Izuku Midoriya lived in darkness, cold metal restricted his sight from the day he fell into their care. The complete blackness was almost a blessing; it was easier to leave himself to the silence when all he had left was thoughts.
In the beginning, it was disorienting and frightening, he didn't know if he was awake or dreaming; Every sound was something unknown and inescapable. The chains that bound his limbs behind his back and kept him in a constant kneeling position made sure of that, but the collar around his neck was what truly reminded him of his situation.
The collar was not comfortable by any means, it was thick and cold, always a constant pressure that dug into his skin, and yet for it he was grateful.
"Villain."
A cruel word, and for Izuku, it repeated from the confines of his mind like a broken record. Its whisper pierced his mind, stabbing needles into his beating heart. It was the echo he heard from the onlookers with faces of disgust and fear.
They could see everything that was there. The blood that clung to his skin, the tears that fell from emerald eyes mixing together like a scarlet waterfall upon his cheeks. His mother's own tears and sobs lost in a wave of hatred and due justice.
It slithered within, dark scales enveloping his being as it crawled up from inside him to cover every inch of his skin. Its darkness lurked within his very being; a venom that eroded upon the light shining through his eyes. Coiling around his heart with a vice grip that squeezed him tight until his yell gave it release.
A sharp beep echoed throughout the room, pulling the boy from his thoughts. He listened to the mechanical whirling of the locks and processes as the door to his cell clicked opened with a hiss.
The echoing staccato of boots among tiles was a familiar one. Izuku allowed himself to go limp allowing the chains to keep his position as the footsteps drew closer followed by another.
"Midoriya, it's your turn." The voice that spoke was reflectionless. Neither male or female, just some vaguely human voice behind an electronic speaker. The following beep that released his arms but kept his collar and mask in place sent him falling to the ground with a clatter of chains and a soft, painful thump.
Two sets of hands grasped the boy's arms and pulled him up to stand. He didn't bother actually walking, that was all the excuse they needed to accuse him of disobedience and he'd rather not bring it upon himself.
So they dragged him, guiding him through halls he couldn't see with an iron grip on his arms, the guilty sobs, piercing screams and broken mumbles of those that had seen the same fate as him followed in their wake.
The counselor's office was always the coldest place in the facility. No matter how many times he was dragged and practically thrown into the chair, Izuku could never get used to the temperature. Manacles locked him in place around his arms and legs, keeping him seated in the plush chair. They said it was for the counselor's safety when he had stopped crying long enough to listen.
Izuku couldn't be sure how long he had been in the facility. They did not allow visits or give him sight enough to see passing days through a window he was sure his cell didn't possess. Though he could count the amount of times he had his sessions with his 'counselor.' It had been six times now, and each time he had sat silently and endured her words. The truth always hurt the most.
"Tell me, you wanted to be a hero, right?" The woman's voice was soft and kind, her tone so gentle that she would have made anyone feel safe. The clicking of her keyboard as she typed away was deafening. Each clack was an ever tightening noose around his neck.
A nod, though he was sure the motion was wasted, the counselor already knew the answer. A test, a reminder of what had been lost, and a chance to show if he had made any progress. It was always best to leave verbal answers to a minimum; the early days were spent in tears and apologizing before he knew better.
Speak when spoken too.
"Why?" the clacking continued as the tightness around his neck grew into something much worse. The pressure was suffocating, his breath caught in his throat and he began to shake. The counselor knew, she always knew. He felt the moment he had gained her full attention, and knew her eyes were staring into the metal mask that obscured his face.
The clicking stopped; She wanted his answer.
Izuku swallowed hard and tried to not shiver, "I wanted to be like All Might, to smile through anything and give people hope," he whispered in a voice that cracked as it fell out of his mouth. Silence reigned as the counselor waited patiently, with a tremble he continued, "To save people with a smile."
The clicking started back up, a steady rhythm of judgment, she didn't believe him. "Was Yusuke Tesaki a villain?" She asked, casually as if speaking of the weather, the clicking continued, faster than before, but the pressure remained, he couldn't breathe.
