The night air was cold, and as the winds howled, a group of criminals were trying to break into a jewellery store, believing that no hero would spot them in this part of town. "All right, you two. I want to be in and out of this place before any heroes spot us," one of the thugs stated as the other thugs were filling their burlap sacks to the brim with jewels when one of the thugs noticed something in the darkness. It darted across the window with a speed unlike anything he'd ever seen. "Hey, boss, I think a hero found us." The Thug said nervously. "What, that's impossible? We should be in the clear." He answered back, the tone in his voice urgent, "Alright, grab what you can carry. We're out of here now." The thugs ran out of the store with bags over their shoulders.
As they ran through the city, one of the Thugs stopped to catch his breath. The thug suddenly felt a chill run up his spine, believing someone or rather something was watching him. The thug activated his quirk, cracking his knuckles and causing his fingers to illuminate the area like glow sticks. The thug looked around the deserted alleyway for signs of someone following him when a gust of wind blew behind him, causing him to turn around in fear. Still, as he turned around, he saw only his friends running further and further into the darkened alley "Hey, wait up for me- me-AAAGGGHHH!" He screamed out in pain as something grabbed him and pulled him into the darkness. Cutting him off mid-sentence, his friends turned around, the scream having faded out in the darkness of their night. "Glow stick?" One of the thugs called out, only to be met with a blood-curdling draconic screech.
"What the hell was that?" the other thug asked "I don't know, and I don't wanna find out now. Let's get the hell out of here!" he said with urgency in his voice as he began to run like the wind with his partner following after him. As the first thug made it to the getaway car, the second one was far behind him, trying to reach for the vehicle when a large black body suddenly darted across the alleyway, stealing the Thug before he could get to the car as blood and jewels splattered and scattered across the forgotten alleyway. "Jesus Christ, I'm getting out of here!" The Thug said as he frantically tried to start his car to no avail, his engine sputtering over and over with each key turn, as he continued to turn his key in the ignition, he saw a large Black body dart across his windshield as if suddenly his car finally turned on only to be met with a large metal bang on top of his car as two large talons break into the roof of his car.
The thug drove with worry as he tried to shake off whatever was chasing him, but it was too late the talons tore open the roof of the car, and as the Thug looked on, he saw a creature unlike any other, but before anything could happen the Creature sunk its teeth into the Thug as a ghastly scream echoed through the night.
As the sun begins to rise, giving birth to a new day, Izuku finds himself in his bed with his All Might Pajamas completely torn, attributing this to wear and tear and shrinking in the washing machine, and prepares himself for school. As Izuku leaves his house, he's met with a nasty scene on his way to school: three bodies, a flipped car and blood everywhere.
Police surround the crime scene picking anything they deem to be evidence as paramedics wheel off the barely conscious thugs while Izuku thinks to himself, what kind of person would be capable of doing this, Izuku focuses on this when a familiar voice tells him, "Get out of the way you damn nerd!" It was Bakugo who came to see what all the commotion was "Looks like someone's finally taking these villains seriously and ending them before they can commit another crime." Bakugo's voice boomed with appreciation and pride, believing that whoever did this was someone just like him, someone who knows what villains are capable of and has had enough of them. Izuku looked at Bakugo with fear, still reeling from his encounter at the lab with him and being temporarily let go because of him, but still, Izuku said nothing; he was too afraid to fight back.
Meanwhile, at the police station, Detective Tsukauchi is talking to a very tall, sturdily built man with the head of a beagle, Kenji Tsuragamae, discussing the recent attack and how they've never seen something this animalistic before. Detective Tsukauchi leaned back in his chair, a puzzled expression on his face. "Catchy title, huh?" Tsukauchi points to the news headline "Petty Criminals Eviscerated by a Flying Creature!" With a blurry picture of what seems to be a pair of wings, "So, we got any leads?" Tsukauchi asked, his voice carrying the severe gravity of the situation. "Yes, Tsukauchi, woof." Kenji sighed as if there were more setbacks than there were progression.
