There is nothing young children look forward to more than the manifestation of their quirk. They spend hours dreaming about and hoping for it to manifest, and squealing in delight at the slightest inkling it might be coming. As a child, you had the same dreams too. When your quirk manifested, you viewed it as an excellent blessing, a perfect quirk for an underwater hero, . You were five, innocently playing in the bath, enjoying the feeling of the bubbles tickling your chin, as it happened, without you even realizing. You didn't realize the transformation your body was going through as you played.
"(Y/N), are you ready to get out?" Your mother asked, walking into the bathroom, she looked over your body, squealing in as she saw your quirk had manifested.
"Honey, come here! (Y/N) has a quirk!!" She shouted, rushing over to you to get a closer look. She delicately lifted up your hand, admiring the pink, iridescent scales littering your skin. You looked in shock and excitement at the way your body had changed, looking at the small claws that had formed from your fingernails, the way your legs had been replaced by a large, elegant tail, the colors of the sunset. You were equal parts terrified and excited.
"What a beautiful quirk!" Your father galked, walking in to the bathroom. "But wait... what happens when we take her out of the water?"
"Well... I don't know" your mother mumbled, a sense of panic overcoming the both of them. You didn't understand what was going on. Shouldn't they be excited you have such a good quirk? Why were they upset?
After much debate, your parents eventually figured out that you transformed back into back to your normal, human, body as soon as you were dry. After further exploration, and many trips to the nearby ocean, you learned that your quirk had a lot more to it than just swimming well with your added tail. You could breathe underwater, see without any problems in the salt water, and basically anything you needed to stay underwater for lengthy amounts of time. Your family was thrilled with the quirk you had, saying you would be a top hero one day. You had high hopes too, until you learned that there was more to your quirk than you had initially thought.
Darkness surrounded you, the faint sound of waves crashing along the beach pulling your from your slumber. How long had you been asleep? It was hard to tell in the depths of your cave. You stretched your arms out, fingertips lazily brushing against the rock wall that lined your bed. You had a decent enough setup there, a bedroom sized cave large enough to house all of the items you'd collected to make the place a bit more homey: A trash bag to safely transport items through the water, an old photo of your family, and a few remnants of your old life. You sat up in your bed, which was really just a sleeping bag and pillow on top of a pile of soft moss. You didn't really need much, you had no use for clothes or those type of things, as you spent most of your time underwater. There was no need for any cooking utensils either, as you didn't really have anything to cook on anyways.
Your stomach growled as you laid there, the last time you'd ate was yesterday night, but you hadn't 'fed' yourself in months. Pickings had been slow during the winter and spring months, but with summer right around the corner your fast would soon end. You were able to survive off of the small fish that remained active in the cold ocean water, but it almost wasn't worth the trip for what little nutrition they gave you compared to the amount of energy it took to warm yourself up after the frigid dive.
You stood up, stretching your legs as you walked towards the entrance of your cave. Your hideout was deep below the surface of the ocean, one you'd found by chance while wandering the sea floor aimlessly. The entrance was well hidden among a thick growth of seaweed and coral, the hole just small enough for you to squeeze through. A thin tunnel lead to a cave filled with air and illuminated by bioluminescent mushrooms and other plants. Had you found it under any other circumstances, you would've been amazed by it's luminescent beauty, but at the time you were just grateful for a place to sleep safely.
You could tell the winter season had passed based on the temperatures of the water. It had gone from frigid and ice cold, to an actually comfortable temperature. That was how you knew it was safe to hunt again. Tourists would be plentiful along the beach this time of year, and you'd be able to have your fill.
Cautiously dipping a foot into the water, you exhaled in relief at the comfortably warm temperature. The salt water felt like silk against your skin, much better than the frigid temperatures you'd had to endure for the months before. I need to figure out something different before next winter, you sighed to yourself. You jumped into the hole, transforming into your more true self. The entrance around your cave was barren as ever, most animals too scared to go anywhere near you. You quickly swam through the water, fins propelling you at lightning speeds towards the shore. You smiled at the sight of life that had returned to the ocean farther from your cave. Fish were swimming again, their beautiful colors lighting up the terrain. The sun shone brightly above, warming up the ocean in its entirety. It was a beautiful sight, one you had missed for so long.