Izuku's heartbeat thundered in his ears, as he slowly shook his head and tried to keep the sob that threatened to tear itself free from his lips. He knew what was to come, it had been the same every time; simple truth.
"Tesaki-san was a victim," She continued, her words were cold and harsh. He wanted to throw up, the noose around his neck was becoming too tight and wanted nothing more to return to his cell, "and you are responsible for his death."
The sobs finally broke free and he couldn't help but cry. The counselor's words cut through him, the weight of his crimes heavy and suffocating, "Y-Yes..." He had killed Yusuke Tesaki, it was his fault and the counselor knew it.
"Tesaki wanted to be a hero too, Digit Extension by no means was a strong Quirk, but now he'll never have the chance to even be a sidekick." She wasn't even hiding her disgust, each word was like a knife twisting into his heart. An inescapable fact, that he was a killer, a monster, a villain, nothing would ever change that.
"I-I lost control." The words came out in a breathy whisper with no force behind them. His head was down as if signaling his shame to her, she already knew, everyone did. He could still hear his screams sometimes... in dreams, that he tried to avoid, in the few moments of sleep he managed to catch the screams, blood, the crunching…
The pressure on his throat and heart grew to the point of pain, "You didn't lose control, you wanted to kill him," Her words were harsh and final, and her typing didn't stop, it wouldn't until he confessed, "Why?"
Izuku didn't answer. His lips pursed, and beneath the mask his eyes were clenched shut.
"Did hurting him make you feel strong, powerful?" She asked in a voice that was low and dangerous, like a snake slithering up behind its prey, he could imagine the look of hatred on her face, "Did you enjoy watching him die, Izuku-kun?"
"It is your Quirk." She whispered as sobs racked his body. "The boy used to bully you, didn't he? Was this some sort of revenge, an eye for an eye?" Her voice was like a whip lashing out, each crack of her words cutting through him like a blade.
"No!" He screamed into the silence that followed her words like a knife ripping through his throat. "I didn't want to hurt him. I just wanted him to stop, to leave me alone."
The clacking stopped, he'd spoken out of turn. He froze, and the loud scraping of her chair filled his ears. Heels clacked against tile, the counselor was approaching him, his body shook violently.
"Well, you got what you wanted, didn't you Izuku-kun?." She said as heard the clicks of her heels stopped before him, her voice dripping with scorn. "You should be happy. Now you'll be alone forever. You do understand that, right?"
It was his fault, his quirk, his choice, his mistake. A single finger came to guide his chin upward, and he was certain she was steering into the darkened slits of his mask. "That's why you're here, why we're keeping you. Because you're a villain." She whispered, her tone was low and gentle as she brushed a hand against his masked cheek.
"You have no control over your Quirk." Her hand gently wiped away the tears on his face and he felt himself lean into the touch. "Because you're weak." She hissed the last word into his ear as she retracted, leaving him shaking and sobbing. "You are a murderer, a threat, and we're all very afraid of you."
"I'm sorry," he said softly as his body shook in shame and regret. He was pathetic, disgusting; a rotting corpse leaking its foul juices onto the floor of society like some kind of sick joke. He'd never be a hero. He wasn't even a person anymore—just a snake that latched on and squeezed the life out of all around him.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, "I'm sorry." Over and over again, he repeated those words as if it were a prayer or an incantation to ward off evil. His body had grown limp in his chair until the only thing holding him up was those words that fell from between cracked lips.
"You apologize as if words alone could clean the stain on you." She said coldly, "What would make me believe you're sincere? I've heard it too many times before. What makes you think anything will change because of these words?"
He heard a buzzer lightly sounding, "I'm done, collect him and bring the next one" she said with finality, and clacking continued. Izuku sat there in that office chair for what felt like an eternity as he waited to be taken away by the guards, to be left alone in his solitude as he deserved.
"Now Izuku-kun, you know what to say?"
"Thank you, Miss -"
The ringing of a phone silenced his words, the counselor sighed at the interruption and answered the phone, her voice was a sharp whisper and the typing stopped.
"Yes, I'm in a session now." If she was going to say something else it was cut off by the rapid, panicked flurry of words on the other line. Loud enough Izuku could hear, not enough to make out the meaning.
