IMPORTANT!
I just realized that FFN doesn't let me use right-aligned text, which I did in this chapter for stylistic purposes. I don't usually indulge in that, but the fact that the one time I DO try to do that it backfires pisses me off. And I plan to use this more in some future chapters too.
So: Screw it. I try to keep Ignite's formatting the same for both FFN and AO3, but not anymore.
Read this on AO3 for the best reading experience. I'm actually going to start using STRIKETHROUGH there!
Chapter 114
.::Like a Fever Dream::.
"But Grandma, it tastes so bad...!"
"I know Izuku, but this recipe has been passed down my mother's family for generations. It always helps with fevers, at least a little."
Izuku whined in dismay as Granny Hiyoko stirred the bowl, face twisting in disgust at the smell. He couldn't see the dark-colored liquid since he sat at the kitchen table and the counter was so tall, but he could remember the taste all too clearly.
(but he'd never seen her visit his home, and he'd never tasted any fever medicine she made—)
Just thinking about it made him blanch and lose his appetite, pushing away his cereal bowl. "Can't I just take another bath?" he begged. He felt so warm, and a nice cold bath sounded great.
His grandmother knew exactly what he was thinking though, because she clicked her tongue in disapproval and shook her head. "No Izuku, you had a bath just last night. And cold baths are bad for sick people."
"It might make you feel cool, but it'll actually make you warmer," Ayane-nee piped up from the chair across from him. "You start to shiver, and that raises your internal body temperature. So while your skin is colder, your insides are way warmer."
"Been a while since I had health class, but that sounds right to me," his grandma chuckled. "You should listen to Ayane-chan, Izukun. She's at Shuujin Academy, she knows what she's talking about."
"It's not that great," Ayane-nee half-whined in protest, slumping in her seat. "It's just a high school..."
"It's one of the best ones in the city!" Granny Hiyoko huffed. "I might not be from around Musutafu, but that school made the top ten list of all the high schools in the country! That uniform's quality alone tells me all I need to know." Izuku glanced at it curiously at the comment. She wore a navy blue school blazer with a white-and-gray checkered skirt, her hair white and her eye navy blue to match it.
(except he had never seen her in her high school uniform, and something about her face looked wrong—)
"Still full of Quirkist jerks," Ayane-nee grumbled as she got up. "Speaking of school, I need to go now if I want to make it to the train station in time."
Izuku instantly deflated. "Aw, but you never visit anymore since you moved!" he whined. He then flinched when Granny Hiyoko put a cup of murky brown liquid in front of him, face falling even further at the unfortunately familiar smell.
"Izuku, don't whine so much," she scolded gently. "Ayane-chan already spent the night here despite it meaning a longer train ride. In fact, she should have already left," she added with a reproachful look at Ayane.
"Classes got delayed by a villain fight," the teenager replied as she grabbed her schoolbag, adding with a wry smirk, "First time I've heard of a villain fight closing schools and businesses because the area got doused in mud. Then again, people were wading through it up to their waists in the photos I saw..."
Izuku perked up and leaned forward. That sounded like a lot of mud. "How are they cleaning it up?"
"Last I saw they called in a sidekick from an agency in a neighboring city. Someone with a washing machine costume...?" Izuku's eyes lit up at the description.
(and he knew that fight, it was the debut of Wash, but he'd never heard it happened near Ayane-nee's school, but her face still felt off—)
"I've never heard of a hero like that! Can you get a photo? Or maybe an autograph?"
"Izuku," Granny Hiyoko sighed, but Ayane-nee flashed a brilliant smile and bobbed her head in assent.
"I'll try my best!" she promised, making him perk up. "And I'll be back after classes end. I promised Auntie Inko I'd check in as much as I could. So just rest up and take it easy, okay? And drink that medicine!"
Izuku's face fell instantly at the last bit. "Do I have to?" he whined.
"Yes, you do," Granny Hiyoko said primly. "It will help with the fever."
"Okay," Izuku sighed, pouting as he reluctantly picked up cup. His nose wrinkled in disgust, and he forced himself to down it before gagging.
"Bye Izuku, see you after school!" Ayane-nee called, and he managed to choke out a "bye" while trying to get rid of the awful taste with water. As he heard the door close Granny Hiyoko smiled at him.
"Good job, Izukun. I know it tastes nasty, but it will help. As a reward we can sit on the couch and watch cartoons for a bit before you go back to bed, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed, getting up to follow her to the couch. Granny Hiyoko smiled as he sat next to her, already picking up the remote to turn on the TV.
And as the television turned on, so too did Izuku's consciousness in a way, the dream coming to an end. He didn't open his eyes yet, remaining nestled in the warmth of the blankets and just thinking.