"We found a piece of fabric on the torn roof of the car woof. Kenji spoke with dissatisfaction all over his tired face. "The forensics team hasn't found a suitable match to the residual DNA left over the fabric woof." Kenji woofed again as exhaustion crept along his face "The machine isn't reading much human DNA; it seems to be muddled heavily with a foreign entity, woof." He said with a look of sorrow. "Well then, we better hurry up. We might have trouble." Tsukauchi pointed to an article in the paper, "¥100 million reward for anyone who can capture the Demon of the Night Sky on camera". Kenji nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of the investigation and the danger that would ensue if they didn't catch the suspect.
As the school day wore on, Izuku felt increasingly tired, as though he had just run a marathon. Sweat dripped down from his forehead into his eyes, and his arms and legs became weak, barely able to hold himself up. He stumbled around the school grounds, getting to his next class.
The pen in Izuku's hand drifted away from the lines of paper scribbling around the pages, and the voices of his teacher and classmates got drowned out as their voices became distant memories. Izuku's head felt incredibly light, as though he was on the verge of slamming down on his desk. His eyelids started feeling heavy, like sandbags ready to shut his eyes at any moment. Before Izuku knew it, the bell rang, signifying break time for the students to eat their food. Izuku got out of his chair, trying to steady himself and left the classroom.
During the first break, Izuku struggled to eat his food. Usually, he couldn't get enough of his mum's Katsudon, but at the moment, he just wasn't feeling it, as though every part of his body had changed overnight. His favourite meal had been replaced by something Izuku couldn't remember or figure out. Just then, as Izuku pondered his sudden introspective look on himself, he felt a pounding migraine in his head and rushed to the washroom to try and cool off and wash the sweat off his head.
In the washroom, there was no sound. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the only sound was the faucet and the beating of Izuku's heart to keep him company. Izuku soaked his hands and proceeded to wash the sweat from his brow. The sounds of the faucet and his breathing began to fade away as he started to slip in and out of consciousness. The sights and sounds of the washroom began to fade away as Izuku tried to maintain his balance but was teetering over every step he made.
Darkness crept up on Izuku's eyes as the world before him began to fade from his mind. His hearing soared to implausible levels, the sound of his heart rapidly rocketing, and the washroom was silent enough that the dripping sinks ached Izuku's ears. As he covered his ears, it wasn't enough as he could still hear the dripping faucets echoing through the room, each drip bringing Izuku pain, causing him to stumble around the darkness that consumed him.
Each step was a journey through the pitch-black void that had ensnared Izuku. Every moment was impossible to predict, leaving Izuku tripping and falling as the dripping sounds grew louder and louder. The Faucet became one of many chaotic sounds as he heard people laughing and talking from great distances. he could hear the cars and bikes revving their engines from the streets, and fights between animals trying to take whatever little food became roaring sounds reverberating through his eardrums and into his skull.
"Crack, Crack, Crack" The sounds of Bakugo activating his quirk drew near as he started to hear his conversation with his friends in the cafeteria "EVERYWHERE I GO, I SEE THAT DAMN NERD!" Bakugo said, his voice filled with scorn and malice towards Izuku, his every breathing moment dedicated to making his life absolute hell on earth "It seems like his stupid face is popping up like a DAMN WEED! I would love nothing more than to turn him into mulch." Bakugo roared from the top of his lungs, reaching Izuku's ears through the bathroom walls.
"Just the other day, I saw that nerd had a job at a damn animal lab. He walked right into me with a stack of papers; damn nerd made me-" The sound of booming footsteps cut off Bakugo's conversation with his friends, and their attention was drawn to outside the window of the cafeteria.
