A/N- Hey guys, this is an experimental story. This is just a story idea I had, so I don't know if I'll focus on this one or not.
And for context to the story, think of the Witcher.
The world is full of many wondrous things. Everyone is familiar with all the things that give them happiness.
But everyone also ignores the fact that the world is a cruel place, responsible for creating abominations that should never have been made.
Do you believe in monsters?
Because you should.
But don't worry, just pay someone to kill it.
It was just an ordinary day for Izuku Midoriya. He went to school. Played with Bakugo and his gang. Then Izuku went back home, where he got to see his mom, and she would cook a delicious meal for him.
Today was a good day for Izuku, but tomorrow would be an even better day. Izuku would turn four tomorrow, which meant he'd get a quirk. Izuku was so excited to go to the doctor to find out what his quirk was so he could be a hero.
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"Come on, Mom! It's almost time!" Izuku was dragging Inko into the doctor's office so he could finally find out what his quirk was.
"Take it easy, Izuku; we'll get there on time." Inko was trying to calm her son down, but she noticed Izuku was just another excited kid in the office, waiting his turn to be seen by a doctor.
Izuku was vibrating with excitement in his seat as he anxiously waited for his name to be called by a nurse. Inko wasn't sure if his All-Might action was going to make it to the end of the day with how much it was vibrating.
Soon, a door opened, and the name "Izuku Midoriya" was called. Izuku quickly shuffled off to follow the nurse to the x-ray room and to get a physical from a male nurse. Inko went to the doctor's office to wait for Izuku to come back.
A moment later, Izuku burst into the room with a smiling nurse. Izuku quickly sat down, and Inko wrapped an arm around him with a smile. "The doctor will be with you shortly." The nurse said as she exited the room.
Minutes passed, and Izuku continued to vibrate with excitement while Inko desperately tried to calm him down. Eventually, the door swung open, and a small, chubby man with green spectacles and a bushy grey mustache walked on in and sat down on the chair with the x-ray results.
"Alright, kid, are you ready for the news?" Izuku frantically nodded his head as he prepared to hear the best news of his life.
"Yep, I want to be a hero!"
"Well then... It isn't going to happen, kid."
In an instant, Izuku ceased all movement and metaphorically broke apart as he heard the news. Inko was wide-eyed as she heard the news. She didn't know what to do other than deny it.
"What are you saying, doctor?" The doctor corrected his posture and grabbed Izuku's X-rays.
"He's quirkless; see this toe joint; people with quirks lack this toe joint. So, in a sense, this toe joint is his quirk, but because it's so plain, it's called quirkless. Sorry kid, you won't be a hero."
Izuku's eyes were on the verge of tears. Inko, seeing that a scene was about to begin, was hurriedly getting her things, as was Izuku. All the while wondering how a doctor could be so callous to a child.
"T-thank you for your time, doctor." Inko was dragging away a crying Izuku, all while the doctor closely watched the child. Once the parent and child were out of the door, the doctor dug into his lab coat, pulled out a cell phone, and began dialing a number.
"Garaki, I wasn't expecting you to call me at this time. Is something wrong?" A deep and unnerving voice was heard over the phone.
"Not at all. I have found one more child to use in the upcoming experiment. I was wondering if you could help me acquire him."
"Hmm... the experiment won't be for another year, but I can keep tabs on him and then acquire him. Will that work, Garaki?"
"Yes, that will do just fine. With this child, he will have six candidates. I think he said he'll need at least twenty for the experiment."
"Then I will find him more. Keep up the work, Garaki."
The call ended, and the doctor smiled as he looked at Izuku's file. If Izuku's physical was anything to go off of, then Izuku had a good body for the experiment.
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Back at his home, Izuku was motionless as he stared at his favorite video of All Might saving people. Izuku was crying constant streams of tears as he held his All Might action figure and stared at the screen.
Inko watched Izuku through a cracked-open door and felt bad for him. Izuku's dreams were crushed, and he was reduced to this state. Inko wanted to help him, but she didn't know how to help Izuku.
Soon Inko walked in, and Izuku turned to her with puffy red eyes as tears still dropped from his face. Izuku pointed at the screen with a shaky hand and looked into his mom's eyes.
"M-Mom... C-Can I s-still be a h-h-hero?" Inko herself was on the verge of tears. She dropped to the floor and hugged her son as tightly as she could.
"No, Izuku, you won't be a hero." Inko stopped her words as soon as she said that. She didn't want to destroy his dreams. Inko's mind raced for a solution to fix what she said, and she found it just as Izuku was about to cry harder.
"You won't be a hero, Izuku... You'll be something better than a hero." Izuku stopped momentarily as he heard that. He didn't know what was better than a hero.
"W-What's better than a hero?" Izuku managed to squeak out. Inko hugged tighter as she searched for the answer. But her efforts yielded no reason.
"… I don't know Izuku, but I know that you'll find out one day." Inko hoped from the bottom of her heart that those words were enough to help her son with whatever he was going to do in the future.
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It was the next day. Izuku was still sad about recent events, but Inko's words were therapeutic for him. Izuku could be more than a hero; he didn't know what her words meant, but they filled him with enough hope to not give up.
Currently, Izuku was on his way to school. Izuku was anxious for it to start since he didn't know what was going to happen. Arriving at school, Izuku went and sat down in his class while waiting for everyone to arrive.
Eventually, all the kids made it to school, and they all sat down, but Bakugo looked at Izuku suspiciously since Mitsuki had heard from Inko what had happened. Classes continued like normal, there weren't any obvious changes Izuku noticed, and he hoped it would stay that way. But Izuku hoped too late.
When it was break time, every kid went to go play while the teachers supervised them all. Izuku was all alone as he played around with some blocks in the class. But Izuku heard steps come over to him, he was no longer alone when Bakugo and his group approached Izuku.