That dream... It felt more like a memory than a dream, but also not. His grandmother had never visited Musutafu after all. Her bad leg made traveling from her home in the nearby Nagano prefecture too cumbersome, or so she'd claimed. In retrospect her leg issues hadn't been nearly that bad; he suspected she simply didn't want to leave her hometown. Either way, they'd always traveled to visit her until she died when he was seven.
Then Ayane-nee... She'd never visited the apartment after she moved away for high school, but more than that, something about her face felt off. He knew it was her from the wing-shaped hairclip and the eyepatch over her left eye, but there was just something that felt wrong. Something about the shape of her nose, or her eyes, or just, something really small that he couldn't put his finger on. It still felt like her, but also kind of... not.
All of it together made it feel like just a dream, but at the same time it felt too grounded in reality to be just a dream. It was too nostalgic, too achingly familiar.
Was that a memory from the other Izuku? he pondered sleepily. It certainly felt like it. He could even fill in gaps to explain things he hadn't seen. His mom had probably had to go on a trip and asked Granny Hiyoko to watch him since he had school, and asked Ayane-nee to visit too because of Granny Hiyoko's bad leg. And then he'd probably gotten sick, judging from the medicine.
His nose immediately scrunched up as he distantly recalled a vile flavor, further cementing his suspicion it was his counterpart's memory. Odd that he'd dream about that though instead of something more relevant, like his time at the Alliance.
He shelved the thought as he reached for the nightstand to grab his phone. It had been a while since he'd woken up naturally here; usually he'd use an alarm on his phone, so he wondered what time it was. Even if he opened his eyes, the lack of windows in the room meant it would be dark even at noon, so he'd need an actual clock to check.
When he scrabbled at the nightstand his fingers only brushed smooth wood though, confusing him. He pried open his eyes, vision still bleary with sleep, but it soon began to adjust to the sliver of light slipping under the door. Just enough to see the table next to his bed seemed to be empty besides the lamp.
A lamp he didn't remember having.
He frowned, reaching out to feel around the lamp's base in search of a switch. It flickered on instantly and he flinched at the sudden burst of light, squeezing his eyes shut with a hiss. Okay, the lamp was touch-activated. Good to know. After a few seconds he rubbed his eyes to get rid of the remaining sleep before opening them again.
Sure enough, his phone wasn't on the nightstand. Nor did he recognize the table itself. He jolted upright and half-rose from the bed, more alert now, and looked around the room.
This wasn't his bedroom.
There were a couple hero posters on the walls, but—it wasn't his bedroom. Aside from the bed was a dresser, a shelf with a bunch of movies and books, a television on the wall, and a table with a chair. That was it. That was all he had in here.
And all at once, last night's events came crashing back.
Kurogiri warping him to this room. Steering him to the bed and taking his phone. Shigaraki visiting to deliver some of his counterpart's journals. Dinner spent begging them to let him take food to Eraserhead, or eat with his friends, but being met with firm refusals every time. Endless questions about his memories.
Izuku sank back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, feeling very small and trapped. "Oh, right," he said faintly, lips quirking into a shaky, strained smile even as tears pricked his eyes. "I... I got found out."
He didn't try to stop the tears as he let panic wash over him.
"Where's Deku?"
"Izuku is not feeling well, so he won't be visiting today." Kurogiri spoke smoothly as he set the breakfast tray in front of Bakugou, ignoring his glare. "I apologize, but we'll need you to stay in your room for now. Though I will see about arranging some time for you to visit with Hijack."
"So what, I'm back to being a damn prisoner!" Bakugou snapped. "I thought you bastards wanted me to be part of Deku's party!"
"We do wish for you and Izuku to become friends, yes. But we're still in the early stages of assessing your trustworthiness."
"Trustworthiness? Are you kidding me? You're the ones who kidnapped us!"
Tomura scowled as he leaned against the wall next to the door, listening to the colorful stream of curses and threats. Hearing the blond brat call Izuku "Deku" really pissed him off, but he suppressed the urge to barge in and shout at him or worse. He stayed silent as Kurogiri emerged and closed the door, following him as the warper pushed a cart with three trays of food down the hall.
"Did the brat show any signs he knew the truth?" he grumbled.
"No, nor did he and Hijack show any signs last night at dinner. Regardless of whether they are aware of the episodes or not, I do not believe they coerced Izuku into searching for the key though. He likely sought it out on his own initiative."
Tomura scowled but nodded in acceptance. Honestly, that was absolutely in line with Izuku's usual behavior. The brat would typically be horrified by their activity if he was having an episode, and kidnapping his childhood bully/friend and another teen would definitely upset him. He'd freaked out about the blond brat even with all his memories when it first happened. Without them? It was impressive he hadn't had a full meltdown.
"How'd he even know about the key though?" he grumbled. Izuku had refused to explain how he'd found out last night when Tomura asked, along with many other things.
