Wake Up To Reality

Chapter 13: Festival Jitters

3rd POV

Tensions were high in class 1-A's locker room, they were set to appear on the field any minute now, they could feel the vibrations from the crowd's roars as their rival class walked out, and they tried to not picture just how many people were watching based on the sound alone, it would only add to their shaky nerves after all. Some members of the class conversed in an attempt to calm their nerves, some opted to just stay silent, pondering what could be thrown at them in the coming events, but they would all be interrupted as the door to their locker room flew open, and as they turned and saw who opened the door, all their nerves vanished and were replaced by shock.

Class: Bakugou?!

Stood in front of them was a drained looking Katsuki, he was paler than they had ever seen him, and as he walked in he was followed quickly by Katsumi, whose concern was evident as she pleaded with him to listen to her.

Katsumi: You're not prepared to compete in the state you're in! Please, sit this one out! There will be other Festivals, you don't need to prove yourself right now!

Katsuki didn't even spare her a glance, he walked over to an unoccupied table and sat down, his back turned to his classmates and sister.

Kaminari: Well he seems cheery.

Kirishima: Cut him some slack, man.

Throwing her face into her hand to hide just how frustrated and upset she was, Katsumi didn't see who tapped her shoulder, but could tell immediately who it was.

Izumi: So... how long has he been awake?

Katsumi: Three days.

Izumi: Three days?! I've always known he was stubborn, but that's not nearly enough time to recover from a coma, even if it was only a week long!

Katsumi: That's... not why I'm saying he isn't fit to compete.

Izumi's eyebrow quirked up at this as Katsumi began explaining.

Katsumi: Katsuki is strong, unbearably so, even while he's a bit drained, he could still probably light up the majority of the competition, but from what me and mom have been seeing from him, he hasn't recovered mentally.

Izumi: Mentally? But he was in a coma, I get that a week passing by without you being awake for it could be shocking, but knowing Katsuki, he'd just brush it off and swear he'd get back at whoever put him in it.

Katsumi hesitated for a moment, but decided that, despite their differences ever since they were ten, Izumi was someone she could trust to confide in.

Katsumi: I think I know why. When we were fighting that masked villain, I looked into his eye and suddenly I...

Izumi: Suddenly you what?

Katsumi: I... saw so many horrifying things, things that seemed to be tailor-made to poke and prod at my fears, and if that wasn't enough, there was this haunting whistle that just kept on going on and on like a broken record. I was in there for a while, too scared to do anything but cower away and curl up, but when one of my... fears got too close for comfort, I threw an explosion at it, and almost immediately after that, I jolted up awake.

Izumi: 'So it was an illusion of sorts? Just how many quirks does that Madara guy have?'

Katsumi: Being in there was a nightmare, I felt like I was gonna go insane any minute, and knowing how long Katsuki was inside something similar to that, me and mom were sure to keep an eye on him. He didn't talk much and always seemed to be on guard, but he seemed vulnerable at the same time, it reminded me of seeing prey staying on guard to make sure they weren't captured by predators.