"What?!" The counselor cried out, her chair screeching as she stood. It was the tremble in her voice that made him tense up, a small shiver running up his spine, she was terrified. The woman who till now seemed to take everything with the same level of apathy and disdain, was terrified. It was almost comical. The sense of foreboding in the room rose as the phone was slammed down and the heels clanked toward him.
A slight metallic hiss of unwinding pressure brought his focus to the forefront. He felt the tension upon his arms and head lessen as his restraints fell away from him. The darkness before him was suddenly torn away and light filled his eyes for the first time in a long time. The bright fluorescents were blinding... he was free?
"Izuku-kun!" the counselor shouted. Her face locked into a stern look as she approached him, the sudden choking force of hands around his throat soured his revelry. He felt the exact moment where everything froze for him, the second their eyes met. They were wide with fear and panic, and the hands around his throat were tightening, nails digging into his skin. Tears sprung to his eyes as her nails began to pierce his flesh and draw blood.
Goosebumps trailed along his skin, his gaze meeting fearfully with hers. In that split second, she seemed to realize her mistake as her mouth opened. A reptilian hiss sounded in the back of his mind, emotion poured through him as memories ran like a string through his mind. Her touch... burned him. He had to get away, he decided. Izuku gave a start, and pulled.
Her hand cracked at the wrist, immediately releasing his neck from her grip. A violent shudder ran through her as bone protruded from her skin. Blood spattered across Izuku's face, but he felt too numb to even blink. She screamed, her eyes trembling within her sockets as her torso collapsed in on itself.
Her ribs curled outwards, carving open her chest. She clawed desperately at her torn shirt, trying to hold herself together as her intestines spilled onto the floor. Her eyes rolled back, her mouth falling open in a silent scream. The air around him shifted as the scent of iron flooded his nostrils. He watched in shock as her organs and viscera slid out from between her fingers.
A wave of nausea passed over him as bile rose up his throat. His stomach convulsed, forcing him to gag and dry heave, his vision swimming in a blur of red.. Blood trickled down the corner of his lips as he choked on the bitter taste of vomit. Her body still stood as if it was some morbid art piece. Blood oozed forth from every orifice of her mangled, broken form before she finally fell forward, collapsing on top of Izuku.
Her lifeless corpse weighed heavily like a stone upon his body, its limbs twitching violently as the blood pooled around them; the last efforts of a broken body. His eyes went wide as he struggled beneath the dead weight of the corpse, a primal fear gripping him as he kicked and writhed, screaming until his lungs felt raw. Succeeding enough to free himself and push it away with a wet thud.
The counselor was dead. A terrible tremor shook him as he realized what he had done, the heat of anger, revulsion and fear being replaced by ice cold terror.
Izuku looked down, and realized that the blood that was on his hands was not his own. He stared at the woman, her mutilated body lying prone and still before him. Blood pooling around her corpse as the stench of death filled his nostrils. His stomach churned and bile rose in his throat and it exploded forth from his mouth, falling into the gore below; desecrating her body further with his sickness. Through it all, her eyes, which had exited her skull, stared up at him, glassy and vacant.
He stumbled backward, tripping over the mess beneath him. He slipped, falling onto the floor, and then he was crawling, clawing and scrabbling, pulling himself away. His eyes wide with horror, his mind blank except for one thought: run. His steps were unsteady, and every time he put weight on one foot it felt as though he would fall over.
And then the alarms started.
Izuku froze mid-stride, the shrill whine piercing through his senses and filling him with dread. He couldn't move. His gaze locked onto the office door, the alarms blaring, the lights flickering, any second guards would burst through and see what happened. He had to get out of here, but he couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe.
A sudden crash made him jump. A blur of white and black crashed through the door, its impact shattering the glass and splintering the wooden frame. A guard had come flying through the door and stayed unmoving; he stared through the doorway and was met with pandemonium.
Doors that lined the corridors of the facility had swung open. Patients were flooding out, throwing flames or balls of acid, crunching through limbs and slicing guards apart as they tried to contain the escaped youths whose numbers far outweighed their own. Laughter echoed through the halls as the bloodlust spread like wildfire.
