AN: here's another small horror One-shot. It's pretty short and has an ambiguous ending because I obviously have commitment issues. Also, shoutout to rzen, you da best girl! I love you~
Anyway I hope you enjoy and please do leave a review and let me know what ya thought.
Darkness followed him everywhere. It was the shadow that clung to his back, the static that filled the air, the howl that greeted the moon in the dead of night. It was always there, following him, lurking just out of sight. It didn't matter where he went, The Darkness was never far behind.
Izuku must have been five when he first noticed it peeking at him from behind his closet door. The night had been dark. An ominous mien had filtered into the air. Wind goaded the trees to scratch at his window while the moon lit up the night with its crooked smile. He supposed he hadn't been nearly as afraid that night as he ought to have been…when he first met The Darkness.
A lingering screech, as if nails were dragging across old, rotted wood had alerted him to the idea that he may not be alone. He had looked up with terror stricken eyes, searching in the pale moon lit room for the source.
There was a creak, a groan, a terribly drawn out nerve racking sound. Shivers had run rivulets down Izuku's spine.
It had come from the closet.
There was a clicking noise, a rattle of chains, rustling from just beyond a wooden threshold.
His movements were stiff, agonizingly slow. He turned his gaze, trepidation seizing him in a frozen trance. The closet door was cracked open; shadows crowded around it, hiding whatever was inside.
He heard breathing, deep and low. They were chesty huffs filled with morose fear. A lament in the form of a moan bellowed out in a low tone, so unearthly in nature it sent spikes of dread through his skin.
A movement caught his eye. A shift in the blankness. A tangible cloak of darkness pooled out from the closet's door; a gangly gnarl of bubbling black claws clicked against the doorframe, gripping it with cold, calculated precision.
His gaze moved upwards, two doleful abysses of static white bore into him. A numbness spread throughout him when their eyes met, luminescent green greeting chalky white.
The eyes cast down at him, an almost playfulness nesting in the desolate expanse. A toothy cheshire smile graced the shadow's features, and gruesome white mangled teeth drawn up in a grin bespoke of a haunted childishness, as if the shadow were a friend on the playground.
Tentatively, Izuku smiled back. It was a tame smile, waning at the edges in weariness, but it was friendly nonetheless.
The shadow ingrained in darkness did not falter, did not stalk forward, rather it stilled, remained motionless at the closet entrance, enticing Izuku to come forward, to follow it into an eternal black.
Izuku almost goes, but he doesn't. He cannot. Even at such a young age, he understood that The Darkness was not something he could comprehend, nor was it something he should try to face. Its smile turned downcast, almost like a frown when he refused to accompany it, but the two white caverns looked ahead uncaringly. It backed away, not fully retreating, but showcasing its submission to his wishes. It thrums its mutilated claws against the closet door. A steady rhythm that sent chills to dance down Izuku's spine.
Izuku couldn't help but be curious. This creature, The Darkness incarnate should not be trusted, and yet, he couldn't help but feel a tug at his chest at the thought of abandoning it. Perhaps that was its goal, to slink its way into his heart before enshrouding his very being with the ink that so effortlessly coats itself with. He knew none of its intentions, yet there is no fear that radiates from him.
He asked but one question.
Where will you go now?
Izuku hadn't known why that was the question he asked, nor did he understand why he was so curious to know the answer. However, the question appeared to have intrigued the black clad shadow, as its thrumming ceased. A mess of static permeated the air, intangible in state, but thick with pensive thought.
It was thinking, Izuku noted, with thinly laced interest. There was a knocking on his bedroom door; he startled at the noise; The Darkness receded without a word, the static faded from the room.
He heard his mom call out to him, worry teased at her voice. She had heard a scuffling from his room and had wondered why he was up so late. He wanted to tell of this new friend, this new being that had come from his closet, but stopped.
A low crackling, like sand being flicked against wood, escaped from his closet. It was The Darkness, telling him to stay mute.
He did, instead opting to tell her that he had just woken up from the wind, a trivial replacement for the truth. She left him, telling him to have a good night's rest. He knew he wouldn't, not with The Darkness waiting, lurking behind the shadows. He was not scared, as he feels he ought to be; The Darkness had shown no hostility towards him, and he couldn't help but feel comforted by its presence.
He shouldn't.
He does.
The Darkness remains, in his closet, watching, waiting. It does not strike, does not interfere, but it would always be there, a looming shadow, a crisp wind, a haunting echo.
Izuku has since learned to live with its presence. He does not ask what it is, nor does he know why it follows him, but he can sense it, knows its aura like a plague sweeping over him. It does not talk, does not act, but it's always there, peeking from just beyond his gaze.
It's an old friend by now. A deep rooted presence, one that never falters, never sways, but is absent from everything.
Its claws are still mangled, a gnarled mess of black bones cracking, thrumming in his ear. Its crooked smile of deranged teeth never lose their spark of insanity. Its eyes are still a hiss of static like fuzz, a miserable desolation of white, chalked out agony, perforating into his being with such intensity that he never forgets Its company. However, for as unearthly The Darkness is, it remains bound to the confines of its plane—no one besides Izuku has ever been aware of its existence, but they can feel the static in the air whenever they draw too near, hear a low hiss rumbling through the ground, a piercing chill that seeps into their bones.
Even if it can't be seen, it makes its attendance known.
The Darkness followed him everywhere. It was the shadow that clung to his back, the static that filled the air, the howl that greeted the moon in the dead of night. It was always there, following him, lurking just out of sight.
Since the time he was five he had known of its presence, been aware of its bone numbing bleakness, yet never once had he stopped to ask it its name. He needn't know it, for it was, and always had been The Darkness. Izuku needn't know it by any other name, nor did It care to be seen as anything but that. It was his friend, an ally in the night. It had always followed him, never questioning his motives, for once, Izuku wished to follow it.
He turned to the being, catching the black veil as it ghosted behind a tree. Its shadowy form molting and writhing as it kept a distance. Izuku took a step forward. The Darkness took a step back. Its eyes of dread never left him, its crooked smile never faltered. It knew what he wanted. Glee spread across its form, as if it had finally won a long withstanding battle.
The Darkness had always followed Izuku into the light, now Izuku was going to follow It into the dark.
AN: Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a review letting me know what you thought~
As always have a lovely day,
Vera~