Chapter 1:
Life
[??? Pov]
Everyone wants a good life, and they tell you to find a good wife, have children, and not die alone. But what they don't tell you is what to do when you have an emptiness in your chest, like I do, and there's no solution for that.
My family are good people; I definitely wouldn't be the same person if my parents were different. However, I'm a lost cause, and imagining what it would be like if I were someone else consumes my mind constantly.
Maybe if I hadn't been born, my family would have a better life. I know I don't meet even the smallest expectations I feel weighed down by, and I don't know how to make them disappear. Disappearing from my family's life is what I think about most, but I know I'm not independent at all, and at best, I'm an idiot, useless, and a failure.
I listen to them, even though I pretend not to sometimes. I've done it thousands of times. I know I'm a failure, and they don't have to remind me. I felt the heat in my room rising, but I simply ignored it, choosing instead to dwell on my mistakes and failures. When the heat became unbearable, I saw my room a raging inferno, and the fire began to consume my body. The pain of the burns was torture, yet it still felt inferior to the pain of disappointing the people who had given me everything. The fire and my screams of agony intensified until finally my consciousness and life faded away.
The darkness of the night forest enveloped me, along with the cold. It seemed winter had been getting worse, though what could I say? Just a moment ago I was on fire; any cold would have been extinguished in those circumstances. I just walked and walked, for what felt like hours, until I finally reached the city. I felt breathless and exhausted.
I had never done anything like that before, and honestly, I'd rather not repeat it. As I approached a park, I collapsed onto one of the benches. My legs felt heavy and aching. My lungs struggled to take in oxygen, and my throat hurt. Yet, I felt an energy I never knew I possessed, and my body seemed unable to keep up. My eyes closed, and I collapsed, feeling every muscle and lung contract, gasping for air.
[General POV]
Midnight was approaching in Shizuoka Prefecture. Few people remained awake throughout the prefecture, and more specifically in Musutafu. Three young men approached a park and began to extract substances. Their steps led them to a young man with black hair, unconscious from exhaustion, lying on a bench.
—Hey you, brat, get out of here before I beat you up— one of the three men ordered in Japanese to the youngest as a mini drill replaced his left hand.
The voice did little to rouse the raven-haired man from his unconsciousness, and he could only activate his drill, bringing it close to the young man's abdomen and piercing it through his side. The pain jolted him awake, and he screamed, his gaze horrified and terrified at the sight of his perforated abdomen.
Seeing him motionless, another member of the group of three pulled out a lighter and lit it, then began to control the flame and hurl it at the young man. The raven-haired man's mind shut down; the sight of fire terrified him like nothing else, and combined with the pain, he could no longer bear it.
The flame devoured the area where the young man had lain, leaving a trail of smoke in the air. As the smoke cleared, the bench was revealed, covered in blood and pieces of cloth, but with no sign of a body.
—Ugh, how stressful— the formerly raven-haired man, now albino, said in Spanish with utter weariness and listlessness.
The average-sized figure now towered considerably over the three others, his now larger and longer clothing sealing the stab wound. Annoyed, the pyromaniac relit his lighter and manipulated it to attack the albino again, but his attempt at harming him remained just that.
—How depressing— the albino commented with laziness and disdainful boredom as he lunged at the fire-wielding maniac, headbutting him so hard that a massive shockwave erupted, completely tearing the young man's body apart.
Seeing the harrowing scene of the albino dismembering his friend with a single headbutt, the other two decided to flee, just in time for the dark-haired man to revert to his normal state and collapse to the ground, coughing up blood. The bleeding from his abdomen began again, and he could only succumb to unconsciousness, writhing in agony, leaving behind a nightmarish scene of several trees violently uprooted and the dismembered body of the pyromaniac.
[Black/white-haired POV]
I woke up sore, as if I had fallen from a third-story window, and dizzy with the smell of drugs filling my nostrils. As I tried to regain my bearings, I saw a vagrant enter the room accompanied by a doctor.
I heard the doctor whisper something like, —Try not to upset the patient too much; there's still something delicate going on—
My body tensed as I watched the homeless man approach me. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like I was being judged with every glance he gave me, and that was awful. My head still hurts.
—Nē, anata no namae o oshiete itadakemasu ka?— he asked, sounding sleepy, as if he hadn't slept well in days. But honestly, I can't understand that language. I'm terrible at any language.
