He's snapped out of his memory when the cage stops rocking forward and back. The sudden halt makes him alert instantly, though his body is too slow and sick to immediately react. He hears heavy footsteps, and the bars right next to him open up, and at the same time, the tarp covering the cage is ripped away.
Even the light of the moon is too much after being in the darkness of the cage for so long that he becomes unable to see that well.
"Come on, we don't have all fucking day!"
"They're all sick-"
"Then get the ones that look half alive, and fucking move them in I don't give a shit!"
His eyes adjust slightly to meet two figures. They stand by the cage, in a dark alleyway. They are in a town he can't even begin to recognize, though there is nothing around them but stones and closed windows. There is light coming from somewhere, somewhere he can't see-
One of the men reaches their arms into the cage, and too weak to fight back, pulls Kirishima out by his head. He lets it happen, his body limp and thin. Katsuki meets his sunken eyes for only a moment, but that's enough to sear the image into his brain.
He sees his bones jutting out under his skin and hears a thud as he is dropped onto the ground.
"This one is barely breathing..."
"Kill him."
Katsuki can see it perfectly from where he is laying. The man lifts his boot, and-
"W-wait I don't wanna-"
There is no regard for Kirishima's last words as the boot is brought down on his head. Brain matter splatters, and his skull cracks, caving in like a rotting pumpkin. Katsuki can't tear his eyes away. He distinctly hears Denki scream, though it's weak and shrouded in coughs.
He should have just kept quiet. He should have just shut the fuck up. That catches the man's attention, and he is the next one out. He drags him by his hair again, though he puts up more of a fight.
"No! N-No let me go!! Let me go!"
His screaming only makes him break out into an even worse coughing fit. It sounds like it hurts, and Katsuki can see the tears glistening on his face. He tries to do anything to help, only managing to sit up before he needs to take a break due to the fatigue.
"What about this one?"
The clear superior of the other inspects Denki, who is crying and muttering out small pleads.
"Hm... Keep him. Looks like he can still put up some fight."
The man nods and knocks him out, Denki's small body being carried into the place the light is coming from, disappearing with the man. The second one that has been pulling them out from the cages reaches again, pulling out Urarakas decaying corpse.
He lets out a small grunt of disgust before throwing her on top of Kirishima's corpse. He reaches in again, this time taking Sero, who meets his eyes. They don't say anything to each other as he's pulled out, the first to come out silent.
The man deems him fit and knocks him out. He lands in Kirishima's brain matter and Katsuki turns away, panting slightly. He is the last one. He grips the bars when big hands wrap around his body, but he's torn away. The man inspects him, lifting his shirt and prodding his skin just like he did with all the others.
"Keep that one."
Says the voice of the man he can't see right now. Again, before he can do anything, he's knocked out, landing on something squishy. Past that point, his life has been nothing but a dumpster fire. Traded off, he never saw Sero again.
But Denki and him managed to get sold to the same buyer, though after a couple of years, Katsuki was sold off again. Now he finds himself trapped in another part of the black market, waiting to be sold yet again.
Katsuki sits in the corner of his cage, curled up since there is barely any room to sit up straight and stretch his legs out. There are other cages on all sides of him, full of people. They aren't allowed to talk to each other, and when the lights go off, they are watched to make sure no one speaks.
He stares ahead of himself blankly, counting the number of indents in the bars over and over.
//"Katsuki, you're a strong boy. I'm sure you will accomplish great things in life."
Katsuki looks at the old women, pausing his work. He asks her what she's talking about all of a sudden, and she doesn't look at him, eyes focused somewhere Katsuki cannot see. Like a dream, something Katsuki has no hope to find because it's her eyes she's looking through.
"Nothing you need to worry about yet. When you get old, all you really want to do is look around yourself and think. That's why you need to leave the thinking to when you're older, and not waste your youth."
Katsuki continues stuffing pillows with bird feathers, not understanding a thing she's talking about.
"I used to have a little boy. He died of the same sickness that took my husband."
Katsuki sees the fondness in her eyes, but also the sadness.
"You remind me a lot of what he could have been."
She pats his head and leaves her hand there. He stops his work and leans towards her. She pulls him close, and she hums softly.
"When I die, I am sure you will be in the forefront of my memories, alongside them."
Katsuki grips the fabric of her skirt, and she laughs.
"Now don't worry, that's not for a very very long time. I will get to see you grow up into a young man, then have kids of your own."
Katsuki is silent for a while, before saying how he's feeling. She smiles down at him.
"I love you too Katsuki." //
He stares blankly forward, the anger searing into his guts and into his brain. He's going to kill these bastards. Every single one of them.
YOU ARE READING
I'll be your island in the raging storm
Fanfiction- Warning, Super slow burn - Izuku has lived a hard life trying to survive in the cold winter mountains. They are all he has known. Katsuki has lived a hard life trying to survive in the cold cages of the black market. They are all he has known. ...