You must've slept through the majority of the day, based on the crimson sunset you could see through the waves above you. You propelled yourself through the water, up to the surface. As you breached above the sea, you felt the heat of the sun against your skin, a feeling you'd missed for so long. You looked at the shoreline half a mile away, it was sparsely populated, with only a few people littering the beach to watch the sunset. You just had to wait for them to leave. You knew the beach well, and knew that a few curious stragglers the stayed late after dark, intrigued by the ghost stories surrounding the location.
Most of the ghost stories began shortly after you'd made your residence at the beach. Stories of people coming back from their trips somehow different before, their bodies covered in bite marks and scars, their memories completely gone. You'd heard the rumors on your trips to land. Locals brushed it of as shark attacks and idiot tourists swimming in the dangerous currents after dark, while other people told stories of a mysterious woman lurking in the water, snatching up unsuspecting victims.
You floated through the water, letting the last glimmers of the sun warm your core. With the sun setting beyond the horizon, the last few tourists left the beach, leaving it desolate and abandoned. You swam closer, hiding yourself behind rocks as you waited for your next meal. You felt an aching in the pit of your stomach that you were desperate to fill. If you could find two people that would probably be enough to satisfy you. You clambered up on a rock, peaking your eyes over the top, waiting for some oblivious prey.
After what seemed like eternities of waiting, and countless internal renditions of '99 bottles', you saw a figure stumbling around alone on the beach. You hopped off the rock and slipped back into the water, swimming closer to the shore to get a better look. The person was a male, with tousled brown hair and a beer bottle in his hands. He was obviously drunk, stumbling clumsily along the beach in broken flip flops. This is almost too easy... you thought to yourself, kind of feeling bad for the poor inebriated bastard.
He plopped himself down on the beach, cackling to himself in his stupor. You looked around and smelled the air. He didn't seem to have any friends with him and he didn't have a very powerful or interesting quirk, he almost seemed too helpless. With a final breath of anticipation, you neared towards him, catching his attention as you swam for the beach.
"Woah wuh-the-fug? Why're you swimmin' here... 's dark" he yelled, standing up and walking towards you. As you drew near, you saw him gasp and blush as he took in the sight of you, your body completely naked under your long white locks. His eyes trailed down your body, stopping to galk at your radiant tail.
"What're you-" he started before you cut him off with the sound of your melodic voice.
"Hear my voice beneath the sea,
Sleeping now so peacefully,
At the bottom of the sea,
Sleep for all eternity," you cooed, your soft and haunting song drifting along with the melody of the waves. You peered into his eyes, watching as he became hypnotized by your words. His eyes were glossed over, he was entranced by the sound of your voice, walking mindlessly towards you into the water. You swam away a little, continuing your song as he tread deeper and deeper into the water, he was almost neck deep before you grabbed onto him, pulling him closer to you as you drug him deeper and deeper, batting your thick, long eyelashes as him. He looked at you through half lidded eyes, a blush creeping up on his cheeks as you pulled your body close to his, his lips slightly parted. You leaned in close, almost as if to go for a kiss as you whispered,
"At the bottom of the sea,
Sleep for all eternity..." as you sunk your teeth deep into his neck and pulled him under water.
He went limp under your touch, unable to fight as you sucked on his neck, feeling his power flooding through you. The silver liquid filled your mouth, the taste not the best flavor, but not the worst. It tasted salty, with hints of oak. You preferred the sweeter quirks. It must not have been very powerful, but the feeling of consuming was like water against a desert wanderers pallet. You hadn't felt this nourished in months, you could've drained him dry, but you knew better than to consume someone's entire power: you weren't that selfish. When you were done with him, he'd still be able to use his quirk, but it would be nowhere near as powerful as it once was for a while until his strength regenerated.
