Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or My Hero Academia, nor do I earn any money from posting this. Do not copy to another site.

Fair warning, this chapter is really heavy on the depressing, sad, and overall gritty details of why the main character becomes what he does later in the story. It does not hold back, and if I were to give it tags they would be Character Death, Failed Heroes, Cute Kids who Get their Dreams Crushed, and Depression. It will probably be okay to skip to the second chapter if this prologue doesn't fit your fancy.

That said, I hope you all enjoy the chapter (if you so choose to read it)!

Prologue

Fire and Brimstone

"Mama, mama, look!" a little black haired child grinned as he tugged at his mother's hand, and pointed to a self on their left, "It's a Madame Hops backpack! It looks just like Mama's costume!"

The older woman smiled back and ruffled her child's hair, "It sure does, little Shadow!" she said and then held a finger to her lips, "But remember, we are supposed to keep that little secret just between us, right? We are going incognito today."

The boy giggled and mimicked her soft, "Shhh!"

"Why don't you go find your father, Kazuto? He should be up at the counter," Kazuto's mother smiled and pushed him gently toward the front of the store. "Mama just needs to grab a few more things before we go."

"Okay!" Kazuto grinned and spun around, dashing away.

In a world full of quirks, of heroes and villains, everyday life was a mix of excitement and wonder. Every day new quirks were being discovered and new heroes took to the streets to keep them safe.

Madame Hops was a fairly new hero who had the ability to leap incredible distances at almost instantaneous speeds. Though not quite a teleportation quirk, it was close enough that a lot of villains tended to mistake it as such. Her costume was a mixture of greys and white, with short horns jutting out of the top like that of a jackalope. She was quickly gaining popularity for having only been around for about five years.

She was also his mother.

Kazuto skidded around the edge of one of the shelves and found himself plucked off of the ground by strong, gloved hands.

"What are you doing squirt? Where did your mother go?" sparkling grey eyes twinkled back at him in amusement.

"Papa!" Kazuto squealed happily. "Found you!"

Mr. Narusaka laughed and tucked the squirming child against his hip, "Indeed you did. Did your mother send you to find me?"

Kazuto nodded happily as he clutched at his father's black jacket. "Said she had to go find some'fin."

His eyes drifted and landed on a row of masks next to them. Eyes going wide, Kazuto leaned forward out of his father's arms, grabbing for the dark, spiked mask in the middle with a happy squeal of, "Shadowstalker!"

Smiling in amusement, Mr. Narusaka let the boy grab the mask and plot the oversized piece of plastic over his face. The grey around the eyeholes of the mask matched his eyes. Shaking his head, Mr. Narusaka chuckled.

"I think that's a little big for you, Squirt," he commented, plucking the mask from his face and putting it back on the shelf, "Why don't I let you try out the real thing when we get home, huh?"

Kazuto's eyes went wide. "Really? You will let me put your mask on?"

"Sure thing, Kiddo," his eyes twinkled, "But first, you have to tell me, which do you think is better: Shadowstalker, or Madame Hops?"

Kazuto's eyes went wide and he started chewing his lip, eyes flickering between the mask and farther down the isles where he knew that his mother was. Finally, he settled on a pout. "Papa! That's not fair! I like both you and Mama!"

"Okay, okay," Mr. Narusaka let the squirming Kazuto back to the floor, "I see how it is. Don't want to upset your Mama, right?"

"Papa!"

One laugh later and Mr. Narusaka was guiding Kazuto back between the shelves in search of his wife. They'd come to the shopping center downtown to pick up a few things for the new house that they had just moved into the week before. The goal today was a new couch as well as a few potted plants to liven the house up, as well as some window shopping to see what the local mall had to offer. It was also their day off, so neither Mr. or Ms. Narusaka bothered to bring their gear with them.

"Papa," Kazuto paused and frowned, "Why is the ground shaking?"

"Hm?" Mr. Narusaka glanced up from where he was examining something on a higher shelf, eyes half lidded, "Shaking?"

