Illusion
USJ
Chapter 4
White Heather; Meaning: Protection
It's cold. My arms are tied back behind me, against frigid metal. I shiver.
"This is what you get for disobedience, Etso."
I hear something breeze through the air quickly, a low whistle, and then a slap against the floor.
The whip.
He slaps it against the floor again, steps moving closer, like a predator stalking its prey.
I tighten up my muscles. I can only brace myself...
He's in front of me. I can feel it. Hear his breathing. The smell of whiskey.
I keep my eyes screwed shut, holding on tight.
Straining my ears, I can hear his ragged breathing and the whip sliding against the floor, ready to strike, like a cobra.
There's a whistle of air.
Then pain explodes, a slash against my bare skin.
"We will be picking a class president and vice president today."
"Yes, Yaoyorozu?"
"How are we going to pick? " She asks, moving in her seat with perfect posture. "Are we going to vote, Sensei?"
"Sure, do it how you want." Aizawa drawls, choosing to curl up in his yellow sleeping bag.
I hear some people start to yell and take charge, people calling out for votes while others try to organize the whole ordeal.
I don't bother trying anything and instead lay on my arms in front of me. My eyes droop.
I'm really tired, body feeling heavy and head feeling light. I did get woken up at 2.
Stupid fucking whip dream... it almost gets to me... every damn time.
Then my eyes shut with a liquid relief, my eyes soothed. I shake my head so that my braid-wave hair covers my head like a blanket and covers me with a darker shade.
My arms are so warm, my uniform so soft.
Then someone shakes my arm. I look up through my hair. I see a dark shadowy figure peeking up at me. Fumikage Tokoyami's Dark Shadow.
"We're voting now." He whispers in a deep, raspy voice.
I lift my head and blink away sleep. Everything is still a blurry, tired, haze. Fuck everything…
I am handed a voting card and blink a few times. Who to pick?
I look around the room.
I could pick Seiko or Momo. Midoriya was also pretty cool. I can sense something leader-like in Midoriya. He set off good alarms in me. Like the ting of chimes in my mind.
Chimes... That morning sunrise…
"When was the last time you saw the sun?"
I write Midoriya's name in kanji on my sheet. Getting up, stretching all the while, I walk over to the box where people were putting papers and slide mine in.
I walk back and rest my chin on my arms in front of me, waiting for an answer.
Election Results
Izuku Midoriya: 3
Momo Yaoyorozu: 2
I hear Bakugou yell from beside me, "WHO PICKED DEKU!"
I look, searching for Momo, and I can see her small prideful smile. She's kind and smart, and will definitely do fine.
I walk alone to lunch, or at least I stray behind Seiko and his new friends. Midoriya seems sweet, smart too. A cute type of awkward. Uraraka seems kind and definitely a wonderful influence. Iida seems smart and honorable. Teaches others to do the right thing.
Seiko's picked good friends. I smile at their backs.
They'll be able to watch over him when I can't. They'll protect him. They'll probably be more suited than I am.
I can only pray that he won't hate me in the end.
But I'll never stop protecting him from something he doesn't even know is after him.
All because of me.
I feel guilt twist in my stomach like a knife.
I really don't want him to hate me. But he probably will.
I lose my appetite.
I pick at my rice next to Seiko, who sits with Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida. I tune out of their idle conversation and tap at the rice. I'm not hungry anymore.
I hunch over my food before feeling a soft and warm hand touch my shoulder. Seiko.
I let out a sigh.
I can at least cherish the last love we have to share.
Then a blaring alarm rings out, panging unbearably loud. I jump before putting my hands to my ears.
Too loud…
"WAKE UP!"
"Level Three breach, please evacuate immediately." The voice sounds monotone from the speakers.
Across the table, Iida asks a third year what's going on.
"Someone got into the school."
I see people begin to stand up and run to the doors. I walk across the lunchroom with the flow of students. Then I'm taken over by the current, people pushing and shoving. I try to get out but I'm too small. A push sends me into the wall, head slamming back.
