pandora's box [bakudeku/tododeku] [pt.1 of where's my love fic series]

still with you

summary: new revelations of katsuki's quirk are revealed. inko comes back for the time being, giving izuku a break from his father's training.

notes: this chapter's song: "still with you" by jungkook of bts.

warnings: nightmare, child abuse, neglect, implied panic attack.

1:00 a.m.

hot.

that's the first thing izuku feels when he comes to. he feels the droplets of sweat start to form on his forehead under his curls and as he touches his neck, he's met with stickiness. why am i so sweaty?

the boy frowns as he realizes he's back in the dark room again. this time, it's a bit different. a smaller, black room with no doors or hallways in sight. one side of the squared room is more illuminated than the other, confusing izuku even more.

i remember falling asleep, izuku thinks as he gets up from his sitting position. he wipes his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, not wanting the sweat to get into his eyes. izuku starts walking to the darker side of the room, curious to see if that side is cooler than his side.

a quiet whimper makes izuku freeze in his steps, making his eyes widen with surprise and fear. he quickly glances around the room, searching for the source of the whimper.

another sound echoes through the black room, but this one makes izuku frown with concern. he can hear how desperate it sounds, almost as if it is asking for help. whatever it is...it sounds in pain.

"hello? is anyone there?" izuku asks, ignoring the growing sinking feeling in the pits of his stomach. "do you need help? where are you? i can't really see in here."

izuku jumps when the darker side of the room lights up, almost as if on command. he looks up but is met with nothing but a black ceiling. sighing, he looks back down and accidentally bites down on his tongue when he spots a curled up body in the corner with their back facing izuku.

he quietly steps closer, observing the back of the person. from his position, the person seems to be wearing a black school uniform, with a white line on top of the black collar. they're not my age. older, i think. mari-chan's older sister has a uniform like this and she's in middle school. izuku's gaze travels up, meeting the back of their head. their hair is blonde and spiky, all too similar to another blonde izuku knows.

wait. izuku stops in place, feeling his heart start to race as he sees the person's shoulders shake, giving away their silent cries. no, it can't be.

it can't be kacchan.

izuku watches in horror as he notices dark green sludge starts to rise from the ground. do something! why? why can't i move? izuku's eyes fill with tears as he stands, paralyzed in fear. they're in trouble!

the sludge first locks onto the person's ankles and quickly climbs its way up, covering the person's entire body. izuku can only watch, too shocked to do anything. move! they need help!

the person suddenly turns around, their scared red eyes meeting izuku's shocked green ones. no. no no no no. izuku is faced with katsuki, but it's not his katsuki. at least, not yet. from what he can see (considering katsuki's body is covered by that weird sludge), this katsuki is older than the katsuki izuku knows. he takes in how bigger katsuki is, noticing how taller the boy is compared to izuku, even though katsuki is on his knees.