Need You (ShinDeku)

Ch. 50 - league

A/N: happy Halloween to anyone who celebrates! We've reached chapter 50, isn't that so exciting? Thank you to everyone who is still reading, you've come a long way. I've been having some writers block lately but I'll try my hardest to keep the chapters coming out once a week for you guys.

Trigger warning:
Slight torture, threatening, and panicking before the POV switch in this chapter. This section will have a warning (⚠️) so you can skip over it if you would like. It's not super graphic, but I still advise you to proceed with caution. Your mental well-being is important!
Have fun reading!

Izuku POV
(⚠️Trigger warning start⚠️)

     It rained all night, and some of it got through the broken window closest to me, soaking the entire left side of my body. Unable to sleep, I passed the time by trying to imagine that the patter of the rain was actually Shinso's heartbeat and I was laying on his chest. It was mildly comforting, but hard to keep up because Shinso would never be that cold.

     In the morning Dabi had walked in through a portal, grumbling about something. He looked annoyed. I knew from experience it was never good for me when they were annoyed.

     I shrank back in my chair, watching him with fear. I didn't realize my breathing had picked up to an audible level until Dabi told me to be quiet.

     "Oh shut the hell up. I'm only here 'cause boss said you getting sick would ruin his plans." I wasn't really sure what he meant by that, though I understood that me being wet and cold could probably get me sick.

     While I was processing his words he activated his quirk on his hand, reaching out towards me. My first instinct was to scream, which I did, but soon regretted it when blinding pain coursed through me. Dabi chuckled.

     "He's watching you." He pointed at a security camera up on the ceiling behind him. I didn't have the strength to look up at it, but I already knew where it was.

     "I suggest you stay quiet. Or scream if you really want to. Be my guest. You'll only get hurt more. I'm not here to hurt you though, I gotta dry you off because boss doesn't want his little hero captive getting sick and my quirk works best." He explained, waving his hand around.

"W-wait! Do you-do you think I can be a hero without a q-quirk?"

"The hell? I told you to shut up. Do you want me to burn your face off?" He threatened, lighting his hand with his quirk. "And why the fuck would you ask a villain that?" He narrowed his eyes, leaning closer to me.

I drew further into myself, looking down.

"You don't need a quirk to be a hero. That's stupid. If you believe it, then you're stupid and probably don't deserve to be a hero." Quite aggressively, he made the flames on his hands bigger and started drying me. It was just hot enough that the heat was no longer really enjoyable and more so just slightly painful.

     I kept my eyes shut tight the entire time he dried me, shaking like a leaf and trying as hard as possible to be silent. It seemed as though he was still mad at me for talking after he told me to be quiet, and I couldn't forget what he did to me in the past, so I really didn't want to make him any angrier. He disappeared after some time but I didn't open my eyes until long after, even as tears leaked out of them and I heard birds chirping outside. Why couldn't someone have told me those words when I was younger? Why did it have to be villains that believed in me more than anyone else? The very villains who've ruined my life? No, I didn't open my eyes until nearly an hour later. I thought long and hard about what they had told me, and I decided that I didn't have to play by their rules. I wouldn't have to choose between giving them the quirk and watching the world fall apart or watching more people I care about die and sacrificing my dream. Instead, I made the decision to call for help. Maybe someone would hear me. Maybe someone would come looking for the source and find me tied to a chair and bleeding.