Triple Nightmare /Bakudekutodo

Chapter 45: The Wiskers Express!

Midoriya POV:
We slowly made our way to the back of the train. I had an uneasy feeling as we walked through the narrow train with the flickering lights over us. The train consisted of ten cabins each in 30 Train carriages. Most were already full and before we had a chance to find a free one the train abruptly started moving again. Because of the sudden start I lost my balance but Kacchan catched me last minute before I fell on top of Shoto who was struggling to stay on his feet himself. "Let's find a seat quickly" he suggested. "Right". In the 20th train carriage we then finally found an empty cabin and got seated.

Not long after we had stored our luggage and made ourselves comfortable it started raining. The sound of the big drops landing on top of the roof or on the sides of the windows felt southing. It helped me calm my uneasy feeling a little bit but it also meant that it got colder. The cabins had no heater and we were only protected from wind and rain. All three of us squeezed on the left bench with Kacchan in the middle. While he stayed awake to make sure we wouldn't miss our stop Shoto and I cuddled up on his warm chest and got some sleep in.
I remember when I woke up he was looking outside the window smiling. Back then it was quit rare seeing him smile so peacefully and I started to wonder whether this experience was changing us and if for the better or worse. I wondered if once we were back our friends would still recognise us. What a silly thought.

Soon after we arrived at the first of six villages we decided to leave all our stuff in the cabin, considering we had an hour to get back. Sadly we weren't successful. No one seemed interested and we went back to the train.

At the second village we had a better chance. The people were a lot nicer and tried to actually help. Sadly they didn't have the capacity to deliver to another village.

The third village refused because they were convinced delivering to a poor village would be too much trouble. I tried my best to explain that with a little help they would get out of that situation in half a year to year but they still weren't interested.

When the fourth village didn't even hear us out we slowly started to loose hope. We stoped at every house and begged them to consider but most just slammed the door right into our faces.

When we arrived in the fifth village the sun already started setting and we were scared that if they refused we wouldn't have time to ask the sixth village anymore because it would have gotten too late.
And as we suspected they refused. I was frustrated. After all the side tracks we took it was suppose to have been for nothing? We went back to the train. I sat down on one bench and Kacchan and Shoto at the one opposite of me. While I starred outside the window Shoto soon fell asleep on Kacchans shoulder again.

Todoroki POV:
It didn't take long for me to fall asleep again after we were back in the train. It had been an exhausting day and Bakugos shoulder was warm. After a while he even started to play with my hair while trying to cheer up Izuku in ... his own way.

"Hey! Friend? You need to wake up, ok?! Please! ... Wake up!" I slowly opened my eyes. "Hah! There you are! I am so glad." The floor I was laying on was wet. About 20cm of water covered it. The sealing pitch black. My head resting on a pare of legs. Over me, staring at me the boy with the lantern I had met before, bawling his eyes out as if his only friend had just died. "I am so glad" he said "Do not worry he is gone. I do not think he will be back soon. I just wish I could have stoped him from hurting you." I got up into sitting position and looked at the boy. "Do you remember what happened?" He asked. "That guy..." I started to remember. The last time I had been here I had a conversation with the little boy when someone appeared and beat me till I woke up in the real world again. "You do not know how released I am that you are still here. And have not left me yet." The boy said. "By the way. I know I did not have time to ask before, so what is your name friend?" "It's Shoto." "What a great name! I could I call you Friend-Shoto then?" "S-Sure... What's yours?" "It is Benjamin. Could you call me Friend-Benji as well?" He looked so exited I had trouble saying no. I had the feeling this wasn't a good idea befriending someone who seemed to be the childhood persona of the guy we tried to escape from but on the other side it may be of help later on. "Fine Friend-Benji" his smile lit up and he jumped around my neck to hug me. "You are my first Friend, Friend-Shoto...Thank you!"

Once he let go of me again I asked: "So Friend-Benji, could you maybe tell me who the guy from last time was?" He looked uncertainly at the floor. "Well he is somewhat of a brother I guess? Not really though." He said quietly. "Oh yeah? And do you have more of those?" "We are five in total." "That's a lot huh?" "Not really." He answered "Are all of them called Benjamin?" "Yes, but we also have numbers" "What kind of numbers?" I kept asking. "There is 3, I am 7 and 11 ,then 15 and 19 the guy you met last time. And I guess there is also number 42 but he is the Boss." "Why do you have those numbers and not for example numbers starting by 1?" "Because the numbers depend on where we come from. At what point we were created." "What does that mean?" I asked "I-" "you talk too much!" Benji was cut off. Another boy about my age had appeared without me even noticing. "Oh! Look Friend-Shoto! That is 15!" "Friend? Who is that guy" 15 asked. "Is he the guy 19 beat up? If yes you probable should stop hanging out with him..." he added. "But he's my-" "Friend?" "Yeah..." Benji answered quietly. "*sigh* listen 7. You know we can't let outsider in." "But he is different!" "You've barely met him!" As they discussed me I suddenly heard someone calling my name. I turned around. Again! Very far away I could see a figure appear. It was blurry and I couldn't figure out who it was. "You should go now" 15 told me. "They're trying to wake you up." I looked back to the person. As I looked closer I could finally recognise them. "IcyHot! Hey! Time to get up idiot!" The voice got louder. "Go over to him and you'll be able to get out of here. I wouldn't recommend coming back either." "Wait no!" Benji protested "Do not leave me, Friend." His voice started trembling and he immediately started crying again. "I'm sorry. But I have to Friend-Benji." I opened my armes and he jumped into them. "Please do not go" he whispered. "I'll be back" I whispered so only he could hear it. As I let go I smiled and grabbed his pinky with mine. He finally stoped letting the waterfalls loose. I then got up and started to run towards Bakugo before he would disappear. A bright light formed around me.
"HEY! Dumbass! We're here! Get up" I slowly opened my eyes. "We're at the sixth village!"
I felt a lump inside my throat, guilty I had left Benji behind.

To be continued ...