Poison From The Same Vine

3 | A Familiar Aura

- IZUKU -

I sit on the cold floor, unable to lean against the wall. The last time I'd tried, it felt like someone was pushing down on my wings, and trust me: that hurts. I lay down on my side, yearning for sleep. Although I'd been asleep often these past few days, I still felt restless.

I stare at the door, waiting for Kacchan to walk through. He wasn't here when I'd woken up, so I assumed Overhaul had taken him for experimentation again like he always does.

Though, our 'schedules' had been weird lately. He had been taking me more often and Kacchan less. Before, it was the other way round. It was as if he knew something was going to disrupt his plans.

I shook the thought away, not wanting to feel more uneasy than I already do.

Though, I hoped Kacchan was okay. Although I was clueless when it came to reading a room, even I could notice the thick tension that stood between Overhaul and Kacchan as we grew older. If Overhaul were to get annoyed.. no! I shouldn't think about that. Kacchan will be fine.

I closed my eyes, feeling that familiar drowsiness. Wrapping my arms around myself, I hoped for Kacchan to return soon.

My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the usual darkness we were used to. Though, something was different. I was.. resting on.. something.

Was it a pillow?

I sat up, looking to the side to see the familiar blonde. Kacchan. He was asleep against the wall, hair messed up as I recognized what seemed to be a faint scar over his eye, going from his eyebrow to the top of his cheek.

When had he gotten that?

Why didn't I notice?

I shuffled over towards him again, discretely interlocking my hand with his. I wanted to know what they had done to him.

Did they make him fight something?

Did they fight him?

Did they give him another quirk?

Did they—

"Zuku," I was brought out of my thoughts as someone squeezed my hand. "You okay?"

I nodded, eyes filling with worry. "Are.. are you okay?"

He ruffled my hair with his other hand. "You know I'm always fine. Those experiments are nothing to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm."

"Can.." I hesitated, "can I hug you?"

He smiled softly. "You don't have to ask, Zuku."

He sat on his knees, wrapping his arms around me tightly. The feeling was warm.. nice.. comforting. I leaned into the touch, resting my head on his shoulder. He was warm like a nice fluffy blanket, the familiar touch calming my nerves.

I wished we could stay like this all the time, without all the experiments and overall pain.

But I knew we couldn't.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asked after a while, breaking my train of thought.

"Mhm.." I told him.

Though, that wasn't the full truth.

Lately, I've been having nightmares. Bad nightmares. Kacchan and Eri in trouble. Kacchan and Eri leaving me. The heroes rescuing Kacchan and Eri but leaving me behind. It would change over and over again, showing me every hypothetical situation that either didn't include me or told me it was my fault everything happened.

But, technically, that wouldn't be so bad. If the heroes rescued Kacchan and Eri, then they would save them from the pain. If I was left behind--

"Zuku?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you're okay? You keep zoning out." He asked, taking one hand to caress my hair.

I nodded, closing my eyes as a smile spread across my face.

"Night, Zuku." was all I heard before I slipped into the dark unknown.

I opened my eyes slowly, closing them almost immediately due to how bright it was.

Wait.. bright?

Did Overhaul get us new lighting?

Or was I moved to a different room?

I opened my eyes again, looking around. I was sitting under a tree, as far as I could tell. Children's laughter could be heard from something in front of me, the sounds distant.

It was like a bunch of coloured metal put together, yet children were playing and having fun on it. I didn't know how. Metal was usually cold and was used for bad things like experiments, that table coming to mind almost immediately.

I noticed another contraption, which seemed to be a metal seat with string attached to it. They were swinging on it, back and forth, laughing and smiling.

I stood up shakily, walking closer towards the metal playing area, curious. There were a lot of children, all playing games that reminded me of the games Kacchan and I would play in the cell when we were younger to keep us preoccupied.

I leaned on a tree for support, having not walked around like this for a few days. It was safer to stay on the ground than walk around in a dark room, anyways, as one wrong turn could make you trip over or crash into the wall.

I could see a few children in front of me. One child was standing in front of another, shouting at a group of children. He had a familiar aura, the blonde hair somehow nostalgic. The child behind him seemed scared, his green hair all messed up as cuts littered his skin, the ones on his face and arms the most noticeable. Tears slid down the greenette's face as the conversation went on.

"Leave Z-k- alone!" The blonde child yelled, arms spread wide as if he were a shield.

The name he yelled didn't seem to register properly, the name sounding all glitchy and broken up like static on a radio.

"What are you going to do about it, K-t-k-?" A child with red wings asked, smirking. I shuddered, the facial expression reminding me so much of Overhaul.

"I'll blow you up!" He exclaimed, sparks popping in his hand. I swear I could see orange light coming from his hand for a second. Was that his quirk?

The other children whispered something to the red-winged one, before running away to another area. The blonde one turned around, looking at the green boy's face. He held his hand, bringing him over to a more private area.

I followed them, curiosity taking me over. They sat down on what I assumed was sand. The blonde brought out a.. was that a first-aid kit? I recognised it as the same brand Overhaul's underlings usually had on hand in case things got bad. I watched from a nearby tree as he applied cream and bandages to the smaller boy's wounds.

"Are you hurt anywhere else, Z-k-?" he asked.

He shook his head. "Th-thanks, K-c-h-n.."

The blonde brought him into a hug, making the younger one cry. Was he happy? Was he sad? I couldn't really tell. I knew he felt comfortable with the blonde one though, so would that make it happy tears?

They separated. "Stay together, forever?"

"Always and forever, Z-k-."

"Hey, there's a room over here!"

"It's locked!"

"Hey, over here! We need backup!"

"Where's....."