#i lose track of what i wanna say cause im too busy still scribbling shit down

[melodyatlas]

wish me luck yall, my computer just shit out on me and while i think i have a temporary solution worked out i need all the luck i can get to try and scrape the data off my old one (if i lose the wips i have on that laptop ill cry)

[welcometoclass1ahell]

Notebook Shocker: Mafia!Kaminari x Quirkless!Fem!Reader

Bruh its like 6am. I started this at 1am. Idk how writers do it. im drained af and probably spelt shit wrong but thats what edits are foooor. 

Mafia!Kaminari x Quirkless!Fem!Reader

Warnings: A lil torture, violence, and mafia stuffff

Plot : A certain mobster had caught you stealing 

Word Count: 5.8k

“What do you mean….someone took it?” Deku groaned in annoyance, fiddling with a pen behind his desk. His green eyes scanned over Kaminari’s sheepish stance, “That notebook has a lot of intel, if that gets in the wrong hands I won’t know what I’m going to do to you,” Deku continued, a sharp glare adding to the threat.

“I know, I know! Don’t worry about it boss, I’m gonna get it back. I saw who took it,” Kaminari explained, “I just wanted to let you know, I can track her down. How far can a little girly get?” He grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck. He knew he pissed off Deku but in a way he wasn’t too concerned yet. He just had to get that notebook back, and that would mean having a little chase with the girl who he saw last night.

“I don’t care who has it or how you get it back. I want that notebook, and bring her too! I wanna know who’s after it,” Deku ordered before waving his hand to dismiss him.

Giving a small head bow, Kaminari excused himself to go save that notebook. He didn’t know what was in there, but he knew it had to be important to rile up his boss that much. Walking down the halls of the hideout, he quickly made his way to the dinning hall where he knew his friends would be. Not minding the few bodyguards who nodded his way, Kaminiari pushed open the tall doors to the grand room and smiled over to his pals, Kirishima and Mina. “Guys! I may or may not have gotten myself into a bit of a situation,” He chuckled and took a seat at one of the seats across from them.

“What did you get yourself into this time bro?” Kirishima smirked looking up from the playing cards as Mina also took interest in the conversation. “I lost the notebook, the one Deku wanted,” He started which had already caused a worried look onto the duo’s faces across from him.

“Dude not cool, that had all the intel on certain politicians,” Kirishima sat up straighter, “Yeah, wasn’t Deku going to use that to bribe one of them to fund us?” Mina added into which Kaminari froze up.

“Wait, that notebook? Why would he make me in charge of that? Why not Todoroki or Bakugo?” Kaminari whined realizing how much worse this situation was and put his head to the table letting out an annoyed groan.

“Because they aren’t here at the moment! Duh! He sent them to go do something else like a week ago? You’re so daft Kami!” Mina teased but she looked a little worried for her friend who was now toying with the dinning cloth on the table.

“Let’s go, Kaminari, I’ll help you,” Kirishima began, to which Kaminari lifted his head with a relieved grin,”Really? Aw you’re the best,” The blonde responded happily and stood up with hope in his eyes. He did not want to stall much longer knowing Deku would lose it if he was still here and not out looking for that book.

“Good luck guys! Just remember to stay low! Deku doesn’t want any more loud operations! He’s still fixing the last screw up,” She reminded them. The boys simply nodded giving her a quick goodbye before heading out quickly to their cars.

---------------------

Gripping onto the notebook tightly which you had stolen last night, you sat on your couch eyeing the cover of the simple black book. It was a simple job really, but something felt off. It was too simple. You weren’t a rookie when it came to stealing things, petty robbery and pickpocketing being your job after all, but you weren’t a professional. So why did someone like Shigaraki have you do a job for him. 

He hadn’t even asked you himself. One of his henchmen had asked you if you were interested in a job.

“It’s a quick and easy task! Just pop right in and grab a notebook, that’s all we need,” The man who introduced himself as Mr. Compress explained. “We just need someone with not much background, someone who doesn’t look suspicious,” He added on when you had asked why they wanted someone like you to do the job when they had many capable people of their own. “We will pay half now, half later,” Was the final deal breaker.

Surely you could have refused something like this but when he had pulled out a few wads of cash, your eyes had grown big at the sight and agreed. He wasn’t lying about it being easy either. You dressed fairly casual that night and went to the location he gave you. It was a small apartment building tucked away at the end of the big city with not many people around either. It was perfect.

You managed to climb up the building’s fire escape and perched yourself carefully onto the railing of the outside door to the apartment number. The lights were out and it was silent as well. Quickly grabbing the lockpicks tool out from your back pocket, you made easy work of the sliding glass door before letting yourself inside the home.

“Whoever must live here must be whack,” Were the first words to leave your lips as you looked around at the decorations and trinkets.It wasn’t fairly messy but there was nothing that matched. It just looked like a collection of things spewed out here and there. Quickly getting to work, you started rummaging through the living room, but only found video games, weed, and instant meal packages here and there. Letting out a huff, you made your way to the bedroom and started pulling out drawers, digging through the closet, and finally lifting the bed sheets and mattress to the side to find a small black notebook tied to a shoebox. 

“Found you,” You sighed in relief, “Was about to think you weren’t here,”. Untying it from the shoebox, you straightened yourself out before you heard the keys rattling and the doorknob jiggling from the front room. “Shit!” You cursed and quickly looked to his bedroom window. Rushing over to it, you unlocked it with a click, looking down to see that there was a little balcony below you.

“Hello?” You heard from the front room, a concerned male’s voice as footsteps got closer to the bedroom you didn’t have the time to think or look back as you made the decision to jump down, landing with a bit of a thud against the metal flooring before jumping down from that balcony as well. It was a lie to say it didn’t hurt the soles of your feet.

“Hey! Get back here girly!” Was all you heard from him before you took off running, the sound of something hitting the ground with a zap behind you causing the adrenaline to push you to run faster.

You hadn’t stopped running until you were met with a semi busy street, the nightlife letting you blend in with the crowd. You had managed to get the notebook and yourself out of there in one piece. It’s how you got here, back to your home unaware of the golden eyes that had trailed you back to your street.

Looking down at the notebook, you carefully opened it and skimmed through it, famous names and politicians you recognized with dirty secrets scribbled onto the side of the names. “Wow,” You breathed out before an uneasy feeling settled into your stomach. There was a lot in this book, a lot of information anyone in the deeper side of things would love to have. Yet here you were, something that could change a lot in the public's eye of view, resting in the palms of your hands. What made it worse was you were told to hold onto it till someone named Dabi was going to pick it up from you. Standing up, you looked around your apartment scanning for a place to hide this. 

