Guilt (KiriBaku)

(Half episode) Dragons

Dragons. It's always fucking dragons.

Same dream, same course of events.

Every. Single. Night.

It starts out like normal; I'm at school. Then I'm on a train. Somehow I make my way to some twisted fantasy realm where nothing makes sense and everything wants to kill me. I see my classmates there every time. I watch Mina hatch from an egg, I see Iida flying through the air like some crazy fast fighter jet, and more weird shit. Then I jump to a new scene. I'd go around a desert, looking for a source of water. It was never for me though, it was for a tiny baby dragon Mineta. I'd always find a water source, but I couldn't make it back on time. I'd turn around and boom, I got stabbed by a heavily clothed figure. They lift their hood to reveal that blonde girl villain I saw once before. I remember getting shivers down my spine whenever I think of her.

Really the dreams started when we rescued Bakugou. I suppose he's been having worse dreams than me, but it's still eerie to see the tormentors of Bakugou right in my mind, like they're haunting me. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have those creeps around me all the time, while I'm being pressed for information. Bakugou was tough, and I admired that.

This dream though- this one was different. So very different.

It started out the same. I'm at school. Then I'm on a train. Somehow I make my way to some twisted fantasy realm where nothing makes sense and everything wants to kill me. But no dragons.

I look everywhere.

No dragons.

In empty shells, under rocks, behind closed doors.

No dragons.

What the hell? Where is everyone? Where is the flying Iida, or the hatching Mina, or the fatigued fucking Mineta? I'm freaking out, I remember that much. I start theorizing what could be behind this mystery. Maybe they're in a different place. Maybe I'm in a different place. Who knows? I sure as hell don't.

I start walking in the direction that I normally go for that water source. I've memorized the path by heart, yet I'm not even sure It's a real place anywhere in the world. Everything looks relatively the same until my vision starts shifting. Suddenly the road ahead of me fades into some distorted pathway of faces. Pro heroes, classmates, friends, family, even the faces of people I've never met, but seen walking past. I stop walking. Cries I didn't know that were wailing subsided to low whimpers. I reach my foot out to take a step, and I find Kaminari under my toes. As soon as I put pressure forward, I hear an earsplitting shriek. I jump, picking my foot up immediately to step back, but then another scream erupts. I look down, and I see the disturbed face of Aizawa. Behind me the path remains the same as it was forward, and there's nothing but a black void around me. Slowly but surely, I make my way forward, trying to ignore the agonizing sounds coming from below me. I walk, but more screams emerged from the gloom. It was too much to handle.

I looked behind my back. And I'm met with a crusty, scarred face. Terrifying and absolutely disgusting. I recognize one of the villains we rescued Bakugou from, but I never thought I'd see the monster in a dream. Down lower, a movement caught my eyes, reminding me of the deafening clamour the road gave off. It was... decaying. I shit you not, the road was actually decaying, which would explain the increased noise.

Then it hit me; I should really move now.

Turning tail, I sprinted down the other way, ignoring the constant intrusion trying to weave its way through my mind. I kept running and running, hoping I'd get away long enough to regain my composure. I took a risky glance back, and the road's end seemed closer than ever. Focusing my eyes back forward, I kept going until the road just cut off. It just fucking cut off with no warning. I looked back behind me, and there was no road now. It was all lost to the dust.

Turning around, I wondered where I'd go now. I didn't have to wonder for long, however. My eyes met with the clothed figure I'd see in my normal dreams. I shivered, thinking of how I'd have to see the villain girl up close. Uncovering the hood, I look at the face to find not the blonde girl, but a redheaded boy. Who...?

Shit.

It's me. I'm stabbing myself. Is this supposed to represent something, or am I just suicidal?

I barely felt the pain of a knife penetrating my chest, but once I feared what would happen, it hit me like a truck. Suddenly, the last of the road decayed, and I was plunged into darkness.

Then I woke with a start. I found myself back on the train like before. Why was I on the train in the first place? Whatever. I felt normal, or as normal as I could with that nightmare. I thought I felt the same, but I noticed I was... smaller? I felt frail- weak, even. I hated feeling like that. I brought my hands up to my face, and even the structure was different. Panicked, I felt my hair. Spiky. Without gel.

I knew who I was.

So... now I'm Bakugou? I'm Bakugou and I was killed by Kirishima, or someone who looked like me at least. I'm so fucking confused. Does that mean I killed Bakugou, or that I'll be the cause of something bad happening to him? That thought scared me more than anything. I don't want to think about it. I want to leave this hellscape already. I stand up, and I shuffled my way to a door on one side of the train. I need to get out.

I hold up my arm, ready to strike the glass. Once I do, I receive a bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. I pound on the door, and it shatters. I leap out of the train and jump awake, for real.

I'm in my room. I'm sweating. I need to find Bakugou.