Goldberg

Chapter 51

≡Katsuki POV≡
◃Hitoshi's Room▸
Bruh
I can't stop.

I just can't stop looking out of these fucking windows.

The instant I look away, I feel the need to look back out. As if something is going to happen and I'll miss it.

I can't sleep at night. I need to keep looking out the window.

This really is just like the weekends, isn't it?

Even after he would text me on Saturday, tell me he's alive, I'd still watch. I'd watch and wait, just to make sure nothing else happens.

Now here I am. Doing it again.

Except before, it'd just be the 2 days, 3 nights, then I'd be picking him up to go to school, scanning his new injuries over.

Now, I've been sitting here for 5 days. He's still not back.

At this rate, I might end up going insane before the 7 full days are up.

It's around 2am right now. Denki is restlessly sleeping on Hitoshi's tired shoulder. He keeps nodding off but then waking up within about 10 minutes. Shoto looks like he's sleeping, but at every noise, he'll open his eyes and look around, as if thinking Izuku had snuck in and was trying to surprise us that he was back.

I am sitting on a window sill. Luckily for me, it's rather wide and comfortable. I've barely left this spot since we came back from his apartment.

"Tomorrow, 11:30pm, sharp!"

Everyone flinched at the sudden rushed voice.

I would just like to say that I was getting up and slipped a bit and that is why I fell out of the window. Not because my teacher swung right in front of the window and yelled out of nowhere.

"We finally got the go ahead. A party will be assembled and you can go."

"Fucking finally," I breathed from the floor with a smirk.

We're coming Izu, just hang in a little longer.

≡3rd Person POV≡
◃LoV Base▸

"No portal today?" Izuku quietly asks as he is sat down on a chair, left with no energy to do anything and almost completely covered in bandages.

"Appears not," Dabi whispered as he subtly patted the greenette's shoulder and walked to stand against the wall near Compress.

Then, the monitor was on.

"Thank you Dabi. Hello again, Midoriya. We figured that it'd be a good idea to change our... negotiation offers a bit again. We would prefer to get this on with rather quickly so, let's begin now, shall we?" All For One spoke through the TV as the door opened revealing a frowning Hisashi.

The mummified boy's eyes widened as he saw who was being dragged behind him.

"M-mom?" he whispered as he saw her struggling form.

Dabi's mouth dropped slightly as his eyes widened when he realized what was happening.

"It's like a family reunion!" Hisashi let out a laugh as he tossed the weak woman in front of him.

"I won't lie, although it was a shock to find out that she was sick, that won't stop us. Go ahead, Hisashi," the TV turned off.

"What are they doing?" Dabi whispered to Compress as he watched the family.

"I-I can't watch, excuse me," Compress walked out of the room in a rush, leaving Dabi without an answer.

"Z-zuzu?" Inko asked between bloody coughs as she looked at her bandaged son.

"Inko dear, it's been so long! Isn't this nice? A happy family reunion! Too bad I gotta cut it short!"

"NO!" Izuku screamed out as Hisashi's throat began to glow.

"PLEASE! STOP! DON'T!" His rough voice cracked as he begged. He stared frantically at the man in front of him with his eyes blown wide.

As the man's throat continued to glow brighter, the injured boy squirmed in his chair staring towards his coughing mother.

"MOM!" He called as she began to spit out more blood.

He tried to stand up, but merely fell forward off his chair onto the ground.

He tried inching closer, wiggling on the ground, ignoring the pain from his new and reopening injuries. His body was still cold and he could feel the poorly done stitches on his back pulling at his skin even more.

Tears began streaming down his face as he made his slow progress, too slow.

Inko held back her coughs for a moment as she looked at her struggling son for the last time.

In that moment, all time stopped for Izuku and everything faded away except his mother.

She had blood dribbling down her mouth and her breathing was uneven. She looked at him with a trembling lip as she closed her eyes, allowing the tears to spill over and gave him her best smile.

"I love you, Zuzu. I'm so proud to call you my son. I'm sorry."

"MOM!!" His cry rang out throughout the room as the other occupants were forced to look away. He reached his least injured arm out to his mother, but was just out of reach.

Hisahi opened his mouth as his eyes went wide and his shrill laugh clashed with his son's screams.

The fire poured out of his mouth like a waterfall as it completely covered his smiling wife.

The crackling of the flames and sizzle of skin mixed into the screams and laugh of the family.

Dabi choked on his bile as he tried holding his breath to not inhale the sickening smell of barbecue.

Izuku watched his mother thrash in the glowing flames with wide, tear filled eyes. His mouth hung open as his hand shook from where it was outstretched still, the bandages burning off and sizzling his own skin.

He couldn't look away as she stopped struggling and fell limp.

He couldn't look away as her one arm fell out of the blaze and revealed a boney, bloody, burnt twig in its place.

He couldn't look away as her silhouette slowly became smaller and began to crumble under the continuous flames.

He couldn't look away as her body was nothing but a pile of ash.

He couldn't look away when the flames stopped and there was nothing left.

He couldn't move as All For One ordered Dabi to bring him to his room again.

He couldn't hear anything as Dabi tried to console him.

He couldn't sleep when he was told to get rest and was left in his concrete room alone.

He couldn't feel his burnt hand that he hugged close to his chest.

He couldn't do anything.