Strings and Buttons

Chapter 13: The Mirror

His boots are sinking into the mud so much that when he lifts his foot to get himself free, a loud squelching echos through the empty space. Right when he's about to leave, there's a rustling sound behind him. He turns around, his nose red because of the cold.

"Deku, you really had my ass waiting out here for you like..."

He stops when he meets colored eyes, and he frowns. Shoto jumps onto the well, watching him.

"Cat. Where's Deku. He leave you or something."

Shoto meows, turning his head away from him.

"What, you aren't going to talk? You couldn't shut up the last time."

The cat seems annoyed, and it jumps off of the well, beginning to walk away, his tail swaying behind him. Katsuki watches it for a moment before turning away, annoyed. Deku was probably with Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Hizashi, or with the old man from upstairs. It's with that in mind that he finds himself sitting on the couch across from the two men, surrounded by cats.

"Have you guys seen Deku? He's not where we usually meet, and his dumb cat was alone."

Mr. Aizawa, now without his button eyes, pets the cat in his lap. Mr. Hizashi is busy getting more tea started, and he answers from the kitchen, his voice still loud despite being far.

"No! But he did come here the night before!"

Katsuki looks at Aizawa, who nods.

"He said his mom has been having nightmares lately, so he's probably just at home with her."

Mr. Hizashi comes back with tea, holding the cups carefully and setting them down on the table. He plops down onto the couch next to Aizawa.

"You know Ms. Midoriya is a witch, right? Shes the real deal too, she can see visions of the future. Scary stuff."

He takes a sip of the tea, feeling himself get warm after being in the cold for so long.

"Aren't you supposed to be home? Don't your parents get mad if you're out all day."

He says it as more of a statement, also taking a sip of his tea. Katsuki puts his cup back on the table, folding his arms and getting comfortable on the couch.

"They aren't home. My dad is doing some work and my mom said she was going grocery shopping, but i guess they're just taking their sweet time."

The two men glance at each other then look back at him.

"Listen problem child, we're going to be out all day tomorrow for a visit to my hometown, but call us if your parents still don't show up, ok? It's not like we can just leave you here all by yourself."

Katsuki finishes his tea and stands up, wrapping his orange scarf around his neck again.

"I'll be fine. Have fun on your trip, but if you hear from Deku, let me know."

He leaves, going back home. Still no sign of his parents. He waited, passing the time with studying, video games, reading, and watching T.V.

They would show up soon.

–

Izuku gets a bowl full of warm water, a rag in his hand. He glances at the clock on the wall and goes into the room. The door creaks when he opens it, the dim light coming from the humidifier the only thing keeping him from stumbling around. His mom is in bed, her whole body covered by big blankets except for her head.

Her long green hair is fanned around her in tangles, her eyes closed tight as she winces. He goes to her bedside and puts the bowl down on the small table, dipping the rag and squeezing. Her eyes open slightly, green meeting green.

"Izuku..."

Her voice comes out weak and he puts the warm rag on her forehead, looking at her with worry.

"Mom, the visions are getting worse, aren't they? Is there anything i can do to help?"

She closes her eyes again, slowly breathing in and out. She doesn't answer, and Izuku waits by her bed. Shoto watches from the window, standing outside on the roof. He catches the black runes painted in the walls and the bunches of herbs shoved into pillowcases or blankets.

The book flipped to a page with a drawing of a monster with a woman's face, its eyes covered by buttons, body long and pointed like an insect.

He leaves the window.

–

They still haven't come back, and it's been three days. He's starting to really lose his shit. He's called their phones fifty, no, thousands of times, only to get left on voicemail. All of their stuff is still here except for the things they took with them, so it's not like they ran away. It feels like they just disappeared off the face of the earth.

His dream is filled with white boney fingers and buttons getting sown into his eyes. He's awoken from his nightmare by cold paws batting at his face over and over. He opens his eyes, seeing Shoto's big ones.

"Leave me alone."

He says groggily, still hazy from sleep. The cat doesn't stop, continuing to swat at his face, his eyes blank. Katsuki gets sick of it pretty fast, and he sits up, moving the cat away with his hand.

"Stop that shit!"

Shoto isn't fazed, just continuing to stare at him. Katsuki looks back, putting his hand down and sighing.

"Why the hell are you here."

The cat doesn't answer, instead just jumping off of his bed and walking towards the door. He stops and turns to look back at Katsuki, who gets the message. He gets out of bed and follows him. Shoto walks across the house, clearly with a goal in mind.

It stopped only when they were at the end of the hall, right in front of the old mirror that had already been at the house when they moved in. It shined and reflected his tired and dejected eyes back at him.