"Hey! Move it" I try and call out, I need room, but my yell is lost in the clamor.
I can feel my breathing start to get faster and faster. "Hey!"
I need to get out, pleas-
You're trapped.
"Please let me out!" But there are only bodies next to me. So many people. Please
Someone grabs me by the arm and I feel my heart lurch, ready to jump out of my chest.
No escape. I've got you.
I'm pulled out of the fray and I sweep over my arms, ripping off the grip from my arm. I kneel, breathing heavy.
It's him. It's him. It's him.
Run! Fucking Run!
No, No, Calm down, it's not him, he wouldn't get into UA. I'm safe. I'm safe. I'm safe.
Its gotta be a student or something. Say something.
"Thank you." I spit the words out quickly.
I look up, muscles ready to run and time ready to slow, only to find dual colored hair and eyes looking at me with a stoic gaze.
I stand up, brushing off my skirt and blazer, "Thanks," I manage once again in a semi-normal tone. I toss my hair over my shoulder and tuck it over my ear, trying to act casual.
A loud voice calls from the hallway and I crane my neck past the corner. Up, atop a large exit sign, I see Iida standing, his legs shaking.
"DON'T PANIC! IT IS ONLY THE MEDIA THAT GOT THROUGH THE BARRIER! WE ARE STUDENTS OF U.A; WE SHOULD LIVE UP TO THE TITLE. PLEASE GO BACK TO YOUR SEATS IN AN ORDERLY FASHION."
I smile up at him before taking a breath out. When I turn back to face Todoroki, he's already gone.
At class after lunch, Midoriya and Momo stand up front.
"Let's pick the other class officers, but first- Um, I think that Iida should take my place after all."
Iida gasps from the back of the room, confused yells coming from the class.
"But Midoriya was voted in."
"Well, he is class President. Couldn't he make that choice?"
"I guess that makes sense."
"I think he deserves my role because of the heroic thing he did at lunch."
"Okay, Iida, you can come up if you so desire," Aizawa interrupts.
Iida stands, his back straight as a streetlight.
He comes up to the front. "I will do my best to live up to this important role as Class President."
Cool. I just want a dreamless sleep tonight.
The next morning I slide out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
Thank the gods... No dreams.
Today we're supposed to do rescue training at some place called USJ.
I get ready, grabbing my bag and a quick apple, and walk out the door with Seiko.
We walk to the train station and sit, riding the train while I gnaw on my apple.
When we reach our stop, we slip out of the train, making our way through the bustling train station, filled with people walking, some even running, or sitting down with food. I follow behind Seiko as he walks up the stairs out of the station and finds the sidewalks towards U.A.
I sit through class, zoning out and half listen Aizawa talking about USJ.
When everyone gets out of their seats, I do the same, following in a daze to the locker rooms. I blink and focus on the world in front of me, the memories of the morning all escaping my mind in a blur.
I go to my locker, my head panging with a headache and vision stark and bright. I tug off my uniform and fold it neatly before placing it on the bench.
Pulling on my hero costume and gloves, my hands gripping the folded costume tightly. I roll my shoulders back and take a breath.
I blink quickly and take in a big breath, and my body settles
I put every part of my costume on, clicking on the cape and checking that I have everything with me.
Noticing the belt left in my locker, I go grab it. I snap it on and get ready to go.
The moment the bus starts moving, I take in a big breath and hope I won't get car sick with this rather sluggish feeling.
I sit, muscles tight, next to Seiko, one of the last people to board the bus. I look over his costume.
The base color of the suit is a shining silver, the highlighting in red. His knees and elbows are covered in a thick red padding and he wears tight-fitting golden gloves. the rest of the suit is silver, lengths of loose-fitting fabric covering his torso, arms, and legs. On the literal sides of his suit. Lightning bolts.
A lightning bolt.