"Hey Izuku, I heard from my mom that you're now quirkless. Is that true?" Izuku stopped playing with the blocks as he looked down, somewhat sad as he was reminded of his quirklessness.
"Yeah, Kacchan, it is true… I am quirkless." Izuku looked down as he said that, but he was once again reminded of his mom's words. Courage filled him, and Izuku looked up to lock gazes with Bakugo. "And that's fine. I'll do something better than be a hero!"
Bakugo and his group just stared at Izuku. Soon, they erupted into laughter. Bakugo was the first to calm down.
"What's that supposed to mean, Izuku? What's better than being a hero?"
"I-I don't know… But I'll figure it out one day!" The rest of the boys laughed at Izuku since it was a silly dream.
"Yeah, whatever Izuku, actually you need a new name. Since you're so useless, why don't we call you… Deku! Since your name has the kanji for useless!"
"You can read Kanji and Bakugo?"
"Of course I can, Deku. I'm not useless like you." Bakugo and his group laughed as they walked back to the front of the class. Soon after Bakugo left, the class was reassembled, and the teacher was sitting in the front with a picture book.
Izuku sat down with the other kids as the teacher began to read the book for the class.
"Okay kids, it's storytime, and today's story is called "The Great Monster Hunter." Let's begin story time."
Izuku perked up at the title. It got his mind thinking. Izuku completely ignored his teacher as she began reading the picture book. Izuku formed a smile as he came up with the thought in his mind, 'Monsters are worse than villains. I can save people from them; I can be a monster hunter!'
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[11 MONTH TIME SKIP]
Months passed after Izuku was outed as quirkless. People still wondered how he was able to be so content with being quirkless. But Izuku just ignored all their snide remarks and kept his head held high since he didn't want to be a hero; he wanted to be a monster hunter.
But Izuku didn't really know what that meant. There were no monsters in the world. Izuku knew monsters weren't real. Yet Izuku knew that becoming a monster hunter would give him the strength to save people differently.
Izuku still admired heroes, but he reasoned that as a monster hunter, he could save people in a more meaningful way. It was almost like becoming a guardian who protects people from an unknown threat. To Izuku, that sounded like the ultimate heroic deed. Just like the monster hunter in his favorite book.
It was a new day, and Izuku was walking to school. It had been 11 and a half months since he was diagnosed as quirkless. Izuku was still a happy child, even if he was made fun of a lot, but he didn't mind.
Currently, Izuku was walking along a white road line, playing a little game in his head. Izuku was balancing on the line, continuing to march forward. Falling off the line meant losing the game, so Izuku tried his best to stay on the line.
Suddenly, Izuku heard the screech of tires from in front of him. Swiftly looking up, Izuku saw a white van race past a corner and drive toward him. Izuku began feeling a bit anxious because of how fast the van was driving.
Izuku stepped off to the side to avoid the van, but it screeched to a stop right next to him. Izuku's eyes darted around as he tried to make sense of what was happening. Instantly, the van's side door slid open, and two men with masks jumped out.
Sensing danger, Izuku tried to run, but he stopped when one of the men grabbed his backpack. Fear ran through his body as Izuku squirmed his way out of the backpack. Izuku tried to run for it, but he was tripped. Looking down, Izuku saw a tentacle around his foot. It started to drag him back as Izuku tried to claw out of its grasp.
Izuku was about to scream for help, but another tentacle came up from behind him and gagged him so he couldn't make a sound. Izuku's arms were grabbed by another man, and he was held to the floor.
All of a sudden, Izuku felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his neck. Then Izuku felt something enter his body. Izuku lost function in his limbs as he was picked up by one of the men. His eyes began to get heavy as he fought to keep them open.
Izuku was quickly picked up and dropped inside the van. Just before he passed out, Izuku saw a girl all tied up and passed out. She had white hair and was very pale for a kid her age. Izuku then heard the men talk with the last bit of consciousness he had left.
"Come on, tie him up. We still have one more we need to get before we're done for today, and I don't want any more attention."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Just get driving."
In a flash, Izuku saw nothing but black as he passed out right when he was being tied up.
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Darkness was all that Izuku could see. He didn't know what was going on. He couldn't feel his eyes open; Izuku's senses were dulled, and he felt like he couldn't move. Eventually, Izuku found the strength to try and move any part of his body.
Opening his eyes, Izuku groggily moved his body only to have it feel like solid concrete. Rustling his body, Izuku managed to get an arm to move as whatever he was injected with wore off.
Izuku was getting more and more movement in his body. He managed to move around enough to feel his limbs again. Finding enough strength, Izuku managed to get his arms under him and push himself up.
Moving his head, Izuku saw that he was in a semi-lit room with four other kids his age. He recognized the pale white-haired girl he saw earlier as well. Looking around more, Izuku saw that they were all piled up in a small room.
Izuku also noticed a black-haired girl sitting in the corner crying while curling up into a ball, so there was six kids total. Standing up with wobbly legs, Izuku slowly made his way over to her, being careful not to step on any of the other children.
Izuku fell over as he went over to her, and Izuku looked up to see her staring at him with gold eyes as tears fell from them. Izuku crawled over to her and sat next to her as she cried more.
"Umm… Do you know what is going on here?" The girl looked up at him with puffy eyes.
"N-No, I don't." She returned to her sorrows, and Izuku scooted closer to her. He didn't know what was going on. All Izuku knew was that some strange men had taken him, and now he was here, scared out of his mind.
"Don't worry, I'm sure things will be fine." She looked up at Izuku to see he had a wobbly smile full of fear, but it was somewhat reassuring to her. "I'm Izuku Midoriya."
"I-I'm Umi Koga." Izuku got closer to her to comfort her and himself.
"Hi, Koga."
Some time passed, and eventually, all the kids woke up in the small room. There were six of them, all huddled together to offer themselves some sort of protection from whatever was about to happen. No one spoke up, yet Izuku found the courage to speak to all the kids.
