Izuku went back into the Living room. "Dimentio, can we talk?"
"I told you to leave me alone." He reached for his mask, but couldn't reach it from his current position.
Izuku picked it up. "I'll give it back when you decide to talk to me."
Dimentio looked at him with rage behind his eyes. "Izuku, I need that back."
The corruption was still crawling up his face, the black completely devouring his right eye, which was already naturally black.
"Dimentio, just tell me what's wrong! I know you have problems!"
That time, the music began, as Dimentio got off the couch and was still speaking.
"I have problems? You think I have problems? Really?"
Izuku backed into the doorway to the kitchen as Dimentio laughed and removed his hat.
"Ideas forming out of the thin air, these indulgences none can compare!"
Izuku knew the song had started, but had no idea what it was and didn't want to reach for his phone and give Dimentio a possible opening to attack.
"So many flavors that one would abhor! Even though I've had enough I still demand, give me more!"
Izuku flinched as the note turned into a scream the longer he held it down.
"I need a whole personality, something inordinately sweet. Order anything you'd like, nothing's changing my mind! I don't care how unhealthy it is, because there isn't anything I'd rather be!"
Izuku flinched again when he slammed his hand on the wall next to him, and instinctively pulled the mask closer to himself.
"Call me obsequious, I guess I'm a but dramatic. Sometimes my appetite is eerily erratic. Give me your dire expectations and I'll consume perfection. You are what you eat after aaaall!" He grabbed at the mask, but Izuku pulled it away. "Everything combines into one, so many flavors that one would abhor; and I know I've had enough! I've gone too far!"
Izuku backed into the kitchen, nearly slipping on the floor.
"Now that I've become a full-course identity, take a bite of me! I hope that I've become a favorable delicacy; that I'm worth something. I'll eat them all the thoughts of anyone I'll ever meet, just to make them happy! Wondering why I'm a burden or so it seems! Aren't I everything?!"
Izuku was actually taken by surprise when he led into the chorus. He didn't seem sad at first, but now the chorus shone the song into a new light.
He calmed down a bit, giving off a less-aggressive energy. "Maybe if I try a little harder, it will be okay one day. Keep on eating more and more, divide my life away into servings; and go beyond the point of no return. I know I'm subservient but all of this is necessary, sometimes my appetite is violently contrary."
Izuku could tell his rage had returned, and tried to back away. That time, however, he slipped and landed backwards on the ground. He had nearly dropped the mask.
"Irreconcilable perceptions appeal to my obsessions, the nausea is overwhelming!" He stomped on Izuku's arm, he again almost dropping the mask. "Whether I've been caramelized or rotten to the core, which one should I be?! Because I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore, and it's sickening!"
Izuku held tighter to the mask when Dimentio grabbed the collar of his shirt and forced the upper half of his body off the ground. Izuku could see his gums from his forced smile.
"I'll overeat the implications of your thoughts, just to make you happy! Nonetheless, I feel my insides are tied to knots; aren't I more than everything?! I'm a recipe for entropy, I'm too overwhelming! Give me your validation, I can taste your apprehension!"
He dropped Izuku on the ground and grabbed the mask off the floor. He put it back on to cover the still-spreading corruption.
"These flavors of personality are hindering my likeability; my impulsive desire! My appetite has spoiled my urge to satisfy! Everyone will like me more without it, everyone will like me more without it! Now that I've become the perfect identity, take a bite of me. I hope that I've become a flavorless delicacy; that I'm good enough!"
Izuku got off the ground and rubbed his arm. It was in his mind, but it still hurt him.
He wondered how.
"And now that I've become the perfect identity, what else do you need?! Because I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore, and I'm starving! I'll purge them all the thoughts of anyone I'll ever meet, why aren't you happy?! Nonetheless, I know my insides are empty, aren't I more than everything?!"
Dimentio's expression shifted from anger to fear. He backed away from Izuku a bit as the music died down.
"Oh, oh Grambi...What have I done?" His hands were shaking.
"Dimentio, what's wrong?" Izuku rubbed his arm.
"Oh no...I just tried to break your arm...What was I thinking?" He ran his hands through his hair, in which the yellow was now being eaten by the corruption. Lines of white detailed the separation between the color shift, even though it was all becoming black.
