Chapter eighteen - What is a person's breaking point?
Izuku was currently on the brink of madness.
"Haha. Five minutes, he said. I don't even know what the fucking Colosseum is!" panickingly said Izuku as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"That's not important right now." replied Tezobi in her usual aggressive tone. "All you need to know is that you gotta fight and come out alive. Even if you need to use a cheapshot to win, do it. Swallow your damn pride and live, or I'll get killed by Sensei."
Izuku scoffed.
"Four minutes left until I'm sent to the Colosseum. I'm gonna need to train." Izuku got into a fighting stance. "Come at me, Tezobi."
Tezobi put a grin on display.
"Now you're talking."
Izuku tried to kick Tezobi in the shoulder, but missed by a few centimetres. He backed up, ducked a blow to the skull then punched her in the gut. She wasn't fazed and darted towards Izuku at an inhuman speed before roundhouse kicking him. Izuku momentarily staggered but gained his composure again. Tezobi put Izuku in a headlock and used her legs to prevent him from finding any openings. Izuku had to think of a way out of this. He knew that moving a lot would mean using your muscles excessively, which would be draining your oxygen supply and decrease the production of glucose for energy. That would also increase the build up of lactic acid.
"She is pain resistant, but I need to get out of this somehow, or it's lights out for me.." thought Izuku. He gripped Tezobi's arm with his teeth and dug into her skin with all his might.
"Bastard." thought Tezobi. She flinched for about a second, that was more than enough for Izuku to quickly get up and pin her down. He jabbed his knee into her back, which would hurt. She tapped out in defeat and shot Izuku a nasty frown.
"It's time to go, brat." said Tezobi. She bit her lower lip in anticipation and walked in front of Izuku to guide him to where he needed to go. After a short while, they arrived at a black, bulky door that read 'Colosseum' in simple, bold font. Izuku had a gut feeling he would get out alive but not unscathed. He had to win. That was because if he died in there, Tezobi would revive him, just so she could kill him again. She put her handle on the door before glancing at Izuku.
"Make me proud. As a coach and as a member of the League. Go, Faceless." she said with a look of faith in Izuku. Being called by his first name by Tezobi immediately formed a newfound confidence within him. Izuku nodded with determination. Tezobi opened the door and Izuku walked into the Colosseum. He was confident, but not boastful, nor proud. He had to remember his place and where he was.
When Izuku stepped into the Colosseum, he was bombarded with roars of drunk chatter and powerful people. The arena he was in looked like a replica of the real Colosseum and had thousands of people gathered to watch blood spill. Incomprehensible words and phrases were randomly spat across the arena and the air was buzzing with excitement. Izuku couldn't help but give a devilish grin under his mask as he watched the current fight take place. Instead of the traditional 'Gladiator vs Animal', it was 'Powerful quirk vs weak quirk'. The fights Izuku was witnessing were so one-sided that he started to get bored. He obliviously clicked his tongue, earning him a few glances. Tezobi, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Watch me, Tezobi, Kacchan. I'll show you the destruction I can cause." he thought.
"Next up!" said the presenter. "The infamous, Sonowataga. His quirk is turning his body into a poisonous gas, that once sniffed, causes the opponent to die!" The crowd cheered and many places their bets on him. Sonowataga walked into the arena with pride and his mouth full with barbaric shouts. He was a huge man and probably produced a lot of concentrated gas because of that.
"Sonowataga is facing a new person called Faceless. His quirk is unknown!" continued the presenter. The arena laughed and mocked and booed at Izuku, who took absolutely no notice. He was focused on his opponent's disadvantages and getting out alive. Izuku calmly walked into the arena. He had thought of all of his opponent's advantages and disadvantages, so he had nothing to worry about.
Sonowataga arrogantly smirked at Izuku.
"I'll have fun killin' you, Faceless! The world is a dangerous place so let me end your suffering, aye?" sad the large man. He gestured a beckoning signal at Izuku.
"Your arrogance will be the death of you." said Izuku. Before anyone in the stadium could react to what Izuku said, he sped towards Sonowataga and out of shock and habit, he turned to gas quickly.
"That kid's fast. Heh, doesn't matter. I'll win this." he thought. Izuku then ran in circles while holding his breath around Sonowataga and thinned out the gas. The audience were in pitiful shock.
"Now, if he could just go back to his physical form.." thought Izuku. If what the presenter said was true, then the more thinned out the gas was, the more sluggish and wheezy the user will become. Izuku used that information to his advantage. Like magic, Sonowataga materialised and held onto his knees and heaved in air like there was no tomorrow. Unsure grunts and sounds spread through the arena as they saw how vulnerable their favourite was.
"Uh, I don't know, man. That small runt might just win.." said a lanky guy, looking at Izuku.
"Nah, man! Sono went back to his human form. He's large, he'll beat up the brat." said a blue-haired man, while crossing his arms.
"Don't think you've won yet, punk!" shouted Sonowataga. Izuku, like he did with Stain, was getting bored of this prolonged ordeal.
"I'll make this short and sweet." thought Izuku. He swiftly drew his sword and sliced his opponent's neck and eyes, watching his lifeless body fall to the ground. The crowd was in silence for a few seconds. Then they roared and cheered.
