apprehended by police following Izuku, Momo and Hitoshi’s desertion.

Big Four

Alkaid - Current leader of Epitaph

Real Name unknown. Quirk: “SUPERNOVA” (ability to ionize gases into hot plasma). Mysterious and secretive, little is fully understood about her other than she has a love of mythology and traditionally feminine appearances. Izuku once saw her snap a man’s spine over her knee a la Bane from Batman.

Senri - Second in command of Epitaph, as well as functional Head of Business

Real Name - “Senri ???”, wanted Momo to call him “Gin” for reasons unknown. Quirk: “HAIR STRINGS” (can manipulate his hair as a prehensile tool). Has a very survival-of-the-fittest mentality, with some (never explicitly shown) p*d*philic tendencies regarding young girls. Doesn’t actually sleep with anyone under the minimum age, though, because he’s trash, but he’s not fucking stupid. Is childhood best friends with Ken and is a former accountant. Also the only one of the Big Four who, arguably, can’t fight.

Blessed - Chief Enforcer

Real Name unknown. Quirk: UNKNOWN. Was a hero before taking a criminal apprehension too far, causing the death of purse snatcher. Is now a wanted criminal was a warrant out for her arrest. Brutal and militaristic, she was the Suzumebachi’s primary trainer before their defections/deaths, as well as a frequent tormentor of Izuku for his quirklessness. She is the one who executed Changeling for attempting to defect.

Ken - Human Resources Manager

Real Name unknown. Quirk: UNKNOWN. Former underground illegal quirk-fighting champion turned villain, Ken is mostly just a career criminal out to take care of his aging parents and keep Senri out of too much trouble. He still manages to operate inside Epitaph and with it’s members with no shred of remorse or shame, and is Senri’s best friend, so, really, how good can he be?

Executives (Aka, Bungo Stray Dog’s characters lol) - as a side note, all their quirks are their gifts in BSD.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke - Izuku’s former Handler and tormentor. Blessed assigned his charge when the boy was 11 and he has hated Izuku ever since. Cruel, temperamental and sickly.

Hirotsu Ryuro - Hitoshi’s former Handler, as well as Head of Torture, Interrogation and Assassination. Was training Hitoshi to be his apprentice and eventual successor when he “retires”.

Ozaki Koyo - Assassin and Momo’s former Handler. Looked after and genuinely cared for Momo in her own way, but only started really recognizing Momo after she voluntarily murdered Phantom’s killer. She and Alkaid also coached Izuku on how to hone his natural charisma with speech-craft.

Other Members

Sakura ??? - Wanted for trespassing, arson and cyber-terrorism, he was Momo’s programming and infiltration trainer.

Hoshigaki - Expert Spy, Assassin and Infiltrator. Chageling’s former Handler before his defection and subsequent execution. Also is Alkaid’s older cousin. She and Blessed had a “thing” some years back.

Kurosaki - A smuggler who managed to get into the Big Four’s graces just enough to be assigned as Hecatoncheir’s Handler. He was murdered when she successfully managed to escape the organization. A member of the original squad sent to kidnap the kids.

Suzumebachi Program (The Squad of Precious/Dead Kidnapped Children lol)

Agent Gamayun - AKA ASR!Izuku

Agent Encantado - AKA ASR!Hitoshi

Agent Yakshini - AKA ASR!Momo

Agent Phantom - Real Name “Nijima Aya”. Quirk: “CHAMELEON” (mimic any color or texture visible to the human eye). She and Momo were closer than any of the other Suzumebachi agents. Dies to a villain raid days before her 10th birthday.

Agent Changeling - Real Name “Shouji Kaku”. Quirk: “STAND-IN” (place an optical illusion over anything he touches). Obsessed with stars and space and was a great story-teller. Shouji Mezo’s paternal cousin. Became suicidal towards the end of his life. Was executed after his fellow Suzumebachi aided him in a failed escape attempt 10 months before the story starts. He was 15.

Agent Hecatonchier - Real Name “Yosano Naomi”. Quirk: “REJECTION” (psycho-kinetically push objects withing a 10-foot radius away from her). The eldest Suzumebachi who became the group’s established leader, mother and older sister all in one. She loved and cared for her fellow Suzumebachi extensively. Successfully managed to escape Epitaph 4 months before the story starts and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. She is currently 16, approaching 17.

