"Mommy." The young boy cried out in the dead of night, clutching his eyes as he tossed and turned in his bed. "Mommy, please. It hurts."
The lights in his room flickered to life as his parents entered, hair disheveled and dressed in their sleep things, yawning as they drew nearer their son.
"What's wrong sweety?" His mother asked tiredly.
"It hurts, mommy." The boy cried again. "Please make it stop."
"What hurts?"
"My eyes." The boy cried. "My eyes, they hurt."
The boy's father sat on the bed next to him. "Here, son." He said, gently taking the boy's hands away from his face. "Let me take a look."
"Please, daddy. Please, make it stop."
"I will, son. I will. But first, I need to see what's wrong. Can you open your eyes for me? Just, open your eyes."
The black sky came alive as a light powerful enough to drown out the shine of the stars and moon chased away the darkness of the night. A light so strong it could be seen for miles around, shooting into the sky like a beacon and causing clouds to disperse as it emanated into the heavens. Dogs barked and cats meowed, the wild wolves howled, and the deer took shelter, retreating deeper into the forest. And when the light finally disappeared, vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared, the young boy lied crying in his bed, the remains of a house crumbling around him, and two dark shadows etched into the splintered wood, like burn marks of ghosts long past.
(L/N)'s hands curled into fists around the fabric in his hands, his knuckles turning white. All Might's words, though powerful, had done little to change his mind. He had no desire to be a hero. It was all just some make believe fantasy world, complete with the ridiculous outfits and stupid notions of grandeur. He had no intentions of playing dress up, so why was the fabric of a costume he'd never asked for bunched up in his fists?
Apparently, the principal had deemed it appropriate to submit a design on his behalf, seeing as how he never filed the proper paperwork himself. The Symbol of Peace assured him that the outfit was the embodiment of the noble virtues befitting of a future hero. His words stirred a sense of resentment within (L/N). Principal Nezu and All Might seemed so determined to set him down this path, trying to persuade him with inspiring speeches and colorful words. It was all a pile of bullshit. He didn't belong at UA Highschool, and nothing would ever make him think otherwise. But despite this, he had decided to stay. He would walk this road towards becoming a pro hero. A path towards fighting evil and saving those in need. Because if All Might had been right about one thing, it was that he had a responsibility. A responsibility to control his quirk. To repay his debt to society and ensure he never hurt anyone else ever again.
He could hear his classmates already gathered near the exit of the long dark tunnel down which he walked. He could feel the warmth of the sun coming from the other side, the wind funneled through the tunnel causing the black mantle he wore to flap behind him in the breeze. His grey hakama was exposed to sunlight first, followed by the white of his kimono, and finally his face as the shadows crept up his body, retreating in the presence of the sun.
"And I see young (L/N) has just arrived." All Might's brazen voice called.
The whispers and hushed conversations reached his ears, his classmates quietly voicing their suspicions that he had quit the hero program before he'd even started, wondering where he had been. They asked each other where they thought he'd gone and why he'd come back. At least they were trying to be discrete in their gossip, unlike one Katsuki Bakugo, who didn't even attempt to hide his disdain at (L/N)'s arrival.
"Shoulda stayed gone freak." He scoffed as (L/N) got closer. "No way a blind kid like you is gonna make it at this school."
"Now." All Might said proudly. "Shall we get started, you buncha newbies?"
Combat training. Exactly what (L/N) was hoping to avoid. Even worse, they would be conducted indoors against his fellow classmates. This was all happening much too quickly. He'd exercised control over his quirk all his life, of course. He had to. But never had he attempted to unleash its power against another human being before. It was much too dangerous. He was about to turn and leave when All Might said something.
"The best training is what you get on the battlefield!"
He was right, of course. And (L/N) got the feeling All Might was speaking with him in mind. There was no way for him to get control of his quirk if he never tried. So, he stepped forward and drew from the box just as everyone else.
"Looks like we're on a team." Someone said to him, reading the slip of paper over his shoulder. "Mashirao Oijiro." The young man introduced.
"(L/N)." He responded curtly.
An hour passed and (L/N) found himself standing in an empty room in the northwest corner of the fifth floor with Oijiro.
"So, we're up against Jiro and Yaoyorozu." Oijiro said. "We could try to head them off. I specialize in close quarters situations, but Yaoyorozu's quirk could pose a bit of a problem for me."
The martial arts hero waited for (L/N) to offer any contribution to his strategy but was left disappointed.
"So, what can you do?" He asked. "I never really got a chance to see your quirk in action..."
"You stay with the weapon." (L/N) interrupted suddenly, heading for the door. "Defend it if one of them makes it past me."
"Oh." Oijiro said in surprise. "Uh, sure. I guess. You plan on capturing them or running down the clock?"
Again, (L/N) remained silent. He simply exited the room and began walking down the hall towards the stairs. Darkness began to spread, seemingly from his body and rapidly swallowed the entire building in shadows.
Jiro and Yaoyorozu froze as a wall of shadows seemingly rushed towards them. The two turned their heads and braced for some sort of an attack, but instead they found themselves being thrust into pitch blackness. The lights that had been illuminating their path just moments ago seemed to have gone out, and not even the sunlight pouring in through the windows seemed to be able to permeate the darkness.
Back in the observation room the rest of Class 1A gasped as the internal cameras seemingly stopped recording. But the one screen still showing the outside of the building gave them a view of what had really occurred. The area around the entire building had gone dark, the light just stopping, daytime cutting sharply to the darkness of night.
