The woods went on forever.
There never seemed to be an end.
Then again, he never had enough time to find out.
It didn't help that it was dark.
The only source of light was the from the pale moon above that was mostly blocked by the overhanging blanket of the trees.
Any colors of the trees, plants, grass, anything that was present were all sapped of color in the near pitch-black darkness. Instead, everything came out as a barely seeable silhouette.
It was a deathly quiet. No wind to gently shake the trees into a harmless dance. Not a single nocturnal entity to fill the night with its calls. Not even insects that chirped their endless songs.
Silence.
In these woods that looked like it would normally be home to many slumbering creatures and animals, not a single living thing resided on the plain.
Except one.
And the second didn't count.
Izuku Midoriya was here… again.
Just as he's done hundreds of times before, he wondered the woods; taking in the scenes that were dull and the sounds that weren't even there. His footsteps didn't even make noise.
He didn't know where to go or what to do; not exactly anyway. He had an idea, but it was awful. And it always resulted in very random and unpredictable ends.
Izuku was supposed to accomplish something here. It was the reason why he pulled himself back to this place. It was just so damn difficult that he's lost count of how many times he's had to return. It was getting to the point where he could recognize some of the trees from his previous visits.
It was because of that he knew that he was getting farther than normal tonight.
It didn't normally let him do that.
*snap*
Guess he spoke too soon.
From the first sound and the echo of the night that followed behind Izuku, he probably had maybe 30-40 feet to work with. Not much considering that it only took the monster behind him hardly a second to clear that distance.
Izuku felt his body begin to shake. But not from quirk acting. He was afraid. Drops of sweat were already running down his face.
Then came the second sound that filled Izuku's ears.
His own heartbeat. It was currently skyrocketing.
Izuku hated this inevitable feeling that came over him on nights like these. It wasn't because of the feeling per say, but the fact that he thought he would have been able to get used to this by now. It's happened to him dozens of time; over and over again.
But no matter how higher the number got, it always felt like the first time he peered into those shining green eyes.
Turning his head with every bit of courage he had, Izuku looked back at the second entity that occupied the woods.
It was like looking in a mirror.
Two pairs of eyes that were flawlessly identical stared at one another.
The only difference being what the eyes were connected to. It was too dark to fully make out what was crouched low to the ground, but if Izuku's memory served him right, then the silhouette did very little to size up the real appearance of the monster.
The moment Izuku saw those eyes dilate, he ran.
And he didn't stop.
He didn't need to.
It would always catch him in the end. So, he didn't know why he was even running in the first place. Maybe it served as a metaphor in the deepest parts of the boy's mind of when he used to just sit there and take the pain.
Maybe he just didn't want to give up.
Maybe he was a coward for running.
Maybe it didn't matter.
Although no sound was again no longer present in the woods, Izuku could feel the monster closing in on him.
They were one after all.
The last thing that happens before Izuku's world becomes completely black is the split-second pain of sharp points crushing his neck.
...............…
"Izuku!" Inko called out her sons name the moment she burst into his room. The smaller greenette that sitting on his bed yelped for second time from having the mother charging in.
"Mom! Mom, it's alright! I'm fine, see!?" Before Inko could run over to his bed, Izuku had raised his arms up into a stopping motion and gave an apologetic smile that served to be reassurance.
"Sweetie, are you sure? I could hear you from the kitchen." She was still worried, but at least managed to lower her excitement. Composing herself enough, she saw what the reason for her son's brief yell had possibly been. "You were trying it again, weren't you?" Inko asked after seeing that Izuku had his legs crossed and sitting square in the middle of his bed; the main indications that he was meditating.
"…I… I have to. Otherwise, I'll make zero progress." Izuku didn't meet her eyes as he answered. He knew how much it worried his mother every time he went to the strange woods. It was bad enough that his quirk affected the real world, but ever since Inko learned that it was terrorizing his mind, she grew ever more wishful to help.
"…Did anything new happen?" Inko's question slightly surprised Izuku. She didn't normally ask but it would seem that she's becoming more supportive.
It was just too bad that the worse outcome happened this time.
"Just another fail." He said with little effort to hide the annoyance and frustration in his voice; the previous fear and dread fading away. "I got kinda far this time, but not before… yeah."
