The lights above you buzzed—faint, cold, flickering. You’d stopped counting the days. They blended together between injections, muffled voices, and restraints that burned more than your skin. Sleep never lasted. Food barely came. You sat curled in the corner of the cell, breathing slow, wrists raw, power humming beneath your skin like a caged animal. You weren’t dangerous. Not until they made you this way.

The door clicked. Not heavy boots this time. No keys jingling. Just quiet, deliberate steps. When you glanced up, you expected another doctor. Or maybe a hero with forced kindness and rehearsed apologies.

But it wasn’t either. A man in black. Unshaven. Scarf wrapped loose around his shoulders, hair tied lazily back. Calm eyes, sharper than they should’ve been.

He didn’t speak at first—just looked at you, file in hand, expression unreadable.

“…They weren’t supposed to keep you,” he finally muttered, stepping closer.

You tensed.

“They marked your case as transferred. But no one ever followed up. Typical,” he added, crouching in front of you. “Someone buried this. Hard.”

“Who are you?” Your voice cracked. It sounded foreign in your own mouth.

“Shouta Aizawa. Eraserhead,” he said. “Pro Hero. Or babysitter, depending on who you ask.”

Your eyes narrowed. “So… what, you here to take notes? Ask questions? Lock me in another box with a nicer view?”

“No.” His answer was calm. Final. “I’m here to get you out.”

You stared. His face didn’t waver. Not once.

“But I’m unstable. Broken. That’s what they said.”

“They said that about a lot of people I teach. Didn’t stop me.” He stood, file under his arm now, watching you like someone observing a puzzle, not a threat. You didn’t move. Couldn’t.

He sighed, just slightly. “I’m not promising rainbows and redemption. Just… fresh air. A bed. Quiet. And maybe a shot at figuring out who you are without people caging you like an animal.”

You laughed once—dry and bitter. “And if I lose control again?”

He turned for the door, glancing back just enough to say “Then I’ll stop you. But I won’t abandon you.”

And with that, he opened the door—and left it wide open behind him.