"Yeah," Kazuto plopped down on the ground and rested his hands on the tile to feel it better, "I can't feel it well, but it's moving."

Mr. Narusaka frowned and crouched down next to his son, resting his own palm on the ground just as another tremble rumbled through the earth. Eyes narrowing, he carefully pulled his son toward him.

"Kazuto," his father's voice was a slow, serious whisper, "When I tell you to run, do so, okay? You need to get to your mother."

"Papa?"

"Promise me, Kazuto."

Kazuto looked up at his father's grave face with wide eyes and bit his lip, nodded. "O-okay, Papa."

"Good," Mr. Narusaka was standing up now, eyes scanning everything around them, "Now, I need you to listen carefully, Kazuto. Tell your mother-"

He never got to finish.

The ground trembled and jolted, tossing Kazuto from his feet. The last thing he saw before his head banged into one of the shelves was his father's large, terrified eyes as he lunged to catch his son, the ceiling above him shattering.

0~o~0

Kazuto was familiar with the darkness. His father's quirk, Shadow, often felt like a warm blanket draping over them as they hid from mother while playing hide and seek. She called it cheating, but Father was always quick to counter that she had the advantage of semi-teleportation, so turning themselves into shadows was a valid tactic.

This darkness, though, it was cold.

Kazuto whimpered, his head throbbing as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. There was an odd ringing in his ears, drowning out most of his thoughts as he struggled to pry his eyes open. He could feel his heartbeat rattling against his chest and head, pounding away like a battle drum that sounded too late to give any warning. He whimpered and his eyes slid open a sliver.

"P-papa?" Kazuto whimpered. Something flickered and the world spun around him. "M-mama? Where are y-you?" his voice trembled as he tried to force himself upward, only to feel his shoulders press into something boxing him in from above.

Arms trembling, Kazuto let himself lay back against the cold tile ground on his side and lifted one arm to press against the object above him. He couldn't see more than vague shapes, the darkness pressing against him on all sides, but his fingers drifted over flaky ceiling tile and dusty cement. Jerking back, Kazuto huddled in on himself.

"What -" he swallowed thickly, feeling like something was lodged in the back of his throat, "What happened?"

Drip - drip - drip . . .

Spzzzzz ~

The sounds around him echoed hauntingly, almost seeming to get louder as he became more and more aware of his situation.

"Papa," Kazuto sniffled, "Papa wanted me to - to find Mama. So I just - I need to -"

He shuffled until his bare arms were pressed against the cold floor. Small pebbles and dust pressed into tender flesh, but he bit his lip and ignored it. With a grunt and a heave, he pulled himself forward.

Or, at least, he tried to.

"Ack!" Kazuto bit back a scream as a previously unnoticed pain flared up in his leg. Wide eyed but unseeing, he slowly reached back and felt around the base of his leg.

There was something digging into his calf.

He hadn't even felt it before, too busy concentrating on everything else, but now that he knew it was there the pain refused to be squashed. Letting out a soft whimper and biting into the collar on his shirt to muffle any sound, Kazuto grasped at the cylindrical something and tried to pull it out, but it refused to budge and he collapsed with a cut off scream as his hand slipped and shifted his leg.

Please, Kazuto silently begged, Please, I need to find Mama. I need to get out of here and find a hero to help. I need to be able to move.

The darkness threatened to consume his mind as well, but Kazuto shoved it back as he once again reached for his leg.

Please -

Something shifted, and this time when he grabbed the pole it felt like touching ice. He sucked in a deep breath, and yanked his leg forward. The object slipped free and Kazuto barely kept himself from fainting in relief. The world around him suddenly felt too heavy, almost like he was swimming through water, but he ignored it.

He forced himself forward through the rubble. A large section of the ceiling must have been propped up by the shelving next to him, which is the only reason he hadn't been crushed, but Kazuto didn't think about that. He just pushed himself forward, forward, forward, toward what looked like a distant pinprick of light.

His fingers trembled and grew slick as he sliced them on sharp edges and corners, and several times he had to push himself through sections of rubble that scraped against his back and tore at his clothing, openings so small that someone even a few centimeters larger would have never been able to squeeze through.

