Chapter 1: Shadows in the Laboratory (Revised)
The harsh fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting erratic shadows across the sterile white walls. Five-year-old Meiji sat huddled in the corner of his small room, knees pulled tight against his chest. His dark eyes stared vacantly at the floor, occasionally darting toward the observation window where figures in white coats moved like ghosts.
Fragments. That's all he had left.
A woman's gentle voice singing a lullaby. The smell of freshly baked bread. A hand ruffling his hair. But the more he tried to grasp these memories, the more they slipped away, like water through cupped fingers.
The door hissed open, and Meiji instinctively pressed himself harder against the wall. A tall man with thin-rimmed glasses entered, clipboard in hand.
"Subject M-7," the man said, voice clinical and detached. "Today we'll be testing your quirk's response to various stimuli."
Meiji remained silent. He'd learned that speaking only made things worse.
"Dr. Shimura," called another researcher from the doorway. "The Director wants an update on the singularity drug trials."
The tall man—Dr. Shimura—sighed. "Tell him we're still calibrating the dosage. Subject M-7 showed promising adaptation after the last injection, but we need to stabilize the mutation before proceeding."
As they spoke, Meiji felt the familiar cold sensation spreading from his chest—darkness seeping from his pores like ink in water. Small tendrils of shadow curled around his fingers, growing denser as his heart rate increased.
Dr. Shimura noticed immediately, eyes lighting up with clinical interest. "Fascinating. Even without direct stimulus." He made a note on his clipboard. "The integration is progressing faster than anticipated."
The second researcher leaned forward, lowering his voice, though Meiji could still hear him. "Is it true what they're saying? That this could be the breakthrough we need for the singularity research?"
"If we can remove the quirk factor limitations in the DNA sequence?" Dr. Shimura glanced at Meiji with calculating eyes. "Potentially. The ability to manipulate darkness with such precision is already remarkable. But if we can push it further, break down the natural barriers..."
"What about the side effects? The last subject—"
Dr. Shimura cut him off with a sharp gesture. "Unavoidable casualties. This one's constitution is stronger." He turned back to Meiji. "Besides, this quirk has unique properties. The potential applications if we can weaponize it properly..."
The darkness around Meiji's hands thickened, forming small, amorphous shapes that twisted and contorted. Within the shadows, what appeared to be eyes blinked open, followed by the outline of a mouth filled with needle-like teeth.
"Look," Dr. Shimura whispered, excitement creeping into his voice. "The manifestations are becoming more defined. Note the autonomous structures forming within the darkness."
The second researcher took an involuntary step back. "Are those... eyes?"
"And teeth. The darkness is developing predatory characteristics." Dr. Shimura made another note. "Almost as if it's developing a will of its own. Schedule the next injection for tomorrow morning. I want to see if we can accelerate the evolution."
As they turned to leave, Meiji closed his eyes, trying to will the darkness back into his body. Sometimes, if he concentrated hard enough, he could control it—make it recede. But not today. Today the shadows stayed, wrapping around him like a living blanket.
Dr. Shimura paused at the door, looking back at the boy and his swirling shadows. "I'll inform All For One's agent that we're making progress. This might be exactly what he's been looking for."
The door sealed shut with a pneumatic hiss, leaving Meiji alone with his darkness.
In the corridor outside, unheard by the boy, Dr. Shimura continued his conversation. "Once we perfect the formula, quirk singularity theory will move from hypothesis to reality. Imagine—quirks evolving beyond their natural limitations, perhaps even becoming autonomous."
His colleague frowned. "And you think this child is the key?"
"Not the child," Dr. Shimura corrected. "The quirk. If we can understand how it's evolving, seemingly developing its own responses..." He smiled thinly. "Then we unlock the next stage of quirk development. Our benefactor will be pleased."
Inside his room, Meiji watched the small shadow creatures that had formed from his quirk. The eyes that appeared weren't threatening him, but they weren't separate entities either—though only he understood this truth. They formed when he felt afraid, disappeared when he felt safe. The teeth emerged when he felt threatened, vanished when he felt secure.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, another memory surfaced—his mother's voice: "Your quirk is special, Meiji. you're meant for greatness, don't let anyone discourage you."
But as the shadows swirled around him, forming shapes that mirrored his inner turmoil, Meiji kept his secret. Let them think what they wanted. Let them believe his shadows had a mind of their own.
Only he knew the truth: the darkness was just darkness—his darkness—responding to him and him alone.