"Dimentio, tell me what's wrong. Please! Something's wrong with you, I can tell."
Dimentio began in a chuckle, which turned into a full, insane, laugh. "You were right all along! You did have the curse!"
"What? Curse?"
"Ahahahahaha! I am finally free from my eternal suffering! I never thought it would work, but here we are! You know exactly what I feel, do you not?"
"You gave it me because you didn't want it?! What the heck is wrong with you?!"
His laughter died down, and he fell to his knees. "But why do I feel no different? Why do I still feel so empty? So dead?"
"Dimentio, tell me what's wrong. Please."
"I told you, nothing is wrong! I told you, I am fine! How many times must I repeat it before-"
"This is about your past, isn't it? You don't really have all those crazy powers, do you?"
"Izuku, I have no idea where this is coming from but-"
"You were cursed, right?"
Dimentio grew silent, but the corruption slowly crept up his arms, making them become visible. A white outline showed their place as well.
"You didn't go insane because of Jumpman's death, you went insane from that curse. The one you put on me. Isn't that right, Dimentio?"
Dimentio continued to stay silent, but his paper outline was now turning black.
"And the Underwhere, it pushed you over the edge, but not because the lack of time, right? It was because you could feel the pain and agony of the people there, huh?"
Dimentio stuttered, trying to fight Izuku's words, but being unable to find his voice.
"And that's why you wanted to give it to me. You were trying to bring me down to your level. But I figured it out, thanks to your final feelings." Izuku crouched down to his level. "But I want you to know that you don't need to devour our feelings in order to please us. We'll be your friends, as long as you promise to try your hardest to change. But you've given up because of this curse. Did people force their powers to you? It seems like it."
"I will not be weak...Not like you."
"Dimentio, you need to feel. I know you've been holding back. Your puppet could explain feelings better than you, so what's stopping you? Huh? Is it fear? Or maybe it's anger."
"I have not felt in a long time. I cannot feel any longer..."
"You're lying. What about the joy you felt when you tortured Olive? Or when you were Shi at that party with Hole Punch?"
"You have no idea what I have been through, Izuku!" He got off the ground.
"That's why your emotions are so out-of-control when you're sad, huh? Yeah, I know about that! You're holding yourself back! That's why you haven't tried to redeem yourself yet!"
"You cannot tell me how to feel, Izuku! You hold back your own sadness from your father leaving you behind!"
"I do, okay?! But whenever I do, I usually cry myself to sleep! My mom is always there to help me, even if I never tell her what's wrong! I'd bet that if you had somebody to help you, you would feel sadness too!"
"I never had anyone looking out for me! My own parents even despised me! Blumiare, Mimi, you, everybody! I never had, and never will have anybody who cares for me, so why would I care for anybody else?!"
"I do care! You can do this, but you're stopping yourself! You're scared! I know that it's hard, okay? I'm not even saying that my dad being a total jerk is anything like your pain! But you can feel, I know it! I can sense it! You need to stop bottling it all up and tossing it aside!"
"But I cannot! I do not know how! And I wish you would stop this! I want you to shut your mouth!" He covered his ears.
Dimentio's arms glitched for a second, turning into black crosses with white outlines. The same happened to his legs and neck.
"Dimentio, I can show you how. You just need to believe me. You need to listen to me. Can you do that, please? For just one second?"
"Stop it, stop it!" The glitching intensified, the crosses staying for longer periods of time than just a millisecond.
"Dimentio, you need to let go. That will help you. You need to let go of our past and keep going. You're stuck. And the longer you stay stuck, the worse the corruption will get."
That made Dimentio look at his glitching arm. Izuku could see the panic on his face.
"No, no nono...! It cannot be...But the Chaos Heart is gone!"
Izuku gently grabbed his hands. "Dimentio, let go. Let go, and feel."
"But...!"
"Just try, okay?"
The crosses vanished, and he stopped glitching.
"There we go. Doesn't that feel better already?"
"Izuku...I..."
"Take your time." He gave him a gentle smile.
"I-I am so...so-s...so sorry!"
Dimentio fell to the ground, sobbing violently. Izuku gently brushed his hair from his face. Dimentio grabbed Izuku's ankle and pulled himself a little closer to him.