"I investigated last night, and Toga admitted to mentioning the keys yesterday," Kurogiri replied. "She had mentioned it when he commented on whether they could adequately clean their legs with them on. Which is admittedly a fair concern I had not considered."
Tomura grunted, more focused on the first part rather than Kurogiri's musings. "So he's probably had this episode for at least two days if he could manage to ask about that without setting off alarms." Izuku had refused to admit how long this episode had lasted so far when they asked last night. It was unfortunately typical; he'd usually be too paranoid to say the length until after episodes ended. There were multiple occasions where they'd even find he had an episode only when Izuku would casually mention it afterwards, though usually those were shorter ones.
He'd done a good job at covering it up this time. Spending so much time with the brats and Eraserhead contributed to it; it was harder to notice Izuku acting weird when he wasn't around as much. Tomura had noticed him acting a little odd the past few days, but he'd chalked it up to being on edge after Eraserhead got attacked.
However, that only made him more worried. "What are the chances he was mid-episode when those bastards attacked Eraserhead?"
"Unfortunately, quite high," Kurogiri admitted. "It might be best to ask Aiko if she noticed anything on her recent visits." Right, she almost always noticed right away since his reactions to her would be pretty telling. If his memories cut off before he met Aiko, he'd be mesmerized by her eyes. Though there had been a few times when he was able to fool her because he could remember her, at least a little.
He just wished Izuku would answer some of his damn questions. He refused to say anything about where the memories cut off or what he had told the brats and Eraserhead. In fact, when Tomura asked about that, he had freaked out and asked him about their safety. That was why they were delivering breakfast to the prisoners first, so he could honestly tell Izuku at breakfast that they were all fine because he'd freak out if they hadn't been fed yet.
His fingers twitched at the thought, itching to scratch his neck in frustration, but he forced his hand to stay at his side. Aiko hated when he did that, so he tried to refrain as much as possible. The urge became unbearable when he got stressed though, and right now he was definitely stressed.
He just hoped Izuku hadn't told either of the brats about the episodes. Them, or Eraserhead. The thought made his expression darken, fingers twitching even more.
He listened in broody silence as Kurogiri delivered breakfast to the vigilante brat, waiting in the hall just like before. Even without the muzzle he didn't talk much, just asked about Izuku once and grunted at the canned explanation they gave Blasty. That was it, not even a question about Bakubrat. Kurogiri was in and out almost immediately, apparently satisfied with the exchange.
When Kurogiri reached for the cart for the next tray Tomura snatched it up instead. "I'll take it," he announced briskly, and Kurogiri eyed him for a moment before nodding and entering the code to unlock the door to Eraserhead's cell. When Tomura slammed it open Eraserhead jolted and sat up with a gasp, apparently woken by the noise.
Tomura heard a dull thunk as the hero instinctively tried to rub his eyes, the leather strap restraining his left hand catching. Kurogiri had tightened it last night after delivering dinner, leaving it too short to reach his face. He had to settle for blinking and rubbing them against his shoulder instead, but he was alert for someone who'd just woken up. Especially when he realized it was Tomura who entered. He went instantly stiff and rigid, watching warily as Tomura stalked over with the tray.
"Breakfast," he announced, setting it on the hero's lap without being too gentle. Eraserhead just stared at it for a moment, eyes wide and bloodshot. Tomura didn't bother waiting for him to talk, loosening the strap enough for his hand to actually reach his face. "Well, what are you waiting for? Eat."
Eraserhead still hesitated but then picked up the sandwich. "Why are you delivering breakfast?" he asked cautiously, eyes finally flitting to Tomura.
"Because I need to give you a reminder," Tomura replied briskly. "You're only here and alive because Izuku likes you for some reason. But if you do anything to put him in danger, do anything to hurt him, that won't matter anymore." He leaned forward, close enough to make Eraserhead lean his head back, and his lips curled back to show all his teeth in a snarl. "I will kill you. Remember, one touch is all it takes."
Even as he spoke he grabbed the apple on the tray, grasping it with all five fingers. Eraserhead's gaze briefly broke away from Tomura to watch as it disintegrated, eyes widening for a fraction of a second before snapping back to his face. The alarm and glint of fear in them was immensely satisfying. "Do I make myself clear?" Tomura asked lowly, just to be sure.
"Crystal," Eraserhead replied tightly. Only then did Tomura pull away, slouching as he stalked to the door.
"Kurogiri will be by in a few minutes to get the tray and do whatever the morning routine is," he muttered. "Just remember what I said." He didn't bother looking back as he exited the room, closing the door without locking it and glancing at Kurogiri. "I'll leave him to you. Don't tell him anything about Izuku if he asks."
