A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 18: Pocketed Respite

Izuku's eyes opened wide, sunlight glaring at him as it filtered through the blinds. He yawned; arms stretched above his head as he tried to let the last vestiges of his drowsiness fade into the void. Tasting the air, contaminated as it was compared to the fresh wind in the Lands Between, Izuku slowly got up from the soft, cushioned mattress, something he had missed using whenever he went to sleep.

Fitting into his fuzzy slippers, courtesy of Nezu populating his temporary lodging with a bunch of living necessities such as clean clothes, footwear, and food aplenty, Izuku groggily strode out of the room and into the bathroom just across the hallway.

When was the last time he had a good night's rest ever since he got thrown into the Lands Between? Well, there was the time he had to sleep in the Roundtable Hold, but there were no mattresses, and he wasn't too keen on sleeping on Fia's bed with her hogging the sheets.

Plus, she just creeped him out, period...

Twisting open the door, Izuku headed inside the bathroom and made a beeline straight for the sink. Opening the valve, a rush of water escaped the faucet and Izuku was all too eager to scoop the water in his hands before splashing it across his face, the cold liquid sending shivers down his system.

And if some of it went down his throat, even better. He was sick of drinking from lakes with who knows what living within.

His lethargy a semblance of the past, Izuku stripped down to his birthday suit before heading into the shower to freshen himself up. He didn't think soap would be one of the things he would miss of the modern world, but going without the damn thing for months made him cherish the utilities a modern world has over those stuck in the medieval period.

Plus, toilets. He hated wiping his ass with leaves. It was prickly, and he needed to suffer just to find a smooth leaf, but even then, there was still a hint of prickliness to the thing.

A few minutes in the shower while scrubbing himself down was enough to lift his spirits. He felt clean, skin as smooth as silk, something he would never take for granted again. Wading through lakes and swamps does things to a person.

Shutting the valve close, Izuku wiped himself down with a smile on his face. Grabbing the clothes neatly folded in one of cubbies, he dressed himself up, lips formed into a thin line as he spied the distasteful print in the front.

It had the face of Nezu smiling with human-like lips and teeth, monochrome in color and creepy as the Cemetery Shade. He didn't know whether this was Nezu's inexplicable sense of humor or a message, but the cotton was enough to stay his hand.

It was just that comfortable.

The pants, however, were a bit too stiff for his liking. They were kilometers better than those found in the Lands Between, but the jeans were just a bit too tight for him.

Exiting the bathroom, he then headed for the kitchen to make himself something to eat. Now the processed food in the fridge was a tad unhealthy, but screw healthiness. He died way too many times to care about his health anyway, and he wanted some good food like yesterday damnit.

Opening the fridge, the cool air escaped out into the room. The breeze was soothing, bringing another smile on Izuku's lips. Always being stuffed in his armor was hell for his temperature, so being able to feel the cool breeze without any kind of danger lurking nearby was a godsend.

He frowned. There was a bunch of vegetables, some meat in the freezer, pitchers of water, and fruits. And with him being rusty on the stove, he refused to burn the damn house down. Just because he knows how to roast over an open fire doesn't mean he cannot burn down a kitchen.