"And Always, Sweet Dreams."

The Hanging Tree

A/N: This is the third book to the "I Love You." series! You should read them before you read this, because there are references to past events! Enjoy!

Todoroki's POV

A soft buzzing by my ear was what woke me up. At first, I could only acknowledge that I was warm and comfortable – something that doesn't come easy these days – before I heard a grumble from beside me, and Katsuki's spiky hair brushed my forehead.

Christmas was just over, and while new years was about to begin, we still had a few more days to go. Hence, I was confused as to why I would be receiving a phone call this late at night.

Beside me, a grumpy teen mumbled. "Shut that brain killing device up, Shouto, or I'm going to throw it out the window."

I sighed, mostly because Katsuki was the same old hothead, and because since I had just woken up moments before, my brain was still filled with the fogginess of blissful sleep. "Okay, sorry."

I sat up and rubbed my face with my hand while I grabbed my phone with the other, closing my eyes with a wince when the light emitting from the phone burned my eyes. Through the bleariness of sleep, I didn't check who the caller was before I answered it, and held it to my phone.

"Hello?" I answered, looking down at the bedsheets.

"Shouto!"

I looked up, alert instantly at the frantic voice on the other end of the line – Izuku's voice – and instantly shoved Katsuki's shoulder with as much force as I could provide. The older teen growled, as if he was a raging wolf, and sat up, returning the harsh shove with no hesitance. My fingers twitched at the violence, a distant part of me being transported to an ill time of the past, but before I could get consumed by the hollows of time, Izuku's voice erupted from the phone again.

"He found him, Shouto! Aizawa found the man!"

My eyes widened, and with my breath caught in my throat, I turned to Katsuki. He could hear everything Izuku was saying by leaning close to the phone, and I found him with a hard tilt in his eyebrows, and a firm expression. By my prolonged silence, the other teen glanced up at me, and upon seeing something in my expression that I wasn't too sure was there, he took the phone from me, and started speaking into it with a calm voice.

"Izuku, it's Kats – Kacchan," he said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "That's good news. When did Aizawa find him?"

There was a pause at the other end, and silence filled the room.

"He found him a few hours ago," the greenette began, nervous. "He found him hanging from a tree outside the UA dormitories."

At that, something snapped in me, and I couldn't help but shout out.

"What?!"

I was hit with a waterfall of emotions at once. The stress and pressure of the situation was there, lingering in the back of my mind and building up the hatred and anger in my throat, all while a cool stone of satisfaction sat in the bottom of my stomach. I hated him, but he was dead. I wanted to kill him myself, but apparently, the man's soul had already been sealed. It didn't stop me from balling my fists together, though.

"There's more; Shouto, Honey, you have to listen to what I am going to tell you, okay?" Izuku soothed.

I nodded, biting my lip. I looked to Katsuki, who was slowly standing from the bed and slipping a hoodie on over his nightshirt, the phone discarded on the mattress. I made my way to stand up and also grabbed a random hoodie, which was probably Katsuki's, but froze the moment the fabric went over my head and Izuku continued.

"His body was burned from head to toe. And – And there was a note left beside the body," he paused, gathering himself. "The note was signed by your brother."

My head thrashed through the hoodie, and I scrambled to grab the phone again and speak into it, my heart rate increasing in a sense of dread and panic. "You mean Touya? Dabi? Was he –."

Just as I finished saying the known names of my lost brother, a loud knocking came from the window. It startled me and caused my legs to buckle, my knees landing on the floorboards harshly, and my breathing picked up as I saw a flash of blue come from the abyss outside. I stood, slowly, and held a hand up towards my adoptive brother, whose hands were sparking as a burnt caramel scent filled the room.

The blonde didn't move, watching me with his trustful gaze as I stepped towards the window, the phone still clenched in my shaking hands. It was raining outside – storming, actually – and as I placed my hand on the window to push it open, it instantly fogged over from my warm touch, and I had to take a moment to regain control over my fireside. I pressed my palm to the glass, and with a push, it flew open just as another flash of blue and white came from across the sky, this time being lightning.

I peered outside, ignoring Izuku's anxious voice as he asked if everything was alright, and scanned the front lawn of the Bakugou residence. Standing in the rain in the middle of the road, a shadowed figure dashed past, their face shrouded by the darkness. My heart quickened as I leaned closer on the window sill, my hands getting wet from the rain, when one of my hands nudged something, and there was a clutter from beside the window.

There, on a thin ledge, was a pill bottle and a note.

I was grateful for Katsuki's fast reflexes when he quickly reached out, and caught the phone that had slipped from my grasp. He looked up at me with a weird expression, obviously confused at the whole situation, and then I remembered: Katsuki wasn't told about my brother, or the little gifts he would leave me.

"What is it?" the older teen asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

But I did.

And when I reached out to take the pill bottle and note inside, the reality of everything crashed into me, and I backed away from the window, slamming it shut and turning back into the warm room. I discreetly slipped the bottle into my pocket, not wanting Katsuki to see it, and began to open the note, which was wet, and had ink smudges everywhere.

The words were clear, though.

I dealt with your enemy, little Shouto.

Sweet dreams.

Again, I was grateful for Katsuki's alertness, and was rescued from a harsh tumble onto the ground by the secureness of his arms as my vision suddenly dipped.

Before the pain and blackness of another blackout episode could render me useless, I grasped Katsuki's sleeve, and tugged his arm.

"We have to leave – now."

Hey guys! I'm back! 

So, this book is going to be heavily based on the past two books in the series, which are "I Love You." and "Forever.", and they can both be found on my profile. "I Love You." has just hit over 100k reads, so that's exciting! Please do go and support those books if you can!

I hope you enjoy this final hurrah! It's the best one yet!

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