Alone: an MHA spin off

The girl who laughed

The rain poured down in torrents, drowning the alleyways of the city in a constant hum. Thunder cracked in the distance, and the wind howled like a forgotten ghost. In the shadows of a rusted dumpster, a small, huddled figure sat, drenched to the bone. She was no older than six, with scruffy brown hair and clothes that had long since lost their color. Her eyes, wide and hollow, reflected a world of abandonment and hurt that no child should ever know.

Her name was Hana, but the city had long since forgotten it.

She had no memory of her parents, no memory of her home. One day, she had simply been left—alone in a crowded, bustling city that didn’t care. Her stomach growled, her body shivered, but no one stopped. Not for a little girl who had nowhere to go.

The streets were cold, but she had grown used to the chill. There were no warm beds, no comforting voices, no arms to hold her when the world felt too much. Just the cold, just the hunger, just the loneliness.

And the laughter.

In the silence of her despair, a haunting laughter would sometimes echo through the darkness. Not of joy, but something darker—something that resonated with her in ways she couldn’t explain. It made her feel like she wasn’t truly alone, even though she was.

On a night like this, as she huddled against the trash, starving and shivering, the laughter returned.

It started as a soft chuckle. Then, louder.

At first, Hana didn’t move. She had learned to ignore strange sounds. But when she heard the unmistakable scraping of boots on the wet pavement, she lifted her head.

A boy—no older than 10—emerged from the shadows. His clothes were torn and filthy, his face pale beneath the dark mess of his hair. His eyes were wide and manic, though not in a way that scared her. Instead, they seemed to share something with her—a kind of emptiness that only those who had been abandoned could understand.

The boy's lips curled up in a twisted grin. "Hey, kid," he said, his voice raspy and almost playful. "What are you doing here? You're gonna catch a cold."

Hana’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not a kid.”

“Right. Sorry,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of her. His laughter stopped, but his grin never wavered. “So, what’s your deal?”

“I’m fine,” Hana replied flatly, her voice carrying the weight of someone who had learned long ago to hide her pain. “I just… I’m waiting for something.”

The boy tilted his head, eyes flicking over her, noting the hollow stare, the ragged clothing. He didn’t speak at first, but then he asked, as if the question had been eating at him for a long time: “What are you waiting for?”

Hana’s lips parted, and for a moment, she seemed to almost smile. “I’m waiting for someone who understands. Someone who gets it. You know, how things don’t really change. How it’s all just… a game.”

The boy’s eyes sharpened, his smile faltering slightly as he leaned in closer. “You talk like you know.”

“I do.” She looked up at him, her expression unreadable. “It’s all pointless. The city, the people… they don’t care about us. They don’t care about anyone.”

The boy’s smile returned. It wasn’t a happy smile—it was a smile filled with a kind of manic energy, like a dangerous spark in the middle of a storm. “Yeah. They don’t. That’s why we’ve gotta take it all. Tear it all down.”

Hana’s eyes locked onto his, and for the first time in years, she felt something stir within her—a recognition, a sense of belonging. She leaned forward, as though the weight of his words had finally made sense to her.

“You… you want to burn it all down, too?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

The boy nodded, his grin growing wider. “I already have.”

His eyes flicked to the side, where the streetlights flickered dimly in the distance, casting long shadows across the wet streets. “You’re not the only one who’s been left behind, you know.”

Hana looked up at him with a sudden intensity, her small form trembling with something more than just the cold. “Who are you?”

The boy paused, and then with an almost theatrical flourish, he gave her his answer.

“I’m Shigaraki Tomura.”

The name meant nothing to her. It was just another name. But the look in his eyes, the fire that burned behind them—she understood that.

Tomura. The name was no longer just a word, it was a promise.

He stood, brushing the wetness from his pants and glancing over at her. “You know, if you wanna stop waiting… you could come with me.”

“Where?” Hana asked.

“To destroy it all.”

And without waiting for her response, Tomura turned and started walking into the night. His laughter followed him like a shadow, echoing against the walls, ringing in Hana’s ears.

For the first time in years, Hana stood up from her spot against the dumpster. She wiped the rainwater from her face, her lips twitching into something almost like a smile. There was no more waiting. No more wondering if someone would come. Because she had found him—the one who understood.

And she would follow him.

---

**Months later...**

The streets of the city had changed, though no one could quite say how. Small acts of chaos seemed to pop up everywhere—an empty store burned down, a group of thugs terrorized a quiet neighborhood, a public speech interrupted by a terrifying display of destruction. No one could find the culprits, but there were whispers of a new force rising in the shadows, a new threat.

Hana had become one of them. One of his.

She had learned from Shigaraki, watched him, listened to him as he raged against a world that had cast them aside. His vision became hers, and the more she followed him, the less the world seemed to matter. It was a game—a cruel, unending game, and they were its players. Together, they would win.

Shigaraki had once been a lost child, but now he had someone beside him. Someone who saw the same darkness, someone who didn’t shy away from the hunger for destruction.

And Hana? She had learned to laugh—just like him. A laugh that shook the foundations of everything she had once believed.

They were two broken souls, discarded by a world that never cared. Together, they would burn it all.

The world had no idea what was coming.