My confusion and lack of understanding must have been reflected on my face because he spoke again, this time in English. —Child, may I know your name?—
It's true... I don't remember my name, just like I don't remember the faces of my family. I feel like I've lost everything that makes me who I am. I feel even more like a failure, trying to remember it and still not being able to...
Although my English is terrible, I tried my best, and I think I managed. —I don't remember, sir...—
—Aizawa, Shota Aizawa—I could finally put a name to that vagrant's face. —Do you remember what happened in the early morning? They found you unconscious with a stab wound in your abdomen after hearing something like an explosion—.
—To tell you the truth... I only remember being threatened, or at least that's what they conveyed, after...— Something came to me, a scene of a blazing torrent coming at me twice, dodging it as if I were seeing the world in slow motion. —I felt like I was going to die, and then I lost consciousness, Mr. Aizawa—.
When I finished speaking, I noticed he seemed somewhat uncertain or distrustful, perhaps because he didn't believe what I was about to say, or maybe he simply said the wrong word. Whatever the reason, he didn't say anything else and just left, leaving me to wander and think in peace.
My goal was to discover what had made me move so fast and have such destructive power. I sent trees and the bench I'd fallen asleep flying... not to mention how I ended a life as if I'd exploded a piece of tomato. My head hurts so much it could explode. So much information flooding my brain in such a short time. In that unconscious state, it seems I was absorbing information much faster, but my brain hadn't stored it all until now.
[General POV]
—At midnight last night in Seitoshi Park, there was an explosion that took the life of a 22-year-old and destroyed a section of the park. The relevant authorities are still searching for the culprit— A serious voice came from a television, filling the silence in the room, a room with only two people, though calling one person a person is a mistake.
—Tell me, Aizawa, what have you learned about the young man at the hospital?— asked a creature that resembled a mouse and a bear, looking at the homeless man with the "bandages" around his neck.
—The kid remembers almost nothing. He said he was sleeping in Seitoshi Park and when he woke up he felt threatened, but he didn't understand. His Japanese is nonexistent and his English is terrible; I could barely understand anything— Aizawa replied seriously as Nezu nodded understandingly.
—We should keep an eye on him, in case he experiences a similar situation again— the small creature said calmly. Receiving a nod from Aizawa, he continued sipping his tea. —You can leave, Aizawa—.
Without another word, the jet-black-haired man left the office, leaving the animal to drink its tea with the news playing in the background.
[Black/white-haired POV]
They can stab me with a bladed hand, they can throw flames from a lighter at me, but from the messages, this shit's health is working fine. I never thought I'd be out of the hospital in less than a day. And now it looks like I'm going to have to pay off a hospital bill. Fucking great... I seriously just want to rest for the rest of the day and not bother trying to find a job.
I walked through the bustling streets and saw everything I could only dream of, probably reflected in my idiotic face because several mutant people gave me weird looks... not that I wasn't used to it. Anyway, as I walked, I saw so many strange and amazing people, people with features you'd only expect from your imagination, and people dressed in mostly ridiculous outfits.
Although I have to admit that some of the heroines' outfits were nice to look at, the stupid things I think about, for God's sake. Instead of thinking about how to pay my hospital bill or how to remember my family, all I think about are butts. Mom would surely be so disappointed to see what I'm thinking about.
—Tsuini mitsuketa zo, gomi-me— I stopped when I heard the Japanese words coming from two people I remembered clearly. They were the two who had been with the guy with the lighter, and they looked pretty angry.
—The toothpick and the coward, what do you want?— I said in English, and obviously I know what these two idiots want: revenge for how I turned their friend into mincemeat in his white-haired form.
How I wish I could access that form at will. They'll probably beat me to a pulp and give me a painful death, something I'm definitely not looking for. It would be nice to stall until one of those guys in tights shows up.
—Damn it, Yaju— said the one who could turn his arms into blades, only to receive a comment from the other guy in this language that causes me so much trouble.
—We're going to grind you up like a piece of dog food, but a thousand times worse than what you did to Raita— said the other guy, now sounding much smarter than the idiot with the blades, as he pulled out two syringes.
—Is that your idea of revenge, getting high?— My mouth and tongue started spewing English crap as if not having powers like these two idiots wasn't bad enough.
[End of "Kuso's" POV]
A smug, amused laugh escaped Yaju's mouth as he handed one of the syringes to his friend.