And finally, finally, he forced himself up through the last opening, though it was only large enough to fit his head through, hands trembling and world wavering around him.

Wait, it wasn't the world that was wavering.

It was the flames.

Orange and yellow sheared Kazuto's vision, and he ducked back under the rocks. There was a small opening around the exit that he had found, and as his vision slowly adjusted, he found that he wasn't alone.

"H-help m-me," the voice came out in a soft whimper, and Kazuto jerked around, face falling slack in shock.

It wasn't his mother, there was no recognition in the woman's eyes, but looked to be around the same age. Her lower body was hidden from sight by a large section of rubble, and Kazuto felt sick as he saw the large reflective pool of red spreading out from it. Her eyes were glazed with pain, and he glanced between her and the flames outside before swallowing thickly and picking his way over to her.

"H-hey," he whispered softly. Somehow speaking didn't seem to be appropriate right now. "T-the heroes should be here soon. J-just hold on, okay?"

There wasn't even a flicker of reaction as she reached out and grabbed one of his arms in a weak grip, "P-please. I don't want to die! Please, save me!"

Her sobs were becoming both louder and weaker now.

Kazuto felt traitorous tears slipping from the edges of his eyes, but he forcefully tried to dash them away. He failed.

"Oh, my heroic little Shadow!" Mama laughed and spun him around before settling him on her hip. "Are you trying to help that little kitten down from the tree?"

Kazuto blushed slightly, "It got scared, and now it's stuck."

Mama's eyes were soft, "Never change, little Shadow," she placed a gentle kiss into his dark hair, "The best heroes always do what is right, even if they are scared. That's what makes you a hero, too."

Blinking, Kazuto tilted his head, "Really?" his eyes sparkled, "I'm a hero? What kind?"

"You are the greatest hero," Mama taps him on the nose with a smile, "Because you are my little hero."

Kazuto sucked in a deep breath and grasped the hand on his arm with his, "T-the heroes are almost here, I-I'm sure. Just w-wait a l-little longer."

I'm Mama's hero, and I need to be a hero right now, too. For her, for Mama, for Papa.

The woman's eyes seemed to clear a little bit. "Y-you promise? They are coming?"

Kazuto nodded, "Y-yeah. They are. And until they get here, I will stay with you, okay? And then you can go home, and I can find Mama and Papa, and-"

"T-thank you." The woman sobbed and rested her forehead against his chest, interrupting his rambling. He fell quiet and just let her cry, holding her as she slowly went quiet and still. Her hands were cold, really, really cold, and Kazuto shifted, looking down at her.

"Oh, she fell asleep."

That was a good thing. The monster's couldn't get to you when you fell asleep, Papa said, and neither could the pain. Slowly, he set her on the floor, carefully not looking at where she was pinned, and drifted back toward the exit.

The fire had gone down a little bit, but it still scorched across his face as he tried to poke his head back out.

Where were the heroes? Kazuto didn't know how long it had been, but his parents had always assured him that the Heroes would come to save him if he was in danger.

Even though the fire was burning down the smoke wasn't, and Kazuto found himself coughing heavily.

"H-hello?!" he tried to call out, before coughing again and ducking back down, "P-please! There are people over here!"

The crackling of flames was his only answer, and Kazuto tried to fight back the pit of darkness sinking into his stomach.

The heroes are coming. Mama and Papa promised.

The ground rumbled.

"Oh no," Kazuto flattened himself at the entrance and glanced back at the woman behind him, "Please, please not again-"

In the open plane of destruction in front of him the ground cracked and bulged upwards, several claw-like bones twisting up from the ground. Kazuto froze, staring as a figure forced itself up from the ground, mandibles clacking in irritation as it hissed.

"Darn heroes. They ruined everything!" it clacked, "Have to run. Hide. No, it's too late for that. They saw me. They have a trace on me. No choice now. Need a hostage. Hostage. Where can I find a hostage?"

Villain.