I almost shake with anger. I want to just rip those fucking parts right off.
Naive.
"And one this side, we have our powerful Champion! And she's as fast as lightning! Ready to rip her enemies apart"
Never. I never did.
I leave him be and we both sit in silence while the bus booms with conversation.
"You look tense."
Dammit, he noticed. Well then, something seems seriously wrong, it definitely radiates off me and shows others. I put my mask on.
"Oh, nothing. I don't really want to do rescue. Not good at it." I lie seamlessly. He nods. The bolts on his chest, right there.
Mocking me. Mocking us.
You were never there, Seiko. You don't know it all.
When the bus stops, it feels like my organs are going to fly right out my body with the lurch.
I walk off the bus, squirming and so uncomfortable. It sends a pang of fear through me, and for a moment, I'm back there again, waking up after a night in hell, legs aching. This never happens anymore. Still, even with my thoughts dwelling in the past, I haven't felt this in years.
Years…
As a class, we walk into the building. It's like a large dome, and it consists of many areas around the center circle. It's almost like an amusement park. There's a zone that looks like a shipwreck, a sort of lake. Then there's an area with buildings practically collapsing. There are more areas, and it looks so put together. Definitely, like an amusement park. I can barely hold in my excitement.
I continue to scan the entire building from the perch that is the entrance. I squint to look into the distance all the way across the dome when there's a yell from behind me.
"It's the Space Hero Thirteen!" someone cheers and Thirteen begins to explain what we're doing. I've almost forgotten it's even rescuing we're doing.
I want to just ride down that waterslide.
"What's that?" I look over to see Kirishima staring into the center, "Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson has already started?"
I look at the center. Villains. A gasp escapes from my lips.
"Don't move," Aizawa speaks with a tone I haven't really heard from him before. Only confirms my thoughts. Aizawa pulls down his goggles.
"Those are villains," I say aloud, and I hear gasps around me.
I hear Midoriya speak from behind me, but all I can hear is blood, pump, pump, pumping in my ears.
Is he here?
No, it doesn't feel like that. I would've felt it. His presence is like a weight on my shoulders. I'd notice if he came.
He'd be at the center of it all if he were here.
It feels like pre-brawl energy.
"The sensors aren't working, and they went to all this trouble. They have to have some sort of goal." Todoroki points out. They always have some sort of shitty goals.
I can hear Midoriya's mumbling faintly, the class murmuring as well.
"Thirteen, try calling the school." Aizawa turns back to us, "Kaminari, try using your quirk."
Fight them, just like I taught.
"You can't fight them all on your own!" Midoriya calls out.
I can't.
Aizawa turns back to the front, his voice clear and deep, "You can't be a hero with just one trick." He then starts running down the stairs.
No, you go into there now.
No. I can't.
The group turns and starts to run through the doors again, but then someone moves in front of us.
"I won't let you. Nice to meet you, we are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we invited ourselves in, to the home of the heroes, U.A. high school, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to take his last breath. I believe All Might should've been here. Has there been a change?" The cloud of mist looks down on us with glowing yellow eyes. "Well, that is neither here nor there." His voice dips menacingly. "This is the part I am to play." His voice is almost like velvet.
Reminds me of Akuma.
I have to protect them. Protect him.
Then two people are running right towards the man of mist. Bakugou and Kirishima. They yell at the mist, but blood is filling my ears, I can't hear.
Completely irrational. They ran into the fray without knowing his abilities, also disobeying superior orders. They could die; they have no idea what he is capable of.
"My job is to scatter you and torture you to death."
Are you sure you can bring me to death? With torture? I could laugh. But Seiko wouldn't laugh. Neither would the rest of my classmates. I need to save them.
What to do? What to do?
You're always protecting people, blah blah blah. Leave him behind. He was the one who held you back for years.
Then his body, the mist, swirls around us in a huge dome.
I made that choice all on my own.
On your own? Do you really think I'd believe that for a second?
I run.
He hurt you.