"I know you'll figure it out someday, Izuku." The younger greenette matched his eyes with his mother that had walked the rest of the way to his bed to hold his hands in hers. "Because if you're the same son that I've been raising for the last fourteen years, then I know for a fact you'll overcome it. And I'll be there every step along the way." Her words were nothing but kind. The sort of love that only a parent could give. Inko bent over to plant a kiss on Izuku's head who blushed under the affection that revealed his embarrassment.
That didn't mean he didn't like it though.
"Thanks, Mom." They shared a smile before the mother left the room and her worries; also leaving Izuku to his thoughts.
The memory of his experience in the woods today was like many others. Apart from the end, it was identical to the rest.
Ever since the age of 6 where he first slipped into a state of relaxed meditation, he's learned that he could enter a plain that resided in the figment of his imagination. Except that the plain was not under his control nor did he have normal means to leave.
All he could do was walk through the woods until it sent him back. Whether it being thrown out without warning or when he was… killed?
He had no idea how to explain it. All he knew was that it was him and the monster that was alone in those woods. Depending at random, their interactions differed. Some days, it would just leave him alone and not even show signs of its presence. Those were the times that Izuku got the farthest.
On others, it would follow him; as if it were studying him or just curious. That was when Izuku could always spot its glowing green eyes peering at him from a distance.
And then there were the… special nights.
It would just happen out of nowhere. As if someone just flipped a switch.
Without hesitation, it would hunt him down and force him out of the dark plain. He knew that today was one of those the moment he saw those eyes on him when he turned around.
Izuku growled with annoyance as he flopped backwards onto his bed. As if his quirk wasn't problematic as it was from the beginning, but now he has to deal with freaky mental states of what were supposed to be relaxation to most people but to him were odd chances of exploration or sudden death.
Even though Izuku's quirk has basically killed him in his sleep once more, it was just another day.
...............…
On the hand that had Izuku's head resting on it, his pointer finger was repetitively tapping against his cheek. But this wasn't his quirk being annoying this time. This was Izuku being somewhat nervous for the events that were about to unfold.
He took another glance to his left where his eyes briefly landed on the sandy blond-haired boy known as Katsuki Bakugo.
And he was staring right back with eyes that made Izuku think the explosive teen was actually about to kill someone. He still had a patch on his nose.
Today was Monday. Izuku punched Bakugo straight in the face on Friday and fled right after. For two days, Bakugo has been most likely building up that anger to get revenge on the day that was today. So far, Izuku has managed to avoid him entirely on sheer dumb luck.
But as that one saying goes; his luck would run out.
However, before Izuku was going to let that happen, he did some running of his own just as the final bell rang that signaled the end of the school day. With the bag that he already had packed, he slipped that straps over his shoulders and rushed out the door.
He hated himself for basically running away like he used to when he was younger, but he really did not feel like being caught in Bakugo's bullshit at the moment. He smoothly maneuvered through the thick crowd of the other students, but not on his usual route. Doing anything to ensure that the fuming blond couldn't find was what he needed.
Taking the doors that he's actually never used before, Izuku took a different path to get away from the school grounds without being spotted. He figured the more unused school ally way would be good. As far as he knew, no one ever used it. It wasn't even an ally. Just a thin space between the school and the wall separating the grounds next door.
That didn't mean the school didn't decide to completely waste and put up a rather unnecessary koi pond. The same koi pond that Izuku found ironically just below the same window that Bakugo threw his notebook out of last week.
Speaking of the koi pond.
*thud*
Just as the greenette was about to pass the little aquarium, his quirk came up with the decision to be an asshole and make his outstretched leg jerk outwards to where his foot caught the edge of the structure.
Therefore, he fell.
But if living with a power that made him involuntarily clumsy taught him anything, it was to prevent himself from ever completing those falls.
Grabbing the edge of the koi pond with quick reactions, Izuku managed to pull himself up and regain his balance. Concluding that he would try to slap the monster out of spite later, he continued to trudge down the small path.
The only problem was…
"Ooooh, damnit."
At the very end of the ally were 2 people. Taking a second to recognize their faces, Izuku identified them to be the same 2 boys that were missing from class today. Scowling in aggravation, Izuku quickly turned to go the other way.