Kazuto clapped his hands over his mouth to muffle the sound of his breathing, although it did nothing for the beat of his heart pounding away in his ears. Was this the villain that had caused the earthquake?

"Kazuto," Papa smiled down gently, but with a hint of seriousness, "If you ever see a villain without either of us there, I need you to hide. Okay? It's very important to not let the villain get to you."

Kazuto blinked, "Like a shadow? Like hiding in your shadow?"

Papa considered for a moment before nodded, "Yes, just like hiding in my shadow. You can't let the villain know where you are. He can't see you, can't hear you, can't smell you," the elder smiled, "Now, how are some ways you can make that happen? How will you hide?"

Hide.

Hide. Hide. Hide.

I need to hide.

Kazuto tried to lower himself farther into the rubble, but his foot bumped a smaller rock off of his relatively flat perch and he heard it clater farther down into the hole he'd come from.

The villain's head snapped around.

"Whooooo's there?" the clicking voice speared through Kazuto and he found himself frozen. He couldn't move, even if he wanted to. The bug-like villain slowly turned, limbs twitching and odd eyes glinting against the light of the flames. "I can hear you."

Hide.

Kazuto's heart pounded, his fingers trembled, and the world pressed down on his shoulders like a weight.

"There you are!" the villain screeched, lunging forward.

The world went dark, and it took a moment for Kazuto to realize that he'd shut his eyes. A warm breeze brushed past his face, and he slowly opened his eyelids.

The villain's reflective eyes stared straight at him, inches away from his face.

Kazuto bit his tongue as a squeak tried to squeeze through his throat.

"Hmm," for some reason, the voice was muffled, even if the villain was even closer than before. There also seemed to be an odd distortion around its face as it tilted its head, almost like Kazuto was looking at it from underwater. "I was sure that I'd heard something."

Kazuto stared.

He can't see me?

The villain hissed, and Kazuto felt the rancid air spill over him, forcing him to choke back a cough as the villain began to pull back.

Maybe he can't see into the hole very well?

Suddenly the villain jerked it's head around and glared up over the hill. It clicked angrily and spit out a garbled, "Heroes," before it spun and scuttled off.

Kazuto collapsed in boneless relief.

Wait, it said heroes?

Forcing himself back up onto his hands, Kazuto poking his head back out of the hole again, eyes widening. Against the dark sky and flames a giant man stood at the top of the rubble of crushed buildings, holding several figures in each arm.

"Never Fear!" the figure boomed, "For I Am Here!"

A hero. A hero.

"Hey," Kazuto directed a small, shaking smile toward the woman below him, "I-I told you that they would come. See? There is a hero, right over there-"

He turned back and saw the man pulling rubble up and off survivors who had been trapped underneath like it weighed nothing. The villain was gone, but now there was a hero.

Kazuto's eyes blurred, filling with the tears that he'd been trying to hold back. "Th-there's a hero here to r-rescue us. L-look, he's right over there!"

The woman didn't stir.

"U-uh, Lady?" He slid back down the rocks to her side, "C-come on. It's time to wake up now."

He shook her shoulder with his small hand, trying to get her up, but it flopped limply under his grasp. Frowning, he tried again. It was only after the third attempt that he realized her back wasn't moving. She'd been laying on her stomach, so he should have seen her back rising and falling.

Trembling slightly, Kazuto rushed back to the opening and checked that the hero was still there. The man was, though a distance away. Swallowing back the burning in his throat, Kazuto sucked in a deep breath and screamed.

"Please! Please help! There is a woman here! She n-needs help!" Kazuto choked and doubled over, his throat burning from inhaled smoke.

The Hero turned, scanning the rocks in their direction. It was too far away to see his expression, but for a moment shadowed blue eyes met Kazuto's own. Time seemed to freeze. The ripples were back.

The hero shook his head and bent down to pick up a few of the people that he had rescued, pulling them up on his shoulders. From the looks of it, there were over five of them. He glanced back in Kazuto's direction for a moment, but didn't come over. The hero crouched, legs bunching, and then launched into the air, vanishing from sight.

Kazuto felt the breath catch in his throat.

