Echo | BNHA x Deltarune/Undertale

Chapter 56: Inconsistencies

Izuku sat bolt upright, gasping for air as he looked around and found himself back in bed. He collapsed against his pillows, closing his eyes and trying to relax.

His bloody reflection was burned into his eyelids, just like last time - but the sight of it didn't cause him to immediately vomit, so hopefully he was okay.

There was, however, a practically blinding pain piercing his right temple. He supposed that's what the reflection meant by it hurting a bit when he woke up, although 'a bit' was the understatement of the century. It wasn't like a normal headache; it really felt like a bullet had lodged itself in his head, announcing its presence by torturing his nerve endings. The pain was so overwhelming that it made it difficult to feel anything else.

He probably wouldn't be able to focus on school like this. Oh well. He'd just drink some coffee and pray it did something.

Inko wasn't awake yet. Waking up before her had become a pretty normal phenomenon ever since he started waking up two hours before his alarm. The lack of sleep really wasn't tiring; he got all the energy he needed every time he saved, but his body sure looked sleep deprived. He was beginning to resemble Shinso, with his wild hair and circles under his eyes.

He was also beginning to resemble his reflection. Well, he already resembled his reflection, obviously, but they were starting to look less like different iterations of the same person and more like the same person at different points in time. That was fine. Their demeanors and mannerisms still contrasted, and the reflection had said something about reminding him that he wasn't in control - his life certainly felt out of control, so there was nothing to worry about there.

Izuku mindlessly prepared his instant coffee, mulling over the cause of his excruciating headache. Obviously it was due to the reflection putting lead in his skull, but why hadn't something similar happened last time? His eventual inability to move from illness could've been mocking how people would sometimes become catatonic after attempting to hang themselves, but that seemed like a bit of a stretch. Maybe the illness was unrelated and it had simply been a coincidence. He did seem to remember the skin of his throat being rubbed raw.

Whatever. There wasn't anything he could do about it, so worrying was pointless. He wasn't dead, so it couldn't matter all that much.

The greenette drank his instant coffee, forgetting to add sugar and ignoring it. His head still felt like it was stuck in time, eternally being blown to bits, but his ability to think in endless spirals was apparently not inhibited. Hopefully school wouldn't be too horrible.