|| Things Will Change ||

Chapter Twenty-Six

Everything hurt.

Everything......

Denki couldn't help the random, almost fevered thoughts spinning like a whirlwhind in his skull. Everything was too much, not enough, and he didn't want to think anymore. He didn't want to exist. Just... just let this end.

Ow...

He felt a strange sensation somewhere, then realized that yes, he did in fact have hands. And they were brushing against a blanket.

He cracked his eyes open, immediately closing them and wincing from how bright it was, everything fading back.

His stomach hurt so bad.. he didn't even know how to describe it, it was just...

He lifted a hand up, pressing the back of his hand to his face to cover his eyes, groaning softly. He heard some rustling noises from beside him, trying his hardest to ignore it.

Denki slowly tried to sit up and the pain in his stomach spiked, making him gasp, his hand zooming down to cradle his abdomen.

He blinked, looking around the room slowly. He was in a hospital, everything white and pristine and blinding. Aizawa was a stark contrast with his dark clothes- and his mood.

"Oh, you're awake," Aizawa hummed. "How're you feeling, Problem Child #3?"

Denki blinked again in surprise. Number 3?

He shrugged, trying to stir up some noise from his dry and dead vocal chords, only a small exhale coming up, and some pain from his throat.

He pushed through it, his voice raspy and pain-filled.

"Mmm.. not great," he admitted. "What happened.." he paused, trying to clear his throat- which only made it hurt worse.  "What happened to my stomach..?"

Aizawa inhaled sharply, and Denki winced. This wasn't going to be good.

"I'm going to have to start a bit before that to explain all of this," Aizawa said. Denki's heart sank- this must be really bad, huh? What had Denki done? Had he messed up? He'd be better-!

Aizawa seemed to notice Denki's growing panic, because he added, "None of this is your fault. Now, are you ready for me to start?"

Denki gulped, trying to eradicate the dry feeling in his throat, and nodded slowly. He picked at his hands, staring right at Aizawa, who started to speak.

"When you were locked in the basement, your parents tried to poison you," Aizawa started. Denki tried to protest but found the words wouldn't come out. "I know that might be hard to swallow- ah, pardon the pun, it was unintended- but it's true. We found traces of rat poison in the food that was left. Large, concentrated amounts of it. It's good that you left the rest of the food for the rats, because if you hadn't, you'd be dead right now.

"However," Aizawa added, "due to the poison in your system, the doctors had to pump your stomach. We had to list the cause for you being in here and now the legal system is involved. Your parents have been arrested."

Denki felt his heart practically stop, his pupils narrowing. The only people who cared about him..? Arrested? For-

"For what?" he heard himself say, his voice trembling a bit. God, he sounded so.... pathetic.

Aizawa paused for a moment, to take a breath, probably trying to stay calm.

For Denki. Denki, who was a waste of space. Denki, who was fragile. He almost wanted to throw up again from how much of a sorry excuse he was.

"...Your parents were arrested for child abuse and neglect, child endangerment, attempted murder, resisting arrest, and lying to authorities. Because of the multiple kinds of abuse, their sentences will likely be extended- emotional abuse and physical abuse to some extent."

The world whirled around him, just like the thoughts in his head.

Child abuse? Neglect? No, no, no they were the ones that loved him- the only ones that loved him- he was just a waste of space, lazy, like they said, he needed them, he was too weak and stupid to care for himself, too- too-

Emotional abuse.

It hit him like a freight train as his world came shattering down around him.

Not neglect!! They never neglected him! Keeping him in the basement was his own fault, his own mistakes, he had to earn back trust. He didn't deserve food, he didn't-

Neglect.

Denki felt like screaming, screaming out all the pain that flared up inside him like small suns, barely able to process the fact that tears were now rolling down his face.

They never hit him, they- his dad had hit him a few times.

But his mom-

The punishments.

Physical abuse.

What did Aizawa mean, attempted-

Rat poison.

Child endange-

Sticking him in a room of mold and rats and disease.

No.

NO.

His childhood, his mentality, his life was crashing down around him, crumpling like a tin can that someone had stomped on, folding like aluminum foil under any pressure. Shattering like an ice pick had hit glass.

Please, no..

He had nothing left.

His childhood

his family

his life

that was all he'd had.

Please, he needed to keep it.

Yet as the moment stretched on he found more and more of his life crumbling around his ears and he knew he couldn't ignore it.

Denki curled up into a small ball, grabbing at his hair, burying his face in his knees. He was sobbing now, his mouth open- yet hidden- in a silent scream of agony.

After a minute, he realized that Aizawa was hugging him, and he just let it happen.

Nobody cared.

Nobody loved him.

Were those thoughts even his? Or were they what his parents had said?

No, no he was wrong, of course nobody could ever care about a failure like him.

What if he wasn't-?

Oh god.

Oh god..

Denki didn't care as a nurse rushed in and injected something into his IV. After a few seconds, exhaustion hit like a brick, and all of his thoughts and worries melted away, and he met sleep with open arms.

Because sleep was the only thing that would have him.

A/N: AND SO IT BEGINS!! He's starting to realize. He'll have plenty of ups and downs, don't worry, you'll still get angst- but we are officially in the darkest times. Have fun!!

P.S. One thing they don't tell you about healing from abuse is the absurd amount of confusion you get, so get ready to experience a lot of that, lol.