Shattered minds (My hero academia)

Chapter 11

Four years ago.

White. The world was bathed in the purest white. Empty and untainted. A color he's come to despise with his entire being. The four walls surrounding him seemed to catch the light, as if amplifying and radiating it. It ate away at the shadows and the open space. Devouring the dark in its stifling intensity.

It made him feel like he was on display. Like an animal trapped between the concrete cages of a zoo. For he knew that one of the walls surely held a one way window. Like the raw edges of an open wound, it made him feel all the more exposed and scrutinized.

His body surely looked insignificantly small as he sat there, huddled in the corner of the empty white room. A spec of dirt amidst the unblemished surfaces that surrounded him, enclosing in on him.

His toes curled in on themselves as he tried to squeeze his legs tighter against his body. Trying to draw in any kind of warmth he could find. Making himself as small as possible.

His body shivered imperceptibly. As it was lacking the energy to tremble properly. His thin, ragged clothes were of no help against the icy air that wafted around him.

His mind felt slow, sluggish. His thoughts bled through like muddy oil. Untethered and discorded.

His stomach gnawed and growled. Desperate for any scrap of nourishment. His arms were lacks against it, for he had no strength left to hold onto his middle tightly. To try and alleviate the pressure he felt building up inside of him.

Letting his head fall against the cold marble, he tried in vain to fall asleep. Already burdened with the knowledge that his endeavor would be useless.

The Doctor had made the white room, with this very purpose in mind after all.

Their goal was to test how long Izuku could last without sleep and without food.

The lights radiated a special quirk amplified energy that made it impossible for a person to fall asleep.

The low temperature, sserved as an insurance against any extreme circumstance in which Izuku managed to fall asleep anyway.

The starvation, however, was nothing new. The doctor had no reservations against pushing the human body to its limits.

It was his sole purpose after all. Righti? To be their pet project. Their lab rat.

His eyes fluttered and sank, bbut never stayed closed. For he knew that the moment he would close them, the sprinkler system of the room would turn on.

His fingers and toes wouldn't' survived the ordeal. His blue-tinged lips were a testament to that.

His mind was so lost in its jumbled daze that he barely noticed the hushed footsteps that echoed right outside the door. If you could even call the small square trap opening, a door.

Metal creaked and a lock turned, finally catching his attention. Although the spots in his vision made it impossible to focus on its source right away.

The flap finally opened then. A small, moldy piece of bread falling through it before it was shut once again. Was this real? Was he finally breaking? Hallucinating it all?

Unnoticed, the green light of the camera above him had momentarily turned red.

A heavy arm, with trembling fingers reached for the bread. Hold as flimsy as that of a new born cat, he touched the commodity. Holding it as if it was the most rare, precious thing in the world.

"Eat it quickly!" A young voice whispered harshly, hurried and maybe a little panicked. Making him startle out of his slight huddle. He would've knocked his head against the wall if he had the energy to do so. "You have two minutes." With that the figure disappeared. Footsteps ringing in Izuku's ears as they ran off.

Blinking back tears, he practically inhaled the treat. Almost choking on it as he swallowed. His dry throat betraying him once again.

However, he couldn't help the small, teary smile that stretched his lips, if only slightly.

Warmth. He could feel it. Coming from his very heart.

He'd forgotten what it felt like.

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The clock hanging on the wall ticks on, slow, almost maddening. The quiet makes the imperceptible ticks and clicks echo throughout the empty space of the gym.

The room seems too vast and vacant then. Without realizing Shinsou's breathing mimics its rhythm. Heart beating almost in tandem with each minute.

Time seems to move unnaturally slow, or it certainly feels like it as they stand there. Shinsou's legs shuffle with excess nerves and unrestrained anxiousness, while his teacher leans against the opposite wall.

Aizawa's arms are crossed over his chest, back leaning against the structure. The hero is the picture perfect definition of unbothered. His face is lax, a mask of ample boredom as they wait.

The silence that hangs heavy between them is not entirely comfortable. It grates on Shinsou's nerve the longer the stand there.

"What are we waiting for, again?" He asks for what feels like the nineteenth time. Voice a lazy drawl despite his mounting frustration. The fingers drumming against his pant leg gives him away without much effort.

"Just give it a few minutes." It's only then that he notices where his teacher's eyes are trained. Dark, obsidian orbs, intense and expectant, watch the entrance of the gym with thinly veiled anticipation.

Was he waiting for someone? Was another teacher meant to meet them here?

"...Is something supposed to happen...?" His mouth betrays him. Snark has always been his go to coping mechanism.

"Hmm." Aizawa's eyes flit to the clock and back to the entrance. "Maybe I was wrong about this..." The hero straightens then, a new, more pronounced slump to his shoulders. "No use waiting mo-"

He's not done with his sentence before the gym doors slide open. The creak of the metal breaking the quiet and making both their heads turn.

"Nice of you to join us." Aizawa says as Akatani makes his way towards them.

The boy in question stops in from of them. Arms held firmly at his side with his legs parted. His posture if scrutinized, looks like a soldier on standby, waiting for orders.

"I take it you've decided to go through with training?" The teachers drawls when the boy remains silent. At his side, Shinsou is visibly bristling.

"Training! He wasn't even at the sports festival!" None of them pay him any mind.

"Yes sir, if the option is still viable. I would like to try."

"Very well, your probation starts now." After the boy's nod, the man turns to his other student. "You were given the chance because I saw your potential during the sports festival. Akatani is only being given the same opportunity to prove himself now." Spotting Shinsou's mouth opening to argue, the man continued. "No more questions, let's begin. I want you to run around the gym until you can't anymore. This is a test of your endurance."