𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐞

Ch10

Izuku sat at the edge of his tub, still sporting sweaty street clothes from sprinting through Musutafu.

Tenya and Shoto both insisted that they give him a ride home, despite his reassurances that he would be fine walking.

In the end, he didn't really have much of a say, since they were both final with their decisions on the well-being of others--especially himself.

The first thing he did after bidding his friends goodbye and entering his house, was of course, go straight to taking a bath.

He was aware that soaking blistering feet in ice-cold water wasn't the best notion, but the numbing sensation it provided was suitable for the occasion.

It was always such a cinematic feeling, being surrounded by absolute silence in a room with an echo.
Even more so, that Izuku was shin-deep in chilling water, trying his best not to dampen his already mudded clothes.

Every drop, breath or shuffle could be heard, but after the faucet closed, there was nothing but a deafening silence.

Izuku hated the quiet.

Throughout adolescence, quiet was his means of brainstorming, dreaming of his future.
But as more time passed and more tragedies arose, quiet would become the soil for seeds of doubt, hurt and anger in Izuku's mind.

Katsuki's disappearance pushed him over the edge.

"Hm."
Izuku mused, combing his fingers through the surface of the water.

To think, the one time Izuku went off the handle as bad as that, he has no recollection of the event?

'They deserved it, though' he thought.

He swept his fingers through once again, splashing droplets against the glossy tile of his bathroom walls; causing some of the lapping water to spill.

Katsuki would've yelled at him for something like this.

"You know," Izuku suddenly perked up, as if he'd just acknowledged unseen company,

"I don't even know if it was painful. You know, the light that took you. Was it even a light? I mean, witnesses could be pretty unreliable. For all I know, you could've been snatched by a UFO."

He chuckled at the thought.

"Sorry, sorry. I know, I'm a comic book geek. But imagine the headlines."

He made a box-shape with his hands,
"Katsuki Bakugo. More extraterrestrial than anyone could've predicted."

Ah.
That didn't feel right.

It was almost a chemical reaction to even mentioning Katsuki's name as a means of satire; the feeling of dread crawling at the back of his throat.

He began to feel nauseous.
Cold.
Frozen.

In an attempt to subside this stand-still feeling, he allowed his body to fully slide into the water.

His clothes were heavy.
It didn't feel right, but it didn't feel wrong, either.

Like his body was fighting the urge to feel comfortable.

But he didn't want to feel comfort.

He wanted Katsuki.

Was it really wise of Izuku to dedicate that much of his time, effort and affection to simply the memory of someone?

It wouldn't be absolutely impossible for Katsuki to be a completely different person if he were there, but then again, who cared?