It was a day as any other. Japan was quite the peaceful and quiet country, specially after all might had finally stabilized the whole region, nearly 20 years ago. That was the main reason the Jung household moved there.
After all, the current matriarch couldn't help but want to revisit the place of origin of their bloodline, even if it meant abandoning Italy. Not like they didn't visit on the holidays, and summers, but she lived most of the time in the Asian nation.
It was specially though to leave the position of CEO of the family hero agency, Passione, but they were the main shareholders so most of the benefit went to their pockets. So as expected and coupled to a vast real state ownership through Italy, she could live a happy family life with his son and husband.
However she was slightly tired by the fact her kid was quirkless. No matter how many times she had asked, there was no way to make someone quirkless get one. Of course some shady people offered dark deals but she refused them. After all the devil might offer you help, but sure as hell he doesn't want to help you. And that coupled to him being a European looking foreigner distanced him even more from kids his age.
He wouldn't be bullied, as the private institution wouldn't mess with their top donor, but she feared him being alone In the world. Worse he seemed to adapt well to it, like didn't need it. She knew he was strong, but that strength was isolating him more from his own emotions.
That aside, today was specially bad. Her child was sick, like really sick. He usually was really healthy, but today he had woken up with a frightening high fever, his body really hot, sweating everywhere.
It lasted for days, even when the fever calmed down, he told them ho he felt pain everywhere, while trembling.
It was a painful week for him, and his parents, as even the most capable doctors couldn't really point out to any specific illness.
And somehow at the end of the seventh day it stopped.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Johan was a 12 year old as any other. Well not really, first he was quirkless, so that put him in a minuscule part of society which didn't have some kind of ability. Second, he wasn't like any other of his classmate's, his looks were too different, his cheeks, jaw and eyes were like day and night when compared to his peers. It was bad, like really bad.
At first he honestly didn't care about being quirkless, his ambitions weren't that grand, he wanted to be a writer and travel around the world in search of inspiration. Ever since he became able to read, he wanted to write books, but when everyone around you wants to be a hero, and you don't even have a chance to think about it, it feels horrendous.
He longed for the end the school term, so they would go on vacation outside Japan, maybe on America, the family state in Italy or his father hometown In Germany. Anywhere but Japan.
Most adults were nice, but the other kids were mean, and he felt it was without reason. He hadn't done anything to them, but they kept their distance towards him, shooting harmful glances over their shoulders while not subtly criticizing him.
At some point point it stopped making him feel sad. But it bothered him, annoyed the heck out of him. If only he had a tiny speck of an ability to make it stop.
In his heart however he wanted something so strong that they would never bother him again. But he knew it was futile, the possibility of him being a late bloomer was so small. The old doctor had told him so.
Then he came back from the holidays, a few weeks before the school opened its gates again, and got terrible ill. And when he finally stopped being sick Johan realised he felt.. different.
But he never imagined how right he was about it.
Johan left his comfy castle themed bed, and went directly to the bathroom, his breath smelled horrible after so many days in bed, he realised that it must likely was far into the night as the house was in total darkness. That and his father snoring was quite loud.
He turn on the lights, grabbed his toothbrush, put some toothpaste and started brushing.
His mind wandered different themes, like the last remake of classic films ( like two hundred year old films ), the last heroes to make a great debit here in Japan, and the prospect of playing some online games with his european cousins.
Then his mind stopped, for a second he put attention and found that his face looked slightly different. His hair was still black, his cheeks looked the same and his eyes.. his eyes weren't green anymore. Instead now they were red, but not any red, they felt powerful and deep, they were crimson.
'...crimson, King Crimson... say it..'
Johan felt in a trance, a deep and masculine voice spoke to him in Italian, asking him to say...
[King Crimson]
Then, In the bathroom mirror a figure slightly bigger than him started to appear, a crimson body, crossed by white stripes meanwhile his hands were fully white. His face was the last to appear, fully white with a smaller face in his forehead, both of them locked in an scowl like expression.
He should have felt terrified, but somehow this being was connected to him. He knew it, not to say that it appeared at his command. He thinks of it and it raised his hand into a fist and Johand extended his own and bumped it. This was his teammate. His own power. His quirk. A tear falled from his eye.
Then he went on and hugged King Crimson with all his strength. The last one was surprised, however his scowl receded for a second and hugged the kid back
As if remembering something Johan stopped the hug abruptly. Turning around and without ending brushing his teeth he run up to his parents bedroom.
"MOM! MOM! DAD! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED!"
Fair to say both of them were a few strands away of a heart attack that night.