Maybe there was still an opening that he could use without running into Baku…go.
"What's wrong, Deku? You look lost. Want some 'redirection'?" Bakugo had a maniacal grin as he slowly walked down the ally from where Izuku had come.
"You need help, Bakugo. If you're seriously going to force other classmates to skip school just to track me down and get back at me, then you need to get your priorities straight." Seeing as there was no way to escape, Izuku went the route of trying to talk down the seething blond.
"You're going to need help in a couple seconds!" Bakugo spat back with words that promised an inevitable confrontation. "You actually had the balls to hit me… and then just run away like a little bitch! Where's that fight you had in ya now, huh!? Just gonna run away like you always do, you pathetic, useless, weak, creepy fuck!? That really pisses me off! You think that just because you got in a lucky hit that you don't even have to defend yourself against me!? Are you looking down on me, you bastard!?" With every shout, the blond kept getting closer. His steps becoming stomps and his questions being served with small explosions to emphasize his rage.
But as a matter of fact, Izuku could answer that last question easily.
"Yes." The greenette's blunt answer caused the taller boy to faulter for a second. "Of course I do." Izuku exchanged his expression of upset concern to flat anger. "Bakugo, you have an amazing quirk. But your personality and attitude are fucking awful. You hurt others for the simple enjoyment of making yourself look and feel better. Any real friends that you used to have in the past left long ago because of it; including me. How can I respect that!? You want to be a hero, yet you treat people like a villain! For anyone to not look down on you must have hella low standards! So yeah, I do look down on you, Katsuki."
Oh how long Izuku's wanted to say those words to the blonde's face. Speaking of his face, Bakugo had many mixed emotions swimming in his red eyes. The first noticeable ones were bewilderment and surprise. The feelings of fury and rage were just behind but building fast.
Like a literal explosion, Bakugo burst into a fit of anger.
"I'll being looking down at you when I put your ass six feet under!" Using actual explosions, Bakugo blasted forth with surprising speed.
It was almost enough to catch Izuku off guard as the long distance between them was closed barely over a second.
However, if the greenette wasn't expecting what was coming next, then Bakugo very well could have landed a hit.
Izuku ducked the obvious right punch that went sailing over his head and dashed to the right where his back met the wall of the school. The human rocket slid across the ground for a few feet before spinning around and attempting another attack.
The same right punch came straight for Izuku head who jerked to the right once more as the explosion charred the wall where he just was.
Taking the chance, Izuku grabbed the blonde's outstretched arm by the wrist and pulled. Hearing a gasp from Bakugo, Izuku used his other hand to push against his shoulder; causing the taller teen to trip and fall to the ground.
Just as quickly as he was on the dirty concrete, he was back up again with imaginary steam shooting from his ears.
Charging towards the green-eyed boy, Bakugo leapt upward this time before sending out a kick with momentum that was increased using even more explosions. He figured it would have been fast enough to connect, but once again, Izuku barely dodged just in the nick of time.
'How is this little shit evading me this easily!? He's nothing but a weakling! How!?'
"Deku, get back here and stop running from me! Deku!" The target of the demand did not listen as he jumped backwards away from the ever-progressing blond.
That was when red eyes widened in realization.
Izuku was on the opposite side of him.
The side that the little runt had come from and where no one was standing at the end of the ally. Izuku was trying to run again; taking small unnoticeable actions to get him closer to the end to try and escape.
"Like hell I'm gonna let that happen!"
Bakugo saw Izuku's eyes widen as the blond used his quirk to launch him into the air and over the stunned greenette. The latter of the two must have realized that their plan was discovered and made a last attempt to bolt for it.
Knowing that his aggressive classmate would do anything at this point to ensure that he got what he wanted, Izuku just had to do the same thing for him to get out of here without a real fight breaking out.
It was too dangerous for the both of them.
He ran as fast as he could with Bakugo flying through the air above him; a number of explosions getting closer and faster.
Izuku couldn't afford to let this happen.
The twitches in his body were getting more frequent and stronger. It was hard enough to ran at the moment when nearly every joint in his body was jerking against his will. He could feel it trying to push itself out, to act against Bakugo rather than run.
No matter what, he couldn't let that happen.
Bakugo landed directly in front of him.