No. That was you.
I speed out of the orb, stumbling out of it, cutting off my quirk to preserve energy. I gasp, taking a big, full breath.
They died because of him.
Stop talking.
I start to walk around the large black blob, staying by the orders and squinting to look inside, I can grab anyone close to the border.
I hear yells from the inside. It becomes smaller. Does he have a power like Thirteen? Can he make portals? Is he a portal?
I know this villain, I can recognize him, the memory is right there, at the tip of my tongue.
Seiko hurt you. He made you suffer. He killed them. Why protect him.
No, you're wrong.
I turn around before scanning the building. Black openings are appearing over each area. Classmates fall out. Shit. He is a portal.
Who the hell is this guy!?
He kept you there.
Stop.
I look down into the central plaza. Down there, I see Aizawa's scarves whipping around, Aizawa taking out villains and jumping around constantly. Blood is screaming in my ears, I can't fucking breathe.
He's the one who kept you there. Just come back to me and let me make it all better. Escape it.
No. Lying snake. Never.
Oh, this is because of Aki, isn't. Always listening to mommy's wishes, are you? There's no need. You have no reason to let them hold you back.
Stop.
C'mon, stop letting them hold you back! They'd have no idea. After all, I mean, they are -
No! Stop! Stop doing this! You have no idea! You are so stupid based upon the fact that you don't know I hate you more than anything. I'd never come back to you.
Turning back around, I can see the black portal quickly getting smaller and smaller.
I need to hide.
I activate my quirk and the world slows. I start to run. I find a wall on the sides of the walkway and run to hide behind it.
I sit down and deactivate my quirk.
Oh, really, do you hate me? Well then here's how it's going to go. Come and try and stop me, or protect him. Fight or protect. You are going to have to start making choices, little one. I'm coming and crawling closer, coming back to you whether you like it or not.
And you're starting to love again.
And your bond with Seiko will rot.
Things have to change. Make the right choices, or it'll all fall down.
They'll all be dead in ditches, and you'll finally come home to me.
The change is coming, soon.
You'll be in my arms again soon.
I breathe out before looking past the corner of the wall. The Man of Mist has shrunk back to his size from before. He looks around and I whip back to the safe side of the wall, away from his vision. I take silent breaths for a moment. I then turn back slowly. His 'being' begins moving down the stairs, sliding back to the central plaza.
Know what you need to do.
What do I do?
You need to let go of something, or the weight will snap your neck.
The choices begin.
Go down and help Aizawa.
I don't want you to die.
Speed around and help people out.
Prioritize what you're going to fight for.
Leave the building and get help.
I stare ahead of me for a moment.
I need to…
Fight, fight for your life. Kill if you have to.
Seiko! I need to find him!
They could be after him.
I'm going to find him. I need to find him!
I stand up, looking over the wall, seeing the coast was clear, and beginning to speed, right to the closest disaster zone.
You cannot protect them all from me.
I pound my legs on the pavement, running, running, running to find Seiko, and save classmates on the way.
There's a moment of bliss within my mind. Silence.
Then.
Distantly...
I can hear his voice...
A-
A quiet question.
A whisper, quiet yet threatening, like a chilling breeze whistling through the trees.
I can almost feel air brush on my ear...an exhale...
.
..
...
"I wonder who'll die first?"
Sorry for such a long wait between chapters, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. (School has hit me like a bus) But anyways, thank you so much to all those who followed and favorited- you made my heart jump every email. So thank you for that. I'm going to try and post on Saturdays, and commit more to my schedule. I decided to post now because I felt like I shouldn't put it off for another week. (I would've posted this Sat. if it weren't for the shitty saving feature on this site that makes me lose lots of work.) But anyways a big delve into the Bold Scary Text guy, he'll certainly be fun to write more 'dialogue' with...
Anyways, thanks so much for reading, and please share thoughts, feelings, and theories below, I'd love to hear them!
Next time... Bellflower