Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
On a particularly rainy autumn day, Lupo Gollini was born to Deborah Gollini and Daruma Garaki.
“Deby, are you sure it’s a good idea?” Daruma asked hesitantly as his baby boy was currently tied to his mom’s back. “I mean, I don’t think it’s wise to bring a baby to a meeting with other Yakuza captains.”
“Oh don’t worry, darling. I’m sure Lupo is going to be quite the help. Won’t you, baby?” Deborah asked as she tickled her baby’s chin. But little Lupo wasn’t smiling. “Do you think something is wrong with him? He never smiles.”
“We can always visit my father for an appointment.” The father sighed, giving his infant son a kiss on the forehead, before doing the same thing to his wife.
Roberto Gollini didn’t really fit into his family. Out of his three brothers, Christopher, Ugo and Kamile, Roberto got the most along with Christopher. Both of them believed in maintaining honor. Meanwhile Kamile just wanted to please their father, while Ugo was more occupied with the ladies in their hometown in Sicily. Still, he rather starts his own path than remain in his family’s shadow. So at the age of 30, he moved to Japan, joined the Yakuza, met a woman, and by the time he was at the top of his group, the Shie Haisaikai, they had a daughter named Deborah.
And about twenty-three years later, Deborah married a doctor and had her first child, Lupo…who was in the meeting with the other Yakuza captains.
“Can’t you take that brat somewhere else?” Kai Chisaki growled, despite him being here for the same reason Lupo was. Both Deborah and Roberto couldn’t find a babysitter for their kids.
“Stop complaining, Kai. If a little twerp like you can be here, my darling can be too.” Deborah told her thirteen year old adoptive brother, before turning to the other captains. “I’ll cut to the chase, gentlemen. Get out of our territory, or you’ll all sleep with the fishes.” The mother said with a devilish smirk as little Lupo put his grubby hand near his neck before making a slashing gesture.
“No Daruma, there’s nothing wrong with him.” Kyuudai told his son, having just done a couple tests on Lupo. “He’s just a bit gloomy, but he’s not sick. Aren’t you, bud?” The old man asked, tickling his grandson’s chin. “You and Deborah should stop worrying about Lupo. He’s as fine as a baby can be.”
“But he never smiles.”
“And you smiled all the time. And you turned out great.”
“…Thanks dad.” Daruma said with a smile, hugging his dad, which kind of annoyed Kyuudai. Because while he did love his son (not his mother, fuck that gold digging bitch), he didn’t like the tight hugs Daruma gave.
It took a couple years, but Lupo did eventually smile at the right age of five. And all it cost was a dog from uncle Simon on his birthday.
“What do we say, Puppy?” Deborah asked as Lupo was already fully invested into the wolfhound puppy sleeping before him.
“..thank you, unc Simon.” The young boy mumbled as he picked up the puppy and ran to the corner to pet him. But only he was allowed to pet the doggy.
“What are you going to call him, buddy?” Daruma called out as he sat with the rest of his wife’s Italian family, including her creepy cousin Valdo.
“…Waf…Waf suggested it himself.” Lupo said back, like it made a lot of sense. But it didn’t matter, since most of the family laughed at the cuteness. All except for Valdo, who Daruma had actually never seen smile. Hell, Deborah hadn’t even seen him smile once in her life. “I’m going to walk Waf. Dogs need a lot of walks.”
And just like that, Lupo had left his own birthday party, forcing Deborah, who lost the coin toss to her husband, to follow him to make sure he was alright. So she followed him for a bit until they reached a petting zoo, where Lupo was very invested in the chickens, as well as a horned girl.
“Who was your little friend, puppy?” The mother asked with a smirk, only for the teasing to go completely over his head.
“That’s Po. She likes animals too.”
Lupo wasn’t a social child. He didn’t want to be a social child. He wanted to play with Waf, one day own a chicken farm, and maybe join the family business (he didn’t know what his mom did for a job, but she was the main breadwinner). But when he was nine, he was forced to be social.
Because Eri was born, and Lupo immediately liked her. She was basically a breathing, pooping sack of potatoes, which meant Lupo had to carry her around the house, on walks with Waf, and he even took her to school once.
Papa and mama didn’t like that.
But despite her getting him into trouble, Eri was Lupo’s best friend, his little buddy that he sometimes put in the wastebasket because how was he supposed to know cleaning her diaper meant throwing the dirty one away with her NOT in it.
When Eri got a bit older, Lupo even took her chicken hunting. Since he was young (younger than he already was), Lupo knew he wanted a chicken farm. He had no idea why, but he thought chickens were funny, and the way they bobbed their heads made him smile. So when a neighbor’s chicken coop broke, and the birds ran loose, Lupo took it upon himself to catch one.