The moment their eyes met; time seemed to slow.
Red eyes were wide with insanity as was his grin.
Green eyes were wide with horror.
He was too close. Bakugo was too close for Izuku to try and dodge.
An open palm with the scent of nitroglycerin was already heading straight for him and Izuku was heading right into it.
With a smack, Bakugo's hand slapped against Izuku's face; his fingers curling harshly on his skull.
"Let's see how you like it." Bakugo's voice was that of a sinister whisper.
The explosion that followed was anything but a whisper.
A deep boom mixed with hissing sparks shook the ground. A shockwave of power rushed down the ally like a flowing river as the two kids who were standing there were nearly knocked off their feet from the unexpected winds.
Bakugo felt satisfaction at feeling the head in his grasp jerk back from the unstoppable force and even fly backwards. A loud crash came just after the greenettes form was hidden in the smoke caused by Bakugo's large explosion.
However, there was a sense of regret with that satisfaction.
He had just used his quirk at a much higher level of power than he meant. Not to mention that he used it point-blank on someone.
'Deku, I swear, if you're pathetic ass gets me in trouble for this I'll make it even worse next time.' The blond said to himself just as the smoke was beginning to clear.
Once it did, the image was fully revealed.
That crash he heard was Izuku colliding with the koi pond. His body was embedded into the side of it with broken bricks and cement blocks scattered on the ground. Flowing past him was the water of the pond that was leaking from the damaged parts.
He was sitting on the ground with his back curled backwards and his head nearly dipping into the sinking water below so Bakugo couldn't see his face.
But he could see the smoke rising from it.
'Shit, I think I over did it a little.'
Bakugo quickly walked over to find out of he could get away with this. He couldn't give two shits about the black-eyed fucker, but if he were to go to a teacher about this, then the evidence of burn marks would be undoubtedly traced back to him.
He stopped when he got to the edge of the pond and leaned over. He started to see Izuku's chin, then the base of his bottom lip, after that was…
"Fuck."
After that was an unforgettable patch of roasted skin and even flesh. His nose was at a strange angle; most likely from the force of his explosion. The green hair that normally spiked up messily around his head was singed away at the front. His mouth was slightly open, but that was mostly because his upper lip was gone.
Bakugo failed to notice that his teeth were pristine.
And his eyes.
His eyes were wide open. Like his eyelids were burnt away.
Probably the most disturbing thing was that his green pupils were gone.
Bakugo had no idea what to make of that if it meant he was dead or not, but the blond was really starting to freak out.
He fucked up; plain and simple. He fucked up bad. Bakugo was beginning to sweat more then he usually did as his mind raced a mile a minute.
"Damnit, Deku. You better get your ass up. You hear me?" The blond hissed through clenched teeth.
"Yo, what happened!?" One of the teens yelled from down the ally. They were just far away enough to not see the results of Bakugo's outburst on the greenette.
And he planned to keep it that way.
"Uuuh yeah! His dumbass is beat pretty good! Him and I are gonna talk some more so get the hell out of here!" Bakugo tried to pull of a smirk, but it came out as more of a grimace. Thankfully, neither seemed to notice or care as they shrugged and walked off.
Maybe they just didn't care about what happened to Izuku.
Who would after all? Nobody cares about Deku. Just a little freaky-eyed nerd with a useless quirk. No one would miss him.
Yeah, no one would even realize he's gone. That's right.
But what about Auntie Inko? Bakugo hasn't seen her in years as a matter of fact. There's no way that she could connect this to him, right?
Wait, what was he even saying!? He's thinking about hiding a body!
Holy shit.
Bakugo was on the brink of having an anxiety attack. His breathes were outpacing his heartbeat and sweat was dripping as fast as the still leaking water from the pond.
He finally looked down to check one last time to see if Izuku was alive and he just wasn't overthinking this.
And he was looking right back at him.
The world around Bakugo faded away in the background.
Only he, the pond, and Izuku's lifeless eyes existed.
The green pupils were still gone, but that didn't change the fact that his head was elevated to look straight at Bakugo.
The latter yelped from fright when Izuku lurched forward without moving anything else to warn that he going to move. It caused the blond to trip over his own foot when jumping backwards and falling on his ass.
