No matter how often you found yourself here, it still didn't make the fear any less intense.
As always, it was pitch-black as far as you could see. Your first instinct was to scream out and beg to be released, but unsurprisingly, the system didn't grace you with a response. Panic rushed through your veins. You had no idea how long they intended to keep you here. You couldn't even begin to fathom how long your suffering would go on for, and if that wasn't horrible enough, you would be unable to move for the whole duration of it.
Wait. Actually... you could move.
This had never happened before. When you took a few cautious steps, you found that you were able to move just fine, like in the real world. Hesitantly, you patted the sides of your face and various parts of your body. You could feel things. Something was different. But why?
Suddenly, you remembered the last message the system had sent you.
["Don't worry. I've planned something more interesting this time."]
You hadn't the slightest clue what they meant by that, but if the past was any indication, it couldn't be good news.
That being said, you could actually move this time, so instead of sitting still and lamenting your fate, you decided to try and look for a way out.
"Hello?" you called. It was probably pointless to wait for an answer. Not like there was anyone else in here but you. Still, you were choosing to believe that the system wasn't all-powerful. If you made enough of an effort, perhaps you could find its weak spot. Perhaps you could break free of the iron-clad grip it had on your life.
You walked and walked, for several minutes without stopping. Unfortunately, the longer you searched, the less hopeful you felt. It was way too dark and disorienting. You could have been going in circles for all you knew.
"This isn't fair," you whimpered. "Please let me out of here. I'll fix things with Katsuki. I-I'm not sure how, but I promise I will."
They still weren't responding to you. Even though you'd known from a while ago that they were far from being your ally, you were slowly coming to the realization that they truly were rotten to the core.
Right as you were about to crumple to your knees and start crying, it happened.
You saw him.
From the distance, you couldn't even really tell that it was a man at first. You just barely saw the outline of his silhouette, light surrounding his body in place of the darkness all around. There was a person in here. You weren't all alone. Someone might actually be able to help!
"Wait!" you cried out, breaking into a run. He was walking away from you, and you struggled to keep up lest you lose him altogether. "P-Please stop! I need your help! I need to get out of here!"
He finally turned towards the sound of your voice, stopping in his tracks. His pause allowed you to catch up, and now that you were closer, you could finally get a good look at him.
You couldn't tell his exact age, but he was definitely older than you. A young adult, perhaps? He had dark brown hair that was short-cropped and showed off his beautiful golden eyes. They were piercing and bright, with long lower lashes that made them stand out that much more. You got the sense that he was probably quite handsome, but unfortunately, the mask he wore prevented you from seeing his full face. It was red with gold detailing, styled in the likeness of what plague doctors used to wear.
And once again, you were faced with that nagging sense of familiarity. The sense that this wasn't the first time you'd laid eyes on him.
Not that his appearance really mattered. What mattered was that he was in here with you, and thus, your only means of escape.
"I-I'm trapped," you said meekly.
The man didn't so much as flinch. He gave you a curious look, tilting his head to the side just slightly. Actually, you were starting to have your doubts about this whole thing. He was eerily quiet. Was he even real, or just a figment of your imagination? Had you already lost your sanity and were now simply hallucinating?
Hoping to put your suspicions to rest, you reached out and tried to touch him. If you could feel him, then he had to be real, right?
As it turned out, that was a grave mistake. You didn't realize it until your fingers made contact with the exposed skin of his forearm, and he shrunk away from you, disgust lacing his features.
"Don't touch me!" he exclaimed, revealing a deep and husky voice. He then glanced down towards where your hand had made contact with him. You realized that small hives had risen to the surface of his skin.
So, he was real. But he looked upset that you'd touched him without asking.
"I'm sorry," you apologized. Based on how strongly he'd reacted, it seemed like the right thing to do.
Unfortunately for you, it was too little, too late.
"You're a vile little thing," the man hissed. You'd only just realized that he was wearing white cloth gloves, and you watched with a mildly perplexed gaze as he began pulling one of them off. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on me. I feel like I'm going to get sick."
It all happened in slow motion. You could see his ungloved hand reaching towards you, but your brain couldn't process the information in time for you to move out of the way.
The second his fingers touched your arm, it erupted into a bloody mess.
You screamed louder than you'd ever screamed before. The pain was all-consuming and utterly unbearable. You were missing an arm. He'd barely touched you, and just like that, your body had been mutilated beyond repair.
"W-Why...?" was all you managed to splutter, cheeks streaming down your cheeks. "I s-said I was sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm just scared. I'm so scared..."
You were losing blood at an alarming rate. Your head was all light and fluttery, to the point that it was a struggle to even keep your vision steady. So much blood. All of this... was yours?
The man watched you bleed out, and although you couldn't see the lower portion of his face thanks to the mask he wore, you were certain his expression was devoid of any remorse.
"You shouldn't have touched me," he grimaced, carefully placing his glove back on, then shaking his head. "Good grief. Everyone is so diseased."
You could feel your breathing getting fainter. Short, stuttering gasps left your lips. Your cheeks were drenched with tears, but you were starting to feel less and less of your body. Every part was slowly getting number by the second, and you felt as though something heavy was weighing down on your chest, slowly suffocating you.
Your eyes rolled back into your skull.
Just like that, you died.
*****
But then, you were alive again.
Air rushed into your lungs, and when you opened your eyes, you found that you were in the same position as before-lying on your back and staring up at the sky from when Katsuki had pushed you down.
