Disclaimer: I own nothing.

My Hunter Academia

Chapter 1: Evacuation

Natural disasters can be extremely dangerous, even if someone were to have powers. Some people might survive thanks to their newfound Quirks, but ultimately, in the end, mother nature always wins; as was the case with an island nation in the Mediterranean, between Italy and its islands Corsica and Sardinia, where a small island appeared to be coming apart at the seams. On one side of the island, a small town was evacuating from their deteriorating home. Many lifeboats were docked at the island's harbor, some heading offshore to a larger ship that was anchored safely away from the ongoing crisis.

A loud explosion rocked the small town's streets, followed by several buildings' crumbling. A few terrified cries echoed from the citizens trying to board one of the boats or helicopters. So far, the departure from Fortuna, an isolated island in the Mediterranean Sea and a remnant from the English Empire when England had hundreds of colonies across the world, was progressing steadily, but time was running out quite fast. Parts of the small landmass had already slid into the ocean, and it wasn't stopping any time soon.

"We're getting reports that the subsidence on the north side has sped up," informed one of the evacuation officials, getting off the radio, "Our timetable just got much shorter."

"We almost have all the residence onto lifeboats," informed Nemuri Kayama, aka Midnight.

The R-Rated Hero had been recruited by the Hero Public Safety Commission to help with the evacuation. Fortuna was viewed as a religious site by many people and some citizens refused to leave the island. Most of those were members of The Order of the Sword. While peaceful worship wasn't prohibited in any sense, it wasn't a very popular religion, and members of the order were fiercely loyal to their beliefs. In order to get around protests and to help make sure all the citizens could be quickly evacuated, Midnight was asked by the Safety Commission President to help quell any possible resistance. Which might not be ethical, forcing someone to leave a place, but at least the people would be alive to complain. However, it wasn't much of an issue for the Pro Heroes assisting in the evac, as there was something more interesting about the island than the religion it practiced.

Every member of the Order lacked any sort of Quirk.

Given that around 80% of the world's population had some kind of ability, having an entire population of an island, even though it was small, be completely Quirkless is an unprecedented sight. While there were some very small groups that viewed the Quirks and abilities of some heroes to be unnatural and that Quirkless humans were the "normal ones," those groups were very small and often just outliers and religious nuts.

"Good," said the Pro Hero leading the evacuation, "Have you had much trouble with the residents?"

"A few more zealous members put up a fight but were quickly handled," assured Midnight as he looked around, seeing only a few more groups left.

The lead Pro noticed a somewhat conflicted look on her face, "If you're worried about blowback for going against these people's wishes, don't be. They'll be alive in the end, that's all that matters. If they have an issue with being saved, that's their problem, not yours."

"Still, I would feel more at ease when we leave," replied the curvaceous woman as she glanced towards the people, seeing some children still among the individuals.

The Pro Heroine frowned, wondering why there were children still here, shouldn't they have been evacuated first? Granted, some children wish to stay with their families, so it could be somewhat forgiven, but she still would have preferred if the youngest and most vulnerable members of Fortuna had made off first. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't speed up the process.

Making her way over, Midnight was intending on helping usher younger members onto either a lifeboat or a helicopter. However, through all the chaos of the island coming apart and the fearful cries of the civilians, Nemuri was able to pick out a specific sound that had her full attention.

"We can't leave yet! We have to wait for him to come back!" cried a young girl, pulling on what she assumed was her father's arm, trying to go back to the entrance into the harbor.

The girl looked to be only five years old, with white skin and auburn hair. She had hazel eyes, but the tears rolling down her cheeks showed that she had been crying for quite some time.

"I'm sorry, Kyrie," apologized the man, looking away sadly, "But we can't wait any longer. Your brother and mother have already left. We have to go."

Nemuri didn't need to hear much more to know that someone the little girl cared about hadn't been evacuated. She made her way over to the pair, the evacuees parting to give her space as she went.

"Isn't this just a dreadful sight," said Midnight as approached the father and daughter, getting the attention of both. Leaning down to the girl, she gave her a friendly smile as she wiped a tear from the young girl's cheek, "Someone as cute as yourself shouldn't look so unhappy. Mind telling me what's wrong and if there's anything I can do to put a smile on that face?"

"N-Nero hasn't come back yet!" Whimpered the young girl as she brushed some other tears away with her free hand, "We can't leave without him!"

