Death Paradox 💥BAKUDEKU💥

Chapter 9

Part 1
The Fool

✧༺✦✮✦༻✧
Chapter 9

Izuku had run until his legs simply refused to carry him any further. By the time he finally came to a halt, lungs burning and muscles trembling from exhaustion, he was far enough away from U.A. that the alarms had become a distant memory. His body ached with the toll of his escape, but there was no time to rest. He needed to get far, far away before anyone caught up to him.

He found the nearest bus station, keeping his hood up and his face hidden as best he could while purchasing a ticket. It wasn't hard to blend in—just another tired kid, lost in the crowd. The bus ride itself took hours, the long stretch of road giving him too much time to think. His mind raced with questions, doubts, and what-ifs, but he pushed them aside. There was only one thing that mattered: getting to the Beast's Forest.

The destination felt both familiar and haunting. He and his classmates had been there before, for training with the Wild, Wild Pussycats. But this time, there would be no training, no guidance. This time, he was sneaking in under the cover of night, trying to avoid the very people who had once helped him.

Izuku couldn't risk being spotted by Ragdoll. Her Search Quirk would find him in an instant, and if she alerted the rest of the Pussycats, his entire plan would be over before it even began. He knew the route they'd taken back then, remembered the way through the dense trees, the hidden paths. He had to stay off the main trails, had to keep his presence a secret. The forest was vast, and if he was careful, he could stay hidden long enough to find what he was looking for.

Izuku stepped off the bus just shy of a mile from the entrance to the Beast's Forest. The stop was little more than a small clearing with a signpost, surrounded by trees that stretched endlessly into the horizon. The driver had barely looked at him as he disembarked, and Izuku was grateful for that. With his hood pulled low and his face obscured, he was just another traveler passing through.

The cool night air bit at his skin, but it kept him awake, alert. He had a long trek ahead of him. He glanced around cautiously, taking in his surroundings. The road behind him was empty, the shadows stretching far into the distance, but he didn't let himself relax just yet. He took a few slow, deliberate steps forward, then stopped, turning back to scan the area once more. No one was following him. For now, he was alone.

The route ahead was familiar, but not comforting. He had to trek back to the spot where he and his classmates had first been dropped off for training with the Pussycats.

He steeled himself and started toward the trees, keeping to the side of the road where the brush was thickest, just in case anyone happened to drive by.

As he neared the edge of the forest, the towering trees loomed over him like silent sentinels. The moonlight barely pierced through the thick canopy, casting long shadows on the forest floor. Every rustle of leaves, every distant animal call, made his heart pound faster, but he kept moving. There was no time to let fear settle in.

Before he entered the forest, Izuku stopped one last time. His eyes scanned the road behind him, the bus stop barely visible in the distance now. He stood still, listening for any sign of movement, any hint that someone might be trailing him. But the night was silent. No footsteps, no voices. He was alone. Satisfied, he took a deep breath and turned back toward the dense thicket.

Once inside the forest, the true challenge began. The path he remembered had long been overgrown with tangled roots and thick underbrush. Navigating it without being detected was going to be harder than he had anticipated, especially since he had to avoid the wild creatures that roamed the area. The last thing he needed was to stir up any of the beasts that called this place home. His movements were slow, deliberate, each step carefully placed to avoid snapping twigs or disturbing the underbrush.