"Don't worry, Kazuto," Mama tapped him on the head, "If you are ever in trouble, all you have to do is find a hero and they will help you, okay?"

"D-don't w-worry," Kazuto choked and forced a shaky smile over his face, even if the lady couldn't see it, "H-he saw m-me. H-he'll be back to help us. J-just hold on."

He looked at me. He looked at me. He's here to save us. He will be back, he's a hero. Heroes always do what's right, just like what Mama said. He just had too many people that he had to get out first.

Slowly, he sank back into the hole, suddenly feeling very, very cold. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he sat down next to the sleeping lady.

"S-soon. H-he'll be back s-soon."

So Kazuto waited.

And waited.

Waited . . .

The hero never came back.

0~o~0

"It's been twenty-four hours, Chief, you need to take a break," a young officer sighed as he approached his boss. "They haven't found anyone for three hours now. The chances of there still being survivors -" he cut himself off and looked to the side.

This whole thing had been a disaster that could have, should have, been prevented.

There had been a villain break-out from one of the local prisons. A villain who had been recently caught was being held there temporarily until he could be moved to a more secure base, but a few of his buddies on the outside had acted before they could. The chaos led to the entire prison being let free, Villains running amok in every direction. This mall was just one of the casualties, but probably one of the most devastating.

Current count: About 2,000 people rescued. 326 confirmed dead, and -

The police chief pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

- still over 500 unaccounted for.

This was the work of three villains. One with a Mole quirk, one with a Fire-breathing quirk, and the last with a strength quirk. The initial heroes to catch up to them were unsuited for the job and known to cause more damage than necessary when fighting. It had been a disaster waiting to happen.

A disaster that did happen.

The entire mall had been crushed. Fire, quakes, you name it. It was a miracle that the new hero, All Might, had come to the rescue when he did. He'd pulled hundreds from the wreckage already, prioritizing the citizens over the villains in some cases. As the other's should have.

But it still wasn't enough.

The news crews had latched onto the new hero's story, raving about his smile and catchphrase: "Do not fear! Why? I AM HERE!" Sure, it made the public think that things were going to be alright, and it kept the media off of the paramedics and relief workers, but it still didn't change the fact that this whole situation had all still happened.

"Sorry, Kimimura," the chief sighed, "but as long as there is still a chance that more survivors might be found, I am going to stick around."

Miles of destruction and fire, if there is anyone out in the middle of that, it's going to be a miracle if we can find them.

The officer nodded, eyes sunken and sad as he let his gaze drift over the destruction, "Okay, chief. Just, make sure that you get some rest soon, okay? We need you-" he broke himself off, eyes going wide.

"Hm?" the chief frowned and turned, following his gaze. For a moment he froze, just like his officer, before he yanked his glasses back off and scrubbed at his eyes before putting them back on. "What the . . ."

There was a small, soot covered figure stumbling up over the wreckage. It was still a distance away and almost disguised against the rumbling ash clouds hanging overhead and the blackened ground below. Even so, there was no mistaking it.

"By the greats," the chief breathed, and then took off running. The officer behind him barked out orders for several paramedics to follow them before he also started running.

Ash puffed up behind him as the chief ran, staining the edges of his work uniform, but he ignored it as he approached the stumbling figure. The child continued to drag itself forward, one shuffling step at a time. The chief managed to get there just in time to catch the child as it's foot snagged on a piece of rubble.

The small form fit into the crook of his arm, shivering. For a moment it didn't move, although shivers continued to rake through it's tinny form. Even now, the chief couldn't tell if the child was a boy or girl due to the amount of ash and dust that covered its form. Slowly, the child tilted it's head up and met the chief's eyes.

"Papa?" The child whispered desperately, and then it's eyes shuddered, "Oh . . . you're not Papa."

The chief felt a shiver run down his spine. It felt as if he were looking into the gaze of someone who was already gone.

This was the same reason that he didn't resist when the child gently pushed itself out of his arms and swayed back up, turning to walk around him.

". . . need to find Papa. Mama . . ." the child whispered, and the chief shuddered.

