Shadow of a Man

Chapter 1

October 23

Warmth

Warmth covered my body as I floated in a void of blinding light. I felt a soft breeze flow through my hair as I heard it carry a soft female hum that echoed around me. The angelic voice sounded strangely familiar and comforting. A warm and fuzzy bliss permeated throughout my body as my nerves seemed to tingle as the voice brought me a strange joy to hear.

My closed eyes opened to a glowing yellow silhouette approaching me. It seemed to approach me and I reached out my hand to touch it. Part of the figure extended out and formed into a hand touched me. The hand felt so gentle to the touch. It was almost as if I had touched this hand thousands of times before and then it hit me about who it reminded me of.

As memories started to flow back to me, tears started to cascade down my cheeks as I continued to look at the figure. Its hand then extended to my face. I felt it gently caress my face as I closed my eyes to bask in its familiarity. Even though the light figure had no body features, I could tell exactly who it was just from its touch.

"I miss you so much." I whispered.

Tears only continued to flow as I reminisced on the good times before everything changed. When I was happy.

Then, the warmth of the figure started to fade away which caused me to open my eyes. I saw the figure starting to retreat back into the light which it came. I then started to panic as I wanted to stay.

"Please don't go!" I yelled out to the figure, but it only continued to fade into the light.

It then faded away leaving me by myself in the void. Slowly, the void seemed to increase in brightness, yet my body started to feel colder than it did before. I looked around as my body started to get consumed by the light until I could see nothing but a blinding white light all around me.

Steadily, the light started to fade and dissipate into a familiar sight. I was back in my room in my apartment. I was back in my oversized bed and I was back to being alone. The cold feeling derived from the bed that lacked the warmth it once had.

I could feel the wetness from my tears as I woke up. I assumed that I was crying in my sleep. It was nothing new as it had happened a couple of times those last few weeks. A lot of my dreams reminded me of her and they all ended with me crying in the end. Light from the window blinded me as I opened my eyes. It used to get me hyped for the day, but it didn't have the same effect it used to.

Turning my head from the light, I looked at the wooden dresser next to my bed and picked my phone up. 1120 is what the screen read once I turned it on. When I unlocked my phone I was greeted with a usual plethora of texts and missed calls from people trying to get in contact with me. Some of them have been there for days or even weeks by that point. For some reason I never cleared the notifications.

Placing my phone back down, I rose out of the sea of white sea of blankets I was in and gave my eyes a rub before I slowly started to crawl out of bed. My feet lightly touched the cold wooden floor as I walked to my bathroom. I looked at the mirror and stared deep at my reflection and saw myself staring back at me.

I had really let myself go during those few weeks. My face started to unusually break out with small blemishes and my once well groomed hair was now a tangled and unkempt mess. A brush hadn't raked through it in a long time which was bad because my quirk relied on it

I then turned on the warm water in the sink and put my hands within the flowing fluid. I was desperate to recreate the warmth from my dream, but it was no use. My head collapsed downwards as I sighed with sadness. I had a few weird dreams in the last few weeks, most of them nightmares, but none have been like that.

I then went along with my routine of brushing my teeth and washing my face. I attempted to comb my fair, but that ended as well I thought it would. Coming out of my room, I grabbed my phone to go to the kitchen and a missed call was waiting for me. I wasn't going to pick it up in the first place, yet it still surprised me that someone called me. People usually just texted me.

Strolling through my phone while walking to my kitchen, I saw that the caller was Denki. He had sent me a few texts beforehand, but that was his first attempted call. I had also seen that he had left a voice message as well. Even though I had limited my contact with anybody, I was still interested in the voice message he had left for me.

Unwashed dishes from the last few days stared at me from the sink as I entered my kitchen, and I stared back. I had considered cleaning them as I would normally do, but lately I haven't had the strength or drive to do so. I looked back at my phone and stared at the voice message notification and thought for a few moments about listening to it.

Thinking 'why not', I placed my phone down on the counter and let the message play.

"Hey, Minoru! Been a while buddy?" Denki said in his usual high energy voice.

"I tried to call you earlier, but you didn't answer, so I just assumed that you were busy. I had also sent you a few texts that you also didn't respond to, but I understand if you don't want to talk after what happened."

