Gówno

12

Izuku knew that the likelihood of Katsuki responding soon was slim, given how late it was, so he opted to find a place to stay the night. He ended up in a small motel near the tavern; the covers were a bit dusty, but once he’d pulled back the comforter, it was tolerable. Unfortunately, sleep did not come easily.

Every time Izuku closed his eyes, it was like his mind just flooded with millions of what-if scenarios. He didn’t know where this path would lead him, or how things would play out once he got to Hell. There was a part of him that wondered if it might be best for him to just stay on the surface, give Katsuki the journal and let him handle it. But that would be dangerous. Although Acolytes weren’t involved in combat, that did not preclude them from traveling to the surface. There was a real possibility, albeit a slim one, that they could track Izuku down, and the probability of that happening only increased the longer he stayed there. Anyway you sliced it, the surface just wasn’t a very safe place to stay long term.

Of course, whether or not Hell would actually be safer was a whole other question. Sure, he might be safe from the Acolytes, but what of the other Demons? Izuku remembered what All Might had told him during their last meeting, about how difficult it was for Angels to arrange diplomatic meetings in Hell. Who knew how long it’d been since the last time an Angel had been allowed in? Sure, Izuku could get there—Katsuki had already offered—but what would happen once he arrived? How would people react to his presence? Would they distrust him? Is there a chance things could turn violent?

Izuku smacked himself. He understood that there was no use pondering that which was currently unknowable, but no matter how much he tried to clear his head, something always dragged him back. He just laid there, staring at the water-damaged ceiling of the abandoned motel room. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever sleep again.

He wasn’t sure how many hours passed, only that by the time he managed to drift off, the light from outside had begun to bleed into the dark room.

He woke to the sound of heavy boots hitting the floor, and sat up with a start.

“Couldn’t have waited ’til a reasonable hour to drop that bomb on me?”

The tension eased away once he saw him. Katsuki was standing in front of the window, which he’d evidently melted a hole into on the way in, and he looked almost as tired as Izuku felt.

“Kacchan.”

“Don’t ‘Kacchan’ me,” He grumbled, striding over to him. He leaned forward and flicked Izuku’s forehead with gloved hands. “Your little message made me choke on my fucking coffee, y’know. What’s with the sudden change of heart, huh?”

Izuku opened his mouth, and then the memories of the previous day all came rushing back to him. He felt a heavy weight sink into the pit of his stomach. For a while, he just sat there, his mouth hanging open. Katsuki’s brow wrinkled, and he moved a bit closer, looking Izuku up and down.

“Fuck, Deku.” He said, his tone softer. “You look like you haven’t slept in fuckin’ days. What’s goin’ on?”

He took a deep breath, sitting up properly. And to the best of his ability, he explained the situation to Katsuki.

When he finally got through the whole thing, Katsuki took a deep breath and exhaled, leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed.

“…Well, that’s certainly somethin’,” Katsuki muttered. “You got the journal with you, I assume.” Izuku nodded. “Can I see?”

Izuku gestured toward his bag. “It’s in there.”

He opened the rucksack up and pulled out the leather-bound notebook, took a seat on the edge of the bed and started to flip through it. Izuku watched his expression carefully as he read. There were times where Katsuki seemed completely unfazed, and others when he seemed somewhat surprised.