Dust tasted like bitter chalk. Screams echoed through the shattered lobby of the commercial high-rise, bouncing off the cracked marble walls. Crouching behind a half-demolished concrete pillar, Miu clutched her latest volume of manga to her chest like a shield. She let out a long, slow yawn, blinking away the sleep crusting the corners of her eyes. "Why does this always happen on my day off?" she muttered, her voice barely a whisper against the roaring chaos outside. Outside, a villain with mutated stone fists was trading blows with a mid-tier pro hero, their clash sending shockwaves through the foundations of the shopping complex. Steel groaned. Glass rained down in sharp, glittering sheets. Staying awake during a crisis was always her biggest challenge. Her eyelids felt heavy, weighed down by the perpetual exhaustion that clung to her bones. Her quirk, a volatile beast that lived just beneath her skin, demanded a constant tax of mental energy just to keep asleep. Heavy footsteps shook the floor as more civilians scrambled for the exit, their faces pale with terror. Miu squeezed her manga, wishing she were back in her warm bed under a pile of blankets. Dragging her feet, she adjusted the strap of the long, black canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Inside was her custom katana, a weapon she carried not to cut, but to survive her own power. Suddenly, a deafening blast ripped through the upper levels of the building. Support pillars sheared in half under the sudden pressure, sending a massive shockwave through the lobby. A mother and her young child, stumbling through the dust, fell hard onto the cracked floor. Above them, a massive rusted steel I-beam broke free from its ceiling mounts. It plummeted with terrifying speed, a three-ton guillotine aimed straight for the helpless pair. Miu didn't think. Her body moved with a fluid, practiced grace that defied her sleepy demeanor. Unzipping her bag in a single, seamless motion, her fingers wrapped around the corded hilt of her katana. She stepped forward, placing herself directly between the falling steel and the civilians. "Stay down," she commanded, her voice dropping to a dangerous quiet. Drawing the blade, she didn't swing for a lethal cut. She aimed for the perfect frequency. With a flick of her wrist, she tapped the flat of her blade against the descending I-beam. *Ping.* A sharp, metallic note resonated through the ruins of the lobby. For a split second, time seemed to freeze as the hum of the blade met the solid steel. Then, the massive beam began to vibrate violently. Cracks raced across its surface like a web of lightning, glowing with a faint, destructive energy. In an instant, the three-ton beam dissolved into a harmless cloud of fine gray dust, scattering over the floor like snow. But the backlash was immediate and brutal. A white-hot needle of pain pierced the center of Miu's brain. Her knees buckled slightly, her teeth grinding together to hold back a scream of agony. Her right hand shook violently, the tremors traveling up her arm and threatening to tear her muscles apart from the inside out. *Too much,* she realized, her vision blurring as the edges turned a bruised, dark purple. *If I let it go any further, my own mind will shatter.* She forced her trembling hand to slide the katana back into its scabbard. The crisp click of the guard locking into place severed the connection, quietening the destructive hum inside her head. She gasped for air, cold sweat slicking her forehead as she leaned against her sword case for support. "Are you... are you okay?" the mother whispered, staring at the pile of dust that used to be a deadly weapon. Miu didn't answer right away, waiting for the ringing in her ears to subside. "Just go," she said softly, pulling her hood lower over her face to hide her pale skin. "Get out of here before the rest of the ceiling comes down." She didn't wait for a thank you. Slipping through the shadows of the crumbling lobby, she escaped into a side alley before the pro heroes or the media could spot her. Using her quirk always felt like playing Russian roulette with her sanity. --- Walking away from the scene, Miu kept her head down, massaging her aching temples as she navigated the crowded streets of Musutafu. Sirens wailed in the distance, but her focus was entirely on keeping her balance. Every step felt like walking on a boat in a stormy sea, her inner ear completely thrown off by the brief vibration strike. Ahead of her, a massive crowd had gathered at the entrance of a narrow shopping district. Thick, black smoke billowed into the air, accompanied by the distinct sound of explosions. "Not another one," she groaned, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a dark corner and sleep for a week. Curiosity, or perhaps a strange pull she couldn't explain, drew her closer to the edge of the crowd. Pushing past whispering onlookers, she caught sight of the disaster. A giant, gelatinous mass of green slime was thrashing in the middle of the street, feeding on the oxygen from the surrounding fires. Inside the creature, a middle school boy with explosive ash-blonde hair was struggling frantically, his palms detonating in wild, desperate bursts. It was Bakugo Katsuki. Miu recognized him from her middle school district, known for his monstrous talent and equally monstrous temper. Right now, his eyes were wide with genuine terror, his chest heaving as the sludge villain suffocated him slowly. The pro heroes on the scene were completely paralyzed, unable to act due to the fire and the volatile nature of the boy's quirk. Miu's hand drifted to her katana hilt. She could try to help, but her mind screamed in protest. Liquid was incredibly difficult to target with vibrations; if she hit the sludge villain, the shockwave would travel directly through the water-based body and likely liquefy Bakugo's internal organs. The fear of losing control, of seeing blood on her hands, froze her solid. Suddenly, a green-haired boy rushed out of the crowd. He had no quirk, no weapon, and no plan, yet he ran straight toward the monster with tears in his eyes. Miu watched in awe as the boy threw his backpack at the villain's eye, desperately clawing at the mud to free his classmate. "Why am I so weak?" she whispered, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her sword bag. Before she could make a decision, a massive shadow fell over the alleyway. All Might appeared, his iconic smile fixed on his face as he delivered a powerful punch that literally changed the weather, blowing the villain away and extinguishing the flames in a single blow. The crowd erupted into cheers, but Miu felt only a deep, aching hollow in her chest. Turning away from the spectacle, she blended back into the retreating crowd, her heart heavy with a familiar sense of inadequacy. She had the power to shatter steel, yet she was too afraid of her own shadow to be a real hero. --- Far above the chaotic streets, the air was cold and still. As the dust settles, a shadowed figure perched atop a distant skyscraper watches Miu, a chilling smirk playing on their lips, holding a faded photograph of a young girl with the same ocean-deep eyes.

Chapter 1: Shattered Glass, Sleeping Eyes