As they peered through the windows, they spotted Pro Hero Kamui Woods fighting a giant villain The villain was rough and beastly in appearance, with a head that appeared to be a mix of a horse and a shark, and he had long, dark brown hair tied in dreadlocks, in the middle of the city his wooden limbs enlarging and elongating trying to encase the villain with his right arm while swinging around the cityscape with his left trying to protect civilians getting them out of the way of the giant villain.
Izuku heard the rumbling from the villain, causing him to cover his ears from the pain, Izuku felt his eardrums shake and rattle violently he thought his ears would explode and bleed over the washroom floor, it was that fear that allowed him to get up from the floor and get further away from the sound. He was standing on the floor. Izuku had built up the strength to get out of the washroom while completely blind as he shuffled away from the earth shakes caused by the giant villain. He was using what little senses he could to get away, using the vibrations of the school to move further away. As Izuku made his way out, he could hear everyone in the cafeteria screaming and shouting as they watched Kamui Woods fight against the giant villain.
As Izuku stumbled out of the washroom, he was swept back to the cafeteria by a surge of students wanting to get a better look at the fight, kids of all differing year groups shoving and pushing one another to get a front-row seat in the action happening just outside their school. Izuku felt the various body types of students and teachers inadvertently pushing him towards the cafeteria, each yelling with excitement, trying to get a peak at the action unfolding as Izuku kept stumbling in the dark. With the sounds and sensations of other people guiding him, he felt powerless to get out of every step he took; he was moved two steps back, closer to the loud sounds that would pop his eardrums at any moment.
Blinding lights flashed in Izuku's eyes. In an instant, his vision returned to the world around him, but everything became clearer than before the darkness had covered his eyes, and he could see more than ever before. He found himself in the cafeteria behind crowds, shouting for Kamui Woods to defeat the villain. Izuku tried to focus on the action but couldn't see past the sea of students and teachers and could hear only fractions of the action from outside. Kamui Woods had the giant villain on the ropes, ready to deliver the final blow. Everyone on the street below, the people high up in the buildings, and the students and faculty in the school watched with bated breath as Kamui was about to unleash his ultimate move on the villain.
"Pre-emptive...Binding...Lacquered Chain Prison!" Kamui Woods screamed out, ready to unleash his limbs onto the villain, ready to trap him instantly. As his wooden limbs extended far to reach his adversary, suddenly, a voice cried out. "Canyon Cannon!" A voice interrupted as a gigantic purple and pale-tan figure came crashing into the villains' sides with a flying kick. The crowds burst into cheers for the new heroine. The blonde giantess raised the villain's jacket, clenched in her fist, hosting him up in the air as she turned towards the crowd with a smile accompanied by a purple domino mask with horn-like protrusions on the sides.
"Here it is, here it is. Here it is. Here it is." She murmured under her breath excitedly. "Today is the day of my debut!" The giantess grinned, she took centre stage, striking a pose ready for the cameras. "My name is Mt. Lady, and it's a pleasure to make your ass-quaintance." She said while shaking her butt slightly, taking pride in making the lewd comment about herself as the men below started swarming at her feet, taking pictures of the heroic deed and her curvaceous young figure. "Sh-She's getting all the credit…" Kaumi Woods whispered under his breath in frustration, watching as all of his hard work was for nothing as the new heroine, Mt. Lady, took centre stage.
As the students and teachers in the cafeteria watched the new hero show herself off, many took to their phones and started taking pictures of the new giantess heroine. Izuku went to grab his hero notebook and started writing out everything he could about the new hero. He detailed everything from her movements to how she used her quirk in combat, then drew a rough sketch of Mt. Lady. He continued to doodle in his notebook for the remainder of the day, fascinated with the new pro hero. When the last period came, Izuku kept his head glued to his notebook, finalising the details of his drawing. He ignored the bolstering cheers of his classmates and everything his teacher was saying.
