Monster

1 | One

- TENKO -

Monster.

That's what they call a villain, right? Someone who causes harm without remorse. An inhumanly, cruel person.

I remember that word vividly.

Hands coated in blood.

Monster.

I accidentally killed my family.

Monster.

Existing at all.

Monster.

The way that I looked now, I probably was a monster.

At least they'd be right about something.

It all started when we woke up here, in this dark room. It had nothing inside, just four walls and a freezing cold floor. There were no windows either, so the only light source we really had was the hallway.

My brother sat somewhere in the darkness, sniffling. "T-Tenko?" He asked me through tears, his voice trembling.

I pulled him into my side, relieved I still had my gloves on. His body was tense, but soon relaxed in my embrace. He was still shaking, either from the cold of the room or pure fear. I couldn't tell.

I started to play with his hair, hoping it'd help. "It'll be alright, Zu." I reassured.

He curled up into my side like a cat, shaking still. He was breathing irregularly, his shaken breaths barely audible. I continued playing with his hair, hoping it'd help him calm down. He seemed panicked, scared. I couldn't blame him.

We had no idea how we'd ended up here. Our memories were blurred, hazy, every memory seeming altered. We only remember certain things like our names, our ages, and these random nicknames which I was sure belonged to someone in our past.

Zu remembered less, his age probably determined how much the memory quirk could alter. At least, I thought it was a quirk. I wasn't really sure.

I rubbed his back in a circular motion, the action usually helping when he was scared or upset. He seemed to relax, his hand reaching up to grip my shirt. I pulled him a bit closer, keeping him in my hold.

I couldn't let him go.

Never.

The door opened, a thud following shortly after. I looked up, the glow of the hallway light seeping into the room, falling onto Zu's fallen position.

He was laying on the floor, shaking out of his boots. A man dressed in a dark green coat, Overhaul, stood behind him. He stared down at Zu distastefully, adjusting his gloves as he did so.

Overhaul, better known as Kai Chisaki (though we were never permitted to say either name), was the director of this 'project' me and Zu were a part of. He performed all the experiments, from simple blood samples to injections.

We hated the injections. They were always painful, every one feeling worse than the one before. Zu's were worse, the pain always taking days to subside. Sometimes he'd be asleep for a number of days to recover from it.