Life is Simple, Love is Not (Izuku x Miruko)

Chapter 30: Necessary Monster

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

― Friedrich Nietzsche

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Izuku leaned against the hospital corridor wall and unsuccessfully tried to calm himself. Just a few feet away, behind a closed door, Rumi lay in a hospital bed hooked up to dozens of machines that were barely keeping her alive.

It had only been a few hours since Rumi had suddenly collapsed on the highway, but the situation was dire. Apparently the man who had bitten her in the railyard had some kind of poisonous snake quirk. To make things worse, the poison in Rumi's bloodstream was a combination of some of the deadliest snakes in the world. While the doctors had managed to stave off the effects of the poison temporarily, Izuku had overheard them discussing what should be done when the poison eventually overwhelmed Rumi's body.

Desperate for any kind of useful information, Izuku had bribed an unscrupulous younger doctor into providing a possible solution. Apparently if the doctor managed to obtain a sample directly from the source of the poison, an antivenom could be created.

However, it was not that simple.

The Ministry of Defense seemed to be unwilling to commit resources to a wild goose chase, and had instructed Izuku to simply stand by and wait for the medical professionals to figure out a solution.

Punching the tile wall in frustration, Izuku felt himself beginning to hyperventilate as old memories began to surface.

It seemed the past had a habit of repeating itself, and every time Izuku looked into Rumi's room he could only see his mom as she slowly died from the cancer that ravaged her body. Back then, the teenage Izuku could only sit and watch as his mom slowly died in front of him. Unlike the movies and TV shows, Izuku did not get the luxury of having one final conversation with his mother. One day she was alive and healthy, the next she was put into an induced coma and stuck full of tubes and wires that artificially kept her alive. After several weeks of visiting his unresponsive mom in the hospital, Izuku was forced to make the decision to take her off life support.

That day, a part of Izuku had died along with his mom.

It was then that Izuku finally understood one simple truth.

Life is not fair.

Now it seemed that the cruel mistress called fate was once again mocking him while taking away the one person that made him happy.

Gritting his teeth against the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him, Izuku clenched his hands and squeezed his eyes shut as he forced himself to breathe slower.

At that moment, he knew what he had to do.

He would do whatever it took to keep Rumi alive. If it meant that he had to sell his soul to do it, then that was a small price to pay for the life of the woman he loved.

With cold determination in his eyes, Izuku walked away from Rumi's room and pulled out his phone.

He had a few calls to make.

After making the necessary arrangements, Izuku waited for night to fall. Going back to the abandoned rail yard, Izuku parked his car in a nearby alleyway and made his way back to the warehouse where Rumi had gotten bitten.

The forensics teams had already left, all the necessary evidence taken away for processing and the only remnants being bits of yellow police tape.

But that was not why Izuku had gone back.