A Spark of Hope [BNHA x Male! Reader]

[chapter 1]

//im sorry in advance for any mistakes i check this stuff but 90% of it just goes over my head bc im a melt//

You awoke to sheer darkness- a different type of black emptiness than what you were used to. Your cell was dark anyway, but usually you'd be able to see a slither of dim blue light shining through the crack at the bottom of the door, or simply a beam of it through the window of the door if the guards decided to open it. But this time, nothing could be seen. If the hall lights weren't on, that meant that the institute was still in 'sleep mode'; but then why were the guards opening other cell doors?

That's what had woken you up initially- the familiar sound of metal scraping against the floor that made your subconscious think it was time to get up. You sat up in your makeshift bed- a few sheets crumpled up on the floor- and stared towards the cell door, not a single noise coming from you as you waited for your door to open.

When it did, you were met with the familiar faces of the two guards who usually woke everyone up. You said nothing, just stared at them and watched them shift under your gaze until one strode forward and yanked you away from your sheets. Exiting your cell, you were met with a few familiar faces from around the institute. There was 9 of them, excluding yourself, all standing around looking anxiously at the guards. You were pushed towards the group, before the guards all silently lead you through the dark corridors.

A sick feeling of dread started to settle into your stomach, though you didn't let it show. You kept your blank expression with your head held high, trying not to look at anyone around you. This couldn't be good- not like it was happy times for anyone when you were woken up normally, but the circumstances here were even worse. Were you being killed off? Maybe you hadn't done well enough in training.

Your eyes quickly scanned over the crowd of students walking in front of you. Their ages ranged from about 8-18, so the selection had to be fairly random. You then noticed their codes and tried to put names and faces to them, quickly realising that nobody here was the same age. There was one 8 year old, one 9 year old, and so on. That was easy enough to understand for you- the guards had selected one person from every age group in the institute. You just needed to find out why before it was too late.

Eventually, the group ended up in what looked like a conference room. You recognised the leader of the institute, a man everyone knew only as Boris, chatting with a man you'd never seen before, the two of them looking towards the guards when one of them cleared their throat.

"Ah!" The stranger turned his full body and clapped his hands together, a small sadistic smile crossing his face. "Are these the children?" You grimaced slightly at the word as the guard nodded.

"The best of the best- just like you ordered, sir." The best? You looked at the group again; they certainly didn't look like the best. Sure, you were one of the better fighters in your year, but nowhere near the top. They didn't allow you to experiment with your quirk too much- it was too risky for the institute, so you never got to use it to your full potential. The man walked away from Boris and scanned the clutter of scruffy looking kids with judgemental eyes.

"They're all a bit skinny, aren't they?" He poked at the ribs of a guy you remembered only as H24, who scowled at the act and snarled a little at him. Boris decided to chime in and strut over in an awkward waddle.

"We keep them malnourished to an extent. They're healthy enough that they can fight each other, but not strong enough to run away or resist us." He explained almost snarkily, eyeing the group distastefully as they all glared back at the two men. The stranger nodded and hummed in thought.

"I suppose that is a good strategy. However, we'll need to try and fatten them up a bit before the job. All for One's been planning this attack on USJ for a while now, we wouldn't want it to go downhill because your students were too easily defeated."