The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

The Beauty of Stars We Can't See

Izuku couldn't sleep. His mind was buzzing with bees and his legs twitched with the need to move. The futon was perhaps too comfy; he was so used to sleeping on cement that resting on something more comfortable felt weird and forieng. He was tempted to crawl into Katsuki's bed and snuggle with him, but didn't think that was a good idea. He didn't want to anger his friend, and didn't think his bed would do anything to differ from his trouble of sleeping. He craved physical touch, but just couldn't bring himself to ask for it. He certainly didn't want to wake someone up for being just a little touch starved, either.

    He decided that going outside would be the best option of course. Izuku had so much energy because his body had become so accustomed to the constant need of adrenaline that it was sure to take a while to get his body to stop relying on his sympathetic system almost 24/7.

    With his mind made up, Izuku quietly crawled out of his futon and walked over to the window. Opening it just enough to slip though, he swiftly stepped onto the roof and closed the window. Without much worry, Izuku jumped off the roof and landed gracefully. His eyes adjusted well to the dark due to his sense quirk, so he didn't have any trouble with observing his surroundings.

    As he started to walk, he basked in the cool, early summer air. He took in his surroundings, drinking it in. Everything was so open and breathable, and it was amazing. Izuku was walking past Strawberry park- the one he got kidnapped at-, and strangely didn't feel scared at all. Instead, he felt complete. A swell of pride rose in his chest as he walked through the park, as if to announce to no one but himself that he had won. Hato wasn't trapped anymore.

    A bush of Hydrangeas caught his eyes as he was walking. An idea came to mind as he slowly reached over and picked the best ones he could find. By the time he was done picking the flowers, Izuku had a dozen or so in his small hands. Carefully, he carried them to the log Kacchan and his group of friends used to hang out in the last timeline. At one of the trees near the log, Izuku softly put down the flowers and began to pick small rocks. He placed the rocks so they surrounded the flowers next to the tree he had picked out. Next, Izuku found a pointed stick and carved words into the tree.

   "Tribute to the fallen fighters of the arena"

    By the time he was done, Izuku had a few splinters in his hands. Nonetheless, he was proud of himself and promised to come by and replace the flowers when needed.

    Izuku's last stop was Dagobah beach. He frowned at the pile of trash that had started to pile up. He would have to wait a few years before he could work on that if everything went according to plan. Sitting on the luscious grass and looking at the miles and miles of ocean, Izuku couldn't help but think of All Might.

He needed to talk to him.

The sky was dark and clear, but the stars were hardly twinkling. The beauty of them hidden behind the light pollution and the soon to be rising sun. The sky, the ocean, the neverending streams of what ifs made Izuku feel so small. A part of him wished for a moment and a moment only that he didn't have a crushing job to do. That he was a seven year old quirkless boy with a loving mother and no friends, but that was okay because he knew that he could still be a hero.

But he wasn't that boy anymore, and no matter how little he thought about it, it crushed him every time. He was a stranger to himself. The one person that will never leave.

Before he left, Izuku screamed. Covering his head with his hands and squishing it in between his knees. He screamed because he couldn't talk about it. Not yet, anyway. It was crushing his lungs and the only way to let it out was to rip his throat and let his scream fill the lonely void.