“Eri, grab it!” He yelled as he cornered a particularly fat hen. The three year old jumped forward with all her might…only to belly flop onto the ground as the chicken ran away. “*sigh* You’re bad at this.” Lupo sighed as he helped the sniffing girl up before dusting off her dress.
But then, Waf lunged forward and caught a chicken between his paws.
“Good boy!” The boy praised, picking up the squawking bird. “See, Eri? That’s how you do it.”
“*sniff* Not fair. Waf’s a dog.”
“Then get a tail and try again.” Hearing this, Eri stomped her foot. But before she could complain, her brother ruffled her hair. “Come on. Let’s catch another one.”
And just like that, she was smiling again.
It was a rare quiet Sunday afternoon, one of the few days Daruma wasn’t called away for work, and Deborah wasn’t tangled up in Yakuza business. Outside, the sound of Eri’s laughter was heard as she played in the backyard with Waf.
Lupo meanwhile was sitting at the table, his notebook open as he tried to draw the dog, the chicken he once chased, and some vague idea of a chicken farm. If he wanted that chicken farm, he had to plan it out.
Deborah was sitting next to him, her hair loose and still damp from a shower, sipping her coffee and watching Eri run around in the garden. "Hey, Lupo.” She called out softly, glancing at his drawing. "You’re drawing chickens again?"
"Yeah," he murmured, not looking up from his notebook.
"One day, you’ll have that farm," Deborah said with a small smile as her husband was leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling. "Maybe he’ll even let us visit his farm one day." He added.
Lupo looked up briefly, giving his father a half-hearted smile. "Maybe." Then he quickly returned to his drawing, his little brow furrowed in concentration. “There are going to be a hundred chickens, laying a lot of delicious eggs because they will have plenty of space. But I won’t eat any of the chicken. And Waf will be a guard dog.”
Then Eri dashed into the room, her little cheeks flushed from running around, and jumped onto the couch next to her father. "Papa! Papa! Waf found a butterfly!" She exclaimed, her tiny hands clapping in delight.
"Did he now? Is he going to catch it?" The father asked with a grin.
“No,” Eri answered, shaking her head. “He just likes watching them. He’s like me.”
"That sounds like you," Daruma agreed, his voice warm. "And what about you, Lupo? Are you like Waf? Watching the butterflies?"
“I don’t like bugs, they keep flying in my juice.”
“…But bugs are important.”
“And mama’s enemies are important too, but mama still pushed the lady into the river with rocks tied to her legs.”
“….M-Maybe you shouldn’t watch mama’s work for a bit.” The two parents laughed incredibly awkwardly as fortunately, this all went over Eri’s head. Instead, she noticed her brother’s serious face, and got an idea. “I’ll catch you a chicken then!”
“You’re not fast enough last time."
"I’ll be fast. I’m bigger now!" Eri pouted before smiling, causing Lupo to smile as well.
One day, Eri got her quirk. But it wasn’t an air one like Daruma, nor one that puts people to sleep like Lupo or Deborah’s. No, it was one that could wipe someone off the face of the earth.
Which she showed by erasing Daruma from existence.
Mama was angry, really angry. And Lupo wanted to be angry too. Papa was gone forever and it was because Eri’s quirk…But one look at Eri told him that his little sister was more upset than ten mama’s combined. So when Deborah left Eri with her father Roberto, she asked Lupo to come with her to Italy, Lupo stayed with Eri at the Shie Haisaikai wity their grandpa, until their ‘uncle Kai’ killed grandpa.
Lupo didn’t know why he did it, as grandpa was a very nice man, but at this point Lupo didn’t care anymore. Instead he took Waf and Eri, and went to their other grandpa. And surprisingly, he didn’t hate Eri for accidentally killing.
“This empty orphanage belongs to me, but has been abandoned since there were a lot of..adoptions.” Kyuudai explained as he showed the siblings their new home. “You two can stay here. I’ll give you food and shelter, and all I want is for Lupo to do some work around the place.”
“L-Like in a fairy tale?” Eri asked as she desperately tried to look for any upside of this situation. And because there wasn’t an upside, Lupo just told her ‘yes’.
“Keep the orphanage tidy, take care of this place in case new kids arrive, and come see me tonight.” Kyuudai told his grandson before turning to his granddaughter. “It’s going to be alright, Eri. We’re just going to train your quirk a bit.” He said with a smile. But Eri wasn’t smiling. Instead, she looked close to tears again.
“B-But I don’t like my quirk.” She whimpered, pushing her face into Lupo’s leg.
“That’s understandable. But it you never train it, you’ll just erase Lupo and me too.”
“….”
“Do a good job, and you’ll get a lollipop.”
“…I want an apple flavored one.”
“Deal.”
After Eri was finally asleep, Lupo went to talk with his grandfather. And honestly, the boy had no idea what Kyuudai wanted from him. Judging from his dad’s stories, it could be good or bad.