Reluctantly peeling your sharp teeth from his neck, you gently carried him through the water, towards a different area of the beach than before. You drug him up as far as you could onto the beach, and laid him there, assuming he'd regain consciousness soon enough. You crawled back into the water, ignoring the cold night air against your exposed body as you dashed into the ocean. You were significantly less famished than before, but you knew that you weren't fully satisfied yet. You swam parallel to the beach, a quarter of a mile from the shoreline: just close enough to see any people, but not close enough for them to see you against the reflections of the moon. You traveled a distance away from your first meal, just far enough for to not leave a pile of unconscious men in your wake.
You didn't have to wait long for your next meal. You spotted a lone man, standing in front of an area of town you usually avoid. It was completely destroyed from construction, dug up and abandoned after a failed attempt at creating a hotel. It was a once beautiful shoreline, now nothing more than an eyesore.. Lots of debris washed up on that part of the beach and that coupled with the abandoned construction equipment made it look like a trash heap. It was a real shame. The figure on the beach was an oddly shaped man, his hair was wild and blonde, two long tendrils sticking straight up from his head. His body was enormous, more muscular than you'd ever seen or thought naturally possible. You sniffed at the air, getting conflicting readings from the man. Traces of immense power filled your nostrils, whetting your palate. Unease filled your stomach, he was way too strong for you to take. You hesitated, wondering if you should just wait and find someone else, but as he stood there, gazing off into the horizon, the craving in your stomach won you over, pushing you forward toward the shore.
His eyes snapped to you as you neared him, confusion and worry filling them.
He looked a little older than you, probably a bodybuilder or something based on his physique. His face was kind, unassuming, too innocent.
"Good evening... what are you doing here? It's dangerous to swim alone at night... The tide can be quite strong" he said, obviously confused. His eyes flashed across your body, taking in the sight of you in an instant as he blushed and looked away.
"That's a lovely quirk you have." He mumbled, ignoring your obviously bare chest, "I'll leave you to your swim... I suppose. Good night," He said, turning to walk away, his feet stomping through the sand.
Before he had the chance to escape, you cleared your throat, catching his attention.
"Sailors live so restlessly,
Come with me, sleep peacefully,
Listen to this siren's song,
Worry not for nothing's wrong," You sang, enchanting the large man, pulling him towards you into the water with your voice. His eyes glazed over, trudging through the water towards you without any resistance .
"Let my voice lead you this way,
I will not lead you astray,
Trust me as we reach the side,
Jumping out where men have died,"
The man was incredibly tall, taking a while before he reached shoulder depth into the water. You wrapped your arms around him, taking in all of the features of his chiseled face as you pulled him deeper into the depths of the water. There was something oddly attractive about him, his features holding strength in them even in his hypnotized state.
"Let the ocean fill your lungs
Struggle not, soon peace will come
Taking in your final breath
Sink down to the ocean's depths" you whispered, as you prepared to sink your teeth into his meaty neck. Before your lips even grazed his skin, something in his face stopped you, causing you to hesitate. Something in his eyes, a huge burden he seemed to carry; pain, fear, uncertainty. Something pulled at your heart a moment. You stopped just long enough for him eyes to snap out of their trance. SHIT, you whispered to yourself, opening your mouth to sing again.
"Don't" He commanded, his gentle face immediately transforming as he glared at you, oddly grinning through his fear. The grin was somehow familiar, you'd felt like you'd seen it before. His thumb and finger pinched your jaw, painfully rendering you unable to move before you could dash away. Fear flooded your body. You'd never been in such a dangerous situation before. The fear and adrenaline overwhelmed you, tears welling up in your eyes.
I'm going to die... you thought to yourself, your breath becoming frantic and erratic. Without a moment to react or struggle, the adrenaline through your body overpowered you, sending you into unconsciousness.