"I-I'm Izuku. This is Koga. Who are you guys?" Izuku already knew Koga, and she felt better after having Izuku close to her.
"I'm Razon," A boy with brown hair and brown eyes said as he looked at the group.
"I'm Soshu," The next boy, who had blue hair and light blue eyes, spoke up. Soshu looked at the boy next to him and signaled for him to go.
"I'm Tobei," The boy with no hair and no eyebrows said, and then the girl with pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes spoke up next.
"I'm Yuyu… Does anyone know what's going on?" A dreadful feeling fell upon all of them, as they didn't know what was going on. Eventually, someone spoke up, and that someone was Razon.
"W-What's going to happen to us?"
"I—I don't know," Yuyu said as her words were laced with more fear.
The six 5-year-old kids all sat around, scared of what was about to happen to them. All they knew was that they were taken, and they didn't know why. But Izuku had a theory, and he wanted to confirm it.
"… Are you guys quirkless too?" Everyone perked up at that. They all agreed that they were all quirkless. But it only made them feel worse; they were all treated horribly in school, and now they were going to be treated even worse.
It caused a few of them to begin crying. Izuku made every effort to console Koga. Yuyu and Soshu started crying, and the other kids felt abandoned. They were all startled out of their sadness when they heard several loud thuds on the wall.
Soon a wall opened up and the kids were drenched in light, so they shielded their eyes. Men came in and began forcibly taking the kids out of the room they were just in. They all came out screaming. Koga was desperately grabbing onto Izuku as Izuku tried to pull her back to him.
But Izuku was punched by a man, and he let go of her. Izuku was then picked up and dragged away by another man. Soon, Izuku was tossed into another room with Koga, Yuyu, Razon, Soshu, and Tobei.
Yet when Izuku looked around, he saw more kids his age, and he assumed they were all quirkless. And they had faces that told him they were just as afraid as he was. Izuku frantically looked around for any clue to figure out what was going on.
Just as Izuku moved his head, he saw a tall, bearded man with a lab coat walk out of a door with several men. The bearded man turned to the twenty children in the room and spoke with a grin.
"Welcome, children, to your new home, where you will all be responsible for creating humanity's new future!" All the kids looked fearful at the man, and he looked down at them with a wider grin.
"To start, each of you will be given a number, and please do your best to remember your number; that's what you'll be called here. And starting tomorrow, we will begin your training."
"T-Training?" A frightened boy asked as the doctor glared at him for interrupting his moment.
"Yes, training. You see, all of you need to be mentally and physically strong if you're going to carry the weight of humanity's future on your shoulders." Suddenly, the room shifted as it began to transform, and 20 beds appeared along the wall of the room, each with a number on it.
"Now line up so we can give you our new clothes and numbers." No child moved since they were so fearful. Suddenly, a crying girl spoke up.
"W-why are you doing this to us?" The scientist looked at her and smiled as he walked over to her.
"Why, you ask? Because you're all the perfect vessels for evolution to occur. Quirks are amazing things, aren't they? However, they all come with limits. But you all don't have any quirks! This makes you all a perfect blank canvas to evolve humanity further! Now let's unlock your true potential, children!"
The scientist forcibly grabbed the girl and started dragging her over, but a boy got angry and charged at the scientist. The boy punched the scientist's leg, but because he was so weak, the punches did nothing. The scientist glared at the boy, slapped him across his face, and kicked him away.
"Know your place, boy! I don't want to hurt you because we have work to do." The scientist spoke in a cruel tone. He dragged the girl over to a branding station, where men held her down as she screamed.
Izuku got up to try and do something, but he was instantly punched down by a man who told him to sit down and shut up. With tears in his eyes, Izuku looked at the girl, who looked terrified. One of the men holding her down brought his hand up as his finger turned into a metal number 1 and began to heat up.
In an instant, the room was filled with the sound of screams as the man pressed his finger into the girl's neck. All the children were filled with dread and fear as they watched the girl being branded with the number 1.
The girl ended up passing out from the pain, and once the branding was done, a man came over and treated her neck brand. The scientist looked up and pointed at a random kid and said, "Next!" Razon was grabbed next. He tried to struggle out of the grip, but he was brought over and held down as he was branded with the number 2.
This branding process went on until every kid was branded and treated. Once everyone had been branded, the men left with the scientist, and the kids were locked inside the room. Some of the kids felt such intense fear that they just went over to their beds and covered themselves with blankets to try and feel safe.
Izuku was huddled in his group. He sat next to Koga, who was tightly gripping onto him, begging for her mom. She was given the number 5, and Izuku had the number 9. Izuku looked up to see an emotionless Soshu, who had the number 13 on his neck. Yuyu, number 7, was curled into a ball and being comforted by Tobei, number 19. Razon was curled up on the floor, crying, as he was given the number 2.
Hopelessness filled the air as Izuku held Koga tighter to comfort himself. Izuku wondered what he did to deserve this. Izuku had always been a good boy, so for him to be here made no sense to him. Suddenly, Inko's words echoed in Izuku's head, 'You won't be a hero, Izuku. You'll be something better than a hero.'
Courage began to fill Izuku as he tried his best to calm himself down. 'Everyone is scared, and we have no idea what will happen to us. We need each other right now, or else we won't last.'
"… Guys." Everyone momentarily looked up to meet Izuku's eyes with their defeated gazes. But they were surprised to see that life hadn't yet left Izuku's eyes; instead, it burned in them.
"We need to stick together, okay?" Koga tightened her grip on Izuku and nodded into his arm. Razon got up off the floor and met Izuku's eyes as he came over to sit, feeling better after seeing Izuku.
"Okay… We'll stay together." Razon tried for a smile, but he was mentally exhausted as he sat there.