"This is disgusting. I've done my bit now. I'm leaving this place." thought Izuku. He was going to leave until he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. The aura felt tense and heavy. The arena quietened a little upon seeing Tragedy.
"Haha, that was great, well done, Faceless!" childishly complimented Tragedy. Izuku remained motionless. "Yeah, so, I want to see you fight a tad more." Izuku was getting annoyed and looked around for Tezobi. He looked around and saw her sitting with crossed legs and arms, staring at Tragedy. She then nodded.
"Does she not care for me?" thought Izuku. He'd just killed a man, and she wanted more? No, there was an explainable reason for this.
"Asphyxia." was all Tragedy said before disappearing. Izuku gasped in realisation at what he meant. Izuku was about to scream in anger and frustration. He didn't like being forced to fight and kill and take orders from people he didn't know..but he hadn't a choice. It was either he fought or he and Tezobi died. He chose the former, sadly. Tezobi looked away in guilt while Tragedy's eyes lit up in happiness.
Izuku fought every type of person there was for hours upon end until Tezobi stepped in to drag him out of the arena by force. He had cuts, bruises, blemishes, scars and much more. The bandages on his arms kept intact, somehow. Tezobi didn't say anything on their way to the bathroom. They went to the bathroom because there would most likely be nobody there, so they could warp freely. She glanced at Izuku and saw he walked with no stride, no confidence, no energy and no life. He looked like he had just come out of a bear's grip. He just walked. They reached the bathroom and clicked the buttons on their fingers then arrived at the hideout.
The hideout was a haven, compared to Hades. Izuku liked it. Maybe a bit too much. But there wasn't any time for that. The second he stepped into the bar, he ran into his room and disregarded that anyone was there. Kurogiri and Tezobi looked worried for Izuku because of the things he saw at Hades.
"That brat saw more than he should have." said Tezobi, shaking her head. "He did more than he should have. I had to forcingly pull him out of the ring. Fucking horrible."
"You know what they say. Curiosity kills the cat." said Tomura. He earned a glare from Kurogiri, who had no comment. But deep down, he hated himself or letting Izuku go to Hades.
When Izuku got to his room, he sluggishly sat on the cold, wooden floor and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before hugging his knees and bawling his eyes out. Streams of tears made a non-stop flow down his cheeks and burned his eyes. It had been so long since Izuku had cried, it felt suffocating. That caused him more pain and suffering. He had a sudden overwhelming emotion come upon him. Sadness. It was a pure gloomy sadness that ate at him, turning the faucet in his eyes and reducing him to tears. Izuku remembered when he cried like this. When he was in Middle School and Katsuki beat him up all day, everyday. Izuku remembered being told he couldn't be a hero by All Might. Izuku remembered lying to his parents everyday with a faux smile and hiding his scars. Izuku remembered how he killed his parents. Izuku wailed even more and cried and cried and clutched at his yukata desperately as if a genie would come out of it.
He hated being told to fight people he didn't know, and hated being told what to do, and being told who to follow and how he had to kill and fight and be underestimated. It hurt. It was painful. He just wanted this to end. He just wanted to die. He hated himself. He hated the world. He hated everything.
Izuku then sobbed till he could no longer force any tears out. He stared at nothing. He felt empty and useless again. His breathing was agitated and he just wanted to go home. He wanted to meet his parents. Tezobi had heard his crying from the bar and she was in utter shock. She had never heard Izuku cry before, and definitely not heard anybody cry in such a disturbingly agonising way. It was taking a toll on her. She rushed to the door of his room and decided to eavesdrop.
Izuku gave a shaky smile to himself and drew his sword. He removed his mask, revealing how exhausted he looked.
"Please… just this once.. Let me go. I beg you. I'm tired.." his voice was aching and shaking. Izuku drew his sword and placed it by his throat. Tezobi's eyes widened when she not only heard his voice shatter but heard the sound of metal being unsheathed.
"He fucking wouldn't.." thought Tezobi. She tried to deceive herself. She was in denial and she knew it, but she didn't want to believe that Izuku would kill himself again. She quickly opened the door and saw that Izuku had his own blade to his throat.
"You bastard! Stop!" cried Tezobi, running to him and smacking the sword form his hands. Izuku's face didn't change but his hands dropped to his legs in disappointment. Tezobi observed his face and saw how tear-stained it was. This wasn't right, not right at all. She shook her head.
"How.." she hesitated and stopped her tears from flowing. "How could you..! Why the fuck would you do that? Talk to me, damnit! Stop doing this to yourself. Don't you care what will happen to you? How will that make me feel, huh?" Izuku said nothing.
"Leave me alone.." he whispered, but Tezobi could hear it. She didn't like prying but she cared for Izuku so much. She felt like she was being stabbed in the chest when she saw Izuku in such a state. But she nodded to Izuku and stood at the door and said, "I'm taking this sword from you so that you don't try anything again. You will only get it tomorrow. We have a mission. We are going to invade a training camp. Be careful, Faceless."
The door shut loudly and he heard distant footsteps until he heard nothing but the deafening silence. Izuku truly did not want to do anything but sleep and never wake up. He knew it was not possible, but he could always hope.
"Maybe one day." thought Izuku. He then went into a sleep full of tranquility until Bakugou's face abruptly appeared in his mind, then it disappeared.
Are we at true peace once we're dead?