Izuku could barely process what he was seeing, the carnage and chaos were overwhelming, but he knew one thing, the guards were too busy to notice him. A single glance toward the sick corpse of the counselor pushed him out the door.
He ran, the corridor was a bloodbath, a dozen bodies lay motionless or screaming, the stench was sickening, but he kept going, running as fast as his legs could carry him. He took off down the opposite corridor from the carnage. He didn't know where he was going, but it had to be somewhere, anywhere away from here, his cell was as good a start as any.
Izuku ran, turning down corridors and pathways as the alarms wailed throughout the complex. Each time he heard a cry of pain or the sound of gunfire behind him, he picked up his pace. Everywhere he turned there was more chaos and bloodshed, another group of guards dead or dying and people in the same attire as him running amok.
The alarms blared and the lights flashed red. Guards were shouting orders, patients were screaming and fighting back, and the sound of gunfire filled the air. He rounded a corner and slipped... a pool of crimson.
He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath out of him and sending a wave of pain through his body. The blood soaked through his uniform, clinging to his skin and hair. He pushed himself up, ignoring the aches in his body and the warm sensation of the blood soaking his clothes.
His gaze turned down, and his breath came a little faster as he saw the pool of red staining his facility-approved shoes and leading into another room. He looked back the way he came, and was met with the empty hallway, red flashes illuminating its darkened passage. Echoes and screams, daring him to return to its grasp.
He swallowed hard, feeling an unbearable dread inside him. Walking slowly forward and entering with his head down, his eyes locked onto the multiple pools staining the floor. His heart raced as he heard something. It was a light sound, barely noticeable if the room wasn't silent as a grave.
It sounded like sucking, as if someone was drinking through a straw.
"Suck…Suck….Suck…"
A figure was crouched over a fallen body, their back facing him, dressed in the pre-approved patient outfit. Izuku covered his mouth, forcing himself to be perfectly silent. He crept backwards, inching towards the door. The figure's head tilted up slightly, a sickening wet sound filling the air; the slight turning of their head was his only warning before they jumped.
His thoughts raced as his assailant straddled him, pinning both his arms with their own. He stared up into yellow eyes, close enough to see feline-like pupils. "Who..." He choked out as the figure leaned in closer. Izuku could feel their hot breath on his face and neck. The color drained from his face when he saw them.
It was a girl, with blond hair that fell loose to her shoulders, her white patient's attire stained the same red as her teeth. She looked at him, her golden eyes seemed almost foggy as if she wasn't really looking at him. "Wha-?" He whispered through chattering teeth when the girl leaned back and pulled out a knife. Her expression had shifted to a smile, a blush on her cheeks as she leaned even closer to him.
"You're cute." She said with a low voice that tickled his ear. He felt the blade at his throat before it made contact. Izuku's body stiffened up when she pressed on him. She hadn't pushed enough to cut through his skin, but Izuku could already imagine his blood pouring out of him in the same fashion he left the counselor.
The girl giggled and one of her hands released his to trail a single finger over his chest. The knife stayed at his throat, keeping him from moving. Her touch made his skin crawl. It was gentle, almost loving in the way she circled around the spot his heart was. He shivered, goosebumps rising all over his body.
Her finger came back with the counselor's blood upon her digit. The girl smiled and slowly licked the blood off her finger. The moan of ecstasy that escaped the girl's mouth sent blood rushing to his cheeks. The girl leaned in, her forehead almost coming to rest upon him, her brilliant golden eyes locked into his emerald ones.
Izuku could feel the connection as the venom beneath his skin writhed and wriggled as he peered into her eyes. He clamped down on it, closed his eyes, and tilted his head away from the girl.
He didn't want to hurt anyone.
"Aww, thank you!" came the girl's reply only for Izuku to jump in pain as he felt the gentle burn of a knife blade dance across his skin. The sizzling sensation of pain on his neck was followed by the girl once more moaning in pleasure, hips gyrating against his own. Izuku's teeth sunk into the flesh of his inner cheek, as he tried to ignore the unneeded arousal flushing downward.
