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Description
It was a Dark and stormy night. No, too cliche. This is the story of, hell no, that already sounds bad. He never knew his real family? Ugh, Why is starting a story always so fucking hard?

He was sitting at his desk like he always does before dinner, after homework, and training, football, and everything else people know and expect him to do. It was a part of his routine, when he's alone he has a notebook out and a sketchbook with many crude drawings. He felt he needed to get something out but never knew how to go about doing it. His room was dark and dirty, his jersey, shoulder pads, cleats, and pants were all thrown in the corner along with his football, hoodie, backpack, and everything else from school, his bed had it's mattress exposed as the sheet pulled away from the corners and his blanket was balled up next to the wall, every time he used his desk everything on it gets pushed off to the left of it creating a rather large pile of whatever was on it, there was a stack of plates and cups holding a few days worth of Silverware, part of the reason the family had to start eating dinner together from now on. Posters and drawings covered all four walls, heroes and villains fighting in epic poses and tight suits, little statues of the same heroes standing triumphantly, and a bookshelf full of different "How to Draw" titles and Comics. These were the only things taken care of in his room. The room had to be cleaned eventually and he knew it, he just didn't care, especially if even when he does clean it he will be told it's not good enough.

There was a loud knock on the door followed by annoyed yelling by his sister, "Hurry up lazy, dad won't let us eat without you!"

"What do you care supermodel, you don't eat anyway!"

There was a loud bash as his sister kicked the door and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Despite her caring and "Perfect" personality outside of the house in the house she was little more than a spoiled demon that took way to much joy in pushing her poor brother around. "You need to start eating with us, you're never going to loose all that weight if you keep trying to sneak in the fridge past midnight and you won't get rid of those dark circles around your eyes if you don't sleep."

"Aww, but I like the dark circles, I think they give me character." He laughed as he was half dragged down the hall to the dining room. The house isn't too impressive. It's clean enough, but it showed how different all of the occupants were. On the coffee table in the living room was a make-up kit belonging to the sister that was dragging him. She had bright orange hair in large curls, light smooth skin, shiny yellowish green eyes, and wore very fashionable clothes. He always called her Supermodel or Barbie, but her real name is Bloom Mankato, three year winner of the Midland Teen Beauty Pageant, Ms. Popularity at school, and, if all the drooling idiots were right, the second coming of the Goddess Ashia herself. Bloom believed in all beauty, inside and out, and if there is one thing she hates it's people that waste their potential, that don't try to look and feel their best. Well, that and lying boyfriends, any kind of fighting, being cruel to the environment, even eating too much meat is a red flag to her. Just member one of a "perfect" family.

In the garage was a giant wrench, tools spread out across the entire room in an organized chaos, a furnace, and grinding wheels, a dismantled engine and a few things he couldn't identify well. The garage was more his mom's room than her actual bedroom. His mom Jess Mankato, formally Jess Kuramu or Tigress is a self proclaimed master mechanic, blacksmith, and tinkerer. She is one of the head mechanics in charge of repairing the Tech Region with her dad Leonard Kuramu, because of that she takes very long trips out of town and lost a lot of time with her family, but it's all fine because she's doing what she loves. She is also known for creating weapons for the guard and developing new types of Cores. That's a whole other story though. She's where her daughter got a lot of her looks from having the same orange hair just with dark red tips, same light colored skin, piercing yellow eyes, and a temper able to sent grown men running.

Threw out the hallway hung rewards and certificates. There was one for him for being in Football, and Bloom's rewards for winning the pageants, but most of the hall was dominated by his other sister Liana Mankato. Liana is considered a genius. Her hobbies include studying, making lists, telling other people what they should be doing, and reading erotic novels when she thinks no one is near. She tends to act like the parent more so than the parents which gave her the nickname the Warden. Where Bloom takes after her mom Liana looks like her dad with narrow judgmental grey eyes, light brown hair always tied up in a bun, more tanned skin, and always wearing a secretary outfit, complete with cleavage. Jess and Bloom were flat chested, but Liana was above average, something she considered a valuable asset in manipulating men and showed them off whenever and however she could without looking like a slut, yet she still swears all of her promotions are due to hard work and dedication, seduction is not needed.

