The night of the break-in was still fresh in Cain's mind, even a month later. His room was left collecting dust, even after the windows throughout the dorm house were reinforced. Every time he tried sleeping alone, he was racked with terrible dreams that left him jolting awake in a cold sweat and remaining awake til' daybreak brought him the confidence to rush out into the halls. This lack of sleep and the fear that controlled his every action was affecting him severely, physically and academically. The bags beneath his eyes were too much for even Aizawa to ignore, and his sterling straight-A's were slipping away into Bs and Cs. He needed help, even he knew that, but his paranoia and anxiety were skyrocketing with each sleepless night of huddling in a corner with a barrier protecting him. The thought of burdening another with his mental baggage was unbearable to the Psychic. He had to be stronger than this; He had to do it on his own. What kind of hero can't even make himself fall asleep at night?

This downward spiral was soon too much for anyone to witness. Encounter after encounter, teachers and students alike urged him to visit a therapist. Or anyone, for that matter. It took an order from Recovery Girl who pointed out that he couldn't even use his Quirk effectively anymore for him to finally schedule an appointment with the Hound Hero and resident lifestyle counselor Ryo Inui. He was the closest they had to a proper therapist, after all.

Twas the night before the appointment, and all through the dorms
Not a creature was stirring, not even a–ok maybe someone was stirring.

Cain was lying in his bed, glowing eyes staring at the ceiling as he struggled to get comfortable. He couldn't shake this gnawing dread that had been eating away at his psyche the past weeks. He constantly glanced towards his window, which he had since blocked with his wardrobe. This was definitely somehow breaking fire safety rules, but he didn't care. He thought it would make him feel better, but it did nothing to quell his paranoia. Hours of constant thrashing had passed, and Cain had finally exhausted himself. Despite his mind's best efforts, his eyelids were too heavy to hold up any longer. The empath slowly slipped into a deep slumber; Something he desperately needed. Unfortunately, it was too good to last.



Cain opened his eyes to a familiar environment. Outside UA's old dorm building; It had been burned down in a villain attack that not all the staff were fortunate enough to escape from. He had thought he got over this, and accepted the fact that he couldn't save the few that were unlucky enough to get focused down by the League of Villains. Apparently not, as he was standing in front of the flaming building with no one else in sight. The crackle of the flames echoed all around him; The scent of the smoke making him back away and cover his nose. It all seemed so real. He had only had lucid dreams a few times before, but this didn't feel like one. Was this the effect of some sort of Quirk? He had never heard of one that could affect dreams like this, just Quirks that could put people to sleep. While his mind jumped to the worst possible scenarios and his eyes stared deeply into the fire, he could feel the hairs on his neck stand on end. The glint of a blade reflecting off a shard of glass and the sound of steel scraping against a sheath had him scrambling into the cool grass to his left, snapping around to look at his supposed attacker, but no one was there.

"Jeez, you're twisted. You'd make a great killer, y'know?"

A familiar voice rang out from behind him, once again making him scurry away and turn to face the source. Again, no one was there. Just the roaring flames to keep him company. "Was that..? That was Rōnin's voice.."

"Did you see something you liked? Did you enjoy seeing my blood spill?"

Again, the villain's voice was heard. It wasn't coming from any one direction anymore. It sounded like it was surrounding him, which made Cain panic more and more. "Show yourself! I-I'm not afraid of you any more! I can beat you!"

"Not afraid, eh? If you're not afraid, then why are you shaking?"

A whisper right into his ear made Cain jolt, but the edge of a shining blade pressed against his neck stopped him from making any effort to get away. Cain's eyes widened, and his breath hitched in his throat.

"Ah ah ah, don't try it." Rōnin said, peering down over Cain's shoulder just enough for the psychic to make out his crimson Oni face mask. This was too real; This couldn't be happening! This place was long gone now, yet here it was, burning down once again before his very eyes.

"You remember this, right Cain? You remember how long it took for your 'heroes' to get here? How easily we squashed them? How the 'Top Ten' couldn't even protect one building?" The cannibal asked, forcing Cain to stare into the fire.

"Heh...I know you remember Aggro."

Cain's hands ball into fists as he grits his teeth. "You...You monster.." Rōnin's blade pressed harder into the boy's throat, digging in enough for Cain to shut his trap. Mr. Kiyomi...A Pro-Hero and teacher that Cain had spent time training under as an apprentice of sorts. One that had gotten his life cut short by the very sword that threatened to do the same to Cain. He had never been the best student; Or, at least that's what he felt. He never got to tell his teacher just how much he appreciated him. He never got to say thanks...These emotions that the psychic had long since suppressed were rising to the surface once again.

"Pro Heroes...what a joke. You've had to save them time and time again, haven't you? Shouldn't it be the other way around? What kind of people would let their children get attacked in their own dorms 3 times over? What kind of heroes can't even save themselves, much less each other?" The empath was forced to stand there and listen to Rōnin's surprisingly impassioned speech. He clearly felt very strongly about this...

"I know how you feel, kid. Haven't I told you we're not so different? We're both angry at the people we're supposed to 'look up to'. They keep on letting you down. You could protect everyone on your own, but they refuse to let you. In fact, they're trying their best to hinder you. You want to save people, don't you? That's what being a 'hero' is all about, right? Then why do -they- try so hard to stop you? I mean, seriously? 'Hero License'? Yeah, right."