"I ruined everything! I ruined myself, and I ruined other people's lives because of it! I even ruined my parent's lives! Waaaaah!"
"Hey, it's okay. You're okay. Don't you feel a lot bet-"
Dimentio threw up on Izuku's feet, and looked like he regretted it. It was black, just like everything else was.
Except his tears.
They were finally clear. And the black was retreating from the rest of his paper. Izuku went to get Inko, leaving Dimentio by himself for a bit.
Inko was reading a book when he slammed open the door. "Izuku? What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
"He's throwing up again. Can you get a trash can? I think he's leaning on me for comfort right now, so I really shouldn't leave him by himself for very long."
She hopped to her feet. "See, Izuku? I told you that you could do it!"
Izuku returned to Dimentio, who was crying in the feudal position, holding his gut. Black was coming from his mouth a bit. Izuku dragged him away from where he had thrown up and wiped off his face with a few paper towels.
"When I said 'let go,' I didn't mean like that!" Izuku hoped to lighten the mood with a joke, but it ended in Dimentio throwing up again, this time into his poncho.
Inko came back with a trash can. "Are you okay, Dimentio?"
"I feel...so sick..."
"The black lines on your face..." Izuku examined Dimentio. "They're gone now."
Dimentio threw up again, this time in the trash can Inko brought over.
Inko stroked his head. "Do you feel a little better now?"
He threw up again.
"Can you even throw up that much? Do you even have anything in your stomach anymore?"
And again, which made Izuku start to worry.
"I am so sorry I put you through so much..."
"Is it supposed to not be black?" Inko asked, wiping off Dimentio's face with a paper towel.
He tried to push her hand away, but she was determined to clean his face off. He finally just accepted it and stopped fighting her off. He sniffled.
Izuku smiled. "Feel better?"
He nodded.
Izuku stood, then held out his hand. Dimentio stared at it for a minute. He finally accepted it, and Izuku pulled him to his feet. Inko hugged him.
"Now, if you ever start feeling sad again, you can always give me a visit. You don't have to tell me anything, but I'll always be here to comfort you. Okay?"
Dimentio pat her shoulder and she let go.
"Oh no! I crumpled you!"
Dimentio's paper vibrated a bit, then he straightened out. "You are quite alright, Miss Midoriya. I am quite used to it."
"Please, call me Inko."
Dimentio took off his poncho and tossed it in the washer, then started it.
"Oh, the dance! It starts in an hour and I'm not ready!" Izuku rushed to his room.
Dimentio grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him. "Izuku, wait. I need to see something."
"Huh?"
Dimentio put his hand on Izuku's forehead and held it there for about ten seconds. He slowly pulled it away to reveal a pale yellow orb in his hand.
"Heh...if only I knew it was that simple..."
He let go of Izuku and moved his hand under the orb. His eyes began to glow, which made Izuku a little nervous.
"I take the pain and suffering of those who cursed me, and release those souls of darkness!"
He crushed it in his hand, and it dripped down between his fingers like honey. The glow in his eyes vanished and he sighed breathlessly.
"It is done. It is gone. I am finally free. We both are."
"That's good."
Out of the blue, Dimentio hugged Izuku. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he dug his fingers into Izuku's back. He was in incredible pain, but let Dimentio continue the embrace despite it.
"Thank you, Izuku."
Izuku pat his head. "You're welcome. But what about our deal? Shouldn't I keep it for the rest of the day?"
"I had no reason to do that, and you had no reason to carry that burden. I honestly apologize for everything I have done." He let go of Izuku and wiped off his tears.
Izuku held out his hand and smiled. "Wanna come to the dance too? I bet you could use the socializing."
"Alright, fine. But only this once. But do not expect me to dance, I do not dance either."
"Sounds about right. You were the only one who didn't!"
Author Note: Song: Appetite of a People-Pleaser by Ghost and Pals.
I'm actually kind of surprised that Ghost and Pals songs inspired this story arc. I did change things a bit from when I brought it up to you, draco (sorry), which actually resulted in only three songs being cut out (I would've expected more.)
I know this story just keeps going and going, but we have one (maybe two?) more (VERY SHORT!) story arcs! You're almost done, yippee! [I swear, if Shiver won this Splatfest too...:(]
Anyways, Stay Fresh!