"You're right, Izuku," Soshu said as Yuyu looked up higher.
"Okay, I can do that." Tobei stopped patting Yuyu and met Izuku's eyes again.
"We'll need to support each other." Izuku nodded at Tobei to confirm.
"At least we have each other," Izuku said, making the group huddle closer for more comfort.
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Two men were talking to each other in a security room that watched the room holding the children.
"That green-haired kid, what was his number again?" The man said as he put his legs on top of the console while staring at a monitor. The man next to him began going through all the files they had made today.
"Uhm, Number 9, what about him?"
"He seems mentally strong; he looks like he's rallying some of the kids together. He might turn out to be a success."
"Do you think it's a bad sign? I'd hate to be the guy who has to stop a fucking rebellion of 5-year-olds." The other man snorted with laughter as he continued to stare at the monitors. But he was also curious about something
"These kids couldn't do a damn thing against us... Say, why did the doctor want these kids? And what are they supposed to be for?" The man sitting next to him looked around and leaned in close to whisper in his ear.
"I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard a rumor that the doc's going to try and turn these kids into soldiers." The first guy took his legs off the console and leaned in with interest.
"Soldiers? They don't even have quirks. What the hell is he planning to do with these worthless runts?"
"I don't know all the details, but Ogai said that when he passed by the doctor's lab, he saw a bunch of vials labeled with quirks."
"You don't think he's going to try and give these kids multiple quirks, right?" The other man shrugged his shoulders since no one told him anything.
"I don't know. All I know is he's planning to mess with the genes of the kids." As they talked, another man walked into the room with more files, startling the two guys talking.
"You two need to stop worrying. It's not our job to figure out what's going to happen to the kids." The other two men scrambled as he entered the room, and one of them spoke up.
"Sorry, but come on, aren't you at least a tiny bit curious about what the doctor has planned for them?" The new guy stared at him and considered the question.
"… Well, I am a little curious because I saw the doctor drag a skeleton into his lab."
"Wait, like a full skeleton! Come on, this has to intrigue you!" The new guy looked a bit curious, then spoke his mind as he got closer to the two guys.
"I wouldn't say a regular skeleton; it looked human enough... but it was different." The two men looked at each other, confused by what he meant.
"Different how?"
"I don't know, but it looked like it was denser than a regular skeleton; all I know is that the doc kept going on and on about how he found the ultimate human. Plus, I heard he found that skeleton in a sealed-off cave."
"A cave? How old was that cave to have a skeleton stay in it?"
"Fuck if I know. All I knew was that he was ecstatic to try some experiments on it. Now enough talk; let's get back to work. The kids begin their training tomorrow, and I want to make sure they get a workout."
The new man left the room after dropping off the files, and the two other guys got back to work, logging all the files and watching the cameras. All the while, they wondered what the doctor had planned for the kids to turn them into human beings.
[1 YEAR TIME SKIP]
A year has passed with the kids still missing. The day after the kids arrived, they were given small doses of hormones to jumpstart their bodies so they could begin growing muscle. Every child was told to work out and build strength, all while being forcibly taught the fundamentals of survival.
This process of workouts and learning went on for six months, and it only served to make all the kids closer to each other. Izuku, Yuyu, Koga, Razon, Soshu, and Tobei all became good friends.
Every day, the children faced challenging tasks. They were tormented by the doctor, yet they managed to power through it and come out the other side exhausted from the training. Izuku cheered all of his friends on as he pushed himself to get stronger while also swearing to protect them.
One would think that the kids wouldn't want to do what the men said, but after a few days of getting beaten for ignoring them, every kid followed directions. Izuku quickly became attached to the group's runt, the black-haired Koga since she was obviously the weakest. Yuyu and Tobei were also close, to the point where they moved their beds close together for comfort in the hard times. Razon and Soshu were rivals, and they always competed to get better.
After six months, the six friends had found themselves in a routine that was comfortable for them. But the doctor didn't want the kids to be comfortable; he wanted them to evolve, not stagnate.
The next six months were spent getting the kids ready for something. Their education progressed to include advanced herbalist and survivalist topics, but the exercise changed. All the children stopped focusing on growing muscles and instead focused on maintaining the muscle and improving their stamina while also having hand-to-hand fighting skills taught to them.
For six months, the kids were always thrown into new situations every week. Some seemed life-threatening; others were tamer. But Izuku and his group persisted through all the challenges, and they quickly made themselves favorites of the doctor.
But being a favorite wasn't a good thing. They were treated harsher and given more exercise since the doctor wanted them to succeed more. Out of the six group members, Izuku was the third strongest, Razon and Soshu had the honor of being the top two, Yuyu outperformed Tobei, and Koga came last.
Yet, out of the six group members, the doctor favored Izuku more. No one knew why. They all assumed it was because of his ability to rally the other kids under his leadership. Others thought it was his mental fortitude since Izuku just never gave up.
Izuku had no idea why he was favored, but he didn't care. He was going to protect his friends if it was the last thing he did. Izuku never forgot about his goal, and being tormented by these men only cemented it further in his soul.
But little did any of the kids know that the worst challenge was yet to come.
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It was a new day. Izuku had just turned 6, and his friends were going to be 6 soon as well. But the surprising thing was that Izuku didn't feel six at all. His mental fortitude forced his mind to adapt to the situation, and with that adaptation came a change in habits.
Izuku woke up earlier than everyone else. He was used to it by now, and he knew it wasn't a good thing. Izuku was only six, so he needed to save his strength for whatever was about to happen.
But when Izuku got off his bed, he didn't feel the cold concrete floor under his feet; he felt grass. Looking around in the dark, Izuku squinted and made out the outlines of trees. Fearing the worst, Izuku frantically got up and looked around.
From what Izuku could tell, he was in a forest, all alone. Since he couldn't hear anyone else, he had no idea where he was.
