Japan did not sleep that night.
Screens flickered in every homefrom small apartment kitchens to massive hero agencies-broadcasting the same headline:
"12-Year-Old Fugitive Still Missing - Quirk-Related Double Homicide Under Investigation."
The nation held its breath.
And somewhere in the chaos, one terrified boy kept running.
Izuku Midoriya
Izuku sat on his bedroom floor, notes spread around him like always.He was watching an interview with All Might when the TV suddenly cut to breaking news.
He barely had time to blink before the anchor spoke:
"Authorities have confirmed the suspect is a twelve-year-old boy, Hikaru Amano-believed to possess a dangerous, unregistered quirk."
Izuku froze.
Twelve?He's my age…
The screen showed blurred footage of a destroyed apartment interior, shadows clinging heavily to the walls.
Izuku's breathing grew shallow.
"It… it looks like a nightmare…" he whispered.
His mother rushed in and shut the TV off instantly.
"Izuku! Don't watch things like that!"
But Izuku couldn't stop seeing the boy's name, the fear, the destruction.He stared at the blank screen, heart pounding.
He didn't choose this…He must be so scared…
Katsuki Bakugou
Bakugou heard his mom yelling for him from the living room.
"Katsuki! Come here! This is crazy!"
He stomped out, annoyed-until he saw the headline.
A child.His age.A killer.
The destruction on the screen made even him pause.
"Tch…" he muttered. "What kind of loser loses control like that-"
But his voice cracked slightly.He heard the reporter say:
"Some experts believe the boy's quirk may be extremely unstable and capable of lethal outbursts."
He swallowed hard.
"…He did all that alone?"
For onceKatsuki Bakugou wasn't sure he'd win in a fight.
Aizawa Shouta
Aizawa sat alone in his dim apartment, grading some essays.The TV murmured in the background:
"The suspect fled the scene barefoot, covered in blood…"
Aizawa finally looked up.
He studied the apartment footage-the warped shadows, the unnatural darkness, the complete devastation.
His eyes narrowed.
"This wasn't malice…This was panic."
He leaned back, exhausted.
"He's a kid…And they're already treating him like a villain."
Aizawa's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Someone better get to him before society finishes breaking him."
All Might
Toshinori Yagi choked on his tea when the headline appeared.
The smile left his face.
"A twelve-year-old…?"
He stared at the photos of Hikaru's ruined home.The walls twisted with shadow.The destruction unnatural and terrifying.
All Might's expression darkened.
"This is not a villain.This is a tragedy."
He ran a hand through his hair, troubled.
"If only someone had intervened earlier…If only someone had protected him…"
He looked out the window at the peaceful city lights.
"Young Hikaru… hold on.Don't let the darkness take you."
All For One
Far below the city, in a silent underground room,All For One watched the same broadcast.
He didn't flinch.He didn't gasp.
He smiled.
"A boy made this?"
He replayed the footage of the distorted shadows on the walls.
"Interesting…An unregistered quirk of unknown classification…and the host is only twelve."
His voice was soft, eerily calm.
"A rare ability.Untamed.Traumatized.Perfect."
He leaned back in his chair, fingertips together.
"Society fears him already.Heroes will chase him.The police will corner him."
A low laugh echoed in the dark chamber.
"And when he has nowhere left to run…he will need someone."
All For One stood, his silhouette merging with the surrounding shadows.
"I should keep an eye on little Hikaru. A child like that…belongs to the darkness."
POV: Hikaru
Hikaru ran through the empty streets, legs trembling, heart hammering so violently he thought it might burst from his chest. Every shadow stretched and twisted around him, moving just slightly as if it were watching, waiting.
He tried to tell himself it was just his imagination.But he knew better.
The quirk had awakened that night, and now… now it didn't just exist-it was alive.It whispered to him. Not in words, exactly, but in sensations. Cold tendrils brushing against his skin. Shapes crawling just beyond his vision. Breathing. Waiting.
You're alone… but we are here…
The voice-or-voices sent chills down his spine.They weren't comforting. They were too aware.Too eager.
Hikaru stumbled backward, tripping over a loose brick. His hands pressed to the ground, shadows crawling over his fingers like snakes. They hissed, coiled tighter, moving under his skin, into his mind.
Don't fight us… we'll protect you…
He screamed, pressing his palms over his ears.
"No! Stop! I don't want this! I don't want this!"
The shadows swirled faster, pulling against him, wrapping around him like a living cage. Shapes formed in the darkness-grotesque, flickering silhouettes of his parents, twisted faces screaming, limbs bending in impossible ways. The visions weren't real… and yet they were.
Hikaru's stomach lurched.
I… I made this… I… I did this…
He tried to run again, but the shadows pulsed beneath his feet, stretching like quicksand. He could feel them burrowing into his mind, probing, feeding on his terror.
Fear keeps you alive… Fear makes us strong… Fear is what you are…
A sob escaped him.His own quirk-his only companion-had become something monstrous, a reflection of every terror he had ever felt.It wasn't protecting him. It was testing him.
"I don't want this! I'm scared! Please… please leave me alone!"
The darkness didn't answer. It only watched.It whispered promises he couldn't trust.It molded his fears into shapes that pressed closer, clawing at his skin, reaching into his thoughts, twisting every memory of safety into nightmare.
Hikaru fell to his knees, hugging himself as the shadows slithered closer, forming grotesque, ever-changing shapes around him.Eyes appeared in the darkness-too many, staring, unblinking, all seeing.And in each of them, he saw himself: a boy who could kill, who could destroy, who could never be safe again.
You are ours now…
He screamed into the night, shaking violently.The shadows obeyed his fear, twisting and writhing faster, making the cold night air feel suffocating.And yet, strangely, he couldn't tear himself away from them.
I… I need… them… but… I'm scared…
The quirk seemed to sense his hesitation, pressing against his mind, whispering again in a voice that sounded like his own thoughts but wrong:
Good. Fear is power. Fear is survival. Fear is everything.
Hikaru shivered, tears streaming down his bloodstained face.He wanted to fight it. He wanted to run. He wanted to be free.But the darkness around him had become a mirror of his mind, a living entity that thrived on his terror.
Run… hide… or you'll lose control again…
And for the first time, he realized:It wasn't the world he had to fear.It wasn't the heroes, the police, or the villains.
It was him.It was his own quirk.
It was himself.
He pressed his hands over his face, rocking back and forth on the cold pavement.The shadows coiled around him tighter, whispering, watching, waiting.
You can't escape.You're ours now…And we will never leave you.
Hikaru's breath came in ragged sobs.For the first time, he truly understood:The darkness wasn't just a quirk.It was a predator.And he was its prey.
And the most terrifying part?
He was not sure which part of him-the boy, or the quirk would survive the night.