Death Paradox 💥BAKUDEKU💥

Chapter 4

Part 1
The Fool

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Chapter 4

Izuku slowly set the notebook down on the edge of the bed, his hand lingering on the cover as if it held all the answers he couldn't find. His fingers twitched, wanting to open it, to flip through the pages and lose himself in the familiar scribbles of his thoughts and strategies, he pulled away though, running a hand through his hair. But what good would that do? What good would any of it do when he couldn't even figure out what to say to the person standing in front of him?

Katsuki leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his, foot tapped impatiently against the floor. His voice cut through the haze, sharp but not as biting as usual. "Spit it out, Deku."

Izuku flinched but he kept his eyes on the floor, unable to meet Katsuki's gaze. How was he supposed to explain this? How could he even begin to put into words the horror that waited not just Izuku but Katsuki too? His chest tightened, a heavy knot forming just beneath his ribs, constricting his breathing.

The notebook felt like it was burning a hole through the bed, all the secrets and hypotheses he'd scrawled inside now felt empty. Every word, every diagram, every desperate attempt to understand the impossible reality he'd found himself in—useless. It was all useless. For the last seven days he'd been useless.

Izuku's mind was a storm—thoughts crashing into each other, breaking apart, only to collide again. He couldn't focus on one thing for more than a second before another wave of panic rolled in, threatening to pull him under. His chest hurt, like a vice was clamped around his heart, squeezing tighter and tighter with each breath he tried to take. He didn't know how to say it. He didn't even know if he could say it. How do you tell someone they're doomed? And that this was all his damn fault.

Izuku's vision began to blur. He clenched fist fulls of his hair, nails digging into his scalp as he tried to keep himself together, but the emotion was too overwhelming, too suffocating. Stop, stop, stop, stop, don't cry.

"Dammit Dek—"

"I'm trying," Izuku whispered, his voice barely audible. He took a shaky breath, his shoulders trembling with the effort to hold it all in. "I'm trying, Kacchan, but I don't know how."

The harder he tried too, the more the pressure inside him grew, until it felt like he was going to explode. His lips wobbled, and his breath came out in ragged gasps. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the tears to stop, but it was no use. The dam broke, and before he could stop it, tears were streaming down his face.

"What the hell are you so scared of?" Katsuki asked gruffly, almost frustrated. "You already dumped that crazy 'other reality' crap on me. You think whatever else you've got to say is worse than that?"

Izuku let out a shaky breath, a hollow laugh escaping before he could stop it. Worse? Worse didn't even begin to cover it. His hands were trembling. He couldn't stop them from shaking, no matter how hard he tried.

He wanted to scream, to let out all the rage and despair that had been building inside him since the moment he'd woken up in this twisted reality. But all that came out was a choked sob, ragged and raw. The tears kept coming, faster and hotter, and Izuku felt like he was coming apart at the seams, trembling like a leaf caught in the middle of a storm.

Katsuki watched him for a moment, his expression hardening with each passing second. Then, with a frustrated growl, he stomped forward, his sneakers slamming against the floor, and grabbed Izuku by the shoulders. The sudden, rough contact jolted Izuku out of his spiral, and he blinked up at Katsuki, startled. Katsuki's face was inches from his own, "Stop being so damn pathetic and tell me, Deku!" Katsuki seethed, his grip on Izuku's shoulders almost painful. His breath was hot against Izuku's tear-streaked face. "For the love of All Might, Spit. It—"