"Since you're all in your third year, it's time for you to think seriously about your future." Their teacher said in a stern yet cheerful and prideful tone, showing his love for his growing and aspiring students. He continued with the lesson, writing on the board, "I'll pass out handouts for your plans now, but... you're all...pretty much planning to go into the hero course, right?" he said playfully, looking away from the board and raising an eyebrow to his students. "Yes!" They said excitedly, all in unison, activating their wide array of quirks. "Yes, yes, you all have wonderful Quirks! But using your powers at school is against the rules!" He continued with playful remarks and banter, feeding into their aspiring futures.
"Teach! Don't lump us all in the same group. I won't be stuck at the bottom with the rest of these rejects!" Bakugo screamed at the top of his lungs with ferocity as a torrent of outcries from enraged peers flooded in and mixed in with praise for Bakugou, believing he would be the future No. 1 Hero. "That was uncalled for, Katsuki!" A sea of students enraged by Bakugo's accusations screamed at Bakugo, who openly mocked them, laughing at their faces. "You all should shut up like the extras you are!" Bakugo said, continuing to mock his peers with a smile stretching from ear to ear, relishing in his ego. "Oh, if I remember correctly, you want to go to UA High, right, Bakugou?" Their teacher said this as he inquired about Bakugo's ideal future.
"UA? That national school?!" One girl said, "It was in the top 0.2% this year, you know!" A student clamoured. "Their acceptance rate is always meagre, too!" Another chimed. As the talk of UA filled the classroom, Bakugo climbed to the top of his desk and, with a sly and prideful look on his face, spouted, "That's exactly why you guys are just extras! I aced the mock test! I'm the only one at this school who could possibly get into UA!" Bakugo roared with blind ferocity and arrogance. "I'll surpass All Might and become the top hero! My name will be inscribed on the list of top earners!"
"Oh yeah, Midoriya wanted to go to UA, too, right?" Their teacher exclaimed as he exposed Izuku's secret, causing the room to go dead quiet for a few seconds. All the students had their heads turned to Izuku, their eyes puncturing a hole into his soul. Then, the room burst into laughter as everyone mocked Izuku for even thinking of getting into UA without a quirk. Izuku tried to cover his head with his arms, laying his face flat on his desk, trying to hide from the embarrassment his teacher put him in, praying that everyone would stop sooner rather than later.
"Huh? Midoriya? No way!" One student said as she cackled a laugh close to that of a hyena behind her hand. "You can't get into the hero course just by studying!"Another one screamed from the top of his lungs while struggling to contain his laughter as it echoed like a kookaburra. "Th-They got rid of that rule!" Midoriya rose from his seat, trying to defend himself. "I-It's not like I want to go there anymore, though!" He said, trying to convince everyone that he had already given up his dream but was ignored by the cacophony of laughter filling the classroom. "There's just no precedent…" One boy cried out while laughing hysterically.
"Hey, Deku!" Bakugo growled as he launched himself towards Izuku, placing his palm on his desk and activating his quirk, causing a small explosion that sent Izuku reeling back against the wall. "You're below the rejects! You're Quirkless! How can you even stand in the same ring as me?" He spat, his voice filled with disdain as he ridiculed him. "No, wait, Kacchan! It's not like I'm trying to compete with you or anything! Believe me!" Izuku said, weak as a mouse. The dynamic between him and his old childhood friend had been snuffed out by Bakugo's need to prove his strength to everyone. What once was a beacon of camaraderie became a pitch-black void of torment and despair for Izuku.
As Izuku continued, his back up against the wall, Bakugo looked on with a power-hungry gaze as he awaited his response to decide his final action better. Izuku looked on as his body gave way to a cold sweat, as Bakugo's patience began to run thin as loose strings on a shirt. "It's just that it's been my goal ever since I was little. And well...I won't know unless I try…" Izuku said, his voice hardly above a whisper, hoping at that moment Bakugo would understand. Bakugo snapped; he started foaming at the mouth with a fury of a thousand suns. "Whaddaya mean? Unless you try! Are you taking the test for fun?!" He couldn't comprehend the string of words that had flown into his ears; he wasn't about to let some insect such as Izuku escape from beneath his boot.