In the Kitchen there were a few dishes in the sink soaking in water, a pink apron with a picture of a burger that said 100% Beef, and a deceptively heavy vest sitting beside the fridge. Don't let the apron fool you, the vest was almost 400 pounds of iron sand and both belonged to his dad Max Mankato. At the head of the entire "perfect" family stood Max. He was the champion of the Desert Tournament every year until he was forced to help run the event and not allowed to be a competitor, he was one of the few people to ever get into the Guard with zero elemental or animal powers, just trust me when I say that's a feat, he's known as a hero in multiple regions and despite all of his meat head accomplishments he is a known seer from his mother's side. He has intimidating, very narrow almost empty grey eyes, a light brown mohawk, a strange mark under his left eye, tanned skin covered in a few battle scars, wears heavy pure steel cuffs on his arms and legs, a black tank top, jeans and combat boots with his heavy combat vest. People wanna be like him, they look up to him, people from all over the world come just to get a chance to fight him, and he is known as one of the harshest trainers on the planet. He's a real Bull King to the world, able to cast a shadow on all in his path.

And in Max's shadow he stood. Chaz Mankato. He was built like a bear, rather tall for his age and quite a bit hairier than average, a large belly that refused to go away no matter how active he was, dark red hair, pale yellow eyes with very dark circles under them due to weeks, maybe months without proper sleep and noticeably darker skin than his sister. Despite being born at the same time as Bloom he was born way heavier and stayed that way. He'd never win a beauty contest like her, he'd probably never be well known for inventing something like his mother, he'd never have colleges begging him to join or jobs bowing to him like his older sister, and try as he might, he'll never reach the level his dad was. In this perfect family, Chaz felt that he was just Chaz. From a young age people compared Chaz to his dad. Very strong, just like his dad, he has a bit of a temper, just like his dad, he beat up a kid in school for bullying his friend, just like his dad, he's going to be great, just like his dad. Friends were never hard to find, and the coaches all seemed to be angry when Chaz chose football, but it was the only sport he could think of trying without his belly getting in the way, being a linebacker fit him nicely. Unfortunately a sport about running away from tacklers did not impress Chaz's Wrestler of a dad and Chaz had a hard time teaching him how the game is played and what his job is. Chaz loved drawing. It's a horrible waste of time, time he could be using training, hanging out with friends, or literally anything else. He also likes playing drums in a band with his delinquent beast of a cousin Teper Mankato, someone he was told by coaches and teachers and even "friends" not to hang out with, but whether he likes it or not Teper will probably never go anywhere.Yep. In a perfect family all Chaz had to look forward to is becoming the next Max, it's what is expected from him by everyone. Everyone except Max himself.

"Took ya a while. You're not fallin asleep are ya? Maybe you should rest more, those bags under your eyes are lookin bad son." Max pointed out when Chaz finally found his seat.

"That's what I said, but no, Chaz knows everything. Maybe he should take that IQ test Liana took, bet he'll get a higher score." Bloom was looking at her cell phone. It annoyed Max she always had that thing, but she never ignored anyone so he tolerated it.

"There are lots of things Chaz would excel at if he put in the extra effort. And Chaz, may you take a shower after you're done with dinner, you really should wash up after training." Liana readjusted her glasses and started fixing her napkin, folding it perfectly and placing it just slightly angled next to her plate.

"Why yes Warden, I'll make sure I remember that ma'am, just please don't lock me away" Chaz had a slight smirk that grew slightly seeing his sister's glare hearing her nickname.

"Now Chazzy Bear, no need to be mean to your sisters, they just worry about you is all." Chaz instantly felt a vein pulsing in his neck hearing his mom call him by his pet name. Chaz hated being called Chazzy Bear more than he hated men giving him their phone number to give to Bloom, but Jess thought it was adorable and he had to put up with it.

"Oh, Daddy? Can I go over to a friends house tomorrow?" Chaz silently wondered if Bloom knew she acted cute every time she asked for something or if she did it on purpose.

"Is it a male friend?"

"Yes"

"Then no"

"But daddy, I really like this one, and he even asked his parents if they had any plans so they could watch us. Believe me, I don't get that many dates because people are afraid of you."

"Or because I rip up their numbers." Chaz grinned at his comment. Bloom did not think it was funny but Max gave a small nod of approval.

"Fine, but if I hear about any funny business I'll castrate him myself."

"Moo-Moo" Jess gave her husband a look telling him she hoped it was a joke.

"What I meant to say was, he tries anything funny I'll brake his legs."

"Max!"

Bloom put down her phone, the one sign anyone gets that she's ready to argue, "That's not fair. You never stopped Liana or Chaz from going out on dates or threaten their partners."

