What's Your Wish

White and Red.

The pristine white snow gently fell towards the ground, piling up into small mounds as the red glow of the shop lights and strung lanterns lit up the night. The visual contrast of both colors were a feast to behold.

Warm breath fogged the chilly air, warm hands brushing the snow away from his coat, and the sound of chatter was dull in the background, having been separated through 6 floors.

Only in this place can you see the fiery, red passion of the red light district and the cold, white, apathetic winter blending together.

It was beautiful, reveling the sight of metaphorical and visual contrast.

But-

How exactly did he get here?

Mikumo wondered with a blank expression, standing on Akatsuki's rooftop. From the position of the moon, he was able to tell that it was already past midnight. How long had he been up here?

With furrowed brows, he headed towards the door.

It was locked. From the inside.

So how did he get here?

Did he somehow blackout at one point and walked here on autopilot?

The last thing he could remember was heading to his room after a quiet nail care and tea session with Akira.

The next thing he knew, he was already up on the rooftop, watching the snow.

So if the door was locked, how would he get down?

... Maybe he could jump?

Mikumo peeked over the edge.

It wasn't that high. And if he used his quirk, he was sure he'd be able to make it out without a scratch. But there was that one incessant thought at the back of his mind.

What if he lost control of his quirk?

Then, he scoffed.

"I'll just die then."

Stepping onto the ledge, without a moment of hesitation, he jumped.

The cold blades of the wind brushed past his face as he fell. His heart pumped wildly in his chest, though, strangely enough, he felt increasingly at peace the closer he was to reaching the ground.

Maybe he actually wouldn't mind dying.

But, mere moments before he fell to his death, a giant Snorlax appeared below to cushion his fall with its stomach.

It happened again!

Mikumo was surprised.

He wasn't trying to activate his quirk purposely, and yet, an apparition still appeared to save him from imminent death.

And with his quirk having a history of being activated in his sleep, this time, he was sure that conscious control wasn't required to use it.

So, it's more of a passive skill instead of an active skill?

But, the other two times when his quirk had activated on its own while he was awake, his life had more or less been in danger.

Which meant...

"So dad really did plan to kill me that time."

As the Snorlax fizzled and popped out of existence, Mikumo trudged towards the side door of the establishment, ignoring the few surprised eyes watching him.

When the morning sun of the next day rose into the horizons, Giran smiled in a relaxed manner, standing in front of one of the most prominent entertainment establishments in Esuha City, the Akatsuki.

Now, it wasn't the first time Giran visited this place. In fact, he had just finished meeting a client here a few days prior, so it came as a big surprise when he found out that his most recent target for recruitment actually lived here.

This instantly steeled his resolve even further, thinking that their meeting was predestined and unavoidable.

No matter what, he must acquire this asset.

Though, currently, the boy who still didn't know that he had already become a commodity in someone's eyes, had already headed straight to his bed and was fast asleep within seconds.

The next time he woke up, he was filled with cold sweat all over his body and the insides of his eyes felt hot. Sluggishly, he still got up upon remembering that he would be debuting in his first job today despite his body wanting to give in and go back to bed.

Tiredly washing up in the bathroom, he noticed his breaths growing ragged every passing second. The buzzing feeling in his head that he had been experiencing for the past two days had somehow turned into a piercing migraine.

Mikumo realized that he was about to have a panic attack.

As his sight began to grow blurry and his short breaths caused his thoughts to scatter and fray, something about the situation felt strangely familiar.

From time to time, it was as if he could hear his father's voice yelling at him. But, that should be impossible since he clearly remembered killing him.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry-

Somehow, through his chaotic thoughts, he could hear his own voice muttering an apology over and over amidst the sound of screaming, blood and dust.

Hopper! ....-syringe!

Suddenly there was silence, and a flash of blue.

Right! This happened last time!

When he had been taken away from the warehouse, Dreamcloud seemed to have injected something in him which calmed him down.

He had to get it!

Hurriedly finishing his bath with great effort, he stumbled towards Shisei's room, hoping that his employer hadn't gone some place else just yet.

Somehow mustering the energy to knock despite barely being able to keep himself upright, it took all of his determination to not crumple into a heap of flesh on the floor.

"Holy shit! What is wrong with you?!"

Shisei, who was originally still half asleep, exclaimed in shock upon laying his eyes on his newest employee.

With reddish, unfocused eyes, the boy leaned unsteadily on his doorframe; hands and knees trembling. The boy was breathing fast and short, his still wet hair scattering drops of water on the floor.

Well, his sleepiness was gone for sure now.

"Dreamcloud...blue...-syringe.." The boy muttered between breaths so quietly that Shisei barely managed to catch it. "...please."

"Blue syringe? Do you mean Wish?" Suddenly, Shisei was was dawned with realization.

Short breaths, hazy eyes, shaking, and confusing thought process. The kid was hyperventilating!

In full honesty, despite Wish being considered an illegal drug due to its extremely addictive side effects, it was very useful in countering anxiety and panic attacks due to its opiate-like functions.

So, surely, it made sense for the boy to be asking for Wish during what Shisei assumed was a panic attack.

"Hold still for a bit, kid! I got you." Shisei said, rushing back to his room as Mikumo let himself slide down towards the floor.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Shisei to return with a syringe filled with a blue liquid.

Holding one of Mikumo's arms outstretched, Shisei looked at the boy seriously. "Alright, I'll be administering you with Wish on the inside of your elbow. If you can understand and agree, nod your head."

Through the loud buzzing in his head, Mikumo could faintly hear Shisei's words, though it took a bit longer for their meaning to be processed.

Even still, he nodded slowly.

With a relieved sigh, Shisei uncapped the syringe's needle and carefully disinfected the skin where the vein he was targeting faintly showed.

He was kind of glad that he didn't have to do this without consent, emergency or not. But that was probably just his skewed ego talking.

Mikumo barely noticed when the needle pierced his skin. He didn't notice either when the syringe was emptied and pulled out.

All he knew was those ten or so minutes he spent laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling blankly as his trembling and shaking receding along with the return of his calmness.

It was quiet.

For the first time since he first discovered and used his quirk, everything was silent, both in his surrounding and in his mind. Even the constant buzzing was gone.

Is this what death feels like? An eternal calm.

"You good there?"

Mikumo slightly tilted his head to see Shisei squatting beside him with a concerned expression.

Mikumo sat up slightly to give his benefactor a small bow of gratitude. "Thank you. Please deduct the value for the drug from my pay."

"No, that's fine." Shisei waved his hand carelessly but, just when Mikumo wanted to argue that it wouldn't be right, Shisei gave him a playful look.

"Rather than money, I'd actually prefer you owing me a favor."

That effectively shut Mikumo up. Sending his employer a strange look, he went back to laying bonelessly on the floor.

For a while, they both just shared the moment in silence.

"Good thing everyone else is still asleep or else we'd look like idiots."

"Mn."