// Welcome to chapter 8 guys! I hope you've all enjoyed the story so far. There's a pretty long AN at the end that I hope you all stick around to read!//
"Touya! Touya that hurts!" I wheezed out. Cerulean flames licked and ate at my wrist, his grip never loosening. I struggled to tear him off. My wrist screamed in pain as I struggled to tear off his unrelenting grip. The tips of my fingers began to tingle and become numb, the rest of my arm wheezing and puffing out steam from exhaustion of the marred flesh slowly peeling away from my muscles. I kicked and screamed for him to stop. "No one's going to help you (y/n). Don't you remember you're nothing but a worthless bitch? Oops! I meant witch" her words echoed in my head like a broken record.
The putrid scent of burnt flesh made an acrid fluid pool at the back of my throat, threatening to spill at the sickening stench. My body twitched in agony, every inch incinerating in pain. He didn't hear me. He couldn't hear me. Hanako giggled and cracked her knuckles, approaching me with a wicked smile. Her metal riddled knuckles warped into needles and spikes that could tear through my flesh any moment now. Why were they so fucking sharp? The moment I begged for my quirk to activate was the time it didn't seem to work no matter how much I tried.
I was definitely in fucking agony. So I had no idea why.
This is how I die huh? Nausea swayed my body back and forth. His eyes were no longer that aqua I admired. They stared down at me in a lifeless shade of grey. I was prepared to die. I had lost count how many times I had imagined the gruesome scenario in my head. What had me screaming and whimpering like an abandoned dog was him. His gaze, his gestures. Everything. "Touya please listen to me! Let me go!" He stared down at me indifferently, waiting for his next order, like a dog to an owner.
Hanako hesitated once she raised her fist. "Not yet.." she cooed teasingly, admiring my beaten form. She wanted to see me suffer. "What the fuck did I ever do to you, you bitch?" I spat. The corners of my vision were turning grey and the floor swayed under me. Colored lights blinded most of my vision. I could only make out Hanako's blurry silhouette and the purple patched extension that was incinerating my arm. I could barely hold a grip to reality anymore. Where am I? Is he still holding me? Hanako kneeled down in front of me and placed her hand on Touya's shoulder. "You can let go of her already. You did great honey" She purred devilishly as a smirk formed on her rosy lips. His fingers instantly curled away from my wrist. I screamed in pain at the sudden loss of contact and stumbled back, my legs giving in under the cold gravel.
"Im not done with you yet" Hanako snapped. She grabbed me by the collar and lifted my limp body up, staring deep into my (e/c) eyes. "He doesn't care about you. Just like I've always said you're nothing but a mistake. He pitied you. Can't you see?" She hissed. I could basically see the snake shaped tongue hanging from her lips. That wasn't true. It can't be. She was controlling him. Touya wouldn't do this. He cares about me. He's my best friend, my partner in crime. She can't get to him. She can't. He's strong. "Liar. Liar, liar , liar! You've always been a fucking liar!" I croaked, venom laced into every syllable I spat.
My screams seemed more like whimpers. A wounded sheep about to get taken to the slaughterhouse. "You're controlling him... it isn't him. That's not.. that's not Touya" Her expression remained blank. She then burst into a hysterical fit of laughter. It almost seemed inhuman. Her warped smile made my insides churn. "But am I?" I peeled away my gaze from her. Touya held his head groaning. His aqua eyes stared at me dazed. "(y/n)?.. why are we with her? Hadn't we agreed to leave her back in the alley?" He scoffed, turning to face the snow haired girl.
Hanako grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. "Do you see now?" My mouth went dry at this. This isn't real. No, this isn't happening. This isn't happening. Touya is better than this. Hanako is manipulating him, that's all. I repeated in my head. Each thought seemed louder than the next. The pain was very much real. The burning sensation in my chest was very much real. The warm tears and sobs streaming down my face were real.
Hanako laughed at my defeat, now lifting her fist. Just end it.. In a swift swing a sharp pain invaded my stomach. Her metal riddled fist went right through me. I stood in silence, the pain and blood curling screams drowning me after my gaze landed on my stomach. My ripped shirt soaked a dark shade of crimson, droplets slipping down my clothes and staining the ground. Air began to feel almost nonexistent as I coughed and wheezed for oxygen, blood splurging from my lips and dripping onto my clothes. Hanako and Touya began to warp around me, swirling and blurring in my field of vision. I could only hear static, the prominent buzz only getting louder and louder.
Touya...