"HEEEEYYYY!" Izuku called out, but no one called back. Izuku was afraid; he didn't know what was out there, and he had no idea if he could survive. But Izuku's amazing mental fortitude came to save him.
Izuku calmed down, slowed his breathing, and assessed the situation. "I'm all alone, in a dark forest with creatures lurking around. The first thing to do is find my friends or anyone that can help me survive."
Little did Izuku know, the doctor was watching him and was impressed with how quickly Izuku was willing to act. Izuku got the bed's blanket and set off to go find his friends. He was going to survive this and protect all of them. Izuku was going to escape with them all and then become a monster hunter to protect them all.
Izuku later found Koga, who was cowering in fear of being left alone in the dark forest. Once Izuku found her, they set off to go and find more people who could help.
After a long walk, Izuku and Koga found themselves at the top of a mountain, deep in the Japanese forests. They were nowhere close to any form of civilization. Deciding this was a good place to set up camp, Izuku and Koga began making camp.
Their survivalist training helped them figure out how to get things going. Once a fire was made, Izuku used it to send signals, hoping his friends were close enough to find him.
Izuku sat by the fire with Koga, and they huddled close together. Koga grasped Izuku and held him close for comfort. Soon, the sun fell over the horizon and only a small portion of light could be seen in the sky.
"Izuku, how long are we going to be here?" Koga said, on the verge of tears. Izuku looked at her and smiled to comfort her since she always calmed down when she saw his smile.
"I don't know, but as long as we have each other, we'll be fine." Izuku pulled her closer, then they heard rustling from the forest, and Izuku got serious as he leaped in front of Koga to protect her.
But Izuku relaxed when he saw the blue hair of Soshu, and behind him came Tobei. Izuku beamed at them and smiled.
"Hey, guys!" Izuku yelled out.
"See, I told you it was Izuku who set up that smoke signal. He was always the smart one out of all of us," Soshu said with a grin as he walked closer.
"Fine, you made your point, Soshu," Tobei said with an annoyed tone.
"Stop complaining. Let's go join Izuku and Koga. It's getting cold." Soshu and Tobei quickly went and sat next to the fire, where Izuku smiled at them.
"So how long were you guys traveling to get here?" Izuku asked as he eyed Tobei.
"The whole day, I think the doctor split us all up and put us all far away from each other. I ran into Soshu by chance as I was making my way over here."
"Yeah, I ran into Koga by chance. By the way, do you guys have your bed blankets?"
Tobei and Soshu responded by taking out their bed blankets. They all looked at Koga, who shook her head.
"I got scared by something and ran away from my bed in the dark. I wasn't able to find my way back." Izuku smiled at Koga and made a suggestion.
"Then take my blanket, Koga."
"What no, I can't do that! You'll freeze if I do that, Izuku." Izuku set his blanket down over her so she could retain some heat.
"Don't worry, I'll take first watch and sleep by the fire, so I won't freeze." Koga looked a bit sad but understood.
"I'll take the second watch!" Soshu shouted with glee, looking for a chance to compete with someone.
"Alright, I just want to make sure that if Yuyu or Razon show up, we can greet them." The others nodded and set up their blankets on the hard, cold ground so they could sleep.
"Do you think Yuyu and Razon are okay?" Tobei asked the others. Izuku smiled at him and answered.
"I'm sure they're both fine; they're strong, so they'll make it to us." The others nodded at Izuku's sentimental words, and they all got ready to sleep.
Izuku watched them all fall asleep as he studied the tree line to see what would happen. He was worried about his friends and the other kids, but Izuku had faith that they could make it through the night.
A day passed before Razon and Yuyu made it to the little encampment they had set up in the forest. But before Yuyu and Razon made it to the camp, a few other kids Izuku had seen made it there first.
Once Yuyu and Razon made it to camp, Soshu went right over to Razon and demanded a challenge in wood collecting. Yuyu was hugged by Koga, and Tobei went over to her and was glad she made it back.
A few days passed, and the camp was now full of kids, but heartbreak befell all of them after a week. The camp only had 13 kids in it, and one kid had gotten severe lacerations to their arm when they escaped a creature. Tragically, the child succumbed to his injuries and died in the arms of his friend. It was traumatizing for all of the kids.
Izuku feared the worst for the other 7 missing kids, and his heart ached at the fact that 8 kids had died in the forest. It was a sad day, and a few of the kids cried in front of the small memorial graves they had all put together. A small funeral was held for their fellow quirkless kids, and Izuku was feeling the depression from losing them. They were all just six, and they had experienced great loss in just a short amount of time.
Izuku calmed himself and kept the sadness from breaking him. He rallied all the kids together, and they set up their camp. They made small, lean tents against the trees and set up a working camp where they had access to food and clean water.
For one year, the 12 remaining kids survived in the forest, and nearly every day something tried to kill them. Four kids almost died from a disease, but thanks to Izuku's coordinated efforts and the herbalist's training, they put together a treatment for the disease.
The monsoon season almost had a few kids die from hypothermia, but thanks to huddling together and fire, they all managed to survive the harsh season. And all the kids managed to turn themselves into efficient hunters and gatherers.
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[1 YEAR TIME SKIP]
Izuku woke up in the lean tent that he shared with Koga and Razon. They were still sleeping, but Izuku didn't mind. Izuku got some patchwork clothes on and left his tent to enjoy the chilled morning air. When Izuku walked out of his tent, he was greeted by light just appearing over the horizon.
He stretched his arms and got ready to get the day going. Izuku had been here for a year. He counted the days, and he wasn't about to stop doing his daily tasks. Just as Izuku grabbed a bucket to get some fresh water from the nearby stream, a metal object came flying out of the woods toward him.
Landing by his feet, Izuku stared at it questioningly, but he soon realized what it was. Izuku leaped away from it right as it exploded and smoke poured out of it, covering the entire area. Izuku may have been 6 or close to 7, but he was still a trained fighter, hunter, and survivalist.