As the message played I looked through my kitchen looking for something to eat.

"I don't mean to bring up any bad memories or anything, but it has been a month since the funeral and everyone is worried about you, so am I bro."

Denki paused for a few moments on the phone and took an exhale. I could hear the worry in his voice and it made me pause from digging through my fridge.

"I understand this is a hard time for you, Minoru, and in all honesty, I would be acting the same way you are, but I just want to hear your voice, bro. Just to make sure you're okay. Even Kyoka wants to know if you're okay and I know you guys have a love hate relationship. So please, whenever you get the chance, send me a call or text."

Another few moments of silence passed before he continued talking. At that point I was leaning over the counter listening to the call.

"I hope to hear from you soon."

Once the message was finished, I was then left in the cold silence of my apartment once more. I didn't do anything for a bit as I just stood and thought about everything. Denki was right. I hadn't talked to anyone since the funeral and I knew that they were probably worried sick about me, but I just haven't had the strength to talk to anyone. I didn't want them to see how far I had fallen from grace.

I was once again the silence of my own home. The ambient hum of the air condition could be heard as I stood still in the kitchen. My own home felt so empty when it used to feel warm and loving. The memories of fresh cooked meals made in the kitchen made me long for times when everything was good. Times where I was happy.

Even though Denki meant well, the message only further reminded me that there was no going back to those times and that she was truly gone. I couldn't get her back and hated knowing that I couldn't.

My stomach growled which dragged me out of stupor and reminded me of the reason why I was in the kitchen in the first place. With less energy than before, I opened cabinet doors searching for something to eat, but wasn't surprised at all when I couldn't find something worthwhile. It had been a few weeks since the last time I had been grocery shopping.

By the end of my scavenge I was only able to come out with a cup of instant ramen noodles. Once the noodles were in the microwave cooking I then walked into my living room. The walls were filled with different pieces of art and photos taken throughout my years. Some of them were taken with some classmates while others were taken with a different person.

I approached one photo and took it off the wall. The photo was a selfie picture of me and the woman I loved. I remember that night like it was yesterday. It was the first time I had taken her out publicly to one of the many hero balls I had been to. That night was the first time she had met some of my friends for the first time. Some of them didn't even believe that I was even dating someone at that time.

She was beautiful that night. She wore a long, slim blue dress that glittered in the light. Her brown hair that was usually in a ponytail flowed down her back. We danced so much that night that she ditched her matching blue heels she was wearing. That was the night I felt like I was truly in love with that woman.

But now she was gone and it pained me that I would never be able to see her beauty again. I would never kiss or hold her again nor would we ever build the family that we once planned to have. The longer I stared at the picture the more the tears started to accumulate in my eyes until my vision was blurry.

I was supposed to be a hero. I was supposed to be strong, and it got to the point that she was my strength. She was why I fought everyday to come back home to her and now that she's gone, my will to fight left with her as well. I have saved countless people before, but I wasn't there when she needed me the most. I didn't think I could ever forgive myself for what happened.

As my mind spiraled down the rabbit hole, the dinging from my microwave abruptly alerted me back to reality. I wiped the tears from my eyes and took one last look at the photo. I put the photo back to where it was before.

As I took the cup out the microwave and stirred the noodles as I went back to the living room and sat on my sofa. I turned on my TV mounted on the wall which immediately turned itself to the news, but I didn't really watch it. I sat on the sofa and absent mindedly ate my noodles. I eventually finished the cup of noodles and tuned into the news.

"Local police enforcement is sending warnings to locals after the disappearance of multiple people in the last few weeks," said a female anchor. "They are recommending people to stay in groups if going out late to report any suspicious behaviour happening in the area."

She went on to talk about other things happening, but I really didn't care. There was one thing I did care about.

I needed to get some groceries.

A/N

This is the first story that I have posted online after a couple of years of posting nothing. I'm using this story as a way to get better at writing so feedback is appreciated. This chapter is mostly to see if people would be interested and to just this idea out there. Updates may be a bit scattered, but I will try my best to update as much as I can.

Next chapter will be more exciting.