"'Nero?'" Repeated Midnight, making sure she heard the name correctly, "Is he a friend of yours?"

"He's a young orphan boy that my family would take care of from time to time," explained the man, getting the Pro Hero's attention, "He's a close friend of Kyrie, my daughter. He must've snuck off when he heard that my daughter left behind her favorite doll and hasn't returned."

"Please!" Begged Kyrie as she suddenly threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Midnight's waist, burying her face into the Pro Hero's chest, her eyes brimming with tears once more, "Bring him back!"

"Don't worry, Kyrie," assured Nemuri, smiling warmly as she stroked the top of the little girl's head to soothe her, "If he's important to you, then he's important to me. I'll find him and bring him back."

Kyrie sniffed a bit as she looked up at Midnight's face, seeing the comforting smile on the Pro Heroe's face. After a moment, Kyrie nodded before letting go of the woman who stood up to her full height.

"Is there someplace you know that Nero might go to?" Asked Midnight, looking over at the father who scratched the back of his head.

"Best guess would be either my family's home or the orphanage," answered the man, "It's on the other side of the town; you can take the main road to the Order's Church, past the monolith and take the third street on the left, our home is at the second intersection on the left corner across the street. The orphanage is at the end of the street."

"Thank you," nodded Midnight as she looked back down at Kyrie, giving the girl one more smile, "I'll be back with Nero before you know it."

Without another word, Midnight headed for the main road, her expression shifting to that of determination as she broke into a run, slipping by some civilians and members of the evacuation team. However, as soon as she got into the town, she began to curse her choice for wearing boots with four inch heels. As well as they matched her outfit, they did not help with navigating the castle town's destroyed streets and buildings.

Moments such as these made her wish she could still wear her old costume. Decency can go screw itself.

It was remarkably easy to find Fortuna's church and the monolith, the former being one of the largest buildings on the island while the latter was very hard to miss being a huge black rectangle, not like the Kaaba that is worshipped by Islamic practitioners, it was much different. Passing under a gate, Nemuri came across a fountain that was directly in front of the church. Glancing to the left, she spotted the monolith. Normally, she and religion didn't really get along, with some practices finding her risque choice of outfit "sinful." So, she was quite surprised to find that the people of the Order of the Sword didn't seem to care all that much.

Still, she cast a wary glance at the monolith, the structure unsettling her a bit.

Shaking her head, she turned down the road and made her way toward the end of the street. Distant rumbling caused Midnight to glance back for a moment but returned her focus back to what was in front of her. She vaulted over a car, as she closed in on the house. Sure enough, she rushed towards the small corner house.

The front door had been left thankfully open, allowing the Pro Hero to burst into the house.

"Hello?!" Nemuri called out, hoping that the boy was inside, "Is anyone there?! Nero?! You don't have to be scared!"

The house was relatively small, so she didn't have much ground to cover. Looking everywhere, she searched the first floor, second, and third floor, checking every room, calling Nero's name.

"He isn't here," said Midnight softly, worried that she was running out of time. It was then her earpiece, a small communicator used by Pro Heroes to communicate with each other, that let out a beep, causing the woman to frown. Answering the call, she didn't have a chance to speak before the person on the other end barked at her.

"Midnight! Where are you?!" Demanded the lead hero. From his tone, Nemuri got the notion that he wasn't pleased she had disappeared.

"Following up on a possible civilian left behind," she answered calmly as she headed downstairs to her next destination.

"We're being ordered to pull out," stated the Pro Hero, catching the woman by surprise, "The Commission is calling it. The island's breaking apart faster than expected; all evacuation parties are being recalled now."

"'They're calling it?!" Demanded Nemuri, surprise couldn't begin to describe what she was feeling, "There could be still civilians on the island!"

"If we stay, we risk putting other lives at risk," responded the man, "So the commission is ending it early and pulling back before the island completely breaks apart. You're the only operative still on the island. I suggest you return to the harbor now."

"Not yet," declared Midnight as she ran out of the house and began heading down the street, "I was told that a civilian may have possibly been left behind, I've investigated one location and now heading to the orphanage. If you want to get me out, you can pick us up there."

"Understood," said the man, following a slow sigh, "I'll… I'll see if I can route a chopper to your location. Good luck, Midnight."

Releasing the button to speak, Nemuri picked up the pace as she ran toward the end of the street. She likely had only a few minutes before the island gave out completely. She was really regretting not wearing more appropriate boots, but she could change her wardrobe later, she had to get to the orphanage. NOW. So, ignoring the growing pain, Nemuri ran as fast as she could down the street, the distant rumbling growing more frequent and louder.

