A stranger's eye

Chapter 29: the final test

Izuku didn't sleep that night. He couldn't go to sleep knowing he was going to kill the person he cared for most in the world.

Amari felt the uneasy breathing of Izuku in his arms.

"I'll be okay," he reassured knowing he wasn't going to sleep either.

"I hate myself that I have to do it," Izuku muttered.

"But I don't hate you. Like I told you and you told me, you didn't choose this life."

Izuku rolled himself over to look at Amari face to face.

"When I was little, I used to have dreams of what might my life be if I wasn't raised here."

"Do you remember what you thought it would be like?"

"I don't. All memories I have are of this place. The only taste of the outside world before you was Qi bringing in her cat."

"And how was that? Was it fluffy?"

"All I remember is that everyone learned that I am in fact allergic to cats."

"That sucks! Dogs are better than cats in my opinion. When I was a kid, before my parents died, we had this dog named beans. I wanted it to have a random name," he tried to bring up the mood.

Izuku chuckled, looking into Amari's hazelnut eyes.

"Aren't you scared about dying?" Izuku asked him, still worried about what was to come.

"I've had my run with death before. It didn't want me when my parents died. I didn't know then but now I know it was so I could meet you."

"So you aren't scared?"

"Izuku, if I had to pick how I am killed, I would pick someone I trust to deal the blow. It's not betrayal if the eyes say so."

"Eyes are windows to the soul. They show so much of who we are."

Amari let his hand comb through Izuku's curls. They were soft to the touch. If only his quirk was the stop time, then he would live in this moment forever.

"I want you to take my tag," Amari told him, letting his hand move from the green curls to the chain that sat around his neck.

"Why?" Izuku asked confused. Amari put it over Izuku's head, making sure to lift it off the pillow so it could slide over it.

"It'll be a reminder that I'm with you through all of this."

Izuku wrapped his head around the two tags, holding them close to him.

"I'll never take it off."

—-

If life was fair then time would be in their favor. Time would have moved slowly, making every second last for minutes.

Life, unfortunately wasn't. It wasn't fair when the hours seemed like seconds to Izuku and Amari.

The two spent all day just enjoying the other's presence. They wouldn't want to spend it any other way.

"I'm using a knife," Izuku spoke, letting Amari braid his hair.

"Why not your quirk?"

"My quirk will hurt you from the inside out. I don't want that for you."

"Thank you," Amari whispered. He wished he was able to say the truth. He wished he was able to tell him that he wouldn't be truly gone.

That purple haired guy flashed into his head. What if he searched for him when he was released? Maybe he could help?