Chapter 0: Muramoto Yamamoto

"You poor thing…"

The boy looked down at the wounded kitten, laying in a pile of garbage in filth. He knelt down, smiling down at the animal as it looked back up to him. The boy kept a smile on his face, looking at it as he gently brought his hand to the ground and slowly towards the feline cub before him. The kitten looked at the boy, its scarlet red eyes looking into the boy's soft, deep blue irises.

"It's okay…no need to worry, I won't hurt you."

The kitten kept its eyes on the boy's still, but slowly brought its nose down to sniff the boy's welcoming hand. The scent of the boy seemed to relax the kitten, causing the boy to smile as he let the kitten sniff and soon lick his digits as a sign of acceptance to the human child. With this established, the boy slowly brought other hand to his bag to his side, taking what seemed like a piece of meat wrapped in leaves. Gently he took the leaves off, giving it to the kitten as the kitten did not hesitate to start biting at the small piece of red meat given to it. The boy sat down, though slow enough not to startle his new friend. As he watched the kitten eat, he too took a piece of meat out of the bag for himself. But this one seemed to be cooked. He sat and ate with the kitten, smiling at the creature as it ate some much needed nutrients the kitten was lacking.

The two sat there for a while, the boy offering small portions of the meat to the cat so as to not let it choke itself by overeating. As the time went by, so did the people walking by to see the off sight.

A bystander saw what he could only assume was a feral kitten laying in some trash, a thick black fur with white paws. No older than a few months it seemed. The odd sight was more of the child. The boy seemed no older than eight, but had defining muscles on his body already as if he had been training at such a young age. His hair was wild and untamed, brown with hints of blonde scattered through the mane covering down to the boy's shoulders. It looked disgusting, mud and what looked like twigs mixed with the flowing locks. The boy himself was only wearing what seemed like shot, tattered jean shorts and ruined sneakers with his toes practically poking out. He wore no shirt, leaving only his defined muscles to be exposed as he happily fed the kitten.

The boy looked at the man, revealing his deep blue eyes that were accompanied by a deep scowl of annoyance. The man gulped, going to leave the boy to his own devices as he practically ran down the street to avoid the gaze. Because to that man, that gaze was like seeing a predator looking at its prey. The boy chuckled, turning to the kitten and bringing the bag before it. He showed that he had made space for the kitten, a small fluffy fabric on the bottom of the sack along with more wrapped meat. The kitten looked up at the boys, looking into his eyes once more before trying to get up only to fail as it whined in pain. The boy looked down and saw the broken leg of the kitten that it hid this entire time. He sighed, bringing a hand slowly to the kitten's leg and smiling as he focused on the broken limb. The kitten winced in pain, only to feel the pain stop as it looked at its leg and the boy's hand. The hand against its shattered limb was glowing a soft, warming green that seemed to slowly heal the kitten's leg.

The boy took away his hand, smiling as he motioned for the kitten to try again. The kitten moved hesitantly, finding itself able to stand again before looking back to the boy. The boy simply kept his smile, again offering the bay to the kitten. "If you come with me, I promise more treats. I'll look after you like you were my own."

The kitten's eyes seemed to water, looking back down to the bag before slowly climbing inside and nuzzling itself into the warm fabric that layered the bottom of the bag. The boy smiled, standing up and gently taking the bag back over his shoulder before turning away from the alley and heading towards the forests at the city's edge.

~~Forests of Mt. Takao~~

The boy gently walked into the cave hidden within the forests surrounding Mt. Takao, the mountain not far from Tokyo itself. He gently put the bag down, letting the kitten see the new home. The cave was spacious enough, and seemed to have a campfire along with what looked like a pile of leaves and branches that acted as the boy's bed. He smiled down at the kitten as it walked out of the bag and looked around. However, as it did, a bark was heard coming to the cave's entrance. The kitten jumped and ran back into the bag, hiding in fear while the boy chuckled and gently picked up the cat in his hands. He turned to the cave entrance, smiling at the dog as it came into the cave along with what seemed to be a medium sized bear.

The dog was that of pure white fur, but seemed to defy the albino trait it has and instead of red eyes, it had the eyes of almost pure gold. To this day, the boy could not figure out what species of dog it was due to its unique fur and eyes. And he knew better than to take them to humans that could take it away from him. The bear, on the other hand, was that of a typical Japanese Black Bear. Though it was smaller than its usual species size, it was mostly due to the fact it was still young in age. The bear and dog came to the boy, sniffing and smiling at him as he could see the new animal in their den.

