The Forest Thing

Chapter 14: Nightmares

All Izuku could smell was smoke. There was fire burning all around him as he ran through the once safe and peaceful streets of Hosu city. Hasn't he done this before? He was sure he had. He remembered running through the streets just recently, but why? He didn't live in Hosu, so why was he here?

Loud roars and deafening screams were all he could hear. He could feel the panic and distress from the people within the burning city, but it was different somehow, it was as if they weren't actually there. As if the panic Izuku was sensing wasn't coming from an external source. That can't be right.

The forest thing ran down the street, barely noticing the fact that he was in human form instead of dog form, and as he turned a corner to go down a different street, the forest thing could only wish he were anywhere but here.

As Izuku turned the corner he came to the horrifying scene of a Nomu standing over the bodies of dead or dying pro heroes. Blood stained the ground that was littered with rubble and covered the bodies of the heroes in a thick layer of red.

Izuku was frozen in place. He couldn't pry his eyes away from the scene in front of him, no matter how much he wanted to.

A small movement caught Izuku's attention and he turned to see Manual, barely alive, reaching towards him as if begging to be saved by the forest thing. But Izuku wasn't fast enough. Just as he was about to jump in to rescue the hero, the Nomu stepped forward, crushing the man's skull with its large foot.

Izuku's eyes widen in horror as he watched. He can't stay here. He couldn't watch anymore. He didn't want to.

The forest thing felt his own panic rising within him, his hands felt sweaty, could he even sweat?, his heart was beating so loud he thought it would deafen him, did he even have a heart? He just turned around and ran.

This couldn't be happening. He remembers this going differently, he remembers helping the heroes and saving Tenya. Was that not real? Was Tenya still in danger?

The thoughts made Izuku run faster. He needed to find his kid. He already failed the heroes, he wouldn't fail Tenya as well.

Izuku ran down the streets, frantically looking for the right alleyway, the one he had found Tenya and Stain in before.

He could hear his own heart beating within his chest and feel his hands shake at his sides as he ran. He hasn't panicked like this for decades. And the dark, crazed laugh coming from that alley only made it worse.

For the second time that night, Izuku rounded the corner, coming to the mouth of the alley, and what he saw broke him.

Stain stood over the unmoving, bloody body of the young hero student. His sword was covered in the boy's blood and he was rambling on and on about false heroes.

Then he turned around, looking at Izuku as if he knew the forest thing had been there. But that wasn't possible, Stain didn't know he was coming, he didn't know he existed.

"You're too late, Izuku," Stain smiled widely as Izuku fell to his knees by Tenya's side, holding the boy close and checking his pulse. Nothing.

"N-no... No! Why?!" Izuku screamed as he held Tenya's limp body in his arms. He looked up towards where Stain was standing behind him, but when he made eye contact with the man, his body began to morph into something else. Soon, Stain was no longer standing there. Now, he was looking into the red eyes of the kid he had adopted years ago, now Katsuki was standing in front of him.

His normal scowl was gone, replaced by a look of disgust and disappointment. "You failed. How can you protect me when you can't even save him or the heroes?"