Where It All Began

"It all began in the town of Qing Qing, China. One day, they announced the birth of a "luminescent" baby. Then, the 'paranormal' was declared everywhere… Time passed …and we could not explain the cause of these phenomena. Very quickly, the 'paranormal' became 'normal'… …and 'dreams'… became… 'reality'.

Current society is composed of supermen. And about 80% of the world population has 'a unique physical constitution.' Disorder swirled around the world. It is these circumstances that the profession that everyone had dreamed up… …came under the spotlight.

As the number of 'paranormal' phenomena grows up, the number of crimes exploded like wildfire. And when governments were bound hand and foot by laws that restricted radical revisions of any action… courageous people… and character traits of American comics went into action. They kept an eye on the 'paranormal' and defended the people of bad intentions. Very quickly, under the leadership of public opinion, the hero, after acquiring specific civil rights, saw their professional activities officially recognized.

To reward their efforts, these heroes received their salaries directly from the state and they were acclaimed by the crowds."

"I already knew all that shit!" The man I had tied up screamed at me.

"Well, then you may have forgot something…" I pull him up with my capture weapon and stare him straight in the eyes. "Men… are not all equal at birth. So, someone like you who has a quirk worse than the garbage that I've seen trying to indulge himself in a little debauchery in the undergrounds, should've stayed on the surface where you belonged."

Dropping the hand that held the 'villain', he lands with a thump, and then I start to drag him out of the gambling den I'd just raided. As I step over the unconscious bodies and made my way to the door out, I listen to the man's incessant grumbling.

"It's always like this… always… why can't I just have a little bit of fun… it's all so unfair… and what was that shitstain talking about… I have a powerful quirk… I just couldn't use it for some reason…"

The man then falls silent.

Just as he does, the door I'd been reaching for was broken open and the police started to flood in. As the police swarmed in around me and started to arrest the unconscious persons, the leader of the group stepped up to me.

"I see you're at it again, ruff!"

"A pleasure to see you again Tsuragamae Kenji…" I state unenthusiastically, staring at the very tall, sturdily built man who had the head of a beagle.

"Well, the work you've done here for us has certainly made our jobs easier… so on behalf of the police, we…" Mr. Tsuragamae is suddenly cut off when the 'villain' in my capture weapon screams.

"Wait! You're that underground hero! The one who's quirk allows him to erase the quirk of anyone he stares at! Aizawa Shoto, right?!"

Giving a tired stare at Mr. Tsuragamae, he seems to understand the message and makes a signal to his men, in which two of them come up to the downed gambling den boss and carry him away. The entire time, the gambling den boss squirmed and screamed.

"That man has been on the loose for over a year now…" Tsuragamae shakes his head, "Even if it was a small operation, it was too dangerous to proceed without the help of a hero."

"Just doing my job."

Nodding to each other, I go to walk past him and embrace my long-awaited nap, but I'm stopped when his hand is laid on my shoulder.

"There's a certain case that we've been having trouble with recently… so if you could…"

"Yeah, yeah… I got the point. Just send over the case information so I can prepare."

"It-it's more difficult than that Aizawa."

Wiping at my eyes, I once again look at Tsuragamae tiredly.

"It involves a child."

"What's so difficult about a child? His quirk shouldn't even be all that powerful yet."

"Well, the quirk this child developed is a psychological one… all my men who I'd sent to 'collect' this child came back shivering or even with themselves having urinated… stating that they'd experienced a wave of unpleasant images and feelings. The more they tried to progress towards this child, the worse the experiences became…"

"Couldn't you just overwhelm him with numbers then?" I arch an eyebrow.

"As much as we'd like to do that," Tsuragamae began, "The child shoved himself into the corner of an alley barely wide enough for two adult males to fit… I know that this'll be making you work overtime Aizawa, but we can't just standby as a child starves himself… too scared to even move."

"I know…" I groan and then present the exit to him, "Lead the way."

Climbing up and out of the smokey, smelly, disgusting gambling den, we're embraced by the cold of the night. Loading ourselves into a police car, we drive ourselves off to another district and then disembark. Guiding me through a series of streets, we reach the entrance of an alley. Standing there were two other policemen.

"Back once again Mr. Tsuragamae?" One of them asks, before then peering at me, "With Aizawa Shoto?"

"He's here to retrieve the child."

"Word of advice then Aizawa, it'd be better to use your quirk as soon as you see him. He seems to be constantly releasing his."

Cursing the dry eye I'd soon be feeling, I peek my head around the alley wall and sure enough, there sits a child curled up in a ball in the corner of the alley, who was constantly crying and letting out whimpers.

Just as I go to call out to the boy, an extreme sense of fear grips me and the shadows that hung on the alley walls started to crawl as if they were alive. Quickly backing away from the alley, I heave multiple deep breaths.

"So, you've felt it too?" One of the policemen gives me a sorry look, "Not very pleasant is it."

"That's his quirk?"

"Presumably…" The other policemen give a strange face, "We don't really know what his quirk is since we can't identify him. It's better if you use your quirk Aizawa… it won't get better... it only goes down from here."

Heaving out, I once again peak my head around the alley corner and use my quirk. Pulling a flashlight out of my utility belt, I turn it on and make my way towards the boy.

Having seemed to notice the light, the boy scrambles to his feet and then stumbles towards me, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Mama?" He grabs onto my leg, pushing his face into it. "I'm so sorry mama… I promise I won't do anything bad again… I promise that I'll be a good boy like you always wanted me to be… So, please don't leave me… please don't hurt me… I'm scared mama… please…"

The boy's words got quieter as he continued to speak and by the time he finished, the boy was asleep.

