Death Paradox 💥BAKUDEKU💥

Chapter 5

Part 1
The Fool

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Chapter 5

Izuku stirred from a deep sleep, the sound of a soft knocking dragging him from whatever dream he'd been lost in.

He groaned, the noise a distant, irritating intrusion into his otherwise peaceful morning. He rolled over, burying his face deeper into his pillow, but the sound persisted, faint but insistent. With a sigh, he cracked one eye open and squinted at the clock on his bedside table.

6:08 AM.

Too early. Way too early. He groaned again, louder this time, and squeezed his eyes shut, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his blankets, determined to ignore whoever was at the door. Maybe it was just one of the dorm's early risers, and they'd realize they had the wrong room and leave him alone.

But before Izuku could drift off again, the knocking returned—only this time, it wasn't knocking. It was a loud, relentless pounding like they were going to break the door down. He sat up with a start, heart racing as he struggled to make sense of what was happening.

"What the—?!" Izuku yelped as he scrambled out of bed, only to trip over the tangled mess of his blankets and tumble to the floor with a thud. He winced, rubbing at his elbow where it had banged against the hardwood.

The pounding on the door didn't stop. If anything, it was getting even more impatient, like whoever was on the other side had no intention of giving up until Izuku answered.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Izuku muttered, pushing himself to his feet.

Izuku, still half-asleep, stumbled toward the door. His thoughts were sluggish, and he was barely aware of the fact that he was shirtless, though he did take a moment to register that at least he had pants on. Small victories, he supposed, in the midst of being rudely yanked out of his first decent sleep in what felt like forever.

With a groggy sigh, Izuku unlocked the door and cracked it open, peeking out through the small gap. His vision was still a little blurry, but the person standing there, looking like a storm about to break, was Katsuki. His expression was a mixture of annoyance and barely restrained irritation, his eyes nearly narrowing into slits as he glared at Izuku.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Izuku just blinked up at him, still trying to process what was happening. Katsuki's eyes flicked downward briefly, and Izuku realized with a jolt of embarrassment that he was standing there, shirtless, and looking every bit as disheveled as he felt, he blushed.

Izuku rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to pull himself together. "Kacchan?" he mumbled, still half-asleep and struggling to catch up to Katsuki's usual attitude. "It's... it's six in the morning... what are you do—"

"What am I doing here?" Katsuki snapped, scowling. "You told me we were checking out that lead today. Remember, dumbass? Or did you conveniently forget everything we talked about yesterday?"

Izuku was about to complain, to say that it was way too early for this kind of intensity, but as he looked at Katsuki more closely, the words died on his lips. Katsuki might have been his usual fiery self, but there was something else there—something Izuku hadn't noticed at first in his half-asleep state.

Dark bags hung under Katsuki's eyes, the kind that suggested he hadn't slept much, if at all. Izuku's irritation ebbed away as realization dawned on him. Katsuki probably hadn't been able to sleep after the bombshell Izuku had dropped on him yesterday.

Izuku's heart clenched with guilt. He'd been so relieved to have someone to share the burden with that he hadn't considered how it might have affected Katsuki. Of course, Katsuki would be rattled—anyone would be after hearing something like that. And knowing Katsuki, he'd probably been stewing over it all night, trying to make sense of it in his own way.