My Hero Academia - A Darker Story

Alright, All Might?

Himari had no idea how easily someone's life could be turned upside-down. It was only yesterday when she was living the job of her dream doing forensic work on DNA samples. The pay was good, too. And she had a nice house and a loving boyfriend.

Now they wouldn't even tell her if her boyfriend was alive. They occasionally looked at her through reinforced glass in a cell made for prisoners with dangerous quirks. And the looks they gave were full of terror. As if this whole situation was her doing.

But then someone stopped by with a different look. Himari saw pity in his dark eyes.

The door opened and the strange man walked inside. He was small and skinny with a weak frame. He looked like he was suffering from osteoporosis, but he didn't look that old. His eyes and yellow hair made Himari think of All-Might, but she laughed the thought away in her head.

'Hello, Himari,' he began. 'I'm-'

'I've already told everything I know,' Himari interrupted.

All-Might sighed. 'You have, and I'm thankful. But there are some important details that I needed to check.'

All might sat down in the opposite corner of the room. He seemed very comfortable compared to the other guards. Himari wondered if it was because of his quirk. His appearance clearly indicated that he had some kind of quirk. Regular humans didn't have fully black eyes. Overcome with curiosity, she began looking into his DNA as he spoke.

'Sometimes I wonder if quirks were a blessing or a curse.'

Himari looked at him in the eyes sharply. It was as if he had read her mind. She had thought many times about how far gene technology could have progressed if quirks hadn't overturned society.

'Every day, across the globe, there are countless accidents related to quirks. They can activate without warning, in children who don't have the discipline or morals to use them wisely.'

'This wasn't an accident!' Himari said. 'I couldn't control my quirk at all. One moment I was looking into my boyfriend's DNA, deeper than I had ever looked into anything. I had no control over it! And the next...'

Himari began sobbing, and All-Might looked down in empathy. 'Your boyfriend is stable.'

Himari gasped. She looked up at All-Might with hope.

'But we need your cooperation to make sure he stays alright. Your quirk is the key to this.'

Himari nodded as tears formed in her eyes. 'I'll tell you everything I can.'

'I've talked to the people you know. They explained that you were barely able to lyse single strands of DNA at specific base pairs. What you describe you did is several orders of magnitude higher than what you previously demonstrated being capable of, being able to manipulate an individual's entire genome.'

Himari nodded silently.

'So, we're left with two options,' All-Might pressed on. 'This could not have been a simple development in your quirk's power. It's simply too extreme.'

'How do you know?' Himari whispered.

'You can consider me an expert in quirks. I know things that only few others do, too. Anyway, your two options are that you have been hiding your abilities. But there was a reason I was so trusting with you when I entered your cell. We had someone use a lie detection quirk on you earlier.'

'So... what's the last option?'

All-Might grinned darkly. 'Someone forcibly awakened your quirk.'

It was at this moment Himari noticed how disturbing this man's genome was. He had a great mix of genes seen in tissue from Nomus; creatures that had multiple quirks. Not only that, but genomes from multiple people as well. The strangeness of this man made Himari overlook just how much more powerful her quirk was now.

All-Might stood up, and Himari gave him a puzzled look. 'Are you finished already? You only just started talking.'

'You've been very helpful,' All-Might said. 'This quirk has only been seen in one individual. An individual that I have been tracking for my entire career. I just needed to check with you, first. And don't worry, I'll see to it that you'll be returned to your normal life. We need more people like you protecting our country, in your own important ways.'

All-Might smiled, but Himari could see through it. Behind that smile was a deep misery.

'You've lost someone, haven't you?'

All-Might's smile slipped as he became vulnerable.

'Let me help you find them. It's my job, after all. And it's the least I could do.'

All-Might paused before giving a curt nod. 'I'll be in touch.'

Himari watched in fascination as the man left. He was unlike anyone she had seen before.