Darkness.
Not the gentle shade of night or the dull cover of sleep, but the suffocating, dirt-packed kind that pressed in from all sides.
It was the heavy, lung-choking black that felt alive with pressure and silence.
Loid awoke with a strangled gasp, grime sifting through his hair, down his back like dry soil poured from a shovel.
His first instinct was to scream—yet instinct was overruled by survival.
He clenched his jaw shut. The air was gritty and thin. Breathing too hard might mean not breathing at all.
He blinked rapidly, coughing up the dust invading his lungs.
Above him, dim emergency lights sputtered, flickering in and out like dying fireflies.
One bulb popped with a crack, plunging part of the tunnel in darkness again.
A jagged tear in the cracked ceiling let in a lone sliver of daylight—the only whisper from the world above.
Through it, Loid could make out twisted metal, asphalt caved inward, and the fractured remnants of a city street.
"I'm underground…aren't I?" he muttered hoarsely.
He grunted, shoving a slab of broken concrete from his legs. Legs trembling, he forced himself upright. The scene was chaos incarnate.
To his left, a woman sobbed helplessly, cradling a crying child. To his right, an old man leaned against a broken pipe, coughing and struggling to remain upright. Dust and screams painted the air. But above the noise, one voice cut through—familiar, desperate, relieved.
"Loid! There you are!"
Kazuo stumbled toward him, face dirt-streaked, lip bleeding, but standing. Alive.
Loid exhaled a shaky breath. "You good?"
"I've been better, but yeah. Where the hell even are we?"
Loid opened his mouth to answer, but someone else beat him to it.
"Everyone, over here! Form up! Make sure no one's trapped or missing!"
A tall man climbed atop a crushed vending machine, shoving aside debris with practiced force.
He was lifting wreckage off a woman pinned beneath twisted sheet metal, waving his hand as some debris was magically flung away.
His movements were clean, purposeful—like muscle memory. His short, military-cut hair, squared shoulders, plain white shirt and cold focus screamed command.
Loid didn't need confirmation. He knew that voice and posture—he'd seen documentaries on soldiers. That man had seen war.
People began gathering, some crawling, some limping.
The authority in the stranger's voice was enough to provide structure to the chaos.
About twenty people had ended up in their section of this collapsed labyrinth: an elderly woman who was wheezing into a handkerchief, a mother clutching her whimpering child, a short haired teen girl fiddling with her skirt nervously, a thin teenage boy twitching with nervous energy, and—
"Who are you?"
A suited man with a pristine silver tie pin stormed forward, brushing ash off his coat. His voice dripped with indignation.
"Excuse me?" The military man turned his head to the man who'd yelled.
"I said who the hell are you to give orders? You a pro hero? Got a license, or are we just trusting whatever rando screams the loudest?"
The tall man turned, expression unreadable. "Kain Ryuusei. Former army sergeant. Aspiring pro hero."
The businessman froze. Then, with no shame, he pulled a thick wad of yen from his blazer. "Five-hundred thousand if you keep me safe. I'll triple it when we're out."
But before he could even take another step forward, the money was snatched from his hand by a tall female in a long and ironically revealing work dress, long fiery red hair and glasses like a librarian.
With a no nonsense energy to her, she scorned the man.
"Sit down and shut up, Daiki," she snapped. "The man's military. Use your ears."
Daiki grumbled, rubbing his wrist. "My own sister…"
"Damn right. And I'm not dying because your wallet thinks it's a shield."
Kain nodded to her. "Thanks. What's your name?"
"Yuka. Let's skip the bonding. What's the plan?"
"We figure out our assets first. Everyone, group up: injured, elderly, children, able-bodied, and those capable of combat."
"Woah woah woah, combat?" Daiki perked his head up.
"Yes. As it stands, we currently aren't trapped in here alone."
Silence descended as Loid could almost heart some hearts drop.
But he already knew this. He'd seen it before they dropped in here.
"The villains earlier. One of them created this place and are in here with they're in here with us, aren't they?" Kazuo was the first to speak as all heads turned to him, to which Kain nodded.
"That's correct. What their intentions are is still unknown, but we have no choice but to assume the worst." Kain added.