Deciding to put it into a cereal box for now, you went to go take a shower and call it for tonight. You were far too drained to do anything else but that.

The next few days you took it easy, leaving every now and then to get groceries or get a coffee at the nearby cafe, doing your best to keep an eye out on anything that would make you feel unsafe or alerted.

------------

“Come on Kami, you have to be sure,” Kirishima muttered as they stayed low in a stolen car, parked outside the apartments in which you lived. “I’m pretty sure that’s her, same hair, same face,” Kaminari eyed the building watching as you returned from the store again,”Clueless little thing huh? I don’t even recognize her from anywhere, she doesn’t even seem like the type to do anything like breaking into houses,” He spewed on watching as you swayed your hips up the stairs to your own little home,”She’s a cutie though,” 

“Yeah, but that cutie has something important. You’re right though, I haven’t seen her around, wonder how she knew about the notebook,” Kirishima mused before grabbing his gun, making sure it was loaded just in case before cocking it,”You sure we need that?” Kaminari asked to which Kirishima looked up at the apartments through the window.

“I hope not, but we don’t know her quirk or if she’s even alone up there,” the redhead responded with hesitation. He didn’t want to hurt her, just scare her enough to get what they want. “But you know what you’re gonna have to do. I’m just here for backup, this is your mistake bro,” kaminari only huffed back at his friend but nodded. Getting out of the car, the duo quickly made their way up the stairs and to the door they saw you vanish through. Reaching for the doorknob, Kaminari gave it a small tug and to his disappointment it was locked. Giving a look to Kirishima, the blonde gave a nod before knocking on the door.

Hearing you scuffle behind the door, his chest felt like it was going to explode when he heard the soft and sweet,”Hello?” come from inside. “We got a delivery for you!” He responded. Kirishima nudged his shoulder giving him a questioning, ‘What the fuck?’ look but when they both heard the door unlock, then quickly focused back to it.

Wasting no time, Kaminari rushed in grabbing you by the arm, his other hand flying to your mouth as he gave you a stern warning look as Kirishima followed inside, closing the door behind him with his foot. Drawing the gun just in case, Kirishima eyed the apartment before looking back at you and Kaminari.

The blonde knew you were in shock, your eyes wide as if you were a deer in headlights but tears quickly prickled at the corners of your eyes as he saw you eye the gun. “Hey, hey, shhh don’t cry it’s okay. Don’t scream or struggle, he won’t use it I promise,” Kaminari cooed, keeping a tight hold of you regardless. Little zaps sprung from his fingertips to show you that while he was talking sweet, he wasn’t going to let you try anything. Walking backwards towards your couch, he slowly removed his hand from your mouth,”Please...don’t hurt me,” You whispered out as you looked up at them. Kaminari would’ve felt more bad if it weren’t for the fact that you had stolen the notebook he was supposed to be keeping. He had to admit though, your wide eyes looking up at him like that made him feel something in his chest.

“Won’t have to if you give back that notebook you stole, baby, just tell us where it is and it’ll make this much easier,” He said sweetly to you and pushed you into the couch, having you fall back onto the cushions. Looking down at you as you pushed yourself further into the couch to try and keep some distance from him had him smirk with a bit of pride. He may be relaxed with his friends but man oh man if he didn’t look scary when he wanted to.

“I don’t know what youre talking about,” You tried to play off, to his disliking. He really didn’t want to have to hurt such a pretty woman like you but damn it if you didn’t spill it out he’d be forced to.

“Lying isn’t pretty you know,” Kaminari cooly muttered before lifting his hand up,”Search for it,” He said over his shoulder to which Kirishima started to go through your things. “I saw you taking it from my home, going through a man’s bedroom isn’t nice,” he continued in a teasing tone as he lowered himself so he was perched on his heels so he could look straight at you. Taking his hand he placed it on your leg causing you to tense up with worry. Watching you eye him back with uncertainty, he only smiled back in return as he let a few sparks against your leg.

“What the fuck!” he watched you hiss and try to pull away from his hand to which he only gripped the top of your leg tighter,”Ah uh,” Kaminari chuckled, a twisted tone in his voice, “Come on now, I don’t wanna have to hurt you more. Just give us the notebook,” He pressed on trying to get you to spill it already, “I’ll give you a minute to tell me, if not I might have to fry a few nerves, and we wouldn’t want that would we baby girl?” 

“Don’t call me that,” You spit back to his surprise. Fiesty one? Yeah he can dig that. “Don’t be so mean,” Kaminari uttered back in fake hurt as he shocked your leg with a little bit of a higher voltage watching as tears came to your eyes,”If you keep this up I’ll have no choice but to think you like this,” He teased and watched her as she gripped onto his own wrist trying to pry him off,”Let me go!” You cried out in frustration. Watching you struggle against his grip was cute but getting annoying, “Did you find it yet?” He shouted looking over his shoulder to try and find Kirishima who was currently digging around in your bedroom. 

“Not yet,” his friend called back. Kaminari was about to reply when he felt something hard smash against his head as well as you crying out in pain at the same time. Letting go of his grip on you, he fell back with a “Oof”. Holding the side of his head, he looked up to see you had headbutted him and were now on your way of getting up towards the door. “Fuck,” Kaminari gritted his teeth and sprung up, being quick to grab you by your wrist and letting out a painful wave of shocks getting you to scream. 

“Kaminari! The neighbors will hear!” He heard Kirishima yell at him causing him to grip onto her mouth, tugging her into the wall and pressing her stomach against the cool surface, “You know babe, I don’t usually get mad,” Kaminari whispered sweetly in your ear in a sickening tone, “But you’re really pushing it right now. Give it up or I’m going to show you how much I can really make you scream,” 

Feeling you tense up and shake against him had the blonde tilted your head back to see terror in your eyes. If this notebook hadn’t been so important, he would have probably apologized right then and there.

“Cereal box,”  He felt you mutter in his hand making him confused instantly. Removing his hand, Kaminari gave you a questioning look. “It’s...It’s in the coco puffs,” You sobbed out and he could tell you were trying to keep yourself calm through this. Looking over to Kirishima from across the room, he watched his friend hurry to the kitchen knowing they had limited time now that they made too much noise here. Digging through your cabinets, he watched his friend pull out a cereal box and spill the contents out, the notebook falling onto the counter, “There it is! Fuck there it is!” Kaminari laughed in relief while holding you between him and the wall,”See that wasn’t so hard? Who would’ve thought cereal was the answer?” He joked trying to lighten the mood.