"Now you two, this is our new family member. Tajima, Yoshida…this is Ozawa." The boy said with pride in his voice as he gently put down the kitten now named Ozawa. He figured out she was a girl when he picked her up, and decided to give her a name that he seemed would fit her: Joyful Child. The dog,Tajima, brought it's nose down to sniff the kitten it's father had brought home. The bear, Yoshida, simply sat on his rear, looking down at the kitten but keeping a distance. Ozawa turned to the boy, unsure what to do. The boy smiled and nodded towards the two other animals in the cave with them. The cat seemed to nod in understanding, turning back to Tajima who wagged his tail in enjoyment as he saw the cat look at her. With some hesitation still in her bones, she leaned her head forward and likced the dog's nose. Tajima barked in joy and started running around the cave, his vigor infectious to the kitten as it couldn't help but run around and play with her new brother. The boy chuckled at the display, but quickly turned to the bear. He couldn't help but grow a bit annoyed as Yoshida took the time to dig its muzzle into the boy's bag and start munching on the meat within. "Yoshida!"

The bear brought its head up in a quick jolt, the bag on his head as he was caught red handed as the scraps of leaves dropped from the bag. Revealing the hungry bear ate all the food he had left. The boy sighed as he took the bag off Yoshida's head and put it on the floor before going to his makeshift bed and reaching behind it. He pulled out a crude, wooden makeshift bow and some primitive looking arrows tipped with stone. He held the bow's grip tightly with the few arrows he had left nestled in that grip before he made his way out of the cave. He needed to hunt for his family.

~~Mt. Takao forests, hour later~~

The boy gently walked in the foliage and underbrush of the forests surrounding his home, his bow in hand with an arrow knocked but not drawn as he hunted the woods for prey to sustain not only himself, but his companions waiting for him back in his cavern home. He was their guardian, protector, and caretaker since none of the beasts that house with him are capable of hunting. Yoshida, the bear that ate the bits of meat he had left earlier, had a very poor sense of smell due to an incident with an angry hiker when he was much younger. The poor bear's snout never recovered from the man's acidic spray his quirk fired out at him. Tajima was far too domesticated, or at least that's what the boy thought since the hound never seemed to want to harm anything, from the smallest mouse to the grazing deer, the dog never so much as barked at them. And of course their newest member, Ozawa, was just a kitten. A fragile, malnourished kitten that was likely either born in the cruel streets of modern society or was abandoned by a family for one reason or another that the boy doubted could be justified. He hated his own race, seeing humans as nothing more than greedy, vain creatures in the grand scheme of the world. It's one of the many reasons he chose to rarely visit cities such as Tokyo. The only reason he did was when he sensed the pain of a creature like Ozawa. Only then would he venture into that den of false predators, to save an innocent life.

The boy kept stalking his hunting ground, leaning down and touching the ground as he pushed aside some overgrowth to see tracks. Fresh tracks of what he could only imagine were Sika Deer. It was nearly the end of dusk, which would make sense since these animals were mostly active during dusk or dawn. He smiled to himself, the young boy of eight taking heart and following the tracks.

It took him another twenty minutes before he found his mark, a small herd of Sika Deer scrounging around for what food they could muster to find this close to the beginning of winter. The herd was roughly about thirteen in numbers, three males spotted amongst the females. He took a deep, silent breath as he brought the bow up and pulled the arrow back. The string of his self made bow tensed, the wood making the most silent of creaking from the strain as he aimed the arrow at the larger male. He made a rule to himself: Never hunt the females, never take more than one male. He did this for the simple fact of leaving a patriarch to defend the herd if needed, never leaving the females and any offspring to defend themselves. He kept the arrow pulled back, his eyes targeting the chest of the large male before letting his breath go with the arrow. The expected thud of arrow-meating flesh was heard, causing the herd to raise their heads before the boy knocked another arrow and fired as fast as he could to the smaller male. The arrow again thud against the deer, sending it to the ground in pain as he bleeted out for help but his herd only ran away from the danger. The boy sighed softly at his work as he got out of the brush, standing up and going to a crying buck on the ground. He knelt down, a sight of an arrow on his face as he took a knife from his belt and quickly jammed it into the deer's heart. The cries of the animal silenced, and the boy bowed his head down to the animal's chest and spoke softly.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, it will not go unappreciated."

