The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

Smothering The Light

As soon as everybody got to their places in the cement-wall maze, Hato ran. He ran with the soul purpose to be the one to find his way out first. He knew he couldn't climb over the walls, they were too smooth and he was pretty sure he would get killed if he tried to do that. So he decided to just wing-it and take random turns in the maze. He made sure to keep track of all the ways he's gone so he doesn't do any repeats, but it was hard to concentrate on anything else other than the need to survive and win.

"The maze is filled with traps, so you have to always be aware (like Izuku already wasn't). One wrong step and your dead."

He needed to get out, and soon. Each second he wasted was another second he could be one step closer to getting out. He had to be the first one out, or he would have to do this again. Izuku couldn't afford that, he needed to move on to the next stages.

Izuku tripped from a piece of pavement that had gotten pushed down due to his weight. Acting on natural instinct, he tucked and rolled towards the ground, nearly getting his head cut off by a swinging axe. At the corner of his eyes he saw a body laying on the ground with his head barely attached to his neck. Hato looked away quickly, but the image was already ingrained into his mind.

Having the extra adrenaline from another near death, he surged forward; engraving himself more into the maze. If at all, the near death seemed to motivate Hato; for he was numb to the fear of dying. The feeling excited him, in a twisted, sick way.

"They don't care if you die or not. This is all for their entertainment. Your pain is their laughter. Always remember that."

He was seated near a corner to take a short break. He couldn't afford to mess this up, because if he did, Izuku would be failing so many people that needed him to escape. The maze was a mix of dead ends and turns that just made you fall deeper into the maze. Izuku must've already ran a mile from how his short legs were starting to ache. But Izuku was used to ache, he was used to pushing past the pain.

"There is something you must always swear by." Tomura waited for Hato to nod before continuing, "You must never try to form connections with anyone here. I am the only exception to this rule. Everyone else will either die or betray you. In the Arena, we can trust only each other and no one else."

Izuku almost fell into a pit of spikes before skidding to a stop and swiftly turning toward the other direction. As he was turning into the opposite side from before (he went right and almost died, might as well go left), he saw a little girl around his age with dark purple hair go in the direction of the spikes.

"Stop!" The word was ripped from his throat before Izuku could even register what he was doing. The yell had worked, and the girl looked over to him with her pearl eyes. She had a plain magenta dress on that was ripped throughout the bottom and one sleeve kept falling off her shoulder. Her messy hair was just passed her shoulders in delicate waves. She also had a white ribbon tied around her wrist.

This was so fucked up. She looked like she was just a little younger than him, meaning she was four to five years old. And here she was, fighting for her life. She was far too young to deal with this shit. Hell, no one should have to deal with this, but here they were.

Izuku somehow found his voice again, "It's a dead end with a pit of spikes. Trust me, you don't want to go in there." Not to mention the impaled body he had seen.

The girl beamed and Izuku almost cried at how innocent she looked, "Thank you!" She than ran up to him and hugged him. Before he could even register the hug, she let go. "People call me Madoka here! May I ask what your name is?" Hato noticed how malnourished she looked and wondered how long she had been here.