“I don’t know dude, but we need to get out of here now, the neighbors probably heard her scream,” Kirishima responded but was smiling as well. It was funny seeing that you hid it almost so well in a breakfast box.

“Please...let me go, you have everything you want,” Kaminari looked down to see you with pleading eyes and while he wished he could say they were done with you, he couldn’t. “It’s not that easy baby, you stole...from the mafia no less. That was stupidly brave but our boss isn’t happy,” He explained and when he saw the look on your face of hesitation and fear he tightened his grip on your arm, “Don’t do anything stupid, just cooperate, it’s gonna be fine,” He tried to reassure you but already he could see the defiance building up, “I don’t want to have to knock you out, just relax,” 

“Here, blindfold her,” Kirishima reached over, handing over his headband knowing all too well how these things go. “No! I-” You began to try to fight back but Kaminari was quick to shock that out of you. “Kiri, hold her will you,” He muttered, taking the blindfold with one hand before gently pushing her to Kiri who grabbed both of her wrists and kept her sturdy. “Look just be good and we won’t have to hurt you any further,” Kirishima tried to reason with you looking down at your fearful expression before the black headband covered your red puffy eyes.

“One more thing, get her hands behind her back, I don’t trust her to behave in the car,” Kaminari requested and watched as you struggled a bit against his friend who pulled your hands behind your back. Taking off his own belt, he made a makeshift handcuffs and tightened them around your wrists,” Alright let's get going before we get caught, oh and baby, don’t scream when we get out there, I really don’t want to sedate you with my quirk,”

--------------------

After having the two strangers pull you out of the house quickly and get you to the car, you sat quietly in the back of the car, your heart and mind racing with thoughts and emotions. They had you blindfolded and your wrists tied up together making it difficult to calm down but at least they had the decency to buckle you up. “Hey, breathe, don’t hyperventilate,” You heard the blonde one suddenly say in the midst of the silence. That’s when you realized you really were breathing quick. “Fuck you…,” You mumble back and hear them both sigh a little as the car took off. “What’s your name then?” You heard the one named Kaminari speak again to which you only glared into your blindfold,”Gonna shock me if I don’t tell you?” You questioned back bitterly but hushed. 

“Just tryna make conversation, make you feel a little better,” You heard him respond with a huff before the radio was turned on. You felt somewhat relieved when the music replaced the awkward silence in the car. ‘You just had to get greedy with the money offered and this is where you ended up’ You furiously thought to yourself. Listening to your kidnappers talk with the music in the background had somewhat calmed you down just a bit to start feeling the aftermath of the shocks. Your leg and arm felt tingly still and a headache started to grow from the headbutt earlier. You’re sure to have a bump there later. 

Leaning against the seat of the car more, you shut your eyes and try to zone out to try and get a plan going. You hadn’t realized how much time went by before the car came to a slow and then a halt before hearing a gate screech open and for the car to move slowly forward, the tires sounding like they were on gravel as they stopped again. 

“I’ll get here,” You heard Kaminari say to which the other man snorted,”Not like I was gonna. Here take the notebook too. I said I would help, but I’m not going to face Deku. I already got my ass yelled at a few weeks ago and I’m not getting further into this,” He stated.

“Fineee,” was all you heard before the car doors clicked shut and footsteps to your side opened the car. Feeling hands reach in and unbuckle you, you kept silent in fear as well as anger before he picked you up out the car and helped you over his shoulder,”I can walk!” You hissed.

“Yeah, so can I,” Was the only snarky response you got back as you were carried off. As you reached the inside of wherever you were, you could hear small talk here and there as well as doors opening and closing. You started to feel a bit more nervous with how many people you could hear. Your kidnapper remained eerily silent as well as if he himself was nervous himself.

“Bring her in here,” You heard a different voice call out as Kaminari made a sharp turn into a different path following the voice. After a few more seconds you felt colder as you were put down and pushed into a chair. “Hey-” You started but a quick shock silenced you right up as your arms were tugged out from the belt and a cold metallic material was wrapped around your wrists.

“Now come with me,” The new voice spoke again and the footsteps traveled out the room, a door swinging shut with a loud click afterwards. Now you were chained to something, in a cold room, with a blindfold still on.

“Hello?” You called out and after no response you leaned over getting your face close to your hands before tugging off the blindfold. “What the fuck is this,” You muttered out as light brought onto you a cool grey room with nothing but a table to where your hands were chained, the cahir you were currently sitting on, and a chair in front of you. Starring around, the solid blocked out door was the only way out and god knows how many people were on the other side.

“Don’t cry...don’t you dare cry,” You growl to yourself trying to keep composure as you stare at your hands in anger. Breathing in and out as best as you could to keep from crying you wanted to think of a way out of this but there weren’t any ideas popping in. You were just a small time quirkless thief, not some mafia enemy. You didn’t know how to deal with this.

The door clicked back open causing you to turn your head quickly back to it to watch Kaminari walk back in with a folder,”(Y/N)...such a pretty name! You should have told me earlier baby,” He said making you stiffen up in your seat eyeing him with a glare,” But you really should have said something about being quirkless, I would have gone easy on you,” He pouted over to you making you bare your teeth in disgust.

“Why? Being quirkless doesn’t make us weak,” You spit out in malice disgusted by his suggestion,”I stole that notebook from you without one,” You proudly stated in a matter of fact tone. “Mhm, yeah but look where that got you girly,” Kaminari shot back taking a seat across from you before looking through whatever file he had on you. Golden eyes locked back to yours and a chill went down your spine from the grin he had,”So missy, I see you actually have a fair share of robberies in your file. Well, this time you hit big money huh? Wanna share where you got that information on the little notebook?” He started. 

Taking a small breathe, you knew you couldn’t give that away. Deep down you knew that wasn’t the best idea even if you were in this situation. If Shigaraki’s crew figured it out you told on them, you were most definitely dead. “Bite me,” You answered glaring back down at your hands not wanting to see what expression the man had.

“Maybe later, but right now I kind of need answers baby girl. See, the boss needs answers and he always gets what he needs,” Kaminari laughed lightly but you could tell he wasn’t too happy with your answer, “So lets try this again. Where did you get the information? Don’t make me shock a quirkless girly like you,” 

“I’m not making you do anything, you’re just fucked up enough to be the villain of the situation here,” That line alone made the room feel even colder as you lifted your head to see Kaminari silently put the folder down. He was still smiling and you couldn’t help but want to scoot further away from him. The chair beneath him squeaked against the floor as he got up and made his way behind you. “I told you I’m really slow to anger right?” He muttered lowly without the smile leaving his face and you felt instant regret as he reached over, his chin over your shoulder as his arms trailed up your arm and made their way to your hands. Flipping them over he forced his hands into yours, holding onto them tightly.