With those words spoken he got up, keeping the knife in hand as he went to work gutting the two bucks he had taken down and dragged them back to his cave.

~~Mt. Takao cave~~

The boy huffed as he brought the deer back to his cave, slightly exhausted from dragging the carcases of his prey for what seemed like a mile. He looked into the cave, smirking as he saw Yoshida, Tajima, and Ozawa all sleeping softly in a bundle of worth and cuteness. He was happy his two oldest companions took in the kitten, seeing Ozawa as part of their pack of misfits. He went to the center of the save where a small pile of wood was left in a pit made in the ground. He took his hand to the fire, his voice soft and gentle as he spoke.

"Kaen"

From his palm a small fire shot forward into the wood, catching the material into a blaze with relative ease. The animals got up, looking at their friend as he went to the deer as the fire grew to engulf the pit it was started in. Typically the smoke would cause the issue for the four of them, but the boy was smart and made a vent into the solid stone of the cave to funnel out the smoke. This made it easier to keep warm, cook his meals, and see in the dark cave. He got to work cutting the meat from the deer's bodies. He tossed a leg bone to Tajima, chuckling as he saw the dog wag its tail with glee at the treat. Ozawa came and crawled up to his shoulder, perching there as she watched her savior cut what he could from the deer. He smirked at the kitten, breaking off a small piece of a rib and handing it to her. Ozawa was confused at first, sniffing the bone before taking it into her mouth and starting to gnaw on it. The boy could only smile as his friends were content, though when he looked at Yoshida he only saw a hungry bear. He rolled his eyes, tossing the bear a slab of meat from the ribs of the larger deer before continuing his work.

After a while he was able to recover most of the meat from the deer, having enough to last them at least two days, maybe three depending on Yoshida's temperamental appetite. He still didn't understand how the bear would eat so much one day, but the next eat so little. He figured it may have been something caused by the incident. Maybe the acid did more than scar his muzzle. The boy chopped up meat into tiny pieces for Ozawa, letting her eat what she could while he gave both Yoshida and Tajima large portions of the meat. He knew it would have been better to be more conservative of the meat, but now that he knew that the Sika Deer were in his hunting grounds once again, he could be a little generous. As the animals ate their dinners raw, the boy was cooking his over the fire. While he watched and cooked the meat he was using the bones of the deer. He didn't like going to the cities unless absolutely needed, so he made it a point to use every part of his hunt to avoid such things. From the bones he made arrow tips, new knives for skinning and hunting, and other such things. The meat was obviously used to keep the group healthy and fed, while the furs he used between new coverings for his makeshift bed or made them into rugged, rough clothing for the winter time.

As he slowly tried to fashion the jaw bone of the larger deer into a crude hatchet, he heard something from within the forest. He stood up, dropping what was in his hands as he focused on the noise. Tajima and the others got on their feet as well, hearing the noise too. The boy was quick to put out the fire, trying not to be found and the people trying to "return" him to society. However, when the noise rang out again, he knew it wasnt the typical lost hiker's scream for help. This scream was of fear, worry, and impending doom. He could feel in his bones it was someone in need of dire help. He sighed, about to sit back down to let nature do what it would like to with the foolish human that stumbled into it's domain unprepared. However before he could Yoshida got behind him and pushed him back up, causing the boy to stumble bak to his feet. He looked to his companion, his eyes meeting Yoshida's and he could understand what he was trying to tell the boy. With a heavy sigh he nodded, kneeling down to Ozawa and Tajima before putting a hand on their heads. "My friends, I need your help. Will you lend me your gifts?"

~~Mt. Takao Forests~~

Momo Yauyorozu was running for her life as she was lost deep in the forest. Her and her family had a nice cottage deep within the wilderness, a place to get away from it all in the city. In truth the girl loved it, she loved the smell of fresh air and the beauty was stunning to the girl of seven. She also loved seeing the wild animals that were around her family's getaway cottage. Her favorite were the small rabbits that would appear and just as quickly dart away from her as she tried to chase and catch one to take home as a pet. It's for that same reason she was in this situation. She was sitting in her bed, tired but not able to sleep when she saw the pure white bunny moving around in the grass right outside her window. The young, curious heiress couldn't stop herself from sneaking out of the window and trying to catch the beautiful bunny. She didn't think she ran so far away from the cottage, not paying attention where or how far she ran from her home. By the time she caught up to the bunny she was nearly half a mile away from the cottage, her parents asleep and blissfully unaware of the situation their daughter was in.