The Families - Aka, the people who are just happy to have their children back lol. 8 years is a long time without your babies, ya know...

The Yaoyorozu Family

Yaoyorozu Hisoka - Momo’s mother. Once wanted to be a hero, but became scared after her mother was involved in a car-bombing that left her permanently disabled, then transferred to the Business course. There, she met her future fiance and the father of her child, Tsuzuki Nagare, who would die in a car accident before their marriage. Founded the Yaoyorozu Corporation with Nagare to create premier heroics equipment, supplies and medical equipment. Became a secret underground hero a la Batman called “Lightscreen”, after Momo was taken. Her quirk, “Light Image”, allows her to generate solid light constructs. Her quirk combined with Nagare’s “Toxin Excretion” to make Momo’s “Creation” quirk.

Yaoyorozu Junpei - Momo’s maternal grandfather. A bit of a traditionalist, and a quirkless artist specializing in geometric patterns. He fought hard to gain every inch of his success throughout his life. Was in an artist’s slump before meeting Chidori. She rescued him from a villain attack, and he’s been inspired by her ever since.

Yaoyorozu Chidori - Momo’s maternal grandmother. A courageous and vivacious woman, she was the Shimmering Sorceress, the number 15th Ranked hero of her generation. She saved the isle of Shikoku from the echo terrorist, Chloroshield. In her 40′s, she convinced to retire after being involved in a car bombing that necessitated the amputation of her right leg. Her quirk is “Shimmer”, which grants her the ability to bend photons to her will.

The Shinsou Family

Shinsou Izuna - Hitoshi’s father. A free-lance graphics designer now employed by Hisoka and family man who wants to be supportive of his son, but is also intimidated by his large criminal record. Hitoshi and he share the same quirk, though Hitoshi’s is admittedly more powerful than Izuna’s. He likes working outside, which is part of the reason he’s so tan in the warmer months.

Shinsou Namani - Hitoshi’s mother. A former office worker turned Hisoka’s at-home secretary. Her family, the Seiwara, have a history of mental illnesses stemming from the fact that their family line has a gene that means their brains under-produce dopamine and serotonin. She loves her family very much, and thinks her son and husband are too much like each other despite not spending much time together. Her quirk allows her to sense the neural pathways in other people’s brains, giving her a very limited kind of general, multi-target telepathy.

Shinsou Noriko - Hitoshi’s bold and stead-fast younger sister. She grew up hearing stories of her missing older brother. Now that he’s back, she’s determined to get to know him and help him get back to normal life. Not being able to go to school and hang out with her friends bothers her more than she wants to admit. Her quirk is a mix of Nanami’s and Izuna’s, which allows her to implant powerful suggestions into people’s heads at will.

Other Characters (aka, the ones who have only appeared once or twice, or are recurring, yet don’t have a name)

Tanizaki Junichirou - A BSD character who, in this verse, is a budding politician. One of Alkaid’s information brokers wanted him taken out. Izuku killed him in chapter 2.

Chief Umeji - Tsukauchi’s boss and head of police in Musutafu. A hard-assed but fair man who trusts Tsukauchi’s judgement. His quirk gives him flowering plum-branch hair. His spouse is runs a flower shop painted with a blue rose. They have an adopted daughter. He appeared in chapter 7.

Kaiun Raiyo - Momo, Izuku and Hitoshi’s therapist. Her office is a huge swimming pool due to her aquatic-based mutation quirk causing her trouble on land. Got rejected from a hero course and took the time to try and figure her life out. Her quirk is based off the Abyssal Lagiacrus from Monster Hunter Tri/3U. Appears in chapter 12.

Probation Officer - Momo, Izuku and Hitoshi’s probation officer. He’s cold at first, but seeing the kids interact with their supervisors and hearing, week after week, of their good behavior, he’s starting to soften up. Appears in chapters 8, 9, 10 and 13. He might get a name. Maybe. Eventually.

Hope this helps anyone!!

#A Single Reason #Character Reference #Damn this got long #I try not to make my characters boring lol

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loxare · 7 years

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A Talon by Any Other Name

Chapter 11 - Darkest Before the Dawn

Dick woke, to a flare of pain in his throat. The thing was crawling up his spinal column. His vision whited out, and he screamed...

...Nothing. The pain stopped. He could feel it, small as a pea, crawling into his brain, but there was no more pain. No pain receptors that far in, he supposed. Taking a cautious breath – one of his lungs was healed – he coughed out a few blood clots. He still couldn't talk though. The thing had decided to take a stroll through his vocal cords before nestling in his skull.