“Lupo, I’ve been alive for a very long time. Longer than you might think. And in this time, I have worked for a great man as his personal doctor.”
“Big deal. Dad treated mom’s suckers off the clock too.”
“Well I’m working for someone more important and powerful than Deborah’s little goons. Nobody knows my boss’ real name, not even I do. But we can him All For One.”
“….Is he French?”
“No, not like the musketeers. More like all quirks are for one person, him.” Kyuudai explained, only to see his grandson’s confused look. “Is something the matter?”
“Why would you want to work for a guy who’s villain name is pretty much ‘I’m going to sacrifice and or backstab you’?”
“Well, he believed my theories. And once you get to know him, he’s a wonderful guy.”
“…Is he the reason you and grandma divorced? You know, never mind. What do I have to do?”
“You will become my successor. But before you get hired, you need to prove your worth.”
“And now will I do that?”
“I’m not sure. But you can check my research for inspiration.”
With that, Lupo was allowed to go to bed. Entering his new bedroom, Lupo quickly checked up on Eri, who was sleeping in the same room. Fortunately, she was still asleep, so Lupo could sleep as well.
Dreaming of his chicken farm…That gave Lupo an idea.
The very next morning, Lupo went up to Kyuudai, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and told him. “I want to give a chicken a quirk.”
Kyuudai nearly choked on his coffee. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I read about Nezu. He’s a mouse or dog or bear with a quirk.” Lupo explained. “So why not a chicken?”
The old man set his cup down, staring at his grandson for a long moment. Then, he laughed. A deep, wheezing, real laugh. “Bwahaha! A chicken! Oh, that’s good! Oh, that’s funny!”
“…It’s not a joke.”
“Alright then, Lupo. Let’s see what you can do.” Kyuudai wiped at his eyes, still chuckling.
And so, for the next couple of weeks, Lupo worked. He studied, he experimented, he tried to understand how quirks functioned on a biological level. He even ordered a chicken to alter. A big, strong rooster that Lupo named Calimero.
He even got an egg free.
Calimero was going to be the first animal to artificially be given a quirk, a weak fire one that Lupo got from Kyuudai. And so, when the day finally came, Lupo stood before Kyuudai with Calimero in his arms.
“Alright, I did it. I gave him a quirk.” The boy said proudly before telling the animal to breathe fire, which it did.
But before Kyuudai could even react, another voice cut through the room.
“Impressive, Lupo. You managed to give another creature a quirk in such a short time.” Lupo had never met the man before, but he felt him before he even spoke. The air changed. Grew heavy. Eri would’ve cried if she was in the room. Waf would’ve growled. But Lupo? He just gripped Calimero a little tighter. This had to be All For One. “Consider your exam passed with flying colors.” The man laughed, right before biting off Calimero’s head. “I have a first job for you. I left a body for you in lab B. I want you to rebuild it, since all that was left of him was a jaw.”
With that, All For One left the room, leaving Lupo with the headless corpse of his pet, his friend.
“Maybe..maybe you should take a break for today…I’m proud of you, my lad.” Kyuudai sighed as he gently led Lupo to his room, where Eri was coloring. “Eri, please watch your older brother for a bit. He’s not feeling so good.” The grandpa ordered, taking the rooster’s body from Lupo as Eri got him a clean shirt, since Lupo’s current one was covered in warm bird blood.
And to make things more awkward, that egg Lupo was given when he bought Calimero, he put it in an incubator he also bought. Turns out, there was a chick in the egg.
Looks like there is another orphan.
After Calimero, All For One and Doctor Garaki had another task for Lupo. He had to put a copy of All For One into a random villain to see if All For One could take over his body.
In the end, it didn’t work out, and Lupo had to fly all the way to Nabu to shoot Nine in the face. But apparently, he arrived a bit too late. Because Nine had already started unleashing his overpowered quirk and killed a guy. Making it worse, that guy had kids.
Lupo doesn’t fully remember what happened after that, besides him feeling back for the fellow orphans. But by the end of the day, he was preparing two beds at the orphanage for Katsuma and Mahoro Shimano.
While Lupo and the others were picking up Waf at UA, Eri got kidnapped by ‘uncle Kai’. So Lupo took Waf, Calimero’s daughter Eradicator, and a piglet born with a quirk, which Lupo named Lupo, and returned to his old home. Storming the Shie Hassaikai base wasn’t too hard for Lupo, his dog, chicken, and piglet. There were guards, but these were nothing Gas couldn’t handle. And so, it didn’t take long before Lupo, Waf, Eradicator, and Pinto confronted Overhaul and Chronostasis. Eri meanwhile was being held by Chronostasis.
“B-Big bro?” Eri immediately whimpered.
