Nyctophilia (KamiDeku)

Chapter 11

All men are not created equal.

Izuku tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep now.

He laid there, his mind an inescapable tornado of memories and failures. 

He squeezed his eyes shut to keep the tears inside. 

He felt uneasy, empty, like something very important was missing.

Izuku looked up past the covers at the sound of his door opening. 

He quickly turned away from the door and evened his breathing. He didn't have to look to know who it was: Kaminari. 

It had been a common occurrence for him to spend his restless nights with Izuku.

There was the soft sound of slippers shuffling on the wooden floor.

Izuku closed his eyes shut. 

The bed shifted under the weight of Kaminari as he cautiously crawled into the bed next to him.

Their breaths mingled together in the silent night.

Kaminari looked over at the stiff form of Izuku. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see better.

"You awake?" His voice was raspy, Izuku wondered if he had been crying.

There was no reply.

After a few minutes Kaminari's breathing evened out and Izuku snuck a glance at him to see he was fast asleep with a blanket draped around his limbs. The top of a yellow, foreign stuffed animal could be seen peeking out from under the embrace of his slender arms.

With a smile, Izuku turned away and closed his eyes.

Deku. That must be what you call a helpless loser who's completely useless.

You really can't do anything right, can you?

Come on out, nerd!

Friends? We can never be friends.

You're a total failure Izuku!

So, can you be a hero? Not without a quirk.

Make sure your dreams are attainable. Realistic. Understand?

He finally gets it! He'll never be a hero.

Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.

Someone like you should never be allowed to enroll in this school.

You'd never be able to hang with the best of the best! You'd die in the exams!

No matter what your intentions are, you would be nothing more than a liability.

I'm sorry Midoriya...

You're not special! That's just something your mother tells you to make you feel better about yourself because you came out quirkless!

Deku.

"Izu!"

Izuku's eyes shot open. 

He looked around wildly and met Kaminari's face. In the near darkness he was staring at him with worry and shock.

Izuku inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"Sorry." He said quietly, the taste of salt on his lips was proof he had been crying.