“Fuck off,” You huffed trying to shake him off but before you could try to shake him off, a high voltage sparked through both of your hands and through your arms reaching the rest of your body. Screams ripped through your lungs and your back arched off the chair as the tears had flowed down your cheeks. He didn’t let up until he was sure you had learned the message, letting the shocks die down but didn’t move his hands. You went limp against the chair breathing heavily as sobs shook through you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m only hurting you as much as you hurt me with your mean little opinions,” He whispered but something in his voice gave off a small hint of him liking this, “Now, who told you about the notebook?” he asked again his breath close to your ear, “And think hard about what you wanna say. If you wanna act tough, I’ll treat you like you’re tough. You can handle more can’t you babygirl? I’ll make it last longer next time,” He laughed into your ear before he licked the shell causing another shiver to go down your spine.

“You’re...an asshole,” You cried out trying to hold onto the thin string of bravery and confidence to get through this. You heard a dark chuckle from behind you before your mind went blank. A searing pain of shocks went throughout your whole body as your scream filled the room once more, trying to tug your hands away from him but to no luck he remained the stronger of you two. It felt like this would never end and that this pain was going to be with you forever. After what felt like hours, the shocks stopped as your mind went numb. Your eyes closed as they felt heavier and your body felt like it was being pricked over and over again with needles.

“Don’t pass out on me now, come on wake up!” You barely even heard his voice as the blonde squeezed your hands before he helped you sit back up against the chair,”man, I went a little overboard huh?” Chuckled filled the room as he gave light taps to your cheeks causing your eyes to open to look above you, golden honey pools hypnotizing you for a little. “Hey pretty baby, you back from your little high?” He joked before tears pooled down your cheeks again, afraid of what more he could do to you. “Just tell me okay? We don’t wanna be doing this all day and night do we?” He questioned with a smile as he took your hands again making your resolve snap.

“H-He..he told me he would pay me alot...I just wanted to pay bills,” You cried out breaking under the pressure and pain, wanting nothing more than to quit being a thief and just go home to curl up in bed, “Shhh, it’s okay. I get it, you just wanted to survive out in this cold world. Give me a name, I’ll make this all better,” he breathed out, his thumb on your right hand stroking the back of your hand trying to soothe you.

“His n-name is Mr. Compress. I really don’t know his name please...don’t shock me please, that’s all i know! He wanted the notebook and gave me your address that’s all! Please let me go,” You begged wanting nothing more than for this to be over.

“Good girl, there you go. It’s okay, that’s all I wanted,” Kaminari praised before letting go of your hands which you automatically tried to pull back to yourself, your palms red and starting to swell. “I’ll get you some water okay?” He hummed as he gave you a condescending pat to the head before leaving the room. You didn’t care for what he did, you felt so drained and your head just felt so heavy. Closing your eyes you finally gave out and slumped over the table, your breathing uneven.

--------------------------

You felt like you were on a cloud surrounded by angels who covered you in their feathers. It felt like you could sink into that pleasurable feeling forever if it weren’t for the pain coursing through your hands. You didn’t want to move, you didn’t want to open your eyes. You didn’t want to be shocked-

You started to remember the moments before you had passed out and panic flung through your chest. You had to get up, assess what’s going on. Managing to open your eyes, you were met with a dimly lit room and soft fleece blankets all around and over you. Carefully sitting up you hissed in pain when your hands ached. Bringing them in front of you, white bandages were wrapped around your palms and fingers. Confusion hit you all at once as you looked up, the only light source coming into the room being from the ajar door. Squinting to try and see better throughout the room, dread filled you as you recognized your surroundings. This is where it all started. The room you took the notebook in.

Being quick to stand up, you felt woozy but the need to leave was greater than the need to sit down. Stumbling to the door, you swung it out and peeked out to see Kaminari sitting lazily on his couch, a ps4 controller in hand as he button mashed away. It was odd not seeing him in a suit, rather in shorts and a simple hoodie. Carefully stepping out, you looked to the front door trying to convince yourself to make a bolt for it. Taking in a small sturdy breath, you launched yourself out the room to try and get to the door but it seemed like your body had other plans. Wobbling forward you managed a few steps before your head pounded causing you to fall to your knees and groan.

“Careful! You’re probably still a little fried,” A voice came from above you and helped stand you up. The same golden eyes that had you crying and being shocked were now looking at you with worry. Dumbfounded by his expression, you let him lead you to his couch and sit you down,”You might want to take it easy for a while, you put up quite a fight in that room,” Kaminari chuckled to which you could only blink at him with confusion as to what was going on with the sudden flip of being nice.

“I want to go home,” Was what you finally managed to say after the two of you had stared at each other in silence. “Yeah...that’s not gonna happen baby girl. It’s a bit more complicated than that,” He responded with a small smile that had a sign of pity in it.

“What do you mean? I really just want to forget everything and go home, please,” You tried to argue to which he shrugged and sunk into the back of the couch getting comfortable again. Not bothering to look at you, he stared at the t.v ahead of him, “Well, there were three options on what to do with you. One, we could have killed you which I really didn’t want to do. Two, we could have released you but that would have left us open for an attack. Shigaraki’s side could have kidnapped you right after and tortured you again and killed you after for information about the book and us. Then this option. I could take you home with me, keep you safe and away from your own crimes and as well as us safe from others taking you for information. I took a liking to you, it would have felt a shame to kill a pretty babe like you,” He explained fully, before looking back at you. You felt horrified, looking back down at your hands to come up with something to say but you didn’t. You drew a blank. All you could think was that if you did leave, you’d have two mafia groups looking for your death/capturement but if you stayed, you would be forever locked away with this man who you know nothing of beside the fact that he works for the mafia.

“Hey, I know that’s a lot to take in, but I’m doing you a favor, keeping you here to stay alive. All you gotta do is listen to me, and we’ll both be happy. You can also call me Denki from now on, ‘Kay?” Kaminari hummed as he got up walking to his room and coming back with the soft blanket you were snuggled into earlier. Dropping it onto your head, he plopped down next to you.

“Denki?” You whispered out his name as you hugged the soft blanket around you for the comfort, “What...what am I supposed to do here?” You asked fearful of the answer looking at him as his eyes had a brighter shine than before.

“Just be a good girly and we will see what you can do,” He answered back and looked back to his game starting it back up, “You’ll make a cute little housewife or something. We’ll figure it out,”

[noxus-the-venomous-blog]

I want the whole van

Part one: seven years ago.

……………………………………….