Seconds later, the child was being scooped up by paramedics and bundled away, dead eyes and haunting whisper with them.

The junior officer came to a stop beside the chief, breathing heavily. "What in the world was a child doing out there? How did the heroes miss them? . . . Chief? Are you okay?"

The chief lowered his arms slowly, watching the others quickly check over the child as they took him back toward the emergency vehicles.

"Chief?!"

"Ah," the chief shook his head and turned dull eyes on his junior officer, a haunted look that froze the other in his place, "Sorry, Kimimura. It's just-" he glanced away, "- I think I know what they mean now when they say they've seen The Dead Who Walk."

0~o~0

Kazuto didn't want to leave the sleeping lady behind.

He didn't want to leave her, but the smoke was becoming really, really thick and it was making him dizzy. Maybe the hero had forgotten where they were? Kazuto shuddered.

He didn't want to leave her behind, but if he didn't move Kazuto was afraid that he would fall asleep, just like her.

Dirty fingernails torn into the cloth at his sides and dug into the flesh underneath.

I can't fall asleep.

He didn't know why the lady was still asleep, but it was different from how his parents fell asleep. He didn't like it.

He didn't want to leave her, but if he could somehow get out and find a hero, maybe he could lead them back to her?

Maybe I can find Mama. Or Papa. They would know what to do.

He sat still for a moment, eyes flickering back and forth, before nodding slightly. Right, he'd go find Papa. Papa would know how to help the sleeping lady.

His knees cracked in protest as he tipped forward and let them hit the ground. Shuddering, from the cold or something else, he couldn't tell. He crawled toward the opening. It still wasn't large enough for him to fit through, but he didn't care. With stiff fingers he tugged at the rocks, trying to shift them enough that they would let him out. The rocks were cold. Cold cold cold.

His fingers slipped.

Kazuto blinked slowly, mind a little foggy, and frowned down at his hands. They . . . didn't look quite right. There was an odd ripple around them that slowly steadied the longer he held still. After a moment he shook his head and went to grab another section of rock. This time, though, his fingers slipped through it as if it wasn't even there.

Tilting his head, Kazuto muttered a soft, "Huh," and stuck his whole hand through the rock. He wiggled his fingers on the other side and then brought it back with a slightly unhinged giggle. "The rock doesn't exist."

It was getting more and more difficult for Kazuto to focus, and he quickly shook his head to clear some of the cobwebs.

"Right. Need to find Papa. Or Mama."

Ignoring the odd ripple around him as he moved, Kazuto leaned forward and through the rock, stumbling out on the other side. He blinked and turned. The opening he'd been stuck inside was small, but shadowed. It really was hard to notice. Shaking his head again, Kazuto turned in the direction that he'd seen the hero jump and started stumbling forward.

I wonder if Mama and Papa are looking for me, Kazuto thought dizzily, but even those thoughts drifted away as he focused on just putting one foot in front of another.

Just one foot in front of the other.

Hill after hill of debre he walked, avoiding large sections where the ground had collapsed or fire was still running rampant.

One foot. And one foot. And one foot in front.

Exhaustion tugged at him, urging him to just take a little nap. It wouldn't hurt, right? Just a little nap, and then he could go back to his search.

Where are the heroes?

One foot . . . two foot . . . three foot . . .

His shoe snagged on something and before he could catch himself he felt an arm wrap around him.

Papa?

He glanced up into wide, brown eyes and frowned.

Not Papa. Have to keep moving.

Gently, he shoved away from the other man and turned to keep walking.

Don't want to be like the sleeping lady. Mama and Papa will know how to help. Where are Mama and Papa?

A flurry of white surrounded him and plucked him off of the ground. Kazuto scowled and tried to push the grabbing hands away, but they just kept coming, and they were so much stronger than he was, so much bigger.

Can't stop. If I stop, I'll become like the sleeping lady. Where are Mama and Papa?

Something pressed onto his face and he choked slightly before a puff of cold, empty air slid down his throat. He paused and sucked in another breath.

Smells nice.