He let out a groan, the only sound he could make, and poked at Hood. His little brother was already awake, probably for the same reason Dick was. As soon as his vocal cords healed, he asked, “What happened? Is it over?”

There was a noise from the comm., Tim falling out of his chair from the sounds of it. “Dick? Are you alright? You went silent for an hour and twenty minutes.”

“I... think so? The thing stopped moving, but it's in my brain now. Little Wing, you too?” Hood nodded. “Hood too. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.”

“You... don't? But Cobb explained it!”

Hood raised his eyebrows. “Did he? Must have been before out ears healed.” At Tim's questioning noise, he coughed out a laugh (and four or five blood clots). “They broke our ear drums a few minutes before they put these things on our legs. Why? What does it do?”

Tim stuttered for a moment, before Bruce's voice came on the line. “I've got this Tim. Go suit up.” Sounds of foot steps, and a sigh. “The device that Cobb implanted in you is a bomb.” Dick's blood ran cold. A what? “More specifically, one is a bomb and the other is a trigger. I'm not sure which is which.”

Dick looked down at the device on his leg, then the one on Hood's. In the weak light, he couldn't see any differences. “They look the same.”

“It doesn't really matter at this point. It's a proximity trigger. As long as you two are close to each other, it'll go off. In about an forty five minutes, it'll go off.”

Dick looked around. The chamber they were in was small. Not that Cobb would give them a room bigger than the proximity radius of the trigger. And with his hands chained to his neck and his legs taped from foot to mid thigh, there was no way for him to reach the hole in the ceiling, let alone climb out of it and crawl away. “Nothing to be done then?”

“No! Do not give up! I will find you, I promise!”

He simply nodded wearily. “Sure thing Bats. See you when you get here.” Nudging the comm. away, he stared at it for a moment. Batman had never let him down before, but there hadn't been too many opportunities for him to do so. Still. There was no reason for him not to hope. And in the end, if Batman didn't come, he wouldn't know.

He shifted closer to Hood, startled and upset when the younger Talon shifted away. “Stay away from me Dickie. A bomb this size can't kill you if you're a few feet away. Worst that'll happen is you get splattered with a bit of brain matter.” He offered up a rueful smile, sad and lonely.

“What? No, Little Wing, you don't even know if you are the bomb! It could be me!”

But Hood was shaking his head. “It's not. I can hear it ticking, and triggers don't tick.”

That was true. And try as he might, Dick couldn't hear a single sound inside his head. “Please Little Wing. Batman said we have forty five minutes.” A tear trickled down his face.

Hood sighed, sounding for all the world like an indulgent uncle. “Fine. But only thirty five. I'm not risking you if this thing blows early.”

They shifted until they were shoulder to shoulder. For the millionth time that day, Dick cursed the way the Court had bound them. He couldn't do more than reach out and grab Hood's finger tips with his own.

They sat there, just sitting and being in each other's company. Listening as Batman and Red Wing started the Batmobile, ready to go to the first possible location, and the second, and the third.

Fifteen minutes and two failed locations later, there was a flash of static, and then a new voice barged their way into the conversation. “Hello Batman. I told you that I would tell you where they were before their demise. And look at that, it's been five and a half hours since we last spoke. Now, you may not know this, but the ground under Gotham is littered with holes. Caverns. Really, the entire city should have collapsed by now. We found this one two weeks ago when we were searching for our Talons. Or searching for their corpses. It's under the warehouse the Joker blew up.” With a smug chuckle, Cobb let himself out of the conversation.

“That's on the other side of the city. Batman, even at our top speed, we won't make it.”

“I know Red Wing. That's why I called the jet. Cobb didn't think of everything.”

Not even five minutes later Batman and Red Wing fell through the opening. Both of them had a laptop in hand. “We don't have enough time to extract the bomb.” Tim said by way of explanation while they picked the locks on their handcuffs. “But since there's a proximity trigger, we thought maybe we could hack the frequency it uses, change the programming.”

Hood shook his head, rubbing his wrists as he sat up. “No time. Take Dick out of here. Get him out of range of the bomb, maybe we can shut it off.”

Batman nodded, and within seconds, Tim and Dick were strapped in the jet and flying away. Then, the vigilante sat himself down with his laptop and started ticking away. “No reason I can't try and change the programming anyways.”