As soon as Izuku landed, a few other kids came out of their tents to see what was going on, but they were all met by Izuku's yell. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
Right as Izuku said that, men with guns came out of the forest and aimed at Izuku. Izuku instantly moved and dove away to get cover. Izuku saw a few kids come out with their improvised weapons.
But they were shot down by the men, and the bullets they fired were tranquilizer darts. The kids fell, and Izuku knew he was next. Izuku made a beeline for his tent as the men shot darts at him.
Izuku just barely managed to outpace the gunfire, but luck wasn't on his side. Izuku was hit in the leg, and he began to feel the effects of the drugs. Not letting this stop him, Izuku forced his body up so he could protect his friends. He pulled out the dart and breathed to slow the progress of the tranquilizer.
Razon and Koga got up, and Razon tossed Izuku an obsidian knife. Izuku grabbed it and got up for an attack. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw a man approaching the tent. Calming himself, Izuku prepared to fight the man right as Razon came up behind him for support.
Izuku tightly gripped the small knife, and as soon as the man turned the corner, Izuku, with the help of Razon, tackled the man. He fell and dropped his gun as he fought off Razon's attacks. Without hesitation, Izuku got on top of the man and brought his knife up.
With a quick, thoughtless movement, Izuku brought the knife down into the man's chest. Izuku heard his scream of pain, but he felt nothing as he watched the man cough up blood and die in front of him.
Looking up, Izuku saw other children attack the men that ambushed them, but they were completely overwhelmed. Izuku lost all morality and sense to his survival instincts. He grabbed his obsidian knife and pulled it out of the man.
Izuku got up, grabbed Razon, and they prepared to fight another man. But they were interrupted when they heard Koga scream. Looking back, Izuku was filled with fury as he saw Koga being tossed down and shot with darts.
However, Izuku's loss of focus would make him suffer the consequences. Razon was kicked by a man as he tried to fight him. Izuku tried to back Razon up, but he was punched by a man who snuck up behind him.
Izuku was forced to the ground and repeatedly punched by the angry man. Izuku could do nothing as he was beaten to a pulp by this man. In his last moments of consciousness, Izuku saw Koga and Yuyu on the floor and passed out. It filled Izuku with anger and grief at how he failed to help his friends.
As soon as Izuku was knocked out, the man punching him was pulled off Izuku by another man.
"Dude, calm the fuck down!"
"You shut the fuck up! He killed my brother! I'm going to kill that little shit!" Another man came up and restrained him. Soon, the doctor came out with a smile. He looked at all the passed-out children and was satisfied with the results.
He laid eyes on the dead man and the bloody hands of Izuku. He smiled wider. "Hahaha, this one will probably make it; he has a strong body and spirit. And most of the kids are close to his level. I have a good feeling that the experiment will succeed."
The doctor went to each kid and grabbed a blood sample, making sure to take care of the samples. "Alright kids, it's time for your graduation. We're going to put you through the wringer! Men, grab the kids! It's time for the next step!"
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A while later, Izuku's eyes fluttered open. He still felt the tranquilizer in him, but he tried to fight through it. Izuku opened his eyes fully to see that he was in a separate chamber surrounded by his friends and the other kids.
Trying to move his body, Izuku found that he couldn't; his limbs were restrained by leather straps. Izuku struggled more, and his noise only managed to wake up Yuyu and Soshu.
"Izuku, is that you?" Soshu managed to get out.
"Soshu! Is that you? Are you alright?" Izuku yelled out.
"Yeah, I'm here, Izuku. What happened?" Soshu said as he tried to struggle out of his binds, but Yuyu answered for Izuku.
"The last thing I remember is being attacked by the men who kept us captured."
"W-what's going to happen to us?" Everyone turned to see a frightened Koga trying to break free from the bindings.
"Hey, calm down. We need to have clear minds if we're going to get out of here," Izuku said, trying to calm them all down. Izuku was thinking of how to get out of here and save his friends. But then Izuku heard a large door open and several footsteps come from it.
Looking around, Izuku saw that most of the kids were waking up. Razon was trying to break out of his binds while Tobei looked for a way out. But they all stopped when they saw the smiling, bearded doctor step into the middle of the room.
"Welcome, children, to your graduation. We've spent two years preparing your bodies and minds for the experiment we are about to conduct. Congratulations on making it this far!" All the kids glared at the doctor. He tormented them daily and then dropped them into a forest so they could die. None of them wanted to aid him in any way.
"Now, I'm sure you're all curious about what's going to happen to you! But don't worry, we're just going to be experimenting on your bodies. You won't understand what modifications we will give you, but if you manage to survive, context will be important for when we do explain it to you."
The kids all looked at one another, unsure of what was going to happen. But Izuku had this deadly seriousness as he began to listen to the doctor. Izuku just hoped that there was a way to escape the doctor after this.
"All modifications will be made through a series of chemical compounds that will be injected into your body. Three concoctions will be used to modify your body so it can evolve. As the doctor said this, several nurses walked in pushing carts with three bags full of chemicals.
"The first concoction will break down your body and modify it to significantly strengthen the eyes, senses, reflexes, speed, muscles, immune system, healing factor, and body composition. Plus, with your body being broken down, it will be susceptible to more changes." The nurses began preparing the injections as they hung them up and put them on devices to inject them.
"Concoction number two will be the best one. It will give you an extremely massive quirk factor, so we can add a specific selection of quirks that will grant you more abilities. And it will help stabilize the physical modifications to your body."
The doctor put on a bigger smile, and the nurses began stabbing the kids with needles so they could begin the process once the doctor gave them the word. Izuku felt the sharp pain of three needles being stabbed into him, but he listened to the doctor's words with massive amounts of worry and fear for what was about to happen.