My eyes snapped open the moment I was thrown into reality, feeling as if a freezing bucket of water had been dumped on me. Cold wind bit at every uncovered part of my body. My hands searched for something to grasp onto as I realized I was laying in the floor alone. Nothing but a single sheet of paper sat next to me. How long did I sleep? Two hours? One hour? I'm exhausted. My head spun as I cleared out the blurred lines in between fiction and reality. My hand flew to my stomach to press against it. No blood.. I was fine, physically of course. Short breaths escaped past my lips in a rapid speed. Breathe in, breathe out (y/n). It's over now.
After taking a couple deep breaths I could finally manage to compose myself and grab the paper that lied next to me, crinkled and stained. The handwriting was messy and rushed, yet I could never mistake it.
Something came up, I have to go Witchette. I don't know when I'll be back.
-Dabi
Of course he signed it with that dumb alias of his. A known rush of frustration overwhelmed me. " 'I don't know when I'll be back' my ass.." I grumbled angrily. He'd be gone for a while. I clenched my fist, watching the paper crumple under the pressure. It would be real cute if I had his quirk right about this moment. Anger slowly drained out of me after throwing the crumpled ball aside and was soon replaced by disappointment. He could have woken me up to tell me.. "This isn't anything new (y/n). No point in dwelling about it" I pushed myself up from the floor we had slept on and brought myself to the small kitchen.
I dragged myself inside, the beaten floor whimpering under me. A rusted gas stove stood next to an equally busted counter. I reached out to open one of the pantry shelves, wooden splinters sticking to my fingers. Appetite wasn't in my favor as I lazily shifted through the almost empty pantry. What to eat.. an almost spoiled apple or expired cereal? "If I don't die because of my job I'll sure as hell kick the bucket cuz' of food poisoning" I murmured as I ended up picking the apple.
I lazily washed it under the sink and brought it to my mouth, taking a bite at the tart fruit. Yup, almost spoiled. I didn't have much to do on that particular day so the best thing I could do was assemble a more proper plan for our migration. I could also head out to get hired to do any sort of dirty work for a quick buck but what was the point in that? As I munched on the fruit I went to the living room where the books laid scattered on the table. Dust covered the shelves that were attached to the walls. I leaned forwards to take a better look at the books on the table. Hero magazine..Local city markets.. I mentally check marked the books. "Where's that damn map?" I murmured, turning on my heels to face the long shelves.
"It's probably hidden somewhere here" I answered my own question. I quickly hopped to work and began scanning the tall shelves, looking for the black colored book. "I never realized how many of these they were.." I muttered, taking out book after the next. Many different genres laid sprawled on the floor. Magazines, old documents, even cooking books. "We should really throw away all this junk.." I recalled to the moment we moved into this home. We never really bothered to clear out the filled shelves, but I now saw how it was a nuisance. "He was just handling it yesterday. It couldn't have just fucking yeeted itself out of existence" I hissed. I was beginning to get desperate as I started being more rough with the books, pushing them aside to grab the next.
"I give up" I grumbled and collapsed on the couch. I groaned at the uncomfortable sensation of my back hitting against the worn down cushion. A wave of tired came over my body as my head hit the uncomfortable material. Although I felt like I was lying on a block of cement the lack of sleep made it feel like a silk bed. I rolled on my side for my attention to be caught by an ash black book near the coffee table. I rolled off the couch and quickly kneeled before the small book, picking it up to inspect it. I found disappointment in the fact that it wasn't the one I was looking for.
The book however still captured my attention. What the.. I realized as I turned it that the book wasn't black. In fact, it was more of a hazelnut brown. My fingers grazed over the black part to find it was hard and covered in bumps. The edges of the once brown cover were now ripped and stale. A dark black replaced the hazelnut shade. The backside of the book was burnt to a crisp. It was a rather small book actually, it reminded me more of a.. journal. I pressed my lips in a thin line. Curiosity poked at me like a needle.
I easily gave in to the temptation of my newfound discovery and sat myself on the wooden floor. The journal was quite simple and small. It wasn't much bigger than my hand and didn't carry any designs on the front nor back. That is assuming the back was like the front. This probably belongs to whoever lived here before. I clicked my tongue at the thought. I pictured children running through the ruined halls as laughter filled the house. A mother searching through the pantry and scolding the children for being loud to then give them dessert. A smiling father, admiring the cheerful atmosphere of his beloved family.. three siblings and one little monster.