Instinctively, you screamed, hands darting to where your arm had once exploded into bits of flesh. Unlike before, there was no gaping wound; no indication that you were missing any limbs. There was no pain, either. At least, not to the touch. But in the recesses of your mind, it still lingered. You couldn't forget it so easily.
["I told you I had something different in store this time."]
You shuddered and let out a disbelieving gasp. Just like when you'd been trapped in the void, tears started pouring down your cheeks. It wasn't fair. This was too much to bear. It was just too cruel. Why did you have to endure something so horrible? Just because you'd unintentionally gotten on someone's bad side?
You were being tortured over something like that?
["I'm sure you must feel that I'm being too harsh on you, but if I don't show you some tough love every now and then, you'll be under the impression that you can do whatever you want. I can tell that you don't want to get close to Bakugou Katsuki, but unfortunately for you, it's not up for debate. So. Are you going to keep being difficult, or are you ready to put in the effort?"]
You choked on your tears, clamping a palm over your mouth to keep from hyperventilating. "I-I'm-I really didn't mean to, I was just-"
["Alright, alright. I'll give you some time to calm down, so relax. I'll try not to resort to such extremes next time, but you really have to work with me here."]
They were completely and utterly remorseless. Just like the man from earlier-whether he was a real person or something fictitious the system had concocted-neither of them cared about your suffering in the slightest. The system had told you from the beginning that they weren't a human being. They probably couldn't even begin to wrap their head around the concept of sympathy.
Something told you that if they wanted to, they could put you through things that were much, much worse.
Mustering up every ounce of your willpower, you clenched your fists and slowly stopped crying. A few more tears kept on rolling down your cheeks, but at the very least, you weren't sobbing out loud anymore.
"I... understand," you said weakly. "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."
For the time being, the system seemed satisfied.
["Good. Now, while you're still here, let's get on with that daily task, shall we?"]
You nodded vacantly. It didn't even occur to you to hate them for what they'd put you through. All you felt was terror.
*****
As much as you wanted to say that the next few days went by normally, that would've been a lie.
Even though the system didn't punish you, the memories of the nightmare you'd been forced to experience were still fresh in your mind. You did your best to swallow your fear and pretend like everything was fine, but in the back of all your thoughts was the same question.
What happens when I screw up next time?
You could only imagine that each rendition would be more horrible than the last, which made it almost impossible to stay calm. You were always wondering when another one of your love interests would get upset with you and make the system lash out. For that very reason, you felt hesitant to even contact Izuku or Shouto, afraid that one misstep would ruin all your progress and put you back at square one.
You knew you needed to be stronger. You wouldn't be able to make it if you kept breaking down at the first sign of trouble. But you just couldn't help it. Even when the system reassured you that they would play nice as long as you didn't royally screw things up again, you didn't believe them.
After all, given everything they'd already put you through, how could you?
The days felt long, and your exhaustion ran deep. Nonetheless, you trudged onwards. The thing you wanted most was to regain your memories. Perhaps once they slowly began to come back to you, it would make the situation a bit easier. You might even find out exactly how you ended up like this to begin with.
You were resolved to be free of this system one day, no matter what it took.
"That'll be 550 yen," the cashier said.
You nodded listlessly and deposited your coins on the counter, then grabbed your cup of coffee. You weren't sure if you used to be a heavy coffee drinker, but given how worn-out you were, it was the only thing that was really keeping you going. You'd hardly gotten any sleep the past few nights. You kept seeing that man with the golden eyes in your dreams, and every time, he killed you.
You exited the store and took a gulp of your coffee, not even stopping to think that it would be incredibly hot.
"Shit!"
You burned your tongue, and the sharp pain made you fumble with the coffee cup and drop it onto the ground. You watched with a blank expression as the dark brown liquid spilled onto the pavement. It wasn't even a little bit, either. You'd barely had a single sip of your drink, and now it was all gone.
["What a waste of 550 yen."]
It wasn't a big deal. It was just a cup of coffee. That's what you tried to tell yourself, but it didn't make the tears stop. You were just frustrated. Frustrated, and beyond that, incredibly overwhelmed. You didn't what to do, or how to do it, and your anxiety was at an all-time high.
Sometimes, the smallest of things were all it took to push someone over the edge.
Feeling hopeless, you slumped down against the sidewalk and buried your face in your palms, then began crying. You knew you shouldn't be doing this. You needed to stay strong. But as hard as you tried, you just couldn't escape the paranoia and emptiness that consumed you. Was it so much to ask that you just be normal? Did you used to be such a horrible person that you actually deserved this?
You didn't know, so you just kept on crying. Mercifully, the system didn't berate you for it or chime in with any malicious remarks. They let you bask in your sadness until you'd had your fill.
Honestly, you probably would have gone on sobbing for a while longer if not for the stranger that called out to you.
"Hey, kid. Are you alright?"
With a shuddering breath, you managed to lift your face and look up. There was a man standing in front of you. He had long black hair-which was admittedly rather unkempt-equally black eyes, a scruffy bit of facial hair, and wore a black jumpsuit with what appeared to be some sort of cloth piled around his neck as if it was a scarf.
Ah. It's happening again.
There was yet another person that was giving you some weird sense of déjà vu. But he clearly didn't recognize you, so how could you possibly know him?
Regardless, before you even realized it, your lips had formed a sound.
"Aizawa?" you mumbled.
His eyes went wide. It was completely silent, and all you could do was watch as his brow furrowed, confusion and mild worry overtaking his expression.
"How do you know my name?"