When she was able to find the white bunny again, she smiled as she slowly tried to creep up on it to catch it. However, the girl was in a far deadlier game of cat and mouse now. From behind her a roar was heard, and the bunny looked up and ran away in fear. Momo slowly turned around, looking up at the towering bear now looking down at her. Before her now stood a Ussuri Brown Bear, looking down at her with a hungry glare in its black pupils before roaring again. Momo, seeing her situation, did the only thing she could do. She screamed as she tried to run away. She was barely avoiding the bear, running left and right through the dense forest to narrowly dodge its maw and claws. She kept screaming, hoping her parents would hear her cries but she didn't understand how far away she was from them. She eventually tripped, stumbling down a hill and landing hard against a small boulder at the base of the hill. She coughed up some blood, the force of her body hitting against the larger stone caused some slight internal damage, but what hurt the most was her ankle now twisted in the opposite direction. The bear was slowing down the hill, looking at her as he got closer to taking it's meal. As it got only a few yards away she cried out one more time, calling for a hero to save her. Her cries were heard.

The boy landed in front of her, jumping down from a tree and landing with feline grace as he slowly stood to look the bear eye to eye. The bear saw the boy, knowing its scent as another predator. It now was facing off against the invading child, growling slowly before roaring and charging at the boy. Momo watched in fear as she saw the boy no older than her in charge of the bear, but before they met head on he jumped high into the air, landing against a tree before jumping down and slamming his only two knives into the back of the bear. The brown bear roared out in pain and anger as it thrashed about, the boy keeping his grip tight on one knife before pulling the other out and repeatedly stabbing the bone into the hide of his imposing foe. The bear roared out in anguish as he felt the sharpened marrow piercing into its body, hitting deep but not deep enough before he tossed the boy to the side and he slammed hard back first into a tree. He struggled to stand up, the bearing coming down with its paw and slashing its claws against the boy's face and leaving three nasty slashes into his skin. Momo cried out for the boy, seeing him grunting in pain as he looked up at the opponent. With a smirk he rolled out of the way of the bear's next swipe, standing up as Momo saw the claw wounds on his face healing at a moderate pace. "A healing quirk?" She wondered as she saw the bow get down on hand and foot, growling slowly as Momo watched something truly unique.

The boy slowly grew fur along the spine of his back, his teeth growing canines as large, as well, as canine's. His hands grew sharp claws, his feet turning into that resembled the paws of a wolf. With his transformation the boy howled, the sky opening the clouds slightly to reveal a crescent moon. Momo saw the boy in all his new glory, slowly pacing around the bear as the two predators eyed one another. It was the bear that made the first move, moving to slam down its front paws on the smaller foe. The boy was quick, dodging to the side before jumping up and burying his teeth into the neck of the bear. The predator roared out in pain as it slashed wildly at its attacker, the boy taking the hits and the wounds the bear caused only to have them healed almost as quickly as they were landed. The boy grunted before sinking his claws into the bear's neck, using all his strength to claw through the beast. With one might pulled from all the strength he could muster the boy ripped the throat off of the bear, causing the behemoth to fall on the ground and dying within seconds from immense blood loss along with the inability to breath.

The boy slowly got up, roaring out in triumph as he stood over the bear's body. He, however, just as quickly fell down to one knee as he panted heavily. He never had to use his quirk to this extent before, his stamina was sapped to near nothing. He grunted as he got back to his feet, looking at the terrorfied and curious eyes of the girl he saved. He slowly walked to her, not knowing that the blood that covered him only terrorized the girl more. He knelt down to her, smiling softly. "Are you okay?"

Momo gulped, looking at him. "I-I a-am…a-are you -o-okay?"

The boy chuckled, taking off what was left of his shirt and using it to clean himself up. He wasn't as blood soaked now, leaving Momo with the face of a rather cute boy. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What are you doing out here so late at night?"

"Well, I was chasing a pretty white bunny that was outside my window. It was really cute, and I wanted to see if it would be my friend."

He chuckled at her answer, looking over to the shrubs and whistling slowly. Not a second later said rabbit came out of the brush, along with Tajima, Yoshida, and Ozawa. Momo was in cuteness overload now, seeing all the beautiful animals that came to the boy's call. She looked back at him and smiled. "Is the bunny yours?!"

