Looking at the door before him, Izuku try's not to think about what's waiting for him on the other side. The last time he was here had been yesterday morning, the longest he had ever been away, and that is sure to get some backlash. Not to mention the stunt he had pulled just a few hours ago.
Taking a deep breath, his knuckles knock firmly on the door, the familiar rhythm just making his heart race further.
Unlike last time, the door swings open immediately.
"Nice of you to show up." Shigaraki says.
Izuku can't stand the glare, so he looks at the ground while muttering, "Sorry," under his breath.
He can hear Shigaraki huff in annoyance before walking away from the door. He calls out from over his shoulder, "Oh, Sensei wants to talk to you. Alone."
Oh that's never good. Talking to Sensei is never a pleasant experience, but he knew this is going to be worse. It already is worse.
There are no rookies hanging out in the bar as he enters. Just Kurogiri standing behind the bar as usual, cleaning the ever dirty glass. He doesn't look up as Izuku passes.
Izuku really doesn't feel up to seeing Sensei right at this moment, and Shigaraki was gone, so he slips into his room before doing anything else.
In his room, his throws his backpack onto the ground and nearly collapses onto his small bed. Catching himself on the wooden wall, he sighs. Today had been a long day, and it was only going to get longer.
Somehow, he thinks that's going to be a theme so long as this goes on.
He doesn't turn on the light, instead settling for the darkness as he gathers himself. Straightening up, he went over what Sensei was most likely going to talk to him about this time.
"So," he mutters to himself, "first of all, I helped my classmates get away from the rookies. They were attacking me as well, plus I still need to keep up appearances, so I might be able to get away with that one. Second of all, I attacked both Kurogiri and Shigaraki, resulting in the failure of the mission." He winces at that one. Yeah, there's no way their going to let that one go.
"Lastly, I-" he hesitates on this one. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to say this one out loud. The walls have ears, after all.
I told someone, he finish's in his head. He might as well have said it out loud, if how he nearly passes out is anything to go by.
He catches himself on the wall(he's never noticed how useful walls are) once more and tries to calm himself down. It is not a good time to start panicking and passing out. He's supposed to be composing himself right now, not freaking himself out even more.
The pain he feels from slapping himself on the cheek is actually very effective in getting himself anchored. Huh, maybe he should try it more often.
...Or maybe not. His classmates would definitely think he is weird if he started slapping himself in the middle of class. If they didn't already think he was, that is.
Ugh! Stop getting distracted! Shaking his head, he shoves those thoughts into the back of his mind. They can be dealt with later. Right now he needs to focus on the problem at hand.
So, he already knows what he can say to get out of the first problem, but what about the second? The same excuse won't work twice, and Sensei might even question the first problem again if he gives the same answer.
Thinking, Izuku struggles to come up with a plausible reason. The only thing that comes to mind is the truth, and that is out of question.
Or is it?
An idea pops into his mind and his eyes widen.
Of course! He'll just tell them that it was a bad idea, that he was saving them from doing something that will hurt them. Of course, he's pulling that straight out of his ass, but anything is better than nothing. Right?
Feeling much better, and lighter, Izuku puffs his chest out. It gives him a little more confidence, and he always needs a little more of that, so why not?
Turning around, he exits his room and makes his way to the doors waiting for him at the end of the hall.
They tower over him like always, but he doesn't let that get to him. He should really be used to it by now anyways.
It is dead silent as he pushes the doors open, the metal cold underneath his hands. He can't see two feet in front of him as he steps into the dark room. The darkness seems to reach out to him, calling him into its midst. He tries to ignore it.
Closing the door behind him, he stands very still as he waits for something to happen. Normally the tv would already be on, illuminating the room with faint light, but it is completely off. Under normal circumstances, Izuku wouldn't let this get to him, but this has never been normal, nor does he think it ever will be.
Uncertainty stirs in his gut as the minutes pass by slowly. Just as he thinks he might just leave, something shifts in the darkness. His breath catches in his throat as he tries to make out what it is, but before he can something rams into his chest.
He hits the ground hard, the breath knocked out of him. Pain shoots through his back and head. He doesn't notice how his lungs stop working.
The pressure on his chest leaves and suddenly he's blinded by the overhead lights. His eyes struggle to adjust to the lighting, but he isn't distracted from the sound of approaching footsteps. He doesn't try run away from them or try to hide. It's pointless and they both know it.
