Shattered Light: A Neglected Izuku Story

chapter 34: reveal

As I was walking back from the scene with the teachers, my mind racing with everything that had just unfolded, I suddenly felt a hand grab my wrist. Before I could react, I was pulled into a shadowy corner of the hallway. My instincts kicked in for a split second, but I quickly realized who it was.

"Nemuri?" I whispered, a little startled. I hadn’t expected her to corner me like this—especially not at school.

Izuku:I thought we made a promise

I began, glancing around nervously to make sure no one was nearby. The last thing we needed was for anyone to get the wrong idea.

Nemuri:And I'm breaking it

she cut me off, her voice soft but firm.

Nemuri:What happened out there, Izuku? You had another flashback, didn’t you?

I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words got caught in my throat. She knew me too well. So instead, I let out a heavy sigh, leaning my back against the cold wall and sliding down until I was sitting on the floor. I felt like the weight of my past was pressing me down more than usual.

"Yeah," I admitted quietly.

Izuku: I had another flashback.

Nemuri crouched down in front of me, her eyes filled with concern.

Nemuri:what triggered it?

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to push away the memory, but it was so vivid, so painful. It clawed at the edges of my mind, refusing to fade.

Izuku:Back at the facility

I began, my voice barely above a whisper

Izuku:to test the limits of my Regeneration and adaptation abilities... they exposed me to extreme levels of radiation.

I paused, feeling the old wounds reopen in my mind, the pain resurfacing.

Nemuri sat down next to me, her presence comforting in a way I couldn’t describe.

Izuku:They... used radiation to accelerate the breakdown of my entire body on a cellular level. Every cell in my body was being destroyed faster than I could regenerate. I could feel it. The pain was unimaginable. My body kept trying to adapt, to heal itself, but the radiation kept tearing me apart.

I clenched my fists, feeling my nails dig into my palms.

Izuku:It was... like my body was in a constant state of dying. And they kept pushing it further, just to see how much I could take. Just to see how far my regeneration could go.

I shuddered at the memory, my mind spiraling back to that cold, sterile room where they had treated me like an experiment, not a person. The constant agony, the feeling of losing myself piece by piece it had become a nightmare that haunted me even now.

Nemuri didn’t say anything for a moment, but I felt her hand on my shoulder, grounding me in the present.

Nemuri:You don’t have to go through this alone

she whispered softly.

Nemuri:You’re not there anymore, Izuku. You’re here, with people who care about you.

I wanted to believe her, but the memories clung to me like a weight that wouldn’t let go.

Then, without warning, she leaned in and kissed me. It was soft, gentle, and for a moment, it broke through the darkness that clouded my thoughts. I wanted to protest, to remind her that we were still in school, that this was a line we shouldn’t cross. But the words died on my lips, and I found myself melting into the kiss, if only for a brief moment of peace.