Poison From The Same Vine

9 | Pain

- IZUKU -

My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the darkness. This was nostalgic: the darkness. It was ordinary back at the lab to just sit in the darkness, guessing what was going to happen next.

It was horrible like that. I didn't even know I had those quirks until the DNA test. It was scary to think about how I had those quirks all that time without even knowing. Though, a tear rolled down my cheek as I remembered that those quirks, these wings, they would be a permanent reminder of what I went through.

I looked around, trying to distinguish anything in the unsettling darkness of the room. A small lamp lay in the corner of the room, the light flickering like the bulb was about to go out any second now.

I noticed Kacchan wasn't with me.

He was always with me.

My breathing quickened, the fear of being alone sinking in. The only times I'd truly be alone like this was in the lab. Had Overhaul taken me back? Did he put me in a different room?

"I see you're awake."

I looked up, seeing a man wearing all black. His hood was up, but I could still see curls of blue hair peeking under the material. The room was much brighter now as a result of the hallway light seeping through.

"Don't look so alarmed, Five." he mocked.

I shuddered, not having heard that name for a few nights. The way he said it sounded so taunting, just like Overhaul.

My breathing picked up again. Was Overhaul here? If I was with the supposed villains Eraserhead told me about, would Chisaki be with them? Would I have to go through it again?

"Wh-Why am I here?" I asked, voice hoarse. I wondered how long I'd been asleep for that to happen. Just how long had I been away from Kacchan?

He leaned against the doorframe, watching my every move. "You're essential to our plans." he started. He brushed a piece of loose hair out of his face. "Your quirks are useful and you seem to be valuable to U.A. Taking you would be their downfall."

I would be their downfall? But I've only known them for two days.

"H-How would I cause their d-downfall?"

He smirked. "They care about you. Too much. Especially Eraserhead." He broke out into laughter, the sound terrifying. "With you gone, Eraserhead and his class of delinquents would fall." He looked at me with a smile, his red eyes filled with a type of craze I hadn't seen before. "Now, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

My eyes widened. I felt tears brimming at the thought of being my classmates' demise. If I had known that before, I would have convinced Kacchan to try and escape that school. After all they've done for us, the last thing I would've wanted was to cause their downfall.

"I can see you're displeased at the idea," he commented. "No matter. What we're going to do to you will be arguably worse anyways."

A tear rolled down my cheek. "Wh-What..?"

He just smiled. His eyes bore into mine, that same craze visible in his gaze. I shrunk under his expression, the look too similar to Overhaul's. He wore that same expression whenever one of the 'sessions' started, crazed to see what would happen to his dearest subjects.

Was that going to happen again?

I teared up at the thought, hoping - just hoping - that I wouldn't have to go through that pain again. But with Overhaul, with the League of Villains, there was no telling what would happen.

I woke up, a searing pain on my wrist.

The lamp wasn't on right now, so I resorted to tracing the area. It stung when I touched it, the skin slightly raised in certain places. My fingers traced the raised areas, making out the numbers etched there (thanks to Nezu's teaching).

005.

A choked sob left my mouth, a single tear rolling down my cheek. Overhaul, the League of Villains, had somehow etched my subject number into my wrist.

I almost forgot about the pain of the area as my mind ran, every thought leading to another. It hurt, the thought that I was now branded with a reminder of that experience.

And now the class would know too. That I was an experiment, a blank canvas for Kai Chisaki.

That I was a weak subject.

"As delightful as it is to see you in such a tearful state, I unfortunately still have some business with you."

I looked up, the lamp now turned on, to see Kai Chisaki.

He stood there in all his glory, green coat cleaned and mask firmly on. He was adjusting his gloves, staring at me as he did so. His golden eyes seemed more intimidating, making me shrink under his gaze.

"Wh-What do you m-mean, 'business'?" I asked, voice wavering.

He finished adjusting his gloves, pulling down his sleeves as he spoke. "I mean, you are essential to my plans. My project. You do remember what my project is, Five?" I shook my head. "Hm, no matter. I'll remind you." He took a small box out of his pocket before opening it and taking out a red bullet. "You and that girl were a part of a project to rid this world of quirks. With Eri's 'rewind' quirk and your original quirklessness, you two were the perfect ingredients to make a bullet that would alter a person's DNA, ridding them of their quirks. Of course, with how young you were, you were also the perfect subject for my quirk experiments."

My eyes widened. He still wanted me to make those destructive bullets. He still wanted me to be a lab rat. He still wanted to use me.

"Don't look so surprised, Five." he said. "I still have some experiments I need to test on you." A tear rolled down my cheek. "Don't worry, they're much worse than the previous ones."

With that, he left the room, locking the door behind himself.

I silently cried, my head dropping to look at the ground. I saw the mark again, the number five etched onto the skin in black ink, the area a worrying shade of red. It looked like one of those tattoo things Eraserhead talked about.

The lamp was turned off, the darkness returning. With nothing to do, I let my head roll back, the drowsiness visiting me once more.

Maybe falling asleep wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Pain.

Heat.

Pounding.

My eyes fluttered open, the darkness becoming comforting. My head was pounding, a searing pain making itself known. I guessed they did something to my head, probably a new experiment or something.

I was delirious. That much was obvious.

Everything seems blurry.

Everything feels hot.

Everything hurts.

I want to go home.