"Whether we like it or not, we might be put in a position where we need to fight. We need to determine who's doing what before that happens."
'It still won't be much help. After all, it's a bunch of civilians Vs hardened villains.' Loid saw it how it was, but didn't wish to make the morale around him any worse than it already was.
It was messy at first. People hesitated, but soon the order in Kain's voice inspired movement.
Mothers guided children to the center. Teens helped the elderly sit. A few were obviously hurt—twisted ankles, shallow gashes, bloody noses.
Loid supported an elderly woman with Kazuo, his eyes flitting across the faces around him. He wasn't just looking. He was categorizing for himself.
From the fringe stepped a wiry man with sharp cheekbones and a perpetually squinting gaze.
"Hi, my name's Yuto. My Quirk's called Pathfinder. I can get a rough map of the surrounding layout—small bursts, and only structure. No people. I've only ever used it on small scales since that's all I can handle. New houses, buildings like hospitals or schools I'm not familiar with. But with some place this big..."
Kain gave a sharp nod, cutting him off before he could put himself, and everyone else's morale down. "Stick close. You're vital."
'Yuto. Structure mapping. Could be useful if we split or navigate choke points,' Loid thought, filing it away in mental storage.
Then, from behind a pile of rubble, a boy's head popped up. He looked about fifteen, jittery and bright-eyed.
"Uh—hey! I've got a Quirk too! I can broadcast stuff—not music or anything, but like… reroute and amplify nearby audio. Tech-based, kinda. I'm basically a human radio station!"
Kain's brows lifted. "Can you reach the surface?"
"M-maybe! If I find a broken circuit box or something to hijack. I'll need to focus for a little bit."
And so he did, sitting cross legged as he closed his eyes, a few of the others circling around him in anticipation.
After a while, some voices began to speak. They weren't voices from those underground, instead voices of what sounded like policemen, coming from the boy himself.
"—repeat, sinkhole area is unstable. Rescue barricades remain—"
"HELLO!? Can you hear us!? This is Kiyoshi Morita—there's a group of civilians trapped underground!" The boy yelled, eyes still closed.
Silence.
The others raised their eyebrows. It was clear he was able to tap into the polices' radios, staring as they waited for what would come.
Then, a familiar voice replied, sharp and urgent.
"This is Mt. Lady. You're the ones under there? Finally—we've been searching. How many of you?"
"Twenty! All alive! For now!"
"Can I speak?" Kain asked, to which Kiyoshi stuck out his hand.
"Speak into my hand, it'll act like a microphone."
Kain didn't wait a second. "Mt. Lady, this is Sergeant Kain Ryuusei. Please tell us of the situation up there."
Mt. Lady's voice softened, but her words were grave. "We've got Cementoss, Kamui Woods, and myself, but none of our Quirks can safely reach you. We can't risk causing more damage. Rescue teams with support Quirks are coming. You'll need to hold on."
Daiki yanked the hand to his face as he yelled. "What?! How long will that take? We're trapped in here with killers and maniacs, what are we supposed to do till then?"
This time, Yuka didn't stop him and no one scorned him for his words. It was true and they agreed.
"Well you might want to keep your voice down for starters. Until then, due to how you've all dropped in, we've determined that south of you is safe from the villains. Head in that direction and we'll meet you there."
Silence erupted. They all knew she was trying her best to assist them with what she could, but it didn't change the fact that it was a whole bunch of nothing.
"I can't hold the signal for long. Finish up." The boy spoke, sweat pouring down his face.
Kain nodded. "Copy that. We'll do our best, Mt. Lady. Thank you for your help." And with that, the connection cut as the boy dropped to his hands and knees, panting.
Kiyoshi reeled back, nose bleeding slightly. "I—I can't keep it up without a steady source. I'm sorry."
Daiki scoffed. "That's it? You interrupt the police and give us a glimmer of hope, and then you cut it off?"
Yuka shoved him again. "He gave us more than your yen ever could. So shut up."
After this, a pause.
"Everyone, trust me, I've been through worse. I'll do everything in my power to get us all home today, I swear it on my rank and future Hero honour. Please trust me long enough to do so."
Kain's words did little to lighten the mood, but as he darted around, tending to wounds with the basic medical skills he knew and his peculiar Quirk, it did instill some with something they previously lacked.
