The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

Never Again

    Hato tries to regain his breath as he stares at the guy on the ground with a head wound oozing blood. He had caught the middle-aged man stalking a group of kids, his danger sense going off at the mere sight of him. Whispers in the wind of catch him, danger repeating as Hato trapped the guy in a dark alleyway. The streetlamp had been the only light as they fought, not that Hato needed light when he could rely on his other enhanced senses.

    The tall, lanky man had a quirk that allowed him to shoot daggers out of his wrists. It was a dangerous quirk, but he lacked experience in fighting, and that's how Hato was able to win so easily.

    He had never seen this man before, but something about him had irked Hato. It wasn't often that he'd see villains by themselves, which meant that this man was just starting on his path to villainy and was incredibly stupid, or he was a part of a larger group.

    Wanting to leave as fast as possible, Hato sends his location to Tsukauchi, leaving him five minutes to get out of the area before they arrive. He kicks the villain for good measure, and when he's satisfied that he won't be waking up anytime soon, turns to leave.

    Only to freeze as an overwhelming presence appears behind him. All of his senses go into overdrive. The whispers turned into shouts along with a thumping pain in the back of his head.

    Run, get out, run run run-

    He slowly turns around, heart threatening to leap out of his chest. His breathing becomes shallower as his body prepares him to fight or run.

    He meets a man towering over him with a horrendous wide smile.

    His smile is the only thing that lifts his face. Everything else is covered by massive scar tissue overlapping in all sorts of directions.

    Hato's blood runs cold. He doesn't run, or fight. Every muscle in his body has been frozen, and for a second, he thinks it's because of a quirk, but then he realizes it's not.

    He's afraid. More terrified than he's been since he saw this same exact man staring at him (he doesn't have eyes, but Hato knows that he's being analyzed for his every flaw) at the arena, grinning at Tomura with an extended hand.

    All For One.

____________

A few hours earlier ...

    They had just finished dinner and were back in Izuku's room. Both of them were on Izuku's bed staring at the ceiling that was only a few feet above them. The evening had been quiet- Ru being the only one with the motivation to chat. They asked endless questions about Katsuki ranging from his favorite color (green) to if he thinks he would survive the zombie apocalypse (in which he said, "I'd kill all of those motherfucking zombies").

    Ru had smacked him over his head and told him not to use that language in front of Izuku.

    (They always used that sort of language around Izuku)

    Now, silence blanketed them once again. It was dark in his room, the sun long ago setting. Izuku closed his eyes, liking the feeling of floating in self-induced darkness, trying to ignore how close Katsuki was.

    "I should get going," Katsuki whispered, a breath in the infinite darkness.

    Izuku locked his lungs, forbidding himself from saying don't go. Please, stay a little longer. He nodded, offering to walk home with him.

    "I don't need you to walk me home, Izu. I can take care of myself."

    Izuku still followed Katsuki out of bed anyway, saying, "I know that, but I wouldn't mind another walk." Meaning, in reality, that he wanted to stay up a little longer, leaping across the night sky.