Hood nodded and started working on the tape around his legs, carefully avoiding the device still attached to his leg. Probably just a delivery system to get the bomb into his body. He hadn't noticed before, but it was in there really deep. Metal spikes, going right to his bone. He should probably pull it out, but he could do that once Batman finished reprogramming it. He didn't want to run the risk that touching the thing would make it explode.

Just for safety, he scooted a little further from the Bat., but almost immediately got pulled back. “Stay close. This is difficult enough without you adding distance.”

“But if it goes off-”

“We have at least twenty minutes until it does.”

“According to a Talon. Who wants to kill you.” He tried to shift away again. This time, when Batman pulled him back, he glared. Hood had grown up in a group of immortal death machines, but he'd never seen a glare like that. It stunned him into silence for a few minutes.

He knew he couldn't, that there were no touch receptors in his brain that would allow him to, but he could swear he could feel the bomb, tucked up in the middle. He could hear it, his brain carrying the vibrations better than air ever could.

Batman swore suddenly. “It's not just tied to the trigger. It's tied to Gotham's geographic location. And I can't stop it.”

Hood was silent for a minute. “So, as long as I'm in the city, I'm going to die?” Batman nodded. “Can you slow it down at least? I can handle never coming to Gotham again, but I don't think Dick could handle never seeing me again.”

There was a moment as Bruce searched the code. Finally, he nodded. “I'm not sure how much time I can give you, but I can do it.” There was another few minutes of silence, then the Bat cleared his throat. “Um. What you said, right before going into the Court. You had been found in a red hoodie?”

“That's what they told me. Why?”

“About four years ago, I came across a child trying to steal the tires off of my car. He was wearing a red hoodie. And he bore a strong physical resemblance to you.”

That took a moment. “Wait, so I tried to steal the wheels off of the Batmobile?”

“Almost succeeded. You had three off before I noticed. That's not the point though. I wanted to help you after that, try and get you into a position in life so you wouldn't have to steal tires to survive. I know your name. I could tell you now, if you wanted.”

He thought about it. His name. His name. It had eluded him for years, and now he could get it back. It would probably be his only time to do so, if Batman couldn't figure this out. But... “Thanks, but not yet. I want Dick to be here for this.” Batman nodded, as if he had expected no less, and went back to work.

Another minute or three of quiet. Then, “Batman? The ticking is getting louder.”

“No! We should have another ten minutes, at least! I'm not done yet!”

“Ten minutes according to a psychopath!” Hood tried to scramble away, to get Batman out of the blast radius, but he was pulled back again.

“Not. Yet!” Batman growled.

Hood wanted to move again. He really did. But he didn't want to risk distracting Batman. So he sat, trying to ignore the steady, but increasingly loud ticking. Slowly, it changed into beeping.

When the beeping reached its loudest, he pressed his hands to his ears. It did nothing, but it made him feel better. He couldn't hear Batman anymore, but he could see his mouth moving. Batman probably couldn't see him. His eyes were riveted to the screen, his fingers flying across the keys.

The beeping was all he heard now, reverberating through his skull, his bones. And then something changed. “Batman, it's counting now! Twenty seconds!” He was probably shouting, and he couldn't hear Batman's reply. Nineteen, eighteen.

He tried to move again, but Batman's hand flashed out lightning fast and pulled him back before returning to the keyboard. Seventeen, sixteen, fifteen. At two, he would bolt. He wouldn't take Batman with him. Red Wing still needed a dad, and Gotham still needed a Batman.

Fourteen.

Thirteen.

Twelve.

On the outside, nothing had changed. Batman was typing, Hood was defending his ears from some unhearable noise. Inside, the beeping had started going out of sync with the countdown, going so fast it was almost a continuous whine. Batman was sitting with intense focus, working feverishly, almost desperately.

Three.

Two.

Hood dived away. Tried to. Batman already had his hand out, grabbing Hood's arm and slamming him down.

One.

With a grunt, Batman hit one last key. The beeping stopped. The timer stopped. But the ticking was still there.

Batman sighed. “Safe. For now.”

Dick didn't want to let go. Even with Hood pushing at his arms, trying to get him off, he didn't want to. His Little Wing had almost died. Again. And Dick hadn't been there. He could still die now and it would be his fault.

