Izuku was only seven the day everything changed.

He’d been so excited to finally show his quirk to his mom. Until then, it had only flickered in small ways — a finger turning shadowy for a few seconds, a faint shimmer along his arm. But that afternoon, in the tiny living room, he wanted to try something bigger.

“Watch, Mom!” he said, clenching his fists.

The air around him darkened. Shadows stretched from the corners of the room, curling toward his body. His arms melted into inky black, then his chest, his legs… His mom’s encouraging smile froze when the last patch of his freckled face dissolved into the same featureless void.

“I-Izuku?” Inko whispered.

It should have ended there, like every other time. But when he tried to turn it off… nothing happened. His hands remained too long, his fingers too thin and sharp. The black void of his face reflected no light, just two glowing greenish eyes and a grin that wouldn’t stop showing.

“M-Mom?!” His voice cracked, higher than usual, trembling. “It’s not… going back—”

She tried to hug him, but when her arms touched his, she gasped and pulled back. His skin was cold. Not just cold — wrong. No heartbeat. No warmth. His little hands trembled, but he couldn’t feel them. —————————- Timeskip to UA after training

The gym was dark after training, just the faint orange glow from the exit signs spilling across the floor. You were walking beside Bakugou, chatting about the usual post-training complaints, when a sound came from the corner of the room — the soft scrape of shoes against the floor.

“Someone still here?” you called, peering into the shadows.

Bakugou squinted. “Tch. Probably some idiot forgetting their stuff. Let’s just—”

The words died in his throat when a shape moved. It was tall. Too tall. Arms hanging unnaturally low, fingers curled like claws. The figure stepped forward into the faint light, and your breath caught. Its face — no, its head — was nothing but solid black, a void that swallowed the glow around it. Wide, white eyes blinked slowly, and an oversized grin stretched across the darkness like it was painted there.

Your heart slammed against your ribs. “B-Bakugou…”

He’d already taken a step in front of you, fists sparking faintly. “Who the hell are you?”

The figure froze. Then, in the softest, most familiar voice, it whispered, “It’s… me.”