Chapter 4 – Shackles of Fate
(A few minutes earlier)
"All Might!" shouted a nearby police officer, panting "It's an emergency! There's a villain attacking civilians 4 km from here and all the heroes are busy right now!"
"In which direction?" All Might replied with a seriousness rarely seen, wanting to arrive as quickly as possible to avoid deaths
The officer quickly pointed toward the direction of the attack, and All Might nodded in agreement before taking off at a staggering speed for a human
'I need to be faster… I'm almost reaching my daily limit…' All Might thought, accelerating even more
Hearing a commotion, he quickly made a huge leap and said his signature phrase
"Don't worry! I am he—"
And he was interrupted by the disturbing sight in front of him
A boy who didn't appear to be older than 13 years old, completely covered from head to toe, was drooling and had an expression of satisfaction on his face while bathing in the villain's blood
Around them, people could only widen their eyes. Some screamed in panic, others in fear, some hurled insults, others fainted, and some vomited
It was total chaos
Taking a deep breath, All Might approached the child and cleared his throat
Dio, upon hearing a noise, snapped out of his trance and finally realized what had happened
Immediately, he turned and began vomiting
All Might gave the boy space
Meanwhile, Toga, who was in tears, tried to compose herself upon seeing Dio vomiting, but couldn't and began crying again
Dio looked up and saw Toga crying, becoming extremely embarrassed for having lost control
He turned toward All Might, who was watching without quite knowing what to say, and sobbing, he said
"I-I swear I didn't mean to, but…"
He paused while trying to hold back his tears and stammered
"I lost control, and I could only think about blood"
With an even shakier voice, he continued
"I saw Himiko being impaled and… then the world seemed to shatter, and all I could think about was revenge"
With an indecipherable expression, All Might patted Dio on the back and said in a strangely calm voice
"Calm down. Everything will be alright"
Dio stopped crying to look at All Might, who continued
"For now, you'll have to come with me, to a place where your Quirk can be kept under control"
"Am I going to be arrested?"
Dio asked quietly, with fear in his expression at the thought of being separated from his mother and Himiko
"Well…" All Might began in a more serious tone, making Dio's expression grow more tense
"That depends on what the judge decides, since, well…"
Dio understood what he meant… He had killed someone. Villain or not, a person is still a person, and there must be consequences
"Can I at least say goodbye to Himiko?"
"Of course, go ahead. Just be quick because we can't stay here any longer" said All Might while pointing at the civilians around them
Dio shrank in embarrassment and approached Himiko, who had already stopped crying but was still in shock from what had happened and from All Might's words
"Himiko, I…"
Upon hearing Dio's voice, Himiko composed herself and rushed into his arms while sobbing
"I… I was so scared that I couldn't do anything… I'm sorry, Dio… because of me… now…"
Placing a finger over her lips, Dio, with a reassuring smile, hugged her and whispered
"Don't worry. Everything will be alright."
After about ten seconds, he released her and said
"Goodbye, Himiko... I will be back, I sware" and walked toward where All Might stood with the police, who were cleaning the scene and calming the people
"I'm ready"
"Alright, get in"
He entered the car, where a police officer was holding handcuffs and said
"Nothing personal, kid, but it's protocol — especially with a Quirk that isn't fully under control"
"Okay"
The handcuffs were tight, but more than the physical pain they caused, the mental pain was endless. At that moment, the handcuffs symbolized the loss of freedom, the loss of control, and even worse, the loss of humanity
Dio spent the entire ride staring out the window, lost in thought about what his life would be from now on
Would he be sent to prison? To some insane research institution? To a place where they would teach him to control his primitive instincts?
He wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid. Afraid of himself
Afraid of becoming a monster and never regaining control
Afraid of what his mother and Himiko would think of him, and even more afraid that, instead of a villain, it could have been his mother or Himiko in that place
Just imagining the sight of blood in his mouth and it being one of them made him shiver
Trying to distract himself from his negative thoughts, he recalled the fight with the villain, when something strange had happened
The moment after he lost control, everything slowed down…
It was as if… the world itself had stopped, allowing him time to get close to the villain without him reacting and pummel him with punches
"We're here"
The officer's voice echoed in his ears, snapping him out of his daydreams as he stood up to face what would be his next few days