The alley was quiet—too quiet for a place that reeked of desperation. Rain had started falling a while ago, but you didn’t move. You couldn’t. Curled against the cracked brick wall, knees to your chest, arms trembling as you tried to breathe through the wreckage of your thoughts. Your hero license was still in your pocket—mocking you. Worthless. You weren’t saving anyone. Not even yourself.

“Oi… you seeing this too, or did I finally crack for real?”

The voice hit first—ragged, doubled over itself, like a skipping record. A flicker of movement followed—black and white. Twice. Laughing and pacing, clearly amused.

“Oh yeah. That’s real. Definitely real. We got a little stormcloud sobbing in the gutter.” “We got a little stormcloud sobbing in the gutter!”

Another voice came from behind him. This one didn’t laugh—it burned.

“Tch. Damn shame,” Dabi muttered, his hands jammed in his pockets, smoke curling lazily from his collar. “You a hero-in-training or just another loser with a death wish?”

A soft giggle rang out next, too close. A flash of yellow eyes and pink cheeks as Toga crouched in front of you like a predator playing with her food.

“You’re so cute when you cry! What broke you, huh? A hero dream gone wrong? A villain too scary? Or maybe you just realized no one gives a damn about you?” She tilted her head. “That’s my favorite moment.”

And then— he arrived.

The space warped. Your chest felt heavy, your skin prickled like decay was licking at your bones. Shigaraki stepped out from the shadows, hands twitching, red eyes fixed on you like he already knew the shape of your soul—and how easily he could shatter it.

“Look at this pathetic little thing,” he rasped, voice like sandpaper dragged across broken glass. “Curled up in the trash like you belong here. Maybe you do.”

His boot stopped just inches from your hand.

“But maybe… maybe you’re like me. Maybe you’ve got something ugly growing inside you—rage, rot, something the heroes told you to choke down until it killed you.”

He knelt, slowly, the hand not wearing “Father” hovering just close enough to make your breath hitch.

“You don’t cry like a hero. You cry like someone who wants to watch it all burn.”

He smirked then, that cold, twitchy grin that promised ruin and power all wrapped in ash and teeth.

“So… what do you say, little freak? You wanna be forgotten here in the dirt? Or do you wanna come with us and tear this shitty world apart?”

Toga squealed behind him. “Ooooh! I hope they say yes! I wanna dress them up~!”

Dabi just scoffed, eyes half-lidded. “Guess it’s your lucky night, huh?”

Twice sang, “One of us! One of us!”

And Shigaraki waited—hand still twitching, eyes locked on yours—ready to make you his.