Quickly setting his gaze back on the shorter teen, Bakugo saw that he was now standing in front of him. But how? It was as if he just … lifted from the floor or some invisible force stood him up.
Either way, Izuku was very much alive.
For several seconds that were filled with anticipation and the sound of the water that was no just a dribble, they only looked at one another. Or at least Bakugo thought Izuku was looking at him. His freaky voids were still empty but aimed right at him.
Then, he took a step.
Bakugo had been in enough fights to know what a wind up for a kick looked like, but that knowledge didn't save him from the front of Izuku's shoe smashing right up against his gut.
"Gahuck!" The yell/cough of pain escaped Bakugo's lips before he could even register that the kick had already sent him tumbling halfway down the ally. After finally coming to a stop with scrapes, already forming bruises, and an incoming feeling to throw up, Bakugo grunted with effort to sit himself up.
Laying on his left side, he propped himself up with his left elbow. He hissed in pain when he realized that he must of have landed on that too as it throbbed upon contact with the concrete.
He pulled through in the end and managed to lift his head up enough to look back at Izuku. The greenette still stood there, but that wasn't what caused Bakugo to gasp with disturbance and shock.
All the wounds that he had previously vanished.
His top lip was back to reform a neutral expression. His nose was correctly shaped as it should be, and any other deformities were fixed. The skin looked smooth and pale; just as it had been before.
Even his fucking hair looked normal.
But his eyes.
His god damn eyes.
Just like on Friday, they had deep black cracks forming from his sockets like jagged streams. Still no trace of his green pupils in sight.
Bakugo's own eyes were dragged to the shorter teen's right arm. The spastic jerks and twitches had caught his attention as it was the only thing moving on the greenette. He continued to watch it with horrified awe as his arm raised upward in front of its owner.
Then, much to his disgust, terror, revulsion, and astonishment, the very skin peeled away from muscle. That was the next to go. The strands of muscle fiber seemingly detached itself and almost looked to deteriorate. No, it melted. Decayed? Shriveled? Withered?
It was just… gone.
All that was left was in intact skeletal hand.
The feeling of sickness was no longer just from the impact in his gut, but more from the sickening scene of flesh slithering away to reveal Izuku's bones underneath. Even without anything logically holding them together, they stayed in place to take the shape of a hand.
Just when Bakugo thought things couldn't get weirder, it did.
The bones changed.
They shifted and morphed.
Sounds of snaps and popping bones could be heard as the white objects did what they weren't normally supposed to do.
The tips became longer and pointed; as if it were growing claws. On the knuckles, short spikes emerged that pulled backwards. But overall, the bones thickened. They got larger and bulkier than any normal skeleton should.
By the time it finally stopped, Izuku's skeletal hand was nearly as thick as if it were his actual hand.
Bakugo couldn't imagine of the same thing was going on all the way up his arm.
Was this his quirk? Has Izuku been hiding it from everyone this whole time? How and why?
That was when Izuku's eyes reappeared.
They were exactly the same. Down to the last detail. Nothing has changed except for the cracks that were nearly passed all the way down his cheeks.
But by no means did they feel the same.
For as long as Bakugo could remember, Izuku's eyes were always emitting a kind of aura. A feeling that did nothing other than to make you want to look twice.
But now…
They were haunting.
Those tiny little green dots held not a single spark of emotion, yet their aura gave a monstrous presence. Bakugo even thought that they shined brighter.
It was completely unnerving when Izuku didn't so much as blink or even look anywhere else other than at Bakugo's red eyes. It was like he was in a trance.
Izuku started to walk.
Bakugo at long last pulled himself out of his own trance and quickly stood up. The sore spots on his body that weren't any more that bumps had started to fade but it still hurt like hell. At this point, he was deciding between staying to fight or just swallow his pride and get the fuck out of there. Everything about what he was looking at was off.
Something told him in the back of his mind that this was serious.
Izuku took steps that were too robotical. Nothing about his movements wasted more energy than necessary. The skeletal hand hung low at his side; pointed fingers curled inward to make a clawing motion.
'Is Deku seriously thinking about fighting me? Is this even Deku?' In Bakugo's frantic thoughts, he still was of yet to come to the conclusion of running or seeing what would happen if he stayed.