Batman hadn't brought Hood back straight away. He'd gone to a clinic first. The doctor, Leslie Thompkins, and old friend of Bruce Wayne, had done every scan under the sun to see if they could remove the bomb.

They couldn't. It had tendrils, and it had wrapped them around Hood's hypothalamus. They could get it out. But they would risk taking out the hypothalamus as well, which wouldn't kill him, but it would have drastic effects on him for the rest of his life.

They hadn't done any scans on him, but Dick's bomb was probably the same. If it wasn't for Batman, just being near Dick, being in Gotham, for more than six hours would kill Hood, and severely injure anyone in a three foot radius. As it was, they only had eighty three hours. Batman could give them that much time. Any longer, and the bomb was programmed to explode spontaneously.

And there was one more thing. The counter reset once a month. Twenty six days and thirteen hours to be exact. It all added up to one thing. Hood had to leave. And he had to leave Dick behind.

He didn't want to let go.

“I'm alright Dickie. I promise. This is a good thing. I can travel, see the world, do anything I want to. And I'll visit, all the time. I'll even text you if you promise not to spam me every five seconds for updates.”

“No promises Little Wing.”

“Yeah, didn't think so.”

“You can't travel. You're only fourteen. You'll get lost or kidnapped or mugged or-” A thousand thousand possibilities, a thousand thousand dangers, and Dick wouldn't be there.

“I'm also a Talon. Ex-Talon. Anyone who tries will be sorry.” Dick couldn't see Hood's face, but he could feel the smirk. Hood could handle himself, of course. But still.

“Um.” A small voice off to the side spoke up. Tim. The only brother that Dick could still look after. “I don't want to interrupt...” He got cut off when Dick pulled him into the hug. Tim was surprised, Hood was surprised, Dick felt a teensy bit better. But it wasn't long before Tim started struggling too. “No, seriously, this is important. Bruce knows Hood's name.”

“WHAT?!” In his shock, Dick loosened his grip, just enough for the other two to slip out. “He does? Since when? What is it?”

“Yes, since we were in the Court, and I don't know, he didn't tell me,” Tim listed off as he rubbed a crick out of his neck. Hm. Dick didn't think his hugs were that tight.

For the first time since the Court got their hand on them for a second time, a smile spread over Dick's face. No, not a smile. An expression of pure joy and excitement painted across his face. Smile was too small of a word, the sun was dim in comparison. They were currently in the medbay, Bruce was in front of the Batcomputer. Only one measly wall between him and his little brother's name and this wall had a door.

He grabbed Hood by the shirt, the same old Batsuit he had dressed in before he left, now ratty and torn, but full of great hand holds, and dragged him towards the Batcomputer. “Bruce! You know his name! What is it?”

Hood pulled back a little. After all this time, wanting, wondering. But what if Bruce was wrong? What if it wasn't his name? How would he know? For all he knew, his name could be Greg, Connor, Max, Phillip. All of them, none of them.

But... if it was wrong, would it matter? A name was a name. Even if it wasn't the same one it had been, it would still be his. He could take the name, make it his own.

They were getting closer to Bruce. Bruce was standing, turning towards them, still dressed in his Batsuit, but with the cowl down. No, no, no, he wasn't ready for this.

“I do. I was going to tell him back in the cavern, but he wanted to wait for you.” Why did he have to mention that? Dick was beaming at him, brighter than before, if that was possible. “Are you ready Hood?”

No. Yes. No. Maybe? “Yes.” Dammit. Stupid traitor mouth.

“Hood, your name is Jason Peter Todd.”

Oh. He rolled it around in his head. Jason. Jason Peter Todd. Jason Todd. It felt... familiar. Right. Like pulling on a old, warm sweater. The name settled on his shoulders, feather light and heavier than anything. It was a new weight, a good weight, a weight he could most definitely live with. Jason.

Something wet slipped down his cheek. Hastily, he swiped at his eyes. Tried to. Dick was still holding his shirt, and he got in the way. Smiling, he looked up at his brother.

Dick smiled back. Softly, he said, “Hello. My name is Richard, but you can call me Dick.”

“Hi Dick. My name is Jason. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

#Loxie's fics #The end!#Torture #Brainwashing #Bombs #Unhappiness #HAPPINESS #Talon AU #Bruce Wayne #Tim Drake #Dick Grayson #Jason Todd #Bruceman #Dickie #Jay #Timmers

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