Standing before the pristine tori that marked the entrance to the stairway leading up to Shōshitsu Shrine, you couldn't help but remember how you had felt the day you came to this world. The uneasiness that had crept upon you back then was crawling across your skin like millions of tiny spiders, making you nearly want to collapse on the floor and just cower in fear. The place horrified you. It was so heavy with the many centuries of sadness and torture it had caused for hundreds, if not thousands of souls.

"Katsuki," you spoke softly, as if trying to not disturb any malicious spirits around you. "Do you know any history of this shrine?"

Deciding that you weren't going to start walking up on your own, Bakugou gave you a slight push with his hand against your back, forcing you to start following him up the stairs. "I don't know why it was originally built, if that's what you mean. But I do know the story of it and why it's called the Vanishing Shrine."

"O-oh? What is it?"

Bakugou gave a small grumble in thought, as if he were trying to remember all the details. "People say that a widowed woman came here every day to pray for the soul of her lover to return to her. It was constant prayers, rituals, anything that she could do that she believed would work. I think she did this for… twenty years?"

"Wow… that's dedication."

"Nothing worked in the end. She was still a lonely, foolish old woman. Until she decided to hang herself on a beam at the entrance of the shrine. From that moment on, people believed that it was cursed. Any idiot can feel that it's different here… It's heavy." Bakugou turned his gaze to look out into the forest that ran along the stairway, which were dense and dark, even in the sunlight. "There is something here… and strange things do happen. Like you, for example."

"What about me?"

Bakugou looked down at you, his gaze curious and almost cautious. "Everything about you. The things you talk about, the way you were dressed, that black item that I destroyed that you called a… phone?"

"Yeah, that's right…"

"People are found here all the time, screaming and being incoherent. But I think that just being in this place curses the mind. Makes people do and say crazy things."

"Hm… I see. That is an interesting story." Keeping your eyes down on your feet so you wouldn't trip, you could only imagine what his reaction would be if you had told him the truth last night. He probably would have thought you were completely insane, but that didn't really matter now. Who knows what would happen at the top of these steps, or what would become of you when all of this was over with. Still, when that final step was before you, there was no hesitation as you crossed the threshold onto the shrine grounds.

Almost instantly, everything was lighter. You could hear the birds and bugs chirping away in the forest, the sun warm against your exposed skin. It seemed so welcoming that any story or rumor could nearly immediately be dismissed. That is what made it so dangerous, you realized. It called people in and made them stay long enough for tragedy to strike.

"Well?" Bakugou interrupted your thoughts, having not taken that last step up. He seemed content to stay outside of the boundaries, and in truth, you wanted him to. "Can you remember anything?"

"Ah… Give me just a moment, I'm going to walk around a bit. I'll call if I need you." You gave him a comforting smile, feeling your heart flutter at the worried furrow of his brow. "I'll be okay."

"Fine. Don't go too far."

Gathering your courage, you began your exploration, walking around the beautiful, pristine building. As you did, you tried to look for… well, anything. Anything at all that stuck out as odd to you, but by the time you walked around twice, all you had found was an oddly placed rope still dangling ominously from a beam at the entrance to the shrine. Giving a frustrated sigh, you eventually stopped, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Anything, [L/N]?" Bakugou called to you, still in his place and barely within your field of vision.

"No, nothing. I can't find a single– EEK!" You squealed out in shock as the bushes beside you ruffled violently, making you stumble back over your feet and land square on your ass.

"What was that?! Are you okay–!"

"– I-it's okay, Katsuki! I'm okay, it's just… a fo-…" Your throat closed up as you realized what it was you were looking at, glaring at you hunched over in the grass. "– a fox."

Sure enough, familiar dark brown eyes were staring back at you, glancing over every inch of your form as the animal stayed low to the ground. With a flick of its left ear, you immediately saw that it was missing quite a large section, making your heart nearly leap out of your throat. "Y-you… It's you!"

With your loud exclamation, the fox hissed as it's back arched, tail and fur along it's back flared in defense. Unlike what you had experienced, the animal was completely feral with no signs that it could understand you, let alone recognize you. In a panic, you shifted to your hands and knees, crawling closer to it. "P-please, you have to recognize me! You sent me here!" The closer you got, the more aggressive the fox became, snarling with pointed carnivorous teeth. It was then that any hold on sanity you may have had broke, almost lunging at the creature, but you found you were held back by strong hands on your arms.

"[L/N], what the hell are you doing?!" Bakugou pulled you back away from the fox as it dashed off into the woods, which only made you even more hysterical, trying to fight Bakugou to get away from him.