His eyes drifted. The dancing white was loud. Loud muttering, loud beeps, but he ignored it. Slowly, his eyes started to close, and the dancing white became louder. Again, he ignored it, closing his hands over the thing on his face.

His throat burned, and his chest burned, and his stomach didn't feel so good, but the air didn't hurt anymore.

I'm tired.

His muscles relaxed as Kazuto slumped back into the soft thing that he was laying on.

Why am I laying down? Is it time to go to bed?

He giggled.

Maybe if I am good, his eyelids sank closed, Mama will come read to me.

No heroes, no sleeping lady, no fire. Just Mama, and Papa, and me.

That would be nice.

Under the panicked watch of the nurses and paramedics rushing him toward an ambulance, Kazuto fell asleep for the first time in twenty-four hours.

0~o~0

Doctor Kando pulled down his mask and sighed, leaning heavily against the door of the restroom. "That poor kid," he muttered as he pulled off his gloves to rub at his eyes.

"Is there something wrong, Dr. Kando?" another nurse that had been in the restroom before him glanced over in concern.

Kando grunted and let himself collapse into a nearby chair. He'd already changed out of his scrubs for the day, and he sighed as he leaned back. "I just dealt with a case of extreme smoke inhalation combined with quirk exhaustion and minor injuries, Nurse Hana"

The nurse lifted a brow, her eyes darkening, "From the attack at the mall?"

The Doctor nodded and closed his eyes. "I can't tell you the details, of course, but," he winced, "It wasn't pretty. I am surprised the kid made it to the hospital, to be honest."

"Have we been able to contact his parents, yet?"

The doctor shook his head. "We still don't know who he is yet. One of the other nurses took a blood sample to run a DNA test, but we won't know who he is until it comes back."

Nurse Hana glanced down at her own report that she was writing. "That bad, huh?" she sighed. "How old is he? Think his parents knew he was at the mall?"

Doctor Kando winced, "If I were to guess . . . his parents were probably with him. He doesn't look any older than three, maybe four."

Hana froze, eyes going wide and horrified. "By the Greats. Please don't tell me he's an orphan now?!"

The doctor closed his eyes again and shook his head. "I don't know, Hana. I don't know."

The both fell silent, before Hana spoke up again in a choked whisper.

"You said you had to treat him for extreme quirk exhaustion?"

Kando nodded and dropped his head into his hands.

"But he's barely old enough to even get a quirk!"

The doctor shivered, "Sometimes," he murmured softly, "Quirks can be activated by extreme stress . . ."

And that situation had been a nightmare.

They both shuddered.

"Poor kid," the nurse whispered. The doctor nodded back.

Poor kid, indeed.

0~o~0

Midori Kirigaya was just about to leave for a doctor's appointment when she got the call, two days after the Mall attack. She'd been feeling a little under the weather, recently, and if it was what she suspected then her husband, Minetaka, was going to be in for a surprise. They had been trying for children since they had first been married, but this was the first time that Midori thought it might actually be happening. She was keeping it quiet, though, until she knew for certain. Even her sister, who she talked to almost every week, had been kept in the dark.

The phone beeped instantly at her until she picked it up as she headed for the door. "Hello, Midori Kirigaya speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mrs. Kirigaya? This is the Kaiyo Hospital. We wanted to inform you that as of two days ago your sister and her husband went missing in a villain attack and your nephew is currently being held at our hospital-"

The phone slipped from her shaking fingers.

"Mrs. Kirigaya? Mrs. Kirigaya, are you alright?!"

Midori's legs collapsed from under her and she found herself sitting on the ground, staring down at the phone in front of her.

I talked to her three days ago. Midori swallowed. Three days ago . . .

Shaking, she reached down and pressed the phone back to her ear, doctor's appointment completely forgotten. "C-can you give me an address to the hospital?" she stuttered and looked down, "I . . . would like to come see my nephew."

Two minutes later, the house was empty, with only a hastily scribbled note left on the table for her husband.

