Chapter Text
Principal Nezu knew how fortunate he was.
Without the manifestation of his quirk, he would still be a caged or sever rat. Of course, with the manifestation of his quirk, he was forced to undergo many trials and tests – but those were days long passed.
He sipped his tea, breathing in the soothing scent emitted from the drink – he opened his eyes in fright as he realized he’d accidentally breathed in something that should not have been there.
It was impossible. UA was equipped with one of the most technologically advanced defense system in Japan. It was nigh impossible.
Yet, streams of white fog were coming through the door, filling the room like winter’s mist.
He ran to the door, grabbed the handle and pulled it with all his might.
Yet, his strength in desperation wasn’t enough and drowsiness soon coalesced inside his head.
He tried to call for help, and was struck by how he was unable to do so. It was the that he realized what the smog was induced with.
The door opened, and he saw the silhouette of teenage boy looking down at his crumbled form with a sorrowful expression.
“An injection would’ve been much faster, but it would be too cruel of me to take away your intelligence within seconds. Perhaps in another life, another world, we could’ve been friends – equals in intelligence. But in this one, I cannot allow someone who could ruin our whole operation to exist. Blanche had worked too hard for the realization of this plan.”
Nezu recognized the face and thought of the accident 10 years ago, one that destroyed a family in the process. One where the parents were burned alive while the son was later kidnapped.
His mind was blurry and when he recognized why, he was filled with great worry. This was something that could overturn modern society and shake the world to its core. He thought about UA, a place he called home and became even more frantic as he felt his decreased cognitive ability and shrinking body size.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way, though you have to admit that it’s rather poetic. ‘Flowers for Algernon’ is a favourite book of mine, so please don’t worry, I’ll treat you well.”
Nezu made a panicked feral screech.
It was never proven when, but since the dawn of history, some people were born with words on their body. Those words signified the most important bond one was to have in their life, words tying them to their love, their soulmate.
‘First words of fate’ were what people call them.
When Shouto realized that his parents weren’t soulmates - that his father forced the marriage on his mother, he desperately wanted to believe in the tale. He wanted to believe that there was someone there who would unconditionally care for him, someone who would be a perfect fit for him.
Perhaps it was the same wish his mother have that made her stare reminiscently at her wrist.
“Have you met them?” He asked.
“Yes. It wasn’t meant to be.” She replied, eyes a little moist with unshed tears as she gently rubbed her wrist.
When Shouto’s mother, the pillar of his love and assurance burned his face with the boiling kettle, he wanted more to believe in his soulmate. He wanted someone who would be respite, someone who would be happiness – happiness that now seemed forever lost to him.
Yet the words on his right wrist seemed to laugh at his hope, words that squeezed his heart every time he looked.
Get out of my sight
Short, concise, sharp and it hurt him every time he looked at it.
With all the shit that was his life, it wasn’t beyond imagination that his soulmate would hate him as well.
He told himself it was better to not hope at all rather than have expectations that would one day fall part, yet a small part of his stupid heart kept on holding on to that silly notion that there was still someone there for him.
The stupid part that caused his mind to reel in shock when a dark portal appeared during their practical exercise session and flooded their practice site with villains.
Before him was a tall skull-masked figure who stood at the center of the villain gathering.
“Get out of my sight.” The figure said. It was short sharp and concise like what he had often heard in his nightmare and despite shouts from his classmates and his teacher telling him to get away, he couldn’t move.
‘Get out of my sight’ echoed in his mind yet before Shouto could confirm his terror with a reply, a portal opened beneath him and all he saw was the silhouette of the skull mask before everything faded to black.
When he regained consciousness, the invasion was over.
His classmates who managed to escape the sudden portals were recounting the encounter to All Might and other pro heroes, and whilst Shouto also wanted to know, half of his attention was on the words on his right wrist, hidden by a wool band.
“-The masked man grabbed Thirteen sensei and sensei was struggling against the grip but then he went limp. Seconds before you arrived, all the villains escaped through the portal. Then when Thirteen sensei woke up, sensei couldn’t use his quirk anymore.” Kirishima told All Might who was supporting a stern expression, one that is much different to his usual grin. The knowledge that the masked man somehow took away Thirteen quirk seemed to disconcert All Might.
“The masked man said our ‘objective is accomplished’ before they left! Honestly!” Kaminari said but everyone else were chalking it up to the blonde’s usual blurry imagination caused when he overused his quirk.
A frown appeared on All Might who turned and talked quietly to Aizawa.
“No injuries to the children…” “It’s unlike him….” “To think he’s still alive even now…” Were the words he caught from their conversation before he was forced to go home– any question he tried to ask the adults about the masked man were left unanswered.
His mind was still on the words the masked man had said. With his luck in life, of course his soulmate would be a villain, yet a small part of him hoped that that was not the case. He was still in a tired dazed as he arrived home.
His father made a sneer about him being shamefully lacking and a part of him was rather glad that he lost consciousness – he’d rather die than satisfy his father’s need.
The news channels were speculating the reasons about the invasion of UA. Despite the disappearance of the headmaster and Thirteen losing his quirk as a consequence, there were no other casualties. Some channels thought the villains actually aimed for All Might –a sure path to villainous popularity - but lost their will when they realized All Might will actually come.
There were many conspiracy theories and Shouto quickly lost interest the broadcast made a statement about how UA will be closed indefinitely until more security measures are put in place.
His father will probably move him to another school or have him intern in his agency – either of those options were rather disgusting and he only imagined dread as the news moved to some new invention Blanch made.
10 Years Ago
3 types of people existed in this world, the ones who love their quirks, the ones who hate their quirks and the ones who are quirkless.
It was the great inequality of the world.
People with strong quirks were valued, people with average quirks were used, people with unsightly quirks were shunned and quirkless people were invisible.
But the influential group always enjoyed having useful people as one of their own and his quirk became labelled as super-intelligence, even though all evidence pointed otherwise.
Society was built upon generations and generations of beliefs, habits and culture. He thought nothing could be changed. Segregation, prejudices and inequality always existed in the world, quirks only made them more prominent.
It was a cruel way of thinking, but what could one person do in the advent of the quirk phenomenon. A rock, no matter how large or a diamond, no matter how strong could never withstand the test of time and one day would disappear whilst the cycle continues on and on.
But then his world burned.
His mother’s face, smiling, resigned as she looked at him from the second floor of their burning house – she couldn’t jump, the earlier ball of fire scorched the house and burned her legs. Yet as death neared, she looked down at his captured body and tears ridden face and smiled and looked glad that he was safe.
He screamed himself to sleep as the whole house went down in flames – a casualty of a fight between a renowned hero and a villain.
How wrong was it that his screamed got the villain to turn to him, eyes filled with regret?
How wrong was it that the hero who burned his house and his did not even regard him with a glance and took the opening to take the villain out.
How wrong was it that the hero was praised.
How wrong was it that everyone turned a blind eye to the death of his mother and gave adoring ones to the villain in hero’s clothing.
How right was it that when an elderly man reached out to him and gave him the power and opportunity tochange the world.
He unhesitatingly took it.