"N-No, come back! You sent me here, you damn thing! Come back!" When you were swept off your feet and into Bakugou's arms, you finally gave up on struggling, clutching on tightly to his robes. "T-That was the fox, it knows me! It sent me here!" Sobbing and wailing, you could barely hear Bakugou curse or feel the movement of him going down the stairs.

"Damn it, [L/N]… I told you, this place takes hold of those with fragile minds. I should never have brought you back here…"

From that moment on, time went by in a blur.

You couldn't seem to register or focus on anything. You felt numb, lost and completely alone in the universe, more than you ever had before. Your only hope of getting home had failed, and now you had to accept that here is where you would be until you died. You would never again experience scrolling through your favorite blogs, playing videogames with your friends, cuddling with your cat, or the calmness of driving a car in the warm evenings. All the mundane activities that you had taken for granted were gone, and though you had tried to come to terms with it way before you came to the shine, having a definitive answer was crushing.

There was no more 'maybe'. Instead, it was all absolute. You would live out the remainder of your life here.

Period.

End of story.

"I guess that settles that."

"Eh?"

You and Bakugou shared a confused look, flames of the fire in front of you creating shadows that danced across his face. He seemed genuinely shocked that you had said anything in the first place, but you felt too numb to really ask why.

"Don't you think?"

"Think what? [L/N], you haven't said a single word to me in three days, and that's what you all the sudden come out with? What the hell are you thinking about? I thought that place had made you go completely mad." Bakugou reached up to rub the inner corners of his eyes, obviously at his wits end with this whole situation. "Damn it, I thought you weren't ever going to snap out of it."

"Three days?" You gave your forehead a good rub, trying to recall any recent event besides your interaction with the fox. "Have I really been quiet that long?"

"Not just quiet, but damn comatose." Bakugou handed you a stick, one end of it skewered through a cooked fish. Timidly, you took it from him, trying to remember when you had stopped to go fishing. "But to answer your question," Bakugou continued, starting on cooking another fish over the fire. "It does settle it. We're about halfway back home."

"Can I have some sake?"

"Only if you eat." Bakugou watched you closely for a moment, waiting until you took your first bite of the fish before handing you the alcohol flask. You let it sit on your lap for a while, eating most of the fish before you took your first sip. The heat of the alcohol warmed you almost instantly, bringing feeling to your numb body.

After your first hefty swig, you gave a sigh, leaning back on your hands. "I should have known that was going to happen. I should of just… expected it."

"I still don't understand what happened…" Bakugou mumbled, only sparing you a quick glance as you took another drink. "What the hell were you even doing yelling at that animal?"

"If I tell you, I know you won't believe me. Even I wouldn't believe me. It's absolutely bonkers!"

"What the hell is 'bonkers'?"

"Look, Katsuki." You shifted yourself to face him, taking another drink. "Can you just… have an open mind right now? Just for a minute? I'm about to tell you something that you won't understand and that sounds absolutely insane. But I swear to you, on my life, that it's the truth. Every word of it."

Bakugou observed your face for a moment, giving a heavy sigh. The contemplation and curiosity were obvious on his stern expression, but you could tell by his stiff body language that he was wary. "Fine… Go on, then."

"I… am from the future. A different era completely, about 500 years from now, more or less." You were surprised how casually the truth came out of your mouth, even feeling comfortable enough admitting this to take a huge bite out of your fish. "I am, or I mean, I was a college student in Kyoto studying [degree]. My best friends Mirio, Nejire and Tamaki talked me into visiting that damn fucking shrine as a little trip. I even skipped my class for it! We drove here down the highway on Mirio's dinky little blue car, though I slept the whole two-hour trip."

As you went on and on, Bakugou listened silently, munching on his fish. You told him about your entire past, where you grew up, your family and everything that you used to love doing. "… I miss real shoes and jeans. Jackets with the fluff on the inside that keep you nice and toasty. Coffee! Oh god, I miss coffee." With an agonized groan, you leaned forward, your head resting on Bakugou's shoulder. "Mm… And chocolate. Just candy in general. My cat used to love licking lollipops…"

At the mention of your furry best friend, your eyes immediately welled up with tears, sniffling as you squeezed in closer to rest against Bakugou's side. "My cat… I miss my cat. I wonder what happened after I left… I hope someone is taking care of them. It must have been so scary for me to just up and vanish like that…"

"That seems to be who you miss the most. But I'm sure that they are being cared for…"

Bakugou's quiet, judgement free comfort brought a heat to your chest, your tears escaping you as you nuzzled your face into his robes. "Katsuki… You believe me?"

"[L/N]… I…"