Hope.
Some whispers of relief. A few sobs. Smiles cracked like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. A fragile hope clung to the survivors.
Loid looked around, observing it all with narrowed eyes.
'It's so easy. One name. One promise. That's all it takes to be believed. To be followed.'
Loid approached Kazuo quietly. "You holding up?"
Kazuo nodded. "Trying not to think about being buried alive. You?"
"Focused," Loid said simply. 'I can't afford to break here.'
"All that's left is the defensive squad. Any volunteers?"
''Defensive', he says. I guess it does sound better than 'Meat Shields'.'
It seemed as though the others had enough time to think about it as Yuka dragged Daiki forward.
"Are you stupid, Yuka?"
"Are you? I'm not having you disgrace our family name by cowering amongst children and the elderly."
Other than them, Yuto and Kiyoshi were also quick to step forward.
And finally Kazuo's expression hardened in determination as he followed, only to pause as he witnessed Loid beside him.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm joining you all?"
"But…you can't…Y-You…"
"Because I'm Quirkless? So what?"
All heads turned to the two boys, particularly Loid as they stared.
"Quirkless?" Kain questioned, walking toward the boys.
"Yeah, just him. Surely he can't face hardened Villains as he is, make him understand." Kazuo argued, however, Kain continued to stare, watching Loid not budge from where he stood.
"You're a good friend, Kid. But the decision ultimately comes down to him."
"And I'll be damned if I allow myself to be your damsel in distress." Loid added, prompting Kazuo to huff, darting his eyes between the two before him, soon sighing in defeat.
"You're crazy, you know that?"
'Not as much as you think.'
Perhaps if it had been Loid from yesterday, he'd think twice. But today…he had an ace up his sleeve he was itching to test.
"I admire your courage, Kid. What are your names?"
"Loid Hale."
"Kazuo."
Kain nodded.
"Loid, Kazuo, I thank you both for your service." Kain saluted, heading back as they began to gather the elderly and those who needed help walking.
"Quirkless? Really?" Daiki scorned.
"Another word out of you and I'll personally sacrifice you to the Villains." Yuka hissed.
"We'll need to move fast. For all we know, the Villains might already know of our position."
With all of them prepared, Yuto stood at the front with Kain, activating his Quirk intermittently.
Glowing shapes flared in the air—walls, branching paths, and thus, they began to walk.
They walked in a diamond formation around the children and elderly. With Kazuo and Loid at the front, Kiyoshi and Yuka on either side and Daiki at the back, primarily because he was a loud mouth, Yuto and Kain stood at the forefront of this all.
Loid's eyes swept every flicker of shadow.
The tunnels reeked—mold, engine oil, and something faintly metallic. Possibly blood. The deeper they went, the more oppressive the silence became.
Along the way, they passed remnants of infrastructure long forgotten: rusted service lines, an old train car crushed beneath rubble, and graffiti so faded it looked like veins of color.
Loid's gaze sharpened.
'Whoever set this trap knew what they were doing. This wasn't an accident. They built this ambush site. It makes sense…'
Just as he thought this, Kazuo whispered, "You alright? Don't worry. An army Sergeant, Yuto and best of all, me, we get out of this easily."
Loid paused.
"Well, the Villains might not want to aimlessly kill us anyway. The way this was all set up, I think they meant for civilians to be trapped in here to then use as hostages."
"Is that what you've been thinking about? Aren't you worried at all? Jeez, it's like you know you'll make it out of all this."
Loid stared. For some reason…he didn't dispute this.
'What is this?'
His hand was shaking. Not due to fear, but rather something else he couldn't quite put his hand on. Almost like…eagerness.
Suddenly—
Kain raised his fist.
Everyone stopped.
Loid saw it immediately. The tensing of his shoulders. The narrowing of his gaze. The way his posture lowered just slightly, coiled like a spring.
He crept beside Kain, peering around the corner. Nothing visible—yet.
Then—movement. A flicker of motion. Reflected in the chrome of a pipe. One shadow. Then two…then more.
Kain's voice was a low whisper.
"Get ready. We're not alone."
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First two chapters. Might upload two chapters a day if I'm motivated enough. Let me know what you think so far. Thanks!