Echo | BNHA x Deltarune/Undertale

Chapter 33: Lonely Places

When Katsuki opened the hospital room door, he saw that inside it was Deku; the nerd, the wimp, the legend. He was staring blankly out the window, hooked up to an IV that looked out of place on his wrist. At the sound of the door opening, he turned to look who had entered and, upon seeing Katsuki, immediately looked back to the window. Katsuki was silent for a moment. He turned to question his mother, but she had disappeared. I am going to throw an entire box of frozen waffles at her while she sleeps, he thought to himself, walking into the room. The red-eyed teen did not want to talk to Izuku, but he was, as always, curious. He would find out why the nerd was hospitalized, and then he would leave to find his mother.

"Why are you here?"

Katsuki startled.

"I should be asking you the same question."

"I asked first, you answer first."

"Fair. My mom dragged me here without telling me who we were visiting, and now she has apparently deserted me. I haven't left yet because I want to know why you're in a hospital bed. Your turn."

"Simple. I'm sick."

"I don't like simple."

"You know you do."

"Not with this sort of thing. Explain for real."

"...Fine." Izuku sighed, turning from the window to look Katsuki in the eye. He looked tired. "Jeez, how do you want me to explain it any more than that?" He continued, rubbing his head. "It pretty much sums it up. I'm sick."

"First tell me how long you've been in here."

"Uh... I've been awake for three days, I think, and I was under for about a week, so... ten days?"

Katsuki didn't respond for a moment, thinking of what to ask next.

"What sort of sick?" He decided to inquire.

"Fever and throwing up. Not very exciting."

"Why did they have to put you under for a week for a fever and puking?"

"Because I had been sick for a week before coming here and hadn't been able to sleep all week."

"Okay, that makes sense."

They stood in silence for a bit. It was tense, but not unbearable. Katsuki glanced out the window, where Izuku had started staring again, and saw a playground down on the ground. Empty and desolate, it looked like it had never been touched. Ever. It reminded him of when they were children; when they were actually friends.

"Hey, Deku."

"Not my name, jerkhole."

"Don't care. You remember when we were little kids?"

"Of course I do. Sometimes I wish I didn't, but of course I do."

"I remember the first time you got sick - at least, the first time I knew of. I had gotten bored and walked into your apartment, because you weirdos never lock it, and the darn thing was empty. Nobody there. Like that playground. I thought you guys had moved away." Izuku laughed.

"Yeah, you told me about that."

"Did I ever tell you that I ran home to my mom and started crying?"

The greenette stared at him, almost disbelieving.

"I genuinely thought you'd left without saying goodbye. My mom called your mom seventeen times before she picked up, and she was crying harder than I was. I thought you moved, but she thought you were dying."

"The doctors thought I was dying too. It wasn't even that bad."

"Dude, you had a seizure."

"A fever-induced seizure, non-recurring."

"Still. You've gotten sick more times than me and my parents combined."

"Maybe fifteen times in total."

"The last time I went to my grandma's house, she told me that in all eighty-seven years of her life, she has gotten sick about twenty times. You're catching up."

"Is your grandma quirkless?"

"No."

"Exactly."

"Dude."

"You think anyone's ever played on that playground?" The freckled teen abruptly changed the subject, gesturing out the window.

"No, but I'm about to test out that swingset. My mom's not here to stop me from jumping off."

With that, Katsuki waved at Izuku and made his way down to that lonely hospital playground, ready to break his ankles jumping off a swing.