Bounding over some debris, Nemuri slowed down and her expression fell when she saw the orphanage, or rather the crumbling remains of it. It seemed like this area had been hit harder compared to other areas, as one-half of the building had collapsed onto itself. Prior to the disaster, she had a feeling that this place was a rather well-kept place Parts also seemed to be burning and the entire structure seemed to be on the verge of coming completely down.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Nemuri ran into the building, she didn't have much time.

"Nero!" Shouted the Heroine as she burst through the doors, looking around, "Nero, are you there?!"

She was only met with silence but still refused to give up as she looked around as much as possible. Searching each room, she kept calling out to Nero, hoping that the boy was alive. She didn't care if the island broke apart under her very feet, she wouldn't leave until she found him.

It wasn't until she rounded a corner on the second floor did she realize that the island's instability was growing worse. A chasm had actually formed when parts of the island's bedrock split apart. On one side, was the majority of the orphanage, but on the other was a section of the building that looked like some additional rooms. Overall, it didn't look good, and a voice in the back of her mind was telling Nemuri that she couldn't stay any longer.

But there was a second voice telling her to stay, just a bit longer. She couldn't leave until she was absolutely certain she had checked everywhere.

"Nero!" She called once more, shouting over the sound of the crumbling building and the distant rumbles of the island's collapse.

It wasn't until she spotted something or someone pressed into the corner. She couldn't make much out from the smoke and dust, but from what she could see was a young boy, around the same age as Kyrie. He has white hair and a white skin tone. He was wearing simple clothing. He was hugging what looked like a small toy.

"Nero!" Shouted Nemuri louder, her heart jumping with excitement that the boy was still alive, "Nero, can you hear me?!"

The boy seemed to stir a bit, or if it was the building collapsing that caused his movement, she couldn't tell. The boy looked up, rubbing his eyes a bit, relief washing over Midnight when she saw that he was conscious. The boy looked in Nemuri's direction.

"Nero, I need you to stay right where you are, can you do that?!" She asked him, having had a moment to look at the state of the building, Nemuri felt that she could get over to him and get the both of them out soon.

A confused look on his face seemed to appear for a moment, but he nodded regardless.

Seeing him nod, Nemuri quickly got to work, pulling out her whip from her belt, she swung it up at an exposed pipe. As the whip wrapped around the metal tube, Nemuri gave it a tug, making sure it was stable before the heroine swung over to Nero's side of the building. She was down one level, but could easily find a way around. Quickly retrieving her whip, Midnight scaled up some of the debris, once again cursing her choice in high heels, and quickly climbed up to where Nero was.

"Y-You're saving me?" asked the young boy, watching as Midnight pulled herself over the edge.

"Of course," replied Nemuri as she approached Nero, giving him a friendly smile, "Someone very important was worried about you when you didn't come back."

Nero blinked, still looking confused, something that the Pro Hero noticed, but would think about later. Right now, she had to get this boy to safety, or to someplace the helicopter could pick them up that was clear enough or stable enough to make the rescue. However, it seemed like places that were safe or stable were quickly dwindling as another resounding rumble caused the section of the building she and Nero were on to shake.

Nemuri glanced behind her, seeing more buildings break apart and collapse, the ground splitting apart; the island's destruction was accelerating faster and faster.

"I think it's time we got going," commented Midnight as she turned back to Nero and knelt down in front of him, picking him up gently as he looked around at the quaking building, "I need you to hold onto me very tight and do not let go no matter what."

"I-I'm scared!" whimpered the boy, clinging to Midnight.

"Don't be, I've got you," soothed Nemuri as she held him close, "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

The building shook again, the ground beneath the structure buckling as it dropped suddenly by a foot. The sudden fall nearly caught Midnight off guard, however, it did warn her that she couldn't stay there for much longer.

"Nero, I need you to listen to me carefully," said Nemuri, getting the young boys attention, "I need you to hold onto my back and don't let go, no matter what. Can you do that?"

Nero nodded after a moment, Nemuri smiled as she knelt down for a moment to let the boy get onto her back. Wrapping his arms around her neck, Nemuri took hold of Nero's legs and brought them around her waist, making extra sure the boy wouldn't lose his grip. Once she was certain he wouldn't fall off, Nemuri took her whip out again and swung it over to the main section of the building, catching an exposed piece of rebar.

