Six Years before the USJ Incident

The night was dark, with not a single star in the sky. The city was almost equally as pitch black as the sky, but that was offset by the different types of lamps expelling lights like miniature suns. Yet, these small stars were not strong enough to completely fight off the darkness, instead they created pools of light that offered some illumination against the inky blackness. The air was crisp like mint and with the temperature being low enough to see one's hot breath.

Among the many ponds of electric radiance was a pool that had a sun-bleached bench crammed dead in the center of the circle of light. A reverberation of flesh upon concrete violently ripped the silence to shreds as a figure emerged from the ocean of ink and wobblily stepped into the island of light. The figure was a boy, who was clearly not a day over the age of six, and his appearance indicated a life of hardship. He was extremely filthy with dirt and grime caking over every bit of his exposed skin. His clothes were baggy, over two sizes too big for him, and were a patchwork of poorly maintained scraps of clothing. Underneath his clothes was the skeletal frame of boy at the brink of starvation with sunken and yellowish flesh stretched tightly over his small frame. It seemed to be a miracle that the poor could even move in the first place with a body that was nothing more than skin and bones.

The boy continued on with his wobbled walking until he reached the bench, and with aa great effort, he somehow managed to pull himself on the seat of the worn furniture. The boy huffed big gulps of air as if he had just sprinted for a mile. Once his breathing slowed, the boy begun to shiver as the coldness of the air had finally sunk its fingers into his form. The days of summer were drawing to a close, and the cold winter was drawing closer like a pungent poison. And much like any poison, it was fatal when it finally reached the heart. The boy curled himself into a ball in a vain attempt to keep himself warm against the chill invading his body. But…

…It was likely he would not live to see the sun rise again. Dried tears fell from the face of the boy as he silently prayed to any god that would listen to him, to send someone, anyone to save him. But like countless times before, he was met with silence.

Click Clank, Click Clank, Click Clank

What was that sound?

Click Clank, Click Clank, Click Clank

It sounded like metal being dropped on concrete.

Click Clank, Click Clank, Click Clank

Was it getting closer or was all just in his head?

…

Silence?

"You are awfully young to be out here in the cold and the dark, child? I hope you know that villains love to come out at night, and these streets could be quite…dangerous.", a said voice in a tone that was both a warning and a scold.

The boy's head shot of out his curled form and frantically looked for the voice of his visitor. Directly in the path he was originally walking towards was the shadowy figure of an adult. But the adult was just outside the reach of the light and was cloaked in the murky darkness hiding most of his features. Except for a pair of glowing yellow eyes that looked more like the small lights on a Christmas tree than a pair of human eyes. He couldn't help but think of that he was being watched by some monster that had been roaming in the dark.

The creature with yellow eyes seemed to have noticed the discomfort in his body language or perhaps the terror in his face because it then did something that surprised the young boy.

"Don't be afraid child. I only wish to take a seat on the bench and have a word with you. But if you would prefer, I will stay right here where you can see me.", the creature said with a voice that sounded like synthesized ticking.

The boy hesitated at the offer and wanted to remain silent, but something deep down told him to answer the creature. "P-Please stay right there." The boy replied with a hoarse voice laced with fear.

"As you wish.", the voice replied, "And if I may ask, why are you out here in a place like this dressed like that? One does not see a homeless child unless there is a good reason for it."

The boy choked at that question and did not answer it.

"It is fine, child. I will not judge you for the reason, but you can talk to me because I only wish to help you. And I cannot help you if I do not know the cause." Replied the voice.

Whether it was desperation or the honey that was laced among the words, the boy somehow found himself divulging the voice in his life story. He was just any like any child a little over a year ago: a loving mother and father, plenty of friends, and warm bed and full belly. That was until his quirk manifested on his last birthday. He was born with a villain's quirk, and his life turned upside-down, like it was all just a dream that turned into a nightmare.

His friends shunned him like he was carrying a dangerous and contagious disease, his loving parents became distant and cold, and from there things got worse. He was actively bullied by his peers and his students, while his parents become increasingly hostile and violent. It all cumulated to the point where he woke up one morning to find himself alone in an alleyway in a city that he did not recognized. He would tell the voice about him vain attempts to survive on the streets of this city, and how his condition would get worse as time went on. No one would help him in his blight, most would ignore him or would wave him off saying a hero should do the job, apathy at its finest. Throughout the entire story, the voice remained silent and the yellow eyes remained fixed upon his small frame. By the end of it, the boy felt exhausted as tears he didn't know he still had fell from his bloodshot eyes. Then he curled back up into a ball waiting for the same treatment he had grown to expect the past year or so.

