Fragmented Shift

6

Izuku woke before the sun, fingers scrambling for his clothes before his eyes were fully open, throwing his pajamas somewhere in his room as he silently pulled on some jogging bottoms and a loose long sleeved shirt. 

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he yawned and stood, pausing at his bedroom door, ears stretching and twisting as they shifted into bat ears; they flicked and twitched, taking in the sounds of the apartment and beyond.

'It doesn't sound like she's awake,' he mused, twisting the door knob slowly, 'best to be quiet, just in case.'

Walking toe-heel, he made his way to the kitchen, silently grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter before creeping towards the door.

/Almost there./

That was a new development, ever since he came to the realisation that his mum was more than likely hurting him, the voices became louder, commenting on his day to day activities or sometimes just for conversation. (Yes, he knew it wasn't healthy to talk to voices inside his head, but he would take whatever company he could get). Not all the voices he heard were nice though.

*I don't see the point in exercising, it's not like you'll ever pass the exam in the first place Deku!*

Brushing off the following wave of depression that turned his bones to lead and brought tears to his eyes with practiced ease, Izuku pushed himself to stand straight, shaking hands clenched into fists. He would get into U.A, he will prove everyone wrong and, if the nicer voice was to be believed, he might even find help at U.A, someone who could tell him what was going on with the blackouts and missing time. He would not give up just because a voice in his head spewed vitriol he had heard his entire life!

Speaking of vitriol he had heard his entire life, he had been jogging every morning for the past week and during every single one Kacchan would show up at some point looking more angry than the day before. Izuku was sure the other boy was going to blow a fuse soon and he wasn't too sure what to do about it, on one hand he could /fight back, you don't need to put up with it anymore/, but on the other, *Kacchan is stronger than you, what would it achieve to fight back when you're just gonna get your face beat in Deku?* 

Shaking his head roughly, Izuku slapped himself on both cheeks and took a deep breath. 

'Just focus on the run, Kacchan isn't important right now!' 

His feet hit the ground in steady motions, calves and thighs burning pleasantly as he settled at a pace that lulled him into a trance, his lungs pulling steadily at the chilly pre-dawn air.

This was nice, his mind was quiet, the streets were quiet, the light a soft grey as he stared down the empty streets. It was his favorite time to run-

"Oi, Deku!"

'Damn it!'

 
Sliding to a stop, Izuku peered over his shoulder, a green eye watching cautiously as the explosive blonde skid beside him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Eh, Deku?" For a moment all he could do was blink in disbelief.

"Running?" Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say. Izuku would've slapped himself in the face if he could but he was a little distracted by the fist wrapping into the front of his shirt, pulling him uncomfortably close to the blonde's angry face.

"You trying to be funny, Deku?" He spat, free hand raised to shoulder height, popping explosions loud in the green haired boy's ears.

"N-n-no! I'm n-not, K-kac-chan! I swear!" It took all of his resolve to not start flailing his arms about like he usually did, but he managed to stay still and keep eye contact with the narrowed red ones centimeters from his own.

"Tch," the blonde leant back, sneer plastered on his face, "The fuck happened to your face, shitty Deku? Think you can keep up with your betters now, huh? Bet you got your ass kicked, useless nerd!"
 

He didn't know what happened, one minute he was getting insulted, the next, Kacchan was face down on the floor, hands behind his back facing away from both of them, with Izuku pinning him down with a knee on his lower back.

"I'm not useless kacchan," His voice sneered, out of his control, "You better remember that when I make it into U.A, got it?" The blonde snarled in reply, wiggling fiercely to try and loosen his hold. 

Izuku was mortified as he felt his mouth twist into a Kacchan-worthy sneer. What was happening? Why couldn't he stop himself? He watched in horror as his body leant forwards until his mouth was right by the blonde's ear.

"As for what happened to my face? I don't think you deserve to know that, do you, ka~cchan." The whisper seemed to make the other boy freeze, Izuku could see the hair raising on the back of his neck, then suddenly he was back in control, his limbs trembling as he scrambled backwards away from the prone boy.

"W-what? I-I'm so s-sorry Kacchan! I d-didn't-, I don't know what that was! I-"

"Shut up!" Red eyes glared out from a snarling face, "Stop fucking whining you useless nerd and get out of my way!" Izuku flinched, arms raising protectively around his head as Kacchan leapt to his feet, knowing that the other wouldn't let his behaviour slide even if he himself had been surprised, this was- huh?

To the green haired boy's astonishment, he wasn't being beaten or blown up, Kacchan was just…walking away? Well, more like speed walking, but he hadn't laid a finger on him! 

Eh?

Blinking dumbly, Izuku slowly stood and started a slow walk home. He didn't want to run any more today, he had much too much to think about.

'Not that I'm not grateful, but why didn't he attack me? He always attacks me, and what the heck was that earlier? I couldn't control what my body was doing!'

His mind continued to race with unanswered questions as he ambled home, focusing enough to escape to his bedroom unnoticed before he was consumed by them again.

'What is happening to me?'