"Liana has applications and appointments to set up before accepting a date and when is the last time ya heard Chaz ask me to go to a girls house?" Neither Liana or Chaz were too pleased by their father's remark, "Look, I already said go ahead and I'll hurt him if he hurts my daughter, you don't think he's going to do something stupid do you?"

Bloom picked her phone back up and started angrily scrolling threw her messages, "I don't need you to protect me, I' not a kid anymore I can look out for myself."

"Good to know, I can finally cancel your cellphone bill, it was getting rather expensive."

"Dad!"

Chaz was laughing to himself and finished his food rather fast. When he got up his dad looked up at him, "Ya know boy, there's more in the kitchen if you're still hungry."

"No, I'm good. We all know that no matter how much I eat now I'll start digging in the fridge later. Besides, I was in the middle of something."

Max was a little annoyed but decided not to question it, "Fine, just take Buddy in there with ya. He started barkin and almost ran off, Gear's getting too old to track him down."

Chaz patted his leg twice really loud before the sound of claws rubbing against hard wood ran towards him and a really thick but hyper Dog started jumping on Chaz's Leg. Buddy and Gear were the last members of Max's side of the family. Gear had short mostly black fur with brown markings and dark brown eyes. Old, loyal, obedient, the perfect dog for Max. Buddy on the other hand was shaggy, had white patches mixed in with his black and brown fur and had bright blue eyes, happy, dopey, and playful, Chaz's best friend. Back in his room Chaz was back at his desk. He ignored Liana's command to take a shower and just settled for taking his shirt off and putting on deodorant. He really wanted to get started on this project but didn't know how. Buddy was laying on the bed watching Chaz as he twirled the pencil between his fingers.

"There are many heroes that are proud to show their faces in the light of day, but there are some that can not do that. The ones that do what other heroes can not. The ones that would be considered a villain more than a hero because they dared to try being something different than what is expected. Those are the heroes of the night. Heroes like Jax the Hunter. How's that one Buddy?" Buddy gave a loud bark and wagged his tail happily, looking like he was about to jump, "I'm pretty sure you have no clue what I'm saying, but thanks for the opinion. Welcome to the world Jax. One page down, many more to go."

Description
It was a Dark and stormy night. No, too cliche. This is the story of, hell no, that already sounds bad. He never knew his real family? Ugh, Why is starting a story always so fucking hard?

He was sitting at his desk like he always does before dinner, after homework, and training, football, and everything else people know and expect him to do. It was a part of his routine, when he's alone he has a notebook out and a sketchbook with many crude drawings. He felt he needed to get something out but never knew how to go about doing it. His room was dark and dirty, his jersey, shoulder pads, cleats, and pants were all thrown in the corner along with his football, hoodie, backpack, and everything else from school, his bed had it's mattress exposed as the sheet pulled away from the corners and his blanket was balled up next to the wall, every time he used his desk everything on it gets pushed off to the left of it creating a rather large pile of whatever was on it, there was a stack of plates and cups holding a few days worth of Silverware, part of the reason the family had to start eating dinner together from now on. Posters and drawings covered all four walls, heroes and villains fighting in epic poses and tight suits, little statues of the same heroes standing triumphantly, and a bookshelf full of different "How to Draw" titles and Comics. These were the only things taken care of in his room. The room had to be cleaned eventually and he knew it, he just didn't care, especially if even when he does clean it he will be told it's not good enough.

There was a loud knock on the door followed by annoyed yelling by his sister, "Hurry up lazy, dad won't let us eat without you!"

"What do you care supermodel, you don't eat anyway!"

There was a loud bash as his sister kicked the door and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Despite her caring and "Perfect" personality outside of the house in the house she was little more than a spoiled demon that took way to much joy in pushing her poor brother around. "You need to start eating with us, you're never going to loose all that weight if you keep trying to sneak in the fridge past midnight and you won't get rid of those dark circles around your eyes if you don't sleep."

"Aww, but I like the dark circles, I think they give me character." He laughed as he was half dragged down the hall to the dining room. The house isn't too impressive. It's clean enough, but it showed how different all of the occupants were. On the coffee table in the living room was a make-up kit belonging to the sister that was dragging him. She had bright orange hair in large curls, light smooth skin, shiny yellowish green eyes, and wore very fashionable clothes. He always called her Supermodel or Barbie, but her real name is Bloom Mankato, three year winner of the Midland Teen Beauty Pageant, Ms. Popularity at school, and, if all the drooling idiots were right, the second coming of the Goddess Ashia herself. Bloom believed in all beauty, inside and out, and if there is one thing she hates it's people that waste their potential, that don't try to look and feel their best. Well, that and lying boyfriends, any kind of fighting, being cruel to the environment, even eating too much meat is a red flag to her. Just member one of a "perfect" family.