"Hey hey, who did you kill?" The question immediately caused Izuku to stiffen, as a wet sensation trailed across his neck. The girl had pushed her head next to his neck, his heart beat like a caged bird against its bars as she pressed the entirety of her body against his.
Her saliva trailing her mark across his skin, following from the base of neck to just below his chin. The girl giggled again and her lips parted, her hot breath brushing across his skin followed by the smooth-hardness of her teeth tracking the skin of his neck; applying pressure along his veins.
Izuku couldn't help but tremble. Her touch felt electric, and his whole body felt numb and weak. Her fingers traced over his collarbone and down his chest, making him shiver. "I-I didn't!" He cried out, trying to push her off of him, the pain in his neck a little to the racing of his heart.
"Aw, come on!" She whined petulantly, moving away from Izuku's neck but still straddling him. She rocked back and forth as she looked at him, her cheeks puffed out in a pout;. "That's no fun, I promise I won't tell—!"
She cut off mid sentence, her eyes gazing into his own as if she was really looking at him, head tilting to the side and her previously misty eyes seemed to hold some newfound clarity. The blush on her cheeks deepened, her jaws worked up and down as if she was trying to find the proper words to say, "Saito-kun?"
"Hey, get those two!" Izuku snapped his vision upward to the upside down sight of two facility staff pointing at them. Shouts of confirmation sounded behind the pair as heavy footfalls echoed closer and a group of guards entered the room, weapons at the ready.
Izuku felt the knife move from his throat and the weight of the girl shift as she crouched over him. She held her knife at the ready, and she had a deadly gleam in her eyes. The dark circles around her eyes deepened as she leapt at them, all traces of fogginess and playfulness gone.
Izuku gasped as she stabbed her knife directly through the visor of one of the guards. The other guard drew his baton and swung, but she ducked under the blow and slipped her blade through a gap in the armor at his upper thigh. As the guard screamed, she yanked the blade out and slit his throat in one fluid motion. The guard fell to the floor with a gurgle, blood spilling out of his mouth as he clawed at the bleeding knife wound.
Izuku lay stunned on the floor watching as she dodged their weapons only to leave her attackers crumpled on the floor writing in a pool of their own blood. Her movements were fluid, graceful and fast; like a cat playing with its prey until the opportune moment to strike. It frightened him, but there was a part of his brain, a part he was steadfastly trying to ignore, that found it beautiful.
He only laid there for as long as it took to remember his position and crawl his way out of the room ignoring the still bodies on the floor, and running away from the girl more than the guards. He ran until he saw an exit, its door wide open and patients running outside into freedom.
He took a step forward but stopped…
'I deserve to be here.' It was a simple thought, he who had hurt others deserved to be punished, no matter how many years or decades had passed. His existence was corruption, he was a bad person, someone to be locked up for everyone's. He didn't deserve freedom, he'd hurt again, he deserved to be punished, to be chained.
He took a step backwards, away from freedom but... he could hear its hissing resound in his ears. Memories of voices and eyes judged him, stared at him. It would happen again, wouldn't it? He wanted to be a hero and that was a reality he would never achieve but was it so wrong to want to be free?
If he was free, he would have no control. No restraint, he could hurt others, people would get hurt, people would die, just like Yusuke. His fingers were trembling, his mind in turmoil. Could he do it? Could he step outside this place?
The hissing grew louder, more insistent, the darkness was growing within him and it needed him to go forward, it wanted out, and he had no idea what would happen.
His steps faltered as his eyes burned, the heat was building, tears threatened to fall, and his body began to shake. He couldn't leave, the counselor was right, he couldn't control it, and he couldn't let it out. He was a villain.
A villain... What did it matter? Nothing he did would ever change that, no matter how much he wished for it, no matter how much he fought against the truth, it would always be a fact. It was the reality he would live with, no matter how painful or cruel, he would face it.
His eyes locked onto the doors and he swallowed hard. His throat was dry, his body was trembling. He took a step forward and the alarms rang louder. He took another and the hissing grew stronger, his body shaking with every step, his vision blurred.
"Stand down!"