Bakugo's hands started sparking and producing small bits of smoke. The sizzling sound reverberated through Izuku's ears; he closely watched Bakugo's expression showing nothing but malice and contempt, his mouth open, showing his teeth grinding against each other with a sound in the vein of nails scratching on a chalkboard. Bakugo's features stopped displaying fury and turned into a look of sadistic joy as he began to chuckle slightly, turning into full-blown laughter "What the hell can you do? You're Quirkless!" Bakugo lit up with joy as he destroyed Izuku's dreams once again, and the rest of the class joined in their silhouettes, shadowing over Izuku.
As the laughter grew louder, Izuku began to feel a slight pain, not just emotional but physical, as he felt as though his chest was being compressed and contorted by unknown forces "Is this someone's quirk?" Izuku thought to himself, but he didn't know anyone at school who could have a quirk to cause the pain he was feeling. As Izuku lay there on the cold, hard floor, the laughter from his peers started to subside, everything started to go dark again, and the last thing he saw was his teacher's face trying to get him back on his feet.
"Thieves! Somebody stop them!" A shopkeeper bellowed with intensity as three punks with spiky mohawks and visor sunglasses made away with his cash register, laughing maniacally with grins stretching from ear to ear. "Catch us if you can, old man!" They shouted as one of them started shooting their gun wildly into the air. "Huh? There's no hero around." A bystander asked apathetically as he watched the armed hooligans run past the opposite street. "Normally, someone would come right away." Another called out. "These guys are taking advantage of the chaos from this morning." Lamenting in frustration against the lowlifes, "There's no end to them." A woman protested, losing hope in the system.
Just at that moment, a powerful and booming voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter: "There is an end." He said, his voice commanding and full of authority. As the people looked behind them, they were met with a huge muscular figure "Why? Because I am here!" The man pumped his fist into the air as he gave a hopeful and iconic smile to the citizens standing before him.
The loud ringing of the school bell echoed through the halls, waking Izuku from his slumber. He felt dizzy, drained and sore as though someone was playing around with his limbs like a Stretch Armstrong doll. As his eyes fluttered open, he found himself in the school's sickbay. Deserted. Izuku looked around the sick bay but found nobody there. As he got off the examiner's table, he searched up and down the halls of the school, looking for any teacher or nurse, only to find an eerie silence in their places. Izuku continued roaming, waiting to find someone, but he never did. The school quickly became a winding labyrinth full of twists and turns, which ended.
Despite the eeriness of the situation, Izuku found it quite calming. The dark hallways became quite enthralling, and each step he took made him feel connected to this desolate school. No bumping into people, no painfully loud noises, and no one to make fun of him for being quirkless. Izuku was all alone. Despite that fact, he felt as though someone or something was watching him with thousands of beady little eyes, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find anything or anyone of the sort. Still, he marched on, but he came up empty-handed each time he looked.
Izuku sat on the stairs in the hallway, going from one level to the next. He was about to throw in the towel when he heard a screeching sound, catching his attention as he turned his head upwards to the origin of the sound. He saw a small brown body on the ceiling above him. The screeching continued, and as Izuku went closer to the small brown body, it unfurled in an instant, revealing it to be a bat.
Suddenly, the bat darted towards Izuku with violent intent, swooping in and around him as Izuku tried to shield himself from the lone marsupial. The walls started cracking before breaking open and exploding, with bats flying towards Izuku and swarming around him like a tornado. Izuku found himself overwhelmed; he wanted to scream, but his mouth betrayed him, staying shut and refusing to open. The bats closed in on Izuku, surrounding his entire body. Izuku woke up, his breath laboured and sweat drenched his entire body. He woke up back in the sick bay, this time with a nurse. As Izuku looked around, he realised he just had a nightmare or was it a premonition for something far greater?