"The principal wasn't kidding." All Might thought to himself. "This kid's more powerful than I'd initially thought."
"What's going on?" Jiro whispered from inside the building.
"I imagine we're experiencing (L/N)'s quirk firsthand." Yaoyorozu answered.
"You mean the kid with the blindfold?" Jiro asked. "Any clue what his quirk is?"
Yaoyorozu shook her head, then remembering that Jiro could no longer see her, answered in the negative. "Give me a second though, I'll make us some flashlights."
The small particles of pink and purple that usually appeared when using her quirk were absent, swallowed by the shadows. She turned her flashlight on with a click of a button. A yellow beam of light shot forward, lighting their path, but it was quickly swallowed up by the darkness.
"I didn't expect that to work if we're being honest." Jiro said. "I can still hear the buzzing from the overhead lights."
"Which means (L/N)'s quirk allows him to control light to some extent." Yaoyorozu deduced.
"Perceptive." A third voice called from the darkness.
[(F/N) (L/N)! Quirk: Photonic Manipulation! His quirk allows him to alter the properties of elemental particles known as photons. By controlling their wavelengths, he can manipulate colors and create illusions. Exciting their energy state allows him to release powerful blasts of burning energy, and supercharging or draining their energy completely, he can create explosions and implosions. He can also create nonmoving hard light constructs, and with more practice, could create moving ones. Rumor has it he even has the potential to control time to some extent based on the time dilation theory.
Despite being blind, he is able to feel light reflect and refract around surfaces providing him with a second sight.]
"Welcome to my world." (L/N) said. "Devoid of sight. I have no desire to fight either one of you, so please do us all a favor and surrender peacefully."
Jiro opened her mouth to say that they weren't going to go down without a fight but was cut off by Yaoyorozu.
"Very well." She said. "We surrender."
"What?" Jiro asked incredulously. "Momo, what are you..."
"Relax Jiro." Momo said. "It's just training. And besides, we obviously don't stand a chance if we can't see."
Jiro opened her mouth to retort but found herself at a loss for words.
"Thank you." (L/N) said.
He walked forwards, capture tape in hand, and began to wrap it around Yaoyorozu's wrists when he received a painful blow to the stomach.
"I may not be able to see you." She said. "But I can still feel you."
An elbow crashed down on his back, knocking him to the floor. The darkness slowly began receding, replaced by light as (L/N) lost focus. He heard their running footsteps as they got further and further away. Jiro rounded the corner he had come from and Yaoyorozu was just about to follow when she ran into a wall of hard light.
"Yaoyorozu!"
"Go!" She shouted to Jiro. "Secure the weapon. I'll keep (L/N) distracted."
"I told you," (L/N) said, rubbing the back of his neck as he slowly got to his feet, "I don't want to fight."
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to win!"
Using her quirk, Yaoyorozu equipped herself with a metal bo staff which she swung at (L/N). He quickly leaned back, narrowly avoiding being struck across the face. He tilted to the side, then took a step back, dodging every swing of the staff but refusing to engage. Switching her grip on her staff, Yaoyorozu dropped to one knee and swung the bo staff in a wide arc, tripping (L/N). She was just about to bring the staff crashing down on him when he surprised her by grabbing it. His hand was glowing dimly, becoming brighter with every passing second as he fought against her.
[The natures of (L/N)'s quirk has essentially made his entire body one large solar battery. By absorbing photonic energy, he can increase his physical strength and speed as well. Cloudy days make him drowsy.]
The metal staff snapped in two beneath (L/N)'s crushing grip. His other hand pushed Yaoyorozu hard in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. She shook her head and got to her feet; one arm wrapped around her midsection where (L/N) had hit her. She took a few steps forwards, prepared to attack once more, when she noticed the space around her rippled like a heat mirage. She tentatively reached out and touched her fingers against the swirling air. It was definitely solid, no doubt (L/N)'s quirk in affect once again. She looked around and saw she was completely surrounded by his barrier, trapped in a spherical prison of hard light.
"Are you hurt?" (L/N) asked, walking forwards so he stood just outside her cage. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I just... I needed to buy some time to trap you."
"I'm alright." Yaoyorozu said. "You just knocked the wind out of me."
"Good." (L/N) sighed in relief. "That's good. Like I said, I don't want to fight. Just, please give up." He said, reaching for the capture tape once more.
Yaoyorozu shook her head. "I can't do that." She said. "Right now, you're a villain and I'm a hero. And heroes don't give up."
"You're trapped." (L/N) said frustratedly. "Head to toe, you're surrounded by a barrier that's stronger than steel. Not even a bomb could break through my barriers. Please, let me just end this fight. Before someone gets hurt."
"You say I'm trapped, but I disagree." She said, activating her quirk. "You control light. And all light is subject to the same laws of physics. Which means even the light creating your barrier can't affect reflective surfaces."
The pink and blue particle effect disappeared revealing a quartz crystal.
"No, wait!"
Yaoyorozu shoved the crystal through the barrier, the light bouncing off its surface sending it shooting in all directions. Deep cracks ran through the entirety of the building as the light tore through the plaster and concrete, seeping through the outer walls and roof. The building shook ominously, and chunks of rubble began to fall. (L/N) lunged forward, tackling Yaoyorozu to the ground.
The cameras in the observation room went dead, showing only black screens. The few external cameras continued their feed, showing the ten-story building collapse in a cloud of dust and debris and the class could feel the ground shake in time with the falling building.