"You know, I thought that you were smarter than this, but I guess I should have known better." Izuku tries to take in a breath, but his lungs still refuse to work even though they're screaming at him. A shadowy figure blocks out the lights as it stands over him. "You never learned your lesson, did you?"
Izuku tries to say something, to defend himself, but nothing comes out. His hands are gripping and clawing are his chest and tears well in his eyes. They don't escape, he refuses to give Sensei that.
Sensei seems to notice his struggle and he kicks him in the side. He's thrown to the side from the impact and pain blossoms in his side, but it does seem to kickstart his lungs into working once more.
Oxygen enters his lungs and he's never hated and been as grateful as he is in that moment. The emotions are confusing, especially mixed together, but he pushes it to the side. Just like he's done with so many other things.
The dark figure of Sensei follows him and he finds himself staring into his horribly disfigured face. He's never really noticed how it seems like his entire face is constantly melting before. Then again, Izuku has only seen Sensei in person once before now.
A hand reaches up and coves his face. He tries not to cringe at how the smell of death and decay fills his senses."I didn't want to do this, but you've forced my hand."
Izuku doesn't get to question the words, as suddenly there's a pulling sensation filling his entire body. Realization floods his body along with the pulling and for the first time in years he starts fighting back.
He knows what this is, has enough sense to realize that the sensation is the opposite of what he felt when he got his quirk. Back then it had felt like something was being pushed into his body. Now it feels like something is being pulled out.
Sensei is taking away his quirk.
The only thing that goes through his mind is, why? It doesn't make any sense.
He can't help the tears now, nor the whimpers, or the way his body flails in desperation. Izuku may have been born without a quirk, but for all intents and purposes, he might as well have been with all the fear he is feeling right now.
His fingers are starting to become numb and pain laces through his head in a twisted version of a migraine. Something in his body gives way and all of a sudden his body goes limp. All the muscles and joints in his body ache, but the headache lessens slightly.
Sensei removes his hand and Izuku dimly notices that the room looks a lot darker than before. Maybe he's just imagining things. Or passing out. Both seem very likely right now.
He hears Sensei start speaking, but it's as if he was talking through a wall. "I wonder how hard Yuuei is without a quirk." Izuku could almost see the smirk on his mouthless face. "I guess you'll find out."
Sensei turns as if to walk but pauses, "Oh, and if anyone finds out, well," a shiver runs down his spine, "you know what'll happen."
And with that, a black, slime-looking substance engulfs his body. Izuku watches as it, along with Sensei, disappears into thin air.
A moment passes and nothing happens.
The tension melts out of his body and Izuku nearly passes out right then and there. He stops himself though, the thought of sleeping here is more than enough to keep him awake.
Forcing himself to his feet, he ignores his aching muscles and stumbles over to the nearest wall, which so happens to be the one with the exit. He takes a moment to sag against the wall, something wet running down his nose, before continuing on to the doors.
He nearly gives up on pushing the doors open, not quite realizing how heavy they are, but he manages to open it just enough to slip through. The hallway behind it is as dark as ever, and he nearly trips on the junk piled up near the walls as he walks to his room.
Nobody comes out of the rooms, and he can hear nothing coming from any of them either. It truly is just him, Kurogiri, and Shigaraki living here now.
He's ready to collapse as he finally reaches his room, the door much lighter than the ones before, and for that he is very grateful. Somehow managing not to slam his door behind him(he doesn't feel like getting yelled at by Shigaraki), he all but gracefully falls onto his bed. Not bothering to change clothes or even get under his blanket, he reaches a hand into his back pocket. As much as he wants to just fall asleep and never wake up, he needs to check, needs to make sure.
Bring his hand back into his line of sight, he stares at the price of paper in his hand. Concentrating through the headache is hard, but he manages and he's still staring at the unchanged piece of paper five minutes later.
Something in him that had been hoping, praying, that he was wrong breaks and a sob tears through his throat. The sobs rack his body and tears stream down his face, creating a wet spot in his mattress. He doesn't notice, nor does he care, too caught up in his grief to care about anything else but the fact that it is gone. And he may never get it back.
All the creatures that he has created flash through his mind and his sobs grow louder. he covers his mouth with his hand, he didn't want them to know they won, but he doesn't do much else.
The crying exhausts him, and he can feel the world growing faint around him, and he lets himself slip into oblivion.
Even as he falls deeply asleep, the tears don't stop for a long time.