“We steal a van. Like a creepy van. And then we make it into a mobile lab!”

“They track those,” Noxious mumbled while staring obsessively at Tranquill’s small paper pad as she ran unamused lines over it, “they have vin numbers… We would need a chop shop.” Was she drawing a van?

“Don't chop shops just break the vehicle apart? I want a whole van,” she demanded once again, ereasing a line and recreating it.

“I think they break it into parts to sell off record then give you credit towards a different van with no trackable parts.”

“So you need more than one van to get a van from them? What is it gamestop? I just want the van I stole!” Tranquill scooted her chair back and stood up for a moment. She took a few steps over to the large metal roll up door and tapped on it a few times thinking. “We rob a pharmacy!” she suggested with excitement. She then slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing they were discussing crimes far too loudly seeing as the storage unit they were plotting in was still open to the public at this time.

“I could use so many things from there… Do they have security?”  Noxious stared at her, the blank circles of the gas mask fitting the surprised expression of the even wider eyes under it.

“There’s a tiny little one like a block away. Should be closed, probably no security.” She wandered back over to the planning table and started scribbling again.

“We should walk by and take a look.”

“Sure thing. Street clothes?” she asked as she started to draw a lid on the rectangular van shape she had doodled down, making it a pill bottle or some version of.

“I'm going to wear my mask. If there's no security I can smoke out cameras and pop in real quick. You should go in street clothes,” he clarified as he stood and walked to a small metal lock box, retrieving a few items that looked like modified road flares.

Tranquill slid open the container door slowly, making sure no one was in the immediate vicinity. They both excited and hurried out of the storage park. The pairslowly and methodically made there way downtown through alleys, empty lots and across abandoned roads. They planned each stop and each forward movement tediously making sure not to cross the line of sight of any potential witnesses. By the time they got to the city it was dark and distracted. They waited quietly scanning the parking lot. No traffic, no foot traffic or occupied cars. It was a good take. Through the window they could see the red night vision light of one camera and deemed it avoidable via hand gestures. They were about to move in when Tranquill put a hand on her boyfriend’s chest, stopping him. She pointed slowly at a security guard coming around the corner.

She pointed at the guard and then at herself and made a talking gesture. She then pointed at Noxious and gestured around the side of the building. He understood the plan. She left the bushes and made her way to the security guard.

“Excuse me sir can I bother you?! Sir?!” she shouted across the parking lot while approaching him, “you got a minute?”

“Sure ma’am but we’re closed.”

“Yeah I know... But I was walking to the bar down the road, like so I don't have to drive home, and like there was this dude following me. I don't see him now but the bar is just like a block away and it would be freaking manly if you would walk me there i don't want to get jumped and stuff...” she said, playing the perfect ditsy damsel.

“Uh yeah no problem” he answered, looking around her for an intruder. “I can only be gone like five minutes though so let’s make it- “ he was interrupted by a small crackling sound coming from behind a dumpster on his six. Tranq’s heart dropped as the both of them looked over to see smoke billowing from the location. At that moment she realized that her back up team just had a premature detonation.

“Oh shit fire!” the security guard sheathed his flashlight and reached for his radio. Now or never, she thought, lunging forward and grabbing for his belt. Noxious peeked above the trash can to see the two of them struggling. He reached for a piece of metal laying at his feet but gave up when he heard her yelp. He glanced back right as she fell to the ground. He hit her… He left the scrap metal and ran full speed at the guard, who heard his footsteps and turned to face him just in time to put his guard up and block the strike from noxious. He held the gloved hand of the toxic villain, grit his teeth,  leaned back and clocked him in the face, breaking the eyepiece on the mask. Noxious saw the fist, then the streetlight then the sky. Then he saw nothing at all as he faded into unconsciousness.

-----------------------------------

Part 2: Five years ago

-----------------------------------

“There look at that place it's freaking perfect! Shoot ya got the abstract name, Bioco, you got the shady security guards, you got a sketchy reputation AND it’s away from the busy part of the city. The place is jus’ screaming ‘oh noxious. Please rob me! I long for your wear plumbers gloves and touch all of my chemical bits!” Big problem exclaimed, doing some terrible thing he called his “lady voice”.

“Please don't do that” Noxious said staring at the empty parking lot. He was feeling a sense of deja vous. Had he robbed this exact spot before? Was he becoming predictable? He leaned in and began adjusting his eyepiece, fastidiously turning it to the left and right. It had worn lose over years of him fidgeting with it when he was nervous

“Holy crap crackers does your goggle zoom in?”

“.......Yes.”

“So we doing this or what?” big problem asked, ‘compassionately’ grabbing Nox by the air filter and turning him face on to say ‘let’s do this’.

“No we need to plan and do like… Recon. You don't just take a stroll and rob a place because you happen to be near it!”

BP scratched his head. “You don't? I do it all the time.”

“What if they call the cops?  What if you’re followed? What if a guard shows up and fights you?”

“I hit people and their heads come off, I aint worried about it. Besides you’re the one always saying you wanna learn close combat. Come on there's like one guard this is the best chance you'll ever have.”

Is…. That guard familiar? Noxious shook his head wishing his memory was better. “How about we-”

“No,” BP interrupted, “listen closely. From behind. Step slow, step sideways. Reach over with your entire arm just like how I showed you.” Noxious nodded, remembering pathetically practicing on the mans massive neck. “Once your arm is locked in lean back. It will go quick. Once he's out we tie em up, tape his mouth and slip him a big ole smile for his cooperation. If he breaks your lock fight him. I'll be running toward you if and when. Tight fist, follow through.” he assured then placing his hand on Noxious’s shoulder.

Noxious crept through the bushes and lined his body up behind the guard. He began to shadow him, mimicking his movements to mask the repetitive sound of his footsteps. r]Inching closer with each step. When the guard stopped he stopped in sequence, then pulling the small rubber straps back on his wrist. the band was pulled back and the metal ball loaded, then he fired off at distant trash can. The guard quickly looked over, Noxious closed the distance behind him and wrapped his hand around his neck, locking his grip.

He tried to lean back but was not heavy enough to pull the man his way so instead he forced his hold even tighter. The man struggled and shook about and with one slipping finger at a time, he lost his grip. He quickly put up his hands up as the determined guard turned and threw a blind punch. Nox ducked out of its way and struck the man across the face, inciting a daze, then tackling him across the parking space. He wrapped his hands around the man's throat. Noxious stared at the mans face and tightened his grip, lost in the moment, strangling every bad memory he thought the man gave him. The guard kicked and flailed and stretched his arm out reaching beyond Noxious’s sight. Banging and crashing sounds echoed as he kicked the trashcan and continued reaching beneath it until his arm fell numb and his eyes glazed over. The skin on his neck slowly unstuck from the sweat that built up on leather gloves. Noxious was out of breath, sweating. He looked over to the trashcan where the man's hand lay dormant. It was still slightly wrapped around a small piece of metal scrap.