“Don’t worry, Eri. Big bro got this handled.” The mad chicken farmer said before turning to his ‘uncle’. “Why did you think this was a good idea?”
“Because Eri will be the key to reviving our Yakuza after your mother abandoned us.” Overhaul said coldly, but Lupo wasn’t impressed.
“I can literally not remember a time you weren’t trying to take her position. So it means more like you ran the organization, and almost everyone abandoned you when they learned you were insane.”
“I’m literally the only one that is looking out for the Shie Hassaikai, making sure we’re back at the top.”
“By kidnapping my little sister? Deborah was right. You really are just a spoiled freak!” Lupo yelled as Eri added a timid ‘A-And you killed grandpa’. “That’s right. Why the hell did you kill grandpa?!” He yelled, releasing gas into the hallway in hopes that it worked as a smokescreen.
Unfortunately, Overhaul didn’t fall for it. “Because he couldn’t see the vision!” The new Yakuza captain roared as he touched Lupo’s arm, blowing it off… but this was part of Lupo’s plan… well, it wasn’t, but he could adapt with a single word.
‘Grub’
In a matter of seconds ran towards the distracted Overhaul. And when it got close, its jaw widened as with one bite, it bit off and swallowed Kai’s right arm. And while he screamed out in pain, Pinto ate the other one. At the same time, Eradicator charged towards Chronostasis. After this, the chicken let out a loud screech before a scorpion tail emerged from her tail feathers, stabbing Chronostasis in the shoulder.
“Did you really think I would come to rescue Eri unprepared? I brought along my perfect pets, ones with quirks.” Lupo said with a grin. “Pinto’s quirk is called Food. I had to change it a bit so he wouldn’t eat me, but now he can eat and digest anything. As for Eradicator, a scorpion quirk with paralysis venom, makes her a great guardian.”
“C-Can’t you see?! Now I can’t revive the old man!” Kai cried out as he stared at his stumps.
“Oh please. If you really cared about grandpa, you wouldn’t have killed him when he told you not to diddle his granddaughter. And now look at you. No family, no goons, not even a quirk or hands!” Lupo laughed maniacally as blood streamed down from his own stump. “So tell me this, Kai Chisaki.” He said before getting real close, grinning from ear to ear. Really, this had to be the first time Kai saw Lupo smile. “Are you afraid of the big bad wolf?”
Whether Kai was truly scared of Lupo, nobody would know. But it was clear that he was scared of someone else.
Pinto, who was looking him dead in the eyes while sniffing his cute little snout, its tongue sticking out of its mouth. Clearly, it liked the taste of Kai.
As Kai made a run for it, with Pinto, Waf and Eradicator giving chase, Lupo pulled himself towards Eri. Immediately, the two hugged to the best of their abilities. "It's over," Lupo whispered. "You're safe now. I’ll never let them hurt you again."
“I..I knew you would save me.” Eri mumbled shyly, causing Lupo to laugh.
“Always, sis. Always.” He said as his pets returned. The piglet had uncle Kai’s coat in its mouth, but it had no blood. So that meant that he was still out there. Still, Lupo would just have to deal with that later. So he just left with Eri, Waf, Eradicator and Pinto.
Unaware of a muscular ginger watching him from around the corner. But Lupo quickly noticed him. “What do you want, Buffy?”
"A good fight, kid!” Rappa stepped out of the shadows, cracking his knuckles with an eager grin. “With the boss gone, there's no one left to challenge me. You got someone in mind?"
“….I…might have heard a rumor about a group that fits you.”
“So he took a bit of Eri’s blood.” Lupo concluded as he and Kyuudai did some tests of Eri. Mahoro and Katsuma meanwhile were waiting outside the room.
“It appears so. Though with no arms, I don't think that twerp will be able to do much. He’s basically just Waf’s upcoming diner.” The grandpa chuckled. “By the way, UA called. They want you to help train those students again, and I accepted for you.”
“…If I get a prosthetic arm with a finger gun, we got ourselves a deal.”
“*sigh* Add you finally finishing Todoroki to that.”
“Heard that, lambs? Big bro Lupo is getting a finger gun!” Lupo cheered, which the kids did as well. “Good, now off to bed. I’ll be there in a second.” He then sends the kids off to quickly check on the big room he turned into a chicken coup. Waf was sleeping in front of the door with extra food. All fifty chickens, plus Eradicator, were sleeping comfortably. And Pinto was snoozing in his little bed. So Lupo returned to the kids’ bed room, where Eri and Katsuma begged him for a bedtime story.
Mahoro meanwhile acted like she was too old, but she clearly didn’t mind.
So Lupo grabbed a short story Deborah refused to read to him when he was little.
The seven little lambs and the wolf. A short fairytale where the little lambs were saved from the evil big bad wolf.