"Hold very tight, Nero!" Said Nemuri as she suddenly swung over, she felt Nero's grip on her tighten as the sudden movement scared the boy.

Getting back across, she decided to ditch her whip because she was officially out of time, the section of the orphanage she was just in suddenly collapsed the moment she swung off. The ground beneath gave out completely and collapsed into what appeared to be a massive sinkhole which appeared to be growing wider.

"This is Midnight! I need pick up, now!" Called The Pro Hero as she raced down the hall of the orphanage, the building crumbling around and collapsing into the sinkhole.

"We read you, Midnight," replied someone Nemuri hoped was a helicopter pilot, "We'll pick you up in front of the orphanage. Stand by."

Sprinting out the front doors, the R-Rated Hero just narrowly avoided the building crashing down on top of her. However, she and Nero weren't safe just yet, as sections of the town were coming apart, and the ground beneath buildings was rising and falling dramatically, way more than what should happen in a standard earthquake. It honestly made her wonder how something like this could even happen, it just didn't seem to fit previous earthquakes. While Nemuri wasn't involved in many evacuations or natural disasters, she did know enough to be able to tell when one disaster is natural and another isn't and what was happening around her was by no means natural.

She could look into the cause later. Right now, she had to get herself and Nero off the island.

Swooping in overhead, Nemuri saw a helicopter touch down just fifty feet ahead of her. A relieved feeling swept over her as she ran forward once more, holding Nero tightly against her as she rushed towards their means of safety. Her feet burned from all the running, scaling debris, and just exercise, but she was almost to safety with Nero, she just had to last a bit more.

As soon as she reached the side door of the rescue helicopter, it slid open letting both her and Nero inside.

"We have them on board, we're good to go," said one of the pilots as the medic that was assigned to the chopper slid the door shut and the pilot increased power to the rotors.

With a buzz, the chopper rose into the air, just in time to see the town come apart at the seams. Nemuri had taken her seat, which happened to be adjacent from the window looking out onto the island. Holding Nero in her lap, she caught her breath while watching pieces of the castle town break apart and slide into the ocean. She spotted the black monolith collapse also and while she may not say it, but she was partially glad to see it disappear beneath the waves.

Inside the helicopter, it was relatively quiet. Nemuri was so caught up in what just happened that it took the medic touching her shoulder to get her attention.

"Ms. Midnight, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to examine the boy to make sure he isn't injured during the rescue," requested the medic.

Nemuri seemed to hesitate for a moment, as she glanced down at Nero. The boy still seemed terrified, he held onto her and the doll with a death grip, his face buried into her chest as he held on for all that he was worth. A part of her recalled what Nero had said to her when she first encountered the boy.

'"You're saving me?" Why did he sound so… confused?'

A part of her didn't want to let go of him, not yet anyway, but she also knew that if Nero was injured, he would need to get medical attention.

"Nero?" Nemuri said to the boy, gently stroking the top of his head. Nero flinched when he felt her touch, "Nero this lady wants to make sure you're okay. Can you let go so she can take a look real quick?"

Nero held Nemuri tighter, as a scared whine left him.

'He's still scared.'

"Okay, how about this?" She offered, reaching over with her free hand to tear a piece of her costume off from her wrist, "I'm going to use my quirk to help calm you down. Is that okay?"

Nero looked like he was about to protest, but when the gas entered his nose, the effect was almost instantaneous. The boy's grip relaxed almost immediately after tensing for a moment, his head drooping slightly.

"You… saved me…," said Nero softly as he soon fell asleep.

Nemuri winced internally, she may have used a bit too much. However, that alone wasn't the complete reason why she winced. What he said, or rather the way he said it. His tone just sounded so… crushed.

'"You saved me.' Why did you say it like you didn't think anyone would?'

Nemuri thought to herself as the medic began her examination, however, the Pro Hero never let go of the boy's hand as the helicopter flew them to the nearest aircraft carrier.

To Be Continued…

Sorry if this opening seems a little half-baked, I plan to ask my editor if he is willing to take a look at this story and make changes as needed. In any case, it's a crossover AU where DMC and MHA exist in the same universe and Nemuri Kayama, AKA Midnight, adopts our protagonist, Nero! It makes sense, which I will explain why in the next chapter, I hope everyone likes it and I really hope I make a story that is worth while!

Review please!