“How was that for ya little guy?”

“Hey I just thought.... You know what would be a good name for a super power? Deja vous. “

Big problem grinned down at him. “You already told me that one…” His smile widened. “Get it? Get it? Im a damn hoot.”

--------------------------------=

Part Three: The present day

--------------------------------=

“Fall back!!” the rank two shouts crouched behind cover. She preppeds a smoke bomb and threw it down the hallway. Through her goggles she could see the outlines of rank ones running out of the smoke towards her. They passed her by and fell behind cover. “You know the drill freshies, they use bullets we use the boss, get out of here!” she popped two more bombs and slid them towards the gunfire, permeating thick red and blue concealment smoke.

She turned her gaze behind her to see the last of the rank one Toxins make it around the corner. She pulled out a small device from her gauntlet and pressed a button on it, causing it to blink as she threw it on the floor and made her way down the hallway to join them. At the turn she glanced to her left and saw green smoke pulsating around a corner and getting closer to her and the group. “Pick it up, he's here!” she belted as she ran by them.

The blue and red smoke had dissipated as the guards stood on overwatch, waiting to see the result of their enemy’s retreat. From around the corner they saw a small ground level phantom of green smoke slowly cross the intersection, growing larger and thicker by the moment as traces of toxic gas trickled around the bend. Trickles became a wave and a wave became a flood as Noxious turned the corner. Vents around his mask and across his shoulders flooding the putrid air into the room until it was thick enough to drown in. then men could no longer see their hand in front of their faces as they crouched into their palms. Noxious quickly dashed behind one and wrapped an arm over the man's shoulders and around his neck. Once gripped, Noxious let his knee drop, the heavy metal knee pads pulling both men to the ground. While the man kicked for air the toxic king saw a boot take a step near him. He triggered the mechanism on his wrist mount, pushing a small syringe head out of his forearm guard which he then punctured into the man's thigh, delivering a measured dosage. The man hit the ground within seconds as he released the other man's neck from the noose his arm held it in. He sprinted forward to another guard as they were rising the sight of a gun in his direction. Noxious raised his arm, ejecting the empty syringe at the man, distracting him enough for the boss to hit him across the jaw, sending him crashing to the ground. He flexed his wrists, reloading the syringe device. He then plunged it down into the man's leg putting him slowly into a blissful sleep. He then looked at the man's ID tag. “Bioco…” That gave him an inspired idea for a superhero name.

Rank ones and twos lined up outside the door. It opened slowly and as it did they each kneeled, forming a line. Noxious walked by them in triumph and then gestured them to move in and pilfer the now secured building. A car pulled up to him and  one of his soldiers opened the back door for him. He entered and sat next to Tranquil.

“It go well?”

He nodded.

She smiled. “Glory to the agenda.”

----------------------------============

Part 1: Seven years ago

===============----------------------

Light from the window gleamed across his eye as he slowly looked around the hazy room. Where they moving? Where was his mask? He jolted his body up and felt his face, irritating a cut near his eye.

“Oh thank goodness you woke up. Do you have amnesia?” Tranq questioned curiously, glancing back at him from the driver;s seat.

“I don’t remember...”

“See that was funny, your fine. Your mask is up here.”

Noxious crawleds to the front of the slow moving vehicle and retrieved the mask from under a small notepad. It then dawns on him what had happened. “Are you ok?!” he asked in a panic, touching her shoulder hard enough to make the steering wheel veer slightly .

“Yeah he barely touched me. You got hit hard though.”

“What did you do?”

“When he saw your smoke bomb go off I grabbed for his taser. I figured that was the plan,” she lied, hoping to rewrite how he remembered it, “then when you distracted him with that punch I zapped his ass. Never used a taser before so I just held it down till he peed himself. Sick stuff dude.”

He was relieved. His mind was foggy but her words made sense. The mission still clearly didn't go well. “Did we at least steal… Whatever it was”

“HELL YEAH and it's way better than i thought it was.”

“Good,” he smiled, moving the broken mask and notepad, containing a poorly drawn picture of a van, made to be a pill bottle with wheels then made to be a van again. “It won't be like this again. Were gonna get good.”

“I know.”

“Seriously. Everyone starts at the bottom” he said impassioned. He put the broken mask over his head when he felt tears pooling up in his eyes. “One day we will make this… It will be bigger. We will be better.”

“I know,” she agreed, leaning over, putting a hand on his knee.

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-

Super secret bonus feature extended director's cut deleted scene after party special ending.

Present day:

“So like…” The CEO of Bioco leaned over his desk. “Seriously? What the hell did i ever do to this guy??” (noxious in know way condones murder, violence or theft. dont imitate fiction)

[hysterialevi]

Abraham - A RDR2 Fanfic

Fanfic summary [NO SPOILERS]: Lyle Morgan and his eleven-year-old son have a conversation about Beatrice’s death, only for the boy to witness a second one.

Warning(s): Mild language

Author’s note: Bear with me if not everything in this story is correct. I’m not entirely sure where Arthur’s originally from (all I’ve heard is that he’s from somewhere in the north), so I just made something up lol. Also, this fic will only be one part. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)

From Lyle’s POV

A FOREST SOMEWHERE IN MONTANA

SUMMER, 1874

Strollin’ through the tall, thick grass, I led my mount around the forest at a casual pace while my son sat on top, consumed by his journal as always. It was an hour or two before midday, and right now, there was a radiant blanket o’ sunshine bathing the entire forest, painting everything with a golden tint. It was beautiful, and I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day out here...but this feeling of annoyance just wouldn’t stop naggin’ me, and I knew exactly why.

I briefly glanced over my shoulder, peering at my son as he scribbled something down in the weathered pages of his journal.

A quick sigh escaped me.

I didn’t know who the hell Arthur got his interest in art from, or why Beatrice even bothered buying him that book, but that child just couldn’t seem to take his eyes away from it. Every time I came across the boy, he was always scratchin’ down some fantasy world of his, or creating images of a utopia I ain’t ever seen. It was pointless.

He spent more time daydreamin’ in that book than he did playing outside, or hunting, or fishing -- hell, he didn’t even know how to read -- and yet, Beatrice seemed perfectly content with it.

Or at least...she did.