"And finally, the third concoction will attempt to stabilize you enough so the modifications can take place. If you survive, we expect you to be stronger, faster, and better than the average person. You all will become…" The doctor held up his hand so he could give the signal.
He swung his arm down, and all the nurses pressed a button that began injecting the liquids into all the kids. Screams of agony erupted from all the children as they were all forcibly injected with the three modification drugs.
"You will all become... Witchers!"
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Pain.
Agony.
Torture.
Suffering.
That was all Izuku could feel and wrap his mind around. He was in unbelievable pain. Izuku's body was sweating nonstop. He could feel his skin wanting to break open.
Izuku violently thrashed around in his restraints as the pain began to become too much to bear.
Twelve childish screams of violent pain echoed throughout the chamber the kids were in. All Izuku could focus on were his own screams of agony and his failing eyes.
Izuku felt vomit begin to erupt from his mouth as he got rid of the contents of his stomach.
Suddenly, the restraints on Izuku's chair broke off, and he, along with all the other kids, fell to the floor. Izuku crawled around in complete torture as he searched for a solution to end this unbearable pain.
It was too much for him to bear. Izuku made his way to a wall, and he began clawing at it to try and escape the cruel fate that awaited him.
Izuku looked at his arms with whatever clear vision he had. He saw them soaked with sweat that dripped off of them. But when his veins and muscles began to throb, Izuku felt his entire body cramp up as he vomited more.
Izuku fell to the floor, breathing heavily. He looked around, and he saw one kid stop moving entirely.
Another massive wave of pain filled Izuku as he yelled in complete agony as he felt his entire body ache.
Izuku yelled in more agony as he felt exhaustion begin to overtake him completely. His mind began to point towards defeat.
Izuku couldn't focus on anything but his own tiredness and suffering. But thoughts of his friends invaded his mind. Deep down, Izuku thought he needed to survive this for them. Izuku found the will to bear the pain longer. He screamed in agony as he continued to mutate.
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The doctor watched in grotesque fascination from an observatory. He took notes on the modification process the kids were going through. He also noted that two kids had already died from the pain.
"Numbers 4 and 6 are dead. Retrieve the bodies." His men watched in morbid curiosity as they saw the kids go through complete pain. They felt sorry that the kids were forced to go through the doctor's sick experiments.
However, all the men noticed the doctor staring at Izuku the most. "Number 9 seems to be doing well this late in the process. Keep an eye on him."
All the observers looked at Izuku and his number 9 branding. They saw him thrash in pain on the floor and bang his sweaty and bloody fists on the wall. Then they saw Izuku vomit up more bile and wondered how that was considered doing well.
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Days passed. Izuku had no idea how many days had passed.
All Izuku knew was that he was trapped in this chamber, unable to move due to exhaustion in his body. The only thing keeping Izuku going was the thought of seeing his friends again, so they could finally escape this place.
Izuku couldn't even see or hear clearly, as the pain was too much for him to bear.
The only thing Izuku could make out clearly was that the screams of agony had ceased entirely, which Izuku assumed was because everyone had no energy to make a sound.
But Izuku didn't know how wrong he was. The room was soaked with sweat, blood, tears, and vomit.
Izuku was lying in a warm puddle of blood from another kid who died of blood loss because he vomited up all his blood. Izuku couldn't remember which kid it was. All he knew was that it was warm.
Izuku stayed awake all this time, but it was finally time for his body to give up. Izuku closed his eyes, deciding he had enough of this.
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Consciousness came back to Izuku like a speeding truck. Izuku could feel his body. It was whole and not broken apart, and the pain was finally gone. Relief washed over him, Izuku wanted to see his friends; he wanted to see how Koga, Tobei, Yuyu, Razon, and Soshu were doing.
Yet everything was hazy; Izuku's thoughts were clouded, and he had no idea what was going on. All Izuku knew was that he wanted to see his friends.
But Izuku couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't move his limbs. Yet he could hear. Izuku focused on his hearing and noted just how clean the sounds were as he heard them.
"What do you mean!?" Izuku recognized the voice. It was the voice of the doctor that put him and his friends through that unbearable pain. At the sound of his voice, Izuku was filled with wrath. He wanted revenge. He wanted to take that monster's life. It was then that Izuku understood something about his goal.
'Monsters are real; they are humans! And I want to be a monster hunter!'
Izuku tried to open his eyes and get up. He tried to do something. All Izuku wanted was to enact his justified revenge. Yet due to exhaustion, Izuku managed to calm himself and listen to the conversation.
"I don't care what you do with the bodies! Just tell me how many survived!
"Well, four kids survived... but..." A nurse said, as she sounded unsure.
"But what!?"
"None of them are of any use." Izuku's mind froze as he listened to that. He wanted to know what happened.
"What the hell does that mean!? Elaborate, dumbass!"
"W-Well, number 9 is in a coma and we can't wake him up; number 5 is disabled from the waist down; she can't move her legs; number 19 has his left side paralyzed; and number 2 is blind."
Izuku's mind broke at what he heard: Koga was disabled, Tobei was paralyzed, and Razon was blind. Izuku's consciousness became depressed as a result of what he heard.
'Yuyu, and... Soshu, and... everyone else... are dead?'Izuku's soul was filled with intense grief as it wanted to shatter, yet there was an intense hatred that burned inside of him. Izuku wanted the doctor dead, no matter what.
'I'M GOING TO TAKE HIS HEAD!' Izuku vowed to take revenge; he just had to be patient to take the doctor's life. Izuku was a self-proclaimed monster hunter, and hunters waited patiently to kill their prey.
As Izuku vowed this, the doctor and a few nurses came into the room where he was resting. The doctor read the report on Izuku and sighed at the changes to Izuku.
"Damn these nurses! Number 9 was the only one to have all the modifications take effect! He was a success, but he's in a damn coma!" The doctor threw the report to the ground in frustration. But his demeanor changed when he took a breath and grew a grin.