0~o~0

Kazuto woke to white walls, and white sheets, and white bandages.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, face blank. For a moment he didn't say anything, and then he pushed himself up with aching arms. He blinked down at his hands, noting that each of his fingers were bandaged individually. The bandages stretched all the way up his arms and under the gown that he wore.

With stiff fingers, he ran his hand over his head where even more cloth was wrapped, pushing his black hair up awkwardly.

What . . . happened?

He winced as he pushed at a particularly sore area.

I remember . . . orange? And black. Shadows? And . . . someone asleep?

Pain laced through his mind again and he groaned as he doubled over, clutching at his head.

"Never Fear! I Am Here!"

A blinding smile and razor sharp blue eyes, a hero. Had be been rescued -

No. No, the hero never came back. He'd waited for him, but the man had never returned. Kazuto had to go looking for help himself. He'd been trying to find . . . his father? Mother?

Another lace of pain, another wince.

What . . . did they look like again?

Kazuto let his hands drop into his lap, staring down blankly. He was forgetting something, something important. What was he forgetting?

A light breeze drifted through the room, bringing his attention to the open window, and the blue sky outside. Someone must have left it open for him. Blinking slowly, he turned to look out.

Black sky, filled with clouds. Ash, and smoke, and burning -

His fists clenched.

The hero never came back.

Kazuto looked away from the window and down to where his bandaged hands were clenched in his lap, over the bed sheet.

"If you find a Hero, little Shadow, they can help you if you are lost, okay?"

The voice was familiar, somehow. But . . . he'd searched for a hero, he'd screamed for the hero, but he'd left.

And the hero never returned.

The voice was wrong about the heroes. They never came to help him. They left him behind, with the sleeping lady.

I don't think I want to be a hero anymore.

There was a commotion at the door, loud voices and what sounded like a woman arguing.

"I don't care if he isn't awake yet! You will let me see him or I will call the authorities!"

"Ma'am, we need to check and make sure that he doesn't have any lingering damage. The circumstances that we found him in-"

"Move, Doctor, or I will make you."

Kazuto blinked and glanced at the door as it swung open, admitting a gaggle of people who almost fell through. Two of them were in hospital scrubs and looked fairly frustrated, while the third was a young woman who looked to be in her late twenties. They all froze as they realized that he was looking at them, and Kazuto quirked one eyebrow.

"Kazuto," the woman's eyes watered and she lunged forward, wrapping Kazuto in a hug as she softly sobbed, "They told me they didn't know when you would wake up. I didn't know-"

Hesitantly he lifted one small hand and patted the woman on the back, not taking his eyes off of the two men staring at him from the doorway, dumbfounded.

After a moment, he pulled back slightly and let the woman attempt to whip away her tears. He carefully examined her face, and felt another slight spike of pain slice through him. With a wince, he rubbed his bandages and tilted his head.

The woman was familiar. She had the same shade of hair as him, as well as the same nose and eyebrows. Mostly, though, he just . . . knew her. Biting his lip, he glanced between her and the men at the door. Shuffling slightly, he turned back to the woman.

"M-Mama? What happened?"

The woman froze. The men at the door who had just started to move froze.

And then there was a fresh wave of tears and panicking doctors asking questions, but Kazuto tried to tone most of it out.

Was it something I said?

0~o~0

Okay, well, I am ending this here. It's much more detailed than I was originally going to make it, but oh well. We probably won't even get into SAO until chapter three but, eh, the story paces itself. This is me trying to work Kirito into the My Hero Academia universe. I was originally just going to jump straight into the virtual world, but I think that this hits just that much harder.

Let me know what you all think! I was going to upload to my story Villain in Glasses, but I got stuck in the writing phase and then bombarded with ideas for other fandoms. Arg. Fine. I will write these, and then go back to it.

I love feedback! If anyone wants to let me know if you liked it, I'd love to hear! I have been looking for a good crossover like this for a long time, and I finally just went "You know what? I will write it myself!"

Don't know when the second chapter will be out, but probably within the month? I am trying to write a lot more. I can't promise that it will be as long as this one, though. This one is definitely an exception in length!

(Updated: 4/25/2020)