Beatrice weren’t around no more. She was killed by bandits a few months ago. Robbed. Left on the side o’ the road for the crows to feed on. But Arthur didn’t know that. Sheriff told him it was a wild animal that took her. A wolf, to be exact. And he believed him.

I dragged a hand down my face, suddenly feelin’ exhausted just thinking about it.

Had I done the right thing, not tellin’ Arthur the truth about his own mother’s death, I wondered? I figured the kid didn’t need to know the morbid details, or even the entire truth, but I still felt like a piece of shit for not revealing the full story -- especially considering that them bandits who killed Beatrice...killed her ‘cause of me.

I had stolen something from them. Somethin’ valuable. And before it fell into their dirty hands, that “something” apparently belonged to a rich plantation owner who really wanted it back. Ended up gettin’ one of the bandits hanged, and left them thirsty for revenge. But they didn’t have the strength to go after the plantation owner. So, they came after me instead.

They chased me for quite a while. They chased me across the mountains, across the swamps, across the goddamned snow...until finally, they came to their senses and realized there were much better, more convenient ways of hurtin’ me. And thus, their paths diverted to my wife and son.

Those bastards managed to corner her while she was ridin’ to town to do some shopping. Found her on some secluded road between here and the nearest settlement, and ensured she would never return. That was when Arthur went lookin’ for help to find his missing mother hours later, and the sheriff assured him a wolf had gotten to Beatrice.

Christ. I really was a terrible father, weren’t I? Not only did I pay more attention to a bottle o’ whiskey than my own wife, I had also neglected Arthur for years on end, and indirectly gotten his mother killed. And the boy was only eleven.

He had spent half of his life not knowing a damned thing about where his daddy was, or even what he did, only to lose the one parent he already had before he could find out.

Lord...there had to be some way to make this up to him.

I looked back at the boy, suddenly feeling an urge to say something -- anything -- to him.

“Arthur,” I called out, catching the kid’s attention as his head perked up from behind the journal’s pages, “put that damned book away for a moment, will you?”

The boy hurriedly marked his place in the journal with a pen and shut it closed, resting the object on the saddle’s surface as he hung his head low in shame.

“...Sorry, sir.” He murmured.

I shook my head, lettin’ out a concerned breath.

“You spend far too much time in that journal. It was a mistake to buy it.”

Arthur’s eyes wandered to the trees towering around us.

“I’m sorry, dad,” he apologized timidly. “But I like drawing.”

I scoffed. “Yeah? Well, I like Poker. But I ain’t got time to play it. Too busy worryin’ about survival, and keeping the both of us fed. You can’t always do what you want, Arthur. You gotta provide. Things like drawing, gambling...they’re frivolous. We got better things to worry about.”

The child quirked a brow. “Friv-uh-less...? What’s that mean?”

“It means we don’t need to do it,” I explained. “What we do need, however, is to eat. So put that journal away and keep an eye out for deer. You was the one who suggested we come out here in the first place.”

Arthur frowned in a discouraged manner. “Yes, sir.”

I gave him a stern nod. “Good boy. Now...you said you seen a big buck out here?”

The boy pointed ahead. “Yeah. It was by the river.”

I gave the reins a little tug, urging my horse to follow me. “Then that’s where we’ll start. C’mon, Boadicea.”

Continuing our little hunting trip, Arthur and I traveled deeper into the lively woods as creatures of all types scurried around us, rustling blades of grass and alerting the tiny insects that hovered above the plants.

There was a rather peaceful mood to the forest today -- a welcome change considerin’ how chaotic my life usually was -- and I had to admit: some part of me enjoyed being here with Arthur. I rarely ever got to see the boy because of my work as an outlaw, and when I did, he always seemed reluctant to leave the house. Whether that was because he was more of an indoors person, or simply ‘cause he weren’t eager to spend time with me -- I didn’t know. But it was good to be with him regardless.

Approaching the large river, I came to a temporary halt as I crouched down and examined the ground, carefully searchin’ for any tracks that could’ve possibly led us to the buck.

The area here appeared undisturbed -- save for the fish flopping in and out of the babbling water -- and as far as I could tell, there weren’t no deer running around this section of the forest. Not at the moment, anyway. Maybe they were at a different part of the river.

I took a closer look at the grass, only to be torn away from my thoughts when Arthur raised a question.

“Dad?” He asked softly. “Can I...can I ask you something? About momma?”

I paused, thrown off-guard by the sudden change in tone.

“Momma?” I repeated, slowly turning towards the boy. “Why you wanna talk about her?”

Arthur’s expression sank with sorrow.

“It’s just...you knew her better than I did. Or longer, I guess. And I don’t remember her that good. ...Do you?”

I gazed at him in a puzzled manner, admittedly still a bit taken aback by the abrupt question.

“...Clear as day,” I replied, unwilling to sift through the painful memories. “But that don’t matter. She’s...she ain’t coming back, Arthur. No one does, once they die. Ain’t no point in lingerin’ in the past when it can only haunt you. All we can do is move on. You understand?”

Clearly a bit hurt by my response, Arthur dropped the subject and averted his eyes from me, peering over at a nearby gathering of flowers instead.

He slouched despondently. “...I understand.”

That wasn’t good enough for me. I took a step towards him.

“Look at me when you say that, Arthur,” I demanded. “It’s important you look people in the eye when you speak to them.”

The boy brought his line of sight back to me, his face veiled behind a very subtle layer of fear.

He straightened his back a bit. “I understand.”

I nodded in approval. “Good. Now...let’s get back to huntin’ this buck. You sure it was around the river?”

Arthur gazed around. “I saw it this morning when I was playing with Copper,” he confirmed. “It was drinkin’ water right here. That’s when I came to get you.”

I observed the dirt underneath me, squinting my eyes as I searched for clues. The grass in these parts was quite thick, so that made it even tougher to spot fur, or dung -- and I still didn’t see any deer tracks -- but it certainly looked like another animal had been around here.

I kneeled down, shuffling the grass outta the way with my hand.

“It looks like some wild horses might’ve passed through this area,” I examined. “But no sign of deer. Oh, well...the day is still young, and we have some time, so we’ll keep looking.” I gestured to a nearby bridge. “Let’s try over there.”

Grabbing my horse’s reins, I continued to guide it through the woods as Arthur scouted the area for me, his big blue eyes scanning the sharp horizon while the sun escalated in the sky. There was a certain determination in his temperament now, and the longer we carried on trying to locate this buck, the more my son seemed to be enjoying himself.

Perhaps there was hope for us, after all.

“...Dad?” The boy called again, making me flick my eyes to the side. “What if there are wolves out here?”