"Understood," Kurogiri agreed. "Although, I heard your threat. And I believe Aiko would also be rather displeased if you killed Eraserhead. She's quite fond of him from what I know."
The comment had Tomura scoffing, scowling once more. "Hah, seriously? Why the hell... ugh, whatever. Just don't mention that to him either, or he'll get ideas about testing limits. I'm going to check on Izuku—"
"Shigaraki!"
Oh, for fuck's sake.
He turned to see Twice rushing down the hall, looking frantic and frazzled like always. Tomura bit back a groan as he came to a halt, pausing to gasp for breath. "I know this is a bad time, but we have a problem!" Twice declared, and then immediately contradicted himself with, "Everything is totally fine, nothing to worry about!"
"What is it?" Tomura asked impatiently.
"Braque just showed up at the bar totally beaten up! He said he and Yale got in a big fight during their mission, and they managed to beat up Yale! He barely got away but Yale's still back there! They're so pathetic!"
"Braque and Yale?" Tomura glanced at Kurogiri, the names niggling at his memory. "Which ones are those again?"
"Braque likely does not stand out to you, but Yale is the large one who likes to use his body like a bowling ball," Kurogiri supplied dutifully. Oh, him.
"Dammit," he growled irritably. "What are the chances he's dead?"
"We don't know! Braque passed out before he could give any more details! Mister Compress and some of the others are taking care of him right now! He's probably going to die! It's totally hopeless!"
Twice nearly wailed in dismay, but Tomura ignored him as he thought over the facts. That particular NPC was essentially a tank and one of their heavy hitters. He didn't have enough wisdom or guts to rise beyond the grunt level, one of those NPCs that always needed orders to do anything, but he was still one of the stronger members. If someone managed to beat him up, to the point he couldn't come back to headquarters, they had to be strong.
And they probably wanted the Alliance to know that.
This wasn't just some random fight, it was a challenge. And as the leader of the Villain Alliance, Tomura couldn't let it slide.
His fingers twitched, and after a moment he gave into the urge and let them rise to his neck to scratch away. "I'll be at the bar in a minute. Tell them I'm on my way, and to try to wake up the mob. Kurogiri, you go there too after you're done here."
He grabbed the last breakfast tray from the cart and stalked down the hall without waiting for a response, a dark aura hanging over him. As he crossed the base to the hall with Izuku's other room he hoped that the episode had already worn off overnight. That Izuku would already remember everything, and greet him with sheepish embarrassment or exasperation like usual, so he'd have one less thing to worry about.
When he opened the door and found Izuku staring at him from the bed with apprehension and nervousness though, Tomura knew he hadn't gotten lucky. He resisted the urge to sigh as he put the tray on the table. "Breakfast," he announced.
"T-Tomura—"
"Your friends and the hero are fine," Tomura interrupted. "We just delivered their breakfasts." To his irritation Izuku's mouth closed and he went back to fidgeting, confirming that was indeed what he wanted to ask. The fact that was the first question just irritated him to no end.
"Um, c-can I—"
"Izuku, I'm sorry, but I don't have time," Tomura cut in, making Izuku flinch. "Some NPCs are acting up, and I need to get intel and organize a raid party. If it takes too long, I'll get someone to send lunch. Just watch a movie or read while I'm gone, okay?"
Izuku looked taken aback and a bit unsettled, further souring Tomura's mood. "If someone else has to, can it be Toga?" he asked, and Tomura scowled.
"Hah, seriously?"
"I-it's just, she's my age!" Izuku said hastily. "O-or close to it. A-and, a-and some of the people here are... scary..." He trailed off, back to fidgeting uncomfortably. That just made Tomura's scowl deepen, and he quickly turned away. He knew he'd just scare Izuku even more right now.
"Fine," he bit out tightly. "I'll see you later, Izuku." He strode out of the room without a second glance, closing the door and jabbing the lock button on the keypad next to it. He scowled as he stalked off to the bar, the few people he passed quickly hurrying out of the way upon seeing his obvious bad mood.
Sometimes, being the leader of a villainous organization was just too frustrating.
(Unknown to him, a certain person watched from the shadows. But then, he had no idea she even existed.)
No Seiko confrontation yet. But soon c:
Once again, I'm taking off next week. I have the next chapter 95% done, but I seriously need to build up the buffer. And I got Ace Attorney Chronicles for Christmas, which is two games in one AND story-based, so... Yeah. Gonna cut into productivity for sure xD
And that said, I'll apologize in advance. Next chapter won't check in on the Izuku situation, we're going to check in on some of the others. So no Aizawa POV just yet for those who want it. Just letting you all know now so you won't get too hyped/disappointed about that. But don't worry, Izuku and the others are physically fine as this chapter shows.
Question for next time: what are your headcanons for Izuku's extended family? (For the record, Granny Hiyoko is Inko's mother in this story.)