A/N: I would like to apologize in advance for the excruciating amount of detail in this chapter, but I feel this needed a little bit of world building, so what can you do?

This chapter is meant as an introduction to this character and his relation to the events precedent to MHA. There are also some clues as to a couple of quirks that he possesses.

By the way, if any of you guys see any mistakes please tell me, I tend to forget to write down some words when I form sentences, and I'm too lazy to edit when I finish. I could also use some advice on dialogue and how to make it seem more natural, as dialogue is something I definitely should improve.

Additional tags are Drama, Hurt, Romance and Comfort. Enjoy.

The heavy rain poured on onto the empty streets, the darkness of the night adding a touch of serenity to the otherwise boisterous noise and fast, rhythmic pounding of the water droplets on the hard pavement. Thunder roared in the dense greyness of the clouds, while meager bolts of lightning shone in the distance, claiming the area of the city as its own for the duration of the long night.

The roads, the alleys, the shops and anything outside of the humble abodes of the city's populace were devoid of any sign of life, the people having already scurried into their respectful living spaces in the time that news of the current storm had been announced. Even with the aggressive showers that poured on outside, the lights of every apartment building and house were shut off, indicating that the people had found rest within their homes in the intense rain.

However, such a thing couldn't be said to a lone child, running aimlessly in the barren city.

The pitter patter of the rain resonated in his hearing, being a suitable distraction from his overwhelming thoughts and visions, relaxing the boy enough to concentrate on his journey. His teeth gritted as the puddles of water that his feet stomped on dampened his clothing more than the rain did, making his plain white T-shirt and jeans cling to his juvenile figure. The gloves he wore were among the most wet of his clothes as he kept them locked tight on his arms, afraid that his quirk might hurt someone.

Despite this, the young man persevered through the tempest, even with no idea of where he was going. All he wanted to do was go in the opposite direction of where he was running from. He patted his left pocket, taking precautionary measures as to be be mindful of the important and only object that resided in his jeans, making sure that it wasn't damaged the rain in any way.

Though he had to be thankful for the storm. Even if it was still evident in his clothes, the blood on his damp, black hair and his face had been cleansed, and the empty streets provided him with a clear path where he didn't have to fear encountering anyone that would stop him and wonder what a bloodied child was doing running around.

However these thought were only brought to him by something else.

'Turn left in this alley,' a gravely deep, yet familiar voice rang in his mind, causing him to slow down slightly to pay attention to the alley in question. With a sharp turn, the boy darted down to the alleyway, which, with the exception of the entrance, was bare of any sign of rain within, bringing a sense of peace to the distressed child as he kept on. Part of him still wanted to continue with the prior path ahead, but the voice that spoke out was a voice he trusted more so than himself.

Never in a billion years would he ignore someone that had helped him retain his sanity throughout his past.

'Tha-'

'You may thank me later, young one. For now, focus on reaching safety,' the dark voice interrupting the incoming gratitude of the child. Even so, the boy nodded at it, the stench of the rusty dumpsters and trash bags invading his nostrils, momentarily twisting his face into disgust, gagging audibly as he felt his throat clog. His eyes watered as the smell intensified along the alley, continuing on with the objective it set out for him as it told him to go right at the end of the alley and onto oncoming rain.

The little exchange between the two entities diminished the adrenaline the drove the boys aching body, the consequences of the long time running finally reaching the boy's mind. His legs burned fiercely, the white pain becoming more present with each pool pounding step. His ragged breathing caught up to him as his lungs desperately tried to fill themselves with air again with every wheezing inhale and exhale. With an ever intense heart pumping, he felt like his chest would burst with beat as he struggled to maintain his composure.

The boy carried on as much as he could with his hounding pain, but, with a gasp of air, he eventually collapsed onto the concrete sidewalk, his face falling flat on a more shallow puddle. His body protested when he attempted to get up with shaky limbs, only to fall back down with another splash.

His breaths were heavy and in quick successions, enough to split the noise the intense rain with its sound. He closed his eyes as they burned from exhaustion and dirty water. The boy couldn't do anything besides lay there as his entire being remained unmoving, the non-stop running with no breaks having caught up with the child, visible through the spasming of his young muscles on tempo with his hasty gasping.

"Akuma…" the boy called out weakly in desperation to the only person that he could.

'Netsui-kun, you must rise up and keep moving forward. If he finds you here as you are, all of our efforts shall become null, and there is no telling what his punishment for such a heinous act will be,' the voice reasoned with the child, trying to motivate the fallen boy into fleeing the scene. 'Please, fight the pain.'

"But it hurts… it hurts so much," he said in a shaky tone, letting his built up sadness flow out in the form of hot tears down his cheeks, drowning out the immense rain that flooded the now deeper pond the child laid in. Akuma noticed the previously visible veins nearly popping from the boy's epidermis had now shifted back to their normal position under the skin.

In the boy's mind, Akuma sighed inwardly at this, feeling pity and empathy towards Netsui. It was a hopeless effort on his part to reassure him to get up. After all, any pain that Netsui felt, Akuma felt as well, with them sharing the same body, and it told him that he had excelled way past the limitations that his nine year old legs set. He commended his efforts to stay up throughout the night.