In the garage was a giant wrench, tools spread out across the entire room in an organized chaos, a furnace, and grinding wheels, a dismantled engine and a few things he couldn't identify well. The garage was more his mom's room than her actual bedroom. His mom Jess Mankato, formally Jess Kuramu or Tigress is a self proclaimed master mechanic, blacksmith, and tinkerer. She is one of the head mechanics in charge of repairing the Tech Region with her dad Leonard Kuramu, because of that she takes very long trips out of town and lost a lot of time with her family, but it's all fine because she's doing what she loves. She is also known for creating weapons for the guard and developing new types of Cores. That's a whole other story though. She's where her daughter got a lot of her looks from having the same orange hair just with dark red tips, same light colored skin, piercing yellow eyes, and a temper able to sent grown men running.

Threw out the hallway hung rewards and certificates. There was one for him for being in Football, and Bloom's rewards for winning the pageants, but most of the hall was dominated by his other sister Liana Mankato. Liana is considered a genius. Her hobbies include studying, making lists, telling other people what they should be doing, and reading erotic novels when she thinks no one is near. She tends to act like the parent more so than the parents which gave her the nickname the Warden. Where Bloom takes after her mom Liana looks like her dad with narrow judgmental grey eyes, light brown hair always tied up in a bun, more tanned skin, and always wearing a secretary outfit, complete with cleavage. Jess and Bloom were flat chested, but Liana was above average, something she considered a valuable asset in manipulating men and showed them off whenever and however she could without looking like a slut, yet she still swears all of her promotions are due to hard work and dedication, seduction is not needed.

In the Kitchen there were a few dishes in the sink soaking in water, a pink apron with a picture of a burger that said 100% Beef, and a deceptively heavy vest sitting beside the fridge. Don't let the apron fool you, the vest was almost 400 pounds of iron sand and both belonged to his dad Max Mankato. At the head of the entire "perfect" family stood Max. He was the champion of the Desert Tournament every year until he was forced to help run the event and not allowed to be a competitor, he was one of the few people to ever get into the Guard with zero elemental or animal powers, just trust me when I say that's a feat, he's known as a hero in multiple regions and despite all of his meat head accomplishments he is a known seer from his mother's side. He has intimidating, very narrow almost empty grey eyes, a light brown mohawk, a strange mark under his left eye, tanned skin covered in a few battle scars, wears heavy pure steel cuffs on his arms and legs, a black tank top, jeans and combat boots with his heavy combat vest. People wanna be like him, they look up to him, people from all over the world come just to get a chance to fight him, and he is known as one of the harshest trainers on the planet. He's a real Bull King to the world, able to cast a shadow on all in his path.

And in Max's shadow he stood. Chaz Mankato. He was built like a bear, rather tall for his age and quite a bit hairier than average, a large belly that refused to go away no matter how active he was, dark red hair, pale yellow eyes with very dark circles under them due to weeks, maybe months without proper sleep and noticeably darker skin than his sister. Despite being born at the same time as Bloom he was born way heavier and stayed that way. He'd never win a beauty contest like her, he'd probably never be well known for inventing something like his mother, he'd never have colleges begging him to join or jobs bowing to him like his older sister, and try as he might, he'll never reach the level his dad was. In this perfect family, Chaz felt that he was just Chaz. From a young age people compared Chaz to his dad. Very strong, just like his dad, he has a bit of a temper, just like his dad, he beat up a kid in school for bullying his friend, just like his dad, he's going to be great, just like his dad. Friends were never hard to find, and the coaches all seemed to be angry when Chaz chose football, but it was the only sport he could think of trying without his belly getting in the way, being a linebacker fit him nicely. Unfortunately a sport about running away from tacklers did not impress Chaz's Wrestler of a dad and Chaz had a hard time teaching him how the game is played and what his job is. Chaz loved drawing. It's a horrible waste of time, time he could be using training, hanging out with friends, or literally anything else. He also likes playing drums in a band with his delinquent beast of a cousin Teper Mankato, someone he was told by coaches and teachers and even "friends" not to hang out with, but whether he likes it or not Teper will probably never go anywhere.Yep. In a perfect family all Chaz had to look forward to is becoming the next Max, it's what is expected from him by everyone. Everyone except Max himself.

