Hikaru didn't know how long he'd been running.
Hours? A day? More?
His legs felt like wet paper, his lungs burned, and the cold night wind slid under his thin clothes like knives. Every time he slowed, every time he blinked too long, every time his breath hitched the shadows stirred behind him.
Keep moving, they whispered. They are looking for you.
He didn't need them to tell him.The city felt like it was holding its breath, every streetlight watching him like an eye.
He ducked into a narrow alley, trying to make himself small. His stomach growled loudly—loud enough he flinched.
Food. He needed food.
The convenience store across the alley glowed like a safe haven. Its bright fluorescent lights were warm compared to the freezing dark.
Hikaru slipped inside, head low, hood up.
The bell chimed. The clerk didn't look up. Good.
Hikaru moved quickly, grabbing rice balls and water-simple things, cheap things. He wasn't stealing because he wanted to. He was stealing because the alternative was starving.
He turned toward the exit... and froze.
A wall near the counter was covered with newspapers and printed alerts.
MISSING.DANGEROUS.FUGITIVE.
His breath turned to ice.
There it was.
HIKARU AMANO — 12 YEARS OLD. ARMED & EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
His name. His age. His nightmare.
A blurred photo of his apartment warped shadows clawing along the walls sat beside the headline.
Sub-titles screamed at him:
"Shadow Devil Identified?"
"Unstable Child With Unknown Quirk Sparks Nationwide Panic"
"Unregistered Quirk Causes Fatal Incident"
"Experts Warn: 'Extremely Dangerous — Do Not Approach'"
Hikaru's mouth went dry. He felt like he was looking at a stranger. A monster.
"N-No… no, that's not- I didn't-"His voice broke.
The shadows behind him rippled in agitation. Like they were offended. Like they were angry for him.
They lie, the darkness hissed inside his head. They fear you. They always feared you.
"Stop—please," Hikaru whispered, hands trembling. "Just… stop talking…"
But the shadows only thickened. And the fluorescent lights above him flickered once. Twice.
The clerk finally looked up, startled.
"Hey, kid! Are you oka...?"
Hikaru bolted out of the store before the sentence finished.
He ran until his legs burned again. He ran until tears blurred the city lights. He ran until his lungs screamed.
But the fear chased him faster than any hero could.
He didn't notice the hero until the flashlight hit him.
"Stop right there!"
Hikaru skidded to a halt on a quiet backstreet, nearly falling.
A tall, uniformed hero he recognized from TV-Manual, the gentle-natured water-control hero stood at the far end of the alley. His eyes were wide, shocked, horrified.
He knew the face. Even without the blurry news footage.
"H-Hikaru Amano…?" Manual whispered, voice shaking.
Hikaru's heart stopped.
He didn't say his name. He didn't tell him anything.But the hero recognized him instantly.
Because Hikaru now looked exactly like the monster on the broadcasts.
Manual raised both hands, palms open, like calming a wild animal.
"Listen, kid… I don't want to hurt you. Just surrender, alright? We'll get you help"
Help. That word almost made him laugh.
Heroes didn't help him at home. Heroes didn't help him when neighbors complained about "strange sounds" in the apartment. Heroes didn't help when bruises covered his arms.
No one helped him until it was too late.
"I—I'm not a villain…" Hikaru whispered. "I don't want to hurt anyone…"
Manual took a cautious step forward.
"That's good, son. Then let me"
He will cage you.
The voice throbbed through Hikaru's skull like a heartbeat.
He will drag you back. They will lock you away. They will experiment on you. They will blame you for the blood.
Hikaru clutched his head, panicking.
"Shut up… shut up, please—please—!"
Manual stiffened.
"Kid… who are you talking to…?"
The shadows curled around Hikaru's feet like black smoke.
Manual saw it-really saw it-and fear flashed in his eyes.
"Oh no… oh god… it's worse than they said…"
Hikaru didn't wait to hear more.
He turned and ran. Manual shouted for him to stop. Water burst from a nearby pipe, trying to block his escape.
But shadows cut through it like knives.
And Hikaru disappeared into the night.
He didn't know where he was running anymore.
Street after street blurred together. His vision spun. His breath grew uneven, too fast, too shallow.
Eventually his legs simply gave out.
He crumpled inside a half-collapsed drainage tunnel on the very edge of Musutafu. Cold water seeped into his clothes. The smell was awful.
But it was dark.
And darkness felt safer than light.
Hikaru curled into himself, shivering violently.
"I'm… I'm not a monster," he whispered to no one. "I didn't mean to— I didn't want to— I didn't want anyone to—"
His voice broke into sobs he couldn't swallow.
The shadows wrapped around him gently, almost like arms. Not warm, not comforting-no. But protective.
You survived, the voice whispered softly. Because of me.
"Please… please don't make me hurt anyone else…"
I only protect you. But sometimes-the voice deepened-protection requires fear.
Hikaru buried his face in his knees, shaking.
"No more… please, no more…"
The shadows didn't answer. They simply held him tighter.
Hours passed.
Far above the tunnel, distant lights flickered as several heroes passed by searching for him. Their quirk lights cast faint glows down the broken ladder near the tunnel entrance.
But Hikaru was already too deep in the dark.
The shadows swallowed the last bit of light until not even a silhouette remained.
And before sleep dragged him under-
he heard the voice again, soft as a whisper in a nightmare:
Rest, Hikaru.When you wake… we'll run again.