"Well, whatever. This just means I have a chance to fix my mistakes with the next batch. Hopefully, by then, I will have the witchers he wants. Besides, I have a year to make corrections. The next batch of kids will leave for the mountains in a few days."
The doctor sighed as he pulled up a cart full of surgical tools. He looked at the tools and at Izuku's naked body, then formed a smile. Izuku's body had developed nicely; Izuku had more muscle on it, and his hair was a mix of green and white. The doctor was annoyed that Izuku was the only success, but he was in a coma so he was useless.
"At least I'll have plenty of time to dissect and study you. I had high hopes for you, number 9, but you'll just have to be useful in a different way." The doctor gleefully grabbed a scalpel and was about to put it on Izuku's chest.
But right when his hands were over Izuku's chest, Izuku's 7-year-old hands shot up and gripped the doctor's arm with the scalpel. The doctor was shocked, and he jumped back out of surprise, knocking the surgical cart over.
As the doctor fell to the floor, Izuku grabbed a scalpel the doctor dropped. The doctor was breathing hard, and he was shocked to see Izuku awake. His mind was also glad; he had succeeded. But his joy was overshadowed by fear.
Izuku opened his eyes, and his left one was orange while the right one was green. But the most shocking feature about Izuku's eyes was the catlike slit in both of them. But Izuku's eyes were filled with rage as they stared at the doctor.
Izuku stared at the doctor, but he felt nothing at the idea of killing him. Izuku's mind was still hazy, but he could think clearly enough to know that he wanted the doctor dead.
Izuku raised the scalpel and prepared to bring it down and stab the doctor as he crawled on the floor.
As Izuku was about to bring the scalpel down, the building shook with intense vibrations. Red lights instantly turned on, and an alarm went off. It momentarily distracted Izuku since he wondered what was going on, and he clutched his surprisingly sensitive ears as the sound echoed through the facility.
It was enough of a distraction to let the doctor get up and run away from Izuku. Izuku saw the doctor get up and ran after him with a hazy mind since he wasn't sure what was going on and his mind was still healing.
A chase ensued, and Izuku, with surprising speed, chased the doctor down the halls. When Izuku lost sight of the doctor, he just sniffed the air, and he was back on his trail.
Izuku had a scalpel in hand, and he ran after the doctor, who was trying to frantically run away from him. As Izuku gave chase, he heard the faint sounds of people fighting, along with gunshots. But Izuku didn't care; he was hyper-focused on killing the doctor.
At the end of the hall, Izuku saw the doctor frantically trying to punch in a key code. The doctor looked back and was terrified of the 7-year-old boy who menacingly approached him with orange and green eyes that shone in the red darkness.
The doctor managed to get the door open, and he frantically got inside and tried to slam the door shut. But Izuku leaped at the door and managed to get an arm in. The doctor tried harder to shut the door, but Izuku pushed back with surprising strength.
Izuku managed to get ahead and push the door open. The doctor fell back and slowly backed up inside the room to try and get some distance from the monstrous child. The doctor picked up a glass vial and threw it at Izuku. Izuku saw the vial coming at him in slow motion, which let Izuku effortlessly dodge the thrown object.
Looking around the room, Izuku saw notes and experiments, all relating to what the doctor had done to him and his friends. It filled Izuku with rage that the doctor did this to him. Izuku glared at the doctor, who was begging for his life.
With a look that froze the doctor's soul, Izuku stared him down and shut the door behind him. Turning his head next to him, Izuku saw an open flame on a candle, guided by rage and a hazy consciousness. Izuku grabbed the candle and threw it at the papers on the wall.
The wall was ignited and on fire, and the fire soon began to spread and consume the room, making smoke that had nowhere to go. But Izuku didn't care. He was too angry to think of his well-being. Izuku just wanted to kill the doctor.
Approaching the doctor, Izuku saw tears in the doctor's eyes as he held up his hand to beg for mercy.
"Please! I can help you! I made you into this! You're better than them all! Don't do this!" Izuku stared at the doctor and raised the scalpel tightly gripped in his hand. Izuku yelled at the doctor as he prepared to stab him.
"You're a monster!" Izuku brought the scalpel down into the doctor's gut.
The doctor howled in pain as he felt the metal object penetrate his guts. He stared into the wrathful eyes of the 7-year-old who was about to take his life and got angry. The doctor tried to fight Izuku, but Izuku dodged all the attacks and punched the doctor with great strength for his small body.
A loud slam was heard as the doctor fell to the floor after Izuku's punch. Izuku tackled the doctor as he tried to crawl away, and Izuku stabbed him over and over again with the scalpel.
Blood sprayed out of the doctor's mouth as he yelled in agony. He coughed up blood as Izuku covered his arms, face, and chest in the doctor's blood. Izuku stopped stabbing and looked down at the dying doctor. Izuku felt nothing but rage as he stared at the man who turned him into this and killed his friends.
With his remaining strength, the doctor looked at Izuku and spoke.
As the room filled with fire and smoke, the doctor collapsed to the ground, "You are an abomination." Izuku coughed, and he noticed his head starting to feel light from the lack of oxygen.
Izuku backed away from the doctor, hearing slamming from the door he had just shut. Looking at the door, Izuku saw a giant hand punch through it and rip it off the frame.
A large, hulking man with a bright smile came in, and his smile dropped at what he saw. He saw a dead doctor with a bloodied 7-year-old boy on the verge of passing out. He was shocked, but he acted. Without a shred of hesitation, he grabbed the boy and booked it.
The last thing Izuku heard before he passed out with his hazy mind was this man speaking as he carried Izuku.
"Don't worry, child, because I am here!"
Hey guys, just as a reminder, this is an experimental story, just to see if it's worth pursuing or not.
So if you want to give your opinion on it, then go for it.