MHA: Harbinger of Fear - Male Reader x Midnight

Part 11

A veteran hero, Torino Sorahiko, was seated near the edge of a cliff. Just below him was a vast ocean of trees, and by his side was a young boy, no older than twelve.

He was Y/N, an American he took under his wing. The reason being the sheer potential he showed. It was unmatched in terms of his age and growth; it was as if he soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

It wasn't a matter of constant practice. No, Torino was sure the boy learned simply by watching. He mimicked everything he showed him to an almost perfect degree.

He learned to swing a punch from Toshinori, a blazing fast kick from Nana, and the streamlined attacks from Torino. And already at the age of twelve, he was ready for a battle some twice his age would struggle with.

"Why am I different?" The boy asked while drawing in the dirt he sat on with the tip of his finger.

The question was sudden but understandable. He spoke in a rough Japanese, making Torino continue in English just for his sake.

He suspected he meant the fact as to why he was so alienated from other kids. Done so in fear of planting a seed of something heinous while also needing desperate training and control over his ever-growing power.

"Why couldn't I go to school?" Y/N asked in the same monotonous tone.

"You're not different in a bad way," Sorahiko uttered softly. "You're different because you're special... it's just that—sometimes different frightens people..."

Y/N was silent as he listened and nodded to his words as he spoke. His thoughts on his quirks were jumbled but focused on something good, something pure.

"You don't want to be a hero, and that's okay." Sorahiko said, his eyes drifting to the rows upon rows of trees. "But life is a chain of decisions, and not being a hero means you need to act like it."

"Is that how to be normal?" Y/N asked as he fixed the hero with an innocent gaze.

"Do you want to be normal?" Sorahiko asked.

"Yeah, but... If there's nothing wrong with being different, could I be a hero?"

Y/N's finger smoothed along the grains of sand beneath him. He sketched a box into the ground, then a small triangle on top.

"Nana says my dad's gone and that he's in a better place. But I want him here."

Sorahiko turned away from the boy but listened when he spoke in a quiet voice.

"If I was a hero, would he be here now?"

Sorahiko didn't know what to say. If he said yes, he would place the blame on the boy's shoulders. If he said no, he would put doubt in his heart. After a moment, he told him something honest and straightforward.

"You were too young for something like that to happen to you, Y/N. Being different can also be good. Heroes are different. Do you think you could do that?"

Staring down at the tiny home he drew in the dirt, Y/N nodded with a meek response.

"...Yeah."

Y/N took a deep breath through his nose and slowly exhaled through his mouth. His eyes opened to gaze upon the sea of rooftops belonging to the surrounding buildings of Musutafu.

He knew what he was about to do would come with consequences, and he was fully prepared to face them, even if he didn't want to.

"Hour's up." Y/N heard Sophia say. He also heard movement below him; officers gathered outside to move into their designated vehicles.