Reset and Rewind

Chapter 29 - Aftermath

"I'm here, where is he?" Katsuki asked as he burst into Eijirou's room. The redhead had texted him about what happened during the raid, about the fact Izuku had closed himself off completely. He wasn't talking, and if he did, it was short and mumbled. He didn't seem to be fully conscious, yet he was wide awake, like he'd gone into some kind of state of shock the moment the adrenaline faded from his body. No one was able to get through to him and it was scaring his friends. Katsuki hadn't tried yet, but only because he returned from his internship literal minutes ago.

"Over there," Eijirou said, eying the bundle of blankets on his bed. They still went ahead with their plans, even if Sir Nighteye was miraculously alive. There sat a tub of ice cream in front of Izuku, who'd been wrapped up in a Crimson Riot blanket as he blankly stared at Eijirou's laptop, which was playing the silly romcom they'd talked about earlier. Ochako sat next to him, having her own bubbly pink blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she took another spoon of her ice cream. She got up when Katsuki walked over, giving him the space to get closer to Izuku.

"Hey," he whispered, trying to get the green head's attention. "I heard what happened today."

No reaction.

"It's not your fault, okay? You didn't know that was going to happen," Katsuki continued. "Toga, she... She was reckless. She didn't take the consequences into account when she tried to interfere and steal those bullets."

Izuku remained motionless, making Katsuki sigh and look at the others.

"Has he really been like this the whole time?"

"He got silent on our way back to UA," Ochako confirmed, visibly concerned for the well-being of her friend. "We've already tried talking to him like you just did, but nothing seems to be working."

"I think Tenya was right, we should get Aizawa sensei," Eijirou mumbled. "He'll know what to do."

Katsuki huffed, untangling the blanket and rewrapping it around the both of them so he could cuddle up with his boyfriend. Izuku tensed up at the sudden contact, but he couldn't help but melt into Kacchan's warmth. His body temperature was higher than that of a normal person due to his quirk, which was weirdly comforting in a way.

"Have you tried to beat the answers out of him yet?"

"Katsuki!" Ochako gasped.

""What?!" Katsuki barked back. "It always works!"

Izuku snorted, making all heads turn towards him.

"See? The nerd agrees with me," Katsuki grinned, shifting his hold a little so he could place his head on Deku's shoulder. "I'm fucking serious, you know? Come on, tell me what's on your mind."

Tell him what's on his mind? Even if Izuku wanted to, he didn't know where to start... He'd been running countless simulations in his mind, trying to come up with ways how this could and would affect the future. Nothing will be the same, things will be different. They wouldn't be able to follow the chosen path even if they wanted to! And of course they weren't to blame for that, not entirely. Izuku wasn't stupid, he knew he couldn't control the actions of others, not fully, and he knew Himiko's death wasn't on him. Overhaul... Overhaul maybe, but not Himiko.

He hadn't warned her about possible consequences, about the risks of changing the future, but he doubted she'd listen to him even if he told her so there was no point in beating himself up about it. What happened, happened. And now he had to look at the future, at the disaster and chaos that awaited them. Because things changed. Things got altered, drastically so, and they'd swerved off the path they were supposed to follow. Everything they did from now on would be a step into the unknown and Izuku couldn't help but be afraid.