He nodded, nodding his head for the rabbit to come to Momo. "Her name is Torikku, she is a natural prankster. Though she knows better than to play with humans." He said in an annoyed tone, which caused the rodent to shiver and hide in Momo's lap. The girl of course squealed and hugged the rabbit. She looked to the others that were not sitting around the boy. "And who are they?"

He wrapped his arm around Yoshida's neck, smirking. "This is Yoshida, he's a lazy bear. Still young though from what I understand. He is a bit of a glutton, sort of." He then took his other arm around Tajima. "This is Tajima, I am still unsure of his breed. He is my oldest friend, about eight years old just like me. And this-" He was about to introduce Ozawa, but the kitten instead insisted on sitting on his head and purring sweetly to Momo. "Yeah, this is Ozawa, the newest part of our pack. I found her today in the trash of Tokyo."

To say Momo was mesmerized and in awe of the animals was an understatement. She happily hugged and pet them all, each animal welcoming the kindness of the girl. This was nice for the boy, after all it was very rare for him to interact with fellow humans like this. But this girl, she just seemed different. She didn't seem heartless like others, maybe that's why Yoshida wanted him to save her.

For about ten minutes Momo played with the animals, the four of them happy to do so. They knew she was scared, and they remembered when they were scared when the boy saved them. It was just going full circle. After they finished playing, the boy let Momo ride on Yoshida's back since she couldn't really walk due to her twisted ankle. He had wanted to heal her, but he already showed too much to a complete stranger. As they walked towards the cottage, Momo took a silent breath and asked a question.

"What is your name, my hero?"

The boy blushed a bit at that nickname, which caused now only Momo to chuckle but their beastial friends to snicker in their own ways. "Uhm, my name is…Muramoto, what about you?"

"Momo Yaoyorozu, a pleasure to meet you Muramoto."

The two smiled softly at each other before turning away in slight embarrassment. For the rest of the walk, they were silent.

When they arrived at the cottage, the lights were on and a few police cars were sitting in the driveway with their lights shining brightly. Muramoto sighed in annoyance, helping Momo down onto the ground and on her behind as he thought of what to do. He looked at her ankle then back to her. With another sigh he put his hand gently on her ankle. "What you're about to see stays between us, understand? No one else can know about me or what I did." Momo raised an eyebrow, about to speak but he covered her mouth with his free hand. "Just nod yes, please."

Momo, with a bit of annoyance at him silencing her, nodded. He smiled gently before holding his hand against her ankle with a bit more force, causing her a wince of pain before she saw roots winding around her broken bones. The roots kept her ankle in place, a shallow light escaping its grasp as the girl felt the pain dissolving and her foot returning back to its proper position with a quick, sickening cracking of her body. After the pain stopped and the roots left, she looked down to see her ankle completely healed. She smiled, looking up to thank him, but Muramoto was gone. She looked around, not seeing him or his animals. With a sigh, she got up, sad she didn't thank him properly for saving his life. He walked to the cottage, where she was quickly held tightly by her parents and the cops asking questions. She was tempted to tell them the truth, but Muramoto's words reminded her not to say anything. She couldn't betray her hero. She told them a lie about going for a wild since it was so calm out and getting lost and falling in the woods. Thankfully neither the cops or her parents asked any question. The next morning, the family packed their things and left. Her parents had enough of the forest for now.

~~Yaoyorozu Estate, three days later.~~

Momo was walking through the courtyard of her family's large estate, sighing softly as the soft chill of the incoming winter gently wiped across her face. Ever since she met that boy, she couldn't stop thinking about him. How he saved her, watched over her, brought her home, and healed her. She only knew the name he gave her, nothing more. She had asked her father to look up the name Muramoto, saying it was the name of a boy she had class with that moved away to another boarding school across Japan. And even with her father's vast resources, he couldn't mind a boy named Muramoto that had the quirk that boy had. She sat down on a stone bench overlooking a small bond, watching the water display slowly fizzle out and be turned off for the winter. Though when the water stopped, she blinked. Across the pond, by the bushes lining the estate's walls, was a rabbit as white as snow. She smiled softly, going to the bunny. This time, it didn't run away, but into her arms as she held it softly. She looked over towards the direction of Mt. Takao, whispering into the wind. "Thank you, my hero…"