I only snapped back to reality the moment I realized I was squeezing the journal in between my hands, small ash puffs crumpling onto my lap. Shit, shit , shit! I let the small book free from my grip, smoothing over the crinkled cover. "Let's see what you're hiding" I giggled softly, searching for a distraction from the moment. I gently peered open the small book, making sure not to ruin it more then I already had. I was greeted by incomprehensible lines scattered on the first page. A washed out yellow tinted the page, telling me this journal was rather old. I squinted to see if I could uncover some sort of message under the nonsense that were those lines. My best guess was that they were some sort of childish doodle that held no meaning.
I flipped the page and jerked back at several sheets of paper that spilled from within the pages , falling on my lap. I put the journal aside for a moment to inspect the fallen papers better. I reached out for the first. A small 'oh' escaped my lips as I discovered they weren't papers. A small polaroid picture rested on my palm. I lifted it to get a better look only to then freeze at the suffocating sensation of my chest tightening. A picture of a little girl sitting by a swing captured my attention. But not just any little girl.. a girl with (e/c) eyes, (h/c) hair and a (f/c) shirt. "What the actual hell?" I whisper shouted, every sense in my body raising its defenses. That little girl was me.
I scrambled to grab the other pictures and inspect those as well. My stomach churned and twisted at the next one. At first glance it wasn't anything too disturbing. A happy family smiled at me, a woman with her arms wrapped around four children. Joy radiated off her expression. Next to her stood a muscular man with an arm around her waist. Except the part of the picture where the man stood was completely incinerated. I could only tell it was a man because of the muscular arm wrapped around her waist being the only evidence left of his presence in the picture. This was intentional, since besides the man eliminated from the image the rest of the family members were intact.
My gaze landed on the children. A single little girl stood in between three young boys. A small lump formed in my throat as I inspected one of the children closer. Red locks of hair stuck out in most parts, a vibrant smile being complimented by a pair of bright aqua eyes. Skepticism irked me at the sight of it. It can't be -I placed the picture aside as I grabbed the next. Most of the pictures followed the same pattern. A happy family, or at least I thought. A burnt out man. I was afraid of guessing what I was thinking.
I grabbed the next picture, noticing right away this was a different scenario. A young boy smiled proudly at the camera as he held a plastic All Might figurine. Crimson and snow locks fell upon his forehead. A pair of heterochromatic eyes gleamed with innocence and joy. I slowly ran my fingertips over the image with care, almost as if it would disintegrate any moment from my grip. The corners of the picture were burnt a dark black and partially charred. The damage crawled all the way up until the corners of his head where it suddenly ceased. The rest of the image held its untouched state. Was the picture meant to be burnt?
I stared at the image for what seemed an eternity. There was something pulling at the back of my mind, telling me I recognized this. After all why the hell would there be a picture of me? I glanced at the messy stack of pictures that I hadn't revised yet. Do I really want to? What other disturbing images could be awaiting? I swallowed the lump that had been forming in my throat. My mouth went dry as I reached for the next picture. Is it me or is it suddenly really cold? The icy breeze bit at my body. I now noticed what a cold morning it was. I was hyperaware of everything around me. The creaking doors, the drops falling from the ceiling to the minuscule insects crawling up and down the faded walls.
The next few images I held felt almost surreal. A young girl sat on a swing with a frozen smile. Her small hand waved at whoever was taking the picture, her (h/c) locks were messy and disheveled. It looked like a tornado had ran her over. But of course it did, I always had a bad habit of never brushing it in the mornings. Droplets stung and blurred my vision at the memory of my past. How did this get here? I don't remember taking any pictures. My head lightly spun at the overwhelming amount of images. Why were they images of me? And that family..
I picked up the fragile book and opened it once again. I skimmed over the pages in search of any entries only to be disappointed with loose adhesive where the images used to stick. I frowned and kept on flipping pages. I reached about one fourth until my gaze landed on a singular page. A single picture stuck to the old paper. Two boys sat on a floor , their hands stood with two fingers upright, flashing a peace sign. The boy with the heterochromatic eyes and the one with the messy tuffs of red hair. My eyes widened as I finally recognized and confirmed my suspicions. A single line of writing rested under the picture. The ink was almost invisible to the naked eye but I managed to read out loud.
"I love playing with my little brother Shouto.. I hope one day we're both amazing heroes together"
The pooling droplet slipped down my cheek and fell on the stained page. A dark spot formed on the place where it had landed. I shuffled to shove the pictures back in and close the journal shut to never be opened again. I couldn't. A soft wail slipped from my lips. This was a crack to the past, a window that should never be opened. These were all clearly old and from years back. The image of who the charred and destroyed man in the picture was came as clear as day to me. Rage boiled in the back of my head. He deserved to be burnt in every image.
