It's Not My Fault

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(Izuku Midoriya)

I opened my eyes, coughing. Water. I was soaking wet.

I sat up a little, waking up more. I was in the dark. The floor was black. There was nothing else but black. Light was coming from me and only me. I got up and looked around.

"Kacchan?" I called out.

I didn't get a response.

I panicked a bit. "Hello? Please someone! He's still-" I cut myself off, seeing my reflection against the black floor. There was more detail past my reflection. I looked closer. The lake. A couple of ambulances were pulled over on the road. A couple of people were performing CPR while EMS workers ran over with equipment.

I could see Mom trying to comfort Aunt Mitsuki, both very distressed and sobbing.

"Mom?" I asked. It just echoed around me. I shook my head and bit and brought my hands up, hitting the floor. "Mom! What's going on?" I yelled.

When no response came I continued hitting the floor until crack formed. I hit again, glass shattering around me. I fell onto another floor, flinching and pushing myself up, sobbing. "Mom...."

"We're sorry we called you back so early."  A woman's voice said.

I looked up, seeing a woman and man standing next to each other.

"Where am I? What happened to Kacchan? What- what was that reflection?" I asked.

The man looked at the woman, then to me. "You drowned."

"What about Kacchan?" I asked.

The woman gave me a sympathetic look.

I stared, my eyes watering up again. "This isn't right! You're lying!" I yelled.

"Calm down Izuku, it's not all bad." The woman said.

I got up, staring at her in disbelief. "Not that bad? He's dead! I'm... I...." I broke off into sobs, sinking back down to the floor.

The man and woman looked at each other for a few minutes, silent.

"Izuku," The man said, starting to walk over to me. "There is a way to fix some things for you."

"How can I fix any of this?" I mumbled. "I'm dead aren't I?"

The woman nodded. "You are. That aside, you can see Katsuki again."

"That's not the problem! Everyone! It's everyone that I won't be able to see anymore! Not just Katsuki!" I yelled.

"You'll make a decision then." The woman said.

The man nodded. "He was the reason you jumped in."

"But the current pulled you both under."

"You can come to the underworld to see him again."

"Or the overworld, where you'll be placed into another life."

I looked between the two as they spoke. "What?"

The woman looked at me. "If you're reborn, you won't have a quirk again. You'll forget the life you just lived and start over. A blank slate."

The man nodded. "If you choose the other, you'll remember this life and take a spot in the underworld."

"Can I see everyone again if I take a spot?" I asked.

They turned to each other for a few moments, talking without speaking and listening without hearing.

"Yes." They both said, turning to me.

I nodded. "I want to go to the underworld then."

The woman nodded and patted the man's shoulder, walking away, dimming as she left.

The man walked over. He pulled my shirt down a bit, exposing a bit of my chest. He tapped it, a small symbol being carved into my skin. I flinched a bit, holding it. "What was that...?"

"Your bind. You can't leave. You'll stay in the underworld until Vita and I decide otherwise. You're title is Somnum. You're in charge of dreams."

I looked up at him a bit. "I thought that dreams were taken care of by other things. Nothing to do with the underworld."

"You're mistaken then."

I slowly nodded. "Will everyone else have this bind too?"

The man shook his head. "They will leave when we decide but they will not have the bind. You are to hold that weight."

"Weight?" I asked.

He turned to me, lifting the black cloak he wore to show me a single red eye.

"Your weight will be that you killed them."

I stared. "Why...?"

"You wanted to see them again." He said, continuing to walk.

"What? No! That's not fair, I didn't want to kill anyone!" I panicked, trying to grab his cloak. My hands passed right through.

He stopped and looked at me. "You should have thought with that big brain of yours then."

"But-"

A large area formed around us, suddenly coming out of the ground. A circle of chairs, and two higher ones. Two pentacles lit up underneath us. Black light for him, and green for me.

"Somnum, you have been given your role. Perform it well." He said, starting to leave. He stopped and turned back to me. "You will refer to me as Mors, and the woman as Vita. If you disrespect this rule, you will be punished further."

And that was it. He left.

I stared, tears going down my face again.

"Where are we?" I heard behind me.

I looked over, seeing Kacchan.

He looked at me. "Hello, did you hear me Deku? Where are we? Where'd Mom and Aunt Inko go?"

I shook my head a bit, turning and running from him. I couldn't tell him anything. Not now. Not later. Not ever.

One by one, each of them showed up. We all had roles. Theirs were powerful and important ones. I had been given sleep. I finally got their sick joke after a long time.

I'm a prince of dreams. Sleeping. A fake death.

The longer time went by, the more I hated Vita and Mors. I hated having to meet with everyone. I was ready to leave.

One day, I could hear words being said. I stopped and moved to where it was. A girl was reciting a ritual on a paper. An offering of her hand. I thought for a moment, taking the paper from her. I got by her ear, telling her my title name.

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