When Izuku got half-way, the decision was made for him.
Bakugo barely had any time to react as the greenette was suddenly running at him with speed that he didn't know the shorter teen was capable of.
Just as Izuku had done, Bakugo ducked underneath the outstretched skeletal hand that cut through a few strands of his hair. The dodge left Bakugo in a limbo position, but unlike him, Izuku didn't go sailing past when the attack didn't connect.
Bakugo was more than shocked to see Izuku pivot on one heel and twist around to where his left elbow came up and down right in the middle of his chest.
That's twice that Bakugo had been thrown to the ground effortlessly. With a new difficulty to breath from the air being knocked out of his lungs, he had problems getting it back.
Except he couldn't do that before he had to roll out of the way before Izuku's hand made of bone smashed into the ground just where the blonde's head was just a split-second prier.
Being quicker in his movements, Bakugo got to his feet almost immediately. Just as he did, the same fist that was an inch into the hard concrete flung up and struck him in the chest for a second time with a backhand; the spiked knuckles lightly raking across his torso
The force behind it was enough to send Bakugo airborne and colliding against the wall of the school.
He wasn't even able to land back on his feet before the hand clamped roughly around his throat; holding him in place as his legs dangled inches from the ground.
In the span of a few seconds, the bully had become the bullied as Bakugo could only choke past the tight hold on his neck.
This was no longer a scuffle between two teens.
This was a fight for survival.
Bakugo's fearful grimace morphed into a fierce scowl before he took both his hands and placed them firmly on Izuku's forearm. Activating his quirk, the blond unleashed countless explosions onto his limb. The continuous flashes of bright orange and sounds of booms left his senses irritated.
His eyes greatly wanting to close themselves off from the bright light and to cover his ears from the bangs. Despite Bakugo's own adaptations to his quirk, this was a harsh punishment that was affecting him even though he wasn't the one receiving it.
Finally, it stopped.
Bakugo put an end to his onslaught of blasts but did not let go of the arm that was still horrifyingly clutched to his throat.
The smoke faded, and red eyes met green.
Nothing.
It did nothing.
Bakugo's heart plummeted at the sight of seeing that Izuku looked completely unaffected. The uniform sleeve that the blond had a hold of was burned away into ashes.
Now, all he held was a bulky skeletal arm that reached up to Izuku's elbow until small strands of muscle and flesh reached from a normal upper arm. The cracks around his voids never seemed to stop growing as they were now covering most of his face.
The blond saw Izuku raise his free arm outwards behind him. The haunting realization came when Bakugo saw the exterior of his hand do the same process of melting away to reveal a second hand made of bone. Just as it did with Izuku's right, the skeletal figures shifted into a beastly limb.
Only bending his elbow, Izuku pointed his left arm at Bakugo.
He was preparing to strike him.
Bakugo thrashed harder against the unbreakable hold on his neck; not giving a shit about the sharp pointed fingers digging into his skin. Izuku brought his arm back further; his other set of claws flexed to strike.
The teen that was driven up against the wall entered a last state of flight or fight. And seeing as the first option wasn't even an option, he resorted to taking his hands of the limb of bone and use his left hand to grab roughly at Izuku's uniform collar and cock back his own opened palm; the back of his arm flat against the brick wall.
Again, the greenette was not affected by this display.
"Deku! If you don't knock whatever shit this is this instant, you're gonna need more than a whole lot a fucking calcium to fix this damn bone fuckery you got going on here!" It wasn't the best of threats, but it was all he could come up with at the moment with the oddity of Izuku's apparent quirk and the choke on his neck.
No reaction.
Bakugo narrowed his eyes.
Izuku launched his hand forward.
Bakugo did the same with aggressive pops of his quirk.
A song.
Both hands stopped just short of reaching each other's faces. Bakugo was pressing his head against the wall as much as he could to prevent the white tips from grazing against his skin. Izuku remained emotionless, even with the parade of firecrackers going off in his face.
As the two stared one another down, a song of some sort played from unknown origins. It was mellow and the voice was that of a woman's soft voice. From what Bakugo could tell, it was coming directly from behind Izuku.
There wasn't any more time to think about it before Bakugo caught the first sign of emotion in those green eyes.