"I-I know what you're trying to do...We're nothing alike..!" Cain sputters out, craning his neck to get away from the shining blade pressed against it.

"There you go again. Kid, we're EXACTLY alike. You know that you're obsessed with blood too. Every dead body you've seen, you've taken the time to examine it. Every time, that eye of yours goes haywire. Every time, you've let the sight come back to haunt you over and over again. Who are you to deny your very nature?" The psychic could hear the smirk in Rōnin's voice. Yet, he stayed silent and listened. How did Rōnin know all of this? Everything he was saying was true. These were the thoughts and feelings that Cain was too afraid to face. Things that he had tried so, so hard to suppress.

"You've got that same bloodlust within you that I have. The only difference between us is, I don't run from it. You've got the power within you to get all those obstacles out of your way. All the red tape, all the corrupt officials, EVERYONE that's holding you back from being a hero. Not that shitty brand of heroism they shove down our throats, a TRUE hero. One that knows that some people just can't be saved. Some people are just pure evil, and no amount of prison time can change that. Keeping them alive only puts more innocent lives at risk, you know that. So, my question is..."

"Why are you still holding back?"

Visions flash before Cain's eyes. Visions in the fire. Visions of him whisking his teammates away to safety, visions of him using his barriers to block off danger and give his friends the time to run. Visions of him being too late to save lives every single time. Visions of blood trickling down his hands. His own? Someone else's? He couldn't tell. Finally, visions of all his friends' faces. Not of the smiling faces he pictured when he thought of them; visions of judgemental stares. Of glares, of anger, of disappointment. The flames seemed to swirl around him, engulfing his senses with the burning shame he felt in all those encounters before. He could have done more, he could have done better. He could have saved everyone. He could have saved...

A door opening. A warm welcome. A piggy-back ride.
An outburst.
Joy turned to horror. A sickening crack. The stench of copper.

Pink spiraling into a black abyss.

"Grraaaaah!" An anguished roar escapes the psychic as everything finally boils over. A black spiral in his glowing left eye spinning out of control until his entire iris became the same inky abyss. His hands reach up and grab the sword, the cold steel slashing and cutting deep into his flesh. But Cain was too far gone to even feel it. Rōnin stumbles back, surprised. His sword is ripped out of his hands and swung around, stabbing into his gut. "W-What!?"

Cain was still holding on tight to the serrated blade, his hands pouring blood as he rushed forwards, pushing the tip of the sword deeper into Rōnin's gut and shoving him against the burning building. There was a frantic, hysteric look in Cain's eyes; All of the thoughts typically racing through his mind were replaced with a burning rage. Rage directed at the villain before him, at the entire hero system, but mostly at himself. Every day of his life, Cain had built restraints for himself. To stop what happened from ever happening again. But in the process, he had been unable to use the power he needed to save those he didn't save. He couldn't bring his full power out anymore. He had never used it against anyone, even when his life was in danger. Now? He didn't need it. All he needed was his bare hands.

Cain ran the blade clean through the samurai, pinning him to the wall and piercing through it as well. It cut deeper and deeper into his hands, but he didn't care. Finally letting go, he'd start wailing on Rōnin with all his strength, sending wild punch after wild punch into him again and again. He was defenseless to stop it.
"Leave! Me! Alone!" The poor boy cried out, pain evident in his voice. Tears welled up in his eyes as his punches became weaker and weaker til' he finally stopped. He looked down to his blood soaked hands, vision blurry with both tears and rage. He wanted to kill Rōnin, to end all of this torment. But deep down, he realized something.

It was never going to end.

His pain and his anguish weren't things that could be cured or suppressed. They were a part of him. No matter what he did, he would never magically feel 'better'. Even if he killed Rōnin, what then? He wouldn't feel better. He might just use it as a reason to do it again. A reason to kill everyone that he thought was holding him back, that he thought was the cause for everything wrong with him. The truth was, he was what was wrong with him. He couldn't push this burden he carried on anyone else, no matter how hard he tried. They would never be the reason he was like this. He was the one who made himself the way he was today. If he had the ability to do this to himself, then maybe...He had the ability to fix it. Fix everything. He could grow past this, just like he had many times before. How he felt now was not how he was always going to feel. There was always going to be a tomorrow, and there was always going to be more pain. That's just life. But someday, he'd look back on it all and smile.

Cain falls down to his knees, still staring at the blood on his hands. He knows whose blood it is, now. Not of Rōnin's, or his own.

"Heh....heh heh heh heh..." The cannibal chuckles as the flames overwhelm him. Once they recede, he was gone. Sword and all.

"H-Hah...I'm so sorry. This isn't what you'd want of me. But...I can change. I can change everything. I'll make you proud. Maybe I'll even make up for what I did...Hah hah hah.." Cain's eye returns to normal before both of them close. When he opens them again, he's in his bedroom. He can hear people walking around out in the hall, and smell breakfast coming from the kitchen. There was a knocking on his door, which soon opened a smidge with the familiar face of his boyfriend peering through the crack. "Hey, Cain? Are you awake? Come on, let's go get something to eat, alright?"





Maybe everything was going to be alright after all.





[Thank you all for reading. Thank you for sitting through my angst simulator. I truly appreciate all of you and everything you've done for me. You're the reason I'm even here, writing these for you. Give me your thoughts below, I read every single comment you leave. Another chapter coming soon. Stay tuned, ey?]

~Life.