Pulling out my eyedrops, I pick up the boy and carry him out of the alley.

"Well, now that he's in our custody… why don't we take him to the police force agency. We can identify him there."

I wanted to hand him over to Tsuragamae and be done with it… but in the chance that he wakes up and starts using his quirk again, it'll be better if I'm there on standby.

The entire drive to the agency was filled with the boy's whimpers and constant sweating, the signs someone had when they were having a nightmare.

Entering the agency, the police first take a photo scan of his face and then start to check their databases. Luckily, he was registered. Unluckily, his quirk wasn't.

Name: Okuma Kou

Age: 4

"His parents must've opted out of having his quirk put on record… most likely because its villainous in nature." Tsuragamae hands me a coffee. "And unfortunately for us, we can't conduct a legal quirk test on him without the approval of his legal guardians."

"Well then, all we need to do then is find his parents."

Almost as if on que, Tsuragamae's radio goes off. Stepping away from me, Tsuragamae receives the transmission and comes back to me huffing.

"They just died."

Going slightly wide eyed, I could see Tsuragamae was clearly upset because of this incident.

"This means, we have three options to learn more about this boy. The simplest would be to wait until he wakes and then ask what his quirk is... though since he's only a child… I fear he doesn't know anything. The worst option would be to put him in an orphanage and wait for him to be adopted to initiate another quirk test… but then his quirk would run unhindered in such a situation. And the last option involves you Aizawa."

I could catch on to what Tsuragamae meant, but I couldn't stop myself from asking, "What do you mean?"

"Well, since his quirk seems to be so… disturbing... to those around him, we could have you act as his guardian." Tsuragamae nervously rubs his hands.

"So, you're asking me to raise a child as a fresh out of UA student?"

"Until he either learns of a way to control his quirk or we find a way to retrain it, then sadly so. Also, you're not fresh out of UA… it's been two years since you graduated."

"Might as well be freshly graduated… I'm just as tired as I was when I first got out."

"That may be because you chose such a difficult line of work." Tsuragamae deadpanned at me. "Why did you choose to even work as an underground hero in the first place? You'd do phenomenally in front of the public."

"Crowds of people make me tired… Plus, I like the gloomy atmosphere, it's great for naps."

Tsuragamae snorts.

Sitting there in a silence, Tsuragamae asks the question I'd been trying to steer away from.

"Let's just go with the first option for now." I wave my hand, "Anything after that will come later."

Sitting there for even longer, both Tsuragamae and I were notified that Okuma Kou was about to awaken. Walking into the room, when I see the boy open his eyes and start to panic, I already start to use my quirk.

"Wh-where am I?" He tries to scramble away, only to find himself held down, "W-Who are you people?!"

"First of all, calm down. Ruff!" Tsuragamae immediately attracts his attention, "My name is Tsuragamae Kenji and the man standing next to me is Aizawa Shoto. We brought you to a hospital when we found you crying and screaming in an alley way."

"He's scary." He points at me.

"Then don't focus on him." Tsuragamae kneels in front of him, "I want to ask you a few things. Would that be alright with you Kou?"

"Where's my mom and dad?"

Giving me a side glance, Tsuragamae uncertainly says, "They're not here yet. ...But could tell me why you were in an alley Kou?"

"Mama said my quirk was scary and that I was a dis craise." The boy then starts to have tears well in his eyes, "A-and then, when we were driving h-home, mama got out of the car with m-me… a-and then…"

"That's alright…" Tsuragamae stops him, "I know it's uncomfortable for you Kou, so you don't have to continue. But could you tell me what you quirk is?"

Only giving a shake of a head in response, Tsuragamae clicks his tongue.

"D-did I do something wrong?" The boy quivers.

"No, no…" Tsuragamae starts to stroke his head, "You did nothing wrong."

Giving a signal to the hospital workers, they unstrap him, and he sits up.

"So, wh-when will my parents arrive?" The boy wipes at his teary eyes and snotty nose, looking at Tsuragamae with expectant eyes.

"Well… you see…" Tsuragamae sweats nervously before then seeming to come up with something. "Oh, what's this…"

Pulling out his phone from his pocket, Tsuragamae starts to nod his head while giving the occasional 'mhm'.

Taking the phone away from his ear, Tsuragamae states with utmost certainty, "Well Kou, your parents just called me and told me that they want you to stay with the wonderful fellow standing behind me."

Instantly my expression darkened.

"But won't they come and see me first?" The boy clasps his hands.

"They became occupied with something else…" Tsuragamae raises a finger, "And since they think you have a mildly scary quirk, they want you to stay with this man until you learn to control it. Once you do, they said they'd see you again and welcome you with open arms."

"But that man is scary." The boy once again restates.

"Oh, don't worry about him… he may look scary, but he's a real softy for children… You just must trust your parents and I."

"Okay kind mister." The boy wraps his hands around Tsuragamae's neck for a hug.

Breaking the hug, we're guided out of the room by the hospital staff who wish to check his health again before he can leave with us.

"Tsuragamae, I never agreed to being his guardian."

"Aizawa…" Tsuragamae gives me a sad look, "What do you think would happen if someone with a villainous quirk was suddenly thrown back into society?"

"They'd become a villain." I answer with certainty.

"We don't need another villain on the streets Aizawa. For his sake and for ours, please take that boy in… If you become his guardian, then maybe, he might just be able to fight for us. After all, it is rather scary that someone who's quirk just developed can affect the mind of a grown adult rather drastically."

"I mean I understand the reasoning behind it Tsuragamae," I rub my eyes, "But I don't want to go through the trouble…"

"Just think about it then." Tsuragamae pats me on the shoulder.

Massaging my temples, I sat down and mulled it over.