Out of nowhere, Izuku suddenly looked mortified.
The grasp on Bakugo's neck is released as he is finally able to take his first full breath in the last minute. Dropping to his knees and gently holding his own throat for protection, Bakugo coughed away the pain in his neck.
With the sound of a thud, the blond looked up from the ground to see Izuku up against the opposite wall. As he slid down to sit, he held out his arms before him; looking at them both with horror.
Then the strained screams came.
Bakugo had no idea what he was looking at, but from he could tell, Izuku was being tortured by something unseen. He twisted in place and kicked his legs back and forth. The movement of his arms were unmatched to the rest of his body; instead, they jerked around and bent at odd angles.
Sounds of bone cracking and popping came like a chorus. His fingers all twitched and not single one was in the same position.
Izuku sounded like he was doing everything he could to keep his yells from escaping past the ally while struggling against the invisible attack on his body. His wild eyes chased the space around him; looking to the left for not even a second before jerking his attention elsewhere.
Bakugo had no idea what he was witnessing. To him, it looked like a full-on possession. The mood of it all became scarier with the song of the woman still playing in the background. It was after a minute of watching that the blond found something.
The bones were changing again. The skeletal limbs that were far from human were shifting back to the normal skeleton that Bakugo was familiar with.
Sharp pointed fingers became nubs. Jagged knuckles flattened out. The thick bones thinned back to normal proportions.
Once everything was set in place, the exposed bone was slowly being recovered by meat, muscle, nerves, blood, and skin. Besides the growls and grunts from the teen that currently had this happening on his body, Bakugo could hear the noises of all this happening. The wet slithering of flesh across smooth bone, the stretching skin as it expanded over the entirety of his hand.
And strangely enough, normal human nails popped up from nowhere to take their respectful place on the end of his fingers.
The moment that happened, the greenettes arms fell limp to his sides. However, his struggles didn't cease quite yet.
The cracks around his eyes were still in the process of shrinking and reverting back into his voids. The inky-black trails slowly crawled across his face until they were no more; like dozens of snakes slithering into the same hole.
When the last crack was no more, the pained yells went along with it.
Izuku's head fell without anything to follow.
It was as if he passed out on the spot.
The music stopped.
Bakugo could do nothing but stare. He wasn't sure if he should do anything. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do anything.
But maybe he didn't have to.
Izuku raised his head at a snail's pace. It was slow but steady when their eyes locked on to each other's.
Those green irises looked so drained and tired.
"Bakugo." The owner of the name flinched when his name was said from the other teen. "If you don't say anything, then I won't. What you saw today will stay in the deepest parts of your mind where they will never see the light of day again to be spoken from your tongue. Do. You. Under. Stand?" Izuku's voice was full of authority and control. It left hardly any room for the blond to argue; not that he wanted to anyway.
"Tch." Was all he said before breaking eye-contact and hiding his face by looking downward. "Whatever." Bakugo wanted to ask so many questions. He wanted to beat them out of the boy. He couldn't do it though.
Not only was he fatigued and sore from the short battle, but he was too afraid to ask right now. He just wouldn't admit it.
"I'll take that as a yes." Izuku's voice was more relaxed now, even if it sounded like he was on the verge of going into a deep sleep.
From the top of his vision, Bakugo saw the other teen stand on wobbly feet and begin to walk away.
Once again, Bakugo was left feeling defeated.
But this time, fear had taken root.
...............…
Inko couldn't have been more anxious. It was way pass the time that Izuku usually got home. She knew that he never took detours or different routes. Not only has this happened once, but twice. The same thing happened just last Friday but Izuku absolutely refused to tell her what had happened.
Maybe she was over worrying. Although, how could she not. Her son lived in a dangerous world and with a quirk like his, it could easily lead to some… complicated situations.
It only got worse when he didn't answer her call. She remembered that he funnily enough had it set to make the ringtone of her favorite song when it was specifically her calling. If that was the case, then something must have happened to prevent him from picking up.
Her stress just continued to rise the more minutes that passed.
In a second, she also rose from the couch when she heard the front door open. Moving exponentially quick, she raced around the corner to see none other than her son that she had been fretting over for the past hour.
But the sight did little to relieve her.
"M-mom…. I-I …I messed up."