Glass Heart

Glass Heart - Chapter Sixty-Three

Izuku tried his best to control his breathing. He had already tried to get out multiple times, but these kids were holding the door shut, barricading him inside with their own bodies. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as he tried to come up with a new solution to his problem.

He could hear fighting on the other side - probably his friends trying to help him. He could probably just wait it out - they'd be able to rescue him soon... right?

But the walls felt so close, it felt like the ceiling was crumbling in on him, walls pressing against his sides, the shelves attached to the back wall digging into his back and neck, making him shiver in fright.

Loud bangs could be heard from the door. Was someone trying to break in and help him? Izuku hoped so - then his nightmare could soon be over. With each bang the room shook, gradually getting worse, until with a large clang...

... the shelf broke away from the wall, and fell onto Izuku, pressing him further into the ground. Luckily the shelf held nothing dangerous on it - with most chemicals being placed on the floor for safety, and sharp objects in cardboard boxes on an adjacent wall, but Izuku had had enough.

Pressed against the floor, struggling to have room to move, Izuku screamed.

~Flashback~

"You brat, you almost got me in trouble today - that policeman saw your bruise!" Hisashi yelled, pulling Izuku into their house by his hair. "You're supposed to wear makeup at all times you idiot!"

He growled in anger, and Izuku flinched, as he was thrown inside the house, preparing for a proper beating now they were behind closed doors. He knew he had to stay silent, making any noise would attract attention, and Hisashi hated attention - if Izuku was a part of it, Hisashi hated anything.

So then... why was he smiling?

"You know, I don't think a simple beating would be enough this time. I've told you over and over again to wear makeup when you leave my house. I'd have expected you to learn by now." Izuku's eyes widened, realising what Hisashi meant. He silently shook his head, trying his best - and failing - to not cry, in a desperate plea to convince Hisashi to not do this, but his begging fell on deaf ears.

Hisashi picked Izuku up by his arm, and dragged him to the basement, a room that's locked to anyone besides Hisashi, who had the only key for it. Izuku had now begun verbally pleading for Hisashi to not do this, preferring to be beaten up instead, and trying to use his voice to annoy Hisashi enough that he at the very least knocked Izuku unconscious.

Hisashi did neither of these things. "You're going in the box. I don't care what you say, you need to learn."

And with that, they approached the furthest corner of the basement. Shrouded by darkness, the black, metal box shone evilly at them, making Izuku begin to cry again in fear. There was only one small opening in the box for air to get through - a small gap with bars between at the top of the door.

Hisashi grinned as he opened the door with a large creaking sound and told Izuku to get inside. Trembling, Izuku followed his instructions, the box so small he had to be on his hands and knees, and he crawled carefully into the cold, dark space. His head was facing away from the door, so he had no light. He could feel a couple bugs skitter along the floor of the box and sighed in relief that he wasn't alone.

"I'll be back in about three days. Try to survive until then." Hisashi called with a sadistic smile, as he swung the door shut.

And Izuku was left in complete isolation.

~Flashback~

"Izuku? Izuku!"

"Sho... to...?" Izuku mumbled, opening his eyes slowly, and realising he wasn't in the box at his old home anymore - he was in Shoto's arms. He relaxed further into Shoto and tried to calm down. "You're... here..."

"Of course I'm here, Zuku..." Shoto muttered comfortingly, running his hand through Izuku's hair. "Where else would I be?"

"What about Hito and Kacchan?" Izuku whispered in response, shifting, and burying his head further into Shoto's chest.

Shoto smiled slightly. "I wouldn't worry about them. They'll be back soon." Izuku tilted his head slightly, confused, but Shoto didn't elaborate any further, so Izuku let the conversation drop.

Izuku frowned slightly. "Sho... have I ever told you about my past?"

Shoto turned to him. "No, but Zuku - this is the nurse's office. Are you sure you want to tell me about it right now? In public, I mean."

"If I don't... it might take a while for me to work up the courage to talk to you about it again. I... I have to do this."

Shoto scrutinised Izuku's determined expression for what felt like forever. After a while, he smiled in response, and shifted so he was more comfortable. He was sure this wasn't going to be an easy conversation topic for Izuku, but he'd do his best to remind Izuku that he was safe with him. "Very well. Tell me everything."

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Finally you know what the box is! I hope your curiosity has been fully satisfied, haha XD

If you have any questions about it, let me know. I'm not good at scenes like the flashback I wrote, so yea! :D

Thank you guys again for all your support. We reached 50K, which is absolutely incredible. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Well I mean that's obvious because without you guys then there'd be no views at all but... you know what I really mean! XD

Anyways, I'm gonna go before I make more dumb comments haha - oh, and we already know Izuku's past, so next chapter I'm not going to write about him telling it to Shoto, I'll skip that part, and get to Shoto's response to it.

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