In the midst of the storm brewing, Akuma heard what sounded like, if his years of experience taught him well enough, a conflict up ahead. 'Netsui, do you at least summon the strength to raise your head up? I believe I heard something,'

With the last remaining strength in his system, Netsui turned his head upwards to look at the other side of sidewalk, a few blocks away from him.

As Akuma had suspected, there was a fight going on in the distance between two figures; one had a torn cape that covered most of his body, while the other towered the other in both stature and width. Regardless of this, the caped figure pummeled the tall one, with the tall one swinging his arms wildly and not getting one hit in. Eventually, the caped figure sent a finishing blow to the nape of the tall figure's head while it was bent over from another missed hit, causing him to go down with an audible thud.

Akuma looked on at the caped figure, its mouth protection mask and its hair with one long spike in the front appearing as he turned. 'I recognize that individual!' Akuma exclaimed with widened 'eyes'.

"Huh?" Netsui groaned out with a sob, trying to make sense of his only companion's sudden shift of volume, and his increasingly difficult vocabulary. Before any thought came to his mind, he felt a surge of energy emanating in his being, jolting him from his saddened stupor. "Akuma, what're you-"

'Go to that man and ask for help,' Akuma commanded with newfound purpose that left the child stunned.

"What?! B-but Akuma, I-I-I ca-can't do that. Did you even see that? What if they… th-they…" he trailed off as his sadness came back along with the painful memories of his escape.

Akuma, however, didn't need for him to finish to understand what he meant. 'Netsui,' the child felt his right shoulder warming up, his friend's way of calming him down and assuring him of his intentions. 'Trust me when I say this; we… you can't survive long in this rain. You need shelter. You need a home. And I know you don't know where you are, so you need to put your trust in others to help you. Your father may have had some… bad things to say against heroes, but you've personally seen how he works and what kind of man he is, so you shouldn't listen to what he has to say. It's okay to rely on others on occasions, don't let your father's words change that fact.' Akuma proclaimed, dumbing down on his words to make sure the young man understood fully.

Netsui looked down at Akuma's speech, pondering on his limited options, before bringing his attention back to the caped individual, who was now carrying the tall figure, that had somehow shed his width and was now lean. "I don't want him to hurt me," he meekly responded, becoming unsure of the caped figures if he went through with his friend's plan. After the beatdown he witnessed, he was once again frightened for his life.

'Netsui, I cannot promise you that he won't hurt you,' Akuma admitted shamefully, quickly regaining his bearings. 'Nevertheless, I am able to promise you that, if such a thing were to occur, I shall be here to share the pain you receive,' the disembodied stated in the most selfless tone he could muster.

Netsui kept his gaze set on the caped figure, still hesitant on the final decision that was brought down. His best friend's words - the ones he was able to interpret, while the rest he could guess - resonated deep within his mind, bringing him back to the memories of the few good times he ever had, most of which were prompt by Akuma's influence.

'Akuma…' Netsui checked his pocket again to see the state of his device. After finding it suffered no apparent damage, he sighed in relief.

'Hmm?' Akuma raised a 'brow' at Netsui's change of communication from vocal to mental.

'Thank you…' Netsui thought, smiling tearfully, with a building bravado.

Akuma paused for a moment to take in the boy's words, before chuckling lightly with 'grin'. 'Anytime, my friend.'

With a determination that outshadowed the doubt in his heart, the little boy stood up completely against the crashing rain, the energy Akuma transferred to him having an immediate effect on him as he was filled with vigor. He took off to a sprint for the caped figure that had distanced himself ever more than previously, yet instead of dejection, it motivated Netsui more. He just hoped that his shoulder length hair would cover the horns.

When he was in his father's lab - that stupid, evil lab - he very rarely got to meet other people that weren't associated with his dad or that were forced to be there. The only times where he had set foot outside were on very few and far between, and when he did, he could go so far as his father had restricted him with his many boundaries.

Not to mention all the experiments… and the screams...

Netsui shook his head. Now was not the time to think of those things. What he wanted - no, what he needed to do now was go to that man, that get help, just like Akuma said. One step after the other. One puddle splashing after another raining torrent. Whatever struggles that laid ahead of him, as long as he had his fellow mental roommate by his side, nothing would-

He jerked back suddenly, completely stopping in his sprint as he coughed out loudly into his hand, feeling a warm liquid escaping his mouth and onto his fingers. as he looked down at his hand, he saw blood, his blood, unlike the blood from before.

'Akuma?' the boy called out in thought to his friend. However, this time he received no answer from the disembodied voice. Just silence.

He knew what this meant. He knew what was happening.

He heard footsteps coming to him nearby, and with slow gape to the source of steps, he looked at the caped figure, now closer to him and gawking at the young man, but his blurring vision didn't allow him to identify any remarkable feature besides his spiked red hair.

"He-e-elp… me…please," he was able to let out in a tone close to a whisper before succumbing to unconsciousness.

And that's it for the prologue. Now you all might be wondering; Climating, you beautiful man you, this story has such an interesting premise with a ton of potential and originality. How did you come up with it?

Well let me tell you, fellow stranger…

I don't remember.

…

*clicks tongue*

Expect the chapters following this one to be longer. Bye!