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Izuku woke up.
Bolting up, he grabbed his mouth, making sure all his teeth were there before checking his eyes and chest for blood. Why was he checking for those things?
Realizing he wouldn’t be able to see if he was bleeding without the lights, he went to turn them on.
Blindly stumbling around, Izuku looked for the light switch, pressing something soft before the lights turned on.
“Owweee…” he mumbled, eyes in pain from the sudden light. He turned away from where he had pressed, shielding his eyes.
His head hurt.
What was he doing again?
Oh right! He was checking for blood.
...Why?
Why would he be bleeding so late at night? Why would he be bleeding at all? What was going on?
One second he was sleeping and the next he woke up from a dream.
Dream.
What was he dreaming about again?
‘Must not be really important if I can’t remember it I suppose,’ Izuku thought, scratching his stomach as he looked over at his plain blue alarm clock. Wasn’t it All Might themed?
The bright red letters read 3 am.
Huh. That’s an odd time to wake up.
He didn’t feel like he could go back to sleep after whatever that was, so he set off for the kitchen, ready to grab a glass of water.
With half-closed eyes, Izuku began to walk to the door only to collide with his All Might poster.
“...wasn’t that on the right side? I thought the door was on the left,” he whispered to himself, fully awake now. He shook his head.
‘Maybe I just got it mixed up,’ he thought because what else could it be? Oh god, what if he was going crazy like Kacchan said?!
Walking out the door this time, Izuku went to the stairs.
Yet the moment he turned, he almost walked smack into another wall.
‘The fuck- Am I actually going crazy? No-no that can’t be. Must have just mixed my left and right up again,’ the boy thought, trying to convince himself everything was alright. He hadn’t done that since he was 4, an old burn scar on his right wrist reminding him of which was which.
He silently turned around and went down the stairs he swears were on the other side. He must really be tired. Hopefully, he didn’t wake anyone else up with his racket! Although most of the building was used to Dark shadow’s snores and Kaminari’s midnight giggles. Since when were the dorms this quiet at night?
Izuku arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he was careful not to bump into another wall. He checked to make sure which side the door was on before going through it. He never thought a day like this would come.
‘What a night,’ he pondered, walking through the darkness with his hand on the wall, searching for the light. It was odd that the lights weren’t on yet.
Aizawa-sensei usually checks the dorms around now before going to bed. He really doesn’t mind if the kids go out to get some water but they have to stay indoors until 5 am. When he’s roaming around, he’ll turn on the first-floor lights at dim, just in case anyone falls asleep on the couch again. So the fact that the lights were off was a bit unsettling to Izuku.
Izuku closed his eyes as he searched, knowing it’ll help him find the button. Stopping around where he knew it should be, he dragged his hand around, feeling for an indent.
However, after walking for five minutes, he couldn’t find the light switch.
Odd.
At the very least, he should have felt open-air considering the hallway to the door was on this side.
Izuku took a moment to open his eyes, looking for the door. Unfortunately, that night seemed to have a new moon. How unlucky.
‘There at least has to be a little bit of light from the door. I’ll probably find it if I walk forward,’ he thought, searching for the door. The light switch usually was right next to it.
Finding the door hall wasn’t hard. But looking for the light switch, Izuku couldn’t find it.
“Where is it-”
Suddenly the light turned on, blinding Izuku for a second time that night.
“Fuck,” he whispered, still trying to stay quiet.
“What are you doing up, Midoriya?” a feminine voice asked him. It sounded an awful lot like Midnight-Sensei.
‘Why was she here?’
Blinking away the dots, Izuku shook his head.
“I was up for some water.”
Once he could finally see again, he saw Midnight-Sensei standing there with a raised eyebrow.
“Why were you over there then?”
Where was her whip?
“I couldn’t see and was looking for the lights,” Izuku said, a bit uneasy.
“Hmmm,” She hummed, sounding unconvinced but didn’t press for more information either.
Izuku awkwardly began to head towards the kitchen. Since when was it on that side?!
Midnight silently followed him with her eyes, slowly trailing behind.
Izuku was still confused by Midnight-Sensei’s actions but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“Would you, ah,” -he scratched his chin- “like a glass of water too?”
“Sure kiddo. Thanks.”
“Of course!” he stuttered out.
Grabbing two glasses from the cabinet, he moved over to the fridge to get some cool water. Something nagged at the back of his brain. It kept pushing until he couldn’t take it.
“Midnight-Sensei?” he asked as he handed her a glass of water, leaning on the counter opposite to her.
“Yes, Midoriya?” she answered before taking a sip of the water.
“Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling Class 1-B right now? I thought Aizawa-Sensei usually did this area around now?”
Midnight just seemed confused. “What do you mean, Midoriya? Shota’s usually checking 1-B right about now, not me. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Izuku was speechless. He wanted to... He wanted to scream!
Or yell...
or something! Anything!
WHY WAS EVERYTHING SO WRONG TODAY?!
He smiled at Midnight.
“Must be the lack of sleep getting to me,” he amended, an awkward laugh following. He moved to rinse his glass and put it away, ignoring the worried glance he’d seen Midnight give him moments before.
Leaving for the stairs, he spoke again, keeping a calm tone and low eyes. “See you tomorrow, Midnight-Sensei.”
Izuku turned and walked away, making sure he didn’t look back at Midnight. He just might break if he did.
Her worried look reminded him too much of his mother.
And besides, he had too much to think about as he left her behind.
Was he actually going crazy?