This was Touya's journal.
...
{First person POV}
"Fucking god tonight sure is cold" I muttered low curses under my breath. Although I wore long sleeves the shriveling cold attacked every inch of my blemished body. I stared up at the towering buildings that were perfectly alined throughout the empty street. I wasn't too far away from my destination. The only thing lighting up the lonesome street were one or two tilted lampposts. Yellowish lights flickered over me as I crossed said street.
It shouldn't be too far. My thoughts were interrupted by an acute mewl. A dark figure followed my steps and pawed at the dragging material of my worn out jacket. I groaned and turned to face the culprit. A black kitten stepped out of the shadows, (e/c) orbs peering straight into my soul. I kneeled down to inspect the animal. The kitten crawled closer to me, curling up next to my leg looking for warmth. I brought my hand onto its head, giving it a lazy stroke. "I would have already turned you into barbecued chicken if your eyes didn't remind me of hers.." I muttered. "Cute and awfully alluring" The animal only stared, its underdeveloped fangs nibbling my crinkled skin.
I cringed only to flinch at the sound of a crash nearby. The kitten detached itself from my hand and ran into the alley where the noise came from. I stood up, my gaze following the animal into the darkness. Isn't that fucking convenient? I thought, noticing it was heading the same direction I was going to. I stared down at the pavement and followed the dark creature.
I watched as the kitten disappeared in between the trash cans, diving into the rancid foods to feed itself. Pathetic. I raised my gaze to meet with a secluded store. I approached to get a better look, realizing it was more of a bar than a store. It fits with the description. Worn out paint adorned the walls, ripped posters plastered on its walls along with suspicious looking fumes leaking from the bottom of the door. I brushed off whatever skepticism the situation brought onto me and reached for the door, opening it to enter the suspicious establishment. The bar stood completely empty, with only a single bartender cleaning wine glasses at the counter.
I rose an eyebrow at the empty scenery. This was some sort of fucking set up. They were expecting me. Well, whoever they were anyways. I sat down on the carmine stool without asking and stared up at the bartender or whatever the hell he was. Golden slits stared down at me, purple mist floated and danced in the stiff air, replacing whatever extremities he was supposed to have. "A whiskey" I spat, waving my hand at the mist man.
He nodded , acknowledging my request. "Why of course" he spoke in a kind tone. I couldn't tell wether it was genuine or not. He went to fetch the drink, coming back shortly to serve it. As the liquid was poured into the glass he spoke up. "We've been expecting you Mr.Dabi" I leaned back, snatching the glass the moment he placed it in front of me. "We've been observing you for quite some time. We're looking for someone with your potential. We're also aware of the living situation you're currently in" I smirked. This guy had some serious nerve to ask me to come all the way here just for chit chat. "Hm? Whatever it is I'm not interested. You said this would benefit me" I grunted. The mist man shook his head with a chuckle, placing down a white envelope on the marble counter. "I will explain now. All I ask of you is to pay attention" I raised an eyebrow and examined the envelope, a tired glare directed towards him.
"I'm listening"
________________________
//wow okay so I have a lot to say lol. First of all thank you all so much for the overwhelming amount of support! Although I say this a lot all your comments mean the world to me and they motivate me to keep going on the long ass journey that is this book. I have a lot planned and I hope you all enjoy the story to come! I kinda just broke one of the statements in the beginning because after this I'm completely derailing from the BNHA plot whoops. Also please bare with my random update schedules! I'm still trying to organize myself and I'm also still tinkering with the plot and I'm covering up plot holes here and there. That being out of the way I have a few things to talk about with y'all//
Firstly
H O L Y F U C K
THIS!- I never expected to almost reach 1k reads in such a short amount of time!! A huge thanks to everyone that has voted , commented and read!
Second
There will probably be a couple of announcements and things about me that I might communicate through AN. To avoid it becoming a nuisance I MIGHT consider making some sort of author book for you all to get to know me better! I don't know if anyone would be very interested in that though. If I do I'll probably post tags, things about me and even possible sneak peeks of my stories!
And last but not least
I'm entering the BNHA 2019 awards!
I would immensely appreciate if you guys nominated this story under the category "hidden jewels" . The story that gets the most nominations passes on to compete! I've always wanted to take part on one of these so I would really appreciate if you take a few moments to read through the rules and nominate this book. Of course, no one has to do this if you don't feel like this story is it.
That's all! Thank you all for reading and have a wonderful day/week!
-takutea