—Oh, believe me, you piece of shit, this drug will give you the worst and last time of your life— Yaju commented, activating his power and beginning to enlarge his muscles, destroying his clothes. The blue hair that sprouted on his head grew all over his body, covering any trace of nudity.
—(Damn it, seriously?)— the raven-haired man thought fearfully as he watched the blue-haired man grow so much even before injecting the drug, his heart rate rapidly increasing and his blood running cold as he swallowed hard.
—Oh, Kuso, don't tell me your courage has already vanished— Yaju remarked mockingly, hearing the young man's heart rate rise and sensing his fear. —Come on, use your Quirk. It'll be worth seeing your deformed form from my blows— the humanoid beast said in a deeper voice as he completed his transformation and finally injected himself.
What followed was a symphony of primal screams from both of them. The raw fear they instilled in Kuso made him start backing away in terror, as did the rest of the passersby on the street. Yaju increased in size, growing from 3 meters to 5 meters tall, his muscles also increasing in size. It was like seeing a Homo erectus three times larger and a man with a blade in the middle of his face; the sight was horrifying and terrifying for the young man targeted by both monsters.
—Nice cosplay of Katana Man from Chainsaw Man and Beast from the X-Men, you can tell you put in the effort— Kuso commented, still scared, continuing to swear and provoke both beasts.
The response didn't come verbally, but in the form of a punch and a gaping slash that sent him flying into a store, shattering the window and knocking over a shelf. The blow had shattered the raven-haired boy's ribs as if he'd bent a toothpick, and the cut ripped across his abdomen from east to west, leaving a large amount of blood splattered during his flight from the street to the store. Clutching his stomach in excruciating pain, he vomited blood, and the simple act of breathing caused him unbearable agony.
—(Why did I even get up from the hospital bed?)— Kuso thought, looking at his spilled blood with fear and simple acceptance. —(At least let them finish quickly)— he told himself as he watched the two monsters slowly walk down the street as if they planned to prolong their suffering to savor it better.
A pair of heroes appeared on the scene from the air, the woman releasing the man in front of Yaju and flying towards Katana. Just as Kuso saw a glimmer of hope in the brown-haired man sending the blue-haired man flying a couple of meters back, that feeling was swiftly snatched away. The man with the blades, with a simple burst of speed, appeared beside Yaju, leaving the flying woman's head slowly falling to the ground. Seeing this, the hero launched himself forcefully at Katana, seeking to damage him and knock him unconscious with a single blow. As if it were a scene from a horror movie, the man with the blade severed his arm, and the humanoid beast decapitated him with a single punch. The severed head fell less than a meter from the raven-haired man, causing him to vomit not only blood but also what little his stomach contained, causing him even more pain and terror as he watched the two continue their advance towards him.
—(Why?)— he wondered again, his mind flashing through memories of his life, from infancy to his youth, as he watched the two humans—no, it wouldn't be right to call them humans or people—under the influence of the Trigger.
One memory finally captured his full attention, leaving him focused solely on it. The vision was heartbreaking: a woman he didn't recognize on a hospital gurney, coughing up blood, while his past self clutched her free hand with a heavy heart.
—Sometimes I don't realize how much you're growing, my little one— the woman's face, blurred to him, commented, but he could see the proud smile on her face as she continued coughing up blood. —Stop making that face, it's ruining all the effort I put into this pregnancy— she said, He could do nothing but cry silently as he watched the woman cough up more and more blood. —I know I'm going to leave you two alone, but I want you to do something, okay? Try, you'll fall, yes, but I know you can get up and be something you can be proud of, because I already am, and I know you won't let me down— she said with a sad yet proud smile as her voice trailed off and the blood she coughed up increased. —I'm sorry I won't be able to see you when you become a family man...— With those weak words, the heart monitor beeped, signaling the woman's death and the beginning of the even younger Kuso's cascade of tears.
Returning to reality, he noticed tears splattering his pants and coughed up more blood, but something else as well. Finally, the albino form Yaju and Katana had been searching for had appeared. With a lazy movement, he wiped away his tears and stood up to face Katana, then looked up at the furry creature. His posture slumped, and a kind of mask of teeth formed over his jaw and mouth.
—What a nuisance— Kuso commented, removing in a blink the glass fragments that were embedded in him and causing him so much pain.