Chapter 3: What Was Taken
UA did not begin with fighting.
It began with rules.
Aizawa stood at the front of the training hall, his eyes half-open, his voice flat, and his presence heavy enough to make the room feel smaller than it was, while the rest of us stood in a loose line, listening carefully, because this was the kind of place where missing one instruction could cost everything.
"Today is a rescue exercise," Aizawa said. "No villains. No winning. No glory."
Some students looked disappointed.
Some looked relieved.
"Your goal is simple," Aizawa continued. "Get everyone out alive."
He paused, then added, "How you do that matters."
That last part stayed with me.
---
The building was fake.
But it didn't feel fake.
Smoke filled the hallways, thick and hot, making it hard to breathe, while alarms echoed endlessly, sharp and loud, digging into the head until thinking clearly became difficult, and somewhere inside, students playing civilians screamed and cried in panic that felt real enough to tighten the chest.
I moved slowly.
Not because I was scared.
But because rushing always made things worse.
Ahead of me, a girl from our class—her name was Mai, I remembered that much—was frozen in place near a collapsed doorway, her hands shaking, her breathing fast and shallow, her eyes wide as she stared at the fire blocking the exit.
"I can't," Mai said, her voice breaking. "I can't move."
Another student tried to pull her.
She screamed louder.
The fire crackled closer.
I stepped forward.
"Stop," I said calmly.
They looked at me.
"Let me handle it," I added.
The other student hesitated, then stepped back.
Mai didn't look at me.
She couldn't.
Her fear was too loud.
---
I knelt in front of her.
"Mai," I said softly. "Listen to me."
She shook her head.
"I'm scared," she said. "I can't think."
I felt it then.
The pressure.
The heat.
The noise.
All of it was too much for her.
So I reached out.
---
I didn't touch her.
I focused on the space around her.
The fear softened.
Her breathing slowed.
The screaming in the background dulled.
The fire still burned, but it felt farther away.
Mai blinked.
Her hands stopped shaking.
Her eyes focused.
"I… feel fine," she said quietly.
"Good," I replied. "Stand up."
She did.
We walked out together.
The alarm faded behind us.
The exercise ended soon after.
---
People praised me.
They said I was calm.
They said I was reliable.
Aizawa said nothing.
---
Later, while everyone else talked loudly about what they did and how they survived, I sat alone near the lockers, staring at my hands, feeling a strange heaviness inside my chest that I couldn't explain.
Mai approached me.
"Hey," she said.
I looked up.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Thank you," she said. "You saved me."
"You did the walking," I replied.
She smiled, then hesitated.
"There's something strange," she said slowly.
"What is it?" I asked.
She frowned, searching for words.
"I remember being in danger," she said. "I remember the fire. I remember screaming."
She paused.
"But I don't remember being scared," she continued. "I know I should have been. I know I was."
"But when I think about it… it feels empty."
My chest tightened.
"I don't remember caring," she said quietly.
The smile on her face faded.
"It's like something is missing," she added.
I didn't know what to say.
"I'm not upset," Mai said quickly. "I just wanted you to know."
She walked away.
---
I sat there for a long time.
Too long.
---
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face, calm and empty, and I wondered what exactly I had taken from her without meaning to.
Fear was painful.
But fear was also human.
And I erased it.
---
The next day, Aizawa called me to the training room alone.
"You used your quirk on a civilian," he said.
"Yes," I replied.
"Did you have permission?" he asked.
"No," I said honestly.
"Why did you do it?" Aizawa asked.
"She would have frozen," I said. "She could have been hurt."
"And instead," Aizawa said, "you erased her fear."
"Yes," I said.
He stared at me.
"For how long?" he asked.
"I don't know," I answered. "Seconds. Maybe less."
"Enough," he said.
The room was quiet.
"Do you understand what you did?" Aizawa asked.
"I saved her," I said.
"That's not the whole answer," he replied.
I looked down.
"I changed her," I said.
"Yes," Aizawa said. "And heroes do not get to decide which parts of a person are acceptable."
The words cut deeper than I expected.
---
"What happens if you do that to a villain?" Aizawa asked.
"They stop fighting," I said.
"And if you do it too long?" he continued.
"They stop feeling," I replied.
"And if they stop feeling," Aizawa said calmly, "are they still choosing to be evil?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
---
"You are not banned from using your quirk," Aizawa said. "But you are restricted."
"Restricted how?" I asked.
"You only use it when ordered," he said.
"And if I don't?" I asked quietly.
"Then you leave UA," Aizawa replied.
I nodded.
---
After class, Shoto walked beside me in silence.
"You were different today," he said finally.
"How?" I asked.
"You looked tired," he said.
"I am," I replied.
He stopped walking.
"Kido," Shoto said, turning to face me. "Did you do something wrong?"
I thought about it.
"I did something right," I said.
"And?" he asked.
"And it felt wrong," I answered.
Shoto didn't speak after that.
But his eyes stayed on me longer than usual.
---
That night, alone in my room, I tried something dangerous.
I reached inward.
Not outward.
I calmed myself.
The fear faded.
The guilt softened.
The weight disappeared.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
I couldn't feel regret.
I couldn't feel relief.
I couldn't feel anything.
I pulled back fast.
My heart raced.
My hands shook.
I lay there breathing hard, staring at the ceiling, realizing something terrifying.
If I wanted to, I could erase myself.
And no one would stop me.
---
Heroes were supposed to protect people.
But what if protecting them meant taking something away?
What if saving them meant leaving them hollow?
I didn't have the answer.
But I knew one thing.
Silence was no longer safe.
And if I wasn't careful—
I would become the quietest danger in the room.
------------------ End of Chapter 3-----------------