I encouraged him to stay calm. “Now, don’t you go worryin’ about that. If we see wolves out here, we’ll be fine. We’re armed, we’re fast, and we’re smart.”

Arthur wasn’t convinced. “...Momma was smart.”

I sighed in a melancholic tone at that. “Yes...she was. But...Momma was killed by a different type of wolf.”

He tilted his head in a puzzled manner. “What d’you mean?”

I gestured to my rifle. “Not all wolves are the same, Arthur. Some use their teeth, some use their guns, and some use their tongue. You gotta be able to identify them when you see ‘em.”

The kid didn’t say it flat out, but I could tell he knew what I was really talkin’ about.

“Those sound more like people.” He replied. I let out a gentle chuckle.

“People can be worse than wolves, Arthur. In fact, I’d prefer a wolf over some o’ the people I’ve met.”

Arthur leaned forward in the saddle, his body swaying along with Boadicea’s steady speed.

“What kinda people have you met?”

I lowered my voice, thinking back to the bandits who killed Beatrice.

“Killers. Thieves. Deceivers. Men who will constantly betray each other even though they share the same motive: greed.”

I turned to Arthur with a remorseful look, hopin’ to do at least one right thing in my life, and use myself as a cautionary tale that money weren’t as clean as it seemed.

“...Greed,” I told him, “it breaks people, Arthur. They may not realize it, ‘cause greed can get you far in this world...but the reward ain’t worth it. Not compared to the things you have to sacrifice. In the end, you’ll have tons of cash, only to realize that there are luxuries not even millionaires can afford.”

His innocence took over. “Then why do they do it?”

That was a question I asked myself everyday. I shrugged in a disheartened fashion.

“Because they don’t care. So long as their pockets is heavy, and their bellies is full, they’ll keep on going. But like I said, greed poisons you. It kills you. And you won’t even notice until you’re already sittin’ in a grave. So promise me, Arthur, promise me that when you get to my age...you won’t become a wolf.”

Despite evidently bein’ a little confused, the child was able to make some sense of what I just said and agreed to the promise, reassuring me with a small smile.

“I promise.”

“Good boy,” I praised, bringing my mind back to the main reason we came out here. “Anyway, here’s the bridge. Why don’t you hop down and help me find this buck?”

“Okay.”

Sliding down the saddle, Arthur effortlessly climbed down and joined me, scurrying ‘round like a mouse while he searched for any signs of the buck. But so far, there was nothing in sight.

“See anything?” I checked. The boy shook his head.

I wiped some sweat off my brow, letting out a fatigued sigh. This animal was certainly proving to be a challenge to hunt down. We had already been in this forest for a couple hours now, and our efforts still hadn’t paid off. Part o’ me was almost starting to suspect if Arthur even saw a deer in the first place, and not some other kinda animal.

I decided to take a short break, and turned to ask the boy.

“You positive the buck was roamin’ around in these parts? Or that it was a buck at all? I haven’t seen any tracks so far.”

A soft rustle suddenly reached my ears, interrupting my conversation with Arthur as I reached for my gun, only to be stopped by a sound I didn’t expect.

It was a man’s voice.

“...Don’t even think about it,” the stranger warned, cocking his own gun. “I will shoot if necessary.”

Freezing at the intrusion, I remained perfectly still and didn’t utter a single word as a pair of footsteps steadily approached me from behind, followed by two more men coming in from the front on horseback.

They were all dressed in similar outfits donned with Nevada hats, and I couldn’t help but notice the star-shaped badges shimmerin’ blatantly on their chests.

Shit. These were lawmen. What the hell were they doin’ out here? I never expected the law to travel this far into the country. This was definitely odd.

What really puzzled me though, weren’t the fact that there were three lawmen just...waitin’ for us out here -- it was more the fact that Arthur didn’t seem phased by any of this in the slightest. Just what exactly was goin’ on?

Trotting closer to me, one of the mounted men glowered in my direction as he ordered his deputy to restrain me, his firm, steel eyes never wavering.

I recognized him instantly.

“...Sheriff Buchanan.” I muttered through gritted teeth.

He returned the greeting, scowling from under his hat’s rim.

“Lyle Morgan.”

I shrugged at him, unsure of what to make of the situation.

“What is this shit? What’s the sheriff doing all the way out here?”

Buchanan glanced at Arthur, standing in front of him in a protective manner.

“I told you I’d use every option I had to get you behind bars, Morgan...and I meant it. You made the choice not to heed my warning.”

Taking a second to process what he just told me, the realization suddenly hit me like a bullet to the gut as I stared at Arthur with a sense of immense betrayal, unable to believe what was happening.

There never was no goddamned buck.

Things was never gonna work out for me and Arthur.

This was all a trap.

My own...son...had turned me in.

He was the bait, and Buchanan was the true hunter.

I clenched my jaw in rage, doing my absolute best to shield my emotions as the deputy kicked me to my knees.

“...A-Arthur...?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

The boy looked me straight in the eye, standing adamantly beside Buchanan as his deputies tied me up. I threw a glare at the sheriff, damning him till my last moments.

“You bastard, Buchanan...!” I cursed. “You turned my own damned son against me...?!”

The man showed no guilt and tightened his grip on his rifle, silently advising me to stay back.

“No need,” Buchanan denied. “You drove him to me all by yourself.”

He placed a gentle hand on Arthur’s shoulder and guided him towards the second deputy, ordering them to bring him back to town.

“Clayton, bring the boy back to the office. We’ll figure out where to send him later. For now though, just keep him safe, and look after him.”

“Right away, Sheriff.”

Preparing both his horse and mine for departure, the deputy left Arthur next to the sheriff as the boy stood firmly in place, his innocent yet damaged gaze never leavin’ mine.

Despite the hint of remorse clouding the child’s eyes, it was pretty obvious Arthur felt he made the right decision in turning me in. And just as Buchanan’s second deputy started to drag me away, I couldn’t help but notice a beautiful Whitetail buck wanderin’ around in the distance, its majestic antlers standing out like a crown on a monarch’s head as it bathed in the golden sunlight.

The animal swayed its head in my direction, almost as if trying to communicate with me.

“I’m sorry, dad,” Arthur whispered as he walked towards Clayton, blocking the buck in the process. “...But you made me promise.”

Taking his leave, the boy finally mounted up and steadily trotted away from the scene, only to reveal an empty spot where the buck once stood as he left the forest.

Well...I may have found the buck like I planned, but it weren’t my job to kill it.

And it certainly weren’t my place to look for it.

I could hunt them down to my heart’s content, and kill ‘em all I wanted for my own desires...but in the end, they would always be able to afford the one luxury I’d never obtained.

Peace.