Chapter Text
Sora remembers clearly his earlier days.
He loved those bright and warm days when things were simple.
He loved his dad’s big arms as he lifted him to his shoulders, and he tugged his curly black hair as if it were reins. He complained but never outright stopped him.
He loved his mom’s voice as she read him stories after lunch, and he was able to take a nap, seeing her smile and freckles as she kissed his forehead.
He loved the weekends when both played games and they lent him an unplugged controller so he could join.
Those memories haunt him sometimes on bad nights, but they are mostly a source of bittersweet happiness.
He also remembered when things started changing. When his quirk manifested for the first time when he was four.
It was a lazy weekend and he was playing hide and seek with his mom. He wanted to show her that he was good at hiding and hoped that she would not find him on top of the tree in their garden. He giggled loudly when she appeared, and as she whispered “where my adorable little Sora might be~” in her daycare sensei voice. And then he felt a wave of something on his head. It felt... wrong.
His mom stopped. Blinked twice. And then went inside.
At the moment, he didn’t notice. He was just happy to be good at hiding. Until long minutes passed, and those minutes became longer. He ended up climbing down and running to see her preparing dinner, tears in his eyes. He doesn’t remember why but he felt very scared.
—Sora, dear, what happened? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? —she immediately ran to comfort him, confused.
—W-Why… y-you didn't find me… i-I thought you left and… —the little boy sobbed. She blinked, a confused expression on her face.
—I’m sorry dear, but why were you hiding?...
—W-We were playing! You said you’ll find me!
—…Oh, dear, I’m sorry, I think I forgot we were playing —she said softly, as she patted her child on the back.
The next time happened when he went to the supermarket with his father. He was engrossed in a phone game so he begged his dad to stay in the car. Hesitantly, his father complied after five minutes of a very loud tantrum, making him promise to not open the doors and stay put. Sora stood there for a good twenty minutes until he saw his father back with the groceries. He knew he would ask Sora for help and he would need to put the phone away, and wished that he would have a bit more time. The same weird feeling came as a wave, and then his father suddenly stopped right before reaching the car and instead walked away from the parking station. The child didn’t mind, at least until half an hour later, when his father’s phone got a call from his mom. She frantically asked Sora where he was and if he was okay or lost. After their parents found him in the car a bit later, his dad immediately hugged him a bit too hard, apologizing for forgetting about him.
And then the little accidents started to accumulate. Not only with mom and dad. Also with the teachers of his daycare, his friends, and even the aunties that sometimes helped their parents when they were too busy at work to pick him up. By that point, their parents knew that something was wrong, and decided to search for help.
—His son has a strange quirk—the doctor said, though Sora did not understand his words right at that moment—. It makes people forget about him when in the vicinity. It seems that he has a certain degree of control over it, but considering how young he is, we don’t know how difficult it might be for his daily life…
As the doctor’s explanation continued, Sora realized that mom and dad were suddenly really scared. He noticed that after leaving they tried hard to smile at him and repeat that “things are okay” and “you don’t need to worry, we’ll fix this”.
And he did not understand why, but he felt really, really scared.
After that, he had to go to the doctor more often. They gave him a weird bracelet and medicine that made him feel sleepy. He had to see a lot of people that asked questions and tried weird games with him. Yet at times, those accidents kept happening. As he got older, he started to understand some more complicated words. Unstable quirk. Lack of control.
Forgotten.
He started to smile less. To reach less for people. He stopped playing games with his parents and started to prefer to have meals in his room. And with time, things got worse and him more bitter. When he was seven his grades started to go down because their teachers forgot about the homework he gave to them and assumed he did not do it. At ten he passed almost a week alone at home since his parents forgot to include him in their vacation plans. At twelve he had a pretty bad birthday since none of his friends showed up even after giving both them and their parents their invitations.
Sora hated the panicked doctors. Hated his friends. Hated his parents. Hated his quirk.
Hated himself.
And then, at fourteen, the accident.
It was a villain attack. He remembers an explosion and then panic. There was fire everywhere and his parents tried to get him out of the house to safety.
And then they saw the shadowy group getting closer to them.
They hid as quickly as they could. He was so scared he broke into an ugly sob. His dad just tried to reassure them that they would be fine, that the heroes would come soon. His mom just told him again and again that he needed to stay strong and try not to make too much noise.
He closed his eyes shut, praying that they weren’t found. That no one noticed them. That no one noticed him.
That no one could see him.
His head hurt. A lot.
And the sensation now reached not only his head but also his chest, and he felt he could not breathe anymore.
And then an explosion.
Sora felt a buzzing in his ear sometime after, he felt barely conscious, and everything hurt. Someone was carrying him in unsteady arms as they moved swiftly. He heard a trembling voice speaking as softly as their rugged breath allowed them to.
—Don’t worry kid. We’ll be safe soon. Just hang in there, the heroes will take care of everything!
—…Dad?...
—It’s okay, they’ll be safe. Just stay with me.
And he blacked out again before he could see the face of the one who saved him.
By the time he fully woke up he found himself in the hospital. He was alone in a bed that was a bit too large for him. He had needles on his arms and was full of bandages. He tried to stand up but a wave of pain immediately made him fall back on the mattress. He sighed in frustration, and then looked around, noticing familiar faces in a bed beside him.
—Mom! Dad! —he panicked, trying to stand up again with no success—Are-Are you okay? Can you hear me? —he cried, tears hot as if they were burning his cheeks. As his cries grew louder, the two slowly opened glossy eyes, confused expressions on their faces—.Oh… y-you’re okay… mom… dad…
The first to say anything was the woman, who blinked a bit before answering.
—I-I’m sorry but… who…
—…Who are you? —the man added.