"What is your quirk child? The so-called villain's quirk?" the voice asked with an eager curiosity

The boy gulped, "I can cause people to have extreme pain by touching them, they said a scary villain from the place I was born had a quirk that was like mine."

A brief moment of silence ensued as the yellow eyes seemed to flicker in the dark.

"What is your name child?" the soothing voice said.

"M-My name is Kurai." Kurai said with a tint of fear.

"I would like to help you young Kurai. Not just with your life on the streets, but also with the quirk that brought you so much misery.", said the voice with a fatherly concern.

Kurai's eyes widened at the voice's offer of help, "Y-You can?"

"Yes, and so much more than what you can imagine, but only if you come with me." The voice replied.

"A-Are you a hero?" Kurai asked with curiosity.

The voice hesitated for a moment, "No, I am not a hero. I am many things young Kurai, but above all else, I am a doctor and I wish to heal you."

Kurai's eyes widened after a realization had hit him, "W-What will you do to me?"

"It is better that I show you than tell you." The voice replied.

With the familiar sound of clank click, the shadowy figure stepped out of the inky darkness and into the bright island of light. The figure was clearly a man, but not a man that Kurai has ever seen before, not even among heroes. The figure was wearing a black trench coat made from a strange and unknown fabric along with a long red poncho that functioned more like a cape; along with a pair of grey trousers that reached his knees before being concealed by a pair of metal boots and leg guards. The figure's face was concealed by a metallic mask that looked like it was pieced together by various shapes of metal with the only contrasting feature was a head of slicked back dark green hair. However, this was not the most striking feature of the man, it was two things in particular were most striking. One was the thin pipe-like limb that ended with a hand that was attached at the right shoulder of the man adding a third hand and arm to his body. The second was the fact that man was seemingly made of metal, with not a speck of human skin on his body. The metal man also carried a walking stick that was adorned with all manner of wiring and circuitry that he leaned heavily upon. It was like the man was a one of the robots that Kurai remembered seeing in those old films or that robot hero that made his appearance just before Kurai was born.

"This is the future I offer you, young Kurai. A new body, a different point of view, and a new home and family to go along with it.," The man proclaimed, "Come with me and become something more than human, become something greater, but…this is only if you accept my offer. I will not force my gift upon those who do not desire it, it is entirely your choice young Kurai."

The metal man's third limb moved and extended towards Kurai in the gesture of a handshake. Kurai was torn. What the man offered seemed crazy almost impossible, but at the same time Kurai's prospects weren't looking good anyway. And this man, who ever he was or what he wanted, was the first and only person that did not judge him for his quirk and actually wanted to help the boy rather than leaving him to his misery. Kurai subconsciously begun to reach his little hand out to touch the metal hand of the man, but instinct kicked in and Kurai hesitated to touch him.

"W-Will it hurt?" Kurai asked meekly

"I will not lie to you young Kurai. It will not hurt, in fact, you won't feel a thing. But it is possible that you won't survive the process." The man stated.

"W-What about my quirk? Will I still have it?" Kurai added with horror in his voice.

"No, you will not have it anymore. Quirks have no place in the home that I created, they bring nothing but misery and pain.", The man said in a low voice.

Kurai didn't know what possessed him to grab the hand of the metal man. Was it the cold and hunger that was wracking at his little boy and escape from it was just too enticing? Maybe it was because he would finally be rid of the horrible quirk that how snuffed out his happy life at such a young age. Perhaps it was merely the fact that this man had treated him like proper human being rather than some vile splotch with legs. Whatever the reason, it was more than enough for Kurai to make the choice, and even more so was the fact that the man did not cream out in agony when Kurai's hand met his.

"I am glad that you made the right choice young Kurai.", the man said with pride on his synthetic voice, "But it is only fair that I tell you my name before we return home."

Kurai raise his eyebrows in surprise, "Y-Your name?!"

"Of course, young Kurai. You need to call me something after all.", The man said with bemusement, "My name is Mechanicus, but you may call me Shujin."

Hello my readers. I know what I said concering the writing schedual, but I just was really inspired to write another chapter this week. So basically that is what I did. I plan on having the next chapter or so have a little build up before going into the cannon events to add that extr background to the story before Class 1-A is flung into conflict, so look forward to that happening. Anyways, if you have any thoughts or theories, or just want to show your support for the story; you know where to do it. I hope you guys enjoyed this week's chapter. Next time on Mechanicus, The Doctor meets the Devil.