~༻❁༺~
Arriving at his door, Izuku looked at it puzzled. Did he close the door before leaving? Maybe it was another thing he was confused about, just like everything else this strange night.
Man, he really needed sleep. Maybe he could talk to All Might and ask for a schedule that allowed him to sleep more? No, no need to bother his mentor with his personal problems.
Twisting the knob, he entered the room.
‘Were the lights-’
No.
He was not going to think about it.
He was just going to lay in bed for as long as he can and if he can’t go to sleep, he’ll just add more to his hero notebook. There was a new American hero he wanted to check out. Their name has something to do with the American flag. Star and something.
Aizawa-Sensei had told him to broaden his views when he practiced analysis so he now looks into other countries’ heroes.
Izuku will never forget the day Aizawa held him back in class and not only admired but even praised him for his work. It had felt like a dream.
Izuku began to walk towards his bed, noticing it was 4 am already.
‘Wow! It’s so late or, err, early I suppose,' he thought, about to face plant into his sheets.
However, a sharp pain in his back and a soft giggle make him freeze.
“You’d look so cute covered in blood, Izu-kun! It smells so yummy too~” someone said, pulling the knife out only to push it through his lower back and out his stomach.
‘Shit! At this rate, I’ll pass out or die from blood loss. I already feel lightheaded,' Izuku thought, frantically looking for a way out.
“You know, it’s been so hard being a patient girl but watching you was so~ worth it! Oh, I can’t wait to become you Izu-chan~”
She pushed the knife in deeper, causing Izuku to groan out. He could feel the blood drip all over his clothes and sheets. Not to mention the familiar burning sensation of getting cut.
“You sound so cute~ I just want to eat you up!”
Her grip loosened for a moment and Izuku took advantage of that.
Using his quirk, Izuku pushed off whoever was on him.
Perhaps he used too much power because he heard a sickening crack from the direction the body landed.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a slumped body.
For a split second, he felt bad, but blood on his sheets reminded him of why he shouldn’t.
Wobbling past the body on the floor, Izuku headed straight for one of the rooms next to him, knowing he won’t be alive much longer.
Ah. Wasn’t that a sad thought? That he won't live long enough to give everyone their deserved farewells.
‘ Sorry, mom. I hope you can forgive me.’
Luckily his door was still ajar. Izuku wouldn't have to waste energy opening it again
Dark spots filled his vision.
“Not yet…” Izuku mumbled, dragging himself to the room next to him.
Tears filled his eyes, only blurring his sight further.
He collapsed against the door next to his, hoping it made enough noise. He needed to warn everyone goddamit!
At some point, the door must have opened because there was a warm body pressed against his. He could hear someone whispering to him, but their words were inaudible. When he was able to see again, someone was holding him. Split-colored hair in his view made him pause. Since when did Shouto live next to him? He didn’t have time to ponder that. He needed to tell someone.
“IZUKU!” Shouto frantically screamed, trembling as he held Izuku.
“Shouto,” Izuku whispered, voice hoarse. He started wetly coughing.
‘ My lungs are filling quickly ,’ he grimaced.
He needed to let Shouto know. It wasn’t safe for him.
“Izuku, Izuku, Izuku.” He repeated his name like a mantra. It was a soft but broken lullaby in Izuku’s ears.
“Listen to me..”
“Don’t! Don’t talk so much, Izuku! I promise I’ll get you help but I need you to stay awake! Please, please stay awake!” he begged.
Izuku shook his head.
“There’s no... hope for me... Shouto,” he said, his eyes beginning to droop again.
“No, no, no! I refuse to believe that! Please just stay awake! You can’t leave us behind! You can’t leave me behind! What am I going to do without my first friend?! WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT YOU?” Shouto sobbed out.
It hurt Izuku’s heart to see his best friend
and first love
like this, but there was nothing he could do.
“Shouto!” he yelled, startling the other boy out of his thought. “I need you...to listen…”
Shouto's sobs became quieter.
Izuku continued.
“The dorms...they aren’t safe. Go find...or call...someone.”
“I can’t leave you here, Izuku,” whispered Shouto.
“You….have to…”
Izuku raised a bloody hand to Shouto’s face. His arm was shaking and weak.
Shouto grabbed it, bringing the hand close to his face, soaking Izuku’s hand in his tears.
Izuku smiled, warm and soft at him. With the remaining bit of strength he had, he pulled Shouto down and kissed him.
...goodbye...Shouto.”
“Izuku-”
“Talk..to..All..Might..”
“Izu-”
“Tell my mom I love her,” he slurred out. He was feeling too tired to stay awake.
“...and I...love...y..o….”
The last thing he heard was Shouto whispering back before letting out a blood-curling scream as he fell into the darkness.
Beep Beep Beep
The sound of an alarm filled the air, starling Izuku up. He groaned in exhaustion.
Waking up at 3 am sucked.
And it was such a weird night too.
Rubbing his eyes, he found tear trails. That made him pause. What dream could he have had that caused him not only tears but he couldn’t remember either?
“What the fuck?” he told himself before checking the time.
The blue All Might clock showed it to be 6 am.
Izuku sighed. He needed to get up.
Pushing himself up, Izuku went to get ready.
Something felt terribly wrong but he couldn’t put his finger on it. At least he fell asleep after getting back from drinking water and his talk with Midnight-Sensei. He must have been really tired for everything to mix up in his brain like that.
...maybe he should go check on Shouto and call his mom today. Yeah, he’ll do that.
With a smile, Izuku walked out of his room, ignoring the hushed whispers, that sounded a lot like the past users, in his mind telling him something’s wrong.