"Took ya a while. You're not fallin asleep are ya? Maybe you should rest more, those bags under your eyes are lookin bad son." Max pointed out when Chaz finally found his seat.

"That's what I said, but no, Chaz knows everything. Maybe he should take that IQ test Liana took, bet he'll get a higher score." Bloom was looking at her cell phone. It annoyed Max she always had that thing, but she never ignored anyone so he tolerated it.

"There are lots of things Chaz would excel at if he put in the extra effort. And Chaz, may you take a shower after you're done with dinner, you really should wash up after training." Liana readjusted her glasses and started fixing her napkin, folding it perfectly and placing it just slightly angled next to her plate.

"Why yes Warden, I'll make sure I remember that ma'am, just please don't lock me away" Chaz had a slight smirk that grew slightly seeing his sister's glare hearing her nickname.

"Now Chazzy Bear, no need to be mean to your sisters, they just worry about you is all." Chaz instantly felt a vein pulsing in his neck hearing his mom call him by his pet name. Chaz hated being called Chazzy Bear more than he hated men giving him their phone number to give to Bloom, but Jess thought it was adorable and he had to put up with it.

"Oh, Daddy? Can I go over to a friends house tomorrow?" Chaz silently wondered if Bloom knew she acted cute every time she asked for something or if she did it on purpose.

"Is it a male friend?"

"Yes"

"Then no"

"But daddy, I really like this one, and he even asked his parents if they had any plans so they could watch us. Believe me, I don't get that many dates because people are afraid of you."

"Or because I rip up their numbers." Chaz grinned at his comment. Bloom did not think it was funny but Max gave a small nod of approval.

"Fine, but if I hear about any funny business I'll castrate him myself."

"Moo-Moo" Jess gave her husband a look telling him she hoped it was a joke.

"What I meant to say was, he tries anything funny I'll brake his legs."

"Max!"

Bloom put down her phone, the one sign anyone gets that she's ready to argue, "That's not fair. You never stopped Liana or Chaz from going out on dates or threaten their partners."

"Liana has applications and appointments to set up before accepting a date and when is the last time ya heard Chaz ask me to go to a girls house?" Neither Liana or Chaz were too pleased by their father's remark, "Look, I already said go ahead and I'll hurt him if he hurts my daughter, you don't think he's going to do something stupid do you?"

Bloom picked her phone back up and started angrily scrolling threw her messages, "I don't need you to protect me, I' not a kid anymore I can look out for myself."

"Good to know, I can finally cancel your cellphone bill, it was getting rather expensive."

"Dad!"

Chaz was laughing to himself and finished his food rather fast. When he got up his dad looked up at him, "Ya know boy, there's more in the kitchen if you're still hungry."

"No, I'm good. We all know that no matter how much I eat now I'll start digging in the fridge later. Besides, I was in the middle of something."

Max was a little annoyed but decided not to question it, "Fine, just take Buddy in there with ya. He started barkin and almost ran off, Gear's getting too old to track him down."

Chaz patted his leg twice really loud before the sound of claws rubbing against hard wood ran towards him and a really thick but hyper Dog started jumping on Chaz's Leg. Buddy and Gear were the last members of Max's side of the family. Gear had short mostly black fur with brown markings and dark brown eyes. Old, loyal, obedient, the perfect dog for Max. Buddy on the other hand was shaggy, had white patches mixed in with his black and brown fur and had bright blue eyes, happy, dopey, and playful, Chaz's best friend. Back in his room Chaz was back at his desk. He ignored Liana's command to take a shower and just settled for taking his shirt off and putting on deodorant. He really wanted to get started on this project but didn't know how. Buddy was laying on the bed watching Chaz as he twirled the pencil between his fingers.

"There are many heroes that are proud to show their faces in the light of day, but there are some that can not do that. The ones that do what other heroes can not. The ones that would be considered a villain more than a hero because they dared to try being something different than what is expected. Those are the heroes of the night. Heroes like Jax the Hunter. How's that one Buddy?" Buddy gave a loud bark and wagged his tail happily, looking like he was about to jump, "I'm pretty sure you have no clue what I'm saying, but thanks for the opinion. Welcome to the world Jax. One page down, many more to go."